Five silhouettes hovered above a vast plateau, surrounded by a sea of twisted bodies. Made of black gold, resembling gargoyles with massive, distorted wings, each of them would once have been a deadly threat to the Sleepers.
But not anymore.
At the front stood a giant wielding a filthy war hammer. His chest glowed with a pulsating crimson light, where the bloodthirsty memory rested, once again charged with the stolen lives of hundreds of creatures that had crossed his path.
Beside him, a seductive merman walked at an unhurried pace, carrying a trident carved from countless polished and glimmering corals.
Further behind, two young women of completely opposite appearances carefully worked to extract every remaining Soul Shard from the fallen corpses.
The many reptilian heads hidden beneath the skirt of a dress tore through flesh like paper and tossed the gathered treasures toward a massive golem, which stored everything within itself. At the same time, a black knife, moving as fast as thought itself, darted across the battlefield, delivering spoils to its companion.
Lastly, a delicate young man walked forward without, bathed in the ominous light cast by the floating castle on the horizon. His gaze settled upon the rows of graves, where the former residents of the mansion, buried by his own hands, now rested.
He let out a… sorrowful sigh.
He had never known them, and yet, there was an unimaginable melancholy weighing upon his chest.
Were those her feelings?
The thought lingered in his mind for only a moment before being replaced by a far more important realization.
They were back, and stronger than ever.
---
The last time he stood before the mansion's gates, Giovanni had been consumed by the anxiety of an uncertain future. The feeling hadn't completely disappeared, but simply being able to sleep peacefully, knowing the rest of his team wouldn't turn into zombies within a few hours, made his shoulders feel light as feathers.
For the first time in a while, the group split apart completely.
Sofia headed straight for the meeting room to update her map and journal with everything they had discovered during the journey. Meanwhile, Aguiar and Shelly decided that collapsing onto their respective beds was the only thing that mattered. Giovanni had to get a little creative to compose a simple melody that looped endlessly, preventing the Abyssal Song from invading the pair's minds.
It wasn't the most refined solution, but it would do for now.
Eric and Giovanni, however, shared similar priorities.
Training.
Sitting alone in the chair inside his room, the delicate young man stared at his reflection with a grave expression. Now that they were safe inside their base of operations, taking a few days to simply relax sounded tempting, but the number of things piling up on his plate was more than a little intimidating.
'Transmutation, earth control, musical sorcery, and my new body too... I really got myself into a mess.'
Every single skill needed to be polished and mastered as much as possible if he wanted even the slightest chance of facing the ancient rulers of Thalorim.
'Variety... variety.'
He needed new perspectives, new challenges, if he wanted to drastically improve his elemental control, for example. After so many months of practice, the results would gradually become less noticeable if he simply kept repeating the same methods.
Then the idea struck him like lightning.
"That's it!"
---
A few hours later, Giovanni sat in the middle of a vast, empty room that seemed to have once been built to house warriors. Sofia assured him the place would be durable enough for the team's training sessions thanks to the enchantments woven into the structure.
In front of him, a familiar golem stared back, both of them surrounded by obscene amounts of earth gathered from outside.
Gaius had been a deadly enemy during their first encounter, and the main reason was his calculated and refined mastery over the very same element Giovanni wielded. Back then, it had been difficult to appreciate the sight when Giovanni had been far too busy trying to survive, but now?
It was an opportunity far too valuable to ignore.
"There'll be sparring sessions too, it's not that bad." In order to measure the pace of his improvement, Giovanni had kindly asked Shelly to serve as the experiment's test subject.
"So we're just gonna stand around here for hours every day?" Shelly grumbled from the back of the room, leaning against the wall with clear dissatisfaction in her voice.
It wasn't as if he'd be the only one benefiting from this. She would also gain valuable combat experience, which was exactly what she needed most right now.
"Whatever. Are you done yet?" She mumbled.
Simply waiting for confirmation, Giovanni ordered the Echo to slowly begin shaping one of the piles of earth beside them so he could observe the process step by step.
The process was unbelievable.
The most glaring difference between him and the golem was that while Giovanni could only mold shapes from the bottom upward, like a 3D printer, Gaius was an omnidirectional sculptor. By levitating rocks and dust into the air, every side of the sample became equally subjected to his influence, allowing the mass to take shape in a fraction of the time Giovanni's simpler method required.
The second difference was precision, and unfortunately, that had less to do with power and more with practice and knowledge. In the past, Magnus' creations had served as tireless tools of war and construction. Creating weapons and erecting structures had been their primary function, and it showed in how perfectly Gaius could instantly produce anything from a battle axe to a sword or halberd.
It was the kind of experience that reminded Giovanni that, in the grand scheme of things, he was little more than a newborn compared to the true monsters out there.
"I don't have enough brains for this!" After the practical demonstration, Giovanni wasted no time trying it himself.
The regret was immediate.
Splitting his focus between two points, three points, or four points was possible.
But trying to focus on every point of an enormous mass of earth at the same time was a task far beyond impossible.
What was supposed to become a gauntlet looked more like an abstract sculpture. No matter what he did, distributing his attention evenly remained a distant dream.
Parts inevitably collapsed or distorted every second, always resulting in something embarrassing.
"I think I'm gonna need to watch him do it again..."
---
One repetition became two, then four, then eight, and before they realized it, several hours had already passed in that tedious cycle. The first part was always the easiest, and by now, Giovanni had completely mastered it.
In front of him floated a perfectly shaped stone cylinder molded entirely by his thoughts, completely stable.
"Now for the second part."
Both from above and below, his will began modifying the edges in perfect synchronization. Once he felt certain about his control, he started manipulating two additional regions at the same time, always from opposite sides.
Hollow fingers slowly began taking shape, forming a structure meant to fit a hand far larger than his own.
The first signs of exhaustion manifested as a dull but constant headache.
Imitating the Echo's style perfectly was impossible at first glance, so Giovanni decided to be slightly less ambitious. He started with two simultaneous points on opposite sides and gradually increased the number as he adapted to the previous amount.
He was already manipulating several dozen points simultaneously.
He needed to reach hundreds.
His hands trembled as though struggling to hold together a structure on the verge of collapse. More and more perspectives piled up until it felt like his blood was figuratively boiling.
'Damn it!'
The moment he tried biting off more than he could chew, the stability of his project shattered and collapsed back into the pile of dirt. After staring silently for a few seconds, Giovanni let out an exhausted sigh.
"You know what? Time for the sparring session."
He couldn't take this anymore.
At least not for today.
As though signaling the beginning of the fight, a surprisingly fast black knife flew toward his head.
And with superhuman agility, Giovanni caught it midair, utterly stunned by his own reflexes.
'Damn, that was so cool!'
There was no time to celebrate.
The next instant, a blur practically materialized in front of him alongside an explosive gust of wind.
A knee slammed into his face before he could even react.
---
'This is worse than the academy days...'
His head throbbed with pain, and his body ached from the prolonged strain of using his powers. Shelly was a difficult opponent to fight, especially in a controlled environment like the training hall.
Still, the results were impressive.
It was difficult to properly measure how much his physical abilities had changed since his transformation, but Giovanni had underestimated just how vast the gap between a human and a monster truly was.
He possessed the strength to crush walls, the speed to leave clouds of dust in his wake, and such durability that any attack from Shelly felt practically harmless.
Fighting was actually a little awkward since his mind still wasn't fully accustomed to his new physical capabilities. He'd practice that later.
'Is this what it feels like for them when they fight?'
Watching his companions from afar, capable of performing absurd feats with their bodies, had always left him frustrated since he'd been forced to hide behind them just to survive. But now?
Now it was possible to fight beside them on the frontlines.
With a satisfied sigh, Giovanni closed his eyes and allowed himself to peek into the various things already happening throughout the mansion at the same time.
First of all, Aguiar seemed to have completely monopolized the kitchen, and with the help of several utility Memories, appeared to be preparing something bizarre using the fruits gathered near the waterfall.
'All that just to make juice? I seriously don't understand that guy.'
Next time, he was going to force an explanation out of the merman one way or another.
A little farther away, Shelly sat alone in a leisure room, dying of boredom in complete silence. Giovanni had expected her to enjoy moments of peace more than this, but apparently not.
'I should make board games to fill up the leisure room! I'll finally have someone to play UNO with besides Michel. That brat was such a sore loser! How can someone invent so many rules?'
Lastly, there was a pair inside the training room he and Shelly had occupied earlier. Sofia seemed determined to learn how to use the Hydra's new Memory in combat, and out of everyone in the group, Eric was by far the most proficient fighter.
I mean, Giovanni would've already begged him for combat lessons if his Flaw didn't make him so useless at hurting people.
'She still hasn't come to talk to me... should I take the initiative?'
He discarded the idea the very moment it crossed his mind. He couldn't afford to be impatient, no matter how much anxiety was eating away at him.
Then, a burst of thoughts struck his consciousness, accompanied by a range of feelings and sensations.
'Urgh... things seem pretty rough for her.'
It was extremely difficult for the telepathic connection between the two of them to remain closed for long periods, so Sofia would relax and temporarily reestablish it every few hours.
At the moment, she was far too busy trying to survive the brutal combat methods of her new teacher.
"I need to keep my mind busy! That's what I need!"
Opening his eyes, he sat upright and decided to examine his runes for the first time, focusing on something that had been bothering him this entire time.
True Name: Light Seeker
Rank: Dreamer
Speaking of keeping his mind occupied...
Soul Core: Dormant
Class: Beast
Soul Fragments: [325/1000]
Memories: [Vermin Head], [Grafter's Tunic], [Master Key], [Dusty Diary], [Membranous Glider], [Maiden's Handkerchief], [Lost Princess's Jubilation], [Ophelia's Seal]
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Guided by the Light], [Acolyte], [Miracle Bearer], [Daughter of the Sea]
Aspect: [Golden Prince]
Aspect Rank: Sacred
Aspect Description: [You are the promised successor of a kingdom long forgotten. As a prince, your power originates from your loyal followers and the lands you control. However, the laurel crown is lost, and without it, your title is hollow and diminished. You seek your divine inheritance.]
Innate Ability: [Royal Right]
Ability Description: [Find trustworthy people and make them swear loyalty. Once under your command, your vassals share in the blessings and equipment in your possession. It is improper for a noble not to offer an abundant reward.]
Vassals: — Sofia.
Aspect Abilities: [Earth Domain], [Transmutation]
Aspect Legacy: [Promised Reign]
Flaw: [Sinless Spirit]
Flaw Description: [You cannot hurt others.]
Ever since he had unlocked his Aspect Legacy, one question had lingered in his mind:
How exactly was he supposed to train or improve in order to master the first stage?
The telepathic connection had been the only thing to emerge from the entire process, so in theory, his focus should be on improving it. Up until now, the whole situation had been complete chaos for both his plans and his relationship, on top of that.
But there had to be something more behind it.
'And it better be worth the headache!'
Determined to uncover the secrets hidden within the mechanisms of his soul, the young man took a deep breath and focused on a fixed point deep inside himself.
And before he realized it, he was standing in the middle of a vast field of flowers.