CHAPTER 10 – DREAMS AND THE VOID
Umbra Mortem – Erebus
***
Gideon’s mind was thrown into the chaos of memory, a symposium of galaxy wide ruminations of war and loss and endless destruction. He sat frozen, just a spirit, watching ancient history and it was shooting past his mind like a film on fast forward with no sound. The images were a blur, half-remembered visages of broken dreams. A multitude of draconic beings of various shapes and sizes blitzed past on coronal flares of power while what could only be called space ships, also in a myriad of designs, flew in and out and around the behemoth creatures riddled with various forms of sci-fi weaponry firing in rapid bursts with flashing shields of various shades sending sparks of multi-hue reactions to the fire.
His eyes were pulled hard to one of the smaller draconic beasts, this one wider and flat with shorter legs but beautiful shades of cerulean blues with edged fringes of obsidian night upon her scales and he intuitively understood and knew this was Yisara. She was the only thing in all that he was seeing that was not blurred and ghostly. As soon as that realization hit him, the vision stopped, fell, fading to black and within a moment, his eyes opened looking up at the ceiling of Unra’s office.
His senses quickly went to his cloak, well Yisara now, whom was once a Dragon and lived, breathed and fought and bled as far back as what had to be the Primordial War, which at a guess was at least a few millions years ago, maybe? He’d never actually asked how old the System was. And somehow in the intervening time her soul had been shoved into a cloak.
He let his senses, his soul, reach out and touch her own within the cloak but quickly realized whatever had happened was gone, a burst of energy that had exhausted her or at least that’s what it appeared like. The feeling he got out of her was back to what it had been before, unfocused, hazy, quiescent now. She wasn’t slumbering, he could feel her responding to his energy but her sentience was back to the fog, though still much more vibrant then when he’d first sensed her. It was a beginning and he could sense their bond had deepened by a heavy tow. He would have to figure out what that meant as he stepped.
He felt a little groggy but looking at his Resources which were unmoved so no passing out because of red-lining them as per usual. Whatever the flashback memory had been it had just overloaded his brain. That did put some threat into wearing the cloak while she was going through whatever she was going through cause in a scrap falling to the ground unconscious would lead to a long walk off a short pier and the irony in the statement he was well aware of. He just had to have faith at least for now, Yisara, would have the strength of will to not put him in that situation. He would also gauge where she was in her spirit before hitting the Dungeon tomorrow.
He shook himself pulling his groggy body back up into a sitting position. The Soul-Stone was still on the ground next to where he’d fallen. He twisted himself back into the Yoda ‘Ohm’ meditative sit and took a few breaths attempting to shake the cobwebs.
He was still on a timetable of taking a hack at making this magic stone worth something before finding some sleep then waking up and giving it a go at their first Iron Dungeon. Unra’s words still resonated that they needed a fifth but he was willing to hit the Dungeon first before making that assessment. He had no issues with her creating the competition though. At the very least it might pop up some diamonds in the rough they weren’t aware of they could use to create a third Elite force.
Everyone in the leadership and their allies knew that Umbra Mortem had numbers and very good defensive measures but still sadly lacked Elites compared to many of the upper tier Factions. Gideon was hoping to change that right now to an extent if he was even capable of it. As he stared at the Soul-Stone something within him triggered, an instinct, his Bloodline and before he knew what was happening he reached out and grabbed the stone and everything went white as his consciousness was sucked into his inner-world as both his Soul-Pillars spun up releasing a cavalcade of of silver and pitch night streams of power. [Rune-Mastery – Umbral/Moon] activated on it’s own as [Investigation] and [Intuition] dialed in. His Bloodline was pulling strings.
Gideon calmly watched as energy rose out of the Stone and began invading his flesh, a gray aged bone color as pale as death. His mind was aware enough even washed with the impulses from his Bloodline and his mind riddled with the heavy energy pulsing off his Soul-Pillars. He wasn’t quite sure what was happening but then the pain hit, soul pain, excruciating and his [Pain Resistance] did nothing to mitigate it as it was far beyond physical. It was crippling but he he grit his teeth and did his best to focus. His insanely high Will for his Level was the only thing anchoring him to consciousness. It felt like someone was hitting him a punch dagger over every inch os his flesh.
The night pitch and silver energy from his own Soul-Pillars pushed back against the encroaching gray while something primal, deep in his bones, his blood, raised its metaphorical head and continued to pull the reigns of his rune mastery utilizing it as before with his new skills [Investigation] and [Intuition] as the awl to thread his own soul energy to envelope the encroaching filaments of gray death.
Something snapped inside him. To many times he’d been in these situations, in these moments, and left control to something other than his own mind. He refused to wash and repeat. His Bloodline since it had been shoveled into his bones and flesh had been a separate thing, a separate spirit, instinct. He felt it even now, pushing against his own and controlling his skills to thread his Moon and Umbral Soul-Pillars against the invasive energy of the Graveborn Soul-Stone and in that moment, in that stretched visual of his own Soul-Pillars being used to push back against the gray tendrils which sought, he guessed, to access his soul and gift him a Bloodline, his own, [Nocturne], fought against that which sought to change it or whatever a Soul-Stone did to someone that already had a Bloodline.
His metaphorical foot came stomping down as he shoved his own Will into the space his instincts told him where whatever sentience his Bloodline possessed, resided. A growl hissed as a hard mental pulse careened into Gideon’s soul which felt like being punched in the mouth. His eyes narrowed. He would not be dictated to within his own soul. He mentally grabbed the threads of his Soul-Pillars intending to rip them from his Bloodline when Yisara came alive pulling hard on the shadows lurking within Unra’s office then merging it and herself into his mind. And from her a ballast of knowledge formed a primal vault of esoteric understanding pulled from ancient history as it slithered into his consciousness and within a heartbeat instead of fighting against the mental pushing of his Bloodline, with the extra burst of Umbral energy provided by Yisara, he shoved his way into the small umbral dark globe he now discerned within the center of his Soul, [Nocturne].
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The knowledge she shared seemed fleeting, something she was straining her own spirit to provide, something she could not hold onto for long. It was a fuse burning to a short stub on a quick tick-tock. It was time to get to work and if the information she was feeding him was correct, he saw a path to everything. He mentally gritted his teeth and did what he always did, dove in and got to work.
***
The Soul-Stone sat once more in the velvet lined box now glowing a simple white, no gray overtones. His mind for the first time in a long time was one, calm. He still felt some subtle undercurrents out of [Umbral Savage] but they were balanced by the calm detached impulses from [Lunar Hound] and the best part? He pulled up the Notifications.
Congratulations Citizen. You have done something rarely achieved within the Multi-Verse. You have achieved full integration with your Bloodline while still in Iron, something not usually achieved until Gold Rank in the wider Multi-Verse. Racial Abilities gifted by your Bloodline have had their Class Rank Limiters removed and are now able to gain Levels. Bloodline – Nocturne has increased in Rank to ‘S’. See associated Bloodline Description for changes.
He had a feeling what he’d see as he’d already felt the physical changes but still he pulled it up ignoring the level of exhaustion that was reaming him and his Resources which were sitting at Mid-Red.
Nocturne – S – Inherent Racial Benefits - + 15% to all Attributes +2 Body, Perception, Insight, Will, and Faith every other Level in Main Class. Hardened Scales -- -15% to all Physical and Magical Damage. Immune to Fear. Highly Resistant vs all Mental Manipulation. +20% Efficiency to all Abilities, including Racial. +20% Increased Effectiveness of all Abilities irregardless of source.
There was quite a bit to ferret out here. A +5% increase to attributes was nothing to joke about especially as it was a flat percentage and insane. The increase in damage mitigation was also huge. He looked at his hands and not only did his scales seem more rigid, tougher but he noticed there were small ridges now, almost spikes along his arm as he willed his armor to his ring. Now sitting in a cloth shirt and leather pants he saw the rides went up his entire arm and he could feel the same on the side of his legs pushing against his pants. Luckily System clothing like anything else changed shape to fit whoever was wearing it.
He put his hands to his face, running his fingers across everything and realized there were now two flared ridges on his scalp more along the lines of many of the Dragons he’d seen in his vision. Also the small horns he’d had on his forehead now seemed larger, small spikes curving upwards, where they used to be an inch, now they were closer to three inches. It was what it was, he’d stopped being anything close to human a long time ago.
Were the [Nocturne] really this powerful as a race? Did they all have these kind of bonuses naturally? If so, he could see how as an entire race they’d scare the shit out of a lot of people especially if you added in their ability to Cultivate during a time period when no one else but a few Gods could.
His eyes went back to the new description. He’d almost missed it. The increases to efficiency was no longer limited to his Abilities from the Umbral. It now added it to all of his Abilities regardless of source, damn. He only had one Moonborn Ability but still had two slots to fill so it would be a hell of a get. He still had more flashing Notifications, several of which were increases to his new Skills [Investigation] and [Intuition] which had now become staples to almost everything he did and subsequently were getting power leveled due to the fact. He dismissed those for now and threw an [Identify] on the Soul-Stone.
Soul-Stone – Legendary – One of the most coveted items in the entire Multi-Verse. When a Citizen touches the Stone they will be offered one or more Bloodlines based on their Genetic History, Affinity, Soul-Pillar and certain Titles as well as other hidden variables. It can gift up to a C+ Ranked Bloodlines. Certain Rare Titles, extremely high Affinities and other hidden variables can boost that parameter.
It no longer was viewed as a lesser stone but was still not like the one in the Tutorial which had been a Greater Soul-Stone. It had worked though and now wasn’t limited to one Soul-Pillar. It had taken a lot of work and he sent a gentle affection and thanks to the Ex-Dragon in his cloak but he sensed she was entirely comatose after the energy she’d spent helping him. Her giving him the intrinsic knowledge that had been the key to the lock told him she had been a Cultivator. All that information had already faded from his mind like a moving picture lost to a black out.
Without her he’d have failed in changing the Soul-Stone and merging with his Bloodline fully which was something he didn’t even know was a thing but made more sense with the urges he was constantly receiving. L’Sana and everyone he’d met with a Bloodline struggled with it as well. L’Sana’s [Spectral Were-Panther] Bloodline added to her aggressiveness and was probably a big reason why she’d been able to do a 180 degree as quick as she had in the Tutorial out of her slave mentality, well that and with a shit ton of encouragement from him. Him gifting her Ari also had given her a catalyst from which to leap. A smile creased his lips, his family. Add in Freddie and Shira and Gideon couldn’t ask for more. The repaired relationship with his Uncle would of made his Mother very happy and Danny, the symbol that what he’d done in the Old World meant something.
He shook his head and bounced it out of the past. His mind was drooping along with his body. It had taken everything to do what he did. The Bloodline merger though hadn’t changed the Class imprint which seemed to effect one’s personality as well but was a step in the right direction. He would need to see if he could somehow teach L’Sana cultivation but wasn’t sure that was possible or if he could himself help her merge with her Bloodline but it might be something he’d need to wait until at least Bronze to attempt. He’d only been able to accomplish it with a huge help from Yisara and his Racial Abilities to fuck with runes.
He sent a message to Unra about the Soul-Stone and she immediately responded with excitement. He also told her no one should be forced to use it but that it should be offered to all of Umbra Mortem and once that was done then they could think about sharing it with their allies. Their alliance was a bit new for him to just wholeheartedly be offering such an obvious boost to their strength but at the very least the Gunslinger and Oklahoma had earned it and more.
She had no reaction other than to agree with a very much her admonishment to have faith in her judgment. He smiled. That Old Woman deserved that easily.
It was time to head to sleep. He was literally a hot step from dropping onto the floor for a snore-fest. It was late and he had no messages from L’Sana and the rest which meant they were more than likely still doing their movie marathon. He still didn’t know the full changes to what his body and face had been subjected to, at least until he could get to his room and the mirror residing within it. He pulled his hood up though left his half-mask hanging as people knew it was something he only did when he was going to war which would draw more attention and set people’s nerves to jacking up.
He could use [Stealth] or one of his Abilities but it wasn’t that big of a deal not to mention his resources had still only moved to High-red. Tired was too short a leash to tag to how he felt and wanted to just get to bed. He walked out, closing the door behind him. No one could enter it other then he or L’Sana or Unra so he had no worries about the Soul-Stone and Unra mentioned in her messages she would be coming to get it in the next hour with a full squad of Shades accompanying her. It was time for his strained mind to find sleepy time, and in the morning hit the Iron Dungeon. It was a time to see what their team could really do.