Chapter 191: Divine tragedy.

Chapter 190: Divine tragedy.

Hugo woke up from sleep within his apartment in Falcon Scott, feeling the cold breeze hit his ascended body.

Gently, he got up and headed to his kitchen, to preaper a cup of tea for himself.

His body and soul were strained from assuming a Transcendent form, and so he had been slowly recovering for the last few days.

A beautiful crown was seated on his forehead, though, and a few seconds later, the voice of the spell whispered in his mind:

[You have slain a fallen demon.]

As he drank his coffee, Hugo opened his journal and began noting down a few things.

It had been seven days since the grand battle, in which multiple tyrants and one terror were slain, lessening the strain of nightmare creatures.

Antarctica was still swarmed with abominations, however no powerful creature had managed to reach Falcon Scott again, thankfully.

Now that he was a Tyrant once again, Hugo was able to create minions again. Though thanks to his class and his slightly weakened soul from Transcendence, he had only managed around a hundred, all of which were awakened.

They were a mix of stone saints, led by Hugo himself, who was controlling three individual large cohorts from afar using the [Crown of Falsehood], making them slay abominations all around Falcon Scott and even take down a few threats in the surroundings regions.

Zed was with them, alongside his spirit body, which split his attention in four points.

He was doing this straining routine to minimize the danger that the soldiers of the first evacuation army were exposed to, and to gather soul shards, as well.

He needed to become a Titan as fast as possible, and challenge another DNA trial.

Thanks to his recent deeds, the House of Night and the government had offered him a great many soul shards, and soon enough, he was able to reform his terror core, becoming an Ascended terror.

He had also gained a medal of honor, but hugo could care less about any of that business.

As for the boons he had gained from the Sybil, they were quite something.

In fact he was wearing it right now.

The memory was called the [Shroud of Graceless Dusk], a Transcendent memory of the sixth tier.

The Graceless Dusk looked like a simple tunic of fine, soft silk the color of rich and beautiful black, with intricate patterns embroidered using silver thread along the collar, hem, and sleeve edges. The hem reached just below his knees, while the sleeves ended at his elbows. The tunic was tied at the waist with an unadorned cord of black silk and came with a pair of dainty shoes made of the same fabric, with a soft sole that was more suited for a well-tended garden than wilderness. It allowed him to move around without making noise and exposed the wearer’s forearms, shins, head, and neck, while the soft shoes only covered the feet and ankles. The black silk was hard to pierce but did not protect against blunt attacks or concussive trauma. Overall, the Graceless Dusk was extremely light, not constraining Hugo’s movements. More importantly, the other benefits of the Transcendent garment far outweighed its lackluster defense.

Memory Rank: Transcendent.

Memory Tier: VI.

Memory Type: Armor.

Memory Description: [Sybils were the heralds of the gods and conduits of divine grace. Many mysteries were known to them, and so were many truths. There was one being, though, who knew much more — the graceless caitiff, Demon of Dread. He knew every truth there was, because he knew everyone’s fear... even that of the gods.

And so, seeking salvation from the end, the sybils abandoned the mortal realm and guided their people on a long and arduous journey. They led them far away, across the lands consumed by war...

To the Tomb of Ariel.

There, they found solace, safety, and shelter. In time, the voices of the gods grew silent one after another, leaving behind only a vast and dreadful silence. That was how the sybils embraced the Estuary, and that was how they fell.]

Memory Enchantments: [Blessing of Mind], [Blessing of Soul], [Blessing of Spirit], [Blessing of Flesh], [Sublime Silk], [Blessing of Dusk].

[Blessing of Mind] Enchantment Description: [This Memory enhances one’s mental acuity.]

[Blessing of Soul] Enchantment Description: [This Memory enhances one’s rate of passive soul essence replenishment.]

[Blessing of Spirit] Enchantment Description: [This Memory enhances one’s ability to endure and recover from mental fatigue.]

[Blessing of Flesh] Enchantment Description: [This Memory enhances one’s ability to endure and recover from physical fatigue.]

[Sublime Silk] Enchantment Description: [This Memory is woven out of sublime, mystical silk. It is impervious and possesses a beautiful splendor.]

[Blessing of Dusk] Enchantment Description: [This Memory carries the blessing of Dusk, last sybil of the Estuary. The wearer can establish a mental connection with another being to hear their voice and thoughts, or make their own be heard.]

Thanks to those wondrous enchantments and their synergy with the [Crown of Falsehood], Hugo had been able to reestablish his minion network and work with greater proficiency than ever before, as he now had another enchantment that made him think clearer, and another one that rapidly regenerated soul essence.

Thanks to the physical fatigue enchantment, he had been able to rest well and relieve the physical stress that had been placed on him since the start of the Antarctica campaign.

The telepathy enchantment would surely be of help in the future, as well.

As for the memory description, hugo and Sunny had studied it carefully together and Hugo had ended up explaining what he knew about the tomb and they Sybils to Sunny.

Sunny had found it odd that multiple memories he had received during his journey in Antarctica had been connected to either the tomb itself, or the daemon of dread, Ariel.

No good could come from things touched by daemons, so they both agreed to stay vigilant and share every new bit of information they found with each other.

They were both curious after all, and this would drastically help them in their future battles.

On the topic of memories, Hugo had made a request to Sunny, he needed him to weave a custom memory, in exchange Hugo let Sunny borrow the [Shroud of Graceless Dusk] and study its enchantments, before returning it to Hugo.

The memory Hugo commissioned was the [Soul Journal], the one he was currently writing in.

Hugo had found himself losing his journals multiple times, and having to restart one lot of times, so having one that was a custom made memory was so much more convenient.

He wrote about many things he had encountered in his life, and mainly in Antarctica.

Eurys, the slave who had slain a god had a lot of pages dedicated to him, as Hugo was intrigued with the deathless god.

The prince of darkness as well, as his ambition and journey had moved Hugo.

Both of them had been wielders of the Omnitrix, giving them a deep connection to Hugo, even if he did not truly possess the "real" Omnitrix.

Ben Tennyson’s pages were filled with intrigue about the hero, from questioning his morality to the ideology of "the ends justifies the means". Ben had not followed with his plan in the end, which did not absolve him of his sins, but at least, in the grand calculus of things, it proved that he was not a malicious person in nature.

As for the people of the beast realm...

Hugo had already made his mind. When he transcends, he would return to fake primus and rescue the people of the beast realm, saving them from damnation.

This long journey had taught him a lot of harsh lessons, some he did not wish to know of, but had to, anyway.

One of them was that he should not let people die needlessly because of his pride or past grievances. After all, the people of beast were innocent and much like the people he was trying to save in falcon Scott, they too deserved a chance to live a good life.

Aside from Ben Tennyson, there was another figure, who had a few pages of his own.

It was Albedo, someone whom Hugo did not know personally. He had met him in the first nightmare and was experimented on by him, as well.

Ben had taken over his body in the second nightmare, and by now, he was likely dead, as Hugo did not encounter him in the fake primus.

Still the Galvan had managed to recreate an Omnitrix all on his own and was someone who was considered the second hand of the First Thinker, so he did deserve a spot in his journal, even as a courtesy.

As for the rest of the pages, Hugo filled them with many of the things he had seen.

A searching of Alien x, the visage of the divine dragon falling from his celestial throne, the tomb of Ariel, in all of its terrible glory, the dark expanses of the underworld and many more.

Aside from drawings, he also wrote about his aliens and the sensation of being a different creature. It was a unique perspective that no one, perhaps aside from saints with transformation abilities, could understand.

There was a few pages about paradox and Cassie, and what they had told him, as well, but Hugo did not dwell on them for long as he did not want to think about it right now.

The knowledge he had amassed should be recorded and thanks to his photographic memory, none of it was forgotten.

Closing his journal, Hugo dismissed the memory, and summoned something else from his soul sea.

It was a beautiful purple orb, that was a minion made by his only Transcendent imprint, pesky dust.

He was still figuring it out, and truly, it was a complicated thing. The simple orb was the dream of the last Sybil, but it was not the last Sybil’s consciousness.

It was an echo of her, however one that could only be used in dreams and nightmares when the Nemuina imprint is battling others in their nightmares.

A very situational minion, but one very powerful, if used correctly.

He dismissed the orb and watched as a small blue head manifested from blue sparks besides him.

"Good morning Serena."

The beautiful woman gave him a charming smile.

"Hello dear! How have you been?"

She and Bellicus were not showing up as often, which was strange.

The only explanation that made sense was That the realm boundary was finally catching up to them, after all the war realm rejected all that was mystical, so naturally they wouldn’t be able to move around as they pleased, even with their connection to Hugo.

Hugo and Ben served as different anchors, or in other words, tethers for the divine beings.

’Now that I think about it... Serena and bellicus are sacred entities...’

They both represented concepts but perhaps, their nature was different from the usual spirits, as they were a part of a divine Titan.

"I’ve been fine, as far as fine can go, I suppose. " He said as he took a sip of his tea. "But mostly, I find myself thinking about the past too much, especially everything that had happened in the last few months."

She gave him a thoughtful look and nodded.

"Reflecting upon the past is indeed wise, but make sure not to linger on it... Lest you want to drown in sorrow."

Hugo gave her a bitter chuckle.

"You are too wise for me, voice of compassion." He sighed and looked outside of the window, seeing countless people go about their day, helping around the city as best as they could.

Hope was burning within their eyes, wether they were mundane or awakened.

They all wanted to live, perhaps for themselves, for their loved ones, or for a greater cause.

The evacuation efforts had been going smoothly for now, but it was bound to go bad, soon enough.

In the end, Hugo turned to Serena, and was about to ask her for guidance... But then, another question crossed his mind.

"Hey Serena, can I ask you a personal question?"

The floating blue lady gasped.

"Oh my! Young man, just so you know, I’m married to Bellicus... Well, in human terms, I suppose."

He looked at her with a deadpan expression.

"That’s not what I was going to ask."

"Oh! Well, go on then, I’ve got nothing to hide."

"... A long time ago, before the doom war devoured all of existence... You were the same voice of compassion that allowed Eurys to use Alien x, when he killed the divine dragon, weren’t you?"

Serena’s playful expression shifted, turning solemn — but there was another emotion in her eyes, one that surprised him.

It was hatred.

"... Yes. Me and Bellicus gave our permission to Eurys of the Nine... But ow did you know about the death of the dragon?"

"It’s complicated. Let’s just say, me and the other Omnitrix wielders are connected... But why? Why did you allow him to slay the avatar of a great god?"

They had refused some of Ben Tennyson’s requests and accepted others — each for their own reasons when had been transformed into alien x. But Hugo could not understand why they would allow the power of a divine Titan to be turned against the gods.

She lingered for a moment, then shrugged.

"Because we hated them." She looked at the people below and continued "Imagine if you were in my, or Bellicus’, position. You were a divine Titan, one born from the same place that gave birth to the great gods. And they, in all their celestial glory, shattered you into three, because they feared what you and your people would do to their creation. Me and Bellicus, and the third personality, used to be one person, as well before becoming an imprint within the omnitrix. Even all the other Celestialsapiens, they were all one singular individual before, but thanks to the absolute law imposed upon us, we were forced to argue and debate for all of existence."

"... We hated the gods, and so when young Eurys told us about his audacious plan, we had no reason to disagree, war god would feel the pain of losing its beloved avatar, and back then, we did not have much to live for. Is that satisfactory to you?"

Hugo took a few sips of his drink and contemplated her answer with a troubled look.

Eurys had slain war god’s avatar, yes, but he had not been the cause of war god’s, and the other gods’, death.

At least, to his knowledge.

Although, it did not take a genius to connect the dots. Eurys and the Nine did not just want to burn the empire of war god, which had destroyed their realm, but they also wanted to bring vengeance upon the world itself.

It would not be surprising if they had orchestrated the death of the gods and the daemons.

And so naturally, Serena and Bellicus’ decision that day could be considered the most important decision in all of history, one that sealed the fate of the world.

All of this lead to the tragedy that they were living right now. With countless people dead and consumed by corruption.

He was not too sure about everything just yet, as he needed more knowledge, however... Judging those two for wanting divine revenge against the great gods who had wronged their entire species was not something he could bring himself to do.

How could he, when he would have likely done the same thing, if he had been a Celestialsapien instead?

"... No answer will be satisfying or unsatisfying to me, I was simply curious."

He moved from the window, finished his drink and put his cup in the sink.

"I won’t judge you, Serena. What is done is done and as you said, lingering on it for too long will only drown us all in sorrow."

"Perhaps we’re already drowning in sorrow, young Hugo." With those words, she faded into sparks of essence leaving Hugo alone once more.

"Sorrow huh..." he smiled bitterly, seeing countless images flash across his mind. "Of course we’ll drown in it, it’s all we have left, after all..."

With a long exhale, Hugo left his room and headed outside of his apartment building.

He had quite a few things to take care of today.