“Thanks for coming, ladies. We appreciate your assistance.” With a smile, Eirwen ushered the nuns into Nick’s suite at the Golden Chalice. Marissa, Rebecca, and five of the top climbers of Seraphara’s Ordeal joined Nick and his family in the room.
Nick had recovered after the major battle at the warehouse and the docks, but did his best to reach out to Irene inside him–to decide on the proper course of action with dealing with his…evil prisoner issue. The first surprise was that she didn’t want to meet in a dream, and that it was related to Nick’s problem. But also that she urged him to resolve this sooner rather than later.
He had considered driving back to Frosthaven early, to hand in his completed Ordained Lord Quest for help with resolving this issue. However, through some simple yes or no type questions and her responses, it seemed Irene thought it was best to confront his enemies and to do it as soon as possible.
Nick smiled at all the nuns, who took on the decadent room with wide eyes. Currently, they were in the receiving area, which had multiple couches and recliners facing each other–with a large cushion much like a mattress laid out in the center, rather than a table.
The kitchenette was in the back of the room, a shared area for the several rooms Nick had access to, meant for servants. “Yes, thank you very much for coming–and I appreciate your discretion and assistance on this matter.”
Sable had helped them sneak in to prevent any odd rumors from forming. While they would just be rumors, Nick and the many faithfuls would not enjoy gossip about any kind of debauchery, as it would tarnish Seraphara’s name.
Marissa smiled, and nudged Rebecca from the side. “Of course, this one made a beautiful appeal for her beloved. But you are our Lord and our Hero, and we’d never forget that. Then, we all saw how giving and compassionate you are, and it would be our failure to not return it with our own efforts.”
Rebecca blushed at Marissa’s needling, but she nodded. “All the faithful here understand that you have gone above and beyond in your Quest, and we deeply respect all the lengths you’ve gone to empower us.”
Nick couldn’t help but give them a proud smile. “You ladies have done amazingly, and you should all be proud. The evil of Silverbrook looked down on your power, and you’ve proven the strength of Seraphara’s Wisdom to many by defeating them at every turn. While the guard will be rumored to have taken down the bandits here, none will forget that you girls stood up to the villain’s threats.”
The girls all blushed, happy to hear Nick’s praise. Eirwen and Sable served some refreshments, and then they ushered them to sit in an array around the center. Nick then described what would be happening–Nick would lay in the center on Eirwen’s lap, and Nick would face enemies in the dream world.
At a key moment, which Eirwen would direct, they would help out with their energy.
His wives all wished him luck in the other room, before Nick returned to the cushion in the center. His wives were prepared to help with their Devotion Energy, though Kaya wished she could join him in the dream–where she could cut these assholes down for Nick.
Unfortunately, despite Eirwen and Nick’s gains in controlling the dream and improving in dream magic, connecting additional people’s minds into the dream would simply stress them too much.
Laying in Eirwen’s lap, Nick connected to the first target he had been avoiding, and to his surprise, he was successful and Eirwen dragged him into the dreamscape as he fell asleep.
***
Nick’s projection of his body was now back in the bleak dreamscape, the giant stele–Archaen Law, ominously looming over him. Shadows drifted about beneath the black monolith in an oily haze, the dreamscape loosely representing the truth of the unique place. Thunder crashed repeatedly and he saw the person he had drawn in.
Brutus.
The bald merchant with a scar on his face was in the second stratum, and had utilized the horrifying Nexus Core by powering it primarily with children’s fear. Nick knew this man likely didn’t have any remorse–beyond being caught and forced to suffer and pay for his many sins.
Nick had managed to convince nearly a dozen souls in total to find redemption. The dozen or so others had to be forced, especially those from Havendale, including Steven–the man who tried to reclaim Havendale for himself from Davon.
The way this was done, was Nick would challenge them to a battle for their freedom. In that challenge, Nick and his enemies would have their bodies much like they did before they died.
As one could expect, Nick had no problems crushing the bandits and tainted priests, even taking on several at a time. However, after a few wins and usages of his Concept in training and tests, he wasn’t able to connect with most of his targets when he felt them out within his Soul.
He wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time. It was true he had used his Concept a few times for practice and may have burned them up, or perhaps the amount of faith energy he kept absorbing from Rebecca had something to do with it. But he hadn’t felt anything off to worry him–until the energy went haywire and harmed him during his recent battle.
Despite the forceful acquisitions, his soul had been feeling stronger than ever. He thought he was about ready to take on this merchant, and then the other few shadows from Havendale and Zura that were at the top of the scale of strength, but now he knew something more nefarious was at play.
Thus, Nick’s preparations. Taking a look at Brutus, the darkness billowing off him was substantial. The hateful spirit of him wailed in pain, and his eyes were listless as Nick got started. Nick figured the man would reject his request, but he had to try anyway.
He stirred his Concept, and made his offer for the Redemption Pact. “Brutus, your sins are many, your hatred and greed ruining the lives of countless innocents. You are deserving of horrible punishment, but I offer you a chance at Redemption.”
The eyes of Brutus snapped to him, recognition of Nick suddenly filling his expression. With a sneer, Brutus laughed. “An offer for Redemption? What use would I have for that? I’m sorry, but I have received a much better offer.” The darkness gathered around him as he spread his arms wide, and the insubstantial shadows beneath him in the surrounding landscape swirled.
New figures leaped out next to Brutus as they joined him in the dream, and Nick recognized several of them right away–it was the missing priests and bandits, who he could not reach. A few appeared at Nick’s sides and one to the rear, the men surrounding him.
Davon stepped out next, and Samuel–the Bishop, arrived next to Brutus. They were the three most difficult people Nick had faced and Judged, and they were all here.
The many bandits and rogues snickered.
Davon, the bandit lord of Havendale said, “Are you ready for some payback, boys? I know I am ready to make this man suffer for what he’s done to me.”
Samuel, the evil Bishop added, “And we’ll all come back stronger than ever. Once I claim his body, I can revive the rest of you. Whatever this freak is, he’s truly something. For us to take.”
Nick was unbothered. He had an inkling that this was what was happening, and he was glad that the mystery was already solved, and it wasn’t some crazy problem with Archaen Law–which he’d have no idea how to fix. While he was a little concerned about how prepared his enemy actually was, he was not ill-equipped to handle a bunch of shadows.
Nick couldn’t help but smirk a little bit, as he saw Davon’s pathetic brother in the back. Just as Nick had promised, he was going to kill him again.
He gave his offer. “You have rejected the Redemption Pact. You all have been judged, guilty of numerous sins. You are not worthy of redemption, but I shall shoulder the darkness in your hearts and purify your evil, so you can find penitence and redemption for your sins–by force. Now is your last chance. If you face me and I am the victor, you will be enslaved to bring justice to other evils. If you defeat me, you may find freedom, your suffering coming to an end. But if you back down now, I will leave you in peace, to find release in Orion’s Embrace.”
Previously, Nick had made his offers in similar scenarios–where the bandits outnumbered him, and thought they had a chance to defeat him for their freedom. All of them got greedy and or were just filled with anger or hatred at how Nick had killed them, letting their reason get in the way of their freedom.
Brutus laughed. “You seem calm, half-breed. You think we’re going to back down? We’ll find more than just freedom–we will take your body as our own! You have done nothing but give us the perfect weapon. Where is yours, by the way?”
He then spread his hands wide, and darkness gathered within each of their hands. Swords and daggers filled each of their grips, their sharp blades ready to fight.
Nick did not have his Soul Blade’s focus, his hilt was not present in the dream, as he only had himself. He didn’t have armor either, only wearing threadbare robes, and his enemies were no different. Kaya would be that much more useful here, thanks to that.
But that didn’t mean he was unarmed.
He drew upon the blade of his soul, a result from all his efforts at the Blade Soulforge. A white light grew out of his right hand, and formed–
A small dagger.
The rogues laughed, along with Brutus, Davon, and Samuel.
Davon asked, “What’s the matter, young lord? Can you even satisfy your girl with that little prick?”
Nick used a burst of essence, and blurred toward the nearest rogue at his side. He stabbed into the man’s chest faster than he could react, right into his soul core. The darkness was drained into the blade, Nick’s Concept blazing brightly as ephemeral chains formed, and linked from him and into the man between their Soul Cores.
The man screamed as he burst into righteous flames, Nick’s Redemption Pact washing over him. The bandits had been laughing, but now they were shocked at the volume and amount of terror of the flames engulfing the man.
Nick had been watching Samuel during this, and the man grit his teeth at this result. Due to being in the dreamscape, he was no longer inside of Nick’s Soul, exactly. This meant his ability to influence Nick’s energies would be reliant upon his normal abilities with his projected body.
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The dream had rules, which was what allowed them to manifest Archaen Law here in the first place. Nick had an advantage here, being the anchor and creator of the dream, but it wasn’t a whole lot.
He looked over his… soul knife in his hand with a smile, inspecting both sides–it had become just a tiny bit larger, perhaps a quarter of an inch, as a result of his kill. “It’s not the length or the size. It’s all in how you use it.”
The bandits hesitated, their expressions mixed between shocked and concerned at what happened to their ally. The man had stopped screaming after the chains had finished forming, but now the man was enslaved to Nick.
Brutus yelled, “Get him! Don’t just stand there!”
The rogues descended upon Nick, knives and swords swinging as they attacked from all sides. But Nick was faster, dancing away and swaying around the attacks. He kept on the move, weaving between his opponents as he blocked with his blade and stabbed out, bagging several more captures in quick succession.
With each shade he defeated, the chains weighed further down on him. The amount from one wasn’t much, but having added three more, he was beginning to feel the burden.
Using Harden Skin, he took a blow to trade and stab another right in the chest, then with Double Jump, leaped over the group and stabbed another, eliminating them. With this, Nick showed them just how much he outclassed his opponents.
Davon’s blades formed at Brutus’s gesture, and the bandit dashed toward Nick. Samuel’s essence stirred, the white and black essence forming an orb above him. This surprised Nick–just where would he get the holy light?
The Bishop laughed. “You look surprised, half-breed. Divine Usurpation allows me to steal faith energy from someone as powerful as a goddess. Just how would you imagine yourself immune? I’ve been preparing some time for this.”
The orb attack clearly built up slower, likely the result of the man not having access to his special staff. Nick stirred his Concept, the white light and dark energy filling him. Dark essence was drawn from the world around them, including the new chains.
The new enslaved bandits shouted and screamed in agony, as a fiery white light covered them once more. Nick could feel the burden of his soul increase as a result of these added bandits, and was a bit concerned about what the end of this fight might look like.
Covering his soul blade in the essence with his expert swordsmanship, he empowered his small knife with black and white light–and his Soul Blade extended. The Bishop fired his deadly attack, and Nick sliced it in two–just as Davon arrived, his two blades swinging at Nick.
Nick shouted, and two chains of frost met Davon’s attacks, Nick’s Frost Aura expanding and covering the bandits in the process. Nick feinted his counter at Davon, but instead dashed and stabbed through two additional bandit’s cores. The weight once again increased, but the light surrounding Nick increased even further.
“What’s this? A second Concept?” Samuel looked between the chains from the bandits, and the new chains of ice.
Nick blocked and dodged Davon’s furious assault as he swung his twin curved blades, and shadow armor grew over the remaining bandits Nick was facing. This appeared to counter his Frost Aura, except for the more powerful chains of frost, which grew around the battlefield and began attacking and slowing the enemies.
Wrapping the chains around the targets after him and dragging his enemies around, he crashed one bandit into Davon, and went for the kill.
Only for the Bishop to send a smaller beam of white and black light, cutting Nick off. He was forced to block the beam attack instead, and Davon and the bandits recovered as he was blown back slightly.
But Nick had plenty of strength to spare. His heroic Concept built him to a whole new level, and he leapt across the battlefield and arrived in front of Brutus. Nick stabbed toward Brutus’s chest, and the man had been far too focused on creating the shadow weapons and protection for the other rogues.
The Bishop swung a staff of shadows at Nick to intercept his attack, but chains of ice wrapped around the edge and dragged it away–allowing Nick to pierce through Brutus’s shadows and his chest unimpeded.
The shadows were drained out of Brutus into chains as the bald merchant screamed, white flames engulfing him. Shadow weapons among the rogues disappeared, while Nick had an even larger sword.
To Nick’s surprise, the Bishop’s staff and Davon’s swords were still in their hands–it seemed Samuel was able to continue controlling this aspect for the both of them. A new light and dark attack began building–and Nick’s own white and dark essence was being drained toward it, the Usurpation Concept offering the Bishop a special level of control now that Nick had come near.
Nick whipped his arm and sword toward cleaving the orb of white and black essence, but the Bishop was prepared for the attack, ready to block it with his staff.
But he wasn’t prepared for the elbow to the face, Nick easily stepping forward and flowing into the brutal attack. The orb of essence sputtered out as the man’s head whipped back, and Nick was about to continue his assault when the remaining rogues and Davon arrived, having fought off Nick’s chains.
Nick cut them down in quick succession, the unarmed assailants offering little to no challenge to him as he sped up, and had superior reach. Chains surrounded them as they began to burn with white light, and Nick parried Davon’s two blades in quick succession, before swaying backward under a wide swing and whipping his arm to cleave off Davon’s. He then kicked out Davon’s leg which held his weight, and caught him in the chest–causing him to burst into flames and the chains to form between them.
The amount of darkness within Davon was immense, and Nick staggered as the burden on his Soul increased. If not for the Blade Soulforge and his recently earned levels, he just might not have enough gas in the tank to continue the battle.
His mind was already muddled, and he could hear the whispers of darkness like he was in the fourth stanza of his dance.
Which only left Samuel and two more rogues, standing in front of him. The rogues hesitated, and Samuel scowled at them.
“Utterly useless. But I can still make use of you.”
He began pulling darkness from them as they screamed, their forms kneeling on the ground. His odd ability grasped at Nick as well, drawing light energy from him and freezing him up.
Nick wasn’t idle, despite being frozen. He started attacking with his numerous chains of frost–wrapping them around the Bishop. The man shielded against this with his shadows, and Nick’s ice crystals began truly beginning to encompass him.
“Enough!”
Samuel shouted, and a blast of darkness blew the chains away. A new orb of black and white light gathered in the air above him.
“Looks like you had just enough of Seraphara’s Light in you. I’ll have to thank you–this environment has improved my understanding of both the darkness and the light. When I claim your strange body, I’ll be stronger than ever, ready to enter the third stratum.”
The man had been difficult to deal with the first time, but now he had somehow become stronger. Nick could feel the weight of the terrible man’s Concept, the light and dark within the Bishop far beyond his understanding.
But Nick wasn’t alone.
A beam of white light blasted into Samuel’s chest, sending him flying and his orb sputtering out. Irene flapped her wings as she descended from above, arriving and landing behind Nick. She was wearing the beautiful scholarly robes much like Seraphara herself did, which showed her flowing golden hair. The belt at her waist showed her hourglass form,
The Bishop stood, his face a mask of fury. “You!”
Irene’s lips were pursed with a sad, pitying look in her expression, her hands clasped in front of her. “To think you still have so much anger for me. I had hoped you would find happiness, and had done all I could to grant that for you. But everything I had done for you to find wisdom was never enough.”
Samuel snorted. “From the beginning, you looked down on me. Despite you accepting me as your partner, you refused to share your affection until I found my Concept!”
“You had talent, and you were a proper Lord of Orion. I had no problem sharing my affection with you, at least at first–I was merely pushing you to seek purity and wisdom, to cleanse your tainted heart first. As it should be–as is Seraphara’s way. You should know this.”
The Bishop’s face twisted in rage. “Fuck you! You were supposed to be mine–I will claim you properly when I capture his body. I will make you suffer!” The surrounding shadows twisted, and the drain of dark essence from the two bandits increased. Samuel’s power rose as he was covered in dense shadows. With a small amount of Seraphara’s light, the Bishop began to ready another large orb.
Nick wasn’t sure what to make of their byplay–wasn’t Rebecca their child? But now was really not the time. He raised his Soul Blade, and reached through his connection to Eirwen.
“I need your help, Irene.”
She smiled at him, her hands still clasped together. “With pleasure, Hero.” She closed her eyes, and stirred her faith energy.
Seraphara’s light flooded into Nick’s body from outside the dream, and it arrived in his Soul Core. Normally, the energy would run rampant in him, his body unable to hold on to too much of the powerful faith energy–like what had occurred on the throne.
But now, Irene drew the energy into herself before pushing it back toward him into his Concept, Nick’s body lighting up–and she even drew in some energy from Rebecca and the priestesses for herself.
Nick had been limited in how much faith energy he could have by what he received from Rebecca or judging and redeeming the tainted priests, and this amount dwarfed all he had received up to now.
Not only that, but the prismatic light from his wives joined him from their Devotion Cores. Even Fang and Luna joined in on it from back at Frosthaven, as they were not within the Ordeal. This made the energy even denser, and it appeared to give him even greater control over it.
Irene had a proud smile on her face as she opened her eyes. “How wonderful. My daughter and our faithful have truly grown.”
Nick’s Heroic Concept blazed, his entire body and blade covered with dense white and black, prismatic light. He dashed toward the Bishop, his strength sending him leaping through the air in a blur. The Bishop was shocked at Nick’s speed, and seemed to rush, trying to launch his attack in a hurry.
But Nick was just too fast. Pushing his Heroic Concept to the maximum as the light empowered his body, he triggered Power Strike. His muscles bulged as they moved with perfect synchronicity, the white and black essence empowering him far beyond his normal strength.
With a sideways swipe, he cut through the forming orb of shadows and light, dispersing them and cleaving through the two rogues. They burst into righteous flames, and their drain of darkness into the Bishop reversed and went into Nick instead.
The Bishop’s pull over Nick’s energy returned now that he was this close, the man pushing his Divine Usurpation Concept against Nick’s. His staff then lashed out at Nick’s face.
Nick only barely managed to twist his head in time for him to get struck in the shoulder instead, knocking him back slightly.
Then, shadows rose up from the ground and gripped around Nick’s body, and Nick’s essence began to drain into the Bishop as his Concept stole his light and dark energy. The pull was powerful, but the amount drained was like a weak leak from a large pool, thanks to Irene’s efforts and his prismatic light. Irene’s body lit up brightly as she covered him in her Aura, alleviating the pressure the Bishop exerted over him.
Nick’s chains of ice wrapped around the Bishop again, and Nick stomped toward the Bishop despite the man’s effort to control him, his sword ready to cut the man down.
Samuel growled in rage. ”Just how is your pull on the light so strong? My Divine Usurpation–”
Nick laughed. “It’s trash. Rather than keep my people weak and steal from them like you did, I support my people and empower them, and they strengthen me in return. Of course energy given willingly is more powerful than theft.” Nick raised his blade above his head once more, and it grew even larger. The Bishop shouted in rage as he tried to work his resources into an attack, but Nick swung down, cleaving into him.
Samuel screamed, and his body lit aflame as black chains wrapped around him, connecting to Nick. The burden on Nick’s soul was substantial, and it reminded him of the time he Judged the jerk in the first place. The dream began to distort, his soul nearly cracking at the strain.
Soft arms and a warm body wrapped around him from behind, and a soothing white light filled him. He could feel a stirring of some kind of Concept, a feeling of a boundless love and compassion filling him.
Irene’s soothing embrace helped purify much of the strain, and he held on with his Will of the Frost King. He did his best to use Soul Mend on himself, to keep it from collapsing from the strain. Irene helped him draw in the faith essence, burning away much of the excess darkness.
It took a moment, but eventually, the strain from the darkness ceased. Nick let out a sigh of relief, but Nick’s time in the dream was truly coming to an end, as the sky warbled. He twisted his body, turning to look at Irene–who had still been hugging him from behind.
“Thanks, Irene. Looking forward to meeting you again soon.”
“And I you, Hero.” She gave a pleased sigh. “Finally, I can relax…and maybe enjoy myself.” Her voice trailed off in the end, as Nick fell into a dreamless sleep to recover.