Uriel landed on a Nightmare Creature. His hand had transformed into sharp, black tendrils that stabbed into the monster's body.
With a sound of crushed flesh, the creature, resembling a stony humanoid, was torn apart, leaving only two soul fragments.
[You have killed an Awakened monster, Stone Walker.]
[Your darkness grows stronger.]
Jumping aside, he avoided the decapitating bite of a lion with red fur. The beast lunged at Uriel again.
Summoning the Blue Lance, Uriel made a wide swing that cut the beast, forcing it back. The beast lunged at Uriel again.
Claws and steel clashed for a few seconds until the lance pierced the beast.
[You have killed a Fallen beast, Infernal Fang.]
[Your darkness grows stronger.]
'It was weak for a Fallen beast,' said Shade.
'We're just stronger, that's all,' said Uriel, collecting the fragment and placing it in his ring.
Fragment of Darkness: [62/1000]
'Still a lot of work ahead,' thought Uriel, looking at the counter.
'True,' said Shade with a yawn. 'I'm going to sleep; I'm pretty tired, so you'll be free of me for at least a few hours.'
Uriel's expression turned to one of happiness. He'd have several hours alone without Shade constantly talking in his head.
Uriel advanced along the illuminated path of the ruins. Since it was daytime, monster activity was significantly lower than at night.
Uriel used his innate ability, taking a great leap before another, covering a large distance. His Dark Body ability granted intangibility and allowed him to alter his body. By reducing his weight, he could move with much greater ease and speed without worrying about surprise attacks.
Arriving at a different area, he observed a monster as large as a house. Its body resembled an alligator turtle with sharp spikes on its shell.
Uriel dropped with all his weight, driving the lance into the head of the abomination, which was distracted by its prey.
Crunch!
The lance plunged deep into the monster's head.
The turtle let out a loud cry of pain before losing its strength and collapsing lifelessly on the ground.
[You have killed an Awakened monster, Artillery Turtle.]
[Your darkness grows stronger.]
[You have obtained a memory.]
'Oh, that's great,' he thought to himself, observing how he had saved a sleeper. It was a girl about his age, perhaps a year older, with intense red hair and yellow-orange eyes. Her skin was white and smooth.
Uriel sat on the head of the dead monster. His body returned to normal, the lance resting on his shoulder while a small smile played on his face. If he had to say it, his pose was cool.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, looking at the girl, who nodded slowly, emerging from her initial shock.
"You're new, right?" Uriel asked, and the girl nodded again.
"Yes."
"Good, me too," he said, noticing the girl only had simple cloth scraps covering her body.
Summoning his runes, he checked his new memory.
...
Memory: Turtle Cloak.
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Level: III
Type: Garment
Memory Description: [Used as an artillery weapon, the Artillery Turtle marched steadfastly, supporting its allies in battle.]
Enchantments: [Sturdiness] [Swiftness] [Minor Healing]
Sturdiness Enchantment Description: [This garment provides good defense against attacks.]
Swiftness Enchantment Description: [Increases movement speed.]
Minor Healing Enchantment Description: [Slightly increases recovery from wounds or fatigue.]
...
After reading the enchantments of the memory he obtained, he nodded and looked at the girl.
"What's your name?"
"Scarlet."
"Good, Scarlet. I'm Uriel," he said.
The girl's eyes widened slightly.
"You're the Dark Lord."
"The same. Anyway, how about an alliance?" Uriel offered.
"What kind of alliance?"
"Survival. No one survives alone in the Dream World. Become my ally, and we'll watch each other's backs. What do you say?"
Scarlet put on a thoughtful face. After a few seconds, she nodded.
"Alright."
"Good," Uriel gave a wide-eyed smile.
Uriel jumped to the ground, landing on his feet, and approached Scarlet, placing his hand on her shoulder and transferring the memory.
The girl's eyes opened in surprise at receiving a memory just like that.
"Isn't this too much?" she asked doubtfully.
"Nonsense, it's just a trifle," Uriel replied.
Scarlet summoned the memory onto her body, which was a forest-green suit. The suit clung to her body, giving her a more noble or elegant air.
"Well, now let's go."
"Where to?"
"To fight beasts. We need to start saturating the Soul Core while there's still sun in this place," said Uriel, extracting the two soul fragments from the dead turtle.
Scarlet looked at Uriel as if he were crazy, but then looked at the turtle that just moments ago was about to kill her.
Scarlet followed Uriel and observed with surprise the difference between someone who obtained a True Name in their first nightmare and those who didn't. She watched as Uriel eliminated Nightmare Creatures with methodical precision and speed.
In about six hours, 24 Awakened beasts and 6 Awakened monsters were eliminated.
Uriel let out a light yawn as he walked with Scarlet toward the outer settlement. The girl was still amazed at how easily the beasts and monsters were being eliminated.
When they arrived, Uriel headed toward a house on the outskirts of the settlement, entering and seeing broken and ragged furniture.
"Nobody lives here, right?" asked Scarlet.
"No, it's on the outermost part, and many wouldn't dare come here for fear of creature attacks," Uriel explained, taking out two apples and tossing one to Scarlet.
"Where did you get this apple?"
"It's a secret," he said, taking a bite of the apple.
"And what can you do, Scarlet?" Uriel asked, sitting on the remains of a table.
"My Aspect is related to fire," she said, showing her palm, where a reddish-yellow flame emerged.
"That's good," he said, taking another bite.
"You already saw my Aspect," he said, while his left arm turned black, elongating the limb like a thick tentacle, then dividing it into several thinner ones. Finally, it returned to his original arm.
"It's related to darkness, as well as seeing in the dark and shadows," said Uriel.
After eating the apple, he took out the soul fragments and gave about 12 to Scarlet.
"Why are you giving me these if I didn't even fight?"
"Consider it a bribe for your loyalty. If you're strong, you can fight and survive, and the stronger you are, the better," said Uriel, starting to consume the fragments, feeling himself strengthen slowly but steadily.
After finishing, he looked outside.
"Let's rest for tonight. Tomorrow we'll go hunting; I want to get a better weapon."
Scarlet nodded; she was equally tired from walking so much all day.
Scarlet gave Uriel a strange, even suspicious look, which puzzled the dark-haired boy.
"I won't do anything if that's what worries you. I didn't save you just because you look pretty," Uriel said simply.
Scarlet, for some reason, felt humiliated by being so cruelly dismissed. Finally, the girl leaned against the wall and closed her eyes to sleep.
Uriel likewise leaned against the opposite wall and closed his eyes, falling into a light sleep.
...
The next morning, Uriel woke up, noticing Scarlet was still asleep. Leaving the wooden house, he sat on the edge of the cliffs. Sighing, he observed the ruins with a calm gaze.
'Wow, I go to sleep for a few hours, and when I wake up, you're already with a girl. You're quite the Don Juan,' Shade teased.
'Tell me, did you do it?'
Uriel rolled his eyes.
'Are you seriously asking that, of all things?'
'Of course, there are priorities, you know.'
'Whatever you say,' said Uriel.
'Will you wait for Caster to return to start the plan?'
'Maybe, maybe not. I'm still half-asleep, so ask me again in a few hours.'
Uriel looked toward the settlement with half-closed eyes, seeing an abomination heading along the main path. It would arrive soon. By its size and the dark stains he saw, it was clearly a Fallen monster.
Standing up, he transformed into his darkness form and headed out at great speed.
...
The hunters were preparing for their usual hunt when they observed a large Nightmare Creature heading toward them at high speed.
It had the body of a four-legged beast, with several eyes illuminating its face along with sharp tails and claws.
The monster let out a deafening roar that stunned them and left them unable to move.
However, before they could even react, a swift figure landed from the sky, crashing onto the monster's head and forcing it to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
The hunters from the outskirts heard the Nightmare Creature's screams for a few seconds until the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
As the dust cleared, they saw a young man with almost pale white skin, wearing a black suit with a black trench coat. His eyes were blood-red, freezing the blood of more than one person. The young man's arm was replaced by a dark mass that was inside the Nightmare Creature, piercing it from the inside out.
"W-who are you?" asked a nervous sleeper, seeing how the enormous beast had fallen with extreme ease.
"I... am the Lord of Darkness, a sleeper like you who just saved you," he said as the darkness receded, reforming into his arm, revealing two glowing fragments.
The sleepers' eyes widened upon hearing the name. It was a True Name; no one in the Dark City even had a True Name, not even the city's lord.
"You're going hunting, right?" Uriel asked the group of 10 sleepers, who nodded.
"Good, I'll go with you. I'm curious to see how you work," said Shade.
"Yes," said the sleeper, then looked at the creature's corpse, which Shade noticed.
"Take it and distribute it among the sleepers," said Shade, using his storage memory to extract several corpses of other beasts he had stored for this moment.
The sleepers who had gathered by chance opened their eyes upon seeing ten enormous corpses, all of Awakened monsters.
"What are you waiting for? Do it," ordered Shade, snapping the sleepers out of their shock before moving the corpses inside the settlement.
Soon, news of a new sleeper killing a Fallen monster, along with killing nine other Awakened monsters and giving away the meat, spread, reaching the shining castle within hours through the guards.
Shade and Scarlet were with a group of sleepers, watching as they fought against some Awakened beasts.
Shade inevitably had to intervene in the fights, killing the creatures or leaving them badly wounded for the sleepers to finish off, ensuring that for the first time, all sleepers in a hunting party returned alive, further increasing his fame.
...
After a week, the situation had changed. Before, the outer settlement's inhabitants were lost and barely had the will to live.
However, thanks to the Lord of Darkness—a True Name possessor with overwhelming strength for a sleeper—he ignited the hearts of the sleepers, bringing new hope.
Uriel was sitting on a pile of wood that was one of the ruined houses, or what was left of it.
Uriel watched as the sleepers were distributing the meat from the latest hunt.
[Fragment of Darkness: 122/1000]
"It's good progress," Uriel whispered.
'Yes, undoubtedly, though it's a bit slow. We need to kill faster,' said Shade.
'A full week has passed. If we continue like this, we'll soon have two Soul Cores, and our goal is at least four cores before leaving the Forgotten Shore.'
'I know,' Uriel responded mentally.
Looking toward the street, he observed Caster, who noticed him and signaled for him to come down.
Once together, they walked in silence to Uriel's shack, where Scarlet was waiting with roasted meat.
"Who is she, Uriel?" asked Caster.
"She's an ally. Her name is Scarlet. Her Aspect allows her to generate fire."
Caster nodded.
"A pleasure. I'm Caster of the Han Li clan."
Scarlet nodded.
"The pleasure is mine."
"Did you discover anything interesting?" Uriel asked, sitting down.
Caster began to relay all the information he knew about Gunlaug's divisions, the castle, his lieutenants, and their Aspects.
"And that would be all," said Caster.
"You did a great job."
Caster looked toward the settlement, seeing the sleepers who a week before had been in a lethargic state. Now they seemed much more alive and animated than before.
"I heard the rumors about a sleeper who has achieved great feats: leading a team of 20 sleepers through the ruins, killing beasts and monsters alike without losing a single one."
"Also that he possesses terrifying strength."
"Yes, that must be me. I guess it started when I killed a Fallen monster."
Caster's smile disappeared, turning into a surprised face.
It was difficult to kill a monster, especially for a sleeper who wasn't Awakened, but killing a Fallen monster was impossible. Yet somehow, he did it, as many saw him do it.
"Let me tell you now what I discovered this week," said Uriel.
Uriel spoke about the first cohort that arrived in this place, the original city lord who failed in an expedition to leave this place, and the second lord who died trying to ascend the tower where the portal was.
As well as the location of the portal and how it was protected by a Fallen Terror that they would have to kill to leave this unexplored zone.
Hearing all this left Caster thoughtful, so Uriel left him with his thoughts.
Observing that they still had time before nightfall, Uriel stood up, his eyes turning reddish.
"Scarlet, let's go. It's time for us to fight too."
Scarlet sighed and complained but then stood up without contradicting Uriel.
Caster also stood up, wanting to participate in the hunt to obtain new soul fragments.