6: Evaluation and Strange Awakening

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[preparing evaluation...]

I opened my eyes after hearing the spell's voice.

I was again in the space of darkness, illuminated only by the light of countless shining stars far away.

The spell interrupted my fascination once more.

[You have received a memory, fallen guard's armor.]

[You have received a memory, treacherous tooth.]

This... Did I really receive two memories? That's truly incredible! Memories are usually very rare and not easily obtained. Receiving two in my first nightmare is a great achievement.

[Applicant! Your trial has ended.]

[An otherworldly soul is dragged into a fortress of a kingdom that lost its goddess. In the fortress, they lived and advised both ascendants and awakened. The fortress was besieged by a tyrant and his subjects, where they managed to survive with their luck and the support they provided in defending the walls. Betraying their companions, they ruthlessly killed both awakened and ascendants, sparing not even the tyrants with their sharp, traitorous dagger.]

[You have killed an awakened human, Eyndor.]

[You have killed an awakened human, segnar.]

[You have killed an awakened human, sognar.]

[You have killed an ascended human, Gareth of the fallen guard.]

[You have assassinated an awakened tyrant, certabres, guardian fallen from ruins.]

[Your soul was blessed by -Unknown-]

[Final assessment: glorious. Your audacity is truly impressive, soul from another world.]

Audacity... So that's how the spell saw my performance in this nightmare? I suppose, thank you.

Although I still can't... Believe that I have killed so many people with my own hands. Perhaps they are just an illusion created by the spell, but still... I killed them.

Without giving me time to reflect further on my actions, the spell whispered again:

[Dreamer Jonathan, receive your blessing!]

I guess I can think about things later; now survival is what matters, and to survive, everything will depend on my new aspect.

[You have received a true name: soul appropriator.]

I nearly fell in this empty space upon hearing what the spell said. I had truly received a true name, something not even all transcendent beings in this world had, or at least hadn't obtained in their first nightmare.

It's... A great achievement that I have received one, even if the name is somewhat, uh, eerie, so to speak.

[Your aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve aspect?]

Well, the moment of truth has arrived. "Yes."

[Counselor of this inactive go is evolving....]

[New aspect acquired.]

[Aspect rank: divine]

...

Divine... It said divine, right?

My knees buckled, and I fell.

Still dazed, I rubbed my eyes and made sure I had heard the spell correctly.

Indeed, my new aspect was of divine rank.

I mean, I partly expected this, not because I overestimated myself and thought I was too good for a lower one. It's just that in the original novel, the protagonist also had a divine aspect and achieved it by facing an awakened tyrant, just like I did in mine.

So, a part of me expected to achieve the same result, which is why I wasn't so surprised to have accomplished such a feat.

I immediately summoned my runes and focused on the runes that described my aspect.

Aspect: [puppeteer]

Aspect rank: divine

Aspect description: [you are a soul dragged from another world by -Unknown- and given special qualities to survive in this world, whether with companions or by yourself.]

Who is this -Unknown- in the description of my aspect? If I hadn't read the novel, I might think it's a powerful god, but the term 'unknown' is used by the spell when it denies or cannot translate what the runes say.

So, there are several possibilities of who this unknown entity that brought me here could be. Perhaps I can learn more in the future; I'm sure I'll be involved in several terrifying things if my fate is decided by that existence.

Setting aside those thoughts, I lowered my gaze to the runes beneath my aspect description and began to read.

Innate ability: [foresight]

Ability description: [you can know what will happen before time if the event is dangerous for you]

An innate ability... It seems quite powerful, but I would have liked it to be more like Sunny's, which gives some independence to her shadow.

However, the spell didn't give me time to process everything that was happening and spoke again.

[the first seal is broken]

[awakening latent powers]

I felt something awakening within me. With a cry of surprise, I brought my hands to my chest and stared into the darkness, trying to understand what was happening. The sensation wasn't painful or unpleasant, but it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was as if my soul was being shaken awake, infused with a strange and new energy.

After a few seconds, I knew it; that was my soul core taking shape.

But no, it wasn't over just yet.

The energy filled every fiber of my being. I felt my emotions becoming clearer and sharper. Then, my body also began to change. I felt as if a miniature star burned in the center of my chest: from it radiated waves of heat that slowly reached my stomach and shoulders, then my arms and legs, then my hands and feet.

Under that heat, my bones, muscles, organs, and blood vessels were being rebuilt and revitalized. I felt like I was being reborn. I was becoming stronger, faster, and healthier.

It was euphoric.

The awakening was something that all aspirants who entered their first nightmare sought when they finished it; the spell formed a soul core for them.

That core would fill their body and change it to make it more perfect. This process would occur at the end of each nightmare, at least seven times, although humans in this world only reached the third level; the transcendent.

Right now, I am ascending from the first step to becoming divine; a dreamer or latent, as the spell describes it.

After a while, the star burning in my chest finally cooled down. The heat was replaced by comforting coolness. That coolness invaded my body, taking away all the pains and discomforts that had accumulated there over the years. Then it ascended, reaching my brain and finally my eyes.

Here, I felt that something should have happened, something should have changed in all this space.

However, I can't understand what's wrong, nor can I determine what's missing.

Pulling me out of my thoughts, the spell spoke again.

[Aspect awakening ability...]

There was a moment of silence and then it continued announcing:

[Aspect ability acquired.]

[Aspect ability name: soul control.]

Soul control... Soul appropriator... If I remember correctly, a person's true name is a representation of their destiny, so why is my name so sinister and my ability no less creepy?

Will I really go mad at some point and start controlling everyone's souls?

Well, I must avoid that; perhaps if I make it to Ariel's grave alive, I can break this fate.

Although that will be extremely challenging, I will still do it; I don't want to go crazy and become a monster who steals others' souls.

Well, I'll deal with that when the time comes; right now, I should open my 'Runes.'

Name: Jonathan.

True name: soul appropriator

Rank: Dreamer

Core threads: Inactive

Thread fragments: [0/1000].

What? What are these thread fragments? Maybe they're something like the shadow fragments Sunny uses in the original novel?

Normally it should say soul fragments, but it says threads.

So, was it true that all bearers of divine aspects have their own ways of becoming strong?

God, I hope it's not as slow as Sunny, that kid has the worst ways of getting strong.

But there was also that strange way of describing his core as 'thread core.'

Sunny had a shadow core, which was also different from the normal ones that seemed like suns in their soul sea.

So many questions and so few answers; it's better to leave everything for later.

I continued studying my runes.

Memories: [fallen guard's armor] [treacherous tooth]

Echoes: -

Attributes: [lost soul] [liar] [lost]...

Aspect: [puppeteer].

Aspect rank: Divine.

Innate ability: [foresight]

Aspect ability: [soul control]

Ability description: [you can control beings with a soul core formed from a certain rank.]

Why is it so vague about my ability? How stingy, it didn't even specify the control range.

[Every power has a price.]

[You have received a flaw.]

[Your flaw is: soul bond.]

Description: [as someone who connects their soul with others, if they receive any kind of damage to their souls, you will receive a certain amount of damage to your own soul.]

Well, that sucks.

If I'm going to have... How should I say it, puppets.

If I'm going to have puppets, and they are damaged with something capable of destroying their souls, I'll really be screwed.

[You have...]

What? What was that?

But before I could remember what the spell said, it spoke again, but this time more hurriedly than ever before and seemed somewhat desperate.

[Wake up, soul appropriator!]

...

When I felt my body again...

"Damn, it's so cold!"

Why the hell is it so cold here?

Where the hell am I?

I looked around and noticed that I had woken up in some kind of dirty alley with garbage bags everywhere and...

I was completely naked.

I looked at my body and realized that not only had my soul been transferred to this world, but apparently the spell had woven me a new body that was almost identical to my real body.

I realized this because I have the same birthmark here as on Earth, uh, my Earth, not this Earth.

The birthmark had a slight triangular shape on my left pectoral, which, by the way, was now more muscular.

Actually, my whole body seemed more vibrant and overflowing with strength than it was in my world.

It was more defined and with much more muscle everywhere; my body seemed to have taken the soul core transformation very well.

Well, I should get dressed before doing anything else.