Ascension of the Nephilim

Verentor Enupnion gave the secret of the ritual and how to perform it to Nightwing.

The spell required a specific dark region at the depths of the ground. It had to be a place where the light has never shown.

Yet in the massive size of the Midland regions, Nightwing was confident he could find it.

"...And once you do that, the soul of the Half-Fallen Prince will move. His presence is powerful, for he has the strongest legacy of dreams. If you are successful, the wick of the flame will turn black before disappearing. And in that way, the spell, [Dream Caller], has worked. Everyone within twenty kilometers will be affected by this magic. They will fall into the nightmare world of the Dream Caller."

"[Dream Caller]... What interesting magic."

"But it has to be made within places where those elements are present. So it will be up to you to find such places."

"I have a few ideas." Nightwing smiled.

"Nightwing. You cannot tell my brother about this." Bolerax ordered.

"I can\'t?"

"Yes. You must not speak of your plans to my brother from here onwards. We do not know what the source of the bad luck is, but based on what\'s happening, we must consider all known lore about bad luck. And one which could affect you is if you jinx yourself. If bad luck follows Breveros, then knowing what he will do should affect it. All his life here, his bad luck has always only affected him. He was not affecting anyone else. But now that he was the army\'s leader, it brought him bad luck and affected the army. I don\'t know what heightened the cause of his bad luck. And I need you to figure it out. If you do, you will be rewarded."

"No. Sounds troublesome. Do you think that a little dream will help this army survive? Lea Olethros and Listrel Protos Endoxus may as well be on my doorstep."

"Why are you afraid of both women? You\'re an Incubus!"

"Not with their heritage! They have awakened the source of their power. The wretched Steele family offered it to both parties to kill me. Why do you think I lost against them? The heritage that those two acquired could resist the Charm!"

"Impossible! How can they resist the Charm?"

"I could only guess. When I used my powers on those two, it felt like I was... tempting a tree! From what I can tell, this Yggdrasil, the Planesworld, gives them power. And it... loathes me!"

"WHAT?!" Tempest and Bolerax exclaimed in shock.

Even Verentor had a stunned reaction.

"Impossible! The curse that we made has severed it!" Tempest shouted.

"Curse? Sever?" Nightwing gave an intrigued expression.

But the Eldrich ignored him.

"That magic was impossible to destroy! It sounds as if... it\'s coming back!" Bolerax shouted.

Nightwing pretended to give an intrigued and confused look. But Nightwing actually understood what they were talking about. In the purging flames of the Unrecorded Pages, that seal must have been broken and allowed the Trees to act. The two gained their powers through the World Wood Tree of the elven race, which allowed them to get in touch with the source power of the Tree.

"So the Eldrich did do something! It was weird that I naturally knew the lineage of the two. Kyros wanted me to know it. But why did history suggest that the Eldrich were the first? Now I understand. It must have been Ypnos! The Fallen did something! Why would such a powerful legacy lie here!" Nightwing hid all these thoughts to himself.

"But that makes sense! How else would the Desertlord\'s son die against Lea?" Verentor added.

"...It seems we have to hurry. Whatever means they must force the inheritance back, it should not reach fulfillment. Our invasion is at a critical juncture. Nightwing. Great rewards await you."

"Oh, if only. But as a True Neutral, I have my suspicion. In the end, what can I do if Destiny does not want to ally with one of the different stances? Perhaps meeting Breveros is its way of killing me and discarding me. But know this... I have survived more terrifying lineages. My master chose to hide. But I was bored and wanted to be free. But my freedom will not come easy. If you choose to betray me and renege from your promises, the consequences will be your heads!" Nightwing began to move away from the platform.

The three were surprised by Nightwing\'s last statements. He was bold and arrogant and could feel his pride.

"...This man is something." Tempest sneered.

"We must have our countermeasures ready. This man will easily change sides. He isn\'t after power. He is after something more practical. Survival. We must send more Eldrich Nobles to head down there in the raid." Bolerax suggested.

"Agreed. Gather all the Eldrich nobles. We need to send more Crowns!"

As Nightwing left the room, Breveros was there.

Ever since he was ordered to leave unceremoniously, his rage was building. The anger and pride of Tyrannus were growing.

"...What\'s the command, General?" Breveros contained his anger as he saw Nightwing.

"What do you think? I was ordered to keep my plans hidden from you. They said if I do, I might jinx it."

"...So we believe all superstitious beliefs. Am I like a black cat or broken glass that is an ominous sign of disasters?"

"Well, aren\'t you? Beyond that... is what I feared. They knew about the curse. They seemed to have known. Your family did not say it out loud. But the many Eldrich forces have long noticed it. Granted, since they aren\'t idiots."

"...Which explains Eldrich Noble Reisling\'s unfounded hatred. It wasn\'t unfounded at all."

"I could guess what they were thinking based on their expressions. So tell me, how many resources have you used up?"

"...Enough to rise a Cherubim or two Conquerors."

"...Dude."

Breveros\'s expressions were slowly turning ugly.

"And since I want you to betray them, I am reminding you that you wasted that great amount of resources not because of your lack of skill, but if it was granted to you, you could have found great power to change the future of your family and have the power to rise against them. Who knows? You could have inherited Lord Impyernos\'s power."

"...Enough. So the nobles hate me?"

"Hate you? They want to kill you! Look at that lady! She kept it in, and like a volcano, she exploded. But this time, Reisling had a vision of what you are doing. Breveros! It\'s happening now! Your family is slowly being isolated from you! And the Nobles will send more Crowns here. Thank the Fallen. They could help us. But I sense that these Crowns will be sent here to kill you!"

"Reisling must have convinced the Eldrich nobles... How unlucky of me." Breveros could only shake his head. But inside, the anger and rage were boiling up.

"You\'re lucky that I found something. It could be possible to hide you now."

"Aren\'t you afraid of telling me your plans? I might jinx you."

"Don\'t underestimate my power. Your luck has been hidden now as long as I am around. Your streak of bad luck has ended."

"Then... why was I... so unlucky just now?"

"Don\'t you see? That wasn\'t bad luck! That was being attacked by Destiny!"

"Then it has... already started?"

"We don\'t know what\'s going up there. But expect your family to try to fight you."

"...I still will not betray their legacy."

"I respect that despite how stupid it is. Luckily, you can help me get one."

"Get one?"

"A spell has been handed over to me. A spell that uses the Half-Fallen Prince here. The Dreamer."

"They gave that spell?"

"They were forced to. I threatened that we might face an army after this. But since you are already hidden in Destiny, your bad luck won\'t bring us to such terrifying situations. We just need to keep putting that power in our soul. And with this spell ready, you have a mission, Breveros."

"A mission?\'

"I want to see it. Your true potential. The potential that made Destiny curse you! Claim the power of Ypnos!"

"Claim the power of Ypnos?!"

"Yes! I have yet a few aces up my sleeve. They think that the power and true body of the Half-Fallen Prince is beyond our reach. But I can send you to the place where his body lies! The only question is if you are strong enough to claim it!"