The view that met my eyes when I opened them was a clear blue sky with wisps of thin clouds. The color in the sky was an undisturbed gradient of blues which were only broken by the radiant silhouette of the sun.
However the ground was quite the opposite. A sticky mixture of mud, sand, and grass, it looked like a treeless swamp. I found myself on my back covered in mud from head to toe. Belching, I quickly scampered to my feet, whipping away the gobs of muds by shaking my limbs.
Gods, what the hell was this? Despite my dirty situation, the surrounding scenery looked relatively peaceful even if it looked like a mess. There were no nightmares creatures as far as my eye could see. That observation could either mean I was quite safe, or absolutely doomed.
I sighed, this wasn't too bad of a start for the nightmare.
Before I could think about anything else I heard a cough to my right. I turned around sharply, my heart beating a million miles, as I saw the vague shape of a human figure rising from the mud.
My first instinct was to summon the [Moribund Sword] and kill it when the muddy figure's eyes opened. My eyes were locked with familiar hazy green eyes that looked like an unpolished emerald. Then the face of the figure turned into a more familiar scowl.
"Vincent." "Eternity." We both said each other's names simultaneously, making us both flinch.
"Uh…nice weather?" I said to her awkwardly, she sighed at my attempt at small talk.
"Whatever, help me up—" she was saying until her voice cut off. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped, the unnatural expression that Eternity wore made me laugh until I followed where her gaze was pointed.
My throat went dry.
***
A stage was lit up unveiling a recreation of a homely living room. The couch was the color of mint green and the floor was covered with a red mat with swirling patterns of yellow grape stems. On the couch was a woman wearing a stylish brown business suit along with white grin.
As soon as the lights turned on, with a cheery voice. "Hello everyone, how y'all doing!!!"
Applause and cheers could be heard from an unseen part of the set. Cameramen were zooming around with large studio cameras to get every angle of the living room set.
"Welcome to the Homely Stanley show, I'm your host, Jessie Stanley."
The camera zoomed in on the man's face.
"Today marks the Winter solstice, the day when hundreds of our finest sleepers are grasped by the Nightmare spell and flung into the Dream realm. So, considering the occasion, I want to talk about what can happen to our young sleepers when they arrive in the dream realm. Thus, I have brought on a very special guest for an interview…a very special ascended man from a very popular group..actually two groups if you consider his past employment."
Jessie Stanley had a gloating smirk on his face.
"A celebrity singer in the waking world. A valiant fighter in the dream realm—and one of humanity's heroes from Changing Star's Cohort—!!!"
Jessie Stanley stood up and spread his arms wide, "Ascended Nightingale!"
From an unseen corner of the set, an explosion of confetti was blown, and from the storm of confetti came an emerald eyed man which stunned the entire audience speechless. His brown hair looked fresh and untampered, as if it had been created that way and with his high cheekbones and straight nose, he looked like a sculpture modeled after a god of beauty.
Stanley chuckled while sitting back on his comfortable sofa, "You know Ascended Nightingale, I've always wondered something about your true name."
Ascended Nightingale tilted his head and smiled, making a few people in the crowd faint, "Yes, what would that be?"
"Is the spell perhaps your fan? I mean it named you after your former music group—"
Ascended Nightingale's eyes went wide before transforming into hearty laughter. The joy exuding from the gorgeous man made people in the audience feel as though they were just washed by a refreshing summer rain. Even Stanley flinched from the charisma the Ascended had and even coughed to maintain a straight face.
"Sometimes I think that too actually. The rest of my cohort actually suffer quite a lot compared to me, not because they're weaker but just because they're being given such huge challenges. I actually sometimes feel that I'm stealing from their accomplishments since I don't work as hard as the others…" Nightingale's eyes became downcast, as if dissatisfied with himself, but then he looked up with a new energy.
"That's why I'm here. I may not be as powerful as the rest of my cohort in a fight, but I want to help as many people as possible and that's why I agreed to come to your show tonight so that we can educate the world."
Stanley nodded, "Well thank you. So again, if the audience remembers, tonight's special is on the winter solstice nightmare. I understand, Ascended Nightingale, that you had an astonishing time in your winter solstice nightmare, but I want to ask—what was the most unexpected thing a Sleeper will go through when they first arrive into the dream realm?"
Master Nightingale's face actually reddened, making many of the audience squeal in delight. "There are… a lot to expect when you first arrive in the nightmare. Nightmare creatures, the ruthless terrain, and the lack of shelter and accommodations people are generally used to in the waking world, but for the unexpected…"
Nightingale bit his lip, trying to think of a way to say the following words the best way he could. "I'm actually surprised that not more people talk about this, but I suppose it's weird to talk about it in the first place. When you first arrive in the dream realm…"
Stanley and the audience leaned, wanting to hear Nightingale's words clearly.
"…you arrive naked."
***
"Vincent, Get up!" Eternity shouted at me.
"…the mud is so nice." I said, though my voice was muffled since I was sleeping on my stomach with my face in the mud. My back was completely coated in the gooey substance making for a perfect camouflage, and a surprisingly comfortable blanket.
"C'mon! This is already embarrassing as it is!"
"…says the person with a garment type memory." I groaned, bubbles were created from the mud everytime I talked. Eternity was indeed wearing a garment type memory, and it actually was the first thing she equipped when she came here. From her ceaseless shouting, she had gotten one from her first trial.
The garment memory was a beige chlamys that went down to her ankles. A bristly brown string was wrapped around her hips and her elbows, forcing the chlamys to hug her figure and hide her body within. With her pale blonde hair billowing in the wind, Eternity looked like a sort of spring fairy.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't get a garment or armor memory in my first trial.
"My question is how the hell did you not get an armor type memory? It's the most common memory anyone can get in a first trial!"
"…You know deep down, we're all mudfish."
"What?" Eternity was honestly bewildered by my statement.
"...The common ancestor of all vertebrates, including humans, was a type of prehistoric mudfish. It was capable of surviving both in water and on land, and it bridged the gap between aquatic and terrestrial life. Maybe that is why I feel so comfortable, my ancestors are calling me back to my birthplace, the wet, gooey, and warm mud. Maybe…" I kept on muttering mindlessly to myself about the beauty and intricacy of the prehistoric fish, Eternity grimaced, unable to understand.
"God's he lost it…" Eternity became quiet, mulling over thoughts probably. After a brief period of silence with her glancing around at the wet grass field surrounding us, she groaned and extended her hand towards me.
"I have an armor memory I can lend you." My head instantly shot up, my eyes filled with crazy greed, "Why were you hesitating to give it to me until now!" I shouted at her, my hand reaching for hers. Once our fingers touched, a bolt of lightning shot through my arm and into my soul core. I heard the sound of the spell whisper into my ear.
[You have received Whisper of Steel.]
Without taking the time to look at it in my soul sea, I materialize the armor from a collection of blazing white sparks. After making sure the armor was fully materialized, I pulled myself away from the embrace of the viscous mud.
I swatted away the gobs of sludge from my hands and looked over my first armor type memory. The [Whisper of Steel] was a dull suit of armor that looked as though it had seen better days. It was riddled with holes and cracks, probably having gone through strenuous trauma and many dreadful battles.
I looked over the brittle thing, awkwardly glancing over at Eternity. "I can't thank you enough for making me not naked anymore, don't get me wrong; but I have to ask, is something wrong with this memory?"
Eternity scowled under her green mask, which was another memory she had summoned while I was in the mud. "You have the memory, check the runes."
"Hogging all the memories, I see…" I mutter to myself as I pull up the runes of the [Whisper of Steel].
Memory: [Whisper of Steel]
Rank: Dormant
Tier: IV
Memory Description: [This armor has protected its owner for thousands of battles. Even though it is unrepairable, it will protect its owner until the last breath.]
…This sounded strangely familiar. The [Moribund Sword] quickly popped into my mind and I gnashed my teeth together. Why were my only weapon and armor memories so flawed? I suppose the [Moribund Sword] at least had a companion now.
I looked past the horrible first impression that the description gave and instead focused on the memory's tier: IV. To get a memory like this meant that Eternity killed a dormant terror to receive this, a nightmare creature that was on the same level as the Ironclad Queen. I glanced over at Eternity who was staring a hole into the ground, was she actually a monster underneath her frail exterior?
The tier of the memory did imply something though, that the [Whisper of Steel] likely had an enchantment. Fortunately for me, my wish came true.
Enhancement: [Last Breath]
Enhancement Description: [The user can completely nullify one physical attack, in exchange this memory is destroyed.]
Following [Moribund Sword]'s example, the [Whisper of Steel] had a useful ability that also resulted in its destruction in some way. I truly hoped this wouldn't be a pattern for me.
"Vincent, that you?" I heard the casual calling of my name. Me and Eternity look up to see that Ford was…standing right there.
"Huh?" I blurted out. Ford burst out into laughter, "See, I was right?!" Ford turned to his back while pointing a finger at me.
The person he was talking to was none other than Lorelei. She nodded when Ford called to her.
They both came up to me and Eternity. "Isn't this the best? We're all together now!"
"Shut up, you're way too loud! What if a nightmare creature heard us?" Eternity chided him with a grimace.
"Yeah…" I said, but my mind wasn't in the conversation. This was way too good, much better than I could even expect. Ford, Lorelei, and Eternity were all here together with me. They were the top spot on my wishlist of my potential cohorts, and except for Itri, I had gotten all of them.
This was way too good, but I couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong…
Ford's eyes widened and he clapped his hands, "Oh right! We're in a death zone by the way--The Great Plateau!"
And there it was.