Nicholas remained silent for a long while after speaking Tyrian's name. Eventually Nicholas let out a long sigh and rubbed his forehead.
"Tyrian actually used to be part of LUCID."
The statement was so unexpected that it took several moments for it to properly register for Jaune.
"What?"
Nicholas nodded.
"Before his first rune and back when he was still a Rank Zero, he used to be a part of LUCID. Afterwards, when he created his first rune, he faked his death and disappeared."
The silence stretched between them for several seconds before Nicholas spoke again.
"In some ways, the two of you are surprisingly similar."
Jaune immediately frowned.
That comparison felt ridiculous.
No.
More than ridiculous.
Insulting.
If this guy named Tyrian Callows was the leader of Sleepless, who was a mass murderer responsible for countless deaths and a cult leader that actively attempting to awaken a sleeping god—whose return would plunge the world into endless suffering—comparing Jaune to someone like that felt so absurd that he almost laughed.
Unfortunately Nicholas did not appear to be joking.
The older man simply sat there staring into the distance with an expression that suggested he was recalling events that had occurred decades ago.
"It's true," Nicholas said quietly. "At least to some extent."
Jaune folded his arms.
"I find that hard to believe."
"I expected you would."
Nicholas smiled faintly. Then his expression became thoughtful.
"See, Tyrian was a lot like you when he first Awakened. He was curious. Perhaps even far too curious for his own good. I've said this before Jaune. Knowledge is a burden and sometimes information turns into burdens that are greater than one what can bear."
Jaune immediately disliked where this was going.
Nicholas continued.
"When he entered the Dream Realm for the first time, he became obsessed with understanding how it worked. He questioned everything. Why can a person only create one rune per Rank? Why are a person's runes limited? Why does greater growth occur in stages and why does ranking up strengthen the body?"
Nicholas shook his head.
"He spent days and months pondering those questions. Most people simply accepted the rules but Tyrian never accepted anything. Eventually Tyrian developed a theory. He believed that the limitation wasn't actually caused by the runes themselves."
His fingers tapped against his knee.
"... But rather... that the limitation came from the dream sessel itself."
Jaune's attention sharpened immediately.
Nicholas nodded.
"The soul."
"The conceptual container that houses runes. The structure that grows stronger as an Awakened rises through the ranks and is reflected in reality."
His gaze became distant.
"Tyrian theorized that if the Vessel itself could somehow be strengthened, then perhaps the limitations imposed by rank could be bypassed."
Jaune slowly frowned.
Actually...
That did sound plausible.
Nicholas nodded as though sensing his thoughts.
"LUCID had already explored similar ideas but almost every experiment ended in failure. And those that did succeed were lackluster at best."
He paused.
"Until Tyrian."
The wind swept across the dunes. Then Nicholas spoke a single word.
"Vessel."
Something about the way he said it caused Jaune's stomach to tighten.
"That was the name of his first rune. A Meta Rune."
His voice carried equal parts admiration and bitterness.
"And it worked. It worked exactly as intended."
The older man drew a line through the sand beside him.
"The Vessel Rune strengthened his conceptual capacity and expanded the limits of his soul. And in turn, this allowed him to hold additional runes at each rank.
Understanding dawned almost immediately.
Jaune's eyes widened.
"Additional runes?"
Nicholas nodded.
"At Rank Zero he could possess two, at Rank One, four, Rank Two, six. Double the capacity of every other Awakened on Earth."
Even Jaune felt a chill run through him.
That was quite absurd. The power advantage alone would have been overwhelming against every other awakened in the world.
Though... considering that runes like Perpetuity and Jaune's own, Null existed now. Perhaps it wasn't as absurd as he thought.
Nicholas laughed quietly.
"Exactly."
His gaze turned distant again.
"The moment LUCID realized what he had created, they thought they had discovered the future of Awakening."
The smile faded.
"They were wrong."
Jaune immediately knew there was a catch.
There always was and Nicholas's expression became grim.
"The unfortunate part is that the story doesn't end there."
The wind seemed colder now and the red moon higher. Nicholas stared upward for several moments before speaking again.
"You need to understand something about Salem."
His voice was reverent.
"She wasn't merely powerful. She was intelligent. Terrifyingly intelligent even. People often focus on her authority over dreams or nightmares or creation."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"But one of Salem's greatest authorities was Knowledge."
Jaune stiffened.
Knowledge.
The Supreme Rune.
The same power that had transformed Foresight into the monstrosity his father wielded today. Nicholas nodded.
"The Supreme Runes are fragments, pieces of something much larger and fountains of divine authority separated from their source, Salem."
Then his expression darkened.
"Knowledge allowed Salem to see the future. Or rather... predict it in such a way that it might as well have been future sight. Not perfectly, of course as there are always deviations and luck involved but it was enough.
A long silence followed and then Nicholas looked directly at his son.
"Enough to prepare for her own resurrection."
Jaune felt unease crawling up his spine.
"The Life Creator might have sacrificed itself to imprison her and to strip away most of her power by forcing her into eternal sleep, but that didn't mean that Salem was passive."
His voice lowered further.
"Even while being sealed, she acted. She attached pieces of herself to concepts and conditions."
"Avenues and possibilities, if you will."
His eyes became distant.
"Seeds."
The word lingered heavily in the air, then Nicholas spoke.
"One of those seeds was Vessel."
Jaune eyes widened.
"You mean..."
Nicholas nodded slowly.
"A fragment of Salem's consciousness attached itself to the concept represented by the Vessel Rune."
The words felt unreal and a chill crawled through Jaune's body.
"Not a large fragment and certainly not enough to awaken but... it was enough to wait. For thousands of years."
The silence that followed felt suffocating.
"You mean to tell me..."
His voice was quiet.
"...that Salem is attached to the Vessel rune itself?"
Nicholas nodded.
The implications were horrifying. A thought struck him immediately.
"To use Tyrian?"
Nicholas's expression became complicated.
"Yes and no. It's not possession in the traditional sense. She didn't simply take control but rather, whispered. She influenced and guided his actions. Nudged his mind in a direction that would eventually suit her needs."
The older man's expression darkened.
"She reshaped him bit by bit and thought by thought. Choice by choice."
The wind howled softly across the sands. Until finally Nicholas spoke the words that truly made the situation horrifying.
"What exists today is neither Tyrian nor Salem but an amalgamation of both of their minds.
Jaune stared silently.
"Salem's plan was simple. The Vessel rune's conceptual nature was to turn Tyrian into her new vessel. See, Salem cannot easily break the chains of eternal sleep as that which seals is the power of another god on her level. However, that doesn't mean that she cannot simply transfer her mind into a different body."
His father paused for a moment before continuing.
"Salem's true mind is vast and incomprehensible, able to see into infinity and eternity. The full power of her mind cannot be contained by a normal body. Which was why Vessel was perfect. Conceptually, it would be able to store a great degree of her mind and give her a working start in order to fully unseal her power."
Jaune frowned.
"So the reason why Vessel is perfect is because it would be able to turn Tyrian into a perfect Vessel for her resurrection?
The irony of the rune's name felt almost cruel and Nicholas could only nod at his son's words.
"He became exactly what the rune represented. If Tyrian had never created Vessel... Sleepless would never have existed."
"The chant and ritual to summon her sleeping consciousness? Even that wouldn't have existed without Tyrian."
Jaune tilted his head.
"How so?"
"Hmm. Well, conceptually speaking, the chant to call her down didn't use to be in English, for one. It used to be in runic language. The part of Salem's mind that escaped, changed the conceptual chant to summon her greater mind in English to make it easier to summon a part of her power. Human's can't pronounce Runic language vowels. Only creatures like your little stalker friend can."
Jaune stared at his shadow, to which Gula shrugged and said, "He's not wrong."
His father then continued.
"The doctrines, the plans, the unnatural awakenings."
His gaze darkened.
"All of it originated with Salem."
Jaune closed his eyes and he could feel a headache beginning to form behind them. Because every answer seemed to generate three more questions.
Every revelation made the situation worse. Every layer peeled back revealed something even more horrifying beneath it. Eventually he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath.
The gesture carried equal parts exhaustion and frustration. Jaune genuinely felt overwhelmed.
Stopping Sleepless had seemed difficult and stopping the Sleeper had seemed nearly impossible.
Now he was learning that the leader of Sleepless was effectively the product of a divine contingency plan set into motion thousands of years ago by an imprisoned god capable of manipulating the future itself.
The scale of it was absurd and for a moment Jaune almost laughed. Not because it was funny but because it was insane.
No wonder his father went crazy performing his schemes and machinations. Slowly he lowered his hand from his face and stared out across the endless Dream Realm.
The blood-red moon hung above and the dark sands stretched forever.
And somewhere out there was Tyrian Callows, a man who had unknowingly created the very key that allowed a sleeping god to begin waking up.
Jaune felt the uncomfortable realization settling into his chest. Perhaps he had spoken too confidently about stopping Sleepless's plans.
Because this problem was far, far bigger than he had imagined.
Jaune stared at his father for a long moment before finally breaking the silence.
"So what was your plan to stop all this, then?"
Nicholas raised an eyebrow and shrugged casually.
"What makes you think I have a plan to stop Salem and Tyrian? I said it before, didn't I? I'm part of Sleepless. Everything I've done has been to ensure that our family survives at the end of the world."
Jaune's eyes narrowed.
"I would've believed that if your plans didn't involve me."
Jaune stepped forward.
"You aren't a regular awakened dad. My existence alone, is proof of that. The runes I created are proof of that. You manipulated me into creating Weakness. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a hand in my creating Plunder as well. And as for Null..."
His gaze hardened.
"We both know exactly how that happened."
Nicholas remained silent and Jaune pointed at him.
"You're a manipulator. A liar. A schemer and a murderer. You're a disgusting rat who is a double agent that somehow managed to play everyone around you for decades."
His voice dropped and the air between them grew still.
"So let's cut through the bullshit. If I'm the key to all of this..."
Jaune locked eyes with his father.
"What. Is. Your. Plan?"
For a moment, Nicholas said nothing. Then he smiled. It wasn't the amused smile of a father nor was it the proud smile he had shown during their battle.
It wasn't even the smile of a madman.
It was something far worse.
A smile so cold, so devious, and so utterly malevolent that a chill crawled down Jaune's spine.
"Isn't it obvious, Jaune?"
The broken blood moon hung overhead as his eyes gleamed with a terrifying certainty, painted in the crimson color of lifeblood.
"There's only one thing left to do."
His voice became quiet.
"Go beyond the realm of Rank Three."
The words felt heavier than mountains.
"Ascend into the same realm as Salem herself, a Rank Four..."
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Nicholas's grin widened.
"And once you reach that realm..."
The smile became predatory.
"You'll kill her."