Gloomy darkness greeted my sight, as my eyes snapped open. My body was heavy, resting on something cold and hard. Groaning, I rolled to sit upright, feeling the pain raking through every fibre of my being.
I scanned my surroundings, searching for Mum—or anything to anchor me back to reality. My parents, who had been by my side during my awakening, were gone. This wasn’t even the familiar ground of our home. Instead, I found myself in the midst of some grand devastation.
The night was cold and desolate, and the air felt… heavy with a pungent, burning reek, the chthonic wind carrying it along. My disorientation didn't allow me to choose which one irked me more. But both put me on edge before I had even taken in my surroundings.
Is this a dream? I wasn’t sure if awakening could cause surreal dreams like this.
"Mum?" I called hopelessly.
Gusts of wind howled through the ruins as I forced myself to stand, feeling every twitch of my muscles. My body felt heavy, and I quickly realised why. A thick breastplate weighed on my chest, with other torn pieces of armour strapped to my arms and legs. But those alone weren’t the cause of such heaviness. It was my body.
I was tall. Staggeringly so—perhaps only a hair short of my father.
“What in the name of…?” I rubbed my face and found a thick, gruff beard, plastered with grime and some liquid I deemed to be frozen blood. My hair was cropped shorter, and more blood was matted there.
I am really dreaming,
I confirmed, because nothing else could explain the absurdity I was facing.
Before me stretched a vast ruin of broken buildings. Shattered glass, concrete remnants, twisted metal, and jagged splinters littered the ground wherever my eyes wandered. Fires still flared in some areas, while in others, the flames had long since died out, leaving only the crusty stench of burning behind. The wind carried dust and ash—at least that was something familiar.
If this is just a dream, then I must have a damn good imagination.
The longer I stared at the devastation, the colder my insides grew. It would take an ashen storm of near-apocalyptic scale to cause destruction of this order.
Unwittingly, I lifted my gaze skywards, searching for something—anything—that might give me clarity.
A chill spread down my spine immediately.
The sky was empty.
No twinkling stars, no familiar moon. Nothing.
What is this dream? How did I end up here?
Maybe it was one of those dreams, the kind so common in stories. And when I woke up, all of it would disappear.
Yeah, I thought that too the day I was reborn in this world.
Perhaps there was some meaning to this absurdity.
I didn’t dwell on the questions for long since answers weren’t likely to be found here. Tearing my gaze away from the starless sky, I cautiously crept into the ruins.
A heavy axe lay in my path. Without hesitation, I picked it up, my grip tightening as I noticed the dark stains of dried blood along its edge. I kept the weapon, its weight felt solid in my hands. The axe was finely crafted and definitely not a tool for woodcutting.
I tried to move quietly, but the heavy boots I wore made it difficult. Finding nothing but devastation, I decided to climb to the top of the rubble to see if I could recognise anything. As I navigated through the wreckage, a soft whisper stopped me on my track. The howling wind made it difficult to tell from where.
"Help . . ." Again, but more distinct.
Someone else was with me in this madness—and they needed help. The voice was almost a whimper, so probably not far.
After scanning my surroundings, I spotted the source of the voice within ten yards. A man lay trapped beneath a concrete slab, both his legs pinned. I almost vomited at the sight of bare bones protruding from one of them. The gore was filtered by the looming darkness, but the sight still churned my stomach.
"Can you hear me?" I asked, crouching near the man’s face.
"Help," was all he managed. His eyelids fluttered as though he was struggling to keep them open, his face pale from all the blood loss.
"Hold on a little longer."
Without thinking, I attempted to lift the concrete off his legs. It was heavy, yet the strength of this body I now inhabited proved sufficient. I still had to exert all my effort, slowly lifting the slab and pushing it to the side. Finally, I tried to help the man up, ignoring the horrifying wound as best I could. He cried out in pain as I lifted him.
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I wondered what I could do to relieve him. Perhaps I could find bandages and medicine in the rubble, but that could take all night.
The sound of shifting debris clanged on my rear, interrupting my thoughts.
I turned sharply.
Something was moving. A silhouette, shifting through the darkness.
My gaze darted around, trying to determine if it was real, or just my mind playing tricks.
Then a horrifying screech tore through the night, warping in the heavy air as it reached my ears. My stomach twisted. I had no clue what creature could make such a sound, but I knew it meant trouble.
Without thinking, I lifted the wounded man onto my back and ran, unaware that the screeching monster was waiting ahead, ready to devour me whole.
It had six—no, eight—legs, though I couldn’t be sure, my focus locked on its maw. A horrifying maw, twice the size of my head, filled with dagger-like, jagged teeth in more than a couple of rows.
Its sinewy form was hairless, standing over a metre tall and several more in length, a wiry mass of muscle. The creature had no apparent eyes, but perhaps I had simply missed them in my horror. All the records I had read on exotic and extinct creatures were useless in recognising this nightmare.
The blighted thing bore all the signs of being cursed, but I didn’t stand around to confirm.
I spun on my heel and bolted in the opposite direction, not sparing another look.
It gave chase, screeching all the way. Splintered rubble flew in its wake.
I was running faster than I should have been capable of, yet it wasn’t enough. The weight of the man on my back didn’t help.
The thought of abandoning him didn’t even enter my mind when it crashed into me, sending me flying.
My back smashed against splintered concrete. I heard my spine break.
Felt it.
A squeal echoed from the creature as it descended upon me.
An involuntary scream ripped through my throat as—
—my body jerked upright.
Blinding light burst before my eyes. My ears buzzed with a deafening ring as though I had been struck by something too hard on the head. My mind was eerily aware of the pain that had gorged through me.
Something warm wrapped around me. Voices echoed in my ears. Voices I recognised.
“Arilyn? Arilyn?”
Mum’s voice.
“Pumpkin, I’m here.”
My hitched breath slowly calmed as she stroked my head to soothe me. I blinked, squinting my eyes to look at her. It was too bright.
What worried me was that its source was not any construct, but my mum.
Her entire figure was glowing—luminous, with thousands upon thousands of intricate threads of essence flooding through her.
It reminded me of the night of my birth. She had been just as radiant then, though never in such vivid detail. Reading her expression became a near-impossible task, as all I saw were the veins of essence within her, the intricate weave in which it flowed, all in near-perfect symmetry. All but on the left side of her ribs.
Then I peered deeper, to the source of all that essence, and immediately, I was blinded.
It wasn’t as startling as the Elder Tree, but it was still too glaring for my senses to comprehend. I averted my gaze and found Father standing behind her, his expression pensive.
Hmm. I could read his expression.
His essence veins were not as prominent as Mother’s. Yet there was something intrinsically wrong with them, I realised. Unlike the glittering shimmer of essence I saw in her, his veins were empty.
When I looked deeper, I found not a sun, but a deep, inconceivable sea—one my Fractal Sight was unable to pierce.
"Close your eyes," Mother told me as I shuddered in her arms. "Close your eyes and concentrate. Calm your emotions. You know the way."
I knew the way. But it was her voice, her reminder that soothed me. But even then, I found it harder to quell the turmoil within. First my awakening, then the nightmare, and finally this vision.
I had never felt so empowered, and the sheer sense of it overwhelmed me.
[Congratulations! Way of Fractal Sight I (18/10) is complete.]
[+4 Unallocated Points.]
[Way of Fractal Sight II (18/25) is now available.]
What?
My brows knitted together, but of course, the Spell was not finished yet.
[Congratulations! You have taken the first step into your Path: Shaper (Common Class).]
[You have awakened Shaper Aspects: Influence, Weight, Will.]
[Most of the restrictions on your paths have been lifted. The path is broadly open to you.]
[You have achieved a Noble Honour: Wunderkind.]
[Wunderkind (Noble Honour): Your Essence Seed is superior in every aspect to others without this honour. +10% to all Shaper Aspects.]
[A new Way is accessible: Pain Tolerance I (1/10).]
[A new Way is accessible: Arcane Resistance I (1/10).]
[A new Way is accessible: Essence Weaving I (1/10).]
[Congratulations! Way of Essence Unification V (251/250) is complete.]
[+12 Unallocated Points.]
[Way of Essence Unification VI (251/500) is now available.]
Whoa. There was so much to unpack…
“What happened?” Mum’s voice woke me from my reverie as I let the messages disperse.
"Mum, I'm a Shaper," I said, my eyes snapping open to look at her. The Fractal Sight finally calmed down, as I didn't see the essence threads within her anymore.
"I'm aware," she said, her lips pressed to a thin line. "You fell unconscious after forming your core, which is not uncommon—but then, moments after, you awoke screaming."
"I…" My brows furrowed.
Moments?
It felt like I had been in that dream for far longer than just a few minutes. "I had a nightmare."
One I could still remember down to the smallest detail.
"I'm fine now," I said, noticing the way her face scrunched with concern. "Truly… Did I mention I awakened the Shaper path?"
"You did."
"Then why are you not surprised?"
Before her answer, my stomach growled, and I felt like I could eat the meals of a dozen people.
"I'll make something for you," Father said, turning towards the door. "He needs you now, Ashlyn."