The further one goes on the path of ascension, the less mundane needs one has. That regularity transcribes into each step. Dreamers can endure without sleep more than most normal humans. Awakened can spend many days awake without falling asleep. Ascended goes even further, while Saints have to sleep only from time to time. No one could guess what about the Supreme, but legends about their 'self-sufficiency' were circulating everywhere.
"Therefore it comes a question: Why the heck did I spend over twenty hours sleeping?"
Sunny exclaimed aloud, laying in his bed. There was night. He spent sleeping more than he expected. What's worse, it was an inappropriate hour to do anything outside of sleeping.
Then he reminded himself he's not in a social situation so etiquette of dreams that Winter Flower was talking about, didn't really apply. And he's living alone so he can do whatever he wants!
Sunny went to the kitchen, made himself a meal, waffles with maple syrup, and a cup of coffee spiked with milk.
He pondered on the number of things that stacked up during those two weeks. He had to complete many commissions that accumulated. There's a bunch of soldiers he has to guide through the awakening, by which he means anchoring them to the Government's citadels. Somewhere in-between there are news from Cassie that Neph has returned to the Tower of Longing, and is recovering from terrible abuse of her powers. He has to see her even if that means seeing Neph in her worst.
He had a feeling he will start abusing his avatars again. Sunny looked at his brigandine. The elegant Memory served him great in these few months, allowing him to bear great mental load, and improving his performance by many bounds, taking several tasks, and greatly contributed to the progress.
Currently he can see that his little act of copycat was a bit wasteful, and it was possible to turn seven identical [Blessing of Spirit] into one big enchantment, more powerful than seven separate. The brigandine had to be rewoven, perhaps even made from scratch again.
The Brilliant Emporium was closed, but that's not a reason why wouldn't he go inside, and start taking care of upgrades. Now that he obtained the deep understanding of what Memories are, upgrades didn't stand that much of a problem as earlier. Actually even before they didn't, because Sunny would limit his upgrades to either empowering the Memory with greater essence, or adding some of the enchantments he already knows.
He retrieved all the Memories that were meant for upgrades, summoned Mimic in the same basement he used before, and settled inside very quickly by summoning some tables inside, and placing Quintessence Pearl inside. Many things inside had to be rearranged, but Sunny could easily start by making only one room for himself, and think about the rest on another day.
He started weaving almost immediately taking a few hours to go through the first garment, then came to changing another. At the other corner there was Haughty working on his own deal of Memories. There was only one Soul Serpent so in the end Sunny still had to spend his own essence on weaving, but in terms of sustaining the avatar he was good. He was making more essence than spending to maintain it. The insides of the Mimic were dark so Sunny could frequently obtain more spirit essence. Besides nothing prevented him from calling upon Saint, and Fiend to lend him some as well, from their own capacity for essence, except that would stop them from hunting, which they haven't done for the last two weeks.
While he could go all out with weaving, that couldn't lead to completing all commissions. Actually he finished eight, which was already a good amount. He even dared to summon Naughty to complete two more enchantments.
By the time Aiko arrived she was surprised to see him.
"Boss, you worked at night."
"Saint stuff. There's no explanation. Even though we have to sleep only once in a while, I do that more often."
There was no way to make up for his negligence just in one night so two avatars remained there, when he make an appearance at the outskirts, where the Purple-Eyed Boulder was shining in the noon sun.
Somewhere near there was the tree that served as a grave of his parents. His mom, and dad weren't buried here. Probably they couldn't have a burial at all, corpses were either thrown somewhere or cremated into ashes, which as a non-citizen he couldn't even retrieve them., but at that time he needed something as a reminder of their existence.
Even now in a way he needs it. The events of that time laid the foundation for his very existence. If his parents didn't die, if he didn't get separated from his sister, if didn't have to live, and watch how the world around him crumbled into something good as nothing, would he become a carrier of the Spell or chose to oppose it?
Regardless of which meaning of that tree was the most important, he wanted to take care of it while it was still possible. He wasn't a gardener, but he decided to at least change the soil into something more nourishing, and not-contaminated.
At first he even considered replacing the air with the one provided by his Essence Pearls, but unfortunately that air lacked carbon dioxide. Prolonged use would threaten plant-life to die. It was probably possible to fix it, but he still didn't know how. Even then the condition of the tree seems to be improving.
'I'll definitely return to this.'
Apprentices were already inside, working on their diamond tapestries. Nothing complicated beyond the possibility. He added three enchantments: [Very Sharp] from a razor Memory, [Tough] which was a simplified version of [Enduring] enchantment that increased durability of things, and [Quiet] that allowed to limit sounds caused by movement, and was a cheap knock-off form of [SIlenced] from Bone Singer.
There were also signs of exhaustion. Spending many weeks on something mind boggling left their minds strained, somewhat dulled due to lack of rest. There was also Marut. He promised him something.
"Apprentice Marut, I will take some of your time. Come with me."
"Something happened? Is there a defect?"
"Not here. You'll understand soon."
They went to the Kim's side, which was far enough so curious ears of other disciples wouldn't hear it. To be more sure he summoned something that produced a dome suppressing the sounds from getting outside.
When the sounds around them became muffled, Marut's eyes sparkled in wonder.
"I think you used that once in the park."
"We're going to get to that one in the future. You know that for the last two weeks I was terribly absent, and you, young man, completed your task of making more water bottles. It would be inconsiderate of me if I forgot about my promise. It's very important to keep promises. Otherwise how will people believe me when I deceive them? "
Marut furrowed his brows in consternation.
Sunny revealed a conch shell, large as a human fist, aquamarine in color.
"Nice shell, Master. What does it do?"
"That shell is for you. Keep it near, and it will, the thing I promised, make the air around you fresh. It's not a pearl, but I didn't want to make it look the same as the stuff we have here."
"You said it's going to be something special. The look is special, no denying, but honestly it's not what I expected. Thanks anyway."
"Cause that's not the end of it. The special thing is I enchanted the shell so the air it produces will improve your mental recovery, and lower your need to sleep. I myself use similar things."
At first he considered it as recovery aid for Rain, but looking around it he could figure out that aiding his apprentices in a daunting task of forming weaves is important as well. Therefore he decided to make it subtle, and add [Blessing of Spirit] to [Gift of Respite] the specific enchantment from Essence Pearl (I made the name on the enchantment on the spot).
Yes, Marut would have the shell, but people around him would benefit from it as well with Marut benefiting just slightly more.
That's why he had to say that to Marut in private.
"And you wanted to not risk revealing that part to my colleagues."
"It would cause too much interest. I thought you wouldn't want it."
"Why?"
"Because I wouldn't want it in your place."
Sunny excused himself and exchanged some words with Kim, which succeeded in crafting her first Memories as well, and was only a little behind Marut in terms of recreating weaves 'designed' by Master Sunless. Kim's aspect has shown some interesting growth. Thanks to being shown weaves she was able to put effort into figuring out its weaknesses, and in that regard she even held some advantages over Sunny, not that she didn't pale in comparison.
Others… Well, many have shown some ability to copy the patterns, but from the look of it he could already tell that they had a terrible time copying. Not that he could blame them. The patterns were three-dimensional, infinitely complicated, barely visible, and applying them put one at risk of cutting your own fingers, with utter lack of understanding why or even how it works. Created by a god, and supposed to be used by a god. How were mere mortals supposed to do the simplest thing?
Each day pushed on their capacity to grasp the thing they were supposed to do, and not all perform well while under the strain.
But they do something, and while most humans don't have talent to do things on their own, there were forty of them. Humans are social animals. Naturally they're not supposed to solve everything on their own so many decided they're not going to do it. But in an organized group, and free flow of knowledge, they could exchange their insights, or even work on making a Memory together.
And that's how things came to be lately. Some apprentices started to work together, making one Memory as a group, sharing knowledge, dividing tasks. Sunny didn't enjoy it, because it caused some issues, and would inevitably lead to situations when submitting a Memory doesn't imply the apprentice mastered it. Anyway he let it slide. …or rather decided to reward them by lowering the burden of taking part in the mandatory soul shards extractions. To be free of it one would still have to prepare to weave independently.
Sunny reflected on the impression these people lacked in aptitude. That's probably why Aiko insisted so much on taking more people. The process of selection was poor, and therefore the aptitude of apprentices was also not that much. To find someone better they should conduct another recrutation.
Following checking on apprentices, time came for clou du spectacle.
Two rooms away there were veterans subjected to heavy training. And while with women Luster seemed weak, and vulnerable, Luster still was under the impression of Antarctica Campaign. The sheer disparity between him, and the horrors he survived urged him to drive the soldiers half-dead to ensure they wouldn't be in such a bad position anymore.
It was pretty much according to his tasks. While soldiers that are the most vulnerable to the power of Nightmare Creatures simply due to lack of anything that could rival their profanity, it was also the reason why their will is often the sharpest.
Several weeks of heavy training in addition to the process of grasping the soul essence sharpened them even further. Reasonably fit men were… shredded, possessed more muscle mass, their skin was harder, movements more nimble. In short, it was a sight of physical gains, and proficiency.
Everyone was also more sweaty. The problems with ventilation, and hygiene had to be managed diligently.
Why care so much about physical training? The inspiration came from Effie's case. Before the awakening she was pretty much paralysed, and after the awakening it didn't change too much. She had to be aided by being pushed in a wheelchair. Yet, by some miracle, a nonsense fitting very well the Nightmare Spell, she has managed to be both Awakened, and crippled.
It was theorized that awakening improves the body based on its state. Then what if the state of the one in the process of awakening was of good physique? In that case the results of the awakening should be better, right?
"Good morning, Master Sunless!"
Luster greeted him, and then a uniform choir welcome of the soldiers followed.
"I think I'm going to make it short. I was absent. There was something I wanted to do more rather than taking care of your Awakening. Because of that you were prevented from fully forming your Soul Cores. I finished making arrangements that will come handy later. We're allowed to use the Government's citadels to try to anchor you, assuming it's possible, and since I'm here to take you there, I would like to announce, we're going to do that today!"
The mood of the soldiers lightened. Cheers could be heard. It was the first time Sunny had ever seen that people are positively spirited by knowing their going to awaken. Usually… usually awakening comes as the only way to survive the predicament, and the idea of awakening is taken rather as a relief, relief coming soon after experiencing horrors, and struggles of Dream Realm.
Probably people before the Spell were happy to sit, and form their cores in peace, and then experience the power-up. Though, their own struggles to get control over their essence could be annoying as well.
He couldn't deny he had his own doubts about this. There's a reason why the Spell chose to put people in such terrible situations. It seems like only this kind of situation can sharpen the will so it can become an actual weapon, and now as a Saint Sunny can see that the will amounts to something, like on the physical plane of existence.
The world responds to his will. Shadows that normally could be indifferent can move as he wants. And the more potent his will is the greater control over the shadows, which is also the reason for why it grows over time, despite being still within the same Rank, and Class.
It's really so simple, and yet it's not simple at all.
Soldiers obediently sat in rows, taking lotus positions, which itself was testament to the ridiculousness of Luster's training regime. That guy wasn't right in mind, and the soldiers could end up being corrupted by his ideas.
Sunny switched to his Weaver's vision, and started observing the boring process. As he could see all the soldiers already had many essence crystals formed signifying they were on the verge of forming their Soul Cores. It is impossible to guess how close they were, but they were indeed very close.
So they began using their willpower, subjecting themselves to a not very familiar kind of strain, circulating their essence through their bloodstream. During several weeks their control has grown tremendously, but it's like the process of rehabilitation. The muscles in use are so weak it takes time to redevelop it. For some time the process of improvement can go even well, but when it's finished, the patient is not necessarily really dexterous, and still requires further improvement.
And that's also how their cultivation looked from his perspective. Their control over the essence was sloppy, and strained. It took a lot for them just to force their essence to move. Yet the soldiers were tempered, and forced their way through,, but over time gaining speed comparable to rolling a round boulder.
The rush of soul essence was getting faster, making the stream of essence resonate in shakes of bells inside.
It wasn't the same for everyone. Some have shown the signs of something else happening in their souls. Some were faster. Some were slower. But everyone was forming crystal grains of soul essence. Sunny could tell it's successful, but was clear he doesn't really understand what kind of factors play a role here. He could only consider it has to do something with the soul. Soul, even if you can see it, it's not something you can really comprehend. Sunny had seen many souls already.
Some were silent, some were dark, some were sharp. He recalls seeing souls that are massive, and souls that are small. He even saw a soul that was half dead. What he could tell about the humans is he saw souls that were already influenced by an aspect. As he already knew Soul Core was made of the soul, at least something contained by the soul, and soul essence served as a mean to form the Soul Core. Soul essence seemed to really be what Spell called it. It's the essence of the soul, the thing that makes a soul to be a soul. Soul reproduces its essence, and therefore maintains its existence. Normally by awakening one should be able to produce more essence.
Or so he thought, but that would still lead to strange paradoxes. For example, if soul essence is exhausted, shouldn't that lead the soul to stop to exist? Of course that could be easily explained. Exhausting a Soul Core doesn't necessarily mean that there's no more soul essence in the soul. Soul essence also isn't a soul similarly to how the essence of combat isn't combat, and how essence of soup isn't a soup. To put it kindly, you still need the rest of it.
Sunny's mind drifted to the times when he was escorting people to Falcon Scott. Some people got infected by the Spell, and were forced to face their Nightmares. While many couldn't conquer them, some succeeded. But for some it turned out that even succeeding couldn't guarantee they will live longer. Some old people conquered their Nightmares, but due to being already weak from aging, their souls couldn't support the process of entering the Path of Ascension, and collapsed by the end of the Nightmare.
It was an instance when the Spell seemed to be totally cruel, and unfair. For some even putting best efforts, and passing the trials meant death. He couldn't help, but wonder if some of the veterans would die here.
The reality seemed to not care about his worries. Soon some soldiers have broken through the room, making the crystals in their souls reach the critical mass. The rest was a chain reaction. With enough crystals coagulated the cores started to form on their own. That in turn caused their soul essence to rush inside, and flood it with all might, and reproduce itself at greater pace. The control of the essence that before was crude, and forceful, suddenly appeared to be fluid, signifying that the soul was completed, the bridge between the soul, and its essence was fully established.
And that was due to Weaver's vision. On the surface Sunny could see something he experienced himself after Nightmares. The bodies of the soldiers turned smoother, their eyes clearer, and more lively. Their hair, and skin assumed new complexions, while at the same time they remained themselves, just more… pure, and perfect. It was hard to describe. It wasn't getting rid of impurities. Everything that was there remained there. And yet old scars, and injuries disappeared, the muscles appeared stronger.
Sunny was looking in daze. Just by looking at this he obtained some insights he lacked to this point. Many things he didn't understand before were now apparent.
'A god has to be a god of something…'
He contemplated Nephis' words trying to think the modi of the Path of Ascension. It was very early to think about it, but in general the only thing he can do is to infer the requirements to become a Supreme. And now that he's seeing the process of awakening, one idea occurred to him so strongly that he hardly can even go against it.
'When all requirements will be met, the supremacy probably will follow naturally. There will be no fighting against a barrier to become a Supreme. There will be either all necessary requirements in place or not.'