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Lowly Ascent

Within a desolate realm, where discarded worlds were stitched together, a rupture tore open, releasing a small child into the fragmented expanse. Above him, the sky revealed three eerie moons, while an ominous black mass loomed ominously in their wake. Disoriented and engulfed by a putrid stench, the child awakened amidst a swamp, its twisted trees groaning under an oppressive haze. In the distance, the echoing caws of crows intensified the sense of foreboding. A haunting figure emerged, laboring behind a cart laden with lifeless bodies. Fear and confusion gripped the child's heart as he began to grapple with the enigma of his own existence. Who was he, and what dire fate led him to this grim landscape? The grinning figure drew closer, exacerbating the boy's terror. Unbeknownst to him, his journey would unveil a profound transformation—an ascent to become the embodiment of fear itself, or perhaps... a beacon of hope amidst the encroaching darkness.

AdOtherwise · Fantasy
Not enough ratings
358 Chs

Fun

Indifferently looking down at the commencing bloodbath, Cain internally grinned.

'Such obedience! A pity this is it. With only a few hundred, I can barely make a single full-grown creature...'

While Cain did some mental calculations, Leon tried to get his Lord's attention once more.

'If I split the creatures into sixths, then I could break even... hmmm, the number of believers is odd... how shall I create a balance-'

Leon's words finally made their way to Cain's ears. 

"My Lord! I have many more followers! Should I go get them? They are beneath the city."

'There are more? Great! Below? Hmmm, yes, there are... millions?! So many are below the city... the structure... Graystone?!'

Cain's smile widened, he was surprised by his servant's initiative and cunning.

"Hahaha! Leon, you truly did well! With all these materials, I can make something quite good!"

Leon lowered his head, "It is my mission, my duty, and my honor to serve you."

Ignoring his servant, the Horror raised his hand and aimed it at the pool of gore now finished with its frenzy.

Cain's voice became distant and incomprehensible, "Power's that be, flesh of the indignant, become one, become me!"

Upon his word, the powers of nightmare swirled. The stain of blood on the city was uplifted in a funnel of blackness.

The colors of scarlet and tenebrous mixed with thousands of little lights and sparkling gems covered in soot. When the tornado stopped, a group of horrifying monstrosities stood in place.

Bloody mud reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, the abominations croaked and whined as their murky flesh bubbled and boiled. Gems conforming to their eyes moved throughout their body, sinking into their flesh before more illustrious gems surfaced.

'Excellent! Go forth, my children! Spread horror! Spread Nightmare!'

The creations of Unknown giddily gurgled and escaped into different areas of the city.

Wherever they went, screams followed and blared.

Leon, throughout the whole matter, kept himself lowered and prostrated.

Cain suddenly called out, "Leon, I will no longer be messing around, wait for my call."

Leon raised his head to thank his Lord but found Cain was no longer there.

'Frightening indeed... best of luck Lord!'

...

Below the city, in the Cult's stronghold.

The dead lined the halls, and out of nowhere, the seventy knights serving the High Priest had begun to slaughter everyone without a word.

This farce of religion had no point. Leon already transmitted his command to the knights. Ordering them to kill without explanation.

In truth, Leon felt the slaughtering that happened above took too long, the cultists liked to take their time. Something he felt they didn't have, Leon didn't wish to wait any longer to join back at Cain's side.

Striding through the facility, a cloaked figure studied the dead. His face was hidden behind a cloak that seemed to embody darkness itself.

By now, only a few survivors were left, the knights made sure to unleash their power of the mist to quickly lower the number of living cultists. The remaining members were being backed into a corner at this very moment.

'Leon even kept the forces I had given him. Ah, it feels so rewarding when you pick up a good servant. Reminds me of Austin.....'

As Cain continued, the bodies left behind him slid into his shadow. He was like a magnet, all the corpses contracted to his location as he passed. By the time he entered the main atrium, all the corpses collected were thrown into a pile in the center.

With a wave of his hand, the rest of the dead throughout the rest of the structure entered the pile magically. Luckily the atrium was bigger than an average city, otherwise, all the condensed dead would fill the room.

Dream City was bigger than most territories, with this graystone structure being almost a tenth of it, the atrium was massive indeed.

Tapping his foot, the powers of Unknown swirled. Relying on instinct, Cain felt the energy pultruding from him and directed it to the pile.

'Done, I don't need to wait for the result.'

Turning around, he disappeared like he never existed at all.

...

Standing before a massive platform, Cain stepped out from nothing.

The platform was the hub, otherwise known as the teleporter to Dream Palace.

Within the Dream Palace was his prize, the Core of the Dream Realm!

Unexcitingly, another was also waiting on the platform. They stood still in the center.

They were bizarre. Half their face was that of a drooping clown, the other was a fish bowl containing the contents of half a brain and a single eye.

It was Zeki, he had been waiting. He was the last of defense.

At first, after Hope's destruction, Zeki went straight to his Lord and Master. There his own hope was destroyed.....and so, he decided to take things into his own hands.

Although for Cain, he was perplexed by the presence of a Human.

"Who are you? You seem.....familiar."

Zeki seemed sullen, he completely ignored the Horror's question, "Why do you have to do this? Just leave us alone, we have done nothing except live. Is that a sin?!"

Cain took a step forward.

"Oh, you poor fool. If only you could understand this was all destined. It's not like I want to, but it is required. You and those living here are just in the way, the unfortunate."

Zeki's voice boomed. "That's it?! We're in the way!?"

Cain's lips curved into an unreadable smile, "Yes. If you really wish to direct your anger at someone, from what I know it should be the Dream Lord. He is the reason for this whole situation."

Indeed, the Dream Lord was the one who fought against nature and built a utopia on a false foundation. It was only a matter of time before it crumbled.

"Dream.....Lord....?" Zeki's eyes became vacant.

"Now now, are you here to fight? Will you try and stop me?"

Zeki narrowed his eyes, and after a few moments, he answered, his voice steady and solid, "Yes."

Cain kept his emotions concealed.

"Wrong Choice."

The Horror seemed to sink back into his cloak, his skin receded and was instead covered in shadows. From the ghostly cloak, numerous hands sprung out, clasping onto one another to create an arm made from only palms and fingers.

Piercing forward, the multitude of hands reached out to Zeki, only to find the clown in front of them to only be two monkeys in a flesh suit.

"You....are protected by something...."

Zeki laughed crazily, "Even the world blesses me!"

'World....did he become a ruler? No.... it's something else...'

Cain ignored the clown's remarks and disappeared completely from the cloak, leaving it behind to continue the fight.

As the animated cloak continued its attacks filled with darkness, up above in the sky, the twinkling stars began to form into a figure. The figure seemed to be encroaching ever closer to the ground.

Noticing this, Zeki made preparations.

"Those stars are mere illusions! Stars don't exist in reality either!"

Indeed, the stars in the sky weren't really 'in the sky'. They were lights infinitely close to the barrier separating the City from the Palace.

"This doesn't stop them from being useful."

The astral body collided with the ground, the infrastructure parted and Zeki was plunged below into the internal workings of the hub.

Shrinking down to normal size, the body made of stars donned its cloak and jumped to follow Zeki.

At the bottom of the hub was a stone floor that stretched on for who knew how long.

Some say it was a place where space itself didn't register, a place made by the Dream Lord. Many speculated it was some sort of failsafe if the hub malfunctioned.

"What a cozy little place."

Cain commented on the surroundings as he caught himself in the air and slowly reached the floor.

The bottom of the hub was much like an empty parking lot, with lights floating around to give illumination.

"Shut up!"

Zeki, slightly injured, swung at the Horror before him. With his fist was pinkish gas condensed to the limit. On contact it imploded, taking his arm and Cain's face with it.

Cain's body flung back with the punch, and all the while Zeki slowly created a new arm made of mud and stone.

From the rubble, Cain's voice shook the space around them.

"Ow....or is that what you want me to say?"

The astral body got up as some stars flickered and broke like light bulbs, falling to the floor and shattering.

"Let's do this, I will now act serious and you will try to survive?" Cain talked with amusement, "Agreed?"

"What are you going on about? You're acting all tough now?"

It was now time for Cain to narrow his eyes.

The Horror's voice became truly serious, not giving off a hint of... anything, "No, I was giving mercy."

The darkness recessed, the lights dimmed, and the entire space reeled back as if it were alive. It knew it didn't wish to see the might of a Primordial Horror.

But it was too late.