"Too much to do, too much to think about, too much to live for..." She sighed, her heart racing and her mind still reeling from the weight of it all. "What do they want from me? They're all dead anyway."
She paused for a moment before whispering into the empty air:
"Is it because I'm too weak to resist?"
Shaking her head in desperation and nerves, Asteria opened her runes to view the memories she had received in the last hour.
Memory: [Mantle of Choices]
Memory Rank: Transcendent
Memory Tier: III
Asteria nodded, smiling at the rank and tier before her eyes suddenly widened. The tier of the memory was actively changing right in front of her eyes.
[Glass Eyes have corrected your runes.]
[Memory: Mantle of Choice has properties that increase its strength accordingly.]
Memory Tier: VI
"Tier six... that's definitely an improvement..." She spat a second later: "It can grow stronger?!"
Memory Type: Armour
Memory Description: ["In the deep darkness of the Underworld, a prideful demon forged seven suits of splendid armour for his favourite creations. This armour was one of them — embodying Nether's unlimited choices and possibilities. Only those who are worthy can unlock the hidden potential within this Mantle of Choices."]
Memory Enchantments: [Living Darkness], [Crossroads], [Boundless Armament] [Daemon of Choice]
[Living Darkness]: This armour is forged from the True Darkness in the Underworld, a shifting and adaptive material with no fixed form.
[Crossroads]: This embodies the Choices the Daemon of Choice had allowing the wearer a stronger intuition upon the choices they will make.
[Boundless Armament]: This armour can accommodate multiple Charm Memories to inherit and enhance its enchantments — the more Charms accommodated, the weaker they are. Nether's Choice allows you to selectively choose which Charms are in effect and how many are used.
[Daemon of Choice] This armour grows stronger according to the amount of choices its wielder makes under pressure.
Underneath the final enchantment was another number separate from the memory itself.
[5861/6000]
It described the progress of how far this memory had been strengthened previously by the Onyx Saint she had fought and gained its armour from.
'Well, isn't that interesting,' she laughed, though her voice caught slightly. 'But what the hell counts as choices under pressure? Just get into fights and make decisions that won't get me killed? I mean... the Saint did fight for who knows how many years and made many... many... decisions...'
Dismissing her [Might of Gold], Asteria summoned her newly gained memory: [Mantle of Choice]. It was a blank mantle — as said in its name — that covered her skin in a sleek, cold substance that reacted to the faintest twitches of her skin, almost begging to be formed into a solid.
Giving a mental command, the armour that flowed on her skin hardened accordingly, forming fluid and liquid darkness in her joints and dense, strong darkness everywhere else. "Now this is definitely something, isn't it?" Though it gave her the creeps since it gave her a chilly sensation, she decided to push it to the back of her mind as it — hopefully — wouldn't swallow her whole like the True Darkness outside.
Unfortunately, Asteria didn't have many charms, so she could only pin the [Soul of a Betrayer] to her darkness-infested armour, which hungrily absorbed it into its folds as if it was never there. Thankfully it still existed, as Asteria felt a noticeable increase in her essence being replenished.
The Queen of Nightmare had one complaint, though — it was that she couldn't form defences or mobile weapons like she could with the [Might of Gold]. But since one was an armour memory and the other was an echo, she figured she might be able to utilise both if she layered them correctly. Perhaps she could create a three-layered shield if she used the [Mantle of Choice] underneath, the [Might of Gold] above, and molded her darkness to encase her golden carapace again.
...To her surprise, it worked without issue.
Asteria now had three separate layers that equalled transcendent armours — as a Master, no less.
Moving on to the highlight of her struggles was the [Blade of Destiny]...
Memory: [Blade of Destiny]
Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Tier: IV
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description: ["The Blade of Destiny is a weapon crafted and enhanced by the Daemon of Destiny himself — Nether.
It was uncovered by the Seeker of Truths upon learning the harsh reality of the Prince of the Underworld.
This blade has infinite possibilities and choices — just like the Divine who created it.
The Blade of Destiny will grow with its wielder, evolving in its strength and abilities."]
Memory Enchantments: [Soul's Match], [Unlimited Destiny], [Nether's Theft], [Underworld's Sorceress].
[Soul's Match]: The rank and tier of this blade match the wielder.
[Unlimited Destiny]: This blade has infinite destinies of what form it can take.
[Nether's Theft]: This blade replenishes a portion of the wielder's essence upon slaying a foe.
[Underworld's Sorceress]: This blade enhances and assists with sorcery with the user's essence for creation or destruction.
"Interesting. Very interesting." She nodded, looking at its 'evolving capabilities' before chuckling to herself. "Hey Spell, do you like giving me equipment that is formless by nature so I can do whatever I want with it?"
[...]
"I didn't expect a reply, and I'm not ungrateful for it either. People would kill for the things you've so generously blessed me with, you see."
What caught Asteria's interest the most was [Underworld's Sorceress], and it caused her to summon the blade as soon as she had an idea about what it could do.
The [Blade of Destiny] swiftly transformed into a sleek, light-absorbing longsword that sat comfortably in her hand, the handle becoming almost cloth-like, fitting her grip better than she imagined.
Channeling essence into the blade, a faint violet glow could be seen on the tip — like dancing sparks, sparks she could control, expand upon, and wield. She was wielding her own essence.
"Wait... can I..." she pondered, before channeling more essence into it and beginning to swing in careful arcs.
The essence channeled onto the tip of her blade lingered in the air, volatile and delicate, dangerous. She could create shapes in the air with it...
"I can draw now?" she mumbled, tilting her head. "I can draw..."
Something clicked in her head suddenly.
She could draw runes whenever she wanted — however she wanted — wherever she wanted — and have control over their size, power, and when they'd activate, since it was governed by her essence.
She carved the third rune she'd ever used, and arguably the most useful one in the Underworld: The True Name of Light!
Swiftly and carefully, Asteria danced her blade in the air, her essence trailing off into the beautiful form of a radiant rune before a blinding radiance, more than she ever could create before, illuminated the dark arena.
"It wasn't kidding!" She laughed, shielding her eyes with her arm. "It really does enhance my runes and make it far less costly with my essence when I do it! Oh, Nether, how I wish I could thank you for this beautiful sword!"
Asteria could use Runic Sorcery with her own essence.
"Is this my wand? Am I a Mage yet?" She continued laughing with joy, her dreams slowly coming true.
After testing out her blade and what she could do with her mantle, Asteria turned around and left the arena, slowly walking through the corridors of grey, cracked stone.
At the end of the corridor and out of the spire, the Marble Saints were kneeling, as if pledging allegiance to a superior being — the one who ended the Onyx Saint's madness for victory.
"What do you guys want?" She dryly asked the kneeling children of Nether.
Obviously, none of them could speak, so she didn't get a reply. Instead, the Spell spoke to her.
[You have gained: 13 Fallen Monsters: Marble Saint, as servants.]
[Servants: 13/75]
"Huh? I have..." her voice trailed off.
'I have servants? When did I get the ability for tha– Oh...' Her thoughts wandered to the text of her Corrupted Power her Devil core gave her:
["...while the weak shall instinctively bow to your glory."]
"So you see me as a superior being and wish to follow me?" She asked the saints, who almost looked like they were going to prostrate themselves on the ground.
The Marble Saint at the head of the group lifted their head and proudly nodded.
Asteria was wandering through the Underworld with her now-cohort of fearsome children of the Underworld, whilst Asteria was at the helm, continuously pouring essence into a floating rune above her head to ward away the Creatures of True Darkness — and occasionally destroying them too, as the Spell continued to whisper in her ear.
"By any chance, do you know where the exit is? I wouldn't like to stay here any longer." She turned towards the Saints behind her and politely asked.
The same Marble Saint that nodded to her earlier gracefully took the vanguard of the group and started leading in a slightly different direction.
It was quiet, comfortably quiet, and Asteria had the time to be alone in her thoughts for the first time in a long while.
She had questions about Nether, her Aspect Legacy, and now, what the hell was the servant number for? What happens if she completes it?
That was before a sudden realisation hit her.
'We were told Tyrants have minions that follow them around...' She turned to the cohort of Marble Saints surrounding her — the same ones which had become her servants. 'Am I really following this path for my cores? I am corrupted, so I guess it makes sense.'
She nodded to herself before thinking about her plans for the future.
'First, I need to figure out what my source element is and somehow transcend — it's not like I have a cohort for a third nightmare and I'm not brave enough to challenge one alone.' Asteria raised one finger, counting. 'Secondly, I need to gather sixty-two more servants to hopefully evolve into a Tyrant and gain my fifth soul core and whatever it gives me.' She raised another finger. 'Finally, I need to report to Mother about what I found around my citadel — while ignoring my impromptu getaway to the Underworld.'
The Queen of Nightmare could finally, and faintly, feel her connection to the Waking World and likewise to her Citadel in the far distance due to her [Spell Sense].
"What a welcoming feeling, I didn't think I'd see the day where I was happy to be in a desert–" Asteria suddenly stopped speaking and looked into the distance where the Darkness receded and a bright light began to shine.
"I'm back in the Nightmare Desert already?" She spat, clenching her jaw. "That damn skeleton, did he seriously make us go a longer way to make me suffer? There was an entrance to the Underworld under the sand practically next door to my Citadel?!"
Asteria could see her [Theatre of Crystal] in the distance, the crystalline glass reflecting the desert's sun and intense heat. Only this time... her palace wasn't empty.
It seems the Great Clan of Song has arrived in her territory.