Once again, my ears registered a pressure change, and the sensation of movement gripped me as I walked through the shimmering portal of the archway. Momentarily dizzy, I briefly staggered on the smooth plated surface of the simulation room, which yawned before me in a black void.
This place had uncanny dimensions, I thought, observing my surroundings. It was about the size of a squared football field, but at the same time, a sense inside of me told me that my estimation was "wrong" and that there was something unnatural going on with the laws of physics here. Jiminy, who had retreated into my front jacket pocket during the shuttle ride over here, made a squawking noise as he emerged. The metal mantis clambered up onto my left shoulder.
"Hey, buddy," I said to the mantis. "Can't get in touch with the outside world?"
The drone, as expected, did not properly reply and made a buzzing noise. "Nothing, huh?" I asked it. It responded with silence.
After walking a short distance into this room, I turned around and observed the strange pyramid with the three arches before me. I had, once again, emerged from the leftmost arch. I briefly wondered where the other arches led before turning around again and facing the void before me.
Above, words formed out of white light in the air before me.
Welcome, Inheritor.
"Hi," I spoke aloud to whatever AI managed this place. "I don't know if you automatically know about me, but my title is the Omega."
The words, Naming accepted. Welcome, Omega; appeared above me. Previous state partially corrupted. Please state your wishes.
I absently touched the Nemeses Argentum as it sat point-down in my left jacket pocket. My bloodstone was currently in my right pocket, and it was slightly warm. "I have a few questions first. Time doesn't pass outside when I'm in here, right?"
Time dilation effect active. Time: 1 second outside per 24 hours spent in the Room of Spirit and Time.
"The Room of Spirit and Time..." I mused. Poetic, and somewhat familiar. I became curious. "If I'm in here, do I need to eat and, uh, take care of bodily functions?"
Affirmative. Open Lair v9?
I had no idea what that meant. "Lair?" I asked. "As long as it doesn't hurt me, sure."
Opening Lair
The air shimmered, and the entire simulation room reconfigured itself!
I now found myself in an incredible new location. Before me, and in the light of twilight, lay a winding pathway of red bricks surrounded by willow trees that whispered in the wind. As before, this scene was so realistic that I couldn't tell that it wasn't real. The sky was a beautiful twilight tapestry of blues and indigos, and a twinkling band of stars sparkled beautifully across the dome of night. A refreshing evening breeze caressed my cheeks, and I could smell refreshing notes of wet soil and sage. The air smelled very clean, like a forest after a rain. Ahead, a fair distance down the path of the red brick road, I could see what appeared to be a house shadowed by the swishing trees. Windows spilled welcoming golden light into this magical twilight land, but I was too far away to discern much proper detail from this simulated location.
"What is this place?" I asked, my breath taken away.
The white writing appeared above me in the air again. Lair v9. Name: Tengoku Manse. Appointed by Inheritor, Pale Lord. Current supplies: 100%
"Supplies? What supplies?" I asked.
Supplies 100% the white text simply said.
Despite how beautiful this place was, I honestly had no idea what I was doing in here. I had come to this simulation room to learn how to fight, but I didn't have a manual on how to get started. I looked upward, and the white text remained hanging above me.
As I stood contemplating my next move, the sound of a whip-poor-will called through the air, and Jiminy cheeped on my shoulder as I started to cautiously walk down the winding road ahead of me. Something that sounded like an owl hooted in the trees. "I wish I had someone here to teach me this shit," I mumbled, shaking my head.
Trigger condition met. Activation of holographic aid, initialized, the words appeared above me.
"This is the place where you eat and sleep when you're in the Room of Spirit and Time," a familiar male voice spoke behind me! I whirled around, and with a shock, I beheld a familiar smiling, golden-eyed figure! Despite the low light, I found that I could easily see this man's pleasant features. His skin was lightly tanned to fair, and his loose, long white hair artfully flowed in the breeze. Spoiled Prince? What the hell!? I just kept seeing this guy everywhere!
The figure smiled. Instead of his various suits of stylish armor or his regal red and black cape, the Inheritor wore a simple white tunic and loose khaki trousers with sandals, making him look uncannily casual. The enigmatic Inheritor was normal-sized here and only a little taller than I was. This time, he didn't seem to be wearing his crown of jewels and he didn't even have a halo.
"What?" I finally sputtered. I staggered backward from whoever or whatever this thing was that had just appeared beside me. The man didn't seem offended, and he simply continued to watch me. "Where did you come from? Holy shit, you're alive?" I gaped.
"It appears that you are confused. Your initial confusion has been accounted for. I will explain," the figure said with a languid smile, his gold eyes twinkling. "While I may appear familiar to you, Omega, I regret to tell you that I am a holographic simulacrum of the grand and glorious Inheritor named the Pale Lord. Regrettably, I am not him, but I retain some of his knowledge in my programming. I'm here to assist you in what you require so that you may survive your future and grow strong. In my life, I came to understand that you would eventually find one of my holiday retreats as you fly through the stars on the Great Eagle. I made sure that my little retreat could handle you if you decided to visit and look, you did!"
"You're a hologram?" I asked.
He nodded, and his form briefly flickered and jittered like an unstable gif. "I am not the glorious Inheritor of this universe's past. I am merely a handsome shadow that is programmed to help you. Despite this, I will respond to my title. And, before you make yourself look foolish once again, may I remind you that my designation is Pale Lord, not Spoiled Prince." The Inheritor grinned cheekily with a raised white eyebrow.
"Or, Izumi," I said, trying to get my bearings.
Pale Lord narrowed his dazzling gold eyes. A brief gust of wind pushed through this strange, dark space, causing Jiminy to squawk with irritation before clambering back into the breast pocket of my jacket. "It appears that you've been through my more personal logs. They were supposed to be destroyed if I didn't return at a designated time, which, sadly, I have not. I now presume that I have died or become otherwise incapacitated. My preferences request that you refrain from going through these logs unless I specifically call upon an entry that I have designated as useful to you. For now, you are requested to simply call me Pale Lord, Omega."
"Okay," I said slowly. "So, what is this place? Like, in general?" I gestured around me, indicating my surroundings.
"You have many questions, and so we need to talk," the hologram of the Pale Lord reached forward and gripped my right hand. Without further explanation, he began to pull me ahead on the path of red bricks. "Follow me. It's always a nice night for a walk to the Manse!"
I allowed myself to be led, and the two of us began walking down the red brick road. The willow trees waved gently in the night wind, and while they were very beautiful, their branches reminded me of long, skeletal fingers reaching above and around me. The sounds of night birds trilled in the air.
"Welcome to my little universal escape, my heir," he started, not even turning around as he led me forward. "This is a pocket dimension I have appointed as Tengoku Manse. It exists in a similar space as the Room of Spirit and Time inside a warped node of the Webway, but is partially separate. Believed to be enhanced by my predecessor as an escape from his jolly escapades in war and murderous robotics, Tengoku Manse is a place of respite and relaxation. Anticipating that you might arrive, I fully supplied the Manse with foodstuffs and whatever supplies you need for your time here."
"How did you know I was coming?" I asked.
Pale Lord laughed as he continued to lead me along. He did not turn around as he spoke. "As you must know, we Inheritors have good precognitive abilities due to our command of Divine Sight. The gift of foresight manifests as one of our many talents. We can see many future potential paths laid before us at our strongest."
"And this was all built by the guy who came before you?" I asked. The willows hissed in the wind above and beside me on the road. This place was amazing! It had a strange hyper-detailed quality to it that felt almost too real to be genuinely real.
The Inheritor huffed and continued walking without turning around. "It is a tragedy that I do not know this for certain. When Inheritors die or become inactive, reality tries to mend the wounds that they tore against reality, and this includes much of what my predecessors accomplished. My theory is that Iron Will, my predecessor, expanded this simulation, but someone else created it."
We continued walking down the red brick road. "So, what about Weeping King? Did he ever visit this space? I mean, knowing him, he probably knew about this room."
Pale Lord didn't immediately respond. "As I am a hologram, I contain useful information, but I do not hold knowledge of that subject," he eventually replied.
"Oh," I breathed, disappointed. I began to feel a sense of déjà vu as I was quietly pulled along this impossible twilight road through a dark forest that didn't exist. This reminded me of the vision I had experienced with Sebastian on my throne. It was a bit uncanny, I thought as I observed the dark willow trees swaying in the wind. Sebastian had also led me along a brick road as he spoke to me, but this walk with Spoiled Prince's hologram felt darker aside from it being night here. The "vibe" here was more threatening. Despite this stunningly beautiful setting, an edge of menace hung in the air.
"So, what can you do?" I asked, trying to break the growing tension.
The hologram turned and regarded me briefly as he continued walking. "I am programmed to act as your aide here. I am appointed with many fighting techniques. My skills include the use of a talon, a bo staff, single blade, and, my personal favorite, dual blades. And the use of such implements using the discipline of Divine Sight."
Okay, this was... actually ideal. Being tutored in how to fight by a hologram programmed by an Inheritor was perfect, even if this situation was a little strange. It felt almost too convenient. But, Inheritors possessed the skill of foresight, so maybe it wasn't all that unbelievable that Spoiled Prince knew I'd be coming here. The guy had said in his previous logs that he was naming me as his heir (for whatever reason), so I guessed this made sense.
"That sounds great, and I want to learn, but I don't know much about anything with fighting," I said with a shrug. "I'm just... I'm just some broke loser from New Jersey," I said.
"And my human core was once the near-hikikomori son of a software developer in Sendai, Japan," the hologram laughed. "Maybe you know that already, but no matter. Your past is of no consequence. Due to your nature, you will learn quickly. Your spirit hungers to lead the masses and fight the enemies of humankind. You can do these things now as easily as a fish learns to swim. It is simply natural for you, especially with your command of Divine Sight. I have been programmed to instruct you on these arts."
"And you really don't know anything about your direct successor? The Weeping King? His real name was Sebastian," I wondered.
Again, the hologram stated flatly, "As I am a hologram, I contain useful information, but I do not hold knowledge of that subject."
After turning a curve in the red brick road, a wealthy structure configured itself fully into existence before us at the end of a short, curved path. Ahead of this structure, an elaborate water fountain decorated with a sculpture of a flying gold eagle also came into being. The fact that all of this was a simulation, including the man leading me onward, was still blowing my mind. I could even sense the humidity of the air change due to our proximity to the fountain; it was so convincing!
The hologram dropped my hand. He stepped beside me and raised his arms upward in a magnanimous gesture. "Welcome to Tengoku Manse, my heir. A beautiful place! I spent much time here."
The "Manse" was entirely unique in construction, and it was quite an artistic marvel of architecture. It was massive and reminiscent of an ancient temple sculpted out of fine, dark marble in an ornate modern "Roman" style. It appeared to have multiple black pyramidal stucco roofs of varying heights around an irregular rectangular footprint. Decorative pillars reached up to support the roofs, which topped off at approximately twenty meters in height. Two tall chimneys rose into the holographic twilight sky, and from the smoke that rose from one of them, there was a lit fireplace in this unreal manor. Unlike a Roman temple, the structure had glass windows, many of which spilled gold light outside. I also spied a few giant windows that featured stained glass decorations. A perfect grass lawn and flowering night plants decorated the landscape directly outside the structure, and I realized I could smell jasmine in the night air. The red brick road surrounded the fountain and terminated at the Manse's front door.
"You made all this?" I asked the Inheritor beside me.
"The Inheritor I was modeled after designed this, so in a way, yes," the hologram said proudly. "Come, let me show you to your lodgings! This is your place of appointed respite."
The Inheritor led me forward, and before us was a giant, ornately carved red door. A grinning beaked creature with a gold ring in its mouth acted as an ornate doorknocker. Despite the door being around six meters in height, the doorknocker was at least at a reasonable height.
The hologram dropped my hand. He stepped back to stand beside me with a flashed smile. "You need to request entry. It will recognize your divine nature."
"What should I say?"
"Simply say you wish passage. Don't think too much about how this place functions. It is all programmed to serve you, just as your people serve you in the galaxy."
"Open sesame?" I said before the door, opened before us. The hologram and I stepped inside, and we now looked upon a richly appointed foyer dressed in perfect white marble and draped with lush tapestries depicting interesting scenes. Two long black sofas lined the left and right walls. Like everything else in here, these sofas were too large for me. If Lian were here, these sofas could easily accommodate him, even in his power armor. The ceilings here were very tall, and heavy gold chandeliers scattered warm light high above us. There were two broad archways to my left and right at the far end of the foyer, each leading to different rooms. A broad spiral staircase with oversized red carpeted steps curved upward at the end of the hall. Beside the stairway, two fancily carved black analog clocks were displayed together, each telling a different time in Roman numerals. One was near midnight, and the other seemed to be at 12:30.
"Why is everything so big?" I asked, my attention drawn to a tall white marble statue of what appeared to be Venus that stood beside one of the sofas.
"When I was appropriately alive, I enjoyed walking about in my taller physical manifestation. Order the Manse to reconfigure to your favored proportions, and it will do so for you."
I continued to marvel at my surroundings. Seeing that everything was giant-sized was actually somewhat interesting, so I didn't bother to "order" the Manse to reconfigure to my height just yet. It was fascinating to see where another Inheritor spent his spare time.
The Inheritor walked ahead and motioned toward the open archway to the right. "Through here, there is a kitchen stocked with enough physical, fully real food that has been preserved in stasis. There is enough for one year, even with your enhanced metabolism. And, six months of food, should you prefer an enhanced body or manifestation." I peered into the kitchen area. It was fully appointed with a very fancy silver range, a refrigerator, a sink, and beautiful cooking surfaces, all of which were too big for me right now. Exploring this area, I walked further inside. Attached to the kitchen space on the right, there was a very fancy (but cozy) dining area. This room featured a beautifully carved rectangular ebony table along with three giant gold chairs with ornately decorated high backs. A red Persian rug of exceptional craftsmanship covered the floor, and a large gold chandelier hung high above on a tall ceiling.
Turning around, I discovered an open door in the rear of the kitchen that appeared to lead into a pantry, and several packages bundled with strange softly-glowing twine were neatly stacked on shelves. The hologram observed me here, and explained, "The bright bands you see, they're materially and temporally preservative. Anything you see with a glowing band is genuine matter that has been preserved. As you can see, you have more than enough food! If you wish a meal, summon the chefs to cook for you. You summon them merely by wishing their existence into-"
Two new holograms appeared in flashes of light before me. Both were very thin and wore black suits, similar to those of waiters. Just like everything else here, they were threateningly tall at around three meters in height. "Ah, and there you go!" the Inheritor hologram chuckled, who turned around to walk back into the foyer. "These two are Tengoku Manse's chefs. Simply command them to cook you a meal after you peruse a menu, and they will do the best they can with what they have to work with. These servants are some of my finest work. Even Iron Will would have conceded to my expertise here."
I continued to observe the holographic waiters, and they smoothly angled their heads down to watch me. I noticed that their faces were both identical and androgynous, neither male nor female. Each had wore their black hair in a short, parted style that almost looked sculpted against their heads instead of normal hair. The skin on each "chef" was bone white, and their black eyes were hollow. Their presence was upsetting. A chill raced down my spine when I looked upward into the dead-but-alive doll-like eyes of the holographic creatures that loomed above me. The light of the chandeliers above made their skin look like polished white ceramic, like these were actually animated dolls and not actually people. Something felt really wrong here. Feeling uncomfortable, I willed them to go away, and they vanished in flashes of light.
"You probably felt something there, didn't you?" the Inheritor smiled widely as I joined him back in the foyer. "Yes, of course you did. That's because I integrated the souls of human chefs inside each of these serving holograms. Each 'chef' hologram contains human souls that were once masters of the culinary arts. These chefs came from executed criminals, of course, but I have bundled and woven their energies together to make a sort of minor synthetic human-based daemon that specializes in the art of fine dining!"
I couldn't respond. The chefs were made out of... human souls?
"Now, I know you may think, 'but Pale Lord, why use human souls?' I will tell you why, my heir. Cooking is an art that requires a certain heart, as you likely know. Typical mechanical servants or simple AI just won't do. Only with at least one human soul do you truly see culinary mastery in such artificially crafted homunculi. And, they will serve you eternally in cooking the finest meals in the galaxy from my tenure."
This rattled me and I briefly shivered. The casual tone that the Inheritor had used to describe this act was upsetting. The smiling hologram didn't even seem to notice my reaction and cheerfully continued with his tour. We were now facing the arch on the left side of the foyer.
"And here, here we have a living room attached to a small library for your use," the Inheritor exclaimed happily, motioning ahead. I cautiously looked, and saw another giant room with a black velvet couch that faced a tall, almost hellish-looking fireplace about as tall as I was. This room, unlike the foyer, was crafted entirely out of black marble, and tapestries and other works of art hung on the walls. Two black doors on the rear wall caught my eye, and the hologram motioned toward a large red door at the far left corner. He explained, "That red door leads to the library. It holds genuine books and tomes crafted from genuine matter. I usually kept that door closed, as the amount of actual physical items in this area and their natures seems to cause the simulation to slightly glitch every so often. No danger to you, of course, but keeping the red door closed here leads to less irritating simulation glitches."
"Are you, uh, sure that it's safe to go in there?" I asked, still flashing back to the terrible forms of the chef holograms.
"Yes, of course. The glitches I'm talking about are simple cosmetic glitches such as everything turning hot pink for a minute, or something like that. Anyway, onward..."
I was now beginning to think that Spoiled Prince might have been a wee bit difficult to work under, noting his smooth demeanor combined with his unnervingly casual brutality.
We now faced the red stairway at the end of the foyer. He pointed ahead. "This stairway leads to your living quarters, where you are supplied with a bed, a closet full of clothing, and a luxury bathroom. Time passes differently in the room of Spirit and Time, as you have probably noticed. You should always keep tabs on how long you are staying here. Just remember to keep an eye on the clocks." He gestured toward the two clocks on the wall beside the staircase. While one clock was still at midnight, the one to the right had slightly advanced since we entered the Manse.
"Thanks," I said quietly. My breath was still somewhat caught in my chest after seeing the holographic personal chefs. I found myself leaning against a white marble wall.
"Oh, are you alright? Shall we continue the tour another time? There is still much to see!" the Inheritor asked me, his bright gold eyes shining with concern. "This simulation also comes equipped with a doctor crafted in the same manner as the chefs. As with everything, simply will the doctor into existence."
"No, no. I'm okay. I'm fine," I said, pulling myself away. "This is... I just have to say, a lot to take in. And, it's helpful! I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why are you helping me so much?"
"I am programmed to hold useful information for the Inheritor-heir that is forecasted to come beyond my reign," the hologram replied with a bright smile but did not elaborate further. "Maybe I simply wished to see someone from a universe like mine succeed in her journeys. You are labeled as the last Inheritor, so whatever you are destined to do must be important."
"Yeah," I responded. "So, when can I get started with learning how to fight?" I withdrew the Nemeses Argentum from my pocket and held the artifact in one hand.
"Whenever you wish, Omega. I am devoted to your training, and I am tireless." The hologram was now smiling widely as he observed the artifact in my hand.
I noticed the Inheritor's interest, and wondered, "And, I know this is supposed to be two blades, but how do I make them grow and separate? Weren't these yours?"
"Ah, Nemeses Argentum," the Inheritor wistfully responded to me with a wide nostalgic grin. "Yes, the blades were mine. I wielded them for much of my reign." The hologram walked close to me and quickly touched the tip of one of the scissor blades that I held. A small bead of bright red blood blossomed on his index finger, but the Inheritor continued to grin as he briefly placed his bleeding finger in his mouth. "From what I witness here, Nemeses Argentum is still gathering holy strength. Only when the time is right will the weapons mature fully into their glory. These sorts of blades are highly sought out by treasure hunters, and so I drained their energy and disguised them in order to hide their presence from the unworthy. That is all that is recorded in my memories here to tell you, but I'm very pleased that you found them. This proves to me that fate has smiled upon you, my heir."
"Do you know when that would happen? When will they split?" I asked, placing the artifact back in my pocket.
"Only when the time is right will the weapon mature fully," he said enigmatically. "Meanwhile, you would train with this..."
A long, thin silver blade appeared in midair before me, floating as if weightless. I gripped its hilt and briefly swung it about. As quickly as it appeared, it dissolved once again.
"You will also train with a variety of other weapons, should it please you," the Inheritor informed me. "When you are ready for training, simply exit the manor, and walk back up the road. This is somewhat hard to explain, but this particular pocket dimension is somewhat separate from the simulation as it contains many real items, such as food and supplies, but time is still such that a day passes here and a second passes outside."
I observed this incredible space again as the hologram awaited my instruction. This was a little overwhelming, so I decided to take a short rest before beginning my training. "I think I'll start soon, but I just want to relax here for a little bit. It's been a rough day for me back outside," I informed the hologram. After learning about how casually the Inheritor described executing people and mashing their souls together to work as holographic cooking slaves, I also kinda wanted a break from him.
The Inheritor nodded. "Of course, if it pleases you, dismiss me at your leisure. I am a hologram, and I am on your schedule. Take however long you need. If you wish me dismissed, simply say it so, and it will be so."
I paused before responding. Aside from Spoiled Prince's chef-daemons, it was beautiful in here, and the large proportions of the Manse made me feel like I was Alice having adventures in Wonderland. "Okay, then. You're dismissed."
The hologram bowed and vanished with a snap of light, and now I was alone, standing in the middle of the marble foyer. It looked like I'd be staying here for a little while, so I removed my backpack and placed it on the floor near the staircase.
Feeling curious, I decided to explore my surroundings alone. Peering into the living room again, I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the closed red door in the corner, now wondering what sort of treasures lay in the library. The light from the blazing fire in this room scattered dancing shapes on the various paintings and tapestries that hung against the walls. This almost gave the appearance that the painted figures here were moving or dancing, which was eerie. I decided to leave that room alone for now.
I continued exploring the property. This location continued to amaze me. I discovered a sauna room, an art studio, and a study equipped with a heavy gold writing desk and a bookcase with a few books, ornaments, and curios. There were other doors that remained closed in the Manse, but I was now extra curious on what the bedroom looked like. I promised myself that I would explore more later as I climbed the giant stairs. On the second floor, I discovered the incredible master bedroom filled with luxurious furnishings.
The room was huge and sprawled across over ten meters of space. I walked on a salt and pepper plush carpet, and ahead, I now saw an uncannily giant bed. To the right of the bedroom, there was an open walk-in closet filled with clothes. Inside, I spied more softly glowing twine, meaning that at least some of those clothes were real. The bed, like the parlor bed in the Divine Retribution was gigantic. It appeared to be a little over four meters in length with an equally substantial headboard carved of black gnarled wood. This bed was wide and seemed to be a double or a queen in proportion. Like the oversized bed I had seen on my ship, the mattress stood about chest height, and it was covered in a red and black soft velvet bedspread.
I walked closer to examine the bedspread. It appeared to be a repeating tessellation of red and black birds that seemed to be stylized eagles. This reminded me of the carpet under the parlor room back on the ship.
"Another giant bed," I chuckled. Feeling like a small child, I crawled atop the mattress and found that the bedspread was exceedingly soft. While it would be a little strange sleeping here, maybe I could "grow into it" eventually, I thought. I should probably just tell the simulation to make itself proportional to me instead of the giant former Inheritor.
Laying here, I began to wonder. When was I going to be able to take a "giant" form with consistency and at will? I pondered how that would work. Feeling experimental, I flopped down on the bed, closed my eyes, and tried to expand my stature by thinking about it. I was rewarded with a headache, as I had probably enjoyed myself way too much today. Just as I was about to jump off the bed, I saw a large piece of paper on a nightstand, and beside it, a tall fluted glass bottle with a red cork. There was a very small amount of what appeared to be water inside the bottle. A small, framed piece of art also rested atop the note, pushed back behind the bottle.
The note said the following in a very dramatic, swirling cursive script:
Welcome to my lair, my heir. I hope all of this is to your liking. As my hologram has probably told you, Tengoku Manse is holographic. But, your food can be consumed, as it was specially stowed. My hologram is suited for many of your needs, including combat, counsel, and information. While it contains many of my memories, it regrettably is not me, and its knowledge is not limitless. For your needs, there are material foodstuffs that will keep you fed between six months and one year, depending on your metabolic requirements. You will find a closet in this room that contains genuine clothing, should you have ventured in here without an adequate change of clothes. I again thank you for all of your wisdom, and may the name of the Traveler always be blessed.
Sincerely, Pale Lord
Atop the note, I noticed a small drawing of the white-haired Inheritor that had been framed. I briefly laughed and picked it up. What kind of person puts a framed artistic representation of themselves on their nightstand? The figure was posed artfully, displaying Spoiled Prince's inhuman features. I shook my head and put the framed art back. That guy really did look like an anime character come to life. Maybe Izumi was a serious weeb in his home universe.
Sitting on the bed, I briefly reminded myself that this Inheritor had been depicted interacting with Tzeentch in a friendly manner back on Nubua. As helpful as he was, any emperor who cavorted with Chaos in a friendly manner was probably someone that I should be cautious around. The hologram's coldly blasé way of describing his "chef" holograms was chilling. However, I reminded myself that the big famous gold Emperor after him was totally cool with genocide and having people servitorized if they were naughty. At the very least, Spoiled Prince found a way to fight against the Imperative of the Divine Retribution, and to retain his free will. This Inheritor also knew how to use swords, and had set this all up in order to teach me. For right now, I decided to listen to this Inheritor, but I would keep my guard up.
Before I could get more comfortable on the huge bed, I decided to get started with my training so I wouldn't keep ruminating. I was excited to finally not be so martially useless anymore! However, my current heavy woolen outfit probably wasn't good for learning how to fight. I'd need something I could train in. The note Spoiled Prince had left directed me to the walk-in closet I had seen earlier, and I stood to explore it. The clothes bound in glowing twine included black tunics, loose trousers, rich black suits, Roman togas, vampire-esque capes, and other clothes that would be suitable for a giant over twice my size. I noticed several bundles of smaller-sized clothes on one shelf, and when I went to unwrap them, I noticed that they were about my size. A few of these bundles appeared to contain casual and workout clothes, and since they were bound with that strange glowing twine, I assumed that these clothes were actually "real" and not holographic. All the clothes were dark, and they would make me look like an evil Star Wars Sith Lord, but as long as they fit and were breathable, they'd do just fine for learning how to fight.
I whistled as I dressed myself in my new clothes. You know, despite maybe being a despotic galactic emperor, Spoiled Prince had really come through for me. It was still a little unusual to me that he had seemed to expect me here, but dramatic foresight really was a bundled Sight ability, so it made sense. My ability of foresight was pretty lacking at the moment, so maybe the Inheritor could teach me a few tricks.
I was now dressed in a black, Japanese-styled fitted martial arts uniform that resembled a Gi. My Key was tucked under my tunic, and I even found simple shoes that seemed to fit alright. Standing before a mirror, I observed myself. Yeah, I looked a bit like a Sith or a magic anime ninja right now. My black and white hair along with my gold laurels made me look especially dramatic. If I had been more into anime back home, I probably would have been absolutely thrilled to be in this position, I thought with a laugh. I decided to leave Null's mantis drone behind, as I didn't want him to get smashed by me getting hit or falling on my ass.
"Alright, let's get started!" I smiled. "Jiminy, stay here. I'll be back," I commanded the drone, which emerged from my jacket that I had slung over the bed. The drone fluttered over to perch on the nightstand.
After a brief tour around the property where I discovered a greenhouse and a stunningly beautiful rose garden, I was now on my way back up the red brick road. "Hey, I want the hologram assistant to come back," I projected my voice.
The Inheritor's hologram immediately snapped into existence and fell into walking beside me. "How may I be of service?" he asked me.
"So, I exit this area by just walking down the path?" I asked, noticing that there didn't seem to be any open portals nearby. The red brick road just seemed to go on forever from my perspective. I continued walking. "What's the magic-" The landscape around me disintegrated into a flickering shower of pixels, and now, I was back in the main simulation room again. "-word," I finished. Oh.
"Call your intentions via voice or by force of will," the hologram said with a smile. "According to our earlier interaction, you expressed a wish to learn how to fight. Would you like a recommendation on where to begin?"
I nodded.
"Please initiate comprehensive physical scan to begin fighting instruction program," the Inheritor-hologram requested of me. "And grant me authority of direction in this lesson."
"Okay, initiate comprehensive physical scan, and let this hologram direct my lesson," I quickly said. I wondered how this would go? I was both very excited and afraid at the same time.
A strange and unpleasant electric buzzing sizzled through me for a few moments, and then, the familiar white words of light began to appear in midair before me:
Physical scan complete
Title: Omega
Sex: Female
Status: Human
Height: 183cm
Weight: 75.1kg
Psychic strength, mundane: Low-Beta
Psychic strength, Divine Sight: Moderate, Ascension: 4/9
"Seems that you're about halfway there," the hologram informed me. "You've already reached the higher potentials of more typical psychokinetic ability achieved by humans, but at this point, you're probably suffering from the strain that the Imperative foists upon your still-human flesh."
"Yeah, it's uncomfortable, but it's good to know I'm still human, I guess," I said quickly before the Inheritor could continue.
"Oh, but you're going to be even more uncomfortable later," he said, turning to face me with narrowed eyes and a dark grin. The hologram then abruptly began to lose cohesivity and became slightly translucent. His voice began to glitch and skip, but I was still able to understand him. "Once you climb into the higher ranks, you'll become at risk for discorporation and sweating l-"
The Inheritor vanished, only to reappear again, smiling as if nothing had happened. The words, Corruption noted, data repair in progress, appeared before me in the air.
"Discorporation? What's that?" I asked. An intuitive part of me lurched in worry at hearing that word.
The hologram turned to me and said, "Apologies, that is not part of my programming. Please request another topic!"
"But, you just said that word," I said, confused. Since this was just a programmed AI, I attempted to get around this little glitch by saying, "Pale Lord, define what 'discorporation' means in relation to Inheritors."
The hologram simply repeated himself. "Apologies, that is not part of my programming. Please request another topic!"
"More data corruption, I guess," I said with a sigh. "Okay, how do we get started? What's next for fighting?"
The hologram continued to smile. "Due to your current height, weight, and progress of Divine Sight, I suggest that you learn how to handle a single blade first. You are inexperienced in combat. Since the Nemeses Argentum has not yet split for you, you will be using this..."
The holographic silver sword appeared before me again, and when I went to grip it, it now had weight and felt more "real." I waved the sword in the air a few times. It looked like a smaller version of one of Spoiled Prince's silver swords. This was crazy! I was just a loser from New Jersey, and now I'm being taught how to fight with swords by some hologram of a galactic emperor. That's crazy. And, also cool. If my friends could see me now!
"Okay, cool. Let's go," I confirmed.
"Very well," the hologram began before raising a hand, and snapping his fingers. The simulation room shimmered and configured itself to resemble a large outdoor coliseum. Amazed, I turned around, marveling at yet another new holographic miracle. This location appeared similar to the coliseum that existed outside of Jinnicky's tower. Wide rows of carved stone seating detailed with buffed metal surrounded the flat, dusty stone surface that I now stood on. Here, the sun was shining, and the weather was pleasant. A light, clean breeze wafted through the air. It felt like a perfect afternoon in the springtime. "Woah," I said, observing the fake sunlight shining off my fake sword as I stood inside a fake Roman-inspired coliseum. I turned back around, and I was in for another big surprise.
"Oh, fuck..." I whispered as I witnessed that the hologram was now in his giant, fully armored form. The hologram wore his intricately and artfully designed black and gold armor that I had seen him sometimes wear before in paintings and in visions. From this distance, I could now see that this armor was actually a form-fitting suit of power armor as I staggered backward. The Inheritor's two swords rested upon his hips, and his distinctive jeweled crown glittered on his head. His incredible Corona surrounded his upper body, and his eyes were molten gold. Even as a hologram, Spoiled Prince's presence was phenomenally intimidating! The Inheritor smiled almost evilly down at me from his giant height.
"Shall we begin, my heir?" The massive shadow of Spoiled Prince purred like a dragon as he drew both of his swords.