"...I think I understand now."
Nier said, his eyes fixed on the glowing rune floating before him, in his open hand.
"And if ti wasn't of the essence, I would've started the ritual right this instant. But maybe I can get so practice in during the trials tonight, then try it on my own land so other ti. That way I can protect my ho even if an Outer God ever tries to invade it. At the very least, I'll have an advantage ready."
The rune looked like a floating eye, slit like a dragon's own peepers, with a crescent moon wrapped around it from behind.
"Still, the most taxing part would be infusing Negativity into this thing... The sheer amount needed to do what I want is stupidly massive. Just making one of these alone would probably run dry in under a minute if I pumped in the full amount necessary."
But just then, a familiar voice called out to him.
'Darling… Are you there?'
"Hm, Kaly? Yeah, I'm here. You good? You sound dazed as fuck right now."
'My apologies, love. The consequences of using too much power in this limited vessel made pass out. Now I feel tired and sluggish. For the ti being, I need to rest so more. I can finally feel my power regulating properly in my body from the higher realm. It ans the soul I created for it — and is linked to — is healing rapidly.'
"Ha, sotis I forget what you really are… Doing freaky shit like that out of nowhere is sothing I don't think I'll get used to so easily."
'Well, if it helps, you're no different either. Like , your soul in the higher realm has also created a soul for your mortal body, and it's linked up to it. For us Outer Gods, a soul is nothing more than a gateway. As such, our power and influence leak from it, giving us more dominion over the lower world.'
'If the gateway is damaged, it effectively severs the link we have with our avatars. It's considered one of our greatest weaknesses, actually. Without an avatar, we can't interact with the mortal world.'
Said Kaly as she replied to Nier's question.
But Nier just sighed and nodded in agreent.
"Well, I'm glad you're okay either way. As of right now, I'm preparing to head out to Corpse Mountain."
'So I was out for that long? It's already ti for you to leave?'
"Pretty much, yeah. You coming with?"
'For now, I will continue my rest in your shadow. I still need ti to gather my power and stamina.'
"Well, take as much ti as you need then."
'Thank you, darling. Hmmm, but wait… before you go, I must give you sothing.'
"Another Authority, I presu? Dearest Jeffrey has brought a whole bunch of new believers. So if you want, why not feast on their faith in you?"
'I have indeed felt their worship, and they have given strength. The problem is my vessel and my soul—I can't regulate my power properly if I don’t patch myself up a bit better.'
'Worry not, though. In about another six to eight hours of rest, I will be brand new again.'
'That aside, though, I must give you this.'
In that mont, a black aura covered Nier's entire body. The clothes he was wearing began to suddenly dissolve, leaving him naked.
And then, just as quickly, a new outfit began to form around his figure, manifesting around his form, as it fade I to existence around his form.
Nier raised his arms to see a black robe similar to Kaly’s own, only black and not bronze like hers, as it wrapped around him.
He felt its soft embrace hug his body, and it was a comfortable fit.
Now standing in front of the mirror, he saw the full outfit for what it was. He even touched the neckpiece that now adorned him—a collar or rather a choker of sorts with intricate patterns.
All in all, he now wore a long, flowing black coat left wide open at the front, showing off his entire bare chest. As a result, his divine brand was clearly visible, glowing a bright red.
Around his neck sat a thick, ornate tallic-looking choker. The material resembled tal but felt alien to this world, carved with dark, intricate patterns.
His left arm and its lattice pattern were also exposed, as the sleeves of the coat were massively wide at the openings.
As for pants, he wore none. Instead, he wore the lower half of a black shihakusho. His feet were bare, and his sharp red claws were fully visible, as most of his feet and lower leg was covered in black bandage.
Raising his hand Nier look at them and down and then behind him, as he asked, a little confused.
"Ummm Kaly, what exactly do you have wearing here?"
'It's a uniform I made for you, to show others in the cult your prestigious position as my apostle. It's not much, and to be honest I have been working on it for about three days now. I didn't have much to do with you being unconscious and all.'
'But to make a long story short, I made you so decent magic gear. The clothing itself is made from my hair. As such it really soft as it is durable and light.'
'You could be shot by a tank shell and not even a scratch would be left of that. Other than that I enchanted it as well. Not only does this increase your charm, but it also increases your luck as well, it also highly resistance towards immutable magic although that resistance is more like a spell at work for as long as it has Negativity it produces an Anti-Magic field around you. However if you run out of juice it will take so ti to charge itself up, leaving you vulnerable when it does.'
'As for those jewelry well, that choker gives you more power over your own mind.'
"Really, like what kind of power?"
Nier asked, more than curious now.
'Well for starters, you can now read the minds of anyone you have in your line of sight while also granting you the ability to command a person to sleep and to also create dreams, of course all this costs Negativity so by using its specialized abilities it takes from your reserves.'
'This also makes you immune to mind control, and more easier for you to see through illusions of varied kinds. But best of all, it allows you to perceive and speak all languages no matter their complexity. And to end things off the uniform is like a transformation, so if you will it, it can go in and out of existence, it also increases all physical attributes to about four tis over too.'
Announced Kaly, as Nier watched his hand and then scratched his head as he said.
"Wow babe, you really went above and beyond for here. It really does look good on , although it exposes my mutation a tad more than I would like.
"I don't want other people to look at and think I'm so kind of monster, you know. My claws can be seen, and ever since I escaped Lady Blue and mutated during my run, my skin has also beco a lot paler... I hope these mutations don't affect my vessel in a negative way."
Hearing this, Kaly spoke.
"Well, as far as I can see, your mutations aren't bad. It's more like a forced evolution of your body than anything else. And since your body was made to regulate Negativity naturally, when you fill your flesh to increase your physical power with more Negativity than it could handle, your body naturally mutated in order to facilitate the changes needed at that mont to ensure your escape. But if you keep pushing your body to such extres, you could trigger another forced mutation — that's only if you don't keep conditioning it to gain more strength."
Kaly explained.
That aside, Nier nodded his head as he replied,
"Well, either way... thanks a lot. It is comfortable. Now then, I've got just one more thing to do before I go."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Quite simple. I have information regarding Corpse Mountain, and just to be sure, I'm bringing everything with — all my weapons."
"Like?"
"Alle, of course, and also my pet skinwalker. Those two are my most powerful weapons after all."
"Heh, using the spoils of war already, eh? Hehehe, well I can't fault you. That darkborne you've made is rather powerful. I'd really like to see her cut loose."
"Well, we'll see just how strong Alle really is."
"Mhm. Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning. I still need more rest, so I'll catch you around, darling."
"Yeah, don't worry about . Just go and rest."
"Hmmmm... Kay Kay. Goodnight, darling. Let's bang like bunnies when I get up."
"... Sotis I forget just how horny Kaly can be."
Nier said while holding his head. Then his focus shifted to his shadow. It was the sa shadow Kaly was sleeping in, but inside it, sothing else lay dormant.
A giant of gravitational might — a blue-skinned powerhouse, a force golem. The Fulcrum.
"But first, let's upgrade the little guy."
Nier comnted as he opened up a portal using his warp gate spell, which led him right into his bar.
Given that he could see through the security caras of the house and property, he knew the location of everyone in the house.
There it was: a crawling puddle of amorphous flesh and teeth.
It crawled along the ground aimlessly, its destination unknown. It had no conscious mind, and its instinct had also been taken away, making it as docile as a dosticated cat.
It crawled more and more, but soon it felt nothing left to crawl on as Nier picked it up and held it in the air.
"There you are... Hmm... I wonder what I should even call you now. Well, I could make you keep the na Rita, but I basically killed that identity of yours, so no."
"Perhaps a new identity is in order, right? How about Scylla?
"Yeah, you don't look like a pretty girl at all, but I'm sure I can find sothing pretty to feed to you. But for now, I've got a much yummier al than a human. Co on now, let daddy feed you sothing nice."
Nier said as he opened up another portal and walked through it. This ti, however, he was nowhere in his house. Far away from his villa, sowhere in the estate, only large oak trees surrounded him, and the bright purple storm bead even behind the dark rain clouds from the Great Cleave.
Water poured down heavily, but that did not stop Nier. For the rain, he made a barrier around his body — blue in color, made from Gaian energy.
From there, he looked forward toward a large clearing as his shadow extended outward, and from it rose sothing familiar.
A giant creature made from organic and inorganic material alike. Its upper body was made from stone and other materials like iron and flesh, and it looked like the upper half of a gorilla. The lower half was also made from organic material like flesh and stone, similar to the upper. Only this ti, its lower half was like that of a great horse, and all eight of its hooved legs bent down in submission.
Blue fur surrounded its body, alongside a radiant electric-blue gravitational aura that radiated from its being. The stones around it levitated, alongside sticks and dirt.
While the rain from above slowed in motion as it got trapped in its natural gravitational field, orbiting around the massive Flux.
Nier looked at it and said.
"Now, I will need you to stay still while I have my cute little Scylla eat you alive."
The creature abided by Nier's words, not moving an inch, nor protesting against the fate given to it.
However, being mindless was its own rcy. Without a will, it was nothing more than a puppet.
But even then, it was a strong Flux, and its combat abilities would be beneficial to Nier in a variety of ways.
With that, he placed Scylla down outside the barrier as he commanded her.
"Go on, little one. Eat up."
Docile, instincless, and mindless — yet another puppet. But unlike the Fulcrum, its fate was greater, as Scylla abided by Nier's orders. For her, it wasn't nature; his will was her will.
And she approached the Fulcrum.
She had no mind to know.
Nor any instinct to act.
But by senseless will and devotion alone did she partake in sweet flesh.
Her small body stretched and elongated as she crawled onto the Fulcrum's body, bending and twisting around it.
As if looking for sothing, and after maneuvering across the entire body of the beast, she found what she was looking for.
A small crevice in the Fulcrum's artificial body. The flesh poured into it, her soft and flexible body sinking deeper and deeper into the Fulcrum's interior.
Till eventually her entire body was now inside the Fulcrum.
And just like the outside, she expanded and searched from within, till she inevitably found what she wanted.
A core surging with alien power within its being. It was blue in color; within it was living gravity itself, a portal that swirled and distorted space around it.
It was connected to the black hole at its mouth — essentially, it was there where its host a pocket dinsion inside.
But that was beside the point. Scylla instantly wrapped around the crystal, and she began to devour.
How she consud sothing without skin was beyond Nier, but skinwalkers see the concept of skin as more than just the outer layer — whatever identity they eat, they take it with ease.
It wasn't long before the inevitable happened.
The blue gravitational aura around the Fulcrum began to dim, and as it dimd, rocks, flesh, and many different things that made up this golem-like body began to crack and fall apart as the gravitational core that once made up its being was no more.
However, that was when Nier saw it.
A blue light began to glow from the falling rubble as it floated above the chaos of the crumbling form.
A crystal, blue in color, glowed in and out. A black portal opened at its center — a swirling madness of space that distorted so much it tore, revealing another world within.
"Oh my, how beautiful, so you were able to eat it after all."
Nier said as he looked at the floating crystal, it was Scylla now taking the form of the Fulcrum true self, and she was now floating toward him excitedly.
Information, knowledge, experience — body, mind, and soul that was not hers — blood into newfound awareness.
Hers, yet not hers.
But either way, the crystal was big, as large as two basketballs even.
And Nier saw this and said.
"Well, I was expecting that colossal giant of a form to co with it, but I guess not. Still, what should I do with you? You're kind of just a floating rock now, a little too obvious to carry around. Should I just put you back in my shadow until I need you for actual combat?"
Nier pondered.
But then, sothing rather surprising happened.
Scylla began to shrink down rapidly.
"Wow, so the Fulcrum could do that as well with their main body, huh?"
Nier asked as he watched the transformation continue.
It got smaller and smaller.
However, by doing this, it lost a lot of energy for so reason.
[Complicated. Weak. Useless. Master. Obey. Failure unacceptable. More power. More power. Source. By Will... By devotion.]
A varied voice echoed in Nier's mind, taking him by surprise.
It was distorted, like a man and a woman talking at once over a static radio.
"Wait, so that damn thing was actually smart enough to form words... Although it sounds like it's just saying one word at a ti to express itself."
And Nier was right. The Fulcrum was indeed an intelligent entity. It was aware of the things it had done.
And now the sa level of intelligence ran through Scylla.
Because in a desperate attempt to please her master, she did sothing rather unbelievable.
"....Wait, are you!?"
Nier questioned with puzzled eyes as he felt his power leaving his body.
And that's when he saw it.
Scylla was absorbing Negativity from Nier. Pulling it away like a black hole feeding on star that was too close.
More and more energy left Nier, and it wasn't a small amount either, it was quite the amount, she did this till her entire body was covered in a thick black hue of raw Negativity.
But as it fed more, and more, she continued to shrink at last, till she thinned down.
And if that wasn't enough, she sensed another source with Negativity from Nier — or sothing like it, but it was definitely there.
Coming from the Divine Brand on his chest, the Negativity from that mark, mixed with Gaian energy, was being pulled away by esoteric gravity just like the natural Negativity he stores in his soul and body.
She began to feed more and more till eventually her crystal form changed.
The power of the brand and Nier's own power flooded her being.
And she began to undergo a mutation.
An endless void. Darkness, yet not empty — full of sothing beyond the physical.
The space here made no sense to the being that had ended up here.
Scylla now found herself in a place with no tangible physical dinsion. It was, by all ans, a taphysical construct. Yet she knew this place was within herself, though it was no pocket dinsion.
"Unfamiliar.... Can't see... Darkness... Afraid... Yet safe."
Those were the only words that echoed from her. But just then, another voice echoed back.
"Why is there soone else here... You shouldn't be here."
A voice she was all too familiar with. It was her master, but why did his tone sound so different?
"How did you co here, you filthy other?"
Fear, love, confusion — fear, love, and more fear still. It grew deeper and deeper with each passing second, and it was rightfully rooted deep within her soul as a pure sense of dread ca over Scylla in that mont.
The voice was everywhere, as if the voice itself was everywhere.
She wanted to run.
Fear so intense it gave birth to raw emotion.
She wanted to die.
Any fate other than death would not allow one to escape this being peacefully.
And yet she wanted her master.
A devotion so strong it bordered on insanity, if not fanaticism.
"You calm yourself down so easily even with my killing intent aim directly at you... How the hell did you even do that?"
The voice said again.
Then it got closer, curiosity taking hold.
"This is the first ti in two thousand years that I have seen a Skinwalker manage to even reach this realm... Are you a child of Loki, perhaps? But that shouldn't be possible... Hmm, let see sothing."
The being approached, and Scylla could do nothing to hold it off.
In this place, she was utterly powerless.
A firm, strong hand grabbed her shrunken form, and a power flowed inside her. It was familiar.
No — it was the sa thing.
It was the sa power she had felt from the Brand on her master's chest, at least the Gaian side of it.
And then she felt sothing enter her head.
It targeted her life mories.
The entity searched and searched until it found what it wanted.
"...Child of Circe... Yet another heretical thing you have brought into the world... Sigh... Like mother, like son. You two care so little for rules, it's sickening sotis.
"What should I even do with you... You have absorbed a lot of my divine energy from my brand. If I let you be, you will beco a Skinwalker blessed with a portion of my own divinity. If ti is on your side, you will beco sothing like a wayward kin of mine. If I don't, it will sour my relationship with Nier..."
Ti went on, and the entity didn't act for a while. After what felt like an hour, maybe two, it eventually reached a decision.
"Very well then... What do you desire, filthy other?"
Scylla didn't answer right away, however after thinking what she needed or desire.
She made her desire pour free.
"Purpose.... Master.... Protection.... Useful.... Rebirth... Strength..."
"Such a simple-minded request, but I can give those easily. Very well. As long as you beco a weapon of war for your master, I can give you what you want... Still, I would rather not let Loki take control of you Æsir, nothing good will co for this world if she ever gets her hands on you, so be grateful to be born as thy are. You have invaded a very sacred place. Even your creator has not entered this part of the astral plane yet, and he, like his mother, was born with the right, but you weren't. The mories here would destroy him with his vessel so weak. So go back with this gift and be reborn anew."
Power, divine in nature, exploded from her palms as it sank into the soul, mind, and body of Scylla. For a mont, she drew endless power from that mysterious realm.
And then mories of all kinds flooded her, reshaping and rebuilding her crystalline body anew.
Scylla felt her mind thin out as her connection began to sever from this plane, wherever it was. However, she also heard the voice of the entity posing as her master.
"Wayward Other, a fate destined for death now free from the pain of the end... To beco complete, devour the mories of all. Assist your master to the bitter end if it arises.... In ti, I will dictate fate and provide you countless fools for the platter. To reach the Zenith, separate yourself from the confines of the body altogether and beco his mories — his flesh, your conduit. I bid thee farewell, Filthy Other reborn anew. Dearest Scylla, now Egregore. An angel born from corruption and purification embraced. The first of your kind you are."
...
...
...
...
...
"W-What!?"
Nier shouted as he watched Scylla shrink further. Her blue form grew darker and darker until she beca pitch black.
The stone changed, becoming wider and more spherical until it curved and folded like a closed belt.
The Negativity and Gaian energy from within molded it from the inside, changing its external form.
It went from a large stone to a black halo-like crown, taking Nier by surprise.
As the crown floated toward him, it descended upon his head, always staying afloat around his forehead.
And then it happened — mories flooded his mind, strong like a surging tsunami raging toward the shore of his consciousness.
The crown glowed with black light, and at the sa ti the brand on his chest began to glow red, growing redder until it eventually turned white.
Then ca silence. Nier's entire body began to glow white, and he started to transform.
SaaassssSHHHhhhkKk!!
The light died down, and in its fading wake, no longer stood Nier — or rather, his human form.
Standing taller than an elephant was a form made from flesh and rock, organic and inorganic materials alike.
He stood on eight powerful, thick hooved legs, blue fur covering his body, and a featureless face with only a swirling vertical slit for a mouth.
An electric-blue gravitational aura surrounded his body. He lifted up one giant hand and looked at it, extending his fingers, stretching them, opening his palm, and then balling it into a fist.
"Have I beco the Fulcrum!?"
Nier said as he examined his hands, but then his gaze shifted to the tree in front of him. His aura flared up, and not only that tree but all the trees around him within a forty-ter radius began to uproot themselves. They shredded and broke apart as gravity pulled everything toward him. Debris began to orbit his form, piece by piece sinking into his body as material. His massive form grew larger and larger by the second.
But then his attention shifted to his head. Even in this form, the black crown that Scylla had beco still floated above it.
"The mories...
He said aloud.
"They speak to ."
Nier comnted as a flood of mories surged through him, giving him information.
"To think you, of all things, would et Mnemosyne. Was it because you absorbed her energy that a link was ford...? Ahhh, still, it would seem I got lucky. Kaly's uniform is definitely doing wonders for already."
"However, this new ability of yours — the power to absorb the life mories of all things at the cost of Gaian energy or Negativity. Alongside the power to project these mories into reality.
"Scylla has undergone an evolution. She has ascended. Reborn anew. The Egregore... Just as an Ascended Human is a Hesta, Scylla, a Skinwalker, has reached the next evolutionary stage of her species, thanks to Mnemosyne. Sacrificing the body for the mind.
"What an odd thing you have beco, yet so silent."
He said while touching the black crown.
But soon, he tested it further.
As he saw a giant oak tree just in front of him, sothing urged him to touch it.
And touch it he did.
A rock-solid hand touched the bark, and the mont contact was made, the crown glowed black.
Ancient and patient mories began to flood Nier's mind.
"I felt the first tentative push of roots breaking through cool, dark soil centuries ago, seeking hidden streams and pockets of nutrients with quiet, unhurried determination; there was the gentle warmth of early spring sunlight filtering through tender young leaves, filling with steady satisfaction as I stretched upward inch by inch, converting light into strength and life, while seasons blurred in rhythmic cycles.
“The crisp bite of autumn winds stripping golden leaves, the heavy silence of winter snow testing my limbs, and the fresh green bursts of thaw bringing buzzing insects back to my canopy.
“Birds nested in my hollows for generations, their tiny claws scratching lightly as they raised fledglings that eventually flew away; squirrels buried acorns around my base, so sprouting into rivals I slowly outgrew, while the distant rumble of ancient beasts shook the ground and sent vibrations up my roots like thunder.
“I endured the sharp pain of an axe biting into my side long ago, when greedy loggers fled in terror from sothing older in the woods, leaving a blackened scar I still wear with quiet pride, and the slow insidious creep of rot trying to hollow out during wet decades, only for fresh growth to seal it over layer by layer; lightning once struck a neighboring branch, sending searing fire through my being and charring wood that took years to smooth.
“Yet through it all ran an unshakeable peace — an enduring patience that cared nothing for power or fleeting dramas, simply standing, absorbing, and persisting as generations of creatures, storms, and shadows ca and went like passing leaves blown off a branch, drawing sustenance from earth and sky while I remained a steadfast sentinel through four hundred and seventy-three years of quiet survival... Even now I live."
Nier remained quiet for a while, absorbing the mories of this random oak tree.
"Well, I guess there isn't a lot one can expect to see from the mories of a re plant... Still, I now have its mories, as random as they may be. They are now stored inside the crown itself."
With the newly gained mories, Nier's brand glowed bright white again until there was only a blinding light. His form changed during the process.
Roots, large and many, sank into the ground, reaching for water. Branches swayed in the breeze. The night greeted a new visitor.
Using the mories of the oak tree stored within Scylla, Nier beca an exact replica of it — no different in form — as the mories used his body as a conduit, projecting themselves into reality.
Then the tree shone white again. Now he was back in his base form once more.
"This is... simply amazing... To use the Skinwalker like this was never within my expectations. The ability to shapeshift and manifest what I rember with the power of mories is so fucking op I swear.
"Ohhh, I am so going to have a field day with this... Well, let’s not get too excited. Tonight I am going to let loose."
With that said, Nier opened up another portal. This ti he appeared behind a familiar-looking white-haired girl. She was brushing her hair when suddenly a portal opened behind her.
"Father!"
Alle said, speeding over to et her creator.
Nier looked at the small darkborne, taking in her form.
And at this mont he heard her thoughts.
'Father is here. Will he use my mouth again...? Sissy, father is here. Why don't you co out to say hi…’
Alle’s voice echoed in his mind, making Nier wonder if she was really talking to Ella.
And he got his answer as he heard a familiar voice in her head.
'Leave alone... I wish not to be disturbed.'
'Ahhh co on, sissy. I already said we can share this body. Is that not enough?'
'...'
This ti no answer ca...
'Gone again... sigh... Well, at least Father is here. Haaa, why is he looking at like that...? For so reason I feel vulnerable beside him...
'.....I love Father.... very very much hehehehe♡♡......’
Nier looked at this with a deadpan face as he scratched his head and said,
"Alle... We are about to leave."
"Hmm, leave...? Where to, Father?"
"We're going on a hunt, and given how dangerous the location I'm going to is, I will need to carry all my cards in hand. That ans you will be hanging with tonight."
"Spending ti with Father... really... REALLY!?"
She asked, jumping in excitent around him.
"Yes. Really, Alle. Now let’s go. I will fly us there."
Said Nier as he opened up another portal, this ti leading to his backyard — a giant open space.
Alle followed him inside as the portal closed behind her.
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