“Tartarus is an Angel of your dad,” Zera said. “Angels cannot harm their Gods under any circumstances, or plot against them.
“You have your dad’s bloodline. His blood flowing within you reduces any type of damage you get from Tartarus, whether it is physical or psychological.”
It was only then that Neo recalled his trait, Eternal.
50% damage reduction against all damage.
Combined with the protection against Tartarus he got from Hades’ blood, it made sense Tartarus couldn’t trap him in a nightmare with force.
Nightmares were a psychological attack. The damage Neo received from Tartarus was largely mitigated.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Ava spoke up. “Tartarus is a World. How could an Angel become a World? And who is his father to be the God of someone who could become a World?”
“About your first question, I’m not sure how it happened. It might be possible that Tartarus found a Sacred Treasure that gave it such ability or…”
Zera looked at Neo.
He understood what she was trying to say.
‘Or maybe Tartarus became a Heavenbreaker, and Heavenbreakers can act as a World,’ he thought.
“What about his Father? Who is he?”
“The God of Supreme Death, Hades. He is… famous. I’ve traveled through the cosmos, and the legends of Hades’ battles are still sung everywhere.
“He has many names.
“The Undefeatable Warrior, the Holder of Justice, the Commander of the Legion Eighty-one. It’s not surprising one of his Angels found a way to become a World.
“In fact, this explains why Tartarus is obsessed with punishing evildoers. Hades was known for his Impartial Death. Tartarus is following the words of its God.”
She stared at Neo.
“Can’t you ask your Dad to stop Tartarus?”
“I wouldn’t be trapped here if I could do that, and I only found out now that Tartarus could be one of my Dad’s Angels.”
He kept to himself that Tartarus was enraged at him because he was Hades’ son.
Everything now made sense.
Unfortunately, it didn’t solve their problems.
“I suppose we are back to our original goal. Searching for the World Core hidden in this Nightmare World and subduing it,” Zera said.
“I might have an idea about that,” Neo replied. “We can’t find the World Core, right? What if we forced the World Core to come to us?”
“How would we do that?” Zera questioned.
“By destroying this nightmare,” Neo answered.
“Zera tried it. She couldn’t destroy any wall or floor,” Ava answered instead of Zera.
“There is another way to destroy the Nightmare. A normal one that doesn’t involve using brute force.”
“You mean helping Tyr get over his Nightmare?”
“Yes.”
“But we don’t know what his nightmare is about. It could take us weeks figuring out the answers.”
“I might know what it is,” Zera replied to Ava. “Judging by how Tyr is busy with training and he calls his father ‘father,’ he hasn’t become the Clan Leader of the Weapon Dragon Clan yet.
“At this time, Tyr should already be strong enough to join the championship that would decide the Clan Leader. But he wouldn’t join.”
“He became the Weapon Dragon Clan leader. That means he did join the competition, right?”
“He did that since I persuaded him. I doubt the same would happen here. Even if I could do that, it wouldn’t solve the root cause of his nightmare.
“It’s complicated, but simply put, he doesn’t want to defeat his father. That’s why he isn’t participating.”
“Family issues?” Neo asked bluntly.
“No, not really. It’s….”
Zera stopped speaking. She looked at Neo and Elizabeth and asked something else.
“Tartarus has a lot of Darkness Users. How do you think they maintain their sanity?”
“They have strong willpower.”
“Correct, but that’s only true for a few. For most, they used the ‘Focus Tunnel Method.’
“It involves finding something to focus on. Obsess over, if you will. After all, if you are focused on a singular goal, the Darkness will have trouble leading you astray.”
“And this is somehow tied to our current situation?”
“Yes, it is,” Zera said. “Most Darkness users have ‘escaping Tartarus’ as their goal. Tyr is different. He chose ‘surpassing his father’ to be his focus.
“If he defeats his father, he will lose his goal.”
“So he is afraid of not having a goal to chase after?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t he just find something else to obsess over?”
“He can, but you need to consider his emotional side too. His father had been training to become the Clan Leader since long ago.
“How would he feel if he lost to his youngest son and had his dream shattered?
“Tyr is afraid of something like that coming to pass, but he also doesn’t want to hold back if he participates in the championship, as he feels it would be an insult to his own goal and an insult to the spirit of a warrior that his father cherishes,” Zera explained.
“Okay, that is complicated.”
“Not really.”
Zera smiled. It suddenly gave an ominous premonition to Neo.
“We have two choices here. First is we show Tyr something that is better than chasing after strength, and he changes his goal.
“Currently, his own goal and his father’s dream are clashing within his mind, and it’s the source of his nightmare.
“If he gets something else to obsess over, it will break his nightmare, as he wouldn’t care about his goal of surpassing his father anymore, which would have been validated if he won, but winning shatters his father’s dream,” Zera said.
“How would we do that?”
“The fastest would be teaching him love or showing him the joys of love. Love is the most overwhelming emotion. It’s easier to infect Tyr with it.”
“Well, there are only four of us here. Who is going to love him and teach him that? And no, I’m not doing it.”
“We don’t need to tie Tyr and one of us together. It can work even if the love blooms between two of us, and Tyr sees it.
“Think of it as watching a television show. You can see love drama and fall in love with it. A lot of young men and women want to find love after seeing it on the shows. Tyr will be the same.”
The way Zera was smiling while looking at Neo and Elizabeth said plenty about who would be the actors to show love to Tyr.
Neo rolled his eyes.
“What’s the second method?”
“You need to defeat Tyr. The whole situation is a problem as Tyr is stronger than his father, which is the role you are assuming in the nightmare.
“If you can defeat him, Tyr wouldn’t be haunted by the dilemma that is crushing him from within. He can fight without holding back, and his father’s dream wouldn’t be shattered, as his father would win.”
Neo frowned.
That was easier said than done.
Tyr right now was strong enough to become the Clan Leader of the Weapon Dragon Clan. That meant he was at the high end of Fabled rank.
“If you are thinking Tyr is quite strong, then you are wrong. Yes, he is strong for his age, but he is only around early Fabled rank at this point in time.”
“How did he become Clan Leader with that strength?” Neo asked, surprised.
Early Fabled rank was strong. But not enough to lead one of the Five Dragon Clans.