บท 21: One of Many to Come
They have been staring at me for ten minutes now…
Grisha had an awkward smile on "His" face. When being pulled within Sefirah Castle, "He" had expected to be immediately questioned regarding the Solar Eclipse that was caused due to "Him" battling against the sudden blood moon.
Yet, as time passed and neither of the two spoke up, Grisha felt the situation becoming increasingly awkward. Eventually, despite being a pseudo-visionary, "He" was incapable of handling the atmosphere and spoke up. "Well, that was certainly something."
"He" felt Amansies piercing gaze very slightly softening, while Klein gave "Him" a look of spite. Grisha sighed heavily, before placating himself and turning to Klein; "His" eyes becoming lustrous while "His" face wore a soft expression. "Actually, I have a few things to ask of you."
Klein wasn't surprised by this. Straightening his posture, he tilted his head while wearing a stoic look, appearing high and lofty from Amanises point of view. "Go on." Klein tapped the armrest of his high back chair with his slender fingers, as the greyish white fog surrounding his figure swayed gently, whereas the countless stars that littered the cosmic sky of the Castle, moved from their spots and came together forming various familiar constellations.
Amanises looked up at the starry sky and instantly recognized some of the constellations. Aquila, Antlia, Auriga, Camelopardalis, Canis Major and Canis Minor. All are earthly observed constellations… Her gaze softened at the thought of home, before she moved it away to stare at Grisha and Klein.
"The previous Crimson Moon…" Grisha stated softly, earning a deep sigh from Klein. As expected. If Amanises could spot the anomaly with the Crimson Moon, then so could Grisha. Now, whether or not, I should reveal info of the Outer Deities…
Klein rubbed his chin with his slender fingers, tapping on the smooth flesh of his mentolabial crease. His prolonged silence increased Grisha's curiosity, as "He" thought back to "His" theory of the "Above the Sequence," while patiently waiting for Klein's response.
In the original timeline, Grisha likely began deducing the Above the Sequence level, the moment "He" gained partial authority over Omniscience. "Him" gaining knowledge of that level before that point might lead to some unpredictable situations. It could be bad or it could be better but… Klein's lips twitched, before curling into a smile. His gaze narrowed as he spoke eloquently,
"It's not completely suitable for you to know everything; not until you have the Omniscience Symbol." He paused after speaking to witness Grisha's calm exterior slightly flatter, earning a light chuckle out of him. "But I can confirm that the guesses you might have at the moment are correct."
Omniscience Symbol? So until "He" becomes Half a Great Old One, pseudo God Almighty? But why? If it's suitable for me to know these things, then why can't Grisha? Amanises instantly questioned Klein's objective, before shaking her head, as she found herself incapable of deducing the mind games of this Sequence 1.
More than enough. Grisha's eyes brightened, as one after the another, countless thoughts began to rise in "His" head, while "His" gaze shifted to the ancient copper mottled long table before "Him". The Sanguine Ancestor Lilith is likely the one ruling over the Moon pathway, especially given the Sanguines are "Her" creation. If, as the Sun, I could become the beacon of light and purity, then the same should go for the Moon. But that blood moon from before… That was not caused by "Her" for a matter of fact. So does that mean there are 'Outsiders' peering over this planet? It isn't too far-fetched to be honest—I doubt there are only 22 pathways in the entire cosmos, and that all of them are just on Earth.
From what he said, the theory of "Above the Sequence" also seems to likely be the factual deduction. Could the outsiders be the Above the Sequence? There is something surrounding this planet, like a thick membrane covering every part of the Real, Spirit and even Astral World. Could it be to prevent these outsiders from coming in? But who erected this membrane? What purpose do these outsiders have? What happened between the Modern Era and this time??
Grisha's head was filled with unanswered questions. "He" gently sighed, and pushed them aside and directed his thoughts to the crimson moon. If the Blood Moon wasn't caused by Lilith, does that mean there is another existence, possibly an outsider that has authority over the Moon? Or could it be that the crimson moon is much more than what it seems… After all, what event caused the silvery moon to become crimson? There is far too much I am not aware of…
Grisha thought of it for a moment, before coming to a decision. I can't get answers from Klein… Not until I have the 'Omniscience' symbol. If I wish to gain answers, then I'll have to meet the 'Moon', the Sanguine Ancestor in person. Examining "Her" should give me some answers. I should also keep an eye on the Giant's Queen, who seems to possess the Mother Uniqueness, which neighbours the Moon.
Coming to conclusion, "He" retracted "His" thoughts, and rested "His" hands on the table, leaning forward. "His" action attracted the attention of both Klein and Amanises, as they also leaned forward on their chair, waiting for Grisha to speak up. "I suppose you two remember the ultimate goal of this alliance."
Now, this is interesting!
Both Klein and Amanises thought simultaneously, almost as if sharing a brain cell. They bopped their heads in synchronisation, indicating their understanding.
Grisha maintained "His" smile and nonchalantly continued, "Very well then. My goal is to get rid of the Mythical races from,". "He" paused for a moment, while eyeing Klein from the corner of "His" golden eye. "This 'Planet'. And I have a rough plan for it." Amanises gulped, feeling somewhat thrilled, before composing herself and speaking, "And this rough plan is?"
"Quite thrilled aren't you?" Grisha slightly teased, maintaining "His" smile. Amanises, in response, deeply stared at him, while forming a smile similar to "His", as if trying to play off the situation. Well… Letting your emotions take even a slight bit of you in front of a top notch spectator is bound to result in some frivolous situation. Klein observed the two and couldn't help but lampoon.
Also, I need to increase my lampooning! It feels like I have been doing less of it for a while now! Klein gathered the grey fog around him and concealed his action of closing his eyes, and nodding to himself. Thankfully, neither of the two spotted the sudden shift in the grey fog.
"Regardless, you both are quite crucial to this plan." Turning "His" head towards Amanises, Grisha continued, "Especially you." Amanises eyes widened under mild surprise, as she considered her role, which this true deity considered to be crucial.
"Interesting…" Klein commented, looking over at Grisha. His gaze didn't go unnoticed as the God lightly chuckled, before beginning to further elaborate. "Let us see. My main plan consists of waging war against the Humanoid and non-humanoid mythical races, having them sweep over each other. In this way, the 'Gods' would be forced into a battle, which would result in their corresponding victories and death. The Mythical races following them can simply be cleared afterwards."
Both Amanises and Klein felt a shiver, with Amanises asking, "So, you mean you want the deities to fight each other to the death? Isn't that what they have been doing all these years?" Grisha shook "His" head and said, "Yes and No. While the deities may have been battling each other, the war I wish to wage would have their very lives at stake. It is either they die by the hands of others, or take those others with them."
"Both paths lead to death." Klein said wearily, earning a nod from Grisha. Then, a long silence permeated the castle, as the duo, Klein and Amanises, made sense of the true God's words, while the latter patiently waited.
"He" is being quite vague on "His" method. Waging a war between deities, with the end result being their destruction… How exactly will "He" enforce this? All pathways have quite a number of ways to escape a perilous situation, and the deities themselves favour their survival over everything else. Amanises was quite confused over Grisha's "plan" and found herself incapable of seeing it come to fruition.
But, if anything she had learned in her travels with Klein, Amanises knew for a fact that she was weak. Not just in terms of strength but even in terms of mental games, she was no match for the God and Klein, sitting beside her. Hence, she was prompted to simply sit back and let Klein comment on the "Plan".
He can then elaborate the plan to me in actual, comprehensible Human language, instead of whatever he just blurted. She lampooned while turning her head towards Klein.
Interesting. Seems it wasn't just Aurmir's betrayal that caused Lilith's fall, but a certain Sun God might have also played parts in it. Klein reflected. Without turning his head towards Grisha, he observed the ancient long table in front of him and asked, "And who will be the victims in this little plan of yours?" Grisha's smile became slightly more radiant, as he spoke. "Kvastir, Lilith, and.." Pausing, his smile became brighter as he uttered.
"Flegrea."
…
This might be a bit bad.
Fanatic, deranged, wild.
Fred had no words to describe the situation before him. It was chaotic, and maddening, as if all hell had broken loose at once. Following the previous Blood moon and the brief solar eclipse afterwards, there came a significant change in the city of Sanguines, more specifically to its residents.
The Sanguines.
This… Sanguines had always been unstable. Some were mad, others threading on rationality, some having formed a balance between the both. They were a race that was the closest to Humans, to the point, only a few physical and physiological distinctions differentiated both.
Yet, as time had taken its toll, so did the Sanguines. Fred had come to notice the slow but noticeable shift in Sanguine's behavior. A race that was known for its unusually 'Eloquent' behaviour, had grown more frivolous. More and more of them had gone mad, some lost control, wildness, excitement, thirst, and the instinct to mate seemingly taking over each and every one of them. This was a slow and gradual shift which allowed those still having their rationality maintained to enforce isolation, execution and treachery on those that were no longer sane.
Just as it felt that the situation had come under control, crimson descended from the sky, bathing the entire world, soaking it in dark bloody red. This was the breaking point. As madness spread through the entire city like a wave in the ocean, it suddenly halted, as the crimson glow was enveloped by the orange rays penetrating the sky itself, providing a respite to those that have gone mad and an end to those that have become monsters.
Eventually, the crimson halted its embrace and retreated, letting the bright sun take its rightful place, washing away the madness and insanity brought about. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. The bright radiance, while helping the Sanguines against the increasing madness and chaotic nature that had plagued them from the past several decades, it also burned their skins, charing away their pale flesh, boiling their bright red blood.
It was a bane and a boon.
But despite that, the mental condition of Sanguines suffered a terrible, perhaps irreversible blow. Fred, currently in moon city, overlooked the city, its primary residents, sanguines, wandering around aimlessly, like zombies looking to eat something. Perhaps, it was the last bit of rationality that prevented most of them from pouncing over the humans walking among them.
The city itself was in chaos and disorder, with Humans, Sanguines, Vampires alike scattered among the sprawling chassell, some to survive, others simply wanting to get away, while some took the opportunity to fulfil their unsatiated hunger.
I need to report this to Merlin immediately! Fred thought, while moving away from the countless bloodthirsty gazes. He was panicked, scared, evident from his uncontrollable shaking body. Yet, he continued to move forward eventually making his way to the entrance of the city, the least crowded place.
Finding a shadowy spot, he knelt down and clasped his hands, closing his eyes, as he chanted in a soft but shaking tone.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this Era;
"The Mysterious Ruler above the Grey Fog;
"The King of Yellow and Black who wields Good Luck."
Following the Honorific name of the Fool, Fred elaborated on the situation of Sanguine race in detail, making sure to not leave out anything. Finishing, he chanted the Honorific name once more, as a thanking prayer, before getting back on his feets.
Just as he was about to turn around and walk back to Lord Quan's mansion, Fred felt an insanely cold chill behind him. Instantly, he felt the control over his own body weaken, as he found himself frozen, incapable of movement. His vision was slowly enveloped by darkness, as great fear and terror plagued his mind.
Just as he felt his grip on his body completely loosen, an explosion sounded beneath him!
Fred felt his control over his body return, with it, he felt a tight grip on his shoulder, before being flung in the air, disorienting him as his body crashed on an archway. The impact completely broke the support pillar, as the archway collapsed with Fred's unconscious and battered body.
In his previous spot, from the very torn apart ground, emerged countless green tendrils and roots engulfing the entire area, spreading onto everywhere, as if they had a life of their own. At the surface of these roots were lush green leaves, and in some spots even wood. These roots and tendrils flung around, before tying themselves to a figure that had emerged from the shadows.
Its body was illusory, near transparent. Its face was hollow, while the figure itself was devoid of any clothing. It had long hair that covered its figure, and finally it was floating in the air. Before the figure could escape, the roots and tendrils latched onto its form, locking it in place. The violent movement of roots and tendril quickly resulted in the entire area turning to rumble!
The crowd surrounding the spot panicked, with most if not all running away.
The loud commotion jolted Fred of his unconscious state!
Immediately, he felt massive stinging pain crawl up his spine, while his vision blurred between dark and blur. His mind was hyperactive as the previous memory resurged causing Fred to instinctively discard pain and focus on escaping. He quickly got up, before limping back down, resettling on the debris. A shrill cry escaped his mouth, yet he couldn't care as he immediately got back up again, his vision clearing, as he noticed the movements of the crowd, attempting to follow them to a safe spot.
It was at that moment, a loud howl sounded through the air.
Looking up at the sky, at the tallest of the arches, was a figure standing on all fours, its size wider and bigger than the very arch it was standing on. Upon keen observation, some humanoid features could be discerned. Fred, with his preliminary knowledge, quickly thought of the demonic wolves, before he took notice of the lack of extra limbs demonic wolves were known for.
He then turned his head towards the destroyed part of the entrance, where he had prayed to Merlin Hermes, and saw the amalgamation of roots, flesh, tendrils and woods. At the epicentre was a shrill cloudy figure, trapped in the spot by nature itself. More howls ringed in Fred's ear.
The environment quickly shifted as dark clouds enveloped the entire Sanguine city, while the sun descended at the edge of the world, with the crimson moon slowly rising from the other end. Screams of terror echoed in the city, as fleshy tentacles, and roots emerged from seemingly nowhere, chaotically flunging around. Some of these roots launched towards the figures on the archway, neatly stabbing through their bodies, dying the arches in crimson red, complementing the shine of the crimson moon.
It was as if a revelation from God, Fred suddenly felt his instinct trigger as he knelt down and took shelter in the debris, incapable of going anywhere under fear. He then noticed more figures emerging from various places, which previously appeared empty. The entities themselves were indescribable for Fred, both due to his erratic fear, and also due to their illusory nature.
Thump! Thump!
Fred felt the ground had suddenly begun to shake. He moved his head towards the entrance of the city, as loud growls alongside innumerable footsteps sounded in his ears. The entranceway was filled with thick white smog, which Fred was unable to see nor sense through. Numerous shadows quickly became visible before stepping out of the white smog. Fred saw humanoid figures that appeared nightmarish. Their flesh appeared broken, dried, with some having no eyes in their socket, instead green puss spewed out from them. Their mouths hung open, revealing their broken or disgusting teeths as well as their mutilated flesh, their white tongues or absence of it. Flesh was visibly absent in various parts of their bodies, with their bones and veins visible. These humanoid creatures loudly growled before rushing into the city in a disorderly manner, with the thick smog following them.
Loud explosions sound all around the city, with structures crumbling down, fire burning away the flesh and roots, reducing them to ashes, and molten steel washing the entire city.
"..."
Z-Zombies… Fred immediately understood what was happening. Creatures resembling wolves, illusory figures, Zombies. This all matched the description of mutants.
The Mutants had waged war on the Sanguines!
…
"Flegrea"
Grisha uttered, "His" voice echoing in Sefirah Castle, and within Amanises ears. It's finally time?! She felt a slight chill, as the thoughts of killing Flegrea, the Evernight Demonic Wolf, gave birth to countless scenarios in her head.
Correct. The fall of Lilith, Kvastir and Flegrea was caused by Grisha. Then was Aurmir's betrayal also caused by "Him"? Could "He" have instigated the betrayal in the first place? Perhaps history isn't as simple as tales and told. What appears on the surface might have much deeper implications hidden underneath.
Klein suddenly halted his rapid thoughts, as a figure in history surfaced in his mind. Now that I think of it, I have very much neglected Giants, especially when they have a being among them that may be polluted by the Great Mother. The Giant Queen, Ombella. His pupils suddenly contracted. Initially, after learning about Giant's Queen anomaly from the Seven lights, hadn't I considered going to Kingdom of Silver to check on its resident? What happened to that plan?
No—It's more like the entire thing slipped past my mind! Everytime I did consider it, I was conveniently called for something else, such as a meeting, or Amanises. The last time a series of coincidences like these happened around me, the end wasn't pretty…
Could it be that this is a warning stemming from spirituality? That I should not head to Kingdom of Silver because it might be too dangerous for me to handle? The ever so cautious Klein immediately considered the possibility, finding the situation quite similar to his previous reasonable encounters.
And if anything, I have learned from those encounters; not dealing with them in due time usually results in a bad situation escalating to something terrible… A sigh parted his lips, as a man in his thirties with a deep receding hairline and sharp grey eyes flashed past his mind.
Captain…
Another sigh escaped him. Klein thought back to the anomaly with the Kingdom of Silver. The Kingdom itself has faith in the Giant Queen, which means if anything, the danger should be related to "Her" and not Aurmir. Other than a Sequence 0 Deity, I fail to see anything that might be a cause of danger, but again there is a lot I am still not aware of which means I can't take anything lightly. If my spiritual self is warning me to a point of subconscious ignorance to the matter, then the warning has to be serious!
Then… Yeah. I should wait until I gain the Fool Uniqueness and become a "true" Sequence 0, in a sense, before tackling this matter. No matter what it may be, I should be able to resist, unless somehow an actual entire Outer Deity descended out of nowhere! Klein slightly teased himself before coming to a conclusion.
I have neglected the matter for some time now, might as well keep it up for a little more… Forgive me, oh residents of the Kingdom of Silver. Klein turned his attention back on to Grisha and Amanises, neither having continued the conversation due to Klein's prolonged silence.
"As expected." Klein uttered, while leaning back at his chair, clasping his hands. "Then, how shall we execute such a massive catastrophe?" He followed with a question aimed at Grisha. The latter waved his hands in front of his face. "Not yet, there might be a slight change now." "He" paused for a moment, thinking back to the Sanguine ancestor, "Let's discuss the details in further meetings… Hehe."
That 'Hehe'... This guy never fails in giving me chills. And what about the slight change in plans? Amanises tried to decipher the hidden meaning in Grisha's words. Klein, seemingly unbothered, returned a smile at Grisha, indicating his understanding.
Some time went by, with none of the three speaking another word. This indicated the end of the meeting, and so Klein and Amanises didn't wait on the ceremony, greeting the 'Sun' a farewell until the next meeting.
Not before,
"By the way, you two should take care of yourself. Especially once you return to the real world." Grisha subtly warned.
I suddenly have a bad feeling. Klein and Amanises had the same exact thought once more. Without replying, Klein cut off the connection letting Grisha's astral projection descend back into the real world.
Seeing "His" figure disappear in fiery crimson, Amanises turned her head towards Sefirah Castle's owner. "I am confused." She didn't try to hide the fact that this particular meeting went over her head. "Hehe, what can I say other than wait and see."
That doesn't sound good to me… She slightly gulped before a flash of crimson passed her vision, with the greyish white fog disappearing into nothingness. The not too familiar living room entered her vision again, with Klein's figure in front of her.
Just as she sighed, instantly, Amanises heard a familiar, yet unfamiliar, clear yet illusory voice suddenly rang in her ears.
Before she could react, her vision blurred, as suddenly Amanises felt as if her head was being split apart. The illusory yet distinctly clear ravings drilled into her head, as her very ear threatened to give in.
Klein, quickly noticing the anomaly, tried to take actions to help his friend, but then, a mystical, crazed and depraved voice sounded in his ears. It was a raving he had never heard before, far more crazed, more monstrous than even the ravings caused by the mental imprint of The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth, the previous Lord of Mysteries.
But, unlike Amanises, Klein was able to resist the mad influence of the illusory voice, and immediately deployed Realm of Mysteries, the embryonic divine kingdom of the Fool. With the realm of mysteries's concealment in effect, Klein was able to cut off all connections to the outside world, getting rid of the maddened ravings that plagued the duo.
The reason Klein didn't immediately pull them back within Sefirah Castle was due to his unawareness of the situation. In the case where he wasn't aware of the enemy, revealing something as big as a Sefirah might not be the wisest move in the long run. Another reason was that Klein found himself capable of resisting the illusory ravings, which meant that merely the pseudo divine kingdom was enough for this conundrum.
As the voice faded away, Amanises fell down from the chair to the floor, panting heavily as the throbbing pain in her head slowly reclined. While Klein reclined in his chair, and rubbed his forehead with his left hand, breathing in silence.
For the longest of time, neither of them spoke, as sounds of panting, moans and grunting filled the air.
"Wh-Wha-What was th-at??" Amanises barely manage to ask in a low voice. Suddenly, Grisha's previous warning surfaced in her mind, causing Amanises to be filled with a bout of anger.
"I might have a theory.. It seems…" Klein paused, looking down at the demonic wolf which had curled herself to better support her shaking body. "It seems…" Amanises repeated his last words, causing Klein to chuckle.
"Hahaa, It seems Flegrea might be…"
…
In the dark ancient black chapel, with the crimson moon shining atop the ancient structure frozen in time, a howl emerged resounding in the ears of each and every demonic wolf, making quite a lot of them to immediately lost control on the spot, the thin illusory threads drilling from their body, making slight movements before ultimately resting back.
The crimson moonlight shined bright, drilling through the intricate windows of the ancient divine chapel surrounded by grey fog, illuminating the figure of a giant amalgamation of thin maggots seemingly cluttered on the body of a large demonic wolf.
These thin transparent maggots moved around the body, drilling in and out through the pores in the flesh of the evernight demonic wolf, crawling in "His" bones, biting at his very flesh and flowing like blood in "His" veins. "His" transparent shining heart was clearly visible from "His" body, having no protection of a ribcage.
It beat endlessly, as if as a last attempt to support "His" crumbling body. Countless tentacles kept phasing in and out from the bottom of the demonic wolf, as it sometimes formed legs, other times dissociated back into thin tentacles.
Darkness surged back and forth covering and concealing various parts of "His" gigantic form.
At the place where the face of this demonic wolf should have been was an illusory featureless mask. This featureless mask seemingly kept changing its form, trying to form various faces, yet failing completely. Within the mask was complete darkness.
The Darkness at "His" face and the illusory mask that was drilled into it, seemingly tried to push themselves apart, to completely diverge Yet, a strong force bound them together, making them incapable of complete separation.
Wanting to separate yet converge at the same.
Another howl resounded.
…
"It seems Flegrea might be dissociating."
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IkiruMist
IkiruMist Hi,
Long ch so you are eating good. Nothing much to say other than i kinda liked this ch. Btw, there will be a ch on Tuesday or Wednesday, then another on Thursday then one on Saturday or two ch on Sunday. I'll take a week long break afterwards and we will finish the Early Era of Fire on the last week aka 22nd of December to 28th of December, possibly a ch everyday with maybe even two on some days.
Get yourself ready!
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