Asteria found herself amongst the tapestry of stars and illuminated golden strings that looked like they connected to everyone and everywhere in the world.
She didn't know what this web of stars was; though she assumed it was the inner workings of the spell or even something greater.
'I'm too small to worry about the truths of the divine, at least., maybe I'll find out one day what this view is.'
Though, she was stronger than she was before – well, about to be.
She was a Master!
A real and upcoming ascended warrior of humanity – soon.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
The voice continued to boom through the endless void of stars.
[A pitiful slave laboured within a kingdom of transparent glass. She was bound by the tolling of the bell, the sting of the lash, and the volatility of the earth; yet, she escaped her cage by the grace of a master who sought a tool for his own ends.
Leaving the dust of the mines behind, the slave ascended the spire and entered a palace of illusions to meet her maker – a Queen who was everything the slave was told she was destined to become.
The slave walked among the monuments of the kingdom's agony and gained the trust of the sovereign through her own unsightly corruption. In the silence of the Queen's splendor, she looked into the heart of the sun and saw only a lie.
The slave and her cunning master reached into the chest of a goddess and became a thief. She plundered the sovereign's spark and the crown she deserved, offering the Queen a mask of eternal dreams in exchange for her soul.
The Queen was slain by the slave and architect both, the kingdom was reborn in the image of its own collapse.
The slave broke free of her slaver and therefore broke the chains of fate that bound her.]
[You have slain, Supreme Human, Fallen Sun]
She heard – well, read – that after nightmares most people end up slaughtering countless creatures and humans alike and each one is listed if they succeed in this lightless abyss.
She... never killed much in her first or second nightmare unlike most.
After a moment, the Spell was ready to cast its verdict.
[...You have caused the birth of a new Supreme.]
[Your achievements are extraordinary!]
[Final Appraisal: Glorious.]
With that, it grew silent.
"Glorious? Damn right. I wouldn't expect anything less!" She was ecstatic, months of work and tiring days all for this achievement – pride. Pride filled her body.
She had fought, dealt with lunatics, stolen the essence of a kingdom and slew a tyrant that was almost a divine being.
She earned this.
Nobody knew how a nightmare's appraisal was calculated, some speculated it was to do with one's achievements and others were to do with if they followed the original timeline. Asteria, like many others, would never know.
Likewise she didn't know why she achieved Glorious in her first nightmare – she didn't do much other than punch a mountain while her ears were practically bleeding or if it was because she met two dead gods!
'Fate...'
A thought crossed her mind – a stupid one really.
'To change fate...' She sighed, disappointed at her own lunacy at the idea. 'Challenging mortals to change fate... how ridiculous.'
But she couldn't help but lead this thought even further down the spiral.
Maybe the spell wasn't about achievements or merit but about how far they strayed from the original outcome, how well they resisted against the inevitability of the fate that bound everyone.
Just like she did. She knew the Queen succeeded and became a god – left to rule over a grave of crumbling glass, yet she slew this Queen and put someone else in her place.
She changed Fate.
The spell wanted them... mortals like herself – to break fate? To change it?
'It's getting worse the more I think about it, damnation.'
But then came another question, what is the point of changing fate within nightmares if it never affects the real world? Whatever changes happened would disappear as soon as the challengers succeeded or failed.
As far as she knew, nothing in the first, second or even third nightmares conquered by humanity changed the dream realm or waking world; instead the only people that returned were...
The awakened.
'No... that isn't possible right?'
She felt like she was grasping at the core of the spell but before she could delve into it one more the spell's voice spoke again, exploding through the space, enveloping her from every angle.
[The Second and Third seals are broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers]
Asteria was about to ascend.
Just like before, she felt as though something was waking up inside her. The two violet, corrupted cores within her soul ignited with a scorching heat, the power within them surging. The heat spread through her soul and her body.
The feeling was somewhat familiar. She felt her body being reforged into a stronger, better, more perfect version of itself. Her soul was going through the same incredible transformation.
This process was already familiar to Asteria, since more or less the same thing had happened to her once before.
Though, this time was very different from the time she came back from her first nightmare.
Instead of stopping after reaching the threshold of qualitative change and immense fortification, the transformation continued. Her body and soul, both turned malleable by the furious heat flowing through them, started to melt into each other.
They were slowly merging.
But they were not simply joining into a single whole… instead, the two parts of her being combined with each other, reinforcing one another. The power of that combination grew stronger and stronger, and then exploded once it reached her two cores.
Under the influence of this surge of power, the threshold was demolished, pushing her even further on the path of evolution. And as her body and soul became one…
A profound change took place.
Suddenly, Asteria felt the essence coursing through every fiber of her being with stark clarity. The difference was so staggering that she almost yelped.
Additionally, since her body and soul were now deeply interconnected, the effect of one on another also went through a fundamental change.
This was the true boon of the Ascension.
And there was something else… a deep and vast shift in her very being that she could feel, but not understand or express with words yet. All Asteria knew was that it had to do with her relation to the waking world, the dream realm, and her connection to both.
Slowly, the heat that devoured her newly reforged self subsided and turned into a pleasant coldness. The coldness then disappeared, absorbed into her spirit, her flesh, and her bones.
Asteria looked at the black void with new eyes.
She felt…
Powerful.
She felt as though there was furious might boiling under her skin. She also felt calm and confident. A comfortable balance.
As she listened to his body, the Spell spoke from the darkness:
[Awakening Aspect Abilities.]
[Aspect Abilities have been acquired.]
Asteria held her breath.
[...Aspect Ability Name: Gift of Nightmare.]
[...Aspect Ability Names: Unbound by Dream.]
Her eyes widened.
'Two? Oh... right. I skipped a step... '
Though, to her surprise the spell didn't stop speaking.
[Your Attribute has evolved.]
[Your Aspect Ability has evolved.]
The spell paused for a moment, and then continued in a somber tone.
[Your ascension is compl-]
"Huh?" She was dumbfounded. Did it just stop ascending her?
'The hell did I do now?!'
[You have received a memory: Crown of Golden Glass.]
[You have received a memory: Sentinel's Heart.]
[You have received a memory: Unseen Mantle.]
"What?"
She thought back to the vault, the items she stole. A crown, a sword and a cloak; amongst other things.
[Your ascension is complete.]
"Thanks... I guess?"