This was it...death had finally reached Sunny.
He had done many risky things, and he had saved many people. His nature was to help and to sacrifice. The outskirts had made most of its inhabitants into selfish and cunning shells of humans who only cared about themselves. Sunny was the lone exception to this phenomenon.
Despite his short stature, weak physique, and less-than-glamorous looks, the little outskirt rat had forced himself into becoming a paragon for the dirty slums. Putting his life on the line to help save innocents from trafficking, forcing himself to eat next to nothing to allow more food to go to his companions, and always preaching about the importance of goodness and virtue like a missionary with speeches that were too great for the miserable ghettos, and honestly looked comical when coming out of the short, dark-eyed boy's mouth.
"...Why do we, as children of god, sin against our brothers and sisters?..."
"...Are we not humans? Why do we live our lives, a great gift granted to us all by the holy, while stealing and scavenging like rats and odious bugs? Why do we choose to hate and hurt our own race over mere material possessions?..."
Yes, he was often ridiculed for his passionate speeches. Yes, he was exploited many times. Yes, he was betrayed. Yes, he was treated with snickers and disrespect wherever he went for his seemingly idiotic level of kindness. Yes, he was forced to do many disgusting things, mainly to himself, to fulfil his insatiable hunger for betterment.
But his endless kindness had produced results. People, even in the outskirts, were humans after all. His kind spirit had touched many, some even joining his side as supporters, though they were always rare, temporary and mostly full of ulterior motives.
Eventually, just a fortnight before Sunny began to show signs of the infection, a charitable organisation from the main city noticed his talent for speeches and hoped to bring him out of the outskirts to serve as a mascot of sorts for their plans to reform the outskirts.
Even Sunny knew such a goal would be impossible to achieve, so he declined and instead offered to send a couple of the brighter kids he had managed to save from a beggar syndicate in his place. Unbelievably, they actually took the kids and got them adopted to a rich family.
From then on, a lot of people began to get a lot chummier with Sunny.
That was also when he began to feel a lot sleepier and more exhausted than usual. It was the time when he got infected by the nightmare spell.
That was how he ended up here, in the police station. He had given away his life savings to a bunch of kids he met on the streets, enough to buy them a couple months' worth of synthpaste, at least. He even noticed a small gathering of people crying when he left.
'All that altruism did produce some results...It was a good idea to be kind after all.'
After explaining his reason for visiting, he told the officers about the situation, and they strapped him into a strange contraption that looked to be a mix of a hospital bed and a torture device.
He didn't need to introduce himself since the officers already knew him, nor did he need to get explained the reality of the First Nightmare, since a nice awakened he had met a couple of days ago had already given him a detailed briefing, out of concern. Sunny even took the venerated awakened's autograph ... and gave it to a petite girl who said she really wanted it.
'I don't want to die.'
But he would. Admittedly, his selfless nature had forced him into many difficult situations and made him quite intellectual and quick-minded, but he was still an outskirt rat. His lack of training would likely ensure he would die a painful and harrowing death in whatever the nightmare spell would throw at him, at least that is what the cowardly side of him thought.
After the officers were done strapping him in, a more rugged and elderly policeman, who must have been the station's head, made sure to make his comment.
"Don't die, Sunless"
It seems the local police head had heard of his exploits before. The man really looked forlorn. Sunless even expected some sort of jab just as he went into sleep, showing that the man was only acting, but no, he and the policemen under him were genuinely sad just to see him go.
'They think this is going to be a farewell.'
Sunny wasn't always so kind. As a kid, he was very cynical and selfish. He would tear the wings of insects and take glee in their misery while laughing like a maniac. But he had suppressed that part of him ever since Rain left. But that sinful persona was coming back up again.
This time, it was a completely new sin. Pride
"Save your sympathies for someone else! I will not die by some mere first nightmare, I, Sunless of Altruism, have myriad people who need my help after all!"
Sunny gracelessly fell asleep, but a moment after that proud declaration.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the nightmare spell. Prepare for your first trial...]
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I was standing in my soul sea. I had parmounted my First Nightmare.
Honestly, It was miserable. I was used to seeing virulent things in the outskirts but this...this was truly something else. I died almost five times. It was painful and my aspect, though helpful, didn't achieve anything in terms of helping me fight the monster and perhaps even saving a few people.
I had survived, but Hero, Shifty and Scholar , alongside every other person who had the misfortune of encountering that carvan had died.
I had failed to save even a single person, except myself, of course.
I knew they were illusions, but seeing them get so brutally maimed and killed while I could only watch was not pleasant whatsoever.
I thought dropping the tyrant down the cliff would kill it, but no it didn't.
I thought poisoning a dead body with Bloodbane and making the Mountain King eat it would make it die, but of course, it didn't.
Infact, it only made the tyrant more ferocious. That is why Hero, Shifty and Scholar are lying dead somewhere down the mountain. Luckily, the Bloodbane had seemingly diroriented the tyrant, giving Hero a couple chances to land some terrific hits on the Mountain King, severly injuring it.
Oddly, the odious beast was the one who had saved me, since my companions had decided to throw me down first, as I reeked of blood. Even Hero, the guy who I thought was my kin in altruism, had betrayed me. Guess what? They all died and I alone lived. Karma does bite hard. Damn you, Hero, you tried to act like a true knight but all you were was a certified fraud!
Eventually, I managed to reach the what seemed to be a temple of the Shadow God. The Mountain King also reached the holy place just a few moments later. But dropping my blood on the altar of the temple seemingly empowered a massive onslaught upon the Tyrant, killing it.
"I probably shouldn't demean the dead...huff...rest in peace, bastards."
I guess the past events have made me very crude, I remember making sure to speak with the most eloquent grammer and vocabulary earlier. I guess my niceness is only limited to humans. The trio I met were certainly not human by my definiton.
But it all feels worth it now.
Aspect: [Shadow Slave].
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control].
Aspect Ability Description: [Your Shadow is more independant than most. It is an invaluable helper.]
A Divine-ranked aspect is quite something. I could probably bring humanity up a whole Kardasheiv scale if I somehow manage reach my full potencial. Think about all the lives that could be saved. Heck, even reforming the outskirts would be easy work.
But I couldn't help but feel very good for my own self too. What a great life I could live as an Awakened! Finally, clothes, food, housing and all other luxuries of the upper-class could be mine.
I also have a completely different progression path from everyone else, and I can also form multiple soul cores, upto seven. Theoretically, I could reach the level of a Divine Terror sometime in the future.
Unfortunately, I also got something called [Shadow Bond]. It lets whoever find out my True Name become my slaver. I shuddered at the thought of anybody ever learning it. For all my selflessness, my own agency as an individual is something I would never sacrifice for anything.
Yes, I did receive a True Name.
[Lost from Light]
Doesn't match my kind persona one bit, doesn't it?
The most shocking of all was the price the Nightmare Spell bestowed upon me.
Flaw: [The Burden Of Generosity].
Flaw Description: [Your nature compels you to shoulder the burden of the Flaws bestowed upon others.]