Chapter 106: Spending Time with Friends
Hugo felt the shift between worlds as his soul was transported to the Dream Realm.
It was such a bizarre thing to experience, especially after he had gotten accustomed to the waking world.
Despite its strangeness, that feeling was oddly familiar... Exactly like the winter solstice.
'I'm back...'
There was no nostalgia in that thought, though...
There was nothing about the Dream Realm he missed as some of his worst memories had been forged here, wether it was pain, loss or fear. It was only natural that he'd end up developing a dread of this place.
The moment he arrived, his heart suddenly started racing and for a second, hugo felt like he was teetering on the edge of a panic attack.
But thankfully it never came. Hugo forced himself to look around, taking in his surroundings and realized that he wasn't in a dead zone.
This was a citadel, one captured by humanity ages ago. What was a common sight to all awakeneds was something he had never truly experienced before.
He was in the Chained Isles, specifically on the Sanctuary of Noctis. A place that was considered historic in the history of humanity, second only to Bastion, Ravenheart and the Stormsea.
The sanctuary itself was basically a village, with many people coming and going.
They were currently standing in a grass field, and in its center, massive menhirs stood in a perfect circle, which encompassed another, smaller one. This larger circle formed the outer wall of the Citadel, while the smaller one formed the inner.
Inside the circle, there was a tranquil park with a pool of clear water in its middle. A path of stones led to a small island at the center of the pool, where, in the shade of an ancient tree, an altar cut from a solid piece of white marble stood.
Hugo had heard a lot about the sanctuary from Sunny and Nephis, but no description could have done this beautiful place enough justice.
Saint Gilead turned to Hugo, looking at him with a calm expression before saying:
"Do you want me to accompany you to the Ivory Tower?"
Hugo shook his head. "No thanks, one of my friends will come get me soon. But thank you for offering, you have been very helpful to me, Saint Gilead."
Among all the saints he had encountered in his life, Saint Gilead was definitely among the nicer ones. Or at least, he seemed like it. He had not done anything to warrant aggression or suspicion from Hugo so for now, he was a decent person in Hugo's eyes.
"I'm only doing my duty, there is no need to thank me," the saint said, patting Hugo on the back. "I wish you the best in your future endeavors, young man. Stay safe."
And with that, the golden saint left, attending to his duties elsewhere.
Hugo did not really think much of this interaction, but he was deeply worried about Gilead's comment about his soul being bizarre.
Of course, his soul was strange for a myriad of reasons but the main reason was the fact that he was a divine aspect wielder, one capable of forming multiple cores.
'well technically I was a divine aspect wielder, now it's an unknown rank... But divine sounds better than unknown.'
Hugo wanted to go explore the sanctuary some more, but he did not want his friend to miss him.
And soon enough, that friend came.
It was a young man wearing light scaled armor, with luscious dark auburn hair and mesmerizing green eyes. His well-fitted armor was seemingly made out of pristine scales, drawing many eyes to its greenish design. The man was tall, slender, and incredibly handsome. His face was small, perfectly shaped, and beautiful, with high cheekbones and flawless ivory skin. His green eyes were nothing short of electric, and his lips were soft and full.
Of course, that friend was none other than Kai, nightingale. Although Hugo was not sure if they were quite 'friends' yet, they were acquaintances and companions at best but Hugo hoped that would change soon enough.
"Hi, I'm here!" Hugo waved at him, causing Kai to smile and make his way towards him quickly.
'Damn, Sunny was right, his smile is a mind hex of its own!'
And Hugo was resistant to all types of mental attacks!
"Hugo! It's good to see you in the Dream Realm."
Hugo nodded, appreciating the beauty of the sanctuary more, despite the weird feeling he had in his stomach.
"This place is definitely a work of art. If it's this beautiful, then I can't wait to see the Ivory Tower itself."
"Indeed, out of all the citadels I've been to in the Dream Realm, the Ivory Tower is second only to Bastion," Kai said, as they began walking through the sanctuary, heading towards the exit.
As Masters, Hugo and Kai naturally got a lot of attention from the awakened of the sanctuary, especially considering that both of them were basically celebrities right now. Their fame currently was only matched by the saints of humanity, which was a great feat.
Hugo did not like that much attention, and Kai seemed to be used to it, no doubt having adapted from the years of being an idol.
They finally reached the outside of the sanctuary and onto the edge of the island that contained the sanctuary itself.
Hugo was met with a beautiful scenery, as he saw the vast expanse of islands that was the Chained Isles, and the Ivory Tower, standing in all of its majesty above.
It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
"How ironic it is that this world that's constantly trying to kill us is this beautiful," Hugo said.
Kai nodded solemnly "Devils tend to disguise themselves with beauty to trick mankind... Or at least, that's what humans before the dark ages thought."
Hugo understood that reference, considering he was someone who had a mild interest in such literature.
People from the old world had various beliefs, however one thing that could be found in various cultures and religions was the idea of a devil being sinister beings.
Even to this day, devils were still hated, although for a different reason entirely considering they were an actual class of nightmare creatures.
"Perhaps we should save philosophy for another time. Cassie and Effie are waiting for us on the Ivory Tower," Kai said, as he approached the edge, ready to take off but he suddenly paused in his track "Ah, you do have a transformation capable of flight, right? Or should I carry you?"
Hugo shook his head "No need."
Hugo brought his fingers on the faceplate of his Omnitrix, causing a holographic blue dial to appear.
Hugo had kept all of his playlists active at once as he preferred having full access to his arsenal. He only ever restricted himself to a single playlist when the situation demanded it and this was not one of those times.
So naturally, he plenty of flying aliens to choose from. Such as the Blessed Herald, Ghostfreak, Buzzshock, Ampfibian, heatblast, Terraspin, Jetray and Big Chill.
The Blessed Herald was a bit too dangerous for the current situation considering Hugo's flaw could still get to him, Ghostfreak would definitely make people think he was a Nightmare Creature, Buzzshock was too small for the job.
That left Ampfibian, Terraspin and Jetray...
'Yeah, Big Chill will always be my go-to for flight.'
It was the coolest alien he had in his arsenal, both literally and figuratively.
The faceplate opened revealing the core of the Omnitrix, then Hugo slammed it gently, causing the transformation to happen in a mass of blue light.
His body elongated, and two massive insectoid wings suddenly appeared behind his chest, at the same time his skin turned deathly cold and blue.
"Big Chill!" Hugo shouted, finishing the transformation.
Kai stared at him for a long moment, then smiled hesitantly. "Well that's new..."
Hugo tried to raise his eyebrows, but unfortunately he lacked them so he only asked "You don't like it?"
Kai stammered "No! Actually, I think it looks unique... Although it would definitely freak out other people."
"Hmm, true but a big part of Big Chill's appeal is his creepiness and the uneasy look it has. In a way, it's a fashion sense."
Kai's eyes widened, as if Hugo had just revealed to him the truth of the world.
"You're right! Now that I look at it from an alternative perspective, it's not so bad at all. In fact, it reminds me of one of the costumes I wore once to my performance!"
"See Kai, this is why I like you. You're funny." And with that, Hugo leapt over the edge and spread his wings, ascending towards the sky.
Kai followed soon after, flying near Hugo.
Flying in the Dream Realm was definitely an experience, but doing it beside someone else was definitely a whole new thing.
Both Hugo and Kai were not usually surrounded by people who could fly —aside from Nightmare Creatures— so having a friend who could soar through the sky alongside them was a nice change.
"You know Kai, I know this might sound weird, but I'm a big fan of your music," Hugo said, in Big Chill's raspy voice.
Kai seemed to blush slightly at this revelation. "You are? Thank you. Making music was a big part of my life, so I appreciate that you enjoyed them. Do you have any favorites?"
Hugo remained silent for a moment, thinking about his favorite Nightingale songs...
He was not that big of a fan like the die-hard fans or girls, but he had not lied when he said he liked their music.
Practically everyone from Hugo's generation knew Night&gale so it would be abnormal if someone didn't recognize them...
"Hmm, if I had to pick, then it's definitely 'Hey, Sleeper Girl'. The mixture of romantic and punk tone used in the lyrics is simply perfect. You guys really outdid yourselves with that one."
Kai smiled "Thanks, but you know, that is usually considered a hot take among the fans, but to each their own!"
Hugo and Kai continued chatting about various other songs as they ascended higher, eventually diverging into talks about movies, shows and even pop culture in general. Hugo had missed out on a lot of his favorite medias, so talking about them with someone was definitely entertaining.
All the fire keepers saw him as someone above them for some reason, so Hugo could not have casual conversations like this with them, but that wasn't the case with Kai or any of the cohort.
Kai found it nice to have another cohort member who was into this stuff aside from Cassie and Nephis, especially considering Hugo was easier to approach than the other two.
Not that Kai disliked Cassie and Nephis! He liked all his friends equally.
After around thirty minutes of flying, the duo finally reached the Ivory Tower, landing with a soft thud on the flying island.
Hugo slammed his Omnitrix, detransforming as he took in the beautiful scenery.
The Ivory Tower was a tall, magnificent pagoda built out of flawlessly white material that was neither stone nor wood. The island on which it stood was very small, barely wider than the base of the tower itself, and surrounded by drifting slabs of shattered marble. Seven broken chains hung from the soil of the island, giving it an ethereal look.
On the other side of the great pagoda was a clear lake, with streams of water flowing out of it and falling over the edge of the island. In the bright sunlight, it seemed as though the entire surface of the lake was shining with pure golden radiance. An intricately engraved bench was standing near it, cut from white stone.
But what caught Hugo's attention the most was the fact that there were skeletal remains of a giant beast lying in front of them, its serpentine body wrapped around the tower, its massive skull resting right near the tall white doors. Each of the terrifying fangs of the great beast was at least as long as Sunny! Which was not that tall honestly, but still!
Deep darkness nestled in its empty eyes making Hugo shiver.
"What the hell is that?" Hugo asked, slightly disturbed.
"That's the Ivory Dragon Sevirax... He was one of the immortal saints we told you about that we had to kill in the second nightmare. This body is the remains of the real world version of him, which we left here because we had no way to move it without collapsing the entire place... Let me see, what else... Oh right, he is the descendant of sun god."
"Is that so..." Hugo said, intrigued.
This was the bone of a Saint's Transcendent form... The fact that it was left around without proper use was a shame to Hugo!
He could likely make a lot of stuff using that, especially if he used Grey Matter's runic sorcery.
'That could be a good idea for later actually.'
Making sure to remember that, Hugo turned his attention to the rest of the island. There were plenty of people moving around here, many of them being the Fire Keepers.
Of course, not all of the Keepers were tethered here, some were tethered in other citadels but most of the awakened Keepers were here.
On the other side of the island, near the lake, was a beautiful ship, made of pristine wood. The ship had a tree growing out of it, giving it an ethereal vibe.
"That must be the Chain Breaker, right?" Hugo asked, as they moved through the pagoda.
Kai nodded. "The one and only. You can talk to Cassie if you want to learn more about it, she's basically the captain."
"I see..." Hugo did not understand why they left the blind girl as a captain but he was sure there was a reason behind it.
Hugo walked inside the tower, and finally, he touched it, and tethered himself to the citadel.
Now, he would be able to teleport between the waking world and the Dream Realm at will, as long as he passed through a gateway.
After that was done, Hugo had briefly met up with Effie, who was relaxing near the lake and exchanged few pleasantries with her, before leaving her and Kai to chat a little.
He went deeper into the tower, to where Cassie was at.
Apparently, the blind seer had managed to uncover a secret room within the tower, one that housed a divine soul shard and the main runic circle that gave the tower its properties so he was definitely interested in that.
Reaching the room, Hugo found Cassie, alongside Sid who was beside her.
Cassie herself must be using her mark on Sid, allowing her to share her vision.
"Hello," Hugo said waving at the two.
"Greetings," Sid responded calmly, acknowledging his presence respectfully, which was a little too much in Hugo's opinion considering they were basically the same rank.
Cassie smiled, seeing that Hugo was here. "You finally made it. It was about time you got tethered," she said, walking over and putting her hands together. "Say, how about you help your friend over here with studying the runic array? You were incredibly proficient at ruinic sorcery back in the Forgotten Shore..."
Hugo smiled.
His fascination with sorcery had developed greatly ever since he awakened so he would definitely not miss the opportunity to study alongside a colleague, even if it was basically him teaching Cassie, instead of learning.
"Sure." Hugo placed his faceplate on the Omnitrix, and selected an alien that he had missed using.
Grey Matter!
"Now now, young ladies," Hugo said as Grey Matter, looking up at Sid and Cassie. "Open your ears and listen close! Every word that comes out of my mouth right now is worth a fortune."