Milo found himself in a black void. The inner workings of the Nightmare Spell consisted of countless silver strings of light, interconnected between shining stars. He waited for his appraisal. He was still in shock that he had managed to survive long enough to kill Carmen; the cocky idiot had let his guard down.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[A cowardly foot soldier turned a forgotten battle into his victory. Through knowledge only he would have, he dismantled the constructs of Carmen and secured his revenge. Carmen was blessed by the youngest of the -Unknown-, but the soldier was blessed by the oldest.]
'Huh? Youngest and Oldest? Unknown?'
[You have defeated seven dormant beasts: Metal Shell.]
[You have defeated a dormant human: Corinne the Benevolent.]
[You have defeated an awakened human: Carmen, Heir of ******.]
[You have defeated an awakened beast: Hound of House Corinne.] [
You have killed the one who received a blessing.] [You have achieved the improbable!]
[Final appraisal: Exalted. ****** looks down upon you with interest.]
Milo raised an eyebrow; he couldn't quite catch who Carmen was the heir to, nor could he catch who was looking down upon him with interest. The Gods were dead—everyone knew that—and yet maybe one took great interest in him. Milo shook his head; this was too much.
[Dreamer Milo, receive your boon!]
Milo really had become a Sleeper. This was... too much.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Omnissiah.]
Milo's eyes widened. A True Name? Just like that? That was reserved for Saints and the like. Smile of Heaven was the only person to have received her True Name in her First Nightmare. Was he comparable to Smile of Heaven?
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
Milo hesitated, then spoke. "Yes."
[Dormant Aspect "Drafted Infantry" is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.] [
Aspect Rank: Divine.]
Milo nearly collapsed; his knees buckled. "Divine? That's p-possible?"
The Spell didn't stop.
[Aspect Name: Machine God.]
Milo wasted no time pulling up the runes.
Aspect: [Machine God] Aspect Rank: Divine Aspect Description: [You are the god of a future that doesn't exist. A future that should have never existed, and yet you resisted. You dared to challenge Fate, and Fate has respected your decision. However, machines are no more than a person, but lesser.]
Innate Ability: [Soul Synthesis]
Ability Description: [Technology of your choosing can be synthesized into your soul. This is limited to the amount of Soul Cores you hold. A god should wisely choose his apostles.]
Milo took in the information; this was... way too much. A Divine Aspect was already insane; it was unheard of, actually. Milo had a lot ahead of him. The ability to synthesize technology into his very soul? Also, the Spell mentioned Soul Cores. Did Divine Ranks have access to multiple?
This was without mentioning the Aspect description. How had he challenged Fate? By wanting to live? Was he supposed to die in the First Nightmare? Milo pondered the meaning when the Spell spoke once again.
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Milo felt something in his chest—something deeper, in fact. It stirred and twisted and turned. Milo felt his body become filled with an energy he never knew existed. His mind became clear; his nerves became sharper. Then his body changed; he felt a radiant warmth fill his chest and spread throughout his body. Milo doubted he had felt this good in his sixteen years of life.
'Right, I'm sixteen now... doesn't feel much different.'
The warmth then went away, replaced by a soothing coldness. Milo looked ahead, and his eyes focused. He saw something strange: a sea of iridescent black liquid was splayed out like an ocean. Above it was a single, strange orb-shaped machine. It was lit up with arrays of digital blue lights. Tubes came out of the machine; they stretched into the boundless dark of the sky.
'So this is my Soul Sea... much darker than I expected.'
Milo spotted a sphere of light orbiting the machine. He knew that this was supposed to be one of his Memories. He only had one, yet the Spell had mentioned something when he had put Corinne's pet out of its misery. Then, he felt something nudge his leg. Milo looked behind him, then he looked up. Standing behind him—for gods know how long—was a three-headed hound equipped with leather armor and a sword clamped in the middle head's jaw.
Milo reached out and petted the Echo of Corinne's hound. The dog rejoiced and happily accepted the pets. Milo softly smiled. 'I should probably give you a name. I should name you... Cerberus is too obvious. Triscarion. Your name is Triscarion.'
Triscarion tilted her heads, and Milo just shrugged. "You got any better ideas?" Triscarion shook her heads and Milo grinned. "Good, I don't know how you would communicate them either way."
Milo was so caught up in reuniting with his briefly known companion that he forgot the Spell was still at work.
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
Milo closed his eyes, silently praying to the dead gods and whatever being was looking down upon him to bless him with a good one.
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Soul Battery.]
Milo took a deep breath. A lot had happened, so perhaps it was best to give his overall runes a look.
Name: Milo. True Name: Omnissiah. Rank: Dreamer. Machine Core: Dormant. Soul Fragments: [1/1000].
Milo raised an eyebrow. 'Machine Core?' He then looked back at the giant machine. It seemed to be housing something rather than actually being his Soul Core itself. 'Is that... normal?' Milo shrugged; as long as it was powerful, he could ask the meaningless questions later.
Memories: [The Prototype]
Echoes: [Hound of House Corinne]
Attributes: [Prosthetic] [God of Machines] [Digital Composition]
Aspect: [Machine God]
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Ability: [Machine Control]
Aspect Ability Description: [You are the god of machines; it's only natural they listen to their deity.]
Milo raised an eyebrow. To what extent could he control machines? What counted as a machine? Was it just robots and futuristic stuff? All of this felt very confusing. Milo dismissed his questions—all of this was testable—now it was time for the worst part.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
[Your Flaw is: Emotional Overload.]
Flaw Description: [Machines are usually emotionless, but you are different, like always.]
Milo's jaw dropped. He had expected his flaw to be the opposite; even the Spell said it as well. Machines are usually emotionless, and now Milo would be really emotional? How did that work? In what ways should he be worried? Was it possible to suppress those emotions? Milo took a deep breath. He shouldn't let his emotions overwhelm him... and yet his breath was still as fast as ever.
'Is this the work of the flaw?' Milo groaned; this was going to be a rather terrible time.
[Wake up, Omnissiah!]
The black void spun and disappeared. Milo bolted awake, his arms struggling against the restraints of his medical bed. His sudden awakening seemed to startle whoever was watching over him, as they fell out of the cheap plastic chair they were sitting on.
Milo looked down; a small and petite woman was holding her head and muttering. She had a bob cut that rather fit her face. Lying on the floor next to her was an odachi with a golden guard, red and black cloth wrapped around the hilt, and a rather menacing blade with runes etched at the base.
"Ow... ow, damn it." She looked up at Milo, a rageful smile on her face. "Welcome back to the Waking World, Sleeper Milo."
Milo took a moment to register the fact. 'I'm really... truly an Awakened now.' Then he remembered how much time he had before the Winter Solstice. 'A month and a week! A month and a week before the Winter Solstice!'
Milo looked at the woman once again. She seemed tired; she was wearing a business suit without the coat, but it was torn up on the shoulders and arms. "May I ask... what exactly happened to you?"
The woman gave him a dark look and Milo flinched involuntarily, his face contorting into one of fear. 'I can't even control my face muscles.'
"A lot of gates have been opening up recently. I was called in on an emergency. In fact, my superior is watching the boy who got here nearly exactly after you."
Milo raised an eyebrow. "He's doing fine, right?"
The Awakened shrugged. "Should be." She picked up her black overcoat and threw it over her shoulders. "Let's get you all prepared to meet your family. They have been worried sick about you."
Milo scratched the back of his head with a slight blush. "Well, my cousin died in the First Nightmare. It's not really a surprise they are worried about me."
The Awakened raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to flex that you have a loving family?"
Milo shook his head vehemently. "No! Not at all! I just... was stating a fact."
The Awakened laughed. "Oh! Good one... you are really expressive." After she regained her composure, she cleared her throat. "I'm Awakened Noe, by the way."
***
Milo spent the rest of the day cleaning up and getting ready to reunite with his family. They were elated that he was alive. He took a nice refreshing shower, and he also learned the meaning of his Dormant Ability—in a rather comedic way, as well.
He had been warned not to bring the prosthetic into the shower out of fear of... well, not only breaking the thing but also electrocuting himself. He had completely forgotten he was wearing the prosthetic until he brought the bar of soap to his right arm, only to be met with pure metal. Milo panicked, but then relaxed; he realized that the prosthetic was working just fine. At the end of the day, he simply left it on.
After putting on a police-issued tracksuit, he prepared to meet his family. He stepped out into the lobby and was greeted with a blaze of caramel. Milo prepared his stomach. He felt the charge of a bull hit with direct impact into his midsection; the air was knocked out of him.
'What is this girl's deal? Seriously? Why is she so strong? I'm even a Sleeper now!'
Milo raised his arms weakly and gave Lucy a much-deserved hug. His parents watched with soft smiles, then Noe walked over to them and they began to discuss something.
***
That was how Milo found himself standing at the gates of the Awakened Academy. Noe had said it was his best bet, and his parents agreed. Milo had given them a goodbye and promised Lucy he would bring her back a cool Memory. He also said goodbye to Juno and Wallace. It was rather funny when he thanked Juno for the school cred, and all he responded with was: "I didn't make anything up; it was all true."
Milo prepared himself; two others were standing at the gates beside him. One was a pale and frail boy, about two inches shorter than him. He seemed... off, paranoid. Milo turned to the other one: white hair that was short and tomboyish in nature, carrying nothing but a small suitcase. 'Cool... her family must hate her.'
Legacies should have come in with way more, after all. Milo was dressed for the occasion in a standard dress shirt and dress pants. His shoes weren't dress shoes, but rather fancy boots.
The gate opened, and the bridge that led across slowly lowered. The girl stepped forward first, Milo followed, and Milo also heard the footsteps of the boy behind him.
'Let's see what this academy is made of.'