Chapter 187: Death of a god.

Chapter 186: Death of a God

A young man with azure eyes emerged from the water, walking a few steps under the light of four blue suns.

He entered a maze that had no end, and traversed its corridors with a hurried expression.

Hugo let out an exhale... It had been a while since he entered his soul sea and even longer since he set out to conquer a DNA trial.

He had always been afraid of them and he still was, but alas there was no other option right now. It was either this, or face a tragedy like the fall of Erebus Field.

It did not take him long to find the third DNA chamber, and step into its confines.

Thirty DNA pods appeared before him, each containing the DNA of a noble creature of the Transcendent rank.

And an ocean of corruption, as well.

"Omnitrix, all those creatures are devils right?"

Fighting a corrupted devil was at least manageable for now, with extreme difficulty.

[No. There are twenty devils, six tyrants, three terrors and one Titan.]

’Wonderful...’

Walking across the chamber, Hugo noticed that there was a pod with sparkles in it, somehow.

Hugo sighed.

"An aquatic alien probably won’t help even as a Transcendent... Is there anything that can influence minds or dreams?"

The terror was sleeping right now, so destroying its mind while it’s in a dream was a good move. Or, he could use an alien that influences minds to counter its powers, like Saint Tyris did to the Winter Beast.

Both Nightmare and Hugo’s spirit body were incapable of countering the terror as they were weaker than it.

The Omnitrix AI took a few moments to answer.

[The Nemuina DNA sample meets the user’s conditions. It possesses the Abilities of manipulating dreams and altering the subconscious.]

"Thank you, Omnitrix."

The pod with the Nemuina alien lit up, funnily enough it was the one that had sparkles in it...

’This is going to be the most horrifying day of my life... Isn’t it?’

Hugo considered taking Zed and his shadow with him, but after a bit of contemplation, he chose to only take his spirit body as the other two were needed in battle.

He took a step forward and entered the trial.

[Corrupted DNA sample detected.]

[Corruption detected...]

[Purifying corruption...]

[Purification impossible...]

[Failsafe activated.]

[Generating a trial...]

[Wielder of the Omnitrix! Prepare for your trial!]

Hugo was thrust into a nightmare.

***

In the depths of the black ocean, Bloodwave battled the minions of the terror and the terror itself.

He swam through the ocean with subsonic speed, leaving no time for the lesser nightmare creatures to react. A trail of blood followed wherever he passed and the mighty saint brought calamity with him where he went.

Such was the power of a legendary nightwalker, one who possessed the lineage of storm god.

And yet... The great saint was not performing as well as he should be.

He was exhausted, after all he fought with multiple tyrants in the span of a few days, draining his essence and his body...but more importantly something was clouding his mind, making him slowly turn his attention away from the terror of LO49.

’Curse it all.’

Sunny, bonded with the [Shadow Carapace], which gave him the ability to breathe underwater, cursed as he tore one of the fallen abominations apart with the [Sin of Solace].

He had used shadow dance to copy Neave’s movements underwater, gaining an edge in the battlefield but still...

It was not going well for them, especially considering the fact that Hugo had decided to run off somewhere.

’I’m sure he has his reasons.’

Whatever those reasons were, they did not change their current situations.

The minions of the terror were plenty and powerful, and worst of all, the terror itself was slowly eroding Bloodwave’s mind who did not possess defenses against mind attacks like Sunny did.

Even Sunny was not safe from its influence, despite the traits of the [Mantle] attribute granting him a measure of protection against mind attacks.

Sunny called upon his Ascended ability, and manifested shadows, shaping them into something using his fine and precise control.

Most people thought that there were no shadows in the ocean, but they were wrong.

Shadows existed in every place that had light and the ocean was no exception... Well, to be more specific, it was the waves who possessed shadows, not the ocean itself.

The waves themselves weren’t solid, so they didn’t cast shadows the way a tree or a person did, but the light bending through the peaks and troughs left thin ribbons of darkness in their wake.

Those were a form of shadows, as well.

Sunny used them to create countless shadow hands, and extended them through the aquatic battlefield, using them to disturb the movement of the thralls and crush the weaker ones.

Those minions were not controlled by the terror, rather they were controlled by its authority.

Creatures spawned from terrors are extensions of the Terror itself, however now that the terror was dormant and undergoing evolution to a Titan, they were controlled by its influence... Its instincts, to be more specific, which were to kill and consume non corrupted.

Or enthrall them in the case of this hideous terror.

This had made them increasingly dumber than they originally were, which made Sunny’s plan effective, even if briefly.

Thanks to his intervention, Neave and Bloodwave had an easier time dealing with the abominations.

At the same time, Sunny utilized the [Sacred Treasure] and summoned the great serpent.

A black serpent escaped from his shadow, much similar to the [Soul Serpent] he had left with Rain.

In fact, the serpent that existed within the sacred treasure was one of the prototypes that came before shadow god created the complete [Soul Serpents].

It swam across the water with terrible speed, devouring every abomination in sight.

With an Ascended devil on their sides, their odds were much better than before.

In the meantime, Sunny had gotten a bold idea...

He wanted to perform another attempt at mastering shadow dance fourth step.

His Target this time was none other than the legendary nightwalker, Saint Bloodwave, who was fighting a losing battle.

He had observed the nightwalker for weeks during the journey to Antarctica, watching closely each time he assumed his Transcendent form, which was that of a Monsterous killer whale.

Sunny had been thinking about this particular shadow incarnation for a long time now, with the help of the [Shadow Carapace], he could definitely manage it.

Ever since he discovered the endless possibilities of shadow dance, he made sure to create an incarnation meant for combat, one meant for flight, one meant for utility and one meant for aquatic situations.

So far, he had only created one for combat, the four armed shadow devil, and one for utility, the Armodrillo incarnation.

And now, it was time for the aquatic incarnation.

Sunny summoned the shadow lantern and commanded shadows to pour out of it, at the same time, he entered the shadow of the waves and released his physical form, becoming a formless shadow.

His form shifted, and Sunny carefully crafted the incarnation from numerous shadows, adding more shadows into himself. He did it while watching the shadow of Bloodwave fight, slowly copying its movement and shape.

Tendons, blood, flesh, teeth... All of it was carefully mimicked to make the incarnation work.

At the same time, Sunny’s mind slowly started to crumble, losing its human form and changing.

’So even the copied transformations of saints change my nature... How peculiar.’

The reason was simple and straightforward. Sunny was not copying Bloodwave himself, instead he was copying Bloodwave’s Transcendent transformation.

He continued shaping himself, holding on to his true name as the savage nature of the killer whale made him more Monsterous.

Lost from light.

Lost from light.

Lost from light.

Lost from light.

Lost from light.

Lost from light.

Lost from light.

Shadow essence augmented his body, and the five shadows he had wrapped around him, making him feel tenacious power folding his being.

He was a Monsterous whale, bathed in blood, and born to hunt.

Born to hunt the profane.

Those principles shaped his nature and chained his bloodthirsty senses, focusing them on the enemy and giving birth to his instincts.

And then...

[Your aspect legacy mastery has increased.]

[You have earned the right to claim a relic.]

Sunny emerged from the shadows as a Monsterous killer whale, his flesh made of shadows and an onyx carapace encased his beastly body.

As an Ascended, he was smaller than Bloodwave’s transformation and lacked his Abilities, however, he could copy his movements and perform just as well in this situation.

He could perform even better, thanks to the fact that Sunny could resist the mind attacks better than Bloodwave.

He dove down towards the terror, ripping apart countless abominations along the way, and leaving behind a trail of blood.

’Kill kill kill kill kill, kill all the profane!’

His mind was consumed by frenzy and just then, he slammed his head into the body of the sleeping terror, tearing down its petals and making a dent on its corrupted flesh.

Bloodwave took one brief glance at him and looked at the terror.

It seemed Sunny’s intervention had given him a moment of clarity, and so, the two of them dove into the corrupted terror and began ripping its body with their teeth, trying their best to kill it before it awakes as a Titan.

***

Hugo found himself in the depths of a harrowing dream, one singing a tale of blood and misery.

He was a Prince of a small realm, living in a time where gods walked alongside men.

His realm was not ruled by a supreme, not at all, but instead, three oracles who bore the burden of fate.

A young girl, a mature woman, and an old hag...

All three of them were blind, but saw much more than anyone with sight ever could.

He spoke to them with a calm voice.

"Our homeland is in grave peril, oh Oracle. And so, we beseech you... please, show us how to save our realm."

The young girl seemed sad. The woman stayed motionless. The old hag simply laughed.

"Have you finally learned manners, naughty child?"

He stayed silent for a few moments, then repeated his words:

"We beseech you."

The young girl moved, as if wanting to cross the veil and touch him, but the woman held her back. She turned her head to face the kneeling prince, and then said calmly:

"I am sorry, my son. But that is not why we called you."

The three oracles opened their mouths and spoke in a single voice.

"This land of ours..."

"Cannot be saved."

"The tapestry of fate is vast, but it is also cruel."

"The empire won’t be stopped."

"Our cities..."

"Will burn."

"Our people will be enslaved"

"Our kingdom will fall, its very name forgotten."

"We cannot stop it."

"But..."

There was a moment of silence before the Oracles spoke again.

"We can avenge ourselves."

"The nine of you can."

"The nine of you will."

"The Empire of War..."

"Must be destroyed."

He felt great fear in his heart.

"...My, oh my. How can nine people destroy an empire? It is protected by a god."

His other companions were present besides him, but he did not focus on them.

"Then you must kill the gods."

And so, he had become a slave... Although one with a sinister purpose, entrusted to him by three oracles.

His fate was to destroy the world, the empire and the gods themselves. Nothing will remain, and all will be gone.

Only then would there be salvation...

Years passed and as they did, he slowly grew, becoming stronger, becoming smarter, becoming faster and far more deadly than before. He traveled from one noble house to another crossing various realms and meeting various people, and when he reached the temple of the dragon, he was eventually allowed to cultivate and ascend in the path of ascension.

He formed his soul core, becoming an Awakened.

He unsealed his aspect, gaining mystical powers, and at the same time he unlocked a flaw that burdened him greatly.

His soul core grew and his essence was refined, allowing him to reach the Ascended rank.

And lastly, his soul tore through the confines of his mortal soul and was recognized by the world, making him a Transcendent champion.

Eventually, he became one of the dragon’s personal servants, making him closer to his goal than ever before. The rage he felt every time he glanced upon the dragon made his blood boil...

But it was not the time to slay him, not yet.

During his years of service, he killed one of the heretics who went against the empire in a far away realm, and in the process, he came across a divine relic, made not by gods, but by mortal realms.

And he made the decision that would alter all of history.

Instead of offering it to the empire, as it was written in the tapestry of fate, he ended up wearing it, instead. The Omnitrix and all of its endless powers were his...

This single event granted him more power than he could ever dream of, perhaps more power than anyone that was not a god.

He kept it hidden from the empire, and with time, the powers of the Omnitrix became available to him, and his aspect fused with the relic, as well.

Time passed and his plan to kill the dragon slowly took shape... He intended to utilize the only divine god within the Omnitrix to slay the dragon.

But it was not only that. He used other aliens within the relic, supreme and sacred noble creatures, capable of manipulating time and space to create certain events within the empire.

The emergence of multiple supremes, rampaging spirits and even the sights of an unholy one. All of it had been orchestrated by him to weaken the dragon’s domain.

The dragon, being the most powerful, was tasked with defeating all of those creatures, even the unholy one.

And so, after years of meticulous planning, the fated day had come.

A magnificent dragon, whose wings encompassed all life tore through countless mortal realms, its fangs meant to consume and devour its enemy.

Its enemy was a living universe, a Celestialsapien that was not supposed to exist, yet did anyway.

A divine Titan could not defeat a great god, however... The dragon was not truly war goddess. He was simply its avatar, and thanks to the schemes of countless others, the dragon had been weakened greatly from battles with other profane gods.

Divine ichor poured on the land, and the living universe manifested the blade of death from its very being, piercing the spirit of the dragon and killing his ambition, his desire... and more importantly, he killed the connection between the dragon and war god.

The dragon was still a divine being, but it was the avatar of war no more.

When it was all said and done, the dragon was dead, his celestial body falling into a distant land.

The Celestialsapien lost its divine power and was reduced to a mere Transcendent once again.

His soul could not handle the drop from divine to Transcendent, and so it slowly started to crumble, but in the end, he had used his will to keep it intact.

In that moment of pain, he defied the laws of the world, he defied destruction and the nature of the soul, establishing his domain on the corpse of the dead god, one that encompassed only nine people.

Becoming supreme.

That day, he shed the Omnitrix and went on a perilous journey...

The journey to become a god. After all, he knew what it felt to become a god, and so the only path forward was ascension.

His fate might have been fulfilled but his vengeance was not over yet.

The dream became vague and blurry, showing countless events, countless moments and countless people.

He saw a war that burned all of existence, he saw himself becoming a spirit, and in the end, he saw Shadow God himself descend upon him with all of his might.

His body was broken, his soul was pierced and destroyed, his spirit was extinguished and his shadow had been denied death.

He was nailed to a tree, and Shadow God left him in the middle of hell.

In those fragmented visions, His name finally became clear...

He was Eurys of the Nine.

The dream ended.

Left as a disembodied consciousness, Hugo felt a vaguely familiar feeling.

’This dream again...’

He had dreamt of Eurys before, briefly when he was in a coma.

But this dream... It was far more vivid, and it showed him much more. He felt himself become mundane again, awakened, ascended, Transcendent, divine, supreme and lastly sacred, all in that order.

A strange and unnatural path towards ascension, but he had been all of those, in a life that was not his, but was deeply connected to him.

It was because of the Omnitrix, which connected them all.

Eurys, Ben Tennyson, Hugo and Albedo and all other Omnitrix wielders that came before and after them.

All of them were connected to each other... By none other than fate.

’But why... Why would the first thinker add such a feature to the Omnitrix?’

He did not know how he knew it, but the memories of all that wielded the Omnitrix were stored in its archives... Or perhaps, it was stored in him.

The distinction did not matter, as the line between him and the Omnitrix was razor thin.

But was this even an intended feature, or perhaps a side effect of something else?

Perhaps someone had tinkered with the Omnitrix adding this feature to it.

The image of a nebulous mantle and a dark demonic figure came to his mind, making him feel unparalleled dread.

With all of this said... There was still one thing that made no sense.

Why was he having those dreams now, when he was challenging a DNA trial?

’The corrupted sample... It’s messing with me.’

It was making him dream of the past Omnitrix wielders, which it had access to because of its powers, and because of the nature of Hugo’s fate.

Once again, he felt his mind shatter and become someone else... Something else.