[Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]
Arthur let out a sigh.
The Nightmare had been brutal, humiliating, and exhausting all at once.
He already wanted to return to his family. He had done it—he had become the first Sleeper in history to overcome a Second Nightmare.
A challenge that was believed to be impossible. Arthur had achieved something that even experienced Awakened had not been able to accomplish.
He remembered the moment his parents challenged their Second Nightmare with a government cohort. In that cohort were also Jet and four other Awakened. And even with all that experience…
Only the three of them returned.
From a cohort of seven Awakened, only three returned… and now he had overcome a challenge of equal magnitude as a Sleeper.
But that wasn't what brought him the most joy. It was the fact that he would soon be able to see his family.
Arthur calculated that over a year and a few months had passed since the Siege happened—inside the Nightmare, he had spent nearly four months. Adding that to the total time since his Winter Solstice gave him a total of two years since he had last seen his family.
He already wanted to hug Ellie. He already wanted to hear his father's jokes. He already wanted to eat his mother's cooking. He also wanted to hug Sylvie and congratulate her on becoming a Titan—though he had no idea how she had done it.
Arthur smiled at the thought of them.
He found himself in the space between dream and reality. The infinite black void was illuminated by a myriad of stars, with countless silver threads of light connecting them to form an infinite and beautiful pattern.
He was about to Ascend. He was about to become a Master!
[Sleeper! Your trial is over.]
The Spell was about to begin narrating his Nightmare.
Arthur had to suppress a shiver at the thought of everything he had endured during those four months. Besides, Regis was in his core absorbing Aether, since during the nightmare they were surrounded by True Darkness and he could do nothing.
However, the Spell did not continue speaking. It stopped.
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
The infinite black void was still there. The myriad of stars still shone in the distance, connected by countless silver threads of light. But… they were moving away.
Every star, every thread, and the infinite, beautiful pattern they formed was moving away from him. Or perhaps he was moving away from them. As this happened, the Spell remained silent.
Panic began to rise in his body. He didn't know this could happen, and he was already tired of strange things always occurring to him. By instinct, his armor began to form over his body, and Dawn's Ballad appeared in his hand.
Yet, in that absolute darkness, a new voice spoke to him. It was not the voice of the Spell, nor his own voice.
He recognized the voice.
"Arthur. I have been awaiting your ascension."
A shiver ran through his entire body.
'Th-that voice… it's Gre-Grey's voice.'
From one moment to the next, all the darkness was replaced by a brilliant light. It was so strong that Arthur had to close his eyes, and the moment he did, he felt his body moving against his will.
Though he soon realized that wasn't it. It wasn't his body moving—it was the very reality around him that was changing. Adapting.
Soon, the brilliant light subsided, allowing Arthur to open his eyes, and what he saw left him completely overwhelmed.
From a distant perspective, not belonging to the scene, Arthur saw an enormous dojo stretching out before him. On its walls hung many swords, shields, and various tools.
There were different sections divided throughout the dojo, but his golden eyes immediately went to the three figures sitting in a circle on a mat.
One of the figures was a woman with yellow eyes and long, disheveled hair the color of pale wheat. Another figure was a woman with black hair and eyes of the same color, but her skin was striking—it was a gray color.
And finally, completing the circle, there was a sixteen-year-old girl with grayish-brown hair and brown eyes.
Arthur felt a tear roll down his cheek as he watched Sylvie, Seishan, and Ellie laughing together in a circle.
Then, abruptly, the scene began to grow blurry.
"NOOO!" Arthur shouted, wanting to keep watching the scene.
The scene continued to blur until it disappeared, but immediately, another began to take shape.
This one was of an enormous conference room, and Arthur recognized it instantly. It was a government conference room. In the chairs surrounding the main table sat many figures, and he slowly began to recognize them.
At the head of the table sat Saint Cor, and around him, Arthur identified Randall, Jesse, Winter, Dale, and Davis. But those weren't all the people at the table.
Across from Saint Cor sat a woman with short, jet-black hair and ice-blue eyes. She was Jet.
Beside her sat a man with ashy brown hair and deep blue eyes with strong, fierce eyebrows. It was—Arthur felt another tear roll down his cheek—it was his father. Reynolds.
Holding his hand was a charming woman with distinctive reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. A smile found its way onto Arthur's face at the sight of his mother.
He still didn't know what was happening, but being able to see all his loved ones safe and sound made the weight he had carried on his shoulders for the past two years disappear. His heart began to beat calmly once more.
But he also knew. He knew that if he was seeing this, it was for a reason he was not going to like in the slightest.
The scene began to blur again, and Arthur tried to force his tear-filled eyes to keep watching until it was no longer present.
The bright light disappeared with it, and Arthur found himself once again surrounded by absolute darkness.
From that darkness, he heard someone approaching with calm steps.
He turned toward the direction of the footsteps and found himself face to face with none other than Grey.
He had short blond hair and yellow eyes. He was stocky and wore a pale tunic with long white pants that reached just below his calves, paired with brown sandals. Above his head floated a crown, hovering a few centimeters above it, as if it dared not touch his skin.
Grey smiled at him as he looked.
"I hope seeing your family while being so far from them didn't bother you. I didn't mean to be insensitive."
Arthur returned the smile. "It's okay. I missed them… that… that was in real time?"
Grey nodded.
"Yes. It's a relic that allows you to observe people at a distance with whom you have a connection." Then he added, "When we're done here, you'll have it. Don't worry."
"Thank you," Arthur said, then asked, "When we're done here? What is the purpose of this?"
Grey turned around and began walking into the darkness. "I already told you—I have been waiting for you to Ascend."
"Let me guess," Arthur began walking behind him, "You're going to train me."
Grey stopped and looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Actually… you're going to train yourself."
The moment those words left his mouth, the darkness disappeared completely, and purple structures began to form all around him.
First, an enormous castle took shape. Its pillars formed at a brutal speed. Details like windows, doors, and numerous balconies began to appear from absolute nothingness.
Then, Arthur felt the castle begin to move, and from one moment to the next, he found himself standing on a street in front of it.
His mind tried to comprehend how all this was happening, but it failed each time.
In truth, he knew that everything being constructed was formed from Aether, but it was the brutal efficiency and the sheer quantity of perfect things that he failed to comprehend.
It was also expected. Even though he had overcome the Second Nightmare, his body and mind had not yet Ascended, and ultimately, all of this was the work of a Sacred-rank being.
Grey hadn't used even 1% of his power or concentration for any of this, yet Arthur was already fascinated by it.
When everything finished forming, what surrounded Arthur could only be described as an entire kingdom. There were houses of different types and architectures, enormous buildings, and even shops of similar sizes.
Arthur realized that everything was quite similar to the Waking World. But at the same time, it wasn't. Then, a possibility took shape in his mind, and he voiced it:
"This was your kingdom?"
Grey turned to look at him fully and nodded with a melancholic smile.
"Yes. This is what my kingdom looked like before it was destroyed." Then he raised his hand and pointed at the castle. "I lived there. Alone."
Arthur felt an uncomfortable sensation in his body at the word "alone."
"Why alone?" he continued. "Didn't you have family, a partner, or friends?"
Grey turned away without answering and began walking through the streets.
'I messed up, didn't I?'
Arthur broke into a light jog and began walking beside him.
Eventually, Grey answered once they stood in front of a new building.
"Before I became the King of this kingdom, I lived here."
"What was this place?"
"An orphanage," Grey replied in a neutral voice.
Arthur swallowed and focused on Grey's figure. Obviously, when he mentioned that, he made no movement, and his voice came out completely neutral. But Arthur was certain that behind that Sacred-rank mind and his diminished humanity, an orphaned child could still be found.
"What—" He stopped, then looked back at the orphanage. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened to your family?"
"I never knew my parents," he replied quickly. "The only thing resembling a family I ever had was the director of this orphanage."
The moment those words left Grey's mouth, Arthur felt all the structures begin to vibrate aggressively. Then, at the same moment, they stopped, and everything continued as normal.
"A spy from the Empire killed her," Grey said through clenched teeth.
Arthur felt a shiver run through his body the moment he said that, and his mind immediately wanted to wander to all the things he would have done in Grey's position, but Grey stopped him.
"Stop. That's not something that's going to happen to you." Then he turned around and continued walking through the streets.
Arthur watched him leave and decided to follow, burying those thoughts deep in his mind.
For the rest of the walk, Arthur continued asking Grey questions about the kingdom—what the inhabitants were like, their culture, and many similar things. The latter always replied with the same expression and efficiency that characterized him.
Minutes or hours after walking through the streets, they finally arrived at what could be considered a dojo in the present day, though it had more of a plaza-like shape, as it had no roof.
The moment they arrived, Grey asked him to lie down on the ground. Arthur didn't quite understand the strange request, but he eventually complied.
The moment he did, he began to feel a change in his own body.
He felt as though something was waking up inside him. His five Aether cores ignited with intense heat, and the power contained within surged. The heat spread through his soul and his body, rejuvenating and transforming them.
The sensation was familiar and euphoric. He felt his body being reforged into a stronger, better, more perfect version of itself. His soul was going through the same sublime transformation.
With the process begun, Arthur immediately realized what was happening.
He was Ascending. He was becoming a Master.
His body and soul—both rendered incandescent and malleable by the furious heat flowing through them—began to merge.
They were slowly becoming one.
But they weren't simply merging into a single being… rather, the two parts of his being resonated with each other, mutually reinforcing themselves. The power of that resonance grew greater and greater, until it exploded upon reaching his five cores.
Under the influence of the resonance, the threshold collapsed, pushing him even further along the path of evolution. And as his body and soul became one…
A profound change occurred.
Arthur felt, with absolute clarity, the Aether essence coursing through every fiber of his being. It was a feeling similar to when he circulated the Aether he absorbed from the environment, but at the same time, it was much more powerful.
In going from Sleeper to Master, he had never learned to circulate his essence—something Sunny, with Serpent's help, had managed to do. But Arthur had no tool to help him achieve it, so this change was now completely monstrous.
Slowly, the heat suffusing his newly reforged being subsided and turned into a pleasant coldness. The coldness disappeared, absorbed into his spirit, his flesh, and his bones.
Arthur, lying on the ground, felt…
Powerful.
He felt as if an uncontrollable fury was boiling beneath his skin. He also felt calm and secure. Balanced. Then, the Spell spoke in his ear.
[Awakening Aspect Ability.]
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Aether Manipulation.]
[Awakening Aspect Ability.]
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: King's Presence.]
[Your Ascension is complete.]
When it finished, the Spell tried to continue.
[...Wake u—-------]
'What?'
Before he could worry about what was happening and voice his concerns, Grey said:
"Don't worry. You're not going to wake up now. I just needed you to Ascend for the training."
"How did you do that?" Arthur asked curiously.
Grey didn't move or change expression, replying in his neutral voice.
"The last thing Eurys said is the truth. That's all I can tell you."
The last thing Eurys said? Four months had passed since that moment, so it took Arthur a while to remember what the member of the Nine had told him. But when he did, his eyes widened.
'Weaver… he made a deal with Weaver. But who was Weaver?'
He could try to deduce that Weaver was one of the Daemons, but there was almost no information about them, so he knew nothing about him. But Grey said that was all he could tell him—not that he wanted to tell him.
Therefore, he surely wasn't strong enough to know.
Fortunately, he found himself in a place similar to a dojo, with a Sacred-rank being standing before him with the intention of helping him train himself—whatever that meant.
"Open your runes," Grey ordered.
One of his new Aspect Abilities was:
Aspect Ability: [Aether Manipulation]
Ability Description: [You can manipulate ambient aether.]
Arthur smiled as he read the description. Finally, he would be able to manipulate the Aether in the environment. The possibilities were now infinite—he could already imagine creating swords, shields, and many things with Aether.
Though he also knew that would be limiting himself, and that the potential was much greater. The very kingdom he was standing in was proof of that.
Then, his Ascended Ability read:
Aspect Ability: [King's Presence]
Ability Description: [You possess the presence of a true ruler.]
He didn't understand this ability. What did it mean to possess the presence of a true ruler? Moreover, it seemed to be an ability more related to Grey than to him.
Arthur didn't want to be a King.
He just wanted to be Arthur and keep his loved ones safe and sound.
That was why, before the Siege began, he had made it clear that he didn't want the survivors to follow him and base their lives on idolizing him. That was why he had suggested they follow Nephis instead.
But he was certain that some had done so anyway—mainly the thick-headed guards.
Arthur let out a sigh and focused on Grey, who was still standing a few meters away.
He was dying of curiosity to ask him more about his past—about everything he had endured to achieve everything he had, and about how he knew what Eurys had said.
The journey from being an orphan to becoming a lesser deity was not one that many could walk. That was why he deeply respected Grey—even though he had often insulted him internally.
Apparently, Grey also had mental powers or something, because the moment he thought that, Grey stared at him intently and narrowed his eyes.
"Are you done?"
"Yes, I am," Arthur replied as he sat up.
"Good. Now focus on your fragments and wait a few minutes," he ordered, as a purple chair appeared and he sat down in it.
Arthur obeyed and opened his runes again.
Aether Fragments: [16/5000]
He didn't kill any creatures in his nightmare, and yet he had 16 fragments… He remained like that, staring at his fragments for a few minutes, and when boredom began to take hold of his mind, the counter changed.
Aether Fragments: [17/5000]
It was something he had already suspected might happen, but even so, the fact that he could now obtain fragments without needing to kill something was incredible.
He smiled at this, but Grey gave him another order.
"Now that you are an Ascended… put on the Blood Armor."
So Arthur did. First, he stood up and unsummoned [Umbral Husk], then summoned the [Blood Armor].
Immediately, the armor began to form over his body.
From his feet upward, a dark violet substance slowly covered his skin before hardening into solid plates. The material had a smooth, dark finish, similar to obsidian, and at the edges of each plate were thin lines of pale, almost pinkish purple light that seemed to move slowly beneath the surface.
The plates climbed up his legs, forming lightweight, elegant armor. Every part seemed designed to move without restricting the body. Over the dark violet, golden runes began to spread, covering the sides of his legs and continuing upward.
When the armor reached his torso, the runes multiplied. Golden lines traced across his abdomen, back, and arms, forming complex patterns similar to the runes Arthur sees in his Soul Sea.
At the center of the chest plate appeared the symbol of a golden spear pointing upward. Above it, right at heart level, formed the figure of a human heart held by golden lines that seemed intent on crushing it.
Finally, the gauntlets closed over his hands as the last golden runes traced down his arms to his fingertips.
Arthur remained completely still as purple energy slowly coursed through the entire armor. He was utterly astonished—not only by the design, but by the sensation of power it emanated.
He began to examine the runes covering the armor, and indeed—they were the same ones that existed as cloud formations in his Soul Sea. This meant the armor had the property of replicating the Attributes he possessed and applying them to itself.
Arthur trembled at the thought of the armor imbued with the Destruction Attribute. Then he imagined how the armor would act if he used the Static Void Attribute… would it stop an attack in its tracks without him needing to do it himself?
But there was another thing that caught his attention. The runes that formed the armor attracted Aether in the same way he had observed when he found the cube in the Relictombs…
Arthur opened his runes again, but ended up disappointed.
Aether Fragments: [17/5000]
He had thought the armor would increase his fragment counter, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Even so, Grey seemed to notice his expression and said:
"The armor attracts Aether, but at the same time, it uses it to sustain itself. So as long as you're only an Ascended, you won't increase your fragment counter."
'That makes sense… wait, that's the theory I had when I got it.'
"Should I bind it, then?" he asked hesitantly.
Grey simply shrugged.
"Do you have a better armor? One with better compatibility for you?" Arthur shook his head. "Then yes, you should bind it. You wouldn't be changing anything from your Sleeper state."
'When you put it that way…'
He opened the armor's runes.
Name: [Blood Armor]
Memory Rank: Sacred (Awaiting its rightful owner)
Memory Type: Armor
Description: ["This is a gift from me to myself. Advice: Do not use or bind it until you become a Master. Knowing myself, I'm sure you wanted to understand what the runes said, so I hope this answers at least some of your questions: 'Spill the blood of one who has harmed the blood of our blood.'"]
And below, it read:
[Bind the relic?]
He still felt uncomfortable reading the phrase "Spill the blood of one who has harmed the blood of our blood." Additionally, there was the fact that the armor had seemingly formed according to his Djinn lineage and that of War God.
That explained the golden runes—the color of the plates was similar to Aether—and finally, the spear and the heart at chest height.
The first two were related to his Djinn lineage, while the spear represented War God's dominion over war, technology, and craftsmanship. Meanwhile, the heart represented her connection to life and humanity.
He decided to bury that deep in his mind and focus on binding the armor.
Something that surprised him was that it asked for no requirements—or perhaps he had already fulfilled them.
Arthur had dismissed the armor just in case, and was now wearing a soft T-shirt.
[Bind the relic?]
"Yes."
For a few seconds, nothing happened. And then, the voice of the Spell spoke:
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
Arthur's eyes widened.
'What?!'
But then, the voice of the Spell resonated again.
[You have received an Attribute.]
At the same time, Arthur felt a… a deep, yet inexplicable change. The change seemed to affect both his body and his soul. It wasn't painful or harmful… simply very, very strange.
It was as if his skin had undergone some change, yet remained exactly the same.
Arthur remained motionless for a while, trying to understand what had happened to him. Then he looked at Grey, who simply shrugged. So, he directed his attention to the shimmering runes.
In the list of his Memories, there was no Blood Armor anymore. However… he now possessed a new Attribute.
Attribute: [Djinn of War]
Attribute Description: [In the pursuit of vengeance, a Spirit sought to transcend time and death to aid himself. His long-forgotten race was annihilated, and in his quest to destroy those who had genocided his people, he sought the help of unexpected allies. Among them, the proud Djinn created a masterpiece. But to be worthy of using it, one must demonstrate having the necessary lineage to withstand its potential.]
Even as an Attribute, Arthur could feel the power of the armor—how it was constantly attracting Aether, and the possibility of imbuing it with one of his Aether-related Attributes.
He instinctively called upon the Attribute, and the armor reformed over his body.
Arthur smiled, but Grey's next words wiped all happiness from his face.
"Summon your sword. We're going to have spars until you get used to your new abilities."
He liked having spars, but not against someone who was Sacred-rank! He was going to get his ass kicked! And the smile Grey wore on his face sent a shiver down his spine!
"Hey, hey, remember, I just Ascended!"
Grey didn't reply, and from one moment to the next, his fist struck directly into Arthur's chest, sending him flying across the entire plaza until he crashed into a building—completely destroying it.
Arthur lay among the rubble.
Eventually, he thought:
'Oh shit… this is going to hurt.'
[End of volume three: Scars of Ascension.]