Chapter 373 Nightmare
Nial writhed in pain.
He was lying on a wooden bed inside his hut, surrounded by dozens of Elves at the Keltia rank.
They had all gathered around him and touched his bare chest for a few seconds before a shocking expression formed on their faces.
"It's really true…how is that possible?" One of the Keltia Pyromas Elves asked. His red skin lit up and all his mana was forcefully pulled through his arm and spread inside Nial.
The moment someone touched Nial, his body was subconsciously deprived of all mana.
Nial was currently unconscious, and being tormented by the worst memories of the God of Darkness and the constant reminders that his mother had died at the hands of Bella, his former friend, and the woman who was now labeled as the Saintess of Light.
Angels had suddenly appeared and they had become her subordinates, preventing Nial from killing her.
Tormented by his guilt, regrets, anger, sadness, and wrath, the speed at which the Odyssey seed evolved had accelerated drastically. It was nourished by his emotions as they enhanced the power behind his Essence of Darkness.
In exchange for the acceleration of the Odyssey seed's evolution, Nial's demand for mana had increased by leaps and bounds.
He was given the best Origin crystals, only for his body to devour the energy within them in seconds.
The temporary leader of the Nightshadow Elves had forced the Royal Princess to touch Nial who had subconsciously deprived all the energy out of her. However, instead of getting angry at the Nightshadow Elf for doing something that could be considered an attack, Evalyne followed suit and ordered all the Elves to give Nial his energy as well.
This decisive order shocked the Nightshadow Elves because they had been sure that the Royal Princess would attempt to dispose of Nial. He was the most destructive existence they had encountered until today but the Elves, especially the princess, still accepted them, even after what had happened today.
That realization shocked the Dark Elves and Nightshadow Elves. They felt betrayed by the other Elven races, even if they understood that Nial was different from them.
But despite all this, they chose to support Nial, in the hope that his existence would change something for them.
They hoped for the best while giving their best to tend to Nial's unique condition.
Not even the Elvingar Elves could tell what was currently happening to Nial. He was mentally unstable and his body was on the verge of breaking apart.
But at the same time, there was a weird power within Nial that erupted all of a sudden, invigorating him, and creating a safety net around him to protect him from being permanently injured by anything that had happened today.
The more mana entered his body, the faster his condition improved, and soon his heartbeat improved as well. At least that was what it felt like until they figured that there was not only one heart beating within Nial but something else as well that felt just like a heart.
After running numerous tests on him, it was concluded that something new had been given birth within Nial.
For the first time since the awakening of the Odyssey seed, others were able to perceive it. However, to them it was just a black mass, something that felt like a tumor but in reality was far more than that.
It pulsated every now and then, which was what made it seem like the thing inside him was actually alive.
All the Elves had been interested in this phenomenon. They were ready to provide their entire energy to Nial if that meant that they would receive the chance to sense what was happening to Nial.
However, it was not as if they had actually believed Nial to have suddenly awoken a second heart.
This was not supposed to be possible, after all.
When all the thousands of Elves had provided Nial with their energy, he stopped writhing in pain. Two days had already passed since his encounter with Bella but Nial had yet to wake up from the nightmares that tormented him.
It had been an eternity since the last time where he was able to 'see' in his dreams. His dreams of the Divine Goddess had been the only time he was able to see. The memories of the God of Darkness were just flashes that played over in his mind from Damian's eyes, not as if Nial was witnessing everything on his own.
Thus, it was terrifying when Nial's brightly shining silver eyes were not cursed by [Hodur's Heir] and not affected by whatever had happened in the dungeon when he was only three years old.
"Mom…" Nial sobbed miserably, thick tears trickling down his cheek as he looked clearly at the image of his mother.
She was standing calmly in front of him, holding her hands out for him. His mother was wearing a white dress and she smiled lovingly at him. Not a single word escaped her mouth but the loving gaze she looked at him was more than enough for Nial to break down and turn into a small child.
He cried bitterly as he rushed into the arms of her mother, hugging her tightly. Yet, the moment he hugged her, the scenery around him changed.
Nial was now standing in the middle of debris and rubble, while his mother lay on the ground, unmoving. Her white dress was dyed crimson and was still soaking her own blood. Nial's legs gave in at the sight of this sight, and a moment later, his father and sister appeared by his side.
At first, Nial thought that they would try to console him or that they would cry bitterly next to him.
However, upon looking at them, he saw that their expressions were filled with anger, disgust, and fury.
"How could you let her die? Didn't you always say that you would protect us? Where were you when we really needed you?" His father demanded, grabbing Nial's collar as he picked him up from the ground.
Nial's feet hovered in the air above the ground as his father lifted him up high in the air, shaking him violently.
"Brother…you killed mom…" Sabrina blamed him, staring vengefully at Nial as a golden spear manifested in her hands.
"In that case, you can die as well!" She screamed, crying bitterly as she thrust out with the spear.
Nial didn't move a single inch. He was too stunned to react or to do anything. He only watched in shock as Sabrina's spear dug deep inside his flesh.
She twisted the spear inside him, pulled it back and pierced it inside again, ignoring the warm blood that splattered on her face.
A choked voice escaped his lips before he blanked out.
When he opened his eyes once again, Nial was back to the place he had been at first. His mother smiled lovingly at him and she spread out her arms, ready to hug him and give him all her love.
Nial instinctively knew what was going to happen but he couldn't stay away from his mother. He hoped that he could save her, and that it would be possible to prevent the inevitable.
However, the moment he hugged his mother again, the scenery changed just like before and his mother's dead body ended up in front of him. The sight of his mother lying in her own puddle of blood was etched in Nial's mind and he began to cry again as he stepped forward.
He reached out to his mother in the hopes of saving her, thinking that there was some way he could help her.
But even before he could grasp her unmoving hand, the blade of a spear pierced through his hand, pinning it down to the ground.
Nial screamed out in pain and he was about to turn his head to see what was going on behind him when the foot of an adult man kicked viciously on his head, smashing his face on the ground and driving it deep inside the rubble below him.
"Don't you dare to touch my wife, you monster!!" Nial heard his father's voice towering above him, while his sister appeared behind him once again.
"You are garbage, entirely useless… you couldn't keep the only promise you ever made. Just look at how weak you are! You cannot even protect the only people you ever truly cared about!! How ridiculous!!" Sabrina admonished him and her words cut through his heart, clawing at it as Nial grit his teeth in anger and pain.
"I…I gave my best!!" Nial screamed out but his voice cracked with raw emotion.
He knew that his excuses were futile. They were just that…excuses. What did it matter if someone knew that he had given his best, just to fail miserably? His mother had died, and searching for excuses was everything but helpful.
She would never come back and that was a fact.
If he had been stronger, his best would have been enough but that was not the case, at all!
"Your best is not enough… It has never been enough!" Sabrina said coldly, retracting the spear before she pierced it into Nial's neck.
"You are nothing but a failure…" She added just before Nial blacked out once again.
Before he could get over the shock, his mother appeared in front of him once again. This time, he didn't dare to approach her. He thought that it may help her if he stayed away from her, and he should have never been in her sight in the first place.
But the final result didn't change. In fact, his mother's bright expression crumbled to a sad and hurt one before a light spear manifested out of nowhere. It pierced through her chest and Nial was forced to witness the cruel and painful death of his mother right in front of her.
Nial's eyes widened in terror, just for the voices of his family to reverberate through his ears once again.
"Why didn't you do anything?"
"Why are you so weak?"
"We should have never raised you, you ungrateful brat…."
"How can you be so shameful and stay alive if you let your mother die so miserably!??!"
Nial was clutching hard at his head, willing the voices to leave him alone but they kept hammering on him, tearing out a piece of his heart every time he heard them. He smashed his fist against his head in an attempt to quiet down the voices but it was futile.
Only when he used enough force to end his own life did the voices finally quiet down.
However, instead of being freed from the horrifying repetitive cycle of nightmares, his mother appeared in front of Nial once again.
He shook his head. He knew what was going to happen and willed himself to look anywhere but at her.
But, she smiled lovingly at him and a horrifying look appeared on Nial's face. He closed his eyes tightly, or he tried to do so. Yet, just when his eyelids had closed, hands reached out for his head. Nial was forced to see the death of his mother again and again with vivid clarity every single time.
It was impossible for him to escape the cycle and he slowly stopped attempting to fight it. He only watched helplessly as his mother appeared in front of him over and over again.
She was killed hundreds of times and every single time his sister and father blamed him for her death. Whenever Nial dared to say something, they slapped him in return, either with words or actions.
They killed him over and over again, destroyed his existence, and forced him to accept reality.
He had been too weak, made promises that he couldn't keep, and he had been too arrogant to believe that everything would go according to his plans.
He might have given his best but that hadn't been enough. His mother died, his father was devastated and Nial didn't even want to imagine how his sister must be feeling.
Nial was horrified and he didn't want to live anymore. He was just about to give up on himself when something around him changed.
It was only after Nial had watched the cycle of his mother's death on a loop more than a thousand times out that a huge black door manifested in front of him.
[Unleash your wrath, and follow the path that has been chosen for you!]