'My Soul Sea?'
From his previous knowledge, Lunar recognized this as his Sea of Soul. Strangely, it looked nothing like what he had heard. It was supposed to be warm, lively, and most importantly, burning with a bright light.
The burning sun within everybody's Soul Sea represented their Soul Core. However, Lunar's wasn't bright, it was see-through. His Soul wasn't dark, either, it was illusory. Originally, he thought it was transparent since both the sun and the world were black. But once a rainbow sky opened up, the sun was bombarded by a myriad of different hues.
He also wondered if it was a glass sphere, reflecting the Soul Sea's colorful scenery, but that wasn't possible. It wasn't reflecting light, it was warping it — like a black hole, but less extreme.
Even the sea beneath his feet felt fake, like an illusion that didn't physically exist.
The moment he thought about the word 'Illusion', it all made sense. First, his Aspect was called: [Bound Illusionist], meaning he worked with illusions. Secondly, he was a Divine Illusion, which meant that he was an illusion in and of himself.
This odd-looking Soul Sea must have been reflecting who he was.
'Weird.'
He took one final glance at the illusory sun before shifting his focus onto the sea. There were subtle waves, each phasing through his legs without collision. However, once he tensed his legs for impact, he felt a harsh force that knocked him off balance.
Splash!
Lunar collapsed, falling back into the water, yet his skin was not damp.
'Huh?'
He stood up, analyzing his body, but nothing was wet. There were no droplets of water running down his skin, nor were there any dripping from his hair.
Then he understood, he was the illusion, not the sea. It ignored him as if he didn't exist. Then, after tensing his muscles, he must have become real.
Curious, Lunar experimented, tensing his hand and displacing the same water that ignored his legs.
'Interesting.'
After a few minutes of exploration, the Spell's voice pulled him out of his Soul Sea.
[Awakening Aspect Ability...]
'Ah? Oh. Here it is...' Lunar thought, taking a deep breath.
Divine Aspect or not, his immediate future depended on his first Aspect Ability. That was, at least, until he anchored himself within Dream Realm.
If he got a combat ability, he'd be fighting Nightmare Creatures face to face. If it was tied to utility, he'd become a ranged fighter or a passive support. Despite how useful it was, Lunar did not wish such a fate upon himself. He wanted to fight, to control his survival with his own strength, so he wouldn't accept some utility or sorcery-based ability unless it was combat-oriented.
'Please.'
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Axis of Illusion.]
Lunar hurriedly summoned his runes, wanting to rush straight to his ability, but he then decided to glance at his overall information. The last time he looked at that was in the beginning of his First Nightmare, and there were definitely some changes since.
***
Name: Lunar.
True Name: Blessing of an Endless Night.
Rank: Dreamer.
Illusory Core: Dormant.
Illusions: [128/1000]
'Huh? What the hell?'
There were a few problems.
Where "Soul Core" was supposed to be written, there was "Illusory Core" instead. Lunar stared at it for a moment, blinking. He had never heard of someone having a different kind of core...
Second of all, rather than an indicator for the consumption of Soul Shards, there was a mysterious indicator for "Illusions" instead. All of this was likely tied to his Aspect, but the difference was still shocking.
Maybe those with Divine Aspects were special... or maybe not. He didn't know of any Divine Aspect holders to compare himself to.
'Illusory core... Illusions... Am I walking a different path than other Awakened?'
The concept was both exciting and frightening. If he was, then he wouldn't need to compete with other people for Soul Shards, making him entirely self-sufficient. On the other hand, Lunar had no idea how these "Illusions" were obtained. He had already gathered one hundred and twenty-eight of them, but he didn't know how.
Though, something was telling him that it was a fluke; After all, he did not kill any abominations during his First Nightmare.
'Ah, I'll figure it out eventually.'
Shaking his head, Lunar continued his examination.
Memories: —
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Enchantress], [Mark of Divinity], [Remnant of Illusions], [Blissful Eye].
'Ah.'
That's right.
He acquired a new Attribute at the end of his First Nightmare. Since he was dealing with intense pain at the time, he had ignored it, but he was now thinking clearly.
It was called: [Blissful Eye], which alone, didn't mean much. But in context, it sounded promising. According to the Spell, Bliss was known as both the "Demon of Bliss" and the "Puppeteer". Moreover, a blessing like the one she gave him could only be bestowed by godlike beings.
Receiving an Attribute from such a lady... it had to be good, right?
Well, there was only one way to find out, so without hesitation, Lunar read its description.
[Blissful Eye] Attribute Description: ["Ignorance is bliss, but why is it so painful? Why must I stand silently as the people forget? Why must I suffer because the world is ignorant? They made me more human, but now they ignore. I must not fade; I must not be forgotten. Please, whoever you are... Please watch me, witness me. Even if it's my end — no, especially if it's my end. You must see me."]
"!!!"
Suddenly, after he finished, the Attribute became encircled by a dazzling light, no less mystical than the Spell itself. The sharp light danced in front of him before consuming his vision, sending a massive jolt of pain through his skull.
"Agh!"
It was like thousands of Saints had just impaled his head with their blades, sparing him not even an ounce of their mercy.
Then, he felt a divine presence.
"Ah...!"
The pain of something divine was infinitely worse than the pain of a thousand saints, and it didn't get better when his eyes were scooped by its transparent hand.
"Watch me..." A voice uttered, whispering into his ears as he struggled to breathe.
"Witness me..." It repeated.
"Stop! Stop it!" Lunar screamed, but nobody heard.
"You must see me!"
"Stop!"
Then, ending his torture, he was granted new eyes. They were better, clearer, and could see something... specific that his old ones could not, but he couldn't put a finger on what.
He was now kneeling, alone, a stream of blood trickling down his pale face.
...
But even then, the Spell was not finished.
Before he had a chance to read over his new Aspect Ability, another set of runes appeared.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
[Your Flaw is: Bound Burden.]
Flaw Description: [You must endure anything you enforce.]
—
—
—
Author's Note:
- This was probably an action-packed chapter, so I apologize if it felt a little quick. For anybody who hadn't gotten the gist of it, nothing actually appeared before him, nor did anybody physically touch his eyes. Those were illusions.
- I mentioned this before, but should I make official illustrations for this fanfic? At the end of each volume, I could make a chapter specifically for them where I show you illustrations for important moments. Though, I'd only do that if this gets traction.
- Do you have any questions?
- Have you enjoyed so far?
- Please read the exclaimer!
- Word Count: [1248]