Chapter 15: (IN) Chapter 014 - Dreams: Where Lineage and Destiny Meet
"You're nothing!" A voice resounded inside Duke's head.
[What? Who're you?] Duke was visibly confused.
Suddenly different voices jeered and ridiculed him.
"HAHAHAHAHA What a loser" Another distinct voice jeered.
[D-Deacon?!] Duke realized that one of the voices he heard was one of his past bullies.
"D-Deacon... please stop!" Duke tried to be brave as he suddenly realized there was someone watching him from behind.
... It was Vivian.
"Ooh? You're brave now HUH?! Kukuku Lets throw him in the latrines!" Deacon and the other Bullies, Duke had throughout his life, suddenly made him relive one of his past memories. (Latrines are ancient toilets used by people of the past)
Deacon's feet was suddenly stepping on Duke's face as his face hit the muck close to the latrines. The smell was horrid, but Duke didn't say anything as he knew the next words Deacon was about to say.
"Clean this shit up... Kukuku, if you don't want me to make it hard for your little grandpa" Deacon was the son of a Duke, therefore the young Duke was afraid of him back then as he believed Deacon really had the power to hurt his grandpa.
The poor young Duke didn't understand politics back then. But he's different now, Duke thought. Now with the knowledge imparted to him by Vivian during one of their lessons, Duke now knew Deacon couldn't actually do shit to him.
"No! I know you can't actually hurt us!" Duke tried to act fierce, despite already peeing his pants.
To at least retain some level of respect from the eerily silent Vivian behind him.
The annoyed bullies beat him up as his consciousness faded.
"And that class is why you don't eat during class instead of listening to the teacher" Duke woke up to a snobby scholar jeering at him.
"Tch, fatass" A classmate next to him laughed.
"Tch" Sylvia, Duke's first crush snorted in one corner... emotionally traumatizing the young Duke back then.
[B-but I-I eat when I'm nervous] Duke wanted to cry but he couldn't as when he looked behind him where the silent Vivian was.
After his goodbye with her, forcing Vivian to travel to Milan to handle the matters of the Bank alone, Duke swore to himself that he would never again let himself show his unreliable side to Vivian.
The jeers grew louder and louder. Even the snobby teacher chimed in on the ridicule.
Duke remembered his younger self falling unconscious from their jeers that day.
And like in the past, he too fell unconscious as he tried to bury the trauma he had of that day.
But the bad memories kept on coming and coming.
"What? You can't even swing 50 times? Are you a girl? Are those fats actually boobs?" One of the Knights-in-Training picked on Duke.
Today was the day where Knights-in-Training would be visiting the boarding school and Duke was incredibly excited to see the Knights he admired up close.
Sadly that day became one of the worst days of his life that he just wanted to forget.
"Ha! No wonder they're so big!" Another classmate jeered.
[No! No! I'm a man!] "I'M A MAN!" Duke angrily shouted back.
"What?! Do you think you can shout at me? I'll teach you! Come pick up your sword!"
The Knight-in-Training began to utterly humiliate Duke in front of everyone here.
On his way to his dorm room that day, a group of kids his age began to copy what the Knight did but this time with no protective gear.
They beat Duke up mercilessly. And he was helpless against their bullying.
Throughout his school life, Duke experienced extreme physical and emotional bullying as his family was quite poor for noble standards and he didn't have any friend who would back him up in the highly hierarchical system the boarding school had.
Duke never told his grandfather of the severe bullying he had, which was the main reason Duke continued to be weak and stupid, as every time he tried to fight back he would be utterly crushed and every time he tried his best to answer a question given to him, he would be utterly humiliated instead.
The teachers weren't of any help either. Unlike the educational systems, we have on Earth, The Empire was lenient on the behavior of the teachers. Some teachers even committed evil acts such as corruption and bribery. In truth, Vivian was already lucky all she had were snobby teachers of the palace and not the corrupt teachers that Duke experienced, who would sometimes even join in mocking the young Duke.
"Woah he's still conscious even with all that beating? It must be the thick fat he has! HAHAHA"
"Tch he's probably already used to getting beat up that's why he's so tough"
"Touch? PFT, he can't even fight back what a loser" The boy mocking him, kicked him on the side, breaking one of his ribs.
[Kuh... Che! Byran's strikes were stronger] Duke realized.
Extreme bullying was also one reason why Duke was so sturdy despite getting beat up by the group of old Knights.
"Hey let's take his money"
[D-Darius? Why is he here?! Wait I remember this!] "NO!" Duke shouted as he remembered the sequence of events that happened on that day.
But it was too late.
After Darius checked Duke's pocket, on his hand was a gold locket.
"No! No PLEASE! Anything but that!" Duke forgot Vivian was still silently listening behind him as he begged Darius.
The locket was incredibly precious to him.
"What's this? Wouldn't you normally put the picture of your lover in the locket? Why is some fat old man in it instead? KHAHAHAHAH Don't tell me your boyfriends with this old man?" Darius sneered as he broke the locket into two.
"GHK! NO!" Duke snapped as he tried to attack them.
But sadly he was too weak as he was just beaten up by the group of teens.
The locket was a precious gift his grandfather gave him on his 15th Birthday before falling ill and losing the ability to walk. It was the last reminder Duke had of his once healthy grandfather who used to accompany him in his failed sword training.
Like that day, Darius and his lackeys beat Duke up until he lost consciousness.
But as his consciousness faded someone suddenly rescued him.
After Duke sat back up he saw the one who helped him.
"H-Handsome me?" Duke was perplexed as the one who helped him was the handsome Duke he saw in a past dream.
The handsome Duke had exactly the same features as his father, only the eyes were more distinct as handsome Duke's eyes were a combination of his father's piercing eyes and his mother's cold yet calculating eyes.
Then handsome Duke confidently smiled at him as he sneered "What?!" *Pfttt* "You think I'm you? You're obviously adopted! It's impossible that someone as ugly as you would be on the same family as your parents and your grandfather!" The handsome clone attacked one of Duke's sensitive spots as for a long time before his grandfather clarified it to him, Duke actually thought he was adopted.
"Yeah! It's impossible someone as weak and fat as you would be one of us Kukuku. If I were you" *Ting* "I'd kill ALL of them! EVERY LAST FUCKING ONE!"
Another clone, who looked like the first handsome clone except for being a little sharper and looked crueler, spoke.
Duke became extremely scared as the second clone killed everyone there with intense cruelty.
The second clone was intensely sadistic as he began to kill the bullies Duke had in the past.
Gouging out the eyes of one of the bullies as he let the bully bleed to death while he cut off the limbs of another bully, slowly, as he moaned in pain and bled to death.
The bullies tried to group together but they were no match for the second clone.
The first clone laughed at Duke who pissed himself, sitting in a puddle of piss.
"Hahaha, this is why you never got any of the girls you like" The first clone was suddenly holding Sylvia with one hand and Vivian on the other.
"V-Vivian?!" Duke looked behind him as he thought [T-two Vivians?]
Duke sighed in relief as his original Vivian was still silently looking at the gruesome scene as it unfolded.
"KHAHAHA! Indeed" A third clone agreed with what the first clone said. The third clone was much taller and muscular than the first two clones.
But an intense hatred welled up in Duke for this clone as he saw the third clone had another different third Vivian who wore slave's clothing and looked extremely thin and had different injuries on her body as if she was malnourished and tortured.
"Why're you looking at my Bitch?" The third clone snorted as he stepped on the weak and malnourished Vivian.
"G-GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" Duke shouted in pure rage.
"Hmmm? But she likes this... Don't you doggy?" The third clone asked the enslaved Vivian as she was forced to answer "Yes master..."
*Crack* Duke's sanity shattered as he began to run in anger at the third clone. Vivian wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be smart, independent, yet sarcastically proud at the same time! She didn't deserve to be treated like a dog!
Duke knew it was all a dream, but he still couldn't let someone do that to Vivian.
But as he ran towards the abusive third clone his clothes were being pulled by something heavy and he couldn't get away.
As Duke looked behind him he saw a fourth clone. But unlike the first three clones, this clone looked to be the even fatter version of Duke.
"Where are you going?" The fat clone asked.
"I-I need to save Vivian! I need to change!" Duke shouted.
"But you can't..." The fourth clone lazily answered.
"W-what?" Duke asked.
"You can't... Because you're too fat... and stupid"
The sight in front of him terrified Duke as he saw the fat clone sweat profusely and as the sweat dried up the clone began to evaporate as smoke left the clone's body.
The clone slowly became thinner and thinner until the clone looked eerily skeletal.
Then with a creepy and eerie smile, the clone repeated:
"You're-too-fat"
Duke then realized that the clone transferred all of its fats on to him.
He was now double as fat as he was before. Now he couldn't even move.
Duke struggled and struggled but sadly he just couldn't move his body due to the sheer weight it had.
"Aweee~ Now who would save Vivian?" The first clone chimed in groping the girls next to him.
"Unless... Maybe if you give up your body to one of us~?" The second clone said as it continued to torture the snobby professor who humiliated Duke in the past.
"Or maybe ALL of us?"
The fourth skeletal clone creepily whispered to Duke's ear.
In great despair, Duke almost gave up as he was about to accept his weak fate.
But then a deep and ancient voice resounded from the deepest parts of his consciousness.
"Begone, lowly Demons..."
The deep voice resounded with great majesty as a colossal and great fire breathing beast came out of the abyss.
The Four Tortures immediately escaped, fearing for their existence.
It was a dragon.
"Tch, you couldn't even beat those lowly thugs? How my lineage has fallen..." The Dragon sighed as he held the doubly obese Duke in his hands like a ball.
"Another failure I guess..." The Dragon continued.
"W-who are you calling a failure?!" Duke regained his sense of self after the "4 thugs" left.
"I'm talking of you Fat one!" The Dragon snorted as if he didn't care.
"I-i" Duke tried to retort but his self-esteem was in shambles so all he could do was lay his head low in front of the great beast in front of him.
"Huuu, you never did believe in your own lineage, did you... Fin-frir?"
Another voice as majestic as the first voice resounded. But the difference was, this voice was human.
"Ugh... Gaiseric" The Dragon complained.
"Have you come to torture me again with your rhetoric?" The Dragon incited as he dropped the exhausted Duke on the floor.
*Plop* Duke bounced up and down.
"Torture?" The man confidently smiled in front of the great beast as if not afraid to back down.
"Oh come on, you make your old friend sad" The man continued.
"How about we make a bet?" The man thought of something interesting.
"A bet you say? Hmmm. Ok..." The Dragon thought about it for a long time but eventually agreed.
"Hahaha! I see you still haven't given up despite your past losses" It was the man's turn to incite the Dragon this time.
"Bah! Gwaine was no failure! He at least became a national hero!" The dragon retorted.
"Ohhh... What low standards you have for your descendants I see... Come on now, don't lie to yourself. Gwaine was my win. You bet he would've at least conquered half a continent... Tsk tsk tsk"
"But only a national hero?..." The man gave the Dragon a cold look.
"Tch" The Dragon snorted.
"Hey! My grandpa wasn't a failure!" Duke shouted at the man in front of him.
The man realized there was another voice coming from the plump ball beside him as he looked at Duke.
The man stared and observed for a while then suddenly laughed out loud.
"Hmm? Hahahahaha! Truly amazing! You're not afraid of me, are you?" The man looked in awe at Duke's reactions to him.
"My gramps could beat you up in no time! Who're you calling a failure?!" Duke swung his weak hands at the man.
The man smiled as he looked at Duke.
Then he spread his arms majestically as he said: "Truly the young were always meant to surpass the old!"
The Dragon who looked like he didn't care suddenly became alert as he asked: "Are you gonna give him your blessing?!"
The Dragon was visibly shaken.
*Pffttt* "Give him MY lowly blessing? Bah! That would only hinder this one's destiny" Gaiseric majestically proclaimed.
The Dragon analyzed Duke as he thought [THE Gaiseric would only serve to hinder his destiny?! Preposterous! This fat turd?!]
The man ignored the visibly shaken Dragon as he put his index finger on Duke's forehead.
"Go back... You still have legends to make and myths to forge!" Gaiseric majestically uttered, sending Duke back to reality.
Or at least Duke thought it would...
But instead, the strange dream continued as time suddenly stopped and the two monstrous figures were suddenly frozen in time.
"Uhhh... Hello?" Duke waved his hands on Gaiseric's face. Sadly he wasn't responding.
"Hello..."
A beautiful voice resounded behind Duke as he immediately recognized the voice.
"Vivian! You're finally talking! Why are we here? Do you know? And why were you silent this whole time... You could've helped me ya know" Duke asked the Vivian who was silent behind him the whole time.
"V-Vivian?" The woman was shocked.
"Hmmm, Gaiseric's instincts never lie I guess" The woman giggled as she was visibly shocked that Duke could see her this entire time.
"Sadly you are still too weak to see my true form... And you see me in the form of this Vivian huh... interesting. Sadly we don't have much time before those two wake up from my spell"
The Vivian-like-woman put her hands on Duke's forehead as she uttered some words he couldn't understand.
And bam, Duke once again passed.
"-uke! Duke! Duke wake up!"
"H-huh?! B-Byran? Where are we?"
"Just woke up from your beauty sleep I see" Byran laughed at Duke who was currently lying down in the wagon's seat.
"I... I had a very weird dream" Duke gasped for air.
But Byran didn't respond to Duke as his face became visibly serious as he said:
"Were, here... Kath"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone