Chapter 62: The Order
Hugo suddenly found himself in boundless darkness, with no light and no sound at all.
In front of him was the Forever Knight he had been chasing down.
His entire body was ravaged and nearly falling apart, yet something about the man was strange...
Instead of being in pain,He was happy...
No, even more than that, he was going mad with Glee.
Looking at Hugo, the man's smile only widened further as he continued his chant.
"With this sacred treasure, I summon... Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila, Transcendant General Mahoraga."
A pure white cocoon appeared behind him, blooming directly out of his soul core.
'Soul core?...'
Looking around, Hugo's body, despite being frozen in place, suddenly began to shake violently...
His body was scared as if it was remmebring something.
All around him, he realized what this black space was.
It was not shadows, the absence of light, nor was it true darkness the stone saints possessed. Instead, it was something Hugo knew all too well.
It was corruption.
Yet it was corruption unlike any he had seen before... It was so deep that it could drown entire worlds and somehow, it felt like it was linked to something... Or someone.
It did not take long for Hugo to figure out what this place was.
'i'm inside His soul sea... But This guy... He's a nightmare creature...'
But how was that possible? The knight had clearly been an ascended human just a moment ago and so, corruption could not have taken root this deep in his soul in a few moments.
And even if it did, the man would be screaming and tearing his body apart in madness as his soul was torn between divinity and corruption.
At that moment, when Hugo was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt himself being pulled elsewhere.
No, to be specific, it was his mind that was pulled somewhere, not his body or soul.
————
[10 years after the descent of the Nightmare Spell – Beast Goddess Realm – bellwood– America]
Ragna was, by all means, an outstanding citizen of society.
He was an awakened who had been around long before the descent of the Nightmare Spell, cultivating in secret and increasing his powers. However, when the spell descended, he was forced to fight the harrowing nightmare creatures with all of his being, alongside the rest of humanity to survive the apocalypse.
Humanity, however, was not alone in this battle.
With the emergence of the spell, the Plumbers and aliens emerged as well, fighting alongside them.
Through this, it only took a couple of years to regain control over the planet and stabilize the situation.
Especially with the inventions humanity came up with, which fortified the entire planet from blooming nightmare seeds. The exact methods behind how nightmare seeds were stopped were unknown, but the people saw it as a blessing nonetheless.
However, it was not all joy and sunshine after the end of the nightmares. Rather, it was the beginning of another battle, one that was fought with words.
Many awakened and humans, including Ragna, felt uncomfortable by the presence of noble creatures.
After all, humans were not comfortable with themselves in the first place, with racism and misogyny being a common occurrence despite the thousands of years they have existed on this planet. And so, naturally, the forced coexistence with millions of noble creatures — which all migrated to Earth because of space being invaded by corruption — was not received well in the slightest.
The fact that noble creatures were all awakened, ascended, and transcendent did not help their case at all. They naturally had an affinity for climbing the path of ascension, and so their overall power outmatched that of humanity.
In fact, if they wanted to, the noble creatures could easily turn against the humans and consume all of them in a matter of months, taking control over the planet.
This has led to many people outwardly expressing their stress and concern about the matter, with the majority of them agreeing that noble creatures were simply a bomb waiting to go off.
And with so many people being racist and prejudiced against noble creatures, the emergence of organizations that protested against aliens was only natural.
Among those organizations, none matched the popularity and the wealth of the [Forever Humans], which had the backing of the rich and the powerful of many countries across the World.
Ragna himself had joined this organization through one of his friends, who introduced him to it.
The [Forever Humans] occasionally hosted parties in many of their wealthiest estates, inviting many mundane people and even the awakened to join them. Due to this, Ragna received quite a warm welcome.
Of course, ragna wasn't really here to actually protest against aliens. After all, he hated everyone equally and instead, was attemikg to join this organization for his own benefits.
—————
Leaning against one of the walls, Ragna held a glass of wine in his hands, occasionally sipping from it as he looked at the party in front of him.
Here, hundreds of people were present, with each of them wearing beautifully decorated masks concealing their identities.
Appereanlty, this was the theme of this party.
'Useless... Why did I even come here?' Ragna grimaced feeling utterly bored. He also could not achieve the goal he came here for due to the rules of this organization which were supposedly made to entertain the guests.
' entertainment my ass... The only fun I had here was dancing with that chick earlier...'
Shifting his attention, ragna decided to summon his runes, which he had attained recently due to his infection with the spell.
Name: Ragna
True Name: Cursed Sorcerer
Rank: Awakened
Cursed Core: [780/1000]
Cursed Energy: [1000/1000]
Aspect: [Sacred Treasure]
Aspect Rank: Sacred
Aspect Description: [You are a cursed shadow harboring the sacred treasure left behind by Shadow God. This treasure contains the ten ancient servants of the god of death and Solace who are waiting for a Worthy master. This treasure is both your blessing and your curse.]
Innate Ability: [Shadow Vault]
Ability Description: [Your shadow can store anything within its vast depths. Even it's own master.]
Aspect Abilities: [Ten Shadows], [Chimera Fusion]
Dormant Ability: [Ten Shadows]
Ability Description: [You can manifest the shadows within your sacred treasure after breaking their will.]
First Shadow: [Divine Dogs] — [Tamed]
Second Shadow: [Nue] — [Tamed]
Third Shadow: [Shadow Serpent] — [Tamed]
Fourth Shadow: [Shadow Toad] — [Tamed]
Fifth Shadow: [Shadow Elephant] — [Tamed]
Sixth Shadow: [Shadow Rabbit] — [Tamed]
Seventh Shadow: [Shadow Deer] — [Untamed]
Eighth Shadow: [Shadow Ox] — [Untamed]
Ninth Shadow: [Shadow Tiger] — [Untamed]
Tenth Shadow: [Mahoraga] — [Untamed]
Awakened Ability: [Chimera Fusion]
Ability Description: [You can fuse your tamed shadows.]
Flaw: [Shared Memory]
Flaw Description: [Whenever you draw upon your aspect, your most important memory would be exposed to all that are near you.]
Indeed, Ragna was one of the most powerful awakened of all time, perhaps the most powerful, due to the sheer amount of power he held within him.
Although such power does not come naturally.
Occasionally, exceptional awakeneds would emerge wielding powers that surpasses that of their peers. That was because they wielded high ranked aspects which they attained with the help of the nightmare spell and it's ability to elevate the rank of one aspect depending on their appraisals in a nightmare.
Ragna however, was not one of those expectional individuals as he awakened without the help of the nightmare spell and he also didn't challenge any trials in his life.
In truth, his aspect was not his at all. Rather, it had been something that he inherited — or, for better words, stole — by killing a certain someone.
Ragna, back when he formed his soul core and awakened, did something very dangerous.
He stole from one of the hidden awakened clans in Japan.
Indeed, such clans and organizations existed all over the world long before the descent of the Nightmare Spell, with many individuals seeking power and extending their lifespans through the supernatural ways of the path of ascension.
Among such people, the Zenin Clan had been one of the most influential clans in Japan, practically running the entire country from the shadows.
All of that was made possible because of their origin and inheritance.
Said inheritance came from none other than the God of Shadows himself.
Apparently, a long time ago, after the Great Calamity happened and the gods died, the remaining humans fled into the divine realms. Among the many humans that entered the realm of the Beast Goddess was a sect composed of Shadow God worshippers.
They not only brought their unique culture into the world, but they also brought the [Sacred Treasure], one of the Shadow God's seven divine artifacts.
True to their nature, the worshipers of the Shadow God retreated into the shadows of civilization, making their presence known to no one.
And even though their god was long dead, they still upheld their traditions and values.
One such tradition was the assimilation of the sacred treasure into one's soul sea and turning it into an aspect. This tradition not only ensured the veneration of the Shadow God but also granted the Zenin Clan a powerful sacred aspect wielder every few centuries...
Well, that was the case until Ragna came in, killed the current owner of the sacred treasure, stole it, and made it his aspect.
As a result, he became one of the most wanted men in not only Japan but the entire world, with the Zenin sending a myriad of assassins after him. And while those assassination attempts lessened after the descent of the Nightmare Spell, the Zenin Clan only doubled their efforts later because they needed the sacred treasure more desperately than ever.
This was the reason Ragna was bothering to join the [Forever Humans]. They were made of powerful people, both rich and awakened, that hated noble creatures. Their purpose did not really matter to Ragna, as long as he could advance in ranks and have a powerful backing behind him. He didn't care what he needed to do to guarantee his acceptance into their ranks.
This was why, when one of the masked servants came to him and asked him to follow him, Ragna obediently followed, excited at the thought of meeting the higher-ups behind this party, which would be made up of old rich people, each begging for powerful awakened...
Or so did Ragna think.
'Huh?'
Behind his mask, Ragna had a stunned expression the more they walked deeper into the mansion, heading towards a VIP area.
The guards in this place... They were all awakened.
'No... Some of them are even ascended!'
It was shocking, really. Considering even the Zenin Clan could not spare ascended to be mere guards...
'Just who are these people?...'
Ragna's instincts were telling him that something bad was going to happen...
Ragna trusted his instincts... But this time, he decided to ignore them for a better future for himself...
If only he had listened to them.
————
After six minutes of walking, the attendant guiding Ragna finally stopped near a massive door guarded by two ascended champions.
The gigantic doors opened before Ragna, revealing a bizarre scene.
It was a plain chamber, having two stages and without much decoration besides a single golden throne in the middle of the room.
All around were hundreds of masked individuals. Although unlike the ones at the party, these people wore black robes and possessed... a sinister feeling in the way their masks were made.
What unnerved Ragna the most, however, was what was happening in the middle of the room.
Seven people were kneeling on the ground, wearing red robes and masks that completely concealed their faces. In front of them, [Someone] wearing the same robes and masks was performing a strange ritual, swinging around a metallic container filled with fog that Ragna couldn't quite identify.
In the back, a man, who had his eyes hidden by a blindfold, was playing the piano, singing a terrible song that did not match any language found on earth.
'Runic language...'
Ragna watched in silence as [Someone] continued their dance around the seven individuals like a madman...
It was almost as if he was baptizing them.
The scene went on for seven minutes, exactly seven minutes, no more and no less. Then, when it was finally done, the seven figures stood up, and the other black-robed individuals emerged from the shadows bringing seven different seats each inscribed with runes.
A black seat with the rune representing [Shadow/Death] inscribed on it's Centre.
A red seat with the rune representing [War/Life] inscribed on it's Centre.
A purple seat with the rune representing [Storm/darkness]
A green seat with the rune representing [Heart/hunger] inscribed on it's Centre.
A golden seat with the rune representing [Sun/light] inscribed on it's Centre.
A seat made of flesh with the rune representing [Blood/hunger] inscribed on it's Centre.
And lastly, a seat made of tranculucent materials with the rune representing [Dream/nightmare] inscribed on it's Centre.
The seven seats were set behind the main golden throne, which had a rune that the spell refused to translate inscribed on it and then the seven red-robed each sat on the ominous seats.
Lastly, [Someone] sat in the main throne, and as he did that, the music suddenly stopped.
All of the people present there, wearing ominous masks — some had horns, others had blood splattered over them, and others did not resemble humans at all — all of them turned their heads at the same time, as if possessed by [Something], and looked at Ragna.
Ragna felt his body stiffen and sweat pour from his back... For the first time in a while, he felt genuine fear. Fear that no nightmare creature had instilled in him before...
So much so that he almost summoned his tenth and most powerful shadow...
It was then that the [Someone] sitting in the golden throne raised a hand, looking at Ragna.
"Please, come forward" they said, in a pleasant voice.
Whether it was due to curiosity or fear, Ragna did not know, but he still obeyed their words and walked closer to them, coming face to face with the eight masked figures.
As he did, the black-robed individuals surrounded him from all directions, blocking any paths of escape.
"May I have the password, please?" said [Someone], their tone laced with an eerie kindness...
Ragna paused for a moment, fixing his breath and remembering the words his friend told him...
Eventually, he whispered in a hesitant tone:
"Fedilio..."
"That's right, sir!" they said, leaning against their staff. "That is the password... for admittance... But may I ask, what is the password for the house?"
Ragna suddenly wanted to run away from the [Person] Infront of them. He wanted to scream and run away into the deepest part of the dream realm so that he never comes across those people ever again.
He wanted to be anywhere but here... And yet... He didn't dare move a single muscle in his body. It was not because he was worried about his life. rather, it was because he felt that he had just come across something much bigger than himself... And more importantly, ragna was curious. Curious beyond his will.
"The password for the house?" he managed to finally speak, showing his confusion. He was only informed about one password.
"Yes," [Someone] said, as if knowing said password was the most obvious thing in the world.
Ragna looked around for a moment, trying to remember if his friend had ever said anything about a second password...
'now that I'm thinking about it... Who recommended me to join the [forever humans] in the first place?'
now that he was thinking about it, he did not remember having any friends in the first place, let alone someone who he would share his problems with...
But just as he was about to remember, ragna suddenly forgot once again and snapped back to reality.
Eventually, he said:
"I'm sorry... I... I seem to have forgotten it."
The room suddenly erupted into whispers, with the dark-robed figures all chattering among themselves as if they were excited about what was going to happen next.
The [Someone] hummed for a moment, then tilted their head amusingly, as if looking down at a peculiar animal.
"That's unfortunate. Because here, it doesn't matter whether you have forgotten it or if you never knew it..."
They stared at ragna for a long moment, as if looking into something hidden that that no one else could see but them... But luckily, the figure decided to ignore what they saw and spoke once again in a more serious tone:
"You will kindly remove your mask."
Ragna grimaced under his mask for some reason, feeling that something terrible was going to happen to him. Then, as if compelled by an invisible force, he reached for his mask and took it off slowly, revealing himself to all that were present in the chamber.
[Someone] looked at Ragna with an impassive expression — or at least that's what he assumed they did behind their golden mask — and then said:
"Now get undressed."
Ragna took a step back in shock, not believing what he was hearing. He knew that most people would die to see the body of an awakened but wasn't this a bit too much?
"What?"
"I said remove your clothes" they said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Remove your clothes now, or would you like us to do it for you?"
Ragna frowned at their words... Momentarily snapping out of his dazy state. His hands made a small hand sign behind his back as he prepared to draw upon his the power of his aspect. Then, at the last moment, just before he was about to bring the whole building down, he heard a voice suddenly reverberate from behind.
"Stop."
On the upper stage of the room, a woman, wearing nothing except for a peacock mask, had broken the eerie silence of the room, causing all of the masked figures to turn their heads towards her.
Although Ragna, upon closer look, realized that he knew that woman.
It was the same lady that he had danced with briefly back at the main party...
The woman, looking at the people below, said:
"Let him go. Take me instead. I am ready to redeem him."
Ragna was now truly and utterly confused...
Redeem him? Take her instead?
Just who were these people? Why did she need to redeem him and why in the world would she do such a thing for someone she barely knew?
Just what in the spell did he get himself into?
The room stilled for a couple of seconds, then the seated figure regarded her indifferently and said:
"Do you understand what that means?"
The woman hesitated for a moment, looking down at Ragna briefly, then said:
"Yes."
"You accept it fully?"
"Yes."
Silence consumed the chamber for a moment, With all of the people present there looking at [Someone], waiting for their decision.
"Very well. He is free."
Then, that [Someone] turned their head towards Ragna and continued speaking.
Their voice, which had been calm and composed since the beginning, suddenly took on a sinister edge.
"But I warn you, if you make any further inquiries, or if you say a single word to anyone about what you have seen, there will be the most dire consequences for you and those around you... Do you understand?"
Ragna's breath hitched for a moment, then he nodded, feeling utterly powerless Infront of the mundune human Infront of him.
At the same time, one of the black-robed figures took the woman somewhere, leaving Ragna looking at the scene before him in disbelief.
He swallowed, then looked at the robed [Someone] again.
"What is going to happen to that woman?"
The answer to his question came without hesitation, as if that, too, was the most obvious thing in the world.
"No one can change her [Fate] now. When a promise has been made here, in front of me, [His] avatar, then there is no turning back."
...
Ragna was escorted out of that place, but he was given a number in case he wanted to learn about [Him] more...
For the following seven days and seven nights, Ragna could not sleep.
Literally.
When sleeping, awakeneds are dragged into the dream realm for their soul to nourish itself in that cursed place for a certain amount of time But Ragna, for some reason, could not do that.
He could not sleep, he could not eat normally and his fatigue was slowly accumulating by the day driving him insane.
At one point, he started hearing a single phrase being repeated in his head.
[Return to thee...]
[Return to thee...]
[Return to thee...]
[Return to thee...]
[Return to thee...]
[Return to thee...]
[Return to thee...]
And finally, after Ragna's mind broke entirely from witnessing [It] in a Vision, he brought out his phone and dialed the number he was given.
—————
Ragna was on his knees, stripped of all his clothes and dignity.
His face was pale, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot... And deep inside of them, [Something] was lurking deep within them, unseen by anyone.
In front of him, the same scene he had witnessed on that day was happening once again, although this time, he was kneeling beside a black altar depicting a terrifying octopus-like creature.
On that altar, the body of the woman that had sacrificed herself for him was hanged there. She was dead, and her blood was flowing like a river through the altar.
"Return to thee... Return to thee..." Ragna whispered under his breath, drinking the blood greedily.
The [Someone] from before was circling him and the altar, holding the same metal container, spreading fog everywhere around the room.
Eventually, they stopped and stood next to the kneeling Ragna, placing their bare hands on his head.
"Rejoice, boy... The gods are dead, their realms consumed by the oldest one. The daemons are dead as well, their flames refusing to return to their father... And all of the divine and sacred creatures are corrupted by the taint of the void... But [He] is alive. [He] still retains His humanity, and [He] is the salvation to all humans. And we, the Forever Knights, are His vassals."
A mad smile spread across Ragna's face, and at the same time, his eyes filled with tears as he began crying uncontrollably.
"Hear His True Name and swear to help us eradicate all of the creations of the gods, extinguishing the flames of the gods" they said, and at the same time, something suddenly shifted in the world: "[◻️◻️◻️◻️]."
As soon as he heard those words, a seed of corruption... No, it wasn't the same taint normal creatures would get infected with when they became nightmare creatures...
Rather, it was a very special type of corruption.
Nightmare creatures, no matter how profane they were, still possessed a small bit of divinity within them manifesting itself as a withering memory of what they once were.
That was the reason for their madness and the constant hunger for uncorrupted souls.
However, what was happening in Ragna's soul was a complete takeover, leaving no divinity inside.
If the mighty gods and the humans who fought against the void at the beginning of the age of the gods were alive, they would all be horrified.
Because Ragna, and every Forever Knight in existence, was no different from a true void creature.