Leon examined the crown's runes in silence for a while before he spoke.
"Three enchantments," he said.
"And it already has three hundred charge," he added.
Noah knew what that meant.
"Aurelia," Leon said.
"...Yeah."
Leon glanced at him. "Three hundred souls...That's a lot..."
"I suppose."
Leon paused at his tone.
Noah was staring at the crown. At the dull ember glow running through it like a bloody vein. Three hundred. A number, so clean and abstract when you say it out loud.
Less abstract when you had held her while she died.
"I wish you could've met her. She was a wonderful person."
Something deep and horrible settled in Noah's chest. His stomach churned.
"I would've liked to meet her..." he said softly.
He remembered it from the First Nightmare — perfectly, with no detail missing. The weight of her. The way her breathing had changed. The cold that began slowly settling onto her corpse.
He had been Leon then. There had only been one of them then.
That Leon had made a choice.
Noah had woken up a ghost carrying the memory of it.
'You killed her...'
The crown held her very soul. It held the very existence of her, all compressed down to a trinket.
"No wonder our aspect is sacred," Noah said quietly. "She must have become someone important."
Leon looked at him for a moment, then looked back at the sea.
The crown vanished into white sparks as Leon let it go, as Noah watched the light die. He said nothing more about Aurelia.
'She was my friend too...'
***
The creature at night was not fine.
Noah had heard the water shift before Leon did.
He was sitting at the coral's edge, still half inside the memory of the First Nightmare, when something changed in the texture of the darkness.
He turned around, and saw it rise.
The shape of it was wrong. Not grotesque, or monstrous in any definable sense. Just wrong.
The creature was just...too much to look at.
It was like watching the severed heads of thousands of humans, all who died horrible deaths.
Some still had their bodies intact, bones broken, flesh burnt, muscles scraped, and every single one of those bodies were just stitched together to one body.
Noah's entire body froze.
It opened its mouth.
And spoke in Leon's voice.
"You can turn back now."
Noah stopped breathing — not that he breathed.
He knew that voice. He had been listening to it for weeks. Had memorized its cadence, the dry inflection, the way it flattened when Leon was hiding something.
Coming out of that shape was the most horrifying sound he had ever heard.
'Close your eyes, Leon. Close your eyes.'
Leon didn't.
Noah watched the creature watch Leon.
Leon stood with his eyes open and head tilted slightly.
'The flaw.' Noah thought, with despairing clarity. 'Hecan't feel it. He literally cannot feel what this is.'
"Close your eyes," Noah said out loud. "Do it now or I'll never help you again."
The creature stilled.
Something shifted in the quality of its attention. It had built that voice for panic. Had come up from the water wearing the most disarming sound it could find.
And Leon had just stood there.
It circled again.
Then, it used another language.
Noah heard two words, and understood none of them. But Leon dropped, like his strings had been cut.
"Leon—"
Noah moved as Leon hit the coral, with blood running from both ears. His hands passed through his shoulder, through his arm — through nothing.
'No no no no, fuck, he can't die here. Please—'
The creature moved toward Leon's body.
Noah stood between them.
He knew it was meaningless. He was a remnant, and between him and whatever had climbed out of that sea, there was nothing.
No substance. No barrier.
Just him.
'This— This isn't in the novel.'
The creature reached for Leon.
And stopped. Like it was being repelled by some sort of invisible force.
Noah looked down.
The silver hair at Leon's temple was lit. Faint, like an ember right before it caught fire. A single thread of light pulsing alongside Leon's slow heartbeat.
The creature hovered over him.
Then, in a third voice — dry, unused, and ancient — it said:
"Dr-ea-m...Spa-wn..."
The sea came back, the creature went away, and the sun had risen.
Noah stood on the coral, and did not move for a very long time.
He couldn't process what had just happened.
Noah leaned in closer to Leon, to check if he was still breathing. But couldn't really make out anything meaningful.
After a long while, Noah eventually calmed down, and began thinking about the last words by the Fog Creature.
If he still existed here, it meant Leon was alive.
He had known about Dreamspawns.
Nephis, and Asterion. The only two Dreamspawns to ever exist in the novel. Maybe Ling was one too? But Ling wasn't born yet.
The silver hair.
Leon's hair had turned silver during the First Nightmare.
He stood on the coral, and looked at Leon's unconscious face.
Dream Spawn.
'The body he's inhabiting. That guy must have been a dreamspawn...'
Noah pressed his fingers against his temples and sighed.
'You're just a transmigrator wearing a dead man's body, Leon.'
The sun kept rising above the Forgotten Shore.
'What does that make me...'
But more importantly, who was this person? Why was he in the outskirts, and why was he a dreamspawn?
Why, had they been sent to this body?
***
Leon slowly opened his eyes. He sat up, and looked around at the seemingly infinite view of the red coral.
After that, he turned his head and looked at Noah.
Noah couldn't be bothered to keep up appearances anymore.
The only thing he was staring at right now, was his runes.
Will: 4% Possessed
'Why...How?' Why had it increased?
"You alright?" Leon asked.
Noah didn't answer.
After staring into the air for a while, Leon looked at Noah again, who's expression still looked lost.
"Still angry?"
Noah almost frowned.
'Angry? You almost killed us...killed me.'
As Leon descended the coral, Noah lowered his head and just stayed there.
'I need to get my body back before he gets himself killed.'
He raised his gaze, looking at the endless coral.
'I can't die.'
But.
'What happens to Leon when I get it back...'
***
A shadow.
Leon narrowed his eyes onto the shadow. It moved around, like it was alive. He jumped down and landed right in front of it.
'Oh great. The protagonist is here.'
"Sunny?"
The shadow nodded as a young man appeared near one of the coral rocks. Leon looked up to see his friend.
He smiled and walked toward Sunny.
"I'm glad to see you here dude!"
He paused, scratching his head. "Maybe not glad? Well you know."
Noah let out a short breath. He could tell how genuine Leon's words felt.
'This fool has already forgotten where he is...'
Sunny sighed. "Good to see you too Leon. Know where we are?"
Noah looked up at Sunny, looking at his weak build.
'The future Lord of the Shadows...'
***
As they continued moving toward the broken knight statue, Sunny noticed another group of scavengers a distance away from the shark corpse that were moving unnaturally.
"I can see Changing Star, she's running away from a group of scavengers."
Noah's gaze dropped to the ground.
'She'll live.'
Leon continued to stare the statue as he exhaled slowly. "Is she heavily injured?"
"No, but..."
Leon interrupted Sunny before he could finish.
"If she's not injured, she'll reach the statue. We intercept there after we grab the soul shards."
'Good call', Noah thought.
"Cassie is with her."
Noah's gaze drifted to Leon, who was already hesitating.
He already knew what Leon's decision would be.
***
They had done it.
They actually managed to kill one of the centurions, while stealing the soul shard from another.
He looked around, only to find Nephis, Cassie, Sunny, and Leon, all sitting on the statue, alive and well.
Noah wasn't sure why he was uneasy right now.
The Starlight Legion Armor appeared on Leon in white sparks, settling over him like something that had been waiting to be worn.
Seven stars on the breastplate.
Noah stared at them.
He knew what this memory was. Knew where it had come from, what those seven stars meant in the Shore's history.
What he hadn't expected was watching it materialize on Leon's chest. The white plate over the black bodysuit, the seven points of light sitting above his heart.
'That's not yours', Noah thought.
"It's better the armor ends up with Nephis."
"For what?" Leon muttered softly.
Noah only smiled faintly.
***
Noah then listened to all four of them share their abilities and attributes.
He knew all of them, better than they knew it actually. He knew exactly what Sunny's shades inside his soul sea were. He knew exactly what Neph's abilities were, and would be.
He knew what Cassie would become, and what she would do.
But what he didn't know, was whether he wanted to change any of this.
After a long day, everyone had settled to sleep, while Sunny had remained awake.
Noah's faces twisted, as he knew what awaited him was another night of dawdling around.
But then—
He opened his eyes and found himself standing in an endless blue expanse. It stretched in every direction, boundless and silent, like the surface of a vast ocean. Beneath his feet, translucent waves moved slowly — ripples spreading across.
'What?'
Noah slowly shifted his gaze around, and found Leon standing a few steps ahead of him.
He looked up, and high above him hung a radiant blue sun, suspended in the emptiness.
The strange sun pulsed faintly, illuminating the silent ocean beneath it. Two spheres of white light orbited the larger blue sphere.
Noah slowly understood where he was.
'Leon's soul sea...'
But what confused him, was the blue sun. Why was his core different?
Leon's aspect wasn't even divine.
He sighed, unable to answer anything yet again, and stepped closer.
"Our soul sea looks so beautiful."
Noah put up a smile on his face again. He wasn't sure whether Leon could see through it now.
"Reminds me of the time I wanted to see the beach." Leon said, smiling softly.
Noah's smile slowly disappeared at those words.
The two stood in silence, staring out at the blue sea.
Noah's gaze darkened, as he noticed the smile on Leon's face. He was sure that Leon's memories were fragmented.
Why?
'We hated the beach... Leon.'
Noah wasn't sure why Leon didn't remember that memory.
Was it the Veil of Forgotten Truths?
Did it even matter? Leon would probably die when Noah got his body back.
***
The four eventually travelled away from the broken knight's statue, moving to the rock ridge.
After a long journey, they eventually reached it, and decided to stay there.
Originally, Sunny and Nephis had fought the centurion here. Noah wasn't sure whether another one would show up right now.
As Sunny and Nephis got into a duel, Leon moved toward Cassie.
"How you holding up Cas?"
Cassie slowly tilted her head toward him. "Better now."
Leon leaned his back against the cold rock. His silver armor glistened under the sun.
"So you can see other people's attributes. That's an incredible ability to have, Cas."
She smiled faintly. "I… I guess it is."
"You can even see their description?"
Sighing softly, she leaned her head on Leon's shoulder. "Just the names actually."
Noah's gaze sharpened. 'Learning to lie already, little seer?'
He almost chuckled.
Noah silently prayed for all the Cassie fans in the future.
"Now it feels like everyone has incredible abilities except me."
"That's not true Leon! Your attributes sound far more interesting." She said in a hurried tone.
"Well, three of those four attributes are nothing but trouble for me, to be honest."
Noah was growing annoyed by their conversation by now.
Cassie froze. She slowly turned her head toward him. "Four? But there are five."
He froze.
Leon blinked, clearly confused.
"Five?"
After taking a moment to check his attributes, Leon turned towards Cassie again, all the while Noah was listening intently.
"Could you name them for me?"
Cassie tilted her head, her face filled with confusion. "Um... sure?"
She cleared her throat and straightened her back.
"So first there's Fated — the same one Sunny has, actually. Next there's Oathbound, Omen of Insight, Veil of Forgotten Truths…"
Her voice trailed off as she squinted.
"And…"
Leon's eyes twitched. "And what Cas? What's the last one?"
Cassie frowned. "The last one is a bit..."
She leaned in closer.
"Oblivion."
Noah's eyes widened in horror. He shot up from where he was sitting, and looked at the two.
"Right, so Cassie. How are you holding up?"
Cassie jolted her head upward, who also seemed to snap out of a daze.
"Um… I'm fine, thanks, Leon."
Noah's eyes twitched. 'What?'
He thought he was in a time loop all of a sudden. But after glancing at Sunny and Nephis, he knew that wasn't the case.
'Can they not remember?'
Noah knelt near Leon. "Do you remember? Oblivion. Try to remember—"
But Noah soon paused as he noticed Leon's gaze growing distant again.
Had the attribute wiped their memories?
He wouldn't be surprised if it did. After all, not many people even remembered the existence of the Daemon of Oblivion.
Leon's eyes twitched as he looked at Noah.
Noah got up, and slowly walked away.
'First Weaver...now Oblivion...'
Why did Leon have an attribute related to Oblivion.
Did he have Oblivion's lineage?
Noah shook his head.
Only Weaver was capable of having lineages. The other daemons couldn't...
Noah let out a shaky breath, as he remembered the first inconsistency he came across.
The Fourth, not the Third, Special Directive.
Him being transmigrated in the first place.
And now Oblivion's lineage.
Why was this world so different? Noah as always, had no answers.
***
Leon was running along the Ashen Burrow, planning on taking on the Awakened Demon all by himself. Noah, as always, was powerless to stop him.
Noah just sighed. "Don't do a direct confrontation." His gaze darkened. "Climb the tree, first."
Leon smiled. That mad, sickening smile that was just revolting to watch. "Thanks, buddy."
Noah almost frowned at the word _buddy_. But he kept his calm, and checked his runes.
Will: 3% Possessed
'No change...'
Leon eventually climbed the tall hill, and after a tense stare down with the Awakened Devil, he shot himself upward into the tree using the crown.
Will: 4% Possessed
Noah widened his eyes. He thought that he had figured out how the possession worked. That's when Leon encountered the egg.
The Aspect Ghost almost panicked.
Almost.
"That's a Great Devil, Leon," Noah said with a smile. A smile that was being kept up with all the effort he could muster. "Honestly, I didn't know if you would survive this. You're probably rubbing off on me."
Leon gripped his scythe, but Noah remained calm. He lacked the strength to break the egg.
Approaching it, Leon tried picking it up. Straining every muscle in his arms and back, Leon slowly lifted it.
He moved toward the entrance of the nest.
"Wait… what are you doing?" Noah asked in a tense voice.
"What else, idiot? If I drop the egg on the creature, it should suck the life force out of it, no?"
Noah shook his head frantically. "We need to be the ones to kill the demon. It gives us a very important Memory. And what if the egg hatches? How do you plan on dealing with…"
He paused and frowned.
Will: 2% Possessed
"With that abomination's spawn!" he shouted. His voice came out louder than he intended because he kept glancing at his runes.
Leon looked down at the egg. He stared at it for a moment, then glanced back at Noah.
Leon grinned.
"Who said this was for the demon?"
Noah froze. "What…what do you mean?"
Leon grinned madly and let out a laugh.
"Let's have a reunion with an old buddy."
***
"OPEN YOUR EYES! OPEN YOUR EYES! OPEN YOUR EYES! OPEN YOUR EYES! OPEN YOUR EYES! OPEN YOUR EYES—"
"Shut up, goddamnit!" Leon shouted.
Noah kneeled on top of a branch. His knuckles paled against the dark wood, giving way to a hollow contrast.
'Calm down. Think.'
Leon would die if his plan did not work. But then again, it was a Great Devil. Surely, the fog creature would retreat.
Noah let out a shaky breath.
'And what if it doesn't work?'
"How do you like my welcome present? I thought I'd return the favor!"
Leon screamed at the top of his lungs.
Coiling his fingers around the shaft of his scythe, he threw the scythe toward the creature. But the scythe was just caught by it.
Then, a voice spoke from the darkness.
"Dreamspawn."
Noah's jaw shuddered. His palms slowly raised up, clutching his head.
'It's...over...'
The egg had done nothing.
Worse yet, Leon now had Blood Weave.
If Leon were to consume it, fate would change indefinitely. Sunny would no longer be the epigone.
Noah gritted his teeth in anger.
So what if Sunny wasn't the epigone anymore? He was going to die now if—
Everything turned black when Leon went unconscious.
'No.'
He looked around, only to find himself back in the same void.
'No no no no'
Noah tried to feel his arms, but naturally couldn't.
But right after that, Noah opened his eyes again, and this time, he was inside Leon's Soul Sea.
His jaw dropped, when he looked at the giant visage of the fog creature in front of him. The creature towered up toward the Resonance Core, but in the end, it felt like the higher it went, the further away the core was.
The creature let out a low, guttural thrumming that vibrated across the sea.
'It's not over yet.'
It slowly turned, sending out waves across the mass of flesh.
Noah just stood there, frozen.
The creature stood there for a moment, entirely still, its gaze looking directly where Noah was. Yet, its eye wasn't entirely focused at his specific location.
He made sure not to move his expression — he had much practice after all.
'What the FUCK am I doing?!'
He should've just left the Soul Sea. Yet here he was.
The creature stayed there silent. He could feel a pressure in his ears, like he was in a deep ocean.
"You..." It spoke, letting out a soft breath that felt like carried the weight of centuries.
Could it... see him?
The creature shifted. It felt like watching an entire mountain move, take a step back.
"ልክፏቹረ..."
Noah didn't know what the creature was saying. But the language wasn't affecting him like it did to Leon.
"No... I feel its essence. But it isn't one."
On the inside, his heart hammered against his ribs, like a trapped bird desperate for escape.
Why was he doing this?
Why struggle so hard to live?
Face creatures that aren't meant to exist. Ones that could kill you with a simple stare.
He clenched his fists.
'Because I need to live. I don't need a reason to live. I will survive this.'
As Leon's soul continued to be consumed by the Fog Creature, the counter for possession went up.
Suddenly, pillars of wood rose from the sea. Their shadows stretching long and distorted across the floor — even though they shouldn't have had any.