Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A young man walked almost painfully slowly on the sidewalk, slightly shaking. His neck-length brown hair fluttered in the wind, drawing the attention of those around him. Keter's heart felt like it was beating through his chest, and his academy uniform felt tighter the closer he got to the police station. As he opened the door to the station, he whispered to himself.

"Okay, Keter, calm down. It's just the first nightmare. It's not like I'm about to box a god or talk to someone; it's fine."

As the chime above the door rings, the lady at the front desk looks up and tiredly looks Keter in the eye and calmly says.

"What do you need love"

"I've been infected by the spell," Keter says, barely stopping himself from stuttering because of his nervousness. She takes a few seconds to peel herself away from his eyes before she answers.

"You have good timing, kid. The winter solstice was only a few days ago. How long have you been having symptoms?" she asks, a bit more lively this time.

"8 or 9 hours ago, "Keter says as he starts to lean against the counter.

She presses a button on her desk and speaks into the mic, " Code Blue," and then gets back to her work quickly, her eyes wandering to the boy every once in a while.

Keter remembers three codes for the infected: Code Blue for one day or less since first infected, Code Red for two days or less, and Code Black for longer than two days. After a few minutes, an older man walks out of the hallways and signals for Keter to follow him. After about a little while, they find themselves in a reinforced basement with only a hospital bed that looks like it was meant to hold prisoners pressed against the wall. As the older man begins to strap Keter into the hospital bed, he states.

"Name: Keter, Height: 5 feet 9 inches, Age: 17, Hair: brown, Eyes: brown, Weight: 163 pounds, Class: 7, Citizenship: citizen, Living in District A, Currently attending: Academy A-1." The man looks up and looks Keter in the eye for a second and says, " Is all of that correct?" He stands up and looks over the contraption.

"Yes, sir, it is," Keter says a little, his nervousness growing as the straps tighten.

"My name is Officer Garet Hullmen. You already know everything you need to know regarding the nightmare. Just remember, the spell does not give executions." He stresses the last part. I wish you good luck, but try to last as long as you can," he hesitates before he continues. After all, time is our greatest ally."

Keter nods, noticing his hesitation, then scoffs mentally. 'You just don't want to fight the dormant beast if I die. I just need to change fate enough to give me a divine aspect, easy, right? totally, I'm not panicking not at all.' Keter closes his eyes and starts to allow the spell to take him.

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]

Chapter Text

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]

"What the hell? " Keter groggily says as he starts to push himself off the marble ground, only getting a glimpse of the church-like place around him as he's slapped back to the ground.

"Watch your language, young man; the Cardinal will be here any time now."The older woman goes back to tending to one of the other children.

Keter winces as he sees the handmark against his cheek. He then gets up and notices something's wrong.' wait, why am I so small?' he looks at himself through the smooth and reflective surface of one of the pillars. 'I'm in the body of a child,' He realizes, startled; he looks around after finally getting rid of the drowsiness. 'Children, lots of them, a maid-like caretaker, a Cardinal coming, I'm in an orphanage one funded by a church. From the looks of it, a church of the Sun God.' He asses then tries to calmly figure out what he needs to do. 'The runes, I need to know what I can do before anything else. Status.'

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name:

Rank: Aspirant

Soul Core: Dorment

Memories:

Echos:

Attributes:[Untainted] [Child of Light] [Spark of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart]

Aspect: Aspect: Saint Candidate(Awakened)

Aspect Description:[A child forced to bear the treacherous fountain with their blood]

'Fuck!' Keter takes a deep breath to calm himself down. 'I guess I can't deny it anymore After all, why would a random orphan be a class 7 citizen, go to the A-1 Academy, one of the greatest in the world, or have met the other Sovereigns, hell, even have a chance to meet one? Fuck.' Keter starts to take deep breaths to try and calm himself down. 'okay, you know what? I will worry about that after the Nightmare is over with. What do all my attributes do?'

[Untainted]

A pure, holy, and untainted soul

[Child of Light]

The Light recognizes you as one of their own

[Spark of Divinity]

Every fire starts from a spark. Somewhere deep within your soul, a radiant spark shines with divine light.

[Dreamspawn]

You are born of two worlds, belonging to both but welcomed in neither. Your soul exists on the edge between Nightmare and reality.

[The Heart]

You have inherited the lineage of the Heart God.

'A bunch of nothing then. Though doesn't [Spark of Divinity] need two sources to be born from?' As Keter was about to start planning, the orphanage doors opened, revealing a grey-haired old man wearing sets of white robes with an air of majesty around him. As he looked to the caretaker and asked.

"Which one do you believe has candidacy?" He starts to look over the sea of children, but his eyes stop at Keter and say, "Never mind; I know which one it is." He bids Keter over to him and says, "Follow me, child." He then looks over to the caretaker and asks, "What is his name?"

"Azreal, your Lordship," she responds immediately.

As Keter reaches the Cardinal, he grabs Keter's hand and introduces himself: "My name is Jacob Fallitls. I am one of the seven Cardinals, as you could have guessed. The Light has chosen you to be one of its champion children. You have the potential to be a saint. But the Light does not force itself upon the unwilling. So, Azreal, do you wish to be the Saint of the Light?"

Keter's eyes widened in surprise. Okay, calm down first. My name in this Nightmare is Azreal; that's good to know. Second, I'm a descendant of the Heart God. Why do I have an Aspect or a Nightmare relating to the Sun God? Plus, what does being a Saint in tall Well, based on the Aspect description, nothing good. Wait, the description mentioned a fountain; oh fuck, This is the damn reincarnation kind of Saint, isn't it?'

"Huh, Azreal gets to become the Saint. I'm so jelly."A winey, girly voice says, "Hey, why is he hesitating? I would have accepted imminently." A confident voice says. "Be quiet, Jack, like you of all people would ever be able to be a Saint." The previous girl teases. "Hey, what does that mean."

Keter hears all sorts of gossip as his mind is in chaos, trying to find a way to escape his predicament. 'Wait, I didn't get the flash forward thing from what Morgan's told me, and from what I've read, it's always supposed to happen. Then that means there will be no big monster I must defeat, but there still must be a trial.' Keter's eyes widen in horror as despair starts to set in. 'Thet damn fountain, that's my trial.' Keter's hands start to ball up in fear.

Chapter Text

"Yes, I wish to become the Saint," Keter says, hoping he didn't take too long to answer.' God, I'm going to regret this.'

Cardinal Jacob smiles joyfully and then exclaims, "That's great to hear. Hurry now, follow me, Azreal; we must prepare you for your training."

As Cardinal Jacob drags me to the main Citadel, I can only think of how beautiful the city is.'The pristine Gothic architecture looks amazing. It's too bad I'll probably flinch at the slightest thought of this place after this Nightmare.' Keter finds himself in front of the most prominent building in the city, a church.

"Come on, boy, there is no time to dilly-dally." The Cardinal brings him to the church's basement floor and says, " Inside the changing room, there are clothes for you; once you're dressed, you just need to walk through this gateway." As he says this, the white-gold arch flashes with immense light. It then dims down, forming a portal under the arch. "I will see you there, child." The Cardinal then walks through the gateway, leaving Keter alone.

Keter lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Well, at least I now know what Child of Light does; it makes me immune to flash bangs." Keter rolls his eyes and reconsiders. "That's a pretty nice ability, actually." Keter starts to change into the clothes he was provided. "It's just a pitch white hospital gown, huh. but still no shoes, no socks." Keter groans in annoyance. "Please don't tell me these people have a foot fetish." Keter jokes, trying to keep himself from running, then says, "Alright, let's just hope this isn't about to be what I think it is, fingers crossed." Keter walks into the gateway and then takes a step onto solid marble. He sees tens of church officials, but what draws his attention most is the fountain with the water pouring in from the walls. There is a spot In the middle of the pond, with about ankle-deep water, that's completely still.

"Ah, you're here, child. Are you ready to start your journey to become the Saint of the Light?" Cardinal Jacob asks as her walks towards Keter with his hands behind his back.

"I am your Eminence," Keter says, making sure to eliminate all nervousness in his voice.

The Cardinal nods and says seriously, "Then go to the middle of the fountain where the water is still, get on your knees, and pray no matter what you feel or hear. Do not open your eyes, do not say a word, and most importantly, never stop praying."

"Keter slowly walks over to the fountain, and once his feet hit the water, each step only makes him feel more dread. When he arrives in the middle, he slowly gets on his knees and puts his elbows against his lap and his conjoined hands against his forehead. he begins to beggingly pray. 'please, please don't let this be what I think this is.' Keter hears the water splashing as someone gets closer and closer to him. One of their hand grips his shoulder, and the other presses against his back like it's holding something. 'no, no, no no, please, no," Keter begs in his mind as tears begin to slowly form as his body quivers.

"shush, don't make a sound," An older voice whispers in his ear as the grip on his shoulder gets tighter. The other hand goes off of his back, and Keter feels a knife start to run gently across his back, carving into his skin."Pray with all your might; God is the only person who can stop this." his hand covers Keter's mouth as he whimpers and cries. Tears falling into the water as the man carves further into Keter's skin. As Keter's hands start to come undone the knife stabs into him and the man screams into Keter's ear."Pray, did you not hear me, Pray!" Keter hurriedly put his hands back together as he sobbed from the pain. Keter's blood and tears all ran together in the now muddy water. As time went on, it felt more and more painful. It felt like the water was climbing up his back and assaulting his wounds.

The pain began to consume him, so much more painful than he could ever imagine mere stab wounds would not be this painful. even as his mind was clouded by pain, he remembered that the water in the increased his sensitivity to pain, making it even more painful than it should be.

Eventually, his mind and body could not keep up with the pain, and he passed out, almost falling into the muddy water if not for the man catching him.

"he passed out your Eminence, "The man shouted.

"All right then, that's enough for today. We will pick back up tomorrow. Bring him to the healers and prepare his food for when he wakes."The Cardinal orders.

"Your Eminence, are you sure this is the right child?" he cried the entire time. Should his faith in a Saint Candidate enable him to bear this?" the man asked in disbelief.

"He is a child. Children never understand the true opportunity given to them, but he will get used to it soon, and when he does, he will be able to do the ritual himself."The Cardinal explains to the man.

Chapter Text

Keter shoots up and gasps fearfully as he wakes up. "where am I?" He looks around quickly, finding no one in the room. he then looks down and sees the same white gown he had on before, just not drenched in his own blood, and then, "Huh, they're gone?" Keter's voice shakes as he breathes out in relief. The wounds are gone, and the pain is "Gone, they're gone, there's nothing." Keter falls against the bed and curls into a ball, instinctively trying to make himself smaller. Keter shutters and recoils back as he hears the door opening. He sees a woman walking through the door with a plate of delicious-looking food. She walks over and looks at the small child in reverence, sets the plate down, and then walks out of the room.

Almost immediately after she leaves, Keter gets up and silently takes a bite of the food, hoping that it's poisoned and disappointed when it's not. He eats the somewhat bland food: ' No seasoning at all. If I wasn't just tortured a moment ago, I would make a white people joke.' A few minutes after he's done eating, the Cardinal walks through the door and tries to back away from him as dread covers his face. Keter falls to the floor as the Cardinal says something, but he's too overtaken by a vile dread to hear. A group of four knights walk out from behind the Cardinal and quickly grab Keter before he can get away and start dragging him away.

"Wait, wait, stop, please, please, please stop, let me go!" Keter screams in fear as he trashes around. Neither the knights nor the Cardinal cared to grace him with a response. After a while, he felt the gateway take him as he tried to resist more, but a mere Aspirant can not resist an Awakened. Keter is thrown, and he lands with a splash. His eyes widen in horror as he sees the clear, still water of the fountain. He tries to resist but is forced on his knees as the knife scratches against his back.

"Pray, pray till your body, soul, and very existence are devoted to the Everlasting Light, " the madman says calmly.

Again, the knife carves into his back. Again, his nails dig into his hands. Again, his blood runs down his back like a waterfall. Again, he hears the madman's rambles about the everlasting. Again, he wakes up and is dragged back to this cursed fountain.

--One Month later--

Keter sat in the bath, too exhausted to do anything else. 'I'm changing, my body changing.' Keter could see strands turning pristine gold-white. His eyes were no different turning into a brightly shining gold, his skin an unblemished soft porcelain. His teeth a pure white. 'Their changing me' Keter huddled into himself as faint tears appred in his eyes.

--One Month Later--

After a certain point, they no longer needed to drag me to the fountain. After a certain point, I stopped screaming; I stopped crying. I gave up, but it seems they still won't let me be.

"Here, take it." Keter looks up at the Cardinal with dull eyes and shacks as he sees him holding the knife out to him."For you to truly become a Saint, you need to do this willingly. The Light only accepts the willing." Keter stares him in the eye with an emotionless gaze. Keter grabs the knife and slowly walks to the center of the fountain. At this point, he no longer needed to think about it. It was embedded into his body at this point. After he kneeled, he stared at the knife for a second and stared hesitantly, then slowly sped up, going deeper and deeper with each, hoping he would die, hoping he would kill himself, but the fountain didn't let him even when he cut his own throat he did not die.

--Five Months Later--

"it seems you're finally starting to understand just how important this is and how privileged you are to have this opportunity." the Cardinal says in response to Keter's happy mood.

"Indeed, Cardinal," Keter Says. While humming a happy tune, he grabs the knife and walks to the center. 'Today the day. I either die or pass the Nightmare." A few weeks ago, that he would die on his own terms, so he began to take notice of how far the healing of the fountain went, and after seven weeks, he found it the only chance he had to kill himself. 'It's funny, I'm going to die on the seventh day of the seventh month I've been here.' Keter smiled at the thought as he rhythmically carved his own skin. After about two hours, he was covered head to toe in wounds, countless of them, and the fountain below him looked like a sea of blood. As the smile on his face grew wide, he plunged the knife into his heart. His hands fell to the ground as he could faintly hear the Cardinal running towards him. Keter began to feel lightheaded as the fountain was desperately trying to keep him alive. "Finally." Keter closed his eyes as they grew heavy.

[You have offered yourself as a sacrifice to the gods]

[The Gods are dead and can not hear you]

[Your soul bears a Spark of Divinity]

"What the hell?" Keter groans tiredly and chuckles. "How cliche."

[The Sacrifice of your heart awakens your Forefather]

[The Heart God looks at you with longing]

[The Heart God sends a Blessing from beyond the grave]

[You are a Saint Candidate]

[The Sun God Watches with all-consuming rage]

[The Sun God sends a Blessing from beyond the grave]

[Your endless peace draws the attention of the Shadow God]

[The Shadow God morns his kin but welcomes one anew]

[The unique travel of your soul awakens the Storm God]

[The Storm God is curious if you will survive the endless black deeps]

[The withering life of its Kin awakens the War God]

[The War God Wishes to see you live and not to upset her Granddaughter]

[The Blood you've spilled draws the attention of the Beast God]

[The Beast God morns one it once knew, and wishes to see your beauty grow]

"Holy hell, just what have I done?" Keter's voice cracks as he sees the messages. As he turns around, he sees countless pillars of divine light consuming the church officials. Countless screams echo across the room, but Keter can't help but to smile.

[Wake up, Keter Asterion! Your nightmare is over.]

[Prepare for appraisal…]

Chapter Text

[Prepare for appraisal…]

Keter finds himself in a seemingly endless sea of stars. "So those are the strings of fate, huh? It's beautiful, absolutely gorgeous." Keter's gaze wanders across the sea of stars, and then he says, "Weaver is a goddamn monster to be able to make something like this."

[You have received a Memory: Robes of the Lost]

Keter's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned."Why am I getting a Memory? I didn't kill anyone. Oh, yeah, the kills done by the blessings count as mine," Keter eventually remembered.

[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]

[A child forced to bear the weight of the world with their own blood. Enduring the sorrow of those before him. Called his own death with an unwavering faith, he spilled his very soul into the blood-ridden fountain. Called upon the Gods with nothing but his own will, a will the world could not ignore. The Gods were dead, and yet they listened]

[You have defeated seventy-two dormant humans]

[You have defeated eleven awakened humans]

[You have defeated ascended human: Cardinal Jacob]

[You have received the Heart God's Blessing]

[You have received the Sun God's Blessing]

[You have received the Beast God's Blessing]

[You have received the Shadow God's attention]

[You have received the Storm God's attention]

[You have received the War God's attention]

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Final appraisal: Impossible. Your faith is truly boundless.]

"Lord have mercy, what the hell have I done," Keter says with exasperation. "Well, at least I'm going to be able to keep up with Sunny and Nephis."

[Dreamer Keter Asterion, receive your boon!]

"Finally, let's get to the good part." Keter grins, truly happy for the first time in months.

[You have been bestowed a True Name: Holy Emperor.]

"That might make me cringe a little if someone ever calls me that," Keter grimaces. "Well, maybe it's not that bad," Keter says, remembering some Shadow Slave fanfics he's read. "Yeah, uh, this true name is actually pretty good."

[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]

"Yes, without a doubt," Keter says without hesitation.

[Awakened Aspect Saint Candidate is evolving…]

[New Aspect acquired.]

[Aspect Rank: Divine.]

"That's expected due to the god shenanigans and all." Keter srugs.

[Aspect Name: Saint of the Everlasting Light.]

"That's a long ass name, but alright." Keter laughs a little.

Aspect: Saint of the Everlasting Light(Divine)

Aspect Description:[You are the successor of the Holy Emperor doomed to observe but never connect with the people you love so much; obsession follows you wherever you go]

Innate ability:[Eyes of Heart]

As an observer, you can see the hearts of others.

"so that's where my true name comes from. Eyes of Heart looks like a rip of Fairy Eyes from Fate." Keter hummus a little, trying to contain his excitement. "I can already tell what my flaw is going to be, though, with that kind of description."

[The First Seal is broken.]

[Awakening dormant powers…]

Keter breathes in deeply as he feels a euphoric rush of energy run through his body, making him feel better than ever. "Oh, that felt great." Keter breathes out deeply, shuddering as he does so. "Is this what drugs feel like? Because if it is, then I'm starting to understand the love." Keter finally noticed his surroundings: a blinding white-gold radiance with a transport orb orbiting his dormant soul core. "This place feels so comfortable as if I'm being hugged from all sides."

[Awakening Aspect Ability…]

Keter forced himself back to attention.

[Aspect Ability acquired.]

[Aspect Ability Name: Miracle.]

"Oh, that's an interesting name for a starting ability," Keter says, worrying about just how bad his flaw will be. "Miracle is one of the broadest terms in the world. Which means it has huge potential, but it's probably restricted to just buffs and heals right now since I'm just a sleeper. That is still incredibly useful."

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name: Holy Emperor

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Beast

Light Core: Dormant

Light Fragment:[311/1000]

"With just how bright my soul sea is, I was expecting a different type of core, and with just how cliche that kind of development is. But three hundred and eleven Light Fragments is insane!"Keter stresses that last part.

[Two of your Attributes are ready to evolve.]

"What? Are you serious?" Keter says, extremely confused.

Memories:[Robes of the Lost]

Echos:

Attributes:[Untainted Faith] [Child of Light] [Spark of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart]

[Untainted Faith]

An untainted soul, a body tempered by the blood of saints(the holy kind), a mind reinforced by an undying faith, a spirit unrelinquished to authority.

[The Heart]

You have inherited the complete lineage of the Heart God.

"So that's what changed. I still don't know what either of them does." Keter groans.

[All power has a price.]

[You have received a Flaw.]

[Your Flaw is: Distant]

[There will always be distance between you and those below you.]

"Yeah, I guessed based on the Aspect description. I wonder what below you encompasses?" Keter says, curious.

[Wake up, Holy Emperor!]

The white-gold sky spun and disappeared.

Chapter Text

Keter opened his eyes to see the basement ceiling, which looked more damaged than last time. Keter winched at the smell. 'I guess not showering for seven mouths does that.'

"You're finally awake. You took a damn long time; I think you now hold the record for the longest First Nightmare." A quippy remark came from across the room.

Keter looked over to the woman, and his eyes widened as he recognized her as Soul Reaper Jet.

"What you looking at, kid?" Jet asked.

"I'm just surprised to see a master on duty," Keter responded quickly. His eyes were wondering more than they should be, but he was trying to stop himself.

"I'm taking lunch right now, kid." Keter notices the box of food on her lap. 'I want my head to be there. Wait, shut up, me. This is important.' Keter pushes those thoughts out of his mind.

"It seems like you won the genetic lottery, kid. I would kill for looks like that." Jet stayed, though Keter noticed a subtle hint of envy.

'So that's part of what Eyes of Heart does. It's a type of emotional sense that's good to have. I'm horrible at reading people.' Keter notices and then says. "Genetic lottery? What are you talking about?" Keter asks, confused.

Jet scoffs as she undoes Keter's restraints and says, "Go take a shower. You stink, and there is a mirror in there. See for yourself."

"Gladly," Keter gets up and leaves for the showers, almost surprised that he doesn't feel sore or stiff. After Keter reaches the shower, he grabs one of the extra sets of clothes provided and a towel. He hangs up his old clothes and puts the towel where he can reach it from inside the shower. Keter's body temporarily relaxes as the hot water hits his smooth skin. Keter gets a good look at his body as he washes himself. His golden-white white hair now complete, falling all the way to his waist. His eyes were now a shining gold, almost as if they themself were a source of light. His skin was now a softer porsalin. His calluses were all gone, and his features were slightly more angular, but they still left him looking delicate. He was now lean instead of the thin he was before, but there was still one more thing. "Hell yeah, I got my ass back." Keter examined his butt and smiled. "I'm no longer flat as a broad; I'm back to being thick."

Keter walked out of the shower with the towel wrapped around his waist. He grabbed his new clothes, put them on, and then walked out of the bathroom to meet Soul Reaper Jet.

"You took a while, kid. So, have you decided where you will go?" she says, knowing she does not need to explain his options.

"I want to go the academy," Keter says, then continues. "It's the only good option."

"You're not wrong." She texts someone using her communicator and then says, "Come one, kid, let's get you to the academy." Keter follows her to the PTV and gets in, and as she's driving, he asks.

"Do you have any advice, Miss?" Keter says, hoping to hear something new.

"First off, don't call me Miss, just Jet is fine. And for advice?" she thinks for a second and says. "The government runs every academy in the world. I bet you have heard countless amounts of propaganda about being in the A-1. But my advice is to ignore it and not give them the info about your Aspect, First Nightmare, attributes, or memories. Keep it to yourself. After all, the government will use it against you at some point." she finishes.

"You work for the government. Should you really be bad-mouthing them?" Keter asked, surprised at her bluntness.

"Exactly. I work for them, so that should tell you something." Jet laughs a little. Then she pulls over and says. "We're here, so get on out, kid. All your stuff will be delivered to you in a few hours."

"Thank you, Jet," Keter says as he gets out of PTV but then stops and asks, "Can I ask something of you, Jet?"

"Depends. What is it?" she looks at Keter questioningly.

"If I survive the dream realm and become an Awakened. Will you come by and say hi?" Keter says somberly, hoping to see the first person he has seen since that horrid torture again.

"Hum, sure, I will swing by if you live." She looks at Keter, smiles, and says, "Good luck, Keter."

Chapter Text

One of the teachers gave Keter a tour around the academy, and he eventually found his way to his room. "Damn, that tour must have taken a while," Keter says after seeing all of his stuff piled up against the wall. "I might as well get to sorting. The initiation is in three days, so it's not like I have anything better to do."

--A few hours later--

Keter wipes his forehead with the back of his hand."Finally, dang, that took longer than I thought it would." Keter hears his communicator buzzing. He walks over to see who is calling. "Oh, it's Morgan." Keter accepts the call and puts it on speaker. "Hey Morgan ho-"

"Why didn't you call me earlier?" Keter could hear Morgan's judging voice through the phone.

"I was a little preoccupied with moving to the academy, and how did you even know I was awake?" Keter explained himself.

"I told them to warn me when you woke up," Morgan explains, easily accepting his explanation. "What classes are you going to choose, or will you push off choosing until the last hour like normal?"

"Isn't that illegal? And I'm taking Wilderness Survival, Rune Language along with underwater combat. Do you know if there is some acting class?" Keter says.

"Like I care. Yes, there are two: Composure and Consoling Body Language." Morgan answers.

"Then I will be taking those two as well," Keter says.

"How was your First Nightmare? Since you are my best friend, you must have slaughtered at least a dormant demon." Morgan says with pride, absolutely believing her friend could do nothing but great in the First Nightmare.

"I didn't kill anything myself. I got someone else to do it for me, but I did a good enough job to get a True Name." Keter says with a matter-of-fact tone.

"A True Name? Just what the hell did you do? And what is it?" Morgan says, extremely surprised.

"I got a Master killed. My True Name is Holy Emperor." Keter says with a small bit of amusement in his voice as his eyes stray to the side.

[Robes of The Lost]

Memory Rank: Asended

Memory Tier: I

Memory type: Garment

Memory Description:[The Robes of a man who was lost in his faith.]

"Got a Master killed?! Don't talk like that's normal, you bastard!" Morgan screams into the phone. (I am just going to call it a phone)

"Hey, Morgan, can you come to the academy and teach me Swordsmanship?" Keter asks, trying to change the subject.

Morgan clicks her tongue and says, "Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do and teach you? Even if you are my best friend, I'm preparing for my Second Nightmare. I can't just go and teach you." Morgan explains.

"What if I pay for your Sherbet addiction while you teach me so your uncle doesn't find out?" Keter offers.

Morgan goes silent momentarily and then says, "You got a deal. Be ready in an hour."

"Wait an hour? Isn't that too little time?" Keter says in shock. but then notices that Morgan has already hung up the phone. Keter puts his phone down then takes a deep breathe and says. "Let's hope I didn't just sell myself to the devil."

.

.

.

When they finally meet Keter doesn't notice the daze his friend went into when she first saw him, or how she stares at him sometimes.

Chapter Text

Keter gasped for breath as he dropped his sword and knelt on the ground.

"Get up and grab your sword. We're going again." Morgan said, not the least bit winded.

Keter ignores the pain and gets up, grabbing his wooden sword and returning to his textbook stance.

"So we'll go over this again." Morgan lightly kicked off the ground and swung her sword. Quickly getting past his guard, she struck him in the chest. "Your current swordplay is the definition of basic; there is no style, no personality to your swordplay, but your base techniques are damn near perfect." She jumped back as Keter's sword came crashing down.

Keter dashed at her and struck overhead, and as Morgan blocked it, he allowed the sword to slide down the shaft of her sword, aiming for her fingers. Morgan pushed her sword down and tilted her body backward, making the strike miss her entirely as her sword hit Keter's left forearm.

"And you wish to incorporate some of the sharpness of my style into your swordsmanship. You also said earlier that you wish to create a fast-passed battle style, holding only counterattacks but no solid defense." Morgan's sword crashes into Keter's side, knocking him back. Keter stumbles before he regains his balance, but not soon enough, as Morgan's sword smashes into his head, knocking him to the ground.

"So I will train you in the waking world until your body is about to give out, and then we will train in the dreamscape until I'm satisfied." Morgan smiles brightly and innocently says, "Oh, and we will start using real swords tomorrow."

"You're the devil." Keter groans as he holds his head.

Morgan winks at him and says, "Your favorite devil. Now get back up, pretty boy. We still have a long way to go."

--Three days later--

Keter was walking to the Main Hall with headphones in, listening to music. 'Thank God for Miracle. It's healing is so nice. Miracle was also the only reason Morgan could basically break him on a daily basis, but my point still stands.' As Keter walked through the big door, he saw only six others awakened. 'So it's that bad, huh.'

When Keter walked into the room, he couldn't help but notice that he couldn't feel anything for the other sleepers. It's like there was a void where those feelings should have been. He felt so distant from them, almost alien. 'With this flaw, I could never be a good leader even if I wanted to be. That's so ironic.' Keter chuckles lightly. Keter then sees a large, toweringly tall man walk onto the stage.

"Hello, sleepers; you may call me Professor Mars. I teach the shielding class. And today, I will be delivering your introduction speech." The now understood Professor Mars states. "There is Absolutely no useless Aspect in the world as long as you are creative enough. Even the seemingly most useless ability can turn the tides of a fight. And we here at Awakened Acadamy wish to help you realize your ability to the fullest extent so you can survive the horrors of the dream realm." The towering man looks at his watch for a second and then says,

"In about five minutes, you will all start to be pulled into a room with one of the counselors. They will help you configure your schedule and help set up their appointments if need be. So I will stop here and wish you all the best of luck." Professor Mars walks off the stage and into another room almost immediately after one of the other sleepers is called to another room.

Keter was the second-to-last one called. After walking to the counselor's room, he sat in the seat across from her.

"My name is Lux, and I'm the counselor at this academy. What class do you wish to take, Keter?" She asks calmly, looking down at her clipboard with Keter guessing has his file on it.

"Wilderness Survival, Rune Language, Composure, Underwater Combat, and Consoling Body Language." The counselor nods, writes down his answers, and then asks.

"Do you wish to share anything about your First Nightmare or Aspect? You will be rewarded for any information you give us, " she asks.

"No, but I do have a True Name." Keter revels, seeing no reason to hide it. 'Especially considering faith is more than likely my path to sovereignty.'

She quickly looks up in surprise and looks him in the eye, and Keter notices a faint glow in her eyes. "Say that again." She asks.

"I have a True Name," Keter says, guessing she has some sort of intent-based ability.

She looks at him in surprise as the glow in her eyes disappears. "Well then, please tell me your True Name."

"Holy Emperor," Keter says. 'So this is how they tested Nephis."

After leaving the room a little while later and getting his schedule, he gets ready for the grueling hell this is about to be. 'So I will train my Aspect and swordsmanship with Morgan in the afternoon. Before that are the two acting classes, then rune language, and finally wilderness survival and underwater combat.' Keter groans. 'This is going to be so much fun."

Chapter Text

--One Month Later--

'Rune language was an interesting class.' Keter thought while walking down the hallway with a stack of books in hand. 'It's interesting but also so tiring with there being at least four runes for each word.' Keter knew he was exaggerating, but that didn't mean he couldn't complain. 'At the beginning of the class, I tried to figure out all of the translations for my true name, but I almost wish I hadn't.' Keter thinks back to the three translations.

'Emperor of Light, which isn't bad, but then theirs, Emperor of the Willing, which.' Keter shivers remembering all the fanatical things the Cardinal said. 'Willing, what a joke.' Keter scoffs in his head. 'Then their Slave of faith. Which originally disgusted me, but the rune for faith was not one pertaining to the gods. It was to one's own self. How does being a slave to myself even work?' Keter thinks confused.

"Can you lead me to the main hall, sir?" Keter turns to face the voice and sees a long, blue-haired woman. She was shorter than he was, but still obviously a legacy. He could tell from her calm demeanor. Physically fit but not a close-range fighter. If Keter had to guess, she was an archer or some type of mage.

If Keter had seen her a second earlier he would have seen her facade broken with amazement covering her face.

"Sure, the main hall is this way," Keter says while motioning for her to follow. 'She looks strong. I would lose if we fought.' Keter evaluates her but smiles at the thought of there being another strong person to fight.

"Is there something wrong?" the woman asked, noticing his staring. Keter coughed, embarrassed that he had been caught staring.

The woman frowns for a split second before returning back to her calm demeanor before Keter could notice. 'Why do I feel stronger?'

"No, nothing's wrong," Keter says, looking away soon after. "My name's Keter. What's yours?" Keter asks.

"Keter? Your Keter?" she looks at him in surprise. You're quite different from the rumors." She looks Keter up and down and then says, "Anyways, my name is Auroura of the great clan Night. "

"Rumors?" Keter looks at her in shock.

"Of course, there are rumors. You got a true name in your first Nightmare, and it took seven months to complete. Along with the fact that you are so anti-social that there are rumors of you losing your vocal cords in your First Nightmare." Aurora explains.

"But any injuries you get during the First Nightmare don't transfer to the waking world?" Keter says, confused.

"Exactly my point," Aurora says.

Keter sighs and says. "Anyway, this is your stop." Keter motions to the double doors.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Aurora says politely and walks through the doors.

'That was an interesting conversation.' Keter sighs as he begins walking to his dorm. Then Keter suddenly stops in his tracks as he notices something was off. 'Wait, I felt something? Does she have a Divine Aspect?!'

Chapter Text

--Two Weeks Later--

Keter drops onto his bed with an exasperated sigh. 'Why is it so hard to talk to people.' Keter rolls to the other side of his bed. "Aurora, why won't you be friends with me?" Keter wines to nobody in particular. 'Well, now that I think about it, most of my friendships have started because of other people.' Keter thinks about his elementary school years sitting on a bench during recess because he had no friends. 'Maybe I should just stop bothering her?' Keter considerders. 'Well, it's not like she ever responded badly to my attempts." Keter tries to consider what he is doing wrong.

'It might just be because we don't have much in common. It's hard to be friends with someone with whom you can't really talk about your interests.' Keter sighs and says, "It's probably best to just to be friendly. Being on good terms with her would be nice if we ever need to work together." Keter gets up and says. "I will just focus on getting ready for the dream world."

Keter looks at the clock on the wall. 'It seems it's time for my training with Morgan.' Keter gets up and gets ready, and on his way there, he thinks. 'At least I learned the ins and outs of my flaws during the past two weeks. Anybody who ranks above me has no emotional blocker. If they are the same rank as me, the closer they are to my Aspect rank, the less the emotional blocker, and I'm guessing that I won't be able to feel anything for those a rank below me.' Keter walks into the training room and says. "let's hope she doesn't break any of my bones today."

"Don't get too hopeful, pretty boy." Keter sees Morgan in front of him with a sadistic smile.

"You're enjoying this far too much." Keter conplains.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Morgan's smile turns to a grin. "Pick up your sword, pretty boy. You've gotten a lot better, but you still have a way to go."

"Yes Ma'am" Keter mocks.

"I'm going to break an extra bone just for that," Morgan says as she rushes him, making her sword shatter his arm. "It's not like you can't heal it anyway, " she mocks.

"You're the damn devil." Keter groans as he uses Miracle to put his arm back together as he jumps back.

"And you know what's the best part?" Morgan says as she runs after him. "It's that you're paying me for it!"

--Two and A Half Months Later--

'Four weeks left' Keter muses to himself as a smile then spreads across his face. 'They're here. Nephis, Cassie, and Sunny. I can't wait to meet them.' Keter walls to the main hall and sits on the steps to the stage waiting till the initiation.

'There's Nephis' Keter sees her walk into the room with headphones over her ears. 'There's Cassie.' Keter sees the blind girl sitting alone. 'Where is Sunny?' Keter looks around confused seeing no sign of him even as the initiation starts.

None even attempted to stop him even if he didn't look like he should be here, but the entire room quieted down when he walked in. Everyones gaze was on him, staring with a deep longing.

--------

'He sure has a lot to say.' Keter sighs as the instructor continues speaking. Keter then notices a partially strong gaze staring at him and stares back hiding his shock about who it is. 'Nephis? what are you doing?' Keter feels uncomfortable as Nephis stares a hole into his head until she is taken for evaluation.

'What the hell was that.' Keter shivers as he takes the opportunity to leave for his room. 'Why was she staring so hard? Did she feel something? Is it because of our classes? Nephilim are at least partly holy creatures. Lightbringer and a Holy Emperor.' Keter wonders as he roams the halls and eventually, he feels a tap on his shoulder and looks back to see Nephis.

"Can we talk?" Nephis asks with a black look on her face.

Chapter Text

--During the initiation(Nephis)--

At the back of the hall, a beautiful lone girl leaned against the wall, frowning. 'Why am I stronger?' She pondered, her eyes drawn to the pretty boy sitting on the steps of the stage. 'That's the man who earned a true name same as me. Holy Emperor was his true name I believe.' The longer she looked at him the stronger she felt. 'He's the origin of this boost then.' Nephis noted, then noticed that no one else was having any reaction to the boost in strength. And the closer she got to him the stronger she felt. 'I need to learn why this is happening and if he's an ally or enemy.' After her evaluation, she rushed to find him and she found him roaming the hall lost in thought. To not startle him too bad she tapped him on the shoulder and Asked.

"Can we talk?" Nephis didn't wait for an answer and started to drag Keter away.

--During the initiation(Cassie)--

Cassie was incredibly uncomfortable with her newly lost sense it was hard for her to navigate around she even needed help to find her way to the table she sitting at. 'Hm, what is that' Cassie felt weird she was so slightly stronger that she could barely tell, but her senses were stronger, and she even felt a little giddy. 'I don't know why this happening but it feels nice.' Cassie hummus in comfort enjoying herself during the initiation.

--Present Time--

"Hey wait-" Keter hurriedly says as Nephis drags him away. 'What the hell is happening' Keter thinks as Nephis brings him to one of the training rooms.

"I've never heard of a passive dormant rank aspect ability," Nephis says then continues. "But if it's not passive why are you aiming it at me," She says her eyes narrowing.

"My aspect ability isn't passive nor does it buff people at random," Keter said holding his ground. 'I'm not about to let her accuse me of something I didn't do' Keter then asks. "Are you sure the buff came from me?"

"Yes, I am," Nephis says without hesitation.

Keter thinks for a moment then asks."You're demanding answers from me about my aspect so tell me, is your aspect related to something divine or holy?' asking just so she doesn't get suspicious.

Nephis thinks for a second then says "Yes, does that matter?" The hostility in her voice lessened.

'Does being the Holy Emperor automatically strengthen holy or divine-related beings?' Keter thinks then says. "I might know what causing this." Keter looks up at her and asks. "Do you mind if I try something?"

Nephis nods.

When Keter sees that he focuses Miricale into his hand and golden dust-like particles start to float from his hand. 'Being able to create miracles is a very broad ability. I haven't found all of my current restrictions but buffing is one of the things I've been practicing. With it being the first thing I pull off besides healing. But as of current, she getting stronger from just my presence without Miricale activated. So what if I just strengthen the buff that she already has?" Keter stands there for a while and Nephis eyes widen when she feels a flood of power that someone of mere dormant rank should not have.

"How did you do that?" Nephis asked curious.

"I just strengthened what was already there," Keter says calmly but still very excited. 'I understand what was happening now. My theory about it being due to her connection to the divine and I was right. Due to me being the Holy Emperor all holy or divine beings get stronger in my presence the more so the better. It's also much easier to buff them allowing me to push the buffs further than normal."

Keter shakes his hand tiredly as he thinks. 'That also hurt quite a bit when I was looking for the reason as to why it was happening and saw it, her divine lineage.' Keter grimaces. 'It burnt me quite a bit.' Keter then looks up to her and says. "this was quite a productive meeting I hope we will continue to meet on good terms." Keter puts out his hand for a handshake.

Nephis stared at him for a moment then shock his hand. "I hope so as well."

Chapter Text

From that day on, Nephis and I spared on occasion testing how and why our abilities affected each other but. 'She's pulling a damn Caster on me' I thought somewhat annoyed. (I completely forgot about Caster while making the previous chapters)

Before I jumped back to avoid her slash a circle of pure golden light formed around my ankle, explosively increasing my jump force. I then shot backward and landed like a cat ready to pounce. The circle of light glowed more than before as I appeared before her my sword attempting to cleave her through. Nephis's sword redirected my blow then adding on her own force sent me falling onto my butt.

"You seem to have made a habit of overextending your sword," Nephis said casually before desummoning her sword and helping Keter up. "You need to fix that we only have three days before the winter solstice.

"I got it" Keter groans as he stands up 'It seems she still doesn't trust me seeing as her style is far more rigid than the flow and adaptable style she was said to have in the novel.'

Keter walks over to the bench with their stuff on it and then throws Nephis her water bottle and then drinks from his own. "God water feels so nice after getting my ass kicked." Keter could vaguely hear Nephis chuckles behind him. "We should rest with the rest of the time we have left, going into the dream realm tired is a death sentence."

Keter could see Nephis look at him weirdly and asks. "Is a three-day break really needed?"

"Well I would like to enjoy myself a little before I'm dropped into hell," Keter says with a matter-of-fact voice. Nephis just nodded satisfied with the answer.

"Good luck then," Nephis's said leaving the training room to probably go to another one if Keter had to guess.

Keter sighs walking to his room after taking a long hot shower. As Keter was walking the halls of the campus his mood only seemed to lower as his tongue clicked. 'It seems that treacherous bastard won't be showing up.' Keter had searched the entire school and yet even with only three days left Sunny was nowhere to be seen. 'God the Forgotten Shore will be much harder without him. How the hell are we even going to get the Crown of Dawn without him?' Keter wonders cursing at himself for not realizing it earlier.

Keter remembered his first nightmare well, almost too well. 'The Shadow God's message.'

[The Shadow God morns his kin but welcomes one anew]

'He was morning Sunny but the new one.' Keter ponders troubled. 'Rain if I had to guess but the only real way a message like this could happen was if she was infected by the Nightmare Spell.' Keter's eyes narrow. 'Wasn't the Beast God also morning someone?'

As Keter was contemplating he saw Morgan leaning against his door. "What are you doing here?" Keter said as he walked up to her.

"What can't visit a friend?" Morgan said sarcastically.

"I mean you can but you don't most of the time, your pretty busy most of the time," Keter said.

"You're not wrong but you are right, I am here to give you something." Morgan proceeds to smack Keter on the back of the head.

[You have received a Memory]

"Asshole" Keter says glaring as Morgan the looking to the Spell.

[Trusty Longsword]

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: I

Memory Type: Weapon

Memory Description: A truly trusty longsword used by countless different people but still and forever will hold itself strong.

Keter's eyes widen as he sees the Memory rank. "Ascended?" Keter loudly says then looks over to Morgan shell shocked.

"Damn right, It's so you don't end up killing yourself" Morgan smiles at him.

"Thank you Morgan" Keter says appreciation filling his voice. Morgan looks at him shocked not expecting him to say anything then quickly saying.

"Of course" Keter caught the hint of a blush on her face before she quickly snuffed it out. "anyway." Morgan say trying to change the topic. "by the time you come back from the dream realm I should have conquered my second nightmare." Morgan states with a dull confidence.

"Well I wish you luck then Morgan," Keter says then suddenly hugs Morgan. "Goodbye hug."

Morgan stood there still for a second before she hugged him back and said. "Good luck to you as well."

Chapter Text

'Huh, why am I in the sky?' Keter could feel the wind rushing past him as he saw the endless black sky devoid of stars. 'I was expecting it but I was truly hoping I wouldn't end up here.' A dim light sprouted from his hand. Griping the light he used it to readjust himself, landing softly on the small island. 'Miricle produces light when used so I can't use any major enchantments during the night.' Keter's thoughts were interrupted by something struggling under the water. Keter frowned as he heard it. 'Is something already after me? The light I produced shouldn't have been bright enough to drag anything to me.'
As it got closer Keter's eyes began to glow a faint light as golden circles surrounded his irises. 'Hmm, a huge fish? It kind of looks like Wishiwashi.' As Keter looked harder he saw tens of injuries covering it body 'A corrupted devil. Oh is it the one that Sunny ran into? It most definitely is.' Keter thought as huge tentacles wrapped around it a dragged it down through the abyssal sea. The glow from Keter's eyes disappeared.
Keter sits down after summoning [Robes of the Lost]. 'I can see somewhat better than the others but not as good as Sunny would have been able to. It seems [Child of Light] makes my eyes take in light better, but I've never been blinded by light either so that's nice.' Keter chuckles trying to pick up his spirits in this depressing place. 'At least I can't be flash-banged now.' Keter sighs as he tries to look across the black ocean. 'I can't do much till daytime. I would rather not attract nothing to me. This black ocean is depressing as hell or is it as sea? What's the difference?' Keter thinks curious.
Keter stops for a second then quotes himself. '"I would rather not attract nothing to me." what a weird sentence' Keter had to stop himself from laughing. Keter sighs and thinks 'I should use this time to think of ways to use Miracle to live through this hell.' Keter starts to mentally go over his options. 'Miracle allows me to create miracles but there is most definitely a limit which is based on tons of factors. The current main reason is that I'm only a dormant Rank my "intent" is not able to influence the world around me much. I mean a higher class would help as well and Soul Essence would also help but that's obvious. For example, I could walk on water or up a wall but not on the air, I could give myself night vision or increase how far I can see but I can't give myself infrared vision.'
'I've taken to making all of my Miracles into the form of a circle due to the divine miracles in the knives from the second nightmare.' After going over the main details Keter laid down to rest. 'I need to be ready for tomorrow after all unlike Sunny I don't have the best scout in the world.'
--Daytime--
Keter stood up and got ready to climb down the statue as the dark sea receded. Keter began to climb down the statue like a professional. 'Learning how to rock climb was a damn good idea.' As Keter landed on the ground he put his hand out and an empty map with a singular red mark appeared. 'This is really the only way I have to get through the coral labyrinth without basically committing suicide.' Keter sighed as he thought 'Time to map this bitch out.'
--7 Hours Later--
Keter looked at the slowly dimming light and then at the map in front of him and frowned. 'Barely any. I've barely mapped out any of the area, but it doesn't matter right now. It's time to get back to the statue so I don't get crushed by the sea. After Keter got back, he mentally went over what happened. 'It was rather boring, which is good, but I probably only have about another day or two before I start running across Savengers.' Keter starts backtracking to the statue. 'This is the dream realm I can't be greedy with time.' after he got to the foot of the statue. 'Good timing considering there's only about 20 to 30 minutes till the sea comes back up.'
"Grrrhhh!" A loud gargled scream came from Keter's left, and as he looked over, he saw a large carb running at him. 'A Scavenger? What the hell are they doing here? There should still be more than enough of the corrupted devil's corpses to feed them all.' Ketler Summoned his trusty longsword as a golden light enveloped him and the sword. Keter jumped up with a golden circle summoned around his right ankle. Pushing off the statue he propelled himself above the Scavenger as he cleaved at it.
The deathly maw of the Savenger's claw griped around his foot shattering his bones as his momentum was stopped only allowing him to cut partly through its joint. 'That going to be uncomfortable later.' Keter explodes the Miricle around his ankle forcing the claw off of him. Keter then stepped onto the scavenger's shell then using a Miricle he attached himself to the shell then stabbed his longsword in the Scavenger's anus and pulled it out with a twist.
"Aaaaaahh" A painful scream came from the jaw's of the Scavenger. With the Scavenger incapacitated for a moment Keter took the chance to slice through some of its joints leaving it immobile Just before Keter stabbed his sword into the Savenger's brain.
[You have slain an awakened beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
Keter almost fell to the ground in relief as he heard the spell. 'God I feel shameless for doing that but Shiro was right that is one hell of a strategy.'(Shiro from Nanomacer Reborn) Keter's ears perched up as he heard the sound of water crashing against the ground. 'Shit, it's time to get up statue.' Keter looked at the corpse of the Scavenger grabing it and started to strengthen his body as much as he could before he started to climb. 'I won't make it in time.' Keter noticed as the water was almost upon him. 'Then it's time to be the dumbest person in the world, two world's actually.' Keter laughed at the forced joke summoning his sword and stabbing it into the corpse to keep it there as he jumped into the water. As he touched the water he tried his best to not be consumed by his fear, by the memory of the water flowing down his body, by the memory of that horrid fountain.
'This is the dumbest thing I've ever done.' Keter thought as he tried his best to stop himself from being torn to pieces by the current. Then Keter felt it, something swam past him and it was fast. 'Of course, I couldn't get lucky and only have to deal with the currents.' Keter complained. Keter eyes shot to the side as he enhanced his hearing and sight. 'Oh shi-' Keter saw the massive barracuda nightmare creature launch itself at him with Keter only being able to stop its massive jaws with his hands. Keter grit his teeth as its teeth pierced through his hands.
'This is so annoying.' Keter groans as he tries to stop it from crushing his head in its massive maw. 'this isn't going to work, this thing's bite force is going to crush me soon very soon.' Keter desummons his sword then pulls his head back and rabidly takes one of his hands away not caring as its teeth mudilate his hand then crushes the other one. Keter heals and then summons his sword stabbing it into its mouth as hard as he can before he rips his other hand out and then swims away with all of his might.
'Today is such a bad day. I got my foot torn to shreds, almost drowned, got my hands mutilated, and now the sea has taken my dinner.' Keter clicks his tongue as he finally gets to the statue and pulls himself up. 'Well if there's one good thing is that I at least wasn't consumed by my trauma. Yay.' Keter thinks sarcastically as he falls onto the statue trying to get himself into a safer position so he can sleep as he then heard.
[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]
[You have received a Memory: Chitin Shell]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
'Well I'll be damned. Thank god I damn deserve it after all that' Keter laid down collapsing onto the ground smiling as he passed out exhausted.

Chapter Text

Keter awoke to the sounds of raging tides. 'What' Keter looked around puzzled as the water flooded the labyrinth. 'Oh god damn it, I slept through the day.' Keter huffed as he stood up annoyed. 'I need food today or else I'm slowly going to get weaker till I won't even be able to hunt for food.' Keter's eyes narrowed. 'But hunting in the dark sea is the epitome of suicide.' Keter's eyes then lit up as he remembered something. 'The memory! I got one from the awakened monster didn't I?'

Memories:[Robes of the Lost] [Trusty Longsword] [Chitin Shell]

A smile found its way to Keter's lips. 'I hope to god it will somehow help me with my food problem.'

[Chitin Shell]

Memory Rank: Awakened

Memory Tier: II

Memory Type: Armor

Memory Description: Even the strongest of walls can not hold off the Profane forever

'Oh, that looks useful, and is that referring to the Dark City?' Keter dismisses his robes and then summons the armor. As he does a rough, rigged, watertight set of armor covers him from head to toe. 'this ain't too bad. Tho it definitely looks like something meant to be used underwater.' Keter takes a deep breath trying to calm himself down as he summons his runes.

Light Fragment:[317/1000]

'Let's hope to god that's enough to not get me killed' Keter fell forward letting himself fall into the ragging water as golden light enveloped his armor and sword. Keter felt himself shaking as he neared the water, his fear was trying to swallow him whole. It only got worse as he felt the water surround his body. The only thing keeping him from being consumed by the fear was the strength the water gave him. 'I was right this armor was meant for this. I can breathe underwater and it seems that both the armor and I got stronger from being inside of the water.'

Keter swam slowly getting used to it as he sensed his first target. 'it's one of the things I killed yesterday. A Depth Dwealer I believe it was called.' A gold circle formed around Keter's feet as he then shot toward the Depth Dwealer. The light on Keter's sword sharpened as he got closer. 'My enhancements are always general, so let's try making one more specific.' Keter's sword shot forward and cleanly pierced through the Depth Dewaler's head.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter looked shocked at the message. 'Why was that so easy? It's an awakened monster it shouldn't be so easy to kill.' Keter pondered as he grabbed the corpse and swam away. 'This should be enough to fill me up-' Keter was torn from his thoughts as he saw three nightmare creatures rushing towards him. 'Oh hell. This is about to suck.' Keter grimaced as the first one caught up to him. Keter's eyes widen as its bite tears through his armor, shredding his muscles and Shattering his bones. 'What why didn't the armor stop it?' Keter quickly pushed those thoughts back as he swung his sword at the next one, flanking his left.

The huge Dwealer bites down on the sword, only allowing it to cut through some of its mouth. 'Damnit this thing is going to tear my leg off soon.' Keter eyes drift to the last one as he sees it shot for his head. 'Shit I need to get one of them off me now.' Keter bit his lip as he formed a stronger Miricle around his leg, exploding it and shattering the Dwealer's head.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter then began to heal his leg as used it to boost himself onto the Dwealer biting on his sword. Throwing the corpse in his hand into the mouth of the Dwealer shot for his head. Keter quickly shoved his finger into its eye, forming a needle then shooting it through its brain.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter clicked his tongue as he sensed more coming. 'More? already, I'm so screwed.' Keter shot forward after making a temporary foothold cleaving the last one cleanly through.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter quickly grabbed two of the corpses and quickly left for the statue. 'I hate to think about it but I'm going to be fighting in this damn sea till it recedes.' Keter throws the corpse on top of the statue before going back into the water. 'They might not be able to go on land but with so many of them hunting me down they might drag something far worse over here.' Keter shot toward the closest Dwealer impaling it through the head, quickly pulling it out and cutting through the throat of another one.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

'Dwealers are incredibly fast and have a deranged bite force, but their defense is very thin. The only reason I was able to resist the bite force yesterday was because of the strength boost from the [Robes of Lost].' Keter moved his body to the side to dodge the bite of one then, shot himself up to dodge another. Using the momentum he cut through one of the ones above him. Then sticking his hand in the mouth of another before it could bite through his chest he caused a small explosion killing it.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

'Is this what clarity feels like?' Keter moved his head to the side making one of them bite through his shoulder instead of his head. 'I feel like I can predict them easier.' Keter let another one take his foot, giving him the time to kill the one crushing his shoulder.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[You have Received Memory: Crushing Jaws]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

'Everything is just, hmm.... clearer. I can't find another way to describe it.' As summoned his runes as his sword cleaved through the one on his foot. Healing both his shoulder and foot as he summoned his new Memory.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[Crushing Jaws]

Memory Rank: Awakened

Memory Tier: II

Memory Type Weapon

Memory Description: The malice of beasts is an Endlessly growing sea. One that might even rival an ancient Curse.

A bestial metal jaw set itself upon his face as he tore off his helmet. 'The armor gives me the allows me to breathe underwater. It doesn't matter if I gave the helmet on.' Keter took a bite of a bite of one rushing at him slicing at another. Causing an explosion in the mouth of one as it bites onto his blade, cracking it slightly.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

'there's probably another 20 to 30 of them.' Keter frowned swallowing the piece of meat in his mouth. 'I won't last the entire fight if I don't eat.' Keter winched at the taste just before jumping forward to take another bite along with giving him some space to breathe.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

'My sword probably won't last the entire fight. Well, I wouldn't be lasting through the fight either if I wasn't getting four life fragments per kill.' Keter pushed his thoughts aside after his shoulder was back in decent condition. Keter throws his sword into the head of the one charging at him before shooting forward pushing the jaw of one of them up, making it only bite through part of his hand before he takes a bite out of its throat. dismissing his sword then summoning it right back. Keter Boosted his hand forward cutting through the jaw of one before it could bite down.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter mind blared with warnings of danger, quickly spinning around making it bite down on his sword instead of him. Multiple cracks appear on his blade before he shoots a needle through its head.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

'My sword doesn't have enough integrity to be able to do its job very well.' Keter frowned just before changing the Miricle on the sword and shoving it into the bite of one of the Dwellers. 'I was truly hoping it would last long but, whatever keeps me alive.' Keter huffs as it bites through his sword. The blade of the sword explodes like shrapnel killing it. Quickly throwing the handle into the maw of the others allowing it to then explode. As he did so Keter felt horrifying pain on his back, it was as if someone was carving into his back.

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[Your Memory has been Destroyed]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter flinched but tried his best to push off the pain. 'Without a sword, I won't be able to kill anymore without guaranteeing my death.' Keter's frown deepens as he shoots towards the statue. 'Let's hope that's enough to keep the big stuff away from me.' As Keter gets out of the water he dismisses his armor and then summons his robes. 'It's too bad that I only got one memory but at least I'm alive.' Keter sat down tiredly, as he began to bite into the raw Dwealers. 'I'm too damn hungry to care that it's raw, well at least I don't need to keep up the other Miricle so I can cancel out feeling anything on my tongue.'

Keter's eyes shoot up, gazing at the bright light in the distance. 'Well, that's where they are.' Keter shakes his head as he gets back to eating. 'It's not like I can do anything. Tho today was a pretty good haul.'

Light Fragment:[389/1000]

Chapter Text

Keter woke up as the dark sea began to recede. 'Already? I feel like I've only slept an hour.' Keter stood up, summoning his map. He then looked towards where he knew Nephis and Cassie were. 'I need to give them a signal.' Keter used a Miricle to enhance his eyes to pinpoint exactly where they were. Keter frowns as he finds them 'They don't look very good. Is there any way I could tell them where I am?' Keter starts to consider his options. 'The range of my Miracles is nowhere near far enough to do anything with that. Wait didn't Nephis notice my gaze before, since both of our Aspects are holy related? Could she notice me from this distance if I flair it? I might as well try.'

Keter began to pour as much power into Miricle as he could, focusing it all into his eyes. Keter focused all of his intent on Nephis, making it so that even if just for a second she became the only thing he could comprehend.

--Nephis POV--

Nephis was trying her best to stay conscious after the hell that was last night. 'We will need to rest for the rest of the day, till I'm in fighting condition.' Nephis grabbed [Endless Spring] from Cassie's hand and greedily drank from it. 'Light is the enemy during the night, how unfortunate.' Nephis suddenly felt her core tremble before the world was consumed by intent. The light around her grew brighter, the shadows grew deeper and more agitated. She felt killing intent, desperation, adoration, and countless more emotions crash into her. 'Keter' Nephis concluded quite easily, recognizing the bloodlust from their spars. Even against the crashing waves of intent, Nephis's clarity held strong, and completely unmoving.

'It's gone' Nephis noted, the intent disappearing mere moments after it appeared. 'He's nearby'

"We will be staying nearby for a few days," Nephis told Cassie giving her no room for argument. Cassie merely nods albeit a little confused on why.

--Keter POV--

Keter flinched as he felt something carving into his back. 'That damn feelings back. Well, at least I know for sure that Miricle is what's causing it.' Keter began to climb down the statue. 'I hope Nephis noticed.'

---------------

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter looked up to the sky seeing the sun reach its climax he decided it was a good idea to begin heading back. 'I've mapped out a good chunk more, but it will still probably take 4 to 5 more days to find them. To make it worse the Scavengers will finish the corpse mid-tommarow if my guess is correct.' Keter jumped up slightly to avoid a Scavenger jumping out of the sand. 'It's not like I can't handle Savengers, but without a sword, I most definitely won't be able to keep up with their numbers.' Keter grabbed the Scavenger's shell and ripped it off with explosive force.

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[You have received a Memory: Azure Sabre]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

'It takes a lot of energy to deal with them, but it seems like my main problem is now solved' Keter summons the sabre along with its runes. 'It's not to bad at least, I like slashing far more than thrusting. Also more Azure weapons?'

[Azure Sabre]

Memory Rank: Awakened

Memory Type: Weapon

Memory Tier: I

Memory Description:["What use does mere steel have in this god-forsaken hell hole? what use do we have in a place that even the gods abandoned? Captian tell me, what hope do we have here?" - The Soldier tearily begged for an answer.

"The kind we make for ourselves" -The Knight answered]

Keter stares at the description momentarily then turns away dismissing the runes. 'That is certainly interesting, more lore after all.' The sabre was forged out of Azure steel with a long intricate pattern across it. 'It's a Scandinavian sabre.' Keter could tell quite easily. 'This will solve the main problem, but also should I hunt during the night? I did quite well last time, but it won't always be like that. One mistake is all it takes.'

Keter ponders as he gets closer to the statute. 'I can always run, I learned underwater combat in the academy after all. So it's not like I'm helpless, I will also get better along the way. But I want to mainly because of the fragments and that I can probably use it to evolve [Untainted Faith].' Keter began to climb up the statue. '[untainted] evolved into [Untainted Faith] after my faith was forced to cross a threshold, being constantly surrounded by the corruption of a Great Titan should be well more than enough.

As the dark Sea rose once more Keter shivered a little. 'Well let's get this started.' Keter braised his sabre as he jumped into the dark sea.

-------------------------------------

I doubt anyone wants to just scroll through a butt load of kills so I'm just going to put (#x) next to each.

-------------------------------------------------------------

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter](86x)

[You have received a Memory: Man Eater]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have received an Echo: Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[You have Slain Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter](43x)

[You have received a Memory: Azure Rapier]

[You have received a Memory: Azure Armor]

[You have received a Memory: Shattered Sea Charm]

[You have received a Memory: Azure Spear]

[Your Light Grows Brighter](11x)

[Your Memory has been Destroyed: Azure Sabre]

[Your Memory has been Destroyed: Azure Rapier]

[Your Memory has been Destroyed: Chitin Shell]

Keter was covered in an azure glow from his armor as he walked across the sand covered head to toe in blood. 'I need to find another weapon soon but that won't be much of a problem especially since I'm about to have Nephis's help.' Keter turned a corner and sighed in relief as he finally found them. 'God finally that took even longer than I thought it would, eleven days total I believe.' Keter waved at them as a smile crept onto his face.

--Nephis POV--

[You have Slain Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Fire Grows Stronger]

[You have received Echo: Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger]

Nephis looked up in surprise as she heard that. 'An echo? How lucky.' Nephis's ears perked up as she heard steps coming from behind her. Quickly turning around with her [Dream Blade] at the ready. Nephis's eyes widened as she saw him and stared at him in a daze for a moment, and the only way she could describe him was

'ethereal' 

Chapter Text

"Hey Nephis, do you have a spare sword memory?" Keter asked as he walked towards her. 'Lust, huh.' Keter noted with [Eyes of Heart].

Nephis nodded pulling herself out of her daze, then putting out her hand. "here"

[You have Received Memory: Azure Blade]

'Hm, what a coincidence' Keter thought surprised as he pulled up his runes.

[Azure Blade]

Memory Rank: Awakened

Memory Type: Weapon

Memory Description: [On this forgotten shore, only steel remembers.]

'It really is the same one.' Keter smiled as he dismissed his runes and looked at Nephis. "where's Cassie"

"Hiding," Nephis said bluntly as she walked over to one of the walls of coral and pulled a woman out of a hidden spot. Nephis then helped the woman walk to where Keter was.

"Hello, Cassie my name is Keter."

"You're number two on the leaderboard right?" Cassie thought she recognized the name.

"Yea, I am"

Nephis then summoned [Carapace Scavenger] and put Cassie on top. "we need to get going and this will help us move faster"

Cassie didn't argue as she was placed on the echo, and Keter could tell she was still somewhat uncomfortable about the new addition to the party.

Nephis and Keter quickly harvested the bodies of the Scavengers for meat and then left for the hill. The group walked in silence Keter and Nephis to paranoid to start any type of conversation.

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter was harvesting the soul shards of the ones he killed as he thought. 'Nephis and I work pretty well together. All of our sparing most definitely plays a part, but there is also the weird effect my presence has on people with divinity and light-related abilities.' Keter surges a little. 'There is also the fact we are both competent fighters so it has been an easier time for us to learn how to fight together than she would have had with Sunny.'

"Eight total shards huh." Keter mused.

Nephis nods as she says. "we're here" Nephis calmly tied both ends of the rope into loops and then threw one of them into the air, accurately coiling it around a prominent protrusion near the top of the coral pillar. Then, she tested if the rope would hold, swiftly climbed up, and waved from above, for Keter to grab Cassie.

Keter grabbed Cassie and began climbing the rope as Nephis dismissed her echo. After gently setting down Cassie Keter grabbed the makeshift bag the put the soul shards in. "How are we going to split this?"

Nephis making a fire to cook the meat with said. "Three, three, two"

"Do you two have any water? I haven't drank anything in a while." Keter complains.

Cassia smiled.

"Yes!"

After that, she extended an arm to him. A second later, a beautiful bottle made of patterned blue glass appeared in her hand.

"That's a Memory I have. It's always full."

Keter greedily drinks from the bottle till he's had his fill. "Thank you, and that's one hell of a useful memory."

Cassia nodded and smiled, pleased by his words.

Soon, the rich smell of roasting meat permeated the air. At the same time, the sun was beginning to approach the horizon; a loud rumble came from somewhere beneath, and first traces of the black water began to appear between crimson walls of the labyrinth.

Everyone greedily eats their fill. When they were finished with their meal, the dark sea was back, and the night was upon them. Everything was consumed by absolute darkness.

"Do you two know each other?" Cassie asked curly.

"We were sparring partners."

"We're friends"

they said at the same time. Shortly after Cassie chuckled slightly. "Drama"

Keter looked at Nephis in a false shock. "Gasp what about all the time you spent on top of me? Did that mean nothing to you?"

Cassie choked slightly trying to hold back her laugh, and Nephis looked at him with a dull face but with [Eyes of Heart] he could tell she felt scandalized.

"Did you really just say Gasp?" Cassie couldn't hold back her laughter any longer.

Nephis attempted to change the subject not knowing how to respond. "Give me the soul shards"

"Yes Ma'am" Keter hands her the makeshift bag. After she gets it she hands two to Cassie, three to Keter, and keeps three for herself. Both of them quickly use their soul shards and after that do Keter says.

"You want to make a deal Nephis?" Nephis gave him a look telling him to continue.

"You get my share of soul shards till you fill your core and in return, you teach me swordsmanship."

"You're already a competent swordsman."

"Yes but not good enough, not for this hell of a place."

Nephis thinks for a moment then nods "Deal"

Chapter Text

"Nephis here" Keter leaned over and grabbed her hand, transferring [Robes of The Lost] to her. "I want it back after you get a set of armor tho."

Sparks of light immediately surround Nephis as she summons [Robes of The Lost]. She then looks over the runes, letting Keter catch a glimpse of surprise cross her face. "where did you find an ascended memory?"

"I got it in my first nightmare." Nephis eyed him with well-hidden suspicion, not knowing Keter could see right through her facade.

At that point, Cassie suddenly sat up straight. Her eyes were wide open, and her face was a little pale. She looked nervous and excited.

Nephis frowned.

"Cassie? What's the matter?"

The blind girl turned to them and smiled.

"A… a vision! I had a vision!"

"What was it?" Keter pondered 'I wonder if it will be different than the original, and is Nephis still doomed to the dream world.'

Meanwhile, Changing Star stretched her hand, as though prepared to summon her sword.

"Are we in danger?"

Cassie energetically shook her head.

"No, it's not that! People… I saw a castle full of people!"

She smiled and pointed with her finger.

"I don't know how far it is, but I'm sure that it's in that direction!" Cassie pointed west.

"That's pretty good actually, I have a chunk of the west already mapped out." Keter pointed out.

Nephis, who was quietly listening to them, gave him an indecipherable look and finally spoke:

"Tell us more about the castle."

A shadow of the previous excitement returned to Cassie's eyes. With a serious nod, she began describing her vision.

"I dreamt of a vast, ruined city built of weathered stone. It was surrounded by tall, impregnable walls. Various monsters were wandering its narrow streets. In the center of the city, the was a hill, and on that hill stood a magnificent castle."

She smiled.

"But there were no monsters in the castle! Instead, it was full of people. I think… no, I'm sure that they were Awakened. Some were guarding the walls, some were going about their lives without a care in the world. There was food, safety, and laughter!"

"And I saw both of you leading me into the castle! That means we will make it!"

"A castle, sounds like a comfy place to rest in this hellscape" Keter mentally snorts as he says this. Keter stands up and gets ready to set off. "You ready Nephis?"

Nephis nods summoning the rope and making a singular loop, tying it on one of the rocks she then descends the rope like a firefighter summoning [Carapace Scavenger] when she hit the floor.

Keter quickly descended himself after grabbing Cassie. Putting her on [Carapace Scavenger] they got ready to leave as a map appeared in front of him

------------------------

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

"How did you guys kill 26 Scavengers?!" Cassie was genuinely confused.

"I don't know what you were expecting with number one and two on the same team with someone who can read attributes of creatures." Keter then hands Cassie six shards and gives the other twenty to Nephis.

"Are you making fun of me?" Cassie frowns suddenly far less upbeat. Keter could tell Nephis was giving him some kind of look too.

"No, I'm not. Knowing the exact attributes of the Scavengers is damn helpful." Keter then looked to Nephis. "I need to hunt soon so what do you want to teach me?"

"Hunt? The sun is almost down." Nephis pointed out.

"I've been hunting in the dark sea." Nephis looked at him in shock her social awkwardness not being enough to hide it as Cassie's head wiped to look at him.

Nephis sit there a little dumbstruck then recovers shortly.

"We will start with some words. That will be enough for today."

After hesitating a little, she added

"Cassie, you listen too." Both Cassie and Keter listened closely.

Nephis thought for a while and then said

"Mastery of combat can be divided into two aspects. One is body, and the other one is mind. Training the body is not easy, but it is rather simple. All you need is repetition and experience. In a fight, things happen too fast to consider every detail in the moment. That's why your technique must exist in your muscles and bones, so much so that it almost becomes an instinct."

She paused.

"You can achieve initial results through repetition. Then, it must be cemented through experience. The more battle experience you have, the deeper a technique will be assimilated into your body. There is no other way. A thousand hours of training won't be as impactful as one real fight. Only those who survive countless battles can be truly in command of the body."

Keter just nods along already knowing all of this as Cassie tried her best to understand.

"Training the mind, however, is not simple at all. That is because, once you reach a certain level of skill, the mind is where the true combat takes place. The outcome is often decided before your body begins to move. And to master the mind, the first step is to understand the essence of combat. However, very few people truly do."

She looked at them and asked

"What do you think that essence is?"

Keter waited allowing Cassie to figure out her answer before he spoke. After a minute or so, Cassie finally answered "Victory."

"Violence" Keter then explained his thought. "Be it pain, murder, torture, or mutilation it's all violence."

Nephis looks at him for a moment and ponders his words. "The essence of combat is murder." Cassie flinched badly as she heard that.

"At the core of it, there is only this: you are trying to kill your opponent, and they are trying to kill you. In the end, one of you will be killed, and the other one will be the killer. Everything else is just noise."

"Style doesn't matter. Weapons don't matter. Reason and intent do not matter. The only thing that matters is to be the last one standing. In this way, anything you do in combat must be viewed as only serving one of two purposes: either to kill your enemy or to prevent the enemy from killing you."

Nephis lowered her eyes.

"If you can understand that, you will have enough clarity to master the mind."

After that Cassie went to sleep with a disturbed look and Nephis took watch and Keter Jumped into the dark sea as the tool appeared around his neck.

[Traveler]

Memory Rank: Awakend

Memory Tier: II

Memory Type: Tool

Memory Description: Humanity needed a way to travel along the All-Consuming Darkness, so they found their own way.

---------------------------------------------

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

Keter came out of the water as a piercing scream tore through the morning sky. Quickly catching Cassie, he dismissed part of his armor so as not to harm her.

"I got you." Keter pulled them up off the ledge and set her down.

Nephis was listening to the sea for the same reason. After a few seconds, Nephis asked.

"Do you see anything?"

"No, and she's not hurt either." Keter looked over her to make sure she was not injured. "What did you see?"

Magically, that did seem to calm the blind girl down a little. At least enough for her to speak in a quivering voice. Cassie extended one hand and pointed down.

"Th—the head… I saw… oh gods!"

"Keter frowned then looked at Nephis. "Let's give the girl her space." Nephis nodded and led Keter over to the edge of the platform.

"Can you fight?" Nephis asked regarding his hunt.

"Yeah, why?"

"Your swordsmanship is completely one-handed while you use your other hand for blocking or movement. Its razer like your style resembles Death by a Thousand cuts but only partially. Your footwork is swift and incredibly balanced, but you trick your opponents into thinking it's not very stable as you only allow 30%-40% of your foot to touch the ground at any given time. But your one major flaw is that your style is rigid while you use your aspect to make up for it, you shouldn't need to do so." Nephis got into her combat position. "Come at me."

"Got it, princess." Keter rushed at her with {Azure Blade] in hand while keeping in mind what she told him.

--------------------------

After a while, Cassie was ready to talk so she called them over.

Cassia didn't look too well. Her face was still very pale, with a distant, dazed expression on it. Her body at least was no longer trembling.

"What did you see?" Keter asked as Cassie handed him the [Endless Spring].

Cassie hesitated for a bit before saying

"I… don't know. Maybe it was just a nightmare."

"I don't really remember. It's all in fragments." Keter handed the bottle to Nephis and then said.

"Nobody can dream in the dream realm so it had to have been a vision." Keter suddenly felt Nephis shot him a glare. 'What did I do wrong?"

Cassia sighed and tentatively nodded. After a long pause, she finally found the courage to speak

"At first, I saw a… a boundless darkness locked behind seven seals. Something vast was churning in the darkness. I felt like if I directly saw it, I would lose my mind. As I watched, terrified, the seals broke one after another, until only one remained. And then that seal broke, too."

She trembled a little.

"After that… I don't know. It was as though my mind shattered into a thousand shards, each shard reflecting its own image. Most of them were dark and scary. Some I have already forgotten. The other…"

Cassie fell silent, remembering.

"I saw the human castle again. Only this time, it was at night. There was a lonely star burning in the black skies, and under its light, the castle was suddenly consumed by fire, with rivers of blood flowing down its halls. A bleeding light atop a towering golden wall; a woman with a bronze spear drowning in a tide of monsters; an archer trying to pierce the falling sky with his arrows."

Finally, she looked up, her face full of horror.

"In the end, I saw a colossal, terrifying crimson spire. At its base, seven severed heads were guarding seven locks. And at the top, was the sun devouring the bleeding light. All I could feel was horror as the sun ate the bleeding light, it was like I just saw something I thought invincible die."

"And then as the horror consumed me, everything shattered."

Chapter Text

'The Dark Sea has finished residing.' Keter stared at the corpse of the corrupted devil. 'Looks like they've finally come for the last transcendent shard. We can't handle a Centurion right now.' Keter looked at Nephis before she could say anything.
"We can't leave, not today." Keter stared into her eyes. After a while, she answered.
"I don't want Cassie to spend another night near this statue. Let's leave now."
"No, we can't the Centurion's are far too close." Keter points to the three huge monsters grabbing the last transcendent soul shards. Keter hesitates, looks over to the sleeping Cassie, and then back at Nephis. "And I'm about to be out of commission." Keter gaze shifts slightly.
Light Fragment:[943/1000]
A small forced frown appeared on Nephis face, though Keter could tell the emotions were real. 'A good attempt though'
"Explain" Nephis demanded.
"Only if you tell no one else of this, after all this is my secret to tell," Keter demanded in return. Nephis nodded slowly.
"My aspect is of the divine rank and my core is almost filled," Keter said leaving the rest to implications.
Nephis eyes widened noticeably, Keter could see countless conflicts going on in her mind. It took her a while to put her thoughts together. "We will stay but, WE are going hunting." She stressed as she summoned her echo to protect Cassie while they were gone.
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
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[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
"I need nine more" Keter looked over his runes as Nephis absorbed the last of the soul shards.
Light Fragment:[983/1000]
Nephis ears caught the sound of something crushing the coral then stood up with her sword at the ready. "Not anymore, they're here. The Centurions."
Keter tensed instantly after hearing Nephis. A faint glow appeared around his ears allowing him to hear it as well. "all of them?!" A hint of fear appeared in his eyes, before he crushed the feeling under logic. 'We don't have time for fear and we don't have time to run either, they are far too close for that. Wait why are they coming this way the Soul devouring tree is to the west?" Keter tried to find the reason quickly spotting it. "A storm is coming from the west."
Nephis looked at him with fierce determination. "The only spot nearby is the statue." Keter nodded.
"We have to kill them or we won't survive the night. I will handle two of them, you deal with the other then come assist me afterward, also switch with me." Keter grabbed Nephis's hand and transferred both [Azure Armor] and [Shattered Sea Charm] while gaining [Robes of The Lost] back.
[Shattered Sea Charm]
Memory Rank: Awakend
Memory Tier: I
Memory Type: Charm
Memory Description: [A once-common military equipment]
[Azure Armor]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Armor
Memory Tier: I
Memory Description: [The Azure, the lowest level of the Starlight Legion. Were the vanguard against the darkness and those who stood tall against it were granted the right of starlight.]
"The charm enhances the strength of armor." Keter releases her hand, with a golden spark, and jumps up onto the coral. "Good luck Nephis, and you better not go and die on me."
"Same to you." Nephis runs to the furthest one, faster than ever before.
Keter summoned the [Azure Spear] pulling his arm back, readying it for launch. 'I only have a basic mastery over the spear but I'm damn good at throwing them." Golden sparks flared around the spear pushing it far beyond its limit, as Keter did so strange runes began to carve themselves on his back. 'It will break but that doesn't matter, as long as I survive I can find another.' As the two Centurions got close Keter launched his spear at the joint between the arm and the scythe, Keter could hear the spell sound out the destruction of his memory as one of the scythes fell off. Letting the transcendent soul shard fall to the floor.
'That one of the main weapons gone.' Keter summoned his sword, a golden circle appearing around both of his ankles. 'With my amount of fragments, I can make some enhancements constant but I can't do any others if I do so' Keter cut through one of the eyes of the injured Centurion. Immidetly dismissing his sword he began to resummon it as he dodged the attack of the injured one, then threw himself under the scythe of the other. Keter attempted to slash at the armor of the injured Centurion to slow himself down only for it to harmlessly slide off.
'Only the weak points, got it.' Keter kicked the ground, sending him flying away from them. More blood fell from the carving runes as he applied an enhancement to his sword. Keter dodged the legs of one by diving under the other. Baiting it to drop Keter used Miricle to make a small hole in the ground pumping the blade full of temporary enhancements as he barely missed it dropping on him.
The Centurion shrieked as the blade pierced it through. Keter quickly summoned it back to him. 'It's barely holding together if I don't use Miricle to keep it together it's going to fall apart at the slightest graze.' Keter tried his best to keep it together as he jumped forward pricing the concave.
[Your Memory has been destroyed]
'At least it kept together for that last bit.' Keter felt the scythe of the other Centurion Cleave him through.
[You have Slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.]
[You have Received a Memory: Starlight Legion Longsword]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
Keter pushed Miricle to its limit as the scythe made contact. Blood began to pore in droves from his back as his torso pieced itself back together. Keter grit his teeth while summoning his new memory. Using his body and Miracle he forced the scythe to stall in his body. enchanting his left arm he cleaved through the joint connecting to the scythe. Keter buckled under the weight of the scythe, as he fell he tilted his body and let the scythe cleave itself out of him.
"argh" Keter gasped at the pain barely pulling himself up as the Centurion tore his shoulder off. 'Fuck this hurts.' Keter flinched as Miricle worked even harder to keep him alive. Keter was thrown backward with the force of the blow, crashing directly into the transcendent soul shard. Keter readied his sword as the Centurion was barrelling towards him. Keter weakly aimed at the place where the carapace met the torso. A beautiful golden light extend out of his sword faintly scratching the transcendent soul shard right before piercing directly through the exact area.
[You have Slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.]
[You have Received an Echo: Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion]
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
Keter fell weakly on the floor as he heard those words. As the Nightmare spell rang against his ears once more.
[Your Light Grows Brighter]
[...Your Light is overflowing with power.]
[Your Light is taking shape.]
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH" Keter screamed in horrifying pain. It felt like his soul was being torn, cut, clawed, and beaten. His Brain felt like it was melting. Keter felt like he was dying in every way all at the same time, he felt like he was being torn apart and rebuilt. Keter clawed at the ground, cracks forming as he did so. Keter couldn't form a thought under so much pain but even if he could he wouldn't have been able to understand why it was so painful. Under such horrid pain, he couldn't hear the mutters of the Nightmare Spell.
[More than a Beast but less than a Demon, So thus he must be a Monster]
The very existence of the being named "Keter" grew to accommodate the concept of "Monster".
[Your Light is Complete]
Keter could gasped for breath as the pain finally subsided. The last thing he could see was a woman in shining silver armor being chased by the endless drowning tides of the Dark Sea.

Chapter Text

Keter woke up covered in seaweed bandages. Slowly picking himself up, he examined his wounds. 'Most of them are gone, all that's left is the runes.' Keter couldn't heal the runes and from what it looks like Nephis couldn't either. Keter looked over to the pale sleeping body of Nephis, then to the awake Cassie.

"What happened after I passed out?" Cassie looked towards him and a relieved expression appeared on her face.

"Nephis absorbed the transcendent soul shard you were lying against to be fast enough to get you both out of there. When Nephis got you up here she healed you but the runes wouldn't fully heal so I bandaged you."

Keter flinched from the "Loud" sound and then looked up at her surprised. "You?"

Cassie nodded. "Even if I can't see finding my way around a human body enough to bandage it is quite easy. Also, the runes are going to scar and from what I can tell this wasn't the first time they have shown up. And you don't need to worry about Nephis she wasn't injured."

"Thanks for the help, but now that I'm awake, you can rest. We're going to need a lot of your help soon after all." Keter adjusted the bandages to make them a bit more comfortable. He then began trying to readjust his senses.

"What do you mean my help?" Cassie frowned. "Why would you need my help."

"Even if Nephis and I are strong, we don't stand a chance against any of the true terrors of this god-forsaken place. You're a soothsayer; you are our only way to live through this hellish place." Keter instantly dismisses her self-deprecating words.

Cassie doesn't say anything for a while then shows a faint smile. Keter could see the storm of depression and self-doubt wane. "Thank you... and good night." Cassie lays down her storm of emotions growing ever more complicated.

"Good night."

'What did I get for killing the two Centurions?' Keter moved on to other things to let Cassie figure herself out.

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name: Holy Emperor(Emperor of the Willing or Slave of Faith or Emperor of Light)

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Monster

Light Core: Dormant

Light Fragment:[27/2000]

Memories: [Robes of The Lost] [Crushing Jaws] [Man Eater] [Traveler] [Starlight Legion Longsword]

Echos: [Depth Dwealer] [Carapace Centurion]

Attributes:[Untainted Faith] [Child of Light] [Spark of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart]

As Keter saw his class he flinched. 'God I'm starting to remember how painful that was. But an echo and a memory? how lucky. What do they do?'

[Starlight Legion Longsword]

Memory Rank: Awakened

Memory Tier: II

Memory Type: Weapon

Memory Description: [For man sinned, bathing the world in their betrayal

For man killed, casting their fellow man to the depths

For man declared, they didn't need the gods

and from their will the sun was reborn anew]

'A poem hm. Most of my memories involve "Will" and "Consequences" as centerpieces of the description. It makes sense tho considering the history of this place.' Keter brought up the runes for another memory.

[Man Eater]

Memory Rank: Awakend

Memory Tier: II

Memory Type: Charm

Memory Description: [In their desperation, as the darkness consumed the stars once more, man turned on their fellow man].

'I still don't know what it particle does but I think I have a decent guess now.'Keter then brought up another set of Runes.

[Carapace Centurion]

Echo Rank: Awakened.

Echo Class: Monster

Echo Attributes: [Strong] [Armored] [Deathly Blow]

'I can't believe I got an echo from that.' A smile grew on Keter's face. "It will be pretty useful for dealing with the Carapace Demon. But the difference between classes is deranged. I would know much better than most considering I'm a "Monster" now.'

Keter suppressed a shiver from the overwhelming amount of information entering his brain. 'I'm different... it's not just a second core like in the novel. It's far more than that, I feel like I've become more. My senses are far stronger, my instincts feel more like I'm getting shot than the "poke" it was before, my mind is better, sharper, and "More" than before. That's really the only way I feel like I can describe it.'

Keter brought his hand in front of his face moving it around as if his examining it. 'Everything I do feels far more deliberate than before. I feel like I'm in far more control of my own body than I was before. It's so weird.' Even without looking towards her direction and while being meters away from her Keter could tell Nephis was waking up.

"Good morning sleepy head." Keter turned to look at her then his smile turned far more sincere. "Also thank you for saving me."

Nephis slowly got up then looked his way and gave a simple nod. Nephis walked over and grabbed his hand.

[You have received Memory: Azure Armor]

[You have received Memory: Shattered Sea Charm]

"Thanks, Nephis and that's a damn cool set of armor you got there." Keter looked over Nephis's armor admiring the amazing craftmanship.

"Indeed it's also quite a good set of armor it will make dealing with the Centurions much easier." Keter could tell the pain from using her aspect previously was still affecting her.

"Nephis your aspect is divine just like mine, and your flaw if I'm guessing correctly is pain.. right?" Keter looks at Nephis with a mournful look.

Nephis's gaze was heavier than ever, Keter could tell she was close to getting aggressive.

"I'm not the assassin after you Nephis. The assassin's name is Caster." Keter's mournful gaze grew heavy. "And after all we've lived through together do you still not trust me?"

Nephis was strangely silent and when she finally spoke she said. "Keter... do you know the Legend of Odysseus?"

Chapter Text

"The broad strokes, so please do remind me."

Nephis sighed and turned away. A few moments later, she softly said.

"Odysseus was a hero in an ancient war. In the legends, some humans back then had powers akin to the Awakened. Achilles with an Aspect of indestructible body, Diomedes that was so ferocious even the God of War was wary of him, Ajax who was as strong as a giant. Odysseus was not the strongest, and not the bravest. However, he was the most cunning."

Keter nodded along.

"In the end, Odysseus's cunning ended the war, and he prepared to sail home. However, the gods cursed him to endlessly wander the seas, never to return. Over the years, he survived one horror after another and lost all of his companions. Then, shipwrecked, he found himself on an island where the beautiful fairy, Calypso, lived."

Changing Star's ethereal, strangely wistful voice resounded in the darkness, creating an enthralling atmosphere.

"Calypso fell in love with Odysseus and invited him to her palace. For many years, they lived together in harmony. The island was like a paradise, filled with all kinds of wonders, delicacies and delights. As long as loving Calypso was by his side, Odysseus was even immortal. But… the longer he stayed, the more time he spent sitting on the shore, looking at the sea with bleak eyes." Nephis smiled.

"In the end, Odysseus built a makeshift boat and abandoned the island, leaving all its delights, the beautiful fairy, and even his immortality behind. So, my question is… why did he leave?"

Keter thought momentarily and then spoke, "Why wouldn't he? He had a wife and child to return to, and a kingdom praised him as king. So what if he was in paradise when there was an even better one called home?"

Nephis paused for a moment thinking over his answer then spoke. "I trust you Keter." Nephis stands up and beckens Keter over to spar.

Keter stood up with a smile on his face as they began to cross blades once more.

-------------------------------------------

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter](121x)

[You have slain Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer]

[Your Light Grows Brighter](324x)

[You have Slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.]

[Your Light Grows Brighter](7x)

[You have Slain an Awakened Beast, Skull Crawlers]

[Your Light Grows Brighter](43x)

[You have received an Echo: Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer](Cassie)

[You have received an Echo: Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer](Cassie)

[You have received an Echo: Awakened Monster, Depth Dwealer](Nephis)

[You have received an Echo: Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger]

[You have received a Memory: Shattered Sea Charm]

[You have given Memory: Shattered Sea Charm](Nephis)

[You have received a Memory: Azure Spear]

[You have received a Memory: Azure Rapier]

[You have given Memory: Azure Rapier](Cassie)

[Your Memory has been destroyed: Azure Armor]

[You have Received Memory: Starlight Legion Armor]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have received a Memory: Traveler]

[You have given Memory: Traveler](Nephis)

[You have given Memory: Traveler](Cassie)

[You have received a Memory: Man Eater]

[You have given Memory: Man Eater](Nephis)

[You have received a Memory: Azure Weaponry](32x)

(I don't feel like coming up with so many memories)

'These past four and a half weeks sucked balls, but at least we finally made it to the bond ridge. Now all that's left between us and the bright castle is the Carapace Demon and that damned tree.' Keter sighs feeling the blood on his back begin to dry out from the heat of Nephis training her flaw. 'The more time that goes by the more I'm convinced that the runes on my back are my aspect legacy. Especially because it's beginning to look like a stigma.'

The runes on Keter's back previously only covered a 1/5 of it now it covered more than half of it. Keter looks over to Nephis and then to Cassie. 'We've all made quite a bit of progress the past few weeks. Nephis is about 2/3 of the to forming her Monster core and Cassie is halfway to fully saturating her own core. Both Nephis and I have grown quite a bit in both teamwork and swordsmanship, I believe she completed her Dormant battle art and I'm getting damn close to finishing mine, I only need one more thing to finish mine but that's at the Dark City.'

'Cassie's gotten mostly used to her blindness and her Soothsayer ability has gotten much better.' Keter's eyes then moved to his runes. 'And hell I've made more progress than both of them.'

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name: Holy Emperor

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Monster

Light Core: Dormant

Light Fragment:[1751/2000]

Memories: [Robes of The Lost] [Crushing Jaws] [Man Eater] [Traveler] [Starlight Legion Longsword] [Shattered Sea Charm] [Azure Spear] [Starlight Legion Armor] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Azure Weaponry](32x)

Echos: [Depth Dwealer] [Carapace Centurion] [Carapace Scavenger]

Attributes:[Untainted Faith] [Child of Light] [Mark of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart]

Aspect: Saint of the Everlasting Light(Divine)

Aspect Description:[You are the successor of the Holy Emperor doomed to observe but never connect with the people you love so much; obsession follows you wherever you go]

'249 more fragments and I will become a demon.' Keter looked west towards the towering Soul Devouring Tree. 'The sea is receding, which means Nephis is about to start asking questions.'

Nephis stopped her training as Cassie stood up shocked awake from what seemed to be a vision.

"Did you see the Carapace Demon?" Keter looked at Cassie with a questioning gaze. Cassie looked back at him with surprise.

"Sometimes it feels like your the oracle of this team with all the shit you spout out of nowhere." Keter just shrugged in response.

"What did you see Cassie?" The Mom of the team asked.

"The past. tho give me a second to put the entire vision together." Cassie sat up grabbed [Endless Spring] drank from it then waited ma moment the she continued.

"I saw the Ashen Barrow deep at night, enveloped in a raging storm. The winds were bending the branches of the great tree, as if desperate to break them. The island was illuminated by the constant barrage of thundering lightning bolts, with rain falling from the skies like a flood."

She paused, catching her breath, and continued

"The Carapace Demon was there, standing in the middle of the storm like an unshakable fortress made of polished steel. Arcs of electricity were dancing between the spikes on his armor, but the demon did not pay it any attention. He was… prideful, sinister, and terrifying."

Cassie tried her best to include as many details as possible.

"When I looked into his eyes, I felt… a sense of emptiness and corruption. He observed the storm until it began to dissipate. The winds weakened, the rain stopped. The great tree stood unbroken, just as magnificent as it was before. But then, the last bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the ground beside it."

"That bolt of lightning could never hurt the Carapace Demon, let alone the miraculous tree. However, when it hit the ground, it ignited the fallen leaves that covered the Ashen Barrow's surface. Soon, a large part of the island was engulfed in fire. In the absolute darkness of the night, it shone like a beacon."

Keter shot Nephis a look, and Nephis nodded back to him.

"Before the flames died down, the dark sea surged, and a… a thing crawled out of it, covering almost the entire slope of the Ashen Barrow with its body. It looked like a… like a mass of bones and rotten flesh connected by black seaweed, with thousands of horrible eyes staring at me hungrily from beneath, coiling tentacles seething as it pushed itself toward the great tree."

Cassie grew pale as she continued.

"That was the most repulsive creature I've ever seen. However, it seemed slow and clumsy, as though being ashore, outside of the black water, was weakening it. The Carapace Demon did not hesitate to lunge at the creature, completely ignoring the fact that it was at least ten times his size. It was like… like he completely lost his mind, enraged by the intrusion on the island."

"How did the demon survive?" Nephis raised her eyebrow surprised that it was able to survive that.

"I… I don't know. I didn't see the battle itself, only its beginning and its end. At the break of dawn, the Carapace Demon crawled back into the shade of the great tee. He was severely wounded, with several of his legs missing and his scythes covered by a spiderweb of cracks. The fire was gone, and there was no sign of the sea creature anywhere in sight."

She paused to catch her breathe and calm herself down.

"The most terrible wound was on his chest. The steel armor of the demon was fractured and split apart, revealing the beating heart inside. Rivers of azure blood were flowing from the wound, mixing with the ashen sand. The demon crawled to the base of the tree and laid his broken body between its roots."

Cassie sighed.

"The last thing I saw was the passage of time. I don't know how long it took, but eventually, the Carapace Demon was able to recover from his wounds. His scythes restored themselves, his legs grew back. The fracture on his chest was the last to heal. However, it wasn't healed completely. Hidden from sight, there's still a weakness in his armor."

"We're going to kill it," Nephis said as if there were no possible other solutions.

Keter nodded going along with her insanity. "Damn right."

"Murder hobos, both of you." Cassie sighed. Cassie groaned loudly just knowing that they were both smiling at her.

Chapter Text

Keter ran forward sword in hand through the Ashen Barrow, Keter looked to his left Nephis who held Cassie on her back.
"Go" Nephis nodded at him splitting off from him to go the long way around. Keter looked to the horrific abomination upon the hill, Miricle shined brightly around his ankles, wrists, and as the runes began to dig into his skin the final Miricle appeared on his sword.
'We can't trust a Nothing, I won't leave my life in the hands of anyone other than my own.'
Keter broke out into a sudden burst of speed, Surprising the Carapcse Demon.
"Flare"
Blood exploded from Keter's back as his sword cleaved through one of the demon's legs. The Demon screamed as its pincer crashed down towards Keter. Keter barely dodged as he was forced to twist his body to stop one of the scythes from cutting him through.
"Burst"
"Flare"
Keter forward over the pincer and to the other side of its body cleaving through another leg and quickly summoning [Carapace Centurion] and [Carapace Scavenger] as the demon threw itself down. Causing an explosion to shatter his foot, to get it out from under the demon. Keter quickly healed the injury and then went to take off as many limbs as he could while it was busy.
"Flare"
"Burst"
"Flare"
[Your Echo has been destroyed: Carapace Scavenger]
With the Scavenger being dead some of its limbs were no longer occupied. A pincer crashed into Keter sending him flying into the tree.
"Grrha"
Keter choked as blood exploded out of his mouth. Keter pushed himself up as he dismissed [Carapace Centurion] so it wouldn't be destroyed. Keter ducked under the scythe, dismissing his sword to grab the scythe, and propelled himself over it to dodge the other one. Keter could see one of the pincers heading toward him, one he couldn't dodge.
'This is about to suck but as long as I get rid of one of the scythes it's worth it.'
"Flare"
Keter summoned his sword and cleaved through his elbow as the joint connected one of the scythes. With everything beyond the elbow gone, he had slightly enough time to stop it from grabbing him. Keter caught sight of Nephis descending the tree in his peripheral vision. Keter then jumped back and directed the Demon to where its back faced Nephis.
Nephis and Keter locked eyes briefly before they slid under the Demon. Nephis took his place as Vangarurd, giving him just enough time to take off another leg.
"Flare"
With its right side no longer having legs the Demon collapsed on top of Keter's leg. Nephis took the opportunity to stab through the fracture on its chest, killing it. Keter didn't even try to get up, he just laid there till Nephis got his leg out from under the beast. Nephis looked toward some of the bloody sand and then began walking toward it.
"That fucking sucked also don't my arm was crushed beyond belief, I will have to regrow it."
"Alright let's go tell Cassie we succeeded."
Nephis picks up Keter after harvesting and absorbing the soul shards. Before they were completely up the tree the exhausted Keter had long passed out.
--24 Days Later--
Keter woke up tiredly gripping his head as he felt memories invade his brain.
"Seven Keter it's always been Seven, though I don't think I need to tell you that."
Keter flinched as the stub on his elbow made contact with the ashen sand. 'Cassie? Wait six?' Keter pushes himself up against the tree. Keter's head then snaps towards the stump on his arm. 'Why haven't I healed it yet?' Keter eyes dull, if for a moment. 'There's no use in using Miricle, Miricle can't fix this kind of injury.' Keter began to toss his suspicions aside as he noticed a Miracle wrapped around his brain that he didn't remember placing there. 'Where did that come from? A message?' Keter inspected the Miricle and as he did he noticed its sole purpose was to give a message.
"Reach the top of the Soul-Devouring Tree and resist its influence, we did not come this far to die here."
'My voice?' Keter stands up and begins to slowly climb the tree. 'If I can't even trust myself then how will I trust anything in this hateful world.' Keter took periodic breaks on his way up eating a few fruits on the way as well, and as he reached the top he saw it, and as he did he remembered.... that Vile Terror.

Chapter Text

'How? How did I forget about how dangerous this fucking tree is?' Keter could feel blood trickle down hand from how hard he was squeezing. 'I need to kill that damn bird's spawn before I forget it exists entirely.' Keter walked forward while summoned his sword and cleaved through the egg with the help of Miricle.

[You have Slain a Great Devil, Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have received a Memory: Drop of Ichor]

'From what I remember I should gain 64 fragments for this. So how close am I to being a Demon?' Keter summoned his runes and looked upon them with horror.

Light Fragment:[11/3000]

[...Your Light is overflowing with power.]
[Your Light is taking shape.]

"Shittt-" Keter fell over screaming as he felt that horrid pain all over again, but this time it was so much worse. Keter bit down on his arm to muffle his screams. Keter's bite carved through his arm getting through all but the bone. Tears rolled down Keter's face as his soul tore itself apart and rebuilt itself anew. And so the spell announced in a voice so soft it could have been mistaken for caring.

[The Will of a Monster to become a Demon, is like the Will of a Child to feast upon its own Flesh]

And so the very existence of the being named "Keter" grew to accommodate the concept of "Demon".

[Your Light is Complete]

Keter collapsed onto the floor as the pain faded. 'Fuck.. I hate that pain so much!' Keter breathed heavily for a while before he could finally force himself up. As he leaned against the nest he pulled up his runes.

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name: Holy Emperor

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Demon

Light Core: Dormant

Light Fragment:[11/3000]

Memories: [Robes of The Lost] [Crushing Jaws] [Man Eater] [Traveler] [Starlight Legion Longsword] [Shattered Sea Charm] [Azure Spear] [Starlight Legion Armor] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Azure Weaponry](32x) [Drop of Ichor]

Echos: [Depth Dwealer] [Carapace Centurion]

Attributes:[Untainted Faith] [Child of Light] [Spark of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart]

'Now that I'm a demon resisting the tree's influence should be easier.' Keter then brings up the runes for [Drop of Ichor].

Memory: [Drop of Ichor].

Memory Rank: unknown

Memory Type: unknown

Memory Description: [The loathsome Thieving Bird was hated both by the gods and -unknown-. However, it only cared about shiny things. Enamored by Weaver's beautiful eyes, it stole one of them on a dark, starless night. Impatient, the vile creature looked at its bounty while still in flight. However, when it saw the reflection of -unknown- forever frozen in the depths of Weaver's pupil, it went mad and screamed, dropping the eye on the mortal realm below. All that was left in its greedy beak was one drop of pure, golden ichor.]

Keter stared at the runes for a while before dismissing them. 'No, I can't use it yet. It's far too valuable to feed to [The Heart].' Keter thinks for a moment, making a plan. 'Alright first thing to do is finish the first step of my aspect legacy. Which means continuously using Miricle till the runes finish embedding themself into my back.' Keter grimises but begins to meditate focusing his healing on his arm. 'It might take days of constantly using Miricle to get me my arm back but it will be worth it by the end.

--7 Days Later--

Keter fell onto the ground as he reached the top of the tree again. 'This last week has been tiring as hell. Eating fruits, resisting the Tree's influence, sparing with Nephis, and all while my legacy digs itself into my body. Well, at least that last one finish a little while ago.' Keter eyes drifted to the side.

Aspect Legacy: [Stigma]

First Relic: [Claim]

Second Relic: Unearned

Third Relic: Unearned

Fourth Relic: Unearned

Fifth Relic: Unearned

Sixth Relic: Unearned

Seventh Relic: Unearned

"Claim"

[You have received an Aspect Legacy Relic]

[You have Received a Memory: Vial of the Holy Blood]

'A memory? A consumable one it seems from the name.' Keter summoned the runes for the memory.

[Vial of the Holy Blood]

Memory Rank: Sacred

Memory Tier: I

Memory Type:???

Memory Description:"Praise the new Lord" The depths of a hateful fountain hold their hopes, their dreams, their sorrow, and their very lives. The last reference of those who came before you.

'"The last reference of those who came before you" the other saint candidates or the completed saints.' Keter summoned the memory as he did a lavishly decorated vial appeared in his hands. 'This is what a Sacred rank memory looks like huh.'

[You have acquired a Vial of the Holy Blood. Do you wish to consume it?]

"Yes, I do." Keter raised the Vial to his mouth and drank from it. 'No matter what happens I will find that fountain and destroy it for me, and all those who came before.'

Keter could feel it carve itself began into his body. 'It feels similar to the Stigma.' After a few minutes, the pain simmered down and Keter looked to his runes.

[You have acquired a new Attribute]

[One of your Attributes is ready to evolve]

Attributes:[Untainted Faith] [Child of Light] [Ember of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart] [Lightpath]

'So [Spark of Divinity] evolved and the new attribute [Lightpath], what does it do?'

[Ember of Divinity]

Deep within your soul, an ember of divinity shines, almost ready to erupt into a radiant flame.

[Lightpath]

A path through your body, soul, mind, and Stigma that optimizes everything and makes essence usage and movement much more efficient.

Keter then put his hand outward and began trying to "push" something from his cores. Soon a faint mist began to seep out as it did Keter stared at it with amazement.

'Oh my god! I can use essence!' A huge smile grew on to his face. 'It's not much so it won't be helpful now, but I could have [Mantle of the Underworld] before I awaken.'

Keter forces himself to calm down. 'The [Mantle of the Underworld] won't matter if I don't make it out of here alive.'

'I've gained a lot today, but it's still going to take a while to get us all away from this damn tree. I have days to ponder that but what would be the condition for the next rank of my Aspect Legacy? It can't be the same as the last one, after all, I could probably complete all seven before we leave the island if that's the case.' Keter looks over his runes as he tries to find a clue but then he finds it.

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name: Holy Emperor

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Demon

Light Core: Dormant

Light Fragment:[34/3000]

Stigma:[0/5000]

Memories: [Robes of The Lost] [Crushing Jaws] [Man Eater] [Traveler] [Starlight Legion Longsword] [Shattered Sea Charm] [Azure Spear] [Starlight Legion Armor] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Traveler] [Azure Weaponry](32x) [Drop of Ichor]

Echos: [Depth Dwealer] [Carapace Centurion]

Attributes:[Untainted Faith] [Child of Light] [Ember of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart] [Lightpath]

'It seems that I've found it, the way to the level of my Legacy.'

Chapter Text

--21 Days Later--

'I can't resist much longer.' Keter started to climb down the great tree as the Dark Sea began to surge. 'Even with the boost I got from being a Demon, which gave me my third thought process. It's just like how becoming a Monster gave me a second one.' Keter reached the ground and began picking up the boat, moving to the island's edge.

'It was overall just a far better version of what I got from becoming a monster, but the only different thing is that I got "Smarter". I can understand things much easier. I was able to progress in my swordsmanship a lot over the last 21 days because it was so much easier to understand Nephis's swordplay.'

'It was a lot more than just being "Smarter" but the only other way I could really describe it is like my thoughts suddenly gained a new "Dimension".' Keter placed the boat down and then walked over to Cassie.

"Cassie, can you summon the rope memory please?" Cassie summons the memory but before she can say anything Keter casts a Miricle to make her fall asleep.

'God I let my thoughts wander too much sometimes.' Keter picked her up and walked towards the boat. Keter gently placed her in the boat and then looked towards Nephis who was walking towards him.

'What are you doing Keter?' Nephis looked at him puzzled as he tied the rope to the boat and then around his torso.

Keter watched as the influence of the Soul Devouring Tree started to turn her aggressive.

"I'm getting ready to leave the island also Aster, Song, Valor.' Keter then continued before she could try to lop his head off. 'Get in the damn boat and I will explain after we leave this damn place.'

Nephis stared at him for a while, her hands shaking and gripping her sword so hard that Keter thought it might crack under the force. Nephis then slowly walked in and sat down next to the sleeping Cassie.

Keter sighed in relief. 'Thank god, I really didn't want to fight Nephis.' As the Dark Sea stopped growing Keter equipped [Traveler] then got in the water and swam.

'I didn't set fire to the tree like Sunny did so whatever's down there shouldn't be as agitated.' Keter swam gently but still quite fast due to Miricle. 'An hour maybe an hour and a half before we are out of its range.' Keter noted. 'And we should make it to the island before Cassie wakes up.' Keter tried his best even using Miricle to make himself as unnoticeable as possible.

--3 1/2 Hours Later--

Keter's breathing was rough as his hand clawed against the side of the island. 'God finally... we made it.' Keter clumsily untied the rope from himself in a hurry. Keter then looked up towards Nephis who had already pulled Cassie's sleeping body onto the island. Nephis pulled Keter's collapsing body up then the boat afterward.

"Sleep... you can explain tomorrow," Nephis said almost hesitantly.

After hearing those words Keter promptly collapsed against the ground.

Chapter Text

When Keter awoke he could feel something heavy lay against him. 'hmmm... what?' Keter opened his eyes tiredly still not fully recovered from the night before, to see Cassie cuddling against him. Keter barely pulled himself out of her grasp without waking her up or falling over.

'So where is Nephis?' Keter walked around the small island trying to find her before he collapsed again.

"Are you ready to explain?" Keter tripped from surprise, as Nephis swiftly caught him. Nephis frowned.

"Have you still not recovered yet?" Keter could see the worry radiate from her.

"Mostly, the only thing left is soreness. And yes I'm ready to explain." A small blush appeared on Keter's face. "Tho can you help me down? I would rather not face plant right now." Nephis helped him to the ground and then sat in front of him.

Keter stared at her for a moment then began speaking. "Let's get the biggest bomb out of the way first. I was raised by the Sovereigns, or more specifically Ki Song, and Anvil of Valor." Keter stopped Nephis from saying anything.

"Let me finish before you draw conclusions. I am not the assassin as I said, after all, both of them tried to convince me to let one of their Saints help me skip the unpredictability of the first trip into the Dream Realm. Which I bet you know that's something they wouldn't even do for their own kids."

Nephis's eyes widened in surprise, one so big that even her natural resting bitch face couldn't hide.

"Why? Why would they care so much about you? And what about Asterio--" Keter quickly covered her mouth before she could finish saying his name.

"Don't say his name, he will hear you." After making sure she wouldn't say his name he continued.

"For years I've known why but.... I've never wanted to accept it." Tears began to form in Keter's eyes as he forced himself to remember.

"But... During my first nightmare, I was forced to come to terms with it. That that fucker was my father. My father that blasted fuck abandoned me the very day I was born! Hell because of him I don't even know who my mother is!" Keter grip on his emotions was falling apart far faster than he could piece it back together.

"Keter.. Do you want to kill him?" Nephis hesitated as she asked not wanting to worsen his breakdown.

Keter sat there for a while before answering tears crawling down his face. "No.. but I want to know why. Why abandoned me? I want to know who my mother is. I want him to apologize to me." Keter hesitates before he quietly says. "I want him to act like a father."

Nephis sat there for a moment before she pulled him into her embrace. They sat there for a while before Nephis began once more.

"What was your relationship with the other Sovereigns?" A smile crept onto Keter's face.

"Aunt and Uncle, tho I don't know if they really care or if it's some way to get my father on their side." Keter ponders for a moment.

"Anvil is the one I'm most suspicious of for such a thing. I believe they both care at least a little but besides that, I'm not too sure."

"You said they raised you. Did they teach you anything?" Keter could tell Nephis was angry, but it wasn't at him. He could feel the determination a hate running through her veins and yet, none of it was directed at him.

"Anvil taught me how to craft, smith, and Runic Sorcery. He also taught me how to wield damn near every weapon with above-average proficiency. Ki Song taught me control, will, and understanding. Control is important to everyone but Song puts its importance above everything. While on average Dreamers have control of 30% of their body, Ascendeds have 50%, and Transcendents have 60%, but due to Auntie, I have control of around 96% of my body. The understanding is of others be it Nightmare Creatures, Humans, or anything else, she taught me how to kill them most efficiently, how to know every emotion they feel, and more."

Nephis nodded and then asked her final question. "Did you know? Did you know what they were doing to me?"

"No, no I didn't and I promise you Nephis, I will help you find out what happened to your parents," Keter vowed to her.

For a while, they sat there in silence before Nephis spoke once more.

"Keter I'm going to destroy the Nightmare Spell and if they get in my way I will kill them, just like they killed my parents." Keter smiled at Nephis pulling her in for a tighter hug.

"Of course, you will cause after all if it is our will, then who dares stop us?"

Chapter Text

It took them an extra day to get to the Dark City, but when they did it was about mid-day.

Keter grabbed Nephis's and Cassie's hands as he leaped atop the wall. Keter let go of their hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

"We finally made it. After three whole damn months."

"We haven't made it yet we still have a city of nightmare creatures to get through."

"Nephis stop being a downer, and what do you see Keter?" Nephis shot him a glance and in return, Keter flicked his tongue at her, saying 'I'm the Favorite'.

"A ruined city filled with nightmare creatures. A colossal gothic-style castle with guardsman layering its sides."

"Yes! This is the castle I saw!" A wide smile appeared on Cassie's face.

Keter's ears perked up at the sound of crunching. Keter smiled 'It's time to meet Athena'

"Follow me Nephis, I found someone." Keter grabbed Cassie's hand and gently led her to the tower. Keter knocked on the wall of the tower to alert her of their presence. Keter walked in finding Athena chomping down on the bones of a nightmare creature. Nephis stood ready for a fight behind him.

The young woman looked at them in surprise and raised her eyebrows.

"Humans? Huh! Unexpected." Then she smiled and shook her head.

"Ah, where are my manners?" With that, she lightly rose to her feet. The white fabric of her tunic shifted slightly, revealing even more of her toned, powerful thighs.

"You're the tallest woman I've ever met." Keter sat down by the fire right next to her.

The woman snickered and sat back down. "Nah you're just short"

Nephis and Cassie sat down soon after, trusting in Keter's judgment.

"Short?" Keter gasps offended. "I will have you know I am now 5'11, so I am above average height-wise."

The woman laughs. "So you're compensating for something?"

"Well I'm not the one who's more than two meters tall, now am I?" Keter snapped back.

The woman's grows a grotesque smile as her laugh booms. "Oh, I like you, kid. My name's Elfie. What is your name kid? And I don't think I've seen any of you around before. Are you new?"

"Keter-" But before he could continue Nephis began speaking.

Nephis gave her a nod. "Yes. We have just reached the city."

Keter looked towards her slightly annoyed she cut him off but he moved on to other things. 'She's gotten better at talking to people.'

The young woman grinned. "In that case, my condolen… wait. You guys survived for three whole months in the Labyrinth?!"

She whistled and looked at them with newfound respect.

"That's one hell of a feat. Congratulations."

Nephis lingered for a few seconds "I'm Nephis, and these are my companions, Cassia and Keter. We are Sleepers who came here during the winter solstice." Keter rolled his eyes at them ignoring him.

The young woman gave them a wide, friendly smile. "Nice to meet you! I'm Effie. Well, at least that's what people call me. I'm also a Sleeper."

Keter pushed his way back into the conversation. "That spire, it's the citadel, isn't it?"

Elife looked at him surprised for a moment. "Yeah, it is and I will warn you all, in the three years I've been in this place, not a single person has been able to escape to the real world."

She stood up and signaled for them to follow her. "So abandon hope all ye who enter here, and all that…"

--Elfie POV--(Very Short)

Elfie was surprised that one of the three sleepers seemed to be affected by the news. The blond one, her name was Cassie if she remembered correctly, sighed as if she was just having to accept something she was slightly in denial about. The hot one Keter, just didn't react at all. (She would never admit she was admiring the view far too much, or that it stunned her for a moment.) Nephis the one who looked like a legacy, turned pale-faced but quickly pulled herself together.

'This is a weird group, but I guess you have to be to survive the Labrinth for three whole mouths.'

"How many shards do y'all have?"

--Keter POV--

"Three and have you met a woman named Seishen?" Keter asked as he stood up. Nephis pulled Cassie up soon after.

"Three is decent enough, but Seishen? Do you know the leader of the Handmadians?" Elfie looked at him curiously as she packed up all the meat.

"Yeah, we were friends before she disappeared, almost ten years." Keter then looked towards her as she stuffed far more meat in a bag than it should be able to hold.

"Do you have any extra of that memory? I could trade a few memories in return for it."

Elfie looked at him surprised."I never knew that women could have friends. And yeah I do, do you have any spear memories?"

"A few how many you want?" Keter puts his hand out.

"Three if they are Azure memories." She grabs his hand. After she does he transfers the memories.

[You have lost a Memory: Azure Spear]

[You have received a Memory: Spatial Bag]

"Thank you, but elfie I have to ask. All the nightmare creatures I saw beyond the wall were all fallen right?" Nephis and Cassie's heads whipped toward him.

"Yeah, that's why you're so damn lucky to have met me." Elfie then gives them an explanation.

"The Dark City is simultaneously the safest place to be on the Forgotten Shore, and also the deadliest. It is safe because no sea monster can cross the wall, let alone reach the castle. But at the same time, it is far more dangerous than the Labyrinth because almost every Nightmare Creature here is of the Fallen rank."

"But you guys managed to stumble into me before descending from the wall. Otherwise, the Fallen Ones would have been feasting on your souls already. Lucky, very lucky! There are very few people in the castle who go out hunting in the ruins, let alone venture so far away from it. Meeting an experienced hunter like me was probably your only chance to avoid finding out about the true face of the Dark City a second too late."

Elfie smiled. "Well come on I will finish the explanation on the way to the Castle."

Nephis looked toward Keter with an exhausted look. "Don't worry, at least once we get to the castle we can have a good rest for the first time in months."

Both Nephis and Cassie smiled at that.

Chapter Text

'It took us a few hours to make it to the outer encampment shortly after we did make It Elfie left us with a booming goodbye. As the group got close to the castle, the guards began to eye them worriedly. (Well only after they could bring themselves to stop staring at him)

'They must have noticed that we just arrived.' Keter decided to ignore them but noticed that Nephis's gaze terrified every last one of them. Keter opened the large oriental gates, swiftly walking up to the receptionist, and throwing the three soul shards onto the counter.

"Two rooms please."

The castle receptionist flinched and looked up from his paper, a fearful expression appearing on his face. When he realized who was speaking to him, though, the fear disappeared, replaced by a tentative smile.

The young man had a thin face and a pale, unhealthy complexion. He looked hungry and weak, much more like those poor souls in the outer settlement than someone who lived in the castle. His clothes, however, were clean and tidy, without any signs of wear and tear like that of the people outside.

"Ah, guests! Sorry, you gave me a fright there. Welcome, welcome to the Bright Castle."

"Anyway, my name is Harper. I'm responsible for guest accommodations today. Let's get you… oh! I don't seem to recognize you guys. Is this your first time paying the tribute?"

Keter nods then glares at Nephis as she begins trying to say something. "Nephis we've been in hell for over three damn months at this point, you are going to rest." Keter looks towards Happer making him completely freeze in place. Happer shacks there under his gaze till Keter looks away from him.

"Sign us in. and put us in the Tower of Dusk." Happer rushes to complete his orders, afraid of what might happen if he didn't.

Happer soon led them to their room which were situated right next to each other. Cassie went to bed as Nephis went to gather information. Keter on the other hand went to find Seishan. After talking to a few of the Handmadians, Keter found her walking around the rooms of the pathfinders.

"Seishan, it's been what ten years since I last saw you?" The woman looked at him with a blank look, only after a few seconds did a vile smile appear on her face.

"Keter, long time no see. Has mother treated you well?" Seishan's pricing gaze was unnerving even to Keter but soon she began to lead him somewhere, and Keter followed her without complaint.

"Yeah, auntie's been great. She's taught me quite a bit. What have you been doing? After all, the Seishan I know would never let herself die in a place like this. Well, at least without a fight."

"Preparing to overthrow Gunlaug." Seishan's confidence was absolute, maybe more than Gunlang's rule.

"Don't. It's far better to just recruit him."

"Do you believe you can recruit him? Make him give up his power out of his own accord." Seishan's question wasn't mocking, like most would have believed it to be.

"Of course, I can. As long as in a week from now you are near his room at nightfall." Seishan nods, agreeing to his proposition. Seishan suddenly stopped at the door to a large hallway, opening it for Keter before following behind him.

"Mother has always wished for me to support you, so any purchase in the Memory Market and your room fee will fall under my discretion from now on."

As they walk through the doors Keter becomes overly dramatic. "Ohh how sweet you are my dear, Seishan. You are oh so kind for taking such good care of me." Keter then leans over to the surprised Seishan's ear. "What could a man do to repay such great kindness?"

--Seishan POV--

Shock that's all Seishan could feel. When she reunited with Keter this was not what she was expecting. The Keter she used to know was unconfident, reserved, introverted, and quite cute too. But this? This was very unusual. Seishan wanted to take a big bite out of him, but she held herself back. Seishan's hot breath ran against his ear as she spoke.

"Go get your memories before I do something drastic." Seishan smiled as Keter froze. 'Now this is more like what I remember.'

Chapter Text

[You have Received Memory:???]

[You have Received Memory: Spatial Bag]

[You have Received Memory: Spatial Bag]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: ....]

[You have Received Memory: Mantle of the Underworld]

--7 days later--(Nearing nightfall)

'seven days, it took seven days to fix [Mantle of the Underworld].' Keter began climbing the outside of the Bright Castle. 'The [Spatial Bag]s I got where for Nephis and Cassie. The other twelve were for when I start learning to Weave.'

A faint golden light surged as Keter's movements became soundless, and his scent disappeared. Keter climbed the castle carefully, his [Azure Armor] making him blend more into the darkness so as to not draw the guards' attention.

'Let's hope Seishan keeps her word.'

It took Keter a little over half an hour to climb to the top of the Tower of Twilight. Keter climbed through one of the windows after using Miricle to unlock it.

'Damn, this place is nice.' Keter became quickly alert at the faint sound of a writing quill. Keter frowned, even as he enhanced his hearing, the sound of writing didn't grow any louder. A nauseous feeling overtook Keter for a moment before it disappeared.

'What the hell was that? You know what, it doesn't matter. Getting Gunlang on my side is the only thing that matters right now.' Keter walks to the end of the hall, where Gunlangs's room is.

'Seishan that both she and Gunlang would show up exactly at nightfall, which means they will arrive in six to seven minutes.'

--??? POV--

[The Dreamspawn investigated his runes while making up countless plans to coax Gunlang to his side. His will permeated the very air around him, drawing the world inward. The Dreamspawn's head tilted towards the Usurper and the 7th Beast. The Usurper's eyes narrowed instantly designating the Dreamspawn as a threat......]

--Keter POV--

"There you are, it seems like you finally made it Gunlang." Keter stares unfazed at the man covered in flowing yet alienly gold armor. "That's quite the echo, you have there. Where did you get it?"

"The Dark Sea, Where else? That's where everyone gets their good memories and echoes." Keter could feel the venom reaching from his voice. 'I can't get a good read on him.' The echo was blocking Keter's [Eyes of Heart] and with being covered in golden armor, Keter couldn't read his body language.

"Indeed I've gotten quite a few good memories from the Dark Sea, hell even a few echos myself. Though I don't think I've ever gotten one from a Corrupted Devil."

The alienly gold armor bubbled and flowed till it formed a harpoon. Almost instantly Gunlang lunged at him. Keter's eyes widened as he saw the harpoon.

'A harpoon? I've only ever seen Clan Night use one.' Keter summoned [Starlight Legion Longsword] parrying the strike and then backing up. 'He's stronger than he should be. Someone with a Dormant or Awakened Aspect should not be able to output this much power as a Dreamer.'

Gunlang and Keter exchanged blows for a while and yet with each strike Gunlang's combat style became more and more familiar. 'The is the combat style of the main line of clan Night. How? I researched him before the Academy and he is most definitely not from Clan Night."

The fight continued and Keter found more and more resemblances to clan Night, and yet 'It's wrong, no incomplete is a better way to call it. And yet it reminds me of someone, who though?'

Even as the battle continued Seishan didn't step in and yet the ferocious battle stopped with a single word.

"Aurora"

--??? POV--

[Gunlang...]

Chapter Text

Gunlang froze for only a moment, but that was enough to tell Keter everything he needed to know.

"What did you do to her Gunlang? And how did you rank up your Aspect without going through a nightmare?" Keter frowned but even if he was frowning he was in a decent mood, after all, he forced Gunlang into answering since Seishan wouldn't let him get away with not answering. 'Tho his Aspect... it's Supreme, the same rank Aurora's was." Keter's understanding of his flaw had reached a point where he could instantly know the Aspect rank of someone in the same rank.

Gunlang grit his teeth and looked back toward Seishan, who seemed ready to pounce and very much in need of answers. Gunlang tried hard to find a way out, be it killing them or escaping but no matter how hard he looked he couldn't find one.

The faint sound of a writing quill grew louder and yet the three couldn't perceive it. The cue embedded in their mind just wouldn't allow them to.

Gunlang's anger dissipated as he looked towards Keter. "A transcendent Memory of the fifth tier allows you to do things far beyond what you would ever believe."

This time Seishan was the first to speak up. "A Tyrant? You killed a Corrupted Tyrant?" Even Seishan was made speechless by such an absurd feet.

"What does a Corrupted Tyrant have to do with Aurora?" Keter pushed himself out of his shock quickly.

Gunlang pauses but eventually continues. "The woman known as "Aurora" no longer exists. The only thing left is the existence known as "Gunlang"."

Keter's face crunches up, having trouble comprehending what he means only after a while of silence does Keter speak.

"You replaced her. Is that why you now have [Ember of Divinity]?" Keter's own [Ember of Divinity] starts to roar at its presence.

"No, I usurped her. After all, I'm still very much me." Seishan listens silently, knowing the conversation has long passed what she understood.

"You stole her achievements then, that's how your Aspect ranked up. You must also have gained all of her attributes." The piece of the puzzle slowly came together under Keter's scrutiny. "It was a one-time use wasn't it? After all, even for a memory from a Corrupted Tyrant, this is farfetched. And that's why you chose her, a child of Night's attributes would fit well with your Aspect."

Gunlang nods. "You have your answers, now leave."

'His Aspect used only to strengthen him underwater, I bet he only has to be touching water now considering he was far stronger than he should have been.' Keter is forced out of his thoughts and Keter shakes his head.

"No, I won't leave after all I originally came here to change your mind about challenging the Spire."

"Alright give me the speech then." Gunlang for some odd reason felt like listening to the man.

"Gunlang from what I know of you, you stay here for the power correct?" Gunalng nods.

"You will have more in the waking world, a whole lot more." Gunlang looks at him suspiciously.

"No, I won't. I will be arrested and executed for the crimes I've done. There are far too many people who hate me to just let me go afterward."

"That doesn't matter, not anymore. You're a child of Night now, one of the Great Clans. And most importantly you will have both my and Seishan's support."

"Yours? And why would she listen to you?" Gunlang was confused about who this man was.

"I will support his decision wholeheartedly." Seishan's ghastly voice was something that even made Gunlang shiver.

"And I have both Clan Valor and Clan Song in my pocket. If I don't want you to be in trouble then you won't be."

Gunlang laughed, it was a laugh full of amusement and audacious surprise. "I hate that I believe you. I don't think there is anyone in the world with enough balls to lie about something like that. Especially in front of a Song heiress."

"You know what? Fine, I agree. I will start working to get out of this hell hole." A wide smile appeared on Keter's face as he shot Seishan a knowing grin.

-----

for the next few hours Gunlang, Seishan, and Keter discussed on how to best prepare for the Crimson Spire.

The very moment the deal was set the distant sound of a writing quill disappeared.

------------

Keter was happy as he walked back to his room but their was still one thing running through his mind.

"Wasn't that far too easy?"

Chapter Text

I really want to write sad stuff right now, but the sad stuff is still quite a ways away so if you have advice for writing emotional scenes please do tell me.

most of this chp is info dump

Also, Celeste Mirror Temple is kicking my ass.

--3 Weeks Later--

[You have Slain Awakened Monster: Stone Saint]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have received an Echo: Stone Saint]

Keter felt the last of the [Stone Saint] crumble under his palm. 'God it took a while to find my way here, without getting myself killed.' Keter quickly grabbed the Soul Shards and started returning to the Dark castle.

'If it weren't for Elfie this would have taken so much longer.' Keter jumps into a building to dodge a fallen abomination.

'Tho.. to get her to teach me I've traded her all of my [Azure] series weapons.' Keter slightly frowns at the memory. Keter eyes shot to his left to see a Spire Messenger's nest. Keter quickly uses a miracle to lessen his presence. Keter jumps out the window and climbs to the roof.

'I will come back to deal with that once I return.' Keter's gaze sweeps to the side as he reached the castle walls.

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name: Holy Emperor

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Tyrant

Light Core: Dormant

Light Fragment:[2341/5000]

Stigma:[122/5000]

Memories: [Robes of The Lost] [Man Eater] [Traveler] [Starlight Legion Longsword] [Shattered Sea Charm] [Starlight Legion Armor] [Drop of Ichor] [Spatial Bag] [Mantle of the Underworld] [....](12x)

Echos: [Depth Dwealer] [Carapace Centurion] [Stone Saint]

Attributes:[Untainted Faith] [Child of Light] [Ember of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart] [Lightpath]

Aspect: Saint of the Everlasting Light(Divine)

Aspect Description:[You are the successor of the Holy Emperor doomed to observe but never connect with

the people you love so much; obsession follows you wherever you go]

Innate ability:[Eyes of Heart]

As an observer, you can see the hearts of others.

Dormant Aspect Ability:[Miracle]

You can create miracles.

Flaw:[Distant]

There will always be distance between you and those below you.

---------------

Info dump ahead

--------------

A wide grin appears on Keter's face as he sees his class. 'Never did I think I would become a "Tyrant" so quickly. Well... I guess it was inevitable with all the humans I've killed.' Keter jumped down from the walls and began walking to the outer settlement.

'Everyone has been thinking that Harus is the one making people "disappear", but no it was me. I only took up the job originally to see how many life fragments humans gave. And well... let's just say that humans are to me as to what shadow creatures are to Sunny.' Keter's steps didn't even make the water ripple as he walked on puddles made by the storm from the previous night.

'I've been the main one running phase one of our preparations, which was "cleaning up our forces" of all the corruption. Gunlang is in charge of phases two and three "Betterment" and "Expedition" respectively. Seishan is in charge of rule enforcement, which is only needed because we let Nephis execute Andel(The pathfinder of you don't remember), even though he had a trial about a month prior.'

'A lot of the Pathfinders and a few others have been disregarding some rules. Their fear of death overpowering their fear of Gunlang. They were fed up do to "Betterment" which made it easier to get into the Dark Castle but reduced the days to three, because you could trade in memories and food instead of soul shards. The training was mandatory for all who stayed in the Bright Castle and the training depended on your Aspect. They were very mad since they held far less power.'

'And "Expedition" is exactly that. The Bright Castle from now on is running far more official expeditions that anyone can join, they will even go beyond the Dark City. Mostly to get more [Traveler]'s sense you can't get them inside of the Dark City.'

'Tho the main reason they are so mad is because Nephis got no consequences for her actions. I remember when they first brought it up to Gunlang, asking him if he was afraid of her.' A sly smile appeared on Keter's face.

'Gunlang's response was "She's not the one I'm afraid of"'

--------------

info dump over

--------------

Keter finally made it to the Outer Settlement. Keter then walked over to Effie's home, opening the door Keter was greeted to the sight of his new cohort. Effie was eating a mountain's worth of meat, Cassie was sitting in the corner, Kai was talking to Nephis, and Caster was looking over his runes by the looks of it. 'I'm glad Nephis took my recommendation to recruit Kai.'

"Hey guys I came to warn you, I'm going to be gone for quite a while." All of their gazes quickly landed on him(Laughs evilly).

Caster was the first one to respond. "Are you joining one of the expeditions?"

"No, I'm leaving the Dark City."

This time it was Effie. "Why? Are you scared of Gunlang? And where are you going?"

"No, I'm not scared of Gunlang. I'm going west and it's only about a day's trip." Nephis's gaze bore into him, as Cassie froze.

"Also I should be back by the time you go to fetch the crown" Nephis was confused but knowing he could be as stubborn as she was she decided not to try and convince him otherwise.

"Let me go with you." Keter was surprised, very surprised. 'Why has Caster trying to always be at my side.'

"No, I'm doing this alone, to get ready for the siege."

Effie looked at him curiously. "You're already preparing to siege the Crimson Spire?" Keter nodded.

"Damn"

Cassie spoke up rather quickly knowing that Keter was about to set off. "Do you really think you can handle it? Even if you were able to break out of it before only sixty percent of its focus was on you before."

"Yeah, I believe I will be able to handle it." Cassie backed away at his words. And soon after Keter left.

--Kai POV--

Kai could tell something was up. With both Keter and Cassie being vague, and Cassie and Nephis's reactions he had to have known.

"What was that about? The sixty percent thing."

Cassie was quiet for a while before she responded. "To the west, there is an Awakened Terror and it had all three of us in its grasp. Through Keter and some luck, we were able to make it out."

That was not what Kai was expecting at all. But before he could say anything Cassie continued.

"Without Keter, we would never have made it, because it only had to use twenty percent of its focus to keep Nephis and I under control each. Without Keter, we would have long become its minions."

Kai was shocked. He never could have imagined running into something like that. And it seemed that both Effie and Caster were on the same page as him.

Caster spoke up. "Wait but wouldn't that mean that-" Cassie's grave voice interrupted him.

"Yeah, Keter bore sixty percent of the will of an Awakened Terror and still didn't succumb."

Kai was completely dumbfounded.

Chapter Text

--38 Days Later--Cassie POV--

Cassie slept soundly in her bed. After hours of consent work, Cassie collapsed on her bed and it felt like nothing could ruin her sleep.

Blood lathered the once white ashen island, echoing yet madding whispers ran about. The bellowing crimson titan embraced the dying light in its grasp. And out of the Light's chest bore an ancient cancerous taint. A crimson seed bloomed atop the Light's head. As the embrace of the ancient titan drew taut the endless expanse of the dying sea cried out, wishing to claim the Light's life for itself. The falling Light dimmed as seven defiled shards fell from its stomach.

Fear consumed Cassie as she saw the seven defiled shards. Cassie fell off of her bed as the shock ran through her. Only after she stood back up could she start putting together what she saw.

'Another vision. It's been more than a week since my last one, so I guess I had it coming.' Cassie began getting dressed to go out for a walk.

'That was Keter. That vision was so different from reality, the only way it could be true is if The Soul Devourer evolved.' Fear began to creep to the forefront of her mind.

'There is no way. If it becomes a Titan, then even Masters would fall into its control.'

--???--

The Blade's arm fell into the cascading rivers of blood. The Hero Before It slaughtered hundreds of its kin, yet the Blade couldn't bring itself to care. A blade formed from the Domain of Mirrored Steel didn't have the right to care for its kin.

The Hero's steps clashed with the cascading rivers. The Blade knew that the Hero was coming to claim her life as he did to her brethren, and yet the Blade couldn't let that happen after all she made a promise to him, and she would overturn the world for him.

As its death drew close a seemingly endless will bore itself from within the Blade's heart. Even the mighty Hero who slayed an empire could not resist the Will of War.

As the Hero's head fell to the ground it felt all too easy. The war that lasted for months, the war that caused the very sky to blacken and for the sky to cry blood, the war of an empire against a single man ended just like that.

The voice of the spell sounded like a siren as it called out to the Blade.

[Wake up Morgan! Your Nightmare is over]

[Prepare for appraisal...]

The Blade was surprised. 'Morgan.... is that my name?'

[Awakened! Your trial is over]

[A decedent of the ancient War joined forces with her long-fallen kin. Hoping to fend off the youngest born of the Nine. Broken and beaten the Transcendent Blade reforged itself anew with the blood of her fallen kin. No longer bound by the Mirrored Steel, and tempered by the Mother's gaze the Blade's will become one of endless War.]

[You have defeated an Awakened Human: Auro of the Nine]

[You have received the War God's Blessing]

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Final appraisal: Glorious, A Broken Sword has no limit]

The Blade could only tilt its head. 'Broken Sword? Why does that sound familiar?'

[Ascended Morgan, receive your boon!]

[You have been bestowed a True Name: Broken Sword]

The Blade.... no Morgan felt her mind recoil. Fear was all she could feel. She almost lost herself in the never-ending war. And yet "Broken Sword? How ironic."

[You have acquired a new attribute]

[One of your Attributes is ready to evolve]

[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]

Morgan simply nods.

[Trancendent Aspect War Bishop is evolving....]

[New Aspect acquired]

[Aspect Rank: Supreme]

[Aspect Name: Conqueror]

Morgan couldn't bring herself to feel joy, not after what just happened.

[The Third Seal is Broken]

[Awakening dormant powers...]

Chapter Text

Morgan's eyes bore into her runes.

Attributes: [The War] [Flame of Divinity] [Warforged] [Executioner] [Will of War]

Aspect: Conqueror (Supreme)

Innate Ability: [Charisma of Struggle]

Dormant Aspect Ability: [Civilization Erosion]

Awakened Aspect Ability: [Iron-Blooded Knight]

Ascended Aspect Ability: [Reaper]

Flaw: [Projected Fragility]

Morgan pushed her curiosity away as exhaustion was beginning to take over. Well except for one thing. '[Will of War] just what are you?'

[Will of War]

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."-George Bernard Shaw.

The spell spoke far to soon for Morgan's liking.

[Wake up, Broken Sword]

Morgan's eyes opened.

Morgan's exhausted body pushed forward. The door to the sleeping pod fell apart, barely even dust remained.

Morgan's exhausted body pushed forward. She fell to the floor, it seemed that even the wood from a Fallen Titan was detained to collapse under her. Morgan pushed herself up as she saw the sea of corpses in the other pods.

Morgan's exhausted body pushed forward. Morgan clung to the walks as she walked. It took her hours, no... minutes? Morgan couldn't tell the difference anymore. She finally found someone.

"Jest"

The old man looked towards her, she knew he had noticed just how exhausted she was. So maybe that's why he decided to show her some mercy.

"Young lass! Ah, it's good to see that you passed your Nightmare." Jest smiled, and yet there was a melancholic look in the old man's eyes.

"Where is my father?" Morgan meant to make her voice sharp, but she was far too tired to put any amount of force into her voice.

The world twisted unnaturally, and yet neither could notice.

"Young lass your father is busy." Jest ignored Morgan's sharp tone.

"Where is my father?" Morgan glared at the older man.

Jest eventually gave and began leading Morgan to her father. And so Morgan's exhausted body pushed forward.

It took them a while to get to the top of Bastion, Her father's workshop, This wasn't the first time she had climbed these steps, and yet it felt so much harder. With each step she took her body faltered, but she didn't let herself fall.

The weight on her body grew stronger the closer she got to the peak. Her father's cascading will, pressed upon her very soul. And yet Morgan pushed herself forward.

Even as they climbed her father's hammer bellowed like it always had.

Once they finally reached the top Morgan opened the door, as she did she almost collapsed from the echoing might of his hammer.

"Father, where is he?!" Morgan's voice was loud, far louder than it should have been. It seemed that he ignored her and she didn't dare to speak once more.

only after what felt like an eternity did he give an answer. "He's not back yet."

Morgan breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could say anything else, Jest spoke up.

"He might never come back." Now that had certainly gotten her father's attention. Morgan tried her best to hold back the searing contentment stirring within her soul.

A frown appeared on her father's usual stoic face. "Did something happen with his Lantern?"

Jest nodded. "You might want to take a look."

Anvil's hand beckoned something forward, and not long after came Lantern. And Anvil did not like what he saw.

Morgan looked on in horror as she looked at the disfigured lantern. The flame within was a mere speck of what it was, A spark where there should be an inferno. The glass was stained red as if it had been dyed with blood as the cracks made it look like it was on the verge of collapse. The outer shell was bathed in scars with a cancerous taint clinging to its sides.

Morgan's horror only grew as fear consumed her father's face.

Chapter Text

WARNING spoilers for chp 2172(Kinda)

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Anvil's steps echoed across the ancient citadel. The echoes trembled in his presence, the countless memories twisted as if bowing to the man who walked by. At the helm of the upside-down citadel, stood a Saint.

"My King." The man was a giant covered completely in armor. A descendant of a dragon, yet he shook like a dog under the older man's gaze.

"May I ask why you are here?" The Saint's eyes flashed towards the decaying lantern, fear for a life he once knew flashed in his eyes.

"My king is that..." Anvil answered with merely a nod as he walked towards the inner sanctum.

"I'm here for my son." Anvil's eyes landed on Saint Cormic for a moment before peeling off. 'Just how much have you been here child? For them to care this much for you? Just why do you care more for my son than I do?'

"How good are his chances my King?" Anvil was surprised. Cormic's previous fear of him disappeared as soon as the boy came into conversation.

"Minimal." No matter how much the Saint hid it, Anvil could tell he was not at all happy with such information.

"My lord, may I be allowed to search the Dream Realm for him?" Desperation seeped into the Saint's voice.

"No, you are to do the job you have been." Anvil did not speak again until they reached a covered mirror in the center of the citadel.

"If I can not find him, then you have no hope." As Anvil spoke those words the world around him shook covering the world in a silver shine. A world where only two existed.

The titanic mirror tainted the very world around it. The essence of an ancient demon corrupted the very air within the mirrored temple.

If Anvil was anything less than a Supreme, he would have long fallen to the corruption. But even a Supreme can not resist the will of the ancient demon forever.

The cracked chains strained against an invisible force within the mirror, yet the straining chains came to a halt as Anvil spoke.

"Mordret." A ghastly hand encroached from inside the mirror. A faint mist seeped from the mirror, drowning the life out of the world around them.

"FaTheRr" The maddened voice came from all sides, reflecting off every surface in the room.

"I need your help Mordret." The rest of the ghastly figure emerged in the mirror, laughing.

"HeLp? HELP! yoU wANt mY hElp?! WHeN YoU won'T eVeN CaLl mE yOuR soN!" The world shook and chains cracked as the creature expressed its rage.

Anvil made no move to the thing in the mirror, only after the chains stopped cracking did he speck. "Keter needs your help."

The being in the mirror shook. "What?"

Anvil spoke once more. "Keter needs your help."

The world went silent, the chains no longer needing to restrain the being.

"What happened to Keter?" The previously broken voice no longer cracked and elongated at the strangest of times.

Anvil held up the decaying lantern. When the voice spoke once more Anvil barely kept his surprise hidden.

"Oh Keter, oh Keter. The trouble you've gotten yourself into." Worry.... Anvil didn't know why but that shook him to the core.

"He is being corrupted. Someone is corrupting him." The being thought for a little while longer, the decaying lantern seemed to reflect countless images which Anvil couldn't begin to decipher.

"A Supreme.... no a Sacred?" Suspicion filled the creature's voice.

"What!" Anvil lost control of his emotions for only a split second, and yet it was enough.

The being looked at him with malice, the chains cracked. The being acted as if Anvil had woken him up from a good dream.

"You heard me." Venom seeped from the creature's voice.

Anvil crushed the vestiges of emotions as he questioned the creature. "Can you reach him?"

"No. Not when he is beyond the Hollow Mountains. You know as well as I do that even with the lanterns my authority can not reach past them." The creature seemed happy as it once again stared at the lantern.

"Can you do anything, to help him?" Unknown to Anvil his desperation to see the boy once more showed.

The creature thought and then reached for the lantern, and as it finally grasped it some of the corruption fell like shards of glass.

"I can buy him time."

Chapter Text

Seishan's steps were measured and even, soft yet load. She was beautiful, yet her every movement seemed to be a call for violence. The moonlight grew bright as she walked by. The world shrunk in the face of her desire, responding in such a way to lessen the distance between her and her destination.

As she grew close to the top of the tower, she could hear the fumbling steps of the 3rd expedition team as they left Gunlang's office.

Seishan ignored them as they trembled when she walked by. She ignored them as they started to lose themselves in their carnal desires.

Seishan soon found her way into Gunlang's office only to see a concerned look on the man's face as he stared down at a report.

She gracefully took a seat across from the man, his eyes quickly shot up to gaze at her.

"You've changed. How?" Gunlang seemed to have decided that he didn't need to hide his exastion from her as he spoke.

"I've learned how to wield my divine blood." With Gunlang's dismissal of manners, she decides to forgo the as well.

"Wield divine blood? How does that even work?"

"Keter's words were, 'The blood of the gods runs through your veins. If you truly believe that all that the blood of a god would do is merely increase the quality of essence and slight physical change, then you've underestimated just what the gods were.' And I have found such thoughts to be true."

Gunlang snorted. "Merely, huh. Does he know that any awakened in the world would kill for even the slightest increase in essence quality?" Seishan nodded. "So, how have you learned to wield your divine blood?"

"It's not something I can explain, but the closest thing I can compare it to are the Philosophy Keys that the children of Heart used."

Gunlang looked at her with pure confusion. "What the hell is a Philosophy Key?"

Seishan thought for a moment, then spoke. "I don't truly know enough about them to explain what they are. Even mother couldn't give a full explanation on such a thing."

"Is wielding divine blood so abnormal that you're comparing using it to something you don't even understand?"

"Indeed. The only thing we truly know about Philosophy Keys is that inheriting one is akin to sholdering a part of the world."

"Ah." Gunlang began to understand what she was saying. "Any advice for learning how to wield my own divine blood then?"

Seishan shook her head. "No, you will have to go to Keter for such help." Gunlang nodded, then gazed back at the report.

"Well, speaking of Keter, he is not in the greatest situation." Gunlang began flipping through the report. Seishan beckoned him to continue.

"I sent the 3rd expedition team east to gather more Starlight and Azure series memories, but I also gave them the order to check up on Keter and, well... that didn't go too well." Gunlang's expression grew deeply disturbed.

"How so?"

"For a few miles around the tree, corpses of countless nightmare creatures litter the ground. There are no signs of anyone gathering their soul corse and, yet their all gone."

Seishan frowned. "Could the tree have eaten them?"

Gunlang nodds. "That was my conclusion as well. And those idiots decide to continue on to find Keter even after they saw that."

"Was something wrong with him?"

Gunlang grumbled at the question. "Yes, but that is not the problem, considering he planned for that effect. No, the insane part is that he completely overturned the will and minds of the 3rd expedition team."

"That's... no, he is a descendant of Heart. If he wielded his divine blood, I believe such a thing could be possible." Seishan tries her best to rationalize the absurd feat.

"I would have throw it up to it just being Keter if it won't for the fact that they were miles away from the tree." Gunlang's emotions began to run high.

"It couldn't have been the tree, it would have than them under its control if to was." Gunlang began to growl.

"OH, yeah that fucking tree's a titan now!" Gunlang was barely stopping himself from lashing out.

"Keter will be fine. I do not doubt that even if it became a fallen, he could resist it."

"Do you really trust in him so much to believe that?" Gunlang's voice held a sharp edge to it.

"I do. And I do believe it is time for me to leave." Seishan gracefully got up and moved towards the door the moment she felt the vial begin to shake.

Gunlang nodded as he sat back down, breathing deeply.

The moment she left his office, Seishan pulled out a vial of blood, which made the very world around it submit.

Seishan couldn't help but fear whatever was making her mother's blood react in such a way.

"It's shaking... It's reacting like there is some greater predator around." Seishan hid the vial away once more as she moved to investigate the castle.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie began to shake in her seat as her mind was bombarded with a vision once more.

Alone, the man stood. A top a mountain the man stood higher than any other.

Alone, the servant of Allah stood. He watched as the evening bells rang to claim the lives of millions.

Alone, the last survivor stood. below a starless sky. Forever tainted by the mistakes of mankind.

Alone, the king stood. As the nightmare ensnared humanity.

Alone, death stood. As "Its" last connection to the world disappeared.

Alone, "Nothing" stood. As the evening bells rang one last time.

Blood began to trickle down Cassie's ear as her mind tried to comprehend what she saw. Cassie swiftly wiped away the blood as she heard Nephis begin to approach for the cohorts' scheduled meeting. 'That the second one in less than three hours.'

"You're early, Nephis." Cassie's voice was completely serene. "Do you know when the others will be here?"

"Three to five minutes." Cassie nodded

Slowly but surely, everyone in the cohort entered Effie's home. Effie was consuming enough meat to put a nightmare creature to shame at the table. Kai, Nephis, and Cassie sat on the couch. While Caster sat alone in the corner, cleaning his armor.

"Cassie," Kai spoke softly so as not to frighten the trembling girl. "Why did you call all of us here? Did you have a vision?"

"Two of them." Everyone in the room was hooked, so much so that Effie stopped eating. "One was of Keter and the other..." Cassie thought for a moment, then spoke once more. "I can't tell what the second one was about. I need time to decipher it."

Caster went rigid at the mention of Keter, and before anyone else could speak. "It prophesied his death."

Everyone held a variety of reactions ranging from extreme worry to horror.

Caster spoke once more. "How? How is he meant to die? Is it possible to stop?" Everyone seemed weirded out about his attitude toward Keter. Though Nephis held a dangerous glint in her eyes, Cassie didn't know what that was about.

"The Soul Devouring Tree, and no it's not possible to stop. Unless... you believe you can stop a Fallen Titan?" The horror on his face only grew.

Chapter Text

The monotonous sound of the spell rang in his ear once more. What was once a sound of victory became a song of death.

[You have slain...]

The ashen sand below was dyed red with the blood of thousands of nightmare creatures. Six cores burned at tainted light, beating with the deathly song.

The battered mantle strained with even the slightest movement. A foreign moonlight decayed the very air around the silver sword in the man's hand.

[You have slain...]

The man held off tens of terrifying nightmare creatures with a horrifying efficiency. The blade in his hand was an extension of his body, not a trivial tool. The man possessed a skill that no mere sleeper should ever hold. For in his hands, the sword became a symbol of death. One which not even fallen creatures could resist.

[You have slain a Fallen Beast...]

[You have received...]

The man fought with a mechanical efficiency. There were no wasted movements, there were no mistakes, there was no mercy within his sword. All there was was will. The man's will was strong, it warped the very world around him. His strikes were slightly stronger than they should have been. He was slightly faster than he should have been. The strikes that hit him were less fatal than they should have been.

[You have slain...]

The man's mind was clouded, and so every thought he held was death. The man did not know if it had been days or weeks or even months; all he knew was murder.

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

The man's sword fell to his side as the cursed sun burned at the end of the horizon. As the sea fell into slumber once more, so did the endless assault upon the Ashen Barrow.

[You have slain...]

The man ignored the grotesque sound of his writhing heart as he dragged his tired body to the benevolent Soul Tree. The benevolent tree gifted him with its cursed ambrosia. The man ate it, having no choice but to. After all, they were the only things keeping him going, keeping him alive. And so he stood there motionless, at the base of the tree.

The sun had risen high in the sky before a faint light flickered in the man's dull eyes. His hands came crashing into the sides of his head, digging into his skull.

Pain.

The man screamed and struggled as his hands tore through his face, as his eyes exploded, as his jaw shattered, as he ripped the skin off of his bones.

Pain.

With one final pull, the man ripped his face off of his head. There was no skin, no flesh, no muscle; all that was left was bone. The man's arms fell limp to his side as he collapsed to the floor.

It was a miracle, that's all it could be described as, as his flesh began to regrow upon his face. It didn't take long for the man's face to grow back entirely, and when it did, there was intelligence within his eyes once more.

The man eventually stood up once more summoning his silver sword. The man began to practice his perfected swordsmanship to hopefully survive the next day.

----------------------------

I felt it. I felt my blood churn as warning, as a creature far beyond me began approaching this Ashen Barrow.

The starless sky had long overtaken the sun. The Dark Sea roared with an all-consuming hunger, one which devoured those far stronger than him. And yet the boy stood his ground upon the blooded ash.

The man's writhing heart beat with excitement, a excitement that wasn't his. His indomitable will began to sway, his thoughts became less whole. It almost felt like his brain wasn't entirely there anymore.

The Soul Devour could consume him, make him its eternal thrall, and yet it didn't. At this point, it wouldn't even take any effort on its part, the man could not resist it in his current state. Instead, it helped him. It stabilized him. The seed within the man's mind shook with fear for what was hidden under the Great Sea.

The Spell's voice rung in his ears, a voice that he could barely comprehend among the countless whispers.

[You may claim your second Legacy Relic]

"C-Cl… Claim," It was horrible. It felt like something was eating his voicebox, like he was being eaten from the inside out.

[You have received an Aspect Legacy Relic]

[You have received a Memory]

"Ghhhk!" The man fell on his knees as he threw up. And their laying on the floor was his voicebox covered in thousands of insects.

The man became hyperaware of everything happening within his own body. Hundreds of thousands of insects were devouring him from the inside. His heart beat hollow, his brain all but gone. And still the Soul Devour kept him alive with its profane might.

The waves of the Great Sea grew chaotic as a vile creature rose from its depths.

A bioluminescent mushroom, unmoving in the raging waves of the Dark Sea. The man's hollow heart beat with an ancient exultation as a siren's song bore from within his mind.

It was too fast, far too fast. I never had a chance.

A spear-like tentacle pierced his body with a speed that seemed to rival lightning. The tentacle wrapped around his lungs and ruptured them with an explosive force. Blood exploded from Keter's mouth as a spark of intelligence returned to his eyes.

The tentacle dragged him through the ashen sand, the abyssal water and eventually stopped in front of the bioluminescent bulb. And there, he meet it.

A vaguely humanoid face, its translucent eyes bore into his own. Its bestial armor covered all but small pieces of its body. Its seven spear-like tentacles carved into Keter's body in ways he didn't know were possible. Only now could Keter realize what this creature was: a jellyfish.

Keter gritted what was left of his teeth, as the jellyfish inspected him with interest.

'A Fallen Terror, I'm almost surprised. If anything I should be surprised it took this long to run into something I can't handle.' Keter began to choke and gasp, as one of the tentacles began to caress his heart. Water flooded into his mostly consumed lungs.

With the interlining of his stomach eaten the stomach acid began to melt its way through his mangled body. The water and acid crept their way into his bloodstream. Oxygen became scarce, and the flowing acid and water dealt untold amounts of damage to the rest of his body.

Keter didn't even know what was keeping him alive at this point. Was it the Soul Devour? Was it the ancient and corrupting whispers? Or maybe the sound of an ever-distant quill. But it did not matter to him, as Keter wouldn't allow himself to fall so soon.

And so with a shaking hand, Keter grasped two vials of shimmering golden liquid, So ancient so divine. The Nightmare responded to his call.

[You have acquired two drops of ichor. Do you wish to consume them?]

Keter could not answer his voice long since taken from him, and so his will answered for him.

[As you wish.]

Chapter Text

Atop the crimson titan stood a priest with molten gold hair. His eyes were an illusionary chaos of colors. His priestly garb bore a volatile black, a decaying silver cross hung across his neck.

"Keter, you hold the potential to be the weapon you were born to be, but you cannot overcome 'Him' alone."

Two shadowed heads sprouted from his neck, "The Sun", "The Tyrant", and "The Error".

"Keter Asterion, you were born destined to slay a fallen god. You were born to slay the Dream."

"The Sun" was the perfect example of purity and all that is good. A blinding halo floated behind his head, his hair a liquid ichor as an illusionary chaos of colors bore from his eyes.

"You did not wish for this. And for that, I truly am sorry, child." A false empathy consumed his voice.

"The Tyrant" was an embodiment of rage and power. The world around him came to a kneel as the Great Sea grew chaotic. His hair was an abyssal blue as an illusionary chaos of colors bore from his eyes.

"But the burden of the title godslayer must lie on your hands."

"The Error" was normal compared to his other selves. The only difference was the crystal monocle on his right eye.

"The Tyrant" began to sing a melancholy song as "The Sun" Spoke.

"I say it's effective."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

A war raged within Keter's body, a war between two worlds and the boundless strings that guided all things.

Keter screamed in pain as the conflicting forces tore through his body. The insects were purged from his body. The acid and water evaporated upon contact. Even the tentacles of the fallen terror were reduced to nothing as a result of the battle of divine wills.

The boundless weave molded his body to fit its needs. His veins were rearranged, his [Lightpath] forcefully changed, his brain altered. The heavenly light destroyed everything in its path as it chased the weave, the very essence of 'light' forced his stigma to much higher levels of power. The world seemed to support the 'heart' as it reforged what the light destroyed. Neither of the worlds could live with the existence of the weave. Even the false will within the blood would not allow for the existence of a daemon in their presence.

A violent song rang within his head, permeating his very soul.

Rage began to consume what was left of Keter's conscience. Keter exploded his arm, forcing the terror away from him for a moment.

The terror screamed in pain as all but two of its tentacles were vaporized by Keter's blood.

Keter's stigma began to dig into his hollow heart as he pulled upon more power. Instantly actualizing [Silver Moonlight], he shot toward the terror, casting dozens of miracles to assist him.

Even with all but two of its tentacles gone, the fallen terror was not something Keter could stand against. A degenerate existence could not be equaled by an incomplete miracle.

-------------------------------------------------------

The "Error" grasped a quill and began writing on thin air.

[The Fallen Terror, with the support of the Dark Sea, grew courageous enough to challenge the gods and returned to its roots. Utilizing the ability, Flesh Creek the Fallen Terror dived into the body of the Holy Emperor.]

It was going to fail; Adam knew that all too well. The developments were not within logical bounds, so "Error" moved.

"Error" stole the "illogical" from the prophecy and the "Reasonable" death of Keter and swapped them.

"This is a reasonable development," The sun declared. The "Tyrant" began to hum a calming tune in response to the declaration.

---------------------------------------

The fallen terror suddenly liquified into a writhing mass of flesh and blood. The writhing mass surged forward through the corrupted cavity in Keter's chest as it began to integrate into his body.

The three divine wills seemingly made a temporary compromise to deal with the profane mass. The writhing profanity would not stand a chance against the combined might of the gods and daemon.

An ever-distant quill began to write, and soon the profanity within Keter's body grew beyond his mortal comprehension. As the Dark Sea cried out in a wallowed pain.

Keter bit down on his charred tongue as a seemingly endless horde of awakened nightmare creatures arose from the Dark Sea's depths. Summoning what little strength he had left, he gripped [Silver Moonlight] and shot towards the horde.

-----------------------------------------

"Error" moved once more, glancing towards the very core of the Dark Sea. He then looked to "Sun" with an expectant look.

"Sun" nodded and declared. "I am the Trojan Horse of Fate, The Slug of Time, The Loopholes in the Rules, The Manifestation of All Errors."

[The Sun Spoke, so it must be T̷̸̢̢̡̳̹͔̠͔̘̜͔͙͉͚̭͈̫̙͕̯̋̆́͑ͩ̂ͧ̌̎̽ͥ͌͊̾́͟͟͞r̴̴̡̧̧̼̘̫̞̘̲̜̭̹̮̜͇̟̻̭ͤͤ̐ͣ̓͒͒̎ͧ̈́̅ͯ̔ͫ͘͜͠͞͞ų̶̸̶̶̶̸̸̰̘̼̺͙̫̻̻ͫͤ̌̐ͤ̆ͮ̏̍̀́̿̐͒̆̈́̇́̏ͥͥ̽͘͜͜͟͟͞͡͠e̵̢̡̛̼̺͎̩͉͈̊̌ͣͧ͗́̽̀̐ͬ͘ͅ.]

"Error" then created a 'bug' to distance the Dark Sea from its identity as a 'Great' creature. Stealing its identity, he then stole the identity of 'fallen' from the terror and created another bug to swap the two temporarily. He then wrote.

[The Great Terror began to integrate into the Holy Emperor's body, as he fought and killed the beings born of the Fallen Titan. The fragmented dead wills of the Sun, Heart, and Weave began to fight off the creature. Alone, they would be devoured and absorbed; together, they would purify the great creature, but in turn they would no longer hold the ability to continue to fight. Thus begins a new Doom War.]

--------------------------------------------------------------------

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

The song of death rang in Keter's ear once more. A divine symphony that could not be equaled.

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

The war within Keter's body could no longer distract him. A single mistake in this seemingly boundless horde would cause his death faster than the dying will of the dead gods would.

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

It was painful, far beyond what Keter's mortal mind could comprehend. It did not matter if he was a terror, after all, a slightly bigger ant could still never imagine the inexplanable complexity of those above it.

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

[You have slain...]

Tainted Ichor bathed the countless awakened creatures. For Keter's stigma could no longer keep up, for it no longer had any fuel to burn. Over a dozen scriptures have carved their way through the other side of his chest.

Born of the blood of the dream in the loving arms of war, he was no reborn in a crucible of his own blood, the divinity of realms, and the boundless profanity of degeneracy.

[Three of your Attributes are ready to evolve]

[You have acquired a new Attribute]

[You have acquired a new Attribute]

[You have acquired a new Attribute]

[You have slain Great Terror, Orpheus]

[You have received an Echo..]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[...Your Light is overflowing with power.]
[Your Light is taking shape.]

The profane water of the Dark Sea grew chaotic, throwing him assure. The madding whispers grew quiet as his body reformed itself, all except the cavity caused by his stigma. The sound of the ever-distant quill fell silent as Keter felt a burden that did not belong to him begin to weigh on his shoulders.

The sound of ethereal bells rang as mist fell from the Hollow mountains.

Chapter Text

[Your Light is Complete]

Keter groaned as he picked himself up. He saw his scorched veins fill back up, his hands slowly reforming. Keter then gazed towards the cascading mist as it rolled across the sea—a sign of death if Keter ever saw one.

Tears began to well up in Keter's eyes. 'It's still not over.' Keter slapped himself trying to stop himself from breaking down. It didn't work, so Keter moved the "Heart," calming himself down soon after. Keter soon looked at the [Mantle of the Underworld] with a thinly veiled hope, only for it to become a new source of despair.

[Mantle of the Underworld]

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: VI

Memory Type: Armor

Memory Description: [Vowing to never look upon the Goddess of the Black Skies again, the prideful demon retreated into the darkness beneath an unassailable mountain chain. He wasn't the first to lead his army against the gods. However, he was the first to shed their blood, as well as learn the secrets of his own.]

Memory Enchantments: [Living Stone], [Feather of Truth], [Stalwart], [Underworld Armament], [Prince of the Underworld]

[Prince of the Underworld]

Enchantment Description: "This armor grows stronger according to the amount of opponents its wielder defeats. (5999/6000)

Keter stared at the runes for a moment, a silent dread began to set in as his gaze shifted to the bellowing mist. Keter then looked towards the evolving Soul-Devouring Tree. The crimson abomination was devouring the souls of the hundreds of creatures he had killed.

'If I want to kill that abominable thing, now is the best time.' Hope began to flicker in Keter's soul once more. Slowly but surely, Keter moved towards the Fallen Titan, his seven cores lit up as fire began to surge through his veins. As his hand grasped the trunk of the Soul-Devourer, his veins were charred black by the fragment of the sun bound in blood and bone.

It ripped through his veins with the force of an erupting star. Divine flames burst from Keter's hand, quickly consuming the Soul-Devourer. As the flames devoured the abominable tree, Keter began to understand just what it meant to wield the blood of the gods.

'An inheritance too great for mere mortal flesh to contain. In fact, even attempting to wield the blood before obtaining transcendence is suicide.'

[You have slain Fallen Titan, Soul-Devouring Tree]

[Your Light Grows Brighter]

[You have acquired a new Attribute]

The curse that has plagued Keter for weeks died without being able to resist. The revenge that Keter has long since wanted felt empty and without reward for all the suffering he had went through.

"I demand a memory." Allowing his emotions to run free as he stared up at the sky. "I killed it. Something two ranks above me, something that has been tormenting me for months. GIVE ME A DAMN MEMORY!"

The Nightmare Spell was silent just like it had always been, but as the bellowing mist approached the Ashen Barrow, a familiar ring rang in his ear.

[You have received a memory: Crimson Enchantress]

Chapter Text

Keter felt the [Clay Shell] envelop his body, making him more durable than ever. Quickly placing the [Shattered Sea Charm] within [Underworld Armament], his gaze shifted to the bellowing mist as it stepped onto the Ashen Barrow, as it began forming into a more solid shape.

The [Starlight Legion Armor] manifested around Keter, as he called the [Silver Moonlight] to his hand. The world trembled around his blade, as his 'Will' began to intertwine with the world around him.

'Shit, with my current condition I wont be able to draw on any miracles or my stigma. I have to change my battle art mid-fight, that won't be easy.'

Soon enough, the mist formed into a distinctly humanoid shape, yet still void of many details. A large man with a great sword in hand was all the details the humanoid creature held.

The two stare into each other's eyes, or where there should be eyes, for a moment.

'It's conscious, closer to a human than a nightmare creature. It hasn't moved yet, but I can tell this thing has a battle art.' The mist waned at his thoughts.

Keter soon shot forward with a might that shocked the barrow, his sword aimed for the creature's chest, only to meet the uncertain mist of its great sword. The misty figure twitched, yet that movement was enough to send Keter shooting back. Before he even landed, the figure was on him, its great sword aiming for his neck. Keter was barely able to bring his sword up in time to deflect it, still leaving a wound across his neck.

Keter's eyes momentarily widened at the shining Ichor left from his wound. Keter quickly pulled himself together, pivoting to the right, Keter went tumbling. A strike came down at him before he could stand up. Rolling to the side, Keter then pushed off the ground to send himself into the air. His sword struck empty air, the misty figure gone. Keter braced himself as his instincts screamed. Soon enough, the misty figure's fist rocketed into his side, sending him flying.

'This thing fights like an assassin. I can go off what I know of Eris's(Silent Stalker) battle art to begin learning this thing's battle art.' The misty figure solidified slightly at his realization.

Keter used the force to flip over in the air to land on the ball of his foot. As Keter once more made contact with the misty figure, he smiled madly. 'It's gotten weaker.' Keter's heart began to beat like a war drum, and his body shook. unable to handle the new force that his heart bestowed upon him.

"Growth."

The blood of the Heart demanded he grow to combat the force in front of him. Even with the boost to his strength, the misty figure's strength was still overwhelming. Each time he made contact with its great sword, it felt like a mountain slammed into him.

Keter spun on his heel and shot forward like a bullet, away from the misty figure. Keter utilized his instincts and predictive calculations to try and find out where it would appear.

He failed hundreds of times, and yet with each confrotation he learned a little more. With each bit, he learned the misty figure became a little more defined.

Keter's steps soon became silent and uneffecting of the world around him, he crossed distances impossible through normal movement in a single step. His sword was no longer a violent whirlwind but a graceful dance.

'My previous style was too linear, I made it from using 'destruction' as the main essence on which I built it. Will that was fine for my fight against impulse-driven nightmare creatures, but if I want to win this fight, I have to find a new essence. 'Murder' won't work for me like it did for Nephis; I need something new. 'Violence', my previous idea, is too broad and would only end up unraveling later down the line.'

The mountain in front of Keter felt far less titanic than it did before. Kete could now hold his own with the thing in front of him, but as it lost strength, it began to truly regain its mind.

Black robes covered its body, only beginning to reveal the start of the formation of a human skull draped upon its head.

Keter could feel it as they clashed, the being was beginning to mold its will, its intent to kill him, making it all the more deadly. Its attacks slowly began to bring a feeling of death as they approached. The previous mindless yet all-consuming skill became a disaster as it began to evolve.

"What are you?" Keter asked as he saw true intent take hold. His foot pivoted to the right, allowing the giant blade to slide off his own. Only for the great sword to flick upward, tearing off a piece of Keter's side before he could stop it.

"A Hassan who killeth Hassans." Keter's eyes widened as he realized just who he was fighting.

"Hassan-I-Sabbah, The Old Man of the Mountain, King Hassan." With each word Keter spoke, the mist lessened, only leaving a lone man in front of him. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Oh? Is mine name known to the children of War?" As he questioned Keter his sword flashed to claim his head.

"No. I'm the only person in the world who would recognize your name." As Keter blocked, he found the force to be far more manageable than before. 'If this truly is him, then the essence of his battle art is death.' Keter's breathing was ragged and uneven, his lungs unable to sustain the needs of his heart.

King Hassan stayed silent at Keter's answer. His blade disappearing from Keter's view, repeating behind him only to be blocked by the hilt of Keter's sword and swiftly countered, to which he deployed a counter.

'Solace. The essence of which thy is building thy art is solace, even if thy doesn't know that yet.' King Hassan appeared next to Keter and kicked him with a force that would shatter the bones of a fallen creature, sending him flying once more. His sword was once more blocked as he attempted to take the boy's life.

'I must die, yet I can not allow myself to die to one unworthy. Taking my own life is a sin beyond measure. This boy in front of me stands a chance, yet I can hear the bells tolling for thy name. I am conflicted.'

"Earn thy Right to Live." The Angel of Death stood before the Keter with his own demands.

Keter's sword glowed with a baleful moonlight as his 'Will' forced its activation. Once Keter's foot touched the ground, he shot forward, striking King Hassan's blade with a technique that mirrored his own. Utilizing King Hassan's strength, he pushed himself upward, then, utilizing what little power he had saved up over the course of the fight, he pushed off the air, slicing through his robes, he found nothing.

Keter's eyes widened, accidentally opening himself up for an attack. King Hassen took the chance, leaving a bloody wound across his stomach. Keter allowed he blood to splatter across the ground instead of staying inside the wound as he called upon [The Fire].

"Creation."

The wound healed instantly, leaving lasting burn marks across his veins. Realizing something, Keter called upon it once more.

"Creation."

The debilitating holes in his body made by the sigma were refilled, at the cost of Keter pushing himself far closer to death. 'I remember now. King Hassan, similar to the other Hassans, made a sacrifice of flesh, but unlike the others, he tore out everything. There is nothing left within him.'

A countless fury of blows was exchanged, laying waste to what was left of the Ashen Barrow. Keter's growth was an unstoppable march while King Hassan was a living fortress. Free from the debilitating wounds caused by his stigma, Keter's sword was far deadlier than ever before.

Soon enough, the Evening bells rang their final rite. 'Death' began to infect Keter from a wound on his arm, and without any hesitation, Keter called upon [The Fire] once more.

"Destruction."

With a singular word, the concept of Keter's 'Left Arm' was destroyed, eliminating the mark of death with it as well. Only to have a sword pierce his neck. Keter moved forward through the strike, hoping to kill his opponent before he killed him.

With each step forward, Keter pushed the concept of 'Growth' to its absolute limits.

With the first step, 'Solace' was reached.

With the second step, His heart burst, allowing him to become one with his sword.

With the third and final step, a miracle was born.

"Lightless, Three-Stage Thrust"

The first thrust was blocked.

The second was 'Killed'.

The third pierced the 'Heart'.

[You have slain, ???]

"You are worthy, I grant you the name Old Man of the Mountain." King Hassan died by his blade dispersing into mist content.

As Keter fell to the floor, the consequence of his actions began to catch up to him. He was going to die, but that did not matter, for he had won.

As Keter fell unconscious, a boat made of demonic bones appeared in the distance.

[You have received an Echo, ???]

Chapter Text

Keter blinked rapidly as he woke up, greeted by a pair of blood-red eyes. The emptiness where his left arm used to be and the dull ache in his soul were jarring to Keter's tired mind.

"Seishan-" Keter paused for a moment. "Why are you here? How did you get here?" Keter's hand grasped the ashen floor. Keter attempted to use [Miricle] to get a scan of the things in the area, only for the small ache in his soul to explode inward. An injury he couldn't see bloomed with the purpose of collapsing his soul.

Seishan spoke, but Keter could not hear it over the intense pain. Pulling himself into his Soul Sea, he saw the previous vibrant world dim and dull. His seven blinding white soul cores were cracked and leaking soul essence. The previous transparent sea was now stilled Ichor. The raging inferno of divinity flowed around the woven veins surrounding his soul, both cracked. The thousands of cracks layering his soul were barely held together by a shimmering re liquid. The only thing untouched within his soul were two iridescent rings that reflected countless images, which stood as inner rings of balance to his soul.

"Ah-" Keter winced as he saw the state of his soul and could only breathe out in relief as the pain began to die down. "My soul is barely held together." Keter paused for a moment. "I'm handicapped again, if I do anything besides my bare body and summoning one or two low-end memories, then my soul is going to collapse. Just trying to activate [Miricle] completely reversed all the healing my soul went through while I was asleep." As Keter left his Soul Sea, he caught sight of the fleeting images of his memories and dozens of echoes.

Keter awoke to the feeling of ashen sand beneath him, with the world being bathed in an iridescent flame.

"Nephis, stop. My injuries are not something that you can heal." The iridescent flame swiftly disappeared, allowing the low-hanging sun to brighten the world.

"What injuries do you have? We couldn't identify them all." Spoke a gruff voice. It took a moment, but Keter eventually recognized it as Gunlang.

"My soul is on the border of collapse, and my body is damaged and exhausted from the use of my divine blood," Keter spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. Pulling himself up with Seishan's help, he looked around to see Nephis, Gunlang, and Seishan surrounding him. Kai, Effie, Cassie, and Caster were a distance away but still in a conversational distance.

"Use of Divine blood? What the hell does that mean?" Effie asked curiously just before getting slapped in the back of the head by Cassie.

"That doesn't matter right now. What matters is making sure that this idiot survives this ordeal." Cassie's attention momentarily went to Gunlang and Nephis. Gunlang stood there, stiff as a board. Nephis kneeled next to Keter with worry on her face, though Cassie doubted the others could tell. Cassie's attention went back to Keter.

"How long do you think it will be till you're in a good enough state to make the journey back to the Dark Castle? And is there anything we could do to speed up your recovery?" Cassie's tone was gentle in an attempt not to set off Keter.

Keter leaned against Seishan as he put his thoughts together. "It would be at least a week before I can be of any help, but if you treat me like a passenger princess, then I can be ready by tomorrow. And no, there is nothing you can do to speed up my recovery, but there are a few things I need some help with."

"What are they?" Caster spoke instantly, surprising all but Seishan.

Keter looked at him with dullness for a moment as if trying to drag out some emotion. Keter then spoke. "Under the trunk of the tree, buried a few feet down, is my [Spatial Bag]. And while the Soul-Devourer ate a lot of the soul shards, there still must be quite a bit of them littered around the barrow." Keter paused for a moment as only Caster went to collect soul shards after he brought his [Spatial Bag]. "I mean, there are enough that all of you need to go and collect unless you wish to stay for a few days."

After that, everyone understood, and with a little bit more conversation, Keter was soon left alone against the truck of the Soul-Devourer. (They moved him there)

'I should look through my runes and all my new memories.

Name: Keter Asterion

True Name: Holy Emperor

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Titan

Light Core: Dormant

Light Fragment:[3765/7000]

Stigma:[0]

Memories: [Robes of The Lost] [Man Eater] [Traveler] [Starlight Legion Longsword] [Shattered Sea Charm] [Starlight Legion Armor] [Spatial Bag] [Mantle of the Underworld] [Silver Moonlight] [Crimson Enchantress] [Blood of a Demi-Giant] [Fractured Oath] [Unseen Candle] [....] [....] [....] [....] [....] [....] [....] [....] [....] [....] …..

Echos:[Stone Saint] [Orpheus] [???]

Attributes:[Undefiled Faith] [Child of Light] [Inferno of Divinity] [Dreamspawn] [The Heart] [Path of Divine Light] [The Light] [Blood Weave] [Ichor] [Clay Shell]

'Being a titan will help in the siege. And my Stigma...' Keter pondered the new difference in his stigma. 'The old counter counted how many nightmare creatures I had killed, but the new one seems to be a... reserve of light fragments? Why would such a thing be needed?' Keter's confusion quickly disappeared as he continued investigating. 'I should go over my attributes first.'

[Undefiled Faith]

Attribute Description: [A pure, holy, and untainted soul, a body tempered by the blood of saints, a mind reinforced by an undying faith, a spirit unrelinquished to authority, never giving to the profane.]

'It seems to be a pure upgrade to [Untainted Faith] along with an extra resistance to corruption.'

[Inferno of Divinity]

Attribute Description: [An inferno roars within your soul.]

'The natural upgrade to [Flame of Divinity].'

[Path of Divine Light]

Attribute Description: [A path carved by the bindings of Weaver Divinity. The bindings of fate are the closest thing to perfection since the fall of the [-Unknown-]. This attribute will become stronger the more complete your forbidden lineage.]

'Does each piece of Weaver's lineage represent a different part of fate? And if so, that means [Blood Weave] represents bindings.' Keter grimaced at the thought. 'If so, [Blood Weave] just became a double-edged sword. It makes sense, though... after all, how would the fractured lineage of a creature representing fate, not represent specific aspects of it. That also means the chains of fate around me should be as strong as a normal person's now.'

'What could the others possibly represent?' Keter soon dismissed the though before moving on.

[The Light]

Attribute Description: [You have inherited the complete lineage of the Sun God]

[Blood Weave]

Attribute Description: [You have inherited a part of Weaver's forbidden lineage. Your blood has been altered and imbued with odd tenacity.]

'The lineages are as expected. I'm surprised, though, divine lineages normally only fully integrate once someone becomes a master.'

[Ichor]

Attribute Description: [You have reached a place of divinity, which the world believed as myth. The effect of your divinity and divine blood is enhanced.]

'[Ichor]... the blood of the gods.' Even with the dull state Keter's mind was currently in, it was still vastly overwhelming. 'This is what's keeping me from exploding from the conflict of my lineages, isn't it?' Keter let his emotions simmer for a moment before he tried and moved on. 'Though that effect... It's certainly monstrous. That should mean that [Blood Weave] is as strong as Sunny's was after it devoured the Shadow God's lineage.'

[Clay Shell]

Attribute Description: [In the deep darkness of the underworld, a prideful demon forged seven suits of splendid armor for his favorite creations. The intricate shells were both a boon and a test since only those worthy of his regard could unlock the mantle's true potential and bear its weight.]

Attribute Traits: [Living Stone] [Feather of Truth] [Stalwart] [Underworld Armament] [Mantle] [Shell] [Bound]

'The shell is what I expected. A dormant version of [Marble Shell]. Next is the new memories.' Keter began to look through the long list of new memories. 'Most of them are worse versions of what I already have, useless, or something that does something my aspect and attribute already cover; only four of the new ones are of any use.'

[Crimson Enchantress]

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: VII

Memory Type: Charm

Memory Description: [The Soul-Devouring Tree, even as insidious as it was, was not born out of any special circumstances like most creatures within the Forgotten Shore. It was merely a creature misplaced from its home. Due to not having the help of its brethren, it is by far the weakest of its species.]

Memory Enchantments: [Hell's Benevolence] [Deal with the Devil] [Territory]

[Hell's Benevolence]

Enchantment Description: [Makes the owner seem benevolent and weakens the mental defence of anyone who looks at the user.]

[Deal with the Devil]

Enchantment Description: [If someone accepts a gift from you, then they must give something back of equal value.]

[Territory]

Enchantment Description: [You may set a territory around you, and within this, you become stronger along with your aspect gaining range equal to the size of your territory.]

'The memory I got from the Soul-Devourer.' Keter felt his body trying to wince and disregarded it. 'With that description, it must be from the Burned Forest. Also, the weakest of its species? Does that mean the Burned Forest is filled with corrupted+ rank Soul-Devourers?' Keter forced his body not to shiver.

'Those enchantments are extremely useful. [Hell's Benevolence] must have been how it ensnared creatures, and [Deal with the Devil] must have been the use of the fruits. Though [Territory] seems like something the spell tacked on, it's useful all the same.'

[Blood of a Demi-Giant]

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: III

Memory Type: Charm

Memory Description: ["We will hold the army of the Demon King of Destruction, that I vow."-Aman Ruhr]

Memory Enchantments: [Strength of a Giant]

[Strength of a Giant]

Enchantment Description: [An extreme all-around physical boost]

'The enchantment is useful, especially when combined with [Clay shell], but the man thing I'm interested in is the mention of Aman Ruhr and the Demon King of Destruction. With their mention, it's now confirmed that the worlds of Damn Reincartaion and Shadow Slave have become one. How does that work, with things like the seven gods? And never once have I heard of any use of magic.' Keter thought for a moment. 'I will investigate when I get the chance.'

[Fractured Oath]

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: II

Memory Type: Charm

Memory Description: [Incomplete yet whole, an oath passed down through generations. You must now carry the weight of that oath, even if it kills you.]

Memory Enchantments: [Silent Pact]

[Silent Pact]

Enchantment Description: [Temporarily strengthens bonds between allies. Slightly improves coordination, timing, and shared instincts when fighting or working together. Strength increases if the wearer has a mutual pact with someone (even unspoken).]

'If it wasn't for this memory, I would have planned on besieging the Crimmon Spire with [Blood of a Demi-Giant] in [Clay Shell].'

[Unseen Candle]

Memory Rank: ???

Memory Tier: ???

Memory Type: Charm

Memory Description: ["To light the way for others, it burned itself hollow."]

Memory Enchantments:[Last Light]

[Last Light]

Enchantment Description: [When the wearer is on the brink of death from irreversible injuries, the Candle ignites. Its effect suppresses all bodily failure: organs keep functioning, blood clots unnaturally fast, and pain becomes distant. It does not heal—but it suspends death, forcing the body to function on sheer will.]

Keter stared at the unfamiliar memory for a moment. 'It's... It's from me. This memory came from me.' Keter shook his head, feeling the first spark of true emotion since he was still under the Soul-Devourer's control. 'I just hope I never need to use this memory.' After Keter pulled himself out of his somberness, he moved on to the echoes.

[Orpheus]

Echo Rank: Supreme

Echo Class: Terror

Echo Attributes: [Pure Souls] [Amagmation of Sacrifice] [Lord of the Damned] [Mind Killer]

Echo Abilities: [Parasitic Insects] [Psychological Invisibility] [Dream Manipulation] [Shepherd]

Echo Description: [Once upon a time, in a forsaken land, the sun began to dim. And so the people sacrificed themself to keep it burning. Their bones and zealous faith made their home within the catacombs. Their hate, their dreams, and their nightmare made their home under the abyss. And under the weight of its countless, it vowed to reclaim its home, yet unable, with no flesh. Alone and without hope, it met the [Unknown] upon a shore.]

[Pure Souls]

Ability Description: [Orpheus holds a great resistance to corruption and soul-related attacks.]

[Amagmation of Sacrifice]

Ability Description: [A being made of thousands of tormented souls sacrificed to satiate the newborn sun. The fear, hate, dread, and countless emotions still remain embedded within. Orpheus is immune to all mind attacks, and instead, it will harm the one who attacks it mentally.]

[Lord of the Damned]

Ability Description: [Orpheus can take in roaming souls to strengthen itself.]

[Mind Killer]

Ability Description: [Orpheus's attacks directly hit the mind.]

[Parasitic Insects]

Ability Description: [Orpheus can release small microbial life forms that can either cause little harm instantly, or they could devour something whole immediately. Under prolonged exposure, the victim can gain monstrous or vampiric attributes and will begin to feel a hunger for the flesh of the same species. This eventually devours them, and they devote themselves to Orpheus with a complete mind.]

[Psychological Invisibility]

Ability Description: [Allow Orpheus control of their target's Body of Heart and Mind, and Orpheus could remain in the blind spot of one's consciousness forever.]

[Dream Manipulation]

Ability Description: [Utilizing [Parasitic Insects], Orpheus can completely manipulate the dreams of its victims.]

[Shepherd]

Ability Description: [Allows Orpheus to take the form of every creature it devours, along with the creation of mixed forms. It can contain souls equal to its class and can utilize the abilities of the souls freely.]

Ability Traits: [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot]

Keter scrutinized the runes. 'A supreme echo... I know it got stronger near the end, but what could have caused it to go up two ranks in an instant? And this thing, it's simply absurd.' Keter's dull eyes relax. 'It would be nice to be able to use, but the amount of essence that a supreme terror echo would cost is not something I can currently deal with.' Keter's eyes moved back to its description. 'It's similar to the lord of the Dead, then.'

[???]

Echo Rank: ???

Echo Class: ???

Echo Description: [???]

'This is what I got from killing King Hassan. It's unusable for me.' Keter could instantly tell. 'There is no use to worry about such things, and the others are on their way.'

A voice boomed as the group walked towards him with hundreds of soul shards in hand. "This is insane! How were you able to kill this many nightmare creatures in such a short amount of time?"

"Yes, it's incredibly impressive." Kai agreed.

"You're more monstrous than I thought you were." Gunlang's gruff voice seemed to quiet everyone else's. "Makes me all the more glad I joined you."

Keter nodded towards Kai and Gunlang, then looked towards Effie. "I used a sword."

Effie looked at him like he was an idiot.

Keter then spoke before Effie could drag the conversation in another direction. "How many of you have not filled your cores yet?"

"I haven't, but I'm mostly there," Kai said with a joyful smile.

"I'm a third of the way there." Caster spoke, trying to hold back on his respectful language.

"Not yet." Nephis spoke.

"Kai absorb soul shards till your core is full, then Caster, then Nephis. If there are some left over, give them to me."

"Thank you, Keter," Kai said sincerely, as he began to absorb shards. Soon, handing them to Caster, and after Caster was done, there were seven left over for Nephis.

"Are you sure that was the best decision?" Cassie said as she sat by Keter.

Keter nodded. "Nephis is far stronger, she needs the boost less than the others do."

Cassie nodded, then spoke. "You should rest, you will heal faster that way. And you need to be ready for tomorrow's journey."

Keter didn't say anything; he just leaned back against the truck of the Soul-Devourer and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight Keter."

"Goodnight Cassie."

Chapter Text

Nephis and Effie stood ready in the prepared area. Nephis's [Dream Blade] and [Starlight Legion Armor] were summoned and ready. Effie stood at the opposite end of the area with her [Zenith Shard] and [Starlight Legion Shield] brandished and at the ready. It didn't take long before Effie pounced, her spear an unstoppable force and her shield an unmovable object.

Nephis acted swiftly in response; her movements, which once moved like the tides, were now closer to a dance. The dance seemed gentle and forgiving, yet held deathly undertones. It was fluid yet constantly changing. Her actions now held no predetermined output, making it almost impossible to predict.

Effie's style, which once was brutish outbursts, was now a controlled, yet loud war. It was not subtle, it never could have been; instead, it was now a raging tide.

A few yards away was another battle, nowhere near as flamboyant yet far more insidious. The Stone Saint and Cassie, with the assistance of [Crimson Enchantress], dueled with frightening visuousness.

Keter watched from a distance, noting each and every mistake they made for later. Soon enough, Keter's eyes were drawn to Nephis, making him acknowledge another problem that had to be dealt with. He then looked over to the man on his right. "Caster, go find Seishan for me. We all need to have a discussion."

"Understood, Sir." Caster quickly stood up and went to find Seishan. I only took a few minutes till Caster returned with Seishan.

Seishan bowed swiftly before she spoke. "You called?" Caster looked at her with a glare for a moment, then dropped it soon after.

"Caster, use your [Bone Flute]." Caster immediately responded to the order as Keter spoke. Soon enough, a cone of silence enveloped the trio. Seishan and Caster both stood up straighter as they understood the seriousness of this meeting.

"Caster, I know for a fact that Anvil gave you an order to kill Nephis. I want you to completely disregard it." Caster was about to speak before Keter continued. "Seishan, even though your mother didn't directly give you the mission, I know you have thought of it. I want you to disregard all thoughts pertaining to it as well."

"Your Highness." Caster becomes less restrained in his speech as everyone here knows each other's positions. "Even if you order it, I am not allowed to disregard a mission from the sovereign so easily." As Caster protested the order. Seishan just nodded at Keter's order.

Keter looked directly into Caster's eyes and asked. "What was the exact order Anvil gave you?"

Caster began to put the sovereign's orders in his own words. "Mission one, I am to protect your life at all costs. Mission two, I am to kill Changing Star. Mission three, I am to disregard mission two if it gets in the way of mission one."

"Well, there you go, there is your reason. All of us will die without Nephis' help." Keter said in a matter of fact tone.

Seishan was the next to speak. "Is Changing Star truly that necessary? You killed a fallen titan, a fallen terror, and hundreds of other nightmare creatures in a matter of weeks. Could you not deal with the fallen terror atop the spire?"

"The fallen terror is not the problem, it's the army in front of the spire. Along with that, she is the main motivation to get the entire outer settlement to join in. She is my friend as well." Keter then looked at Caster to continue his explanation. "You also don't need to worry about Anvil being mad at you, I will give you something to deliver to Anvil before we start the siege. I will also make you both much stronger before then. And with the chance to grab at a few of the survivors of the Anvil will be pleased enough to not try anything."

Caster nodded in understanding, even if he didn't partially agree with the plan, there wasn't much he could do about it.

"How about mother?" Seishan asked.

"Ki didn't even order you to kill her, you are just going off an educated guess. You guess isn't wrong, but she values your life far more than the death of Nephis. And since she would also get all the handmaidens that survive, she won't do anything about it." Keter easily answered.

Seishan then glanced over to the arena. "Are you going to train us like you trained them?"

Caster's eyes followed her gaze. "I don't know how you've done it, but they are astronomically more skilled than they were a mere seven days ago."

"Yes, I am." Keter then looked away, somewhat disinterested. "I'm also going to begin training Kai, Gunlang, and Harus, since I've finally made their profiles." Keter soon adds on. "I've also made a general training program for everyone else in the Dark City."

Caster then asked. "How long are you going to be training us all for?"

"Till you are all strong enough to kill your current selves several times over." Keter then stood up and walked towards the arena as the fighting stopped.

-43 Days later-

Keter propped up the sword on his chest and held its handle with his chin. His right hand grabbed a thin chisel and began to engrave runes into the burning hot metal. Keter then heard a knock on the door before it was opened.

"This is the seventy-second time I've seen you forge that exact sword. And I've seen you send it to the Artisans to make into a memory every single time." Cassie said with amusement as she walked into the room.

"Did your visions not tell you what they are for?" Keter inquired.

"No, but I know they are important to our survival. Some type of connection, if I had to guess?" Cassie said.

"They will increase the effect of [Fractured Oath], which will make it easier for the army to fight together," Keter said.

"Then, is it not counterproductive to make it in the form of a sword?" Cassie asked.

Keter shook his head. "No, the effect will be active whether it is summoned or not."

Cassie looked surprised. "I didn't know that was possible."

"It's not easy. I have to make the enchantment round about to get the effect I want," Keter said. Keter looked at the runes of the memory as he transformed one to Cassie.

[Oath Maker]

Memory Rank Awakened

Memory Tier: I

Memory Type Weapon

Memory Enchantments: [Oath Keeper] [Undying Oath]

[Oath Keeper]

Enchantment Description: [Increases the effects of any oaths or promises made.]

[Undying Oath]

Enchantment Description: [If an oath is made, it will never stop.]

"I've also been teaching some of the Artisans how to make them. So we should have about seven to eight hundred of them before the siege." Keter said.

Cassie's eyebrows hitched at the number. "Do you really believe that that many of us will survive till the siege?"

Keter then began to explain the numbers. "There are one thousand two hundred and seven sleepers living within the Dark City. Then, in about a week me, you, Nephis, Caster, Gunlang, Kai, Effie, and Seishan are all going far south to find [Dawn Shard], [Dusk Shard], and [Quiet Dancer]. This will put a lot more stress on the sleepers to survive without the strongest members of Dark City. I estimate a few hundred will die in that time, but we shouldn't have less than six hundred left by the time of the siege."

"Keter... do you only talk about these people like they are numbers, or do you think of them like that as well?" Cassie questioned, hoping her friend did not think such.

Keter then looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I?"

Cassie nodded silently. "How are your injuries?"

"I can use my aspect without my soul collapsing finally." Keter snorted as he answered.

Cassie's once bright mood finally reached its endpoint. "Keter, do you remember it, the prophecy of the Spire?"

"What of it?" Keter responds.

"It hasn't changed, you will die upon the top of that tower. The strings of fate guiding that ending have only gotten stronger." Cassie's voice trembled slightly.

Keter stayed quiet as he thought. "Cassie, I-" Keter seemed repulsed at the very idea of what he was about to suggest. "If I do die upon the spire, can you tell Morgan I loved her?"

Cassie was surprised at the request, but she smiled lightly and stood up to leave. "I promise the message will be delivered."

Soon enough, Keter was left alone with his thoughts. He set down the molten sword in his hand and let his face rest in his hands. "I'm scared. I don't want to die."

Chapter Text

Keter stood upon shattered ground, his Sword tens of times a minute. Yet every time the sword strikes the boulder, it is always in a set of three in quick succession. Every few dozen attempts, the time between the strikes lessened. Keter looked towards Cassie, frustrated it wasn't aimed at her, but it was there all the same.

"What is it, Cassie? I'm busy." Keter said as he gave a few heaved breaths.

"Keter," Cassie spoke a sense of disappointment held within those words.

Keter raised his head towards the sky and took a deep breath. "Sorry. The frustration is just-." Keter took another deep breath. "I pulled it off once in a much worse state, and yet I can't do it. What was it about that fight that let me pull off so many impossible things so easily?"

"I wouldn't have called it easy; you almost died." Cassie butted in.

"So? Not like it was the first time I've almost died." Keter shot with sarcasm dripping through his voice. He then took another deep breath to attempt to calm himself. "There was too much abnormality about that fight; it couldn't have just been me who caused it."

"You were actively using the blood of two separate gods. Was that not abnormal enough?" Cassie questioned.

"No. Neither of them should have boosted my physical strength enough for me to pull off the insane maneuvers that I did, let alone pull off flightless." Keter answered.

Cassie nodded then chuckled a little. "Would you be willing to tell me what you noticed?"

Keter looked over to her. "Have you gotten more visions?"

"Many. I get two a day most of the time. Not all of them are decipherable." Cassie said.

Keter considered it for a moment, then nodded. "The abnormality was that I survived at all. A battle between two gods, a daemon and a great terror, waged war within my body."

Cassie instantly butted in. "Wait- wait a minute. A daemon? And a great terror?"

Keter then explained. "The daemons were the closest existences to the gods; there were seven of them."

Cassie nodded as she took a breath. "And the great terror?"

"That's the second abnormality. The thing I was originally fighting was a fallen terror, yet somehow, before it died, it turned into a great terror. I also noticed that the monsters produced by the great sea got a lot weaker during that time." Keter said.

"We noticed something similar. Most of the bigger monsters within the sea disappeared, and we could only find awakened and dormant creatures as we crossed the Dark Sea." Cassie said.

Keter nodded, then continued on. "I was stronger, a lot stronger. If I had to guess, I would at least temporarily hold the physical strength of a master. My miracle held a lot more weight than it should have as well."

"I suppose you're not talking about mass?" Cassie questioned.

"Kind of. When I cast a miracle, it has to ground itself in reality. Ok, maybe that is not the best wording for it. A better way to put it is that the miracles mattered more than they should have. It's part of the reason my current miracles are weaker than what people think of when they think of miracles; they or I don't matter enough yet."

Cassie stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke. "I think I understand what happened, slightly. But continue before I tell you."

"Abnormality three, Lightless three-stage thrust. Not only should I not have been able to pull it off, but it should have killed me to perform it." Keter said.

"How so?" Cassie asks.

"I stole Lightless from a form of media I used to watch because it was one of the best things I could think of. And I somehow replicated it. Lightless three-stage thrust is made up of three thrusts, as its name suggests, but they all happen at the same time. Thus, they shatter casulity and make any and all armor useless."

"What is so abnormal about doing it? You were actively using both [The Light] and [The Fire] to assist you." Cassie questioned.

"I was not skilled enough, first of all. And second, my body was in too bad of a shape to do it, my healing wasn't really keeping up. And fourth, he gave me his title. It was weird, especially with what the Hassens were." Keter said.

"If I remember correctly, he declared you Hassen-I-Sabbeth?" Keter nodded. "I believe the reason for that one is different from the rest. But I think I still have an answer for it." Cassie finished.

"Well, what do you think it is?" Keter asked.

"For the last one, it's rather simple. Names have power. I don't know what kind of power but you might." Cassie said.

"Why do you think that?" Keter asked.

"You stopped Nephis from saying someone's name back when we were traveling across the Dark Sea," Cassie said.

"You were awake?" Keter asked.

"No, I was not, but I saw the conversation in a vision." Cassie clarified.

"You have a point, names do hold power, but I at least doubt it's similar to that man," Keter said. "What's the other reason?"

"You were not you after a certain point in that fight," Cassie stated.

Keter's gaze sharpened as he looked her in the eye. "Explain"

"You remember that in all of my visions, I see representations of people instead of them within it? Cassie asked.

"Yes, I do," Keter said.

"A bleeding light normally represents you, but when I received a vision of the battle, you were instead represented by a mass of worms in the form of a grandfather clock," Cassie said.

Keter only looked confused at what he heard. "A mass of worms in the form of a grandfather clock? Why do I feel like I remember that from somewhere?"

Cassie butted in. "That's not all, they showed affection. It's one of the reasons I know you weren't you."

"To whom?" Keter asked.

"To me. They noticed me somehow during the vision, and they seemed to help me. I don't know with what, though." Cassie answered.

Keter looked offended for a moment as the previous sentence caught up to him. He then snorted and smiled a little. "Why don't you go date the worms if they're so nice?"

Cassie rolled her eyes and smiled. "God, you're childish. Focus on the task at hand before I take your hand."

Keter just hitched an eyebrow in response.

Cassie looked confused for a moment, then chuckled once she figured it out. "I'd rather the worms."

Keter suppressed a laugh as he shook his head in response. "I'd rather the worms as well."

"Those poor worms don't deserve to have to deal with you, of all people." Cassie puts her hand in front of her heart with a mournful expression.

Cassie then stood up, letting go of their playful teasing as she said. "Well, we can continue this conversation later. You need to finish the preparation for the Lord of the Dead, don't you?"

Keter sighed and nodded. "Yeah you're right. Alright, I will see later."

Cassie nodded. "See you later."

Chapter Text

'Unity, just what is it?' Keter pondered the question as his fist made contact with the runic circle for what felt like the hundredth time. 'It feels like in a world like this one, that unity has lost all meaning.' The magic circle failed once more as the rune for meaning unity folded in on itself, with the collapse of the entire circle following. 'Runes and True Names, their true power only comes when you understand what you're doing, when you understand just what your calling upon. I understand what unity is, well, I know its exact definition.' For the 50th time, he pushed soul essence into the etched circle.

'The state of being united or joined as a whole. That is Unity's definition. But what does that really mean in the context of a unity between souls? Which parts of the soul would be united? What about the difference in aspect, would that not cause problems when united? Did thoughts, opinions, or goals matter? Would the process just not work if the people were too different? How deep would two people have to be united for it to truly be called a unity of souls? Would only the Spirit Body count? The Astral Projection? The Body of Heart and Mind? What about the Ether Body? Could you unite the ether body but not the ones below it? Would such a connection be permanent? Could you only target the aspects? What would that even cause? Would you get some merged freakish aspect, or would it instead merge your achievements as [Usurper] did? Could the two parties share soul essence? Would they even count as two separate entities at that point? Hell, what about the soul sea? It's the bridge between the Body of Heart and Mind and the Ether Body: connecting the physical with the more spiritual aspects of one's self.'

'Ok, maybe he was getting too far ahead of himself since at current he was only trying to produce a unity between two barriers. Well, I mean that was the goal of this entire experiment anyway. To produce a minor unity of souls between him and Nephis in order to enhance her flames enough to deal with the lord of the dead without the death of tens of their soldiers. And he only really had a few hours left to finish the experiment, so that wasn't inspiring much confidence. Especially considering he has been working on this for about a month straight and only recently got far enough not to need the nightmare spells assistance to make something that works. (Even if that is only two balls that spin in unity)'

'Wait, what if the problem wasn't coming from his amount of understanding but more so from the things he was trying to unite? Barriers are meant to either keep things in, which in most cases it would then be called a seal. Or they would be used to keep things out. Barriers weren't exactly meant to come together or to act as one; at least in the way he was currently doing it.' Keter immediately starts engraving a new circle. 'Now this one, instead of trying to merge two barriers into one like the last one did, it uses the output that they both naturally put off as well as the soul essence that comes off when they are damaged, and makes an entire new barrier with it if they break.' Keter's hand soon slammed down on top of both barriers as they activated, and they both soon buckled under the pressure, and just like the circle was meant to do, their broken pieces came together to form an even stronger barrier. A bright smile formed on Keter's face as he registered his success.

'IT WORKED!'

Keter soon lifted his hand and scraped the circle. 'Well, no matter my own feelings on the matter, I need to abandon the unity project. It took me months to get this far, while, of course, it was not all dedicated to barriers, since this was rather recent. It is still nowhere close to the original goal of a unity between souls.' Keter stood up and walked over to his desk, pushing the Record of Our Salvation aside as he sat down. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the Record of Our Salvation. 'That's another project I have to finish, there is still another 420 people I need to record within it. Thank god for Cassie, honestly. I wouldn't have been able to even make the record without her. And she's just about half the reason things are going semi-smoothly.' Keter's eyes froze on Cassie's name.

'Wait- Cassie?' Keter's eyes sharpened. 'Cassie, the Song of the Fallen. That's it, isn't it? Harmony, that's the key to everything! A harmony of souls would be less permanent and could be used in a far more temporary way than something like unity could.' As quickly as the excitement came, it left as Keter realized a fatal flaw. 'It's too late, far too late. If I had a few more weeks, or even just days, I might be able to make something of it.

Keter's hand grasped a stray piece of paper and a pencil and began writing. 'What if I use the harmony within a song? That way, I can use Shaping instead of runes! While yes, finding the true name is inherently harder than creating a rune for it, so I would still have to use the rune to find out its true name. Otherwise, it might take a month to find out the true name.' Keter leans his head onto his hand as he rubs his temples. 'While yes, it progress, I still won't have anything to show for all my research during the fight.' Keter looks through the open window, giving the setting sun a brief glance.

'Anyway, I should go back to working on Unity. That way I might find a few other ways to utilize it.'

Chapter Text

"Keter, are you sure this is wise?" Seishan asked. 

I could feel it, Gunlang's questioning, hesitant stare, even as my senses drowned in the fever, fear, and near-worship radiating from the army of sleepers. I've known for a long time that he never once fell for the constant propaganda and manipulation I fed the others. Hell, even Nephis and Cassie have begun to fall for it, if only slightly. But Gunlang? Never. He's the only one who sees through the false image I've built, the persona I've been engraving into everyone's mind.

"Of course it is. You have no need to worry." I answered. 

Has he realized? Has he figured out how unnecessary this fight truly is? It doesn't need to happen now. It could happen in a month—or three—and nothing would change. The Lord of the Dead means nothing to us as long as no one enters the Catacombs. So why now? Because I want it to. No… because I need it to.

"Mother has always said that hasty actions bring ruin," Seishan said sternly, as a hint of worry flashed in her eye.

I felt it again when I fought Orpheus—that powerlessness. Powerless to stop my suffering, powerless to resist someone forcing their will upon me. And worst of all… it felt like I was there again—in that cursed fountain.

"I know that very well, but this fight needs to happen now," I said.

Is it cruel? To lead others to die for my ego? To take dozens who had no part in my suffering and throw them into the jaws of death—just to prove to someone, or something, that I don't need their charity?

"Why? What good could this fight bring?" Seishan asked.

I know something—someone—was there that day. They are strong. Stronger than I can imagine. They did things far beyond what even Sovereigns can do. I fear them… and I hate them. Is it stupid to hate someone who saved me? Who is the reason I'm still alive? They turned a Fallen into something great, pacified the blood of the gods, kept my mind intact when it should have shattered. Their very existence gave me the leverage to demand from the spell. Did they also send the Old Man of the Mountain after me? Or was that a consequence of their help? If it was—was it a flaw? A drawback? A punishment for overreaching?

Because I said so.

I force my thoughts away from that. Why dwell on someone I can't meet, can't beat, can't even find?

"To bring the people hope," I said.

Annoyance wells up inside me. Why am I even thinking about this? Is it some last-ditch effort from whatever conscience I have left—some pathetic attempt to justify sending dozens to die simply because I want to?

Seishan looked suspicious but swiftly bowed and said. "I understand."

No. I'll kill whatever's left of that conscience before the Spire.

***

Sitting on top of a makeshift podium, waiting for everything to settle down, before I give the announcement.

Facing the gathering sleeper army, I gave out a long breath. Looking above at the sky, I am about to do something very horrible. 

I smiled bitterly as I looked down at the army of sleepers looking at me with expectant eyes.

The moment of truth has come before it should have, but it doesn't matter anymore, I have to see it through.

I looked around, on the left side of my vision, I spotted Nephis and Cassie together. They were talking amongst themselves. 

Originally, Nephis should have been the one to give the speech to 'convince' the sleeper army to march to their deaths. 

But now due to my involvement, everything is messed up, if sunny hadn't died i might have been in a more advantageous position.

I heaved another sigh, the suddenly I focused on Cassie, however the image of the next scene-

~Crack~

Huh?! 

~Grab~ 

I quickly turned my head to the side.

"What's gone into you!?", she asked in a sharp and whispered voice.

Only then did I finally let out a breath I didn't know was holding in.

What was that just now? 

Then suddenly a sweat trickled down my cheeks, all I did was look at Cassie then.. then..

Only now do I realize something was wrong.

I saw something.

But I can't remember it.

My heart started to beat frantically, as my breathing became more erratic.

It's just like that time!

I quickly glanced back at Cassie..

Nothing.

Nothing happened.. Am I tripping? Is it trauma? 

That's possible but no I clearly felt a similar feeling as that hidden being!

No No!

Thinking about it logically it's very unlikely that she would be related to that mysterious force. And she is yet to awaken her potential as a master schemer and with me around she likely wouldn't need that.

Pat~ 

Another pat came. I turned to face Seishan and she promptly directed her face towards the crowd, everyone had gathered.

Looking at the sleeper army, then I turned to look at Nephis and Cassie, they seemed to have ended their conversation as they were now waiting for my speech.

I stared at Cassie for a moment longer before I turned to face the sleeper army.

It's highly unlikely that she would be related to that 'moment' but-, I stepped on the makeshift elevated podium as I narrowed my eyes, I will have to keep an eye on her.

Letting out one last deep breath I straightened my back and raised my shoulders slightly.

I looked at the faces of the sleepers, some of which I knew personally most were however just blurry characters.

I speak at last.

***

"Today is a rather auspicious day…" I began.

My voice echoed into the distance.

"Most of you already know why we are here… and are probably questioning our timing."

"I will be frank. The timing isn't ideal, and the chance of success isn't promising either."

Murmurs started to erupt but were instantly silenced as I raised my hand in a stopping gesture.

"Which is why, today, you make a choice. A choice of a lifetime."

"Soon, we will march toward the Crimson Spire, leaving everything behind to face the Tyrant of the Spire… and return home."

Short gasps echoed within the ranks of the Sleepers.

"Most of you don't know this, but the only thing stopping us from returning home
is a tyrant who gives light to these godforsaken lands."

Now, only stern and grim expressions remained plastered on the faces of the Sleepers.

"Many of you will die—and not just you."

I gestured with both hands at the elites—Gunlag, Seishan, Nephis, and others— the best the Forgotten Shores' army of Sleepers has to offer.

"Many of us may not make it either."

"Of course, that's not something to celebrate. It's just the truth this campaign will likely be the end for many of us."

I let the silence settle once more.

"What I'm about to say isn't meant to stop you from returning to your tents. As far as I care, you can go wherever you want and do whatever you wish."

"But I want you to know how you have behaved toward me…
and how I have treated you."

"Allow me to introduce myself once more."

"My name is Keter!"

"Many of you already know me or at least have heard of me from your groups. But I will tell you about myself…"

With a pause, I continued in a solemn tone.

"So that you may know your savior… and your executioner."

The Sleeper army remained unmoved, but a dark hue had fallen across their faces. No one raised questions—only silence and listening.

"It has been six months since I arrived in this death zone."

"Shortly after, I was forced to fight against an Awakened Titan… and by my strength, I triumphed."

Short gasps of shock erupted in the quiet ranks. Most wore expressions of disbelief as if the idea of a newly Awakened Sleeper failing a Titan, that could challenge even elite cohorts impossible.

But their thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

"After that, my cohort and I spent three agonizing months
traveling to reach the Dark City. Along the way, I faced creatures and demons capable of horrors
that not even the veterans of this army have witnessed."

"If you think that is impressive… listen more!"

"Immediately after arriving in the Dark City, I confronted the tyrannical ruler of the Bright Castle— a man who had long abandoned hope of escape, and who turned this place into his totalitarian kingdom."

I pointed at Gunlag.

"THIS IS THE MAN!"

I raised my voice, pouring every ounce of passion and emotion into it.

"THIS IS THE MAN WHO TORMENTED YOU, with his cruel judgments, his cold indifference, who watched in jubilation as your comrades were slaughtered!"

Gunlag turned to look at me, brows furrowed. Clearly, he found this unpleasant, no one enjoys having their sins displayed like this. But, understanding my intent, he simply turned back and endured the glares with a cool expression.

"HOW DEVASTATED I WAS" 

"when I heard your stories, when I saw some of you shed tears in secret, some of you inflicting wounds upon yourselves, from the injustice you've endured!"

Hah… hah…

Letting out short breaths, I allowed the silence to return to let my words resonate with everyone present.

The dark expressions were replaced by ones of shock and disbelief. Some hands trembled. Some faces appeared hollow, soon to be replaced by an indescribable, growing resolve. Others turned to their neighbors, checking if they had heard correctly.

I closed my eyes, preparing for the next part of my speech.

Switching my tone, I now spoke softly but still loud enough for all to hear.

"Compared to you, I am new here. I have only spoken to a few of you."

"BUT—"

"In the short time I've been with you, I have felt your anguish."

"And with that resonance, I have decided, I will go to any lengths to free you all."

"I confronted the Tyrant. I battled with both words and the sword."

"THE BATTLE WAS FIERCE!"

"The Tyrant was formidable, but your desire for freedom… your longing to return home… your desperate need for hope gave me the edge."

Another pause.

The Sleeper army now stood completely enthralled
by my voice and passion.

Even Seishan appeared moved. In the distance, Nephis and Cassie listened in slight awe.

But… Cassie…

Her expression mirrored everyone else's, yet something about it bothered me.

Shaking the thought away, I looked once more at the Sleeper army.

"however…",I spoke softly, my voice now tinged with light despair and regret. 

The army visibly darkened at the sudden change in my tone. 

"During the fight I came to a realization, the only way to free you all from this hell, is to face the crimson spire and leave this place.."

"And so a dilemma arose, if i kill the bright lord, not only will our chances of leaving this hell reduce to a dangerous low, we would suffer immense losses"

Stopping for a moment, I breathed in the air, noticing a change in the energy amongst the sleepers. 

"I understand how you feel.. Sparing a tyrant who deserves nothing but the most gruesome death is nothing short of denying your suffering.."

"But I want you to understand this. If the bright lord dies, even more of you will die during the war on the spire than if he were to fight with us.. But your suffering is not to be denied, so why did I do it? Why did I spare him?"

Here comes the most important part, if I can do it right, they all will fall into my hands. 

Raising my voice once more, invoking every emotion I have stored in my being.

"IT WAS YOU!! I HAD TO SPARE HIM SO THAT I CAN SAVE YOU ALL!!!"

"As your Leader, I am responsible for all of your lives! I may be able to lead you to victory, but how will I face your families? How will I face the world knowing that I could have saved you all?"

"This is a selfish decision on my part, but i willing to make this decision every single time, I may not know all of you as closely as those I commune with, but each and every one of you are precious to me, so forgive me if i have done you wrong, but it is only way i can lead you forward."

Finally, letting out a breath, I looked at the sleeper army, and without a doubt they had bought it, they completely believe that i am sincerely worried about them, to be fair this speech has been something i have been, making for a while now, while Nephis in the original timeline did it similarly, mine is better, simply because i have an advantage, i know how things unfold from here on out, and so i know which would be more effective to best convince everyone here. 

Making a speech is rather simple, all you need to do in the speech is, relate, twist, accuse, exaggerate, appeal and Ignite. It's not exactly the best, but it's the most used. If one were to learn the historical figures before the dark times, they will find a commonality in all the speeches that called for war. 

There is really no need to explain any further, because whether it works or not, I have already pushed this matter beyond the point of no return so they have no choice but to follow me. The only reason for this speech is to not leave lingering regrets and reduce their suffering a bit with fancy words.

I am sorry, everyone, but please die for me…

"Now I will tell you what I was wishing to say in the beginning of this speech" 

"What I wish to say is simple: those of you who don't wish to fight, you are not required to.." 

Now is time to make them feel guilt, give them a choice they can't refuse, by giving them a choice to stay back, they will be overwhelmed with the survivors guilt, forcing them to join, and if they don't, they will be dead meat anyways, they will forced to fend for themselves, leading to their demise, so ultimately they have to join.

From this point I don't need to raise my voice, I have already laid my sincerity, so they won't doubt my intentions.

All the sleepers watched with their eyes slightly bulging, unsure of how to take it.

Some of them whispered amongst themselves.

"We can choose not to fight?"

"Is he being serious? Didn't he say we needed every bit of strength to get out of here alive?"

"There has to be a catch, no? Otherwise, this would be purely naive."

....

Such words were whispered amongst the sleepers before I spoke again.

"Yes, it's just as I said, you don't need to fight, call it naive, or just stupidity, I will take it. However, I want you to understand, this has not come out of the blue but out of consideration.."

"The truth of the matter is, even if we go to war today, we will win, but it will come at a cost. Which is why I propose this to you, those of you who don't wish to die, may abstain from fighting. And stay back in safety!"

"And I will add more, you can even leave this place after the war is over!!"

This made everyone lose color; the proposition was simply absurd and ridiculous.

"You can walk over our corpses and walk into the gateway to return home!! You don't even have to worry, if the waking world shuns you.. I WILL PROTECT YOU".

"I WILL NOT SING YOUR PRAISES, BUT I WILL PROTECT WHAT LITTLE HONOR YOU HAVE!"

"IF I WANTED I WOULD HAVE LEFT THIS PLACE AGES AGO, BUT I DID NOT BECAUSE OUT OF CONSIDERATION FOR YOU ALL."

"SO GO!! MAKE SAFE SHELTERS FOR YOURSELVES, PREPARE FOOD IN ADVANCE! AND THOSE THAT WILL FOLLOW PREPARE TO FIGHT WITH DEATH IN MIND."

"I CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR LIVES, ONLY VICTORY WILL BE ASSURED TO YOU!"

"THOSE OF YOU WHO WISH TO FOLLOW ME! COME FORWARD AND RISE UP!!!!"

I summoned my sword and raised it to the air.

"TOGETHER WE WILL LEAVE THIS HELL AND RETURN TO OUR HOMES ONCE AND FOR ALL"

Nobody came forward. For a moment, then two. 

Those that were looking at each other, those that were nervous, and those that were sceptical, closed their eyes and opened them with new found resolve.

All of them summoned their weapon of choice, raised to the air, and then…

"GLORY TO KETER!!!"

"GLORY TO KETER!!!"

I follow their chants with a deafening roar. 

"RISEEE UPPP!!!" 

"TO VICTORY!!!!!"

Following my roar, they too followed with their own roars..

Their heartfelt roar echoed in every direction..

Lowering my arms as I basked in their war cry.

This… was… a success.

Strangely I felt bittersweet for some reason..

***

Cassie who alongside Nephis was watching the speech unfold, closed her eyes. 

Her expression was strangely mixed with regret and that of pity. 

"He has fallen deeper into that rabbit hole… if he doesn't realise it soon, he might truly be lost…"

Whisper whisper whisper

She nodded as she listened to something being whispered into her ears. 

Once the whispers ended.

She opened her unseeing eyes and whispered to herself..

"May The Exodus Begin…"

—-----

I could feel my grin grow increasingly more bold and loud with each defining chant. I could feel the fever of all 1,327 sleepers; I could feel their blind loyalty begin to take its place. As I used my dormant ability to summon a ring of light, which soon brought a grandiose War Flag to my side. I slammed it down, then made the sound carry my voice across the mass of sleepers.

"TODAY WE MARCH TO SLAY THE TYRANT OF THE CATACOMBS! THE LAST REMAINING GRUDGE OF OUR GODFATHERS! AND WITH THE DEATH OF THE TYRANT WE WILL RECLAIM OUR RIGHT TO STARLIGHT! WE WILL RECLAIM THE RIGHT TO DECIDE OUR OWN FATE!" As i raised my flag into the sky, dozens of runes on its surface began to glow, giving off a royal light.

"THEN WE WILL MARCH TO THE SOUTH TO RECLAIM THE DAWN THAT OUR FOREFATHERS ENVISIONED! AND WITH IT WE WILL FORGE OURSELVES A NEW DAWN UNDER A NEW SKY!" I began to faintly tap into [The Light], making the light of the sun focus directly upon me.

"WITH THE LIGHT OF OUR FOREFATHERS, WITH OUR RIGHT TO NEWFOUND STARLIGHT, AND WITH OUR WILL, WE WILL SEIZE THE SPIRE! The flag soon burst into a blazing flame, but as it was reduced to ashes, a new flag appeared underneath, A fractured sun being devoured by a thousand wolves.

"AND DEVOUR THE SUN!"

Chapter Text

I felt the glisening metal of the flag heat up a few hundred degrees as I began to infuse my soul essence within it. Soon enough, four glowing runes appeared as it crossed the 700-degree mark: "Imbue", "Territory", "Strengthen", and "Unity". I infused a strengthening Miracle into my body as I jumped high into the sky. I gripped the flag like I would with any spear. As I drew it back, I could feel my titan core beat in excitement as its strength answered my call. I knew jumping up was counterproductive since it would be far harder to generate any kind of real force without ground to stand on; hell, it went against everything I was taught, but that's no longer a problem for me now. As I infused soul essence into the soles of my shoes, two runes lit: "Solidify" and "Harden". They were two rather simple runes, but that did not mean they could not be helpful.

I felt my foot press on hard air as my throw was fully lined up. I couldn't be happier as I felt my muscles tighten even further. The strength I had now was beyond anything I imagined I ever would be able to wield; it was truly exhilarating, after all, this was not a feat of strength a dormant human should have ever been able to pull off. As the flag left my hand, it rocketed forward at almost 790 miles an hour, easily breaking the sound barrier. It was an insane speed that I couldn't even react to, and the sonic boom created even rocketed me back a few tens of meters. And only after I stabilized myself was I able to see the flag piledrived into the Lord of the Dead. It soon began to emit a faint yellow light that soon began to rapidly expand, and soon it was completely enveloping the underground passage way.

Once the light emerged from the chasm, I saw my signal. I shot forward, increasing the weight of [Clay Shell] by a few dozen times. I fell like a comet directly into the Lord of the Dead's side. Fracturing only a few of its tens of thousands of bones. The Balful moonlight of [Silver Moonlight] began to eat away at the Lord's bones as I summoned it to my side. It cleaved upward as I peddled left, evading one of its newly formed bone tendrils. I let [Silver Moonlight] carve my way through the forest of bones as my feet carved numinous runes into the floor. I could already hear the sounds of screams and injuries. Be it bone-crushing or mere flesh wounds. Seishan seemed to already be in position. Nephis and Effie were assisting the sleeper army. Kai and Caster were elsewhere with teams 3 and 4, respectively, at the moment. And Gunlang was keeping a few of its tendrils busy. I glanced back toward the mountain of bones as I ducked under a tendril aiming for my head, letting it ever so slightly graze my cheek. 

I should probably pay a bit more attention to the fallen Terror in front of me than to the others. My eyes then glanced towards the back wall as I sprang up and over the Lord of the Dead as I let my cheek bleed, and its drops to enter the labyrinth that was its bones.

[You have Slain Fallen Beast: Corpse Eater] 

[You have Slain Fallen Beast:...

[You have Slain Fallen Beast:...

[You have Slain Fallen Beast:...

That should get rid of all the blood suckers.

I softly landed as I heard it... the signal for part two of the plan to start, the echoing sound of splintered wood.

I swiftly cut down an incoming tendril, after the burning heat of Nephis' flames began to dry out my lips. With a quick lick, I could taste it, dust.

------------------------------------------------------------

Seishan POV

The [Sunlight Shard] pulverized the earth, yet it could only graze the bones of this undead tyrant. My breath was labored as I hastily brought my hammer to block the flattening might of the sole tendril. My bones creaked; their elongated form helped me transfer small amounts of the titanic force. My enhanced muscles caused even more pulverizing pressure around my bones; as I swung with the newly transferred force, and yet only a single bone chipped on the writhing mass of bones.

How? 

My body only strained further, trembling as I forced my hammer back off the ground. I could grit my teeth as that blasted light of Keter's began to burn my soul. Why does Keter's light have to burn so much more than that bitches? And yet I felt it seep into my bones and mend them. I felt it string my muscles back together. I felt my divine blood beat in longing, as if it cared more for him than it did me. 

How?

An army of arrows fell from the sky, piercing dozens of bone tendrils. Luckily, one of the ones struck was my own. Or was it luck? Knowing Keter, he probably told them to prioritize certain people's lives. It sounds like something he would do, I snorted as I nailed a few of the arrows straight through the now collapsing bone tendril. Relief surged through my body as it broke down completely. Dear Mother, these archers are horrifyingly good. 

How?

I couldn't help but look towards Keter as, with a mere swipe of his sword, he cleaved through the bones of the undead terror with such practical ease that it looked effortless. He looked like he was fighting a dormant beast, not a fallen terror. Oh? It seems I caught his eye. I scoffed as I could tell his intentions. It didn't help that the girl in my ear seemed to mirror the sentiment. With a deep breath, I leaped off towards Gunlang. It seems my breaks are over with.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie POV

Keter's light did little for me, as I held no divine blood. It still helped slightly due to the mark of the unknown divinity, but the mark is still far too faint to be of any real use in this situation. Not like I was in any situation where I would need it, after all, I was in the backline preparing the arrow that would strike the terror's heel. The wooden tablet in my hand held a rune sequence that, when activated, would explode every single one of the tens of hundreds of wooden objects scattered throughout the cavern. Now you may ask, "If it's a premade sequence, are you really preparing it or are you sitting back doing nothing while claiming credit for someone else's actions?" You are partially right, since I didn't prepare the arrow. But I'm preparing the battlefield. Every single soldier from team 1 to team 4 was following my commands. I was using my visions to guide the entire battlefield. I knew every weapon, every injury, every tendril, every mistake; I knew everything on this battlefield. While I could not truly change fate for those meant to die directly. I could do so indirectly. For example, I have changed the fate slightly of multiple people who were supposed to live, by making them receive fewer injuries than they should have. And that less-injured soldier might just be able to help turn what would be a fatal injury of another soldier into a major but less fatal injury.

Now again, you might be asking, "Why is Keter not leading? He was the one who gave the speech; he was the one everyone looked up to." Well, it's because Keter is a horrible leader with his flaw. While you might say that one does not need emotions to lead, and on that front, you would be correct. But it's not just that he doesn't feel anything for them; he sees them as objects. They, in his vision, are a part of the background. Meaningless props. And that is a bad thing, a very bad thing. After all, why would someone try to save a random book in the middle of a life-and-death fight? And due to this, Nephis and I have to act as the main leaders while Keter is closer to a guiding light, something that can deliver them past all obstacles. 

Hm?

I looked down as my spirit Pendulum began to spin counterclockwise. It seems team 4 won't be holding the skeletal army back much longer. It seems its time to move this plan along.

"Nephis, it's time."

And so with one single command, the first of countless blasts sounded.

Chapter Text

Keter could feel every ripple as the thousands of explosions went off, most of them arrows. As team 3 was supplied with thousands of wooden arrows, while some of the arrows were memories, they were the minority. The wood that made them was not normal; it couldn't have been. They were made from Kido after all.

Keter felt the carved stone beneath him begin to slowly collapse from the pressure. And as Keter kicked off and away from the dust cloud, it fractured under his every step. His gaze fell upon Gunlang, shifting golden form as it began to rapidly expand, flowing out like a tsunami. Keter stood at his side protectively as the winds began to grow harsh. Originating from four separate points the first from a sleeper who currently held [Windmaker](Cassie's Staff) and the other three from sleepers who held wind-related aspects. The vicious winds curculated like a whirlpool, drawing all the wood dust around the terror.

The sleepers scattered towards the walls, gathering in larger groups as they prepared for what was to come. The tens of bone tendrils that were once striking at the army of sleepers retreated back to the Lord of the Dead as it sensed the incoming danger. Soon enough, the flood of gold surrounded the fallen tyrant, wrapping around it like a dome. The mass of gold writhed as the fallen terror lashed out as the fear of something greater embedded itself with its corrupted core. The army watched in anticipation as the Keter voice dominated their ears.

"NEPHIS!" Keter shouted as he ran towards the golden dome, as a ball of blazing white fire shot towards him, scorching the ground as it went. Keter reached towards it as a miracle formed within his hands with a rune right in the middle, "Trap". A bubble formed around the fireball and swiftly condensed as Keter reached the golden dome. Keter didn't stop, though; instead, the dome seemed to welcome him as it easily let him through its walls. 

His hand, the last thing to breach the dome, as soon as he did, he crushed the bubble, sending the flames flying in every direction. And instantly, the flames came into contact with the dust, causing an immediate combustion of white hot flames. The force of the explosion collapsed the floor beneath them and sent Keter straight into the wall of the dome. The heat of the explosion reached well over 3,000°F. [Blood of a Demi-Giant] kept Keter's body from crumbling under the enormous pressure, and [The Light] made this kind of heat feel more like a sauna than anything else. 

Keter felt his bones creak as he stood up he felt his torn muscles slowly string themselves back together. 'Fuck, my head is spinning.' Keter thought as his eyes swiftly readapted to the now lightless void in front of him. 'I didn't hear the kill message?' Keter saw the charred and ashen bones of the tyrant curling around itself as faces began to emerge from the bones, thousands. Their screams of anguish sounded throughout the dome. 

Keter smiled at the sounds of the screams, as his hand raised with his weapon in tow. Keter easily cleaved his way through the weave of bones to its inner core, a rotting heart. Keter snorted as he grasped the heart. "To think you were attempting to use the flesh of sleepers to bring yourself back to life. Well, it matters little; you get no second chance." Keter crushed the rotting heart as the golden dome collapsed around him.

[You have slain a fallen tyrant: The Lord of the Dead]

[You have received memory: Starlight Shard]

[Your light grows brighter]

[Your echo, Orpheus, ability Lord of the Dammed has been enhanced]

Keter watched as the charred bones slowly turned to ash and drifted through the air. Keter sighed as he thought, 'Well, it seems it's time to confront the army.' Keterspun around easily catching the flag as it fell from the decaying terror.

Keter's arms spread wide as a gruesome spread across his face. He raised the flag high as its light shun across the battlefield, healing smaller injuries, grasping everyone's attention. 

"I HAVE NOT LIED, FOR TODAY WE GRASPED VICTORY WITH OUR OWN HANDS!"

"WE HAVE SLAIN THE TYRANT, WE HAVE AVENGED OUR FORMER COMRADES, WE HAVE WON!" Keter summoned the [Starlight Shard] in his free hand and raised it high.

"TODAY WE HAVE RECLAIMED A PIECE OF OUR HISTORY, TODAY WE HAVE RECLAIMED THE GLORY OF OUR PAST, AND MORE. FOR WE WON, WHILE THEY FELL TO THIS TYRANT!" Keter stood tall for moments, allowing the silence to bring peace to the weary souls of the army. Keter slammed the flag down as he started once more.

"TOMORROW WE WILL MARCH SOUTH! WE WILL MARCH TOWARDS THE HOLLOW MOUNTAINS TO RECLAIM THE LAST PIECE OF OUR LEGACY! AND THEN, WE WILL SLAY THE SPIRE!" Keter screamed as he imbued what power he could into the flag. causing another surge of light. Keter watched as smiles and realization began to cross the sleeper army's faces.

"WE WILL HAVE GLORY!" Keter screamed for the final time.

"GLORY!"

"GLORY!"

"GLORY!"

"GLORY!"

"GLORY!"

"GLORY!"

Keter contioned to fan the flames, and only once he looked up did he realize there was a greater problem at hand. Cassie stood upon the surface with fear crossing her face. 'A new vision perhaps?' Keter thought as worry began to fill his gut, 'It matters not, I need to meet with her anyway.' As soon as the worry appeared, it was eradicated by [Distant]. 'This is abnormal. Why has my flaw been getting stronger recently?' Keter's emotionless gaze swept the cheering army. 'We're getting closer, wait for me, Morgan.'