Chapter 24: Monster
After a short conversation with Cassie, the cohort decided on leaving the hill, carefully retracing their steps from yesterday with the help of Sunny's shadow.
The mood was oddly grim through the entire walk, with neither Nephis nor Cassie speaking to each other. That left only Hugo and Sunny, who were also... unfriendly, to say the least.
Suddenly, Sunny froze and quickly turned his head to the trio behind him. "Halt!" His voice was a shout, but it was muffled as well.
"There are scavengers on the path ahead, six of them. They're slowly moving in our direction."
Nephis cast a gaze forward. There was a calculating look on her face. "They're done with the carcass?"
"No, I don't think so. But maybe there's not enough meat for everyone anymore, so some stragglers had no choice but to leave with an empty stomach."
Nephis nodded and gestured to a nearby branching path. "We'll circle around them."
Hugo looked at two slightly before summoning the [Emerald Spyglass] and observing the scavengers with a strange expression on his face.
"I can take them."
The trio looked at him with a petrified expression on their faces, even the aloof Changing Star showed a reaction.
"Are you crazy?!" Sunny retorted instantly.
"No, not really. But I said I can take them."
"I know what you said! But how exactly do you plan on killing all of them?! Even when you were transformed you barely held off one of them the last time!"
Hugo looked at Sunny, then at Changing Star, then back to Sunny.
"Sunny, last time I was in a rush to protect you from being sliced in half and it was a new creature I was against. Now they aren't, as I've perfectly memorized their moveset, there's also the fact that in terms of strength, I'm superior to all of them." His voice was steady and firm.
"Besides, you two can help me. I can take out one of them through a surprise attack, then deal with the others with your help."
Sunny still looked unconvinced, his sharp gaze never leaving Hugo. However, before he could argue more, it was Changing Star who spoke newt.
"Aren't you overestimating yourself? These are Awakened Beasts, after all."
Hugo looked at her for a long minute unsure how to answer...
How was he supposed to explain that he, too, was on the same rank and class when transformed without revealing too much?
"While it may not seem like it, my transformation grants me more than just raw strength. It enhances my reflexes tenfold, and my charm is also an augmentation type. I'm powerful enough to take these scavengers head-on. And even if that's not the case and things go south, I can guarantee that I'll be able to hold them off long enough for you two to escape."
Nephis looked at him strangely, a mix of unease and suspicion on her face, before she finally nodded. "It's worth a try..."
Sunny's eyes widened, looking at her with a betrayed expression. "Hey! I never agreed to any of this!"
Hugo looked at his shadowy companion before adding with a smile, "And you don't have to. But I'd greatly appreciate it if you did, After all, I saved your life twice by now."
"Did you just blackmail me?"
Hugo's smile widened. "Life is a matter of perspectives, Sunny. Look at it however you want, but it'll be pretty sad if you don't agree to help me and I die because of that..."
The pale boy gritted his teeth, muttering something about how they were all insane. "Fine! You crazy bastard, what's the plan?"
Nephis crouched slightly next to Sunny. "We can leave Cassie here safely hidden while we three engage. First, Hugo would draw their attention by attacking them head-on. Then, while they're distracted, we can pick them off one by one..." She looked at Hugo before adding, "Are you truly confident in your ability to take down one of them through a surprise attack?"
Hugo nodded. "My Memory is incredibly powerful... and I have a way of making you two completely invisible, uh, sort of. You just need to wait for a signal."
Nephis nodded. "Alright..."
'Wait, no cool last line? Lame...' Sunny and Hugo thought in unison.
---
Near a gigantic carcass, six harrowing carapace scavengers were feasting off a dead abomination, their chitinous mouths devouring the flesh greedily while contending against each other, ripping apart parts of their own bodies to get more flesh.
The sight was revolting and terrifying showing the profanity of the nightmarish creatures...
But that profanity was not meant to last, as a certain figure descended from the sky like a divine judgment.
The figure was a 15-foot-tall, tentacled giant wielding a mighty trident. That trident was currently facing down, its four sharp edges like teeth waiting to devour the abominations.
Hugo crashed on top of one of the scavengers, having saturated himself with essence to leap incredibly high from the sky, while the [Silent Stalker] enchantment had kept him relatively hidden.
The carapace scavenger instantly crumbled against the force and weight of Hugo and his trident, immediately getting flattened to the ground.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Carapace Scavenger.]
The other scavengers reeled from the impact, instantly turning to face the non-corrupted attacker. But Hugo never gave them the chance to retaliate. With the [Polymorphic Crystal] upgrading the [Black-Pearl Trident] to the Ascended Rank, he activated the [Vortex] enchantment.
All hell broke loose.
The liquids and fluids in the air and these leff over the by the dark sea were forcefully pulled out by the trident, making them spin into a small hurricane. But of course, that hurricane was of the Ascended Rank, sending the scavengers flying through the sky violently.
---
[Nephis's POV]
Nephis and Sunny watched from the shadows as a gigantic figure hit the ground and crushed a scavenger entirely.
Changing star calculating eyes took in every inch of the scene as she saw how effortlessly the monster-shifter killed an Awakened Beast.
'Just who the hell is he...'
It really did not make sense. He was one of only three people in history to gain a True Name during their First Nightmare. The first two had been Nephis's mother and Nephis herself, but both of them had come from a renowned Legacy clan with incredible training and Nephis herself had been tampered with like steel through surviving countless assassination attempts sent by the Sovereigns...
The Paragon of Purity, on the other hand, had come out of nowhere, with no notable background and shook the entire academy in merely three weeks, perhaps even catching the attention of one of the great clans considering they kept watch on aspiring young talents.
There was also the possibility that he might possess a Divine Aspect which did not escape Nephis's attention. While she herself was insanely powerful, the Aspect Hugo possessed was beyond ridiculous. His transformation allowed him to go toe-to-toe with a seasoned Awakened and even overpower him in terms of raw strength. Not only that, but according Sunny, he had more than one transformation, which further certified Nephis's suspicion.
'Could he have been sent by the great clans?'
She frowned, trying to imagine herself besting a monster who could change between a myriad of transformations. That imagination was not pretty, but of course, that was not going to stop Nephis.
She was Changing Star, after all, the last heir of the Immortal Flame clan. If she willed it, then who dared to stop her?
Besides, a fight with Hugo could easily be avoided if he wasn't who Nephis suspected he was.
She turned to Sunny, who was practically invisible in the shadows. He, too, radiated a strange feeling...
Nephis felt as if the boy wasn't at all what he seemed. Even when compared to Hugo, he seemed like the most dangerous one. Perhaps even more dangerous than her.
'What a terrifying bunch I came across.'
Just as she thought that, she saw a gigantic vortex of water happen where Hugo was attacking the scavengers. She recognized it instantly; that was the signal. She looked at Sunny once again, who in turn met her gaze. They both nodded at each other, understanding what to do.
Right as the vortex ended, revealing the bewildered mess of carapace scavengers, Sunny and Nephis descended upon them with terrifying speed.
Sunny's shadow slid into his body, encasing him in complete darkness. Instantly, his power doubled as he rushed past Nephis and jumped towards a scavenger that was flipped onto its back. In the last moment, his shadow detached from his body and slid into his blade, further augmenting it.
The blade effortlessly sliced through the scavenger's head, killing it on the spot.
Nephis only had moments to watch as she rushed towards another scavenger, wisps of white flame igniting in her eyes as she went to attack one of the scavenger's injured limbs...
SCREECH!
A sickening groan reverberated as Changing Star drove her blade through the scavenger, injuring it mortally but not quite killing it yet.
On the other side, the Paragon of Purity unleashed his harrowing power upon the crab-like abominations, swinging his trident like a herald of death. The two scavengers that attempted to overwhelm him through numbers did so to no avail; he perfectly dodged each of their strikes with agility impossible for his size, and even the attacks that landed did not do much damage against the giant monster.
Sunny, on the other hand, moved towards the scavenger Nephis was fighting, striking it from the shadows. The scavenger reeled from the impact, turning its attention towards the shadow.
That was its biggest mistake.
Nephis's eyes ignited in furious white light as her entire body was augmented by [Soul Flame]. Of course, that also triggered her Flaw, making her feel the pain of being burnt alive on the spot but she bore with it.
She rushed forward and with a surge of incredible strength, thrust her sword into the scavenger's distracted back. Then she grabbed the hilt firmly and ran to the other side, driving her blade through the scavenger body and opening up the entirety of it's back.
The insides of the abomination spilled out in a disgusting mess of flesh and blood, but Changing Star did not stop. She sent her Soul Flame towards her blade, cooking the scavenger alive as her furious white flame devoured its soul and body.
In moments, Nephis heard the sweet voice of the Spell that she despised more than anything in this world:
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your soul shines brighter.]
Nephis gasped for air as she pulled out her blade, feeling the huge amount of soul fragments entering her soul due to her Innate Ability. The pain, paired with the remnant of her Flaw, was almost unbearable making her fall to her knees while using her sword to support herself.
The Paragon of Purity had finished one of the scavengers and was currently in the process of killing the second making Nephis question if he was even human.
'What a monster...'
However in that moment of pain, Nephis suddenly had a dreadful realization.
"One, two, three..." She counted the scavengers, clearly remembering there were six of them when they decided to begin their attack. Her head jerked around at the last moment, her eyes widening as she saw a giant pincer coming down at her.
---
[Sunny's POV]
Sunny watched as Changing Star cooked the abomination alive, her white flames destroying the scavenger as if the heat of the sun itself had descended upon the vile nightmare creature...
'Could be used to heal, my ass,' Sunny thought bitterly, as he watched Changing Star suddenly fall to her knees, wincing in pain...
'Huh? Is that her Fla—'
Before he could even finish the thought, Sunny's eyes widened as he saw another scavenger launch at Changing Star from behind, approaching with terrible speed...
'Shit!'
He thought, looking at Hugo, who was too far away to do anything, then back at the defenseless Changing Star. His body moved on its own, sliding through the shadows as his own enveloped him.
The scavenger's pincer descended upon Nephis threatening to crush her entire body. But thankfully, the Legacy princess was not going to sit idly and let that happen. Instead, she spun around, barely avoiding the attack within a hair's breadth.
The pincer slid past her arm, injuring it slightly as her Memory armor was ripped.
The scavenger moved to attack once again, but the treacherous Lost from Light was already upon it.
Leaping off the ground, Sunny clung to the scavenger like a parasite, driving his blade into its head over and over again.
Yet Somehow, the carapace creature did not die instantly, as it was not injured like the rest of its vile siblings.
'Shit! Just die already, you bastard!'
He snarled, burying the sword deep within its skull but the scavenger still did not relent, resisting until the end. That was when Sunny sensed another shadow approaching—a shadow that was vast and strange, a shadow that was unwelcomed by other shadows.
Something slammed into the carapace scavenger as it was trying to swat Sunny away from it. It was Hugo, who shoulder-bumped the abomination in his terrifying form, sending it flying through the coral.
Of course, Sunny was still on top of it but he still managed to use the last ounce of his strength to remove his blade and jump off.
At the same time, the Spell credited him for the kill.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Carapace Scavenger.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[You have received an Echo.]
---
Sunny rolled on the ground, his limbs feeling numb and hurt. He shot his head upward, piercing Hugo with a menacing gaze.
"You asshole! I was right there!" screamed sunny.
Hugo, on the other hand, tilted his tentacled head, his expression harsh and unchanging. "You jumped, didn't you? And you're not terribly hurt, so it's fine."
The cold words hit Sunny instantly. He had known Hugo did not have the best of characters but blatantly disregarding his safety like that was just too much.
He grimaced. "What if I didn't react on time next time?!"
The Paragon of Purity's eyes narrowed as he looked at the shadow. "Then you die."
Sunny gritted his teeth, a cold, unrelenting seed of hatred blooming within his heart.
'Just wait, you bastard...'
---
[Hugo's POV]
Hugo took in the state of his companions; one was battered and the other was reeling on the ground.
Surprisingly, instead of feeling guilt at risking his companions' lives like that, he simply felt... disappointment by their performance.
They were too weak, too soft... too human.
The disregard for Sunny's safety did make him feel a bit of guilt, but his pride as a Chimera Sui Generis would never allow him to apologize so he simply swept it under the rug.
'He's overreacting anyway. He still owes me his life' Hugo thought bitterly as he crushed the soul shards from the three abominations he killed, raising his soul fragments counter to [10/1000] which was a little infuriating, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment...
Unless...
Hugo walked towards the corpse of the scavenger Nephis killed and pulled out the soul shard from it.
Sunny and Nephis got up and fixed themselves as they watched him take the soul shard and crush it in his palm.
[12/1000]
It was within his deal with Nephis as she still owned him three shards but Sunny still gave him a dark look while Changing Star simply shrugged as she went to extract the meat from the scavengers.
At that moment, Hugo heard a beeping sound coming from his chest. The Omnitrix flared red as he detransformed back to his human form in flash of red light.
He scoffed a little, feeling the weakness and fragility of his Dormant form returning.
---
"Guys..." Sunny said on the way back to where Cassie was hidden, making them stop, fearing they were against another abomination.
"What is it?" Hugo said, feeling a bit guilty about his earlier treatment of Sunny.
Sunny simply ignored him and looked at Changing Star. "I got an Echo."
Her eyes widened in shock. An Echo was an incredible resource to have in the Dream Realm, one of an Awakened Beast, no less.
"That's great..." Nephis muttered, a strange look on her face as they reached the place Cassie was hidden in.
Hugo turned to Sunny and said in a calm voice, "Congratulations..."
Sunny shot him a side glance before rolling his eyes In annoyance before saying:
"Whatever..."
Hugo's shoulders slumped a little as he mentally sighed 'I deserve it... Stupid Flaw...'
---
Later during the day, they repeated the same process when taking down a group of three scavengers: hiding Cassie, sending Hugo to attack first, and then Sunny and Nephis would join the battle.
Now armed with Sunny's Echo, the process was even easier than ever—not that it had gone on for that long—although that did not mean it wasn't exhausting. Especially for Hugo who began to develop a strange mental fatigue from transforming and detransforming constantly.
'who would've guessed that constantly shifting your soul and body would be bad for you?'
Currently, they were waiting on the edge of the labyrinth path leading directly to the giant statue of the headless knight. There was a group of scavengers blocking their path that did not stand much of a chance. The sunset was near, but they still had time.
Helping Cassie along, Sunny followed Changing Star and quickly traversed the open space between the labyrinth and the statue. Now, they only had to get on top of it, which was incredibly infuriating because of Cassie's inability.
'I should stop thinking like that...' he grimaced, feeling a mix of disgust and hatred for himself.
Hugo, being the one who was less exhausted physically carried Cassie the most during the climb switching between Sunny and Nephis when he got too tired.
'I really should work on getting a flying Imprint...'
---
They had finally reached the top. Not long after, the dark sea returned flooding the world in complete darkness.
The cohort couldn't risk making a fire to cook the food, so they simply ate the food dry, drinking water to pass it...
'This is disgusting...' Hugo grimaced forcing himself to chew on the meat.
After that, Sunny and Nephis split the rewards between them, with Nephis giving him the remaining two soul shards, sealing their dea.
Hugo felt guilty because of that but he still didn't refuse the shards, bringing his soul shards total to [16/1000].
It was then that Sunny did something bizarre—again—and gave his shard to Nephis...
'Don't tell me he's feeling guilty for her...' Hugo thought, wondering if the paranoid boy could actually feel that type of emotion.
He was then proven correct as Sunny explained why it was strategically better if Nephis got the shards... And He also made a deal with her to train him which made perfect sense for someone like sunny who came from the outskirts.
Hugo found the idea quite interesting, as receiving tutelage from a Legacy princess was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but alas, his main weapon was a spear/trident while Nephis and Sunny used swords.
---
It was currently the middle of the night, Cassie was asleep, Sunny was swinging his sword, and Nephis was taking guard.
And Hugo found himself feeling incredibly bored while also being unable to sleep...
So he did the only thing he can to pass the time.
He brought out his Spell runes, mainly focusing on his Aspect Legacy.
Aspect Legacy: [The Last Testament]
Aspect Legacy Description: [I, the First Thinker, have foreseen the end and could not stop it. And so, I leave this record. Let this stand as my testament against the vile strings of fate and the one who weaved them. Within this record lies the proof of our world and the hope for what may one day be again. You who are reading this is the testament of our existence. So I beg of you, whoever you are, Do not fail us.]
First Playlist: [Locked]
Second Playlist: [Locked]
Third Playlist: [Locked]
Fourth Playlist: [Locked]
Fifth Playlist: [Locked]
Sixth Playlist: [Locked]
Seventh Playlist: [Locked]
He had long contemplated what his Aspect Legacy was supposed to offer him in terms of power, eventually reaching the conclusion that it was most likely going to be a unique Imprint.
But that left one important question.
'Just what do I do to unlock it...'
He looked at the shimmering runes trying to find anything that could lead him to unlocking the first playlist.
Of course that too lead to nowhere.
Eventually, he sighed deciding to enter his soul sea.
The gigantic blue maze appeared in front of him, making Hugo shiver slightly as he remembered the sight of the hundreds of imprints looking at him from that vision back in the academy.
'Maybe I could find them...'
Hugo said, walking through the complicated maze.
The place was uttuerly enormous, spanning over dozens of turns and hundreds of walls, each inscribed with strange lines similar to the ones the galvans had in their tech.
"just what is this place..."
Hugo traced his hand on the walls feeling a strange amount of energy coursing through it.
That same energy was familiar resenting with something deep within his soul.
It was omni energy.
He couldn't quite manipulate that energy but he could feel it. And currently it was concentrated in a single spot as if it was trying to lead Hugo somewhere.
Taking the right turns and paths, Hugo continued forward, his expression hardening slightly as his senses were alerting him of something...
Taking one last turn, Hugo came across something new.
Instead of the countless turns and paths of the maze, there's a d a desolate space in his soul sea and in the middle of that space was a singular object that was not supposed to be there.
It was a door