Marcus lay completely paralyzed on his back, buried beneath a mountain of shattered stone and collapsed debris.
The weight pressing down on his chest rendered any attempt to move or break free impossible.
The agony was far beyond anything he had ever experienced, a brutal combination of his nerves burning from the redirected dark energy and his broken body crushed beneath the weight of the stone.
Yet, through the haze of blood and dust, a cold sense of victory remained.
He had done it.
He had ruined their godless ritual, turned their High Priest’s arrogance against him, and dragged the entire cult down into the depths of the raging ocean.
The only thing that had survived the destruction was the ancient, glowing slab beneath his back.
Still, despite his success, Marcus knew his story seemed to be reaching its final line.
He fought with every drop of willpower to keep his eyes open, knowing with absolute certainty that if he closed them now, they would never open again.
‘At least…
I didn’t die like those two men.’
Questions still burned within his analytical mind.
Where in the hell was he?
How had he ended up in the frail, emaciated body of a teenager?
And above all…
what had happened to his people after the nuclear strike?
He knew the cold, mathematical reality of an atomic explosion the total vaporization, the lingering radioactive fallout.
Yet he longed for closure.
He wanted to know if anyone had survived, if only to ease the crushing burden resting on his soul, the guilt of a Supreme Commander whose single miscalculation had turned his nation into ash.
COUGH!
COUGH!
A violent spasm racked his chest as he struggled to breathe.
Outside, the thunder grew deafening, and icy seawater began dripping through the tight crevices of the debris.
‘Shit.
Guess this is where it ends.’
There was nothing left to weaponize.
Nothing left to command.
Marcus let his body go limp, preparing to face the void.
Then, the unimaginable happened.
[You have slain an Awakened human.
Name: Unknown]
Marcus’s eyes snapped open in the darkness.
He heard the strange, inorganic voice again.
‘What is that?’
Before he could process it, the notifications exploded into a rapid, relentless wave:
[You have slain an Awakened human.
Name: Unknown]
[You have slain an Awakened human.
Name: Unknown]
[You have slain an Aw…]
The stream was endless.
Dozens, hundreds, of kill logs cascaded through his mind until the final, heavy declaration shattered the silence:
Name: High Priest]
‘What?
Is this thing addressing me?
And how in the hell did I kill that son of a bitch?’
Another wave of notifications roared through his consciousness:
[You have received a Memory: Wailing Mask]
[You have received…]
The cold voice continued for a few brief moments before delivering a final directive:
[Wake up, Aiden!
Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal.]
The crushing weight, the darkness, and the agonizing physical pain vanished instantly.
Marcus found himself standing in the space between dream and reality, an endless black void stretching in every direction, illuminated by countless cold, brilliant stars.
It was breathtakingly serene, so peaceful that for a fraction of a second, Marcus wondered if he had arrived in the afterlife.
‘I swear, I don’t even know what’s happening to me anymore.’
The voice echoed through the cosmic expanse once more, loud and resonant:
[Aspirant.
Your trial is over.]
[The Temple Vessel awakened, bound within an unknown sanctuary in the middle of the ocean, fated to become the vessel of the Demon of ####.
The vessel rejected his fate.
He defied it despite being powerless, helpless, and deemed worthless.
He challenged the will of the priests.
He challenged the will of the Demon of ####.
He challenged the fate imposed upon him with an iron will that surpassed all expectations.
A single night was enough for him to forge his resolve.
Knowing that his death was inevitable, he chose to drag them all into the abyss with him.
Exploiting the High Priest’s power and arrogance, the vessel destroyed the heart of the temple, breaking his chains and every restraint that held him captive.
In doing so, he brought about the deaths of every living being within the sanctuary.
Save for himself.
Thus, the Perfect Vessel was born.]
Marcus listened in absolute silence as the mysterious entity laid out his exact actions since his arrival.
‘Is something…
watching my every move?’ he thought, his eyes narrowing in cold suspicion.
[You have slain 50 Dormant humans.
Names unknown.]
[You have slain 20 Awakened humans.
Names unknown.]
[You have slain 1 Transcendent human.
Name: High Priest.]
[You have achieved the Impossible!]
Your body’s growth knows no bounds!]
‘I guess I’ll wait a little longer before giving up,’ Marcus mused dryly.
[Dreamer Aiden, receive your boon!]
[You have been bestowed a true…
True…
True….]
The voice suddenly glitched, the word repeating in a distorted, unnatural cadence.
Its tone shifted into something hollow and dark before cutting out completely.
‘Hmm.
What happened?
Did the battery die?’
[ERROR.]
[The Nightmare Spell has encountered an irregularity.]
[External authority detected.]
[The Nightmare Spell is being interfered with.]
‘What?’
[The Aspect of the Host has been sealed by a higher existence.]
[You have been bestowed a new Aspect.]
[Aspect Rank: Sacred]
[Aspect Name: The Perfect Vessel]
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Heir of Emotions]
[You have been bestowed a Title: The Cursed One]
[Aspect: The Perfect Vessel]
[Aspect Rank: Sacred]
Aspect Description: [A perfect vessel born from absolute defiance.
Its body possesses no true limit, capable of containing almost any force without shattering beneath its burden.
Even the powers of the world may find a place within it.
Yet, possessing the capacity to contain a power does not grant the ability to wield it.]
Innate Ability: [Emotional State]
Ability Description: [Your emotions are the source of your strength.
The stronger an emotion becomes, the more power it grants you.
Each emotion affects your body, mind, and abilities differently.
Reaching certain thresholds will unlock Skills associated with that emotion]
Marcus stared at the glowing dark-gold runes floating before him in the void, reading every single detail with practiced, military precision.
‘Wow.’ A faint, ruthless smile crossed his face.
‘What a show.’
[The First seal is Broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
sooo .
yeah.
and the (####) will be revealed by time