Chapter15: Inheritance

  Darek seemed to have been falling through the endless white expanse of the shattered dream for an eternity—and yet only for the span of a single breath. Time did not exist here; it was nothing more than a distant memory.

  Then it appeared: a tiny snake, its scales shimmering like liquid metal. It hovered motionlessly in front of him, yet a cold spark gleamed in its eyes that made Darek shiver. For an endless moment, they stared at one another. Then the snake shot forward—faster than thought, faster than lightning. Before he could even blink, it drilled straight into the center of his body.

  In disbelief, Darek felt along his chest, searching for a wound, for blood—but there was nothing.

  “What… what happened? Where… where did it go?” he whispered, stunned.

  In the very next instant, it crashed over him.

  A pain that did not touch flesh, but cut far deeper—into what he was. It felt as though his soul were being hacked apart with glowing blades, layer by layer, fiber by fiber. Every fragment of his being was torn apart, burned, crushed back together, and shattered again.

  There was no rhythm, no pause for relief—only an endless crescendo of agony. No breath. No thought. Only pain. Only now.

  Every breath became a stab, every thought a splinter ripping open his consciousness. Soon he could no longer think—only feel.

  The world collapsed into a single scream. His eyes bulged in their sockets, the veins in his neck swelling as a sound tore from his throat that no longer sounded human. It was a tortured plea for an end, for death itself—and yet no release came.

  In the timeless void, the pain condensed into an ocean, and he sank into it. Minutes, hours, years—he could not tell. There was only suffering, so absolute that everything else faded away. Darek existed only as a vessel for torment.

  And then—just as suddenly as it had begun—it stopped.

  He hung there, breathing heavily in the silence, the echo of agony still burning through every fiber of his existence. A voice resounded through the void, alien and yet familiar:

  “This is my legacy.”

  With a violent jolt, Darek shot upright. His body trembled, sweat streaming down his forehead. He gasped for air as though he had been torn from the flames themselves and desperately clutched at his chest, which still seemed to glow. He stared at his hands in disbelief, struggling to gather his thoughts.

  And in the midst of the shock, he felt it: his Soulbound had absorbed the greatest part of that pain.

  If it hadn’t been for my ability, there would have been nothing left of me—no soul, not even an empty shell.

  A shiver ran down his spine as he thought of how narrowly he had escaped death within the dream. Darek could not tell whether what had happened had been reality or dream—or whether the two had long since become inseparably intertwined. But one thing was unmistakable: his entire existence had changed. His body—no, even his soul itself—felt different, foreign, and yet new.

  Then a voice spoke:

  “So you survived after all, hahaha! You’re really something. Through our Soulbound, I felt how your soul was literally torn apart and reforged countless times. Normally, after a change like that, you’re no longer the same person—you’re someone new… but what exactly that means, even I don’t know.”

  Startled, Darek spun around, and for the first time since waking, a sense of clarity washed over him. He looked left and right—but there was no one there.

  “Mhhhpf… it’s me, Iris. You must still be confused.”

  Darek’s eyes widened.

  Iris… so it was real. All of it really happened. It all feels so surreal… My Soulbound… it can actually open gates into the dreamworld.

  He spoke aloud, his voice unsteady. “So it was all real… Iris, what happened to you in the end?”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Iris replied calmly. “I did die, but that’s not a problem for us dream beings. I finally escaped that forgotten dream… thank you, Darek.”

  “So you really have no idea what that was at the end, do you?” Darek asked.

  Iris fell silent for a moment, then his voice returned. “He said it was meant for me. His legacy.”

  Iris continued evenly:

  “After conquering a dream, different things can remain behind—objects, abilities, or pacts. You could call it the dreamer’s reward. It can be anything drawn from the depths of the dreamworld: authority over parts of the dream planes, the power to bind lost dreams, or—if you’re truly skilled—even the ability to preserve memories or powers that would otherwise be lost forever in other dreams. A true treasure vault.”

  Darek remained silent for a long time, his thoughts spinning chaotically. Finally, he murmured:

  “I’ve never heard of a legacy before… but it seems like it’s now bound to my soul.”

  He placed a hand over his chest. Something within pulsed—quietly, barely perceptible, but undeniably there. Like a second heartbeat, not his own, and yet the same.

  “Treasure vaults full of pain and suffering…” Darek muttered. A name echoed in his thoughts.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Even so, this dreamworld ability is not to be underestimated… A legacy from Sorus Serphira Potifera—the greatest hero of Serphira and its first king.

  And what was this entire dream really about, and why had it been forgotten? There wasn’t much known about his death either… From the looks of it, it had been his brother… and there was more. Darek pressed his hands to his temples, trying to recall every detail. An organization, or something like that… one he had joined and been corrupted by… by… what was it again?

  Then it came back to him, and his eyes widened with realization.

  Yes—exactly. A tyrant. Again. First in the prophecy, and now in his death as well. What did all of this mean?

  For a brief moment, he thought the pain was returning. His limbs trembled, as though the embers of the dream still burned within him.

  Then—a vibration from the nightstand.

  Suddenly, the ringing of his alarm clock tore him back into reality. With a weary sigh, he pushed himself upright.

  How… how late is it? Darek thought, still drenched in sweat, as he glanced at the clock on the nightstand.

  “7:23. Well, at least I’m already awake and won’t be late for school…” he said, pulling his mouth into a crooked grin. “Let’s just forget this whole dream and legacy thing for now. Today I need to lose in order to get that sleeping-in ticket—or whatever Carris called it.”

  Darek sniffed his armpits and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “But first, a shower. I really need one. And you, Iris—what’s your plan now that you’ve finally escaped that forgotten dream after 150 years?”

  “My plan… I’d like to meet others of my kind, but for now I’ll just let things flow. It’ll happen sooner or later. I’m not pressed for time. Besides, at the moment, I’m—how should I put it—trapped.”

  “What? Trapped? How?”

  “The dream dissolved, and since there was no other dream nearby, I was pulled into your soul. Thanks to our pact, we already had the necessary connection, hehe.”

  “W–wait… what does that mean, Iris?”

  “I currently exist only as a voice within you,” Iris added quietly. “No body, no eye—just consciousness. For now, I’ll have to stay here. Once I regain enough strength and our bond reaches the second stage, I’ll be able to manifest within your Soul Mirror. Until then, I’m just an echo in your soul. And honestly, I can’t wait. Right now, all I see is black. Zero. Nothing. Maybe I can see through your eyes when you use one of my abilities, but I don’t really have the strength for that yet. We’ll try later. From the second stage onward, I should be able to do that on my own—and by the third stage, I should have enough power to move around outside as well.”

  Darek nodded slowly. It all sounded absurd—and yet he felt, deep within, that every word was true.

  So that’s what it’s called—a Soul Mirror… interesting. And by second stage, he probably means the awakening I felt with my pillow. Yes, exactly. It manifested right after that as well, Darek thought thoughtfully.

  “Well, if that’s all, I can live with it.”

  ???

  After showering, Darek set off for school. As usual, he took his bike, which was chained up in front of the house, wheeled it out of the small front garden, swung onto it, and rode down the street. He noticed that the plants around him looked much brighter today. Every blade of grass, every leaf seemed to carry a gentle, unfamiliar glow, giving him a feeling he couldn’t quite place—as if the world itself had grown more intense.

  Weird… is it just me, or are the plants actually glowing today?

  After about ten minutes, he passed through Plaza Solara—the busiest part of town, filled with shops and places to hang out. The city’s center. There was no way around it; all of Solara’s life flowed through here. The scent of freshly baked rolls mingled with the hum of hover scooters gliding through the streets. Voices, music, laughter—Solara felt more alive than ever.

  But the plants weren’t the only thing Darek noticed. Society itself seemed to be adapting faster than expected. The bang—or rather, the Anima Resonance, as the media now called it—had happened over a week ago. And yet, looking at the people, it seemed as though things had always been this way. If one believed humans sat atop the food chain because of intelligence, one was mistaken. It wasn’t intellect, nor strength, nor endurance. It was adaptability.

  People with all kinds of abilities were now working in jobs that suited their Soulbounds. Darek rode past “FlySharp,” one of the most popular fashion stores for young people, and glanced inside. An employee stood near the register, automatically folding every disordered T-shirt visitors had tried on or picked up.

  That’s probably some kind of telekinesis—but I doubt it works on anything other than T-shirts. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be working there.

  Darek had only looked away from the road for a moment when he suddenly slammed on the brakes.

  “Ahhh, fuck!” His bike screeched to a halt just in front of a long line of people, so absorbed in their conversation that they hadn’t even noticed him.

  “What’s going on here? What are they all lining up for?”

  “Hey! Get to the back of the line!” a guy further down shouted.

  Darek followed the line with his gaze to the front. “EagleEat”—a restaurant that normally didn’t do very well.

  What’s everyone doing here? he wondered, overhearing two girls talking to his left.

  “What do you think his Soulbound is exactly?”

  “Either a ladle or his frying pan. And you?”

  “I bet it’s his chef’s jacket. Nobody can look that good and cook that insanely well without drawing in the entire city.”

  Ah, that’s how it is. Should’ve guessed. The chef got a kitchen-optimized Soulbound. He’s probably making a fortune now. Well, good for him. I definitely have to try the food sometime.

  Yeah… that would be the perfect opportunity to use my sleeping-in ticket. Getting up without that annoying alarm and coming here for breakfast while everyone else is stuck at school… but first I have to win it.

  Darek got back on his bike, rode around the line, and continued another eighteen minutes to school. He locked his bike at the student racks.

  ???

  At the sports field, Ben was already waiting for him, running toward him with a cheer.

  “I passed! I don’t know how, but the written exam for people without a Bound wasn’t that hard!” he shouted, grinning broadly.

  Darek raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you really studied. I’m not used to seeing you like this.”

  Ben rubbed his nose sheepishly. “Yeah, haha. You’ve gotta make sacrifices if you want to aim high. I owe it all to Socrates’ tutoring!”

  Darek blinked. “…You’re getting tutoring from your parrot? You’re insane, Ben.”

  “Thanks!” Ben said proudly, laughing. “And what about you? Still planning to lose today?”

  “Yeah, definitely,” Darek replied with a short smile. But in his thoughts, things looked very different:

  Against those two snakes, my chances were terrible. I might’ve even died… The world is getting more dangerous. Without my Soulbound, I’d be dead already—and even with it, I almost was. Sleeping in sounds nice, but being helpless pisses me off just as much.

  Well… let’s get the ticket. Then we’ll take training more seriously. I’ve even got Iris with me now.

  Darek stood motionless on the sports field as Carris addressed the crowd in a stern voice:

  “One of the students was observed misusing his Soulbound in public and is therefore being suspended. He was seen using his pen Soulbound to forge documents. In addition, he faces a prison sentence of four years. Let this be a warning.”

  A murmur rippled through the students. Many were shocked—some outright horrified. Darek could hardly believe what he was hearing. Shaking his head, he whispered to himself:

  “No… no, please… this can’t be real…”

  Carris raised his hand and called out decisively:

  “Opponent disqualified!”

  Darek felt his heart race. Stunned. Confused. Alarmed. He had never even considered this scenario. So absurd, so unlikely—and yet it had happened.

  Carris finished:

  “Darek advances to the final!”

  Fuck.