Chapter 17: Familiar faces
Hugo once again found himself in a space between worlds.
But unlike the endless void of the Nightmare Spell, this one was not filled with endless white stars nor did it have any relation to it.
Instead, it was made entirely of an endless amount of blue energy enveloping the entire space around him.
eventually the same energy begun to solidify, becoming something.
That something transformed once again, becoming giant walls and platforms.
Hugo recognized the place instantly despite only seeing it once.
It was his Soul Sea.
'Huh?'
A confused thought ran through the blue void as Hugo slowly regained his consciousness.
'Where am I?...' The thought was barely a conscious sentiment as his emotions and senses had yet to return to him.
In the sky, there was a gigantic blue sun with the symbol of an hourglass, bathing the world around it in light.
This of course was his soul core, Omni core to be precise.
Then, something strange begun to happen.
From inside the omni Core, something suddenly split out of it.
It was a beam of aetherial blue light that hidd something within it.
Then just as the first one, another beam split.
Then Another one soon followed.
In the span of seconds, dozens of beams split from the Omni Core all heading towards Hugo's direction.
Now that he was looking closer, he noticed that the beams of light did not split out from the Omni Core; instead, they had simply came out of it as if they had been imprisoned there by a strange force.
BAM.
The beams of light all hit the gigantic square area near Hugo, slowly solidifying and revealing the figures hidden within them.
There were hundreds of them.
Hugo eyes locked into a tall figure entirely made of fire.
Another with red skin and four arms, just like the one he saw in his First Nightmare.
Another was made entirely of crystals.
And the figures did not just possess humanoid structures, no, they differentiated and were all unique in their own ways, some more then the others.
There were harrowing wraiths that could not be described with words.
There were these that took the shape of animals, most noticeably of these was an orange dog with no eyes and a strange humonioed tiger.
The most terrifying of these creatures, however, were undoubtedly the giants.
Among said giant, There was one that dwarfed the rest easily.
It was a gigantic figure of white and red towering over all of the other creatures possessing a nearly mechanical biology with a sharp red horn extending from his forehead.
just looking at creature, Hugo felt like an ant with no significance waiting to be crushed by the titan.
More beams of light came, revealing more and more strange creatures that defied all logic, even the Dream Realm's logic.
Creatures made of pure sound, others of stone, others of strange liquid, and some even made from pure light.
Just witnessing these beings, Hugo felt like he was about to go insane simply from being in their presence, it was as if the mere sight of them was not something a mortel like him was ever supposed to see.
But that mind-shattering feeling never came.
In fact, Hugo was not afraid.
Despite being in front of hundreds of harrowing beings, he was not scared in the slightest.
Because he knew, somehow, that each of these creatures would not harm him.
In fact, they could not even be called creatures.
They were him.
All of these creatures were him.
He did not know how, but he knew they were.
And currently, they were all whispering something.
As if trying to tell him something.
As if Hugo himself was trying to tell himself a very important thing.
But no matter how much they whispered, no matter how much they shouted, Hugo could not hear.
He was deaf.
No no that, he simply did not possess a body right now.
He was a mass of blue energy that was only an observer.
Suddenly, just as they began, the creatures all stopped shouting in unison. Not because they were tired.
Nor was it because they knew he couldn't hear them.
No, they stopped speaking because of something.
The. A large group of creatures moved to the side, all opening path as if they shared a single mind.
What stood on the other side shook Hugo to the core, despite currently not having one.
It was a figure of moderate height. The figure, however, was not like the rest of the creatures.
He was not made out of energy; he was not made of stone, metal, skin, or anything else.
He also was not a wraith.
Instead, he was made of everything and nothing at once creating an impossible contradiction that drove Hugo to the brink of tears.
But of course that was not possible as he did not have eyes right now.
The creature body, dark as space encompassed everything, holding within it countless stars and galaxies.
His face displayed nothing.
No mouth to speak.
No nose to breathe.
No ears to hear.
And even the eyes were not truly eyes but simply windows for some strange being to peer through them.
What was more terrifying about this certain creature was the fact that unlike all the other creatures, this one seemed to possess sentience of its own and, in fact, was not just an extension of Hugo..
Two consciousnesses existed in that being.
With Hugo being the weak, fragile third consciousness that was currently dormant.
The figure then spoke. Strangely, Hugo suddenly found himself able to hear once again as if he had been bestowed a blessing by some unknown deity.
The figure uttered only one word.
One word that Hugo had never heard, yet it still filled him with a deep sense of curiosity.
Curiosity beyond his will.
"Primus."
As he uttered them, the words shuddered and with them, Hugo felt another sensation; this one, however, did not come from the strange omnipotent creature. Instead, it came from outside.
He suddenly was pulled from his Soul Sea, forcefully returning to his body.
With the last thing he heard being:
[You have received an Aspect Legacy.]
–––
"Oh gods! Please wake up, please wake up! I can't lose my job again!"
"Should I hide the body?"
"No!"
"How was a book even enough to knock out an Awakened?"
"You fool! That book was an Awakened Memory and this boy is a Sleeper!"
"Oh..."
Hugo's eyes fluttered awake, disturbed by the panicked voices.
Opening his eyes fully, he saw a strange bunch.
First, there was a lady seemingly in her thirties, possessing sharp crimson eyes and hair of the same color radiating a unique sense of beauty.
The second and the third were a pair of twins, oddly enough both possessing onyx black hair and strange white eyes, undoubtedly changed by their Aspects with both of them looking to be around their early twenties.
Lastly, there was a brown-haired young man possessing clear blue eyes and an easygoing expression on his face
"Oh, look, he's alive," said one of the twins with something akin to... Disspointment?
The middle-aged lady exhaled, her frown quickly relaxing.
"Oh, thank the dead gods..."
"Hey, buddy, you alright?" spoke the brown-haired boy with a smile.
But Hugo was currently frozen, not from what was happening before him but because of what he had just seen.
He had seen something utterly miraculous.
Something no other human in the current era had ever seen.
A divine being.
Hugo had no way to confirm it, but he knew.
Because while that creature possessed more than a single consciousness, it was still a part of Hugo.
And Hugo felt it.
Divinity.
True divinity.
The one the dead six gods possessed.
But how was that possible?
The gods were long dead.
And no Divine-rank human or Nobel creature existed in the Dream Realm anymore... They too were all dead.
Then red lady snapped her fingers near his face, making him regain his attention.
Unknown to Hugo, he was looking at the four people with a petrified expression.
"Are you alright? You look like you just died. Surely the book couldn't have been that bad..." said the brown-haired boy, making him receive a sharp glance from the middle-aged lady.
"I think I just saw god..." Hugo muttered, not knowing why he even said it.
The four people looked at him strangely, as if he had just grown a second head—which he could probably do with the right imprint—then one of the twins spoke in a bored tone.
"Yep, he lost his marbles. You're definitely getting fired, Miss J."
–––
After the initial, soul-deep shock of witnessing a divine being and surviving the experience had subsided into a dull, background hum of terror, Hugo was immediately offered a visit to a healer which He refused instantly.
Wasting time coddling his nerves was a luxury he couldn't afford, not with the Solstice looming.
The source of the recent… impact was his new teacher, an Awakened named Jasmine—'Miss J' for short—. She taught runic sorcery and, in a fit of frustration over her students' apparent lack of comprehension, had hurled an Awakened Memory in the shape of textbook at the door just as Hugo opened it.
Smack.
A direct hit.
It was making him wonder if he had somehow developed a personal magnetism for projectiles whenever he opened a door.
If he had a nickel for every time it had happened, he'd have two nickels. Which wasn't a lot, but it was y strange that it had happened twice.
"Again," Miss J said, her voice strained with a mixture of professional guilt and lingering irritation. "I am terribly sorry for… throwing a book at your face."
The twin, the one with glasses, who hadn't looked up from her notes through the whole commotion spoke without inflection. "An Awakened Memory, propelled by the enhanced throwing strength of an Awakened, to be precise."
"Ahem!" Miss J coughed, a sharp, loud sound that brooked no further commentary. She then turned her full attention back to Hugo, her keen eyes studying him. "So. You are Sleeper Hugo... The one with the True Name." She tilted her head. "Might I ask what brings such a figure to my humble class this close to the Solstice?"
Hugo ran a hand through his disheveled hair. The fact that his True Name was already this known about was a bit unsettling even if it was expected
"I was hoping to learn the basics of runic sorcery," he explained, keeping his tone neutral. "My Aspect… has certain versatile properties, you see." He left it deliberately vague for no specific reason then caution.
The other three students in the cavernously empty room—the brown-haired young man and the twin girls—leaned in with undisguised interest. A Sleeper with a Name was an anomaly after all, a walking piece of high-stakes gossip.
Miss J's expression softened for a fraction of a second . "Hmm. A good cause. I knew someone with a sorcery-leaning Aspect would find their way here eventually."
The brown-haired man placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. "Oh, Miss J! Are we nothing to you? So easily replaced?"
"How tragic. We are but fading echoes after all... " the twins intoned in unison, their voices flat.
Miss J rolled her eyes so hard it seemed painful. "Don't you three start. You're already Awakened while Hugo here is still a Sleeper, and he has to face winter solstice in…" Her voice faltered, 'a dangerously short amount of time' hanging heavily in the air as most if not all sleepers considered the winter solstice to be a sensitive subject.
Hugo cut through the sudden tension with a blunt, straightforward question. "If I may ask, is this the entire class? And why are there Awakened here? I thought this was only for Sleepers."
A sigh of dejection escaped miss j mouth "This is it. Runic sorcery isn't a popular elective just like wildness survival, Most Sleepers are focused on more… immediately violent applications of their power so It's rare to find someone with the affinity or the patience for this art despite how useful it is." She gestured at the vast, echoing emptiness of the lecture hall. "As for your second question, the Awakened Academy doesn't cease to function once its students Awaken. Where do you think those who don't get scooped up by the great clans go to continue their training? The name is rather literal."
"...I hadn't considered that," Hugo admitted, feeling a flush of emebrassment. It was obvious in hindsight but he had strangely missed this fact.
Miss J studied him for a long, silent moment, her beautiful face a mask of neutral assessment. "Well, you're out of luck today. We're finishing early due to… certain circumstances..." She shot a venomous look at the three other students, who immediately shivered. "Please return tomorrow."
She slung a bag over her shoulder and then pointed a commanding finger at the trio. "You three, Introduce yourselves to the kid" she paused at the door before adding "Properly."
And With that, she strode out, muttering under her breath about a certain job offer from the Valor clan she should never have refused.
The moment the door clicked shut, the brown-haired man bounded over to Hugo, his smile so brilliant it was practically glowing
"Hey there! Don't let her intensity scare you off. She's just… passionately disappointed in us. I'm Nero! A pleasure to meet the academy's newest celebrity." He thrust out a hand.
Hugo shook it, offering a slight, wary smile in return. " Please call me, Hugo."
The twins, in contrast, gave a synchronized, dismissive wave without bothering to make eye contact.
Nero's smile became slightly strained at the edges. "And these two are Moon and Luna. They're… not big on social graces but they're good people once you pierce the enigmatic exterior!"
"No, we're not," the first twin stated flipping him off.
"Being 'good people' is statistically disadvantageous for survival," the other added, finally looking up from her notes.
Hugo's gaze lingered on them, a certain memory resurfacing in his mind "...Did your parents, by any chance, possess a particularly poetic soul?"
The twins exchanged a glance, their identical faces registering identical confusion.
"We've got another weirdo. Fantastic," the first said, her tone dripping with disdain.
"Hmm. 'Nutjob' is the more common terminology, but you do you," the second concluded, gathering her things. Then They moved towards the door in perfect unison which was more then a little unsettling.
Nero's cheerful facade finally cracked, a look of profound exhaustion flashing across his face before he plastered the smile back on in an attempt to cheer Hugo on
"Ah, well, sorry about them, little buddy. I've got to run too. See you around! And remember, train hard! but I'm sure I don't need to tell you twice! " He gave an exaggerated wink, grabbed his backpack, and hurried after the twins.
Hugo was left standing alone in the vast, silent room.
"...And I thought I was the odd one" he murmured to the empty air, concluding that Awakeneds, as a rule, seemed to be varying degrees of insane.
---
Sometime later, Hugo was back in the sterile silence of his dorm room, having retreated there after the bizarre encounter. His mind still was a tangled web, trying to pick apart the events of the… vision.
Dream felt too weak a word for what he had experienced.
'Were those creatures… transformations?' he muttered inwardly.
The Omnitrix was a relic of change, designed to give it's wielder the ability become any form so It made a terrible kind of sense that it would come pre-loaded with templates But that directly contradicted his Innate Ability, [Essence Imprint], which was supposed to allow him to acquire new forms through imprining them on his soul...
'Aren't I thinking about this too linearly?'
The thought struck him with the force of a revelation.
Who was to say a Divine Aspect couldn't be both a repository and a scanner? That it couldn't hold ancient, pre-ordained templates and possess the capacity to imprint new ones?
He was merely a Dormant human right now so trying to comprehend the true scale of a divine aspect he had just unsealed two days ago was not a very bright idea...
But still, one certain idea refused to leave Hugo's mind.
'But that would mean… one day I could transform into that …'
A Cold shiver ran through his spine. The memory of the omnipotent entity—the dark deity that held swirling galaxies within the confines of its being—was still fresh in his mind, no doubt thanks to [extraordinary memory] attribute.
To wield even a fraction of that harrowing power would be enough to scour Nightmare Creatures from the face of the Earth and possibly even purge the endless Dream Realm itself.
The implication was a heady, terrifying cocktail of ambition and dread.
He longed for that power with every fiber of his being yet a deep, instinctual part of him recoiled at the thought.
No mortal was meant to hold such a power
A power that no doubt rivaled the gods themselves.
And more importantly, what exactly did the divine being say ?
The thing that every other creature was trying to say but couldn't.
"p... Primus...." he muttuered the words feeling heavy on his tongue.
What was primus?
Or is 'who' the appropriate term?
Hugo did not know, yet he felt that the word was an important part of his future. Something that would undoubtedly be related to the Omnitrix and the secrets it held...
Shaking his head to clear off the cosmic dread, he decided to focus on the things within his scope of comprehension.
He pulled up his runes, seeking the cold comfort of defined statistics.
Name: Hugo
True Name:Paragon of Purity
Rank:Dreamer
Omni-Core:Dormant
Soul Fragments:[0/1000]
Aspect:[Omnitrix]
Aspect Rank:Divine
Innate Ability:[Essence Imprint]
Ability Description:[No creature is an alien to your existence. You possess the ability to imprint the fundamental essence of any being onto your soul, storing its template within the relic.]
[First Imprint: Chimera Sui Generis]
[Second Imprint: Galvan]
[Third Imprint: —]
[Fourth imprint: —]
[Fifth Imprint: —]
[Sixth Imprint: —]
[Seventh Imprint: —]
[Eight Imprint: —]
[Ninth Imprint: —]
[Tenth imprint: —]
Memories:[Proto-Tech Armor], [Polymorphic Crystal], [Conqueror's Wrath]
Echoes:—
Attributes:[Mutant], [Flame of Divinity], [Extraordinary Memory], [Anatomica], [Spirit Core], [Shadow-Rend], [Soul Bound]
No new imprints had been added which was a Hugo disappointment given the vast bestiary he had witnessed in his vision.
But then his eyes caught a new set of runes, one that hadn't been there before.
Aspect Legacy: [The last testament]