When I stepped out of the alleyway, I couldn't help but pause for a moment to look at the streets. The city that would one day be called the Dark City was... dark. I mean, well, there is no sun, so it was bound to be dark.
As I looked at the people around me, I noticed one thing in particular: the scent of despair... and hope. While I can guess where the scent of despair comes from, I wonder why there is hope? Well, there is no need for guesses; I'll find out soon enough.
I blended into the crowd quietly as I began walking. The street I was in was strangely empty. If I wanted to gather information, I needed to reach a tavern or perhaps a street with some commercial shops. The architecture here seemed as simple as it was strong; one look would tell you that whoever built these buildings sought efficiency and quality, not decoration and ornament.
As I walked, I couldn't help but notice something... my senses. They were all nearing a superhuman level. I realized I could hear conversations from great distances, scents were attacking my nose with lethal sharpness, and my eyes could see much further. Perhaps the latter was thanks to the [Beast Eyes] attribute, or perhaps thanks to my lineage. Who knows, maybe both.
This made me stop. My aspect description said I possessed wasted potential because of this body. Perhaps the only reason I was able to control my blood with some ease was my lineage; the Goddess of Beasts was also the goddess of blood and hunting. Well, anyway, good for me.
I sensed some guards talking dozens of meters away. I stopped and entered a nearby alley. As soon as my body was in the darkness, I slowed my blood using the [Hybrid Blood] attribute. Little by little, until my heart began beating once per minute, and then I focused my blood, my senses, and everything else on my sense of hearing.
"I'm tired to the bone," said the first guard,
then paused for a moment before continuing in a quieter voice: "When will this hell end?"
The second guard let out a sigh, saying quietly as if he wanted to comfort his friend despite his failure: "seven days." He said it, and his voice regained some of its strength:
"seven days, and the sacrifice ritual will begin, and then our hell will end."
At the mention of the ritual, the first guard paused for a moment, then his voice returned to a whisper: "I heard they will sacrifice fifty thousand in this ritual." He trembled,
but the second guard didn't let him finish his thoughts; he said in an angry, fanatical voice: "And what of it? Let them kill a hundred thousand if need be, as long as the sun returns. I am ready to offer everything."
Despite saying this, there was a tone of resignation in his voice, like someone who had suffered and witnessed hell until he stopped questioning: "You're right, as long as the sun returns, the price doesn't matter."
I stopped listening to their conversation and focused instead on myself and my chain of thoughts:
seven days / sacrifice ritual / the sun.
The picture had become clear; I have seven days before the end of the nightmare.
I paused for a moment to think about something else... the nightmare.
This nightmare was strange. In most of the nightmares I had read about from our clan's records, the nightmare revolved around something: a mission the person must accomplish, or at least the nightmare being something centered around the person. But this... it doesn't care about me, as if it's telling me that I am not its subject. Perhaps if I continued hiding, the nightmare would end quietly after seven days, without rewards. This is my trial: how much will I change, and how much will I keep?
Yes, this nightmare was harder than any other nightmare that exists or could exist; [Ascended], a death zone, a sinister sacrifice ritual. Well then, does it want to know how much I will change? Hahahaha, I will change everything.
I stood up, adjusting my posture slightly, and left the deserted alley. As I was walking, I saw a man walking from the opposite direction. Hmmm... I lowered myself and quickened my pace, then seconds before the collision occurred, I grabbed the man and threw him into the alley. The man startled and raised his head to stare; however, all he saw was my foot crushing his face.
"Who are y— keeegh!" Before he could adjust himself, I struck him again, and again, and again. I didn't speak, I didn't say anything, I didn't show anything. I continued smashing him against the wall for minutes until he collapsed.
"Aggh... please... stop... stop... what do you want? I'll give you anything." Here it comes... surrender.
I paused for a moment, stepping back one pace while he struggled to breathe. Four seconds later, I returned and grabbed him by the neck: "Any wrong answer, and your head will be the price. If you understand, nod your head." The man nodded his head while crying and choking. "Good. First question: Where is the church located?" The man breathed with difficulty as he answered in a trembling voice: "The eastern part." "Second question: Tell me everything you know about the sacrifice ritual." "Heff... heff... please, I don't know much."
"Wrong answer."
Before he could speak again, I placed a hand over his mouth and grabbed his hand with my other hand...
Snap. "Ahaaaaa!"
"If you scream or don't answer, I will break your other hand, do you understand? Nod your head once if you are focusing." The man began to cry, nodding his head frantically as I released his broken hand.
"Now, again, what do you know about the sacrifice ritual?" "Heff... heff... it will happen in seven days. Our leaders built a massive bloody sacrifice ritual aiming to create a sun for our land. The priestess of the cathedral will be the one who becomes the conduit for the sun."
Hmmmm... well, no strange or unfamiliar information.
Now I have three goals for going to the cathedral. When I directed my gaze at the man beneath me, I realized he had fainted from the pain, or perhaps fear. Well, this makes the work better. I released my hand from his mouth and grabbed his head with both hands... Snap.
Soon, a faint cracking sound was heard in the alley while the Spell whispered in my ear:
[You have slain a dormant human. Name: Unknown.]