Elizabeth froze. She had come to the induction hall prepared to be bored, maybe mildly annoyed, but not to hear someone casually claim they had a Divine Aspect.
'So… I'm not the only one?'
Her gaze slid over the circle of Sleepers surrounding the short boy. Judging by their expressions, most of them had already decided he was lying through his teeth. The way he spoke did sound off, like he was piecing his answers together on the spot, It looked more like a performance than a truthful confession. Still, what was the point of bluffing about something like that here, of all places?
'It's like he's putting on a show…'
Any sensible person would have written him off as a clown by now. Elizabeth, however, found herself unable to dismiss his claim as a lie.
'The glorious appraisal and a Divine rank Aspect… those have never been heard of before. I experienced both and somehow, he knows about it too.'
No one had ever heard of a "glorious" appraisal, much less seen someone with a Divine Aspect that could be linked to it. For another Sleeper to suddenly announce those exact words, appraisal and rank together, it was too on the nose to dismiss as coincidence.
'Could… he know someone with a Divine Aspect?'
Maybe someone like her had told him the terms, and he was merely parroting them now to inflate his own status and ego. The way he spoke felt dishonest, and he was obviously trying to mislead others into believing him, but failing miserably, so it couldn't possibly be him… right?
'So there are more Divine Aspect holders out there… most likely a Legacy?'
The thought made her feel oddly hollow and unsettled as she realized she might not be a unique case after all. But she forced the sensation down. If there was any place on Earth where another Divine Aspect holder might appear, it was NQSC, where Sleepers from every corner of the world were gathered. The odds were small, yet she had never truly expected to meet even one.
'Should I ask him where I can find that person?'
If she could track down another Divine holder, preferably someone older and more experienced, maybe she could finally understand how exactly she differed from other Awakened and get some answers about the stranger runes in her Aspect.
'But I have to be careful. There must be a reason Divine Aspects are not known to the public and why their holders choose to hide.'
She couldn't simply blurt out that she possessed a Divine Aspect. If she knew who else did, she could dig into their background first, investigate them from afar, and decide whether they were safe to approach.
Her line of thought shattered a heartbeat later.
"Mind you, I'm not some lofty Legacy. Pfft! I'm from the outskirts. I've never even received combat training. All that training, and he only got an 'excellent'? What did he do during the Nightmare, pick his nose the whole time?"
'What? He's not a Legacy? Did he just say he's from the outskirts and never trained?'
Her thoughts tangled. She could tell he wasn't lying about his origins; Legacies might as well be minor celebrities, and a quick search on her communicator would be enough to verify or debunk his claims. There was no benefit in faking something so easy to check.
'Then how does he know? Don't tell me he really is a Divine Aspect holder.'
Before she could untangle that possibility, the tall young man at the center of the crowd, Caster, if she'd heard correctly, raised his hand to stop the mocking laughter and looked back at the short boy, his polite smile widening.
"Glorious? That is interesting. Would you mind telling us what your achievements in the Nightmare were?"
The short Sleeper grinned brightly.
"Sure, no problem! First of all, I killed an… uh… an Awakened tyrant!"
'What?… Just that?'
Her certainty wavered; now she wasn't so sure he truly was a Divine Aspect holder. Facing an Awakened Tyrant in a First Nightmare was already absurd, sure, but was that alone enough to warrant a Divine Aspect? She had fought a Sacred creature in a weakened state and, although by accident than intent, killed a Supreme being as well.
'Then again… by the time I killed Rethen, it might have been reduced to the level of an Awakened, or even weaker.'
That didn't erase the fact that she had slain a Supreme as well, even if the method had been anything but normal.
"Hey, why are you lying so much?"
She focused on the conversation again. The others were laughing openly at the boy now. He didn't seem bothered in the slightest, he was smiling along with them until he suddenly flinched and frowned, as if struck by a spike of pain.
"That's the truth!" he snapped.
Their laughter only grew louder.
"Crazy bastard!"
"He actually believes his own crap!"
"Insane, he's insane…"
Elizabeth's brow furrowed.
'Is he really insane? Was all of this just a coincidence?'
Everything about the scene happening in front of her was strange, but she couldn't bring herself to accept that explanation.
She let out a soft sigh, then pushed herself to her feet and started walking toward the group. The laughter faltered as soon as people noticed her walk over. Her hood no longer fully covered her face; the second they saw her features, several Sleepers fell into a dazed stupor, their cheeks flushing red as her attribute [Siren of the Sea] quietly took hold. Elizabeth ignored their reactions. She had a question burning a hole in her tongue.
The short Sleeper noticed her approach, too. His brows knit when he realized how strangely the others were suddenly behaving. Caster recovered first and studied Elizabeth with a curious, measuring look.
When she reached the edge of the circle, Elizabeth stopped beside them and looked straight at the boy. Only then did she realize that every eye in the group was fixed on her.
'…Damn.'
Now that she was here, under the full weight of their attention, she no longer wanted to ask anything. Maybe she had been too impulsive; she could already feel the mind script of what she wanted to ask beginning to fade away, washed out by waves of thoughts discouraging her from saying anything embarrassing.
'No. I have to.'
She bit her lower lip.
"You… how… how do you know about that appraisal?"
The moment the words left her mouth, the rest of the group snapped fully out of their trance and stared at her as if she had asked whether the sky was green.
"Hey, don't buy his nonsense, miss. He's just trying to get attention. Ignore him."
"Yeah, there are lots like him. They make things up just to stand out. He's the craziest I've seen so far, though."
Elizabeth barely heard them. Her eyes remained locked on the short boy.
His gaze narrowed after her question, then widened slightly, as if he had suddenly understood something. Surprise flickered across his face.
Elizabeth had not asked whether he truly possessed a Divine Aspect; she had only said enough to make the boy speculate about her being in possession of one as well. If what she said alone was enough, there was bound to be some reaction. That was what she had been fishing for, and she had gotten it.
'He knows.'
He fell silent for a few seconds, seemingly wrestling with something only he could feel, before his features twisted with brief, raw pain.
"I, uh… it's because I got it. Yeah! Definitely because I got it!"
Elizabeth's frown deepened.
'Why does he keep talking like that?'
"So… you have a Divine Aspect because of your glorious appraisal?"
The boy hesitated again, then nodded.
"Uhh… yes, I do! And you won't believe how I got that appraisal! I communicated with a bunch of gods, even though they were all dead… uh, I managed to wake one of them up. He gave me a blessing! I was blessed by a god!
More laughter exploded around them. Caster sighed, clearly exasperated, and took a step toward Elizabeth.
"Please don't take his words seriously—"
"Oh, yeah? That's all you did?" Elizabeth cut him off, her voice suddenly calm. "Well, guess what, buddy. I also possess a Divine Aspect. Guess how I got it? By killing a Supreme and a Sacred being."
Silence crashed over the group. Caster froze mid‑step. The Sleepers who had been laughing a second ago now stared at her as if she had announced she was the Spell in human form. Even the short boy looked at her like she'd grown a second head.
Elizabeth smiled.
In that instant, everything clicked into place in her mind, it suddenly made sense why the boy was acting like that. Earlier, she had seen the short Sleeper get slapped mid‑conversation and written it off as some random drama. Now, she understood what he was doing. His odd way of phrasing words, the outrageous boasts and claims, the deliberate rudeness, all of it was calculated. He was crafting a persona everyone would find intolerable, forcing them to keep their distance.
He was deliberately casting himself out.
'Why go that far?'
Three possibilities came to mind. First, he genuinely hated people and would rather sacrifice his reputation than endure their company. Second, he had something enormous to hide, for example, a Divine Aspect and the safest way to protect that secret was to keep others away. Third, his Flaw might endanger those around him, so he was sacrificing himself and his reputation, and turning himself into a convenient pariah.
Given everything she had just seen, the second option seemed the most plausible, and his method of hiding it… was to conceal it in plain sight by making it sound like a lie. In doing so, he achieved two goals; marking himself as a liar so no one would believe him, and creating a persona no one would want to approach, ensuring no one could learn his secret.
If she was correct, then yes, discovering another Divine Aspect holder was surprising....but it didn't change anything. He was just a Sleeper like her, about to be thrown into the Spell without much preparation. If he really was from the outskirts and lacked training, he probably knew even less than she did and was most likely even more confused than she was.
Still, his method was simple yet brilliant.
'Maybe I can act crazy too, make people avoid me… would that cancel out the effect of my attribute? Only one way to find out.'
The moment she realized that, she quickly came up with a plan. She decided to adopt the strange boy's attitude. Judging by the shock and budding disappointment on the faces around her, it seemed to be working already. Her smile widened.
"You talked with gods? Cute." she said lightly. "I killed a god's offspring by cutting it's throat."
The short Sleeper blinked, then suddenly laughed. He was quick to adapt, it seemed, as he followed through with his original plan. Yet his eyes remained on her, examining her closely with a wary and cautious look.
"Really? I'm impressed… My greatest feat was killing an Awakened swordsman by shaking my finger a few times. Oh, and I guess I did kill an Awakened Tyrant just by spitting."
The group stared at the two of them, their jaws slightly slack. Caster stared at Elizabeth for a few moments before he shook his head and backed away, retreating to his original spot.
"Seems we've got lunatics in our year's batch," he muttered.
"Yeah… it was funny at first, but now it's just sad." someone else said softly. "I feel bad for the girl, honestly. She's really beautiful. Shame she's crazy and will most likely die."
Hearing those words, Elizabeth felt slightly embarrassed, but it was quickly washed away by a liberating feeling.
Freedom. At least now, she wouldn't have to deal with anyone trying to talk to her anymore if the plan worked. Worst-case scenario, she'd only attract weirdos now.
She glanced at the short Sleeper, who was watching her with an odd expression, and gave him a small, satisfied smile before turning around and walking away.