"Is this the end of the nightmare?"
Aldric said to himself. Throwing the question into the empty white space ahead of him.
Something inside of him urged him to take one more step. As if there were an illusion obscuring his eyes.
Getting closer to the white expanse, a rift began to bloom within the white. Slowly blotting it out.
A familiar rift accompanied by a familiar feeling. Like a thin layer of fog, the white space disappeared the moment he stepped through it.
"This is the boundary of the nightmare seed."
The same dark, reality-warping essence that surrounded the chains inside of the ivory tower made up the boundary of the nightmare.
It made a certain type of sense to him the more that he thought about it.
A nightmare could not possibly encapsulate the entire world. With the Kingdom of Hope as the epicentre, the nightmare seed must have a limit. Otherwise, what would stop Awakened from exploring the vast mortal realms.
Besides, that was all a nightmare was. An illusion birthed into reality, twisting what was into something different. With the Kingdom of Hope at its core, nothing else really mattered to the nightmare spell.
"Are you there, newbie?"
He asked whimsically.
Thinking about the nightmare seed made him think about the fate of his new apostle. A subtle feeling making their connection known to him.
With nothing more but the fraying of reality ahead of him, he turned back.
It was simple to deduce where he was.
A sort of world in-between.
If each gate was similar to the one he came from, it stood to reason that they were each gateways to other regions of the dream realm.
Taking a few steps backwards, Aldric returned beside the archaic archway. His fingers brushed along the weathered stone. Or at least the nightmare's crude rendition.
The centre archway was most likely being a gateway to the underworld.
A gateway to an entire region of the dream realm which was undocumented. Containing a part of Weaver's lineage, a great citadel and an untold amount of knowledge and resources.
Aldric's faint knowledge did not scrape the surface of what the underworld contained.
"I beat you all to the underworld."
A flash of people sparked through his mind.
As he became a denizen of the dream realm, Aldric genuinely felt the novelty of experiencing these places for the first time be lessened because of his knowledge. Learning from the perspective of whoever discovered it first took away from the thrill of adventure.
"But this is mine. I'll claim the citadel. I'll uncover everything there is to learn. I'll conquer it."
He declared. Announcing his will to the world.
'So this was the mystery behind the [Tesseract]'s key form. The sheer amount of possibilities and uses are outstanding.'
A rush of endorphins pulsed through Aldric. Finally uncovering the mystery made him feel like he was on top of the world. It was a subtle pressure that pressed on his usually knowledgeable mind. But the reveal along with the boon was a different kind of feeling.
If what he thought was true, he didn't need to worry about the ebony tower not having a gateway. In fact, he could possibly have much more than one to his name.
He could imagine it, uncovering numerous regions within the dream realm irrespective of distance.
The feelings of ecstasy multiplied as he uncovered more and more boons.
And it was not just that.
Walking through the ivory sand, he made his way back to the outer ring of gateways. Facing the door that he came out of.
While it seemed that many of the gateways were destroyed, seven remained intact, including his own. And while many of them were obscured by the illusion of the nightmare spell, the gate beside him was real.
"It has to lead to somewhere within the Kingdom of Hope."
He spoke out with utter glee.
The escape route now clear.
---
Aldric spent some time analysing the void between realms.
A large unanswered mystery was the nature of the space.
Where was it situated?
How did Nether create it?
With his status as a divine smith, attributing creations like the Stone Saints or the [Tesseract] was not unreasonable; however, this was something else.
Something nagged at Aldric that something was up. That this was so far removed from what he knew from Nether.
There was a lack of diamond chaining. A lack of moving parts. A lack of obsidian.
"Something or someone else was involved."
He came to a hesitant conclusion. With no evidence to back his claims, only intuition fuelled his hypothesis.
If Aldric voiced his thoughts out loud, many would question the validity of such statements. Though to him, it simply felt right.
And it was not just that.
Rather than being a space created by a divine being, it felt more akin to a space that had already existed. Repurposed to act as an intermediary between realms.
After all, before the spread of the dream realm, regions like the Chained Isles and Bastion were not separated by land but with endless space. Entirely separate realms stitched together by blooming nightmare seeds.
It made the existence of what he was viewing even more impressive.
Furthermore, he realised that in the space between, there were no runes or notes to decipher.
The only purposeful design was the small engravings above the gateways.
With the strange nature of the nightmare seed, Aldric decided he would wait until he was inside the real space between before studying the engravings on the other gateways. He returned through the gate and back into the tower.
Though, on the one that he entered from, the symbol of a plume of flames rested above the gate. Symbolising a divine spark.
And to the one beside it, a lone black moon was etched on its surface.
---
Time passed really quickly after Aldric discovered the multitude of secrets hidden within the statue of the Storm God on the fourth floor.
Nicknaming the strange space between as the Aether, named after the substance believed to occupy all space within the universe, many things were uncovered.
A gateway to what could only be the underworld and all that it entailed. Multiple gateways across the dream realm.
And most importantly, a way out of the literal hell that he was in.
His mental health had taken a sharp turn for the better after returning to the ebony tower. Fuelling him with the stability to improve his mindset and conquer the second nightmare he was in.
And for his deep-rooted issues, they returned to their slumber.
As for him not immediately escaping to whatever lay beyond the gateway marked by a lone moon, it was not the time yet.
After all, there was so much more to do within the ebony tower.
Improving his understanding and proficiency of diamond chaining and also uncovering the remaining secrets within the tower.
Aldric's knowledge of the new school of sorcery was purely theoretical. With him not needing to control his new body anymore through the manipulation of Diamond Chaining, there was not much he could practise on.
Learning from the schematics and instruments that incorporated diamond weave was all that he could do.
He was in the in-between stages of knowing enough but not enough to practically accomplish anything.
The pathway he traversed to master Diamond Chaining was much more difficult compared to the heir of fate. Sunny had a multitude of memories to study. Capable of analysing the makeup of each enchantment and their effects in the weave of soul essence.
If Sunny had a dictionary and a thesaurus in the language of weave, Aldric had but the alphabet of Diamond Chaining and a few complex literatures that incorporated it that he could not understand.
He knew that he would not be a savant like Sunny. Having made the decision to be happy with small incorporations of diamond chaining. How far he could take this, he would have to see.
Amongst the secrets of the tower, there was one that was particularly massive.
In the climax of the cohort's second nightmare, Sunny redirected the Prince of Nothing away from attempting to kill the Daemon of Desire and towards the ebony tower, where he claimed that there was something useful for him.
Aldric learned that it was a ritualistic process that shielded him from Cassie's gaze. How it accomplished that was the true mystery.
The Singularity was not in need of an anti-divination method with his unique constitution and his [Null] attribute. With its evolution, he was outside the flow of fate.
A lone observer.
But how the ritual accomplished its objective was something that he wanted to learn.
Making his way to the fifth level of the tower, it was time to finally decipher the runes left behind on the walls.
With Aldric knowing the forbidden knowledge of the unknown, the runes themselves were visible to him. In the same way in which the runes of the unknown inside of the cathedral were readable to him.
It was completely empty, its black walls drowning in darkness and unadorned. There was no dust, no ruined pieces of furniture, tools, or strange metal devices. Not even lanterns. However, there were countless runes carved into the walls.
To his right, a rudimentary map was engraved on the wall's surface. Looking closer, the map detailed known locations within the dream realm. From the great citadels of Bastion, Ravenheart and Night Garden to other places like the Underworld, the Ivory Tower and the Tomb of Ariel.
Besides each location, a singular rune was written.
Imagination, Dread, Repose, Destiny, Desire and Oblivion. With the elusive Fate written with a question mark.
Aldric had long known this. The knowledge that Sunny had gained surrounding the dream realm and its history was one of the first things that he committed to memory. Never daring to forget it.
Rough scribbles and notes were etched onto the walls. Looking for passages to read, he looked towards the wall on his left.
It started:
[Why does the flame wane?]
[I asked the black skies.]
["What is life?"]
[The skies answered in a subtle voice.]
["A mother is watching her children die slowly of starvation. There is only enough food for one of them, but she is hungry, too. That is life."]
["The war is over, and those who discarded their weapons to surrender are made slaves. They are brought to an arena and told to kill each other. A young warrior looks at a sword, his hand trembling. That is life."]
["A man loves his wife but feels lonely in her company. One day, walking the market, he sees a beautiful stranger smiling at him sweetly. He hesitates to return the smile. That is life, as well."]
[I pondered.]
["So… life is a choice?"]
[The skies laughed.]
["Life is desire. It's a desire to be alive."]
[The skies were illuminated by a myriad of stars, burning in the beautiful darkness.]
[Like the flame of desire had burned in the hideous void, giving birth to the seven gods.]
[Why does the flame wane?]
The passage was not new to him; however, reading firsthand elicited many thoughts as to what it all meant.
'Just what is their relationship?'
He thought. Knowing that the mystery would definitely lead to a major reveal. After all, one of the seven gods having a bond with their literal flaw in the form of one of the Daemons was ridiculous.
'Their relationship must have developed before he waged war on the Gods and so, before he learned of his true nature.'
Thinking back to the numerous broken gateways within the Aether, each marked with a fist print.
'Did he feel betrayed? What exactly was the Goddess of Black Skies' intention?'
Engulfed and preoccupied in his thoughts, Aldric did not stop to think as to how he was capable of reading the forbidden passages. While his knowledge of the unknown allowed him to bypass the madness emitted by the runes, it did not allow him to understand the texts that the nightmare spell refused to translate.
And if you were to ask the young man, you would not receive an answer. For he did not know.
Looking towards the next passage, he started to read.
[Gods created all living creatures, but not all creatures they created carry a divine lineage. Only those born of the gods do, and those born of their descendants. Why have the gods forbidden us seven to sire offspring? Why are we destined for loneliness?]
[Is it because we are of the Forgotten One, who slumbers in the Void?]
[Where is the Void, and where is its Gate? How did Weaver enter it, and what did Weaver see?]
[Why did Weaver decide to break the will of the gods and create a lineage?]
[Blood, bone, flesh. Soul, spirit, mind. And shadow.]
[The gods shall discover the transgression, but they cannot.]
[That is because, having created a lineage, Weaver does not possess a lineage. It has been lost and will be lost, therefore having never been in Weaver's possession. One cannot be punished for something that has never been.]
[A piece is lost to fantasy, a piece is lost to fear. A piece is lost to respite, a piece is lost to darkness. A piece is lost to sorrow, a piece is lost to rot. And finally, a piece is stolen by a thief.]
[Weaver's defiance is elusive, just like Weaver is. But mine will be different.]
In the way that Nether decided to defy the authority of the gods and to create life, Weaver decided to pass on his own lineage. Broken, forbidden and lost.
The passage explained the intention behind the [Tesseract] and why Aldric could not utilise it to its full extent.
"He must have been inspired by how Weaver hid his lineage."
He concluded.
Like a true divine smith, he created both a key and a guide that only allowed those that held it to seek out his lineage. How could the gods even attempt to predict that?
Without the [Tesseract], the sources that it absorbed, like the corpse of the [Underworld's Torment] and the [Mantle of the Underworld] would remain just that. Remnants of the past.
And with the [Tesseract] alone, there would be nothing to fuel it and convert into attributes or memories.
A cold itch of irritation sparked inside of Aldric. Knowing exactly what was lost to him being a human and not a stone creature.
The usurper had long since concluded that the boons that he gained from the [Tesseract] were both weak and ephemeral.
Having gained only [Visionary], a slightly improved [Mantle of the Underworld] with the [synergy] enchantment, and the evolved version of [Clear Mind], it was safe to say that he was disappointed.
But the more that he learned about Nether, the more that it made sense.
It was the very same Daemon who, instead of just creating a forbidden lineage like his brother, hoping that a suitable heir would stumble upon it no matter their race, he would create his own heir.
With the creation of the stone creatures, who each contained the divine spark of their creature, it made sense for whatever he left behind to be tailored for his children and not for a thief like himself.
Besides, Aldric was starting to believe something about the nature of the [Tesseract].
'There is no lineage, is there?'
'It likely acts as a guide to find aspects relating to Nether and unlocks methods into development. Strengthening and learning but not imparting.'
Aldric thought of what he gained. Nothing like the weaves that Sunny found, which changed his very physiology; neither was it like [The Fire] that Nephis inherited as a child of light, which magnified the potency of her soul, flames and likely other things.
But Nether's method was to leave paths to strength and knowledge. Things like the [Visionary] attribute that exponentially increased comprehension, memory and intelligence. Nothing comparable to the tenacity of [Blood Weave].
But with a body created in their father's image and a divine spark resting within them, they did not need change but growth.
Not a lineage but rather a heritage.
A legacy.
The final nail in the coffin that cemented Aldric's thoughts was just how adaptable the [Tesseract] was. Capable of recognising the location of the [Mantle of the Underworld], repairing it and improving it. It was nothing short of amazing.
In the grand scheme of things, there were likely many more important items related to the Prince of the Underworld; however, the [Tesseract] recognised it.
'All the other lineages are like treasures to be found and consumed wholly. But this one grows with you. Finding value in places outside of itself.'
'And besides, if it truly was a lineage, the nightmare spell would have deemed it to be forbidden.'
After all, just like Weaver, Nether was a son of the Forgotten God.
Before he got consumed within the intricacies of the [Tesseract], he looked towards the final passage.
It read:
[What can contain the Void? Nothing can.]
[Gods used nothing to envelop the void and placed the cage of desire above it.
In the places where the cage is thin, nothing slips through its seams. The Underworld is one such place, shrouded in nothing.
It is like mist.
However…
Nobody can exist in the mist.
Nothing can contain the Void, and nobody exists within it.]
[I am wary of nobody, and fear nothing.]
Aldric did not understand what he was reading.
'A cage of desire?'
The passage was simple yet complex at the same time.
Simple enough to comprehend but complex the moment you thought any harder about it.
Deeming to think about it some other time, he looked towards the part of the passage that caught his attention.
[Where is the Void, and where is its Gate? How did Weaver enter it, and what did Weaver see?]
An itch of familiarity rested in his mind before a spark was born.
Rushing to read his runes, he peered at something that had been beside him since the conclusion of his first nightmare. Fuelling and defining the path of his life.
Aspect: [Made In Abyss]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Description: [Born In an Epoch of Darkness, You are a being influenced by the sliver of ??? released during a clandestine voyage. Your boundless soul echoes a lost connection, thus filling you with a sense of melancholy.]
An epiphany.
"I see..."
*****
Thanks for reading.
Shadow slave Volume 9 is done. Slow start but it really pulled through in the end. Top 5 at least.
Anyone read blue lock? Bum ass Nagi. I'm so disappointed.
Till the next one.