Last night I accidentally published chapter two, so if you were any of the people who read it from 12:00pm to 3:00am be sure to check again because I did edit it(￣ヘ￣;)
Sorryyy and enjoy the chapter(人*´∀｀)｡*ﾟ+
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Thales' thoughts returned to the present.
After the brief recollection, Thales no longer thought about his first nightmare. He had to think of his current situation.
The nightmare creatures were already on his tail. A few of them were already dangerously close to him.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the stronger ones seemed to maintain a distance.
In their eyes Thales swore he could see a hint of intelligence.
It was like a cruel hunter playing with its prey.
In fact they were all playing with him. He noticed it since earlier.
He knew they could've aimed for his neck, going straight for the kill. But they didn't. They took small bites every single time. Savoring each one.
He was a prince of the sea after all. And what thrilled a beast more than to have royalty as their plaything?
At that Thales cursed.
'Fucking hell.'
He had to think of a plan.
His mind was churning like an engine. But simultaneously he also used his aspect to create a circular whirlpool. He was sure, it could probably stop them for a few moments.
Seemingly making his mind Thales acted.
First he summoned the memory that he gained from the Darkened Dweller.
It was like a dark rope, yet it's surface was smooth - slimy even? And it had a barbed tip on its end.
Knowing he couldn't get on land, he had a few options.
Either he fought. Or he ran.
Thales was no fighter nor was he masterfully skilled in his aspect.
So he did neither. Deciding to gamble his life away on a plan that he had no idea if it would succeed.
Thales traced the edges of the piece of land hurriedly. Looking for something.
He was looking for a raised part of the land. And eventually he did find it.
Infact the land was not land at all. He circled around it and was delighted by what he saw.
It was a massive structure made of bone.
A collosal rib cage was right in front of him.
As much as he wanted to appreciate it's scale feeling his left leg getting eaten further jogged him out of his thoughts.
The pain made him move quickly. Throwing as high and as strong as he could. He threw the jagged tip of his memory towards the top of the spinal bone. There it's tip was embedded, piercing into the bone.
Now in this moment, his flaw was the only thing that could decide his fate.
Without testing if it was sturdy or not he pulled himself upwards. Fueled by a strength even he didn't know he contained.
Time was of the essence, and finally, he managed to turn the hands of his own clock.
Holding onto dear life, he reached the top of the rope, screaming internally.
'Yes!! Hell yes!', even mentally pumping his fist.
From this height he could almost touch the enormous mass of bone, yet his flaw made him unable.
But fortunately, this flaw of his provided him with some leeway.
Letting this theory of his work...
Yes, instead of running or fighting he decided to hide and stay in the same place.
Betting his life on this inconspicuous piece of rope.
In the end, the new Thales was no legacy. And he had no elaborate ideas, nor did he have any trump cards to let him run away.
It was just him and his ingenuity. And that ingenuity saved his life.
For now.
_________
Althroughout his plan he could feel the gazes of the bastards. They were mocking. Like how you would look at an idiot.
But now? He could feel a hint of frustration and anger in those gazes. Like they were being played.
He knew why of course. It was because of the sun. It was almost time for dawn.
From the start Thales had his suspicions of this sea. It was pitch black. Like pure darkness.
And it's night sky did not have as much stars. It's light being rather dim.
This set it apart from the Stormsea in his memories.
He could probably tell what part of the dream realm he was in.
For he knew, currently their were only two seas in the nightmare realm.
The Stormsea.
And the Forgotten Shore.
And from the reactions of these nightmare creatures. His suspicions were almost cleared.
But only when the sun rose and dawn presented it's light would he know.
Whether he would survive or perish in the nightmare realm.
"AHHH"
Thales was genuinely startled as one of the nightmare creatures jumped out of the water.
Shrieking and nibbling on his rope.
It's disturbing shriek stopping his solemn train of thought.
He was quite offended. He had a lot more words to say and this was his only opportunity to sound like a troubled main character.
Nevertheless he summoned a memory from his arsenal.
[Human Pride]
Memory Description- [There was a wealthy man that set out to sea. He heralded from a sea of endless storms. From which he sailed to a forgotten shore.
His journey was fierce. From the underground rivers of a treacherous mountain chain, to seas that set as the sun rose.
Yet he carried on. His pride boundless. Unbreakable. Like a sharp sword. And most importantly, it never left him.
He sailed the seas with his bountiful crew. From drunken men to a sailor boy.
Yet he met his end to the seas endless brew. Where treachery was not seen as new.]
It was a silver harpoon. It's size the same as a spear. It's blades were like sharp fins, and at the end it was adorned with designs of a squids tentacles. Leading to the tail, where it had a circular opening. Probably to attach a rope.
Thales had no doubt it could easily kill these bastards.
It was a memory of Transcendent rank after all.
It was the trophy of the past Thanes. The culmination of all his efforts in the first nightmare.
And here he had no mastery of it. In his hands it was like a sharp stick...
He could have used it in the water earlier, but he had no doubt he would be waving it around with no destination.
He wasn't confident enough to precisely hit the nimble bastards in their source element.
But now... They were leaping into the air. Some even biting onto his rope.
Here he could poke and thrust at them with no repercussions.
It was time for revenge!
'HAHAHAHA!'
Thales laughed wickedly in his mind.
'Argh–shit'
Thales laugh was interrupted when one of them almost bit his legs again.
Not wanting to lose another leg, he began to slowly lower himself and pierce the ones hanging onto his rope.
If any of them leaped too close he would swing at them with his spear. Cutting through their skin like butter.
It's sharpness seemed to resonate with his pride and confidence.
That prideful legacy should've been truly suited to this.
For now he just had to hold on until sunrise, and then the sun would serve as his saving grace. And his death sentence.
But if he didn't do anything his death would be here.
The rest of the swarm had already arrived.
Thales retreated back onto the top of the rope.
The weaker ones couldn't reach him here. Instead they seemed to be ordered by the smarter ones to pull the rope.
'What?!?'
Thales hastily cut of the rope from beneath his legs.
Yet did it seem to regenerate itself? Must have been the wind...
'These cheeky bastards..'
He sighed and commented.
Thales was unnerved. They were pretty intelligent for fish. He was sure there was at least an awakened devil orchestrating this.
Adding to his anxiety, the sun couldn't have risen any slower. Every leap of a monster that reached dangerously close to him made his heart leap just as high.
This dangerous game continued for at least an hour until the first signs of light finally shone in the distance.
And just as he thought. When the sun rose the seas began to lower. Seemingly afraid of it's light.
If it were earlier, Thales would have simply screamed in celebration. But now he was just too tired. Only sighing in relief.
The water below him also lowered. Although the nightmare creatures seemed reluctant to follow the waves.
Thales heard multiple shrieks coming from the bastards. These shrieks were terrifying as he somewhat understood their meaning.
For he had heard it multiple times in anime and dramas!
It was the classic shout of a third class villain,
"I will remember this!!!"
It did seem kind of comical but Thales had no doubt they would return in search of him.
_________
On the other hand the skies seemed to be reluctant to part with the seas. As a downpour slowly started to batter Thales.
The rain cleared his mind as he began to think of his next plan.
First, his essence...
It was dangerously low.
He had to think of a way to recover it quickly. He couldn't wait for the water to rise again after all.
Thinking that he didn't know himself enough, he decided to check his runes.
__________
Name: Thales
True Name: Changing Tides
Rank: Dreamer.
Class: Demon
Soul Oceans: 1/7
Sea Fragments: [//- ]
Memories: [Moth Thread], [Hope of the Damned], [Human Pride]
Echoes:
Attributes: [Deepkin], [Gentle Tides], [Sudden Ruler], [Raging Heart], [Mark of the Seas]
Aspect: Key of Storms.
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Description: [The seas and the winds have their rage. You as their prince have a hand in their anger.]
Innate Ability: Soul Sea
Ability Descriptions: [On the path of ascension you carry a sea of your own. All rivers lead to the ocean. And that has made all the difference.]
Aspect Ability: [Storm Control].
Ability Description: [As a son of the sea you are favored by its waters and followed by its winds.]
Flaw: [Otherworldly Flaw]
Flaw Description: [The world rejects you.]
__________
Looking at his runes Thales zoned in on a particular area.
His innate ability;
[SoulSea]
Ability Description - [On the path of ascension you carry a sea of your own. All rivers lead to the ocean. And that has made all the difference.]
He new this innate ability had an impact on his soul sea.
Thales focused and tried imagining going into his soul sea. There he found it quite peculiar.
It had no raging suns, and it had no soul core.
It was merely a vast ocean. Nothing more.
What Thales did notice though was that this vast ocean was made entirely out of soul essence.
This was probably supposed to be his soul core right? Divine soul cores behaved differently after all.
Maybe this is what the spell meant by Soul Oceans and Sea Fragments.
And what amazed him was that his Sea Fragments weren't measured in a solid numerical state, but it was measured like a liquid. Slowly filling up his soul sea. To go along with that he also had an experience bar like counter.
Soul Oceans: 1/7
Sea Fragments: [//- ]
It seemed to be only filled by a quarter.
Anyways, no matter how amazed he was at his soul sea he still had to find it's connection to his innate ability.
Looking around his soul sea he could see something up north.
It was a vast river leading into the distance.
When he stretched his perception further it seemed to take him outside his soul sea and gave him a view of his own body.
That strange river of soul essence seemed to lead to.. to his stomach?
"What?"
Thales perception returned to the outside world as he began to snap his fingers in thought.
Soul Sea, Soul essence, Stomach.
These words seemed to hint at something? Thales wondered for a while and then thought.
'Stomach?.. Digestion?'
'Digestion!'
Bingo!
Perhaps he had to eat something and it would appear in his soul sea!
'He truly was a genius.', Thales thought with pride.
But Thales didn't have any food to spare. So he just chose what he had available.
Cupping his hands Thales reached for the rain and began to slowly drink it.
And as the drops of rain fell slowly seeped into his stomach, he felt a trickle of soul essence gather in his soul sea.
'Now this... This is a game changer.'