They slowly transversed through the Land of Eternal Darkness. Zeras could be seen at the forefront. His brows were narrowed as he seemed to be in deep thought.
'The second curse should soon be upon us.'
He had a wide grin on his face as they all moved in synchrony. All the World Evolvers behind him were all showing great cautiousness, as they made sure their eyes scanned their entire surroundings.
An action which Zeras just saw as...being pointless.
They had long passed the Zone where any other Eldritch dream creature would dare to stay in.
Any Eldritch dream creature that dared to wander aimlessly into the second zone: a zone which he preferred to call.
'The Zone Of Twisted Reflection due to the second curse of the second zone; a curse which he named the curse of twisted reflections. As for why he gave it that name...
That would surely soon be revealed...it all now just depends on how long it will take to be revealed.
Any creature venturing beyond the first zone of the Land Of Eternal Darkness is simply confronting the might of the Eldritch creature...and when one challenged the might of an Emperor.
One should be prepared to face its Wrath.
One which he was sure no Eldritch dream creature of the first zone would be able to resist...it was simply the same as courting death!
His eyes suddenly got narrowed...as he could feel it.
"The second curse has arrived." His voice calm and clear, resounded through the entire area.
And immediately afterwards...they didn't need to be told as they all put on their strongest guard and defense...yet was it even helpful...
The pulsar wave of energy easily bypassed all these various barriers...no matter what they put up against the pulsar wave...it proved futile as it was nothing short of a futile struggle.
And yet...although deep down within them. They all knew of this fact...yet this is just how humans behave.
Even if they knew something might not actually work...this wouldn't stop them from being strong headed and trying to put in their all against it...while this might actually be a good thing...but the situation faced would determine if such an innate behavior is actually good or...bad.
Yet that is another discussion for another day...
Immediately afterwars, the pulsar wave of energy collided against them.
A wide grin spread across Zeras face...as this marked the beginning of the second curse: The curse of the Twisted Reflection.
Everyone immediately found their physical features gradually morphing into a grotesque reflection of their innermost fear and insecurities.
Within this nightmare...their features contorted and distorted, mirroring the horrors of the Nightmare they have experienced.
No matter how they tried to conceal their appearance, the curse persisted...driving them to the brink of madness as they struggled to recognize themselves in the twisted reflection.
They felt as though they had become the worst of the nightmares they had ever faced...they felt ashamed...scared...terrified of the changes happening to them.
They felt themselves slowly losing their humanity...from being a kind and gentle soul to an inhuman being...their souls were slowly consumed by the twisted reflections.
Yet some were able to fight back...amidst the various falseful reflections. Some were still able to hold on....few were still able to cling onto their humanity.
While others slowly lost their grasp on humanity...becoming the reflection of their worst nightmares...and the consequences was one which Zeras didn't want to happen.
It would just lead to unnecessary waste of energy.
Time passed by...as everyone gave it their all. Some had their body all soaked as they fought back continously, trying to the best of their ability to cling onto their humanity.
Meanwhile while everyone where trying their best to cling onto their humanity within their worst nightmares...another World Evolver was doing something else entirely.
Something crazy...something insane...an inhuman action.
He was actually trying to cling onto that...inhumanity.
He did his best to cling onto that inhumanity...it didn't matter, which kind of twisted reflection appeared before him...no matter which grotesque Nightmare he turned into.
He fully embraced it...as he saw this as the norm of reality.
Humans aren't kind or caring deep down...they only put on that facade. While indeed they might be a few caring humans...but Zeras never wished to be one.
For if there was one thing that history had thought him the most...and that is the fact that heroes not only died far earlier than their colleagues. But they also died in the worse way possible.
'Dying for humanity. Tsk...that was nothing short of pathethic and stupid.'
While he would do everything for his world to evolve...while he would do anything for earth to successfully overcome its first Malivoire Descent.
Yes he would do all this...he would even go beyond his limits to do this righteous act one might say...
But...he would do it in his own way.
He wouldn't die a righteous death...he wouldn't be killed for the sake of others...he wouldn't die while others simply mourn him for a while and then moved on with their lives.
He would indeed be a righteous hero...but it would be in his own way.
He would scheme...manipulate...be the most treacherous being the entire...universe has ever seen.
He would become the greatest tactician of them all...he would be the hero...yet be seen as the villain.
"That's me...that's the twisted me.
And that's my reflection..."
Zeras gave a loud roar as he immediately got yanked out of the nightmare.
His eyes glowed slightly...as he seemed to have gained a deeper understanding on himself.
While he might do things that others could label as being villainous...the truth is actually that he did it all...for the greater good.
Even if one might choose to believe it or not...
He wasn't willing to be seen as a righteous hero...he just didn't know why.
He detested it.. he despised it. It made him feel...somehow....
In a way which he couldn't understand...hopefully, he would find out more about this in the near future.
He gave a deep sigh as he glanced back, behind him. And slowly but surely...the others started to awaken from the Nightmare...also the second curse.
They all successfully overcomed their twisted reflection...except for the fact that they had overcomed it in a way that would be deemed as being perfectly human.
While Nameless had overcomed his...in the most inhumane way possible.
Zeras glanced at the ten World Evolvers that had succumbed to the curse and were slowly morphing into their worst nightmares...his hands suddenly had a pair of daggers held within their grasp...
He moved towards them and then...
RIIIIIIIP!!!!
TEEEAAAARRR!!!!!
He immediately did what he does best...bringing out the ten origin cores. He immediately kept it as a wide grin spread across his face.
"Shall we keep moving..."
Those were the last word that escaped his lips as he immediately got back onto his feet...slowly dissapearing into the distance...immediately followed by Haezel...and then the rest of the cohort.
As they all prepared for the third curse:
The Veil Of Shadows!!!