1: Awakening in the Nightmare Spell

Darkness. No matter where I looked, I could only see darkness. I couldn't feel my body either, but at the same time, I could feel that I was moving.

A few seconds passed, and in the void of darkness where I found myself, bright stars appeared.

All the stars were connected by thin golden threads that linked them from all directions endlessly, creating a beautiful and immeasurable web of golden threads and stars.

'Beautiful.'

The web of stars began to pulse a second later, and I heard a voice:

[Aspirant, welcome to the nightmare spell, prepare for your first trial...]

This, a nightmare spell...

My eyes widened in horror as I realized what might be happening to me.

Could it be that I... have transmigrated into Shadow Slave?

Without giving me time to process everything, the void with the star web vanished and was replaced by a grotesque scene.

What appeared was a not very large village surrounded by a giant, thick wall that was broken in several places, with the largest break near its huge main gate, a giant hole through which ugly, mutant dog-like beasts were passing without resistance.

Inside the walls, several of these beasts had humans in their jaws, being eaten alive and dismembered equally.

If I had a body at this moment, I am sure I would have vomited.

There were about a hundred beasts, at least the ones I could see. Looking further into the village, I saw five men supporting someone in silver plate armor who was fighting another of those ugly dogs.

However, this monster was different. It wasn't just a mutant dog; this thing had six legs, each ending in sharp claws that it used to attack the six people fighting it. Its body was black with a rotten tone, and several spikes that looked like metal protruded from its back.

Its head was grotesque with a jaw that opened wide to reveal several dozen sharp teeth, and its eyes, golden but filled with madness, looked hungrily at the man in front of it.

At the tip of its tail was a kind of stinger, and its tail was surrounded by what looked like scales.

That beast was fighting the six people while the other mutant dogs around it were held back by several people either using their bodies or fighting with their swords and shields.

The scene suddenly stopped before the man in silver armor was impaled by the beast's stinger, and time seemed to go crazy, starting to move backward.

I saw the beasts retreat, saw the battle of the six begin, and saw the wall break from a strong blow by the large beast fighting the six. I saw hundreds of people throwing the ugly dogs that tried to climb the walls and how dozens died trying.

I saw the horde retreat, and days passed, during which the entire fortified village was preparing a defense.

Then time stopped again, and my consciousness seemed to descend from the sky where I had seen all the events and enter a tall building in the center of the village.

...

My eyes opened, and I could feel my body again, though it didn't seem to be my original body, but it was very similar.

When the images of all those people being mutilated reappeared in my mind, I felt the gastric juices rising toward my mouth, trying to escape.

I knew this was an important event, so I swallowed the vomit again, holding back the urge to bend over and spit everything onto the floor.

Seconds later, I finally managed to see my surroundings, and I was in a meeting room. It was a space with various gold and silver decorations on furniture in the corners, and I also noticed several paintings with figures I didn't recognize.

I looked at the table in the center, where I was currently standing next to a high-backed chair.

On it were six people, the same ones I had seen fighting whatever that giant mutant dog was that I saw in the vision.

Before examining them in detail, I remembered the most important thing for this moment and, with a thought, my runes appeared in front of me.

Name: Jonathan

True Name: -

Core: Inactive

Memories: -

Attributes: [Lost Soul], [Liar], [Lost] ...

Aspect: [Counselor]

Aspect Rank: Inactive

Lost Soul: [You are a soul wandering in a foreign world; you cannot return to yours, and the new one does not recognize you.]

Liar: [People will more easily believe your lies.]

Lost: [You have no past, no present, and you are forging a future. Destiny does not know where you come from and will try to weave you into its fabric.]

Well, some are very well received. As for the others... they are discouraging, to say the least. But what did the other three say?...

...Right, I must check the others. It seems I am a counselor, what stupidity, if this is because of what I did before transmigrating, the spell should seriously review its functions.

Having checked my runes, it was time to see what the spell had prepared for me in this trial.