Nico was standing on a cliffside. The wind howled in his ears and stole his warmth as it slithered through the multitude of peaks. He looked around, seeing clouds only a few meters above him and a mountain slope that reached even further. A step away from his spot was the substantial fall to certain death.

‘That’s…’ Nico could see a tall tower in the distance, floating with several islands surrounding it: ‘The chained isles.’ From his vantage point, Nico could make out much of the region, but it was farther than it seemed. Not only was their distance, but countless sharp peaks and narrow valleys were below the cliffside.

His stomach dropped. Humans controlled very little of the dream realm. It just so happened that Nico was standing right smack in the worst region. ‘The Hollow mountains.’

‘Voonderbar,’ He sarcastically thought. ‘Only a second into the Dream Realm, I’m already dead.

Moments passed as Nico cursed his terrible luck, his thoughts becoming more colorful. Nico’s body became heavy. He hadn’t noticed that he was panting. Wobbling to the edge, Nico slowly climbed down from the high elevation. One wrong step or a faulty foothold would end his story with a grease spot. Fortunately, Nico survived.

He could feel himself breathing normally, and his hazing thoughts faded. However, gravity was not his only enemy.

A loud screech vibrated the air, and Nico looked overhead. A massive bird was diving right at him, black claws outstretched. Twisting his body in the niche of time, the bird’s leg bashed into him.

‘Damn the Spell,’ Nico went spinning through the air and hit the ground. Backstabber manifested into his hands as the bird arrived on its second round.

The beast looked almost majestic, with feathers the color of rust and enormous sweeping wings. The deal breaker was the face full of teeth and bleeding white eyes.

Instead of feeling parting flesh Nico felt painful vibrations of hitting bone resonant through him.

The bird soared, and Nico was dragged helplessly along, dangling above a terrible gorge. Not taking kindly to the passenger, the bird snapped at its leg to kill Nico and tilted so that Backstabber was his only connection. Nico kicked the beast, but his attacks were futile. In fact, they only made his situation worse. Backstabber slid free of the muscle, and Nico was in free fall.

Three heartbeats later, Nico’s brain caught up with him, and he let out a shrill scream. His body spun towards the ground, and Nico couldn’t tell up from down. Occasionally, he’d face the thousand pounds of murderous chicken barreling toward him like a torpedo on steroids.

Going through his options, Nico remembered his brother’s gift. ‘I should just keep falling,’ Nico growled, summoning the earring.

Suddenly, his momentum dropped from way too fast to a nice drift. The bird, still following his previous trajectory, passed below him.

Nico cut downwards, lodging the scythe into the bird’s back. He grabbed a fist full of feathers and yanked on them to keep atop the bird.

Having a moment of reprieve, Nico quickly surveyed his surroundings. He noticed two things: a swarm of birds just like the one below him and a small cave mouth.

The bird spun in the air, and Nico’s world flipped. He fell slowly, and the bird crashed down. Nico blocked with Backstabber, feeling his arms bend from the force. Even with Featherfall, Nico felt the wind rushing past him. He hit the side of the mountain, almost blacking out, and fell to the ground. The bird towered above him and opened a beach full of teeth. Nico rolled and dodged its peck, crawling into the small cave.

Claws slammed right where Nico previously was and scraped against the rock. The bird looked into the cave, and Nico stabbed its eye with the butt of his scythe. It hissed and retreated, leaving Nico with his panting and pain. ‘What rank is that thing?’ Nico poked his head out to watch the bird. It was gliding overhead, joined by dozens of brethren, not leaving his view.

‘Am I really worth the effort? Go find a better meal!’ Nico cursed at the bird. In response, the bird slammed down and almost took Nico’s head before he could retreat to the safety of his cave. They repeated the same situation twice before Nico stopped trying to leave.

The damned bird was still at it the next day, perched opposite Nico’s cave and waiting. Nico knew he couldn’t hide forever. Hunger, thirst, and other dangers could kill him before the bird did. If there was any silver lining, he could observe the hollow mountains in relative peace. However, this soon reinforced his despair.

With a grand view of the valleys and peaks, Nico watched the horrors of the mountains move. The bird trying to eat him must have been relatively low on the totem pole. The reason for that idea was their diet. The last few hours, Nico only saw them pick on carcasses. They didn’t hunt, only scrounged.

‘No wonder it wants to eat me so bad.’ He was a helpless sleeper in the middle of a death zone in the Dream realm. He was easy pickings, but so were the birds.

As the sun crested the sky and began to fall, the rust-colored birds became sporadic, and many hid themselves or took to the skies. Only a brave few stuck around. The earth pounded, and the bird left its perch, joining its brethren in the sky. Nico contemplated taking the chance to run, but whatever made the birds nervous could easily kill him.

Soon, the cause of the rumbling came into view. ‘T-that’s a…’ Nico’s thoughts were jumbled. A creature made of lusterless black metal, resembling the long-extinct dinosaurs, was traversing the slopes. Crowning its head were three bone-white horns. ‘Fallen nightmare creature.’

The mighty creature raised its head to the flock of awakened beasts gathering overhead, glancing at them indifferently before continuing on the path. Strangely, it stopped at an arbitrary line, like an invisible barrier held it back.

‘There’s going to be a fight. ‘The birds’ behavior all but confirmed this. They were going to eat the loser.

Nico didn’t need to wait long before another creature appeared. An avalanche of stone dropped from one of the peaks, and a thousand thick cords bloomed from the mountain. As the beast moved down, it was apparent that it was made from wood. But what wood moved like arms and crushed rocks beneath it?

The newcomer was twice as large as the already massive dinosaur and had no evident body. The roots rolled and slithered in a cohesive group. Then, the roots shot into the sky, quickly closing the distance to the birds, skewering some, and dragging them swiftly into the core of the weave. The creature gained an insidious look with the red streams flowing over its body.

The dinosaur stomped and let out a steaming huff. The action echoed to Nico’s ears, and the vine mass stopped several meters from the devil. It was close enough for Nico to feel its power. The power that was only a step under what he thought of the mad priest.

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‘Just how powerful was he?’ Cold sweat rolled down Nico’s spine as he looked onward at the two monoliths of power. A sleeper shouldn’t be fighting awakened creatures and had no right to challenge fallen creatures, yet two were before him.

The sun burned the sky in hues of violet and orange, creating a mural of tranquility in the forsaken land. Calmly watching each other, the two nightmare creatures slowly approached one another.

Then, in a flurry of movement, the roots attacked. The dinosaur charged, clearing through the vines with its horns. A storm of red splinters flew as the challenger rushed without fear into its enemy.

However, the wooden creature was not idle. Many smaller roots locked into a thick wall for defense as the larger ones wrapped around the devil’s legs and body. The metal shell caved in with an echoing groan as the vines constricted like powerful snakes.

The dinosaur was stopped dead in its tracks. Then, the mass of roots effortlessly lifted the metal creature and slammed it into the ground. The rock splintered and cracked like glass from the force, and a plume of debris flew around.

Once the dust cleared, Nico could see the dinosaur cantering around the root mass, unharmed by the attack. It dodged the deadly roots, swiveled on its hindquarters, and rammed the root creature.

Ripping free, the dinosaur jumped back and lowered its head, releasing a barrage of bones. The shield of roots stood no chance and was left shredded, revealing a core. Nico saw five glowing balls tucked behind the wood.

Capitalizing on the opening, the dinosaur attacked. The roots parted, and the five cores moved out of the root core and were replaced with wooden stakes.

The dinosaur had too much momentum, and the wood slid through its armor. In a horrible metal song, the roots crushed the dinosaur, and an eerie silence followed. The challenger had lost. The roots moved, leaving a hunk of metal bleeding bile. The vines shifted, and even though there were no eyes, Nico couldn’t help but feel it was looking straight at him.

The roots lingered another moment and then moved, returning to the hole from which it came. Landing beside the mangled remains were the birds.

He watched the bird for hours. They picked the metal apart, devouring every bit of the once devil, leaving only the black armor and glowing shards. Soon, something spooked the birds, and they took off, leaving four glowing shards in the dark.

Watching the battleground long after the fighters left, Nico shivered at the presentation of power: ‘A fallen tyrant.’

Eventually, an unseeable nightmare creature whisked away the shards. It was like a deadly nature documentary.

Soon, the bird returned to its place, watching over Nico. He watched the bird with killing intent.

‘That’s a terrible idea,’ he told himself. It was the third day, and his mouth was parched. Even his resistance to hunger was starting to fail. He needed to gamble.

As the sun rose like a dim candle, Nico rushed out of the cave and ran to the ledge. The beast exploded into action, its massive wings blocking the sun momentarily. Nico dismissed his charm and ran off the cliff, going into freefall towards the ground below.

They faced each other, Nico sneering and the bird screeching angrily. Suddenly, the sun came from behind the mountain, blinding the bird. Nico summoned his charm and scythe. Like before, his fall became slow. The distance between them shortened instantly, and Nico shoved Backstabber into the bird’s neck and twisted the blade to deal as much damage as he could. The spray of red immediately turned into a misty trail as the two of them plummeted.

Despite the grievous wound, the bird was still brimming with strength. Unfurling its wings, it rose above the mountains and brought Nico into the heart of the swarm.

‘Crap,’ His plan of finishing off the bird failed. A second bird was flying up, ready to devour him. Nico pulled Backstabber out and pushed off the wounded bird, falling directly onto the second bird.

The howling wind drowned the painful ring, and Backstabber cracked from the collision with the beak. But Nico’s goal was accomplished, and the bird shot past him.

He spread his arms, and with the charm, he glided. This time, the wounded bird was ready and outstretched its claws. Nico tried to swing his scythe, but he had no foundation.

Hurriedly, he ripped the charm from his ear and dropped a hair’s length below the claws. Nico landed on a bird below and cleaved at its neck. It twisted its head and tried to skewer the pest. Nico blocked, and a shadow descended over him. The wounded bird gazed at him with malevolent glee and bit his hand. Nico screamed as a tooth went right through his hand.

He didn’t think; an instinct was boiling up, and he followed it. Grabbing the back of the bird he was riding, Nico activated his aspect. The two birds shimmered, and the one below Nico faded into nothingness. He dropped and hung from his hand.

The agony was forgotten amidst the phenomenon unraveling before Nico. The bird grew, its feathers rolling into a new set of wings. The bird was twice its original size. However, the bloody line on its neck deepened with the growth. The two new wings moved like they were unoiled gears.

The bird let out a cry and lost control, falling. Nico stabbed his scythe back into the neck wound and braced against the soft flesh.

“Die already,” Nico hissed. He pushed his leg against the bulging neck and pulled with all his strength. The death cry was cut off, and the head flew free with a red rain.

Nico felt woozy and let go of the comet of flesh.

[You have slain, awakened monster ‘Grown Cinereous Seeker.’] A giddy feeling swelled in Nico’s chest, but the spell wasn’t done.

[A soul has been offered.]

[You have received a memory]

His whipping hair reminded Nico where he was. He resummoned Duality Feathers, and his fall turned graceful right before he hid the ground. The bird hit the mountain with a loud thud, shaking the earth.

‘I did it.’ Nico didn’t need to pinch himself; his hand was hurting like hell, not to mention his bruised arms and back from before. ‘I merged the nightmare creatures.’ Nico knew both the birds weren’t monsters, meaning his aspect created one. As he landed, he looked at his hands.

‘Living beings are incomplete and lacking. Only by growth and evolution can they achieve greatness.’ Nico repeated his ability description and grinned. This was truly a supreme aspect.

With his eyes twinkling, Nico took some of the long feathers from the beast. He quickly cut out the shards and took whatever meat he could. The swarm of Seekers above him wouldn’t be distracted fighting over the head for long.

Nico found a hidden niche behind some boulders and allowed himself to rest. ‘That went better than I hoped.’ Nico took out his two shimmering shards and started absorbing them. He felt power flow into him, and a little bit of his strength returned. The pain in his hand faded. Then, the feast began. He heard a bunch of screeches and watched several more birds descend onto the body. They picked it apart and fought amongst themselves for the meat.

Not even blood ties could save the corpse the dignity of being left alone by the birds. But in the mountains, any number of things could have eaten it.

Nico shoved the raw cuts of meat down, trying not to think about it. Tired of watching them eat, he checked his soul sea, anticipation brimming.

‘Awakened memory of second tier!’ Nico hummed to himself. Finding the new sphere of light, he read.

[Whispering Reed]

Weapon

Awakened

[A mother found the horrible truth of her home. Forced to flee, she buried the secret. As time passed, a gale passed through the grass over the mound, and they began to speak.]

‘Creepy,’ Nico thought as he observed the memory. What secret would make the grass talk about it?’ The memory was a slim, single-handed blade the color of the Cinereous Seeker’s feathers.

Looking at the blade made Nico truly feel the weight of his accomplishment. He, a sleeper, had killed an awakened monster. Granted, it wasn’t at the start, and he cheated, but who else could say such a thing?

His smile dimmed and then disappeared. His eyes drifted to the feathers. ‘I didn’t survive because of my own strength.’ The thought dampened his mood, and an unfamiliar feeling boiled. ‘I can take care of myself!’ The anger welled up, and Nico contemplated smashing the memory. ‘I can take care of myself…’ He thought slowly. He looked at the feathers, then the new memory. ‘No, it was my strength. I survived because I had strength.’ Nico grinned madly. ‘I’ll take your help and show you what I can do!’

Nico exited his soul sea and watched the rising sun. ‘you think I’ll just lay down and die?’ Nico rose to his feet and faced the illuminated mountains. ‘I will survive.’