[Volume 2: Fearful Saint]
Chapter 32: Darkness
The hospital complex and the academy administration were in total and absolute chaos. The weeks following the winter solstice were always very hectic for those who worked on the periphery of the waking society, as most Sleepers returned from their adventures in the Dream Realm, usually returning in weeks, and in rare cases, within a month.
The ones who survived, of course.
However, nothing prepared them for what had happened from one moment to the next. An enormous number of Sleepers who had disappeared for years, considered irrevocably lost, created a shockwave that shook all of humanity. Hundreds of Sleepers began to awaken out of nowhere; most of them were at the Awakened Academy, and others were in other protected areas or with their families.
In a small office on the ground floor of the hospital, a young woman dressed in black pants and a white blouse was sitting behind a desk, hurriedly drafting a report. The young woman was one of the administrative employees in charge of the initial report for the returning Sleepers. As such, she had seen many incredible cases and heard countless amazing stories, and others that were, unfortunately, heartbreaking.
But nothing in her work or professional experience had prepared her for a day like today.
The Sleepers she was interviewing were all anomalies, every single one of them. What they told her chilled her blood and left her mind reeling. She even felt the impulse to think that what she was hearing was some kind of lie, but the lie-detection technology integrated into the office walls made lying difficult.
'Incredible... they are incredible and terrifying, each and every one of them.'
Every Sleeper she had interviewed was a monster in their own right, having massacred hundreds of hellish abominations that would make even the Beasts of Bastion seem adorable in comparison to the horrors she was hearing about.
The worker felt compassion, pride, and hope. Humanity had received 698 Awakened, dozens of whom possessed True Names, and each had killed at least more than a hundred abominations and monsters alike.
However, something puzzled the worker. She kept hearing the same name: Uriel, Lord of the Darkness, who had achieved the unthinkable, and whose actions and power were simply impossible to measure for a Sleeper.
It was madness. He was a monster, and he was terribly powerful. Everyone said the same thing; it was something that defied common sense—someone whose strength completely eclipsed each and every one of them.
The worker wondered what kind of Sleeper had managed such impossible feats, even surpassing the legendary Broken Sword and his cohort from over two decades ago.
If she took all the accounts of the Sleepers, the Lord of the Darkness had killed over 20,000 nightmare creatures. He also oversaturated the cores of 700 Sleepers, gave them memories, and guided them through a war to kill a Fallen Terror, with the help of Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan and several other powerful Awakened.
...
When Sunny finished speaking with the administrative worker and turned a corner, he saw a small crowd of Sleepers—or now Awakened—from the Forgotten Shore. Most were wearing the academy's tracksuit, and all of their faces reflected a mixture of different emotions that confused Sunny.
Looking at the crowd, he recognized familiar faces from the Dreamer Army and others he didn't. Searching with his gaze, he didn't see Effie or Kai anywhere.
Sunny looked at the screen everyone was watching, but before he could read anything, he was called out.
"Sunny! You're here!" shouted a Sleeper.
Sunny looked at the young man who wore a smile and spoke with a trembling voice: "Thank you! Thank you so much, Sunny. If it weren't for you and your shadow, we would never have made it to the portal!"
Hearing his words, the crowd focused on Sunny, who felt uncomfortable under so many gazes. He listened to their words of gratitude and all he did was nod uncomfortably.
After a while, a Sleeper asked a question.
"Have you heard anything about Lord Uriel since his return?"
Sunny stiffened and shook his head.
The Sleeper looked at the screen.
"Nothing. None of us have. Of all those who reached the Dream Lighthouse, he is missing. We believe he is still inside."
"Who is the second one?"
"Lord Caster. No one saw him near the portal. He must have gone to help Lady Nephis with the Terror, while Lord Uriel cleared a path for us to escape."
Sunny clenched his teeth, and when the girl got distracted, he took the opportunity to slip away silently.
....
[You have slain a Fallen Beast, Corpse Devourer]
[Your darkness grows stronger]
Uriel let out a sigh as he sat on the edge of the broad wall surrounding the ruins of what was once the bright ancient castle, now reduced to nothing but rubble. He looked around, but the city remained incredibly silent.
Almost a full month had passed since all the Sleepers—or at least those who survived—returned to the waking world, and now he was alone once more. Not that he really minded.
He liked the darkness and solitude. He always liked quiet places and his own company.
Even Shade remained silent for the moment, letting everything sink in.
After dismissing his Ascended armor, he summoned the black mantle. Lighting a campfire, he took out a spider corpse, cut its body, and placed the meat over the fire, letting it cook.
There weren't many monsters left alive in the dark city, so he would kill them once he recovered, and then he would kill the Terror.
Once the meat was ready, he began to eat it without any rush; after all, there was no one waiting for him.
'Will events still proceed the same now?' thought Uriel.
'I guess so. Even if I changed the Forgotten Shore, the Chained Islands and the rest will remain the same, and Antarctica is a lost cause,' Uriel sighed.
He didn't know what to do. For now, all he could do was Awaken and become an Ascended.
'If they really make a movie and don't make me the cool and powerful protagonist, I'll sue them for ruining my image,' Uriel let out an amused chuckle.
After eating, he watched the fire, the only source of light in the entire dark city. Summoning the porcelain water bottle, Uriel drank until he was satisfied, then dispelled the dark hand and began to clean all the blood, sweat, and dirt from his body.
Once he was clean, he summoned the dark mantle again and extinguished the campfire.
His most serious wounds were slowly healing.
Closing his eyes, he continued meditating to control his essence.
Continuing in this manner for several days, he finally felt something happen. His essence responded, becoming refined, more powerful and vast, but also more fluid.
[The second seal is broken.]
"Finally," said Uriel, immediately entering inside his soul.
The familiar sensation of darkness welcomed him. He couldn't see anything, but he could feel everything at a distance. There were his six soul cores and around them, his Memories.
Uriel felt every fiber of his being fill with new energy that emerged from his own soul, nourishing his body.
After a while, the sensation faded, leaving him complete once more. He could feel that he was stronger now that he was an Awakened. However, until he anchored himself to a Citadel or became a Master, he could not return to the waking world.
Now that Uriel was an Awakened, he could feel and control his essence better to strengthen his body and activate the enchantments of his Memories.
[Aspect Ability Awakened]
[...Aspect Ability Acquired]
[Name of Aspect Ability: Shaper]
Uriel summoned the runes.
Name: Uriel
True Name: Lord of Darkness
Rank: Awakened.
Class: Terror
Shadow Fragments: [3356/6000]
Aspect Abilities: [Dark Body] [Shaper]
Ability Description: [You can shape things with darkness, giving them any form]
Uriel smiled. This would undoubtedly be a useful ability. It was the evolution of his Dark Body. Now that he was an Awakened, he could change his body by surrounding it with darkness. Of course, if he wanted to take it to a new level, he would need to be a Master and then a Saint.
After that, the Spell said nothing more, so he left his Sea of Souls.
Opening his eyes, he stood up and tested his Awakened ability. The darkness responded to his will, and with it, he gave it the shape of a plastic chair, which he sat on. He could feel his essence being drained to maintain the dark creation, but he didn't mind; the amount of essence he had was vast, several times greater than that of any Awakened.
Standing up after a while, he let the chair dissipate into darkness.
After eating, he began to explore the city, killing the remaining monsters.
Once he killed them all, he summoned his fully repaired Ascended armor, and with its accelerated healing enchantment, his wounds healed faster.
By his second week, Uriel was in perfect condition. He returned to the ruins of the Crimson Spire, where he extracted the soul cores from the monsters and crushed them, increasing his counter until he finally reached the rank of Titan.
Using the shadows, he dug holes in the ground, burying the fallen and making a headstone where he wrote in runes:
[Here lie the brave warriors who gave their lives for a bright future. Their courage and sacrifices will never be forgotten. Rest in peace; your nightmare has ended.]
Summoning the winged mantle, the black mantle split in two, creating two large wings of black substance, and he flew towards his destination.
It took some time, but he finally arrived, seeing the great tree that was the corrupted scion of the World Tree, a tree planted by the Heart God.
He felt the tree's mental influence as he landed on the ash mound, but Shade shattered the influence.
The Awakened Terror, seeing that its mental attack didn't work, awakened 100 Awakened beasts to kill him.
Uriel manifested darkness, which responded in the form of black tentacles that imprisoned, pierced, and crushed the subordinates in a matter of seconds, terrifying the tree.
Taking out the torch he had taken from the cathedral, he placed it at the base of the tree and let it burn slowly. Summoning an exquisite black chair, Uriel sat down and watched the tree burn for several hours until it died, letting out a harrowing scream full of pain.
[You have slain an Awakened Terror, Soul-Devouring Tree]
[You have received an Echo]
Uriel, without hesitation, summoned the runes of his Echo.
Name: Soul Devourer.
Rank: Awakened.
Class: Terror.
Echo Description: [A sacred seed was planted in a beautiful landscape by the Heart God. The seed grew and developed as the last scion of the World Tree, destined to preserve life and beauty. But its hunger knew no bounds, causing corruption to seep into its being. What was meant to be sacred was altered and corrupted, becoming a vile demon that captivated thousands of souls to devour them and grow, until one day it encountered an unfathomable darkness more ravenous than itself, which consumed it.]
Attributes: [Hunger] [Sacred] [Spirit]
Attribute Description Hunger: [This tree is a child of the Heart, and therefore its hunger is insatiable.]
Attribute Description Sacred: [It possesses qualities of the sacred and divine.]
Attribute Description Spirit: [It possesses amazing and surprising qualities still unknown.]
Echo Abilities: [Soul Fruit] [Harvest] [Enchantment]
Ability Description Soul Fruit: [This ability allows you to transform souls into delicious fruits.]
Ability Description Harvest: [This ability allows you to absorb the souls of those fallen in battle and turn them into fruit.]
Ability Description Enchantment: [This ability allows you to manipulate and control weaker creatures.]
Harvested Souls: [0/6000]
Uriel blinked several times at all the new information he obtained from the Echo. Without hesitation, he turned it into a shadow, spending six thousand shadow fragments, but it was worth it. Taking out soul cores, he began crushing them until he reached the rank of two thousand, where he ran out of fragments to use.
'Now where do we go?' asked Shade, who finally spoke after two weeks without saying a word.
'We head north through the Hollow Mountains. Our only option is to find Eurys and have him guide us to a Nightmare Seed to challenge it.'
'Good.'