"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." The mirror said, "I am Prince Mordret. Might you tell me your name?"
Lucien stared at the mirror for a few seconds, finding his own reflection staring back.
Eventually he dismissed the storm enhancing him and said with a hint of suspicion, "Lucien Stormborn."
"Oh? Stormborn? Did a new clan rise up in the waking world while I was gone?" Mordret mused
"Not a clan name," Lucien said, "I'm not from the waking world."
"Not from the waking world?" Mordret echoed, "Another Dreamspawn, fascinating."
Lucien sighed, "Why does everyone assume I'm a Dreamspawn? I'm not, I don't have that attribute."
Mordret remained silent for a few seconds, and then said, "That's even more fascinating. Were you really born in the Dream Realm?"
Before Lucien could answer, Sunny interrupted, "Stop, stop! We don't have much time, what exactly is that thing?"
He was pointing toward the mass of darkness as he said that.
The prince remained silent for a few moments, then sighed.
"I really can't make sense of you."
Sunny blinked.
"What? What is that supposed to mean?"
Mordret answered with a bit of doubt in his voice.
"Nothing, really. It's just that… Some things about you suggest a certain background, but then there are as many contradictions. Don't you know what a Seed of Nightmare looks like?"
Lucien raised an eyebrow, so that was a Seed of Nightmare? No wonder it made him feel so sleepy. This is what Nephis was going to be looking for if they hadn't found a Citadel. This is how they could challenge the Second Nightmare and become an Ascended. Or as the humans called it, a Master.
Sunny scowled and said with annoyance:
"How am I supposed to know what a Seed of Nightmare looks like? I only became an Awakened a few months ago!"
Mordret spoke in his usual polite tone:
"Have your clan elders not taught you anything?"
Sunny opened his eyes wide, a shocked expression appearing on his face.
"Clan? What clan?! Do I look like a Legacy to you?!"
Lucien ignored them and continued staring at the Seed.
'I wonder what would happen if I use Nightveil on it…'
In fact he was about to do just that when his entire body suddenly froze. Cold sweat beaded up on his forehead, and a shiver ran down his spine. He could suddenly hear his heart thumping wildly in his chest.
'What…is…this?'
His whole being was warning him against it, it told him he would die if he used Nightveil on the Seed.
Breathing in shakily, Lucien gave up trying to understand the inner machinations of a Seed of Nightmare for now and slowly looked up where Sunny and Mordret were still talking.
"This Seed of Nightmare is a very, very special one." Mordret was saying, "There are a lot of Masters, but not all Masters are equal. There are a few dozen Saints, but not all Saints are equal. And similarly, there are numerous Nightmares… but not all Nightmares are equal."
Lucien frowned, 'That's the first time I'm hearing of it.'
Although he supposed that made sense in a way. Not all sleepers were equal after all. Sleepers like Sunny, Nephis, and himself were far above the ordinary sleepers. But that could be accounted for due to the rank of their aspects.
Sunny scowled.
"How so? Is it easier? More difficult?"
The prince sighed.
"Neither. As far as the difficulty of the trial is concerned, the Spell is always fair… in its own perverse way. However, that doesn't mean that the outcome is always the same. What enemies you vanquish determine what Memories and Echoes you receive. What battles you fight determines what experience you will bring back."
'As in the experience of looking directly at a Daemon and nearly dying because of it.' Lucien thought, remembering his first nightmare. Well, he had also gained the Stone Armorsuits there, as well as the Storm Blade, and the now destroyed Stone Spear.
Mordret continued unaware of his thought process, "...But more than that, the nature of the Nightmare you challenge determines what knowledge you will receive, and what secret you will be able to glean. As a researcher, you should know that the lessons humans can learn from the decrepit ruins in the Dream Realm are not that profound. Where do you think most of our knowledge comes from? It comes from the stories people bring back from their Nightmares, of course."
Lucien nodded, he'd learned about the Stormforged and their war against the Stone Children in the nightmare. He'd also learned about the battle between Nether and Storm God that tore a hole through the sky and the earth.
But the First Nightmare was different, it was unique to you. You did not need to find a seed to challenge it. Once you were infected all you needed to do was sleep. Therefore, there was no choosing your First Nightmare, it chose you instead.
But the Second Nightmare….you could choose that. You chose which Seed to enter, and each Seed was concerned with a different part of the Dream Realms history.
Lucien's gaze turned to the Seed of Nightmare in front of him. This Seed was situated inside the Tower of Longing, the Tower of Hope. It was undoubtedly related to the history of this tower, and of the Daemon of Desire.
Mordret gave them time to think, then said in an even tone:
"For that reason, Legacy clans — not all of them, but the truly powerful ones — select the Nightmares for their members to challenge very carefully."
Sunny lingered for a bit, then raised an eyebrow:
"...What crazy clan chose that cursed Seed for you to try and find, then?"
The prince laughed.
"Oh, no! No one had wished for me to seek it. It was my decision alone. In fact, I suspect that only three people in both the waking world and this one know about its existence. Me… and now you two."
He chuckled again, and then added:
"But that is what makes it so special, as well. None of them could have learned of its existence, reached it, and taken its rewards as their own."
After that, Mordret suddenly grew silent. He remained that way for a while, and then added quietly:
"Well… it's not like I managed to do it, either."
He sighed, lingered for a few moments, and then added in a wistful tone:
"Can you imagine what secrets that Seed hides? What one would learn from that Nightmare? A Nightmare... a Nightmare that was created from the chains with which Hope herself had been bound…"
A shiver ran down Lucien's spine as soon as he heard that. His gaze unwittingly turned to the seven chains lying on the ground. 'Hope had been bound by these chains…'
The first thought that came to his mind had to do with the strength of the chains, to be able to imprison a Daemon. Now he wanted to take the chains as well as the bones of the Dragon outside. Maybe he could combine them to make a weapon. In his time as a hunter in the Dark City he'd seen a multitude of chained weapons, some held a solid mass at the end, often adorned with spikes. Some had a small scythe connected to it.
The second thought that came to his mind was to get away from the room. If those chains could bind Hope, what would happen if they accidentally bound him? He'd need to lose a limb to escape that surely.
The third thought that came to his mind asked why Hope was chained in the first place? Who could imprison a Daemon in their own tower? Certainly not a mortal.
The Gods?
Right, there was a sea of divine flames right under the tower.
Sun God then? He was the god of fire after all.
The fourth and final thought that came to his mind was about how she had escaped. If the gods themselves had imprisoned her, surely she wouldn't be able to escape her chains on her own. Someone had to help her escape. For Hope had certainly escaped, she had taken part in the final battle between the Daemons and the Gods after all.
The Hollow Mountains were near to the Tower of Longing, so perhaps Nether had come to help. He did make the Ebony Tower as a replica of this one.
But then, why would Nether do that? He didn't strike Lucien as the kind of Daemon to do something out of the kindness in his heart.
As he pondered on his thoughts, Sunny took the opportunity to ask:
"What Nightmare is this a Seed of?" Lucien asked, "Something as important as a Daemon's imprisonment…surely it's at least the Third Nightmare?"
"It's the Second Nightmare," Mordret said absentmindedly, and then with a hint of surprise in his voice asked:
"You know about the Daemons?"
"You could say that." Lucien said, staring at the Seed of Nightmare. Only a second nightmare?
He could possibly challenge that and become a Master, although his chances of survival weren't very high in his current state with only Sunny to help him.
Beside him Sunny was thinking of a similar thing. '...That's one way I can get out of the Dream Realm, then… but am I suicidal enough to go into the Second Nightmare with just the two of us? Whole cohorts of experienced Awakened routinely perish in their attempts to become Masters. What would our chances of survival be with no one else to help us inside?'
He scowled.
"Wait… will this Seed create a Gate in the real world if it's not destroyed?"
'A Gate?' Lucien thought with a frown. That was an unfamiliar term.'
When Mordret answered, his voice was almost indifferent.
"Indeed. But not for a long time… maybe in a few years, or a decade. It has not matured enough to be able to bloom yet."
Sunny hesitated.
"But it can be challenged, right?"
The lost prince did not answer for a while, but then finally said:
"Yes. A Seed can be challenged before it blooms, as well as after. If the Seed is not found in time and a Gate opens, challengers can fight their way through and enter the Nightmare directly. The Gate also disrupts the anchors of those near it, so Masters and Saints that enter the Dream Realm will appear in the vicinity of the blooming Seed. After that, they can lead Awakened to it."
'He explained a bit about the gates but why do I feel even more confused?' Lucien blinked. From what he gathered, a Gate was like the reflection of the Seed of Nightmare in the waking world that pulls in Saints, Masters and Awakened. But what did he mean by 'fight their way through'. Why'd they need to fight to get through a gate?
Mordret continued speaking after a moment of silence.
"In fact, most of the Seeds are not found in time, because the Dream Realm is vast and only partially explored. That's why the Nightmare Creatures are entering our world so often. Challenging a Seed before it blooms is much better. In this case, however… I would advise against it."
Sunny turned away from the mass of shimmering darkness, then asked in an even tone:
"Yeah? Why?"
Mordred let out a heavy sigh.
"Conquering a Second Nightmare alone is not impossible, but attempting it is tantamount to gambling your life away. The chances of returning alive are very slim. That is why Awakened challenge them as members of cohesive, experienced cohorts. Even then, many don't survive… most, even. But this Nightmare is actually far worse.
Entering it is a guaranteed death sentence, regardless of how many challengers there are. Unless…"
Sunny kept his ears open, suddenly very attentive.
"Unless what?"
"Guaranteed death sentence?" Lucien muttered under his breath, "What happened to the spell being fair?"
The prince remained silent for a short moment, then said:
"There is a black altar in the place you call Night Temple. On it lies an ivory knife. Only those who have shed blood on the altar and received the Memory of the knife have a chance to survive the trial that hides within this Seed."
At that point Lucien realized trying to understand their new topic of conversation was useless. He didn't know anything about the Night Temple, or an ivory knife. They were talking about a place Lucien had no information about.
Sunny thought for a few seconds and then said:
"Would the obsidian knife from the white altar of the Sanctuary of Noctis work?"
Mordret laughed.
"Sure. Having both would be even better, incredibly so. However, I don't know the method to receive the Memory of the obsidian knife. The ritual seems to be different from the one required for the altar in the Night Temple, and I have never figured it out."
'And now there's an Obsidian knife and a Sanctuary of Noctis.' Lucien grumbled. He decided to wait until they were done talking to ask about all of this new information.
Sunny then proceeded to ask, "What do these knives actually do, though? And how the hell do you know all this?"
However, there was no response.
After a few seconds of silence Lucien asked, "What happened, where's he gone?"
"He does that sometimes," Sunny sighed, "He can only communicate with us for so long. He'll be back in a few days."
Lucien nodded, "Right, so do you mind educating me about the Night Temple, the ivory knife, the ebony knife, and the Sanctuary of Noctis? I'm afraid you guys lost me somewhere during that part."
Sunny turned his gaze away from the Seed of Nightmare and nodded. Then he began explaining, starting from his arrival in the Chained Isles.