The mood around the Academy definitely shifted as the days got shorter. The casual arrogance of the Legacy kids faded into a tense, quiet focus. The rest of us, the Sleepers who'd clawed our way through a First Nightmare, just got… grim. The jokes stopped. The cafeteria was quieter. You'd see people staring into space during lectures, and more than a few had that pale, hollow-eyed look of someone who isn't sleeping.
It got to me, too. The weight of what was coming was a constant pressure. I'd be studying in the library and swear I heard a faint, rustling whisper just at the edge of my hearing. I'd snap my head up, but there'd be nothing there. Just the hum of the lights and the rustle of pages. I wrote it off as pre-game jitters, my brain manufacturing its own ghosts.
Sasrir, of course, was perfectly fine. If anything, the growing tension seemed to amuse him. He'd sit in the corner of my room, a smirk playing on his lips as I tried to ignore the non-existent whispers.
"It's not in your head," he said one evening, his voice cutting through the silence like a shard of ice.
I looked up from my textbook. "What isn't?"
"The whispering. It's not your imagination playing tricks." He tilted his head, his dark eyes distant, as if tuning into a faint radio signal. "My Listener ability has been picking it up for a week now. A very low, steady throb. Like a heartbeat under the floorboards."
I sat up straighter, my Spectator instincts kicking in, analysing his micro-expressions for any hint of a lie. Then I remembered I couldn't see his face.
"It's faint," he continued, "but it's growing stronger every day. It's not words. Not yet. It's more like… a pressure. A psychic tide pulling at the edges of this reality. The Dream Realm is getting closer. It's whispering its arrival."
A cold knot tightened in my stomach. It wasn't just anxiety. It was real. The boundary between our world and the nightmare was thinning, and we could feel it. Sasrir, with his cursed hearing, could feel it clearer than anyone.
"So it's really happening," I said, my voice quieter than I intended.
"It is," he confirmed, that sharp smile returning. "The waiting is almost over. The real fun is about to begin."
Somehow, his version of "fun" did nothing to settle my nerves. The whispers I'd been hearing weren't a trick of my mind; they were the first distant echoes of the storm. And it was coming right for us. The nerves must have shown on my face, our maybe our bond was simply that deep, but Sasrir came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Relax. Sunny survived with Fated despite being a a slum rat with four weeks of training, while we've had six months. My Aspect is basically superior to his in every way too, and you have as many Cores as Nephis did by the end of the Forgotten Shore Arc. We can't be separated by the Spell either, so what's there to worry about?"
"We could get Godgrave," I muttered to myself. "Or the Burning Desert. We know barely anything about the latter since the story never covered it up to where we read, and Godgrave is simply the nesting ground for Corrupted and Great monsters. We're not the Lord of Shadows, we can't just lull a dozen of them to sleep with Nightmare Steed."
"Panic changes nothing" my shadow countered, pressing more firmly down on my shoulder. "Calm yourself Adam. You created me to share your burden, so trust in me to do so."
Taking in his words, I loosed my breath and exhaled. "Thanks, Sassy."
"Don't call me that" he answered in annoyance, flicking the back of my head.
He was right. I was as well prepared as any Legacy for my Awakening. I had Sasrir, the Unshadowed Crucifix, and the expectations of a God watching from above. I didn't even have the plot device that was Lost from Rizz or Autistic Star following me around. "It's a shame we never got to actually test out your Aspect though. For instance, can you strike shadows to kill weaker foes directly?"
"I'm a Dormant Beast," he responded dryly. "I don't think there is anything weaker than me."
"Eh, there's that Scavenger thing that Fiend evolved from, you know, the one that hunted Sunny all the way across Antarctica and even devoured some of his power. Wait, that reminds me! Can you also absorb the Heart of Darkness or Ruby Core dropped by that Black Knight in the Dark City Cathedral?"
"If I can miraculously kill an Ascended Devil and a Corrupted Terror without being eviscerated or eaten alive, then sure, I could try my luck...what kind of stupid question is that? Do you really want me to die that much?"
"Relax bro, it was just a thought..." I raised my hands in defence and muttered while looking away. "Still, it's worth thinking about, how to evolve our Aspects beyond the Acting Method or Path of Ascension."
"In that case, you might as well consider the Defilement of the Estuary" Sasrir mocked me sarcastically. "I think you would make a lovely Mad Prince."
"Nah, I'm definitely the Dread Lord. A Black Dragon that can command the hearts and minds of others? It was practically made for me. Ah, that would make Amon the Soul Snatcher and Medici the Undying Slaughter or Beast. And Ouroboros would make a fitting Torment."
"So I would be either Beast or Slaughter, or the Mad Prince? Hmm, given my later state in Lord of the Mysteries, I suppose being a being associated with a deranged sovereign does fit. I still don't like it though."
"Yeah well, we won't be entering the Tomb of Ariel for a long while anyways, so it's fine."
"So you plan to do so eventually?"
I laughed at that, leaning back in my chair and smirking at him. "But of course! I already have a little plan forming in this noggin' of mine, though I'll need several years and for all of us to be a Master for it to work. Oh, and only if I can indeed unlock a new Envisioning perk after completing a Nightmare. Don't bother asking, I'll tell you when it's ready-"
"You plan to steal Sunny's True Name and Fate?" Sasrir raised an eyebrow.
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