The nightmare spell had changed.
What used to be a neutral, dull, blank set of runes universal to all Awakened was now different.
The stationary and constant runes seemed alive. Swirling colours saturated the lines of runes. Twisting and flowing.a
It was not just the change in appearance but the change in feeling.
Aldric now felt something emanate from the runes. What it was, he did not know. He could not even be sure if this was a new feeling or something that always existed but just could not have been sensed by him.
It was a paradigm shift.
What he assumed to be unchanging and constant suddenly became alive. Pulsating like a heart. It was strange.
Name: Aldric.
True Name: F̴i̷r̴s̴t̵-̴C̴l̴a̶s̶s̴ ̶S̸i̴n̴g̵u̴l̶a̸r̶i̷t̶y̵
Rank: A̸w̵a̶k̴e̷n̸e̷d̸.
Dark Core: [3/7]
Class: Demon.
Dark Sprites:[921/3000]
Memories:[Unwavering Spark][Cragborne Armor][Malice Of The Deep][Cavedweller Garms][Water Basin][Charm Of Balance][Silk Robes][Silk Pouch][Warding Eye][Stone Coffer][Tesseract][All-Seeing Eye][Mantle Of The Underworld][Cursed Mirror][Dark Wing][Red Spider Lily][Sundered Sorrow][Dark Sea's Covenant]...[Cool Edge][Essence Pearl][Wrath Carver][Maledictive Crucible]
Attributes: [Insight][Tranquil Core][Null][Tenebrous Rule][Visionary][M̷̥͑͐a̶̺͘r̴͇̟͑͠k̷̞͐ ̸͍̊̋o̷̪̝̿f̴͉̈́̐ ̵̳̀ţ̸̖͒̃h̵̺͈͐e̸̺̩͛̆ ̶̠̙̂̎V̵̗̑̚õ̶̦̉į̵̨̊̚ď̴̢̖͗]
Aspect:[Made In Abyss]
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Innate Ability: [Chalice Of Requiem]
Aspect Abilities:[Dark Well, Dire Ordinance]
Aspect Legacy:[Path Of The Unbound]
Flaw:[Tarnished Soul]
A quick glance made sure that everything was in order.
And it seemed that there were some new additions to his repertoire.
His new attribute.
[M̷̥͑͐a̶̺͘r̴͇̟͑͠k̷̞͐ ̸͍̊̋o̷̪̝̿f̴͉̈́̐ ̵̳̀ţ̸̖͒̃h̵̺͈͐e̸̺̩͛̆ ̶̠̙̂̎V̵̗̑̚õ̶̦̉į̵̨̊̚ď̴̢̖͗] Attribute Description: [You have been marked by the void. Faint and ephemeral, you are drawn to the Origin.]
As well as his evolved.
[Null] Attribute Description: [You are but a being basking in the presence of the tapestry of fate. A lone observer.]
'Is this the evolution of [Destined]?'
Aldric thought.
A strange shift in his True Name occurred as well.
With his observant mind boosted by [Visionary], he made a connection.
The very nature of fate was linked to the existence of True Names. Described as the memory of the soul, they were the anchor in which fate bound someone's existence.
So for someone like Aldric, whose connection to fate had always been tumultuous, it seemed that this was the final straw.
Aldric had interpreted his new [Null] attribute as him leaving the domain of fate. No longer a knot on the tapestry but an observer. An observer that was safe from its machinations but no longer protected by its expanse.
This was just pure conjecture on Aldric's part. He would have to see the effects of it to make a more accurate judgement. After all, he could be completely wrong.
The young man was confused. A lot of the changes eluded him; however, he could now ascertain what the [Seed of Chaos] was.
In the same way in which the drop of ichor from Weaver gave Sunny his forbidden lineage, it seemed that Aldric had gained a lineage too.
From whom, he did not know. But all signs pointed to the elusive void.
The cradle that gave birth to everything that was. The gods as well as the void beings they waged war with.
A small chuckle left Aldric's mouth.
'If Sunny's lineage is forbidden, what could you call mine?'
It was now time to assess the effects of this attribute. It was clear to him that this was only a sliver of what it could be. A 'mark' could not be the culmination of a lineage. So with that, perhaps he could develop it.
It was not a complete lineage like Nephis inherited, nor was it a lineage split into seven. Aldric could tell that this was one that grew. That with conditions unknown to him, he would be able to strengthen his connection to the void.
So rather than a lineage or a legacy of someone, it was more so a connection to the void itself.
However, the biggest mystery in all of this was the changes in his body and soul. From the strange new source of energy to the horrific eldritch eye that rested in his soul sea. The unknown changes to his body.
It was just not his strength that increased. By running essence through himself, he noticed the increased potency of his soul essence. As if it was supercharged.
"I found the culprit."
Iris spoke out.
Her face was absolutely exhausted and drained, but a strong resolve was etched in her eyes.
A weight fell off his exhausted shoulders. With them surviving, Aldric did not know if this person had any more plans to sabotage and kill them all. So it was best to deal with them swiftly.
"After we make camp and call it a night, isolate them and knock them out. I'll handle the rest."
Aldric made up his mind. This was not the time to hesitate. After all, it was his responsibility as the leader.
Even though Iris looked ready to carry on past finding the culprit, a small part of him wanted to save her from dealing with such gruesome sights.
But in truth, he knew that it was for the sole reason of not wanting to make the effect of her flaw any worse.
Getting up, it was time to lead them to a safe place. Sitting on the floor of a jungle did not seem wise at all.
Remembering exactly where their last camp was before they arrived at the temple, they set pace.
------------
Unknown POV
18 hours later, the temporary camp was dead quiet.
In the absolute dark, a cocoon of darkness silently formed around a single prone body. Lifting their body out of the air, unbeknownst to anyone.
In a small clearing of canopy two kilometres from the camp, the cocoon of darkness collapsed. Ruthlessly dropping the unconscious man onto his back, bouncing off the ground.
THUD
"What...What's going on? Teacher Judas?"
The unidentified man asked as the remnants of sleep clung to his face like glue. Slowly sitting up out of his sleeping bag.
"Aaron Slate. 28 years old. Father of two. Married for five years and living in the NQSC. No affiliations with legacy clans and has worked as a research assistant in the Academy before branching off to a private research institute."
A voice read off a piece of paper.
'What is going on!? Did they find out? No way... There's no... no chance at all.'
Aaron reassured his racing mind. He tried to identify the position of the voice, but all he could see was pitch-black darkness. Even the light of the stars was blotted out.
The voice continued.
"I don't enjoy these types of things; however, there are times to be pragmatic."
The voice spoke out coldly. The utter indifference it held sent pure dread down Aaron's body.
With his rationality returning to him, he could easily identify the voice. Connecting it with the powers he saw, their enigmatic escort.
In a method of survival, Aaron's mind hurried to remember everything that he knew about the young man.
The Singularity birthed from the Forgotten Shore. With the dissapearance of Lady Changing Star, Aldric Vesper ascended to become the most known awakened out of all the survivors.
The government had a field day describing the potential and strength of the last member of the Immortal Flame clan. And Aldric was her equal.
He was one of the special ones.
The movers of history. The ones that would define an era.
And from what rumours told, the great clans were fighting over the young man. To see who would welcome such potential into their family.
'I guess that's why they sent me out here.'
He thought depressingly.
While Aaron had figuratively signed on his own death by triggering the matrix of the temple, it seemed that his survival had lit a flame inside of him to live.
His worries about his own fate were slightly lowered. Singularity had treated them with absolute professionalism during their expedition. No complaints in protecting the researchers, as even with their rank of awakened, they were not capable and had weaker aspects.
The young man did not falter in the face of challenges or relax during periods of safety.
And what he just saw from the young man, saving everyone in their moment of guaranteed death. It made him respect him even more.
But any amount of respect would not change what he had to do.
But a shift in the area caught his attention; the dome of darkness was lifted.
True to his observation, Aldric stood in front of him.
Decked in that strange stone-plated armour that screamed special, he leaned into a crouch and placed something on the floor.
A decorative jar.
Numerous designs and gemstones littered the surface of it. The brown jar had two small handles on either side with a small lid. The head of the jar much more narrow than its body.
But that was all that Aaron could see.
"I know everything."
The dark-skinned face of the Singularity settled into a cold look. His lips flattening into a straight line.
"You see, this memory has the small ability of collecting surface-level thoughts from those present and transferring them to the user."
He motioned to the small jar.
"All it needed to key to your thoughts was a lock of your hair and a drop of your blood."
His heart sank to the bottom of the abyss.
'I'm dead.'
Without the training and experiences of an awakened that constantly challenged themselves, Aaron crumbled.
"I have a family! A daughter! Please!"
Aaron looked at his capturer. His face unchanging throughout him begging for his life.
The cold gaze of the man bore into him, as if he was a god of death judging his soul.
"Tell me everything."
Taking this moment, he projected the thought of 'Calm down' into his mind. Both to calm himself and to stop his thoughts from being projected.
For what he said next, his mind fabricated it on the spot.
"I don't know anything, I swear! I was just told what to do when we arrived at the temple. They threatened my family!"
Aaron shouted with all his heart.
Only to be met with silence.
A disappointed look formed on his captor's face.
"Now, I fully trust Iris; however, there is always a chance that errors could be made. But it seemed that today was not that day."
Aaron could not understand for the life of him what was going on.
'What does he mean by wrong?'
He could see Aldric slowly approach him and the jar lying beside him. Crouching to meet Aaron's wide eyes. He spoke directly to him.
Focusing on his eyes, Aaron could not peel his own eyes away from their strange appearance. Wisps of red and white littering an abyssal iris.
Unbeknownst to Aaron, his captor had placed his hand on the jar. Soul essence transferring from his hand and into the strange memory.
"You know... I wonder what kind of complex enchantments it would take to create a memory that could read someone else's thoughts?"
A sharp pulse of pain stabbed Aaron's mind. As if a sharp needle was slowly inserted through his skull. The pain was horrific and gut-wrenching.
'What...?'
It left Aaron unable to think, stuck in the remnants of that pain.
"But pain and suffering, the nightmare spell knows well."
He finished.
His captor's hands reached towards him and tightly gripped his hair. Lifting his head to stare directly into his eyes, the tug on his scalp burning.
"So Aaron, try to answer my question again."
In the stress and terror of his situation, his face subconsciously conjured the face that he was doing this all of this for.
Images of blonde hair and blue eyes flickered in his mind.
'Maria'
And his head erupted in pain.
----------
"It's been nearly a month and a half; good to have you back."
Juuli spoke with a tone of respect and a hint of something else.
Juuli was an awakened who acted as the liaison between Event Horizon and the government. He could not meet with Saint Cor every time that he completed a contract. The man was too busy for such things.
"I've sent the report of the expedition as well as the extended invoice incurred based on the contingencies set out in our contract."
Aldric spoke.
She took the folder from his hands, her soft palm brushing slightly against Aldric's.
"To think that you would man an expedition into the Phantom Verge. A verified death zone and return alive with only one casualty."
Her face had a look of admiration and respect.
'We are both awakened, but here I am, behind a desk.'
An intrusive thought went through her mind. Shaking off her feelings of inadequacy, she praised Aldric.
"Great work as always, Aldric. I'll have these processed as soon as I can."
Wearing a relaxed, luxurious white shirt with a large black coat, Aldric stood up as the thud of his boots echoed in the room.
----------
Exiting his PTV, the luxurious vehicle came to a stop in front of a large stone building.
The building was situated in the outskirts of the central city. It stood over five stories with two sublevels underground. Far removed enough that their location was relatively hard to find in the concrete labyrinth. To their left was a large apartment complex, and to their right was a small-sized bank. Each separated far enough.
Their headquarters was completely hidden to the public; however, to any interested parties, it would not be terribly difficult to find.
The building was an amalgamation of different architectural styles and eras. With an old, solid foundation of stone and brick. However, it was clearly refurbished. With smooth grey stone plates lining the walls.
An ornate stone staircase led up to a large revolving door with smaller doors on either end. On the pillars of the stairs, two small stone lions were perched on either side, resting in their pose.
Three awakened in suits protected the main entrance against any intruders.
The inside of the hall opened up like a hotel lobby. Wide and open with plenty of seating areas sectioned around. The centre of the hall was a lobby that was always manned by someone. Lines of elevators led up and down the building.
The parallels between the current building and a luxury hotel were not without reason.
Most civilisations and eras were built upon the remains of what came before. And like most buildings, this one was not built from nothing but rather repurposed a derelict hotel.
The ground floor contained the lobby, a large dining hall, recreational rooms, and a large kitchen.
The first floor was home to the offices. From the financial team to the admin and logistical departments. It also held space for many meeting rooms.
The second floor contained all the accommodation. While most of the awakened preferred to have their own homes and apartments, it was useful to be under one roof in the case of expeditions and the like.
The third floor contained a large conference hall decked out with monitors and advanced displays. Aldric attempted to mimic the conference hall that he spoke with Saint Cor in when they met in Academy City. There was also a smaller and more secretive meeting room behind the conference hall.
The remaining floor was a secret from most members of the group. Since it was of no use to them, most did not care for what it was.
Out of sight, out of mind.
However, what they did know was that Aldric, the leader of Even Horizon, did not sleep amongst them on the second floor. So it was rumoured that the upper floors contained his own sleeping arrangements.
While the floors of the hotel were uninteresting to most awakened, the two floors beneath the building were what interested most.
The first floor was a singular training hall. Wide enough to space everybody, it was fitted with strong enough materials to sustain damage. With the way that the building rested on a slight incline, half of the first floor was submerged underground with the other half open to the outside world.
However, it was the last floor that was most important.
Equating for half of their electricity bill, the floor was littered with sleeping pods on one side. With the other side filled with dreamscape pods.
The sleeping pods were crucial for the large group of awakened that entered the dream realm every time they slept.
While the dreamscape pods gave them access to the dreamscape. An illusory world created by a Master, now a Saint. It gave them the space to be able to work on building their team cohesion and compatibility. It was simply too dangerous to try new formations or attack patterns within the dream realm.
So while it did not help with training them against nightmare creatures due to the lack of severity, it still had many uses.
Walking through the lobby, Aldric was greeted warmly by those present. His accomplishments over the last seven months had only added to his achievements.
What was a shot in the dark for most people when joining this organisation was now returning its value many fold. It was something like a start-up gaining a high market evaluation, making everyone involved many times richer.
Taking the elevator to the third floor, Aldric walked through the hallway and entered a large conference hall. Making his way to the back wall, he opened a door that blended into the artificial wooden wall.
A group of awakened were situated by the round table in the middle of the room.
Over eight different people sat as they looked at their leader arrive. With Iris standing beside an empty chair.
These eight were the leaders of their respective teams. The appointment of each of them was not Aldric's decision but rather something that they had decided amongst themselves.
With the teams that have been fighting together since the Forgotten Shore, it was a simple choice. For the others, it was a matter of competency, leadership, and respect.
Rather than trying to control things and have them go exactly as he wanted in regard to his organisation, Aldric adopted a different approach.
Instead of controlling each piece, all he did was create systems. Systems that would guarantee the best and most competent people to come out on top. A system that rewarded hard work and effort.
This style of leadership was what garnered Aldric so much respect. His teams were not ordered around like servants or put into bad situations based on poor decisions. So rather than negatively viewing Aldric, they saw him as an ambitious man.
An ambitious man whose successes carried on to those around him.
And most importantly, they did not deify him. Their respect for him was not based on propaganda or perceived importance but rather respect from seeing him accomplish what he set out to do.
What he told them that day following their return to the waking world.
Aldric was met with head nods and smiles, each of which he returned.
Walking in measured steps, he took a seat in his chair and took a deep breath. Looking at everyone that gathered.
Looking at the expensive silver watch on his wrist, their meeting was to begin in seven minutes.
Aldric spoke out.
"Good afternoon, thanks for arriving promptly. Since we are all here, we will begin."
Everyone focused, backs straight, and listened.
The following hour was made up of many things. From complaints to performance reviews and reports. This was something that occurred biweekly to make sure that everything was going smoothly.
Even in his absence, these meetings were run.
He also gave them a rundown on what occurred in his expedition.
It seemed that team Atlas had just finished dealing with a demanding client as they traversed siege capitals while team Hermes finally found their objective.
Team Hermes was a newer team with five members. A jack of all trades. They focused on specific requests that were outside the scope of the other teams.
With the meeting wrapping up, Aldric found it fit to give them news surrounding his next steps.
Placing his elbows on the wooden table, he leaned forward as he spoke.
"I will be challenging the second nightmare by the end of the year."
A quiet table met his proclamation.
**********
Thanks for reading.
I appreciate a lot of the kind comments I've been receiving. Much love.
Till the next one.