"Finally…"

He couldn't see — but he could feel.

The dirt beneath his hands was real.

REAL.

Asher couldn't hold his laugh. He couldn't.

He flipped over, lying on his back as his laughter echoed across the ruin around him.It wasn't joy. It was hysteria. It was freedom clawing its way out of his throat after years of silence.

"Finally… FINALLY!" he screamed, pounding the ground until his knuckles split.

He could sense them now — the warped outlines of beings converging on him, drawn by the sound.

But as long as it wasn't an awakened, it didn't matter.

And no Awakened would bother with a broken husk of stone like him.

"...Dahila," he whispered, voice trembling with something between rage and reverence.

At once, a low hum trembled through the air — the Cicada's Cry. The blade shimmered into existence beside him, orbiting slowly. The Aegis followed, drifting to his side like a loyal hound.

He rose. One trembling step.

A mad grin cut across his dirt-caked face.

An orb flickered alive before him.

[Long time, Asher. Your memories are... unpleasant.]

Asher laughed again — softer this time. "Oh, unpleasant doesn't even begin to cover it."

Then Dahila spun forward.

The first soldier fell before he even screamed. Flesh, sinew, and bone separated like mist. Then another. Then ten more.

Blood sprayed through the air like ink.

"Dahila!" Asher barked, his grin splitting wider. "Play a song."

[Haha... understood.]

[Audio Playing: "Dark Red" — Steve Lacy]

[You have slain a dormant human. Name: Unknown.]

[You have slain a dormant human. Name: Unknown.]

[You have slain a dormant human. Name: Unknown.]

....

[Your soul grows stronger.]

Asher felt the feeling of euphoria. His cores were been filled up. Overflowing even. Asher grew immobilised as he realised what was happening. He was becoming a devil.

[🎵Something bad is 'bout to happen to me🎵~]

[...Your soul is overflowing with power.]

[Your soul is taking shape.]

His body trembled. He could feel his soul splitting open and remaking itself.

[Your soul is complete.]

Asher exhaled, a ragged, half-mad sigh. The blood, the screams, the whispers — all of it flooded into him, filling every hollow part of what was once human.

Dahila spun tighter around him. The Aegis thrummed. Every mundane who dared to approach was either shredded by the blade or smashed aside by the shield.

Asher simply walked. He was blind, broken and drenched in blood, yet he grinned.

He grinned like a man who'd finally found peace in hell. Because none of this mattered anymore.

Not the illusions.

Not the pain.

Not the screams.

[🎵I don't know what, but I feel it coming🎵]

Asher's instincts screamed. His shield shuddered violently, the impact reverberating through his arms before rebounding with a metallic roar. The next blow sent him stumbling backward.

An Awakened.

The pressure alone told him that much. Heavy. Focused. Hungry.

He sensed another presence rushing in from behind. Without hesitation, he summoned Blight to intercept it. The air rippled as sparks of light burst forth.

That left the one in front.

Dahila still sang, maintaining the Cicada's Cry, so Asher couldn't wield her directly. But what need had he for a weapon? His body was a weapon.

He grinned, tilting his head slightly as another memory answered his call.

[🎵Might be so sad, might leave my nose runnin'🎵]

From his palm, something unfurled—a long, black chain slick with memory and malice. It slithered across the ground, rattling softly.

Memory: [Gaoler's Chain]

Memory Rank: Awakened

Memory Tier: I

Memory Type: Weapon

Memory Description:[Once, in a pit where sunlight never reached, a beast was bound. It clawed at the dark until its roar turned to silence and its skin to iron. The warden who forged its prison vanished long ago — but the chain remained, remembering the weight of all things that struggle to be free.]

Memory Enchantments: [Snag]

The enchantment was simple, once it stuck to someone it was extremely hard to remove. Perfect for Asher with his current body.

The Awakened halted, his breath ragged. "You… you're a Nightmare Spell carrier…"

Asher frowned, blind eyes staring through him. He could feel the man's contour shaking.

"Are you… taking a Trial right now? Which Nightmare is this?"

Asher didn't answer. His lips twitched. Words meant nothing here. Illusions lied. Voices deceived. The only truth that mattered was blood.

The Gaoler's Chain lashed out. It struck the man's arm with a metallic snap, embedding its barbs deep into flesh.

"I'm on your side!" the man gasped. "I'm trying to warn yo—"

Asher pulled. The chain screamed as it reeled him in. The Awakened stumbled forward, skin tearing, armor groaning.

A fallen mundane blade floated from the dirt, trembling as Asher's will gripped it. He caught it mid-air, thrusting it forward. The blade bit shallow into the man's chest—too weak to pierce through fully.

Blood splattered across Asher's hands.

"I—am trying to warn you… the future, it's—"

A second sword whistled through the air, driving cleanly through his throat. The man's words ended in a wet gargle.

[You have slain an Awakened human. Name: Unknown.]

[Your soul grows stronger.]

Without pause, Asher turned toward the backline. Blight hurled the corpse of the first Awakened into his companion, sending both sprawling. The survivor tried to recover, instincts sharp—an old soldier's reflexes—but Asher was already moving.

A mundane sword lunged at the man's eyes. He dodged—barely—only to feel Blight appear behind him.

One clean stab.

[You have slain an Awakened human. Name: Unknown.]

[Your soul grows stronger.]

Silence.

Only the song lingered, as Asher looked around him.

[🎵I just hope she don't wanna leave me🎵]

Asher exhaled, letting the tension bleed out of him. The battlefield was quiet now.

He looked skyward, though his shattered ruby eyes saw nothing.

The goal of the Nightmare… it was simple.

He understood it now.

It wasn't conquest. It wasn't vengeance.

It was escape.

Escape from this hell.

Survive the mist.