Grey Nirmala
"The path to divinity is the hardest of all in the Dream Realm." Caldrim explained, his fingers tracing a white board.
Caldrim`s eyes looked at mine. His glasses mirrored my face. We were inside a classroom-like tent. It was not just me who listened to his lecture. Bloom, Ulma, Kai, Pixie, Carnus, Gail, Damian. But other than us there were also Logan, Neiman, Ariel Lara and ten other students. I was sitting on the frontseat. Something that became frequent lately.
Bloom was right next to me. She was also watching the lesson with deep thoughts. And then the others were all sitting on the backseats. Well except for Carnus. He was also on the frontseats. Logan was right behind me as he listened Caldrim with sharp eyes. He sure really wanted to know more about divinity. Thanks to the melee-training classes and aether-mark lessons back in the academy I had more skill in fighting. But still my knowledge about the aetheric abilities were shallow. I know only a handful of abilities and I only mastered two of them. Zero, a power that grants you to travel between the Paths of Orca. And aether constructs, an ability that helps you in battle by creating small aether-made weapons that floats around you and obeys all of your orders. But there are more abilities recorded in the archives of the Storm City: Bird Opening, Full Awareness, Tears and Requiem, Temporal Distinction and last but not the least the Elemental Blessings.
And other than my deep shallowness towards aether I also learned something else today. There titles for the ranks we are in.
"Slumberers" for the Non-Awakened. "Primus" for the Firsts. "Secundus" for the Seconds. "Tertius" for the Thirds and the names go on in order. "Beckoners", "Ascenders", "Infusers", "Converters", "Transcenders", "Monarchs", "Absolutes", "Cosmics", and finally for the Apotheosis Awakening they use the title: "Evers".
But there is not even one Awakened, documented of using the title: "Transcender" in any of the archives of the Dream Realm. Meaning that no one had surpassed Conversion Awakening yet.
"To master divinity one must combine their soul, body and mind to a singularity and make them work at the same time. That`s why it`s so hard to use. But there was one person that managed to master it and surpassed the Royalhouse Legia. That person is of course the Boy of Miracles."
"If this Awakened is really that powerful, where is he now then?" I asked Caldrim.
The professor looked at me, his face darkening.
"After the war between the regions of the Dream Realm he suddenly vanished. The once all-powerful Awakened is now gone. His whereabouts are still unknown." His voice became more stone. "Popular belief is that he vanished to another realm. An act that is forbidden in all of the realms. And something that is also really hard to accomplish."
I nodded my head, unsatisfied with the answer he gave.
Caldrim picked up a pencil from the desk next to him. He started to draw a human body on the board. It was a normal human body but then he drew arrows to point the head, chest and then those arrows connected as a whole after he drew a giant arrow and wrote the word: Will.
"This is what we call an Awakened`s presence. Will is the combination of the body, mind and soul. And for years the Aetherim Academy suspected that the reason Boy of Miracles, Benjamin Grishem was able to master divinity was because of him mastering Wil firstl."
I looked directly at Caldrim`s eyes. He said "Grishem". That's the last name of that retarded Deputy Headmaster Leon. Was that Miracle Boy his son? Brother? Nephew? Whatever he was to Leon I know that they had a blood bond. Maybe that`s why Leon joined the secret rebellion under Lilith`s command. Orinn must have a paw on Benjamin`s disappearance. These thoughts were really eating me so I focused back on the lecture.
There was a boy next to me. He wore round glasses and he had curly ginger red hair and blue eyes. He had freckles in his face. He was smaller compared to me and to. Which was quite odd. I was not that big myself. Yes aether and the martial training did help me get some visual muscle but compared to a normal Awakened in the Dream Realm I was still smaller than most.
"Is there an Awakening Rank required for to master divinity?"
The ginger boy asked. His eyes were wide open for knowledge.
Caldrim shook his head, erasing the board.
"I don`t know." He said, turning to look at the student. "No one knows for a fact because no one knows what Awakening was Benjamin in when he mastered the ability."
The ginger boy looked just as unsatisfied as I did.
"But didn't the First Dream King of the Storm City, Metrophanes Legia, documented that 'For to get stronger an Awakened must understand more. And to understand more and Awakened must get stronger'?"
Caldrim crushed the pencil in his hand. All of them looked at him funny. Even the worst of us thought that this was funny. He let out a long sigh:
"By the damn horns of Tarn! All you brats act like a little bolem whelp."
Behind me, Logan let out a chuckle.
"But remember Professor Caldrim... Even a bolem can kill."
Caldrim`s eyes twitched for a moment. He then just shook his head and turned to the ginger boy:
"Like I said before, no one truly knows how to master divinity. So can you please shut up, Oswim?" His voice was bitter.
The ginger, Oswim leaned back on his chair and pouted.
"So that`s why the big one likes to rage him so much." Hachiko said.
He was again in his voice form. He didn't want to return to this state but I promised to make him human again tomorrow so he accepted eagerly. Just like me, a dummy.
"So if there are no more questions from any of you whelps, I will continue the lesson."
Caldrim eyed each one of us one by one. No more questions came. And lessons continued for another thirty minutes.
After the lesson was over Caldrim dismissed us. All twenty one of us left the tent at once. When I got out of the tent the bright Crimson Moon and hundreds of stars welcomed me. The air felt refreshing. As the days passed I actually started to like the night times. Because of the light pollution in the Green Realm there are not much stars to see in the sky.
"Yo, Grey!" Ulma called me.
I turned to her to see all of my band waiting for me to come with them. I smiled at them then shook my head.
"Sorry, I need to do something before I join you guys."
Ulma pouted and Bloom rolled her sleepy eyes.
"Good luck to you then, Mighty Dragon King!" Gail shouted with a smirk. She then looked to Ulma who was blushing out of embarrassment.
I turned my head to them and walked away, the smile on my face slipping away. After I walked enough I hid behind a tent and made sure no one was near me. I closed my eyes to see the most precise point. Aether builded up in my entire body as I saw the Paths of Orca. I grabbed the path I deemed to myself as the true way. I zeroed away to a far away place from the campzone.
When I opened my eyes a giant black pyramid welcomed me. A structure built to stand and worship Death. The dark sand beneath me moved and as I walked close to the pyramid I could see dark figures rising around me. The bodies of the deceased. Were they here to stop me from entering the sanctuary of the dead? Would they succeed? No, they would fall like their souls once did.
Five shadows had surrounded me. The figures looked deformed. These shadows were not like the ones in the Shadow Prison. There, the shadows could only move if there were to be light. But here it seems like they move as much as in their likings.
I eyed the shadows one by one. They looked like human silhouettes, but more deformed and damaged.
"I advise you guys to wait here until I come back from this pointy thing." I said with a slight grin on my face, my finger pointing at the pyramid`s top.
To my surprise the shadows did stop moving. To the sudden change I tilted my head.
"Oh... I didn`t really think that this would work."
"Can we just go in already before they change their minds?" Hachiko said with bits of fright in his voice.
I shrugged my soldier and walked to the entry of the giant black pyramid. The gargantuan pyramid towered me to a really dim point where I felt like I was in the presence of Death itself. The dark sand around me swayed as it dusted my pants. I frowned and forged the armor on myself.
"You know this armor is not that useful right? Shouldn't you use something more agile?" Hachiko asked judgmentally.
I walked inside the completely dark pyramid.
"You may be right about my agility but you should also remember that my endurance is not that great. If I rely on Creation so much then I could run out of aether in an extended battle. I will use this armor until it becomes as damaged as Gien`s armor."
"But wasn`t his armor completely destroyed?"
I grinned:
"Exactly."
Hachiko let out a growl and went silent. Not always he has to be the annoying one.
The inside was deep dark. No light to give me any direction, no sign to give me any path. I came here to see the ancestors of the People of Death. By using the information I gather here, I can make Hachiko learn more about the Dream Realm and ways to defeat Orinn. After my duel with Astrid I realized the vast gap between Orinn and I. Every opening I can find matters, big or small. And again I will not fight the Dream King fair of course. Who would fight fair against a guy who can kill you at any second whenever he wants?
I forged the mask I once created—but this time, I will wear it. The shadows were demons. Orinn was a demon. And now I will also be a demon. A demon that hunts at night, feasts on blood.
I placed the mask on my face. My vision didn't really change that much. I could see well through the mask. I wondered how it looked on me but I really had no time to waste. While I was trying to see around in the deep dark, I found a dim torch. I could use this as a light source, but... I threw the torch away and instead used Creation to make myself a lamp like the one back in the Shadow Prison.
I walked around the tight corridors with slight fear. No matter how powerful I can get, the darkness is the vastness that holds the most power and surprise. There were many sculptures of Tarn inside. They were made from dark-sand stone. I knew what Tarn fully looked like due to the "dream" I saw. But seeing Tarn like this was still breathtaking. I was here to get information but right now I only felt like a prey towards the Primordial Carnage.
"You sure this will help us? Because I ain't leaving your mind."
"At least try to sound brave." My eyelids fell with weariness.
I had the help of the so called "Supreme, cosmos-born, aetheric, all-knowing being" yet here I was trying to make him do something. I needed information to feed Hachiko but he was just making everything harder by not coming out and helping me. Sometimes I think about charging him with information every time I give him a body. Actually when you think about it, it's not that bad of a plan. But I had no time to waste like that. Here, inside these pyramids there at least had to be some useful information for Hachiko to chew.
"Nah, I`m good like this." Hachiko said annoyingly so.
I was going to scold him but due to our bastard and stupid connection I could feel almost all of his emotions. He was indeed scared. There was an awfully strong sense of fear coming from him. Hachiko couldn't just be scared of the dark, or the shadows. He was scared of something that I didn't know. Something that he refused to tell me.
I continued to walk around but all I found were more statues of Tarn. I mean there were some horn paintings on the wall but they looked not that important. I was not scared of losing my way in this colossal structure. If I lost my way then I would simply destroy this entire pyramid and everything within it.
The deeper I went the more darker it got. There were so many statues of Tarn that I had a hard time counting them. There were more than a hundred versions of the same being. Dİd worshiping Tarn this much did anything to the People of Death? I know that the Dream Realm is now divided. After the Great Purple Awakening War that lasted almost a hundred years many different regions of the Dream Realm vowed vendetta against one another. And of course the Storm City was also one of those to be hated. In my knowledge the Storm City existed around for almost six hundred years and Orinn Legia being its seventh sovereign.
"And more hidden information than meets the eye." I mutter to myself.
I thought that being inside pyramids would`ve been thrilling. The ones in Avola City looked nice and cool but when you`re actually inside one I realized that these gargantuan structures were just overrated at best.
As I walked more I found a room and went inside. There was nothing here. Only numb skeletons, silent weapons and just some more statues of the Primordial Carnage. I looked at the statues with silent thoughts. They looked scary I will give that, but I did not fear them. Fear is not real. Fate is not real. I`m not afraid of a bunch of man-made statues for a Pillar that commends death and is death.
"Death... is... delusion... The... boy... is... dreaming..." A sudden whisper emerged from one of the statues near me.
I jolted backwards, taking an involuntary step back, my chest and heartbeat rose at once. I looked all around me, trying to find the source of the whisper. Or should I say whispers. There wasn`t a single source, there were dozens, hundreds. All of the death-god statues around me whispered something from their carved stone mouths. I was not expecting this. I was scared of this. If I knew something as extraordinary as this would`ve happened before I came inside, I would have preferred the shadows all day, every day.
They moved one action at a second. They were not a threat. That's what I thought. I can just zero away right? I focused on seeing the Paths of Orca. But my eyes widened in fear as I realized that there are paths to reach and travel through.
How can something like this even happen? How can there be no paths to hold? "Hachiko! Answer me!"
"Grey..." Hachiko whispered into my ears, his weary voice full of dread. "These are no statues. They are—"
"Beasts." I completed his awful words.
I don`t know which kind are they. There are so many breeds of the Awakened Beasts. But I had no time to question what they were. I needed to get out of here. And if you look from the bright side of the glass, maybe these beasts will give Hachiko some valuable knowledge, even though I believe the opposite.
The statues were moving small but I could tell that each time I was vulnerable they would move. I clunched my teeth.
"What a weak way to fight." I hissed at the unmoving statues.
I`m the holder of both the Creation and the Destruction runes, a bunch of statues can`t be my end. They will not be my end. My end has not been written, yet. And when it finally does, I will be the one to decide how my story ends. And it sure will not be in the hands of a bunch of stupid statues.
"Open!" I roared.
Both of my runes shined bright as I felt the world around me slow down. As I felt the air vanishing. Love fleeing. I could see every point my slices could reach.
"Yeah, these beast aint got shit on us! If they try to attack, then we attack back." Hachiko barked, the fear in him vanished and was replaced with bravery.
I never understand him. But again there is no time. I move backwards, towards the dark corridor where I came. I waited for the statues to make a move but they were as still as a mountain. Like they had no want to attack me any longer.
While I was moving slowly I realized something else. I did not know how to turn off my Myth. Was I supposed to say "Close" as a mirror to "Open"? I don`t know but I will probably find out soon enough.
Another whisper came from the statues.
"They`re... amongst... us. They... can... be... anything... and anyone..."
I couldn`t locate where the whisper came from. I felt like they were toying with me. But sadly, I had already reached the end of the corridor.
I turned around, confident that I was safe and had no needs to fight. But as soon as my head turned I felt a dark presence on my back. I hurriedly looked back just for a claw to welcome me. I fell backwards as the mask on my protected me from the attack, but the lamp shattered causing it to lighten up the entire room.
Salaiva dripped down from the beast's mouth. It resembled a human, I guess. Had a deformed face with four eyes, spider-like mouth and a dark, grayish skin. It was thin and looked fragile. It had no resemblance to the statue it once was.
It tried to swing it`s claw to me again but in a simple, soft hand gesture I sliced the air around me then the creature`s arm off completely.
The beast growled in pain and then it suddenly vanished. Turned into a small bird. The bird looked deformed but as it tried to fly away from me it got split in half, just with a simple move of my fingers. Then the bird morphed into its original form, a deformed human-like thing. I got up and looked at the statues in the room. They were steady. Silent.
"Dreadreapers." Hachiko said.
"What? What the hell is that supposed to be?"
"Their names. They are called 'Dreadreapers'."
"What a stupid name." I murmured to myself.
Hachiko thinked for a moment then spoke in a chill tone:
"You know, Grey. I have to give you credit for your great attribution in replication."
I arched a brow but after a second thought I lowered it back. I smiled mockingly at his gentle words:
"Thanks for the compliment, my dear companion. Not every time can I get a comment from you."
My eyes went back to the dead dreadreaper. It was a monstrosity. But yet it died in a single slash. May it was because of how much aether I embedded in the slash. Or because the dreadreaper was weak. I knew what kind of a monster it was. A doppelganger. A thing that can take the the shape and form of anything. To think that something like this exist in the Dream Realm is scary.
I kneeled down to the corpse. I examined it, my hands touching its back. It was flawed and uncomfortable. What kind of animal awakened into such a thing as this? When I stood I heard a voice again. It was not a whisper but more like a step. Was one of the statues trying to attack me again? I walked inside the room to see an unorganized place. All of the statue`s backs were turned to me. I couldn't see their faces but I knew that they had a face of despair. Sad to them. Joy to me.
I take small steps towards them and make a simple proclamation:
"If any of you move, you die. If any of you talk, you die. Like you all said: 'Death is delusion.' Is it now 'delusion' you little scared skinless shits?" I raise my voice: "Answer me!"
None of them dared to move. There were over thirty statues here in this room, but none of them tried to attack. None of them tried to move or talk. They were steady on where they stood now. And the place they stood now will be their open graves. I will not take any chances at this. If anyone stands in my way, then they will fall. I needed knowledge but not theirs. They were just obstacles to be stepped on. Maybe if I was in the state back then they might had a chance at beating me. But the past is already written and finished. We`re in the present while writing the future. I don`t care about a bunch of skinwalkers. These things do not matter to me. They only made me more experienced that's all. They are weak and fragile. They kind is meaningless. And so I raised my hand up, my palm opened at once. The Rune of Destruction was shining like a purple sun, that was ready to devour every and all. But they don`t have to worry about their demise coming from Destruction. I will dice them all to little pieces of carved stones. Let's see then If they can morph or not.
I was ready to unleash the slices but before I can do I heard a girl`s voice:
"Why do this, Grey? There is no need for genocide. Their kind was banished to these gargantuan structures for a reason."
It was Maya`s voice. One of the dreadreapers must have taken her form to distract me. But how did it knew about Maya? Was it able to read my mind. I clenched my fists. And a horde of slashes went across the entire room. All of the statues were gone now, replaced by their diced up original forms. All of them were gone, but one. I purposely let the one who impersonated Maya live. It was standing in the middle of the room. Its eyes were completely filled with fear and sorrow. I slowly walked towards it. As I moved closer it moved away. My steps were slow while it`s were fast. I waited for it to run away from me until there was no corner to do anything anymore. As I was just inches away from its face. It fell down, sliding from the wall to the ground.
"Yo... You monster!" It screamed in terror.
It wore the same exact outfits as Maya did the day before she died. It`s dark hair was all messed up. Its black eyes were all dim and dormant. Its lips twitched with fear.
"You killed them!"
My face was still.
"They attacked first." I said, no emotion behind my voice.
"We`re trying to survive! And you killed them all." It`s voice was now filled with despair and sadness. "The... The other dreadreapers in the other pyramids are worse than us. We`re weak, they`re strong."
I took a breath then pointed my hand toward it.
"You know about Maya, how?"
It was silent for a couple of moments then spoke, its lips trembled while she did:
"We can see... dim... memories. Not much but enough for us to use and... survive."
I eyed it. I could see all of the emotions that were leaking from it.
"Tell me, beast. Why beg?"
"Because I want to live! I want to survive!"
I narrowed my eyes. Killing this thing would just be merciless, I know that. But to think I killed all of it`s family so why should I stop at this one?
The thing that took the shape of Maya kneeled down completely. It lowered its head until it touched the floor.
"I beg you to let me live. Please."
To me it was the beast. But for it I was the monster that slaughtered all of its family in cold blood.
"Let it live. It might be useful in the close future." Hachiko said, his voice undercut with infirmity.
I thought for a second. And then I spoke:
"Show me your true form and I`ll let you live."
The beast looked directly at my eyes and smiled. Even though I knew it was not the real Maya, still seeing her smile once more made me feel happy, even if it was just for a small moment.
The beast morphed, and while golden aetheric mottes surrounded the air.
The beast was now at its original state. It didn't look as bad as the other ones.
"Do you have a name?" I asked.
It shook its head.
"N... No."
I tilted my head, thought of names for it.
"Oh! Oh! Hey! I got one for it." Hachiko leaped into my mind with excitement. "Lets call it 'Serp'."
I did not oppose Hachiko. "Serp" was an okay name.
I focused back at the dreadreaper before me.
"Get up." I said.
The dreadreaper was silent but it obeyed me. It straightened and looked directly at my eyes. I rolled the name in my mouth then said it loud:
"Your name is 'Serp'. 'Serp O`Ultimus'."
It slowly smiled and nodded eagerly.
"Thank... you..."
I turned around.
"Come on then. Let's go."
"What? To where?"
"Just come. I have questions for you."
The dreadreaper stood up and walked behind my back. When we finally returned to the entrance I stopped.
"Is something wrong?" Serp asked.
I looked at Serp:
"Just take a more not conspicuous form."
Serp nodded its head and morphed into a girl`s form. She had long pastel yellow hair and blood red sharp eyes. She had vampire-like teeth and she wore a red coat under a black shirt. Serp looked at me with red cheeks:
"Is... it too much?" She asked.
I looked at her up and down, then shrugged:
"Nah, not at all."
"She looks divine." Hachiko charmed in. "Just look at her beauty."
I rolled my eyes at his rut:
"You know she can be anything she wants right?"
Hachiko went dead silent. He was pouting.
I motioned Serp to come outside. She was scared for a moment. Hachiko was right, she indeed looked beautiful. "It" became a "she." To make her feel more at ease I slowly removed my mask from my face. Serp`s eyes widened with shock:
"You`re just a kid..." She muttered.
I nodded my head:
"A kid with large dreams."
She slowly walked out of the pyramid. Her steps were slow and steady. When she got out she directly looked at the Crimson Moon.
"It has been years since I saw the Blood Eye." She said with amazement.
I raised a brow:
"You mean the Moon?"
Serp slowly nodded.
"My culture calls it that. Its crimson light is our strength. Our way."
"I see..."
Even though I knew what she was, I still wanted to know what kind of animal awakened into such a beast.
I looked at Serp while making sure that there were no shadows to interrupt us.
"How long has it been since you went inside the pyramid?"
Serp pondered her mind. Her face looked funny while she did. After almost a minute had passed she answered me:
"I don`t know. Maybe twenty? How long has it been since the war began?"
I shook my head.
I don`t really know myself. I`m not really from around here. But in my knowledge the war began more than a century ago and ended like five years ago."
Serp fell to her knees. Hey eyes almost tearing up.
"The war ended? When? Who won?" Did the Dream King prevail?" She was lost in questions.
I let out a sorry sigh:
"I`m not sure. Like I said, I`m not from around here."
Serp looked up at me:
"How? The war spread to the entire Dream Realm. Even the countryside farmers were dragged to the war. How ca... You`re from another realm."
I strongly nodded my head:
"Yes. I`ve come from the Green Realm. I`m a Subject of Destruction."
Serp looked at me as if she saw a ghost.
"A People of Destruction? I never really heard much of them. For us and probably for the other realms you people are considered the most silent ones."
Serp stood up from her knees and dusted the sand off her clothes.
"Does the Storm City still stand? And if it does, who is its sovereign?"
I was curious of her asking this much question. But the more she knew, the more I can know.
"Yeah, the city stands. And Orinn Legia is its current sovereign."
Serp bit her lip in anger:
"That bastard still lives?" She yelled. "The King of the Lost City promised to kill him."
I looked at the dark sky for a moment. The stars shone bright next to the Crimson Moon. The air was fresh. Wind brushed my soft, long golden hair.
"So many promises. So many lies."
I gazed back at her.
"Orinn is strong, maybe he`s the strongest. But everyone has a weakness. And I am his weakness. I will kill him."
Serp smiled, her keen teeth were open to see.
"Your name. I still don`t know your name."
I smiled through teeth. She wanted to know my name. The name that was given to me by my father. A life that was given to me by my mother. And when this is all over I will return back and create
"I am Grey Nirmala, son of Grant and Felicia Nirmala, Brother of Opie Nirmala, born in the streets of Lineage City. Bearer of the runes of Destruction and Creation, user of the awakened weapon: Fate Weaver, holder of the Myth Branch of Fate: Weaver`s Touch. You can call me by many names. Grey, Dragon King, Legacy, Child of Two Worlds, and... Fates Masterpiece. No matter what name you say I will be the one to be the behind that name."
Serp looked intrigued. She cocked her head:
"'Legacy'..." She thought to herself. A smile rose in her delicate face: "Then Legacy, it`s nice to meet you."
She held out a hand at me. I gladly accepted it. Though I can still sense that she is afraid of me and still has hate and sadness inside. Who could blame her? I killed her blood right before her very eyes.
"It's nice to meet you too, Serp O`Ultimus." I waited for a moment then added: "But there is someone else I want you to meet."
We stopped shaking our hands and she arched a brow up:
"W... Who?" She asked.
I was about to speak but then I was interrupted by Hachiko, his voice full of fear once again:
"Grey, take cover!" He barked.
"What the...? Why are you in so much panic?"
"I sense them. They`re close!"
"Who is close?" I asked again.
The ground shook before I could ask more. The Crimson Moon brightened even more. Serp looked around in confusion while I tried to reach Hachiko.
"Hachiko, what is happening?!"
Hachiko`s voice was deep and serious. It was the first time I had ever seen him like that.
"They`re coming." He said with a deep tone.
The ground shook once again. A roam of and was dusting at us from south. I quickly looked to the south and saw nothing but terror. Red mist covered the horizon and inside the mist there were several earthworms, and above the earthworms were their riders. The Crimson Moon Hunters were riding towards us.