(NARRATION) Grimacing, Nathaniel backed away in fear.
Unbeknownst to him, the Slaying Blade sent a joyful message into the Shadows.
“MASTER!
I have slain that odious Avatar belonging to your sister!
Are you satisfied with my contribution to your great Sea?!” The Slaying Blade expected praise.
It expected recognition.
It expected reunion.
But instead, a terrible and ferocious hiss echoed from the shadows.
“Foolish wretch… you dare decide what will please me?” The Slaying Blade trembled in primal horror.
Its response came out broken and uncertain—but Shadow God paid no attention.
The descent had already begun, and so reality itself had begun to acknowledge his intent.
Panicking, the Slaying Blade abandoned its physical form and retreated into Nathaniel’s shadow, attempting to hide from its furious master.
Nathaniel, meanwhile, did not fully understand what the blade was doing, but its retreat told him everything he needed to know.
“Spell… what do I do!” he hissed.
“We’re done here!
Appraisal!
Anything!” All that met him was a cruel and indifferent silence.
“Damn it!
Is this because I called Weaver a cheap version of Kran?!” He dropped to his knees, bowing his head in sheer desperation and decided to do some good old fashioned bootlicking.
“I will never slander Weaver again!
My only agenda will be to sing his praises!
HAIL WEAVER!” Still no response, and when he looked down, he realized he was kneeling in a pool of golden ichor, aka the Dragon’s blood.
…The blood of War God.
He gulped loudly and trembled as he recalled the ending of Sunny’s Nightmare, namely his offering to Shadow God.
Mulling over the situation, he looked at the darkening expanse of the mountains and saw that the shadows were only continuing to grow darker.
Looking down at the flowing river of free-to-claim Divine Lineage, he gritted his teeth.
He cupped his bloodied hands together and took in a handful of the warm and soothing golden ichor.
After examining it, he closed his eyes and took a heavy breath.
“Here goes nothing… bon…ap…” He decided to cease speaking and then drank the blood greedily.
As he feasted upon the blood of War God’s avatar, he felt his body shudder terribly, and as it did, he felt a searing agony spread through his body.
Collapsing onto the ground, Nathaniel let out an agonized scream and turned on the ground in complete and utter agony.
“AGGGHHHH!” Screams filled the vast and imposing chamber.
Nathaniel screamed once more from the deepest parts of his being and scratched at his skin.
“Ah, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it HURTS!” His flesh twisted in strange and terrible ways, his muscles felt as if they were on fire, and he felt as if his brain was being tossed around like a basketball inside his head.
Bile escaped his throat as he threw up everything he had eaten, and urine followed as he could not control his bodily functions.
Screams of agony continued to tear his throat apart, and tears streamed down his face.
“Stop… stop… stop…” Desperation flared as he wished and prayed that the pain would end.
His eyes barely managed to glimpse the lands before him, and they were now almost completely swallowed by shadows.
He turned his body just barely and looked at the lands that were now consumed almost entirely by darkness.
Then, in the distance, he saw a massive shadow colossus rise above the mountains.
Its terrible and shifting head turned, and what met his eyes were two white suns burning with the Flames of Divinity.
It was breathtaking.
It was harrowing.
It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and the most terrifying.
It was so impossibly incomprehensible that he felt his mind coming undone with each passing second.
Then he screamed once more and scratched at his cheeks with a feverish desire to gouge out his eyes and rip his brain from his head.
Then he began to laugh like a mad man and continued to sink hin nails into his cheeks, drawing more and more crimson blood.
While his mind was coming undone, and while his body was undergoing a harrowing and terrible process of change, a soft and unyielding voice echoed through the vast chamber, managing to overcome his pained screams.
[…You have consumed the Blood of a God.] [One that you have slain no less.] [You have incurred the Fury of Shadow God.] [The gods revile you and wish upon you death.] As the voice of the Spell sounded, within the body of the suffering Aspirant a vast fog began to form.
[You have begun the process of assimilating a lineage.] [You have stolen the Blade of Death.] [Your treachery has been witnessed by a Great Old One.] [The Fool stirs from his imprisonment.] [Aspirant Connor!
‘He’ sends you a blessing from beyond this realm.] Nathaniel felt a strange shift occur from within the depths of his soul, and as he did, a vast and ancient castle took form.
[You have successfully received and assimilated a Sefirot!] The terrible shadows before the Aspirant’s eyes began to disappear, and all that he could see before everything was gone was a pair of furious and ancient eyes looking at him with contempt.
Then before his eyes a vast and majestic curtain manifested into reality.
Then its red sheets unfolded, and from them a stream of strange energy began to enter him.
[The Curtain has unfolded!] [Aspirant!
You have been given the Sequence 9 Characteristics for the Fool Pathway!] [Aspirant!
You have been given the Sequence 9 Characteristics for the Error Pathway!] [Aspirant!
You have been given the Sequence 9 Characteristics for the Door Pathway!] “What…” Nathaniel had barely managed to regain consciousness after the terrible effects of looking upon the visage of a god, so he could barely process what was happening.
The Nightmare Spell, however, was not done.
[Child of Mysteries, receive your boon!] [You have received the right to claim the title of Lord of the Mysteries!] [You have successfully assimilated the Lineage of War God!] [You have stolen Shadow God’s blade!] Everything before Nathaniel’s eyes became undone, and the triumphant and excited voice of the Spell sounded once more.
[Wake up, Connor!
Your nightmare is over.] [Prepare for appraisal…] *** Nathaniel found himself in a space between dream and reality.
It was an endless black void illuminated by a myriad of stars.
Between those stars, countless strings of silver light were woven into a beautiful and inconceivably complex net, forming various nexuses and constellations.
Nathaniel stirred in his reprieve and looked at the breathtaking and resplendent sight.
“It’s over… it’s really over…” He wanted to weep, however he felt numb.
The agony he had experienced still persisted through him, and he could barely feel any triumph.
The voice of the Spell then sounded within the vast plane, in a soothing and gentle voice: [Aspirant!
Your trial is over.] [A proud slave braved through the vast castle belonging to a god’s avatar.
In his treachery he allied himself with a Fated Prince meant to destroy the Empire of the god’s avatar.
In his treacherous avarice and insatiable need for power, the proud slave took the Blade of Death with his cunning and treachery.
In the final hour he made a terrible and vile plan to slay the only person that had shown him kindness and plotted to take his life.
With terrible cunning he allowed the Fated Prince to take the front while he cowardly awaited an opportunity to strike.
Once he got it he slew the Divine Avatar and in turn committed a genocide upon countless innocent and terrible people.
His terrible greed didn’t stop there as he decided to slay that same Fated Prince that had helped him.
In the last moments of the Nightmare he decided he didn’t have enough and so he invoked the name of Weaver and drank the blood from the Divine Avatar.
This act was noticed by The Fool, and even while imprisoned by ????, he took pity upon the boy and gave him ‘His’ blessing.] “Okay… was I really that treacherous?” [You have defeated 30,777 dormant humans.] [You have defeated 2,877 awakened humans.] [You have defeated 107 ascended humans.] [You have defeated a transcendent human: Eurys of the Nine.] [You have become a blessed of The Fool.] [You have achieved the impossible!] “Holy shit… I’ve killed almost forty thousand people!” The horror of such a thing was, well, there were no words he could really use.
They were illusions, sure, but still… committing genocide on such a scale, even in a Nightmare, was rather chilling.
The Spell allowed him to bask in his treachery for a bit before continuing: [Final appraisal: glorious.
Your treachery and cunning are truly magnificent and terrifying.] “I get it already, I’m treacherous, so just drop it will you!” Nathaniel would have been as red as a cherry if he had a physical body in this strange plane.
The Spell seemed to halt for a moment before continuing, and now Nathaniel’s eyes would have been wide open.
[Dreamer Connor, receive your boon!] [You have been bestowed a True Name: Host of Mysteries] Nathaniel frowned inwardly.
“I already know I’m a vessel, so couldn’t I have received a better True Name?
How about The Fool?
Or maybe the Second Coming of Mysteries?
Oh who am I kidding, you don’t give a fuck.” Nathaniel pouted and listened to the Spell.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve.
Evolve Aspect?] “Yes…” [Dormant Aspect Child of Mysteries is evolving…] [New Aspect acquired.] [Aspect Rank: Divine.] Nathaniel breathed a sigh of relief.
[Aspect Name: Linchpin of Reality.] Nathaniel raised a brow.
After repeating the name over and over again in his head, he smiled with satisfaction.
“Now that sounds cool.” He then silently summoned his runes.
Aspect: [Linchpin of Reality].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Description: [You are a mere vessel housing one that should not be named.
And yet you so desperately battle for freedom.
These efforts have rewarded you with many boons and wondrous abilities… however tempting fate will only get you so far.] “Finally I wasn’t called treacherous.” He looked down at the Innate Ability.
Innate Ability: [Attuned Being].
Ability Description: [Though you do not belong to this world, it is deeply fascinated by your strange and inexplicable existence.
The world may choose to assist you in your treachery.] “Ugh, can this bloody thing hear me or something?” Nathaniel shrugged and looked at the Innate Ability.
He would’ve loved to put his years of watching MatPat to the test and theorize what this ability could truly do, but his mind was still severely damaged.
The traumatic pain he felt still persisted across his body—even if he did not currently have one—so instead of getting lost in thought, he allowed his mind to relax and simply focused on reading what the Spell showed him.
Theorizing would come after he had managed to leave this place, but that seemed more like a dream, as the Spell wouldn’t stop talking.
[The First Seal is broken.] [Awakening dormant powers…] As soon as the Spell spoke those words, he felt something waking up inside of him.
With a startled cry, he clutched his chest and stared into the darkness, trying to understand what was happening.
The feeling was thankfully not painful, or even unpleasant, yet it was like nothing he had ever experienced.
It was as though his soul was being shaken awake, infused with strange new energy.
However, that energy did not come from some outside source.
Rather, it was coming from within, as though it had always been there, sleeping.
The energy filled every fiber of his being.
Nathaniel felt his emotions becoming clearer and sharper.
Then his body began to change too.
He felt as though a miniature star was burning in the center of his chest: waves of heat radiated outward, slowly reaching his stomach and shoulders, then his arms and legs, then his hands and feet.
Under that heat, his bones, muscles, organs, and blood vessels were being rebuilt and revitalized.
Nathaniel felt like he was being reborn.
He was becoming stronger, faster, healthier.
It was euphoric.
With each second, his transformation became more profound.
Then it moved upward, reaching his brain and finally his eyes.
Once his eyes fluttered open, however, he was still in the strange dark void, but now it was no longer dark—he could see a faint fog rolling down from the sky.
Nathaniel instantly felt his mind ache, and in the next moment his head began to throb as he heard a litany of strange and incomprehensible murmurs, each one scratching at the edges of his mind.
Then they reached deeper, then deeper still.
Gripping his head and gritting his teeth, Nathaniel tried to steady himself, but the murmurs only continued.
Then, almost as if a mute button had been pressed, they stopped.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a beautiful marble floor.
As he looked further into the distance, he saw a strange and eerie gray fog flowing through the vast emptiness of the outside world.
“This…” Nathaniel looked around and finally felt his body.
The feeling of his neck surprised him for a moment, and he quickly inspected it.
Thankfully, the wounds he had sustained in the Nightmare had remained where they belonged.
After he sighed in relief, he examined the entirety of the ancient castle.
After looking at it closely enough, he confirmed that this was indeed his Soul Sea.
After all, there was a shining orb of light floating in the circular roof of the castle.
“Could it be that Sefirah fused with my soul sea?” [Aspect Ability acquired.] [Aspect Ability Name: Ideal Change.] The Spell said softly, then continued: [You acquired an Attribute.] [You acquired an Attribute.] [You acquired an Attribute.] [You acquired an Attribute.] [One of your Attributes has evolved.] Instantly Nathaniel summoned his Runes: Name: Connor True Name: Host of Mysteries Rank: Dreamer.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Soul Fragments: [Pending/1000].
“Pending?” Nathaniel furrowed his brows and ignored it for now.
Then, as he looked at his Memories, he nearly fell over.
Memories: [Ivory Edge], [Ebony Edge], [Desecrated Right], [Proof of Struggle], [Traitor’s Garments], [Embittered Spirit], [Hungry Light], [Grace of War], [Ordinary Blade], [Forgiving Touch], [Unsaturated Fowl], [Night’s Call], [Song of Blasphemy], [Warden’s Burden], [Dream Caller], [Unrealized Passion]… The list of Memories continued for a long while, and after he finished counting, he had a total of sixty-one Memories!
“It was worth it!
I’m sorry everyone, but your deaths will not be forgotten…” He placed a hand over his heart and gave a moment of silence before continuing.
Echoes: — He grimaced slightly at the lack of Echoes.
After all, one would think that killing forty thousand people would give at least two or three, however Nathaniel wasn’t so lucky.
“Well, at least I got Memories.
That’s all I really needed.
I should be able to manage without Echoes.” Looking to the Attributes, his face fell.
Attributes: [Fated], [Flame of Divinity], [Vessel]… The first three Attributes were basically the same, unfortunately.
However, he was shocked to find that his [Mark of Divinity] had now evolved to its final stage: [Flame of Divinity].
Sunny had to become a Master before he got his, so the fact that he now possessed it would mean a myriad of benefits.
After all, having [Flame of Divinity] would grant its bearer more potent Soul Essence and other mystical effects.
Then he read the remaining Attributes: …[Tucked Tail], [Slaying Blade], [The Progress], [Blessed of The Fool].
“I beg your pardon?” His mouth went agape as he read the descriptions: [Tucked Tail] Attribute Description: “When running away from danger or thinking about running away from danger, you will grow swifter and more elusive.” “Alright, now I’m getting pissed.” Nathaniel pouted and turned to the remaining Attributes.
[Slaying Blade] Attribute Description: “You have stolen the Blade of Death.
It has now bonded itself to your shadow.
Though its myriad powers are sealed, they will slowly reveal themselves as you ascend.
This shadow will prove itself an invaluable… ally.” “Okay, so no helper?
Does it have a will of its own?
Will it even listen to me?” Nathaniel looked at his shadow, then remembered he was in the Castle and, well, had none, so he simply decided to look at the last two Attributes.
[The Progress] Attribute Description: “You have claimed the Lineage of War God.” Nathaniel nodded in satisfaction and then turned to the attribute that really caught his eye.
[Blessed of The Fool] Attribute Description: “You have received The Fool’s blessing, allowing you the opportunity to inherit ‘His’ gift.” As Nathaniel read those words, the voice of the Spell sounded in his ears once more.
This time it sounded slightly bewildered, although it was so subtle that Nathaniel could only faintly notice it.
[Receive Gift?] Nathaniel considered it for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he couldn’t completely trust anything.
Sure, the Spell was omniscient, but who knew?
Maybe Celestial Worthy had fooled or deceived it.
Still, the potential of what he could gain was far too alluring to pass up.
So, with a heavy sigh, Nathaniel accepted the gift.
Then the voice of the Spell sounded slightly uncertain but still obliged.
[…So be it.] [You have received an Aspect Legacy.] “Whaa?
Seriously?” Nathaniel was now almost certain that he was in some sort of mind hex.
He didn’t know whether the Spell was being generous, or if [Fated] was just having an off day.
When he looked at his Attributes, [Blessed of The Fool] was still there, meaning he would still benefit from the blessing he had been bestowed.
Who knew—maybe it would keep him safe from madness or corruption.
After contemplating the matter for a bit longer, he decided to look at his Aspect Ability.
Aspect Abilities: [Ideal Change].
Aspect Ability Description: “You may change the properties of anything, so long as you possess the necessary requierments.” “Ideal Change… well, I guess it’s kind of like equivalent exchange.
I should be able to get the gist of this sooner or later.
But now for the main dish.” He looked further to find his Aspect Legacy, but before he could, his eyes widened.
Sequences: [Sequence 9, Seer] Digestion (0%/100%).
[Sequence 9, Marauder] Digestion (0%/100%).
[Sequence 9, Apprentice] Digestion (0%/100%).
“No way!” Just as he thought that, the voice of the Spell announced once more, its tone serene and seemingly back to normal: [Calculating Soul Fragments…] [Calculation complete, Dreamer Host of Mysteries, receive your prize!] The words confused Nathaniel more than anything.
Then, as he thought it over, he felt his Core pulse slightly.
Realization dawned on him, and he checked his Runes once more.
Soul Fragments: [Pending/1000].
Soul Fragments: [100/1000].
Soul Fragments: [268/1000].
Soul Fragments: [391/1000].
Soul Fragmen… Soul Fr… As he watched the changing Runes, he fell to the floor as the Voice of the Spell pleasantly announced something in his ears: [Your soul is resonating with power…] [Your Second Soul Core is taking shape…] “Wait, can’t I cat—” Before he could finish, he collapsed to the floor and clutched his chest tightly.
Breathing heavily, he heaved desperately.
As the excruciating pain of forming a second core rang throughout his entire body, the Grey Fog reacted and began to soothe its Master’s pain.
However, that did little more than keep him conscious long enough to feel his third Soul Core form.
The process went on for longer than Nathaniel could endure, and just as the last Core took shape, the voice of the Spell no longer resounded in his ears.
Instead, it echoed within the vast chambers of Sefirah Castle.
[All power has a price.] [You have received a Flaw.] [Your Flaw is: …] As he heard his Flaw, he laughed self-deprecatingly and fell unconscious.
________________ Author’s Note: Ohhh my, whatever could his flaw be?
Also the reason he got soul fragments was due to the fact that when awakened or sleepers kill another awakened they gaint 1/10 of their fragments…
and well he did kill quite a few so y’know.
Anyway as usual ask any questions you might have, also next chap is on Tuesday, and the nightmare will be Sammy’s.
I’ll also just split it into two chapters and release them in the same day.
Have a great day 🙂