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Chapter 19: Hubris is such a funny word....
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 13:00:05 +0000 UTC
The new blue screens showed the skills she had gotten from this debacle, not that Elizabeth took more than a customary look at them. Instead, she focused on ensuring that her current skill was working properly as the figure of the other blonde girl was consumed and covered in red cracks.
It took awfully long for the figure to be fully covered by the red cracks, and when they got past a threshold from them, shadows started growing into the body of the blonde girl.
As if to mimic how they had grown across Elizabeth, they covered the blonde girl's body. Unlike Elizabeth, however, they also covered the mouth of the blonde.
Elizabeth was unsure if Ethan wanted or not to scream and curse at her, and Elizabeth honestly didn't care at all.
Instead she made sure to not rush the process and allowed it to move at a brisk path. Spreading her mana into each nook and cranny of that artificially made body, ensuring that she wouldn't leave anything to chance. Elizabeth didn't think Ethan had many ways left to return, and he was probably attempting to get under Elizabeth's skin to hope she left something of his disgusting mana around.
To be honest, Elizabeth didn't fully want to consume him like this either. If she was to be fully honest about what she wanted to do, swallow wasn't one thing she wanted to do right now.
But beggars can't be choosers, and her new skill didn't want to let go of what she had gotten hold of, so Elizabeth fueled that desire. The body that Ethan wielded was...interesting to said the least, it was fully human.
Elizabeth had half expected a simulacrum type of body without any actual functioning bits, something akin to a mana construct with no actual working organs.
Instead the body was functional, it was closer to what her own Shadow Doppelganger looked like, perhaps Echidna's skill plucked all it needed from Elizabeth too?
Just like what she had gotten from the skill?
If so, that was quite interesting, it meant that what Elizabeth had gotten wasn't from Ethan, but from Echidna.
If so, that made it only more sweet. Elizabeth would get to not only get rid of another remanent of Ethan but also get to teach a lesson to the stuck-up woman about property and manners.
"So?" Elizabeth said, turning to Echidna as she started to rein down her Ravenous Shadows back into Terra Nexus. "Again, what did we learn about hubris, Echidna?"
"... What kind of monster are you?" Echidna asked as Elizabeth felt the shadows that wanted to contain her Ravenous Shadows also start to power down, slowly but surely containing themselves around Echidna, as if they tried to reinforce the defense.
Really, a pointless effort, if anything it only made it more enticing to Elizabeth who licked her lips at the idea of how much more dense that would make the mana.
And Echidna in turn shuddered, rude. Can't a girl lick her lips when a tasty meal is in front of her?
"I am, who I said I was before." Elizabeth answered as the Ravenous Shadow settled down fully within Terra Nexus, leaving only some strands traversing her body. "I am Elizabeth Starbright, and unless you want to experience the same as Ethan over there...you got some stuff to explain."
Echidna to her credit merely closed her eyes for a few seconds and centered herself, "Speak, and explain what just happened." And returned to her aloof act.
But Elizabeth was not going to be decieved, if her newest addition was to be trusted, Echidna reeked of something...Fear, mostly.
Elizabeth smirked and shook her head, "Have it your way." And started playing with this new type of mana, moulding it atop her hands and enjoying the microreactions from Echidna's mana as the woman attempted to run the mana in a way that implied the use of skills. But nothing happened.
"Easy, you made me pull the trigger in something I didn't want to do quite yet," Elizabeth said grabbing the mass of sludge-like dark mana that was atop her hands, "And are suffering the results from said act right about now."
"And Ethan?" Echidna asked, pointing at the spot where the man had been before being devoured, "How did he get outside of my control? That shouldn't happen, I am [The Mother of Monsters], they should listen to me."
"Like your son did?" Elizabeth jabbed back, "That would imply you ordered the kill of over a thousand Shadow Users and the torture of two innocent girls over months with no end or rest."
"...That...I had nothing to do with," Echidna said shaking her head slowly, "And that does not explain how this..."
Echidna raised her right hand towards Elizabeth, who merely looked with interest at the fact; she felt Echidna's mana pool into a wave that swept the room, first brushing past Elizabeth and then settling behind her.
A wave of Echidna's hand made the mana rush forward the older woman getting past Elizabeth with little to no effect.
Then again, and again and again. The last attempt seemed to try and directly pull at something within Elizabeth, then Rossie, then Rena...To no avail.
"Interesting..." Echidna said, the mana this time pooled before Echidna, the shadows boiling and then suddenly a Shadow Dragon was formed, not one of Elizabeth's of course.
Elizabeth had never claimed (Or filed the copyrights) for them, that one however, seemed more feral.
"Most interesting." Echidna said, eyeing the new minion. "I can't pull Nightmares."
"That sounds like a you problem," Elizabeth said shrugging, "Just like how I will rip apart your Soul if your mana touches one of my girlfriends again."
"...Manners make the lady," Echidna suddenly said. Which was a lie.
"The saying is 'Manners make the man'," Elizabeth said pointing out the difference, "And it means that a person's behavior are important and can shape their character."
Elizabeth then pointed around her, to the living shadows that pooled around and wanted to sneak towards Echidna. The base of the stairs where Elizabeth and her girlfriend stood were now devoid of shadows while the place where Echidna stood was filled with those.
"For example, how you are obviously posturing is bad manners, and as such means your character and personality is shit." Elizabeth then pointed at herself, "Or how you tried to pull a literal Nightmare from me and ended up almost releasing the very thing you claim to fight against, one that you weren't able to control and even made more dangerous thanks to your stupidly level up to 999 skills."
"That was an accident," Echidna said defending herself, "Humans make mistakes too. Like yourself, haven't you made mistakes? [The Stygian Bane] may be what I pulled...But there was more than him there."
"Of course, making mistakes is a human thing, not owing them is also a human thing," Elizabeth said nodding at Echidna's point, "I do have plenty mistakes behind myself...But that doesn't mean I don't own them. I am making my peace with them every second. By being a better person, by not making them again..."
Elizabeth then fed mana to her newest skill and pointed it at herself.
"Like for example...I would do this..." And let the skill effects sink into herself, in her mind a projection of the fears that were within, now that she had dealt with Ethan he wasn't around anymore.
But there were still things that she feared...
"For example...A version of Rossie that hates me..." Elizabeth's shadows extended and another version of Rossie rose from the shadows, one with her eyes filled with hate against Elizabeth, "A version of Rena that hates me....one that hates me for killing Akira..."
Another version of Rena showed up, this one a carbon copy of the Rena from year one.
"And even this..." Elizabeth's shadow expanded more to let a golden dragon be summoned, The Dragon of Debauchery. " ROAR "
Elizabeth let the skills effect fade away, the first one to go being the fake Rossie and Rena, while the Dragon struggled against the skill effect being dispelled.
"You will not survive without me, puny human!" The Dragon roared as its body crumbled away. It fed the shadowy substance that made its body into an egg that was thrown away. "You will need me! Only a true Dragon can wield our powers!"
The egg broke away giving way to The Dragon Empress, or the version that Elizabeth looked like when wielding her full powers openly, only her eyes shone in crimson red light too.
Elizabeth walked toward it and placed a hand atop the head of this version of herself, "I know." And only said as much, "But even so, I will attempt my best to strive beyond what our bloodline says...I will not be beholden by what runs within my blood. Cursed or not, I will be who I wish to be."
And letting the skill's full effect fade away, the Dragon Empress sank back into the shadows.
"..." Echidna merely looked with cold eyes; she didn't look that impressed, not that Elizabeth had thought she would.
"Tell me, Echidna, how many times did you face your own fears?" Elizabeth asked turning towards Echidna.
"Your skill will not work on me." And merely stated, "If you don't have a higher proficiency or level than me, it will never work."
Was that the reason why the older woman foolishly leveled it to 999?
"So you claim," Elizabeth said smirking, she raised her hand towards Echidna, "But then again...A normal skill would not work, but are you immune to Sin?"
Elizabeth summoned her Crown, "How many can you face? I have a few, really...only missing Sloth really... "And that, funnily enough. It is because I am somewhat lazy about seriously searching it."
"....You wouldn't..." Echidna said as she tried to summon some kind of defense.
Not that it would work, not right now, not against Elizabeth.
"Let's start easy...You seem like a Pride kind of woman so maybe...Shift - Nightmare Manifestation into Prideful Nightmare Manifestation." Elizabeth summoned the skill as she put on her Crown of Sin, the Sin energy coursing her body as it was manifested into the skill.
She felt a metaphorical and metaphysical clawed hand manifest behind her. To her eyes, behind Echidna stood her fears and nightmares. A vague image of a black-haired girl, the image of Shadow Pact, and a foggy figure of Papa kissing Mother.
Really? That was outright pitiful.
"Your posturing will get you nothing, I am [The Mother of Shadows] and [The Mother of Monsters]," Echidna said taking a step forward as if to make the point that she didn't fear Elizabeth. Not that it worked, as Elizabeth saw a new figure manifest behind Echidna. One of Elizabeth with red eyes...or was that Ethan? Hard to tell. "I am [The Nightmare Progenitor]!"
But that made Elizabeth's choice easy.
This woman seemed to want to stick to that lie, so Elizabeth made a plucking motion with her hand, her real one. That was enough to make the metaphysical claw touch the ground in front of Elizabeth as a figure started to take form.
Elizabeth could feel the skill being fed by both Echidna's mana (And skills) and her own, so Elizabeth used it with [Shadow Doppelganger] to make the body as real as possible. But made sure that the thing didn't get any type of [Soul].
While she wouldn't mind getting the OG Chloe back...She didn't want to do it like this, Elizabeth would not use Chloe in this, at all.
"Hello Mother," The black-haired figure said, "How may I serve?"
"...Who is this?" Echidna said, pointing at the figure of the pale black-haired girl with red eyes, "A joke? How is this something I fear? Are you attempting to deceive me?"
"No, this is what was pulled from your own former skill...Well, mine doesn't have the same name as yours...not the same limits." Elizabeth said shaking her head, "Your name?"
"Chloe Ashcroft, daughter of Eleanore Windsor." The Nightmare said without turning to look at Elizabeth, "The Daughter who was born with a talent for lighting instead of Shadows."
"What?" Echidna asked confused, "How could...That's impossible."
"No, that's merely bad luck. She got born with the perfect body for my Soul, and my Soul alone by itself is attuned to Lightning, so that is what she got." Elizabeth said shrugging, "This shadows you see around is merely because the meddling from Akasha."
If it wasn't for this world being one where the main theme was shadows, then Elizabeth would have probably ended with a powerset closer to what Alexanders had, not that Elizabeth wanted such a thing. She did like using Lightning, but that was more because of Chloe than anything.
"That is correct," Chloe Nightmare said summoning some of her Lightning, like always the shadows reacted to it as if it was their worst enemy, recoiling at the presence, even Elizabeth's Shadows reacted to it, which was interesting to see. "That is the main reason why you always hated me, distanced yourself from me. And even went as far as abusing of me. Because I wasn't worthy of being your inheritor."
Okay, laying it a little bit too deep are we?
".....Even like that I would never..." Echidna said, taking a step back, "You....who is your father?"
"I have none," Nightmare Chloe said, "But I was destined to be born from you and Jack Ashcroft, or as you know him. [Framework]."
"I...abused the daughter that was supposed to be born from me and [Framework]? Why?" Echidna said turning to Elizabeth, "Oh..."
"Yeah," Elizabeth said, nodding with a sad smile, "Probably because I was born right at the same time, and Papa was too busy with me. You probably went to speak with him when you noticed the similarity mana signal? I assume Chloe originally had half of Papa's mana?"
"Correct," Nightmare Chloe said nodding, "I can still manifest it, but Mother beat it out of my system."
Nightmare Chloe said and Elizabeth felt her mana signal change, it was closer to Elizabeth's. But different, probably because the other half wasn't of Mother, but of Echidna.
It was still weird.
"...I would..." Echidna said as Elizabeth felt the mana start to dissipate, the shadows that covered the whole place gone; instead only remained a bare staircase without decorations, a raised platform. And normal walls.
Gone were all the shadows and decorations.
"...I would do that?" Echidna asked, falling to her knees, Elizabeth took that chance to climb the stairs with Nightmare Chloe in tow.
"Yes," Nightmare Chloe said, looking down at Echidna, "And even like that, all I ever wanted was acknowledgment from you."
"Not that you ever gave it," Elizabeth said after Nightmare Chloe, "If you had, Chloe wouldn't have felt that my life was worth more, and I wouldn't be standing here."
"You would," Nightmare Chloe said, turning to Elizabeth, "The only thing that would have changed was that I would wear a Doppelganger body like this one."
"....Really?" Elizabeth asked turning to Nightmare Chloe.
"Your Mother would ensure that, my original had no option besides leaving you my body. Even with the desire of fusing that she had. There was never an option." Nigthmare Chloe said turning to Echidna, "Unless someone of equal power had interfered, someone who had enough mastery over shadows to intercept this..."
"...Someone like me." Echidna said, looking up, the faintest beginning of a tear forming in her eyes.
"Yes Mother, your daughter died and you could have saved her..." Nightmare Chloe said, kneeling beside Echidna, placing a hand on her cheek, "If you had paid attention to me...Instead of following your crush like a high schooler."
Ouch...
Nightmare Chloe didn't pull any punch...
"...What...what can..." Echidna said, turning to Nightmare Chloe.
"Nothing, remember?" Nightmare Chloe said raising her hand and showing Echidna how it turned into ash, "I am dead, my Soul was subsumed into something more important, more valuable...my whole identity was fused into what you always wanted...The body nurtured from your womb...And the Soul nurtured by your crush...aren't you happy? Your dream daughter is standing in front of you...Isn't she pretty?"
Nightmare Chloe stood beside Elizabeth, "All you ever desired...and she doesn't love you...will never love you... She probably despises you as much as I should...But then again...you never wanted my love anyway, so that's fine too."
....Perhaps Elizabeth went a little too far?
Comments
Alexanders Saintsworth
Remember kids, always double tap your kills
CringeWorthyStudios
Elizabeth walked toward it and placed a hand atop the head of this version of herself, "I know." And only said as much, "But even so, I will attempt my best to strive beyond what our bloodline says...I will not be beholden by what runs within my blood. Cursed or not, I will be who I wish to be." > SHE SAID IT. SHE SAID THE THING! TITLEDROP! Also holy fuck, [Nightmare Chloe] is absolutely fucking brutal. She already stabbed Echidna in the heart and then just kept stabbing for good measure. Thanks for the chapter!
