Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Human Heart
-----
Hrymdra pointed her index finger at my chest and gently pierced my soul with her claw, reaching deep inside.
Slowly, she manipulated the Soul Essence, gathering it into a single point within my soul and forcing it to crystallize in mere seconds.
FLASH!
The energy converged, compressed, and solidified into a small heart-shaped crystal that pulsed with ethereal power.
"Ooh?"
But that wasn’t all. My unique Dragon Energy—the black-and-white light—flowed into the Soul Heart, making it three times larger than before. Now split between black and white hues, it overflowed with far greater power.
I also felt something growing inside my soul. A small, empty bubble appeared, completely separate from the rest of my soul’s inner space.
Hm. Now that I think about it, perhaps the Nightmare King was able to paralyze me with his presence because my soul was so weak. That’s why I have to keep strengthening it.
"Congratulations, Elizabeth. You are now a Rank 1 Soul Awakener. With that Rank 1 Titan Soul Heart—or should I call it Divine Eclipsing Dragon Soul Heart?—you can refine more Soul Treasures, absorb their power, and expand your Internal Soulscape," Hrymdra explained. "This will let you use abilities such as Soul Aura, Soul Transformation, and Soul Armor. Now that they have merged with your draconic power, I suppose they will take on dragon-themed forms."
"So cool!" I exclaimed. "Thanks a bunch, auntie! Do you think I can increase my Rank?"
"You’ll need to cultivate your soul using specific methods," she said. "Hmm, I suppose I can give you this. Here."
She conjured a scroll of golden paper out of thin air, opened it, and inscribed something with the tip of her claw.
Then she infused it with her divine breath. The scroll burned black, and she handed it to me.
I stared in confusion, unsure what she had just done.
"This is a Cultivation Method Scroll. Once you open and read it, its knowledge will be inscribed directly into your body, soul, and mind," she explained. "You will instantly learn the Dragon Soul Refining Method, which you’ll need to begin growing and developing your Rank 1 Soul. The sooner you start, the better."
"T-Thank you so much!" I beamed, eagerly grabbing the scroll and opening it. "Wow!"
At first the letters were incomprehensible, but they soon glowed bright gold and surged into my head, merging with my mind.
"W-Wha...?!"
In seconds the scroll vanished, leaving me with the complete knowledge needed to practice the method.
It wasn’t as complicated as I had feared. The instructions were clear:
Sit in the lotus position.
Harness Soul Essence.
Focus and circulate the Soul Essence around the body in a precise pattern.
By guiding the Soul Essence this way and gradually infusing small amounts of Dragon Energy from my Dragon Heart...
My small, shapeless soul would slowly take on the form of my idealized draconic appearance.
"Once you master the method, you will be able to manifest your Draconic Soul Aura," she said. "Now I think it’s time for you to wake up. Go on—you’ve got a big day ahead, I’m sure. You’re a princess, after all. Don’t worry yourself over an old lady like me."
"I’ll come visit whenever I can, auntie!" I ran to her and threw my arms around her in a hug. "I love you!"
"A-Ah..." She stiffened, flustered. "Is that so... Well, I... I appreciate you. Ahem! Now go, child. It’s time to wake up. For someone so young to linger here too long would warp your soul rather than strengthen it. This place offers great potential, but its nature also makes it dangerous."
"Okay, I get it. Bye-bye!" I waved as I was swiftly teleported back into the skies.
♢♢♢♢
Hrymdra sighed in quiet relief and slowly walked back toward her castle, her thoughts lingering on the child.
In just a couple of hours, she had forgotten all her burdens while teaching that bright little girl about the world.
Elizabeth had been so eager to learn, so attentive and clever. Every new discovery lit up her face, and it warmed Hrymdra’s heart in ways she hadn’t felt in ages.
"She was a little cowardly at first, but she quickly realized she wasn’t weak at all, hah."
She chuckled softly as she stepped inside.
There, she approached her slumbering love.
He looked exactly as he had the moment he passed away—his body perfectly preserved within her ice, as though time itself had frozen around him.
Sorrow slowly filled her eyes as she sighed deeply, remembering the countless adventures they had shared.
"If only you could be here to see that girl, dear... I’m sure you would love her as much as I do."
She settled beside him, wrapping her arms around the ice crystal and closing her eyes.
Little by little, that small, spirited girl was carving out a place in the solitary ice dragon’s heart.
"I wonder how far she will go..."
The sorrow gradually eased from her face, replaced by a gentle smile.
"I’m looking forward to it."
♢♢♢♢
Deep within the underground laboratories of the Frostbane Kingdom’s special agency—an organization founded by King Louis’ father, Gustaf—the king and his wife studied a large, black heart held in containment.
The sterile white labs, humming machines, and scientists moving purposefully between stations did not distract them. Both typed codes into the computers, directing their Fantasium-powered analyzers to probe deeper into the core of this unknown lifeform.
"How intriguing. It does contain Fantasium as a primary component, but only about 32%," Mirai said, narrowing her eyes.
"Does that mean they aren’t like Entities or Grievances, Your Majesty?" asked Anastasia, a young Ice Elf and Rabbit Beastman hybrid. She wore a white lab coat and black glasses; as the daughter of Frost Knights Captain Tisha and Grand Master Pekorine, she had once served as Louis’ Frost Knight. Now semi-retired from combat, she worked as a scientist and agent in this division.
"Entities and Grievances are specific lifeforms born entirely from Fantasium," Louis explained. He too wore a white lab coat, his "smart glasses"—a Soul Treasure rather than mere eyewear—scanning the heart’s composition. "Nightmares are different. They incorporate entirely new, previously unknown elements. I’ve named the dominant one Nightmare Essence. There’s also a weaker energy—possibly Dream Energy. We’ve observed traces of it in some Entities, but not to this degree or in this form."
"Do you think we can develop weapons against this new threat?" Mirai asked. "We can handle them ourselves, but... the entity I glimpsed when I sealed the Dimensional Rift was not normal. Its eyes alone made me hesitate for a moment."
"Was it really that strong?!" Anastasia’s rabbit ears twitched in shock. "Hmm... What do you think, team?"
"As long as the heart remains here, we can keep analyzing it."
"Eventually we should identify its weaknesses beyond brute force."
"We also have two living Nightmare specimens that were recently contained."
"If we study their composition and behavior, we could pinpoint a true vulnerability."
The scientists exchanged ideas, all eager to examine the two live specimens Mirai had captured.
"Do that," King Louis said with a nod. "This Nightmare Power feels like a living energy far more malicious than Fantasium. I’m not certain I could assimilate it yet, but I will find a way to make their strength my own."
"Is that really necessary?" his wife asked quietly.
"It is if we need to learn how to fight them effectively," the king replied. "In any case, we must continue the investigation. I will not allow these monsters to do as they please. I’m certain they will keep coming for our daughter. We have to protect her at all costs."
"You’re right," the queen agreed. She turned back to her work beside him, her expression resolute.
♢♢♢♢
After the incident in Frostbane, King Arthur returned to Camelot with a faintly frustrated look on his face. His wife, Dralma, paid it little mind; he had worn that same expression since his teenage years at the Sinners Academy.
His daughter Guinevere, however, felt a pang of guilt. She couldn’t help wondering if she was once again the cause.
"Daddy, are you mad?"
"Hm? No. I was just thinking..."
"About what?"
"Many things. The creatures we faced today were not of this world. It made me realize how complacent I’ve become in my life."
"...?"
Arthur’s gaze sharpened as he looked out over Camelot’s capital, the bustling streets surrounding Lionheart Castle, the people he had sworn to protect, and the heavy burden of kingship that now rested fully on his shoulders.
Five years had passed since his father’s death. Half a decade as king had brought countless irritations and problems, some he would have preferred never to face.
Secrets Camelot had buried deep, even from the Dragon King and his family’s watchful eyes.
"Go to sleep now, dear," he said, smiling warmly as he carried her to bed.
"Yeah, good night, Guinevere. Be a good girl and don’t go swinging a sword at night, okay?" her mother added, kissing her forehead.
"Ok..." Guinevere nodded. "Um..."
As they turned to leave, she spoke again.
"What is it?" her father asked.
"Can’t we visit Frostbane again? I want to become friends with Elizabeth..." Guinevere said softly.
Arthur considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. It’s better to build strong ties with them anyway. We’ll arrange the visit later."
"Yaaaay!" Guinevere cheered, her small face lighting up.
"Now go to sleep, dear. Goodnight," her mother said, closing the door.
As she walked down the corridor with her husband, she noticed he wasn’t heading to bed with her.
"Arthur? Where are you going?"
"I... have something to take care of, Dralma. Don’t worry. You can go to sleep."
"Uh... okay."
Dralma nodded, puzzled, but she didn’t press him. Most of the time, Arthur simply preferred to be left alone with his thoughts.
Once she was gone, Arthur released a quiet sigh. He navigated the labyrinthine halls of Lionheart Castle, descended into the underground dungeon, and continued even deeper.
And deeper.
And deeper.
And deeper...
Until he reached a concealed teleportation magic circle. He activated it and vanished, transported to a place far beyond the earth itself—a forbidden realm of eternal darkness, long ago sealed away.
"..."
He stood in a land that existed somewhere else entirely, yet still within Earth. Here the night never ended. Stars gleamed like crimson blood. All three moons stared down at him like watchful eyes.
An endless dark forest stretched before him—purple grass, pitch-black trees—bisected by a narrow paved road. Arthur walked its length with heavy, deliberate footsteps.
As he advanced, he sensed countless presences watching from the shadows, wary of his light, of the sword at his side.
He walked for what felt like hours until he reached his destination: a grand altar encircled by the forest.
At its center stood a black, withering tree—leafless, dry, on the verge of death.
Arthur sliced his palm and let his blood drip onto the parched roots. They stirred at once, greedily absorbing it, surging with sudden vitality.
"Ahhh... the blood of the Pendragons... it is you, my child."
An elderly woman’s voice echoed from within the tree. Its withered branches and roots creaked and twisted.
The trunk began to reshape, splitting to reveal a wide mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth and a single enormous crimson eye.
"So you have returned... Are the preparations ready, my child?"
"Not yet. We are excavating the remains of the Fantasy Fields across the world, but we still lack enough Grievance Hearts..."
"Then why have you come?"
"Because I have something that might... suffice."
Arthur summoned a golden treasure chest. From it spilled small black hearts, piling into more than a dozen.
The tree’s eye widened. Its mouth drooled.
"Ahhhh! What...! What are these?! Sweet ambrosia!"
Branches and roots shot forward, piercing each heart and drinking the profound darkness within. Power flooded the tree.
The aged voice slowly regained a hint of youthful vigor. The tree swelled to three times its size in moments, sprouting purple leaves and even bearing a few crimson fruits.
Arthur’s eyes widened, though no awe filled them—only a flicker of disgust and regret beneath his kingly resolve.
"Incredible...! With this...! Do you have more, my child?!"
"Not... yet... but today, creatures from another dimension invaded. It seems their hearts can satisfy your hunger?"
"It seems so! More! Give me more! Find more!"
"Wait—don’t be impatient, you fiend...!"
"Don’t you want Camelot to reclaim its former glory, you foolish child?!"
The furious tree writhed. Dozens of red eyes bloomed across its black trunk.
"I..."
"Who once brought eternal joy to this kingdom before He ruined everything?!"
Me! It was me!
I, the Spirit Tree! I, the Queen of Fairies! I, the daughter of Yggdrasil! And look what He has made me! Arthur...! This is your duty! Your father died for this kingdom, and you do nothing but grovel at that lizard’s feet?!"
"I am no bootlicker! I feed you out of duty as Camelot’s guardian deity. I have no intention of—"
"Ahhh~
You lie to yourself, my son."
"...!"
Arthur stiffened as branches twisted into hands. They caressed his face, touched his shoulders, patted his head.
"I know exactly what burns inside that Lionheart of yours. Conquest. Dominance. Victory. You don’t want to be anyone’s lapdog, do you?"
"Louis is... my friend... I..."
"Lies! A pack of lies! Hahahaha! Louis? The man who humiliated you? The man who bullied you relentlessly? That Louis? You call someone who only ever caused you pain your friend?!"
"...! That’s—"
"What?"
"..."
Arthur fell silent. Hesitation clouded his eyes, but beneath it burned a deep, buried grudge.
They were friends now, yes—but had Louis ever truly apologized for what he had done?
Had he ever acknowledged the suffering he inflicted on Arthur and his people in pursuit of power?
Had he ever addressed any of it?
No.
Even now, with a daughter of his own, Louis’s gaze remained sharp, judgmental, calculating.
Arthur tried—tried so hard—to be his friend, his rival.
But deep down, he knew.
He was merely... a lapdog.
"You know what must be done, my son. Find their hearts. Feed them to me," she whispered. "I can feel it—my power is growing. I am adapting. Evolving. No longer will I remain a feeble life-bringer. Help me fully blossom into my new form... and I shall grant you everything you have ever desired, Arthur."
"..."
She smiled through her many mouths, countless eyes peering at him from the branches.
"Do we have a deal, my king~?"
"..."
Arthur nodded in silence. Without another word, he turned and walked away.
His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened. His teeth ground together.
That old grudge rose again, flooding his heart.
The sharpness that had once defined his eyes slowly returned.
"Well done, my son. Well done!"
"Just make sure to do what you promise."
"I will~"
"Or I won’t hesitate to destroy you and end this legacy once and for all..."
♢♢♢♢
Bloodshed and screams filled the famous Arena of Mesopotamia’s capital, where gladiators from across the world fought to the death for glory and prize.
Crowds roared, arms raised high in the midnight air, chanting the names of their favored warriors as blades clashed and lives ended.
Very rarely did a victor spare the loser.
Tonight’s bout pitted a towering Ice Giant barbarian from Yggdrasil’s Jotunheim against a young Sinner girl whose left half had twisted into a grotesque, writhing mass of tentacles.
They collided with explosive force. Elemental energies detonated—Fantasium and Mana shockwaves ripping across the sand.
"Uuaaagh!"
But she struck faster.
Her knives sliced deep into the giant’s flesh, opening wide, bleeding gashes.
She grinned viciously, laughing as she drove a kick into his face, spun midair, and plunged venom straight into his screaming features.
"Aaaaaaaeeegghhhh!"
The crowd erupted in cheers while one figure watched from above, enthroned in gold.
He laughed.
"Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His booming mirth blended with the spectators’ frenzy as the slaughter unfolded.
"I love her! Who is she?!"
He drained his wine cup in one gulp and hurled it to the floor.
"Phew! More wine!"
Servants scrambled to obey, refilling his goblet as he drank deeply, reveling.
At his side sat his silent wife, eyes fixed on the carnage with quiet interest despite her blank expression.
Their son, meanwhile, should have been asleep. Instead he stared wide-eyed at the bloodshed.
Ashur Bel-Marduk, King of Mesopotamia, sneered.
"Hey, isn’t this a fun family activity?" he asked. "Boy, don’t you want to eat anything?"
"No, father. I’m good," his son replied.
"Haaa... you’re so boring—just like your mother, eh?" Ashur shook his head.
"Ashur, mind your words. I am your wife," she said with a low groan.
"Hahaha! I was joking! I loooove my family!" Ashur laughed, pulling them both into a rough embrace. His wife and son immediately pushed him away, clearly repulsed. "Anyway..."
He glanced skyward as the Ice Giant fell. The tentacled Sinner tore out his still-beating heart.
"We have a winner tonight! Lady Innana claims victory with a crushing defeat! The reigning champion, Bjorn the Bone Breaker, has fallen!"
"OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
As the crowd exploded and Innana crushed the heart in her grip, Ashur watched the giant’s soul rise unseen by others. It drifted upward and merged into a floating golden globe.
Only he could see it.
The globe swallowed the soul. A single blue cybernetic eye opened and fixed on him.
"Not enough Powerful Souls yet. Requires at least 22,465 Powerful Souls for First Awakening Protocol to begin."
The mechanical voice rang inside his mind. Ashur nodded.
"Welp, I’ll head to bed early. Take care."
He returned to the castle and stepped onto the terrace.
There he opened his golden treasure gate and dropped more than a dozen black hearts pulsing with strange energy.
"Just today something really interesting happened, haha..." he chuckled. "That little child Louis and Mirai adore so much made a huge mistake. And now look—here we are. Do you think you can absorb these, Emissary?"
"..."
The eye reopened, scanned the offering, then drew in the essence. The black hearts withered and shattered into fragments as their power flowed into the globe.
Purple energy surged wildly for a moment before the sphere stabilized.
"Alternative source of energy acceptable. First Awakening Protocol has been greatly accelerated. Requires 12,247 more Powerful Souls."
"Ooh, so these counted for that many souls?! Incredible...!" Ashur said, eyes gleaming with fascination. "I wonder how I could get more though... Hmm. Well, I guess I’ll keep playing the good friend to Louis. That daughter of his—she’ll bring plenty of interesting opportunities to the table. We just have to wait for the right moment, right?"
♢♢♢♢
The Nightmare Dimension.
A bizarre realm severed from the rest of the universe, a vast and twisted landscape woven from the collective subconscious fears of every intelligent being.
An ethereal dream world where the darkness in every heart is sifted and concentrated—a festering wound in reality itself.
An ever-shifting maze of impossible forms and shapes, birthplace of nightmares since time immemorial.
There, ten Nightmare Kings have ruled ten distinct regions for trillions of years.
Until one day, everything changed.
One of those invincible beings had invaded another world—and had been slain.
The death created an immediate power vacuum. Qualified Nightmares began slaughtering one another for control of his territory.
While that brutal war for dominance raged, the nine remaining Nightmare Kings gathered on the sole island within the Abyssal Nightmare Sea.
Surrounded by incomprehensible, subliminal darkness and warped landscapes, the nine strange and monstrous entities finally spoke of what had transpired.
"The Seventh is dead. It has been confirmed."
"The fool invaded another world where beings existed who could actually kill him?"
"Rumors claim he sought a source of tremendous power—one that would allow him to ascend."
"What sort of nonsense is that? Ascend? Impossible."
"No, it is the truth. I have brought the one who discovered Her. A single droplet of her blood was enough to empower him and turn him into a Nightmare King candidate."
"...?"
The nine remaining Nightmare Kings fixed their monstrous gazes—each pair of bizarre, mismatched eyes—on a single small Nightmare. The creature possessed four heads, eight arms, and a body composed entirely of wailing specters.
"It is an honor to stand before you, oh great Nightmare Kings," he said with careful politeness. "The child’s existence is real. I have faced her power myself, and she is indeed the one we seek—the vessel of both Absolute Chaos and Absolute Order, an extraordinary Dimensional Treasure of unmatched value."
"Enough value for that fool to sacrifice his life?"
"Certainly the Seventh had no idea the child was guarded by such formidable beings," the Nightmare explained. "But that mistake need not repeat itself. With proper planning, we could claim not only this incredible treasure of immense power, but also that world—home to over nine billion human souls, the largest concentration we have ever discovered."
"Nine billion?!"
"Impossible. How could that be?"
"...With that many souls, any one of us could attain unimaginable strength."
"Ascending to Outer Nightmare God status would no longer be a mere dream!"
"But is this truly accurate?!"
"Are you not lying?!"
"I gain nothing by deception, Your Majesties," the Nightmare insisted. "Please examine my Nightmare Soul yourselves and confirm my honesty."
The Nightmare Kings seized him. Their tentacles and grotesque appendages probed deep into his form until, satisfied, they released him with slow nods.
"He speaks the truth."
"A world like that..."
"We have never encountered one with so many souls ready to be devoured!"
As they murmured among themselves, the Nightmare lifted his gaze to the dark skies. Hundreds of barren planetoids drifted silently, suspended in endless nebulas of shadow and curses. Their surfaces, stripped of life and souls, now crawled with specters and monstrous shapes.
The Nightmare Dimension lived. It hungered constantly, and its preferred sustenance was the souls of humans and intelligent beings. Beasts and animals offered little nourishment; only minds capable of deep thought and profound consciousness could truly feed it—the deeper the awareness, the richer the meal.
Amid the swelling chaos of the gathering, an enormous figure spoke. Larger than mountains, it resembled a writhing mass of tentacles crowned with countless heads.
"The Nightmare Gods hunger. The Nightmare Dimension demands souls. This is the moment we have awaited. Small one, some of us already knew of that world, yet we deliberately withheld action while we prepared. Now, perhaps, it is time to hasten our expansion.
That world will nourish this Dimension beyond measure. The Assimilation Process will commence at once. However, those pitiful creatures dwell in another plane of reality, so our invasion will require time to reach them. Until then, let us prepare thoroughly, Nightmare Kings.
The Nightmare Gods above the White Void hold high expectations. If we please them sufficiently, some among us may yet ascend to their Thrones."
The words of the First Nightmare King—the strongest of the ten—resonated like an immutable law. Agreement rippled through the assembly instantly. They resolved to launch the expansion project without delay, using the connection the Small Nightmare had forged earlier.
"Then let us begin."
The First Nightmare King extended his thousands of hands. The sky above fractured with a sickening crack as the Dimensional Membranes of the Nightmare Dimension tore open.
A wound in Reality itself began to form, guided by the coordinates the Small Nightmare had provided after surviving the onslaught and fleeing wisely back to the Nightmare Realm.
And high above, within the White Void, the Nightmare Gods watched with ravenous interest. Their drooling anticipation grew palpable—they hungered impatiently for the moment they could once more feast on human souls.
-----
