The snowstorm had raged on for so long that the residents had forgotten the sight of the sun. All that remained was cold, silence, and eternal despair.
Every day, more clan members fell to the Eternal Slumber, an eternal sleep from which there was no waking up.
Many times they had tried leaving, but the snowstorm was a prison. It was easy to enter it but extremely hard to leave.
”There, all nice and cozy!” A clansman gave a satisfied nod as he glanced at the grave he had just dug, his own.
This guy was a sentry. Then again, it wasn’t like they had much to watch out for. No intelligent creature would enter this death land voluntarily. There was just no way.
Or so he thought, as the raging wind carried a murmur…
”♫♩ Can you feel the heat now! My heart pumping, my blood boiling, and my legs swinging! Wolf solo time!…. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! ♫♩”
Heat? What heat?! The more the sentry listened, the bigger his wry smile became. He was already hallucinating: good thing the grave was ready.
Then the audio hallucinations turned visual. A youngster happily skipped in the raging storm while singing, an orange striped wolf shaking its ass to the music.
Behind stood his brother, the man they had officially sent on a quest to save them all. Still, they knew it was nothing but a pipe dream.
Yep, he was 100% losing it!
Jack erupted in the village, happily singing.
On the way, he observed this place’s inhabitants. They looked as strong as eccentric. On his passage, their eyes would bulge as they pointed at him as if they had seen a ghost.
Their reactions were so very odd:
- Lowering oneself into a grave
- Waving exorcism tools
- Cutting one’s palm
- Laugh mindlessly
- Praise the dream
-…
Being left stranded without any sun for so long had turned them crazy. Oh well, this didn’t matter much.
Jack reached the village center, a bunch of Nords crowding around him.
”Hello, everyone, and welcome to my TED talk! Eh, I mean, hello there! I’m Jack’O, and I’m pleased to be here. I’ll be signing autographs later on. No need to worry!”
”?!?”
”I heard you guys have peeps suffering from Eternal Slumber. Why don’t you bring them here along with every magical item you guys own? For medicinal purposes, of course!”
”…”
”…”
”D-do you guys see this?!”
”Wait, you guys see him too?!”
”Yep. T-this means….mass hallucination!”
None of them even entertained the idea that the cheerful-sounding Jack could really be physically present. After all, his bright voice felt way too foreign at the moment.
It didn’t help that his contact here was on the outskirts, busy preventing his brother from burying himself alive.
”Woo! Woo woo!” (What the hell are you guys doing?! Don’t just stand there!)
The little wolf berated the villagers. Did they not want help anymore?! Why were they still standing there cluelessly when its master had given them directives?
Moon Moon waved a paw, sending a torrent of fire their way.
— Whoosh!—
What the hell?! Their jaws hung loose as they stared at the spectacle. They finally realized that the fire, wolf, and the weird youngster were real!
”Great, do I have your attention now? Patients! Magic items! ASAP!” Jack clapped his hands, bringing them back to their senses.
”!!!!!”
That’s when the Nords all went crazy. They had so many questions! But, as they saw the youngster’s annoyed expression, they unconsciously obeyed his orders.
A few minutes later….
Jack grinned as he glanced at the treasures assembled before him. There were mythical items….MYTHICAL!!! They glowed a bright blue, all of the Ice element.
So what if his specialty was fire/demonic energy?! He wouldn’t say no to that! He approached them with greed in his eyes. As for the pile of patients…who cares!!
[Mythical Brooch of the Eternal Lich King! :snowflake:]
[Mythical Sword of Glaciation! :snowflake:]
[Mythical Leg Warmer! :snowflake::fire:]
”!!!”
”?!?”
But as he touched them, his tears of joy turned into tears of despair. This was such a cruel world! The only message he kept getting was [Cannot Pick Up!]
”I-is there a problem? Also…who are you exactly?” A villager finally found the courage to ask. The man had mentioned curing the Eternal Slumber, but nothing else…
That’s when the Nord who had guided him to this village finally arrived, explaining the situation. A few seconds later, they glanced at Jack with stars in their eyes.
He had managed to survive the Eternal Slumber himself?! There was no way their colleague would lie about this! How freaking amazing was this?!
They all turned toward him, bowing until their faces were literally in the snow as they asked him over and over for help.
[Eternally Slumbering Village!]
[Quest! Help the Nords Wake Up!]
One had to know that Jack’s comment had been 100% a bluff back then. He had no way to cure anyone of the Eternal Slumber that easily, “easily” being the keyword.
But, as he glanced at the pile of glowing treasures assembled, he couldn’t help but believe that there was still a chance even for him.
This could actually be quite fun, even. Plus, it would increase his affinity with the villagers, which was a pretty great thing, honestly.
While they would never exit this trial area, they would still be an amazing help for him to level up quickly and efficiently, something he had been slacking with.
They did puppy eyes his way….
”Alright, I’ll help, but!…” they all held their breaths, hoping the condition wouldn’t be too hard. “…I’m smacking the next one that calls me a hallucination! Humph!” Jack said.
”YES!!!!” Thunderous cheers resounded, turning the once hopeless and deadly silent village into a warm place.
”Woo!” (Hehe, they finally realized Master’s greatness!)
The little wolf wagged its tail happily as it watched the process. Under Jack’s directives, they built a giant igloo to house all the peacefully sleeping patients.
Then he had them grind a few mythical artifacts into a glowing powder that he used to trace a vast magical circle while cackling.
Jack especially made sure to record that part of the process. How would others react once they saw such a wasteful process? If he couldn’t bring the items out, he’d have lots of fun!!
Oh, fun fact he didn’t have the power to destroy the items himself. He relied on the Nords themselves. They cried as they scrapped their ancestral heirlooms.
”Don’t worry, guys, it will all be worth it!” Jack kept reassuring them. Still, this didn’t prevent the tears from falling.
After what felt like about a hundred heart attacks to the poor NPCs, they were finally done. Jack observed his handiwork happily before turning serious.
”Now, bring over your most prized possession, the Coming-of-Age Goblet.” He ordered.
”AHH! Noooo! Please don’t!!!” They all screamed at once.
”Tch— Why all the fuss? I’m not going to destroy it or anything.” Jack scoffed at their terrified expressions.
They brought a large goblet made of ice that scintillated even without any light a few seconds later. As soon as he touched it, Jack showed a solemn expression.
”Yep, just as I thought.” He sighed as he sensed the evil contained within.
Like many races in Infinite, Nords had a ritual for a youngster to become an adult. This included a powering-up blood drink and this specific artifact.
This ritual gave them powerful ice-based physiques, one that they really couldn’t do without. Hence lay the issue.
The Eternal Slumber was a sentient curse. It had hidden in the goblet, thus infecting every youngster easily. After all, they would accept the power (and sneaky curse) willingly.
”W-what is it?” The Nords stared at him while shaking. Had he figured out something?
”Oh, everyone who drank from this has the curse of Eternal Slumber. They’ll develop symptoms eventually, no big deal.” Jack shrugged, chuckling at their reaction.
No big deal?! How was this not a big deal?! If he was right, they were all dead men!! How was he so relaxed?!
Jack didn’t let their stress affect him as he moved his hand at an incredible speed, mixing countless powdery substances: white, brown, grayish, and even purple.
He then grabbed a kettle, boiling some water before mixing everything in the Goblet artifact. Before long, a hot chocolate-looking beverage was given birth.
Gulp! It looked and smelled so nice! Their eyes shone with fervor: was this the cure to the curse?! As they saw Jack stir one last time, one stepped forward.
”S-sir, should I help with distributing the medicine? How much should we give everyone? How long before it takes effect?” He nervously asked.
”Medicine? What medicine?” Jack shot him a puzzled glance. “This is hot chocolate. Have you never seen it before? You can’t try it, though. This one’s mine.”
”….”
”…”
”Yep, hot chocolate is the best on a snowy day!” Jack exclaimed before taking a sip.
In the silence, they watched him drink his warm sugary beverage, heave in happiness, and then lie down on the floor with a silly smile. Was he….taking a nap?!
But that’s when they realized where he had slumped down. He was precisely in the middle of the magic circle he had drawn earlier. It was already glowing, sending him energy.
Was this voluntary or just a mistake? Just as they wondered if they should wake him up, Jack’s Nord companion shook his head. “Just wait for the miracle to happen.”
Moon Moon went to lie next to its master, guarding over him. In absolute silence, about 20 powerful-looking Nords watched over one sleeping man.
As for Jack’s current status, it would have scared them had they known.
[Curse of Eternal Slumber Activated!]
[Accessing the Dream Realm!]
[Good Luck!]