Chapter 438: Tale of the Advent
Chapter 438: Tale of the Advent
“The Soul Realm, huh?” Ling Xin folded her arms. “I’ve heard of that before. Apparently, it’s a place filled with Psychic-Element True Essence, and anything humans dream about there become reality.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like heaven. Why would you ever want to escape from there?”
“Do you wish to hear the tale of the Advent, master?” The Soulfox asked, voice soft and angelic.
I nodded. “More accurately, I want to know more about the Soul Realm, but this story should help me learn about it too. But before that… do you have a name?”
“A… name?” She tilted her head cutely, blinking with that blank expression of hers.
“Yeah. It feels kind of awkward just calling you Soulfox, especially when there is another…” I turned to the male darker fox, who had now turned into a young boy who looked to be about 10 years of age. He wasn’t exceptionally good looking, but also did share the same fox traits as the queen.
“… I do not have a name, master,” the Soulfox replied after a while. “When I was still in the Soul Realm, all the other Soulfoxes addressed me as ‘Queen’, while the humans reverenced me as the Goddess of Dreams. Please, bestow upon me a name, master.”
“Uh… you sure?” I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not exactly the best at coming up with names.”
“I can testify to that,” Ling Xin said with an evil laugh. “Back during the Advancement Exams of your previous school, you came up with some pretty… dumb names.”
You know about that?! How detailed of a background check did you run on me?!
“A-Ahem… well, you heard her. Are you still sure you want me to give you a name?”
The Soulfox nodded gently. “Any name master gives me is the best I could ask for.”
“Er… alright then.” I fell into thought, not wanting to disappoint those beautiful eyes of hers, waiting in anticipation. “How about… Lorelei?”
Silence.
At first, I thought I screwed up again somehow. But then, Ling Xin slowly spoke.
“Lorelei… that’s actually a really pretty name. I didn’t expect you to come up with that, to be honest.”
“Lorelei…” The Soulfox curtsied politely, bowing down in front of me. “Very well. Lorelei will be my name, master.”
“Er… do you like it?” I asked, scratching the back of my head. “If not, I can try again…?”
She shook her head and spoke softly. “No, master. The name you choose on the first try is the most genuine. I love it very much. Lorelei shall be my name.”
“I see. And as for you…” I turned to the boy, huddled in a corner. “You’re going to be, uh, Bob.”
“W-Wha-?!” He immediately leaped to his feet, utterly confused and bewildered. “B-Bob?!”
“What? Got a problem with the name Bob? That’s disrespectful to all the Bobs out there-“
“N-No, not that! It’s just… you didn’t give it any thought it all!”
“… So?” My voice turned cold and steely, stunning everyone in the room apart from Lorelei. “You are nowhere as useful to me as Lorelei, and are nothing just an infant who needs to be taken care of. Why should I put the same amount of dedication into you as I do with Lorelei? You can’t offer me anything in return.”
“Hnngh…!” He looked really pissed off, but he knew he couldn’t beat me in a fight. Instead, he merely ran out the front door and slammed it shut behind him, running away from the reality of things.
Once he was gone, Axilia and Ling Xin were still shocked and debating whether or not to chase after him, but my next words stopped them.
“Was that… really necessary?”
“Yes, master,” Lorelei replied, voice as soft and gentle as an angel. “That boy is defiant. If he is not disciplined harshly like so, he will grow to be arrogant. Eventually, that will lead to his own death.”
“… That’s fair, I suppose. I’m just not used to… uh, being so mean to someone who never really even offended me.”
“It’s alright, master. Lorelei will keep an eye on his whereabouts,” Lorelei said, sensing my worry via my soul. “He will not be in any danger.”
I nodded. “Good to hear. Now then… tell us about the Advent, will you?”
Lorelei closed her eyes slowly.
“Very well, master. It is not a pretty tale.”
*****
In the end, it was settled that we would listen to Lorelei’s story over breakfast. However, she merely stared at the soup in her bowl, not touching her spoon or anything.
“Uh… you aren’t going to eat?” I asked, confused. “Do you not like their cooking or something?”
Lorelei shook her head. “No, master. Soulfoxes do not eat human food. We feed on dreams.”
“Dreams… huh.” I rubbed my chin slowly. “Interesting.”
“So that’s why humans in the Soul Realm are free to dream however they want… they’re making food for the Soulfoxes,” Ling Xin murmured. “A nice cycle. Both sides get what they want.”
“Yes,” Lorelei replied, then crossed her hands. “But sometimes… not everyone likes peaceful balance.”
“What do you mean…?”
Lorelei closed her eyes, then began her story of the Advent.
*****
– Three Thousand Years Ago –
The Soul Realm.
It was a nice, beautiful place. The skies were pink, hazy with translucent white clouds like cotton candy, and there was no evil. It was a land of purity, of happiness, of dreams.
The entire world was surrounded by fog, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Instead, it was like the people were always surrounded by a warm, cozy blanket at all times, and they were forever living in a dream that could never be broken—nor did anyone want to break it.
The Soulfoxes, mystical creatures who ruled over this realm, created a place known as the Dream Chamber. Humans could pay an offering to enter, and depending on the size and value of the offering, they were allotted a certain amount of time inside.
Within this chamber, anything the humans wished for would come true. But they couldn’t be harmful wishes that hurt someone else. In other words, they could only be dreams, not nightmares.
If someone wished to be showered in money, they would be showered in money. If someone dreamed about being a king in a magical kingdom with beauties in each of his arms, a magical kingdom and beauties he would receive in the room. It was perfect, flawless.
But there was a catch.
Anything dreamed about within the chamber would disappear when the human’s given time ended. They also couldn’t take anything outside the chamber.
Why?
To keep them coming back.
The Soulfoxes, the magical entities who created this place, needed to feed on human dreams to survive. By spurring the humans on with greed and keep them coming back to the Dream Chamber, the Soulfoxes are able to enjoy a never-ending abundance of dreams to feed on.
It was a flawless cycle. A perfect mutually-beneficial relationship. The humans would be able to experience the things they’ve always wanted to experience through the Dream Chamber, and the Soulfoxes would obtain the food they need through that process.
Everything was peaceful. The world was in a state of eternal bliss. No war, no evil, no sin. It was pure in every sense of the word.
But then, the Nightwolves arrived.
Or perhaps… it would be more accurate to say they returned.
Once defeated at the hands of the Soulfoxes eons ago, they came clawing their way back from the depths of hell, eager for revenge. The Soulfoxes thought they had been wiped out already. Their guard was down.
And that, was their greatest mistake.
The Nightwolves, under a young king by the name of Lune, were patient. They didn’t lash out at the Soulfoxes immediately, and instead laid low. They knew they couldn’t beat the Soulfoxes in an outright fight thanks to what happened all those years ago. They didn’t forget the taste of defeat that still lingered on their tongues, even now. And so, they waited.
Instead of the Soulfoxes, the crafty Lune ordered his Nightwolves to attack the ones they could beat—the humans.
Of course, they didn’t outright kill them. No, they could use them. By injecting fear into the entire human population of the Soul Realm, the Nightwolves successfully rendered them unable to dream ever again. The only dreams they would ever have… were nightmares.
The Nightwolves fed on this terror. They fed on the humans’ nightmares. While the Soulfoxes were steadily having their food supply get lower and lower, they were getting stronger and stronger. And by the time the Soulfoxes finally realized what happened… it was too late.
The Nightwolves raided the weakened Soulfoxes in their Temple of Zen high above the clouds, turning it into a temple of blood. Their revenge was finally here, and the Soulfoxes lost horribly.
The only survivor, the Queen, escaped through the Realms, knowing she could not fight against all those Nightwolves on her own. On her way out, she managed to only bring one other Soulfox with her – a little boy who had just hatched, confused and scared.
Since the Soul Realm and Death Realm did not have a direct link like the Living Realm does with any other Realm, travelling through the horrid void between the Realms greatly damaged the Queen’s body. She was forced to resort to the form of an egg and rebuild her body anew, hoping that one day, someone would find her and nurture her to life once more.
And in her mind, she swore to forever serve the person who nursed her back to health, to forever be his and his alone.