Chapter 135: One Last Goodbye
Hugo walked through the familiar streets of his neighborhood, each step feeling slightly heavier than the last. The houses were the same as he remembered—modest, well-kept, with small gardens that his mother had always envied. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows across the pavement.
He had some time left here, and even if it was brief, it should be enough to say goodbye properly.
His house came into view. It was exactly as he remembered—the slightly chipped paint on the front door, the old welcome mat that his mother never bothered to replace, the small flower pots by the window that she always forgot to water.
He stood there for a long moment, just looking at it with an uncertain expression.
Then he opened the door.
The smell of home hit him immediately—a mix of lavender, old wood, and whatever his mother had been cooking. The lights were warm, casting a golden glow over the familiar living room.
"I'm home." he called out, entering and taking off his shoes.
"In the kitchen!"
He followed her voice. The kitchen was small and cluttered, the way it had always been. His mother stood by the stove, stirring a pot, while at the same time, reading something on her phone... Her apron slightly askew. She turned when she heard him, and her face lit up with a calm smile.
"Perfect timing! I was just about to call you. Dinner's almost ready."
She bustled around the kitchen, checking the pot, adjusting the flame, while also texting her work colleagues, completely unaware that she was not real.
Despite that, she was lively and good at multitasking... Even in the real world, his mother had never been the housekeeper type.
She was strong, educated, brilliant, and a hard worker, both in her job and daily life.
She was not inferior to the tenacious awakened of humanity, not in the slightest...
Hugo leaned against the doorway, watching her.
He knew he should sit down and eat with her to savor this moment, but his heart was already breaking apart...
"Hey Mom, can we... can we talk for a minute?"
She paused, looking at him calmly.
"Of course, is something wrong?"
"..."
He shook his head with a smile.
"No... Let's just eat!"
Hugo said with a smile, as he helped set the table.
***
After the two of them finished their meal, Hugo stood up from the chair, looking at his mother. He examined her blue eyes that had been as bright as the sky—they perfectly fit her long black hair, making her seem like a more beautiful version of him. She still had a youthfulness about her, while her posture was as welcoming as he remembered. She was... The same.
It was only him who was different.
It was ironic really. Hugo had not inherited her looks naturally, but he became much like her after he conquered the first nightmare and unsealed his aspect.
These last few minutes he had spent in this dream were the best he had felt in... close to a decade. However, as all things were, those moments could never last.
His mother looked at him with a smile, and faint worry could be seen in her breathtakingly enchanting blue eyes.
"Hugo? Seriously, are you alright?" She stood up and closed the distance between them, caressing his cheeks and wiping the tear that had streamed down his cheek.
Her worry was so genuine that for a second he really wanted to stay, he really wanted to spend more time with her. Who knew, perhaps the Omnitrix could keep this dream going for a while... Perhaps forever.
But he couldn't... he was an Ascended... so his duties were still there in the real world.
Holding her hand and pulling it down, he looked at her and smiled, memorizing every detail of her demeanor and face.
"Mom... Thank you."
She gave a slightly confused look, then she chuckled pleasantly. "For what? Are you really fine? Was the food that bad?"
Shaking his head, Hugo held her hand in both of his and exhaled, feeling his heart grow heavier with each movement.
"Thank you for just... everything... I know that this isn't real, but I never got the chance to thank you... so... I'll do it here."
He sighed and held back his tears. "I was such a brat before. I was arrogant, idiotic, selfish and I always wanted to get my way, and you were the one who paid for it in the end..."
After all, that day in the park... It was him who had wanted to go out that day, insisting so much that his mother couldn't refuse him...
If he hadn't gone out that day, then he wouldn't be here today.
He winced slightly but continued...
"I never was truly grateful for you until you were gone... and I'm so sorry... if I had been a better son... then maybe things would've been better."
Releasing her hand, he caught her in a bear hug. "Still, I know that the outcome was already decided, but gods... I really wish it wasn't. But thank you... for allowing me the chance to become who I am now."
No longer able to hold back his tears, Hugo wept. "Thank you for loving me... even though I was never grateful for it... thank you... I love you, Mom, more than anything."
With that, Hugo released her and smiled at her, watching her concern only grow. Chuckling, Hugo went to the kitchen and ignored her words, knowing that if he heard her voice again, he would lose his resolve.
Taking up a knife, he reminded himself of all what he had to do, and what his duty was, and in the next instant, he slit his throat.
***
Hugo dreamt of being a Transcendent being in the realm of storms.
He worshipped the goddess of black skies and prayed to her every day, wanting to shape himself into her visage.
He revered her name more than anyone else, and only uttered her name in the chaotic realm of black skies.
Yet, the goddess remained silent.
So, he had to earn her recognition.
Descending upon a mortal realm, he allured the champions of that realm, granting them wings like his.
The people saw it as a calamity, desperately trying to combat him, but soon enough, they too saw the errors of their ways and bowed down to me... Worshipping me, loving me and embracing me.
That realm was called trair.
***
It had been hundreds of years since he enthralled the people of Trair, fully transforming them into his servants.
He had risen to the throne of Supremacy, becoming a mighty Supreme Tyrant, a True demigod.
And yet, his goddess was still silent.
He had wept for the day she would finally recognize him, speak to him, and embrace him as her chosen.
But that day never came... And instead, a harrowing war ended up consuming all of existence, and his goddess died a most pitiful death.
How could his goddess die? Why did she die?
Are gods not immortal, infinite and omnipresent?
Why had he worshipped a goddess if she was not all powerful?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
A seed of doubt bloomed in his heart, and with it, corruption came to him.
Perhaps it was his divine punishment for what he did to the people of Trair or perhaps it was all one cruel joke.
It did not matter.
Eons later, he entered one of the last divine realms, the realm of war, through a seed of the god of corruption.
And there, through the eyes of his most beloved vessel, he saw a peculiar creature.
An object in the shape of a human.
Gazing upon it, he allowed his beloved vessel to die, and just as it did, he latched into the soul of that object, intending to use it to rid himself of his corruption.
He could become holy once again, pure and radiant, like his goddess.
But as fate would have it, the object in the shape of a human did not fall into his allurement like humans and creatures did in the past... Instead, he was driven into the sweetest of dreams, one not caused by him.
At the same time, he was engulfed by radiant blue light, that light overwhelmed his will, which had been weakened and dulled by centuries of torment and depression, and in the end, that light pierced him.
***
Hugo's eyes flickered open, as he felt the chilling cold of Antarctica.
The first thing that he saw was the beautiful blue sky...
He was sprawled on the ground, his clothes completely torn, leaving his skin bare and cold.
He seemed to be in a crater, one of his own making no less.
The destruction he had caused with that last blast was quite gargantuan, as to be expected.
Turning his head, Hugo saw a horrifying creature beside him. Ten meters in size and width...
It was not a creature in the regular sense, but instead it was an amalgamation of dreadful wings, as vast as the tallest building he had ever seen.
No, it was more than that.
Its size was roughly a quarter of NQSC.
And it was... Dead, or at least it was on the verge of death.
'A Great Tyrant...' Hugo shivered, feeling the last wisp of its will.
It was dying and exhausted now, but it could still crush him if it flipped over.
This thing had entered his soul, attempting to parasitize it... But thankfully, the Omnitrix, a divine relic, had managed to stop it.
Not without a great cost, though.
Pulling up his runes, he frowned.
Name: Hugo
True Name: Daemon of Change
Rank: Ascended
Class: Terror
Omni-Cores: [6/7]
Soul Fragments: [0/6000]
'Shit...'
He was no longer a Titan... Which felt strange. His Titanic powers were gone, which meant he would need to rebuild it all over again.
'It's a fair price for my life, I suppose.'
Despite that... He felt naked, both in the regular sense and the mystical sense, as his powers were not only cut in half but drastically changed.
He was much limited as a terror, but still he would manage. It's what he was best at after all.
Getting up, he summoned [Nothing] and augmented it with [Nameless Sun].
Then, using [Fusion], he sprouted wings from Big Chill and reached the top of the amalgamation of wings.
This creature... He had briefly seen it in his dream, not to be more specific, He was it.
He had seen what it was, who it was, and what it had done in the ancient past.
Those giants weren't creatures it had created or altered after its corruption... No, they were people from a long-lost realm, enthralled and allured by this being.
And for what?
Simply because it wanted to be like Storm Goddess and establish itself as a deity in her image... All so it could get recognition.
Hugo could not understand its feeling, as he was not a religious person himself, but still... There was no justification for this madness.
Gripping the spear of [Nothing], he plunged it deep within the center of the abomination, where its soul cores were, dealing the final blow to its already damaged body.
Of course, he would never hope to kill a Great abomination as he was right now. What had just happened was merely a showcase of the Omnitrix failsafe destroying any intruders to his soul, and even then, this particular creature was not powerful in the regular sense, as it was a parasite more than anything.
But more importantly... The omnitrix overpowered its will with relative ease...
He understood why, after all he had seen its entire life flash before his eyes.
It wanted to die. Its will to live was not there, had not been there for ages by now.
The abomination had given up. Even though Hugo was no longer a Titan, and did not possess his Titan consciousness, he could still feel its defeat.
It did not want to continue existing, and so, he would deliver it the gift of death.
[You have slain a Great Tyrant: Allurement]
[You have received a Memory]
***
Author's note: special shout-out to Andrej for helping me with the chapters!