Awner sat down a short distance from the dim lights, letting the runes fade from his fingers. The night in the Dream Realm felt deceptively calm—quiet enough that he finally called out to the system.
"Status."
A panel of deep-blue light unfolded in the air.
NAME: Awner
True Name: The Voidborne Sovereign
Rank: Dreamer
Void Core: Dormant
Void Fragments: 200 / 1000
Memories: Leather Torso, Rusty Sword
Echoes: —
Attributes:
• Anomaly
• Dreamspawn
• Void's Gaze
Aspect Ability: Space Control
Description:
Allows manipulation of localized space for a short duration.
Another command followed.
"System, show me my points."
[Host: 1680 System Points Available]
Awner nodded. According to the system's rules, he earned ten points for each Awakened-rank beast he killed. In his first Nightmare, exchanging soul shards was impossible—but here, he had options. Nephis needed strength more urgently. Cassie could wait until Sunny returned.
by exchanging soul shard he can earn More point now but it's whoud be more beneficial to strengthen relationship .
Nephis's POV
She ate quietly, the taste of a cafeteria meal in the Dream Realm still impossible to comprehend. The steam rising from the container felt unreal. Everything about him felt unreal.
Awner sat between Cassie and the flickering flashlights, telling Cassie a story she had never heard before. Something about two cultivators from a faraway world—Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing—locked in a chaotic life-and-death dance.
None of it made sense to her.
Not the plot.
Not the bizarre world-building.
And certainly not the fact that Awner was telling it with casual familiarity.
She watched him closely.
In the soft light, his face came into clear view. Normal. Barely noticeable. Almost gentle. Cute—if she wanted to insult someone. A completely different impression from the last Nightmare where he had first appeared before her.
She blinked when he snapped his fingers.
A soul shard materialized in his palm.
Was he going to absorb it?
Instead, he tossed it lightly toward her.
Her hand moved before she even understood what she was doing, catching it on instinct.
"Absorb it," he said simply, already turning back to Cassie and continuing the story as if nothing of importance had occurred.
Nephis stared at the shard in her hand.
Something inside her chest tightened.
Why… why would he give this to her?
She opened her mouth to ask—but no words came.
Her throat refused.
Cassie was still entirely absorbed in the story.
She hadn't even noticed the exchange.
Finally, after a full minute of silent war against herself, Nephis closed her eyes and absorbed the shard. Warmth spread through her body, deepening her strength. She didn't look at Awner again.
Cassie wasn't done.
"Alright, next chapter! What happens after Bai Ning Bing stabs him? You can't stop there! How am I supposed to sleep like this?"
Her expression was pained, almost tragic.
Awner stood and stretched.
"We continue tomorrow."
"No we don't!" Cassie protested. "You can't just stop when it's getting good!"You can't stop there! How am I supposed to sleep like this?"
Awner kept a straight face.
"By closing your eyes."
Cassie gaped.
Nephis covered her mouth so they wouldn't see her smile.
"That's illegal," Cassie declared. "That's actually illegal. You can't cliffhanger me here."
"I just did."
Awner ignored the dramatic gasp and snapped again.
Three emergency sleeping bags appeared before them—neatly folded, perfectly insulated.
Nephis froze.
She stared at the sleeping bags.
Then at him.
Then at the flashlights.
Then at the cafeteria meal containers.
Is he… is he traveling the Dream Realm on vacation?
She almost screamed.
Instead, she forced her mind into order and reminded herself that reality had already broken three times today. One more anomaly wouldn't kill her.
Coincidentally—or not—he had brought three sleeping bags.
He passed one to Cassie, then gestured for Nephis to take her own.
Her hand moved stiffly as she accepted it.
Awner sat down on another patch of coral, watching the darkness.
"I'll take the first watch," Nephis said. "I'll wake you in five hours."
Neither Cassie nor Awner objected.
Nephis moved to the edge of the hill, blade in hand, letting the cold Dream Realm wind brush against her face.
Behind her, the strange, impossible boy who summoned food and bedding from nowhere lay down to sleep—calm, relaxed, utterly out of place.
She exhaled slowly.
This was going to be a very long Nightmare.
...
Awner watched the horizon. Behind him, Nephis awoke without a sound. She looked at him; he looked at her. Neither spoke. She passed him with steady steps, drawing her sword as she began practicing her forms.
While thinking he thought shadow slave world isn't much different from modern cultivation when ascending in rank you need to form soul core , refine it and ascend, then keep repeating the same with more enlightenment and knowledge in each step .
But nightmare spell use a loopholes in due to his knowledge and fate .
What he wanted most from the Forgotten Shore was simple:
Weaver's Mask.
With that artifact, he could become obscenely rich—in system points. Enough to skip entire ranks in one night.
But doing so would be wasteful. The cost to reach Supreme or Transcendent rank was astronomical. He wouldn't burn points frivolously.
After stretching, Awner stood, deciding to prepare breakfast.
......
"Two days," Sunny muttered. "Two cursed days."
His shadow scouted ahead. Then he saw it.
Grey sky. Black mud. An endless sea of crimson. And in the middle of that nightmare tableau, two beautiful girls walking through the labyrinth.
He blinked.
…He completely failed to notice Awner standing nearby.
Wow. What a sight—
Wait. Why am I thinking about scenery? People! I found people! Awner! He's actually here!
His heart skipped.
If Nephis, Cassie, and Awner were here, then the orange light earlier must have been them. Which meant they knew how to reach the tall hill.
…Now what?
He was terrible at approaching people. In fact, people usually avoided him on instinct. And after spending four weeks making everyone at the Academy hate him… well…
Good job, Sunny.
Maybe Awner and Cassie wouldn't mind him tagging along. Maybe.
Before he could decide, Awner suddenly gestured sharply.
"Stop there. Sunny, come out. I can see you."
Sunny froze.
He didn't believe it—until he glanced at his own shadow.
With a sigh, Sunny stepped forward.
Nephis reacted instantly. A sword materialized in her hand, already angled in a perfect defensive stance. Cassie retreated in alarm.
"It's fine," Awner said calmly. "It's Sunny. Shadow ability."
Nephis's eyes narrowed. She turned toward Sunny's hiding spot with lethal precision.
"If you're human, why were you hiding in the shadows like a creep?"
Goddammit! I'm not a creep!
His Flaw forced the words out.
"I mean… you're Changing Star, Nephis. Honestly? I'm a little afraid."
Nephis didn't answer. Her expression was unreadable. He used her True Name deliberately—no monster impersonating a human could have known it.
Cassie chimed in quickly.
"I recognize his voice! Sunless. Second-to-last in the rankings. Right above me."
Nephis frowned thoughtfully.
"…The pervert?"
Sunny died a little inside.
Oh, come on!
Cassie hesitated.
Sunny protested desperately.
"I'm not actually a pervert! I just—said a few things. To a few girls. Completely misunderstood!"
Nephis considered this, then finally dismissed her sword.
Sunny exhaled.