[Prepare for appraisal…]
The voice of the spell echoed within Damian's mind as he stared up at the boundless black void which surrounded him, a myriad of brilliantly shining stars illuminating the space with a gentle luminescence as he watched the strings of silver light pulse with ethereal light from time to time, like some sort of gigantic brain.
Was he in the soul of some colossal titan which encompassed all of reality, was that what the nightmare spell truly was, he would never know and he never wished to truly know for all he could focus on at this moment was pain. The pain his body and soul were enduring as a consequence for fighting and somehow ending the life of the majestic dragon.
In truth he had never expected to make it this far, believing that some form of terrible monster would destroy their hopes and consume them all as if they never mattered at all, but somehow they had made it through, if it wasn't for them finding a way out so quickly after slaying the beast he was sure he would have died in a matter of hours, maybe a day or so if he was lucky. His soul had been and still was breaking apart, unable to handle the stress he had placed upon it.
The desperate attempt to save the lives of as many sleepers as possible had come at the cost of his life, or at least it should have but now he was given a second chance, even as his soul slowly broke down he waited for the spell to speak, he didn't know what he would get this time but he was ready for it, ready for the euphoric sensation flooding his body and soul.
Waiting for what felt like both an eternity as well as a single moment the voice of the spell spoke out once again,
[Damian! Your expedition is over.]
[A group of soldiers led to victory by the valiant Warden of Valor stormed the Bastion of Imagination and reclaimed the throne of war from the hands of the corrupted reflection of war, left wandering in a falsehood created long ago. The unseen commander of the forces protected his people until his last breath and yet even then he continued on, without his guidance and strength the Invaders would never have been able to claim the throne from which a new monarch will be born to rule.]
The spell then listed out every creature Damian had managed to bring to their death, the pride he felt as the voice spoke swelled in his chest paired with questions about the strange description it gave,
'What is this Warden of Valor the spell mentioned, it sounded an awful lot like their leader..'
The name sounded strange and yet oddly fitting but why would it call him that instead of his tru…
Suddenly the pieces in his mind clicked as the picture finally became clear, for what the spell had done was use the man's name, his true name, Damian stared at the blank spot of his runes for a moment as he sent unheard congratulations to the young knight, he did not know what it meant to receive a true name but it must be important if it's listed in the runes of the spell.
Soon the voice boomed once again in the endless abyss,
[Your achievements are remarkable!.]
[Final appraisal: Excellent]
Hearing these words he felt pride brimming within his chest, he knew what came next but he couldn't help but think back on all in which he had achieved since becoming infected by the spell, and what more he would do once he returned home, stronger than ever before. He waited in tense silence before the words he was waiting for materialised themselves.
[The second Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Just like before Damian sensed a faint energy waking up inside of him, just like before it felt like this new power came from deep within his shattered soul instead of being bolstered by an external source, instead this time the feeling was far more intense and defined.
The shattered remnants of his core hummed outward with a powerful warmth which quickly spread over his body as the energy slowly pulled itself back together as a pleasant heat overcame his body, the energy drew together the shattered fragments into one cohesive whole once again as wave after wave of euphoric energy spread throughout his body, reaching every cell and enchanting them with truly monstrous power far greater than what had happened before.
His core fused together once again as he felt the energy begin to circle throughout his body in a rhythmic cycle, it was like his body was being flooded with hundreds…no thousands of shards all at once the bliss and euphoria unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
Oh how he had longed to feel this sensation since the last time, the energy he gained from shards was barely enough to satiate his desire for this feeling and now he didn't even know if they would suffice any more, letting out not so subtle moans of pure bliss out into the voice.
His body once riddled with injuries was now pure and whole once again as the energy washed away all traces of ever being hurt in any capacity, all the smaller pains he had accumulated during his time as a dreamer washed away in an instant. This was the reward he had deserved and nothing would stop him from worshiping every moment of his ascension to a greater being, a better being, a more complete being.
His body and soul now felt greater than ever before as newfound strength permeated his very existence as the waves of heat slowly and sadly slowed down to an inevitable stop as he savoured every moment he could. His mind had become sharper than ever before as his calmness eventually returned to his face, the fear he had felt of his own demise replaced with a roaring need to test his new limits against terrible foes as he slowly opened his eyes and breathed out a sigh.
His body was now strange and alien to him, the energy once contained within his soul had spilt out into the rest of his body as it circulated around his body like a river, passing through his starting at this core then traveling to the rest of his body much like his blood before eventually returning to its source.
He could feel his instinctual understanding of this strange energy increase as he focused on his arm as a sudden tidal wave of force flooded the limb, making it feel like he could punch straight through the vermillion scales of the dragon with ease, the energy saturating his limb faded as his focus was drawn away by the voice of the spell,
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
[...Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Insubstantial.]
[Your attribute has evolved].
[Your Ascension is complete.]
Hurriedly looking at his runes before he awoke he saw two things which had changed, first of all his [Mark of Divinity] was nowhere to be seen instead replaced by a new attribute named, [Spark of Divinity] with its new description reading,
[Every fire starts from a spark. Somewhere deep within your soul a radiant spark shines with divine light.]
This new description did not offer much in terms of insight to what this attribute and its predecessor were actually doing to his body, but he was thankful for the knowledge that attributes could evolve to become even stronger over time.
The second and more important one was the new Aspect ability he had gained,
Aspect Ability Description:
[Insubstantia]:
[You stand against the world itself, denying that you are a part of it as you let the world pass through you unchanged.]
Like most things with the spell the wording was vague and full of questions, he knew he would have to experiment a bit to figure out what it truly meant, taking one last look at his runes to check to see if anything else had changed, until he finally noticed it, his saturation…his beautiful saturation, looking on with a slight amount of annoyance and anger he read his runes,
***
Name: Damian
True Name: -
Rank: Awakened
Soul Core: Awakened
Soul Saturation:0/1000
Memories: [Broken Chain], [Ariadne's WarBow], [Coiled Nail], [Final Ambition]
Echoes: -
Attributes:[Deadeye] [Incessant] [Undisturbed] [Spark of Divinity]
Aspect: [Ceaseless Wanderer]
Aspect Rank: Sacred
Aspect Abilities: [Unremarcable], [Insubstantial]
Gateway - Bastion
***
He had noticed the new gateway section of his runes before and yet was trying his best to ignore the obvious implications which they implied, he wanted to leave that terrible hell forever and never return and yet it seemed that he was somehow tied to the dreadful place, he just didn't know how just yet. A strange sensation washed over him as the spell called out one final time,
[Wake up Damian!]
Soon his vision expanded as the endless void was replaced by a brilliant light, stepping forward he stumbled on the carved stone floors made from brilliant white stone as his vision returned to him, finding himself alone in the opulent throne room. His heart skipped a beat as he looked around the dreadful hall with stunned silence, hoping to see his fellow sleepers…Awakened by his side and yet he was all alone.
He didn't know what was happening, where was everybody else he couldn't understand it what had happened, turning back to the dais he step back on as he instinctively poured his essence into structure as the brilliant light erupted around him before fading away before the spell spoke out again,
[Gateway Failed.]
The lights dimmed in the hall as the darkness swallowed him as he stumbled back off the dais. He should be celebrating right now, in the comfort of his family and fellow survivors of the dreadful world they called home and yet he was stuck here, unable to return.
Falling to his knees Damian couldn't help but slam his fist into the ground, again and again turning the stones into a dust underneath his might as he screamed out curses at the world, he could feel his knuckles begin to bleed as a sudden light filled the chamber, the dais exploded once again with brilliant light as another figure emerged from the light, covered in blackened leathers as his blond hair shook as he lost his step as he came stumbling of the dais the figure of Jasper came into view, his features were obscured by the darkness and yet Damian could see how the man had become far more handsome than before, his features more pronounced as the small blemishes on his skin seem to have faded away.
His face painted in similar questions and anguish as his own as the stunning realisation came over them both, Damian never stopped slamming his fist into the ground and all Jasper could do was place his hand on the man's shoulder as he got his anger out.
Soon the two men were side by side, without a single word between them they sat in the throneroom in empty silence hoping this was all just some terrible nightmare and that they would soon wake up like all the rest.
[End of Volume 1: Dancing at the end of the world]
Hope you all have enjoyed this Fan-Fic so far, would love to hear some feedback from all the people who have enjoyed reading it as much as I have had in writing it.
I will be taking a break for a little while in order to sort out the finer details for the next volume but will be putting out some smaller things during that time, if you have any burning questions about my fic feel free to ask.
(Hope you all have a great Morning/Day/Afternoon/Evening/Night)