Free Web NovelChapter 68: Chapter 68: The Weight of Power [Part I]
Etherius did not sleep well.
The nightmares came the moment his eyes closed.
A battlefield drowned in blood.
A four-armed monster wearing Eternia’s face.
A celestial noble screaming as something was ripped out of his body.
The First Dream.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Etherius bolted upright in bed.
His breathing was uneven.
Cold sweat soaked the back of his shirt.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains of his room inside the Sinclair Estate.
For several seconds he simply sat there.
Silent.
Thinking.
Remembering.
The room felt too small.
Too safe.
Too normal.
After what he had witnessed.
"..."
His golden eyes slowly drifted toward his hands.
They were shaking.
That alone irritated him.
In two lifetimes he had experienced countless dangers.
Assassins.
Wars.
Monsters.
Political purges.
Yet nothing had ever made him feel so utterly helpless.
Not even death itself.
Because death could be fought.
Death had rules.
The thing he witnessed yesterday did not.
The First Dream felt less like a living being and more like a natural disaster wearing flesh.
A creature that simply existed on a completely different scale.
Etherius clenched his fist.
The shaking stopped.
Then he let out a long breath.
"Panicking accomplishes nothing."
His voice sounded calm.
But his thoughts were racing.
Fast.
Very fast. freeweɓnøvel.com
The information he possessed was no longer enough.
His future knowledge was becoming increasingly unreliable.
The underground city massacre.
The barrier.
Lucien Valebrook.
The stolen Axis.
Eternia’s possession.
None of those events had happened in his previous life.
Or perhaps they had happened behind the scenes.
Perhaps he had simply never learned the truth.
That possibility was even more terrifying.
Because it meant history itself might have been manipulated.
He stood from his bed.
Slowly.
Methodically.
His mind already organizing priorities.
Step one.
Get stronger.
Step two.
Research.
Step three.
Survive.
Everything else came afterward.
The Axis of Harmony stirred inside him.
A faint warmth spread through his chest.
Etherius froze.
The sensation lasted only a moment.
Then disappeared.
"..."
His eyes narrowed.
That had never happened before.
Not once.
The memory of the First Dream’s words surfaced immediately.
"You are still too weak."
"The Axis has not awakened completely."
Those words bothered him.
Because they implied knowledge.
Specific knowledge.
Knowledge of his future.
Knowledge of his potential.
Knowledge of the Axis itself.
Which meant the First Dream knew things even Etherius did not.
That realization was deeply unpleasant.
Very deeply unpleasant.
A person could prepare against a stronger enemy.
A smarter enemy.
A richer enemy.
But how exactly did one prepare against something that seemed to know everything?
Etherius rubbed his forehead.
Then immediately began writing.
Books.
Records.
Ancient myths.
Religious texts.
Forbidden archives.
He listed everything he needed.
The First Dream had mentioned ancient entities.
The Big Bang.
The Archon of Light.
The Miracle of Fire.
The Second Dream.
If even half of those stories were true, traces should exist somewhere.
History always left fingerprints.
Even when gods tried to erase it.
By sunrise his desk was completely covered.
Dozens of papers.
Names.
Theories.
Connections.
Possible leads.
A normal twelve-year-old would have looked insane.
Fortunately Etherius was not normal.
A knock interrupted him.
Three taps.
Then another two.
Nysera.
Etherius immediately recognized the pattern.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Nysera stepped inside.
She looked terrible.
Her hair was messy.
Dark circles rested beneath her eyes.
She carried a tray containing tea.
And enough pastries to feed three people. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Etherius stared.
Nysera stared back.
Neither spoke.
Finally.
"You look horrible."
Nysera blinked.
Then frowned.
"You look like a corpse."
Etherius nodded.
"Fair."
She sat down.
The silence lingered.
Not uncomfortable.
Just tired.
Both of them had experienced enough horror yesterday to last a lifetime.
Unfortunately neither believed it would be their last encounter with it.
Nysera poured tea.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Etherius noticed immediately.
She noticed him noticing.
Neither commented.
After several moments she finally spoke.
"What exactly was that thing?"
Etherius didn’t answer immediately.
Because he genuinely didn’t know.
A demon?
No.
A god?
No.
Something older?
Probably.
Eventually he sighed.
"I wish I knew."
That answer surprised her.
Because Etherius always seemed to know everything.
Seeing uncertainty on his face was unsettling.
Very unsettling.
Nysera looked out the window.
The morning sun illuminated the estate grounds.
Servants moved normally.
Guards patrolled normally.
Birds chirped normally.
Yet neither of them felt normal.
Because they knew what existed beyond those walls.
Nysera’s voice became quieter.
"Do you think it will come back?"
Etherius did not hesitate.
"Yes."
That single word chilled the room.
Because she knew he meant it.
Not maybe.
Not possibly.
Definitely.
Yes.
The First Dream would return.
The question wasn’t if.
The question was when.
And whether they would be ready.
Meanwhile.
Several buildings away.
Inside the Sinclair Medical Hall.
Eternia slowly opened her eyes.
White ceiling.
Medicinal smell.
Soft sheets.
Pain.
Lots of pain.
"Ugh..."
She groaned.
Immediately regretted moving.
Her entire body felt like it had been trampled by dragons.
Inside her soul.
A familiar voice laughed.
"You look ridiculous."
Eternia glared internally.
"You’re not helping."
"I wasn’t trying to."
Eternity sounded suspiciously amused.
Which only annoyed Eternia further.
The two souls now shared the same body.
The same mindscape.
The same senses.
A bizarre arrangement.
One that still felt strange.
Eternia could hear Eternity’s thoughts.
Sometimes.
Not always.
And Eternity could hear hers.
Which was extremely embarrassing.
Especially whenever Eternia thought something stupid.
Unfortunately that happened often.
"Stop judging me."
"I’m literally you."
Eternity won instantly.
As usual.
Eternia sighed.
Then carefully sat up.
Outside the window she could see healers moving throughout the medical hall.
Life continued.
Normal.
Ordinary.
After everything that happened.
That almost felt wrong.
For a moment silence settled between them.
Then Eternity spoke.
Her tone was serious this time.
"We don’t have much time."
Eternia’s expression changed immediately.
"I know."
"The First Dream lost control."
"Temporarily."
"He’ll try again."
Eternia nodded.
Because she already understood.
The battle wasn’t over.
Not even close.
Taking back her body was merely the beginning.
The real struggle had just started.
And somewhere in the back of her mind.
She could still feel traces.
Tiny remnants.
Echoes.
Of the First Dream’s presence.
Like fingerprints burned into reality.
That terrified her more than she wanted to admit.
Because now she understood.
The First Dream wasn’t invincible.
But he was patient.
Ancient.
Relentless.
And patient enemies were always the most dangerous.
Eternia clenched her fists.
Determination slowly replacing fear.
"Then train me."
Eternity paused.
"What?"
"Train me."
"Again."
"Harder."
"I’m tired of being weak."
The response came instantly.
And for the first time.
Eternity smiled.
A genuine smile.
"Good."
"Because we’re starting today."
Eternia immediately regretted everything.
"Wait."
"Too late."
"I just woke up."
"Too late."
"I nearly died."
"Too late."
"You’re evil."
"I learned from experience."
Eternia groaned.
Loudly.
A healer walking past the room looked inside with concern.
Eternia immediately pretended nothing happened.
The healer left.
Eternity laughed so hard she nearly cried.
And for the first time since the massacre.
Eternia found herself smiling.
Just a little.
The future remained terrifying.
The First Dream remained out there.
The world remained dangerous.
But at least now.
She wasn’t alone anymore.
Meanwhile–
The estate library was silent.
Not the peaceful kind of silence.
The heavy kind.
The kind that settled over places filled with old knowledge and forgotten secrets.
Rows upon rows of shelves stretched into the distance.
Ancient books.
Dust-covered scrolls.
Records older than kingdoms.
Most nobles considered the Sinclair Library impressive.
Etherius considered it disappointing.
Not because it lacked information.
Because it lacked the information he actually needed.
The boy sat alone at a massive oak table.
Books were piled around him like defensive walls.
A dozen open volumes covered every available surface.
Most contained mythology.
Religion.
Ancient legends.
Creation stories.
Normally Etherius would dismiss such things.
Legends were often exaggerated.
Corrupted by generations of retelling.
But after witnessing the First Dream...
He was no longer sure where mythology ended and reality began.
His finger slowly traced a passage inside one of the oldest books.
"Before light existed, there was the Sleepless One."
Etherius paused.
Read it again.
Then a third time.
His eyes narrowed.
The passage continued.
"It watched creation from beyond creation and hated the stars born from the wound of nothingness."
"..."
He slowly closed the book.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The wording was different.
The details were vague.
But the similarities were impossible to ignore.
A being existing before creation.
Hatred toward the universe.
Disdain toward life.
The resemblance was far too close.
Etherius immediately opened another text.
A religious manuscript.
Several pages were missing.
Others had been damaged by age.
Still.
One paragraph survived.
"The First Nightmare sought to extinguish the divine rivers that nourished reality."
Another name.
Different culture.
Same idea.
Etherius leaned back.
His mind began connecting dots.
Every civilization seemed to remember fragments.
Tiny pieces.
Broken remnants.
Different names.
Different descriptions.
Yet all pointed toward the same thing.
A primordial entity.
Something ancient.
Something hostile.
Something that predated recorded history.
Perhaps even reality itself.
His expression darkened.
Because that made things significantly worse.
If civilizations across thousands of years remembered this being...
Then it meant the First Dream really had existed long before the current era.
Long before empires.
Long before recorded history.
Long before humanity.
The scale of such an enemy was absurd.
Etherius rubbed his temples.
A headache was forming.
Not from exhaustion.
From possibilities.
Too many possibilities.
His previous life suddenly felt tiny.
Insignificant.
He had once believed himself knowledgeable.
A reincarnator.
Someone who understood the future.
Now?
He felt like a child staring into an ocean.
The deeper he looked.
The darker it became.
A small notebook sat beside him.
He began writing.
Possible conclusions:
First Dream existed before creation.
Multiple civilizations remember fragments.
Ancient records intentionally erased.
Axis may have been created specifically to oppose him.
Future catastrophe larger than originally believed.
The final point made him stop.
His pen hovered above the page.
Then he added another line.
Need power immediately.
Need allies eventually.
Need answers urgently.
The words felt inadequate.
Because answers alone wouldn’t save anyone.
Strength would.
The First Dream had made that painfully clear.
Etherius closed the notebook.
Then stood.
His chair scraped against the floor.
The sound echoed through the library.
Good.
He was done reading.
For now.
Knowledge mattered.
But knowledge without strength was merely a more accurate way to die.
He needed training.
Immediately.
