The good, the bad and the ugly.

Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, I can't find a good reason to resume with the first nightmare from that point onwards since all the events can't really be changed or even deviated.

So forgive me this once as I simply skip to when he wakes up, since if you just want to experience the first nightmare, just go read the OG novel.

***

[Prepare for appraisal...]

Sunny found himself staring at what seemed to be the inner workings of the nightmare spell, a myriad of what seemed to be bright stars littered the void as webs of light connected them.

He would have loved to ponder longer about the philosophy of the nightmare spell, but he really wasn't in the mood.

[You have received a memory: Puppeteer's Shroud]

'Yes!'

This was his third memory. Getting it was a stroke of incredible luck since the Mountain King was an Awakened Tyrant—

Which meant it was an Awakened memory of the fifth tier!

He wanted to check it out immediately, but there was no time.

The spell was done with its appraisal.

In the void, the spell's voice seemed to be different—now it seemed like the entire universe was talking to him.

[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]

[A nameless slave ascended the Black Mountain. Both heroes and monsters fell by his hand. Unbroken, he entered the ruined temple of a long-forgotten god and spilled his blood on the sacred altar. The gods were dead, and yet they listened.]

[You have defeated two Dormant Beasts: Mountain King's Larva.]

[You have defeated three Dormant Humans, names unknown.]

[You have defeated an Awakened Human: Auro of the Nine.]

[You have defeated an Awakened Tyrant: Mountain King.]

[You have received the Shadow God's blessing.]

[You have achieved the impossible.]

[Final appraisal: Glorious. Your treachery truly knows no bounds.]

Sunny hoped that the treachery thing wouldn't stick, but he was satisfied with the appraisal.

Maybe he could even get an Ascended Aspect!

[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon!]

'Aspirant no more,' Sunny thought.

[You have been bestowed a True Name: Lightless Song]

Sunny was in shock.

A True Name?

Very few people had one even after they Ascend!

He got it in his first Nightmare, to boot!

He was an elite now! The best of the best! No one could stand—

He stopped himself; he was only a soon-to-be Dormant, after all.

The rewards kept coming.

[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]

'What kind of a question is that?! Anything is better than useless!'

Sunny crossed his fingers and said, "Yes."

[Dormant Aspect: Temple Slave is evolving...]

[New Aspect acquired.]

[Aspect Rank: Divine.]

Sunny fell over.

[Aspect Name: Shadow Slave.]

'Divine... it's actually Divine.'

Sure, the trial was unspeakably difficult, but a Divine Aspect?

Sunny sat on the ground, or whatever could be considered 'ground' in this place.

He was stunned and out of breath.

He summoned his runes to check the description.

Aspect: [Shadow Slave]

Aspect Rank: Divine Aspect

Description: [You are a miraculous shadow left behind by a dead god. As a Divine Shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. However, your existence is empty and lonesome; you mourn the passing of your former master and long to find a new one.]

Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond]

Ability Description: [Find a worthy master and let them know your True Name. Once they recite it out loud, you will be bound to their will, unable to disobey any command. It is improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master.]

He had thought he was delirious at first, but he heard it right!

A Divine Aspect!

Entire factions and clans were built upon powerhouses who had Supreme or Transcendent Aspects. No one in human history had ever acquired a Divine one.

The only things with the prefix 'Divine' were the myths and legends of old. The human race hadn't reached that high yet. It was only a couple of years back since the first Transcendent appeared.

Saints were considered the pinnacle of human power, but even they seldom attacked creatures of higher ranks, so the number of Supreme or Sacred memories were almost nonexistent. The same went for Aspects.

Yet he had just gotten one.

The Innate Ability, though...

Sunny shook his head in dismay.

This was basically a flaw! How was this an Innate Ability?

Though it didn't pose a huge threat— all he had to do was not tell anyone his True Name.

Which was a shame, really. He couldn't go around boasting his True Name unless he wanted to become enslaved in the same moment.

'Not a problem. I can just lie.'

It's not like anybody would force him to say his True Name, which they wouldn't even know he had.

If the Spell could laugh, it would after hearing his thoughts.

[The First Seal is broken]

[Awakening Dormant Powers...]

Sunny felt something ignite within him and then...

He clutched his chest. It was a feeling he had never experienced. It was like his body was dipped in pure energy.

Energy filled every fiber of his being, enhancing every part of his body— even his insides.

It was euphoric.

Each passing second made the transformation more profound. He was no longer a weak outskirts kid.

He had been tempered by the First Nightmare and trained by the Saints of Song themselves.

He was a force to be reckoned with...

For anyone weaker than an Awakened, that is.

The burning in his chest started to cool down.

His vision strangely doubled as he stared into his soul sea. It was vast, lightless, and illuminated by a single black sun.

It looked nothing like traditional soul seas he had seen in webtoons.

He was also supposed to be alone, yet Sunny could sense other beings hiding from his sight.

He shivered.

He turned to look at the black sun and saw three orbs of light circling around it.

His memories.

Soon enough, he would have dozens of memories—maybe even one or two echoes!

[Awakening Aspect Ability...]

This is it. This is what he was waiting for.

Divine Aspects didn't matter if his first Aspect Ability was useless, since the Winter Solstice was near. This would be the determining factor of his chance of survival.

If he was lucky, he could even become a healer. Healers were very rare, and as such, sought-after specialists.

[Aspect Ability acquired.]

[Aspect Ability Name: Shadow Control]

Sunny hurriedly summoned the runes. He wanted to go to the description of his new ability right away, but then decided to give his overall information a look first.

Name: Sunless

True Name: Lightless song

Rank: Dreamer

Shadow Core: Dormant

Shadow Fragments: [13/1000]

'What? What is that?'

Was this a result of him having a Divine Aspect? Where was his soul core?

This was NOT in any instruction manual.

Not that he had received one anyway...

'Maybe I should ask Silence for one...'

He deduced that he probably had a different progression path than other Awakened.

Which was worrying as much as it was exciting.

He had already somehow accumulated some, so that means he had done something in the First Nightmare to get some.

'I'll explore it later.'

Satisfied, he continued studying his runes.

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Burrowing claw]

Echoes: —

Attributes: [Fated], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Shadows]

Aspect: [Shadow Slave]

Aspect Rank: Divine

Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control]

Aspect Ability Description: [Your shadow is more independent than most. It is an invaluable helper.]

'Okaaay?'

He was a bit hopeful. He didn't exactly know what it meant, but from the description it seemed like it could be helpful at the least.

He was going to inspect it further, but at that moment the Spell's voice rang one final time:

[All power has a price.]

[You have received a Flaw.]

[Your Flaw is: ...]

Sunny read the runes, and his eyes widened in horror.

'Oh no. No, no, no...'

Flaw: [Clear Conscience]

Flaw Description: [You cannot lie.]

'Please, for the love of all that is good, anything but that!'

He screamed and cursed, yet the runes didn't change.

He lived by deceiving and tricking others. The Spell itself congratulated him on his treachery!

Not to mention—

How was he supposed to hide his True Name? Anyone could have access to it by just asking a couple of questions.

Or just one.

He was going to go into another fit of rage when the Spell spoke again:

[Wake up, Lightless Song!]