Universe Ticks - 5.56
Total Flow - 111.11
Millennium -2nd
Realions - 3rd
Aeus - 45th
Month -7th
Day - 15h
Sometime Before the Alpha Testers
Ring - 8th
Realm - NILHEIM
HILDELITH'S POV
The realm of the Primordial demon was darker than I last remembered. If it was possible for something to even get darker. It was so dark that it was impossible to even see one's self. Sounds were seized by this place, voices cut off, sight was impossible, and only scent and taste were allowed. After all, even Death had a smell. One that brought Despair and Fear.
"Maybe I overdid it," I muttered. It had been a while in game terms since I came here, and it hadn't been this bad before. It felt like, as time went on, the realm slowly and surely conformed to what it was meant and defined to be. NILHEIM was a good example of that—a rather morbid example.
"You can see, right?" I asked. The boy to my right nodded, his hands gripping tightly in mine. His eyes showed the panic and anxiety for what was to come. Times like this, I wondered how the AIs for the NPCs were made. Did the AIs know they were fake?
"Freyr, I'm going to ask you for the last time. Are you sure about this?" I crouched low so I was facing him directly. "Not even I will be sure of what will happen here."
I ignored the subtle tightening of his grip and then the release. I could see the fear in his eyes as he fought it. It was understandable. Dying once did not make you immune to the fear of it. It just showed you the terror and torment of what it meant to die. Freyr knew this. I could see it in his eyes, see the memories of what he knew to be death. It had empowered him, and yet it had scarred my little boy.
Pulling him into a hug, I sighed. "I need to be sure you're ready for this, Freyr. That you will fight as much as I will to make sure this works as we want. So tell me, Freyr. Are you ready? We do not know the amount of pain and terror you will have to go through for this plan of yours, but...I know you will succeed. The question is, do you know you will succeed?"
He stiffly nodded. I shook my head. "Faith is a beautiful thing. It gives you a confidence you never knew you lacked." I stood up, and we began walking. It was still dark, and the lack of sight would have made things difficult for a normal person. A normal person who didn't live here and has resistance to this realm.
"A little secret between you and me." Freyr looked up, curious purple orbs twinkling. "When I first found your brother, I didn't know he was my son."
"Huh? How?" There was a cute frown on his face. It was unbelievable to know he was that Undule I talked to in Vaustaris. Ruffling his hair, I continued.
"Unlike your siblings, I didn't create him myself. Your brother was born from me in an unplanned moment when I was creating our home." My arm wave made it clear I wasn't just talking about the Lunar Castle. "When I found him, your brother was huge."
"As huge as he is now?"
"No. Smaller but still bigger compared to us." Freyr had this look of a kid who was trying to imagine how a child was born. "So when I found him, I just had this thought that, wow, I'm gonna die." He frowned.
"Why? Aren't you stronger than Molliwag?" I nodded with a pout at his question.
"I was. But I didn't know that. He was just big and humongous and..." I peeked around dramatically. By the time I bent to whisper in his ear, his eyes were already burning with the need to know. "...I was panicking and frightened."
"No way."
"I know, right?"
"How did you fight him then if you were so scared?" He stopped completely, facing me.
"Honestly?" He nodded for me to go on. "I wasn't sure. I just knew I had to fight. It was either that, or there would have been no Vaustaris. There would have been no Molliwag. I would have lost your brother and failed to forge Vaustaris."
We both stood silently for a full minute. I said nothing and watched the gears turn in his head. "Haero did it, right?"
I nodded without a word. His eyes narrowed. "I can do it?" I nodded again. His lips thinned, and his eyes became steady. "I can do it."
I snapped my fingers, and we appeared right below the Monument. "I'll be here waiting for you." He nodded and stepped forward until he was standing right at the gates of the Castle. He looked back at me, his lips opening to say something when a roar split the Darkness for a mere second.
[Nothingness Erasure]
I snapped my fingers, and the roar turned into a cry as the drake ceased to exist. Freyr stared up as the dragon's corpse fell from the Palisades of the castle wall and then vanished into nothing right before it could hit the ground.
"Love you, Ma." He walked into the castle, the darkness fighting to swallow him from my sight. Yet try as it might, it dared not. The moment he vanished out of sight, my left eye turned greyish-blue.
'It's getting harder to see it as a false life, isn't it?' I was silent, having no answer for Akasha. But she didn't need one. After all, she was me, and I was her. She knew the answer.
Then the Castle shook. The Darkness writhed, and if it could, it would have long screamed. The ground trembled, and then the pull began.
'He can do it.'
"I know."
'Yet you fear.'
I said nothing. Once again, I didn't need to. Akasha sighed. The ground began peeling. I looked down, watching it shred and then roll into the castle. The darkness was rigged like strings, the sky broke, and a bit of light blinked in from the realm above. The quiet itself was torn, and with it came the cries of fear.
Akashic energy poured from my fingers and drifted into the darkness. The sounds faded. I stood there, unmoving and uncaring as the realm was torn and ripped to shreds, sucked up into the Black hole that was my boy's self-implosion.
And then I was all that was left, floating in the empty bands of the 8th ring. A realm I had crafted and a boy I had made from my flesh was now gone. 'This game is getting to me too much.'
****
Universe Ticks - 8.6
Total Flow - 154.8
Millennium -2nd
Realions - 9th
Aeus - 76th
Month -7th
Day - 24th
PRESENT
Ring - 5th
Realm - NETHERHEIM
Our destination was still quite far. It was quite the imagination of just how immense the structure we were headed was. For it to be seen from the ends and distances we were at just alluded to how big it had 4i to be. It was crazy the amount of work the Creator Player in this universe had put into such detail. From everything my fairy had said it was clear that all the 9 realms and the other two parts of the universe also had such structures. It was pretty interesting to think of.
While some realms had similar ways to complete their ascension other realms had different rules for its Elders. At first, I was a bit glad that NETHERHEIM's process was easier. After all, unlike others, we didn't have to hunt for our domains since the traits we got would allow the structure we were headed to decide. If we got our domains along the way due to actions then it still counted. But it got pretty worrisome thinking of what our requirements or challenges were.
The little thing said it was quite simple. I didn't know though. I hoped it wouldn't be something like the Rivers but from Yaito's words, it seemed those who got to the structure would be granted domains. I didn't see anything dangerous or challenging.
'We just had to get to the structure'. Looking around at the empty expanse stretching below me, hidden by the dark and dim lighting of the realm. 'How hard could it be?'.
We flew several distances without tired and seeing anything. Hoinro estimated us to be several leagues from where we started our journey. That meant we had gone a long distance but were nowhere near the structure. 'Just how big was this place?'.
I made who my mind for a long and boring flight. Waving the fairies back to go keep the girl company.
Several more leagues and I was beginning to suspect if the challenge here wasn't boredom. How the hell could someone fly several leagues through a game's version of hell and not even meet a single soul? I was seriously getting more bored and antsy. Yaito said nothing though her chuckle grated on my nerves.
Sighing I just flew on. If there was something I'd learned from my time, it was that patience was a virtue.
Double the leagues we had traveled now my patience and boredom were beginning to lose virtue. The realm wasn't dark but the low lighting made it near impossible to see shit below when I was up. I could see shapes and contours but nothing moving.
I was mentally tired of flying when I finally saw a mountain draw close. It reached quite high. We weren't flying do high so it meant we had to fly even higher to get past it or go around and hope for a passage between its walls.
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I had half a mind to just land here and rest my mind. The silence was deafening and problematic. I never knew the lack of noise could affect me.
I guess that's why when the howl came I was more relieved than cautious, which was why I was almost too slow to avoid the first black wolf that attacked. It got a bite into my calf and then darted away. A yelp came from behind me and I turned to see the girl on her back crawling away with large and frightened eyes from two hounds.
I dashed for her but stopped as a hound took a bite from the air where my head would have been. It landed past and when I made to move again it was back blocking me. Barks and snarls from. behind me told me there was more than one there. I stood in place eyeing the thing before me.
The one problem here was simple. These things were huge, Not as tall as me but still huge. Purple and black orbs of light turned and swiveled from me to the girl. Wisps of black smoke or something rose from their body.
"Kid". The child didn't turn, her eyes locked on the two wolves before her. "Remember. It's just a ERROR. Tsk. They can't hurt you here. There'll be pain reduction parameters. So...want to kill these things?".
If the wolves could understand me they didn't show it as they snarled and watched me. The two eyeing the girl were already hunkering down ready to pounce.
"Remember what the little flying ladies told us. How to make skills". The wolf in front of me snarled deeper and the ones about to attack the kid had saliva dripping down to hit the ground and fade away as mist.
"Use it". The first wolf pounced and from the barks and sound of rocks rolling and sand getting crushed the wolves behind me were attacking as well.
The Grimcrusher appeared in my hand. There was no CGI, no effect. One second my hand was bare, the next it was gripping the handle of the demonic mace. I had tested and practiced taking it out and sending it back to wherever it went along my flight. Had thought of various things I wanted to do and could do with the skills I had. Even thought of fights with the Grimcrusher. It was after all one of the ways I was keeping my bored mind in check during the long flight.
It was hard to keep myself from grinning. Even as I did my eyes remained on the kid. My plan was simple, attack the one in front if the kid didn't make it out of there, attack the ones behind if the kid made it out. Grimcrusher was raised over my head palm tightened around its handle as I tensed my muscles. I dashed forward.
'Come on kid'. The two wolves pounced, and my left foot was already taking a single step, I spread my wings and kept my mace low and pointing down my left. My next move was to push off with my left foot and flap my wings taking me forward and barreling into the wolves. Stepping to my left cleared me from the path of the wolf in front of me and gave me a clear route to the two black beasts.
Then the girl vanished in a swirl of black that flowed over the ground, beneath the wolves, and popped out of the left one's shadow. I didn't get to see what happened next as I used that momentum I already built to raise and smash my mace into the wolf. It was awkward but effective.
Its right shoulder bone cracked and it fell with a loud cry. I was already facing the others. Three more wolves came into sight, I was already dropping low in a crouch as the first flew over me. I would have let it pass but I didn't know if the girl had taken out her two or if she could. So I flapped with my still-spread wings. My fist tore through the thing's chest as the force of my lift smashed me into it. I was airborne flapping and holding the thrashing wolf with my hand inside its chest.
"Okay. That explains the age range". I pulled my arm and it fell to the ground. I dive after it using it as a cover. I flapped darting to the side and reaching the second wolf just as it moved. My mace came down on it. It struck and then sunk through nothing. The wolf was gone.
No, not gone. It was... "Aaaah". A short scream slipped from my lips as the wolf took a bite off my wings. 'How...it...?'. I growled in annoyance and pulled the wing up and close exposing its abdomen. The elbow to its torso drew a whine. Pain blossomed on my leg and I looked at another Wolf taking a bite at my leg.
"Off". I barked and raised The Grimcrusher whipping it down and shattering the thing's legs. IT whined and barked backing off. I grabbed the one biting my wing and used my mace to smash its hind leg. It let go with a wolf scream and I tossed it into the last one pouncing for me. Why it had waited I didn't know and didn't care.
I spread out my wings with a shake and that pain was dumbed down leaving only a pressure that could identify injuries. 'That one should better work'. I flapped willing the skill into place and hoping those fairies hadn't fucked with me.
**Abyssal Wingbeat**:
Abel beats his wings once, lifting himself into the air and moving up to 8 meters forward. The wingbeat releases a burst of scales that deal minor damage and dark feathers that inflict brief blindness on enemies directly in his path or point of ascension reducing their accuracy for a short duration.
I was airborne like a streak leaving dark energy in my wake that was hard to see with the environment if you weren't looking. "Damn those are nice". The feathers and scales were illusionary and yet effective. The wolves howled and screamed as I watched them get pummeled. The bluntness was evident as the one not injured stumbled around to flee or fight back.
'The girl'. The fight had moved her from my thoughts for a few seconds. And she was standing there between two wolf corpses with a slim blade in her hand. 'How?'. Realizing she must have figured out her skills and that I needed to finish this I furled in my wings and dropped.
"As much as I want to continue. I doubt wolves run in so little numbers". I was dropping fast. I didn't know if I was wrong or right but I didn't want us to risk it. Until we found the structure we were probably going to get permanently killed. So it was best to just get out as soon as possible. Which meant I had to end this as fast as I could.
I didn't remember most of the skills I had thought up in my flight. But right now falling from the air and seeing the Wolves regaining their sight and ready to rip me to shreds I knew what I wanted.
My feet caught the ground, but instead of rolling forward to catch my fall since I didn't use my wings I brought my fists down, let my body sink well into the ground, and also smashed into the ground with The Grimcrusher. The head crafted into the face of a snarling demon had four spikes on each side with a face. Two were curved horns and two were protruding fangs.
The strike shook the ground, but it was the skill I used that broke it.
**Hellfire Eruption:**
Abel channels his infernal power to create a small eruption of hellfire at a targeted location. The eruption causes a brief but intense burst of flames, dealing moderate fire damage to enemies within a small radius. The ground is scorched, leaving behind a patch of burning embers that deals minor damage over time to anyone who remains in the area.
It wasn't something that was aimed or planned. It just burst forth, flames exploded up and around like a mini detonation. The wolves screamed and whined as the flames consumed them but did only meager damage. The wounded ones were unable to do much as the flames burnt them badly but the only one standing managed to jump up and back. It didn't matter as the next skill took over.
**Hellfire Eruption - Molten Rift:**
Abel tears open a small rift in the ground, causing molten lava to spew forth in a targeted area. The lava deals moderate fire damage to enemies standing within the rift and continues to burn for a short period, causing minor damage over time to anyone who remains in the affected area. The rift gradually closes after a few seconds.
The ground shuddered like an aftershock and then split in two. From the point where my mace head hit the ground, it separated the wolves. From below lava and fire spewed up. Like it knew it was meant for the wolves the splashes sought them, the fires burned at them. One of the wolves slipped with a yelp and bark, the ground near it crumbling as it rolled into the rift. The uninjured but slightly burned one leapt after it but only managed to get itself close enough to be burned as well while the other fell in.
It turned to me with a heated glare. The skill had done a good job of injuring this one, killing one, and fatally burning the other but that was it. The fires died away and the rift mended.
Then the wolf took a step forward and snarled. Its fur was charred and yet weird as the black mist still rolled off it. It crouched low and bristled. I heaved my mace up and waited. IT lurched forward with a bark its foot soundless against the burner and charred ground.
It leaped just five meters from me. Jaw wide open, tongue flailing, paws at the ready to rend. Then it jerked to the side as something rammed into it.
"..."
I was speechless as what looked like a black mass straddled the baying and struggling wolf. Its limbs darted in and out of the wolf with meat-rending sounds and then it leaped up, the wolf kicking its last. From the corner of my eye, I saw another shadowy figure grip the other wolf's head and stab a crooked, weird limb into the throat. It died.
**Wraith Wolf Slain"*
**You have helped kill a Wraith Wolf**
**You have helped kill a Wraith Wolf**
**x3 Essence Orbs gained**
I had no words. I tracked the entities as they looked over the wolf corpses before their attention turned to me. Then one vanished.
A garble and screech-filled sound hit my ears and I winced. The shadow stood behind me and from the slight light given by the embers of fire that still burned around us I could see a bit of features. It was composed of pure shadow but with feminine features and long shadow hair. Its long cloth seemed to be made of shadows and flowed like the wind actually affected it. It moved to stand right behind me slowly. I let my wings furl into each other as I watched the figure. Its facial features created two lip lines that parted and noise erupted again.
**Recalibrating speech**
**Language - Abyssal Speak - Learned**
It was like what I had seen from Vaustaris when I first spoke to the mortals.
"...you?. Never seen your kind before". I furrowed my brows. The shadow moved around me and stopped right in front of me too close for comfort. Game or not I had half the mind to wack respect into it.
"This one feels like us". Another voice came from the right and I turned to see it stretch out a hand to the girl. My hand twitched about to use Grimcrusher when the girl vanished. I didn't see how but the next moment she was at my side.
Next to me she was only up to my shoulder and her horns gave her but much height to reach at least my head. I unfurled my right wing and wrapped it around the girl to make sure no attack from that angle would hit
"What ...who are you?". These things had shown the capability to communicate so I would try to communicate. The feminine one tilted her head a bit then turned to the other now one that tried touching the girl. 'She needs to atleast tell me what her in-game name is'.
The shadow things ignored my question and vanished. I only noticed due to the male turning its head in that direction. From my shadow cast by the little fires she rose. Looking around now I realized that none of the other shadows had any shadow.
'There's a lot'. I was only now noticing it but there were more than I had noticed. Most sat or stood on top of rocks or boulders or part of the mountain that we had landed on. They watched us interact with the shadow female.
"Smell fear. But not yours". The female left my shadow and then crouched down to cut a piece of it off. I blinked. The piece of my shadow writhed and twisted like tendrils trying to escape. She popped it into her dark mouth. "No fear. No". She was in front of me.
"Not no fear. There is fear". She looked me over like I was an alien specimen. "But not from you. By you". She dashed backwards. "What are you?". She shrieked. The sound was like nails grating on boards. I winced and the girl held her ears shut while still holding her thin sword.
"Enough!!".
All the shadows shivered. The female shut up and stumbled back. The male one let out a hiss and vanished reappearing behind me and I felt pain. "Aaahh". The pain faded to pressure and surprisingly the girl swung her little blade at the male. It stopped it with a bladed-looking hand which then turned to a palm and gripped the sword.
These shadows looked like they were not hostile but curious. The male seemed to be protective of the female and while I didn't understand what was happening I was curious if this was a quest line or something.
Thinking about it made me realize it didn't matter. Quest line or whatever didn't mean these things could just attack us. I wouldn't accept it in reality and not here. Creation Online was turning out to be a player-controlled and affected game.
Which meant that I could do and turn the story as I wanted. 'As long as I don't deviate completely from whatever the Creator of this universe set'.
The girl tugged at her blade and it slit right through the thing's hand. Even without an expression it looked pissed. Its mouth opened and it kept out a wail. It grated on my ears and I winced dropping my mace. My hands covered my ears and my mind swam through various skills and things I could do to stop this.
'I'm an Evil One. Then to be bloody evil. Though I wonder if it's even possible to be evil to shadows'.I found the perfect skill I felt would be both good for now and my Evil One character.
"I. SAID. ENOUGH!!!".
The shadow stumbled, and all the shadows stumbled. A burst of black and purple fire blazed over my wings and arms, from the warmth on my horns I could it was there too.
**Malevolent Dominion** - **Presence**:
Abel's presence instills fear and dread in nearby enemies, causing them to hesitate and reducing their accuracy slightly. Simultaneously, his allies within the area gain a small boost to their morale, increasing their critical hit chance and reducing the cooldowns of their abilities for a short period.
'Shit the girl. Did it... I turned to the girl and relaxed. She was on fire as well though it didn't burn her and she admired it with wild eyes. Luckily she counted as allies.
The shadow vanished and turning I found it next to the female one.
"Yes. I saw. Fear in you. You are ...".
"AWOOOOOOOH!!". The loud sound of a wolf's howl tore through the air. The female shadow paused and looked into the distance.
"Come. Follow. Wraith Wolves come". And like she expected us to follow her all the shadows quickly began rushing in a direction. Turning to the little girl I raised an eyebrow. She shrugged.
"Yeah, you're right. Not like they can hurt us now". I eyed the retreating shadows. 'I hope'.
We followed as the shadows urged us on. From how they had taken down the wolves I would think they had nothing to fear from them. 'Maybe not'.
The shadows were vanishing into a large cave wall. A wall that was as dark as anything I had ever seen. I could barely see my hand in it". I kept the girl next to me and made sure not to have her behind or in front. My left wing shielded her from behind though it was hard considering she had large wings.
It was hard to walk forward but even as we kept going we realized something.
'It's easier to see'. My sight was slowly adjusting to the darkness and a look to my left revealed the girl's curious purple gaze which was all the confirmation I needed.
The darkness ended suddenly. Very suddenly we found ourselves free-falling. I yelled in surprise for a few seconds before I remembered it was a game that had wings. Next to me, the kid was laughing as we flew down. "Yeah yeah".
Her laughter and my sulking ended when we dove past a purple bioluminescent flora which clued us in first. Past it and below was a large cave city. A city covered in purple, black red, and white crystals that illuminated the environment. The cave city itself was made of black, gray, and normal stone. Shadows could be seen moving here and there, flowing through walls or just loitering. It was quite ironic how much they thrived in a city of light.
"Wow". The first word I'd heard out of mouth and I had to agree.
The place was beautiful. The glow from the other crystals offset the white crystal's glow giving the environment a mixed hue very different from outside this mountain. Shadows traversed by becoming one with the terrain or wall to glide to their destinations. It was creepy and yet beautiful to watch in a way.
I spread my wings catching myself with a flap before setting my feet on the ground. Next to me, the girl landed as well. The shadows all over the city had stopped moving to stare. 'Not creepy'.
A shadow flowed from the ground in front of us and several more shadows did the same in a circle around us.
"Stand down. They guests". It was the female who brought us in. How I could differentiate her was something I didn't think much of. Nodding the shadow gestured us to follow. "Welcome Spawn Gardens. We born. We live". She waved her hand around. I took a single look around before turning back to her.
"Should you be telling us about this if we're not so welcome?". She paused and looked at us.
"Come. Speak to Lords".
The city itself was just like I'd expected a medieval City to be. Stone walls, stone buildings, and, several stone castles. At what I considered the edge of the mountain's interior was a large stone palace.
There was no gate and it was not guarded by any of the shadows. The path was down and the stairs up were long and windy. Considering the shadows didn't need them it went to say they obviously got visitors at times. Soon we were stepping onto a large throne that really would have been glamorous if it had been given more artwork and painting. It was large and the roof was high up.
"Did your people carve this out?". The Shadow shook her head.
"Home of Behemoth".
"And it just let you guys live here?". She stopped and turned.
"No. Killed. battle". She turned and kept walking.
"When you say Behemoth do you by chance mean a giant beast?". I kept probing. Information was vital and this shadow's attempt to keep silent was not appreciated.
"Giant. Yes. Beast. No. Before ask. Abyssal Drake kill". The shadow turned and kept walking. I was about to ask another question when a fist struck my ribs.
"Ouch". Looking at the perpetrator I got a head shake from the girl. Mentally sighing I kept silent and followed.
We got to our destination and found two thrones. On which sat two large shadows. One was shaped as a male and the other as a female. From the distance between both thrones, it was clear this wasn't a king and queen situation.
"My Lords. I bring guest". The shadow didn't bow. Simply turned and looked at us before melding with the ground and flowing to the side of the room.
'Well. Now what?'. The two shadows said nothing. Yet I was sure their eyes were fixed on us. The girl seemed to fidget but I looked at her and smiled a bit. Looking back I smiled at the shadows. "Greetings. I'm Abel". I didn't introduce the girl as she had not given me her name. The shadows barely moved. "It's a nice place you got here". Silence. My eye twitched. It was clear what this two were doing. Typical politics. Pushing the conversation in their favor.
'That would work if I needed anything from them'. Since we had no reason to be here the decision was made for us. While the information was something the Shadows could grant something told me the fairies knew more and even when they couldn't say we could still get it from the throne. Looking down at the girl I smiled. "Let's go. It would seem they don't need us here". Her brows furrowed but she obliged and together we turned. We walked up to the very end of the room.
"Stop!!". The shout was like the female Shadow's. Nails on board. It made me hiss but nothing else. The girl was about to stop whether from the sound or because she was asked. I grabbed her shoulder and kept on guiding her. "We're not their slaves , neither are we currying favor". We walked on and the sound of a hiss and shriek came from behind us. I saw the shadow flow flow past the ground below us and then reform in front of us.
"Me say. Stop!". The shadow barked. For a moment I and the girl had paused to watch. Now I simply kept walking. The shadow seemed to be in shock at my vehement ignorance of it. A hand reached out and coiled into strings. I could hear the cry from the female shadow trying to stop the shadow before me.
"Fool". It spat.
I blinked as the arm reached for me. For the second time I unleashed my Presence.