The first thing Kevin did was summon his spear. He looked around, searching for enemies, but found none.
He took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Where am I?"
He had some guesses—like the forest next to Bastion. Even though it had been destroyed by Anvil of Valor, some remains still existed.
The problem was that the Bastion forest wasn't burned—unlike this one. Other possibilities included areas near Ravenheart, known for their volcanic environment.
But Kevin had another guess... one that made him tremble in fear.
Kevin was a boy who sought knowledge. He believed that what determined victory in battle wasn't just an Aspect, but how one used the environment to their advantage.
So he read a lot—books, research papers, forbidden texts. One such document, written by an Unknown Author, described the Forgotten Shore.
In one of the pages, the author depicted the regions surrounding the Forgotten Shore:
"To the north of the Forgotten Shore lies a Burned Forest."
That was all the information available.
If Kevin truly was in the Burned Forest… he might as well kill himself and die peacefully.
This wasn't just an unknown area—it was a death zone.
"...Sigh. I should search for food or other Sleepers. If we gather, maybe we can survive."
Taking a deep breath, he started walking.
Even though he was in a deadly area, he had to remain calm—the first lesson taught at the Awakened Academy.
Kevin gripped his spear tighter. Something felt… wrong.
He looked around for enemies, but found nothing.
After a while, he started sweating. No enemies, no threats—yet the sensation of being watched grew stronger.
He stopped in front of a burned tree.
"N… No way, right?"
Taking a deep breath, he gathered air around the tip of his spear, forming a vortex.
Then, he hurled the spear at the burned tree.
The spear launched forward, striking its target with force—
CRACK!
The sound of steel breaking echoed through the area.
Kevin's eyes widened. Even though he had thrown the spear with full strength, the burned tree didn't have a single scratch.
His instincts screamed at him to run.
But the tree didn't move.
Kevin exhaled, summoning another spear.
Being born in a clan associated with Clan Valor had its benefits—even if they were forced to join.
Shaking his head, Kevin turned and ran.
The sound of his spear breaking must have alerted the abominations nearby.
Rushing through the Burned Forest, Kevin suddenly felt something behind him.
He reacted instantly, jumping forward and spinning mid-air.
A spear of air formed in his hand, and he launched it at the unknown figure.
At the last second, his eyes caught sight of black hair and amethyst eyes.
'Shit!'
Kevin gritted his teeth and redirected the spear at the last moment.
Sighing, he turned to Rachel and snapped:
"Can't you at least reveal yourself?! I was going to kill you!"
Rachel stared at him blankly.
"I did."
Kevin took a deep breath. Talking to Rachel was pointless. She was just that type of person.
"It's good to see you."
Rachel simply nodded.
Kevin sighed. "Did you see anyone else?"
Rachel shook her head.
"Well, we need to find a safe place. I'll take the front—you watch our backs."
Rachel nodded and summoned her daggers.
With that, the two of them ventured deeper into the Burned Forest.
-----------------------
It had been two days since they were summoned into the Dream Realm.
Kevin and Rachel were running through the Burned Forest.
Just now, they had heard the sound of something blowing up.
The normal reaction would be to run the other way, but there was a chance the sound had been made by a human.
So they ran toward it, hoping to get there before whoever it was died.
Glancing at Rachel, who was running beside him, Kevin frowned.
Rachel looked tired—very tired. It might have been because they hadn't eaten in two days. But as Sleepers, they could hold out for a while longer.
Looking ahead, Kevin raised his hand, signaling Rachel to stop.
In an open area, free of burned trees, stood a giant man clad in massive armor. He wielded a hammer in one hand and a shield in the other.
The giant man was battling against a black millipede—a monstrous creature a meter and a half long, its armored body as wide as an adult man's torso. Instead of mandibles, it had a human-like mouth full of needle-like fangs.
Behind the armored man stood a young girl with green twin ponytails and brown eyes.
Kevin recognized them immediately.
Ren and Amy!
Rachel, already preparing to help, tensed to jump in.
Kevin quickly stopped her.
"Let's wait for an opportunity. Going in blindly will waste a perfect chance to attack."
Rachel nodded.
Exploiting weaknesses and attacking from blind spots were what made an assassin fearsome. She had just let her emotions take over.
Kevin observed the millipede closely.
'Ren's hammer couldn't even scratch it.'
His eyes narrowed as he noticed something.
He turned to Rachel and pointed at the millipede's stomach.
"That part isn't armored. If we attack it there, we might be able to kill it."
Rachel followed his gaze and nodded.
The moment the millipede turned its back to them, the two launched forward.
Ren, still fighting the beast, was momentarily surprised, but he quickly regained focus.
Kevin thrust his spear, but—
CLANG!
The spear rebounded.
Kevin wasn't surprised. He wasn't the main attacker.
The millipede twisted, locking its horrifying gaze onto Kevin.
Raising its massive tail, it lashed out, intending to crush him.
But when its tail lifted, so did its body—exposing its stomach.
Rachel, who had been invisible, didn't waste the opportunity.
She thrust her dagger deep into its exposed flesh.
The millipede let out a deafening screech of pain.
Unfortunately, the dagger was too short to kill it in one strike.
Rachel retreated immediately, vanishing once again.
The millipede, now enraged and surrounded, raised its head and let out a piercing scream.
Kevin and the others felt their heads spin, their weapons suddenly heavy in their hands.
The millipede lunged toward Kevin, its monstrous mouth opening wide to end him once and for all.
But before it could—
It suddenly stopped.
It wasn't by choice.
Ren, still dizzy, had managed to grab its tail.
Kevin's eyes widened.
"Throw it into the sky!"
Ren didn't hesitate.
With all his strength, he hurled the millipede into the air.
Kevin gathered air around the tip of his spear, making it spin like a drill.
With everything he had, he hurled it at the airborne beast.
The spear pierced through the millipede's stomach, exiting from the other side.
With a thunderous crash, the millipede slammed into the ground—dead.
A mechanical voice echoed in Kevin's head.
[You have slain an Awakened beast, Newborn Millipede.]
Kevin exhaled sharply. Behind him, Rachel reappeared, looking even more exhausted.
Walking toward Ren and Amy, he found them both staring at him.
Inside his helmet, Ren grinned.
"Looks like your instinct was right."
Kevin shrugged, making Ren laugh.
Amy looked at Kevin and said softly:
"I'm sorry… I couldn't help at all."
Kevin smiled.
"No, it was the right choice. If you had used your ability, we would've been fighting more than just one."
Amy nodded, reassured.
The four decided to rest for a while before continuing their exploration of the Burned Forest.
Sitting down, Kevin stared at the dead millipede.
Something felt… wrong.
Ren noticed his expression and asked:
"What's wrong?"
Kevin's grip on his spear tightened.
"I don't know… but something isn't right. Especially that scream it let out."
Ren smirked.
"Maybe it was a mating call."
Kevin chuckled.
"Yeah… maybe."
He looked back at the millipede's corpse.
Suddenly, his expression darkened.
'F… Fuck!'
He sprang to his feet.
"We need to go—NOW!"
The other three were startled but didn't hesitate.
The four bolted into the Burned Forest, dodging between charred trees.
Ren, running beside him, demanded:
"What's going on?!"
Kevin's voice was grim.
"It wasn't a mating call! That millipede was calling for help!"
Ren's face turned pale.
And just as Kevin had feared—
A swarm of millipedes surged behind them.
Each one was far larger than the one they had just killed.
Especially the one leading the pack—it was three times the size of the first millipede.
Even though they were running at full speed, they were still far slower than the approaching horde.
Kevin gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Rachel! Invisibility! Now!"
Rachel nodded and immediately cast her ability, veiling them in invisibility.
They hid behind a large, charred tree.
Kevin used his ability to erase their scent.
No one moved.
The veil made them invisible, but not silent.
The swarm surged past them.
Kevin wanted to sigh in relief, but he held his breath.
Crack.
His heart stopped.
Beside him, a stick had snapped in half.
He had no idea how it broke—even his spear couldn't scratch these trees.
But none of that mattered.
Because that tiny sound had been heard.
Kevin watched in paralyzed fear as the swarm turned toward them.
They couldn't do anything.
Then, suddenly—
Everything stopped.
Not just the millipedes.
The wind. The air. Time itself.
From the sky, a young man descended.
Black eyes. Curly black hair. A crystal monocle over his right eye. A black pointed hat on his head.
The young man landed and looked at them.
"Hello. Can you hear me?"
Kevin, still frozen, stared between the stranger and the motionless swarm.
It had to be his doing.
"W… Who are you?"
The young man sighed.
"Didn't your parents teach you manners? You should introduce yourself first."
Kevin's mind raced.
The young man grinned.
"Well, you want to know who I am, right?"
He removed his pointed hat, placing it over his chest.
Time resumed.
Behind him, the swarm exploded—one by one.
A sea of black blood covered the ground.
The young man bowed slightly.
"I'm Amon. The Child of Time. One of the six children of Raphael—the Black Emperor."
--------------------------------
You want to hear a fun fact :) The one who was making Kevin paranoid was Amon, he was also the one who broke the stick.
If you have any questions, you can find me in the official Shadow Slave discord. just go to the Fanfiction room, and search for mine, it's named after the FF name.
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