Just like after the First Nightmare, Sunny suddenly sensed something waking up within him. Back then, it felt as though this new power came from inside his soul as opposed to some external source. This time the feeling was very similar, only more intense, more defined.
It was coming from his Shadow Cores.
They were radiating an ethereal, but almost palpable heat. The energy was circulating through his entire body, changing it, making it stronger. It was somewhat similar to the strange feeling he got every time he received a shadow fragment, but so much more powerful.
…A thousand times more powerful.
And deeper, too.
With a barely audible gasp, Sunny slowly sat down and crossed his legs, then closed his eyes, concentrating on the transformation.
Every fiber of his being was soon full of the mysterious energy. The familiar euphoric feeling overwhelmed him, washing over his mind like a warm wave. However, Sunny wanted to feel more, understand more. He wanted to remember this moment in every detail.
It was his triumph, after all.
Beneath the physical changes that his body was undergoing to become better, stronger, more perfect… was another, subtle, but equally incredible change.
It was happening to his soul.
Sunny had no words to describe it, but knew that he had never experienced anything as wonderful. The transformation of his soul was not at all painful, like the creation of the second Shadow Core had been, and not nearly as torturous as the agony that consuming a drop of divine blood had caused him.
It felt… natural, right, and profound. As though he was coming one step closer to becoming complete, to what he had always been meant to be.
A better being.
Soon, the pulsating waves of heat retreated, replaced by a wave of soothing coldness. The dull ache in his heart that had remained there, unnoticed, ever since leaving the Forgotten Shore lessened a little. His mind became calm and tranquil.
Sunny felt like... like a sword that had been tempered and fortified in a fiery crucible, a being made of cold, pure, resilient steel.
He exhaled slowly and opened his eyes.
His body felt stronger, faster, and more enduring, similar to how he felt when wrapped in the shadow. The change was sufficiently pronounced, and he knew that it would only grow greater if he used one or both of the shadows to actually augment him.
But it wasn't the main difference.
Sunny knew that the actual quality that separated Awakened from the Dreamers was not physical might, but a new innate ability. Just like Dreamers gained the ability to sense and interact with soul cores, the Awakened could do the same with soul essence.
But knowing and feeling were two different things.
Before, he could vaguely feel his Shadow Core. The feeling was elusive and ethereal, but unmistakable. He felt its emptiness at the start of his journey, and felt it brimming with power near the end.
Now, that power wasn't contained inside the Shadow Cores anymore, but broke free, flowing naturally through his entire body. It circulated slowly, coming and going from the cores, passively saturating his bones and muscles with power.
Sunny instinctually felt that, with some practice, he would be able to direct the flow of shadow essence to concentrate it in a certain area. He could expend some amount of essence to give his arms incredible, explosive strength for a short amount of time, or fill his legs with the power to jump a dozen meters into the air.
In short, it wasn't as though he had become monstrously strong and would be all the time, crashing through walls and breaking delicate things by accident. Instead, by wisely controlling his shadow essence, he would be able to gift himself short bursts of truly inhuman physical might.
The rest of the time, he would enjoy a much smaller, but still considerable passive effect of his body being saturated with freely flowing essence.
'More training…'
Sunny could now control the shadow essence by instinct, but if he wanted to truly master it and do it more efficiently, he would have to learn from experienced Awakened. Some instructors at the Academy existed for the sole purpose of teaching newly Awakened just that, after all.
And then there was a whole other layer of combat strategy that he would have to understand and master.
Sleepers thought much like mundane humans, only with more power and tools. But battles of the Awakened were much more tactical. While essence always restored itself to the core's maximum capacity, it took time. In the reality of a battle, it was a finite resource. Because of it, one had to be smart and careful about how and when to use it.
He would also have to absorb as many shadow fragments as possible to increase the capacity of his cores. Luckily, he now had two of them, which already gave him a big advantage over the rest of the Awakened.
But this new amazing quality he had received was not the end of the Awakening. The main event was yet to happen…
The Spell spoke again, filling him with anticipation.
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
[...Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Shadow Step.]
Sunny blinked, then hurriedly summoned the runes.
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Awakened.
Class: Monster.
Shadow Cores: [2/7].
Shadow Fragments: [0/2000].
Just as expected, both of his cores were not Dormant anymore, instead becoming Awakened. The shadow fragments were consumed to fuel the Awakening, bringing him to a stark and sad zero.
'A thousand fragments, gone just like that…'
He wasn't really disappointed, though. The amount of essence consumed during the Awakening directly corresponded to the starting capacity of the core, and thus, the extent of the physical transformation that a Sleeper would go through.
By collecting a thousand fragments and fully saturating his first core, Sunny not only received a second one, but also made sure to gain the best benefits a Sleeper could dream of. Very few Awakened had ever fully saturated their cores before returning from their first journey to the Dream Realm, and now, Sunny was one of them.
The difference was not drastic, but every little bit of power counted in a life-and-death situation.
'Enough stalling!'
Impatient, he banished the thoughts of cores and shadow fragments and found the description of his new Aspect Ability.
Aspect Ability: [Shadow Step].
Ability Description: [You can move freely between shadows, traveling from one to another in an instant.]
Looking at the shimmering runes, Sunny soon discovered that there was a stupid grin on his face.
'Teleportation… that's teleportation, right?'
That was, without a doubt, a form of teleportation.
An ability such as this was a game changer. His mobility would become truly incredible. Not only would he be able to apply it to traversal, making his future ventures into the Dream Realm easier and safer, but it could also play a decisive role in a battle.
What was more deadly than an assassin capable of appearing out of nowhere and disappearing from sight in a blink of an eye?
Not many things, really...
Of course, he would have to experiment and learn the true extent of this amazing Ability… what was its range, for example? Would he be able to jump to any shadow in sight, or to any shadow in the range of his Shadow Sense? Did a shadow have to be deep and large enough for him to fit through, or would even the smallest and faintest of them do?
And what about his own shadows? Would he be able to send one to a certain spot, and then step out of it, just like Saint usually did?
He couldn't wait to learn.
But before that, there were two other things he had to see.
One was the new Memory he acquired. The other one — and the one that filled him with nervous anticipation — was much more important.
It was the relic he was supposed to receive for mastering the first step of the Shadow Dance.
With a Legacy Relic in his hands and a Lineage Attribute coursing through his blood, Sunny would be theoretically eligible to create his own Legacy Clan. A great clan, even!
…Not that he was planning to.
But before Sunny could glance at the corresponding runes, the Spell suddenly whispered into his ear:
[Wake up, Sunless!]
And instantly, the black void full of bright stars and silver light disappeared.