Chapter 42: Divine Ship
The weeks following the unification of the Forgotten Shore were complicated and that was putting it mildly.
A massive logistical and social operation was underway effecting the lives of hundreds of people.
The entire population of the outer settlement was relocated into the Bright Castle without needing to pay the soul shards passage price, but instead they have to pay it another way and that was through labor and commitment.
Every Sleeper, regardless of their Aspect was required to train in basic combat and contribute to the collective effort of maintaining the castle in their free time. Those with healing or utility Aspects were exempt from frontline drills but still learned self-defense just in case.
It was a total mobilization.
The castle's veteran hunters, under direct order became reluctant drill sergeants for the newcomers training the inexperienced hunters and taking cohort of hunters on hunting missions.
On the surface, Nephis and Gunlaug managed this unprecedented transition together with both aiming to train and cultivate the sleepers of the shore...
But the truth was far more insidious.
it was only Nephis and her cohort who were managing the sleepers.
Gunlaug had become a hollow vessel both literally and figuratively. The [Spirit Seed's] enthrallment was complete eroding his will until nothing remained but a placid puppet.
In a sense gunlaug was Hugo's echo now...
The real power behind the throne was a partnership between the Changing Star and Hugo in that regard making things go smoothly...
For a while that is.
Hugo had found the reality less smoother than what he wished for.
Not long after the unification , resistance begun to fester.
Hunters like Tessai, whose pride and cruelty was suppressed under the new egalitarian orders and Nephis's unchallenged authority.
They were a problem, and a big one at that.
Eliminating them silently was an option—a dark, easy option that his Ectonurite form could execute without a trace whatsoever and Hugo could do it with a clear mind knowing all of these bastards under Tessai were practically criminals who had lost their humanity after countless acts of cruelty.
But they needed every fighter they could get, no matter their alignment, after all The plan for conquering the Spire demanded numbers and justice was sadly a luxury they couldn't afford.
So, Hugo improvised a more devious solution.
He began directing Gunlaug—his puppet—to spend an inordinate amounts of time with Tessai and other dissidents. They hunted together, ate together and even "planned" together.
To the rest of the castle, it was nothing short of inspiring: their lord, sharing their burdens and even leading them from the front! How could they wish for a better king?
However The truth was a silent and a spiritual violation.
By keeping the disobedient hunters in constant, close proximity to the seed's host, Hugo allowed its [Enthrall] ability to slowly, bleed into their minds as well that was less powerful than the one gunlaug was on which eventually destroyed their resistance and any violent thoughts they had.
It was a psychic lobotomy, turning fierce opponents into placid agreeable thralls.
Now that gunlaug was under complete control of the seed, Hugo begun using The benefits as fast as possible.
Gunlaug's soul arsenal, filled with hundreds of Memories—mostly Awakened and several Ascended—was opened granting Hugo an immense armory. These were distributed to the hunters from the outer settlement dramatically increasing their survivability and effectiveness, while the higher ranked memories were traded with nephis and her cohort for certain things.
Of course Hugo did keep some of the goods for himself.
There was also the fact that The "cleansed" hunters including an eerily compliant Tessai, offered public heartfelt apologies to those they'd wronged in the past. Even Gunlaug himself gave a staggering speech, taking abstract responsibility for the shore's suffering and promising to repent for his sins once they returned to the waking world.
It was theater but a very powerful theater that mended the relationships between the sleepers of the forgotten shore.
To Hugo, this was a better alternative to purging eighty percent of their fighting force.
But alas, if Hugo wanted to achieve his goals, he could not be satisfied with this.
So While Nephis, Sunny, Kai, and Effie led hunting parties to gather shards and train the weaker Sleepers, Hugo worked on his own projects.
His Petrosapien form became a factory that mass-produced weapons, armor and tools of Awakened-quality crystal arming those who didn't have memories, there was also the fact that he could create entire structures with his crystals making things like storage, more space and anything related to crafting way easier then it was supposed to be especially with the artisans of the hunters becoming aiding him.
But his Galvan form was the true game-changer.
Through the [Lost arts ] ability, channels of ancient sorcery opened in his mind making his nascant runic sorcery reach the height of a master.
He couldn't yet craft the spell-tech of the Galvans' golden age but he could easily match the sorcerers of valors.
The new applications of his sorcery were used to create better enchantments for the tools but there but there was something that made it simply extraordinary.
And that thing was covering the entirety of the bright castle and the old outer settlement— which was now a sprawling training ground—with intricate, interlocking runes of [Protection], [Repulsion], [Purity],[power source] and [Ward].
The synergy created a powerful, active ward that hummed with pure energy making the entire complex a formidable sanctuary against any nightmare creatures that comes here.
It wouldn't be able to ward off high class corrupted creatures but it was enough for anything below that.
The [Lost arts ] also provided a solution to powering these enchantments without draining his own soul essence.
He had learned to create an alternative power source for his enchantments through [Power source].
The [Polymorphic Crystal] was the key to this process.
Its[Greed] and [Envy] enchantments allowed it to store energy inside of it then convert that energy into a stable, kinetic battery.
And it did not need to be filled with soul essence as Hugo would transform into his Pyronite form, fill the crystal with divine flame, and create a potent long-lasting power source or he simply could Infrom sleepers with energy producing aspects to fill the crystal every once and a while.
The sleepers emboldened by their new security and gear began a cautious expansion into the fringes of the harrowing Dark City.
The plan was systematic and simple: elite hunters would clear a sector of Nightmare Creatures Then, Hugo would use [Cognitive Blessing]—bestowing a perfect knowledge of his protective runes onto Sleepers with mobility Aspects—who would then race through that secto inscribing the ground and walls with inky runes.
Through this process, They managed to carve out safe zones, harvest valuable resources and killed the abominations of the city in a slowly expanding wave of conquering.
Hugo served the role of the planner , the armorer and the silent partner in leadership so in turn he received a substantial share of the soul shards and any resources harvested which was a nice bonus.
Some had even started calling him "the Architect." due to his sorcery and craftmenship.
The title was embarrassing and terrifyingly accurate for him...
After all, He and Nephis had woven a perfect web of lies and benevolent manipulation, and against all odds, it was working.
The shore was uniting, growing stronger and actually possessed a chance of escaping.
At least, that's what hugo forced himself to believe...
———
[One Month After the Union]
Hugo stood in a bizarre, fungal landscape within a pseudo-trial, facing his final challenge for the first DNA chamber.
His opponent was a hulking alien, its body a fortress of natural, yellow exo-plating over broad shoulders and a back so large it would put the fittest body builders in the waking world to shame.
The creature also tumbled into a perfect sphere and became a devastating projectile
That darted around the landscape with incredible speed destroying anything in it's path.
Hugo matched its speed as a Kineceleran as it was the only he could attempt to match it.
The problem wasn't speed, instead it was the creature's nigh-impenetrable hide.
Hugo tried everything, he punched it, electrified it, burned it, threw Crystal shards at it and even dropped it from an incredible height and there wasn't even a dent in it's armor.
The thing was a living bunker.
'Damn it,' he thought, swerving around another earth-shaking roll.
There was only one path left to beat the abomination...
A path that he despised.
Gritting his teeth, he slapped the Omnitrix symbol once again causing A blue flash to engulfe him.
just as the sphere-boulder shot through the space he'd occupied, the creature met no impact or resistance, passing through it.
The creature uncurled, a confused expression splattered on its hideous face.
Its prey had just vanished out of nowhere.
Then, before it could do anything , the abomination suddenly felt a chill deeper than any cold pierce its very essence.
Hugo, as an Ectonurite had phased inside it, plunging through layers of corrupted biology, down to where four foul, darkened soul cores pulsed with corrupted energy.
The sight would have caused anyone else to freeze for a moment but Hugo had seen the true face of corruption while bonded to the creature of nothingness.
This was nothing compared to it.
It was merely vile.
And so, Without hesitation, he extended his [Soul Roots], the Ethereal tendrils, glowing with blue fire of his own divinity latched onto the corrupted cores engulfing them in a web.
The creature's body convulsd violently, its shell becoming useless against the internal war raging within it's soul.
Hugo pushed his essence outward and his [Flames of Divinity] attribute ignited within the abomination as Hugo own soul overwhelmed it's own.
The corruption begun to burn helplessly as this was not a fight, it was a purification.
[Corruption Purged]
[You have acquired an Imprint.]
———
Back in the DNA chamber, the pseudo nightmare was over and Hugo was expelled from the imprint pod.
This time however, he felt a profound shift happen in his soul the moment he left.
Unlike the previous time It wasn't violent or foreign, instead It was a natural culmination, like a river finally reaching the sea.
The reservoir of soul fragments he'd accumulated in the last two months escaped his cores, slowly forming into something.
He summoned his runes, watching the change happen in real time:
Name: Hugo
True Name:Paragon of Purity
Rank: awakened
Class:Tyrant
Omni Cores:[5/7]
Soul Fragments:[0/5000]
The formation of the fifth core should have been an agony to him as a human was not supposed to possesses more then one fore.
But Hugo's body and soul had been remade by the Omnitrix so much that he wasn't even a human anymore.
A wave of profound, almost ecstatic pleasure washed over him, a sensation of gears finally clicking into place, of an engine finally achieving it's designed harmony.
It was overwhelming, brilliant and gone too soon.
And just like that He was an Awakened Tyrant now granting him incredible powers and one more core worth of soul essence.
His forms would now possess a third, more potent ability that all tyrant have But first, he checked his [Soul-Bound] attribute.
Attribute Traits: [Omni-Mind], [Failsafe], [Omni-Kiks], [Voice Command], [Primus]
[Primus] Trait Description: [The Omnitrix can guide its master to its origin.]
Hugo eyes widened as he saw the word "Primus"...
It was the same word he had gotten from that strange dream...
The word almost triggered a mental break for him as he remembered the sight of a divine creature standing directly Infront of him and speaking the same word...
"Guide? Origin?" Hugo murmured, slightly shaken...
The words were simple, but in the context of the Omnitrix, they were vast and slightly terrifying.
The origin of the Omnitrix itself? The workshop of its creator? A place that might hold answers about the corruption within its chambers?
A shiver ran through his spine as he contimpliated the implications...
"I'll look at this later."
It was for the best, he had much he needed to take care of and filling his mind with anything related to the omnitrix would be extremely problematic, so Hugo decided to focus on his powers first.
He turned to his completed arsenal, The first DNA chamber was finally, fully his. Untainted by corruption which made Hugo proud.
First Imprint: [Chimera Sui Generis] [Inactive]
Second Imprint:[Galvan]
Third Imprint:[Piscciss Volann]
Fourth Imprint:[Pyronite]
Fifth Imprint:[Tetramand]
Sixth Imprint:[Kineceleran]
Seventh Imprint:[Blessed Herald]
Eighth Imprint:[Petrosapien]
Ninth Imprint:[Florauna]
Tenth Imprint:[Ectonurite]
Extra Imprint:[Vulpimancer]
Extra Imprint:[Galvanic Mechamorph]
Extra Imprint:[Nosedeenian]
Extra Imprint:[Arburian Pelarota]
The new imprints he had gained in the last month were staggeringly valuable.
The [Galvanic Mechamorph] was a shapeshifting entity made of strange material called nanites, capable of altering itself with the ability [Shapeshifting] and more importantly using an ability called [Upgrade] which allowed it to enhance anything it merged with.
Hugo had used this imprint on [Polymorphic Crystal] upgrading the crystal to the Ascended rank which allowed it to store more energy.
The [Nosedeenian] was a living energy battery with the Abilities: [Energy Absorption] and [Bio-Electrokinesis] which made it useful in clearing out hordes of weaker abominations and storing energy.
Its new Tyrant ability, [Electric Blessing], would allow him to grant minor electrochemical enhancements to others which was a perfect way to subtly boost the shore's hunters.
The final imprint [Arburian Pelarota] was the spherical juggernaut he'd just conquered. With the abilities [Sphere Form] and [Nigh-Invulnerability], it was a living battering ram capable of crushing anything in it's way.
Its Tyrant ability, [Armored Aegis] could grant a portion of that incredible durability to his followers.
After all, He was a Tyrant now.
For corrupted beings, this rank meant absolute dominion over minions. For Hugo, the only Nobel creature climbing the path of ascension, his "tyranny" manifested a bit differently: not through control, but through bestowal, which meant he could shard sparks of his own power through these new abilities.
The potential was dizzying to say the least, making Hugo wonder of What would he be capable of as a Terror, let alone A Titan...
The thought was equal parts thrilling and terrifying.
Finally, he looked at his Aspect Legacy.
Aspect Legacy: [The Last Testament]
First Playlist:[Claim] [100%]
Second Playlist:[Locked]
Third Playlist:[Locked]
Fourth Playlist:[Locked]
Fifth Playlist:[Locked]
Sixth Playlist:[Locked]
Seventh Playlist:[Locked]
With a focused thought, he said : "Claim."
[You have received a Playlist.]
[You have received an Aspect Legacy Relic.]
His runes shimmered brightly Under his innate ability before breaking and reconfiguring into something new.
[Playlist #1:]
First imprint: [Pyronite]
Second imprint: [Tetramand]
Third Imprint: [Kineceleran]
Fourth imprint : [Petrosapien]
Fifth imprint: [Florauna]
Sixth Imprint : [Vulpimancer]
Seventh imprint : [Ectonurite]
Eight imprint : [Galvanic Mechamorph]
Ninth imprint: [Nosedeenian]
Tenth imprint: [Arburian Pelarota]
The imprints he'd gained from outside the DNA chambers were gone from the main list.
"Omnitrix, where are my other imprints?" he said slightly panicked...
[ registered in Playlist #0.]
"oh, Thn Show me Playlist#0."
The runes shifted again.
[Playlist #0:]
First imprint: [Chimera Sui Generis]
[Inactive]
Second imprint :[Galvan]
Third imprint :[Piscciss Volann]
Fourth imprint :[Blessed Herald]
Fifth imprint :[Klyntar]
Sixth imprint :[Empty]
Seventh imprint :[Empty]
Eight imprint :[Empty]
Ninth imprint :[Empty]
Tenth imprint :[Empty]
Now that hugo had unlocked the first playlist, He could switch between playlists at will essentially no longer being limited to ten forms at a time, instead he had access to twenty, each organized for different needs.
The strategic implications were monumental, and that was putting it mildly.
But that was not the only thing he had gained as there was still a shiney legacy relic waiting for him.
Scrolling through his Memories, he saw it, its script glowing with an intensity that dwarfed the others memories.
Memory: [Azmuth's Ship]
Memory Rank:Divine
Memory Tier:VII
Memory Description:[The First Thinker required a vessel to traverse the cosmos, and so he crafted a marvelous structure that could sail the realms but In time,it was stolen by a nebulous daemon who used it to explore the [Unknown].]
Memory Enchantments:[Vehicle], [Protection], [Armory], [invisibility], [System], [Gravitational Negation], [Unknown]
Hugo's breath caught in his throat as he saw the runes.
He felt lightheaded. "A Divine Memory," he whispered, the words feeling slightly fake... "A Divine Memory, a divine fucking memory...." In the waking world, such an artifact could buy a dynasty, found multiple Great Clans and start a war that would scorch continents —not that there was many for them left— all at the same time!
Its very existence was absurd just like divine aspects.
It's description was also unsettling
The 'First Thinker' was Azmuth, creator of the Omnitrix. This was also his ship.
"I'm really stealing all this guy's stuff..." Hugo muttered chuckling slightly beneath the shock.
He read the enchantments with excitement
[Vehicle] enchantment description: [The ship could assume the form of any vehchile]
[Source Battery] enchantment description:[this memory possses A self-replenishing potent power core.]
[Protection] enchantment description: [This memory is Resistance to all forms of attack.]
[Armory] enchantment description: [this memory's Weapons to match its station.]
[Invisibility] enchantment description:[ this ship can hide itself from anything.]
[System] enchantment description:[ this memory possses An artificial intelligence pilot assisting it's wielder]
[Gravitational Negation] enchantment description:[ This memory is not affected by Gravity].
[Unknown] enchantment description: [The ability to safely navigate the [Unknown] ].
Hugo was feeling strangley curious about this [unknown], it was mentioned in the blessed herald description but now it was also included in this one. Not only that, bit it also a mentioned that a nebulous daemon stole this ship to navigate it alluding to the fact that [unknown] was a place not an entity.
"So is it just hell?"
The existence of something like that would not be shocking considering the nature of their world was basically worse then any mythological hell mentioned in the past.
But that did not change the fact that this memory was a A flying, armored, invisible, intelligent and impossibly advanced spaceship Of Divine rank.
In theory, It could even cross the Hollow Mountains reaching the other side... But Hugo wasn't willing to risk encountering an unholy titan or two on the way.
But besides that, It could survive the Dark Sea and It could be the ultimate asset in the siege of the Crimson Spire.
It was a game-changer so absolute it reset the entire board.
A grin spread across his face, so wide and fierce it felt slightly alien. Excitement, pure and unfiltered surged through him, momentarily washing away any uneaseness he had.
This was something that could change the entire course of humanity if used right....
"It's a goddamn magical spaceship! Of course it would change history!" he said, his voice raspy... although there was still the creeping fear of what such power would inevitably attract...
With a final, lingering look at the runes describing his new cornerstone of power, Hugo willed himself out of his soul sea.
He had just been handed a miracle but There was so much work to do.