After Nyxtharion #2 finished explaining, the cavern went quiet.
The wall guardian dragons stared at Neo.
He stood still, his body cracked and sore, waiting for their choice.
The hivemind hummed as the dragons started talking to each other.
“I still don’t trust him. How do we know his memories are not fabricated?” grumbled Nyxtharion #4.
“Enough,” Nyxtharion #2 snapped. “Do not be blind to the bigger picture. His Darkness isn’t just destruction—it’s potential.
“If he devours the Protectors and takes their Tartarus fragments, he will becomes a Pillar in their place. An immortal one. With it, Layer 4 will be able to survive Jack Hanma’s assault.”
“Survive?” Nyxtharion #4 hissed. “The Great I will gamble our existence on this vermin? What if he turns on the Great I? What if he’s working with the necromancer?”
“Let’s test him. The Great I will bring back a Protector. If he can take its power and stay sane, the Great I will help him. If he fails, the Great I will kill him, then fight the necromancer alone,” suggested Nyxtharion #69.
“Yes. The Great I can use the Protector from our zone. It’s dead now. We will revive it, and make him fight it,” agreed Nyxtharion #28.
“If he fails, the Great I would’ve wasted time. Time the Great I can use to prepare to fight Jack Hanma,” growled Nyxtharion #4.
“If that happens, the Great I will turn back time. The Great I have done it before. Right now, the Great I need to try. Neo could save Tartarus,” countered Nyxtharion #2.
The dragons kept talking.
Some didn’t want to help.
Others thought it was worth it.
Neo stayed quiet, feeling their thoughts brush his mind a little.
They didn’t let him hear everything.
“What if he uses that power of Protector against the Great I? He has attacked us before. There is no guarantee he would not do it again,” said Nyxtharion #34.
“If he does, the Great I will crush him. Individually, the Great I are weaker than a Protector, but together, the Great I are much stronger.
“Though, the Great I think Kane Williams sent him to help us, and that the Great I need him,” answered Nyxtharion #2.
The hivemind got loud with their voices.
They argued for a while.
Then Nyxtharion #2 spoke again.
“Let’s vote. Do we help Neo or not?” proposed Nyxtharion #2.
The dragons spoke telepathically.
Each one sent their vote into the hivemind.
It was quick.
“Fine. The Great I will help you. But you have to prove you’re worth it,” warned Nyxtharion #4.
“Okay. What’s the plan?” replied Neo.
“The Great I will be taking you to a place you know. But first, listen. The Protectors of Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3 are dead. They’ve been gone for a long time. We’ll need to bring them back,” explained Nyxtharion #2.
“The way you said it sounds like other Protectors are alive,” questioned Neo.
“Yes, they are,” said Nyxtharion #2 through the hivemind after lowering the blockage. It did not explain further.
“So you’re saying you will let me take their powers?” asked Neo.
“Yes. You will start with the Protector of our zone, Zone 2. It’s dead too – half dead. It’s spirit is forcefully kept alive by the Great I as it is a Pillar.
“The Great I will bring it back fully, kill it, and you will take its power. If you can do that and maintain sanity, the Great I will help you with the others,” confirmed Nyxtharion #28.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” agreed Neo.
The dragons started flying.
Neo followed them.
…
Tartarus POV
Tartarus might not be able to intervene inside the Nightmare World as he wished, but he could see any location within it.
Right now, it was staring at the Elder Dragon pieces about to defeat the Protector of Zone 2, so that Neo could devour it.
“…are they stupid?”
Tartarus wondered if the Elder Dragon pieces had gone senile after staying in the desolate Zones for millennia.
They were helping the enemy.
Of course, Tartarus knew Neo was a Heavenbreaker.
With his mastery of Intent, Neo could fuse fake thoughts and make a fake memory that was no different from real.
It was no wonder the Elder Dragons were tricked after seeing his memory.
Still, Tartarus had expected more from an Elder Dragon.
“Should I let Kane enter the world?”
Tartarus turned its gaze to the man in Layer 2. There a week had yet to pass since the Grand Expedition entered the Abyss.
All Layers were a creation of Tartarus’ Nightmare Concept imbued in his Nightmare Sanctuary.
Tartarus could control the relative time between the Layers.
It was not time manipulation, and was instead a byproduct of Nightmare ability. This allowed Nightmare users to trap people in a hundred year nightmare, despite only an hour passing by in the real world.
“I slowed the time of Layer 2 since I didn’t want Kane to enter the Nightmare. But that might’ve backfired.”
The Great Disasters were strong enough to pose danger to Tartarus.
However, the Second Great Disaster was fiercely loyal to Tartarus, and the First Great Disaster, Nyxtharion, was no longer strong enough to harm Tartarus.
The problem was Kane.
He was naively kind.
There was no knowing when he might change his mind, and decide to join the ones planning to destroy the Nightmare World.
Kane’s dangerous personality was why Tartarus did not want him to enter the Layer 4.
In Layer 4, he would see others sacrificing themselves to destroy Tartarus and it might push him to have a change of heart.
Tartarus had thought the Grand Expedition would send Ava out if he stalled for enough time.
As long Ava was alive, Kane would hesitate to fight against Tartarus.
But not only did Ava was not sent out, she joined Neo’s party, and ended up dying to Tartarus.
“I can revive Ava, but…
“She was fused with my Core fragment. Reviving her will be hard, unlike normal people, and will take time.”