[Prepare for appraisal…] Koda took deep breaths as he found himself in a strange space between the dream and reality.
It was an endless black void illuminated by a mass of white stars.
Between the stars, countless strings of silver light were woven into a beautiful and complex net, forming various nexuses and constellations.
Somehow, Koda figured this was the inner workings of the Nightmare Spell.
Finally feeling relieved of all the stress and damage, all he cared about was the reward he’d be given now.
The Spell seemed to still be appraising his performance.
And so he had some time to spare, which he spent checking out that strange memory he had gotten.
He didn’t know it was possible to receive a memory without it being a reward for killing something, but he had received the memory after coming into contact with Bram’s cleaver.
As much as he wanted to check it out, he strangely couldn’t view his runes yet.
It made sense since the Spell was doing something with them, but he was a bit disappointed.
But all he could think about was how lucky he was.
Not only had he received a memory from his first kill, but he had also received an Echo!
And he was damn glad he did, because if he didn’t… there wasn’t any possible way he could’ve beaten Old Bram.
And then, The Spell was done with its appraisal.
Here in the void, its voice didn’t sound subtle and familiar anymore.
Instead, it seemed like the whole universe was speaking.
Koda held his breath in anticipation.
[Aspirant!
Your trial is over.] [A starving child refused to let his people die as slaves to the abomination.
Both the innocent and the evil fell into his bottomless maw.
Despite all odds, the child not only ended the suffering of his people, but also devoured the one responsible.] [You have defeated three hundred and twelve dormant humans, names unknown.] [You have defeated two hundred and ninety Dormant Beasts, Starving Leeches] Koda’s eyes widened in confusion.
“Wait… what?” But before he could think about it more, the spell continued.
[You have devoured an Awakened Human, Riley.] [You have defeated four Dormant Beasts, Unhinged Wolves.] [You have devoured a Dormant Beast, Unhinged Wolf.] [You have devoured an Awakened Human, Bram.] [You have devoured an Awakened Tyrant, Devouring Leech.] [You have achieved the unthinkable!] [Final appraisal: Delicious!
Your hunger truly has no end.] Koda felt a bit awkward reading that last part, scratching the side of his face as he contemplated whether or not that was a dig at his weight.
Back on what he was concerned about.
Did all of Riley’s kills count as his own?
Why?
Was it because he had devoured him?
What was the significance behind devouring things and why was it separate from defeating them?
Either way, he was excited to see what he was going to receive.
He felt like his chances of evolving his Aspect to something like an Ascended or even Transcendent were fairly high!
His overall power was still dependent on the rank of his soul core, which would remain dormant until much later, but the rank of the Aspect itself would do great for his actual potential.
[Dreamer Koda, receive your boon!] Koda grinned.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve.
Evolve Aspect?] “Fuck yeah!” He yelled, immediately ushering the Aspect to evolve.
[Dormant Aspect Starving Vessel is evolving…] [New Aspect acquired.] [Aspect Rank: Supreme.] Koda grinned wide.
[Aspect Name: Devouring Vessel.] His grin faltered slightly but he was still grinning nonetheless.
“A Supreme aspect… well deserved I’d say.” He coughed before he summoned his runes and searched for the lines describing his aspect.
Aspect: [Devouring Vessel].
Aspect Rank: Supreme.
Aspect Description: [There is a void within you that can never be filled.
No feast can satisfy it, no bounty can quench it, and no world can endure it.
You are a vessel fashioned to consume, a maw that knows neither restraint nor contentment.
Through hunger, you grow.
Through consumption, you endure.
Through devouring, you become whole.] “Huh… a void within me that can never be filled?
That doesn’t sound great… everything else seems pretty cool though.” He said, placing a finger on his chin.
All that bullshit suffering he went through was actually sort of worth it.
Sure, a Supreme aspect was almost unheard of, but he would’ve much preferred it if he had gotten a Divine or Sacred one.
People with Ascended aspects were rare enough to be fought over by various factions… the factions themselves were built around singular powerhouses with Transcendent or Supreme Aspects like Koda’s.
Either way, Koda smiled at the idea that he had once been satisfied with losing his life in the nightmare.
Somehow decided to change that, further pushed to live by the people he met within the nightmare and now… he had received such a beneficial reward.
Koda smirked and listened as the Spell whispered once more.
[The First Seal is broken.] [Awakening dormant powers…] Koda’s eyes widened.
“Ouuu shit…” he muttered.
He felt something deep inside of him waking up.
With a yelp, he clutched his chest and stared into the darkness, trying to understand what was happening.
The feeling wasn’t really painful, nor unpleasant, but it was certainly new.
It was like his sound was being shaken awake, given a new strange energy.
But… that energy didn’t come from outside.
It was like the energy had always been there, always deep within his soul.
The energy filled his entire body.
Kids felt his emotions becoming sharper, more understandable.
Then, his body changed as well.
He felt as though a small sun was burning in the center of his chest.
The waves of heat coming from it slowly reached his stomach and shoulders, then his arms and legs, then his hands and feet… Under that heat, his bones, muscles, organs and blood were being rebuilt and revitalised.
Koda felt like he was being reborn.
He was becoming far faster, far stronger, healthier.
It was euphoric.
His body changed, the claws on his hands and feet got sharper and stronger while his muscles began to burn and grow as the fat started to disappear into smoke.
He felt his ears tingle, his unhinged maw slowly growing and his teeth getting even sharper.
He knew he was a physical threat far beyond any ordinary sleeper, probably thanks to devouring his echo.
His vision strangely doubled, something really strange became visible to him.
An endless wasteland covered in the bones of strange colossal creatures.
The sky was a strange dark red, illuminated by a single, pale red sun.
Mountains of half-devoured corpses stretched to the horizon with rivers of black blood winding between them.
At the center sat a colossal stone throne fashioned from jaws, teeth, and ribs.
Upon it, sat a gigantic skeletal beast endlessly devouring itself.
No matter how much it consumed, it never grew nor did it become any smaller.
Koda’s eyebrow raised in confusion.
“Why… is there something else inside of my Soul Sea… what is that?” He asked himself as he began walking closer, but it didn’t seem like the distance between them was lessening.
Giving up on the idea, he looked around a little more and saw a familiar furry friend running in his direction.
Both of his eyebrows raised.
“Is that my echo?” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Rikud0u don’t be disheartened by the supreme aspect, he will still be very very strong