Just as he began to think of a way to fight the ghastly creature, it caught up to him.
A harrowing mist rising to meet him.
The stress of the moment began to seep through his mind. The constant evasion and the promise of death should he fall into the clutches of the beast, but most soberingly, it was how weak he felt.
With the darkness that he relied on so much amounting to nothing, it was clear that he would have to rely on the elusive powers derived from his aspect legacy. Yet that too was kept from him. Unless he wanted his body to fail and come undone. Going back to the days at the start of the nightmare, where it took all his effort to just move his body, was not an option.
'It's fine. You don't have to do this. The village was fated to die, was it not? Tell me, is that not true?'
A whispering voice echoed within his mind. It was not a physical voice but a transient voice that echoed within his psyche. Deeper than a voice of self-doubt that carried an unknown weight.
Accompanying that voice was a sharp pain that pierced through his skull, its origin felt clearly in between the centre of his brows.
Where the scar from his near-corruption rested.
'What on earth is this pain?'
Instinctively, Aldric had to stop himself from dropping his guard down to grip his skull. No matter how he breathed or moved, the pain would not subside and only intensify. With the mist slowly encroaching towards him, his stress levels were reaching an all-time peak.
Aldric was not new to stressful situations, but this one felt different. It felt as though something was causing this. That something was targeting him.
'Just run. No one will know. No one will care. What are you risking your life for? A village that isn't real? From the words of a fabricated Saint?'
The voice continued. Collecting and combining the slightest of doubts and fears that lingered deep within Aldric, the voice brought them out to the surface.
THUD
Twisting [Sundered Sorrow] into a backhand grip, Aldric smashed the handle into his forehead. Attempting to centre his mind and drive away whatever lingered within him.
'Am I going mad?'
He thought to himself. With his enhanced senses, Aldric knew that this was not a mental attack from the mist creature or anyone else. He knew this was something that came from within himself.
There was only one specific moment in time that Aldric could think of subconsciously that reminded him of what he was hearing. In his battle against the [Underworld's Torment] in the colosseum, whispers of doubts and fears voiced within his mind. Back then, he had attributed it to his own fears, but perhaps that was not the case.
A permeating cold rendered below him, the mist was here.
"I need time to think..."
A silent anger was beginning to boil deep within him. Being chased by a nightmare creature while dealing with a mental attack with an unknown origin was fraying his mind. In conjunction with his emotion, red sparks began to light up again.
'No...Damnit!'
He pulled the energy back.
Calming himself down as much as he could in such a situation, Aldric had only a second of clarity. And in that clarity, he made his move.
Summoning the [Stone Coffer] in a shower of light, Aldric quickly rummaged through the stone storage and found what he was looking for. A small pouch made from synthesised silk. Releasing the tie that sealed the pouch, he dropped its contents onto his palm.
But the pain would not wait for him. It continued to beat him down like a weathering storm.
A blood-red orb. Five black dots rotated within the orb as if it were alive. It rested in his palm like a crown jewel; perfect and clear.
Before the pain within his head got any worse, before the mist reached any closer, Aldric lifted his obsidian palm and raised it to his mouth.
'This is my only move.'
GULP
And in that moment, there was no pain. Just a silent feeling of something changing deep within him.
This was a decision born out of sheer desperation. Not out of any glimpse of logic or planning. And while Aldric could have run far, far away just as the voice said, that was not who he was as a person. More so, who he wanted to be.
And this pain was a reminder of what true danger was. After returning from the Phantom Verge, Aldric had subconsciously avoided difficult battles. Under the guise of not wanting to put his cohort through a life-or-death moment like he did before, he avoided anything that stretched beyond his comfort zone. Building himself a routine and schedule that coincidentally avoided battles that truly challenged his mind and body.
But that mindset would not run in a nightmare. A crucible meant to weed out the weak and evolve the strong.
And Aldric was not weak.
In the moment of desperation, a few neurons within his mind sparked. Reminding him of the evolution that Saint had undergone after consuming the soul core of Bael's previous form. A hazy idea of images and feelings led to this moment.
Consuming a soul core of any creature, let alone a Fallen Tyrant was tantamount to suicide for any Awakened. But Aldric was different. No, it was that Aldric was currently different. Now of the same Stone Saints that Nether created or a shrewd mutation, he was no longer bound by being a human.
After all, it was not just any Fallen Tyrant's core that he consumed. It was what Aldric theorised to be a commander amongst Nether's army.
A disassociating feeling of numbness and heat radiating deep from his gut. And in a burst of information and light, images and memories flashed through his mind as every single aspect of his body changed.
"CHILD"
An all-encompassing voice spoke out within the haze of memories, its voice echoing infinitely.
Along with the voice, the nightmare spell was not silent either. But in this moment, Aldric could not hear it speak.
In the midst of this change, Aldric could not feel the mist fully surround him and begin to eat away at him at an exponential rate.
Utter agony eclipsed the young marble-like Saint. A metamorphosis like this could not be undergone while conscious, but he persevered. It was not just his blood, his bones or his soul but his entirety. But this shell was built for this.
But while it was built for this transformation, built for the final step that Nether did not finish on the marble doll, it was Aldric's will that kept him awake. Falling unconscious would be a death sentence in this current circumstance.
Aldric felt his own chaotic core that fuelled his inert body begin to retreat back to where it came from. Now, it was replaced by something else. Something that felt right. True divine flames.
Or what Aldric assumed it to be.
And just like that, the pain simmered to a heat where the divine flame rested. Steadying himself with a deep breath, Aldric took note of his current circumstances. Enveloped in the mist of a nothing creature, he had expected the identity-erasing mist to fray at his being, but he felt strangely resistant. While he could still feel it, it was much less intense than he remembered in the river of the underworld.
'How annoying.'
Aldric released all his bottled emotions of anger into a burst of will. A storm of red exploded from the obsidian figure, sparks of energy littering the air like a thunderstorm. And the mist that those sparks touched was gone.
Raising his palm towards him, Aldric clasped and unclasped his hand as he got used to how being a true child of Nether was meant to be. With his senses stronger and more fluid, he gripped the handle of his sword.
Coating the [Sundered Sorrow] in the chaotic energy, it sparked with intent and will.
"Sorry for the wait, creature. I'm ready."
With his eyes flaming red, he lunged.
***
Thanks for reading.
BIG change for Aldric here. A lot was building to this moment. Many loose ends from ages ago are now coming together. What do you think will come of it? Is it just what is shown, or is there more to this change?
It's cool to see comments from readers that are seeing the fanfic for the first time.
Be ready for the next one. Till then.