Chapter 41:Ghost
The plan was sound in theory but its execution rested on a fragile premise as Enthralling Gunlaug was easier said than done.
The [Spirit Seed], while powerful operated under the same fundamental limitations as its progenitor, the Soul Devourer. It required sustained proximity and time to weave its psychic influence, even over a dormant human.
So Getting it close to the paranoid lord of the Bright Castle and keeping it there was going to be a problem.
Thankfully, Hugo had recently acquired a key to that locked door.
Over the past month, he had managed to unlock three additional Imprints from the first DNA chamber.
Two he had challenged himself while the last he had unlocked through the simulation function of the omnitrix.
Hugo had learned just how truly risky the process was.
Not only did it render the Omnitrix inactive for a full day and drain a staggering amount of essence—leaving him, an awakened devil with only two cores worth of essence—but the simulations could also fail.
Of nine attempts, he had succeeded only twice so far. It was a costly gamble, one he had to use sparingly.
The new imprint Hugo had gained were quite remarkable, the first being called [Florauna] which was a humanoid plant creature with fascinating potential for growth and manipulation of flora.
The other form was... Infinitly less useful then the first, it was a specie called [Vulpimancer] which was a dog like creature that possessed enhanced senses and abilities.
But there was two problems.
The first was that it was a dog thus rendering his movements limited.
And secondly, it was blind, relaying on it's senses to see the world around it.
This had caused Hugo to swap it for the imprint that was unlocked through the omnitrix simulation function —which was something he learned he can do after asking the Omnitrix ai— and This new form was the answer to their problem but it filled Hugo with a profound, visceral unease...
Imprint: [Ectonurite]
Imprint Rank:Awakened
Imprint Class:Devil
Imprint Description:[The first and most harrowing children of Heart God. The soul was their domain and just like their progenitor, their greed truly knew no bounds driving them to crave the essence of others.]
Imprint Attributes:[Heart Spirit], [Tangibility], [Soul Roots]
Imprint Abilities:[Soul Gaze], [Soul Possession]
[Soul Gaze] Ability Description: [You can perceive the spiritual composition of other creatures.]
[Soul Possession] Ability Description:[You can possses the body and soul of other creatures.]
Hugo felt a wave of revulsion run through his body as he read the description, this imprint was meant to be a parasite and he had a terrible past with these types of creatures.
So much that He wanted to lock this form away and never think of it ever again.
But they were out of time, and out of gentle options.
The plan needed a ghost.
———
A specter drifted through the immaculate halls of the Bright Castle, floating through the gigantic structure in it's terrifying majesty. .
Hugo, in his Ectonurite form, was a wisp of pale spectral energy that was intangible and invisible to mortal senses.
He passed through stone walls and locked doors as if they were wide open with his [Soul Gaze] ability painting the world in a haunting tapestry of spiritual light.
He was currently using this ability to find the sleepers in the castle, mainly so he could locate gunlaug.
Eventually, Hugo found it in the highest chamber of the castle, guarded by two armored sentinels who felt only a sudden, inexplicable chill as Hugo flowed through the door.
Inside, the sight made his spectral form pause before his empty visage contorted in disgust.
Gunlaug, his torso bare and the lower half of his shifting golden armor unbuckled, sat on the edge of a lavish bed, besides him, Two young girls, really, no older than eightee were hurriedly summoning plain garments, their faces streaked with tears as they quickly fled the room in shame.
The lord of the castle watched them go with a look of bored entitlement as if this was the most casual thing in the world.
The scene, the abuse of power, the casual cruelty without even caring was a mirror held up to the worst memories of Hugo's past causing a deep rage to burn within him.
He wanted nothing more then to snap gunlaug neck right now.
'Later...'
Instead of killing the tyrant, Hugo decided to make undergo a worse fate.
And so He concentrated on the [Spirit Seed], a physical echo he carried in his non-corporeal hand which was also invisible.
Hugo plan was devious to say the least.
He had use this galvanic mind to come up with it and the plan used all of his new abilities and of course his echo's nature.
[Soul Possession] was not suitable enough to take over gunlaug, because while He could easily overpower Gunlaug's dormant soul and wear his body like a suit, the Omnitrix's timer eventually made prolonged control impossible.
So He needed a permanent solution.
The key was the seed's [Spirit] attribute: [This seed can reside within the body and soul of its master.]
Currently, Hugo was its master. And for the next couple of minutes, Gunlaug's body and soul were would also be a part of him.
Without warning, Hugo activated [Soul possession] and dove inside gunlaug, reaching deep within the man body.
Gunlaug shuddered slightly, but before he could scream, the overwhelming presence invading his soul consumed his dormant soul lulling it to sleep.
Hugo opened his new eyes finding himself in complete control of gunlaug body...
It was a bit terrifying how easy he had done it... Making him feel a bit anxious at the thought of abusing this ability in the future.
He sighed in gunlaug voice as he started his plan.
Moving with a ghost's precision, Hugo willed the seed to reside within him and then As it merged with his own spectral essence, hugo used the Ectonurite's [Soul Roots] attribute to stabilize the process.
These ethereal tendrils, which were supposed to anchor and feed on spiritual energy, now performed a delicate surgery.
He gently guided the seed from his own soul and transplanted it into the thin, vulnerable layer of Gunlaug's dormant spirit.
The seed took root without much resistance at all, To it, this was still its master's soil.
Hugo, still wearing Gunlaug's body, made the man lie down on the disheveled bed and close his eyes drifting to sleep. Then, he released his possession, his spectral form pulling free from the man's body.
He watched Gunlaug's chest rise and fall in natural sleep, completely oblivious to the fact that a parasite has been transplanted inside of him.
The seed was now embedded within the lord's own soul, a hidden psychic parasite that would, over the next day, lowly enthrall him by the minute.
And when the echo gains complete control over the bright lord, Hugo will have won.
The job was done, But just as Hugo prepared to leave, his [Soul Gaze] fell upon the true source of Gunlaug's power: not the man but the Transcendent-rank Echo that slept with him —a pulsing, golden mass of pure gold— which a curious thought to enter his mind...
He had never tried it on an Echo.
Floating closer, he reached into the core of his Aspect and activated [Essence Imprint].
A familiar yellow energy lanced out, scanning the golden mass.
[Scanning…]
[Unidentified DNA sample detected…]
[Imprint successful!]
[You have acquired an Imprint.]
A fierce, inward grin spread across his non-existent face.
This was a bonus he was glad to accept.
Right as he was about to leave, Hugo noticed something strange about gunlaug body.
It wasn't because of the seed, instead it seemed the golden mass was twitching slightly...
Suddenly, A tendril of molten Gold snapped upward with terrifying speed lashing through air as it reached Hugo spectral form.
It passed through him harmlessly—after all he was intangible right now —but the message was chillingly clear...
The Echo had detected him somehow meaning It possessed a consciousness, or at least an instinct of sorts making it far sharper than its master's.
'What a dangerous thing...' Hugo though, realizing that nephis could die swiftly if she decided to face gunlaug...
He swiftly phased back through the walls, leaving the sleeping lord and his restless guardian behind.
———
Back in Nephis's hut in the outer settlement, the cohort was gathered, the air thick with tension.
They waited in silence for a while, untill without fanfare, Hugo's form solidified in the corner of the room transitioning from invisible specter to hulking warlord in a flash of blue light.
He let out a long, weary breath as he said
"It's done, the enthrallment ability should be doing its job, Now we wait."
Nephis exlahed slightly, as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders
"Thank you, Hugo. Without you, the path forward would have been filled with bloodshed..."
"Don't thank me yet," Hugo rumbled, settling his weight onto a reinforced bench. "The enthrallment needs time to cement and Gunlaug must wake and live a full day with that thing in his soul before he loses his mind."
Then Effie raised a hand, her expression slightly bored . "Not to be the bearer of bad news, but what's Plan B if this ghost-seed thing doesn't work?"
Nephis's gaze hardened slightly. "Then we revert to the original plan, I challenge Gunlaug directly, kill him and we take the castle by force."
Sunny let out a scoff from his shadowed corner.
"And here I thought we were supposed to be the noble rebels."
Nephis shot him a sharp look as if wanting to contort but Hugo spoke first, his voice a low and slightly tired.
"You're not wrong, Sunny." He looked at each of them. "I don't really think of myself as a hero or even a decent person at all But there's a difference between fighting for survival and orchestrating a bloody slaughter. The outer settlement and the bright castle is full of people who just want to live peacefully, so Enthralling Gunlaug ends his tyranny and allows the sleepers of the forgotten shore to unite in order to attempt conquering the spire, It's the cleanest way out for everyone, well unless someone want to remain here then nobody is stopping them."
Sunny held his gaze for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
Hugo understood that sunny prioritized free will and freedom over anything, to the point that he thinks that death might be a better alternative to living as a slave.
In a sense Hugo agreed with him, but he also had no problem bending his Morales for the greater good, even if sunny feel betrayed by that decision.
Finally, Sunny looked away with a roll of his eyes.
"Whatever, do as you wish."
———
The next day, the ghoules came.
"They're coming! They are coming!" a lookout's voice, sharp with fear pierced the settlement.
In the main lodge, the tension reached a breaking point. Neph's followers, a mix of hardened hunters and desperate civilians, gripped their weapons, faces pale but resolved.
Only Nephis herself seemed composed, staring out the window at the bleak city.
"Stay calm, everyone," she said, her voice slicing through the panic.
A grizzled hunter with a scar down his cheek turned to her, his face a mask of anger and grief. "They've come for Effie! We can't let them take her like they took Jubei! Not again! It'll be over my dead body!"
A chorus of furious agreement erupted.
"Never again!"
"Let them try!"
Nephis turned,a small, steely smile on her lips. "Nothing is going to happen to Effie. You have my word."
Her words had a palpable effect, calming the storm of rage into a simmering resolve. Their faith in Changing Star was absolute, a lifeline in the darkness.
That faith was tested seconds later when the lodge's front door exploded inward in a shower of splinters. A scream was cut short. Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed on the stone, growing louder, shaking the very floor.
Then, the door to the great hall shattered.
Tessai, the Master of the Guard, filled the doorway. He was a mountain of a man, his sleeveless shirt straining over muscles that looked carved from granite. A morose, cruel glint lived in his eyes. Behind him, a squad of Castle Guards in fine armor leveled their weapons, their hungry gazes immediately finding Effie.
The defiant fire in the room guttered under the sheer, oppressive weight of his presence.
'... Are these people really afraid of this guy?' Hugo thought, thinking about how easily he could crush this band of sleepers despite their menacing looks...
Tessai's deep voice boomed, making the rafters shudder. "Changing Star. So you're alive." He didn't wait for a reply, issuing what he came here for . "Lord Gunlaug has invited you people to the Castle"
Nephis crossed her arms. The room held its breath.
"For what?"
Of course, nephis knew exactly for what. The seed must have already take a chunk of the lord mind, making him want to speak with them but she needed to make a convincing narrative.
Tessai's grin widened, though his eyes remained frozen. "Who knows? Perhaps the lord is eager to reward you... or punish you. "
She turned back to Tessai, a dark smile appearing on her face . "how interesting... Your lord almost seems like he wants to execute me"
She took a single step forward. "However, we are all coming with you. We are all united, aren't we? " Her grey eyes burned slightly. "Surely, Lord Gunlaug won't mind."
Tessai's face contorted in feigned annoyance, the poor fool must think that gunlaug was going to punish nephis...
What he didn't know was that the entire castle is in a for a gigantic surprise.
"alright, Come to the Castle. Bring your rabble. Witness our Lord's brilliance!"
Then, a new presence emerged from the lodge end
Hugo ducked through the ruined doorway, rising to his full, terrifying height in the open air. Sunlight glinted off the dark plates of his Chimera Sui Generis armor, and his sensory tentacles wavered slowly, making the guards and tessai tense as they looked at him.
"Doese that thing need to come with you too?" tessai growled looking at Hugo with hatred.
"Yes, he is our ally and friend, do not call him a thing " nephis said looking at tessai.
Hugo felt an urge to rip tessai head off for that remake but he said nothing, just to make sure the plan was not ruined.
merely falling into step at the rear of Nephis's group although His presence shifted the balance of the march entirely.
The Guards eyed him with naked fear, their confidence rattled by the form while The settlement folk walked taller, looking at Hugo with... An acceptance of sorts.
After all he had spent a month with these people, and he was quite the decent person around so he did not feel like much of an outsider.
That made Hugo feel... Glad.
The crowd swelled as they moved, chanting things about freedom, unity and other related stuff.
Tessai leading the way, threw a glance back at the seething crowd and the monstrous shape at its back and For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty broke through his cruel mask. The plan was proceeding, but the variables had changed. They were no longer leading lambs to slaughter. They were escorting a wolf, a demon, and a living siege engine into the heart of their kingdom.
The great gates of the Bright Castle swung open, and the furious, hopeful, vengeful tide of humanity—and one very deliberate monster—poured into the gleaming white throat of the beast.
———
The great hall of the Bright Castle was a cavern of white stone and cold reflected light. Rows of Sleepers in fine, clean garments lined the walls—the privileged inhabitants of the castle, their faces a mix of curiosity, disdain, and a deep-seated anxiety they couldn't quite name.
The air thrummed with the tension of the outer settlement crowd pushing in behind Nephis's cohort, their murmured defiance a living thing against the sterile silence of the chamber.
At the far end, atop a dais, sat Gunlaug.
He was resplendent in his shifting golden armor, the Transcendent echo seeming to drink the hall's light and pulse it back, a feeble, gilded sun.
Nephis walked forward, Cassie's hand lightly on her elbow, until she stood at the foot of the dais. The crowd that was instantly hushed as Tessai and the other lieutenants fanned out to the sides, their postures rigid, waiting for the command to crush this insolence...
"Lord Gunlaug," Nephis's voice, clear and carrying, held no deference only a stark declaration. "We have returned from our expedition And we bring news that concerns every soul on the Forgotten Shore..."
Gunlaug shifted on his throne. The movement was a fraction too slow for some reason but it was only noticable tos someone like Hugo.
"Speak then, Changing Star." His voice was his own but the cadence was a bit off, like an instrument slightly out of tune. "You have… drawn quite a crowd."
"The news warrants it," she replied, her grey eyes sweeping over the castle dwellers before returning to him. "The expedition was not merely for hunting or cultivating strength, instead It was for discovery. We have confirmed the method of accessing the gateway"
A ripple of shock, sharp and electric, went through the hall as Whispers begun to spread among the people.
The Gateway was a sensitive topic among the sleepers of the forgotten shore and nephis exclaiming that she found a way to access it was quite the statement to make.
Gunlaug's jaw tightened, a flicker of his true self fighting against the soothing invasive pressure in his mind.
'Listen. This is important,' the pressure whispered slightly, it was a paradoxical Existence.
As it's words were not "words" at all, instead simply thoughts projecting in gunlaug mind.
Nephis continued, her tone growing graver "As you all know, the guardian of the spire is a A Fallen Terror of immense power..." She paused, letting the anticipation build, Then, she delivered the lie with the flawless conviction of a true believer.
"And our seer" she gestured to Cassie, who bowed her head with solemn dignity, "has had a vision. The Terror is on the cusp of evolving into a corrupted titanIt feeds on the despair of this shore and With each passing second we remain trapped, it grows stronger. Should it ascend to a Corrupted Titan…" She let the sentence hang, her gaze piercing. "It will not stay at the Spire. It will come here. It will drown the Dark City, the Labyrinth and this very castle in a tide of corruption from which nothing, not even these walls, will protect you. Every Sleeper on this shore will die.
Panic shattered the Silence, as the terrible words were spoken. The castle dwellers and these of the outer settlement looked at each other then at Gunlaug, their comfort suddenly feeling like a thin veneer over a precipice. Even Tessai's cruel confidence wavered, his eyes darting to his lord for guidance.
Inside Gunlaug's skull, a silent command was issued. Hugo, standing like a obsidian statue at the back of the cohort, silently focused on the seed's connection.
'Agree. Probe. Sound reasonable...'
Gunlaug raised a hand causing The crowd to still, clinging to his authority. Behind his visor, his face suddenly changed, from confusion to an eerily calmness that would have been terrifying for anyone who saw it. It was as if the man had lost his mind entirely.
"A grim vision indeed..." he intoned, his voice now losing its strain, adopting a statesmanlike gravity that was somehow more frightening than his usual malice. "If your seer's sight is true… then our inaction is suicide. What do you propose, Changing Star? You have assembled my people to tell them they are doomed. Do you offer no alternatives?"
The lieutenants —Minus the tall female— widened their eyes as they looked at gunlaug.
This was not their lord, at least nlt how ve usually acted.
Their lord would have scoffed, accused her of lies to ferment rebellion, and ordered her death through a carefully manufactured right of challenge.
Nephis met his gaze with grim determination
"The alternative is unity. As The guardian is a Terror but it is only that, at the end of the day it is One enemy, and the true reason we have failed to conquer the spire for so long is not because of our weakness, but instead our Our division. The true strength of the Forgotten Shore sleepers is squandered—half in luxury behind these walls and half in struggle outside them, with all of them facing death almost everyday. "
She spoke not just to Gunlaug but to the entire hall, her voice rising. "We must stop! Today, We pool our knowledge, our Memories and our strength together. We train not for petty raids but for a siege, a final glorious siege to stop our suffering. We turn the entire might of the Sleepers here toward a single purpose: conquering the Spire and slaying the Terror before it evolves. It is the only way any of us to return home, to our families and friends! "
The crowd from the outer settlement erupted in cheers. The castle dwellers were silent, stunned but the seed of the idea, watered by their dread began to sprout in their very souls.
Hugo pushed another command into gunlaug head, trying to frame the situation better.
'Accept. Frame it as your wisdom.'
Gunlaug stood his golden armor rippling as He looked out over the sea of faces, his expression one of somber, decisive resolve.
"The seer's vision cannot be ignored. Changing Star's words are… harsh but they are not without logic." The lieutenants looked like they'd been struck. "A house divided cannot stand against such a foe. Our survival and our legacy… may indeed require a new path."
Tessai could not bear it anymore, He took a step forward, his face a thunderhead.
"My lord! This is preposterous! She speaks of visions and unites rabble at your gate! This is a naked power gra—"
"Tessai." Gunlaug's voice cut across the hall, flat and final. He turned his hollow gaze on his master of guards, the effects of the echo causing tessai to immediately lower his head.
"Do you have an alternate solution to deal with a Corrupted Titan? Do your doubts armor you against it's terrifying might ? Will your suspicion save the people when the dark sea rises to claim us all one day?"
Each question was a hammer blow delivered with a cold, alien logic that brooked no argument.
"We face extinction and I am Lord of this castle, just as the first and second lords before me, My duty is to ensure its people survive no matter what and If that means listening to new counsel for a time, then so be it. Do you wish for everyone here to die for the sake of your pride?"
Tessai recoiled visibly as if physically pushed. The words were Gunlaug's but the soul behind them was utterly foreign.
He stared into his lord's helmet, seeing only an immutable wall.
His mouth opened then closed, and he took a staggering step back, his authority dissolving into confusion and dread...
"Then it is decided," Gunlaug announced, turning back to the hall. "The old quarrels are no more! . The resources of the Castle will be assessed to compensate all! From now on the castle and the outer settlement is no more! We are all one! And thus we shall make preparation! In a few months, every sleeper here no matter how weak will hold a sword! " he said, causing another wave of cheers.
Then he looked at Neph, " changing star, you will coordinate this effort with my lieutenants, You found this path, so yoou will help lead us down it."
The hall exploded in noise—cheers of hope from the settlement and the castle dwellers, all excited by the idea of escaping this hell.
Sunny, shrouded in the shadows near a pillar, watched it all. His face was a carefully neutral mask but his knuckles were white where he gripped his forearm.
He watched Nephis accept the directive with a graceful nod, watched the grateful, desperate faces of the crowd swarm around her and most importantly watched Hugo's immense, silent form observe it all like a sculptor viewing his masterpiece.
It was perfect. It was bloodless and It was the optimal solution for the greatest number.
And for some strange reason, that made him feel sick.
He saw the strings so clearly and he did not need [Bloodweave] to do that.
He saw the vacant puppet on the throne, and the empty liar that were his friends.
They were selling a lie—a necessary, hopeful lie—and trading the will of hundreds for it.
The greater good.
The clean way.
Yet The words tasted like ash to him.
He caught Hugo's glance across the room. The Chimera Sui Generis's red optical sensors held no triumph within them , only a weary understanding.
Sunny looked away once more, his jaw tight.
They had won.
They had unified the entire shore without a single drop of blood being spilled.
So why did it feel like they had just committed the greatest sin of all ?