Nightmare Realm Summoner

Alex's eyes fluttered. A clammy chill pressed against his cheek, not quite cold enough to be uncomfortable but sufficient to pull him from what felt like it had been an incredible rest. Sensation slowly returned to his body as the tips of his fingers and toes tingled.

The world around him came into focus. Around him stretched a familiar lake. It was calm and dark, a still mirror reflecting the shimmering heavens above and broken only by the presence of the marble rising from beneath it.

That and the assorted building materials scattered across its beautiful surface like trash. Alex's nose scrunched and he blinked heavily. He pressed a hand against the surface of the lake and pushed himself upright.

"The hell?" Alex muttered as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. It felt like he'd just woken up from a year-long nap. Every single part of him felt.. different. Refreshed. Every single old ache and pain that had lingered within him had evaporated, leaving behind nothing more than a memory. Even his mind felt like the cobwebs had been brushed away from it so it could be born anew.

Then his eyes caught on something new.

His soul was not the same as he had left it.

Rising up behind his marble basin was an enormous hand. Memories flooded back into his mind in a flash. This was very same hand that had blocked the plummeting star. It remained behind the basin, its fingers curled around the area that unprocessed misty energy would gather to wait for Alex to process it.

There were no traces of the water that made up Alex's soul within the inside of the arm anymore. The hand was now made purely of marble. The individual bricks that made it up had merged together into the smooth, seamless beauty of a sculpture made by a master craftsman. And, glistening upon its palm, was a single mote of starlight.

But that wasn't all. Something about the hand felt… odd. Like it was more than a mere part of his Mind Palace. Alex's brow furrowed. The sensation was so odd that his mind couldn't even properly process it.

It was almost as if he could feel the stone hand within his mind.

No. That isn't it. It's not just the hand.

He could feel the stars in the sky — and the pitch black cube that twisted in the centerpiece of its purple canvas. He could feel the pillars that rose around his soul. The gate to his domain, the materials scattered across his lake, the ones that had still yet to rise from beneath it.

He could feel his whole Mind Palace. He'd always known it was connected to his body. It was a part of him, after all. But this was different. It wasn't just an awareness of the Mind Palace's presence.

This felt more like another limb.

"Whoa," Alex said. His brow furrowed. "What is this? What happened?"

"You actually managed it," Berith said from behind him. And, for the first time, there was genuine awe in the demon's voice.

Alex spun toward Berith. He couldn't keep a question from spilling forth from his mouth. "Managed what? What did I do?"

"You managed to fully form your Visualization," Berith said. The heavy white chains that bound the demon rattled as he shook his head. "I can't see it — but I can see that marble hand. It is proof. You have begun to shape your Mind Palace. Can you feel it?"

"Yes," Alex said. "What does it mean?"

For a moment, it almost seemed that Berith would answer. Then he let out a rumbling laugh. "I don't think so, little thief. You've gotten more than enough out of me today. I think it will be far more enjoyable to watch you try to figure this out yourself. It won't be hard, I can promise you that. The most difficult part of Visualizations is not using them. It is surviving them."

"Well that isn't ominous at all," Alex muttered, casting a glance back at the marble hand rising over his basin.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Berith snorted. "I'll give you a free piece of advice, but only because you're about to ruin something I've been looking forward to for some time. Forming a Visualization as strong as the one you just created takes time and energy. A lot of it."

Alex's brow furrowed. "How is that—"

Then his eyes went wide.

Time.

How long have I been in my soul?

"Shit!" Alex exclaimed.

He threw himself free of his Mind Palace with a panicked thought. Berith's echoing laughter followed him all the way back to the outer world.

Alex's eyes snapped open as he drew in a sharp breath. He sat near piles of rubble, across the ground from Finley. The merchant had his chin supported in the palm of a hand and his elbow against his knee. He drummed his fingers against his chin, eyes staring off into space.

His monsters still stood around them, studiously standing watch to make sure nobody tried anything while Alex was passed out.

"How long?" Alex barked out, scrambling to his feet.

Finley's chin slipped from his palm as he nearly tripped over himself — a rather impressive feat to accomplish whilst sitting down. He scrambled to his feet and brushed the dust off his pants.

"A few hours," Finley replied. "Six, maybe?"

Shit. That's way too long. I wasn't planning on spending so much here!

"We have to go back," Alex said, striding past Finley toward the Starstone. "The region boss might have attacked already! Damn it. I didn't think it would take so long!"

"It normally doesn't. What did you do?" Finley asked as he hurried to catch up with Alex. "Forming a Visualization generally isn't a very long process. It's a passing of a gift. What did you do?"

"Doesn't matter right now," Alex replied as he called his monsters back into their Spatial Mirrors.

The Starstone was already connected to his town, so returning wasn't going to be an issue. But with the amount of time that had passed… there was a chance that the Region Boss had already attacked.

Trepidation flooded Alex as he reached out to the glowing white meteor and pressed a palm against it. The Starstone had been connected to his own town by the Astral Map, so the return trip was already arranged so long as something still stood to return to.

Cold, wet energy flowed against Alex's palm like he'd plunged it into a river. Prickly energy pierced into his veins and traveled up toward his chest as the air before him lit up with white light.

Letters sliced into it in broad, sweeping strokes.

Towntown Starstone

Connected Hub Cities:

Mirrorwane

Alex winced. Valley Ford was gone from the list. That confirmed the city had been destroyed… but Mirrorwane was new. He'd never actually set out to give his town a proper name, but it seemed that someone — or the System itself — had made one for him.

There was no doubt that it was his town. There weren't any others that would have had a connection to Towntown. All things considered, Mirrorwane was a pretty badass name. And, more importantly, it meant that his town still stood.

Alex let out a relieved sigh. That didn't slow his pounding heart by so much as a beat. He shot a look back to Finley. Even if the town still stood, that didn't mean it wasn't under attack. They had to get back.

"We're leaving," Alex said sharply. "Ready?"

Finley gave him a hurried nod. "Yes. Not like I have anything else to—"

The rest of his sentence was lost in a flash of light and energy as Alex grabbed him by the wrist and activated the Starstone. Roaring magic swallowed the both of them.

When it faded, they were gone. Towntown was empty.

***

The ground drove up into Alex's feet and tried to knock his heart up from his throat. He stumbled forward, a faint pop reverberating to his right as Finley materialized beside him. It only took a single glance for Alex to verify that they had returned to his town. It had a rather unique look, after all. There weren't many places with a mixture of impressive looking buildings surrounded by crumbling cabins in forest clearings.

Alex let out a relieved breath. "We made it on—"

An explosion ripped through the air. Alex staggered as the shockwave from its blast tore through the town like the roar of a dragon. Fire coiled through the sky in the all-too-near distance.

The explosion was not alone. Several more followed after it, and among them was the ringing crack of lightning and clang of metal. The smell of ash and blood drifted into Alex's nostrils all too late. It was joined by an intense prickling sensation like a hive of ants had been released directly on the back of his neck.

Oh, shit.

A buzzing crackle twisted the air before Alex. Rhyss popped into existence before him, the Keeper's one-eyed face as impassive as always.

"We are under attack," Rhyss said. His voice was impressively calm for the situation. "Claire has taken emergency measures and is attempting to stall for time, but full control of the town remains with its owner. I would suggest acting before Mirrorwane is destroyed."

"I'm cursed," Finley said.

More thunderous roars tore through the air in the distance. Alex's eyes snapped in their direction. And, even though Rhyss had yet to provide any more information, he didn't need it. His senses were already telling him everything he needed to know.

The Region Boss had awoken.