As Fang Yuan drifted in a semi conscious state, suddenly his senses began to shift. The river stopped the pressure on his consciousness. He started to slowly coming back to his senses.
The weight of the water pressing down on him became lighter, the cold less biting. Slowly, he began to feel a change in the current, a pull in a different direction. His body, guided by instinct alone, responded, adjusting to the new flow of the river.
Then, as suddenly as he had entered, the water began to recede.
He could feel the pressure lifting, his body rising toward the surface. His muscles tensed, ready for whatever waited on the other side. The ghost, still with him, pulsed softly, its presence a constant reminder of the journey they had shared.
And then, with a final pull, he broke through the surface of the water.
He gasped for air, the cold fog clinging to his skin as he emerged from the river. His senses, though blind in the river, still tried to adjust to the strange new sensation that seemed to fill the air. The fog was thinner here, not dense enough to obscure his surrounding .
He couldn't tell where the river had taken him, but the ground beneath his feet was firm, solid. He stood, water dripping from his body, his muscles tense and ready.
The air was colder than before, but it carried with it a strange, almost unnatural feeling. He could feel it in the ground beneath him, in the fog that swirled around his ankles.
He summoned his champion.
The specter hovered beside him, silent as always, but there was a new tension in the air.
He had left the labyrinth behind, but whatever this place was, it wasn't freedom.
The river flowed silently behind him, its surface calm and unbroken. Before him lay the unknown, shrouded in mist and.... a human skeleton.
His instincts, sharper than ever, guided him forward. He knew there was something ahead, something waiting for him on the skeleton.
He took a step forward, the cold earth crunching beneath his feet...
"A human skeleton! Finally, I have reached a place where human foots have stepped on."
Although his heart remained still, he felt a siliver of joy. He observed the skeleton.
The skeleton was strangely well-preserved. It was sitting with its legs crossed, back straight, its hands resting on the hips, as if meditating. The skull of the lonesome skeleton gazed at the river with the dark chams of its empty eyes, strangely calm and at peace.
What he noticed, though, was not the whiteness of the bone nor the eternal grin of the bare skull, but a thin strip of light metal resting on it like a humble crown.
There was a single bright gemstone on the metal band, placed right above the middle of the skull's forehead.
Fang Yuan took the strip of metal and removed it from the First Lord's head.
A moment later, the band suddenly broke into countless sparks of light, which then disappeared, absorbed into soul core.
Fang Yuan's eyes widened. Memories can't really exist without an awakened.
They were destroyed at the moment of their owner's death. An independent memory must be very rare.
The crown of the skeleton… was a Memory.
And the spell confirmed it.
[You have received a memory, Dawn Shard.]
Fang Yuan summoned the memory. The Dawn Shard weaved itself into existence and rested on the bare skull of the helmet of the Mantle of the Night. Instantly he felt his armor becoming stronger. He also summoned the runes.
---
Memory Name: [Dawn Shard]
Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Tier: II
Memory Type: Charm
Memory Description: [The stars of the skies and the every consuming darkness. The brightest star, was the last star to fall, heralding the doom of the light. Form the brightest shard of the brightest star was forged a crown. The crown shall illuminate the way for the leader and his followers through the ever-consuming darkness.]
"This world gets even more mystical, more horrid. The dream realm... It is like a dream turned nightmare... Nightmare! Nightmare spell! Memories! Echoes! Dream realm! There must some connection their."
Realization downed on Fang Yuan.
"Is this reality some entity or Great Dream Immortal Venerable's dream? Am I just a fragment of a nightmare?"
Fang Yuan paused for moment. Then laughed unabashedly.
"I am, therefore I am! Whether it is a broken dream or morbid nightmare, I shall use this broken reality to achieve my dream and destiny. I, Fang Yuan shall become immortal."
---
Fang Yuan stood on the shore of the nameless river. He has two paths in front of him. One was a bridge stretching into the unknown fog and a path going deeper into the underworld. Sensing greater danger form the bridge, he decided to go the other way.
"I will cross the bridge when time comes."
---
Eventually, he arrived at a vast cavern situated somewhere in the depths of the unknown mountains. The cavern was large enough to fit the entire castles — and the hill it stood upon — inside of it.
Witnessing its size, Fang Yuan got an inkling that maybe he has left behind the underworld and entered the Hollow mountains.
As his Ultra sense pierced the darkness ruling over the vast cavern, he couldn't help but feel a sense of joy, possible citadel.
The floor of it was covered by black sand, while its walls glistened like obsidian. In the center of the cavern stood a giant pillar of dark stone. It was surrounded by massive scaffolds, which nevertheless looked tiny and insignificant on its surface.
The silhouette of an unfinished statue was easily discernable, cut from the giant pillar by the unknown sculptor. Its upper torso was almost finished, while the lower half was still encased inside the stone.
It was as though a dark giant was struggling to free himself from the pillar of stone that imprisoned him.
Looking up, he saw that the head of the giant statue was missing.
All of that only took a fraction of a second.
Then, Fang Yuan looked down, trying to notice the guardian of this obsidian cave before the creature noticed them. The source of danger he was feeling.
…But it was too late.
As soon as he entered the cavern, something moved in the darkness at the base of the statue, and then stepped forward.
Standing on the black sand, a monstrous creature that resembled a cross between a lion and a raven stretched its numerous limbs. Its body was pale as a corpse, while its head and chest were covered with dark feathers. It was massive in size, with muscles rolling like steel cables under the skin.
The creature had two powerful hind legs and six more protruding messily from its wide chest, each ending with a set of deadly claws. But the most terrifying feature it possessed was a long, jagged black beak.
"It is too strong to be a mere Awakened Demon. It doesn't seem like a terror or tyrant. It must be a Fallen." Fang Yuan assessed the nightmare creature.
The vile abomination lunged forward, exploding into a whirlwind of hunger, madness, and death.