Chapter 3: The Nephilim's Domain
"Now that you all are complete, I will begin my briefing." Gerald Northman announced to the trio, who showed no signs that they had just heard what he said.
It seemed the white-haired kid was the most troubling of the trio. The red-haired one was giving the righteous leader Demeanor. His sharp blue eyes scanned towards the downsider.
He narrowed his eyes. He could sense it faintly, the sinister aura emanating from this kid. It seemed to originate from behind like an unholy cursed manifestation trailing him around.
Noxious Infestation. An odious disease born out of the leaking corruption of the Great Darkness beyond the Barrier walls. It obviously plagued the downsiders more since they were closer to the edge than the privileged upworlders.
It could only be cured by divine exorcism overseen by one no less than a Nephilim.
Bearers of this infection were said to die within hours of infestation. How then, how then was this boy still alive? It was more as if his body had fused with this abominable plague, becoming one with it.
In a sense, was he still human? If he were to report this to the Balance, it would be a matter of utmost importance. But maybe he could just study this interesting specimen further.
He looked back again to see the downsider staring dead-eyed at him with an irritated expression behind his dark eyes.
"Hey, that's a fucking Nephilim. Mind your gaze." Rael tugged at him while nodding towards the walking destruction.
Moraine had strolled far off towards the group of teens on the far opposite side. And from the look of things...
He watched Moraine scratch his hair while giving an awkward smile at a feminine figure who he was pretty certain did not give a damn if an existence was beside her. She seemed more focused on the ceiling.
"Hey, you ignoring me or what?"
He sighed before turning lamely to Rael. Since when did they become buddies? Last time he checked, this red-haired kid was just a fellow comrade in their suffering to come.
Wait, was that what friends meant? Comrades in suffering.
"Now I know....."
"What's a Nephilim?"
He stared flatly at Rael, whose jaw dropped. Ashnight watched the way his eyes and face contorted, then relaxed with a sigh. It was a lot of transformation in a minute, if you ask him.
There was a term for such people. 'Overly expressive.'
"Listen and listen attentively, dummy and Try to catch up." Rael's face went flat like stone, then came the foggy sigh. Then he started. "There are six ranks to the existence of the Ender System. You know what that means, right?"
The way his voice shook, he could tell Mr. Red Brows was actually scared he did not. But fortunately...
"Yeah, learned about it from the little information on the invite." He placed his hands in his tracksuit's pocket, partially to hide his skinny palms from the prying teens they were now drifting close to. "That's what they will term us when we awaken a Domain Manifestation."
"Gosh, that is a relief. You really sure you're from the slums...??" Rael sighed before giving a bright smile that nearly blinded Ashnight. This guy must definitely be the Kai Nightingale of this story.
"Yeah, yeah. Everyone is free to have their doubts." He whistled sarcastically.
Rael shook his head when he saw his petty act, though he found it quite cute. Maybe the downsiders were not that different from them. Same flesh and blood, same independent characterization. How he wished a majority of them would agree.
He stared at Moraine, who was still trying to start a conversation with that blonde-haired girl who looked a bit delinquent and was obviously failing.
"Hey, Mr. Red Br... Rael."
"What were you about to call me, man?" Ashnight avoided his eyes with a guilty demeanor.
"Your lecture?"
"Oh." Rael slicked his hair back. He heard it right. This guy had called him with a weird nickname. Mr. Red what? Because of his hair color or eyes? They were both natural, actually, unlike a certain someone.
"Well, the ranks are arranged as such from the least to the greatest:Seeker alias Upriser, Demiurge alias Ascended, Titan alias Divine Paladin, Nephilim alias Fallen Angel, Archangel alias Godspawn,Eternal aliases God, World Shaper, Boundless Identity... Name it."
Rael finally let out the breath he was holding. Narrating all that in one breath really took a toll on him.
And what he feared the most was the confused expressions on Ashnight's face.
"Y... you... caught al... all that... right?" His voice trembled while he gulped in expectation. After a long suspense, the confusion in the downsider's eyes finally cleared.
"Yeah. I did" Ashnight plainly stated, hastening his pace. But Rael still caught on.
"Now you get my warning earlier."
Ashnight stopped, giving him another deadpan stare. "Cause he is high up, Third mightiest in your hierarchy."
Not to mention the title Fallen Angel. If according to the myths, Steelsorrow was an angel but possessed enough might to repel the world-ending darkness, it would be safe to place Teach in a similar level.
Then would it mean Steelsorrow was a human like them who ascended the hierarchy? But surely in the Old World, the World Machine was not yet in existence nor was the Nullworld, which meant superhuman ascension would be impossible.
Well, that is why they were called "myths." Baseless beliefs.
"Hey!" He jolted back to see Rael in front of him. "Do you always zone out like this? You ask a question, then without hearing the answer, poof, you are gone." Rael gestured dramatically, but Ashnight dismissed it with a sigh.
"There's no need for an answer anymore. You don't need to feel pressured to."
He resumed his walk, but again, stubbornly, this red-haired freak still trailed noisily behind.
"Don't be a dick. You asked a question. And I know the answer. It's only normal I feel pressured to. So I'm gonna answer anyway. You can shut your ears."
Ashnight nearly facepalmed. Now he was actually wishing this fella was a lot like Moraine. At least he would have some alone time, but this yandere was tearing his dreams apart.
"The very fact that he was able to create and dismiss a Barrier Seal means this entire space we are standing upon, we ourselves, are all now a part of his Domain." Ashnight halted, then gazed with interest at Rael, who had a serious expression.
"We are not yet Seekers, so it is quite impossible to perceive its presence or fathom the vastness of it. But what this means is that in this very space, that man before you is a God. He retains omnipresence, omniscience. Name it. All over everything and everyone here."
Ashnight stared at the broad back of the instructor, who was now on his way towards the pod that held a musclehead who was tiredly slumped. He had what looked like a virtual helm on his head.
To think he would be this terrifying. So such powers really do exist in this world.
"Your thoughts, your identity, your past, your hidden secrets. He could know them, undo them if he wished. After all, he retains control over every thread of reality here."
Then Rael tapped his shoulder with a smile. "Look behind you. What do you notice?"
He stared backwards only to see the space devoid of those white-clothed weirdos who got their asses whipped by them. It was as if they disappeared.
His face contorted in confusion. Rael noticed it, cause he leaned closer, or he could have, but Ashnight drifted farther.
Skinship was the first step to every bromance.
"Whatever you saw, were constructs created by Mr. Northman. In a sense, humans like us.." Rael stared at the freak who was lighting up a cigarette. "This freak must have insane energy reserves to maintain this complex Domain."
Ashnight stood shocked. So those guys who actually looked like real folks were actually fabricated constructs. This was far beyond Shadow Slave-type shit. He cleared his eyes before turning.
"Now you get it. What it means to be called a Nephilim."
Outwardly, he was composed, but internally, he was a bit awed. He could have answered when an irritating voice called out.
"You guys gonna waste all the time in your petty lover's quarrel or fucking haul your ass here?"
The duo looked to see the white hair exasperatedly fuming with his glasses off. It was then that Ashnight finally decided to take a good look at his counterparts.
They were seven instead of ten, which was quite against what the manual had said. But who cares? This was reality.
His dark eyes swept to the blonde-haired girl with sharp brown eyes and golden piercings on her brows, eyes, lower lip, and the bridge of her nose.
She wore a leather black coverall, though the blouse part was now to her waist, displaying a black sports singlet obviously showing the skull tattoo on her right arm.
Those eyes of hers narrowed predatorily on him, making him halt his analysis.
Guess they had a gangster in the group.
Next was Mr. Sweating-No-Shirt-Musclehead, who was quite huge for a teen. Though his face was hidden behind that helm, his hair was a low dark buzz cut.
The other was a bit shocking..a timid boy with bright golden eyes and black hair, though much more darker and shiny than his. This four-eyed freak was staring blatantly at him. He adjusted his posture.
This weirdo had a crucifix on his neck with a weird black garment on. He did not know what they were called, but he was definitely sure he looked like those godly weirdos.
Yeah, a saint.
And the last, he scanned around, but he could not yet see the seventh silhouette. He was pretty certain he had seen another feminine figure a little bit petite.
Was his head playing games with him? Surely he was a bit malnourished, so such was bound to happen.
Perhaps this slopping sound was even another delusion, but it still persisted. Visibly spooked, he turned sideways towards the sound.
'Holy!' He nearly screamed. The silhouette of a silver-haired girl with a lollipop in her mouth gave him a lifeless gaze with her dark eyes.
Then, like a languid cursed spirit, she raised one of her palms.
'What was she doing?' He blanked out in confusion, though it dissipated the next instant when, with the same lazy motion, the palm moved back and forth in a wave.
"Yo....."
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Kai Nightingale:A male lead in the Prestigious Webnovel series Shadow slave,Go read it up...