The Ultimate Awakener

Middle Of Nowhere

Elion could only hear the words coming from the dark figure’s mouth, which seemed like an endless space, and he couldn’t understand what the words meant.

What is this thing… It looks like I’m staring into an endless, dark space.

Elion wondered in thought. He was terrified to the bone. He couldn’t move, neither could he speak—not because he couldn’t speak, but because it felt like he had lost all sense of control.

In the next second, the altar lit up with dense, glowing radiance, and Elion felt a scorching, burning pain in his back. It felt as though the pain was moving through his veins.

His eyes gradually began to blur as he slowly started losing consciousness, but then he saw a floating screen midair. Very dark. The screen was somehow like a hologram, but within it, dark, flaming smoke dangled, emitting something extremely ominous.

On the dark, translucent screen, white glowing text suddenly appeared.

[Your Core has been awakened.]

[Special attributes: none.]

[Attribute title: Shadow God.]

[Current completed task: none.]

[Current shadow armies: none.]

Elion saw all the text in a haze of blueness. At the same time, the scorching pain intensified with every second, and in the next moment, his eyes clapped shut.

In the next second, Elion’s eyes rolled open, but his body felt heavy, as if he were pressed against something.

All he could see was whitish fog clouding his vision. He used the last urge of strength he had to rise from the ground, and when he did, he realized he was buried deep in snow.

What had happened? How did I get here, and what is that thing?

Elion’s eyes darted around as his heart thundered, different thoughts surging in.

Could I be dead?

He could remember what had happened—the dark figure he had seen, the screen, and the pain. He could feel everything vividly, but he never imagined that just by closing his eyes, he would end up here… in the middle of nowhere.

Elion darted his eyes around but couldn’t see the dark temple or anything else. The entire land was plain and snowy. Not even a single rock could be seen, unlike before, when towering icy mountains stood.

Elion remembered the burns on his back and the pain he had felt. He checked himself but noticed all the injuries were gone.

Yes, of course. The awakener’s mind is channeled into the Dream Realm, and that doesn’t stop them from getting injured.

He was stunned.

Elion walked a little further before his eyes caught sight of something—a glowing city that looked more like a castle from a distance. It was as though thousands of crystals were sparkling from every inch of its walls.

Could that be the castle?

Elion couldn’t fully confirm it. He could still end up getting himself into the wrong hands just like before, but then he decided to take the risk and move forward.

When he came closer, he finally got a clearer glimpse of what he had seen from a distance. It was indeed a paradise—something he had never seen in his entire life.

The castle stood tall with a massive gate planted firmly into the ground. The gate was closed, and Elion couldn’t see anyone outside. He was the only one standing in the freezing cold.

Elion walked closer to the gate, and that was when he saw an inscription etched into the door:

“The Castle of the Awakeners.”

Seeing this, Elion felt relieved. Indeed, he was at the right place—but he had one problem: how was he going to get in?

“If only I could get a stone,” he mumbled, darting his eyes around. But all he could see were piles of snow and massive walls surrounding the entire castle.

“Hello… Please, if anyone can hear me, can you open the door? I’m also an awakener, and I’m here to awaken my core!”

Elion raised his head toward the gate as he shouted. Maybe, if he was lucky enough, someone on the other side could hear him.

After a few seconds of silence that felt like forever, someone's voice sounded from the top of the towering wall, at the side watchtower of the wall.

“What did you say you are again?”

From the height the voice came from, Elion couldn’t see the person, but he felt relieved and happy that someone could hear him.

With excitement, he desperately replied, his tone rushed. “I’m an awakener. I’m here to awaken my core. I’ve been traveling for days and have met countless tragedies. Please, allow me in.”

Elion was already spilling the story of his life because he couldn’t afford the chance of being rejected from the castle.

“Are you sure you’re not part of those scavengers?” the man’s voice echoed above the towering fence.

“Yes, I swear I’m not,” Elion desperately replied.

The man was baffled. He didn’t expect Elion, who claimed to be an awakener, to deny being a scavenger—meaning he somehow knew about them.

Additionally, the man above the fence had doubts. He couldn’t afford to let a scavenger in, and secondly, Elion seemed too old to be an awakener. Most awakeners were less than thirteen years old, or exactly thirteen, depending on the severity of the spell illness.

“I will ask you one last question,” the man insisted from above the tower. “If you answer correctly, I will allow you in. If you fail, I will leave you out here to be devoured by shadow monsters.”

“Please, you have to help me…” Elion begged, the cold intensifying with every second.

“It depends on you,” the man replied. “If you are truly an awakener, then the answer won’t be hard for you.”