4 Months Ago
Second Nightmare, Lesser God Library
A spherical light bathed the massive library in a godly light.
The dust in the air itself was golden, hinting at its majestic quality.
The shelves, floors and walls were all a pristine marble.
And a sole man walked its halls.
Dell grabbed another book off the shelf.
More.
He had told himself he would only grab one more book before exiting.
He grabbed another.
More. More.
That had been hundreds of books ago.
But he couldn't help it.
His flaw couldn't help it.
He grabbed yet another book off the shelf.
It materialized into a new creature once again.
This time a black unicorn appeared in its place, lightning dancing on its form as it faced Dell.
More. More. More.
Present Day
Ravenheart, Song Domain
Sora watched the duel from the stands of the colosseum, embedded in the cheers and roars of the hundreds of thousands of mundane spectators alongside her.
She could sense the glee of the spectators as the two finalists of this block dueled it out in the pit below. Feel their every worry and pain wash away, their intent singularly focused on witnessing the outcome of the ferocious fight.
One of the competitors stumbled, and the cheering waned momentarily, followed by an even greater roar of appreciation. Sora felt their intent grow even more potent.
A sudden light enveloped the bottom of the pit, drowning the sunlight in the stadium and casting an ominous ambience across the crowd. The beam shot into the sky, painting the world turquoise and swallowing the view of the pit entirely.
The crowd's energy stalled, their breaths held.
As the light dissipated, curiosity flooded their intent. A lone man was left standing, his opponent lay still on the floor before him.
The stands exploded. A furious litany of sound shook Ravenheart.
-----
Sora left the stadium with Dell, who had draped himself in a dusty cloak to avoid the attention of any would-be fans.
"Not a bad performance," Sora remarked as they shuffled forward. Behind them, the crowd roared again in glee as the preliminaries continued. The battles would stretch into the deep night, culminating in a battle royale with all the finalists from each block.
Dell remained silent for a moment before speaking his mind. "Your intel helped."
Sora slapped him on the back and offered him a forced smile. "Ah, you would have figured out that stone man's weakness anyways, sooner or later."
Dell slowly showed some teeth. "Yeah, I probably would have."
The colosseum was not too far from the mundane residency of the lower city. They made their way to the inn they were staying at.
Dell took a swig from a bottle on the bedstand then slumped on the bed immediately. "How is any mortal meant to survive that many rounds?" he asked incredulously.
"The Song sisters want to see the best." Sora shrugged. "I'll be off then. I've already left all the info I've got on your other potential opponents in that dossier."
Dell grunted agreement. "Already read it."
Sora left the inn shortly after, now draped in her own cloak, albeit this one was pitch black.
Tonight, she was planning on being a bad omen.
-----
A bald man in his forties watched the lights of the colosseum contrast against the dream realm sky from the balcony of his villa.
He swirled his glass of wine as he welcomed his unannounced guest.
"Sora, you're finally here. Did you bring what I asked?"
The cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows and into view. She held a severed head up for the man to see.
"Ah, wonderful. I see Clan Sever still has its knack despite its current… well."
Sora rested the head on the table and picked up another glass to pour herself a cup, refusing to respond to the jest.
"It wasn't too hard in and of itself. It's just that the bridge is littered with Awakened."
They both took a swig. Sora sculled the glass. Then reached for the bottle and sculled that too.
"You have what I want?"
"Straight to the point. But, uh, yes. I do,'' The bald man replied, amused at the young girl's thirst for booze.
The bald man pulled an amulet from his waist pocket, its golden shine reflecting off the moonlight.
"Ah, but you see, I'm afraid I can't give it to you."
With that, the bald man plunged a knife into Sora's abdomen, sending her reeling. She stumbled over the balcony railing and fell into the atrium of the building below.
Baldy jumped down to follow her, his awakened joints easily handling the fall.
He began walking over to Sora's crumpled form. "This amulet, you see, it's too valuable for me to give up. You should have known better than to trust me, girl." He brandished the amulet. "How could I possibly allow myself to be affiliated with individuals willing to cross Clan Song? What would it do to me and to my business?"
He stepped forward to crush Sora's throat, but his boot simply struck the ground. The body had disappeared.
"Wha—"
Then the whole world began to crumble around him, revealing another existence entirely.
Baldy was back on the balcony, only this time he was being held by the throat by a young man. A translucent crown hovered above his head, with a grey gemstone glowing at its center.
He reached for his blade, but it wasn't there. It was on the far reaches of the balcony floor.
"Who—"
The young man grinned. "You can't make an enemy of the Song Clan? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Well, it's not really them you should worry about now, is it?"
The gemstone on the young man's crown spun green.
-----
Sora waited in the alley as Dell approached.
"Well?"
He placed the amulet in her hands and continued walking. It was bloody.
"My aspect was right?" Sora asked, sure of the answer. Her dormant ability allowed her to sense the intent of others, while her awakened ability allowed her to sense the direction of something she desired. That was how she had found the bald man in the first place and why she was a perfect choice to carry out an assassination on Ravenheart's bridge for him.
Dell obliged reluctantly. "Yep… he stabbed you in the gut."
They continued on through the district. "Which one was this one from?"
"What?"
"The aspect. All I saw from my viewpoint was he turned around and saw you, stood still for a while, then you choked him, then cut him up. Which one did you steal this aspect from?"
Dell sighed. "It's… I think this one was called… an Alp. I don't know, my memory gets fuzzy around then."
Sora nodded, pondering the answer. "Around when?"
"My second nightmare."
She nodded again, wary to touch on the subject.
They both pushed on in silence for the remainder of their journey to the Colosseum.