The Fall (4)

Auster came back to the Waking to the world and immediately found himself in a different location then the one he was in before going into the Nightmare.

The nearby soldiers ended up explaining where he was so he left after getting directions of where to go as he still had a son to look after. The world outside was more peaceful then he had left it.

It looked like humanity had done a great job holding back the Nightmare Creatures, that was a great indication that things where going well so he met with his son and things remained unchanging for him as he still led soldiers, occasionally when people got infected.

He even met other Dormant humans and exchanged memories, he did also form a connection with one individual who he'd call talented. A man who looked like he'd faced his fair share of hardships and his skill with a sword and Aspect was incredible.

***

[Welcome to the Dream Realm]

Summer came and he woke up in an unknown region without any knowledge of where he was, so he summoned his memories and killed Nightmare Creatures with skill and precision horned from his Nightmare and time in the Waking World.

He soon found a shelter and thought of the best way to go back to earth but there was nothing he could think of, not even his runes had changed or had the Spell told him he was in a trail, just that he was in the dream realm.

Darkness soon came and Auster watched from above a tree he had decided to rest from there he could see a fire a good distance away and what looked like humans getting ready to rest. He noticed they were naked but just assumed it was because they didn't have memories.

As he was about to close his eyes he saw one of them getting on all fours and going in another direction and as they left at frightening speeds the fire also seemed to grow weaker until it went out.

He still went to sleep as there wasn't much he could do, day came and he looked at the giant forest he was in, he left in search of a way out as he assumed he was sent here with a purpose similar to the first time.

So he left in the opposite direction of whatever those things which he saw were. Hours passed and he finally saw what looked like humans, they each held weapons though they looked ready to fight as the air between them was tense.

Auster though of waiting to see how things would go until he saw someone he knew. So he assumed them humans and came out of the tree he was behind.

"Hey, do any of you know how we ended up here?" He said while weaving his hand to show he meant them no harm.

A few seconds later the other person replied in what he assumed to be French, just like that they formed a party as luckily another one of them could speak more then 1 language.

So he acted as a translator and they stood together for a few weeks while meeting more people until they met an Oracle who told them of a Gateway and so they fought their way there and made it back to the Waking World.

Yet again they grew stronger and the guy he was with who he met in the Waking World had come to call himself Immortal Flame by saying it was his True Name, so I asked him on what t meant but he couldn't help.

A few years passed and more people were making it back to the Waking World and finding Gateways, but humanity was still being pushed back so they decided to go into a Seed and Ascend after talking with the Oracle they met a while ago.

***

They found themselves separated but managed to overcome and reach the rank of Ascended and by doing so they reached a realm of power greater then anything the Awakened could ever hope to reach.

Immortal Flame had ended up giving his Lineage to Auster in their Nightmare and this was what made it so they could all make it out. Decades passed and America had fell and so with it his friend Immortal Flame.

***

After 5 years he managed to become a Saint and reach a realm of power beyond anything that should have been possible. A year passed and he adopted a child of a friend who had gotten infected with the Spell, Nephis someone who he promised to take care of and his grandson who he had started to take care of once his father and mother passed in the 2NM.

Nephis always stayed home, always training and listnening to music, Adrian the young boy he adopted mostly just stayed in his room, training or practising dance as he was a fan of it while his grandson Leo followed him everywhere.

Auster always made sure that they trained hard for when they got infected by Spell. And tried his best to make sure they all went to school, only Adrain and Leo actually did.

Auster couldn't spend much time with them, but did provide them with everything they asked for as he was still busy in the Dream Realm setting up the region he was in to make it safer for Sleepers.

It was a region with that could be safe for a Dreamer to survive in, to dangerous for even the best Awakened survive depending on the year.

A few more years passed and Adrain got infected by the Nightmare Spell at 16 while both Nephis and Leo had yet to show any signs of being infected.