" I could stay like this forever..." Basking in the light of his own soul, Cypher lay on the sandy ground of what he figured was his soul. He had woken up here after passing out again, not that he cared.
During his time here he wasn't completely idle, but Instead had experimented a little. Not much was discovered, however he managed to control a limited amount of sand, allowing it to orbit around him in a cyclone like pattern. He already had a few ideas for using it in combat, like changing the ground into sand below and enemies feet, imobalizing them. However, for now it wasn't strong enough to use as an offensive weapon, only for support.
Not only that but he felt stronger than before, estimated to be as powerful as 3 men put together. All of this just from breaking one chain.
But the interest didn't last for long. Cypher shifted his gaze up to the orb in the sky, or more specifically, the chains that surrounded it.
Hatred, indignation and ambition. All these emotions coursed through him at this moment. He instinctively knew from his connection with this place that these chains were what held him back, keeping him restrained. However, with no information on how to break the remaining eight, he could only bear with it for now.
"The day will come, and I'll tear down the last one with my own two hands!"
As he made his promise, he felt a pull on his body.
"Am I waking up?"
The pull grew stronger.
"Wake up Cypher,"
A voice whispered in his ears, his world turning black soon later.
--------------------------------------------
"It's so.....soft?
Waking up, he found himself resting on the most comfortable mattress he had ever slept on, like lying on a cloud. A thick white blanket wrapped tightly around his body, it's warmth spreading through his body. He was wearing some a tight fitted black shirt that cling to his newly formed lean muscle, with loose white pants.
Curiously looking at his sorroundings, he noticed immediately noticed that he wasn't in the dirty streets of the underhive, but a luxurious, spacious room decorated with an exquisite white marble floor, the sorrounding walls held a flower patterned wallpaper that exuded wealth and beauty. On these walls hung artworks of angelic figures, their swords held high against red winged demons that charged towards them.
A large window showed one section of the underhive, and Sypher noticed that from this position he could only be in one place,"The church?"
"Sniff...," the sent of woman's perfume filtered into Cyphers nose.
Wait...
Slowly turning his head, he was met face to face with Saint Clementine!
She was lying on the bed next to him, seemingly watching him while he was sleeping!
Luckily, it seemed she had some clothes on, otherwise he'd surely think she was up to no good.
"You were sleeping so soundly, I feel a little bad for waking you."
Her voice sent alarm bells in Cyphers mind as he remembered what he had done. What if he was labelled a heritic like those on the execution ground. He certainly had committed a crime, he didn't even know how many died before he collapsed.
Jumping out of the bed, he lowered his head, " M-ms Clementine! I-I didn't mean to...all those people, I killed them."
Tears fell from his eyes, his acting at this moment g of an Oscar.
"I'll accept any punishment!"
"No need to be so scared dear," Clementine
Sat up and moved towards Cypher before wrapping her arms around him in comfort," We all experience the same when we awaken, it's a natural consequence of of your soul core lashing out."
"R-really."
"Ofcourse dear, your special...To awaken without a noble lineage proves your a genius worth more than any one of those mortals."
She stroked his hair as she spoke, not a trace of doubt in her words.
Unlike his outward appearance, Sypher was overjoyed,' So that orb must be called a Soul Core! And judging by her words only usually nobles can have this power, meaning I'm unique. Hold on, this could be a good or a bad thing.."
As Cypher continued to think, he didn't let any of his thoughts show up on the outside.
"B-but what should I do now, I have nowhere to go?"
"Since you have no lineage, you'll be trained in the church by me after your test, but for now, let's get you aquanted with your new home, the church has already found the the documents of your birth and will pay for you for the time being.." She pulled the crying boy away and wiped his tears with a paper towel.
"Thank you, Lady Clementine."
The idea of learning from one of the most powerful organisations on the continent was not something he'd pass up.
"Just call me Clementine, no need for honourifics."
Cypher nodded and was guided towards the exit of the room.
The interior of the church looked much larger on the inside than the outside, it's ancient hallways and the sight of robed figures moving from place to place gave a sense of power and unity.
While they walked through the golden lined halls of the church, soldiers saluting Clementine as they passed by, she started explaining to Cypher what his abilities were along with some history that he requested from her.
"1000 years ago in the year 150BBR, our Lord Endo descended from the heavens, with his brother Releigh, the great sinner. Together they put a stop to the never ending wars of Humanity and brought on the age of dreams."
Cypher listened with extreme focus, using his memory to store every single word.
"What next Clementine?"
"Next, the brothers took control of two separate countries, the Terra Empire belonging to Endo, And the Nova Kingdom belonging to Releigh. Both of them gifted their citizens a piece of divine power, those gifted were called Dreamweavers, each one possessing a unique set of abilities."
She paused and pointed at Sypher, " That divine power is what you and I possess. The power of Soul Caliber. "
"Soul Caliber?"
"Yes, it's the power that's produced by your soul core, you know that sphere in your dreams."
"AHH, so that's what it is!" Sypher quickly understood and asked one more question,
"but what about the chains around it?"
"Hmm...the nine chains are what restricts a soul cores power, a sort of safety measure to prevent a Dreamweaver from self destructing from the immense energy intake. However, Dreamweavers can break the chains individually througg, and each chain broken moves their power up from 1-9 in separate ranks. Although, nobody has ever broken all nine chains."
That last part caused Cypher's eyes to narrow, 'If that's the case, Its either incredibly difficult or dangerous to break the last chain, maybe even impossible?...No! I can find a way, I'm a researcher after all.'
"Clementine, what rank am I?"
"Your at soul Caliber 1," as she spoke, they passed by a training room full of knights,"The church mainly consists of motals, only dreamweavers like me have higher ranks and authority. I'm at Caliber 4, so I can command entire army's of soldiers."
The soldiers training noticed her passing by and saluted.
"Let's continue, I promised to let you study didn't I?"
A few moments later and Cypher was brought Infront of two massive metal doors, sorrounded by knights in thick suits of armour. The biggest among them quickly made some hand signs to the others before pressing some kind of switch on the doors.
The sound of gears grinding together could be heard from within.
"Please feel free to enter Lady Clementine!"
The knights words were swift and to the point, however Cypher noticed the weary glance the man shot him. Not long later the metal doors slowly opened, allowing Clementine and Cypher to pass through.
On the other side was a grand hall filled with books upon books. Each section held knowledge that had to be at least hundreds of years old. Furthermore, this was most likely the busiest area within the church, with other Dreamweavers moving to and from isles, holding stacks of texts close to their chests."
"This is The Vanderwald Library, named after my father Cardinal Vanderwald."
.....
"Cypher?
'So much... knowledge!'
The boy was as motionless as a dead fish, completely absorbed in excitement. Even in his previous life, when he was left alone in that cage, at least his parents gave him a bible to scour through. He had read it over a hundred times.
"If you'd like to stay, your more than welcome haha!" Clementine had already expected this.
"Really! If it's okay than I think I will!"
The isles practically called out to him.
"Then you have two hours, I'll be here when your done."
"Okay!"
He soon disappeared into the maze like assortment of books, eager to dive deep into the see of information. After all, knowledge is power.
In no time he found the two books he wanted to read, with the first being a clean and well maintained study of the human body,
While the second looked a little more worn and detailed some records of the Age Of Dreams.