6: Jabberwock
Jabberwock had been sealed away under the shrine for a thousand years, and during this time, he suffered immensely. He experienced a constant replay of his defeat to Primus and his four lackeys, with every detail etched into his mind. His anger was the only thing keeping him from giving up hope and wasting away in despair. Despite the passage of time, his memories remained fresh and vivid, fueling his resentment towards those who had defeated him.
"Those cowards waited until I was tired and then ganged up on me. And they dare claim to be saviors!
It took 10 days and 10 nights to wear down Jabberwock finally, and on the dawn of the eleventh day, Primus came with the strongest warriors of each region to bring down the Great Evil. Despite all this, they were unable to slay him and thus employed the aid of an ancestor of the Silo famed for sealing techniques.
And seal him away he did.
The man had employed a powerful technique called the Spiral Seal to contain Jabberwock, a dangerous entity that posed a threat to the entire world. The technique, though simple in design, was incredibly effective. Once the seal was in place, it could not be broken or undone from within. Only a caster dispelling it or the seal running out of nova could undo the seal.
What made the Spiral Seal technique truly remarkable, however, was its ability to become stronger with each reinforcement ritual. As the seal was maintained and reinforced, it would wind tighter and become more powerful. This made it the perfect cage to hold Jabberwock for as long as necessary until he eventually perished. The Spiral Seal was a true testament to the power of nova, and its success in containing Jabberwock was a testament to the man's skill and knowledge.
"This will not be my end, I will have my revenge!"
After the first 10 years in the seal, Jabberwock realized that either his organization the Mad God Cult had either been defeated or were not able to locate him, and so he gave up on rescue. There was minimal nova within the seal so cultivation was impossible, but even worse was that even sustaining his body with this amount of nova would also be out of the question.
"Truly a horrifying technique, when I am free I will eradicate this clan first!"
As a century passed, Jabberwock's once fearsome body had deteriorated to a skeletal state, with his physical form deprived of nourishment and unable to undergo the refining process of nova cultivation. Instead, he concentrated all of his energy and internal nova on preserving his consciousness, aware that his only chance for freedom was to open the seal from the outside or wait for the clan maintaining the seal to perish. However, he was not one to rely on external factors. To get the seal open, he had to expand his consciousness beyond the confines of the seal and lure one of the priests or priestesses into releasing him. But even Jabberwock's monstrous talent proved insufficient for such a daunting task. Not a single strand of nova could penetrate the seal's barrier, and Jabberwock remained imprisoned for half a millennium.
As Jabberwock finally surpassed his limitations and was able to slip his consciousness passed the seal, what he witnessed left him stunned. It was as though he had lost all sense of time, and he couldn't recall how long he had been in the state of constant meditation. As he tried to piece together his surroundings, he realized with a jolt that his body was nothing more than a pile of bones. He couldn't remember when or how it had happened, but he knew that he had been reduced to a mere skeleton.
As he looked around, he found that the place where he was sealed seemed to be completely foreign to him. The walls were made of an unfamiliar material, and the ceiling was high and imposing. He could see that he had been placed beneath what appeared to be a shrine, and he wondered what kind of joke this was, what deity was this structure was meant to honor. As he expanded his consciousness further, taking in his surroundings, he knew that he had a lot of questions, but he had no idea where to begin.
After waiting and observing patiently for four centuries, Jabberwock saw generations of the Silo Clan come and go, waiting for a suitable vessel to appear. And finally, a glimmer of hope showed itself in the form of the head shrine maiden, having a compatible nature of nova to Jabberwock. And attempted tirelessly to seduce her mind with promises of power beyond her wildest dreams, but she easily avoided being tempted and would simply reinforce the seal and leave.
"Wretched woman!" Jabberwock's consciousness would rumble.
As the years slipped away, he found himself deprived of numerous things - his freedom, his youth, his minions, and his body. Yet, one thing that time could not seem to diminish was his rage. He seethed with anger, cursing his captors for their deceit and treachery, resenting the man who had devised such an intricate plan to trap him, and holding the Heavens responsible for the harsh punishment he was enduring. Despite the millennium that passed and the many hardships he had endured, his fury burned as fiercely as ever, a constant reminder of the injustice he had suffered.
"If the Heavens wish to make a mockery out I, Jabberwock the Great Evil, I will not take this lying down. I will become the bane of the Heavens!"
During his imprisonment, the Jabberwock was cursed and he vented his anger through a series of curses. However, the Heavens had one more cruel trick up its sleeve for him. A neighboring tribe launched an attack on the village and its people, causing chaos and panic. The villagers sought refuge in the temple, which gave Jabberwock a front-row seat to witness the woman he had planned to make his vessel being killed by a warrior of the invading tribe.
"NO! YOU USELESS WRETCH!"
His last glimmer of hope was extinguished before him and he was powerless to do anything but watch. He watched as the remaining able combatants of the Silo Clan fight back after the fall of the woman, and through sheer luck they managed to push back their enemy, but it meant nothing to Jabberwock his vessel perished. He despaired, how long would it take for another suitable vessel to appear again? Another century? Another Millennia? He did not know for how much longer his consciousness would be able to last in this state, and he prepared to resign himself to the inevitable.
Death.
In the depths of his confinement, he awaited the inevitable embrace of death. He was a being of ethereal thought and nova energy, invisible to the world around him. As he gazed upon the shrine that was his prison, he reflected on his life's journey. Memories of his many triumphs flooded his mind - the countless warriors he had vanquished, the vast lands and regions he had conquered. However, he could not help but recall his defeats as well - the minions he had lost, and the shame of his ultimate downfall and imprisonment.
"It was within reach, yet out of my grasp." Jabberwock laughed, seemingly coming to peace with his fate.
"What a shame."
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.
A young boy sat in the hall of the shrine, shoulders hunched tear marks on his face from the time he spent sobbing.
"This is all your fault!" He yelled at the seal, waking Jabberwock's consciousness, and causing him to expand his mind passed the seal to observe the disturbance. Why is this insect causing such a ruckus here of all places, Jabberwock was annoyed but decided to observe the child for a bit as he had piqued his interest.
The young boy's furious voice echoed across the empty hall as he directed his anger towards the large seal resting in the shrine. He couldn't help but feel a deep sense of frustration and despair as he gazed at the seal, knowing that it was the reason why his clan was trapped and unable to thrive like the other tribes and clans.
"If only you had been stronger and not been sealed," he exclaimed, his voice quivering with emotion. "My clan would have been free to roam and flourish like the other tribes and clans. But no, we have to rot away here with you, our burden forgotten and ignored. We are all doomed to be forgotten, just like you."
The boy's words were filled with bitterness and anger, reflecting the pain and helplessness he felt towards his situation. He knew that his clan's fate was tied to the seals, and as long as it remained trapped, they would continue to suffer.
And for the first time in years, Jabberwock felt something, a familiar something.
Rage.
"ME WEAK?!? THE GREAT EVIL JABBERWOCK?!? YOU INSOLENT CHILD HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!" Jabberwock roared as his consciousness enveloped the young boy, using his last vestiges of nova to lift him in the air. He planned on killing the child with the last of his nova and fading away when something unexpected happened. The child did not yell, nor did he plead. He did not cry out either, he instead spoke out to the invisible energy surrounding him and proposed.
"Help me, give me more power than I have. Let me make them remember"
Jabberwock released the boy.
"Your name."
"Lapyx."
Studying the boy before him and observing his nova, he concluded.
He's perfect!
He shall carry on my will Jabberwock thought to himself. The boy was filled with rage and had a similar nova to the priestess that had died those years ago, they must be related he surmised.
"I shall grant your wish child, but you will have to pay a price"
"And what is that?" the young Lapyx inquired.
"You will become my vessel and I will inhabit the left side of your body until we either become one or our souls devour the other"
"Deal"
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.
.
Jabberwock took on the role of a mentor to the young boy, providing him with invaluable training techniques to enhance his Grade and Level, making him a suitable vessel for Jabberwock's consciousness. Lapyx, on the other hand, proved to be an exceptional student as he quickly grasped and mastered the concepts imparted by his mentor. After five years of rigorous preparation, the vessel was finally deemed ready. Lapyx lifted the seal, allowing Jabberwock's nova and consciousness to assimilate seamlessly with his own, becoming one entity.
"Now let us make them remember!" The two voices overlapped with each other.
Jabberwock was free once again.