[ECHO]: Initializing...

[ECHO]: Mental Energy Packet received!

It was nighttime and the museum was empty. But a telepathic voice whispered from the statue.

"Hmm..."

"For thousands of years I lie dormant!"

He laughed.

Somnus tried to move. But the joints and mechanisms for his puppet had long been destroyed through time. The body was made from a special material. But history had done a number on it.

"Wait... If this is another universe..."

"That means the null spirituality rule doesn't necessarily apply here!"

Somnus directly left his puppet body. A spiritual body appeared beside the statue. This was a phantom. It couldn't interact with the physical plane.

But Somnus saw a illusory thread following him. It connected him to his puppet.

"I see. I am using the puppet as an anchor for my spirituality."

"But what is this?"

There wasn't one thread! There were two! But as he got further from his puppet. He started to become more and more illusory. He felt his consciousness blur.

"Dangerous!"

"It seems my soul is associated or has fused with the body of the puppet."

"Somebody likely took a part of my body. That is the other thread."

Without sensory organs. Everything appeared full of nothingness to Somnus. It was as if he was in an abyss or void.

This situation changed when he explored the outside with his spiritual body.

"As things are. I am trapped in this location. Unless..."

Somnus thought about it.

"I need to trick the owner of my fragment to come here."

"My mental energy is almost depleted. Despite getting resources from F554. If I try to take over a random passerby. They will likely overpower me. Then I'll be screwed."

"But if that person has carried that fragment with them for some time. The residual connection should make them not reject me as much. Not to mention. I can use the fragments itself as a focus. Amplifying my mental energy!"

"But how do I trick them into coming here? Promises of longevity? Wealth? Beauties?"

"Perhaps I should promise them something more rare."

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Somnus was unsure if this world had supernatural power. But that didn't mean he couldn't lie!

He allowed his mind to follow the thread for a few hours and lingered his consciousness. He found the fragment. It had been turned into a pendent.

"I can't forcefully make them visit my body. But I can effect their subconscious. I'll manipulate their dreams with the pendent as the medium."

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Atesh Sostid's POV:

Atesh came from an elite family of tycoons. This family had a history longer then the current ruling government. Their prosperity was thanks to two main things. Most had excellent memory and high intelligence. Their ancestors also took advantage of opportunities that benefited them throughout the ages.

But this family didn't provide support to all members. The family had grown quite large over the years. To the point where there was a lot of internal competition for resources. The real wealth was held in the hands of the patriarch of the family. Only by making contributions could you receive benefits.

Atesh was in the middle of his college entrance examination. Despite his family being rich. They still encouraged him to get into a good college to build connections.

Atesh had photographic memory. The test was so easy that he fell asleep. But the pendent his mother gave him. One he had worn everyday since her death.

It seemed to be glowing faintly.

He was dreaming at this moment.

Atesh felt something was wrong. He was very lucid this time.

He saw a man made of fog wearing a black suit.

"Who are you?"

"I am just a fragment..."

"A fragment? What do you mean?"

"Your pendent is the fragment of a fallen god. Some of my residual consciousness lives on within it. I lie dormant for thousands of years... waiting for someone with talent for immortality to wake me up."

"You! You are heaven's chosen! You are destined to become a living legend. An immortal that judges the fate of all things in existence. I will pass on my inheritance!"

"Inheritance?..."

Atesh felt his breathing quicken. His heart was beating faster, even in sleep.

"But you will need to become my disciple if I am to pass on my Dao."

"Are you willing?"

"Yes!"

Somnus frowned mentally in his puppet. He had just tried to create a contract sneakily by wording things a specific way. But no contract was formed!

"First. You will have to travel around the entire world! You must collect each fragment. They are all items of mysterious power. There are six others besides the one you have. Each item is an artifact formed from the body of a fallen deity!"

"Once you have gathered all seven fragments. You will be able to receive my blessing!"

"Alright! Which fragment do we do first?"

"The first one is located in The Museum of Efil! It is the clock of space. An extremely powerful tool that can control space. Once you have it. You will be able to control aspects of time and move through space in mysterious ways."

Atesh woke up at his desk. He waited until the exam was over. He turned in his paper and told his friends he had something urgent to do.

Atesh booked a train ticket and went to the town of Efil. He found the museum and talked to himself.

"Where exactly is the clock located. Is it this one here?"

The pendent glowed as if telling him he was close.

He walked past a statue and felt some weird connection.

Then his perspective shifted.

He had left his body! He became a phantom!

"What's happening? Is this the power of the artifact? A hint that I'm close?"

He watched his own body turn his head and look at him.

The body spoke with his own voice.

"Yes! You are almost there. Infinite power! A whole new world!"

"You..?! You tricked me!"

Somnus laughed. He couldn't stop laughing.

"I wasn't lying. The abyss is a whole new world..."

"I'll bless you! I'll even give you the body of a god!"

Somnus could see a illusory thread connecting him to the puppet. He swapped souls with Atesh. So instead of Atesh simply facing oblivion. He was forever trapped in the puppet. He would be there for years until his soul burned through all its resources.

He would then enter a sleep, much like the one Somnus had experienced.

The illusory threads switched hands. Atesh was now trapped. Somnus cut off the connection between the pendent and the statue.

A burst of memories flooded the mind of Somnus.

"I am now Atesh Sostid!"

"For now..."