Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

[You have received a Memory!]

The Spell echoed in his mind, its voice somehow... excited. The sparks swirled into his body, then into his Soul, etching themselves deeply.

'This was the special item Leviathan was talking about!' Eirwen immediately understood.

Concentrating on his Soul and Runes, Eirwen summoned them. They shimmered into existence before his eyes, and he quickly directed them to the part of his Soul that contained his Memories.

If Eirwen wasn't so entranced, he might have noticed the beautiful boy's slightly confused expression, which mirrored Andromeda's, or the stupid grin painted across his own face.

A moment later, he finally found the Runes describing the Memory he had just obtained. His jaw nearly dropped as he saw the Rank.

'Divine?!' he shouted in his mind. Eirwen could clearly feel excitement and malice coming from another part of his Soul too, but he ignored it and examined the Runes closer.

Memory Name: Seraphic Visage

Memory Rank: Divine.

Memory Tier: V.

Memory Type: Tool.

Memory Description: [Seraphic Visage was forged by Bolrik the Runehammer as a relic to balance mercy and justice. It is said the mask was once worn by an angelic champion, Fayndrel, tasked with negotiating between warring factions of Heaven and Hell. Over time, its immense power became both a gift and a burden, for the mask amplified the wearer's emotions, threatening to overwhelm those who lacked the strength of Will.]

Memory Enchantments: [Trinity], [Sovereign's order], [Radiant Barrier], [Saint's Aura].

'Hell and Heaven? I know that Hell is the name of the Eighth Layer, but what is Heaven supposed to be? A literal Heaven like paradise?' he asked himself, hoping that Leviathan would offer some clarity.

Unexpectedly, he did just that.

'Heaven is the First Layer, and although it has the smallest population, don't let that fool you. They are the second strongest layer,' the countless voices explained.

Eirwen leaned back against the shelf, careful not to knock it over, and asked Leviathan another question. 'Then which layer is the strongest? I already figured these guys are fighting each other. I also think I understand where I was in the Trial.'

Leviathan didn't speak and waited for Eirwen to finish.

'Was I somewhere in the Underworld?'

'Excellent, child' Eirwen imagined Leviathan nodding, 'And your first question is meaningless. You don't have to worry about such matters'

With a sigh he went back to the Runes. He knew better than to argue with Leviathan. Eirwen still remembered just how easily he killed Marcel, the Saint from his first Trial.

Enchantment: [Trinity]

Enchantment Description: [Each face grants a unique power:

Wisdom: Grants Insight but can also simply corrupt its master through Corrupted knowledge.

Mercy: Mends wounds of everyone around its master, enemies included. Demons and Devils alike burn instead.

Wrath: Grants its master authority over fire and depths of the ocean. The more its master uses Wrath, the more the probability of him losing control.]

Enchantment: [Sovereign's Order]

Enchantment Description: [Its masters voice resonates with hellish authority, compelling others to listen and obey.]

Enchantment: [Radiant Barrier]

Enchantment Description: [Creates a barrier around its master that shields against impurity]

Enchantment: [Saint's Aura]

Enchantment Description: [the mask creates a sacred zone around its master.]

Enchantment: [A simple Mask]

Enchantment Description: [It's master can Will it to become a simple mask.]

Furrowing his brows, Eirwen sighed and closed the Runes. 'Good Memory, but I don't want to imagine how much Essence it will require. Probably completely unusable for me in combat right now.'

"Found anything you like, young man?" the old man asked, startling Eirwen and pulling him out of his thoughts. 'How did I not notice him approach?'

"Huh?" Eirwen raised an eyebrow, stepping back as he tried to figure out how to explain the situation. "I kind of did," he said, reaching behind his own back as if searching for something. Sparks manifested silently behind his back, hidden from view.

"What does this cost?" Eirwen asked, clearing his throat as he finally pulled the Seraphic Visage from behind his back. The porcelain mask, with three slightly merging faces seemed to absorb the dim light around it.

Eirwen put it on, and it took all of his strength not to fall to his knee as he felt something strange happening inside him. The Memory was binding itself to him, connecting on a deeper level.

Time seemed to freeze around him as the Memory began to merge with his Soul. 'Why was everything trying so hard to merge with my bloodydamn Soul?!'

A moment later, he looked up and breathed into the mask. On his skin, it didn't feel like he was wearing one at all, but instead, he felt something entirely different in his senses.

In his vision, he could sense the pressure radiating from those around him, while also absorbing fragments of knowledge about various things. It felt strange, as though his brain was being forcefully flooded with information, overwhelming his senses.

Power surged through him, and his emotions spiralled into pure chaos. It was as if kindness and anger were fighting and merging within him, both intense, but it was the anger that dominated.

He shook his head, pretending to adjust the mask, while he actually tried to shake off the overwhelming sensations before he collapsed, but it didn't help. The strange surge of power and the clash of emotions persisted, until he focused his mind on the [A Simple Mask] Enchantment. Only then did the storm within him start to calm.

Eirwen was now back to normal, his mind clear as he looked at the world through the mask. No more force-fed information, no uncontrollable emotions, and no more surging power. Everything felt calm again. His face was wet with sweat and paler than usual for a second. Fortunately, it was obscured by the mask, so no one noticed the weird process happening within him. 'I will have to check my Soul Sea later and see if anything changed'

"Oh this?" The wrinkled man closed his eyes and leaned onto a cane that appeared from God knows where.

With a loud, exaggerated laugh, he continued, "I don't really know the prices, hahaha."

He looked over to his nephew, "How much is this one Seraphiel?"

'So his name is Seraphiel? Seraphiel... Seraph? Is this a coincidence, Leviathan?' he asked in his mind, but received no answer. Eirwen scoffed internally and turned his gaze to Seraphiel, who looked back at the three of them with a poker face.

"I don't know," he shrugged, causing the old man to laugh again.

Eirwen, however, didn't find it funny at all. He rolled his eyes behind the mask, silently irritated.

Wiping a tear from his old eye, the man looked up at Eirwen and waved him off. "It's on the house then. Would you be interested in any other Mem-"

Before the grandpa could finish, Eirwen grabbed another mask from the shelf for Andromeda. He took off the black watch from his wrist and tossed it towards Seraphiel. The mask he grabbed was a simple black half-mask adorned with stars and various celestial bodies, with only two slits for eyes and a small sharp arrow flowing down along the nose.

Without another word, Eirwen left the boutique with Andromeda. He didn't want to spend any more time there. Not only had the grandpa begun to annoy him, but he also felt an unsettling unease whenever he was near the two of them.

"We should've asked for his name," Andromeda said quietly as they walked toward Eclipse.

Eirwen scoffed as he bumped into someone, pushing past them with ease, leaving the person stunned. "We aren't going to meet them ever again anyway," he said, his grip tightening on Andromeda's wrist as he moved through the crowd.

Now that they were deeper into the Middle Zone and closer to Eclipse, they started to see the truly weird stuff.

The people here seemed more dangerous and seasoned, some wore military-like uniforms, others looked as luxurious as Eirwen himself, while the rest appeared, well, just normal.

Since there were other's wearing armour Memories or masks, no one seemed to mind Eirwen and Andromeda wearing one too. They actually received less stares now, since Eirwen's handsome face was covered. Actually, nearly everyone was handsome here, but Eirwen always had to stand out.

Most of the people this deep into the zone were Awakened and Masters, mixed with some Dreamers and -apparently- even one or two Saints.

On their way, one particular stall caught his attention as they passed by. The bearded man behind it stood next to what appeared to be a giant scorpion, its sharp, poisonous tail curling over a cup. With a nod, the man signalled the scorpion to release a droplet of poison into the cup, turning the liquid inside to a brownish colour.

"Is this supposed to be alcohol for Awakened?" Eirwen asked aloud, his curiosity piqued. Andromeda glanced over, but after a brief moment, she lost interest and turned her gaze away. It was clear she wasn't really interested in any kind of substances.

Eirwen also wasn't one to get drunk or high, but he was kind of curious about what the bearded man was doing with his scorpion Echo.

Unfortunately for the bearded man though, Eirwen's curiosity for the fighting pits was much stronger, so he kept walking toward his destination.

His interest in the pits stemmed from a desire to test his strength against others. But there was another, more primal reason, he simply loved fighting and the sight of blood.

'-And then when they get curious about my Rank, I'll reveal that I'm merely a Dreamer,' he fantasized with a grin, almost drooling at the thought.

He could also learn more about other Spell carriers, how they fought, how they acted, and who was who. The more information he gathered, the better. Strangely, Eirwen found himself more focused on fighting other humans than on Nightmare Creatures. It might have also been because of Gale. Whenever they practiced, Gale always mostly focused on how to fight against humans. Yes, they did used to hunt Dormant Beasts before Eirwen even started his first Trial, but still.

And while he would learn new things about others, they wouldn't learn anything about him. With the mask on, no one would be able to tell who he truly was. His Aspect Ability remained unreadable, but if his eyes were destroyed, he'd be in serious trouble.

'I will just fight with my bare fists and try to play around my Flaw like Gale tried to show me,' Eirwen concluded as he finally saw the gigantic dark-violet six-story building.

The heart of the Middle Zone, Eclipse, the biggest club in two worlds.