…
The Pale vessel looked at the Foaming kid.
The cycle had repeated countless times by now.
They woke up, he spoke,they passed out.
Was his voice that scary? Maybe. So, He decided to try another way.
The blond teen woke up, earlier than than the monstruous one. He always did.
Zero felt a strange sense of keenship with him, as if he had once uncountered him, a long, long time ago.
[Line Break]
Arhan did not know wether this was a nightmare or not. He shouldn't be able to dream in the dream realm. Yet, he kept waking up to this strangely beautiful Nightmare Creature standing in front of him.
Was this Eternal Torment, The endless nightmare induced by Post-Nightmare creature death Theorised about by scientifics?
Arhan once again met the Pure creature, yet, instead of talking again—In its incomprehensible voice— it took its nail and started drawing on the ground.
(AN: hb listening to TC's new rap album)
Soon, arhan could distinguish the image of a Brain on the ground, then, the Pure Vessel pointed its nail back and forth at Himself and the brain.
"… what the fuc—"
Arhan cut himself off. This was an Unprecedented case in History. A nightmare creature being sentient— And non hostile to Humans.
This could revolutionize Humanity's knowledge of Nightmare Creature, The Dream realm, The gods and Daemons, And much more.
But then, however, a bucket of cold water seemed to hit Arhan.
What if that was a fellow awakened, and that body was just their flaw or a side effect of their aspects.
Immediatly, he steeled his resolve and asked the Pale Being.
"Are you a nightmare creature, or an awakened like us? Is that because of your flaw, or a side effect of your aspect? How does that even work..."
Countless question flashed though his mind like a speeding train. How would you live with such a body? What aspect would be responsible for such physical changes?What would be the nessecary anatomy for a body like that? How would Its organs work ? Would it even have organs? Can it reproduce? If yes, Then how would that even work? What about its DNA, was it forcefully overidden by the Aspect/Flaw?
Question. Question.And no answers.
Zero, hearing this, still replied. He decided to hide his flaw.
And so, he drew two lines on the ground and repeatedly pointed between them and him so as to signify "Both".
As a nameless one once said: Our main enemy will never be the beasts, it will always be ourselves.
Humans are unpredictable, Greed, Wrath and lust runs rampant in the human heart.
The world is cruel, and hiding his weaknesses would be the best choice.
"To think such crippling flaw could exist…" Arhan, unaware of Zero's inner plan, was full of guilt and shame.
They had attacked a fellow human. They should've noticed that.
That he used a nail, didn't aim for vital areas, and still held back. There were a lot of signs, they were too blind to see them.
Kora also started to wake up, however, One could see a faint, glow of Orange, Yellow and Kora's usual grey eye color fighting a three way battle for dominion in his eyes before dissapearing seemlessly.
Zero also seemed to notice this, however, he simply chalked it up to a side effect of his flaw or aspect.
Zero Drew three lines on the ground, before erasing one.
Arhan and Kora understood, this was a countdown.
They braced for impact.
3…
2…
1…
0…
A voice immediatly assaulted their ear, however, instead of the nightmare fuel they were hearing, this voice was the complete opposite.
A pure voice, a voice unscarred by nothing, like the voice of a child or angel.
It wasn't that Zero's voice was horrific, no, It was the complete opposite.
Zero had a voice, so unscarred, so divine, so…Pure, that their mind simply could not comprehend it. A voice that seemed to exude a pale love, a voice that would fit better on a baby than this Bloodsoaked figure. A voice that seemed to be the beginning of all. A voice, so Soft, so… Silky
A name for it appeared in the two brats' minds.
A voice of Genesis.
————————
Arhan and Kora had lived near the Soul tree for a week now.
They had gotten to know Zero quite a bit, including his name and his absolutely not fabricated life.
He told them he used to live in a remote area, and he had never known his parents. He said that he lived off trash and had simply appeared here one day.
'He must've had his first nightmare a few days before the winter solstice' they tought, as he couldn't have possibly just appeared in the dream realm out of nowhere.
Zero had built a house in the tree, made from the wood of the fallen branches and tendon of Nightmares.
The duo thought Zero was… Peculiar.
He didn't know the most basic information known to all. Like the waking world,The nightmares, The nightmare spell, The gods or Daemons, The academy, The ranks of awakened, etc…
When they asked if he was from the oustkirt, he seemed to pause for a bit before answering positively, however, Arhan's [Flame of Doubt] flared lightly.
On the last day, however, Zero got a notification from the spell.
[Your physical body has been Destroyed.]
[You have gained the Attribute [Lost].]
[Your attribute,[Lost], has evolved into attribute [Reject of War].]
Attribute description:[After coming into contact with the Aura of War, its lingering instinct were immediatly frightened by such a HateFull being and Banished you from its land. You shan't enter War by Gateways]
[AN:When the spell is in Bold, know that it is the Hijacked spell that overrid Zero's True Name.]
Zero had heard about the Losts from Kora, people whose Physical bodies were destroyed and thus could not enter the Waking world by gateways, and were forced to either find a Saint or finish their second nightmare—Wich was an unprecedented Feat and was likely suicide.
Well, with his seasoned instincts, Zero deduced that "War" was the waking world.
When ascending to True God, you could manifest your soul sea as a real world, independent from the main one.
However, when Zero asked Arhan about it, it seemed he had no idea of anything Zero had said.
There was no "Main realm" and only the waking world.
Zero felt something fishy going around, and his question also served as fuel for Arhan's [Flame Of Doubt].
Only Kora seemed completly obvious to the mental machination of the two, wich irritated him consistently. He hated how it made him seem like a muscle meathead.
"Well, it shouldn't be something Important" He consoled himself with that.
All in all, it was a peaceful and eventful week for Zero, and he had learned many essentials for when he eventually re- integrated into civilization.
However, peace was just the inevitable prelude to war.
"Mr.Zero, Please,train us." The two humans pleaded.
They had indeed been completly dominated by Zero in their fight, a result of Pure skill. And from what description Zero had given them, their current strenght was not sufficient for survival in this cursed forgotten shore.
"…" Zero looked at them, deep in thought.
They were indeed talented, yet he couldn't help but think they wouldn't be able to withstand his training. However, the brats insisted, and he was forced to indulge.
Looking back at their "Base", Arhan and Kora appreciated the errie yet peaceful athmosphere.
The entire area was eerily quiet and lifeless, with not a single monster moving beneath the surface. Covered in grey sand left behind by the dead coral, the landscape extended toward a tall hill that resembled a colossal barrow, crowned by The giant, black-barked tree with blood-red leaves. The wasteland itself was unnaturally silent and empty, completely devoid of life.
The tree, however, seemed to have a tinge of a Pale white on the edge of its leaves…
The duo started their lesson.
Zero looked at them, and gave the same advice he gave to his every disciple.
" The essence of combat is…" The two excitedly waited for the answer, as if awaiting for a Divine revelation.
"Yourself." However, it seemed Zero didn't have any thought of entertaining their grand ideas.
"There is no point in fighting. There never was and never will. In the end, everyone's only fighting for their own petty ego. Some fear death, some Fear loss, some are just fighting for the love of the game. That's why there will never be a fixed point. Combat is just that—A struggle for dominance, wether it's life or some grand ideal."
"In the end, There will never be a fixed point to killing one another."
"Only you can find what you are fighting for. And only by knowing yourself can you become stronger. There is nothing in this world that can make You truly stronger, faster, or smarter. Every decision—Everything comes from within. Forget about your past, forget about your future. Come at me with the intention to know—Me and Yourself.
Find what you wish to fight for, or perish."
The thought deeply about what their Mentor had told them, however, it seemed he wouldn't give them a chance to think, as he brandished his nail and charged at them.
The kids didn't have a time to react as the nail was already upon them.
They raised their swords, trying desesperatly to block, yet the overwheilming force behind that hit was not so easily stopped.
They only barely deflected the blows, before locking eyes with Zero.
They knew.
Zero made no attempt at stopping his killing intent from overflowing.
If they didn't find their fighting style in this fight, they would die.
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Hiiiii guys. sorry, cuz I think quality dropped a bit in this chapter. My personal life is seriously going to shit rn.
I'm gonna try to sort them out, I hope it won't affect my creativity and how I write.
Thanks for the support guys. I'm addicted to Skong rn, and yes, there WILL be skong content in this fic.
Thanks for everythign guys; byeeeee