Seven's original body drifted in the black abyss.
No, he did not have a body.
Seven did not feel anything.
It was as if he been stripped of his nerves and emotions.
Yet, he remembered.
He remembered his name.
His name was Seven.
Before he came into his first nightmare, he had lost his sense of self. He did not know who he was, he did not know what his wishes were, and he did not what drove him to live.
But after experiencing the thrills of his first nightmare, he now knew.
Seven wanted to live, because living was exciting! He wanted to make acquaintances he could fight alongside with. He wanted to fight with worthy opponents, he wanted to get stronger so he could challenge harder opponents!
He wanted to live forever so he could feel the excitement of living for an eternity!
So instead of rejecting his name, he embraced it. So what if it was a name given by that hellish place? It was his origin, and Seven was accepting of his origin.
And House of Talents was going to be his first goal in life.
He was going to make sure the House of Talents would pay for what they have done to all of them!
***
Seven's head rolled down the slope, the Soul Skinner was finally calm. It was ready to continue to control the memory maze.
But, as it was going to focus, it felt something hug its neck from behind. Immediately it clawed at its own neck, only for it to pass through the air and sever its own skin.
'Lets finish this.'
Immediately, the Soul Skinner fell from the sky. Soul essence suddenly started to surge around it as a black sphere formed around.
The hollow eyed soldiers opened their eyes, everyone was dazed from what they have woken up from. They were just having nightmares or sweet dreams.
But everyone's attention drifted towards the black sphere in the middle of the battlefield. Additionally, at that time, shadow spawns were descending from the other side of the mountain. Moving like a wave of shadows, surging towards the black sphere with ill intent.
The clouds that had gathered in the sky were moving in circles right above the dark sphere.
Both armies felt flustered by the appearance of the shadow-spawns and the black sphere in the middle of the battlefield. The human armies were going to give the order to retreat when the sphere started cracking, shattering with a dull sound, and revealing a figure standing in the middle.
His face bore a delicate, androgynous beauty, sharp yet serene, as though carved from pale light rather than flesh. His skin was fair and luminous, almost translucent, smooth to the point of seeming unreal, as if untouched by time or hardship.
His eyes were the most striking feature: pools of molten gold, calm and distant, carrying a depth that felt ancient and unreadable.
His hair was a pale blond, washed in warm hues like sunlight filtered through ivory. It fell long and straight, silky and fine, cascading past his shoulders in loose, unbound strands.
Two bony wings sprouted behind his back just like the Soul Skinners.
The Figure seemed to be pointing towards the sky.
He used and extremely firm and determined, yet incomparably soft tone to shout with all his strength.
"This is the last time I shall struggle before death in my life! The Heart God can bear testament to my words!"
***
[You have slain an awakened terror: Soul Skinner.]
[You have received a memory: A Skinner's Veil.]
Seven felt that his nightmare was finally ending. He was going to close his eyes, but his attention was caught by a golden light that descended down the earth through the parted clouds.
He felt a strong connection to that light, he needed to reach it before the spell took him away! He flapped his wings and soared towards the sky, the flight was awkward as he had never used wings before, it was very hard to control them.
But he persevered!
He reached out his hand and cupped a golden fruit, bringing it to his mouth and taking a big bite out of it without questioning its origins.
[You have received an attribute: Small Heart]
And just a second later, an explosion tore through the sky. Destroying the prairie.
[You have died.]
***
[Wake up, Seven! Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]
Seven found himself in a space between dream and reality. It was an endless black void illuminated by a myriad of stars. Between those stars, countless strings of silver light were woven into a beautiful and inconceivably complex net, forming various nexuses and constellations. It was truly breathtaking.
'So, I am not dead... It would be quiet pathetic after that performance.'
[Your soul has been cleansed from the Soul Skinner. You are no longer fused.]
'I assume this is a good thing? That bastard was corrupted after all..'
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[A man without a name marched alongside the army of war. But the march was cut short as the Soul Skinner intercepted, its greed knowing no bounds. The man without a name endured the insidious influence of the abomination, finally gaining a name for himself! He soared towards the skies, and claimed his reward.]
[You have defeated a thousand dormant humans.]
[You have defeated a hundred shadow spawns.]
[You have defeated thirty four awakened souls.]
[You have defeated an awakened terror: Soul Skinner.]
[You have received the Heart Gods lineage.]
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final appraisal: glorious. Your path of excitement shall flourish!]
'My path of excitement huh..?'
It felt like the spell was trying to butter him up.
[Dreamer Seven, receive your boon!]
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Continuance.]
Seven looked at the runes with a smile. What great luck! He had actually received his true name right in his first nightmare! Not many people had accomplished that.
[You have received new Attributes.]
[Small Heart] Attribute Description: "You have been bestowed the blood of the Heart God."
[Flame of Divinity.]
[Insatiable] Attribute Description: "You are able to fully absorb souls of the ones you slay."
[A Minor Gift] Attribute Description: "The essence of the souls you have absorbed can be used for healing."
[Why one, when you can have two?] Attribute Description: "Your identity can't be described by only one gender. You can alter between them."
'Hm... Interesting. These are very useful attributes. The last one is weird, but I suppose it can prove to be useful.'
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
'What happens when I say no..?'
Well, even if he felt the urge, he was not about to risk it.
"Yes."
[Dormant Aspect Where is my mind? is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Divine.]
'Oh..'
Seven almost fell over.
'Are we serious...? Am I still in the mind hex?'
His thoughts were sarcastic at first, but when he thought about what had happened during his first nightmare, it was fairly reasonable.
[Aspect Name: Everything is in Everything.]
"Cool name.."
He summoned to runes to read.
Aspect: [Everything is in Everything.]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Description: [All things are reflections of the same whole. What exists within the world also exists within you. Your existence shall never be a singular one.]
Innate Ability: [Immunity Over Domain.]
Ability Description: [You are immune to soul and mind attacks.]
'Now this...'
This was just too absurd! Having immunity over the things he struggled in his first nightmare, it was very overpowered!
Seven could not help but grin. A true name, a divine aspect, and a very powerful innate ability. He was extremely lucky!
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Seven felt something waking up inside him. With a startled cry, he clutched his chest and stared into the darkness, trying to understand what was happening. The feeling was not painful or unpleasant, yet it was like nothing he had ever experienced. It was as though his soul was being shaken awake, infused with strange new energy.
However, that energy did not come from some outside source. Rather, it was coming from within, as though it had always been there, sleeping.
The energy filled every fiber of his being. Seven felt his emotions becoming clearer and sharper. Then, his body began to change, too. He felt as though a miniature star was burning in the center of his chest: waves of heat were radiating from it, slowly reaching his stomach and shoulders, then his arms and legs, then his hands and feet.
Under that heat, his bones, muscles, organs and blood vessels were being rebuilt and revitalized. Seven felt like he was being reborn. He was becoming stronger, faster, healthier.
It was euphoric.
After some time had passed, the star burning in his chest finally cooled down. The heat was replaced with a soothing coldness. That coldness washed over Seven's body, taking away all the aches and discomforts that had been accumulated there over the years. Then it moved up, reaching his brain and, finally, his eyes.
His vision strangely doubled.
He saw a calm silent sea, the water was so pure that it almost looked like a moving mirror when he stepped on it.
It was illuminated by a sun that had six more suns inside it. But only the three out of seven shone brightly while the others were dimmer.
Two spheres of light were orbiting the soul core, those were his newly gained memories.
Around the soul sea, there were... people. Thousands of them.
All of them were the people Seven had defeated in his first nightmare. The Spawns of the Soul Skinner, Soul Skinner himself, the thirty five souls he had freed and the shadow spawns.
Their gazes looked hollow as they all looked at Seven, but Seven wished them not to, and they obeyed. Everyone looked forward instead of Seven.
'Weird..'
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
Seven was very lucky with everything else, so he hoped this would turn out to be great too.
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Faces of Familiarity.]
Seven summoned the runes, and decided to look over his information before looking at the description of the aspect.
Name: Seven.
True Name: Continuance.
Rank: Dreamer.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Soul Fragments: [410/1000]
'Only four hundred..? But I killed a thousand mortals. I suppose they and the shadow spawns did not count.'
Memories: [Sharp Moon], [A Skinner's Veil]
Echoes: -
Attributes: [Small Heart], [Flame of Divinity], [A Minor Gift], [Why one, when you can have two?]
Aspect: [Everything is in Everything.]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Abilities: [Faces of Familiarity.]
Aspect Ability Description: [You are able to create incarnations, each one carrying a reflection of your mind. Control them as you like, or let them be.]
[Path of Excitement], [Path of Eternal Life], [Path of Revenge], [???], [???], [???], [???].
Seven was going to focus on the runes of the paths, but the spell interrupted him.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Curse.]
'Wait, wait.. wasn't it supposed to be a flaw..?'
[You have received the Shadow God's curse.]
Curse: [Shadow God's Curse]
Curse Explanation: [You have been banished from death.]
'...'
Seven stared at the runes for a while.
'Did shadow god take my words personally..?'
He stared at the runes a bit more.
'I think he did.'
Seven felt conflicted about his 'flaw.'
This curse was a blessing in disguise for someone who was just beginning their journey. But later it could also become a curse, eroding his mind as he lived on forever.
'I will think about it when I am a thousand years old.' he let out a dry chuckle.
As the runes closed, he suddenly remembered something.
'Isn't today the day of winter solstice..?'
He was going to get transported to the dream realm right away!
[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Continuance!]