After a Few Minutes Arthur saw the Shady Guy out of his Cell he thought 'finally! What took him so long? He's been quietly cutting at the bars since I was Jailed an hour ago! No in my vision he was doing it too Is that Knife Blunt or are the bars that tough?'
Arthur didn't voice his thoughts when he saw the Shady guy who was heading casually towards The Guards Changing room where the Keys to The Cells were put on a bench in plain sight there were currently no Guards around every soldier awakened or not was Currently Training even the Veterans who were not Drafted because of the Recent Threat of the Nephiliams arrival
Arthur Lampooned in his heart silently 'why would the City Lord even draft Regular people with the Supreme Nephiliam heading this way? To garner pity?... But it's definitely weird to what end is he recruiting Ordinary civilians into the army? They won't be any good even as cannon fodder...'
Arthur's thoughts were interrupted as he was soon free from his cell The Shady Guy whispered "Follow me and keep quiet while we leave the Building ever since The News of the Nephiliam coming here The City Lord made a mystical item so that he Can Hear almost anything in this place if someone is heard misbehaving..." The Shady Guy shuddered slightly "They won't ever be seen again"
Arthur nodded and followed him thinking about the suspicious City Lord again 'everyone seems to think this City Lord is a great guy but he seems more and more suspicious by the second a Transcendent shouldn't have a chance against a Supreme but he doesn't look too worried about his chances moreover everyone should have fled when they had the chance by now even if they trust him that much a Supreme is still a Supreme are they truly ready to bet their lives on the City Lord when they could have ran away?'
As they left the Prison they saw no Guards near the building it must have been completely empty by now Arthur thought 'there were no other inmates other then me and this Shady guy when I entered but between me being jailed and The Shady guy arriving there seemed to be others what happened to them? The Shady guy mentioned if they misbehaved they would never be heard from again but why would all of them have done that if they knew...'
Arthur glanced at the Shady guy and thought 'what makes this shady guy different from the other Prisoners?... Wait I don't even know the Name of my Fellow Cult Member! No it's not cult it's a... An Orthodox Sect yes an Orthodox Sect! Since the Power System here is basically Cultivation calling my Cul- I mean my Fan Club a Sect should be fine right? Everyone in The Cultivation world and their Mother loves to Glaze their Sects founding Ancestor after all so there's basically no difference!'
The Shady guy noticed Arthur was starring at him with a weird expression and asked "what's the matter?"
"What's your Name?" Arthur asked The Shady Guy who then looked a little confused but still responded responded "It's Yeman... Why?"
"No Reason" Arthur replied casually as they continued walking and gained distance from the Prison The Shady guy now known as Yeman eventually asked "do we need to do anything for now? I would like to go some places... Alone"
Arthur Replied "not for now but I'd like to ask what you know about the City lord?" Yeman thought for a bit and said
"well I only know a few things about him like the fact that he's a Master Blacksmith and is rumoured to be quite Ambitious with his Craft the rumour goes that he's been saving up ever since he became a City Lord Twenty Two years ago and brought a Supreme Soul Shard once every Ten Years there's also the Rumour that he's secretly The Bastard Son of some Noble from another Country I think the last one is made up because The City Lord is quite Talented despite being of Common birth"
Arthur was thinking 'two Supreme Soul Shards Is that why he's not panicking about facing that Nephiliam? Is he that confident in his Craft to believe it will be of any help against a true Supreme? He must be quite delusional unless The Abominable Nephiliam is severely wounded it wouldn't die to a mere Transcendent the Nephiliam in the History of this place that i witnessed was definitely killed but since time was rewinding so fast I couldn't see how so whatever he's planing probably worked'
Eventually Arthur said "thank you Yeman you can go now we will meet eachother again at the back of the Prison Building wait for me there once you are done" Yeman nodded and speed walked away almost jogging
once Arthur was alone again he unexpectedly had a Vision in it he saw The City Lord he was giving Arthur who had been gagged and hand cuffed a Blade it looked ominous the first thing that came to mind when one looked at it was that it was Cursed he didn't recognise the place they were in it looked like a basement of sorts the only light available coming from a mystical Item that although was glowing brilliantly the light it produced did not sting his eyes even though he had seemingly been looking at it for a time
Arthur in the Vision seemed very afraid of holding onto the Blade seeing his desperate resistance the City lord spoke "just hold it you're not going to get out of this you must pay the Price for escaping the prison don't worry your life will serve a great Cause"
The City Lords ring on the pinky finger on his Left hand glowed and Arthur was tempted to hold the blade no he craved to like a drug addict he couldn't control his impulse and grabbed it once he did The City Lord added "activate the Enhancement" his Ring Glowed again and his craving changed from mearly holding it to activating the enhancement on it
and so that's what he did when he activated it he felt his soul essence Vanish almost instantly flowing into the blade but despite having none left The Blade wouldn't take no for an Answer his life force transformed into soul essence he looked like an old man who lived for over a hundred years already but the blade didn't stop there his blood his skin his bones everything turned into soul essence and flowed into the Blade soon Arthur was gone nothing was left of him the Vision ended
Arthur was troubled by what he saw but tried to think about it objectively 'so the City Lord caught me and feed me to that Blade... Is that Cursed Blade what he's planning on using against the Nephiliam? He must have been feeding it the people who had "Fled" and also the Prisoners in Secret...'
Arthur knew that if the City Lord wanted him caught he would be so trying to hide won't work and it will also waste his time what he needed to use his time for was stopping the Confrontation of The Nephiliam and The City Lord from happening!
Arthur made a decision if he was going to be caught soon anyway he was going to expose the City Lord! With the backing of the people the City lord might not act publicly against him although that's only an assumption if he Wanted Arthur dead no one could stop him
But the real problem was... He had no evidence that The City Lord did anything wrong! would the people really believe him if he were to say the City Lord feed people to an Evil Sword When he saw them praying in front of the Governing building for his Victory when the fight didn't even happen yet
Arthur smiled helplessly and thought 'The current me can't go against the city lord in any way... But the Fool can at least in the eyes of the City Lord and those of the people'
And so Arthur wondered the Streets hoping to find someone to sell them the idea he had the backing of a strong existence
The First person he saw was a young man still wearing guard armour with a naive looking face he seemed to be around 19 years old Arthur guessed the young man looked tired probably just back from training
Arthur immediately approached the young man and asked Piously once again showing his status as his own number one believer "do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and saviour The Fool?"
The Young man seemed a little intrigued but he replied tiredly "The Fool? I never heard of such a person maybe latter" and continued walking away Arthur expecting such an outcome didn't give up and kept talking after all his life was on the line!
"Listen to me for but a moment The Fool is a Benevolent existence who loves humanity if we listen to him we will definitely meet salvation! Think about it can the City Lord really beat that Surpreme Nephiliam? Our only hope lies in the Fool!"
The young man's expression became surprised "he's going to fight the Nephiliam?!" Arthur's expression froze and he continued speaking in a more subdued tone
"well... Not really... but wait don't loose hope! He has given me a Revelation if we fight that Nephiliam only doom awaits us as the land will be cursed once That Abominable Nephiliam Perishes killing everyone in the City And Devastation awaits us if we provoke it and lose the confrontation what we should do is avoid conflict with it from the very beginning The Abomination has no ill will towards the people!"
The young man didn't seem convinced and asked "how can I even be sure that this fool really exists? Or that his words are true? If we don't fight against that Nephiliam I can only imagine our doom! how can such things not hold ill intentions when they are Vile corrupted creatures by their own nature!"
Arthur thought 'so all he needs is a little proff that "i" exist? Jackpot! Heh this Naive looking guy is already looking like my next Cul- Sect member!'
Arthur smiled mysteriously like a charlatan once again and said "Pray to him sincerely if he is not preoccupied he will show himself to reassure you all you need to do is put your right hand on the left part of your chest and say his full name out loud The Fool who dose Not Belong to This Era and then say what you are praying for you can also add a bit of praise if you are devout after let me show you"
As Arthur said that he closed his eyes and put his right hand on the left part of his Chest sincerely praying "The Fool who dose not Belong to This Era I pray for your loving Grace you are the Mysterious Ruler above The Grey Fog The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck... you can try it now too" although he looked like he was Piously praying his attention wasn't fully on the prayer he was also focusing on his aspect trying to go Above the Grey Fog
The Naive looking young man saw no harm in it and decided to do it at least so that this crazy guy would leave him alone as he put his right hand on the left part of his chest he started Praying "The Fool that dose not belong to this Era I pray for your loving Grace"
Arthur already inside the Grey Fog quickly felt a connection to something distant yet very close and saw another Crimson Star appear high within the Sky of the Grey Fong
He quickly Summoned his Throne and changed his attire to that of the Fool's then he summoned the New Star
The young Naive looking man didn't expect much from the prayer he honestly thought the guy who stopped him had gone crazy but the moment he prayed he found himself in a completely different place surrounded by Grey Fog in front of him stood a clocked Figure coated in Grey Fog making it difficult to distinguish his features he was sitting on an Imposing Throne making him feel as if he was looking at a real King The young man Stuttered surprised "T-The F-Fool?! That guy wasn't lying!?"
Arthur now 'The Fool' calmly replied "my Oracle was not lying as you can see"
The young man was still shocked at the situation he couldn't help but ask "W-Will you really save us from that Nephiliam?"
Arthur 'The Fool' Lampooned in his heart 'i would if I could but I'm probably even weaker then you in a fight!' and continued thinking 'There's no winning against the Nephiliam in a physical conflict even if it dies we all die with it and there's no way we can avoid the Abomination either so the only way for this City to continue existing... Is to not antagonise it!'
Arthur 'The Fool' Smiled mysteriously intending to become a great Existence in the eyes of the people so he can save himself after all if everyone was a believer of the Fool even the City Lord will believe he is Real and he won't dare to attack the Oracle under the Protection of a Healthy Sovereign unless he's a complete idiot
Arthur Guessed the only Reason The City Lord even dared to fight the Supreme Nephiliam was because it was severely injured he Vaguely recalled that according to the murals near the Hallow Mountains at the edge of the forgotten shores he read about in The Original Story The Abominable Nephiliam only came to what became the Forgotten Shores because it was fleeing from something so he was probably right about it being injured
After arranging his thoughts Arthur Finally answered Vaguely to the now Nervous young man's question "The Nephiliam is not the Real Threat The True Danger lays in The Heart of the City"
The young man looked confused 'The Real Danger lays in the Heart of the City? Dose that mean There's something happening at the City centre? No surely not the City Lord would Definitely notice! what dose he mean by the heart of the City?' The young mans eyes widened seemingly enlightened 'The people! The heart of a city is the People the real Danger is within our hearts!'
Recalling the words of the 'Oracle' he 'Understood' why the Fool didn't come in person to save Thier City 'if he were here his Potent Soul might tempt The Nephiliam to Attack because of the Vile Corrupted instincts those Abominations possess and if The Fool killed the Nephiliam The land will be Cursed it's better to not fight at all but no one will think about doing such a thing this is The Real Danger!'
The young man's eyes turned resolute as he said "I understand Mister Fool I will do my best to save the City!... But how should I repay you?"
Arthur 'The Fool' casually said "there's no need" and dismissed him as he did Arthur quickly Returned from the Grey Fog and looked at the now Resolute expression on the Young man's face as the Young man quickly left in a hurry he told Arthur "thank you for showing me the Way Oracle! I will go spread the Name of The Fool to Everyone else and convince them to not go to battle the Nephiliam!" Before Arthur could say anything the Young man was already gone
The only thing left for Arthur to do was to spread his Name and wait for someone to say his True Name and Convince them he was a Real Supreme but although there were little people in the City it was still a relatively big City there were Thousands of People in it and his essence was quite low he was also worried about the Vision he had about being feed to that Cursed Sword spreading his True Name himself is quite Risky since the City Lord could catch him doing it but he has no choice but to gain fame quickly if he doesn't want to die!
'i guess I will have to keep a relatively low profile by only approaching a single person at a time while The Fool becomes real in The Heart of the People' Arthur thought as he felt a distant yet close by connection 'i will have to keep this meeting and the rest Short to conserve essence' Arthur mused inwardly as he closed his eyes and saw the Grey Fog fill his vision once more
After a few hours of Spreading his name Arthur was so exhausted he felt like the day before he entered the Nightmare! He suddenly remembered he had promised to meet Yeman at the back of the Prison building and headed there
Yeman was waiting for him he asked "so... Um... what should we do now? How are we supposed to save the City?"
Arthur sweating from running around the City simply said "we just need to follow The Fools instructions and make sure the Nephiliam is not attacked to do that we need to spread the Fools name and his Prophecy to the People of the City"
Yeman looked a bit conflicted "but... How can we be so sure The Nephiliam won't attack us? What if the Fool is wrong?"
Arthur hearing such words for the 100th time already was used to such a response and simply replied "have Faith The Fool will definitely guide us all to Salvation! And besides if the Nephiliam really Attacks The City first then The Fool has no problem with us fighting back!"
Yeman nodded and and said "I guess you're right we won't lose anything if we believe him" Arthur curious asked "by the way what did you need to do so urgently alone last time?" Yemen Replied "I checked in on Dylan a kid I'm looking after for some time" Arthur nodded and seeing as it was dark looked at Yeman and asked despite knowing it was likely fruitless from his past vision "... By the way do you have a place to stay? I don't have one"
Yeman sighed "yea me neither" Arthur "..." Yeman "..." Breaking the awkward silence Yeman said "well since a lot of people fled from the City recently there are many empty houses you could just go into one"
Arthur nodded and said as he walked away from the Prison "I'm gonna do just that tomorrow morning we will start spreading The Fool's name and his Prophecy to the City I've already told a few people about Him and The Divine Revelation he has given me"
Time Skip the next day after the Conversation
It was noon The City Lord looked at the door of the Governing Building where he usually stays doing Paperwork he knew people gathered outside to start praying for his victory again he was ready to reassure them he will definitely protect them this time there was no young guard spouting nonsense about 'Peace' and 'understanding' or 'Friendship' but he still noticed something was off
In front of the Governing building There were people who were seemingly proselatizeing some sort of religion 'a Cult?' the City Lord thought with his Transcendent hearing he heard what they were saying "do you believe us now? The Fool will guide us towards Salvation!"
The City Lord thought 'The Fool?... Who's that supposed to be?' he then heard the Name again from the one who those words were talked to "I-I do Praise The Fool! I could tell how Strong he was with just a Glance if we listen to him we will definitely be saved!"
The City Lord opened the Door to the Governing building and saw that most people were ignoring him no they didn't even notice him! The City Lord was speachless he thought 'how did some cult grow so fast without me knowing anything?! And where is this Fool they are talking about?'
He stopped a random person nearby and asked what happened he got a very Enthusiastic answer "City Lord! The City is safe! There's no need for you to fight that Abominable Nephiliam The Fools Oracle has foreseen that the best course of Action is too let it be it won't dare to hurt us!"
'again that name who is the Fool?' The City Lord thought and then asked "let it be!? Do you really think what he says is true That Abominable Nephiliam will definitely be a threat! And Can you elaborate who is the Fool? I've never heard of such a person Before"
The middle aged woman he stopped replied "I'm sure of it! I doubted him at first since he wasn't even here but after I saw him myself and hearing His believers tell me why he couldn't be here I was convinced The Nephiliam will definitely not attack us! The Fool Himself told me it was not a threat! He goes by the name The Fool Who Does Not Belong To This Era"
The City Lord asked even more questions "he can't be here But you saw him in person? It must be his Aspect but what is preventing him from coming? And how can he be so sure That Abomination won't attack us? Is it also a part of his aspect?"
The Woman eagerly answered his questions "yes it must have been his Aspect ability after I prayed to him I found myself in a completely different place! He can't come here because his Potent Supreme Soul would Tempt The Nephiliam to attack and if he kills it a Curse will be unleashed killing everyone in the City But our lives are not going to move it much The Fool predicted it would ignore us!"
Eventually he shock his head dismissing his thoughts and politely thanked the woman for answering his questions he headed back to the Governing building once he entered a grim look showed on his face
He sighed 'my plan... is ruined' The City Lord thought regretfully the Nephiliam heading to the City was more of an Opportunity for the Ambitious City Lord then it was a curse with the Cursed Blade he created with Two Supreme Soul Shards he painstakingly obtained after decades of saving up
he knew he had a chance to Kill The Nephiliam with The Enhancements he gave it The First was [All or Nothing] it would take all the Essence out of the Person activating it and it didn't stop there it would turn their life force, their Skin, Bones, Their Soul everything into soul essence boosting the other Enhancement by a Factor of 10 Times the essence it absorbed it was a strong enhancement so he had to put a limitation on it to make it so strong it was that the Person who is activing it must be activating it of their own will
He made a Mystical Item to help resolve the Limitation a Ring that can make one crave to listen to what he said although the effect is quite weak on Ascended and some Stronger willed Awakened could also resist it he used it to make The People Here Crave to Stay and used the excuse of some of them Fleeing to feed them to the Cursed Blade in Secret he even ordered a Draft and made them refine their soul essence to slightly boost how much essence he got
he also feed it the Prisoners who made a fuss with the fear of the Nephiliam heading here they all kept trying to break out as they didn't want to spend their last days in prison well except for one he seemed to like the prison weirdly enough he thought they're lives were going to be sacrificed for a great cause helping him in killing that Abominable Nephiliam would be an Honour he thought but now it's useless
The Second Enhancement he Gave it was [Death Blow] it's effect was simple it would Deal a Powerful blow Relative to The Essence used with it he could kill the Abominable Nephiliam as the Nephiliam must already be wounded by whatever it fled from
after doing so he thought it would be the last push he needed to become Supreme himself Azarax The Plague of Steel had Became a Supreme by killing one his own Father The City Lord had the same idea even if it did not make him supreme killing that Nephiliam would bring him enough merit to contend for The Royal Throne of the Country
Now after going so far for his ambition he found out he couldn't kill the Nephiliam because the Curse it would unleashe upon death will kill him too he didn't know wether to laugh or cry the City Lord sighed heavily 'at least I found out about it before I died I will have to thank that Mysterious Supreme speaking of was trying to become Supreme even worth it after all I did?'
Larry an Ascended General of the City noticed the City Lords gloomy Expression and Asked "what's wrong my Lord you look like you're feeling down? Don't worry about that Nephiliam I heard about an Oracle predicting it won't attack but even if it dose I'm sure you won't lose!"
The City Lord looked at Larry and thought 'right this guy didn't know about the Cursed Blade I made like the Other two Generals who helped me hide it's existence and even offered help with feeding it but he still choose to stay here and he didn't even notice anything amiss... What a fool'
The City Lord Shock his head and answered "it's not about the Nephiliam... It's nothing"
Larry Spoke honestly "if you have anything you want to say I will be here to listen my Lord!"
The City Lord walked towards his office sighed and said "I will be sure to remember"
Time Skip to the next day
Arthur was on the Wall with the City lord and His Three Generals he was Surprised how fast his Cul- Sect expanded in just two days the Whole City was Praising The Fool even The City Lord! He thought recruiting thousands of people would take much more time but his Cult Members were very eager to sell his Lies! *Cough* I meant sect and Religious teachings
He didn't know why his nightmare was still on going by now since no one had any thoughts on fighting the Nephiliam as far as he was aware if the Nephiliam heading here really wants to fight then his Nightmare is truly impossible! but either way this is the last Day he Spends in the nightmare today is the Day the Nephiliam should be arriving
The City Lords eyes narrowed as he looked into the Distance and spotted something flying at insane speeds he told the 'Oracle' Arthur "I see the Nephiliam it's heading here and fast" not long after The Generals could see something approaching from far away it didn't take much longer and the Nephiliam landed right on the Wall they were standing on the Nephiliam was a beautiful Woman with Three eyes and Beautiful White Wings well would be beautiful wings if they didn't look like a mess she looked like she was incredibly tired and had been recently bleeding from many wounds but the wounds had stopped bleeding by now
Arthur was Nervous not because he was in front of such a beautiful woman he genuinely believed he himself looked better then her a Supreme and the City Lord a Transcendent combined he even believes he looks so good other people look like a different species his Narcissistic views completely made him immune to beautiful people as he unconsciously compared his own looks with theirs only art was an exception
Arthur was Nervous because he had no clue how to deal with the Abominable Nephiliam if the thing was hostile!
The Nephiliam looked at them cautiously and started walking towards them as she did the the City Lord told The Abomination "this Place is under the protection of The Fool who dose not belong to this Era You Vile Creature be greatful for he has allowed you to enter the city but don't dare to try anything suspicious!"
The Nephiliam looked surprised thinking 'they actually allowed me to enter?! I thought I had to threaten them first!' she even stoped walking as she finally spoke "who's he supposed to be?" Arthur Eger to glaze himself immediately added "He's the Mighty Ruler who Stands above the Grey Fog The King Of Yellow and Black who Wields good luck!"
The Nephiliam thought 'a Supreme? How can there be a Sovereign in this back water place And the name or titles don't ring any bells grey Fog... Is it like the Mist from the Hallow Mountains?...That's where he is? The king of Yellow and Black... What dose that mean? Wields good luck dose that mean he is blessed by fate?' but she didn't voice out her thoughts and it didn't show on her face either she instead told them "I will be recoperating for some time in the city I will leave by sunset"
The City Lord nodded and told the Nephiliam "take the Oracle with you he will be The Fools eyes watching over you" The Nephiliam nodded not caring about the surveillance as long as The Fool was not making himself an enemy she was satisfied after all Nephiliams are hated by almost everyone even someone neutral to her was a good person in her eyes!
As she walked into the city she immediately drew the attention of almost everyone some People looked at her with barely concealed fear others with lust some even ignored her like she was air others averted their gazes with obvious disgust on their face
As she walked around the city without a destination in mind she thought 'everyone here apparently became a believer of the Fool in just Two days and they claim he will lead them to salvation and interestingly he appears to be absent the excuse she heard to explain it is ridiculous his Potent Supreme Soul will Tempt her and make her attack? Did they really think she was no different then a corrupted creature? But he was right about the Curse unleashed once I die did he make a lucky guess? Or is his absence some sort of statement? The King of Yellow and Black...'
her eyes widened 'could it be the titles he told the people here are all fake?! We're they in actuality a message meant for me!? The King of Yellow and Black who Wields good luck refers to Corruption as Black and Yellow as Divinity by saying he is the king of Yellow and black who wields good luck he is telling her to submit to him and she will be granted good luck!'
She thought and continued convincing herself of her own delusions 'The Mysterious Ruler above the Grey Fog means he is ruling over the Hollow mountains that's where the Demon of Destiny is though is that who he is? and is that where he wants me to go and meet him what will happen if I were to refuse? The Fool who does not belong to this Era dose that mean he is from a past Epoch? That confirms it!'
She suddenly stoped walking and chuckled menacingly drawing the attention of the people around Arthur who was still accompanying her was surprised and unnerved he mustered the courage and asked "wh-what's wrong what made you stop walking and start to suddenly laugh so menacingly"
She stoped laughing and stood still thinking 'what a fancy recruitment pitch Nether must place a lot of Value on me in my current situation with 'them' still after me I can't refuse the offer anyway' she clenched her fists tight enough to draw blood 'it's so humiliating to be so helpless as a Supreme!'
Arthur and the People who gathered into a crowd were looking at the Supreme Nephiliam who seemed to have lost its mind at a loss for what they should do Arthur was panicking he couldn't think of anything he could do 'is she lossing it?! Why! I'm so close to finishing this nightmare is this how it all ends?'
The Nephiliam still ignoring everyone around her sighed heavily, put her right hand on the left part of her chest and started praying to The Fool "The Fool Who Dose not belong to this Era I pray for your attention I pray for you to speak to me" Arthur was at a loss for words did she really lose her mind?
Arthur had no intention of pulling a Supreme into the Grey Fog and so after waiting a bit and seeing she got no response The Nephiliam thought 'damn it Nether must you really make me come to you!' she sighed and unfolded her Wings flying away towards the Hollow mountains
Arthur and everyone else looked at eachother confused about what just happend and then The Nightmare ended