"Yeah, I'm going independent. I haven't chosen a citadel yet though"
Caster stares at me with a deep look of betrayal
"Well why don't you come to my clan's citadel?"
I shake my head
"Nah. The local clan would keep too much of an eye on me. I'd rather be completely free to do what I want."
He blinks with a confused expression.
"That is.... that's a very you kind of reasoning"
I grin
"Oh yeah, did you see it, my true name?"
He goes from confused to exasperated
"Yes I saw, quite impressive"
Thats when Kai pipes up
"well im glad you and sunny are okay, knowing sunny I'm shocked the whole tower didnt fall on his head and knowing you ■■■■ im shocked you didnt try to climb up there to kill the terror yourself"
Effie laughs
"yeah, its unlike you to know someone's in danger and not run right into it"
I frown
"I only do that when I know I could save someone and frankly if Neph couldn't beat that thing I stand no chance. Anyways I had gotten hit with a soul or maybe mind attack and couldn't fight anymore"
Caster tits his head
"I thought you went down from all those injuries, you always seemed to hate dealing with pain."
I shrug
"Soul attacks are far worse apparently"
Effie is the next to speak
"What was up with those ice people?"
I shrug
"I didn't know I could do that either. It just happened in the heat of the moment. Now about those true names of yours"
Effie grins, Sunny gets a weird look, Caster hides his jealousy well, and Kai gets a sheepish expression.
"What their cool like real cool. I mean raised by wolves? Nightingale? Song of the fallen....wait where's Cassie?"
Soon a few instructors come into the room going on and on about the fallen. They may have died, and many did die meaninglessly but those who are still alive are all likely to become masters or even saints.
Soon there's an uproar about Changing Star and her whereabouts.
"Calm down awakened. I'll tell you everything we know"
The whole group goes silent staring at the instructor
"As all of you know by now, the gateway of the forgotten shore seemed to have been destroyed. Changing Star who took it upon herself to distract the fallen terror to allow her people to escape, did not make it through in time"
I look around many have looks of hopelessness.
"However she is still alive out there in the dream realm. Her vital signs and brain activity readings are all stable. It seems that Lady Nephis managed to escape the fallen terror at least"
Caster seems to tense, odd. The other survivors don't become hopeless, in fact, they seem to have regained hope, and voices all around say over and over that Nephis will live, that the immortal flame will not fall.
"What, uh.... what do you guys think?"
Caster shakes his head
"only she could ever hope to escape"
Effie shrugs
"I kind of agree. If anyone can make it out alive from there, its princess. It sounds impossible but I mean.... its her. You know how she is"
Kai stays silent then nods
"thats what I believe, too. Or.... or at least what I try to believe"
He looks around
"But Cassie must be devastated. Have you seen her?"
Sunny turns away a complicated look on his face
"...i did earlier. She is."
I look over at them
"Honestly I think she'll get out but I doubt she'd be the same"
Kai sighs rubbing his face
"Ah, I really want to sleep. It's tough, staying awake for this long. What about you guys?"
Sunny shrugs
"I'm fine for now. I also have a pack of military grade stimulates to keep me awake for a few more days."
I point my thumb at Sunny showing I'm in the same situation as him. Caster gets this somewhat smug expression
"I simply anchored myself at my clan's citadel."
Effie looks at us and grins
"I'm not sleepy at all. However... to be honest.... I am dying from hunger. There has to be food here somewhere, right?"
Later after we had found food and Caster, Sunny and Kai had finished while Effie and I were still eating.
I mostly just eat slowly and Effie eats a lot. The 3 are mostly staring at Effie and the large amount of food she's eating. Effie finishes her last recent plate and looks up
"Ah! That's life. Sunny go bring me something to drink"
Sunny gets a sour expression
".....I already brought you the last 3 trays. Why don't you ask Kai? Or better yet Caster"
Kai gets a sheepish expression, Caster looks offended, I don't even slightly giggle or laugh at that expression
"Aren't you the youngest? Respect your elder brat! Also, Kai, and I are bigshots now, way out of your league. Caster is a proud legacy. Why would I ask a valiant true-name awakened or a proud legacy to serve me food when there's a nameless clan less gremlin-like you loitering around?"
Sunny grits his teeth but I get up first
"I'll get it"
I walk off, I get up grabbing a bunch of drinks for Effie and one for myself. I come back putting the ones I got for Effie down.
"Hey ■■■■ what do you think Sunny's true name would be? Or Casters?"
I sit down thinking for a bit
"Something to do with a lack of light for Sunny and for Caster it depends on his awakened attribute.... oh yeah what kind of new powers did you all get anyways?"
Kai smiles
"I can see super far"
Effie's about to speak when I cut her off
"like a bird!"
They all look over at me confused but not shocked
"Nightingale is a bird right? Think about it, your aspect seems to relate to birds"
Effie grins
"Well i can become invulnerable for a few seconds what does that say about my aspect"
I start thinking
"One of the Greek gods was raised by wolves and she was also a hunter"
Effie laughs
"I'd ask which one but I doubt youd remember her name"
I frown
"Well you aren't wrong but still"
I nod a bit looking at Caster
"What about you I bet I could come up with a theory"
Caster frowns
"I'm sorry but I'd rather not mention it"
I guess that makes sense
"other clans could listen in to our conversation?"
I start thinking
"Well your aspect is speed based from what I know so ill go off of that. If I were to go for the same naming convention as Kai then it would likely have to do with the cheetah. If it were a Greek god, then I'd say something related to Hermes, the messenger of the gods."
The group stares at me with weird expressions, how odd. I look at sunny
"-Oh its short range teleportion"
I nod
"Now for sunny if I was to do the same thing, for Kai's then it would likely have to do with snakes or a similar animal as for Effie's it would have to do with Erebus who is the god of shadows in Greek mythology."
I close my eyes smiling, only now I realize im being stared at with weird expressions
"What?"
Kai is the first to speak
"■■■■ how do you know all that?"
I shrug
"I had a phase"
I wave my hand to dismiss their weird looks.
"Anyways since you've told me your new powers I'll tell you mine, it's called snow storm and you can guess what it does. A storm of snow where the snowflakes are sharp."
I hold out my hand and a little storm of snow appears on it.
"Oh, so that's what's up with those floating little ice things behind you. Wait are your eyes glowing blue? Holy shoot they are!"
Effie is the first to comment on it.... also wait what I look back and don't see any floating ice. I get up turn around, nothing, again, nothing, and again and again.
What the hell is she talking about? I hear laughing, I look back, Caster had turned his face away and had moved it with his hand. Sunny was barely not laughing. Kai was smiling with a look of amusement. Effie was downright laughing.
"Dork, what the hell are you doing?"
I point at her
"Did you lie to me?! There's no floating ice, and I doubt the glowing eyes thing"
Kai laughs lightly handing me a mirror he has on him, not shocking, I look in it, and sure enough behind my head are two floating ice shards.
"What the fuck?"
That gets Effie to laugh even harder, Sunny starts laughing as well and I hear Caster trying his absolute hardest not to laugh, kai still had an amused look but now it looked even more amused than before.
I active snow storm and sure enough my eyes are glowing blue, but only in the pupil, my eye color is the same. It's a pale cold blue like that of my soul sea.
"Heh?????"
I walk to my room, my family won't be here right now so it's fine. I notice someone in front of my room. By his heat signature, it's a master as well
"Awakened Heat Seeker. I've been waiting for you. I am master Darren a government ascended."
I tilt my head, I knew this would come sooner or later
"If it's about me being classified as SS I already know about that. I was with awakened sunless when he had his talk with the soul reaper."
He blinks staring at me incredibly surprised then he gains his mask of calm professional politeness
"I see so you already know all of the relevant information"
I nod he hands me a similar black box to the one Soul Reaper gave Sunny. We end up talking for a bit but for far shorter than with Soul Reaper with Sunny. I enter my room a 7th-class citizen.
I sit down at my desk I've been putting it off but.... I have to check something. I pull up my soul sea. The cold blue light is both a comfort and yet it's also something I've been dreading and putting off thinking about. I slowly turn around looking at its edges.
There standing were all of the dead of the dreamer army.... and my old cohort. .... that and the prince of ash too. Every dead ally I had is here, all look both alive and yet like they're made of ice.
I think they look peaceful but the idea that maybe just maybe their suffering seems to haunt me already. I'm quite sure that the reason their here is because of that attribute. I think they've been here since they died but I could never fully see them until I used the crown of snow for the first time.
I didn't want to look fully, I knew something was back there but I never really thought about it. When I first used the crown of snow I finally figured it out. It's quite the bitter piece of knowledge.... but it's better to do something with my time than think about how I feel.
I finally summon the stained glass cloak. I activate it, and I float a little above the ground. It seems that it's better than Sunny's memory wings but not by too much. From what I can tell it also has elemental resistance.
That seems really useful even for people who don't have elemental powers but it's even better for me. Someone is walking to my door, it seems to be healer. I walk over opening the door even before she could knock
"Healer! I didn't expect you to be here"
She huffs
"Well clearly..... I'm glad you survived all that"
She pats me on the shoulder as she enters my room. Then she stops looking at the stained glass cloak.
"Would you look at that, you know you're absolutely going to be appearing in all sorts of things. So I think we've found a symbol you can have."
"Heh?"
She waves her hand
"Well think about it. Your probably the least popular of the forgotten shore true namers so having a symbol is a must and well"
She gestures at the cloak
"Something like that with your ice aspect, its a match made in any PR departments heaven"
She grabs the desk chair flipping it to face me
"Your going to need a symbol to stand out, a set of wings like those are incredible and just as fitting. Mix that with the helmet you always have on and I think you can match them"
I put my hands up
"You're really sure I'll be making public appearances."
She points at me
"All of us are the propaganda markers dreams. Even more so for those who got true names. You're one of them so you have to expect the government to be keen on you making appearances."
Some time after I jog over to Sunny who was sitting on a bench sipping a drink. He seems to be on a call. He looks over says something and holds it out for me
"Awakened Heat Seeker. I'm hearing that you'll be going to the same citadel as awakened Sunless can you confirm that"
It was Sunny's ascended contact
"Yes I can confirm that"
"So you'll be going to the Chained Isles as well"