Two months had passed since then. Aether had watched as his body moved on its own. It hunted the nightmare creatures that invaded the hill skillfully, trained and absorbed the fruits that the tree rewarded him with.
Name: Aether.
True Name: The Blasphemer.
Rank: Dreamer
Class: Demon.
Soul Cores: [3/7].
Soul Fragments: [20/3000].
Memories: [Fallen Captain], [Silk Step], [Azure Spear], [Glassified], [Feelings of Attachment], [Wand of Fire], [Token of Vitality]... and 7 more.
Echoes: [Carapace Centurion]
Getting to a demon had taken longer than he had thought. And to be honest, he was getting rather tired of waiting.
Aether had been rather lucky with memories. However the seven memories he had acquired were nothing short of useless for him, or he simply had better ones. The echo of Carapace Centurion was going to be great against the army of beasts that the deer was going to summon upon him.
As Aether was observing the area through Zheshi's eyes, he immediately got up to his feet inside his soul sea.
'Oh no.'
Someone was climbing the hill to the soul devouring tree. And it was a human!
Her face bore a sharp, confident beauty, with features that seemed sculpted for poise and allure. Her skin was fair and smooth, the kind that seemed untouched by blemish. Striking eyes, a vivid shade of blue, glimmered with both mischief and certainty, framed by long, dark lashes. Her hair was a deep shade of navy, rich and lustrous, cascading in thick, flowing strands. The twin tails swept outward, heavy and full, while shorter locks framed her face neatly. Her bangs were parted just enough to reveal her eyes, with the tips brushing lightly against her cheeks, softening the sharpness of her expression.
The tall, lithe girl was only dressed in a makeshift skirt and a crude brassiere, both made out of seaweed. However, it didn't seem to bother her. She looked very carefree.
She must have also been trapped in the labyrinth for three months now. Aether did not doubt that her prowess would be unmatched compared to the other sleepers, surviving in the labyrinth was a hard task, with no armor to wear that is. However if she faced him in a fight she would one hundred percent die.
Aether sometimes acted like he did not care about anyone but himself, however he did not want someone innocent to die because of him. Even if he was not the direct cause, he would still be the one killing that person.
'Its time.'
Inside his soul sea, yellow sparks appeared next to him as a Centurion was formed into existence. [Ever Winter] was immediately summoned into his hand. The saber now looked more deadly than before as it was now equal to a memory of tier three.
Noticing both, the beautiful deer slammed its foot to the ground. Immediately two pairs of roots grew from the ground, one with the healing factor, other one the offensive. Then the army of awakened beasts rose from the depths of his soul sea, there was about thirty of them.
Zheshi was summoned back to his soul sea too. She immediately started floating above the army, filling his mind with information.
'Hm..'
Aether decided to dismiss his saber, and climb up to the Centurions back. He attached himself to it with the [Feelings of Attachment] so he would not fall. Then the azure spear appeared in his hands.
It was too soon to attack the deer. Aether had been planning to attack it once he was a devil and had better memories. However he would need to suffice with three cores for the moment.
"Forward!"
The centurion started advancing towards the army at high speeds, and Aether then did something he had been wanting to try. He created mind links with ten of the creatures around him. Due to their simple thought process he could read their minds without any problems, and he created a mind link with the deer.
In a second the centurion rammed itself into the army of beasts, its huge body crashed against several beasts, sending them flying against the other beasts. Its scythes slashed through enemies without any finesse, only bloodlust. Bloods of varying colors splashed onto the floor of his soul sea as the centurion moved its scythes each time.
Wounded beasts that were not killed immediately were backing away towards the deer. Once they touched the deer, their wounds were magically healed almost immediately with a green hue that emanated through their bodies.
Aether on the other hand, was swinging his spear against the beasts while sitting safely on top of the Centurion. He parried the attacks coming from the beasts to protect the centurion and sometimes went on the offensive, throwing his spear in order to kill the enemies who were retreating to the deer.
The centurion was receiving wounds already, with the sheer number of beasts that were attacking them, they were bound to get overwhelmed.
Attacks clashing against the red armor of the centurion, the blood splashing against the ground, the breaking of bones and the grunts of the only human amongst them echoed through the soul sea.
***
Outside.
The navy haired girl climbed to the hill. She was mesmerized by the tree standing in front of her. But what had gotten her attention the most was the man sitting under it.
It was a young man with pale skin with dark messy hair that was reaching his shoulders, almost falling over them.
He wore a detached-sleeved black and teal jacket, as well as a black and white capelet adorned in golden embellishments and a white ascot. At the center of his chest is a teal, eight-pointed star. He also wears black pants and crystal teal shoes, as well as several pieces of golden jewelry and partially-fingerless gloves on his left hand.
'Wait.. isn't that The Blasphemer? He had ranked fourth in the entire academy. He sure has fancy armor.'
She had seen him fight during classes. He was very good to say the least. Additionally that man was a popular theatre performer and a very handsome or.. uh.. beautiful looking guy, or perhaps both.
She was actually very happy she had found someone in this desolate area. She had spent three months in labyrinth alone, she longed for human interaction.
But.. somehow she did not feel happy that she had found him.
There was something wrong with him. His eyes looked hollow. No.. they were hollow. Was he under some influence? She looked at the tree, then back at him and narrowed her eyes.
Despite all the red flags, she decided to act friendly and see what was going on.
"Hey." she waved at him from a distance, forcing a bright tone into her voice. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Seraphine. We were in the academy together. You're Aether… aren't you?"
There was no answer.
The silence stretched, cold, suffocating. His eyes, hollow and unblinking, fixed on her. Seraphine's throat tightened, a chill running down her spine.
And then he moved.
Aether exploded forward, faster than her eyes could follow. One heartbeat he was beneath the tree, the next he was upon her, the world blurring in the wake of his speed. Seraphine's instincts screamed. With a flash of steel, short swords materialized in her hands as she braced herself, heart hammering.
***
Back in the soul sea.
Aether and the centurion were both wounded. Aether had a gash in his shoulder, however the damage done to him was not physical, it was soul damage and it hurt like a bitch. He needed to protect himself against most of the attacks, otherwise he would die.
The centurion had lost one of its scythes and some of its legs. It had several cracks along its armor, blood leaked out from several wounds. The more they continued fighting against the army, the more the chances of it drying increased.
But it was a necessary sacrifice.
Centurions scythe flashed across the battlefield, killing multiple enemies at once. Aether also swung and thrusted his spear against the enemies. They had defeated the most of the army. And during that moment, Aether learned something.
That the deer had a terrible flaw in sacrifice of the amount of power it had.
It could not move from it stood.
Aether summoned [Wand of Fire], ordering centurion to protect him. The want immediately started growing a fireball in front of it as it fed on the soul pain Aether was currently feeling. The fireball was small, but it sufficed.
Aether had a plan.
The fireball whistled through the air as Aether commanded it to fly, with a roaring explosion it crashed against the deer, creating waves on his soul sea.
Despite burning the deer never made a single sound. It was in pain, the deer simply did not have any face expressions or vocal cords.
It was not enough to damage it, however it was enough to set it on fire and cause a great amount of pain.
Pain was what Aether needed currently.
A mirror appeared in his hand. The burning silhouette of the deer was projected on it. Aether had summoned the [Glassified.]
A second later, a scream ripped through his Soul Sea, not from the deer, but from his own throat. Agony seared through his veins, his skin blistering under phantom flames. His body convulsed, every nerve shrieking as if it were being peeled raw.
Aether was still connected to the centurion through the invisible thread, so he did not fall down the centurion even if he had let his grip on it go.
His screams echoed through the sea as he felt the pain of the deer. It felt like his skin was on fire, it felt like he was going to pass out at any moment.
'Stay awake.. Stay awake..'
He needed to stay awake.
In one hand the [Wand of Fire] groaned and split, its surface fracturing under the strain as it drew hungrily on his suffering. In the other, the mirror doubled the pain on the deer. However he was subjected to the same pain.
The wand had created a huge ball of fire in front of them. It looked like a scorching angry sun that wanted to explode. Just being near it was dangerous.
Breathing heavily, Aether tried to withstand the torturous pain he was feeling. He wanted to make the fireball as destructive as possible.
Right at that moment, the burning deer slammed one of its foots against the ground weakly. One of the roots moved, and immediately sharp vines exited the ground from several places and lodged them deep inside the centurion.
[Your echo has been destroyed.]
The centurion suddenly started turning into yellow sparks, making Aether lose his focus.
Aether's face paled as he felt himself falling down. However right at that moment, he commended the wand to shoot.
The fireball left the wand.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
Then white color filled his soul sea, a thundering explosion echoed through it as he was launched, flying into the air. Notifications of many kills echoed through his ears.
Aether crashed into the air.
Some of his garment was burnt, and he himself has suffered several internal injuries which were counted as soul damage.
As he looked into the direction of his soul cores, his face was immediately filled with anger and hatred.
'Shit, shit, shit!'
That bastard was still alive!
Not only that, now that his soul was weakened, eerie roots were growing under the sea and reaching out to entangle his soul cores.
Seeing this, Aether slammed his fist into the floor and shouted in anger and frustration. He had been too arrogant to believe he stood chance against the soul-devouring tree. And now he was going to become entirely [Enthralled.]
But no.
'I won't allow it!'
Aether immediately summoned Zheshi into the outside world, perceiving what was happening outside.
The girl, Seraphine was struggling against him. It was a miracle how she had not been killed yet. Aether commended her will and prowess.
But he had not time to lose. He commended Zheshi to turn her gaze towards the bastard tree. And when she did, he immediately created a mind link with it.
Aether immediately focused all his will into understanding the soul-devouring tree. Trying to pry into its secrets.
He forced his mind into its, their minds and wills clashed. Aether was being overwhelmed by the insidious will of the tree. But he was a desperate man dying, he needed to survive at all costs. He still had goals back in the waking world.
He was not going to die just because he chose to be a little arrogant!
So Aether became one with the soul devouring tree.
What secrets the tree bore and what it thought belonged to only him, did not belong to it anymore. Its body did not only belong to it anymore. The tree was robbed of all his unique knowledge that it had kept for years.
Something had entered and was playing with its existence like a parasite.
That something learned its deepest secret, how to escape his insidious mind hex. The hex it had worked to create and improve for so long. It was uncovered just like that.
The parasite forced his will deeper, threading through every vein of the soul-devouring tree. Roots buckled, black veins spreading across their pale flesh as his essence seeped into them. The ancient hunger of the tree convulsed, for the first time, not in appetite, but in terror.
And right at the moment the parasite learned how to escape, his soul grew an immunity against the tree's mind hex.
The roots that were going to entangle the parasites soul cores suddenly started decaying and sinking into the depths of his soul sea.
The violent waves of his soul sea calmed down, and then his soul cores started loading unexplainable amount of knowledge into the Deer of Abundance's mind, exploding its head in the process.
Just like that, the parasite who the tree had thought was its prey had turned out to be a predator.
***
'I am going to die!'
Seraphine closed her eyes as she did not want to see the attack that was going to cleave her body in half.
However the attack never came.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that Aether had frozen in spot. Then in the next moment he collapsed to his knees.
His eyes cleared, focus returning as though the madness had drained away. For a heartbeat, his lips curled into a fragile, almost tender smile.
"I am sorry.. for being late"
Relief swelled in her chest, only to be ripped away. He convulsed, a violent cough spraying blood across her. Crimson welled from his mouth, his nose, his very eyes, until his face was drowned in it. Then he collapsed, limp as a discarded doll.
Seraphine staggered back, heart hammering, too shocked to scream. She was too confused about what had transpired in just fifteen minutes.