Ascension of the Nephilim

During their kiss, Nightwing had already identified the source of the woman. He knew that these women were not plain vampires, dark elves, or humans. They were all plants.

During Kyros's time inside the Unrecorded Pages, he received the power of the World Wood Tree and communed with the elves who's life were born of the tree. The women were of similar form and had similar life energy. But, while each had a soul, Nightwing could see it wasn't a whole soul.

The woman approached, and although she was secretly surprised that Nightwing had figured out h

All the women were interconnected through some strange magic.

Nightwing could even see the shadow of the powerful Cherubim Eldrich cast over the Cardinal woman.

"Interesting...You know of my power?" The Cardinal approached. While the Cherubim was able to maintain composure, the Cardinal approaching Nightwing had grown restless, and her body was in intense heat.

"I am a True Neutral, and my former master was a powerful Vampire Ancient. Of course I would know of all the flowers and plants. The moment our lips touched, I could tell what powers and race you are made of. I know your kind. You're not the first I met. A Dryad of Yggdrasil who is connected with Dantro. Xermolipi of the Flowers. And, of course, I know the mystery of the Grapevine. You are a descendant of Ampelos of the Vines." Nightwing turned to the woman.

"Oh? You know that this is a mere tendril?"

"Yes. So your true vine is up there with the Eldrich... But why spy on Breveros? Are you after the throne?"

"Everyone is after the throne. But, I wish to be more. I came here not because of lust, Nightwing. I want to know... where is the power source of the Charmed Fallen?" The woman asked. Vines began to grow around the area she stood as she stepped forward.

"I don't know." Nightwing answered.

"Lies! You have-"

"You think that this is the full power of the Charmed Fallen? No! Fate has it. Think back to when your Tendril died."

"Those two? Weren't those two your wives?"

"Obviously, I lied. How was it that they had such power and more Charm than me? I have gained a portion of the Charmed Fallen's power. That's why it killed your Tendril when we kissed. I hated that I would corrupt myself with women. They are my enemy. Fate has that power now."

"Fate?! What do you mean Fate? The Greater God Fate is dead!"

"Oh. You seem to know more than poor old Breveros. She's not dead. And she's more than just a Greater God.

I found a temple in Airom and fought against a being known as the Blood Calamity. She had found some of the Xermolipi's power. Since my master was the Fanged Fallen, this Blood Calamity easily fell at my hands, giving me the power of Charm. But then... I wanted to take control of this Temple when the Steele Family arrived."

"...So you truly don't have it! They took it from you when you were weak!"

"I wish that was the case. But no. Those brats are strong. I had nearly recovered to my peak and lost against them. Two of their daughters acquired the legacy of the Charmed Fallen. But that amount was only half of what it was."

"Only half?! You only have one-third of a half?!"

"If I had the full legacy, you would be spilling your secrets and finding a way to enter the land for me by now." Nightwing chuckled.

"Then where is the other half of that legacy?!"

"I know that the Charmed Fallen's true power is somewhere here. I can sense it. It's one of the reasons why I want to gain a foothold in the Lowlands and why the Steele family is erasing cancer in the Midlands." Nightwing answered.

"They want to go to the Dark Sea! The half legacy is on the southern regions of the Planesworld!"

"Yes. But I can't go there. The seeds of Fate are so many there! I will need an army if I want to find that legacy. So I headed up here. I wanted to build an army, conquer the Lowlands, and have a force to invade the Dark Sea. Now my lady, do you want this legacy? I can help you, only if you help me!"

"Oh? Using your charm against me?" The woman laughed.

"I'm really not. In truth, I don't care for the legacy of the Charmed Fallen. It's too... girly."

"Girly?!" The woman was enraged at the term.

"Yes! It's girly! Get offended over my comment, snowflake! But I don't want such powers! Right now that I am weak, I am only using this to protect myself from falling into the lustful power of those Steele Daughters! I want powers of decimation and destruction! The Fangs of the Fallen! The Wrath of Tyrannos! The Darkness of Kyriachos! I don't want to become some metrosexual, smooth baby-faced KPOP icon!"

"...? I don't understand..."

"The Path of the Charm is a path of beauty! And it despises macho, muscular, terrifying forms! I cannot become a terrifying beast if I absorb all of it! So I've been looking for the perfect ally to host these powers! I gathered a few capable women who would take over this power. But as you can see, the bad luck of Breveros is too much! At this rate, I won't survive this. So I have no choice. That's why I drew you out."

"This was all part of your plan? So you don't need to release the lust?"

"Oh, I need to. I'm a stupid Incubus now! It has its perks, but I am a conqueror! So tell me... Do you want it? Obviously, you are a better contender! And besides, Breveros's bad luck is your good luck."

"What do you mean?" The woman asked.

"The Throne. There is a way to gain the throne of the Eldrich. That's what you want, right? That way... can you be with Lord Impyernos? I have a feeling that he is your target. But not to make him your husband. You want to conquer him!"

"...You're spouting insane lies."

"Xermolipi of the Charmed... The Foul Fallen of Lust. Mammon of the Coin. The Foul Fallen of Greed. But you have both, don't you? You who is a daughter of Ampelos of the Vine. The Foul Fallen of Gluttony!" Nightwing laughed.

"They don't even know about your heritage, right? If I go back there and tell Breveros about you... I wonder how he would react? You don't have the power to kill me here. And you certainly don't have the power to survive up there! If Bolerax moves, can you even fight back? You, with an incomplete heritage, will be wrenched off the ground, and your vines will be cast to the flames!"

The Cardinal woman's expression turned dark.

"But now... you're lucky. There is a way to survive this. Breveros could be the key. He has a mystery as his future now because of what I did. You see, his bad luck is not just some curse. Destiny cursed him. He is too strong and could have the power to challenge his brother and father."

The woman's expression gave a confused expression.

"Desinty cursed Breveros? Why?"

Nightwing then began to explain what happened inside the dark dome, how they saw a strange future, and what they found about Breveros.

The woman was amazed.

In the dark moon, the true vine of the woman, Cherubim Reisling, was shocked at what she heard.

But it all made sense! Breveros was expected to rise easily to the levels of Cherubim. But he has yet to reach Conqueror and only had a Crown!

"Destiny knows that Breveros won't ever become the conqueror that Destiny wishes. And so, he was cursed with powerful bad luck to limit his rise and the power he would have. Right now, I offered him the power to hide this curse since we are dying here. You have seen the terrors here that nearly killed me. And more will arrive! I have a feeling that an army awaits us outside! So I have no choice but to seal his bad luck with my power. But doing so will make him an enemy of Destiny. As you can see, Destiny trapped me with Breveros. I wanted to be his ally, but he made me meet Breveros to make me his enemy constantly! Yet even with this future, he won't betray his family. So I was forced to call you out."

"...So it's possible for me to become the queen of Eldriches if I use Breveros."

"Yes. And if you have the Charmed Fallen, you could conquer Lord Impyernos. Help me. You have some power up there. Frustrate Breveros and play the part of the manifestation of his bad luck and push him to a corner. If you make it look like his family belittles him without them knowing... then he will snap. And if that happens, he might reveal to me the secrets of the Highwind!"

"This plan sounds brilliant. Only if you weren't lying, if you are tricking Breveros with such cunning, won't I be a victim of another layer of schemes? What makes you think I will believe you?"

"Then plant your soul-binding vine in me." Nightwing offered.