Ascension of the Nephilim

Ever since his awakening, Nightwing knew summoning golems instilled in his brain.

The Hydra with numerous Elemental Cores allowed him to also borrow from his knowledge to summon these golems. Back when he had 'awoken' in Luigi's mansion, he had already slain numerous tribes in the underground world and sacrificed them to create the powerful golems of numerous elements.

But Nightwing's summoning and method of creating these golems greatly differed from the ways that humans did.

Humans would harness the power of 'life' and instill it in the golem. This allowed the golems to move. But Nightwing's method harnessed death.

Death energy was used to create life. And this was very difficult that only a few necromancers could pull this off. If a necromancer could raise Golems, they would be considered geniuses.

Raising the dead was easy for necromancers as the corpses was once a vessel of life. This made it compatible to instill death energy for reanimation. But golems were generally made from an inanimate objects. They cannot have a 'fake life' or 'borrowed life'. Creating them requires the inanimate and the unalive to spontaneously develop life!

And yet, Nightwing used an even more ridiculous method of birthing life from the inanimate using death.

Each Golem that Nightwing created had different elements.

Nightwing was showing off his ability, because only with such skills could he trick the Gigantes into believing that he was one of them. After all, Gigantes were beings made from the inanimate, granted death, and formed life.

"Ugh. It's harder without the Elemental Cores of that Hydra..." Nightwing sighed as he used up a huge amount of mana.

The group of Cardinal Gigantes was amazed as they saw it.

Nightwing smiled. If these beings were impressed, he knew he was moving in the right direction.

"Impossible! [Gigantes Stone Shaper] magic!"

"How did you have that power?!" Another Cardinal exclaimed as he jumped and landed next to Nightwing.

"Surprised? Humans have always been able to create golems. But as you can see, I am more than a human!" Nightwing laughed.

"A Paladin that wields death? But even if you can, not many can successfully and easily do what you did! Only those with special titles are granted the ability to summon that magic! Who are you? Which Gigantes do you serve?!"

Many Gigantes began to also arise. Some appeared ready to fight.

Nightwing noticed that many were guarded.

"So the Gigantes are not all united race. I have to be careful. If I align myself with the wrong Gigantes, I would be attacked!" Nightwing thought to himself and analyzed the expressions of everyone.

"Time to use the amnesia card." Nightwing decided.

"... I wish I could answer your question, but the truth is... I don't know. A spell has been placed on me and I have lost my memory. So I don't know which Gigantes I serve. I do know of a title bestowed on me." Nightwing observed his status and read through his golem-related powers.

"I am called a Cornerstone," Nightwing answered as he found a title that stood out in his status window.

"A Cornerstone?! Impossible! That title is the highest of honors only bestowed by the Gigantes God, Goliath!"

The Gigantes around him all seemed to have dropped their aggression.

Nightwing sighed in relief.

"Speak truthfully! That title is not easily bestowed! Only one person has been given that title! And that person cannot be a mere paladin! Show us proof that you are indeed a servant of the Gigantes God! Or face our wrath!" A Gigantes appeared who was at the peak of the Cardinal level. He was the leader of the group.

"That IS my title. I am not a mere paladin! How else could I raise these Golems with Death? And as for proof, aren't these golems enough? How else do you explain my having control to wield and shape golems as I please? I could even give it sentience pushing them to a being closest to you. Are not Golems based on you, after all?" Nightwing challenged.

"..." The Gigantes glanced at each other but all remained silent and glanced back at Nightwing unable to make any decision of what to do to Nightwing.

"Then why are you here? Why ally with foreigners? What business does a Cornerstone have with us?"

"Your little tenant has taken bold moves. While he did not sway out of your agreement, he has done traitorous things. He is trying to implant himself into the heart of this Gigantes. I am offering you liberation."

"Liberation?" The Gigantes sneered.

"That little whelp is trying to take control of this body. But what is he compared to us? Not even Cherubims can claim to gain full control of this Gigantes! While it is true that he is now a parasite in this body, he is like an annoying thorn on our side! That is the best that he can become! A whelp of Greed can never acquire us! And you do not know the story and the risk we take by allying with you! Your talks of liberation do not appease us, paladin!"

"You call him a whelp, but I know your life is not even past three hundred years old. Do not claim to be better than me. I can sense the death in you. You are the whelp. And a whelp like you should do better than to underestimate a Phaulos. That Spawn is a direct son of a Phaulos. He won't be a parasite, he will become cancer to you!"

"What do you know?!"

"I know everything! I can even guess what arrangement you need. This body is weak. But I can sense the power that has shrouded this place. Oblivion, right? Oh. You won't remember this. You kids probably can't even sense the shroud of Oblivion here. Your main body is hiding. Hiding from an enemy. It has miraculously acquired a string of Oblivion and has hidden from those chasing it. And then comes the most unlikely being. A Fallen Spawn of Phaulos who is not of Destiny! A divergent outcast who is a True Neutral!"

"How did you know this?!" The Gigantes were shocked. Most mortals didn't even know about Destiny, Fate, and True Neutrals! This was also the reason they were wary of Nightwing. The Gigantes feared allying with the wrong side. And both Fate and Destiny were their enemies!

"I know more than you know! I know more about the war between Fate and Destiny! It is far more than what you think it is! I know that the spawn and this Gigantes body have huge bounties that both sides want dead. And so, you agreed. He can move out of the body and not draw alarms from Destiny or Fate as a True Neutral. He leads armies into the body to be offered and sacrificed to help this body recover. In exchange, he is allowed to stay here and make whatever changes such as creating a fake temple inside the heart. But let me tell you this, he tricked you! He has long been looking for a way to find the favor of Destiny." Nightwing stabbed his sword down and released a projection.

Krysta's memory was revealed.

Her vision, her family, and her life were shown. It was clear, her family was a family of Fate. Her memories revealed how the Fallen Spawn sought to kill her brother.

"And that boy is Marked by Destiny! A young man, Fated to be a hero of Fate! This Fallen Spawn is not a True Neutral! He has been trying to gain his status as a hero of Destiny! He is probably a Neutral due to some powers that severed his connection. All of you, and this body, demanded the Fallen Spawn to offer an army as a sacrifice! But do you know, that you are the army that the Fallen Spawn plans to offer to Destiny!" Nightwing's words caused the expressions of the Gigantes to change.

"Who are you?!"

"I am a Challenger!" Nightwing chuckled.

"A Challenger?!" Everyone was alarmed when they heard this.

"Of who?"

"Of the opposite side that this Fallen Spawn is prostituting himself to. A Challenger of Fate."

"....Send...him... to me..." A strange tremor was heard echoing from the distance.

The Gigantes were all startled.

"Finally. Your leader is calling me. Grant me passage now."

The Gigantes opened a path and Nightwing flew in.