Chapter VII: Counting Your Demons

William stood under the shower motionless, his body being kissed by scalding-hot water. Thanks to his Sleeper status, his body barely felt the heat which would have made a normal person get first degree burns.

He always liked showers, there was something strangely calming with just standing motionless under an endless torrent of cleansing water and boy did he need something to calm him.

"I still can't believe all this is real; well, Jet's slap was real enough," he muttered as he absent mindedly reached for his cheek that was slapped. Thankfully, she did it only as a joke or else he would've lost a few teeth and maybe his head. Although, he was uncertain whether that would've killed him to be honest thanks to his aspect. Speaking of aspects.... The young man opened his eyes and summoned the Nightmare Spell runes.

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Name: William

True Name: Malevolent Star

Rank: Sleeper

Soul Core: Dormant

Soul Fragments: [81/1000]

Memories: [Osseous Exoarmor], [Teardrop Amulet]

Echoes: -

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He closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a tired groan, "Let's get this over with." Some may wonder why would he be so pessimistic and tired even though he got into a fictional world like many other novels he read.

Well, firstly, the world he is in is not all sunshine and rainbows. Humanity hangs on a tiny thread and even if you have great power, it means jack shit in the larger scheme of things since there is always a stronger more eldritch horrory creature right around the corner ready to fuck up your day. Of course, that is, if you don't get 'persuaded' to join one of the 'Great Clans' or are killed by them for being a threat. Thus, as you can see everything in this world is a death trap or the prelude to a death trap.

"Okay, let's see...It seems that I have to collect mcguffins like sunny to level up my soul core. Also, it looks like I already got some fragments; most likely from that centipede and soldier that donated his armor.

Next, he looked at his attributes and was surprised to find two new ones.

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Attributes: [Fateless], [Eidetic Kinesthesia], [Adaptive], [Living Undead], [Monarch Beyond the Grave]

[Living Undead] Attribute Description: "You have the characteristics of both the undead and the living."

[Monarch Beyond the Grave] Attribute Description: "Even among the dead there is a hierarchy. You are the monarch of the living dead. All undead follow your commands without question. Hostile undead are suppressed innately by the nature of you regal presence."

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"Why does this damn spell like to be vague so much? How am I supposed to know what [Living Undead] does? You know what? I'll just do the adult thing and ignore the problem until it needs to be addressed," he said with annoyance before taking a few deep breaths to calm down. 'This is not good, the nighmare left me too erratic. Better control it before it bites me in the ass.'

"At least the second one is clear enough," then an idea came to him, "does this include a certain raven-haired undead?"

"Do I even dare to try my luck with that?" after thinking for a few moments he promptly shook his head, "Nope, not a chance. I am no masochist. Moving on.."

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Undead Monarch Abilities: [Mantle of Death]

[Mantle of Death]

Ability Description: [All creatures see glimpses of their mortality when gazing upon you royal visage.]

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"Is this thing passive or do I need to activate it?" William wondered as he red the one sentence description. "It demands further testing, maybe when I get the academy or whatever that place was called."

Moving down, he inspected his aspect.

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Aspect: [Living Lich King]

Aspect Rank: Semi-Divine

Aspect Description: [You are an abomination that breaks all laws of nature and fate. No god would have ever allowed you to come into existence if they could help it. You are an undead who had not only retained his humanity but also his soul.]

Innate Ability: [Anomaly]

Ability Description: [You are a unknown variable in the weave, your abilities are empowered when altering fate. However, doing that puts you in the crosshairs of fate itself and antagonizing fate has never been good for one's health.]

Aspect Ability: [Raise Undead]

[Raise Undead]

Ability Description: [Bind the souls of the dead to your eternal will and raise them to do your bidding.]

Sub Ability - [Bind Royal Guard (0/3)]

Ability Description: [The Lich King can choose certain undead to become a part of his royal guard.]

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"I'm a Lich, so raising the living as undead is a given; however, I wonder how far I can take it. Is it solely humans or are nightmare creatures also included? If so, then what rank and class is my limit? Questions, questions....." he pondered as his eyes swept further down his rather lengthy status runes.

Then, his eyes stopped dead at the Aspect Legacies. "Aspect Legacies? So soon?"

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Aspect Legacy: [Frostmourne], [Profane Grimoire]

[Frostmourne]

Legacy Description: [The fabled, nigh-unbreakable runic bastard sword, Frostmourne, has chosen you as its new master and is the new conduit of your immortality. However, its powers have faded due to its long slumber. Yet, even in its weakened state, Frostmourne will not sit to be wielded by a weak-willed coward. Strive to stand at the top lest your soul be consumed as many previous unworthy masters.]

[Profane Grimoire]

Legacy Description: [An old book containing magic alien to the world. If one listened carefully one may hear the lingering voice of the foul entity that created it.]

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"Frostmourne, I can somewhat understand it being some form of legacy but why am I getting a cursed grimoire?" his curiosity wanted him to summon the legacy but another, more cautious, part whispered in his ear than even in the shower, the walls have ears. Thus, he suppressed his curiosity until he was truly away from prying eyes.

After all, a single legacy was enough to start a clan, so what about having two? Anyways, that is a problem for future William to fret over. The current William was already checking out his most pressing problem: his Flaw.

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Flaw: [Hollowing]

Flaw Description: [To live forever, one must forget. Your immortality is imperfect, every time you suffer fatal wounds and die, you shall lose a part of yourself until nothing remains but a shell of your former self.]

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William suddenly felt a chill run up his spine and goosebumps rising all over his arms even though he was under a scalding downpour. He knew internally what his flaw meant but he wished he didn't.

He was an immortal now, something he knew many would do countless massacres to get their hands upon. Yet, at what cost? Losing his childhood memories? His memories of his mother? His sister? His friends? His home? He was just a regular teenager, he didn't even get to have a girlfriend and now he was all alone in a world filled with monsters and monsters in human skin.

So, he sat down on the shower floor, covered his face with his hands and wept. He silently wept for all that he has lost and all that he will lose in the future. He was not the young hero that killed a fallen demon nor the semi-divine aspect wielding sleeper. Now, he was just a vulnerable young man wanting to go home.

A stranger in even stranger lands.

After fifteen minutes of putting his emotions bare for the world to see in the relative privacy of the shower, William got up with an exhausted sigh and cut the water. Taking the towel he was given to dry himself, he exited the shower and approached the sink mirror.

Staring back at him was a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. His skin had become pale but it was not the sickly pallor but rather his skin looked healthier than most supermodels in his old world. Even his height had increased from his previous 5'11ft (1.8m) to a whoping 6'5ft (1.95m). Moreover, he looked far more muscular than he ever remembered himself to be. Even the bit of fat he had around his gut was all but gone, only leaving a six-pack outline. All this happened due to him becoming a Sleeper. Was it a side effect of his aspect? Either way, he knew that with such qualities he would've been a top celebrity in his old world if he tried a little. However, that was just wishful thinking.

After two months of being in the nightmare, his already longish hair had now reached his shoulders but rather than the previous dark hair he had, it was now stark white. Like freshly driven snow. Also, his eyes, which were now reddened from his previous emotional breakdown, had lost their previous oak-brown color and were replaced by two pools of cerulean blue that seemed to glow faintly in the dark.

(Image)

"Like what you see chief?" his reflection in the mirror said, causing him to jump back in fright. Who wouldn't?

"M-M-Mordret?"

The reflection made an X sign with his hands and made a machanical error noise, "Nope, wrong number. The Prince of Nothing is still grounded by his daddy. C'mon chief, I'm offended you don't remember me. After all the time we spent in that nightmare talking to each other."

"No, no, no, No. NO! You're! Not! Real!" the white haired male yelled at his reflection trying his best to reassure himself of his sanity.

"Aren't you inside a fictional world? So why can't I be real? You didn't really believe that you got out of that ordeal scot-free, did you?" mirror William said in a sarcastic tone.

Shutting his eyes in an attempt to reject what he was experiencing, William closed his ears with his hands, "You're not real. You're not real. You're not real. You're not real. ..."

After five minutes of continuous chanting, William opened his eyes only to find his reflection had gone back to normal as if that whole thing hadn't happened.

"It must be hallucinations, probably from not eating in two months. Yeah, that's it," he reassured himself in a shaky voice. Quickly, drying himself and wear the standard issue police tracksuit he was given; all the while, avoiding looking at the mirror like a palgue. His hand grasped the door knob to leave the bathroom.

"I'll always be watching you."

Snapping his head back to the mirror, he only found his reflection staring back at him with a horror-stricken expression - the expression he was now making.

Finally, with a shaken heart and mind, he exited the bathroom for his briefing.