"So, Singularity... It's about time we have a chat, don't you think?"
The ethereal voice of Alana spoke out from her relaxed position. Now in the day, darkness still drowned the temple. Yet, to Aldric and everybody else, it was not an issue.
It was time to finally solve the mystery of how she knew who he was and who Cassie was.
"Yes. I agree."
Looking beside him, Cassie stood next to him. Her figure was close enough to reach with one hand. Her face calm and inexpressive.
In a slow and relaxed voice, she spoke.
"Leave us."
And in that moment, the blind maidens left the hall in harmony. Neither questioning nor doubting their Lady's orders.
Standing up in a seated position and with a straightened posture, Alana of the North was finally serious.
"So would you like to explain what exactly is going on?"
Before Aldric could even think of answering, she continued.
"You have my fate which was lost to the abyss; you look to be a creature I have never seen before who entered through a gate sealed by the Goddess herself. And most importantly, in the moment of your arrival, the very fate of this world had changed."
"And you, Cassia, just who are you? And where did young Layla go?"
Her gaze concentrated deeply onto the both of them. A slender finger raised into the air and down onto the hard wood.
TAP
TAP
TAP
"I cannot see any prophecies far beyond the near future. I cannot commune with the Storm Goddess, as if her very essence has disappeared from this realm. And that feeling..."
Her grey eyes widened and shrank, as if she was waging an unknown battle within her mind. As if some force was exerting itself onto her.
Like stardust, her eyes shone as she refocused onto the pair. Overcoming the strange force.
"So tell me."
Her voice demanded.
Looking to Cassie, Aldric knew he was in a strange position.
From what Noctis and Cassie had described the lady as, Aldric expected her to be an unfeeling doll. Whose apathy had been amplified by the Daemon of Desire. But it seems that was not the case.
'So she knows something is wrong. How on earth do I explain that we are in a fabricated rendition of the past? Do I even do that?'
To Aldric's knowledge, there had never been a person who gained awareness within a nightmare. Aside from the special case of Wind Flower, there was no precedent for it.
With the gaze of a transcendent being raining down on him, there was no time for useless thoughts.
In times like these, the best answer would be truth. A truth manipulated enough to his advantage.
"I come from a dark island hidden below the abyss. It was there that I found a small ivory knife, and it was deep within that island that I found a gateway connected to this temple. I don't know much else. My question for you is how did you know my given name?"
Aldric spoke. His strategy was to not mention anything regarding the nightmare spell. There were many fantasies and lies that he could fabricate in order to explain what she had observed, but there was no point in being caught out in a lie later down the line. Besides, a prophetic transcendent would likely see through such things. Of which, Aldric did not even know exactly how her ability operated.
Addressing the question right back to her, the hall was silent. And it was here that the air changed.
As the recipient of her gaze, a familiar feeling registered to Aldric. The same feeling when Cassie's gazed at his runes, yet much stronger. The grey eyes of the One in The North glowed with essence. As she searched for something within Aldric, it bore no fruit. The transcendent gaze fuelled by her aspect then turned to Cassie, confirming something to her.
The lady did not get swept into Aldric's flow. Staying silent for a long period of time, she had come to her own conclusion.
A small smile formed on her serious face, with her facial muscles relaxing.
"I understand... I guess it works out in the end..."
She spoke in an airy voice. Her eyes glowing like the centre of a galaxy.
Neither Aldric nor Cassie could tell exactly what had occurred. While the young man's senses did not pick up on anything other than essence being used, Cassie was different. With her connection to fate, she could tell something had happened. That Alana had seen something. The feeling was different in nature from what she usually felt within a vision, but at its core it was the same.
With Alana disrupting the conversation in such a way, Aldric could only try to salvage it for his own benefit. Just as he began to speak, he was interrupted again.
"Cassia, what do you see?"
Clearly alluding to Cassie's ability. An ability that she should have no business knowing.
The blindfolded woman turned her head towards Aldric before returning to the voice. With her mind racing at what to say, she spoke, sounding unsure in her words.
"There... There will be war, and we will free Hope. I believe so..."
CLAP
With that, a tall maiden that gave off an aura of strength entered the hall. It was clear that she was at least the level of a master.
"As much as I don't want to do this, being a 'Chain Lord' comes with its responsibilities. We will march for this war. Lapis, recall the Nightglade."
Alana ordered.
"Yes, my lady."
Lapis responded dutifully.
Turning her attention back to the pair, she continued.
Her pale face remained apathetic and calm, as if she was not planning to entangle herself in a war.
"Cassia, you will remain by my side until we depart. We have a lot to discuss. As for you Aldric..."
Grey eyes slowly squinted as they peered at the anomaly.
"You need to hunt. An abominable creature will descend the mountains and reach the adjacent village near it on the full moon. I tell you this to prepare. Deal with it and learn more about your nature."
She spoke without reservation or care. As if she were not sending him to battle a creature of unknown strength and danger.
'What on earth is she talking about? My nature? .'
Aldric thought.
With his conflicting existence, he did not know which aspect of his nature she was referring to.
Though to his and Cassie's luck, they were in a much better situation than they had thought. With her prophetic capabilities and knowledge, they did not know how she would react and what she would do if they had told her the truth.
Cassie had thoughts of interrogation while Aldric had thoughts of being broken. Not too different in comparison.
To Aldric's knowledge, this would have been before the time of the Nightmare spell's cult and its priests and priestesses. And neither of them was naive enough to trust Alana, no matter how apathetic or cooperative she was.
The demands of a Saint was not easy to refuse as an awakened. A part of Aldric coped with the idea that the hunt for this creature might help him progress his strength. That the Lady saw something that would work in his benefit. And to that, he would have to wait and see.
"Lapis, go and instruct our new arrival. Strangely, it seems that his body has yet to meet combat."
And with that, it had begone.
The preparation for war.
Yet, unknown to both Aldric and Cassie, the only thing that had saved their lives from a brutal end was Saint Alana's pure indifference. The indifference that had muted the feeling of her potentially losing one of her closest attendants or the feeling of having her sanctuary broken into by an unknown creature.
And the thing that kept them alive afterwards was the future that she saw. A future that would make all of their suffering worth it.
---
CLASH
"Again!"
A female voice shouted.
In a clash of swords, sparks lit up the training field. On one side, Lapis, adorned in black leather armour that hung loosely yet tightly on her form and a white blindfold wrapped around her eyes.
Strangely, a gaze could be felt beneath her blindfold. As if she were seeing yet in a different way.
The other end was Aldric. His stone-plated armour had sustained numerous cuts, and beneath that, ruby red mist stained his obsidian body.
This was their fifth spar. With how large the gap was between a Master and an Awakened, Aldric salvaged these fights in order to develop and refine both his battle art and his named techniques.
Seeing past a feint, Lapis returned the attack brutally. Slamming the pommel of her naginata-like staff into his face. But his face was simply too durable to blunt force.
The woman who appeared to be in her late twenties began to speak in a cold yet passionate voice.
"It is not my place to dare to question my Lady. But..."
THUD
THUD
CRACK
"What is it that she sees in you? An intruder! A weakling! A creature!"
Her counter continued. With each blow carrying more and more force.
Not taking this lying down, Aldric interrupted her brutal counter with a redirection. Striking the pole of her weapon with his own at an angle. Taking an essence-enhanced leap backwards, he collected his darkness around himself. Like a thick layer of mud, it covered his body sans his face with three inches of pure darkness.
'It's time to try this out.'
With a pulse of intent and a drain of essence, he began.
'Rashomon'
And like that, the darkness came alive. Compressed and tightened around his armour like a second skin, tendrils of darkness trailed in the air with a mind of their own. With a definition and shape that contradicted the nature of darkness, small serpentine heads formed at the tips. Each with jagged sharp teeth.
To Lapis and anyone else watching, it was as though the darkness was now truly alive. With small and erratic movements that only a living being could replicate, it looked like a nightmare creature of darkness was wrapped around him. And to those from the Forgotten Shore, it would have reminded them of a certain tyrant's transcendent echo.
This was the evolution of his darkness-coated form that he used numerous times in battles. Like in the Siege of the Crimson Spire and the Battle of Bright Castle. Though refined with his new aspect ability, [Dire Ordinance], in mind.
And his attack began. Dashing into a forward lunge, he brought down his obsidian blade with ruthless intent; simultaneously, three serpentine heads lounged around his attack. Targeting the blind spots and vulnerabilities of Lapis. Each of which passively contained aspects of true darkness that Aldric had unlocked. The soul-weakening cold and the aspect-draining darkness.
This technique was born from the battle against the Prince of Nothing. He emulated how he had used the darkness directed with [Dire Ordinace] within his soul sea to attack the intruder. But now it was localised around his body. Forged through will and intent, it was given shape.
It was terribly hard for Aldric to coordinate the technique. Developing [Dire Ordinance] to a level where he could command with intent beyond basic instructions. It took a lot of effort to be able to order his intent onto the darkness with such complicated orders. So it was there that Aldric decided to dumb it down and focus on emotion. The emotion of what he wanted the darkness to accomplish. Something that had taken a long time to progress, and it was still not enough or so he thought.
She saw through him.
"Weak and soft. I see through the gaps. You and your darkness are not in sync. You are overly conscious of it, so you avoid it, and it follows your weakness. This is not the first time that you've attempted this stunt, when will you learn, foreigner?!"
Lapis brutally disseminated his technique. The gap between Awakened and Ascended becoming only more clear. Though truthfully, Aldric held back in his lethality and which techniques he would showcase, and likely the same with Lapis. Coming with the intent to learn and improve, he subtly but majorly developed his technique.
Lapis was a combat genius. Combined with her aspect of analysis and enhanced senses, she was a terrible opponent to face against. Yet much could be learned from her.
In a swift sidestep into a twist while moving forward, she brought down her weapon with extended range as if she was in a dance. The back side of her blade was about to bash against his skull.
'Rashomon: Reversal'
In a flow of emotion and intent, [Dire Ordinance] directed his darkness once again.
Silently, three more serpents burst from his armour and immediately unravelled into loose tendrils. Hovering in the air in a defensive manner, they intercepted her counter with surgical precision. One twisted around her blade and formed a tight chain on her dominant wrist. While the other two restrained her non-dominant hand.
With absolute trust in his ability, Aldric moved forward and drove the pommel of his [Sundered Sorrow] into the side of her skull as he dodged her reactionary headbutt.
With her head facing the ground, her body staggered and a small cut on her forehead, Lapis was stunned. She had believed that the creature that infiltrated her temple lacked both experience and character. Much weaker than an experienced Master like herself, but it was obvious that she could not foresee his evolution.
This was a subconscious bias she believed about creatures that weren't human. That they were not gifted with potential and ability. And that caused her loss.
In the heat of battle, Aldric could not rely on his battle style of counters when fighting against a Master whose aspect revolved around analysis and was a combat expert. Only his aspect of darkness would give him a chance to fight back.
Rashomon was a technique born out of desire and combat. It was an ardent challenge, and like Lapis had said, he constantly fought around the darkness. But in this moment of time, he was in sync with his darkness. Which was now a part of himself.
"I understand it now. I just needed to stop controlling it. I needed to feel and to not think. Thanks for the guidance."
Aldric said with pure selfishness as he walked away. Ignoring her injured condition and murderous gaze. He did not care to prove himself or warm up to her.
Moving past the darkened training hall that they usually battled in, he walked through the main square of the island.
It had been a few weeks since their talk with Alana. Both he and Cassie had found plenty of things to occupy their time, but they were sure to keep their goal of clearing the nightmare as their biggest priority.
The Night Temple was erratic and busy. Maidens moved in droves as they prepared a plethora of resources. From weapons, to armour, to supplies and even rations.
In that time, the Nightglade had returned. They were an elite army made up of a thousand mundane humans, two hundred Awakened and ten Masters. Led by the twin sister of Lapis, Laplace, they were a strong force. Through their own strengths and the foresight of their Lady, they were capable of resolving any dangers that the Northern region may face.
Not all of the Nightglade would embark on the march. A majority of the mundane soldiers and a small group of the Awakened would remain to protect the northern territory.
In that time, Aldric maintained his position. Training and familiarising himself with combat against a Master, his mind and body were now perfectly synchronised. Any deviations in technique and physicality were now accounted for and fixed.
With training and small hunts outside of the temple taking up most of his day, there would be the rare yet insightful conversation with the Saint.
Flashback
"How do you want this to end? Do you have any ambitions surrounding the Daemon of Hope? Any strategies?"
Aldric asked Alana.
It was a late night. Seated at a small table, they faced each other as they spoke. Sharing a small dinner between them.
While his body naturally had no inclination to eat, Nether was caring enough to allow his children to enjoy the blessings of food.
Placing her glass cup onto the sleek table, her eyes veered down to Aldric's chest.
"Anyone would believe that you are a noble creature. High enough in class to gain sentience. Yet, you are different. Defective yet functional."
She spoke without restraint.
Aldric was starting to understand how Alana liked to control conversations. By veering and changing topics, she was capable of manipulating the flow of conversation. All hidden behind a look of calmness and apathy.
Over the past few weeks, Aldric observed the hierarchies and dynamics within the Night Temple. Alana was the clear matriarch of the system, guiding the temple in an unseen fashion. With Lapis acting as the medium between them, she subtly directed everybody in ways that could not be understood at a glance.
"I'm not here for riddles and diversions. Answer my question, Lady Alana."
He urged calmly.
GULP
Her throat shifted as she took a large sip of the mead that was within her cup. Placing the cup back onto the table, she focused on Aldric.
"I don't care. I don't now and I didn't centuries ago when this all began. I was only a young, devout maiden who knew nothing beyond the Goddess. Just on the cusp of transcendence, I was sworn to a fate of eternity. With reverence and devout loyalty, I stepped up to the call and became one of the Daemon's chains."
Taking a deep breath, she chuckled derisively as she continued.
"Unlike the others, I did not do it out of some lofty sense of justice or feelings of duty. It was the pure selfishness in wanting to serve my God. To act as her representative in the chaos that is this kingdom. Yet that same devotion was cursed too."
For the first time since Aldric had met the Chain Lord of the North, he could feel an inkling of passion emanating from her. A desire.
"You see, transcendents are never meant to live for this long. While I and the others may seem like mountains in your eyes, we are not much in the grand scheme of things. I know of many mortal realms which house supreme ranked ascendants. Stunted in our growth, our souls and minds were the strongest that they would ever be. At constant battle against her caged desires that only grew stronger, and we lost."
And that spark of emotion was gone the moment that it arrived, drowning in the depths of her apathy.
"And now I cannot feel. I do not grieve, I do not cry, and I do not fear. The only emotion that I feel is devotion to the Goddess and I fear that it is waning as well. So, this all must come to an end."
With cold and apathetic eyes, she spoke one last time.
"Does that answer your question?"
---
It was the day.
The day for Aldric to begin his hunt and to supposedly understand his 'nature'.
The army would not follow him to the foot of the mountain where the creature would supposedly show itself. The thousands were simply not ready
Walking through the hallways one last time and exiting the Night Temple, he began the descent to the mountain. Beforehand, Cassie offered her assistance and company. Swearing to only support him and to not interfere in his battle. Though, this was refused by Alana, stating that this was something he had to do alone.
Until a voice stopped him.
"The Lady has left you a message, Singularity."
Lapis' voice sounded behind them. In a clear and absolute voice, she spoke out one word.
"Win."
And with a chuckle and a half-grin, Aldric responded with unadulterated conviction.
"Of course."
***
Thanks for reading.
What did you think? The hunt has begun. But what is he hunting?
How do you like Alana? First named character that I'm fleshing out, I believe. She's got potential to be honest.
Why does the situation of the chain lords remind me of the arcobaleno in hitman reborn? If you know, you know.
Till the next one.