Hidden from the radiant light of the ocean of flames, a small island cut from dark stone floated in the endless emptiness, surrounded by drifting slabs of shattered obsidian.
On its center stood an ebony tower. It was larger than the one every Awakened on the Chained Isles was used to observing in the skies and had no broken chains hanging from its stone slopes.
On its desolate surface, remains of mysterious structures could be seen, turned to ruin by the passage of time. Several obsidian pillars protruded horizontally from its edges, stretching into the empty void.
There were no Nightmare Creatures on the island.
It was empty.
On the dark island, the air was pleasantly warm, and bright stars burned in the empty void high above. From the ground, the graceful silhouette of the tower rose like a black rift. Across the island, there were various remains of structures or devices, but their purpose was impossible to determine.
A lone island standing at the end of the void, everything was silent.
It was a surreal experience for Aldric. Feeling as though he was on a long space voyage and finally landed on a planetary body.
While he could not make much of the strange structures surrounding the tower, the pull from the [Tesseract] only got stronger and stronger.
Aldric felt as if he was at home on this dark island. As if his darkness could reach further and do much more. Like a second home.
The ground was made up of hardened rock, covered in a layer of soot. Each step sounded crisply.
"You really are the unluckiest guy that I know, Sunny. To think you fell all the way down here."
Aldric spoke out.
Sunny felt admonished by the remark.
'Is my luck really that bad?'
Just as he was about to retort, numerous memories flickered through his mind. He really could not refute the statement, but he could resent it.
"But I suppose you are just as lucky for surviving."
Aldric finished.
Hearing what he already knew, Sunny ignored the comment. Hearing that from somebody else annoyed him.
Increasing his walking pace, Sunny reached the wall of the tower first. Strangely, there were no doors or hinges. Just a sleek black wall. Placing his hand on the wall, he injected essence. The wall opening into two gates.
It was here that the Fire Keepers left the group. With no guarantee on how long it would take for them to conquer the nightmare, they planned to make a small temporary base on the dark island. After all, they realised that even if they conquered the nightmare, the crushing would stop them from exiting the ivory tower.
While it was an emotional affair, Aldric knew what was on the other end of the nightmare seed, so he was not worried for his safety.
He had meticulously analysed the dangers of entering the second nightmare, keeping his flaw in mind.
It begged the question as to why he did not invite his own cohort or members from Event Horizon.
To him, it was simply too soon. It was one thing for him to ascend into a master; however, the great clans would not rest easy seeing a large group of such potential become stronger so quickly. Especially a group that was not under their thumb.
Aldric did not underestimate how far they were willing to go to suppress a threat.
He knew of a much better time for them to challenge the second nightmare and ascend. A time when wandering eyes would be focused elsewhere or perhaps on each other.
Besides, they needed much more time than a single year to be ready. They would not have divine aspect holders like himself or Sunny, as well as a sacred aspect holder seer like Cassie. They would need much more preparation.
A strange feeling registered in Aldric's senses as he got closer to the ebony tower.
A feeling of familiarity.
The empty obsidian walls did not seem empty to Aldric. Something inside of him guided his next action.
Focusing on his [Visionary] attribute, he channeled a sliver of essence near his eyes.
An explosion of colour birthed from the seemingly black wall. Lines of ethereal light connected to stars of concentrated energy. Physical diamond strings connected to form a repeated pattern.
'So this is diamond weaving?'
Aldric remembered this to be the crude form of weaving created by Nether. Whether it was an imitation created from the Daemon of Fate's weaving or it was the original prototype that inspired weaving as it is now, he did not know.
Describing it as diamond weaving seemed to be wrong. While it made sense for Sunny to view it through the lens of weaving, that was not what it looked to be. It was something much more complex.
While it was not even in the same realm as the weave of the nightmare spell, it was more akin to a series of chains and gates that were interlocked. Each with their own weak links. So while it was crude compared to weaving, it seemed much more efficient.
If Aldric had to compare it to something, it would be like a circuit board extending in three dimensions. Complex yet understandable.
With his [Visionary] resonating with the school of sorcery that he was viewing, Aldric did not view diamond weaving as something that was beyond his understanding or capabilities. It felt as if he could reach through the chains of diamond strings and pick them apart.
From the entrance, there was a wide corridor that seemed to encircle the entire first level of the pagoda. The corridor stretched both far to the left and to the right. Here and there, there were large doors leading to differently sized rooms that were situated in the direction of the tower's outer wall.
A stand displayed an array of smithing tools and implements, expertly crafted from black obsidian and silver. Along one stone wall, intricate schematics were etched with such precision and depth that it was impossible to fathom what had created them, let alone decipher their meaning. Strange devices, forged from silver and black steel, stood among the relics—some resembling astronomical instruments.
Amidst these artifacts were also ordinary furnishings: chairs, tables, and a remarkably long bed. Though nearly suited for human use, the proportions were subtly off—handles slightly misshapen, furniture and equipment arranged in an unfamiliar, almost alien manner.
The hall was full of darkness, debris, and dirt. Some of the doors in the outer corridor had collapsed and turned to dust; some remained standing and required the use of a tiny bit of essence to unlock them. Behind the doors were all kinds of rooms.
The group of five did not explore the first floor deeply. With Sunny as their guide and the imminent nightmare seed, it just was not the time.
They planned to maintain their speed in climbing the tower until Sunny stopped them.
"I have to warn you about what's ahead."
Sunny spoke in a terribly serious voice. His eyes looking through the group and ending on Aldric.
"In the centre of the hall is indescribable rot. It will absorb and defile anything it touches, so follow me around the walls. Beware of the feeling of revulsion it will give off."
Signals of danger echoed within his mind from [Insight], it was a familiar feel of danger. The kind that signalled his flaw was about to trigger. It was only because of Aldric assessing the danger that he felt comfortable enough to enter the room.
Opening the door, chaos entered Aldric's mind.
'AAARGHHHHH'
Dropping onto the floor and clutching his head, Aldric was in utter agony.
"Aldric!"
Cassie shouted as she neared him.
Revulsion, chaos, and corruption attacked the very fabric of his existence.
He had never encountered pure, unadulterated corruption. Even in its extremely small quantity and with it being weakened over thousands of years under statis, it was still pure corruption. Not the kind of corruption emitted from nightmare creatures that were internalised and different.
This was from the source.
Aldric could not imagine how Nether came across something like this, but there were always ways.
Closing his eyes and limiting his senses, he endured the torture to get to the other side of the room. Even as his soul quaked and his core twisted in agony, he marched onwards.
The rest of the group began to feel the depravity of the corruption as well as they moved closer.
Moving past the second floor, the third floor opened ahead.
The chamber was smaller than the previous three halls upon entering the third level of the tower. In this particular chamber, dozens of porcelain arms floated in the air, each at a different level of being disassembled into tiny parts. On the table were numerous parts that had been scavenged from the disassembled porcelain arms and several skeins of beautiful diamond string.
"I... Give me a moment..."
Aldric grunted out.
The next ten minutes were spent calming his mind with breathing exercises as the remnants of his flaw left his system, the group giving him space. Standing at the entrance of the fourth level, he collected himself.
He could barely recall going through the third level. Only flashing images of floating limbs came to mind.
Many thoughts came to his mind surrounding his flaw as the pain subsided, but his current state could not entertain them.
On the fourth floor, a small hall opened up. Stood alone in the centre was a familiar statue.
A statue depicting the Storm Goddess in her beautifully perfect visage. Obsidian black that glimmered in the darkness, the statue was covered in a flowing tunic with a veil obscuring her face.
It immediately made Aldric think of the statue where his life truly kicked off. When he was a weak dreamer with nothing but a divine aspect to his name.
A sudden vibration rang in his heart as he summoned the culprit.
The [Tesseract] shimmered into existence in his palm. Cracked and worn out from continuous use, the artefact began to vibrate and change.
'I remember this.'
He thought.
A black key formed in his hand, taking the very same form it did when he faced the gates of the underworld.
The sudden revelation pumped endorphins through his body as he connected the dots.
'If I channel my darkness into the statue like last time, a pathway to a gate will open. A gate to the underworld.'
A grin formed on his face.
Hiding the key from those around him, they moved onto the final level before the gateway.
It was completely empty, its black walls drowning in darkness and unadorned. There was no dust, no ruined pieces of furniture, tools, or strange metal devices. Not even lanterns. However, there were countless runes carved into the walls.
The very same runes that struck fear and terror within the hearts of the group and especially Cassie did not affect Aldric at all. Ever since his encounter with the runes that described the unknown, deep within the cathedral of the Dark City, the forbidden knowledge did not attack his soul or mind.
Keeping up appearances, he mimicked the feelings of those around him. Knowing just how curious Sunny and Cassie were, now was not the time to indulge them with a mystery.
They finally reached the top.
Aldric's heart raced as he looked at the sheer amount of value and archaic knowledge held within the tower.
Now learning that the ebony tower contained a gate as well as the forbidden knowledge that only he could currently decipher without any consequences, a possibility solidified into desire.
With him holding the [Tesseract], the magnum opus of Nether, the divine artefact vibrated in joy at being so close to its progenitor's dwelling.
A lineage-cultivating device that he stole: the usurper of destiny.
So while the ebony tower was not the citadel of the Daemon, it was a base that held indescribable value. Value that he would be sure to extract.
And it was now his.
Making up his mind, he spoke.
"I've decided."
His voice echoed around the obsidian walls, reaching the four beside him. Clearly recovered from the lingering effects of travelling up the tower.
Turning their heads, he had grasped their attention. While everyone looked curious, Cassie seemed strangely numb.
"When I agreed to challenge this nightmare with you, there was a condition."
He stated.
Bringing them back to the dinner they had after the premiere of the Song of Light and Darkness, it was here that Sunny invited Aldric to conquer the nightmare seed he found in the Ivory Tower.
While Kai and Effie agreed to join Sunny because of their desire to become stronger and become masters. Aldric had imposed a condition for his cooperation, a condition that remained a mystery until now.
"I want this island."
Aldric spoke bluntly.
"What... What do you mean you want the island?"
Sunny spoke with an incredulous tone.
Before anyone else spoke, Singularity reiterated.
"I want the dark island and the tower."
He spoke clearly, his voice strong and demanding.
"That's my condition."
While they were extremely close with all the time they had spent together in the Forgotten Shore, it had been a long time since then. The sheer lack of hope and prospects of danger in the Forgotten Shore had brought them together, but that was no longer the case.
From an outside perspective, it was not strange for Aldric to make a request.
He was not the desperate party here.
After all, it was only Cassie and Sunny that were in dire need of conquering the nightmare. After what they had done in the Night Temple, the dark seed was their only solace.
Kai and Effie remained silent, with neither of them having a stake in the conversation. Cassie remained silent as she watched.
All eyes veered to Sunny to watch his response.
---
Sunny POV
"No. I'll give you something else. What do you need?"
Sunny refused while attempting to compromise. The request was simply too much.
While a multitude of reasons came to mind, from his connection to the tower in finding it first or the untold secrets that it held, it was simple possessiveness.
'It's mine! I escaped death multiple times to find this bloody place, and this bastard thinks I'll just give it to him on a silver plate.'
He thought angrily. Derision and disbelief flowing in his mind.
Habits and beliefs built from surviving in the desolate outskirts were not that easy to overcome.
Sunny's hands began to tighten.
The Divine Shadow looked on as a small smirk formed on Aldric's face.
"So give me the ivory tower. A gateway will form in the tower after we conquer it, right?"
Aldric spoke in a much less blunt voice, as if he were in the middle of a casual conversation.
A shift to his side caught his attention.
Sunny's eyes peered slowly toward the silent seer in the group, noticing her shift in body language. Something extremely small to the naked eye, but to an awakened with such developed senses like Sunny, he noticed.
'What's with her?'
Sunny thoughts moved to Cassie. Feelings of betrayal and vitriol were still festering deep within his heart at the thought of the seer, unchanging.
'Why did she move at the mention of the ivory tower?'
In a spark of deduction, errant ideas and thoughts began to connect.
'Finding the sapling... fixing the flying ship... joining the second nightmare.'
Before he could voice his thoughts, Cassie interrupted.
Her soft voice carried over the group with a tone of sympathy and kindness.
"I apologise, Aldric. The ivory tower will become the future citadel of the Fire Keepers. Nephis' home for when she returns to us."
Cassie stated her intentions.
Sunny's emotions spiked at the mention of Nephis. While he wanted to spite her and refuse Cassie access to the ivory tower, thinking of Nephis and the whirlwind of emotions that came with her subconsciously dropped his disregard for Cassie's plan.
Sunny himself did not care for the gateway all that much. With it being surrounded by the crushing as well as the upkeep required, he acquiesced to Cassie's demand. Knowing just how useful it would be for a group as large as the Fire Keepers.
The ebony tower did not serve such a purpose. There was no nightmare seed; neither was there a gateway.
'Why does he want it?'
Sunny thought to himself. A feeling of suspicion filling his mind.
It seemed that Sunny often associated that feeling with Aldric. His intuition telling him that something was wrong.
From the moment that he met the hunter, his intuition built from years of surviving in the outskirts subtly hinted that something was amiss.
There were so many little experiences and events that Sunny could vaguely remember that would explain this feeling.
From the sheer mystery of his identity. How was it that someone who was as strong as Nephis did not have a singular connection to any of the legacy clans? If not for the training of a legacy or a harsh life in the outskirts and [Fated] like he had, how else did Aldric gain a divine aspect?
From his own connection to Shadow God and Weaver to Nephis and Mordret's connections to the great clans, how did Aldric fit into the puzzle?
The elusive fourth divine aspect holder.
What is his end goal?
Why couldn't Cassie see him in her visions?
How did he escape the Crimson Spire while he was fighting Nephis?
Who was he?
It was his harrowing experience with Mordret that cemented these thoughts. Someone that he thought he might have been able to trust in the future.
Though it was mostly intuition. It was his intuition that told him that Aldric would become a world changer. The same intuition that screamed it every time he saw Nephis or when he had heard of the tale of the Bright Castle's First Lord.
Without knowing of Aldric's ambitions, only suspicion could fill the void in his lack of knowledge.
However, these feelings would not help him in his current situation.
Could he refuse Aldric the island after acquiescing to Cassie's demands so quickly?
Besides, he knew that Aldric was indulging him in this request. The dark island did not belong to Sunny in the same way that the conquered ivory tower did not belong to him.
His heart began to race as hot blood strengthened by blood weave ran through his veins.
Looking at the Singularity, eerie black eyes with specks of white looked back at him calmly. As if they were daring him to refuse.
And for all the thoughts that festered in his mind, Sunny could not articulate them in a way that would not make him look as if he was debilitatingly paranoid.
Until something happened, these feelings would have to be buried deep within like many others.
"Alright! Keep the damn island! What on earth could you even do with it anyway?"
Sunny spoke out loudly as his voice quieted down at the end.
A small smirk formed on the caramel-skinned hunter.
'Did he expect this? Fucking bastard!'
In some parts pettiness and in some parts quick thinking, Sunny spoke out heatedly.
"And you owe me a favour!"
A chuckle and a smirk met him in response, not refusing the demand.
Unknown to Sunny, that small smirk was not directed at him but towards the blind seer beside him.
A seer whose hand was twisted into a tight fist.
---
The cohort had now entered the highest level of the tower.
On the top of the pagoda, the final level was a small hallway. A singular obsidian arch surrounded by a multitude of runes rested in the centre.
One by one, the group took turns feeding divine flames into the portal. Fuelling it with enough energy to connect the two towers.
In a flash of light, they crossed through and made it to the other side. A white gazebo met them as the portal flickered out of existence behind them.
Traversing through endless space in a moment was a weird experience. Strangely though, Aldric did not feel any physical effects from the travel.
Shattered marble slates drifted weightlessly around it. Nearby, a serene meadow stretched beside the gazebo, bordered by a tranquil grove of trees whose branches whispered in the gentle breeze.
A short distance away, connected by a stone path, stood a magnificent pagoda—crafted from a flawless, otherworldly white material that was neither stone nor wood. Its beauty was ethereal, as if it belonged to a realm beyond mortal comprehension.
And surrounding it, the sun's radiant light glinted off the massive bones of a fallen dragon. They passed the crystal-clear lake and stepped into the ivory tower.
Where Hope had once been bound.
A strange feeling permeated through the air as they entered. Waves of fatigue swept past the group.
Seven chains lay strewn across the immaculate white floor before them, each terminating in a shattered shackle. The metal was scarred and torn, its mangled surface etched with countless ancient runes.
A strange shimmer rose from the broken bindings, twisting into ethereal wisps that spiraled upward, merging into a chaotic, ever-shifting mass of pure darkness at the heart of the great hall.
But it wasn't truly darkness—not in the ordinary sense. It was a rupture in reality itself, a rift so deep it could swallow even light.
To Aldric, it was a novel feeling. Having never been near a nightmare seed, the call whispered in his ear as it distorted reality around him.
It did not emanate the dangers of corruption, but neither was it familiar. He could only describe the feeling of the nightmare seed as being adjacent to corruption.
As if you were to shuffle a solved jigsaw puzzle. While it would be the same puzzle, the different arrangement would make it look completely different to the naked eye.
Though the whispers that pulled on his soul were completely novel. It seemed to resonate with the foreign energy source within him, slowly drawing it out of him. Tensing the metaphysical boundary that contained the energy, he stopped anything from leaking.
Now was not the time to investigate the strange connection.
He did not dwell on the feeling for too long, with something else occupying his mind.
The group slowly neared the chains.
Summoning Bael, he wanted to see how his apostle would interact with the nightmare seed.
THUD
Stepping from the pool of darkness at his feet, the monolith that was Bael stood tall beside Aldric.
Raised eyebrows met his action, confused as to why he summoned the Black Knight.
Mentally commanding his apostle to stand beside him, the wielder of darkness studied his loyal companion. Looking for any signs or reactions.
Strangely, however, nothing happened.
The apostle did not move or show any reactions to the nightmare seed present.
'What?...He definitely should feel something.'
Giving it more thought, a simple conclusion came to mind.
'As a Fallen creature, Bael isn't reacting to a second-class nightmare seed. A nightmare seed corresponding to the third nightmare is needed.'
To test his hypothesis, Aldric knew that he could summon his new apostle that was of the awakened rank; however, it would not be the smartest of decisions to make with those around him.
Returning Bael to his soul sea, he looked towards the rest of the cohort as they readied themselves.
"It's only a second nightmare, people. We've been through worse."
Effie spoke confidently. But those that knew her could pick up on her nervousness.
A round of nervous laughter met her proclamation.
Playing along with her desire to make everyone feel better, Aldric spoke up.
"You're not wrong."
Sunny spoke as well, joining them.
"Indeed."
The group slowly etched forward step by step.
In one moment they were there.
And the next, they were gone.
[Awakened! Prepare for your Second Trial…]
The insidious nightmare spell whispered.
A sudden pull from his soul sea alerted Aldric in the midst of the spell's whisper.
Something was taken from him.
[Six brave ones… Welcome to the Nightmare!]
*********
Thanks for reading.
4K words. Longest chapter ever.
Apologies for the short delay.
The second nightmare has begun. Though Six brave ones?
Till the next one.