Chapter 55: The Forever Kings
The Supreme monarch descended upon the retreating army of Forever Knights, his will washing over the battlefield like a physical tide causing The knights to freaze mid-retreat, their armors suddenly locking place and their weapons falling silent, pinned by the sheer weight of his presence. At the same time, the beleaguered Plumbers seemed to straighten, their injuries sealing shut and their fatigue replaced by a surge of renewed vitality.
Hope, bright and fierce, ignited in their eyes.
'Is this the power of a domain...?' Hugo thought, watching the scene Infront of him with awe. He had never encountered a Supreme being with an active domain—Azarax's had been stripped of his by Shadow God—and this display of battlefield-wide control and reinforcement was simply unbelievable.
Quickly, Hugo moved to follow Gwen and Kevin towards the front of the Plumber lines, mimicking their movements to not seem suspicious.
In truth, hugo was scared out of his mind. He had no idea what kind of deep perception or soul-reading abilities a Sovereign might possess, and at the same time he was now a part of a civilization that had reached space travel and had managed to trick Fate itself, Surely detecting an imposter as one of their mightiest champions won't be impossible for them...
But alas, there was nothing he could do for now...
Luckily, the Supreme's attention was wholly consumed by the enemy force.
The battlefield was swiftly divided into two halves, one being the resolute Plumbers and the mysterious asuras, and the other side being the defeated mass of the Forever Knights.
Hugo was shocked at how fast the tides of the battle changed and all it took for that to happen was one person.
No, was it even possible to call a supreme being a person in the first place?
Just as he was thinking that, reality cracked once again on the side of the Forever Knights.
'Oh, please don't tell me it's another Sovereign...' Hugo shoulders slouched at the thought...
Witnessing a clash of demigods was not on his list of preferred nightmare experiences and It would make conquering this trial exponentially more hellish...
Although something was strange, the crack that appeared was different from the one the plumber supreme had torn open. Where his had been a majestic rip of sheer will, this one was more artificial and less dominating than the first gate. It also lacked the overwhelming presence of a supreme...
Soon, the crack reshaped itself into a red gate and from it, six figures emerged.
One was a knight in towering, white power armor, its surfaces etched with gold filigree. The Forever Knights' insignia was emblazoned on the chest, and three black horns swept back from a helmet with a glaring T-shaped visor and lastly a blood-red cape hung from his shoulders.
Beside him stood an elderly man with a sharp, imperious demeanor. His white hair was styled into a pointed mustache and goatee and He wore rich red and black attire, a jeweled crown and a fur-trimmed cape, his entire being radiating aristocratic disdain.
Next was a man with a hardened, angular face and cold navy-blue eyes. He wore a modified, more ornate version of Forever Knight armor that clearly denoted high rank.
Another had graying dark hair and a short black beard, his expression grim behind the visor of his own sleek, high-tech armor.
The fifth figure was perhaps the most unnerving of the group, His face was completely hidden behind an expressionless golden mask beneath a chainmail hood, topped with a pointed, grey-blue crown. He stood utterly still, the empty sockets of his mask sweeping over the battlefield.
The last figure was a middle-aged man whose bearing held a weary kind of authority. He wore a crown and a golden version of the Forever knights armor that supported a red and white cape, the faction's symbol appeared prominent on his chest.
The six figures were an imposing council, showcasing their unmistakable leadership of the Forever Knights... Yet, the Supreme Monarch showed no trace of intimidation by their presence.
And that wasn't because they were weak, instead it was a testament to the power the supreme possessed.
The soveirgne floated to the empty space between the armies and waited. After a moment, the six Forever Kings walked forward to meet him.
Hugo, using the enhanced senses of an ascended terror tried to listen to their conversation And through those same senses, he felt them...
'Crazy, This is insane!' he immediately panicked internally as he felt the aura around the six figures. 'They're Saints... All six of them!' They didn't possesses the same presence as the supreme before them but each radiated the formidable pressure of a Transcendant champion which was nothing to scoff at.
The sheer concentration of power on this field was simply absurd.
Hugo sensed that he would need to confront and somehow defeat them—or at the very least, subdue them—to conquer this nightmare which was not a pleasant speculation at all...
For now, he could only hope the Plumber's Supreme would handle them.
"Maxwell Tennyson," said the knight in the white power armor, his voice amplified by it. "Truly, this is not how I envisioned our meeting to be But your blatant treachery against your own specie forced our hand."
The Supreme—Maxwell—regarded the six with a solemn expression. "Do you truly believe this is wise, Sir Driscoll? To ignite a civil war while our world is being invaded by the forces of Corruption?"
The elderly crowned man, Sir Patrick, gritted his teeth. "The monsters you harbor in your Domain are no different from the Corrupted! Is this an appropriate manner for a Supreme monarch to rule? You should govern the human race, not these creatures!"
Maxwell did not appear to be angered by these words, only somewhat disappointed.
"These creatures are individuals much like you and me, They walk the path of ascension alongside us and strive to coexist peacefully, especially since the descent of the nightmare spell decades ago."
The man with navy blue eyes stepped forward, his demeanor calmer than that of his comrades—though this was difficult to assess, given that half of them were masked—and addressed the Supreme "With all due to respect, do you truly believe that? Their progenitors not only oppressed humanity during the Age of Gods but they used us as fuel for their own gains And yet, you would protect their descendants?"
Maxwell shook his head. "That is a poisonous logic. Why blame the child for the father's sin? What crime have these individuals committed? By your measure, humanity itself, which has spilled oceans of blood across countless lands, should have been scoured from existence long ago. What distinguishes us from them? Why should we hold them accountable for their ancestor sins while we do not apply that to ourselves?"
The armored Sir Driscoll spoke again, his voice ringing across the silent battlefield. "The difference is that humanity's conflicts were only with itself, while These aliens committed countless atrocities against us when we had done them no wrong!"
Maxwell sighed, his face expressing sadness at his words. "Do you even hear yourselves anymore?" His gaze swept across the six, and for the first time, it hardened causing The six Saints to instinctively take a step back. "Sir Driscoll, Sir Patrick, Sir Urian, Sir Enoch, Sir Cyrus and Doctor Joseph Chadwick. By the authority vested in me as the sanctioned guardian of Earth and the allied races, you are hereby under arrest for your crimes against multiple alien species and for perpetuating crimes against humanity itself. As you can see, resistance is futile."
The world suddenly seemed to be engulfed in fury as the sky darkened with clouds.
"We'll see about that" the golden masked figure spoke for the first time since his appearance, In his hand, a small glowing golden sphere suddenly materialized in white sparks.
Maxwell Tennyson's eyes widened in recognition. "A null void Grenade? How did you—!"
It was too late.
The golden sphere suddenly detonated.
There was no sound, only a flash of light that consumed the world blinding every onlooker in the area including the supreme.
When the light faded, the six Forever Kings and the entire army of knights were nowhere to be seen as if they had vanished into nothingness.
In their place, left standing alone in the now-empty half of the valley, was a new horror.
A towering giant, as tall as the mightiest skyscraper from Hugo's world, loomed over the landscape. Its body was a jagged mass of dark stone. Seven multi-jointed limbs sprouted from its torso and a single massive eye of burning white light dominated the center of its faceless head. It radiated a palpable aura of wrongness, not as much as the great terror Hugo faced in the nightmare desert but still powerful in it's right.
'A Corrupted Titan...' Hugo swallowed as he felt a cold sweat appeare on his face.
Such a being was a walking extinction event, a calamity that could break an entire continent. Even with a Supreme present, the sheer scale of the destruction this thing could unleash in moments was simply terrifying.
But than, Before he could process further, the Supreme Monarch quickly regained his focus and engaged the Titan in battle sending shockwaves running through the valley.
Simultaneously, the Plumber commanders began barking orders at the remaining army.
"All units, fall back to the Dream Gate! Now! Asura Legion, cover the retreat!"
The massive mechs—the Asuras—formed a bristling wall of green energy and weaponry between the retreating forces and the clashing figures. Hugo, seeing no alternative, sprinted with the flow of soldiers, keeping Kevin and Gwen within his vision.
He passed through the shimmering emerald portal appearing somewhere else.
The transition was instant, almost similar to the time he was transported to the dream realm during the winter solstice. One moment, he stood in the ruined valley and the next, he stood on a vast seamless platform of green alloy that stretched as far as the eye can see.
He was in a vast jungle that seemed to be weirdly alive, strangely enough, the place was made up entirely of technology, instead it also had Immense, ancient-looking structures of carved rock intertwining with and supporting the more advanced looking buildings.
Not far away, a tower reaching high into the sky stood in all of its majestic beauty, adorned by the familiar omntrix symbole, it was nearly identical to the one present in Primus.
And over it all, arching from one distant horizon to the other, was a vast translucent green dome. It reflected the light from above, casting everything in a subdued emerald glow.
The light source itself made Hugo's skin crawl... He looked up and saw a sun hung in the "sky" beyond the dome but it was wrong... Its light was harsh and sterile carrying a faint feeling of malice unlike no other, as if it was alive.
"Ah, right Ben" Gwen said beside him, her voice appearing tired and exhausted "This must be your first time visiting Godgrave..."
At that moment, the Omnitrix on Hugo's chest beeped urgently and a familiar green light engulfed him. He shrank as he felt his soul and body regress by a whole rank and he was once again back in Ben Tennyson's human body.
"Ah, yes" Hugo stammered, trying to sound appropriately awed while he was remembering some details from before the nightmare started.
The real Gwen had said that Ben Tennyson was never by infected by the nightmare spell and as a result he also never went through a winter solstice which meant this was the first time he entered the dream realm.
And so, Hugo had to play the role of a newcomer. "It's definitely an interesting place... and creepy. Very creepy."
Kevin, who had also reverted to his regular form shot him a suspicious look. "What's with you? You've been acting weird for a while now... We've fought the Forever Knights plenty of times so Are you seriously that spooked by their leaders?"
"Not really, though I am concerned about the corrupted Titan that appeared..." He attempted to shift the subject, assuming that even these individuals would share concern about a corrupted Titan.
"Well, Grandpa should be able to handle it without much difficulty, he is a Supreme, after all" Gwendoline reassured him, patting his back briefly before attending to the injured Plumbers.
Her words raised another of Hugo's concerns, the Supreme named Maxwell Tennyson was also Ben's grandfather, meaning he would inevitably attract his attention...
Awakened individuals were naturally perceptive and intelligent the more they climbed the path of ascension and so, Supreme individuals like Maxwell likely possessed a hundredfold greater insight, which could pose problems and lead to his exposure as an impostor...
Although this anxiety was burdensome, it made Hugo's objectives clear. First, he needed to learn more about Ben Tennyson and how to emulate him as fast as possible, at least for the duration of the nightmare.
Then there was the conflict he needed to resolve to clear the nightmare, which seems to revolve around the Plumbers and the Forever Knights, the latter exhibiting prejudice against all non-humans.
And Lastly, he had to learn how to operate this new Omnitrix and utilize the unfamiliar playlist ben Tennyson possessed...
All of these tasks were already challenging enough, but unfortunately , he also needed to ascertain how the real Gwendoline knew his name and the exact nature of the plot that had ensnared him in this nightmare...
'Two brave ones...'
His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the words of the Spell right as he entered the nightmare...
There was someone else in this Nightmare with him.
This realization was more than just alarming... After all someone who knew this world was a nightmare was by far the most dangerous obstacle in the nightmare... and to make it worse, he had no idea how to identify or find such a person...
Was the second challenger someone the transcendent rulers of the Beast Realm had sent to monitor him inside the nightmare? And most importantly did they harbor any malice against him ?
His spiraling thoughts were shattered by a deafening siren.
Harsh red light began to pulse from the central, fortress-like skyscraper—the Plumber headquarters and Every soldier and technician in the vicinity suddenly froze, their faces hardening as they looked towards the source of the alarm
Than a voice suddenly bloomed through the entire area causing everyone to pale:
[WARNING TO ALL PLUMBER AND AWAKENED PRESENT!]
[PRISONER ALBEDO HAS ESCAPED CONTAINMENT!]
[REPEAT: PRISONER ALBEDO IS AT LARGE WITHIN GODGRAVE SECTOR!]
[ALL UNITS, MAXIMUM ALERT!]