Milo found himself in that same black void yet again, the inner workings of the Nightmare Spell. He had made it out, and while he didn't kill Eva, he sure as hell gave her the beating of a lifetime. He had already dismissed the [Prototype] and [Metal Shell]. He also retracted his conscious from the shell, now that hunk of metal was just a relic waiting to be discovered.
Out of all the things Milo felt, relief was the most prominent emotion. He felt relieved that he had prevented a tragedy from happening in the Forgotten Shores, he felt relieved. Relieved that he had entrusted Olivia with [Dreamer's Hope] and prevented her death, relief that Eva was gone. Relief that he was back home.
[The Second Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Milo took in a deep breath, he had felt something like this before... actually, no he hadn't.
It felt like a strange sensation had just entered his body. A similar feeling as to when he crushed a soul fragment, if only strengthened a thousandfold. The mystical energy spread throughout his entire body, circulating through it.
Milo calmly breathed and tried his best to focus on the sensation of his new transformation from Sleeper to Awakened. It was euphoric, and not only had his body been tempered, so had his soul and mind. It was like splashing cold water from a pool onto the hot pavement nearby it, it helped make the pain he had just gone through in the Forgotten Shores seem much more tolerable.
Milo already had experience with Soul Essence in the form of Weaving, however he never sensed quite as much as he did now. The difference was night and day as Milo produced a digital blue string from his prosthetic. His Memories were about to improve ten-fold.
[Awakening Aspect Ability...]
[...Aspect Ability Acquired]
[Aspect Ability Name: Overclock]
Milo raised an eyebrow. That sounded woefully under packed compared to the rest of his Aspect Abilities. Milo pulled up the runes that described the Awakened Ability.
Aspect Ability: [Overclock]
Ability Description: [Push any construct or Memory beyond its ordinary limits.]
Milo put his right hand on his chin, perhaps this was one of those abilities that was simple in nature but crazy when put into action?
Milo could find out later. Soon after he learned of his new ability, the Spell noted.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Architect of Tomorrow.]
'...What the hell does that mean.'
[Wake up, Milo!]
***
Reina looked at Weaver, her Fate had been rewritten, and it seemed she was alive once more, being granted access to the Spell. So she quickly dismissed [Weaver's Mask] which prevented her from making a sound.
"Weaver, may I ask... you said Sunny was my direct antithesis in terms of Fate, what does that mean?"
"It means the body you inhabited should've died long ago. Yet, you, a being not tied down by Fate, took it over. Something similar was done to the architect. He was meant to die, and yet he lived. Fate doesn't grasp over you two like it does others. Is that all, epigone?" Weaver's voice was sinister, almost begging Reina to push further.
Reina looked away. "That is all." It wasn't, but who was Reina to test the patience of a Daemon? Weaver lifted their hand.
"The place we will be sending you is not one to be treated lightly. Don't disappoint me, epigone." Weaver's voice glitched as they said her true name, not one assigned by the Spell, but her name from the real world. She had also regained all her lost memories that were taken by her flaw.
Her conscious was never clearer, her regret weighed heavy. She was given a second opportunity, failure was not an option.
"One last thing... do keep that mask on, we don't need you spouting on and on about the secrets of this world to others, do we?"
"We don't." Reina replied, and she donned [Weaver's Mask} once again.
A rift appeared, and beyond the rift was a desert sea. The sky was clear, the azure horizon plain to see. The sun was blinding in its radiance...
'I see what's happening here.'
This was the route Nephis would have taken if she stayed behind... just like Weaver had said, Reina was going to take Nephis place in this Nightmare Desert.
Reina stepped through the portal. The heat hit her immediately. Thrown to her side was small obsidian dagger. When Reina had died, she lost everything, including all her Memories.
The rift closed, and Reina picked up her dagger, summoning the [Mantle] of her [Stone Shell].
'Just what the hell happened?'
Reina knew for a fact Weaver was dead. Carmen had said as much, and yet she just interacted with them? How was that possible? She knew she had interacted with Nether, but that was within a Nightmare. This was no Nightmare, this was the present of the Dream Realm... or perhaps that was a message Weaver had within the innerworkings of the Nightmare Spell itself?
'...' Reina stared at the expansive desert in front of her. With wistful steps, she began her journey as the puppet of Fate.
***
Milo stirred awake, his prosthetic shooting out and pushing against the lid of his sleeping pod. His prosthetic was more energized then ever, it pushed and pushed until...
POP
The lid popped off its hinges and shot up five feet in the air. Milo looked at the lid with a mix of shock and surprise. he then quickly raised his prosthetic to catch the lid. With the lid secured in his hands, he set it gently on the ground and looked around the room. He was back, this was the Awakened Academy.
Milo felt a tear fall from his eye... more threatened to follow, but he could cry later. Wiping away the tear drop, he finally noticed that he was naked. Milo quickly summoned the under suit of the [Mobile Suit].
Milo also realized that due to his... accidental force, the medical equipment was going crazy. With a sigh, Milo moved towards the nearest piece of equipment and tapped into it with his [Living Interface] attribute.
Out in the Dream Realm, technology was a seldom resource, here at Earth however... oh there was plenty for him to use. The overwhelming rush of information was disorienting at first, but thanks to his Dormant Ability, Milo quickly got ahold of everything he wanted too. Disabling the alarms was the first step, the second step was deleting the recorded footage of him breaking the pod, he then exited the system of the hospital.
Milo walked over to the door, opening and peering into the hallway, multiple doctors were rushing through the rooms, and one was approaching his own. The doctor seemed to be a middle aged woman who quickly let out a gasp of shock upon seeing Milo.
"Sir Milo! But the alarms in your room had just went off!"
"Right, about that, I think that pod was defective... when I woke up the lid was open and it seemed to have broken off its hinges."
Milo looked back into the room. "I won't have to pay for that, will I?"
The doctor shook her head. "Don't be concerned about that, sir! Welcome back to the real world, sir Milo."
***
Milo not so soon after found himself in an interview with a scruffy bearded man in slacks and a blazer, in front of him was small laptop. The man offered a smile and spoke. "Hello there, my name is Esteban, and you are...?"
"Milo. Though I've also gained a True Name called Architect of Tomorrow... whatever that means, I prefer just Milo though."
The man's eyes widened slightly and he spoke a little more cautiously. "Alright Milo, I will ask you a series of questions about your time in the Dream Realm. The purpose of this briefing is to enrich our base of knowledge about it, as well as let us know how to better assist you in the future. Any little bit of information you can provide might help future Dreamers in their own trials, but you don't have to answer if you don't want to, of course."
Milo nodded. "I'll answer."
The man settled and asked his first question. "How long have you been in the Dream Realm?"
"A year and a couple of weeks." Milo was a bit shocked at how long he had spent in the Dream Realm... he could only imagine how the others felt. Nearly a decade spent in that hell would drive anyone crazy.
"You did well, hardly anyone would've survived in the Forgotten Shore. That is what you call it, correct."
Milo cringed at the mention of that place and nodded. "We did call it that." The man typed into the laptop.
"From other interviews so far, we have confirmed that the Forgotten Shore is a region filled with Nightmare Creatures of the Awakened rank and above. Can you confirm that?"
Milo nodded. "I can, we fought Awakened and Fallen creatures, Corrupted Nightmare Creatures as well. You only encountered those at night."
The man typed a bit more and then asked
"Have you participated in battle against any of those Nightmare Creatures? If you did, how many have you killed?"
Milo noticed the man had switched his tone, before it seemed like he was reading lines off a script, now the questions seemed a bit more personal.
Milo tried to recount all the battles he could... however, before he could come to a rough estimate, a small number appeared in front of his HUD
{527}
Milo looked up at the man and answered. "Five hundred and twenty seven."
The mans jaw dropped a bit, then it quickly recovered with the help of his hand. The silence was long and drawn out...
Eventually, the man shook his head and questioned. "I am sorry, did you just say five hundred and twenty seven."
Milo nodded. "I did."
The man stared at his laptop, let out a sigh, and closed it gently.
"I'm sorry... Sir Milo, but we will have to pause the interview for now."
Milo already knew why, from the recounted experiences of the Awakened Dreamscape beginners he watched, killing around three or even four Nightmare Creatures of the rank above you was an incredible feat, especially for someone as weak and feeble looking as Milo.
"I see, have a good day, sir Esteban."
***
All things considered, Milo thought that interview had went well. He kept secret the exact details of Eva... or rather Reina. Explaining how his Aspect had drastically changed was no easy feat, but thanks to the information he had on the Forgotten Shore, it wasn't hard for him to come up with a believable enough lie about coming a device that forced a second soul core within him.
He also didn't hide the fact his Aspect was divine, if he wanted to land in a cushy position building things, he also had to be as clear cut as possible. The person that replaced Milo was somehow younger, yet seemed much more sharper and attentive.
Regardless, Milo had a lot to get done. The next thing up was... well Milo didn't really know. As far as the database had told him, it was just official business to give him some important items, whatever that meant.
Milo soon found out, he was met with a government official. The government official was named Ascended Winter. She curly dark brown hair that seemed identical to Milo's. She wore sunglasses even though they were indoors. She was also very laid back. She wore a zipped up military coat with rolls sleeved back, a tattoo on one of her arms.
"Hello there, Milo, I've been told a lot about you, heard you already wanted to join the government, I'm positive Valor would love to take you in."
Milo nodded. "I do, Master Winter. Despite Valor's achievements in forging, none of them are technology based. Spell tech seems to be my calling."
Ascended Winter chuckled and nodded. "Alright, now consider this a formality." Ascended Winter reached into her coat pocket and stuck her hand out, a small metal box with a sensor on its lid. Milo didn't tap the sensor, he simply touched the box and it popped open. Ascended Winter let out a chuckle. "That's a neat trick."
"Don't worry about my fingerprint, I already embedded it into the box's recognition." Milo replied, he waited until Ascended Winter... ah, calling her Master Winter felt much more natural.
Master Winter pulled out the contents of the box. A sleek communicator made out of flexible glass, a memory chip with the government seal etched on its surface, and a small iron badge with two stars engraved into it.
"Congrats, Awakened Milo, you are now a citizen of the seventh rank, improvement over your previous rank of four, eh?" Master Winter smiled softly, and Milo returned the smile in kind.
"I'm sure it will feel like an improvement." Milo muttered, as much as he wanted to celebrate, his mother or father or sister weren't there to celebrate with him... He should probably find Olivia as soon as possible.
"So, Awakened Milo, have I told you about the amazing benefits offered by joining the government." Master Winter added wistfully, her acting was about as painfully obvious as his sister's acting when she wanted something from that corner store.
"Didn't I say I was already going to join the government?" Milo asked while raising an eyebrow.
"You did, but I wanted to make sure that I technically convinced you to join, if when you do join, they ask why, say I convinced you... the bonus I'll receive." Master Winter let out a chuckle. "Seriously, you'll be a huge help to others by joining... thanks."
"I should be thanking you guys if anything, I doubt anyone else would be able to handle an Aspect like mine."
***
A day after his discussion with Winter and confirmation for joining the government, Milo had some places to visit. Firstly, his family's grave.
Milo walked through the silent cemetery, the only other people around were other families visiting their own dead loved ones. Upon reaching their graves, a smile found his way to his face. In front of all three were fresh flowers, probably no older then a week. He was glad that his family still visited them... Milo found three nearby flowers and plucked them, placing each one in front of each grave.
"Mom, dad, Lucy... I'll admit, so much has happened that I found myself unable to believe you were dead for a few months. Hearing what happened all just felt like a bad dream... like I was still in my First Nightmare, all I could do was shed a tear thanks to that damned Aspect Ability of mine. I... will m-make sure..." Milo felt tears welling in his eyes, a silent sob escaped his throat as he got on his knees. He couldn't even get out the words he was trying to say.
Eventually, the swell of emotions in his chest dissipated, and Milo took in a deep breath. "I'll make sure to visit you guys often, and I'll make sure to do what you guys expected of me... that much should be expected, right?"
Milo stared at the graves one last time, he then got up. "I'll see you guys next time."
The next place Milo visited was his old home, it now belonged to his uncle, who was going to give it to Milo upon his return to the Waking World. So Milo now owned this house... it would definitely need some renovations, but for now it was enough. Milo quickly purchased a Sleeping Pod. After all, he would soon be tethered to Ravenheart. He had also learned of Olivia' whereabouts and her choice to join Milo in the government. Despite his insistence over the communicator on Olivia going independent, she said her Aspect best fitted the Government.
After visiting his house, he then walked a couple blocks down. Seeing a two story house with a nice and clean front yard made Milo feel nostalgic.
'It is Sunday so hopefully he's here.'
Milo approached the door and gave it two careful knocks... a voice from inside called out. "Coming!" It was much deeper then Milo remembered.
The door opened, and standing in front of was a taller, and much more mature Callum.
Callum looked at Milo for a split second, the recognition bloomed in his eyes.
"Milo?"
Milo nodded. "It's me, Callum."