Memory

It is an item enchanted with the rudimentary spellweave, allowing it to be disassembled into soul essence, stored within its master's soul, and later reconstituted as matter.^[2]

A Memory was described by Sunny as a Woven artifact imbued with a number of specific foundational enchantments. Although all Memories were created through Weaving, not all Woven items qualified as Memories.^[3]

A Memory contained an enchantment that allowed it to be stored within the soul of its master in the form of essence, an enchantment that allowed it to be reassembled from essence into matter, and an enchantment that allowed it to repair itself when dismissed, along with several additional foundational enchantments. The combination of these enchantments constituted a Memory. By learning and memorizing the patterns of these spellweaves, a sorcerer could create Memories of their own.^[3]

• Memories are created from Soul Essence but can assume physical form when summoned.^[1]
• They were destroyed at the moment of their owner's death.^[4]
• Physical contact was required to transfer a Memory.^[5]
• Memories are kept inside the Soul Sea and with a bit of time they can restore themselves there.^[1][6]
• Memories adjust themselves to accommodate the owner's body.^[7][8]
• Memories did not need to be sharpened (weapon types).^[9]

Once a Memory is dismissed, the essence used returns to the core of the Awakened that had summoned it. However, if it was too far away from them, the essence was simply wasted — unless the Memory had a special enchantment. The essence wasn't lost forever, as it would slowly accumulate inside the soul core until the peak capacity was reached once again. But this process took time.^[10]

https://shadowslave.fandom.com/wiki/File:Memory_formation.mp4 https://shadowslave.fandom.com/wiki/File:Summon_Memory.mp4

• Armor
• Charm
• Weapon
• Tool (Utility Memory)
• Garment

Armor-type memories typically had layers, which could be summoned and dismissed independently.^[11]

Charm is a rare type of Memory that took the form of a small accessory, most often an amulet or a talisman. Unlike weapons, armor, and tools, it had no practical value. However, charms made up for it by possessing unique and powerful enchantments.^[12]

Utility Memory is not as showy as armor and weapons but it is a foundation of an Awakened's arsenal.^[13]

Garments were a rare Memory type which were generally less useful but could be worn alongside armor-type Memory.^[14]

Lineage memories are a type of memory that can be consumed.^[15] It can impart Awakened with unique qualities or attributes that, unlike the usual ones, are hereditary. They could be passed down through a bloodline.^[16][17][18]
Note: Possessing a lineage of a certain divine creature (Divine Lineage) doesn't mean their aspect has to be related to it as well. For example Sunny and Noctis.

See also: List of Lineage Memory

Main article: Shard Memories

Shard Memory weaves were distinct from ordinary one, possessing unique qualities like the ability to remain in existence after the owner's death, or the hidden purpose of manifesting the Oath Keys after all seven had been gathered in one place.^[19]

A magical quality of a Memory.^[1]

Each Memory had unique enchantments, so one couldn't draw parallels between them and extrapolate how their weaves produced the desired effects. However, there were magical qualities that all Memories shared.^[20]

• Ability to be summoned and dismissed^[20]
• Ability to repair themselves unless completely destroyed^[20]
• Connection to the owner's soul^[20]
• All memories had a name^[21]

There was one other thing that all Memories contained and not a part of the pattern of ethereal strings. A bright ember that served as the anchor and nexus for the strings, a point around which the whole pattern was structured. Memories of the first Tier had one, and those of the higher Tier had several.^[20]

All Memories shared these traits because they came from only two sources: the Nightmare Spell and the Awakened themselves.^[22]

• Flight enchantments were extremely rare and tremendously valued. Only Masters or Saints were able to purchase decent flight Memories.^[23]
• Resistance to mind attacks was the second-rarest form of protection, right after resistance to soul damage.^[24]

Aura enchantments were an extremely rare type of enchantment. Unlike the usual enchantments, they affected not only the wielder but everything that fit their target criteria in a certain radius.^[12]

• Each Memory had a certain capacity when it came to accommodating enchantments.^[25]

• The more powerful an enchantment was, the more burden it put on the weave. To withstand it weaves needed to be moored to anchors, each serving as a nexus for the strings of essence. The anchors used soul shards. The more was used, the higher the Tier of the Memory was, and the higher its capacity. The Rank of the shards also played a role.^[25]
• Apart from the capacity, weaves also had a threshold of intensity they could withstand. Powerful enchantments put too much strain on the strings and the anchors, so, both the strings and the anchors had to be of a high enough Rank to endure it.^[25]

• Only the weakest of enchantments could be activated passively, relying on the Memory's own ambient soul energy, everything else would only function when saturated by the flow of essence from the wielder's soul.^[25]
• Not all Memories could accommodate all enchantments, regardless of whether they had enough capacity and tolerance.^[25]

• Some were simply not meant for each other. The name of the Memory hid the secret of its nature. The enchantment to be introduced cannot be in conflict with their natures.^[25]
• For example, one could not add an enchantment meant to destroy a Memory that was meant to protect.^[25]

• A rough estimate of a Memory's potency that is based on its source. Although Memories follow the same Soul Rank hierarchy, they are also divided into Tiers based on the Classes of the Nightmare Creatures that left them behind.^[1]

• A Memory of an Awakened Tyrant (who possessed five Soul Cores) would be categorized as a Tier-Five Awakened Memory.^[1]
• A Memory of a Fallen Devil (who possessed four Soul Cores) would be categorized as a Tier-Four Ascended Memory.^[1]

• An improvised way of differentiating Memories of different power levels within the same rank.^[26]
• The tier of a Memory dictates how many enchantments it could accommodate.^[24]

The ratio of obtaining high-rank Memories seems to be influenced by the power of the Nightmare Creatures defeated. Nephis observed that as they fight more powerful abominations, the frequency of the Spell bestowing Memories significantly decreases. She speculated that creating high-rank items, such as Supreme Memories, requires substantially more of the mysterious resource the Spell uses, making the process more selective and frugal. She suggested that one Supreme Memory might be equivalent to ten thousand Awakened Memories in terms of the Spell's effort. This aligns with the rarity of high-rank individuals, as there are only three Sovereigns among millions of Awakened. Thus, high-rank Memories are exceedingly rare.^[27]

Three methods to alter a Memory:^[29]

• Altering an existing Memory to fit one's needs.^[29]

• Altering Memories granted to Awakened by the Spell was a rare skill even among enchanters of Valor.^[29]
• Only Sunny and Anvil are the known ones who can alter Memories granted to Awakened by the Spell.^[29]

• Creating a new Memory from scratch.^[29]

• This method requires using potent materials and high-rank soul shards.^[29]

• Creating a Memory that is bound to its wielder's soul.^[30] (Also refer to Forging of Shadowbound Relic)

Creating a Memory intended solely to enhance its wielder's power is generally ineffective. This is because such Memories are constrained by the limits of the user's Will, and even in the absence of those limits, simple enchantments cannot significantly alter the fundamental laws of the world. As a result, their effects tend to be negligible.^[31]

To overcome this, some Memories that aim to bend or influence the laws of existence are designed with deliberate limitations. These artificial limitations allow the Memory to exert a greater effect than it normally could, provided that specific conditions are met. By narrowing the scope of the Memory's influence, its power becomes more concentrated and capable of achieving greater impact within those defined parameters.^[31]

• The more unique Nightmare Creature one vanquishes, the greater the reward is. It will determine what Memories and Echoes one receives.^[32]
• Although there were Aspects that allowed a selected number of people to know what each enchantment of the memory was supposed to do, most Awakened simply had to rely on vague feelings and experimentation to unlock the full potential of their Memories.^[33]
• It was more difficult to incorporate the rudimentary weave into an object whose structure was more complex, greater in size, and heavier in mass.^[34]
• The strings of the Memories created by the Spell were made out of soul essence so the strings were of ethereal, silver light. However, the strings Sunny weaved were made from shadow essence, appearing entirely black. This caused the weaves of the Memories he modified to be a patchwork of light and darkness.^[35]
• To craft extraordinary weapons possessing mystical power, one needs valuable material that could sometimes substitute skill.^[36]
• The existence of a growing Memory is rare which was not received from slaying Nightmare Creatures but was obtained through Aspect Legacy Relics.^[37]
• Custom Memories were a luxury reserved for the private troops of the Valor clan due to work of the enchanters being expensive — each of the spent soul shards could have been used to strengthen the core of an Awakened soldier.^[38]
• The ability to store items within the soul was normally something only Supremes could accomplish, yet Memories granted that capability to all Awakened.^[3]

• List of Memories in the Novel