Not long after the Spell had spoken, Yoru felt a familiar euphoric sensation. It was akin to the feeling he experienced after the First Nightmare, except this time, it went far beyond even that. A slumbering power awoke within him, enhancing every fibre of his being and flooding him with indescribable strength.
Yoru let out a gasp at the sudden changes his body was going through.
Although he lacked a physical body, he could feel his muscles, bones and blood, all undergoing a profound qualitative transformation, simultaneously.
But the changes didn't just stop there. It extended to his soul as well.
The sensation was unlike anything Yoru had ever experienced before.
His Miracle Core suddenly began producing essence at a vastly accelerated rate, far surpassing the pace he previously achieved through conscious circulation. Torrents of essence surged throughout his shadow-body, rushing toward every neglected corner he once struggled to saturate properly.
A palpable warmth spread throughout him. It was a soothing and all-encompassing comfort that permeated both soul and shadow alike. Combined with the peace of shadow, the sensation became dangerously intoxicating.
For one absurd moment, Yoru genuinely wondered whether his dopamine receptors had somehow transcended alongside him.
Eventually, however, the warmth receded.
It left behind a cool and soothing afterglow flowing quietly through every part of his being.
Yoru exhaled slowly and opened his eyes.
Immediately, he sensed the difference.
The metamorphosis his body had went through was stark. Although his connection to his physical body still remained absent, Yoru could instinctively tell that his existence had fundamentally evolved.
He could tell his vision had become much more pronounced and that his shadow was now naturally flowing with essence.
The power contained within his Miracle Core continuously flowed throughout his body on its own, saturating his very existence with strength.
Yoru stared blankly ahead for several moments.
Then a grin slowly spread across his face.
...I actually did it.
Of course, he had never doubted his ability to Awaken naturally.
Given enough time, success had been inevitable.
Even if it took decades wandering endlessly through the Shadow Realm, Awakening would eventually happen sooner or later.
But now that he had actually done it, he felt proud at what he had accomplished.
Regardless of whether he remained trapped within the Forgotten Shore or stranded in the land of the dead, the truth remained unchanged.
He was the first human of the waking world to Awaken naturally.
That was not only a great achievement for him but a monumental milestone for humanity.
Yoru allowed himself a moment to bask in that feeling before forcibly calming down.
There would be time to admire his own greatness later. Right now, he had something far more important to see.
His new Aspect Ability.
The Spell spoke once more.
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
[...Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Dream Body.]
Yoru immediately summoned his runes without wasting a single second.
Name: Yoru.
True Name: Wish Upon a Star.
Rank: Awakened.
Class: Beast.
Miracle Cores: [1/7].
Wishes Granted: [39.5/1000].
Seeing the word "Awakened" beside his rank filled him with indescribable satisfaction.
Still, Yoru quickly continued downwards towards the description of his new ability.
Aspect Ability: [Dream Body].
Ability Description: [You can become a wondrous dust capable of entering dreams.]
Yoru blinked.
I guess it's a sort of movement ability... or a mental attack?
Either way... It's not very helpful right now.
Of course, that did not mean the ability itself was weak.
Far from it.
Any movement or infiltration ability possessed immense value within the Dream Realm. Although it lacked the raw utility of Sunny's Shadow Step, [Dream Body] still held tremendous potential. For example, what was stopping Yoru from taking shelter within the dreams of an opponent he was facing or hiding within an allies?
That alone made the ability terrifying in the right circumstances. But the more Yoru thought about it, the more complications arose.
First, the implication of the ability was great on paper, but considering the type of beings most of his opponents would be, that meant he'd be entering the dream of Nightmare Creatures.
And that thought sounded deeply disturbing to him.
Although, he knew that Sunny's shadow and tenebrous stead, Nightmare, did the exact same thing, so perhaps the act itself was not as dangerous as it initially seemed.
Something else he had to consider was that Awakened did not dream. So in that case...
Would [Dream Body] allow him to enter their subconscious mind directly instead?
Yoru frowned thoughtfully.
That was something experimentation would have to answer later.
But first he needed to escape the Shadow Realm...
As his thoughts returned to the topic of his resurrection, Yoru slowly came to still. It was only then that he had noticed something strange.
Within his mind, he could sense a bright burning ember. He had no idea what the ember could possibly be, but he realised that that there were two. One of the embers unquestionably belonged to him, whilst the other belonged to the shadow of the Tyrant currently enveloping his existence.
Yet weirdly enough, distinguishing where one ended and the other began proved strangely difficult. it was like two different fires stitched into the same burning tapestry.
An unorthodox patchwork of flame.
When Yoru focused on these embers, a flood of information came rushing at him and he immediately understood what they were.
They were dreams.
Or more specifically, minds.
The embers represented consciousness itself. The two that belonged to both Yoru and the Tyrant.
These definitely weren't here before, so I guess [Dream Body] gave me some sort of... dream sense.
That was... a fantastic ability to posses!
Immediately, countless possibilities surfaced within his mind.
A sixth sense capable of perceiving consciousness itself held terrifying utility.
Even if he were blinded someday, this ability would still allow him to perceive living beings around him through their minds alone.
Perhaps he could even identify individuals specifically, after enough practice.
Why couldn't the damned Spell say this in its description!?
Since the Spell failed to acknowledge this newfound perception directly, Yoru could only assume that it was a peripheral ability granted naturally alongside [Dream Body].
And this new sense had also made Yoru aware of something.
The Tyrant somehow held an ember of conscious, which meant that Yoru had the chance to enter its mind.
But he hesitated to make a decision so hastily.
It would be foolish of him to recklessly use his awakened ability without the proper preparations or knowing what to expect. He could easily recall the first time he used the healing wish and consequently sapped himself of nearly all his essence.
He wasn't keen on making another mistake like that, especially after loftily claiming to be smarter and more cautious.
In an attempt to get an idea on what to expect, he studied the two embers of consciousness that seemed to be stitched together.
The one on the right is mine and the other belongs to the Tyrant. And since they're sort of merged that must mean we share a consciousness ... But i cant say that it feels like that.
Even though the embers overlapped and appeared stitched together, Yoru could still instinctively distinguish them as separate entities.
Which made absolutely no sense.
How could two things merge into one while simultaneously remaining independent?
Yoru narrowed his eyes slightly while staring at the patchwork-like embers.
Then he noticed something peculiar.
...Is mine bigger?
If there was a difference in size, it was so subtle that it was difficult to determine through sight alone. This made Yoru question whether his eyes were simply deceiving him.
After staring for a while longer, Yoru clicked his tongue.
Trying to determine the difference visually was pointless, so rather than relying on sight, he decided to test the limits of his new sense directly.
Closing his eyes, he chose instead to feel the distinction.
His dream sense naturally extended to roughly twenty meters around him, but now he attempted to compress that perception inwards, directly towards the stitched embers.
It was a bizarre feeling trying to shape his dream sense.
It felt like attempting to move through deep water using thoughts alone.
At first, the sense resisted him entirely, refusing to bend according to his will. But after several attempts, Yoru gradually managed to gain a rudimentary grasp over it - just enough to accomplish what he intended.
Slowly, he guided the strange perception inwards and felt it brush against the patchwork of embers.
Immediately, he understood that there was a size difference between them. But not only that, he felt something else, much more morbid and unsettling.
Damn...
Yoru came to find out that he had interpreted the situation completely wrong. The embers were not simply merging together.
His consciousness was actively consuming the Tyrant's.
Assimilating it.
The revelation left Yoru silent for a long while.
Truthfully, he did not know how to feel about it.
His initially concerned that he was slowly having his mind overwritten by that of the Tyrant's, however he quickly ruled out that possibility.
From what he could sense, it was obvious that the exchange was overwhelmingly one-sided. His own consciousness remained dominant.
But then there was also the question of his morals surrounding the whole issue.
This whole time I thought he was dead, but this suggest otherwise...
It was true that the Tyrant had ended up dying at the very end of his First Nightmare, the Spell had said so. That was when Yoru woke up within his body and received the rewards for conquering it. But what he was seeing right now argued that the Tyrant was alive. Or maybe it just referred to his shadow being alive?
After spending a long time contemplating, Yoru exhaled softly and shook his head.
There was little point theorizing endlessly.
The only way to learn the truth was to investigate personally.
And so, after weighing his options carefully, he finally decided to use his new ability.
Yoru didn't know what to expect when choosing to enter the mind of a shadow.
Actually, that should not have been possible since most of the shadows - if not all - were mindless and therefore lacked a conscious.
Yet the Tyrant was clearly different.
He summoned the Bloody Requiem and the onyx spear swiftly appeared in his hands.
It was fascinating how his connection to the Spell remained even in death. Not only was he still capable of summoning his Memories but he even had access to their enchantments as well. Which made sense in hindsight, since Memories were connected to one's soul.
This implied that whatever had happened to him wasn't a true death, though the nature of his shadow was evidence of that already.
Still, another realisation suddenly surfaced within his mind.
…Wait
If his Memories had remained bound to his soul after death…
Then that meant his armour probably had not dissolved into sparks after Nephis decapitated him.
Yoru stared blankly into the darkness for a moment.
At the very least, he had not ended up naked in front of Sunny and Nephis after dying.
Knowing that eased his heart slightly.
I wonder if they noticed that peculiarity.
Yoru shook his head again, growing tired of his own stalling.
Without bothering to hesitate further, he poured essence into his Awakened Ability and activated it for the very first time.
Instantly, a strange sensation spread throughout his being and his shadow dissolved.
In the next moment, his entire form collapsed into countless drifting particles.
Yoru instinctively looked down at himself, or rather... He somehow perceived himself despite lacking proper eyes.
The transformation was mesmerizing.
The "dust" composing his body did not resemble ordinary dust at all. Instead, it looked like an ethereal mixture of ash and fine sand suspended weightlessly in the air. Each tiny grain shimmered with deep otherworldly indigo radiance.
The colour was beautiful.
Dark enough to resemble the void itself, yet bright enough to gleam faintly against the endless blackness of the Shadow Realm.
In some strange way, the drifting particles even reminded Yoru of the stars lingering within his own eyes. The countless indigo grains slowly swirled around one another like a miniature nebula suspended within darkness.
He gave his appearance an approving "nod" and then moved his weightless body towards the Tyrants dream.
***
Upon Entering the dream Yoru felt little to no resistance.
In fact, the transition felt strangely natural.
A comforting sensation gently wrapped around his being the moment he crossed the boundary of consciousness, almost like sinking into warm water after wandering through a freezing wasteland.
He couldn't help but get the impression that he was meant to live like this. A being that drifted between minds. A lingering dream inhabiting the subconscious of others.
Yoru turned his attention back to his location and assumed his human form.
Glancing around at where he stood, his eyes slowly widened.
Well, I cant say that I'm surprised but this is... definitely unique.
He found himself standing in what could be described as a sprawling town.
At first glance, it looked ordinary enough. Quiet streets stretched between rows of buildings while countless figures wandered aimlessly through them.
But... those countless figures were actually countless shadows.
None of them acknowledged his existence, simply continuing to wander through the town in complete silence.
But after being surrounded by silent shadows for gods know how long, this didn't intrigue him.
What truly captured Yoru's attention was the town itself.
The architecture was divided into two completely different styles.
Some buildings looked decrepit and worn-down, their concrete walls cracked with age and some even lacked a roof.
They resembled remnants of the modern era. And although Yoru had never seen them, he was certain that these were buildings from the outskirts of NQSC.
Whilst the other structures Yoru was more familiar with.
They were identical to the architecture he had first seen upon arriving in this world.
The unorthodox style of whatever realm these buildings had come from were hard to forget.
The bizarre fusion of both worlds made the town feel deeply unnatural, like two separate realities had been forcibly stitched together inside a dream.
Finally, Yoru turned his head to the sky.
Or rather - the lack of one.
The entire town seemed enclosed within a gargantuan sphere of complete darkness.
Far above the streets, enormous clouds of shimmering essence drifted through the void overhead, illuminating the dreamscape with ghostly pale radiance.
The glowing storms looked almost identical to those hanging above the Shadow Realm itself.
This place looks to be built from Yoru's subconscious.
The outskirts in which he was raised. The town from some bygone era in which he died. And finally, the place where he lived his afterlife: The Shadow Realm.
Yoru slowly turned in place, taking everything in, but then his eyes settled on a certain shadow he had picked out from the crowd.
This shadow was much different from the rest however.
That was because…
it looked just like him.