Zero's Engulfing Flames failed to yield the results he had anticipated. It had always been a fearsome force, incinerating anything it touched into a smoldering heap of ash. Yet, when directed at the Vampire Tree, a twisted amalgamation of trapped souls, the flames elicited a horrifying response. The wretched entities imprisoned within the tree howled in agony as the relentless fire consumed their flesh.
Panic surged through Zero as the inferno spread, casting the entire tree into a blazing spectacle. The flames not only devoured the central trunk but also raced along the gnarled roots and even ventured into the nearby forest. Remarkably, the flames danced around the forest's trees, creating a mesmerizing spectacle of fiery sparks that refused to ignite the neighboring woods. Engulfing Flames didn't have a penchant for spreading from one target to the next, but they possessed an unwavering resolve to persist until their designated victim was extinguished. As a result, the Vampire Tree had transformed into a blazing sentinel of torment, a harrowing symphony of cries and anguish echoing from its incinerated branches.
Zero assessed the dire situation, his gaze shifting between the consuming roots of the Vampire Tree and Taurus, who was slowly being pulled into the grotesque morass of flesh. An eerie sensation coursed through him, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than met the eye. Why hadn't he made a concerted effort to prevent the tree from claiming Taurus, and why had he been so hesitant to confront him earlier? The tree seemed to be beckoning to him, as if it held some cryptic message.
A profound realization washed over Zero, and he let out an exhausted sigh. His attention turned to the moon above and then back to the sinister tree. "You know, I've been having these strange thoughts lately, like none of this feels real, and now I think I'm starting to understand," Zero admitted. He took a deep breath, speaking with determination as he clenched his teeth. "Sun-Kong Style, Shift Acceleration. Gears One through Five!"
As he exhaled forcefully, a blaze erupted from his mouth, cascading over his entire form. It enveloped him, sculpting itself into a MonkeFolk-like shape. Flames concealed his face, obscuring his features, and they continued to coat his body, forming fiery gauntlets around his hands and forearms, and swirling around his legs. He appeared more like a Flame Spirit than a human empowered by flames.
Zero's focus fixed firmly on the Vampire Tree. "And now that I understand," he declared. He dropped to all fours, with his tail swaying rhythmically, then straightened upright. With explosive speed, he surged forward, leaving a trail of afterimages that marked his movements. As he approached the Vampire Tree, he intended to breach it, but when he pierced its outer layer of flesh, he found himself hurled into an abyss of darkness. His flames could not pierce the overwhelming obscurity, and he immediately recognized where he was. If he needed further confirmation, the subdued but mocking applause that resonated around him made it clear.
"Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo, BRAVO XAYDDRYRTH!" Nix's voice reverberated, surrounding him. "To think you'd find your way back to me so soon? Nix's voice drew closer from behind, causing Zero to pivot. In an instant, he felt his entire body stripped away, leaving only his disembodied and broken Soul adrift in the vast nothingness. "I'd give you the grand tour of my Void Domain, but I'm still recovering from our last encounter. I must say, willingly trapping yourself in here—now that's a twist I hadn't anticipated."
Zero kept silent, calculating his next move, though he knew that in a Void Domain, there were no rules for escape unless Nix permitted it.
"So, you were what I felt growing inside the tree," Zero remarked.
"Yes, and thank you for dealing with those pesky vampires," Nix replied. "Claiming to be gods, it was quite an annoyance."
"Are you planning to barter with Sidra, as you did with Vol?" Zero inquired.
"Ah, no, my dealings with Virgil are complete," Nix responded. "I provided him with Vol and the All Tree connection, and he returned Fadsper to me."
At the mention of Fadsper, a shiver ran down Zero's spine. "What do you want with the Forbidden Islands?"
Nix's laughter filled the space, disorienting Zero as her voice echoed from all directions, unsettling his insides as she spoke. "TAKING BACK WHAT IS MINE. I CREATED THEM, AND THEY WERE TAKEN FROM ME!"
Fadsper, Leōtra, and Relio - three islands shrouded in secrecy, were the fruits of Nix's labor as the Higher of Void. While the now Eternal Duo and the Second Forgings toiled to breathe life into Arrithia, Nix pursued her clandestine creations. These were islands where she reigned as the sole and omnipotent Goddess, a realm where she held dominion over every aspect of existence. She had envisioned these islands as the initial stepping stones to her grand design of subjugating all of Arrithia. However, fortune was not on her side.
Ebony and Ivory, vigilant in their pursuit of Arrithia’s wellbeing, discovered Nix's hidden domains. Without a word, they seized the islands from her grasp and cast them into the Under Gardena, the shadowy abyss of the afterlife. Nix's heart ached at the loss of her creations, for she had grown attached to them over time. Her ambitions to conquer Arrithia had withered as she and her people flourished. There were moments when she would even walk among her subjects, an act unperformed by Highers in countless millennia. The day her islands were taken was a momentous turning point, one that extinguished her dreams of Arrithian dominance completely, but kindled a new vision - to reset the universe and reshape it in her own image.
This marked the inception of her grand plan, where she worked tirelessly within the depths of the Void, observing the intricate threads of existence unravel. The birth of Xayddryrth played a pivotal role in her scheme. With the assistance of Protos, the Higher of Time, and the enigmatic Old God, Lord, they shaped a destiny for Xayddryrth, one that began with his transformation into a human. They orchestrated a path for him that would ultimately lead to the creation of the ultimate weapon. With Protos' mastery over time, they perpetually reset his memories, guiding him along a carefully orchestrated course.
Nix herself played a vital role in guiding Zero during his final days with The Order. She instructed him to return Varin home, a seemingly innocuous act that concealed a deeper purpose. The ultimate aim was to facilitate her exchange with Virgil to secure the return of Fadsper. Fadsper, being inhabited by Shapeshifters and Zombies, held a pivotal role in the subsequent phases of Nix's plans for Zero.
"Tell me, Xayddryrth, what led you to leap willingly into my abyss?" Nix inquired.
"Huh, what? Oh. Yeah, I definitely thought there was a giant vampire growing inside the tree, I thought I was going to stop it, like an egg from hatching or something. This was not intentional; I'm actually kind of pissed off about it, to be honest," Zero replied.
Nix chuckled briefly before assuming a more serious tone. Her voice descended to a whisper. "Well, you were half right."
Suddenly, Zero found himself standing outside the Vampire Tree. The flames that had enveloped him had been extinguished, and as he turned, he saw that Taurus hadn't been fully consumed. It was as though he had been thrust back in time by approximately five minutes or so. He was about to express relief at not having to contend with the repercussions of his Gear Shift Acceleration, but before he could voice this sentiment, Zero's world went black, and he passed out.
Zero's Engulfing Flames failed to yield the results he had anticipated. It had always been a fearsome force, incinerating anything it touched into a smoldering heap of ash. Yet, when directed at the Vampire Tree, a twisted amalgamation of trapped souls, the flames elicited a horrifying response. The wretched entities imprisoned within the tree howled in agony as the relentless fire consumed their flesh.
Panic surged through Zero as the inferno spread, casting the entire tree into a blazing spectacle. The flames not only devoured the central trunk but also raced along the gnarled roots and even ventured into the nearby forest. Remarkably, the flames danced around the forest's trees, creating a mesmerizing spectacle of fiery sparks that refused to ignite the neighboring woods. Engulfing Flames didn't have a penchant for spreading from one target to the next, but they possessed an unwavering resolve to persist until their designated victim was extinguished. As a result, the Vampire Tree had transformed into a blazing sentinel of torment, a harrowing symphony of cries and anguish echoing from its incinerated branches.
Zero assessed the dire situation, his gaze shifting between the consuming roots of the Vampire Tree and Taurus, who was slowly being pulled into the grotesque morass of flesh. An eerie sensation coursed through him, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than met the eye. Why hadn't he made a concerted effort to prevent the tree from claiming Taurus, and why had he been so hesitant to confront him earlier? The tree seemed to be beckoning to him, as if it held some cryptic message.
A profound realization washed over Zero, and he let out an exhausted sigh. His attention turned to the moon above and then back to the sinister tree. "You know, I've been having these strange thoughts lately, like none of this feels real, and now I think I'm starting to understand," Zero admitted. He took a deep breath, speaking with determination as he clenched his teeth. "Sun-Kong Style, Shift Acceleration. Gears One through Five!"
As he exhaled forcefully, a blaze erupted from his mouth, cascading over his entire form. It enveloped him, sculpting itself into a MonkeFolk-like shape. Flames concealed his face, obscuring his features, and they continued to coat his body, forming fiery gauntlets around his hands and forearms, and swirling around his legs. He appeared more like a Flame Spirit than a human empowered by flames.
Zero's focus fixed firmly on the Vampire Tree. "And now that I understand," he declared. He dropped to all fours, with his tail swaying rhythmically, then straightened upright. With explosive speed, he surged forward, leaving a trail of afterimages that marked his movements. As he approached the Vampire Tree, he intended to breach it, but when he pierced its outer layer of flesh, he found himself hurled into an abyss of darkness. His flames could not pierce the overwhelming obscurity, and he immediately recognized where he was. If he needed further confirmation, the subdued but mocking applause that resonated around him made it clear.
"Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo, BRAVO XAYDDRYRTH!" Nix's voice reverberated, surrounding him. "To think you'd find your way back to me so soon? Nix's voice drew closer from behind, causing Zero to pivot. In an instant, he felt his entire body stripped away, leaving only his disembodied and broken Soul adrift in the vast nothingness. "I'd give you the grand tour of my Void Domain, but I'm still recovering from our last encounter. I must say, willingly trapping yourself in here—now that's a twist I hadn't anticipated."
Zero kept silent, calculating his next move, though he knew that in a Void Domain, there were no rules for escape unless Nix permitted it.
"So, you were what I felt growing inside the tree," Zero remarked.
"Yes, and thank you for dealing with those pesky vampires," Nix replied. "Claiming to be gods, it was quite an annoyance."
"Are you planning to barter with Sidra, as you did with Vol?" Zero inquired.
"Ah, no, my dealings with Virgil are complete," Nix responded. "I provided him with Vol and the All Tree connection, and he returned Fadsper to me."
At the mention of Fadsper, a shiver ran down Zero's spine. "What do you want with the Forbidden Islands?"
Nix's laughter filled the space, disorienting Zero as her voice echoed from all directions, unsettling his insides as she spoke. "TAKING BACK WHAT IS MINE. I CREATED THEM, AND THEY WERE TAKEN FROM ME!"
Fadsper, Leōtra, and Relio - three islands shrouded in secrecy, were the fruits of Nix's labor as the Higher of Void. While the now Eternal Duo and the Second Forgings toiled to breathe life into Arrithia, Nix pursued her clandestine creations. These were islands where she reigned as the sole and omnipotent Goddess, a realm where she held dominion over every aspect of existence. She had envisioned these islands as the initial stepping stones to her grand design of subjugating all of Arrithia. However, fortune was not on her side.
Ebony and Ivory, vigilant in their pursuit of Arrithia’s wellbeing, discovered Nix's hidden domains. Without a word, they seized the islands from her grasp and cast them into the Under Gardena, the shadowy abyss of the afterlife. Nix's heart ached at the loss of her creations, for she had grown attached to them over time. Her ambitions to conquer Arrithia had withered as she and her people flourished. There were moments when she would even walk among her subjects, an act unperformed by Highers in countless millennia. The day her islands were taken was a momentous turning point, one that extinguished her dreams of Arrithian dominance completely, but kindled a new vision - to reset the universe and reshape it in her own image.
This marked the inception of her grand plan, where she worked tirelessly within the depths of the Void, observing the intricate threads of existence unravel. The birth of Xayddryrth played a pivotal role in her scheme. With the assistance of Protos, the Higher of Time, and the enigmatic Old God, Lord, they shaped a destiny for Xayddryrth, one that began with his transformation into a human. They orchestrated a path for him that would ultimately lead to the creation of the ultimate weapon. With Protos' mastery over time, they perpetually reset his memories, guiding him along a carefully orchestrated course.
Nix herself played a vital role in guiding Zero during his final days with The Order. She instructed him to return Varin home, a seemingly innocuous act that concealed a deeper purpose. The ultimate aim was to facilitate her exchange with Virgil to secure the return of Fadsper. Fadsper, being inhabited by Shapeshifters and Zombies, held a pivotal role in the subsequent phases of Nix's plans for Zero.
"Tell me, Xayddryrth, what led you to leap willingly into my abyss?" Nix inquired.
"Huh, what? Oh. Yeah, I definitely thought there was a giant vampire growing inside the tree, I thought I was going to stop it, like an egg from hatching or something. This was not intentional; I'm actually kind of pissed off about it, to be honest," Zero replied.
Nix chuckled briefly before assuming a more serious tone. Her voice descended to a whisper. "Well, you were half right."
Suddenly, Zero found himself standing outside the Vampire Tree. The flames that had enveloped him had been extinguished, and as he turned, he saw that Taurus hadn't been fully consumed. It was as though he had been thrust back in time by approximately five minutes or so. He was about to express relief at not having to contend with the repercussions of his Gear Shift Acceleration, but before he could voice this sentiment, Zero's world went black, and he passed out.
