[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. You have been chosen by the Nation of disorder!]
[The nation of disorder has designed your first nightmare! Prepare for your First Trial…]
Wha-
[Hint– You are the hidden 4th contestant for the Black Crown]
Ashoka dreamt of a wasteland trapped in perpetual daylight.
The ashen wasteland reached far and wide, as far as the eye could see, and possibly beyond. This desolate land remained empty, All except for one thing.
At the heart of this expansive wasteland, where the grey ash turned dark and black like a void, layed a giant, magnificent black crown, enshrouded in an ever shifting grey mist.
The massive crown, which seems to be made for giants, was carved purely from jagged black obsidian, adorned with beautiful gems of all colours and sizes. It layed in the center of the wasteland, and seemed to be the source of all this devastation. And as a matter of fact, it was.
As Ashoka watched this unchanging scenary, time started moving backward, and something strange happened. The never ending ash desert seemed to retract from the horizon as the ash from the ground rose up, transforming into green lush forests and jagged mountains. At some point in time, the sun, which seemed to be stuck in the sky, also started moving again, first replaced by the moon before eventually rising back up, switching places with the moon in quick succession.
He watched in awe as the surroundings of the crown changed, transforming into a half destroyed city, incircled on three sides by mountains. At the heart of the desolation on one side of the city, a massive abomination layed dead. As he watched, the giant crown shrank in size, eventually becoming so small that it became indiscernible. the abomination which layed dead, also stood up and went back into the wilderness, the city restored back to original.
As he finally awoke from his trance, remembering he was in his first nightmare, he hurriedly looked up, towards the ever shifting sky.
Please just don't put me into the body of some outskirts rat. He prayed inwardly.
Eventually, time stopped completely, before resuming forward like normal.
His nightmare had begun.
***
Ashoka walked through an opulent corridor. Sunlight poured through the open windows on his left, warming the sides of his face.
"Eldrin is young and still naive, and doesn't yet know the etiquettes and the way of life of a king." He was not alone. Walking beside him was a man. The man was currently speaking. "Although I have been protecting and guiding him through his new life till now, I might not be able to do so for some time in the coming day, due to unforeseen circumstances.
"That's why, Ashoka—" At the mention of his name, Ashoka looked up, finally taking in the man's features. The grey streaks in his black hair and beard betrayed his age that was already beyond his prime, while his soft and kind eyes hinted at his gentle nature. "—I wish for you to be my proxy.
"Oswald is too greedy, while Gaius is too power hungry. Although the rules of the crown prevents them from taking any direct actions against Eldrin, they might use some other discrete ways to snatch more power." He looked at him once again. "So, on this matter, I trust you more than my brothers." He laughed a bit at the end. Ashoka knew neither these people nor the "rules of the crown", but he noted them down in his mind anyways.
35 days, that's how long I have before the calamity strikes. Back then, during the 'rewind' or whatever it was called, he had not stood idle. In a nightmare, information was key, so, he had counted the number of days that passed after the abomination had returned, along with other details. It would take 35 days, with a possible error of 2 days before the calamity happened. Right now, he could feel his potion digest a little.
Acting principal: just knowing the rules isn't enough. A lawyer must also be able to use the laws to gain an advantage in situations.
"It's an honor to be one of your trusted, sir." He replied to his words. Not knowing how to address this man beside him, he went for a simple honorific. Well judging from the clothes he's wearing, and the job he's been entrusted with, probably a high ranking noble.
At his response, the man let out a laugh, which caused Ashoka to give him a strange look.
"What? Can't I be happy? For so long I've been trying to get you to drop those honorific! You should know I'm not very fond of formalities."
Huh?...this guy I've taken the body of seems to be very formal. I'll keep that in mind. It was important to keep notes on these points since he had to act as someone else. Any anomaly might be noted, getting him in trouble. The man beside him again continued;
"Since you are about to take my place, I'll show you around on the job. Follow me and observe attentively." Ashoka nodded and followed behind. When no one was speaking, he tried to think of words like "window" or "runes" or "status". As expected, the runes of the spell appeared, the one he had been so excited to see and experience:
Name– Ashoka paarish
True Name–
Rank– Dormant
Memories–
Echoes–
Sadly, before he could get a better look, they arrived at the end of the corridor, in front of a door.
Fuck... Ever since he arrived in the nightmare, he had been trying to summon the runes to see what he had in his arsenal, only for him to be interrupted every time.
When they finally stopped in front of the door, the man turned to him. "Your turn. Ask the king if he wishes to attend. If not, we'll go alone, and you'll familiarize yourself with the ministers and my brothers." He patted Ashoka on the shoulder.
Ask? Ask what? I don't even know what's going on. What are we attending? Ashoka didn't show the internal panic in his outward action.
"What should I say?" he breathed, as if to himself, yet loud enough to reach the man beside him.
The man merely sighed at the muttering. "Nervous, are you? Here, repeat after me, word for word:
"Your Majesty, the court is soon to convene. Do you wish to attend?"
Ashoka nodded, a hidden smirk playing in his mind. Hehe, now that's what I call a master of words. By carefully modulating his tone and volume to project a nervous demeanour, he had baited the man into providing the exact instructions and context he needed. truly genius!
He walked toward the door, passing the two soldier who stood guard, and knocked.
"Come in." An innocent and childish voice of a boy answered from inside the room. Following the queue, Ashoka opened the door and peaked in with his head lowered. "Your Majesty, the court is soon to convene, do you wish to attend?" He secretly sneaked a look of the room.
The grand opulent chamber was spacious, with intricate designs of marbles and gold leaf adorning the walls. A large ornate bed stood at the centre, raised a few steps up, while the fireplace on the left crackled with fire to provide heat and light. A desk stood next to the fireplace, while an unnecessarily big chandelier hung in the center of the chamber's ceiling.
Right now, the "king" Was sitting on a chair near the desk. He was young, probably no more than 13 years old. Ashoka had intended to get a clear look at the boy's featutes, but his attention shifted elsewhere, towards something familiar, something resting on the boy's head—a black, obsidian crown. The contours of this obsidian crown were sharp and jagged, as if crudely shaped and chipped from glass, while various jems of all colors and shapes adorned it's surface. Yet, despite the crude shape of the crown, the majesty that emanated from it was palpable. The design also definitely felt familiar. It was the crown he had seen during the rewind, just much smaller!
He also had a guess on the identity of the crown!
The uniqueness! That's the uniqueness of the black emperor pathway! I can practically feel the convergence from here. Was the ash desert I saw during the start a result of entrophy of the highest level? If so, what was that grey mist I saw around the crown?
Just then, another question came to mind. What is the supposed uniqueness of my pathway doing in a nightmare anyways?
"The nation of disorder has prepared your nightmare..." The words of the spell echoed in his mind once again as he came to a realisation. This trial is not built by the nightmare, hence it doesn't to need follow the history of the dream realm. it is supposed to be a nightmare tailor built for a lawyer to be tested.
Is the goal of my nightmare to somehow steal the crown for myself before the calamity happens. If that is really the case, the "hint" from the spell makes a little sense. But It can't be that simple, right? There is still the so called "rules of the crown", though I can already somewhat imagine what they are.
As Ashoka was pondering the essence of the nightmare, the "king" stood up to answer the knock, but seeing the unfamiliar face, he stopped. He then cleared his throat, his posture stiffening as he shifted into a more commanding tone.
"I will attend. Summon the servants." As the "King" Walked closer, the majesty that emanated from the obsidian crown pressed down upon Ashoka, making him want to kneel, to kneel before the "king" And to become his subject.
Damnation... He barely suppressed these urges or "instincts" That seemed to came from his very being.
The "king" looked around a bit and questioned, "Is uncle Alariv not going to accompany us? Where is he?" Ashoka immediately connected the dots and realised who he was talking about.
Wait, that guy is the king's uncle?! Doesn't that make him the prince? Alariv, Oswald and Gaius, these are all prince! Ashoka suddenly remembered how he had addressed Alariv and shivered. He could've possibly been whipped for such disrespect if had been any other prince. Nevertheless, he remained calm outwardly.
"Prince Alraiv is waiting just outside in the hall." At the reply, a wide smile appeared on the boy's face.
After some time, the chamber was filled with movement, as the servants poured in to get the king ready for the court. Ashoka was confused as to why they didn't react to the overwhelming presence. Isit because I'm a beyonder of the black emperor pathway, hence able to feel the suppression effect from a higher level object of the same pathway?
Eventually, when the servants all left, the three of them departed for the court.
In the corridor, while Ashoka was trying to not kneel to the king, Alariv, the "prince" slowed his pace and turned to him, "His Majesty and I have some private matters to discuss. In the meantime, see to it that the court trumpeters are informed and get them ready for our arrival."
***
Right now, Ashoka was standing near the entrance of the court, waiting for the other two to arrive. The front gates had been long closed, to stop anyone new from entering, and the trumpeters had already been informed.
Finally, he was alone, all to himself. He summoned the runes once again to see what he had gotten:
.
.
.
.
Name– Ashoka Parish.
True Name–
Rank– Dormant
Memories–
Echoes–
Attributes– [Cursed], [Pseudo-Proxy of The Nation of Disorder], [Beyonder], [Lawyer].
Aspect– [Son of chaos].
Aspect Rank– Divine
Aspect Description– Chaos gave birth to order, and order came with its own shadow. And between both lies the uncertain grey of the truth. Your existence is born from the essence of these three.
Innate Ability– [Conduit of Power(Sealed)].
Ability Descriptions– The Nation of Disorder holds the authority of Power, and as its Pseudo proxy, you can use various methods to channel power greater than your own.
Whoa, that's a lot of attributes I see. Wait, no, there's just an attribute with a long-ass name. This was still a lot more than he had expected. If he remembered correctly, sunny only had three attributes in his first nightmare, while he had four. But that wasn't the only thing that excited him.
I have an innate ability! Wait, what does it mean by "sealed"?!
He remembered that only a few awakened had them, namely, master jet and the divine trio. Even then, they only got it after their first nightmare. Is it because I have a divine aspect from the start? He had noted that his aspect rank was divine. Naturally, he had expected no less as a transmigrator, anything less and he would've considered himself a dead-man walking. But to get it at the start of his first nightmare? That was definitely a bit strange.
Finally escaping from the excitement, he studied his attributes,
And his blood ran cold at what he saw.
Attribute– [Cursed].
Attribute Description– Curse of Unknown marks your soul, snatching your repose in exchange for a fate envied by none.
"W-what the hell?"
.
.
[A/N- I really feel like fors incarnate rn. The will to start writing a chapter is so hard to gather T_T. Anyways, the nightmare has begun!
I had almost forgotten that I had to write this guy's nightmare. It took me two days just to get the basic outline for it.
There might be some issues with exposition and knowledge dumping in this chapter which you're free to point out and give suggestion to improve. I have a feeling that I'm giving too many info in too little text. Let's hope I learn to fix that fast. Anyways, see you in another year with the next chapter!]