Shadow Slave: Rainglory

Part 2: Dream Rain

The girl, now that her nightmare was over, slowly opened her eyes. The sleeping pod she was in had opened. It was the start of a beautiful morning, but even though it was morning, she felt more tired than ever, yesterday had been rough, rougher than usual. She missed the times where she could sleep peacefully and wake up without a care in the world. Now that the immediate danger of losing her life in battle disappeared, she was free to do whatever she wanted again. Becoming an Awakened changed her life in many ways, too many ways really. Was it she who had changed, or was it the world that had changed, she couldn't tell. She put some clothes on and left her room. The sun was shining brightly, it was noon,
So I slept around 14 hours huh? She mused, she understood why Awakened lost their sense of time all the time. It really was a strange topic now.
Oh? Now that you understand how strange time is, when will you start using it to your advantage? The voice said. Her name was Morgana, she had called herself a sorceress, but the Spell called her a witch, and she herself went with the latter.
As if. The things you say are always incomprehensible. And that one takes the cake.
Time magic, she was talking about the use of time in conjuring.
What are you saying? An immensely valuable sorcery like time manipulation should be your greatest endeavor, it only took me a decade to master! The tantalizing voice said, mockingly.
Dealing with her had become part of her routine, so she didn't get riled or felt anything particular when the witch tried to get on her skin. It was the Innate Ability of her Aspect that allowed her to communicate with an ancient and powerful being like Morgana. While the witch herself knew pretty much anything about Rain, she herself didn't know anything about Morgana, and she didn't divulge anything about herself to begin with, so their relationship was strained at best and downright hostile at worst.
It was time for breakfast, but she didn't feel like cooking anything. She was never particularly good at it, and only learned the basics to survive in the Dream Realm. I want to eat pasta with sauce... She thought before silently shaking her head. There were many things she could do, like visiting the house her younger siblings were being taken care of, or report her findings and potential dangers about the place she had gotten ambushed in. But both things could be done later so she just went to her bed and dozed off.
Awakened couldn't sleep. And she herself wasn't exactly sleeping, just in a trance similar to sleep. 
"Working sucks, I want to sleep forever!" She complained. She wanted to take as much time off as possible. She deserved as much after yesterday.
Several hours later, she woke up. There were sounds coming out in her house, she heard sizzling noises.
"Ah, it must be her." She thought.
"What a strange person..."
Putting some more acceptable clothes on and roughly making her hair look more presentable, she made her way in towards the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Cooking food, for her.
It still felt weird, very weird in fact when one of the most powerful beings alive, a living legend. a Saint of all people was cooking for her.
"Good morning... Afternoon? Saint Tyris. Thanks for dropping by."  She greeted the woman in front of her, Saint Tyris was dressed in casual clothes and looked at her silently, her expression was impossible to read as always.
"It'll be done in a few minutes. Bring out the plates." She said.
She did as she was asked. In a few minutes the kitchen which was lifeless a few hours ago was filled with colors of all kinds again. Rain loved colors. She loved things that were very colorful.
The table was filled with many dishes. A real feast it was. She didn't know how but the woman in front of her was magical in everything she did.
They silently ate, the silence was welcome, because the food was simply that good.
Saint Tyris came to her house - her own house now - a couple of times by now, she was used to it now, but the first and second times she did were truly mind boggling, for some reason, the Saint had taken her under her wing, helping her in many ways. The sword and the arrow were her gifts to her.
After a while it was time to talk. After all, Rain was pretty sure she knew the events of yesterday.
"What happened yesterday?" The saint started.
"I was on my way to the citadel after I completed my mission. The area I was traversing was supposed to be safe, but it was not, and I got ambushed by the creatures of darkness. A dozen Fallen abominations, they all fell by my hand." She said honestly, but then grimaced.
"11 of them, to be exact, the serpent that lives in my shadows, "his" serpent saved me again." She added.
The Soul Serpent. She had long guessed that it belonged to her beloved teacher, Sunny. She remembered that weird feeling she felt just before he departed to Antarctica. That serpent... She felt many things towards it. Happiness, resentment, gratefulness, and sadness.
Maybe if he didn't give it to her, he would be here again... But if he did that, she wouldn't be here herself... What a cruel fate it was.
"I see." Saint Tyris responded. If she felt anything her face didn't betray her.  Because she understood the world of Awakened so well, she also knew what a grand accomplishment it was. But she also knew it was something she could do, after all, she knew everything about her. Her purple eyes that possessed a strange feeling of royalty and had an unsettling magnetic draw to them. Her hair which was slowly but surely changing its color to a deep purple color. Her strange Aspect, her True Name, that she disliked. which she had received after her First Nightmare, a feat only a few in human history ever accomplished. Events of her Nightmare, the voices in her head. And even the strange and overwhelming serpent living in her shadow.
It was she who was guarding her body in case she failed the nightmare and turned into a nightmare creature, after all.
To be exact, it wasn't only her, but many aspirants that she was looking after, but details didn't matter.
Yesterday when she had lost consciousness, she gave 2 commands to her Echo, the first was dropping her to a place of safety in the citadel, and the second was to drop the soul shards she had gotten in front of Master Roan's house. If the echo disappeared after accomplishing her commands, her shards would be stolen after all.
"You did great. Your shards will be safe with us." Saint Tyris responded.
She smiled in response, for better or worse, she was the only one taking care of her now. In the world of Awakened, she was a nobody, but rather than being underestimated it was more like no one knew anything about her. She hadn't gone to the Academy and she hadn't gone anywhere to receive a training of sorts to make her known in the first place. None of it was by design, though. She eventually knew that she had to take the upper stage, but that time hadn't come yet, she was too overwhelmed, too beaten by the events that followed her after her nightmare that she didn't want to deal with anything that came with her rise to fame.
Not to mention she disliked everything her powers granted her. Her eyes were creepy, her True Name was creepy. Her powers were too vague and convoluted for her to understand, her method of progression was different from anyone else, a form which she didn't know, it all came with an instruction manual in the name of a vastly powerful ancient being, but they hated each other so that plan went down the drain as well.
"Ahhh, what a mess this is! Couldn't I have gotten a simpler power? Why does it have to be so hard? I don't understand what the Spell I'm supposed to do!"
Simple, just let me take over your body and sleep eternally in peace... The witch replied, amused by her outrage.
"Go dig a hole and drown..." She said. But then she widened her eyes, horrified.
Oh I'm so done for! What the Spell did I just say to a Saint!?
"I'm sorr-!"
"I do not mind. It must be painful for you." The Saint replied.
Allowed to breathe again, she sighed resentfully. The witch cackled as usual.
"Unfortunately, this meal will be the last we will have together, Rain. For a while." Did she sense a hint of regret in her voice? She wasn't sure.
"Will you be going away somewhere?" She asked in return.
"Yes, you must know that after the destruction of Antarctica, humanity has pursued other methods of transportation before the communications between the lost continents ends all together. Many saints are called to help during the time, and now, mine is required." The Saint explained.
"I see. So our training today will be..." She didn't come here to merely eat dinner after all, the Saint trained her to the bone so she could survive in the Dream Realm. She thought Sunny was pushing her to her limits, but now she understood he was holding back. Saint Tyris on the other hand was simply ruthless.
"Yes, it will be the last for now." With that, she started cleaning the dishes. She helped her.
Normally, they would start training by now, but for some reason Tyris seemed to be deep in thought. Not knowing what to do, she just waited for her. After a while, she nodded.
"We will not train in combat today. Come." She guessed that she had communicated with someone while she was deep in thought.
"That's one useful memory...."
Saint Tyris' Aspect allowed her to control the weather and storms, manipulate the wind and use lightning as a means of attack. She had guessed it's Rank to be Supreme or higher. It was thanks to her that her wind manipulation was better than all of her other endeavors in her pursuit of magic. Their aspects differed but since hers allowed her to learn any kind of sorcery or magic. She focused on those she could learn from others. And so Tyris was teaching her both combat, and how to manipulate the weather like she did.
"I wanted to start learning how to manipulate electricity too... What a shame." She mused
Too bad the witch laughed.
The witch never helped when it came to learning magic, she had said so at the beginning.
I can help you learn it a lot faster. I can help you how to wield a sword better, how to control your essence better, I can show you the zenith of sorcery. The possibilities are endless, with my help, you can reach the levels you have never even thought of.
But I will not do such a thing. What is the point of struggle without defeat? What is the point of life without fear? Struggle all you like, I will be there to witness it all. Fall all you like, I will be there to witness your rise. The more you give yourself to me, the more I shall accept. Struggle, you see, is the joy of life. She had said after their meeting.
The most useless instruction manual in the world. What was the point of theatrics if the point was that she wouldn't lay a finger to help till the end?
In the end, they went to the Dream Realm. They now stood in front of the White Feather clan manor, she had learned that after their mission in Antarctica, they were forced to rule down this relatively unknown citadel that Valor ruled. Inside, there were three people waiting for Tyris and her, she only knew one of them, Master Roan looked just as always, confident, handsome and easygoing. Behind him was his very famous griffin, silently awaiting orders. Next to him was someone she saw only once, the woman in white was an Awakened, but she guessed that she was an attendant, as she was watching over the room in silence. What piqued her interest the most though was the third guest, a woman in her mid twenties. She was beautiful, as all Awakened tended to be. But her beauty was different, giving a sense of melancholy, a feeling of longing was awakened inside her just by looking at her. She had long black hair and brown eyes, wearing a tunic that resembled a garment, with a black cape behind her.
"Sky Tide." She said, the faintest of smiles appeared on her face.
"Night Reverie." Saint Tyris nodded, with no change in expression.
"That must be her True Name... Is she a Saint too I wonder?"
Rain mused.
"You arrived fast. Did something happen?" Roan asked his wife.
"Not really." She replied, and then looked at the mysterious Awakened.
"Let us get into my chambers. The air here is stiff."  She replied before moving on, Only Rain and Night Reverie followed.
Inside her chambers, the air indeed felt different. Maybe it had something to do with her Ability.
Once inside, away and alone, the beautiful woman finally looked at Rain and spoke.
"Tyris has mentioned you. Call me Laila." She said.
She too, was distant, though not as much as Tyris, perhaps.
She was more or less sure that she was talking to a Saint, so she chose her words carefully.
"It is a privilege to meet you, Saint Laila. I'm Rain, my True Name is Wicked Witness. I prefer if you call me Rain though." Her True Name was still somewhat of a sore spot to her.
"Then I will do so. Rain, I doubt Tyris has told you much, so for now, just assume that you'll spend a lot of time with me."
That was more or less within her expectations, but still... It was still surprising.
Then Saint Tyris spoke while looking at no one in particular.
"Laila is a Saint with mastery over Sorcery. Her Aspect allows her to use stars and celestial objects based magic. It has not been long since she became a Saint, but your Aspects match, therefore while I'm gone, she'll be your combat and Aspect teacher. You will also learn her spells and accompany her on her tasks that she deems worthy."
She really looks young.... She can't be older than 26, a Saint by that age? She must be a real prodigy. She thought.
"Oh. I got infected when I was 15, so I'm not that impressive." Saint Laila replied.
Her eyes widened.
Wait, can she read minds!?
That would be... Bad.
Her smile widened. Seeing her smile like that made Rain realize she never saw Tyris smile like her.
"Ha. No, your face just gives away your thoughts." She said. Amused.
So that's what it was. She had always been easy to read, Sunny had told her many times, that it could be a major weakness in battle, but what could she do about it? She tried her best but she was still really easy to see through.
She pouted.
"You really are cute, Rain, aside from those... Eyes of yours." She added.
"I've heard that deep within your soul, there lives an ancient being that can talk to you. How interesting, can you ask her about what she thinks of me?"
Well... Rain thought.
...Incompetent.
The answer came immediately.
"She said that you were beautiful!" She hastily replied.
Saint Laila raised an eyebrow, somewhat doubtful.
"That so? I will take your word."
With that, they both looked at Saint Tyris.
The Saint in question rose from her seat and started walking over.
"That's enough for today, Laila, you can leave now."
She sensed the two were close, as close as Tyris let people in, she guessed.
"Alright, I will babysit your treasure, as I promised then. See you tomorrow, then, Rain." Night Reverie cheerfully said that and left the room. Now those 2 were left alone.
Finding the silence awkward, she thought furiously about what she was allowed to ask and what she shouldn't ask, but before she could, the Saint herself spoke first.
"Rain, do you still believe Ascended Sunless, Ascended Changing Star and her cohort will clear their Nightmare and come back as Saints?"
She was surprised, she had only asked her about Sunny and what she was doing before the Spell once.
But her answer was clear.
"Yes.* She believed that at least those 2, Lady Nephis and Sunny, would return, his serpent was living with her after all.
That was one of the main reasons why she felt hopeful about herself, about the world and its future.
"Those 7, no matter how long it takes, will come back, and save the world." Her stance resolute, she replied with vigor.
"Good. That's how you should be." Saint Tyris noted.
"That's a great mindset to have, Rain, because without those 7, humanity is doomed."
That. She did not expect.
"Huh? Isn't that a bit much?" She replied shakily.
"Of those 7, the weakest Aspect is still an Ascended Rank. And even then, it's still an immensely valuable Ascended Rank Aspect. 3 of the 7, possesses Divine Aspects. Changing Star, Prince Mordret and Sunless."
What? That doesn't make sense! Humanity never had a single Divine Aspect user before! Her senses were in disarray, her thoughts fumbled.
Sunny? A Divine Aspect? I mean, I knew his exploits in Antarctica, but that's...
It was all hard to accept but more than that...
"How do you know this?" That was the most important question.
She smiled faintly,
"I... Or rather we, always knew. Sovereigns have their ways of checking the Aspects of most Awakened. I would have known the Rank of your Aspect even if you didn't consult me before. Though I wouldn't know its characteristics." She replied casually.
"The time has come, Rain. The end is near. The end of the world is upon us. Antarctica was always meant to be the first. And we lost it, if we can't even protect the first how can we expect to protect the second, the third and the fourth? Change is coming. With newly emerging Saints left and right we're about to enter a new phase. We're about to fight the Nightmare Spell." Her subtle smile widened. And a dark gleam appeared in her eyes.
"For half a century, we resisted the Spell, it took a multi billion number of us to die and get consumed by the Spell, year after year, so many of us died, helplessly. But finally, with the emergence of seven Saints, Three of whom with the strongest potential in history, with them, with all of us. We will wage war on the Nightmare Spell. We will not merely resist it. We will take our blades, and plunge it deep into it. The masterpiece of Weaver shall fall under our eyes. Or we will die trying to achieve it."
She stared, dumbfounded at the Saint, unable to form proper thoughts.
How grandiose. The witch cackled.
Finally coming to her senses, she asked.
"Then I..." She started, but Tyris cut her off.
"You are the last piece, Rain. You are the final pillar that the world, or maybe fate itself, sent here. your Sacred Aspect, your unlimited potential. And those eyes of yours are proof of it."
So that's how it is. Of course, the things she talked about were far too grandiose for a mere Awakened like her, but she understood the gist of it.
She was asking her to sacrifice herself in the name of humanity, asking her to join the crusade against an omnipotent being.
Either succeed, or die trying. Huh. She suddenly felt like laughing, it was a bit too bizarre.
She said this. Even though she knew what overusing her Aspect meant to her. She knew how she would lose herself in the process of gaining strength, and she still said that.
Ahh, she knew it, but the truth hurt, it always did...
"Think of me as you wish. This world... Cannot be saved without resorting to measures like this anymore. I have told everything I know about you to Laila. Fear not, for her lips are tight. We, or rather you, still have time to get stronger, you will not be able to help the Saints after they emerge. But that's fine. with time, you will be able to, and when that time comes. I believe we will witness a miracle."
Her eyes were lifeless, but still, she was here. She had to reply.
"I understand. Saint Tyris. I will take my leave now."
She wanted to go away from here, she wanted to leave, to a softer place, to a place where softness was allowed... But before that.
"Wait." The Saint stopped her.
Without looking back, she replied.
"What is it?"
A second of silence, then a dozen. Unable to turn back but unable to go forward, she waited. And before she knew it, she was embraced in the back by the Saint, her eyes as wide as saucers, she just stared at her, dumbfounded.
Saint Tyris silently hugged for a second.
"It really is rather hard... I seem to have lost my edge, when it comes to playing the villain." She chuckled.
"My Flaw makes it hard for me to reflect my emotions. The resonance between my emotions and my body is so low that I can't laugh freely anymore... But even so, leaving you alone like this, would be beneath me, Rain."
She thought about what her Flaw could be before. And she did theorize about such a possibility. But still, hearing it from her was not something she expected. The Saint continued.
"I was saved, once, by Ascended Sunless. In a war I did not wish to participate in, I was on my wits end, battling against multiple Saints took a toll on me, and it was during that time, that he saved me. That's why, I owe him a debt. You are someone important to Ascended Sunless, and you are important to me, as well. That's why I do not want to lose you, even if it means lowering our chances against the Spell."
"You are far too strong. Tyris, do you want me to suffocate?" Rain replied, with a smile.
The Saint stopped her embrace and Rain turned to look at her.
She was still the same as ever, but for a second she was sure of it, her eyes were filled with a sense of relief. She couldn't smile like Laila anymore, but that was fine, wasn't it? her Flaw was a disconnection of resonance, that didn't mean she didn't feel emotions. So Rain laughed, she laughed for the sake of her caretaker, too. To the Saint whom she owed her life to. The future was still unknown, her short term goals had changed somewhat, but it was not going to be a drastic one, at most she had gotten a new teacher. But her conviction had only gotten stronger. To stand side by side with Sunny, with Lady Nephis, with Effie, with Kai. She wanted to be like them, she wanted them to need her. For that, she needed to get stronger, stronger than ever.
When has that ever changed? She thought, as always, life was both predictable and unpredictable.
She was just about to leave Saint Tyris' headquarters when...
*Swirl* *swirl* *swirl*
She felt it.
She felt it within her soul.
The snake...
It moved.
The Soul Serpent that lived within her shadow, certainly moved.
And Rain... was sure of it.
Sunny... Came back.
Part 2 End.