[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
Here in the void, its voice didn't sound subtle and familiar anymore. Rather, it seemed like the universe itself was speaking. Sunny held his breath, listening.
A nameless slave ascended the Black Mountain.
Heroes and monsters alike fell beneath his shadow.
Unbroken, he stepped into the ruined temple of a god long forgotten… and spilled his blood upon the altar.
The gods were dead.
And yet, they listened.
[You have defeated 5 Dormant Beasts: Mountain King's Larva.]
[You have defeated 5 Dormant Humans. Names: Unknown.]
[You have defeated an Awakened Human: Auro of the Nine.]
[You have defeated an Awakened Tyrant: Mountain King.]
[You have received the Shadow God's blessing.]
[You have achieved the impossible.]
[Final Appraisal: Glorious. Your treachery truly knows no bounds.]
He let out a slow breath.
Good. Everything remained the same until now. The only difference was that he got more shadow Fragments than before. That meant the Spell didn't know he'd returned.
That alone was a small miracle.
If it had… who knows what horrors might have followed?
But this time, the mention of the long-forgotten god didn't slip past him.
Last time, he had been too dazed — too overwhelmed by pain, blood, and the weight of awakening.
Now, with a mind sharpened by hindsight and clarity, he caught it.
A god. Forgotten. Listening.
The Spell never spoke without reason.
It was almost absurd — that it would whisper a hint of the world's deepest rot in his very first Nightmare. A cruel joke, maybe. Or a warning wrapped in poetry.
Either way…
He didn't mind.
Not anymore.
He knew what he had to do first, befor thinking about saving the whole world.
He had to save his loved ones.
His plan wasn't to rewrite history.
Only to nudge it — gently — just enough to reach the outcome he desired.
[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon.]
He was torn from his thoughts as invisible force settled over his mind.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Lost from Light.]
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
"Yes."
[Dormant Aspect 'Temple Slave' is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Divine.]
[Aspect Name: Shadow Slave.]
The description remained unchanged.
So did the innate ability.
He wasn't pleased.
He wasn't disappointed either.
It was simply… expected.
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
And now that the First Seal was broken, he observed the awakening process with perfect clarity.
Unlike the first time — when the surge of change had come as a tidal wave, leaving him breathless — this time, he was ready.
He knew how to awaken naturally.
How to dive into the soul sea without the Spell's guidance.
But that wasn't his goal.
Not yet.
Directly awakening here, in the Nightmare, was too great a risk. He didn't know what would change. Maybe the Spell would no longer guide him to the Forgotten Shore. Maybe he would never experience the Winter Solstice. Maybe… he would never meet Nephis and Cassie again.
That alone was unacceptable.
All he wanted was confirmation — to see if he could channel a small amount of soul essence without awakening fully.
Because even a Sleeper, not yet fully Awakened, possessed a soul core. That was the real barrier. The reason Rain had struggled so much with his natural awakening.
But Sunny?
Sunny had his own boons thorugh his memories.
He was confident he could succeed.
He didn't care about the evaluation. He didn't want more boons than he had received the first time.
His true boon was already with him — the weight of a past life, heavy and sharp.
Through those memories, he could wield shadow essence more easily.
Awaken more smoothly.
Understand things no Sleeper was meant to know.
And more than that…
If his suspicions were correct, he might even be able to wield a fraction of the Will again.
Not the overwhelming force he had once commanded as a Sovereign…
But something smaller.
Something close to what a Saint or Master might touch.
Because the Will wasn't an Aspect.
It wasn't tied to the Spell.
It was something deeper — older — and far more elusive.
It didn't rely on gifts.
Only on clarity of mind, strength of soul… and the foundation of one's Domain.
And Sunny? He knew exactly how to build that foundation again.
The method was simple.
He just had to kill.
As he had before.
With every enemy he destroyed, the foundation of his Domain would strengthen.
And through that… the amount of Will he could command would grow.
Just like last time.
But this time, he knew exactly what he was doing.
And then, he heard it again.
[Flaw: Clear Conscience.]
The same words, spoken in the same cold voice.
But this time, something was different.
He smiled.
Not bitterly — not with scorn or hatred. Just… quietly. Almost fondly.
Because if he was being honest, his flaw had done more good than harm.
It had driven him to be honest with the people around him — or at the very least, to not lie to their faces.
And that… that had mattered.
Without it, he would have never made real friends.
Never forged true bonds.
Never stood beside those few, rare souls who had come to trust him — and whom he had come to trust in return.
It hadn't made him kind.
It hadn't made him soft.
But it had made him real.
It had made him who he was.
And in a world shaped by lies, shadows, and masks...
strangely enough…
He was proud of that.
[Wake up, Lost from Light!]
The black void spun and disappeared.
e