He closed his eyes and sank inward.
The transition was immediate.
He stood once again in his soul sea, a vast, pitch-black expanse.
Above him hung a massive sphere, his soul core, surrounded by smaller drifting orbs of condensed essence.
‘Am I there?’ He asked unsure though he instinctively knew he was in the right place.
He could feel a giant ball hanging in the sky of his soul sea.
His soul core and a few small orbs circling it.
It was quiet.
Weightless.
Familiar, now.
He opened his runes again, this time calmer, studying them properly.
Everything was the same.
Nothing had changed.
He exhaled slowly.
‘The only difference between Rain’s natural awakening and mine is that I’m connected to the Spell… and that I did it inside a Nightmare.
But that shouldn’t matter.’ His thoughts sharpened.
‘I should be an Awakened, not a Dreamer.’ Then another possibility surfaced.
‘The only logical explanation… is that I haven’t entered the Dream Realm yet.
That’s the only reason “Dreamer” even exists.’ His eyes narrowed.
‘Then isn’t this bloody Spell just forcing me to go to the Dream Realm?’ That realization sat heavily in his mind.
There were other inconsistencies too.
Rain had awakened and fully healed from her injuries.
Orren hadn’t.
The Spell, as far as he understood it, only granted rewards at the end of a Nightmare except for the Memories and Echoes, but not inconsistent partial outcomes like this.
‘This whole thing… doesn’t fit.’ He exhaled again, frustration giving way to resignation.
‘Can’t do anything about it right now.’ ‘I don’t even have the [Fated] Attribute, and it’s still treating me like this… It’s like the Spell doesn’t know what to do with me, so it’s just improvising.’ He dismissed the thought.
Instead, he focused on his Aspect Ability.
Aspect Ability: [Orientation].
Ability Description: [You possess an instinctive understanding of your surroundings and your place within them.] ‘Useful… but boring.’ He could already feel its effects faintly; an awareness of space, direction and positioning.
It explained a lot about his instincts, but it didn’t feel like something that would directly help in combat.
‘Still, better than nothing.’ The lack of a Flaw didn’t surprise him anymore.
At this point, the Spell’s inconsistency felt almost expected.
If anything, he assumed it would reveal itself later, once the Nightmare ended.
He opened his eyes and exited the soul sea.
The armor dissolved from his body, though he kept both charms active.
Then he walked over to the Tyrant’s corpse and began extracting its soul cores one by one.
As he crushed them, the counter in his vision ticked upward.
Soul Fragments: [10/1000].
‘As expected… one Awakened shard gives two fragments.’ A small sigh left him.
‘The Spell really is treating me like a Dreamer.’ He stood there for a moment longer, looking over the ruined battlefield, the forest still eerily quiet after the devastation.
Then he turned away.
“I won’t forget you, bastard.” With that, Orren left the corpse behind and walked back into the forest.
…… Walking at a leisurely pace in his tattered clothes, Orren stepped out of the forest and made his way toward the town.
‘Draco and I truly killed a lot last night.’ His gaze briefly drifted back toward the forest line, where the remnants of his hunt still lay scattered in his memory more than in sight.
Even after everything, the sheer number of beasts they had cut down felt unreal.
As he entered the town, he immediately noticed the movement.
People were rushing toward the front gate in a chaotic stream, away from his current position at the rear entrance.
‘Don’t tell me something’s happening again.’ He quickened his pace, intending to grab someone and ask what was going on, but before he could, a familiar voice stopped him.
“Ah, there you are.” Orren turned to his right.
The blonde-haired woman stood there, waiting calmly, a soft smile on her face as if she had been expecting him for a while.
“Hi,” he greeted her.
“Hi.
It seems you’re injured again,” she said, her eyes briefly landing on his half-healed arm.
Before he could respond, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
Warmth spread through his body almost instantly—gentle, steady, and deeply comforting.
The remaining pain in his arm faded away as if it had never existed.
At the same time, a faint exhaustion seemed to pass onto her instead; her expression softened for a moment, a tiredness flickering across her otherwise composed face.
“Um… thank you,” Orren said, flexing his now fully healed arm.
“Were you looking for me?” “Why do you think so?” she replied lightly.
“Well… you look like you’ve been waiting here for someone for a while.
And if that someone is me, then how did you even know I’d be here?” he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“You got me there,” she admitted without hesitation.
“I’ve been waiting for you for more than an hour now.
My mother told me I’d find you here… if you were still alive, at least.” Orren paused.
“Your mother?” “She’s one of the only three Transcendents,” the woman said casually, as if that explained everything.
“And she’s a Seer.
She can see possible futures before they happen.” Orren stayed silent for a moment.
“Still… why look for me?” he asked carefully.
Her expression shifted slightly, becoming more serious.
“She said you don’t belong here,” she replied.
“That you are the only variable she couldn’t account for in the future she saw.” That made him stop completely.
He didn’t respond immediately.
The woman continued, softer now.
“Don’t worry.
She sent me to help you.
She’s been watching you for a while and reached a conclusion.
If you hadn’t protected this town yesterday, this meeting would have gone very differently.” She shook her head slightly.
“But you did.
So, she decided you’re not someone to be wary of.” Orren let out a quiet breath, processing her words.
“If she can see the future,” he said slowly, “then she must know this is pointless.
I’m not strong enough to change anything she’s talking about.” “I know,” she replied.
“But that’s exactly the point.
The moment you were introduced into this future, everything became uncertain.
Now even she cannot be completely sure how things will unfold.” Her voice lowered slightly.
“The only way to know… is to see it through.” She looked at him then, those hazel eyes steady, but carrying something like resignation.
“Don’t you think it’s worth trying?” Orren didn’t answer right away.
‘Transcendents… Seers… people who can see the future.’ ‘And I’m just a Dreamer stuck in the middle of it.’ The gap between them felt too large to even measure.
The explosion he had seen in the Nightmare, the devastation at the end, wasn’t something he could realistically stand against.
“So what happens now?” he asked instead, falling into step beside her.
“We evacuate the town,” she said.
“It was supposed to fall last night.
We were delayed by the monsters on the way here, and yet…” She glanced around briefly.
“It’s still standing.
Because of you.” Orren didn’t respond.
“The army is stretched thin already,” she continued.
“We can’t afford to leave forces here anymore.
This town will be abandoned, and everyone will be moved to the city.” Her voice grew heavier.
“Even now, the main force is barely holding the front.” After a pause, Orren asked earnestly, “How can I help?” She shook her head.
“I’m only here to guide you.
You decide what you want to do.” That answer didn’t satisfy him.
After a moment, he asked a different question.
“How many soul shards can you give me?” She didn’t hesitate.
“A few hundred.
We’ve been clearing beasts continuously.
You’ll get them once we reach the camp in the forest.” She glanced ahead.
“The path is mostly clear, but there may still be stragglers.” “I’ll handle that,” Orren said simply.
The evacuation began soon after.
Orren didn’t walk with the main group.
Instead, he stayed slightly behind, acting as rear guard while the knights and Captain Zane formed the vanguard.
From time to time, scattered beasts emerged along the route, but none were strong enough to pose a real threat anymore.
Without Draco or his armor fully repaired, he fought more cautiously—but even so, his strength had grown noticeably.
With his memories and charms, even Awakened beasts rarely forced him into serious trouble unless they appeared in groups.
It took them three days to reach the camp.
From there, another group took over the evacuation and guided the civilians toward the city.
Now, Orren sat inside a tent, two large chests placed in front of him.
He didn’t waste time.
One by one, he crushed the soul shards.
The flow of essence surged through him, faster and denser than ever before.
The number in his vision climbed steadily until it finally stopped.
Soul Fragments: [443/1000] Orren leaned back slightly, exhaling as the last traces of essence settled within him.
“This feels… good.” A faint smile formed.
“At this rate, Awakened rank creatures won’t be a problem anymore.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Lost_01 Have some idea about my story?
Comment it and let me know.