Shadow Slave: Possibilities Without Meaning

Aldric was panicking. Fear set into his gut and wouldn't leave.

He knew that it would be bad but this was terrible. 

"Damnit!"

Flaw: [Tarnished Soul]

Flaw Description: [You are more susceptible to Corruption.]

Those six words caused Aldric's mind to spiral. A thousand thoughts spiraled in his head.

"What does that mean?"

"What does that entail?"

"How susceptible?"

He knew what corruption was and its source. It made a sick kind of sense to him. You cannot gain power without paying the price for it. He hoped that whatever this aspect could do was worth such a steep cost. 

He could have kept thinking till the end of time but a voice interrupted him.

[Wake Up, First Class Singularity!]

The black void flickered out of existence.

----------

Aldric's eyes opened.

He was back, back in the waking world after a long harrowing time. 

The white ceiling reflected back at him in a bright fashion. In his periphery, he could make out the cameras that were there before. Tightly restrained, he could not move a muscle. 

"All clear" A voice shouted.

The sound of something unlocking reverberated in the cold room. Guessing what it was, Aldric got out of the death trap and felt his body properly. He thought that by being in a coma for 2 months his body would atrophy but that was not the case. It seemed the rush of exhilaration that he felt in the weird void translated to his real body. With his body going through a metamorphosis, Aldric could feel the effect the change had on his mind. Thinking clearer. Thinking faster. It made sense. How could the body go through such a qualitative change but not the mind?

As he focussed on his body, he missed the figure standing by the door who just released their hand from the hilt of their sword. A man in his late twenties was standing there. With blond hair and green eyes, he was meeting the beauty standard of today. He was in knight-like armour and had a sword attached to his hip.

"Aldric Vesper. Congratulations on completing the first nightmare. It has been a long wait for us here at the station." He said. A casual look of confidence rested on his face.

"Thank you very much. I'm glad to be back. " Aldric responded.

"Now having confirmed your status, take a shower and meet me in the officer's canteen upstairs. An officer will guide you." The unnamed man said.

"Ok"

----------

After being guided to a bathroom by one of the officers, Aldric had a long hot shower. In his nightmare at the sanctum, they rarely bathed and used cold water at all times. It wasn't enjoyable for a guy like him.

"SQUEAK"

He wiped the steamy mirror to see his reflection. His face lost some of the boyish fat that was remaining. He had a defined jawline with impressive clear caramel skin. Black luscious curly hair fell perfectly above his eyebrows, it was curly with no hair styling products used. The hair itself had an ethereal shine to it like a fairy. His brown eyes glimmered with life and reflected light at him clearly through the mirror. His physique went through a big change. His muscles tightened and condensed. Looking compact and heavy while still being fitted on a lean body. The biggest change though was the look in his eyes. The eyes of someone who has seen something or done something. People instinctively recognise this look and they categorise it as dangerous. What did you have to do to gain such cold-steeled eyes?

Putting on a police-issued tracksuit, he made his way towards the canteen. The man from earlier was sitting down fiddling with a device on his arm.

"That was well timed. Take a seat." 

He took the seat opposite him and looked at the spread of food that was there. Some breakfast foods and tea. 'It must be the morning' he thought.

"I am Awakened Claude. The awakened stationed in this Zone for those infected with the nightmare spell." He spoke in a low-pitched voice.

"I have to go through protocol. Bear with me. I am going to inform you about some things."

"You are entitled to free counseling should you want it. The government encourages communication and gives a safe space to talk about your first nightmare. It is a traumatising experience for most after all. Would you be interested?"

A sickening slideshow of memories flickered through his mind.

"I don't want to talk about it to anyone." Aldric resolutely denied.

"Ok. After reading your file, we notified the matron at the orphanage of your condition and success. You will be able to meet her after we are done here. The last thing would be how you want to prepare for the winter solstice." He spoke.

"You are free to make your own plans however I would strongly suggest attending the Awakened Academy. You might not know this but it is currently early October. You have less than 3 months to prepare for the solstice. I'm sure you've heard about it at your school. It is the frontier for preparing you for your first journey to the dream realm. All sorts of amenities are available to you. What do you think?" 

'Early October huh.' Aldric thought.

It wasn't terrible neither was it good. It would allow him some time to prepare however he would have to expedite the plans he had for his training.

"Yes, I need to sort out some things with the orphanage but I do want to join the Awakened Academy. It's been a goal of mine since being infected."

"That's good to hear. You might meet the very same people you will be fighting side by side with. With this, I am done. Do you have any questions?"

"Is there any advice you would give to a sleeper like me?"

Claude was lost in thought for a brief moment.

"I'm sure you have seen a lot of the media surrounding the awakened. Bastiens of strength. Heroes. The chosen. They are often portrayed as having a sense of morality stronger and nobler than the kindest of mundane humans. As if the power they gained changes their sense of righteousness." Spoke the man while looking directly into Aldric's eyes. 

In a cold voice, he said.

"Humans are humans wherever you go. And power is a sick thing. Bringing the worst out of all it infects. These awakened might be shown in regal armour and faces with supernatural beauty however they are the sickest of them all. Be cautious young man." He finished.

"That is all the time I have left. Good luck." He said and left silently.

Aldric ate his food with the thoughts of what was said in his mind.

'It makes sense.' He knew the types of things humans in his old world got up to with just social and financial power. He could not imagine the type of things that happen behind closed doors in this one. The novel showed small glimpses of the depravity of awakened humans.

But this was stuff that he already knew. 

'Status' 

Name: Aldric

Rank: Dreamer.

Dark Core: Dormant

Dark Sprites:[58/1000]

Memories:[Unwavering Spark],[Cragborne Armor],[Malice Of The Deep],[Cavedweller Garms][Bow of Bone][Lizard's Dagger][Burrow Whip]

Attributes: [Insight][Clear Mind][Destined]

Aspect:[Made In Abyss]

Aspect Rank: Divine.

Aspect Abilities:[Dark Well]

Aspect Ability Description:[You can manifest the Darkness within.]

'Dark Sprites? I guess I don't follow the same progression as regular awakened. It might even be different than Sunless' '. 

58 was an irregular number. If he were to use the number of cores they had and a multiplier of 2 for those ranked above him, he would have received 31 sprites.

'There probably is an unknown multiplier somewhere.'

As he continued to read through his status, an officer decked in uniform entered his peripheral vision.

"Mr Vesper, we are ready to take you back home to retrieve your things and head straight to the academy afterward." A youthful man spoke.

"Ok. I'm done eating. Let's go." Aldric responded.