Immortal Dream Cult

Adam woke up in Zara's arms a few hours later, having fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion after the day's events. As he stirred, Zara noticed and opened her eyes as well.

"Did you sleep too?" he asked.

Zara smiled slightly. "At my tier, I don't need much sleep."

Adam's curiosity was piqued, and he asked hopefully, "What tier is that?"

With a teasing smile, Zara replied, "Nice try."

Adam grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Worth a shot, right?"

Their light-hearted banter helped diffuse the lingering tension from their previous confrontation. Though a part of Adam wanted to rage and scream at Zara for what she had done to Lancer, deep down, he knew there was some truth to her words. Lancer was a part of the hive, and even if the hive members called him their prince, he hadn't been truly converted and remained somewhat separate from the collective.

As conflicting thoughts swirled in his mind, Adam decided, 'Zara has raised me for so many years, and this is the first time she has done something that's truly hurt me. I'll give her another chance, but I'll keep an eye on her in case she tries anything else. Besides, she mentioned something about my awakening and the dream child title. I'm curious to find out what that's all about.'

Seeing his change of demeanor, Zara smiled warmly at him and asked, "Are you ready to awaken your talent now?"

He hesitated, his thoughts reflecting his fear of what his talent would be. 'I really want something that will allow me to become a powerful fighter,' he thought.

Zara noticed his hesitation and said, "You'll have to awaken eventually. Don't be nervous."

"I'm trying," Adam replied. He brought up the system message asking if he wanted to awaken and hesitated again.

Seeing his continued hesitation, Zara offered, "I can go through the information I have on talents to refresh your memory if you'd like."

Adam gladly accepted, relieved to have a distraction from his nervousness. Zara, understanding his feelings, began to discuss awakening talents.

Zara spoke. "Talents are ranked as follows: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, and EX+. The higher the rank of the talent, the more unique and fleshed out it typically is and the less people have access to it, although some lower-ranked talents can still be unique. The talent you awaken can heavily affect the class choices you receive."

Adam nodded, this basic information is something he already knew but it was nice to hear it again. The talents followed the alphabetical naming system, the higher the rank the less people would have it. Adam hoped that his talent was at least rank S like Zara's talent, she told him previously that Dream childs usually had higher rank talents than other people when they awakened and Adam was half looking forward to receiving his rank but also half dreading seeing it.

Adam didn't even entertain the thought of obtaining an EX+ rank talent, as he knew it was highly unlikely to receive such a thing. Among a population of a billion people, perhaps only one or two would possess rank S talents. As for an EX+ rank talent emerging? It was more akin to a chance among a quadrillion people. The odds were so infinitesimal that Adam refused to expend any mental energy on hoping for it.

As she gently stroked Adam's white hair, she explained, "My talent is a rank S talent called [Parasite Empress]. As you know, it allows me to create parasites. But, there's more to it than that. The 'Empress' part of the talent has affected the names of my class choices, making them unique to me."

Adam listened intently, fascinated by the complexity of talents and their impact on one's abilities. He wondered what kind of talent he would awaken and how it would shape his future.

Curious, Adam asked, "What about talent weaknesses?"

A brief flash of pain crossed Zara's face before she concealed it. "Talents have weaknesses, usually relevant to the talent itself. Some weaknesses can render a talent useless, while others can be beneficial."

Adam, intrigued, pressed on. "Can you give me an example?"

Zara nodded and began to explain. "I knew that Steelhoof was the one who had awakened, and I had been able to observe the weakened awakened creature. I sent a high-level unit to read its talent without its knowledge. Steelhoof's talent allowed him to enslave a single being and turn them into it's mount, empowering the mount and ensuring it obeyed Steelhoof's orders. The talent's weakness, however, was that it could only be used on humanoids, which worked perfectly for Steelhoof as he used it against Skab."

Adam's eyes narrowed, and he interrupted her. "Wait, you knew about Steelhoof's awakening, and you didn't tell me?"

Zara looked at him sternly. "You were hiding from me, remember? If you had approached me, I would have most likely told you. Now, let me continue."

Adam bit his lip but nodded for her to proceed.

"So, weaknesses can sometimes be advantageous, depending on the situation," Zara explained. "Imagine if Steelhoof's talent weakness had been that it could only be used on beasts. It would have been less useful for him, but the point is that talents can come in all shapes and sizes. There is no useless talent, only useless people."

Adam nodded, understanding her point. Zara, sensing that it was time to move forward, said, "Now that we've covered this, are you ready to awaken?"

Adam hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed. "Alright, let's do this."

Zara smiled at him encouragingly, and Adam braced himself for the moment of truth. His heart raced as he prepared to face whatever talent awaited him, hoping that Zara's words would prove true and his talent would be just what he needed to become the powerful fighter he desired to be.

Adam's heart raced as he pulled up the message asking if he wanted to awaken his talent.

*Congratulations! You have earned enough XP to awaken. Would you like to awaken now? Yes/No*

Taking a deep breath, he clicked 'yes.'

*Awakening has begun…*

Tiny points of light materialized around him, flickering like faraway stars. These radiant particles began to gather and whirl around Adam in a hypnotic dance, growing increasingly luminous and vivid with each passing moment. The striking display bore witness to the immense power that lay dormant within him, ready to be unleashed.

The lights pulsed and glistened, casting otherworldly patterns on the ground and walls, enveloping the vicinity in a supernatural radiance. The scene was so enthralling that onlookers couldn't avert their gaze, captivated by the unbridled splendor unfolding before them.

Adam was equally entranced by the spiraling lights, as though they were narrating a tale – the tale of his awakening. The atmosphere in the room grew charged, anticipation crackling in the air as the lights twirled faster and faster around him.

Then, as abruptly as it began, the lights converged into a dazzling flash before vanishing, leaving behind an aura of awe and marvel. Adam felt transformed – as if a new path had been revealed within him.

*Congratulations! You have successfully awakened. You are now tier 1.*

Adam disregarded the other system messages, focusing intently on the one that displayed his talent.

As his talent materialized before him, he was taken aback by what he saw.

[Talent: Immortal Dream Cult] (Rank F/???) - This talent empowers you to establish and lead a mystical cult, wielding a unique, talent-infused sacrificial knife as your symbol of authority. As the cult leader, you tap into the blade's formidable abilities and forge a deep connection with your followers. Furthermore, you and your followers gain the [Immortal] trait, granting the capacity to resurrect within the dreamverse after death, only experiencing a period of weakness and pain instead of permanent demise.

Talent Weakness - This talent bestows the [Sole Weapon Bond] trait, which confines your combat prowess to the exclusive use of the talent-imbued sacrificial dagger. Attempting to wield another weapon with the intention of engaging in combat will induce soul-searing agony, making it nearly impossible to effectively employ any other weapons.

'How could this happen?' Adam thought, despair washing over him. 'I wanted to be a powerful fighter, not a cult leader.'

Zara noticed his reaction and asked, "What's wrong, Adam?"

Tears filled Adam's eyes as he asked, "Is there a way to change talents? This... this isn't what I wanted."

Zara shook her head. "I'm not aware of any way to do that. Show me your talent, Adam."

He felt dejected, lost in his thoughts, and hesitated to share the information. 'I can't believe I'm stuck with this,' he thought, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"Adam, show me," Zara ordered, her tone firm yet compassionate. "It's important for me to know so I can help you."

Reluctantly, Adam shared his talent description with her. As she read it, her expression changed. At first, she looked happy but then grew worried. Adam figured she must be happy with his talent since it was clearly focused on organization. She had pushed him to become a leader, and now his talent matched that. Adam thought, 'She must be concerned because of the rank. She probably didn't expect that since I'm a dream child.'

Feeling hurt, Adam said, "I hope you're happy now. You got what you wanted. I'm stuck with this... this useless talent."

Zara looked at him with concern. "Adam, I understand this isn't what you were hoping for, but your talent is still unique and valuable. The immortal trait is nothing to scoff at, and you have the ability to create a powerful organization. It's true that the rank is lower than we'd hoped, but that doesn't mean it's useless. Remember what I told you earlier: there is no useless talent, only useless people."

"I don't want to lead a cult," Adam said, his voice trembling. "I wanted to be a powerful fighter, not... not this."

Zara noticed the '???' in his talent description and mentioned it to Adam. "There might be hope that your talent could evolve. Just because it's currently ranked F doesn't mean it'll stay that way."

Adam perked up at Zara's mention of the talent potentially evolving, but his excitement quickly turned to doubt. 'So what if it evolves into a higher rank? It doesn't mean anything. It's just a crappy talent.'

He shared his thoughts with Zara, his voice laced with bitterness. "Even if it evolves into a higher rank, it doesn't change the fact that it's a talent I never wanted."

Zara frowned, scolding him for his negativity. "Adam, you need to stop focusing on what you don't have and instead, try to see the potential in what you do have. Your talent may not be what you envisioned, but that doesn't mean it can't become something valuable and powerful. Talents evolve and grow in unexpected ways, and if you put in the effort to understand and develop it, you might be surprised by what you can achieve."

Adam kept his head down, hearing the scolding tone in Zara's voice, and he knew she was serious about what she was saying. She added, "Adam, look at me."

He refused to look at her, so she used an arm blade to gently raise his chin until he was looking into her eyes. "Adam, we are not going to do this. I can already see where this is going. You are not going to sit here moping about your talent, neglecting to use it as you wallow in your despair. I went through the same thing, and I'm not going to allow you to waste time like I did. We will work together to explore your talent, and you will use it. Am I clear?"

Adam sighed, the weight of her words sinking in. 'Maybe she's right,' he thought. 'Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss this talent. If it evolves, it might reveal hidden potential that I can't see right now.' With this in mind, he resolved to try harder to accept his talent and explore its possibilities, even if it meant letting go of his preconceived notions about what a powerful fighter should be.

"Did you receive any further messages after awakening your talent?" she asked, sensing the change in Adam's demeanor.