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Shadow Slave Audiobook Chapter 2850-2899 : Sand Worm — Transcript

by Kevin TQ [AudioBook] · 60,525 words · 8,922 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Welcome to listening to stories on Kevin
0:02TV audiobook channel Shadow Slave.
0:05Chapter 2850, Sandworm. As the battle
0:09reached a state of deceptive
0:10equilibrium, Sunny observed his silent
0:13soldiers. The Shadow Legion was holding
0:15its ground while the Deathless refused
0:18to be pushed back. At first glance, the
0:20two opposing forces were at a stalemate,
0:23but looks could be deceiving. In truth,
0:26the weaker shades were being quickly
0:28destroyed at an alarming rate, and this
0:30kind of attrition was woefully
0:32unsustainable. Not to mention that
0:34Sunny's goal was to advance forward, not
0:37stay in place. For a moment, he
0:40considered whether waging this battle
0:41was even worth it. He could just take a
0:44leap of faith and advance forward alone
0:46by jumping between shadows. He could
0:48even take Nephus and the Shadow Legion
0:50with him if need be. However, there was
0:53a reason why they had dismissed this
0:55idea. As a supreme, Sunny possessed an
0:58almost inexhaustible supply of essence.
1:01But that was not because his reserves of
1:03it were boundless. Rather, it was
1:06because a potent torrent of spirit
1:08essence continuously flowed into his
1:10soul, replenishing whatever essence he
1:12had spent. If his expenditure outpaced
1:15the influx of spirit essence, though, he
1:17would find himself without any to
1:18empower his aspects sooner rather than
1:20later, the nightmare desert was both
1:23vast and strange, denying the familiar
1:26laws of space and distance, especially
1:28so at night. So it would take
1:30innumerable jumps to reach the tomb of
1:33Ariel, and his essence would be drained
1:35not even halfway to it, far less if he
1:38were to pull the weight of Nephus and
1:39her longing domain with him. He could
1:42very well end up stranded in the sea of
1:44deathless without any essence to fight
1:46them, which was not something Sunny was
1:48willing to risk. Slow and steady wins
1:51the race. Snarling, he stepped into the
1:54shadows and returned to where
1:55Chainbreaker was anchored, hovering a
1:57couple of meters above the sand. A few
2:00moments later, Nephus landed near him, a
2:03scattering of ghastly wounds dissolving
2:05into the white radiance emanating from
2:07her graceful body. She regarded the
2:10battlefield silently, then asked in a
2:12neutral tone. "What do you think?" Sunny
2:15hesitated for a short while, then
2:17assumed his human form and nodded. "It's
2:20doable, but we will need to change
2:22tactics." She inhaled slowly. "That is
2:25my conclusion as well." Neither of them
2:28had gone all out yet, wanting to test
2:30the waters first. Now that they had
2:33witnessed what the Deathless were
2:35capable of, there was little point in
2:37being conservative in their application
2:39of power. It was just that this battle
2:41was most likely the easiest they would
2:43experience in the Nightmare Desert, so
2:46it was not a true indicator of the
2:47harrowing perils to come. Sunny sighed.
2:51I will begin then. Nephus nodded. Give
2:54me a moment. With that, she turned her
2:57back to the battlefield, approached the
3:00chainbreaker, and put her hand on its
3:02hull. A moment later, the flying vessel
3:04shimmerred and disappeared in a flash of
3:06blinding radiance. It looked as if the
3:09chain breaker was a memory, and Nephas
3:11had dismissed it. Of course, that wasn't
3:13the case. She had simply drawn it into
3:16her soul sea, storing it there for
3:18safety. Nephas glanced at Sunny and
3:21smiled faintly. "Shall we proceed?"
3:25Sunny gave her a polite bow. After you,
3:27my lady. She glanced ahead and then
3:30soared into the sky once more. Sunny
3:33began to move as well. The Deathless are
3:36surprisingly adept at strategy and
3:38tactics. If I summon the puppeteer, I
3:41can assume a more direct control of the
3:43Shadow Legion and contend against their
3:45insidious mastery of the battlefield far
3:47better. But in the end, that will only
3:50delay the inevitable. There was a
3:52certain lesson that a commander had to
3:54learn if they were to lead an army and
3:55engage in war. Despite what common logic
3:58dictated, striving to achieve the best
4:00result was not always a good strategy.
4:03In fact, excess ambition was at times
4:05detrimental and more often than not
4:06deadly for Sunny. The best result was
4:09keeping as many of his shades as
4:11possible in the fight. But trying to
4:13preserve too many would only result in
4:15the decimation of the whole legion.
4:17Sometimes, oftentimes, sacrifices had to
4:20be made. So he had to give up on a vast
4:22number of his shades in order to achieve
4:24his goal. That was why it did not matter
4:27how finely he controlled the shadow
4:29legion at the moment. The role of the
4:31shades that would have been saved by his
4:33direct control was not to stay in the
4:35fight. It was to be destroyed in a way
4:37that would allow the stronger shades to
4:38advance forward. So Sunny gave the
4:41shadow legion a command to regroup.
4:43Instead of a wide failance that met the
4:45deathless like a dark wall, his soldiers
4:48fell into a tree-ronged formation with
4:50the left and right wings shielding the
4:52core contingent. Usually he would have
4:55assigned his strongest champions to
4:56command the wings, but this time Sunny
4:59simply concentrated all of his best
5:01warriors in the center. Then he
5:03dismissed the wolf. The ferocious shadow
5:06had a devastating presence on the
5:08battlefield, rallying the lesser shades
5:11while simultaneously instilling fear and
5:13weakness in the deathless. The ancient
5:16undead must have long forgotten what
5:18fear felt like, but even they could not
5:21help but be shaken in the face of the
5:22wolf, of a primordial spirit that
5:25personified predation and chose them as
5:27its prey. However, neither the wolf nor
5:30the puppeteer was the sacred shade that
5:32Sunny needed right now. Instead, he
5:35called upon the abundance. The gigantic
5:38m of the titanic worm exploded from the
5:40darkness in front of the central prong
5:42of the shadow legion, toppling the sand
5:45dunes around it. The deathless, who had
5:47been assaulting the core, attempted to
5:49retreat to ascertain the new threat and
5:51come up with counter measures, but it
5:53was already too late. The giant worm
5:56moved forward, swallowing the
5:58unfortunate undead who got in its way.
6:00Those deathless had not been shattered
6:02and rendered harmless like the wolf's
6:04prey. But that did not matter because
6:06once they were swallowed by abundance,
6:08they could not attack the shadow legion
6:10anymore. Go, carve us a path forward.
6:13The giant worm crawled across the white
6:15sand, devouring the deathless instead of
6:18fighting them. The wings of the shadow
6:20legion formation protected it from being
6:22attacked from the flanks, and those
6:24shades who were arrayed behind it simply
6:26followed, their advance uncontested.
6:29Chapter 2851.
6:31The advance of abundance. Abundance
6:34crawled across the nightmare desert,
6:36flowing over white dunes like a dark
6:38river of flesh. While its terrifying ma
6:41swallowed the deathless, the ancient
6:44undead quickly recognized the new threat
6:46and attempted to destroy the sacred
6:48worm. But the wings of the shadow
6:50legion's formation prevented them from
6:52getting close. The lesser shades melted
6:55under the assault of the skeletal
6:56remains of the ancient warriors who had
6:58been cursed by shadow god. But that was
7:01what Sunny expected in this battle. The
7:03role of the weaker shades was to be
7:05destroyed. Their dogged resistance paved
7:08the way for the rest of the legion,
7:10allowing it to continue on. Abundance
7:13and the shadow legion advanced swiftly
7:15moving into the depths of the desert.
7:17Sunny stepped through the shadows and
7:19appeared in front of the gargantuan
7:21worm. regarding the vast expanse of
7:23white sand in front of him. There were
7:25countless deathless there. Those far
7:28away were still engaged in the eternal
7:30battle among themselves, but those who
7:32were closer had already switched the
7:34target of their malice. Even worse, that
7:37awareness seemed to be spreading toward
7:39the horizon with more and more undead
7:42turning their empty eye sockets to the
7:44distant shape of abundance. I'll have to
7:46call them. There were all kinds of
7:48deathless out there. All of them were
7:51strong, but some were horrifically
7:53powerful. There were fewer of the latter
7:55on the outer edges of the nightmare
7:57desert, but there were going to be far
7:59more of them as Sunny and Nephas drew
8:01closer to the tomb of Ariel. And as they
8:04reached the last stretch of their
8:05journey, Sunny did not even want to
8:08think about that. Any case, at the
8:10moment, the wings of the formation were
8:12protecting abundance from flanking
8:14attacks, while its m swallowed the
8:16deathless in the front. However, if any
8:19of the truly powerful undead appeared in
8:21the sacred worm's path, it could be
8:23severely damaged and eventually
8:25destroyed. So, Sunny had to stop them.
8:28He called upon his strongest champions,
8:31Saint, Slayer, and Serpent, to move
8:33ahead of abundance and prevent the
8:35strongest Deathless from reaching it. He
8:37joined them personally as well,
8:39manifesting a heavy quarter staff out of
8:41the shadows. As the colossal worm
8:43devoured the world behind him, Sunny
8:46rushed forward to engage the enemy and
8:49to avoid being swallowed by his own
8:51sacred shade as well. It was a
8:54nerve-wracking experience to battle
8:56undead horrors while a giant m of a
8:59godworm was getting closer and closer to
9:01him from behind. But it was also a
9:03little thrilling. For a short while,
9:06Sunny allowed himself to dissolve into
9:08the violent song of the battle. Nephas
9:10had been right. Being able to engage in
9:13straightforward combat for the first
9:14time in a long while was indeed a
9:16privilege. He moved between the shadows,
9:19clashing with the champions of the
9:21undead horde and relentless melee. There
9:23was no shortage of powerful opponents
9:25for him to fight, but for now at least,
9:28he was the strongest, if just barely.
9:30Their marshall skill was also unmatched,
9:33so he greedily absorbed it through
9:35shadow dance, feasting on the generous
9:38collection of long-forgotten battle
9:39styles and techniques for the first time
9:42in years. The Shadow Legion advanced
9:44swiftly as a result, even as its wings
9:47were suffering heavy casualties. The
9:50reason why none of the powerful
9:51deathless had been able to pose a
9:53serious threat to abundance yet,
9:55however, was not only the fearsome
9:57strength of Sunny and his champions. It
10:00was also the curse. Now that all seven
10:03links of the curse were in close
10:05proximity to each other, the power of
10:07its enchantments drastically increased.
10:10Sunny had learned how to use his
10:12shadowbound relic better over time as
10:14well. Instead of infecting every enemy
10:16around him with the weakening curse, he
10:19cast it upon the strongest enemies among
10:21the deathless with great precision and
10:23flawless timing. Therefore, the full
10:26power of the debilitating enchantment
10:28descended upon a single creature at the
10:30most inopportune time, making the
10:32attacks of Sunny and his champions so
10:34much more devastating. Good, good, more.
10:38Sunny reveled in the ferocious dread of
10:40the calamitous battle. As the battle on
10:43the ground ravaged the White Dunes,
10:45another battle was happening in the sky.
10:47There, Nephus was the sole target of
10:50countless deathless, evading their
10:52deadly attacks and setting countless
10:54projectiles a flame to preserve her
10:56body. Because of it, it seemed as if the
10:59sky was on fire, white flames raining
11:01down upon the earth. Her main goal was
11:04to draw the attention of the undead
11:06warriors and prevent too many of them
11:08from attacking the shadow legion. But
11:10from time to time, she unleashed rays of
11:12roaring white flames upon the white
11:14dunes, sewing destruction and
11:17annihilation among the deathless. The
11:19combination of her incredible aerial
11:21mobility, her aspect, her mastery of
11:24shaping and knowledge of the names, the
11:26vastness of her domain, and of the
11:29ingenious enchantments of the blessing
11:31created a truly devastating foe for the
11:33undead captives of the nightmare desert.
11:36For a while, their strategy worked, and
11:38they moved deeper and deeper into the
11:40sea of dunes. There was one problem,
11:43though. abundance was able to crawl
11:45forward with such speed because it
11:47simply swallowed the deathless instead
11:49of battling them. That meant that the
11:51undead horrors of the desert were still
11:54whole and undamaged, trapped in the
11:56sacred worm's limitless belly. And that
11:58meant that while Sunny and his champions
12:00prevented the strongest deathless from
12:02damaging abundance, they could not
12:05protect the gargantuan creature from
12:07being damaged from within. The deathless
12:09abundance swallowed kept mangling it
12:12from the inside. And despite the
12:14boundless ocean of vitality, the sacred
12:17shade possessed, it gradually slowed
12:19down, coming close to being vanquished.
12:22It was not vanquished, though, because
12:24just then, Napus unleashed a wave of
12:27celestial fire that incinerated the
12:29javelins flaying at her, and dove down,
12:31landing on the back of abundance. She
12:33kneled and placed her hand on the sacred
12:35worm's black hide. And a moment later,
12:38the entirety of the Titanic creature
12:40ignited with a soft white radiance.
12:42Abundance was not a part of Nef's
12:44domain, which meant that she could not
12:46heal it from a distance, but nothing
12:48prevented her from healing it directly.
12:51So all the damage dealt to abundance
12:53from within was gradually being healed
12:56by the soothing white flames. Some
12:58distance away from the colossal worm,
13:01Sunny smiled darkly. Nothing beats a
13:04good healer. The night deepened as the
13:06battle raged on. Looking ahead, he
13:09hesitated briefly. Was he deceiving
13:12himself? Or did the distant silhouette
13:14of the tomb of Ariel really draw a
13:16little closer? Chapter 2852.
13:20Distant dawn. It wasn't simple to heal a
13:23sacred being. It was especially
13:26difficult to heal a being as boundless
13:28and vast as abundance. So Nephis had to
13:31focus on pouring her soothing flames
13:33into the titanic worm. Kneeling on the
13:36back of the gargantuan shade with both
13:38hands pressed against its black hide,
13:41she was exposed and defenseless.
13:43Luckily, abundance was safely protected
13:45by Sunny in the Shadow Legion. So Nephas
13:48was under no immediate threat even as
13:50she mended the wounded godworm. She
13:52could not re fiery devastation upon the
13:55deathless anymore, though. As a result,
13:57the pressure on the Shadow Legion
13:59gradually increased, and it kept
14:00increasing as seconds and minutes passed
14:03by the wings of the three-pronged
14:04formation were slowly melting in the
14:06tide of the undead. Sunny and his
14:09shadows found themselves under a lot of
14:11scrutiny as well. Sunny used his quarter
14:14staff to shatter the skull of a skeletal
14:16warrior wearing the remains of a once
14:18respplendant armor. The Deathless did
14:20not show any sign of slowing down,
14:23though thrusting his rusty sword forward
14:25from an insidious angle. At the same
14:27time, a skeleton who was missing both
14:29legs crawled forward and grasped Sunny's
14:31shin with sharp bony fingers. D. Damn
14:34it. For a moment there, Sunny had
14:37thought that it was Yuri's clawing at
14:39his ankle. Thankfully, Yores was a
14:42normal skeleton of a bone white variety,
14:44not the blackened horror of the
14:46nightmare desert, stealing his will.
14:48Sunny turned his torso intangible and
14:51allowed the rusty sword to pass through
14:53him unobstructed. He felt the killing
14:55intent of the deathless attempt to cut
14:57the very fabric of his being regardless
15:00and be denied. That was because Sunny's
15:03will was more tyrannical and dauntless
15:05than that of the undead warrior, both
15:07innately and because of spirit weave. He
15:09grabbed the headless skeleton and tossed
15:11it aside, then brought his quarter staff
15:13down, obliterating the hand clutching at
15:16his shin. I do wonder though, why was it
15:19that Yurice and the other skeleton
15:21Nephus had encountered remained sane
15:24while the rest of the Deathless had all
15:26lost their minds? Actually, he knew the
15:29answer. Yurice briefly mentioned it when
15:31asking Sunny to kill him. The very
15:34reason he had traveled to the shadow
15:36realm was to hopefully die before the
15:38madness that consumed the rest of the
15:40deathless took him as well, or to find
15:43the closest semblance of a proper death
15:45there was. At least if Yuri could be
15:47believed that was Sunny assumed that
15:50both Yuri and Azerax had been soldiers
15:52of the demon legion and fought in the
15:55nightmare desert. At some point they
15:57were captured by the divine host and
16:00crucified on a tree as punishment. He
16:02did not know what sins they had
16:04committed, but the two must have been
16:06truly reviled by the warriors of the
16:08gods, considering that no one else
16:10seemed to have been subjected to such a
16:12cruel form of execution. However, the
16:14executioners just had to use one of
16:17heart god's sacred trees to string Uris
16:20up. And ironically enough, all of them
16:22fell to shadow God's curse not long
16:24after that. It was not their own will or
16:27their special nature that had kept
16:29Yurice and Azerax sane. Instead, it was
16:32the tree, the sacred tree they had been
16:34crucified on. And once Nephus took
16:37Yurice off the tree, it was only a
16:39matter of time before he was to become
16:41just as mindless as the rest of the
16:43deathless. I wonder if I'll be able to
16:44kill him before that. Yuri did not
16:47deserve a merciful death. In fact, he
16:50deserved far worse than what happened to
16:52him, considering what he had done. But a
16:55promise was a promise. Sunny had
16:58promised to do his best to kill the
17:00ancient skeleton, so he felt obligated
17:02to do just that. I wonder if I can live
17:05long enough to kill him as well. Sunny
17:08brought his fist down on the skeleton
17:10who had grabbed his leg. There was a
17:12deafening thunderclap and a devastating
17:14shockwave rolled outward from the point
17:16where his fist crushed the ancient bones
17:18and strike the sand. The ground quakd
17:21numerous dunes collapsing like flowing
17:23waves. The under warrior was torn apart.
17:26The fingers of his one remaining hand
17:28were still moving weakly, but he was in
17:30no condition to threaten the shadow
17:32legion anymore.
17:34Sunny was already retreating into the
17:36shadows, rushing to face a different
17:38adversary. Saint, Slayer, and Serpent
17:40were pulling their weight. But even they
17:42were slowly starting to drown in the
17:44vicious waves of the deathless. He
17:46called upon a few of the stronger shades
17:48to move forward and support them, which
17:51bought Nephus and Abundance more time.
17:54Eventually, the sacred worm was mended
17:56enough to last for a while without her
17:57healing flames. So Nephis soared into
18:00the skies again. Abundance crawled
18:02forward, devouring the deathless. After
18:05a while, it was severely wounded once
18:07again, and she landed on its back to
18:10heal it. The cycle continued several
18:12times, making Sunny worry about her.
18:15Nef's aspect was powerful, but using it
18:18too much took a toll on her. Now she was
18:21pouring her powers both into clearing
18:23vast swaves of the weaker deathless and
18:26into healing abundance which meant that
18:28she was abusing her aspect without a
18:30second of respit. It was exhausting to
18:32watch. Sunny himself was not quite
18:35exhausted yet but he was feeling
18:37fatigued as well. Most importantly the
18:40wings of the shadow legion were battered
18:42and broken with innumerable shades
18:45having already been sent back into the
18:47soothing darkness of his soul. They
18:49couldn't reliably keep the Deathless
18:51from reaching the core of the formation
18:53anymore. So, the strongest shades whom
18:55Sunny had kept there in reserve had to
18:58engage the undead horrors as well.
19:01Still, they had made it far into the
19:03desert. As a sacred being, abundance
19:06moved with tremendous speed, so it
19:08devoured not only the Deathless, but
19:10also distance. The wings are going to
19:13entirely collapse soon, though. Sunny
19:16evaluated the situation, wondering if he
19:18would have to employ a different
19:19strategy or sacrifice something else. At
19:23that moment, however, he noticed
19:24something that made him halt for a
19:26moment. Out there in the east, a thin
19:29line of pale lilac had appeared above
19:31the horizon. The endless night was
19:33finally coming to a conclusion. The dawn
19:36was coming. The Deathless seemed to have
19:38felt it as well, as they launched an
19:40especially ferocious assault on the
19:42Shadow Legion. Sunny's shades stood
19:45their ground even as they were
19:47destroyed, refusing to let the adversary
19:49reach abundance, and eventually the
19:51deathless retreated. The endless horde
19:54of blackened undead came to a halt. All
19:56of them standing motionlessly and
19:58regarding the invaders with an eerie,
20:00heavy malice in their empty sockets.
20:03Then the deathless slowly sank into the
20:05sand, disappearing without a trace.
20:08Sunny let out a long sigh and fell to
20:10his knees, breathing heavily. That was
20:13only the first night. Sunlight spilled
20:16over the horizon, painting the nightmare
20:18desert into a beautiful mixture of pink
20:21and brilliant gold. A warm wind caressed
20:23his face, promising a long day of
20:26unbearable heat. Nephus landed softly
20:29near him, her silver hair shining in the
20:31light of dawn. Sunny glanced up at her.
20:34I am not imagining it, right? It's
20:36closer. He was talking about the tomb of
20:38Ariel, naturally. However, to his
20:41surprise, Nephas was not looking at the
20:43distant silhouette of the Black Pyramid.
20:45Instead, her concerned gaze was aimed at
20:48something else. Following it, Sunny saw
20:51something unexpected. Out there in the
20:53distance, countered by the rising sun,
20:56the branches of a tall tree were swaying
20:58above the shimmering sand. Plague of
21:01steel, a towering tree with snow white
21:03bark and scarlet leaves stood among the
21:05dunes, a spring of water forming a pool
21:08in its shade. The tree bore no fruit,
21:11however. Tens of thousands of skulls
21:13hung from its stunning branches,
21:15fastened to them with glistening threads
21:17of black silk. The sacred tree was
21:19different from the one growing on the
21:21deck of the chainbreaker, for it was
21:23much older and had grown in a different
21:25soil. It was also different from soul
21:27devouring tree of the forgotten shore,
21:30because it had not succumbed to
21:31corruption. Perhaps it was what the soul
21:33devourer was meant to be if its seed had
21:36not sprouted in a pool of blood a top a
21:38mountain of corpses left by the gruesome
21:41sacrifice of the seven heroes. The
21:43branches of the tree swayed gently in
21:45the wind and a weathered skeleton was
21:47cruy nailed to its white bark. The
21:50skeleton stared at Sunonny and Nefis
21:52with its empty eyes. His teeth bared in
21:55an eternal grin. I guess this would be
21:58Azerax. Just then, the skeleton moved,
22:00grinding his teeth. He growled and
22:03strained against the silver nails
22:04impaling him to the tree. Sunny glanced
22:07at Nephus, whose expressionless face
22:10betrayed a hint of odd nostalgia. "Are
22:12you sure he was sane?" Nephus remained
22:15silent for a few moments, studying the
22:17struggling skeleton, and shrugged. "He
22:20spoke to me." At that moment, a grading
22:22voice assaulted their ears. "It is you,
22:26abominable creature. Weaver's thrax
22:30redoubled his attempts to free himself
22:31from the tree, making the skulls hanging
22:34on its branches sway and clatter. Sunny
22:37had to admit that the ill-tempered
22:38skeleton was indeed different from the
22:40mindless deathless. However, he was not
22:43sure that Azerax was entirely sane. The
22:46skeleton did not seem to have noticed
22:48the shadow legion, for one which was now
22:50surrounding the small oasis like a sea
22:52of darkness. All the shades below the
22:55transcendent rank had already been
22:57destroyed. That did not matter much
22:59though because most of them would be
23:01restored by nightfall or the day after
23:03that. The casualties among the
23:05transcendent shades were more impactful
23:08since it would take them a couple of
23:09days to be mended. More than half of
23:12them had been vanquished, which meant
23:14that the same strategy would not work
23:16once the rising sun completed its
23:18journey across the sky and disappeared
23:20behind the horizon again. As for
23:23abundance, Sunny had sent it as far away
23:25from the oasis as possible. He did not
23:28want a vast swarm of undead warriors to
23:30spring from the godworm's belly at the
23:32worst possible moment. The sacred shade
23:35was still crawling across the desert,
23:37suffering from the worst case of
23:39indigestion in history. Sunny was
23:41planning to dismiss it in a short while,
23:44leaving the deathless stranded far away
23:46from the shadow legion on the very edges
23:48of the nightmare desert before abundance
23:50could be harmed too severely, let alone
23:53destroyed. He was a little curious about
23:55what would happen to the Deathless if
23:57they were exposed to the sun, but would
23:59be satisfied simply knowing that they
24:00were far away from the shadow legion and
24:02not in his path. Azerax clicked its
24:05jaws, staring at Nephi with terrible
24:08fury in his empty dark eye sockets.
24:11Coward, traitor. Sunny frowned. Why is
24:14he calling you names? Nephus kept
24:16staring at the ancient skeleton
24:18unperturbed. If I were to wager a guess,
24:21he sensed that I am a carrier of the
24:23nightmare spell. Therefore, he considers
24:25me a chosen of Weaver. And Weaver had
24:28betrayed the demons and deserted the
24:29Doom War. So in his eyes, I am a servant
24:32of a cowardly traitor, the demon of
24:34fate. Sunny smiled. Why do I feel
24:38personally offended? That is wonderful.
24:40Then they had not only come to the
24:42sacred tree to let Nefis retrace her
24:45steps and enjoy a bit of nostalgic
24:47self-reflection. In truth, Sunny hoped
24:50to enlist Azerax in exchange for freeing
24:52him, thus obtaining a powerful ally
24:54during the Nightmare Desert expedition.
24:57To that end, it was actually quite
24:59convenient that he was not a carrier of
25:00the nightmare spell anymore outwardly.
25:03At least he had nothing to do with
25:05Weaver. So Azerax had no reason to hate
25:08and despise him. Hey, you there? Azerax,
25:11the mighty king of kings, the plague of
25:13steel, conqueror of a 100 thrones. How
25:16about you and I have a talk? The
25:18weathered skull turned and regarded him
25:20for a moment. It seemed like Azerax had
25:23only now become aware of his presence.
25:25Then the bark of the sacred tree
25:28cracked, and thin fractures appeared on
25:30the skeleton's ancient bones as he
25:33suddenly strained to free himself with
25:35demented fury, a beastial growl
25:38resounding from his tightly closed jaws.
25:41Azerax had regarded Neph with wrath.
25:44When it came to Sunny, however, what he
25:46felt seemed to be pure, unadulterated,
25:48all-consuming hatred. the slave of
25:51shadow. Ill tear you and your master
25:54apart. A cursed creature. Sunny blinked
25:57a couple of times. Oh, indeed. His
26:01aspect, shadow slave, had initially
26:04belonged to the shadows of shadow god,
26:07so it was no surprise the ancient
26:09skeleton had assumed him to be one.
26:11Azerax had fought in the doom war on the
26:14side of the demons to begin with. It was
26:16reasonable to assume that he had no love
26:18for the servants of the gods. On top of
26:20that, Sunny was not connected to just
26:23any god. He was connected to shadow god,
26:26the very being who had cursed the
26:27deathless and azeraxs to eternal
26:29suffering. Awkward. The water of the
26:32small pool rippled, and the dunes around
26:34them started to crumble. The branches of
26:36the sacred tree swaying strongly from
26:39Azerax's fury. The skulls tied to its
26:41branches danced and swung from side to
26:44side, clattering as they collided with
26:46each other.
26:47It'll tear you apart. Sunny stared at
26:50Azerax, taken aback. He remained silent
26:53for a while and then looked at the
26:54enraged skeleton darkly. You want to
26:57tear me apart? He furrowed his brow,
27:00then scoffed. "Get in line, Ariel's
27:03hell." It took some time for the ancient
27:06king's fury to subside. It took more
27:08time to convince him to have a
27:10conversation with Sunonny and Nephis,
27:12both of whom he seemed to detest. Azerax
27:16had been hanging on the sacred tree
27:17since before the doom war ended and the
27:20gods fell. So he was not exactly aware
27:22of the current state of the world. It
27:24was difficult to fathom that the very
27:26foundations of existence he had been
27:28familiar with were meaningless now and
27:30that his disdain toward them was
27:32unwarranted as a result. However, there
27:35was a keen and cunning mind hidden
27:37behind his overbearing demeanor. Even
27:39driven half mad by thousands of years of
27:42imprisonment, Azerax still retained his
27:44edge, he knew all too well that
27:46everything he had once known was gone.
27:49It was just that in a manner typical of
27:51a supreme, he did not care. So what if
27:54the world had irrevocably changed? It
27:57was the duty of the world to adhere to
27:59how Azerak saw it, not the other way
28:01around. In the end, quite unexpectedly,
28:04it was the presence of saint that
28:05convinced him. Azerak seemed to respect
28:08the stone saints as much as he disdained
28:10carriers of the nightmare spell or those
28:12who served the gods. It made sense
28:14really. After all, Saint and her people
28:16had been created by Nether, the demon of
28:18destiny and were the indomitable core of
28:21the demon army. Since Sunny and Nephas
28:23were in the company of the shadow of a
28:25Jade Saint, Azerax was willing to at
28:27least hear them out. That koi bastard.
28:30In truth, Azerax wanted to get off the
28:33tree he had been nailed to thousands of
28:35years ago. as much as they wanted to
28:36enlist his assistance. No matter how
28:39much he tried to hide it, Sunny could
28:40tell he knew more than most about
28:42wanting to be free. After all, Azerax
28:45had an entirely different reason to want
28:47to be freed from Yuri, though. Yuri
28:49wanted to find a proper death before the
28:51curse of shadow god turned him into a
28:53mindless beast. The ancient king,
28:56however, wished for the opposite. He
28:59wanted to be taken off the tree
29:00precisely because he longed to become
29:03one of the deathless. Anyone would
29:05mistake the nightmare desert for hell,
29:07but to him it was heaven. An eternal,
29:10endless battle between the legendary
29:13warriors, cursed to never know peace.
29:16That was exactly what a conquering
29:17tyrant like Azerax wanted and dreamed
29:20about was being nailed to a tree. Cursed
29:23to watch the glorious battles of the
29:25deathless for thousands of years without
29:28being able to join them. That had been
29:30hell for the ancient tyrant. So despite
29:33all his contempt and hatred, he was not
29:35going to refuse the beings who could
29:37free him from that hell and deliver him
29:39to paradise. Sunny and Nephus were not
29:42entirely sure that they could trust the
29:44half crazed skeleton, though. They
29:46needed a guarantee that he would not
29:48turn on them as soon as they pulled him
29:50down from the tree first. Both were
29:52exhausted after a long night of battle,
29:55so they rested on the bank of the small
29:56pool of water and enjoyed the shade of
29:59the sacred tree. There was a lot of time
30:01before sunset and they intended to spend
30:04it getting some answers from Azerax.
30:06Nephes drank some water from the pool
30:08while Sunny summoned the endless spring.
30:11He also produced cooking utensils from
30:13his soul sea and went about preparing a
30:16simple meal. I've always wanted to know
30:19what were the armies of the demons and
30:21the gods doing here in the nightmare
30:23desert to begin with. Were you fighting
30:26for the tomb of Ariel? Azerax stared at
30:29him darkly from the tree. No, not at
30:32all. It was just a convenient place to
30:35fight. The ancient tyrant ground his
30:37teeth, then spat in a scornful tone. And
30:41why are you calling this realm the
30:43nightmare desert? Didn't your parents
30:45teach you anything about hell of Ariel?
30:48Sunny looked at him strangely. That's
30:50just what we call it, and my parents had
30:52no idea that this place existed. Did
30:54this realm belong to the demon of dread?
30:57Then Azerax clacked his teeth. No, it
31:00was only turned into hell by him. A hell
31:03is a hell, a desolate realm where
31:05nothing lives. Actually, there were many
31:07mortal realms that had been turned into
31:09harrowing, desolate nightmares by some
31:11calamity or another. I even created one
31:13or two myself. Those realms were called
31:16hells, but this one was special because
31:19it was isolated from all others. One
31:22couldn't just cross its boundary, even
31:24if they were of a high enough rank to
31:26travel between realms. The hell of Ariel
31:28was only connected to one other land. He
31:31pushed against the nails impaling him to
31:33the tree as if hoping that they would
31:35come loose and ground his teeth again.
31:38Because the hell of Ariel was dead and
31:40isolated, it became favored by the gods.
31:43This was where they put everything that
31:45they hated, feared, or wanted to punish.
31:48Well, according to the myth, at least.
31:50That was why parents used to scare their
31:52children with the hell of Ariel.
31:54However, there was another far more
31:57dreadful reason why everyone feared it.
32:00Sunny raised an eyebrow. Why? Azerax
32:03turned his skull south, where the black
32:05wall of the hollow mountains was visible
32:07in the distance. Because the only realm
32:10hell was connected to was the
32:12underworld. A long journey awaits all
32:14living beings once they die. Their
32:17shadows have to travel all the way to
32:19the underworld and cross the rivers to
32:21enter it, then descend to the very
32:23bottom of the underworld and plunge into
32:25the abyss. Only after traversing the
32:28abyss will they finally reach the shadow
32:30realm and find peace. He turned to
32:33Sunny. However, if a shadow got lost on
32:35its way through the underworld, it would
32:37end up here in hell forever. So, funnily
32:41enough, the hell of Ariel had been a
32:43prison for those who had been denied
32:45death, even before shadow god unleashed
32:48his curse. Azerax stared at Sunny and
32:51let out a vicious laugh. Don't worry,
32:54though. All those unfortunate souls were
32:56consumed and eradicated once the hell of
32:58Ariel became a battlefield. We couldn't
33:00tolerate the threat they posed, so we
33:02destroyed them. He slammed the back of
33:04his skull against the tree and stared at
33:07the sky. Neither of the myths about the
33:09hell of Ariel had anything to do with
33:11why the demon legion and the divine host
33:14chose it as a battlefield. Though we
33:16simply needed a large enough battlefield
33:18and did not want to turn more realms
33:20into hells. So this was why we gathered
33:23in the desert to wage war against each
33:25other. Azerax remained motionless. But
33:29despite how close to the underworld we
33:31were, most of us never got to the realm
33:33of death anyway. His voice sounded both
33:36envious and resentful. Vessels of the
33:39gods. Sunny remained silent for a while,
33:42pondering on what Azerax had told them.
33:45It was quite interesting, but not
33:47entirely useful knowledge. It certainly
33:49wasn't going to help them conquer the
33:51nightmare desert at the very least.
33:53However, Sunny felt very refreshed while
33:56talking to Azerax. Even if the ancient
33:58tyrant was not entirely sane, he was far
34:01more talkative and far less
34:03untrustworthy than Ure. Finally, there
34:06was someone from the bygone era with
34:07whom they could hold an actual
34:09conversation. Nephus regarded the
34:11ancient skeleton intently, then asked in
34:13an even tone, "There had to be a reason
34:16why all these warriors clashed in the
34:18hell of Ariel, though. How did this
34:20battle even happen?" Azerax raised his
34:23skull to the sky and let out a cackling
34:25laughter. How did it happen? How did it
34:28happen? Ah. His voice broke strangely,
34:31and he fell silent for a moment. That is
34:34not for you to know, abomination.
34:37He attempted to sound spiteful, but
34:39Sunny did not miss a hint of a deeper,
34:42far more profound emotion in the
34:44skeleton's disembodied voice. That
34:47emotion was fear. Azerax did not fear to
34:50remember the battle in the hell of
34:51Ariel, where countless lives had been
34:53reaped by the jaws of war. Rather, it
34:56seemed that he was frightened by the
34:58fact that he could not remember. His
35:00spite was meant to hide the fact that he
35:02had no answer. Thousands of years of
35:04imprisonment were too much even for a
35:06supreme to endure. Uris admitted freely
35:09that he had lost his mind many times
35:11while hanging on the tree. Azerax,
35:14however, was not willing to admit even a
35:16hint of weakness, and therefore he had
35:18no choice but to hide his broken state.
35:20"It does not matter why the battle
35:22happened. All you need to know is that
35:24it was glorious." The skeleton laughed
35:27again. Dozens of Supremes had led the
35:30endless legions of their domains to the
35:32hell of Ariel to slaughter each other.
35:35We proud few were merely subordinated on
35:38this awesome battlefield, though.
35:40Spirits and divine beasts led the great
35:42armies, all clamoring to rip each other
35:44apart. Millions of awakened. Thousands
35:47of transcendent sages, hordes of devils,
35:50hundreds of titans, all locked in a
35:52fierce battle, making the very
35:54foundation of the world tremble, making
35:56the winds howl in terror. His skeletal
35:59grin was the same as always, but somehow
36:02it seemed to widen soon enough. The
36:05sands of hell were painted golden red,
36:08blood and itch mixing like wine and
36:10water. Days passed, then weeks, then
36:13months. Nephus interrupted his tirade
36:16with a pointed question. So why did
36:18shadow god curse you all? Azerax glared
36:21at her in anger. Why else? It was
36:24because the divine host was on the verge
36:26of suffering defeat. Those dogs wanted
36:29to besiege the underworld, but they
36:31couldn't even conquer hell. So, in the
36:33end, Shadow had to descend into hell
36:36himself. We lured him here with a
36:38dazzling Hecatome. Here, he faced the
36:41demon of repose in combat. But instead
36:43of fighting to the bitter end, the
36:46coward chose to end the battle and crawl
36:48back into his lightless realm. Sunny
36:50perked up. "Shadow God fought Rhyme here
36:53and was forced to retreat." Azerax let
36:56out a contemptuous laugh. Of course,
36:59death held no power over our lady of
37:01repose. Death could not eradicate hope
37:04either, so he was powerless against the
37:06demon of desire as well. The demon of
37:09imagination ruled everything she could
37:11imagine. And since she could easily
37:13conceive of death, death feared her,
37:15too. He could not dream of defeating any
37:18of the demons, that faint and feeble
37:20god, that coward, so he could only
37:23slither away in defeat. Sunny gave
37:26Azerax a dubious glance. Somehow he
37:28doubted that the ancient tyrant was
37:30telling the truth. Even if Shadow god
37:32had indeed fought the demon of repose in
37:34the nightmare desert, Sunonny was sure
37:36that the story of their battle was quite
37:38different from what Azerax thought he
37:39knew. Sunonny was also certain that
37:41Shadow God could have been anything, but
37:43he definitely had been neither weak nor
37:46feeble. After all, he was the last one
37:49to fall when the nightmare spell rose
37:51from Weaver's corpse to devour the gods.
37:54What do you mean when you say that
37:56shadow god descended into hell? Nephas
37:58had walked away from the pool of water
38:00and was now standing in front of the
38:02crucified skeleton. Shadow god was the
38:05shadow realm and the shadow realm was
38:07shadow god. How could he have come to
38:10Ariel's hell and then retreated back?
38:13Azerax looked down at her, darkness
38:15nestling in his empty eye sockets. His
38:17vessel did. The ancient tyrant moved his
38:20skull a little. The gods. The gods were
38:23younger once, but by the time the demons
38:26rose against them in rebellion, they
38:28were old. They had wasted too much of
38:30themselves, becoming too vast and too
38:33great to resemble living beings. They
38:35barely possessed any personhood anymore,
38:38slowly turning into elemental forces. So
38:41they could only retain their agency by
38:43limiting themselves to the confines of a
38:45mortal vessel of an avatar. Azerax
38:48hissed. It was the Avatar of Shadow God
38:51who came to Ariel's hell, lost the
38:54battle against the demon of repose, and
38:56destroyed both armies with his cruel
38:58curse to mock her. Sunny raised an
39:00eyebrow. "Such a terrifying battle. The
39:03greatest battle to have ever been
39:05fought, perhaps. I would have expected
39:07the Avatar of War God to show up
39:09instead." The ancient tyrant laughed.
39:12"That one? That one was not ready for
39:15the horror of our battle yet?" Sunny
39:17frowned. How so? Azerax turned his head
39:21sideways and stared at the wounds on the
39:23bark of the sacred tree where another
39:26set of nails had once been impaling
39:28another skeleton. The avatar of war was
39:31too young, the former one. The dragon
39:34was the founder of the war empire. He
39:37was merely a cheap imitation, though an
39:40imitation of me. Sunny and Nephis looked
39:43at each other. After remaining silent
39:45for a few moments, Sunny scratched the
39:47tip of his nose. What? That doesn't
39:51really make sense. First of all, had the
39:53War Empire not existed for a thousand
39:55years, wouldn't you be an imitation of
39:58its founder instead? He shook his head.
40:01Actually, I wanted to ask, you call
40:03yourself a great conqueror, but conquest
40:06and warfare were the bread and butter of
40:08the war empire. Weren't you a champion
40:10of war god yourself? Azerax simply
40:13laughed. There was a hint of bitterness
40:15in his voice, though. God, no. Why
40:19should I have bowed to a god? I, Azerax
40:21the Conqueror, have never bowed to
40:23anyone or anything countless realms
40:25bowed to me. Instead, he paused for a
40:28moment, then added in a wrathful voice,
40:30"But in the end, my empire was destroyed
40:33by a champion of war, God. The war
40:36empire was built on its ruins and in its
40:38image and ruled by an avatar of war
40:40thriving for a thousand years. His empty
40:43eye sockets glistened wickedly until
40:45Urice that cunning wretch killed the
40:47avatar of war god and sealed the
40:49empire's fate. That was why when the
40:52doom war started, an avatar of war god
40:54was nowhere to be seen. Sunonny was
40:56keenly interested in anything that had
40:58to do with Uric and by extension with
41:00the nine. So he glanced at Azerax
41:02lingered for a moment and asked that
41:04Yurice Yurice of the nine. The two of
41:07you must know each other well
41:08considering that you spent thousands of
41:10years side by side. Azerax ground his
41:13teeth instead of answering the question
41:15he regarded Nephus. That Nave must have
41:17really guided you out of hell. So where
41:20is he now? What has become of him? She
41:22shrugged. I left him in the underworld.
41:25Sunny spared her a brief glance then
41:27added. He made it to the shadow realm in
41:29the end. He is still there, searching
41:31for peace and waiting for Sunny to grow.
41:33Powerful enough to slay him. The skull
41:36of the ancient skeleton remained
41:37motionless for a few moments, then
41:39lowered slightly. A shame Azer stared at
41:41the sand, then pierced with a murderous
41:43glare. It's a shame that he escaped hell
41:46before me. Oh, how joyous it would have
41:48been to join the battle together. Sunny
41:50was momentarily surprised by the
41:52uncharacteristic show of sentimentality.
41:55It seemed that Azerax was not immune to
41:57camaraderie and affection after all.
41:59However, he was proven wrong a second
42:01later. If he and I were to become
42:03swallowed by the curse together, I would
42:05have been able to crush, shatter, and
42:07mutilate that wretched worm for all
42:09eternity. I would have destroyed him a
42:11thousand times, 10,000 times. I would
42:13have visited a vicious death upon him
42:15for every day I had to spend in his
42:17excruciating company. The vitriol in his
42:20voice could only compare with the hatred
42:22he had expressed when sensing the legacy
42:24of shadow god and sunny. I guess not
42:26sunny cleared his throat. Would you even
42:28be able to defeat him once though that
42:30man killed a god? Azerex the mighty is a
42:33fearsome name. Sure, but can it really
42:35compare to Uris the godslayer? Azerax
42:38glowered at him silently. That worm was
42:40full of tricks, but he has never been
42:42more powerful than me. All he could do
42:44was plot and scheme. However, no scheme
42:46would have helped him defeat someone as
42:48fearsome as I was. As I am, Sunny raised
42:51an eyebrow. How did he end up killing
42:53the Avatar of War God? Then he wasn't
42:55asking out of mere curiosity. If he and
42:57Nephes succeeded and became sacred, it
42:59would not be long until they would have
43:01to defend the borders of humanity from
43:03cursed and unholy creatures. So, every
43:05little bit of information about the
43:06nebulous art of gods was of vital
43:08importance to them. Azerax turned his
43:10skull away. Who really knows? It was a
43:12long time ago, and Yurice of the Nine
43:14had never been a forthcoming person.
43:16Even before we ended up nailed to this
43:18tree, he remained silent for a moment,
43:20then continued, "All I know is that
43:21those of his people who hadn't been
43:23slaughtered were made slaves. The slaves
43:25from that particular realm were
43:26gorgeous, mildtempered, and exquisitely
43:28cultured, so they were valued a lot by
43:30the wealthy merchants and the nobles of
43:32the empire. Uric was quite handsome and
43:34highly educated, so he fetched a good
43:36price." That was what people said about
43:37him later, at least when he became
43:39infamous. Azerax turned to look at Sunny
43:41and Nephus. He served his masters well
43:44and was resold several times, ending up
43:46in a more affluent household each time.
43:49Eventually, he became an imperial slave
43:51as in a palace slave for the great
43:52temple of the war empire where the
43:54dragon and his descendants dwelled. The
43:56ancient skeleton let out a cackling
43:58laugh. Yuri served them faithfully for a
44:00while. In fact, he was quite valued by
44:02the great temple and entrusted with
44:03important duties. He was even allowed to
44:05cultivate his soul and walk the path of
44:07ascension, eventually becoming
44:09transcendent. That was when he was given
44:11the greatest of honors, the honor of
44:13serving the dragon himself as a personal
44:15attendant. Azerax grinned. He bited his
44:18time, waited patiently, and then slit
44:20the god emperor<unk>'s throat. Haha. The
44:22proud and mighty dragon killed by a
44:24slave. Truly an inferior imitation.
44:26There was vicious, spiteful glee in his
44:28voice. He was gloating. Sunny shook his
44:30head. Didn't the same dragon do you and
44:33destroy your own empire? Are you really
44:34in a position to scorn him? Azerax
44:37turned his skull and stared at Sunny
44:38with a hint of malevolence. Eventually,
44:40though, he simply scoffed. Did I ever
44:42say that it was the dragon who defeated
44:44me? No, I only said that it was a
44:46champion of war god, my conquest of the
44:48mortal realms had been unstoppable, and
44:50I was well on the way to subjugating
44:52them all. Until my great heattered
44:54himself with all his previous masters in
44:56order to manipulate them subtly. The
44:58same happened to the priests and to the
45:00dragon as well. In the end, so Yuri had
45:03not simply slit a god's throat. That
45:05single slash was the culmination of
45:06decades spent preparing patiently to
45:08strike once a whole lifetime of
45:10servitude, suffering meticulous planning
45:12and unwavering malice, had added deadly
45:15weight to Yuri's blade. Sunny was
45:17willing to bet that killing the Avatar
45:18of War god, just when the demons were
45:20preparing to rise in rebellion, was not
45:22the only thing Yurice had done. As a
45:24palace slave and later an attendant of
45:26the emperor, he would have been privy to
45:27all kinds of information, seeing most of
45:29what transpired in the very heart of the
45:30empire. A flawless spy, Sunny exhaled
45:33slowly. Oh, I see it now. A long time
45:35ago, he had wanted to be a spy and an
45:38assassin. But now that Sunny knew what
45:40Yuri had done, he realized that he was
45:41never cut out for the job. He smiled
45:43faintly. A temple slave, a palace slave.
45:46No wonder he felt a strange kind of
45:47kinship to that deplorable bastard. The
45:49story of Yuri's feet was not what
45:51captivated Sunny the most in what Azerax
45:53had told them, though. Instead, it was
45:55something that the ancient tyrant had
45:56mentioned in passing. For every force,
45:58there is a power that is antithetical to
46:00it. That was how Yuris had been able to
46:02kill the Avatar of War. God, if Azerax
46:04were to be believed, like matter and
46:06anti-atter, the collision of life and
46:08death resulted in annihilation. Or he
46:10might have been full of exhilaration
46:11while watching the world come undone
46:12around him. In any case, that was a
46:14matter of the distant past. Right now,
46:16Sunny had to contend with the fallout of
46:18what Uris and the Nine had done. He had
46:20to survive in the wreckage of the world
46:21they had created. And to do that, he had
46:23to reach the tomb of Ariel. First,
46:25Nephas glanced up, measuring how high
46:27the sun was. Then, she lowered her gaze
46:28and regarded Azerax with a concerned
46:30expression. The battle in Ariel's hell
46:32must have happened in the early years of
46:33the Doom War, so you would not have
46:35witnessed its end. Still, you must have
46:36been aware of the strongest champions of
46:38both the demon legion and the divine
46:40host. Those who were sacred, those who
46:42were divine azeraxs, cackled, "Why do
46:44you ask abomination?" Nef's frown
46:46deepened a little because my domain, the
46:48last human domain, is going to face the
46:50cursed and unholy rulers of the dream
46:52realm. One day soon, beings like that do
46:54not appear out of nowhere. Many of them
46:56must have been sacred and divine once at
46:57the same time. You were supreme, so
46:59knowing about the minor deities of that
47:00bygone era will help me vanquish them in
47:02the future." Azerak stared at her
47:04silently for a while, then shifted ill,
47:06happily answer your questions after you
47:08set me free. Nephes smiled. Yuri guided
47:10me to the underworld as payment for
47:11being set free. What will you do? The
47:13ancient skeleton raised his skull and
47:15laughed. Me, I can even conquer the
47:16underworld for you if you want. Nef's
47:18expression did not change. Instead, she
47:20raised a hand and made a small white
47:21flame dance on her hand. I can conquer
47:23the underworld myself, extinguishing the
47:25flame. She used the same hand to point
47:27into the distance. There, promised to
47:28guide me there, and I will pull you off
47:30the tree. Her finger was pointing at the
47:31tomb of Ariel. Of course, Sunny observed
47:33Azerax, carefully waiting for the
47:35answer. The ancient tyrant did not make
47:37him wait long. That old tomb naturally
47:39pull me off the tree and I will deliver
47:41you there with ease. Sunny chuckled.
47:42Look how amiable you are. He shook his
47:44head and smiled darkly. However she is,
47:47weaver's thr and I am shadows slave.
47:49Those two were your sworn enemies. Once
47:50who's to say you want to attack us the
47:52second you're free. Pulling Azerax off
47:54the tree was not a problem. After all,
47:55Nephis had managed to liberate Yuris as
47:57a sleeper. But there was no guarantee
47:59that the ancient tyrant would not
48:00immediately turn against them. That was
48:02why they had not freed him already.
48:04Azerak stared at them in eternal grin
48:06frozen on his skeletal face. Eventually,
48:08life's too short for regret. Night was
48:11descending on the desert once again. As
48:13the setting sun painted the white sands
48:16vibrant red, the dark sea of shades
48:18assembled into a marching formation.
48:21Tonight, Sunny did not have enough
48:23soldiers to form the defensive wings
48:25around the core of the legion. Instead,
48:27the strongest of his warriors, whom he
48:29had held back the previous night, would
48:31have to join the battle. Nephus was
48:34sitting on the sand meditating with her
48:36eyes closed. She had used neither her
48:38partial nor full transformation
48:40yesterday, but today the battle was
48:42promising to be more difficult. So she
48:45had to prepare herself for the agony of
48:47the merciless white flames of becoming
48:49flame. Sunny was preparing as well.
48:52Today he was going to send all seven of
48:54his avatars into battle independently.
48:57More than that, he was going to attempt
48:59to accomplish an ambitious feat,
49:01building seven intricate shells at the
49:03same time. If he succeeded, then there
49:06would not just be one towering shadow
49:08colossus protecting the legion. There
49:10would be seven. Today's battle was going
49:13to be different in one more way as well.
49:16Today, the plague of steel would be
49:17fighting on their side. Azerax was
49:20standing a few steps ahead of Sunny,
49:21looking at the vast expanse of the
49:23nightmare desert impatiently. He was not
49:26preparing himself in any way. Instead,
49:28he simply could not wait to plunge into
49:30the ferocious battle. Sunny sighed.
49:33Should I create you a weapon at least?
49:36What do you fancy? A sword, a spear, a
49:39club. The ancient skeleton turned his
49:42grinning skull in his direction. No
49:44need. I'll simply take the weapons of my
49:47enemies after crushing the fools to
49:48dust. Sunny studied him for a few
49:51moments, amused. Was that the mindset of
49:53an ancient conqueror? There were many
49:55things he wanted to ask, but sadly they
49:58did not have a lot of time. So he
50:00settled on the most important thing.
50:02What powers does the great and mighty
50:04Azerax wield? Exactly. It was a natural
50:08question, but a complicated one after
50:10all. Despite this temporary alliance,
50:13they were still enemies. Azerax made no
50:16secret of his hatred toward both Sunny
50:18and Nephis, as well as of his desire to
50:21unleash a bloody conquest upon the
50:23world. So describing the details of his
50:25powers to them would be like arming his
50:27future adversaries for the battle
50:29against him. Was not even clear if the
50:31ancient skeleton possessed an aspect at
50:34all. The original Azerax had, but he had
50:37also been human. This one, meanwhile,
50:40was one of the deathless of cursed
50:41beings reborn through the loss of their
50:44shadows and therefore of their deaths.
50:46Azerax might have lost his aspect and
50:49flaw a long time ago. He laughed.
50:52Wouldn't you like to know with that? The
50:54ancient tyrant looked ahead once more.
50:57You'll see soon enough. However, my
50:59power is not even the reason you wanted
51:01to strike a deal with me so badly. Is
51:03it, Shadow? He shook his head. Instead,
51:06it's simply the fact that I'm deathless.
51:09Sunny hesitated for a moment, then
51:11smiled faintly. Oh no, you caught me.
51:15Azerax shrugged, causing his bones to
51:17scrape against each other. L am
51:19deathless, which means that I am very
51:21difficult to destroy. I am also one with
51:24the creatures you need to fight in this
51:25desert, and half of them were my
51:27comrades once. So, you hope that only
51:30half of the deathless will attack me,
51:32and by extension, you? He pointed at
51:35Sunny with a cackling laughter. You
51:37might even be hoping that the ones who
51:39recognize me as one of their own would
51:41pay less attention to you and the
51:42Napalim. Or perhaps even join me in
51:45destroying the deathless who were once
51:47soldiers of the divine host. Sunonny
51:50shrugged. More or less, yes. Azerax
51:53gazed at the desert. After a while, he
51:56said, "I do not know what the warriors
51:58of other domains will do. But if we
52:00encounter soldiers who once fought under
52:02my banner, they will submit to their
52:04lord. If they don't, I'll force them. I
52:07will restore my army one soldier at a
52:10time if need be." Azerax clicked his jaw
52:13and looked at the sun, which was
52:15drowning in the sea of scarlet dunes.
52:17Ah, the night is almost here. Finally, I
52:21will taste the sweetness of this
52:22glorious battle after observing it
52:24powerlessly for thousands of years. He
52:28turned around, the darkness nestled in
52:30his empty eye sockets overflowing with
52:33malevolence and hatred. Before that,
52:35however, but before he could move, Nef's
52:38calm voice interrupted him. Don't.
52:41Opening her eyes, she rose from the sand
52:43and looked at Azerax coldly. You were
52:46going to destroy the tree, weren't you?
52:48Azerak seemed amused. So what if I did?
52:52Why should I spare that oursed thing?
52:54Nephus sighed. Because it withtood
52:57thousands of years without succumbing to
52:59corruption. Very few things in the world
53:01did. So leave it be, Azerax. He glared
53:04at her for a while, then shook his skull
53:06and turned away. And you call yourselves
53:09supreme? Pitiful. Pathetic. Both of you
53:12are too young, too soft, too kind.
53:15Conquering and killing you will be too
53:17easy. Nephas opened her mouth to say
53:20something, but then her expression
53:22changed subtly. It did not escape Sunny.
53:25What is it? Nephas remained silent for a
53:28while, then gritted her teeth. I just
53:30lost another citadel. For a moment,
53:32there was a troubled look on her face.
53:35Then it was replaced by her usual
53:37impassive expression. It seems that
53:39Morrett's invasion pushed the Dreamspawn
53:42to accelerate his plans. We will have to
53:44hurry as well. Sunny sighed. A loss of a
53:47citadel meant that another saint had
53:49become Asterion's thr also meant that
53:52Nephas had grown a little weaker. That
53:54loss was not substantial for now, but it
53:58meant that her powers would continue to
53:59diminish as they traveled deeper into
54:01the desert, even though their enemies
54:03would only keep growing stronger. He
54:06looked at the endless sea of dunes and
54:08the distant silhouette of the tomb of
54:10Ariel, all drowning in the crimson light
54:12of the falling sun. The last vestage of
54:15the sun disappeared behind the horizon,
54:18and the sands came alive, giving birth
54:20to a boundless horde of skeletal
54:22horrors. Hurry! They had to hurry and
54:25conquer hell. Far away! Cassie was
54:28walking through the corridors of the
54:29ivory tower. The great Pagota felt empty
54:32now that Nephas and Sunny were away.
54:34Most of the firekeepers had departed as
54:36well, sent to put out numerous fires
54:39consuming humanity. At least Rain was
54:41here. The young woman spent most of her
54:44time meditating, though hard at work to
54:46make her ascension happen. So Cassie
54:49often felt that she was the only person
54:51left on the ivory island. The only
54:53person left in the world. Of course, it
54:56was only her body that remained on the
54:58flying island. Her mind, meanwhile,
55:00encompassed all of the world, sharing
55:02the senses of countless people across
55:04the human domain, witnessing them. She
55:07was communicating with dozens of people
55:08at any given moment as well. After all,
55:11humanity was in the throws of a global
55:13crisis, quaking as it was besieged from
55:16all sides. The waking world continued to
55:19be consumed by the everinccreasing
55:21number of nightmare gates and the waves
55:23of abominations they unleashed. In the
55:25dream realm, hordes of nightmare
55:28creatures were prowling the edges of the
55:29human domain, driven mad by the scent of
55:32human souls. Estion's plague was
55:35spreading like wildfire, slowly
55:37consuming everything. And on top of
55:39that, the king of nothing had invaded
55:41the human domain from the north, posing
55:44a threat that was more dire than even
55:46the dream spawn. Cassie was merely a
55:48saint, but at the moment, she
55:50represented the throne of the immortal
55:52flame. She was the standin for the ruler
55:55of humanity and therefore it was her
55:57duty to guide the human domain through
55:59these calamities or try to at least.
56:03There was so much she had to do, so much
56:06she had to coordinate, so many things
56:08she needed to observe, comprehend, and
56:10react to accordingly. There was a litany
56:13of voices in Cassie's head, all asking
56:16for direction. It was overwhelming, but
56:18she methodically responded to each of
56:20them, providing the necessary
56:22information, making countless decisions,
56:24and giving orders, creating a semblance
56:27of order out of the raging ocean of
56:28chaos. The campaign is over, commander.
56:32You must abandon the forward camp of the
56:34expedition and pull your forces back.
56:37Retreat west, then march north toward
56:39the Black Mountains post haste to
56:42bolster the local garrisons. Speed is of
56:45utmost importance. No reinforcements
56:48will be available in the foreseeable
56:49future. You must establish a strict
56:52curfew and transition the city to
56:54martial law, evacuate fringe districts,
56:56and relocate all troops to protect the
56:58city core. Ensure that the special
57:01directives are strictly adhered to.
57:03There will be no supply shipments this
57:05month and perhaps next month as well.
57:07Your only hope to avoid mass starvation
57:10is to ration food while sending out
57:12hunting parties to slay and slaughter
57:13nightmare creatures. Use emergency funds
57:16to double the reward independent
57:18awakened receive for donating salvaged
57:20materials as long as they are edible.
57:22Relocate all awakened engineers north
57:25immediately. The existing fortifications
57:27are woefully insufficient for what is
57:30about to come. So, we must establish a
57:32robust defensive line in a matter of
57:34days, two weeks at most. Recruit
57:37specialists among the veterans of the
57:39southern campaign. You must hurry, Kai.
57:42You can sacrifice the Citadel and you
57:44can sacrifice the Lake of Tears as well.
57:46But people come first. As long as people
57:49survive, we can rebuild whatever is
57:51destroyed. Morrid had already taken the
57:53glass hell. Godrave was as good as lost.
57:57He was not going to attack Ravenhart. At
58:00least not yet, because the defenses of
58:02the city were too formidable. Whoever
58:05ruled the Jade Palace could awaken the
58:07volcanoes and incinerate anyone trying
58:09to attack the city from the north as
58:11well. However, all the other regions
58:14bordering the Hollow Mountains were
58:16doomed to fall. Jet had already
58:18evacuated the sanctuary, but the Lake of
58:21Tears had to be defended until its
58:23citizens could flee to Ravenhart and
58:25other cities of the former Song Domain.
58:28the same time in the east. All citadels
58:31north of the Black Mountains had to be
58:32abandoned simply because they were not
58:34defensible enough and there was no time
58:36to establish a robust defensive line on
58:39any terrain there. So Cassie had to take
58:41measures in order to stop Mor Dre's
58:43advance at the Black Mountains, which
58:45was why she was mobilizing all available
58:47forces and sending them north. And all
58:49the while Asterion continued to spread
58:51his plague, enrolling even saints. Now,
58:55Nephus, Sunny, you must hurry. Cassie
58:58grimaced and massaged her temples, dazed
59:01by the mad kaleidoscope of senses and
59:03perspectives she was experiencing. Her
59:05transcendent mind was far more potent
59:07than that of any mundane human. No, in
59:10fact, she was outstanding even among
59:13saints, but she was still a mere mortal.
59:16Pushing herself that way was taxing, and
59:18even then she had already hit her limit.
59:21At times it felt as if her mind would
59:24shatter under the weight of all these
59:25memories, but it never did. It had not
59:28shattered yet, at least. Continuing on
59:31her way, Cassie continued to send
59:34countless mental messages. Retreat 300
59:37km west and establish a new camp. The
59:39forces of the Aegis Rose clan will
59:41rendevous with your soldiers there. Yes,
59:44the Firekeepers have received the data.
59:46A cohort is already on its way to
59:48contain the emerging gate. They'll be
59:50there in time. Burn the crops. Loing the
59:53latest harvest will be a setback. But if
59:56these plants escape from under our
59:57control, the damage will be far more
1:00:00dire. You have my permission to arm the
1:00:02civilians. I will take authority. This
1:00:05is the will of the immortal flame. Lady
1:00:08Nefis will act when she thinks it's
1:00:10needed. Cassie stumbled. All these
1:00:12perspectives made it difficult to remain
1:00:14aware of her own body. Her missing eye
1:00:16pulsated with a dull pain, and she felt
1:00:19uncomfortable without the quiet dancer
1:00:21on her belt. But still, we will prevail.
1:00:25Cassie believed it wholeheartedly. She
1:00:27had to believe it. She was just not sure
1:00:30how much would be sacrificed to achieve
1:00:32that triumph. In just a few short days,
1:00:35Cassie saw that even her worst
1:00:36expectations were proven wrong. Red Hill
1:00:39was lost. The sanctuary of Noctis was
1:00:42lost. The Lake of Tears was lost. not
1:00:45simply conquered, but erased from the
1:00:47map, forever changing the face of the
1:00:49weeping goddess. And these were only the
1:00:52citadels that had fallen to Morret. In
1:00:54truth, there was no saying how many
1:00:56saints had already been enthralled by
1:00:58Asterion, thus making their citadels
1:01:01beholden to the hunger domain. The
1:01:03longing domain was crumbling, which
1:01:06meant that somewhere out there, Nafas
1:01:08was growing weaker. Cassie would have
1:01:10liked to worry about Nafas, but the
1:01:12truth of the matter was that she had no
1:01:14such luxury. She did not have time to
1:01:16worry even about herself. The decision
1:01:19Kai had made during the battle for the
1:01:20Lake of Tears turned the already
1:01:22terrible situation simply untenable. His
1:01:25intentions had been good, but the
1:01:27consequences of providing a glorious
1:01:29stage for Asterion were dire. Morrid had
1:01:32conquered God and fashioned a personal
1:01:35hunting ground out of the hollows. Now
1:01:37his forces were advancing south, both in
1:01:40the basin of the river of tears and in
1:01:42the heartland of the dream realm. The
1:01:44battle for the black mountains had
1:01:46begun, and Cassie was struggling to keep
1:01:48sending fresh troops there. In the
1:01:51south, meanwhile, the plague of Asterion
1:01:54was entering the final stage. It was
1:01:56slowly consuming all of humanity, making
1:01:59no distinction between mundane people
1:02:01and awakened. In the cities where those
1:02:04loyal to the longing domain still
1:02:06remained, intense clashes between the
1:02:08faithful and the apostates were
1:02:10threatening to escalate into civil war.
1:02:12There were one or two cities that
1:02:14enjoyed perfect harmony and peace.
1:02:17Though those were the cities where the
1:02:18plague had already swallowed everyone,
1:02:21making all citizens thrs of Asterion,
1:02:23and throughout all that the waking world
1:02:25was continuing to come undone. Cassie
1:02:28felt suffocated. At the same time, she
1:02:31felt paranoid, unable to rely even on
1:02:33those people who had held her absolute
1:02:35trust in the past. But most of all, she
1:02:38had no time to consider the large
1:02:40picture. Her mind was completely
1:02:42preoccupied with the Titanic undertaking
1:02:45of administering the boundless expanse
1:02:47of the human domain. As night descended
1:02:49upon Bastion, embracing the heavenly
1:02:52island drifting in the clouds above it.
1:02:54First she walked across the empty
1:02:56corridors of the ivory tower and knocked
1:02:58on a door. Coming inside, she found rain
1:03:02meditating. Cassie could not see the
1:03:04young woman, but she could feel the
1:03:06torrent of essence flowing furiously
1:03:08through her. Their raging current guided
1:03:11by the coils of the serpent etched into
1:03:13her skin. The clouds outside the window
1:03:16were restless, swirling in tune with the
1:03:18revolving whirlpool of rain's soul
1:03:21essence. Sensing her presence, the young
1:03:23woman seemed to smile. Lady Cassia.
1:03:26Cassie hesitated for a moment. Elm just
1:03:29checking on you. Do you need anything?
1:03:32Rain shook her head. No, thank you. Oh,
1:03:34I'll be sure to make breakfast tomorrow.
1:03:36Please come eat once the sun rises.
1:03:38Cassie nodded. There were very few
1:03:40people on the ivory island at the
1:03:42moment. and making the blind woman cook
1:03:44was not the best of ideas. As a saint,
1:03:47Cassie herself did not need a lot of
1:03:49food, but Rain was different, so she
1:03:51insisted on cooking for both of them
1:03:53when nobody else was available. I'll
1:03:55leave you to it. Then, not wanting to
1:03:58disturb Rain, Cassie quietly retreated.
1:04:00While she was talking to Rain, the
1:04:03forces of the human domain were pushed
1:04:05back from the northernmost peak in the
1:04:07Black Mountains. At the same time, a
1:04:09potent nightmare gate opened in the
1:04:11middle of a populous city in the western
1:04:13quadrant. The Oil scale had done its job
1:04:16and warned of its imminent descent well
1:04:17in advance. But with how many soldiers
1:04:20were engaged in the battle against
1:04:21Morrett, it was difficult to send a
1:04:23large force to contain it. The same
1:04:25time, a strange peace settled on the
1:04:28streets of a citadel city that stood on
1:04:30the shores of the River of Tears, far
1:04:32downstream of the weeping goddess. The
1:04:35citizens who had been at each other's
1:04:37throats just a day ago were now going
1:04:39about their business with happy smiles.
1:04:41The saint ruling the citadel was still
1:04:44sending mental messages to Cassie, his
1:04:46tone urgent. He seemed to still be loyal
1:04:48at least. Lady Cassia, we have settled
1:04:52the refugees from the Lake of Tears. But
1:04:55our food stores will not last long with
1:04:57the additional population. I know that
1:04:59navigating the River of Tears is
1:05:01dangerous at the moment, but can't you
1:05:03resupply us by sending a few ships
1:05:05upstream from the storm sea? I will
1:05:08dispatch my best warriors to escort
1:05:10them. Walking to her quarters, Cassie
1:05:13traced the wall with her fingers. It is
1:05:15possible, but the situation is changing
1:05:17swiftly. I will send supplies as soon as
1:05:19possible. Keep your warriors inside the
1:05:22city. We do not know when the next raid
1:05:24might happen. She was sharing the saints
1:05:27senses, so she could feel his fatigue
1:05:29and anxiety. He let out a heavy sigh. I
1:05:33see. The saint remained silent for a few
1:05:35moments and then asked aloud. But Lady
1:05:38Cassia, can I ask you a question? He
1:05:41leaned back and inhaled deeply, relaxing
1:05:43his body. What do you think would have
1:05:46happened to the great palace of Cree if
1:05:48the Minotaur broke free of his prison?
1:05:50Cassie halted for a moment, then
1:05:52continued walking. The saint smiled.
1:05:56Would he have spared Ariadne, his
1:05:58sister, or tore her limb from limb and
1:06:00devoured her? He chuckled. "You have
1:06:03such pretty eyes, Lady Cassia." She
1:06:06erased her mark, cutting the connection
1:06:08between them. "Another one." Knowing
1:06:11that Asterion could exploit her web of
1:06:13telepathic connections, Cassie gritted
1:06:16her teeth and erased every mark in that
1:06:18city as well. A black spot appeared on
1:06:21her mental map of the dream realm. There
1:06:23were already a few of these spots on it
1:06:25already, particularly so in the north.
1:06:28From a distance, it looked like a vast
1:06:30darkness was encroaching upon the world,
1:06:33devouring it slowly. At that moment, for
1:06:36the first time since Asterion had
1:06:38revealed himself, Cassie could not help
1:06:41but ask herself a frightening question.
1:06:43What was she going to do if Nephus and
1:06:45Sunny failed to achieve their mysterious
1:06:47goal in time? What was she going to do
1:06:50if they failed? Lady Cassia, the king of
1:06:53nothing has crossed the northern gorge
1:06:54and broken through the fortification
1:06:56line at Whisper Peak. We won't be able
1:06:58to hold out for long. Please send
1:07:00reinforcements immediately. My lady, the
1:07:03supply fleet is lost. I I am sorry. The
1:07:06casualties are as follows. The nightmare
1:07:08gate is contained, but it opened close
1:07:10to the main relay substation. The
1:07:13electrical grid is completely disrupted.
1:07:15And although secondary and tertiary
1:07:17transformer stations were used to
1:07:19reroute the current, approximately 20%
1:07:22of the city is currently suffering from
1:07:24a complete blackout. I must reiterate
1:07:27the urgency of the situation. Lady
1:07:29Cassia local generators installed in
1:07:31residential complexes will not last
1:07:33long. Once power goes out and
1:07:36ventilation systems stop functioning,
1:07:38the death toll on the subterranean
1:07:40floors. Lady Cassia. Lady Cassia. My
1:07:44lady. Cassie's mind was filled with
1:07:47pleading voices. The dreadful cacophony
1:07:49of their cries was deafening, washing
1:07:52over her like a cold ocean goddess. They
1:07:55wanted to be saved, and for them,
1:07:57salvation was synonymous with changing
1:07:59star, with the last daughter of the
1:08:01immortal flame, who had ignited their
1:08:03souls with hope and longing. So, they
1:08:06wanted to know where she was. They
1:08:09wanted to know why she had abandoned
1:08:10them. Cassie wanted to know as well. She
1:08:14used to, but judging by the gaping
1:08:16spaces where her recent memories were
1:08:18supposed to be, she must have erased
1:08:20them. The reason why was not difficult
1:08:23to guess, it was to protect that
1:08:25knowledge from Asterion. And since the
1:08:27knowledge of where the rulers of
1:08:29humanity had gone needed to be protected
1:08:31from Hysterion, Cassie could deduce that
1:08:34he would do anything in his power to
1:08:36stop them if he ever found out, which in
1:08:38turn meant that what they were doing
1:08:40could spell the end of the dream spawn.
1:08:43So that was everything she knew that
1:08:46Nephus and Sunny were currently doing
1:08:48something that would allow them to
1:08:49defeat Asterion and that humanity had to
1:08:52endure alone until they did. Cassie was
1:08:55resourceful, but she could not replace
1:08:57two supremes. So, even if she was doing
1:08:59her best, things were turning more and
1:09:01more dire with each day. But I really
1:09:04think that I am on the right path.
1:09:06Cassie flinched slightly, brought back
1:09:08from the deafening choir of desperate
1:09:10voices by one that sounded hopeful and
1:09:12bright. Rain was sitting across from
1:09:15her, enjoying the pancakes she had made
1:09:18for the two of them. Awakening is the
1:09:20process of condensing soul essence into
1:09:23a core. Ascension, meanwhile, is the
1:09:25process of reforging the core. It makes
1:09:28sense if you think about it. A soul core
1:09:31is built from solidified essence. And
1:09:33the essence that solidifies under
1:09:35pressure to create it is awakened. How
1:09:38can something built from awakened
1:09:40essence contain ascended essence which
1:09:43is far more volatile and potent? Rain
1:09:46smiled. Ah, please forgive me, Lady
1:09:49Cassia. I'm speaking metaphorically, of
1:09:51course, and my metaphors always seem to
1:09:54end up having to do with architecture
1:09:56and construction work. If you listen to
1:09:58me, you'd think that I'm talking about
1:10:00building a hut, not ascending. I can't
1:10:02explain it better, though. So, the
1:10:04problem is in reforging the core. As I
1:10:07see it, there are two ways of going
1:10:09about it. One is enlightened, slow, and
1:10:12conservative. The other is swift,
1:10:14radical, and quite possibly lethal.
1:10:17Cassie raised an eyebrow. And these two
1:10:20ways are, Rain chuckled. I'm glad you
1:10:22asked. The enlightened way is to allow
1:10:25ascended essence to wash over the core
1:10:27like sea waves wash over the shore in an
1:10:29endless cycle of tides. The composition
1:10:32of the core will gradually change, one
1:10:34sand particle at a time. naturally. That
1:10:37can take decades, and one would need to
1:10:40either learn how to elevate the quality
1:10:41of their essence or have a steady supply
1:10:44of ascended soul shards to substitute
1:10:46personal enlightenment. I can somewhat
1:10:49achieve the former, but I already
1:10:51benefit from the latter. Cassie smiled.
1:10:54I see. And the second way, Rain sighed.
1:10:58The second way would be quite obvious to
1:11:00someone in construction. There is a hut
1:11:02in front of you, but you need a castle
1:11:04to stand in its place. Do you replace
1:11:06the wooden planks of the hut one by one
1:11:08until it becomes a castle? No. You'd
1:11:11simply demolish the hut and build an
1:11:13entirely new castle in its place. In
1:11:15other words, since the core solidified
1:11:18from awakened essence, it's easier to
1:11:20destroy it and shape an entirely new one
1:11:22from ascended essence instead. Cassie
1:11:25faced her with a frown. The destruction
1:11:27of the soul core usually leads to the
1:11:29collapse of the soul, though it's a
1:11:31death sentence. Rain looked at her
1:11:34pancakes with a look of disappointment.
1:11:36I know. I could not find a safe way to
1:11:38achieve ascension in that manner. So,
1:11:41well, anyway, I'm exploring the first
1:11:43method at the moment. What do you think?
1:11:46Cassie remained silent for a while,
1:11:48straining not to get lost in the roaring
1:11:50litany of pleading voices that thundered
1:11:52in her head. Eventually, she smiled. I
1:11:55think that your pancakes are getting
1:11:56cold. They are delicious, by the way, so
1:11:59it would be a shame to waste them. She
1:12:01had thought that Rain, Sunny's disciple
1:12:04and the only human who had managed to
1:12:06awaken without the help of the spell
1:12:08would be safest here in the ivory tower.
1:12:11But she had been wrong. Several days
1:12:13ago, Asterion had taken the night
1:12:16garden. Jet managed to escape, but all
1:12:18six saints who had been with her on the
1:12:20Titanic ship were now thrs of the dream
1:12:22spawn. Night Walker was among them. Jet
1:12:25and Night Walker had not managed to
1:12:27master the Night Garden's navigation
1:12:29component yet, which prevented it from
1:12:31making long-d distanceance spatial
1:12:33jumps. But with Asterion looking over
1:12:35Night Walker's shoulder and whispering
1:12:37secrets into his ear, things could
1:12:39change in an instant. Cassie had lost
1:12:42track of the night garden, so it could
1:12:43appear anywhere at any moment, which
1:12:46meant that the ivory island was not safe
1:12:48anymore, or rather, it was even less
1:12:50safe than it had been. Cassie did not
1:12:53hear the voices of those aboard the
1:12:54Titanic ship anymore. Her mind was
1:12:57overflowing with the terrifying,
1:12:59deafening cacophony of desperate voices.
1:13:02But actually, it was not their cries
1:13:04that frightened her. Instead, it was
1:13:07their silence. Chapter 2863. The silence
1:13:10Cassie was reeling under the weight of
1:13:12innumerable voices calling out for her.
1:13:15her senses overwhelmed by the blinding
1:13:17dread of witnessing scenes of violent
1:13:19destruction transpiring in every corner
1:13:21of the two worlds. But yesterday there
1:13:24had been more voices, and a day before
1:13:27that there had been more voices still.
1:13:30She was struggling to endure the burden
1:13:32of humanity's hope, but was more afraid
1:13:34of people losing their faith in her
1:13:36because she knew that once their
1:13:38desperate calls ceased, leaving behind
1:13:40only echoing silence, they did not
1:13:43vanish. It was just that people learned
1:13:45to put their faith in someone else and
1:13:47therefore it was he who listened to
1:13:49their prayers now. Asterion the dream
1:13:52spawn the monster who had escaped his
1:13:55prison after learning to love the taste
1:13:57of human flesh. The longing domain was
1:14:00crumbling as it was being devoured and
1:14:02the hunger domain was growing. The more
1:14:04people Asterion enthralled, the fewer of
1:14:07them called out to Cassie because they
1:14:09were calling out to him instead. With
1:14:11every voice that went quiet, the
1:14:13darkness spread. She was witnessing the
1:14:16downfall of what she and Nephas had
1:14:18built happening right in front of her.
1:14:20Red Hill, the sanctuary, the weeping
1:14:23goddess, the night garden. Other
1:14:26citadels were soon to fall into the
1:14:28embrace of the hunger domain, too.
1:14:30Unless they were taken by the king of
1:14:32nothing first, of course. Cassie had to
1:14:35do everything in her power and well
1:14:37beyond that as well to postpone the
1:14:39collapse of the longing domain for as
1:14:41long as she could, but at the same time
1:14:44she could not deny the possibility that
1:14:46its collapse was inevitable. So she had
1:14:49to prepare for the inevitable as well.
1:14:51Days passed, turning into weeks.
1:14:54Ravenhart was besieged by the forces of
1:14:56the king of nothing, while in Bastion,
1:14:59Asterion was quietly amassing more and
1:15:01more zealous followers. The night garden
1:15:04was gone, leaving behind no traces. It
1:15:07could be drifting in the darkness of the
1:15:09sky below still, or it could have long
1:15:11traveled to somewhere else. Cassie had
1:15:14no way to tell. The battle for the Black
1:15:16Mountains raged on. Initially, Morrid
1:15:19had been confidently pushing the forces
1:15:20of the human domain back, but after a
1:15:23while, the situation changed. The
1:15:26defensive line facing the relentless
1:15:28invasion of the King of Nothing grew
1:15:30stable, doggedly holding out against the
1:15:32onslaught. In the basin of the River of
1:15:35Tears as well, the Citadel cities
1:15:37rallied to blockade the Great River and
1:15:39prevent Morrret from raiding the
1:15:41settlements downstream, resulting in a
1:15:43series of bloody naval battles. It was
1:15:46not because of Cassie's best efforts to
1:15:48prevent humanity from being consumed by
1:15:50the King of Nothing, though. She had
1:15:52done her best. She really did. But in
1:15:55the end, more dread had only been
1:15:57stalled because Asterion took matters
1:15:59into his own hands. As more and more
1:16:01people fell into the hex of his
1:16:03insidious domain, his influence among
1:16:05the awakened warriors spread
1:16:07uncontrollably, innumerable masters had
1:16:10fallen under his influence as well, and
1:16:12with each day more and more saints.
1:16:15There was a brief moment when the
1:16:16longing domain and the hunger domain
1:16:18reached a point of equilibrium. Then the
1:16:21equilibrium was broken and the influence
1:16:24of the rapidly spreading hunger domain
1:16:26outgrew the diminishing authority of the
1:16:28longing domain without ever slowing
1:16:30down. That was the point of no return.
1:16:33Once Asterion subjugated the majority of
1:16:36awakened. He commanded his thrs to take
1:16:39control of the front line and extended
1:16:42his personal support to the struggling
1:16:44forces of humanity. both bolstering his
1:16:47already radiant fame and serving as a
1:16:49deterrent that prevented Morrid from
1:16:52crushing the defensive line with the
1:16:54power of his supreme. Led by a sovereign
1:16:57and imbued with the eerie unity his thrs
1:17:00shared, the followers of Asterion stood
1:17:03side by side with the remaining warriors
1:17:05of the longing domain to repel the king
1:17:07of nothing. The black mountains quakd,
1:17:10ancient peaks fracturing and crumbling
1:17:12under the pressure of fierce battles.
1:17:15The two clashing forces reached a bitter
1:17:17stalemate. Changing Star was absent, and
1:17:20there was a harrowing adversary
1:17:22besieging the borders of the human
1:17:24domain. So, naturally, people opened
1:17:27their hearts to a charming, powerful
1:17:29Supreme who seemed both benevolent and
1:17:33righteous. A warrior could wake up at
1:17:35dawn and pray to Changing Star, longing
1:17:38to survive until dusk. By noon, he would
1:17:41forget all about his loyalty to the
1:17:43immortal flame and praise Lord Asterion
1:17:46instead, no different from all the other
1:17:48thralls. And by the time the sun set,
1:17:51his soul would be shattered and his body
1:17:53would become a vessel of the king of
1:17:54nothing. Instead of whispering prayers
1:17:57to Changing Star or the dream spawn, his
1:18:00lips would twist into a pleasant smile,
1:18:02and his eyes would shine with an eerie
1:18:05hint of madness. The deafening choir of
1:18:07desperate voices resounding in Cassie's
1:18:10mind was growing less unbearable. Her
1:18:12marks were disappearing. One by one,
1:18:15knowing that being connected to Asterion
1:18:17through his thrs was no different from
1:18:19inviting him into her mind, she did not
1:18:21hesitate to cut her connection to anyone
1:18:23who fell into his sphere of influence.
1:18:26As a result, her own sphere of awareness
1:18:28was shrinking. Her mental map, which had
1:18:30once encompassed most of the dream realm
1:18:32and the waking world, was drowning in
1:18:34darkness now.
1:18:36Time passed. The citadel cities in the
1:18:39vicinity of Bastion grew silent one by
1:18:41one. The storied legacy clans that had
1:18:44defended the heartland of the dream
1:18:46realm for decades looked to a different
1:18:48sovereign now, just like they had looked
1:18:51to Nephice after the king of swords
1:18:53fell. The storm sea had become a black
1:18:55void in Cassie's mind. She did not know
1:18:58what was happening there. All she knew
1:19:00was that ships kept arriving at the
1:19:02estuary of the River of Tears, bringing
1:19:05supplies and warriors with them. Then
1:19:07the darkness extended to the basin of
1:19:10the River of Tears as well. In the
1:19:12waking world, cities blinked out of
1:19:15existence one by one. Northern Quadrant,
1:19:19Western Quadrant, Eastern Quadrant, and
1:19:22the colonies in South America, too.
1:19:24Watching it all transpire was
1:19:26terrifying. The voices crying out to
1:19:29Cassie became fewer and fewer until one
1:19:32day she was left in a vast, deafening
1:19:36silence. No one called out to her
1:19:38anymore. The world was swallowed by
1:19:40impenetrable darkness, becoming no
1:19:43different from an empty void. Cassie
1:19:45stood in the gateway hall of the ivory
1:19:47tower, motionless, daunted by the
1:19:49silence and drowning in the sense of
1:19:51defeat. The peace that had descended on
1:19:54her exhausted mind was a blessing, but
1:19:56it felt like a curse. Her world, which
1:19:59had once been overflowing with sounds
1:20:01and sensations, was now narrow and dull.
1:20:04There were only a few islands of vibrant
1:20:06color in the vast darkness that
1:20:08surrounded her. Kai, Effie, Rain, and a
1:20:11few firekeepers who were guarding the
1:20:13ivory island. That was all that remained
1:20:16of the human domain and of her mental
1:20:18web as well. But even then, Cassie did
1:20:21not fully trust any of the people who
1:20:23surrounded her. She was all by herself.
1:20:27And as she stood there trapped in the
1:20:29darkness, Cassie suddenly remembered
1:20:31something. She remembered that after
1:20:33Ariadne had saved Thesius and helped him
1:20:36defeat the Minotaur, she was left on an
1:20:38empty island by the victorious hero. To
1:20:41die there, abandoned and alone. Cassie
1:20:44took a deep breath. Effie Kai, be ready.
1:20:47The dream spawn will come for Bastion
1:20:49and Ravenhart soon. He was going to come
1:20:51for the ivory island as well. Their time
1:20:54had run out. As Cassie took a step
1:20:56forward, she suddenly sensed something
1:20:58and halted. Her head whipped toward the
1:21:00ceiling of the great hall, and her one
1:21:03remaining eye widened behind the
1:21:04blindfold. Rain. She turned around and
1:21:07dashed toward the stairs. Chapter 28864.
1:21:11Dying flame. Cassie steps were hurried,
1:21:15tracing the wall of the ivory tower with
1:21:17her fingers. She ascended the long
1:21:19spiraling stairs. The world around her
1:21:22was silent and dark, but beneath its
1:21:25calm surface, a harrowing storm was
1:21:27brewing. There was a quite literal storm
1:21:30brewing outside as well. The clouds,
1:21:33which had been white and calm minutes
1:21:35before, were now dark gray and heavy,
1:21:38moving like tattered sails under the
1:21:40onslaught of hurricane winds. They
1:21:42flowed and collided with each other,
1:21:44producing deafening thunderclaps and
1:21:46blinding flashes of lightning.
1:21:48Torrancets of rain whipped across the
1:21:50ivory island, making the lake boil and
1:21:52sending water streaming down the fangs
1:21:55of the dead dragon. It was as if the
1:21:57flying island had suddenly found itself
1:21:59in the very heart of a powerful cyclone.
1:22:02What is she doing? Cassie staggered and
1:22:04leaned on the wall, feeling what Rain
1:22:06was feeling several floors above. A
1:22:09fierce current of essence flowed through
1:22:11her body at awful speed, and a vicious
1:22:14agony of soul damage contorted it as
1:22:16thin cracks snaked through her soul
1:22:18core. Cassie gritted her teeth and
1:22:21rushed up the endless stairs. The veil
1:22:23of storm clouds obscured the view of
1:22:25Bastion far below, as well as the vast
1:22:28sky above. The world was suddenly
1:22:30limited to the narrow prison of
1:22:32cascading lightning bolts and turbulent
1:22:34clouds, a thick mist covering all in
1:22:36sight as it was sused with a crackling
1:22:38radiance. Cassie felt the wind and the
1:22:41thunder claps through the vibrations of
1:22:43the ivory tower's wall. She sensed the
1:22:46rain by smell and saw the flashes of
1:22:48lightning through the eyes of the
1:22:49firekeepers guarding the island. Those
1:22:52firekeepers were now rushing toward the
1:22:54great pagota as if wanting to hide from
1:22:56the rain. However, Cassie knew that they
1:22:59were not afraid of rain. After all, they
1:23:01were all ascended. It would take more
1:23:04than the fury of the elements to force
1:23:05them to abandon their posts. Has begun.
1:23:09Cassie had known it would. As soon as
1:23:11utter silence enveloped her mind, she
1:23:14knew that Asterion could not be bothered
1:23:16to hide his thrs anymore. That meant
1:23:18that he had no reason to, which meant
1:23:20that he had already subjugated enough of
1:23:22humanity to believe that nothing could
1:23:24stop him now. Humanity had already
1:23:26fallen, and all he had to do was clean
1:23:29up the last stragglers, those stubborn
1:23:31few who refused to be enthralled despite
1:23:33all his efforts. People like Cassie.
1:23:36Made sense that there were some whom he
1:23:38had failed to enthral. There were always
1:23:40people who were naturally immune to a
1:23:42plague after all. Considering that
1:23:45Asterion was cleaning house, he would
1:23:46come for the remaining great citadels as
1:23:48well. Mirage Castle, the Jade Palace,
1:23:51and the Tower of Hope. Cassie needed to
1:23:54grab Rain and run, but Rain had decided
1:23:56this exact moment to ascend, and in the
1:23:59rapid, radical, and quite possibly
1:24:01deadly way at that. She was ascending by
1:24:04shattering her own soul core. "Hey,
1:24:06Cassie, why are you running? Don't run.
1:24:09We will not hurt you. We will just tear
1:24:11your eye out, and then we will mangle
1:24:13your mind, and when we're done, you will
1:24:15smile and thank us. You'll want to, and
1:24:18we will all be together again."
1:24:20Snarling, she erased the marks she had
1:24:23branded onto the souls of the
1:24:24firekeepers. The very first marks she
1:24:27had ever placed. At the same time,
1:24:29Cassie extended her consciousness to the
1:24:31ivory tower. Nephice was absent, so she
1:24:35was in charge of the citadel now, and
1:24:37therefore all its components. She called
1:24:40upon the crushing, shaping it into a
1:24:42narrow sphere around the flying island.
1:24:44People believed that this obliterating
1:24:47component of the ivory tower could only
1:24:49destroy and therefore called it the
1:24:51crushing. But actually it was a far more
1:24:54versatile force. The power of the tower
1:24:57of hope was the power of attraction. Was
1:24:59a mystical sister of gravity and not
1:25:02even the current master of the great
1:25:03pagota knew everything that it could do.
1:25:06The crushing could repel all things both
1:25:08physical and spiritual away from the
1:25:10island. It could also pull them toward
1:25:13it. That was how the chained islands had
1:25:15managed to exist for thousands of years,
1:25:17suspended between the two extremes of
1:25:19Hope's Tower. It could also make all
1:25:22things weightless, or make them collapse
1:25:24under their own weight. And the closer
1:25:26one got to the ivory island, the more
1:25:29obliterating the force of the crushing
1:25:31became, to the point that not even gods
1:25:33would be able to overcome it unscathed.
1:25:36So Cassie could easily destroy anyone
1:25:39and anything that would attempt to
1:25:41approach the Ivory Island. But the
1:25:44things and people she would be
1:25:45destroying were too precious, so she
1:25:47couldn't use the crushing that way.
1:25:50Instead, she used it to create a weak
1:25:52repelling field around the island,
1:25:54hoping to buy herself time. Was safe to
1:25:57assume that most, if not all,
1:25:59firekeepers had been enthralled by
1:26:01Asterion. So somewhere above rain let
1:26:05out a tormented groan sucked in a breath
1:26:07through gritted teeth and spoke in a
1:26:09horse but steady voice. I am the
1:26:12longlasting promise of a distant sky. I
1:26:15am the enduring promise of a distant sky
1:26:18who walks the path of ascension. I am
1:26:21ascended. It took Cassie a brief moment
1:26:24to understand what rain was doing. She
1:26:26was assigning herself epithets. long,
1:26:29lasting, enduring, ascended. She was
1:26:32preparing to shatter her own soul core
1:26:35and tempering herself to slow down the
1:26:37collapse of her soul before the new core
1:26:39was built. That foolish girl. Cassie
1:26:42rushed forward, ignoring the shared
1:26:45sensation of her soul coming undone. She
1:26:47was too late. By the time Cassie finally
1:26:50reached Rain's quarters and threw the
1:26:52door open, the young woman was already
1:26:54standing near a wall, leaning on it with
1:26:56a pale face. Almost at the same time as
1:26:59Cassie entered, the storm that had been
1:27:02raging outside vanished without a trace.
1:27:04It was as if it had been erased from
1:27:07existence, revealing the boundless blue
1:27:09expanse of the clear sky beyond, and the
1:27:12immense silhouette of an inconceivable
1:27:14ship that had approached the ivory
1:27:16island under the cover of the storm,
1:27:18with numerous people moving across its
1:27:20decks to lay siege to the throne of
1:27:22immortal flame. The night garden soared
1:27:25through the sky, moving to obscure the
1:27:28sun and cast a deep shadow upon the
1:27:30tower of hope. Bright flashes
1:27:33illuminated its main deck. Those were
1:27:35its weapons, sending charged cannonballs
1:27:38barreling through the air. A moment
1:27:40later, they impacted the repelling field
1:27:42surrounding the ivory island and bloomed
1:27:45into radiant silver explosions.
1:27:47What did you do, Rain? The young woman
1:27:50breathed heavily and glanced at her with
1:27:53a pale smile. Don't you feel it, Lady
1:27:56Cassia? I am ascending. Cassie could
1:28:00indeed feel it. The familiar euphoric
1:28:03sensation of one's body being reborn,
1:28:06reforged, and tempered. Rain's new
1:28:08ascended soul core was rapidly soaking
1:28:11in her essence, elevating its quality
1:28:13and sending it courarssing through her
1:28:15body, which in turn was causing the body
1:28:17to be perfected. Rain's smile widened a
1:28:20little. I succeeded. Ah, the look on
1:28:23Tamar's face. I can't wait. Cassie froze
1:28:27for a moment, evaluating the situation.
1:28:30In that moment, Rain spoke with a smile.
1:28:33But Lady Cassia, Song of the Fallen, she
1:28:36took a step forward and whispered,
1:28:38"Aren't you weak, distracted, and in
1:28:40traumatic pain? Aren't you lost in the
1:28:43labyrinth? Aren't you scared of the
1:28:45darkness?" In the next moment, Cassie
1:28:48swayed. A ghastly, indescribable agony
1:28:51descended upon her, rending her mind
1:28:53apart. It was so harrowing, in fact,
1:28:55that she almost did not feel the cold
1:28:57blade of a sharp dagger slide between
1:28:59her ribs. Chapter 2865.
1:29:02The subject of murder. A cold blade
1:29:05pierced Cassie's heart. Cassie did not
1:29:08even register the pain since her mind
1:29:10was already drowning in agony. Instead,
1:29:13she only felt disbelief. Disbelief that
1:29:16she was dying and that rain had killed
1:29:18her. It did not make sense. Cassie
1:29:21simply could not believe that her life
1:29:23was over. At the same time, it made no
1:29:26sense that Rain would be the one to stab
1:29:28her to death. The young woman was
1:29:30incapable of taking a life after all,
1:29:32not to mention that she had no reason
1:29:34to. Right? Cassie concentrated, her
1:29:38battered mind focusing into a sharp
1:29:40point. The feeling of cold steel
1:29:42piercing her heart was a message from
1:29:44the future. It was a prophecy of what
1:29:46she would experience in less than a
1:29:48second given to her by her awakened
1:29:51ability, which meant that she had not
1:29:53been delivered the fatal wound yet.
1:29:55Right? Rain has become a thrral of
1:29:57Asterion. Why had Cassie not realized it
1:30:00sooner? Rain's ascension had coincided
1:30:03with the attack on the Ivory Island,
1:30:05becoming a perfect tool to distract
1:30:08Cassie at the worst possible moment. The
1:30:11night garden even arrived under the
1:30:13cover of the storm cloud that Rains
1:30:14ascension had summoned. Damning evidence
1:30:17that the two events were connected. It
1:30:19was painfully obvious. So, how was it
1:30:22that Cassie had not noticed the
1:30:23connection? My mind is compromised. It
1:30:27must have happened just before she
1:30:28erased the marks from the souls of the
1:30:30firekeepers. Eststerion had subtly
1:30:33influenced her thoughts, directing them
1:30:35away from connecting Rain to him, as
1:30:37well as cutting her own connection with
1:30:39Effie and Kai, thus leaving herself
1:30:41completely isolated. Luckily, that
1:30:43seemed to be the extent of how he had
1:30:45managed to manipulate her. Cassie moved
1:30:48her body slightly, causing Rain's dagger
1:30:50to miss her heart by a few centime. She
1:30:53grabbed the young woman's wrist with one
1:30:54hand and used the other to pull down her
1:30:56blindfold, but it was strange. How had
1:30:59Rain been able to attempt to kill her?
1:31:02That just went to show how insidious the
1:31:04dream spawn and his powers were. Rain's
1:31:07flaw prevented her from being able to
1:31:08kill. But it was subjective. The
1:31:11universe was not going to intervene and
1:31:13prevent her from delivering Cassie a
1:31:15lethal wound. Rather, Rain's hand would
1:31:17refuse to move as long as she believed
1:31:19that moving it would directly endanger
1:31:21the life of a living being. Stabbing a
1:31:24person in the heart was obviously an act
1:31:26of murder. But if Rain earnestly
1:31:28believed otherwise, her flaw would not
1:31:31stop her from pushing a dagger between
1:31:33someone's ribs. So all Asterion had to
1:31:36do to circumvent Rain's flaw was to
1:31:38twist her mind enough to make her
1:31:39believe that Cassie wouldn't die from
1:31:41being stabbed in the heart, which meant
1:31:43that he had made a complete mess of
1:31:45Rain's perception of reality. That
1:31:47bastard. Rain tried to twist her
1:31:49stiletto in Cassie's chest, but Cassie
1:31:52was holding her wrist tightly. She might
1:31:54have been a woman of slight build and
1:31:56suffering both from a blinding pain and
1:31:58two other debilitating epithets, but she
1:32:01was still a saint, and a saint could
1:32:03easily deal with a master in a contest
1:32:05of physical strength. Taking half a step
1:32:08forward, Cassie grabbed Rain by the
1:32:10throat and pulled her closer. "Look
1:32:12here, Rain. I don't have time for this."
1:32:15Activating her transcendent ability, she
1:32:17delved into Rain's memories. Hot blood
1:32:20flowed down her face, the gaping wound
1:32:22where her eye had been pulsing with
1:32:24dizzying torment. In Rain's memories,
1:32:27Cassie saw the young woman spending
1:32:28peaceful days in the ivory tower.
1:32:31However, despite how peaceful everything
1:32:33seemed, Rain was no fool, even without
1:32:35news reaching the flying island, she
1:32:37knew that something terrible was
1:32:38transpiring in the world from context
1:32:41clues. She felt frustrated at being too
1:32:44weak and too insignificant to help. She
1:32:46also felt anxious and uncertain, afraid
1:32:49of being left behind by her friends and
1:32:51companions. That was the insecurity
1:32:53Asterion had used to enthral Rain. Once
1:32:56the plague slithered into the cracks on
1:32:58her confidence, it spread like a
1:33:00malignant tumor, slowly consuming
1:33:03everything around. In the end, it was
1:33:05Asterion who had pushed Rain to attempt
1:33:07the faster, riskier method of becoming
1:33:09ascended. And of course, he was the one
1:33:12who had commanded her to stab Song of
1:33:14the Fallen in the heart. So he is not
1:33:16trying to keep me alive anymore so that
1:33:18I could be devoured later. I wonder what
1:33:21changed. Beyond the window, massive
1:33:24boarding hooks shot from the deck of the
1:33:26night garden, sailing across the sky to
1:33:29sink into the soil of the ivory island.
1:33:31There was no way for them to break the
1:33:33sphere of the crushing and achieve that.
1:33:36And yet they did, connecting the two
1:33:38together. As Cassie roughly purged the
1:33:41memories from Rain's entranced head, a
1:33:43somber thought entered her own mind.
1:33:46Night Walker. The crushing was supposed
1:33:48to repel everything away from the ivory
1:33:50island, shaped into a sphere around it.
1:33:53The boarding hooks did not breach that
1:33:55annihilating shield. Instead, they
1:33:57bypassed it entirely. That was because
1:34:00Nightwalker was somewhere there on the
1:34:02deck of the night garden, twisting space
1:34:05with the power of his aspect. He had
1:34:07molded space in such a way that the
1:34:09boarding hooks could pass through the
1:34:10shield of crushing without ever touching
1:34:12it. Which meant which meant that if
1:34:14Cassie did not hurry, she would have to
1:34:16meet the legendary saint face to face. A
1:34:19quiet groan escaped from her lips as the
1:34:21three sources of pain, the pain in her
1:34:23chest, the torment of the epithet, and
1:34:25the agony of using her transcendent
1:34:27ability were too difficult to endure.
1:34:29But she did endure it, continuing to
1:34:31erase Rain's memories. I need to hurry.
1:34:34My time is running out. Cassie inhaled
1:34:36deeply. She lost track of time for a
1:34:39while. When all memories of succumbing
1:34:41to Asterion were finally gone from
1:34:43Rain's mind, she let the young woman go
1:34:46and watched her softly fall to the
1:34:47floor. Since the boarding hooks are
1:34:49secured, the boarding party will arrive
1:34:51next. Cassie was planning to be far away
1:34:54by the ivory tower by the time it did.
1:34:56Chapter 2866. Escaping the ivory island.
1:34:59The tower of hope is lost. So was the
1:35:02entirety of the human domain. Cassie
1:35:04acknowledged the fact calmly and pulled
1:35:06her blindfold back up, enduring the
1:35:09terrifying pain that ravaged her mind as
1:35:11best she could. She spent a heartbeat
1:35:14assessing the situation, then activated
1:35:16the unfinished runic array she and Sunny
1:35:19had been creating to serve as an
1:35:21additional layer of protection for the
1:35:22Ivory Island. She needed more time.
1:35:25Night Walker was circumventing the
1:35:27defenses of the flying island by
1:35:28twisting space. And Cassie was limited
1:35:31in how she could form and unleash the
1:35:33crushing due to the risk of destroying
1:35:35the night garden and killing all its
1:35:36inhabitants. So she had to resort to
1:35:39unconventional means of stalling for
1:35:41time. The array ignited as it drew
1:35:43essence from the divine core of the
1:35:45Tower of Hope, postponing the arrival of
1:35:47the boarding party. Sadly, its effect
1:35:49was not flawless. A few cannonballs
1:35:52still penetrated the eegis, making the
1:35:54great pigota quake. An acrid smell
1:35:57permeated the air, and smoke drifted
1:36:00through the door of Rain's quarters from
1:36:02somewhere below. Ignoring it, Cassie
1:36:04knelt near the dazed young woman and
1:36:06shook her gently. Rain, rain, stand up.
1:36:10We need to move now. Rain slowly
1:36:13regained her senses, her eyes focused,
1:36:16which allowed Cassie to see her own
1:36:18bloodied face clearly. Then however,
1:36:21Rain seemed to fall into confusion once
1:36:23again. Was no surprise. After all, most
1:36:27of the memories she had made after
1:36:29coming to the ivory island were gone.
1:36:31They had no time for this. Stand up,
1:36:34Rain. Cassie forcefully pulled the young
1:36:37woman to her feet and supported her for
1:36:39a moment. Rains eyes widened when she
1:36:41saw the gargantuan silhouette of the
1:36:43night garden looming in the sky outside
1:36:45the window, and her body quakd. Why is
1:36:48she felt quiet, prompting Cassie to call
1:36:51out to snap the young woman from her
1:36:53days. Luckily, Rain seemed to finally
1:36:56compose herself after that. She turned
1:36:58away from the window, her gaze drifting
1:37:01to the hilt of a serpentine dagger
1:37:02sticking from between Cassie's ribs.
1:37:05That was when Cassie remembered that she
1:37:06had been stabbed as well. Unperturbed,
1:37:09she grasped the hilt and pulled the
1:37:11dagger out of her chest. Lady Cassia.
1:37:14Cassie was still weak, distracted, and
1:37:16suffering from a traumatic pain. It was
1:37:18quite inconvenient to be that way when
1:37:20they needed to move fast. Release your
1:37:22epithets. Rain. The young woman stared
1:37:26at her dazedly for a moment, then
1:37:28blinked. In the next moment, the pain
1:37:31ravaging Cassie finally subsided,
1:37:33leaving only the pulsing ball of agony
1:37:36in her empty eye socket and the mundane
1:37:38pain of the stab wound in her chest
1:37:40behind. Her limbs regained their
1:37:42strength and her mind snapped into
1:37:44focus. Much better. Cassie could finally
1:37:47think straight again. Good. Now, let's
1:37:49go. She pushed the bloody dagger into
1:37:51Rain's hands and pulled the young woman
1:37:53out of the room. The corridor was filled
1:37:56with smoke, and the ivory tower
1:37:58continued to tremble as devastating
1:38:00cannonballs impacted the island,
1:38:02blooming into incandescent explosions of
1:38:04charged essence. Cassie navigated the
1:38:07corridor by memory, observing her
1:38:09surroundings through Rains eyes.
1:38:11Suddenly, there was a hint of movement
1:38:13in the smoke, and in the next moment,
1:38:15Cassie lost all feeling in her body as
1:38:17the world seemed to spin. At the same
1:38:20time, she watched in horror as her head
1:38:22separated from her neck and spun in the
1:38:24air, splattering the pristine white
1:38:26walls of the ivory tower with scarlet
1:38:28blood. Her headless body fell to its
1:38:30knees and then toppled to the floor. The
1:38:33world collapsed into darkness. Several
1:38:36seconds in the past, Cassie calmly
1:38:38sidestepped the flashing sword and
1:38:41grasped the wrist holding it. It
1:38:43belonged to Sid, the firekeeper, who
1:38:46usually acted as her personal attendant.
1:38:49Sid possessed a powerful combat aspect,
1:38:51so Cassie had to deal with her fast. One
1:38:54strike threw the swift firekeeper
1:38:56against the wall. The second slammed her
1:38:58head into hard stone. Cassie measured
1:39:01her strength precisely, aiming to knock
1:39:03her out without killing her. Sid's limp
1:39:06body slid to the floor, her blood
1:39:08marring the pristine walls of the ivory
1:39:10tower instead of Cass's. Cassie regarded
1:39:13her unconscious body for a brief second.
1:39:16Sid. Sid had been by her side since the
1:39:19dark city. She had been one of those
1:39:21bold, desperate few in the outer
1:39:23settlement who dared to go out into the
1:39:25city and hunt. When Nephus began to
1:39:27amass influence among the sleepers of
1:39:29the forgotten shore, the hunters were
1:39:31one of the first to support her. Later,
1:39:34Sid became a member of Cassie's own
1:39:36cohort and followed her to the chained
1:39:38Isisles, and now she was bleeding at her
1:39:41feet, having failed to ambush and kill
1:39:43her. Cassie did not let any emotion show
1:39:46on her bloodied face. "Come!" Since Sid
1:39:49had already reached this floor, the
1:39:51others would not be far behind. An
1:39:53attack from outside, an attack from
1:39:55within, and an assassin planted in the
1:39:57very heart of the ivory tower. Asterion
1:40:00was really rolling out the red carpet
1:40:02for Cassie Jet escaped. Can I escape?
1:40:05Cassie and Rain made their way to the
1:40:07chamber on the opposite side of the
1:40:08great pigod where the remnant of Smile
1:40:11of Heaven was being kept and taken care
1:40:13of. Retrieving the hollow woman, they
1:40:16rushed down the stairs. In the process,
1:40:19Nef's miraculous flames washed away
1:40:22Cassie's wound, leaving her feelings
1:40:24slightly uplifted. Even though they were
1:40:26separated by a vast distance and dire
1:40:29circumstances, it still felt like she
1:40:32was in her friend's embrace. Still felt
1:40:34like Nephas was by her side. The hint of
1:40:37joy Cassie felt swiftly evaporated,
1:40:40though when she was forced to crush the
1:40:42firekeepers, who followed the command of
1:40:44their new master and attempted to cut
1:40:46her down. She just barely managed to
1:40:49keep them alive. But that did not mean
1:40:51that her former companions escaped
1:40:53unscathed. Cassie had to be swift and
1:40:56cynical when dealing with these ascended
1:40:58elites, especially because time was of
1:41:01the essence. So, she delivered the most
1:41:03amount of damage she could without
1:41:06actually killing them with precise
1:41:08surgical strikes. By the time they
1:41:10reached the ground floor of the ivory
1:41:12tower, it was not only her blood that
1:41:14soaked her tunic and marred her skin,
1:41:17they passed through the jaws of a dead
1:41:19dragon and escaped onto the emerald
1:41:22grass beyond. Rain could not help but
1:41:25look at the titanic form of the night
1:41:27garden that blotted out the sun above
1:41:28them. That allowed Cassie to see that
1:41:30winged echoes and awakened warriors were
1:41:33still being held back by the shield of
1:41:35the crushing and the runic array
1:41:37protecting the ivory island. However,
1:41:40the runic array was yet unfinished, so
1:41:43it wasn't going to hold them back for
1:41:44long, especially because Tyrus of White
1:41:47Feather was somewhere out there among
1:41:48the warriors of the night garden. Hurry.
1:41:51Cassie rushed rain to follow her around
1:41:53the tower of hope toward the grove of
1:41:56ancient trees that swayed restlessly
1:41:58behind it. They were almost there. Then,
1:42:01however, the entire island shook, and
1:42:03the runic array was extinguished in a
1:42:06flood of silver light facing the sky.
1:42:08Cassie sensed something vast and
1:42:10immensely powerful approaching them from
1:42:12above. Her expression hardened
1:42:14Nightwalker. Chapter 2867. Interception.
1:42:18The dream spawn must have sensed that
1:42:20Cassie had a way to escape his trap. So
1:42:23he sent his most fearsome thr forward
1:42:25alone, commanding him to stop her. Night
1:42:28Walker descended upon the ivory island
1:42:30like a flood of starlight, a vague shape
1:42:33of a colossal, eerie alien beast vaguely
1:42:36formed by the ethereal currents of the
1:42:38pale radiance. The flood of starlight
1:42:40seeped through the defensive Aegis,
1:42:42protecting the flying island and washed
1:42:44over it, causing the ground to tremble
1:42:46from the devastating force of the
1:42:47impact. The runes engraving the
1:42:50defensive array into the soil were
1:42:52destroyed, shimmering out of existence
1:42:54in a silver flash. Just a few seconds
1:42:57before Cassie had sent Rain forward to
1:42:59the portal arch gazebo. Now she waited
1:43:02while Nightwalker descended from the
1:43:04darkening sky to kill her with a somber
1:43:06expression. As Rain rushed away, her
1:43:09only source of sight disappeared as
1:43:11well, leaving behind only nebulous
1:43:13darkness. How come? How come the old
1:43:16monsters of the first generation were
1:43:18always out to kill her? First, now
1:43:22Nightwalker. Cassie only had to survive
1:43:24a death battle against Wake of Ruin to
1:43:26complete the collection. Her silent
1:43:28attempt at Gallows humor did nothing to
1:43:30lift her dark mood. Cassie sighed
1:43:33heavily and then did something that she
1:43:35had been neglecting to do thus far. She
1:43:38summoned her memories. Two golden
1:43:40bracelets wo themselves out of light on
1:43:42her wrists. Both were charms, one
1:43:45capable of augmenting her attacks, the
1:43:47other of protecting her body. A long
1:43:50parrying dagger appeared in her hand.
1:43:53Finally, a third charm, a pristinely
1:43:56white triangular stone, manifested into
1:43:58existence, hanging on a thin golden
1:44:00chain around her neck. That one was a
1:44:03supreme memory capable of vastly
1:44:05enhancing the material properties of
1:44:07objects. Shifting slightly and turning
1:44:09her torso so that her shoulder faced the
1:44:12direction where she thought Night Walker
1:44:13was, Cassie waited patiently, her world
1:44:16consumed by darkness. There was no one
1:44:19here to share their vision with her
1:44:20anymore, so she was completely and
1:44:22utterly blind. Light, meanwhile, had no
1:44:25smell and made no sound. It couldn't be
1:44:27touched or tasted, so she had no way of
1:44:29knowing where Night Walker was or what
1:44:31he was about to do. All she could do was
1:44:34wait for the second he tore into her
1:44:36flesh. Her consciousness split between
1:44:38the present and the future. Then,
1:44:40however, she heard the sound of soft
1:44:41footsteps and deduced that Nightwalker
1:44:44had dismissed his transcendent shape and
1:44:46had become a human once more. "You
1:44:49should really consider surrendering
1:44:50voluntarily, young lady." His voice was
1:44:52free of tension, sounding jarringly
1:44:55relaxed in Cassie's battered, tired
1:44:57mind. However, it also betrayed his
1:45:00precise location, so she was happy to
1:45:02hear it. Cassie turned slightly, facing
1:45:05Nightwalker, and raised her dagger
1:45:07slightly. I don't think I will. Her
1:45:11voice sounded calm, and even unlike the
1:45:13sound of her voice, however, Cassie was
1:45:15tense and fearful, feeling small and
1:45:17vulnerable in the boundless darkness of
1:45:19her lightless world. The being hiding in
1:45:22the darkness was none other than
1:45:24Nightwalker, one of the deadliest saints
1:45:26in existence. Quite a strong contender
1:45:28for the title of the deadliest. No less,
1:45:31funnily enough, Nightwalker's aspect was
1:45:34not a combat one. Instead, it was a
1:45:37utility aspect that drew its power from
1:45:39a high affinity to divination, similar
1:45:42to Cassie's own. She briefly hesitated,
1:45:45weighing the risk of marking him against
1:45:46the benefit. In the end, she had to grit
1:45:49her teeth and remain blinded by
1:45:51darkness, creating a mental link between
1:45:54herself and Asterion was far too
1:45:56dangerous, especially if she were to
1:45:58clash with someone as powerful as Night
1:46:00Walker. In this battle, the smallest
1:46:02disadvantage would prove fatal. And
1:46:05being unable to see was a smaller
1:46:06disadvantage than not being able to
1:46:08trust her own mind. Aren't you ashamed
1:46:11of yourself, Saint Nightwalker? That man
1:46:13betrayed you, killed you, and left you
1:46:16to suffer decades of terrifying agony in
1:46:18the eternal city. But now you serve him.
1:46:21You have put your life into his hands
1:46:23once again. Don't you know what they
1:46:25say? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me
1:46:29twice. Night Walker seemed to smile. Oh
1:46:32yes, I have to admit, I used to be quite
1:46:34angry about that. But look how it all
1:46:37turned out. All my contemporaries are
1:46:39dead and buried. Their legacies
1:46:41destroyed. Warden, Immortal Flame, and
1:46:44the rest of them. But I am still alive
1:46:46and kicking. All thanks to that kid,
1:46:48Asterion. So, in a sense, I should be
1:46:52quite grateful instead. Cassie's
1:46:54expression darkened when he spoke the
1:46:56Dreamspawn's name aloud. Surely you must
1:46:59know that you are under a mental hex.
1:47:01This thought might seem like it belongs
1:47:03to you, but in fact it has been put into
1:47:05your head by the very man you wish to
1:47:07thank for stabbing you in the back. How
1:47:09do you like being a thrral? Nightwalker
1:47:11chuckled. Actually, I like it quite a
1:47:14bit. He handed my ship back to me and
1:47:16kept my son alive. I know that I'm a
1:47:18deadbeat dad, but that doesn't mean that
1:47:21I don't care. Cassie smiled coldly. She
1:47:24knew that this conversation was
1:47:26pointless. After all, the first thing
1:47:28Asterion took away from the people he
1:47:30enthralled was the ability to think
1:47:32critically, especially so about their
1:47:34mental state and actions, about their
1:47:36nature as his thrs. There was a quiet
1:47:39rustle. Nightwalker's clothes shifted as
1:47:41he moved, stretching. That said, I'm a
1:47:44bit indignant at the moment. I really
1:47:46don't know why Asterion cares about
1:47:48taking you off the board so much enough
1:47:50to send me to deal with you personally,
1:47:52no less. Soul Reaper is one thing, but
1:47:55did he really need to mobilize someone
1:47:57of my caliber just to deal with changing
1:47:59Star's secretary? Cassie's smile widened
1:48:02a little. I'm going to enjoy crushing
1:48:04you. Night Walker laughed quietly,
1:48:07seemingly enjoying their conversation.
1:48:10Oh, are you done trying to buy time,
1:48:12young lady? Instead of answering, Cassie
1:48:15silently unleashed the crushing upon
1:48:17him. There was one advantage to the fact
1:48:19that Cassie had been cut off from all
1:48:21but one of her marks, even if it left
1:48:23her blind, deaf, ignorant, and deprived
1:48:26of all senses in their absence. It was
1:48:28the fact that her mind was unbburdened
1:48:30for the first time in many years, with
1:48:32no need to carry the weight of countless
1:48:34perspectives, be aware of myriad events
1:48:37happening simultaneously across the two
1:48:39worlds, and parse through an unceasing
1:48:42avalanche of conflicting sensations.
1:48:44Cassie felt a refreshing sense of
1:48:46clarity. Her potent mind was completely
1:48:49free and focused, and all its tremendous
1:48:51capacity could be dedicated to a single
1:48:54task. In this case, Cassie focused it on
1:48:57controlling the crushing. The crushing
1:48:59was a vast and fierce force capable of
1:49:01influencing entire regions of the dream
1:49:04realm. However, that did not mean that
1:49:06it couldn't be used in a more refined
1:49:08manner. Cassie had just never attempted
1:49:10it before since that was not something
1:49:12that a saint was supposed to be capable
1:49:14of, and there had not been a real need
1:49:17to anyway. Now though, the crushing was
1:49:19the only weapon she could rely on to
1:49:21survive a battle against Night Walker.
1:49:24And that was her goal, not to defeat the
1:49:26legendary Saint, but to survive long
1:49:29enough for Reign to open the portal.
1:49:31Cassie did not believe that she could
1:49:33defeat Nightwalker. Not as she was now,
1:49:35at least. her aspect was matched against
1:49:38his too badly, and there were five other
1:49:40saints who could arrive to assist him if
1:49:42the battle took too long on top of that.
1:49:45So, she simply needed to stall for time.
1:49:47That was why Cassie reached inside of
1:49:49herself, sensing the tether that
1:49:51anchored her to the dream realm and to
1:49:54the ivory tower as well. It was that
1:49:56connection that made her the master of
1:49:58the great citadel and allowed her to
1:50:00control its components. Now she used her
1:50:03claim to the Tower of Hope to shape the
1:50:05crushing into a devastating pillar and
1:50:07aim it at Night Walker. The island shook
1:50:10and a shallow crater formed where
1:50:12Nightwalker had been standing, a cloud
1:50:15of dust rising into the air. Cassie did
1:50:17not expect to kill or even seriously
1:50:20wound him with that first attack, but
1:50:22she did hope to slow him down. However,
1:50:25her hope had been shattered a second
1:50:27later. She felt a powerful blow crushing
1:50:30her rib cage and turning her internal
1:50:32organs into bloody pulp, then dashed
1:50:35back and avoided the blow from landing
1:50:37on her chest. Sliding across the emerald
1:50:40grass, Cassie heard the night walker
1:50:42clicking his tongue, that potent. She
1:50:45knew that his awakened ability made it
1:50:47so that his body could survive in any
1:50:49environment, isolating it from all
1:50:51outside influences, as if it were a
1:50:54mystical Eva suit. However, she had not
1:50:56expected that ability to be powerful
1:50:58enough to shrug off the devastating
1:51:00force of the crushing at most.
1:51:02Withstanding the crushing had cost
1:51:04Nightalker an ocean of essence. Cassie
1:51:06frowned and aimed her dagger at the spot
1:51:08where his voice had come from, preparing
1:51:10to activate her charms and launch into
1:51:13an attack. Before she could, however,
1:51:15Nightwalker spoke, "Is it my turn then?"
1:51:18In the next moment, Cassie shuddered and
1:51:21let out a loud scream. That was because
1:51:24in the future she sensed her sword arm
1:51:26was suddenly and violently torn off at
1:51:28the shoulder, flying away in a rain of
1:51:31blood. In the next moment, the same
1:51:33happened to her shield arm, and before
1:51:35she could cope with the terrifying pain,
1:51:37her neck twisted and snapped like a
1:51:39straw. Night Walker did not use any
1:51:42weapon or even his bare hands to visit
1:51:44such a brutal death upon her. Instead,
1:51:47he simply used his aspect. He
1:51:49manipulated space, expanding the precise
1:51:52point where Cassie's arm was to span
1:51:54dozens of meters. Naturally, neither her
1:51:57flesh nor her bones were meant to be
1:51:59stretched like putty. So, her skin and
1:52:02muscles tore, while her bones shattered,
1:52:05veins and ligaments snapping like
1:52:07strings. Worst of all, Nywalker
1:52:10commanded space, which meant that Cassie
1:52:12could not evade the gruesome attack,
1:52:14even if she had sensed it coming in
1:52:16advance. So she didn't. Instead, she
1:52:20used the crushing, the force of
1:52:22attraction to exert a pull on space that
1:52:25was equal to Night Walker's
1:52:26manipulation, but opposite in direction.
1:52:29She pulled the stretching space back to
1:52:31its original state, and commanded her
1:52:34flesh and bone to be bonded together
1:52:35with the same force that was being
1:52:37exerted to pull them apart. The world
1:52:39seemed to ripple as two opposite
1:52:41distortions twisted it in different
1:52:43directions. Cassie's countermeasure
1:52:45succeeded somewhat. In that short
1:52:47instant between when she foresaw the
1:52:49attack and when the attack happened, she
1:52:51managed to perform a staggering amount
1:52:53of calculations and apply them to the
1:52:56world that she could only sense not see.
1:52:58However, she was still merely a saint.
1:53:02The finesse with which she could shape
1:53:03the crushing was impressive, but not
1:53:06flawless. In the end, her arm was not
1:53:08mangled and torn off. However, her bones
1:53:11did snap and her skin tore, a torrent of
1:53:15blood flowing down to her hand. Cassie
1:53:17caught the dagger, which had slid from
1:53:19her bloodied fingers with her other
1:53:21hand. Night Walker was not going to stop
1:53:23at manipulating space just once, of
1:53:26course. In fact, the world around her
1:53:28was already twisting, threatening to
1:53:30pulverize every bone in her body and
1:53:33violently tear it apart. Standing
1:53:35perfectly still across from him, Cassie
1:53:37activated her supreme charm. In the
1:53:40past, she had usually used it to enhance
1:53:43the lethality of her weapons or the
1:53:45durability of her armor. But that was
1:53:47because in the past, her enemies had
1:53:50usually been nightmare creatures of a
1:53:52higher rank than her. Today, she was
1:53:55fighting a far more dreadful foe, a
1:53:57fellow saint. So instead, Cassie applied
1:54:00the enchantment of the powerful Supreme
1:54:02Memory to her own body. Its material
1:54:04properties were instantly augmented,
1:54:07making her flesh more enduring, elastic,
1:54:09and resilient, while at the same time
1:54:12making her bones more robust,
1:54:14adamantine, and unbreakable. A low grown
1:54:17escaped from her lips a moment later,
1:54:19still as she sensed her body being
1:54:21mutilated beyond recognition a few
1:54:23heartbeats in the future. So, Cassie
1:54:26reshaped the crushing to keep herself
1:54:27alive once more. This time it was her
1:54:30shoulder that got crushed, turning into
1:54:32a sunken and deformed mess of torn skin,
1:54:35bone fragments, and freely flowing
1:54:38blood. See, Nightwalker's voice was full
1:54:41of regret. That was why I told you to
1:54:44surrender quietly. Cassie staggered, but
1:54:46kept both her balance and her grip on
1:54:48the hilt of the enchanted dagger. At the
1:54:51same time, a soft white radiance
1:54:53enveloped her broken arm and her crushed
1:54:55shoulder, swiftly mending them to their
1:54:57initial state. The world rippled once
1:55:00more as the insidious power of
1:55:02Nightwalker collided with the crushing.
1:55:04The ivory island quakd and groaned
1:55:06around them, cracks splitting its soil
1:55:09as the very fabric of existence was
1:55:11slowly coming undone. Cassie and
1:55:13Nightwalker faced each other on the
1:55:14emerald grass of the ivory island, no
1:55:17more than a dozen meters between them.
1:55:19The air around them was suffused with
1:55:21volatile energy, the space itself
1:55:24bending and twisting like a sheet of
1:55:26fabric fluttering in the violent wind.
1:55:28Despite the utter chaos and the
1:55:30devastation ravaging the meadow around
1:55:32them, neither of them moved. And yet, a
1:55:36transcendent battle was raging in the
1:55:38crackling air between them, hidden from
1:55:40sight. Night Walker was commanding space
1:55:42to rend Cassie apart, while she was
1:55:45wielding the power left behind by the
1:55:46demon of desire to thwart him. Her body
1:55:49kept breaking and being mended by the
1:55:52white radiance spilling from beneath her
1:55:54skin, and her golden hair danced in the
1:55:57raging wind. In her mind's eye, the
1:56:00future and the present fused into a
1:56:01blood soaked kaleidoscope of torment and
1:56:04death. Countless possibilities blooming
1:56:07like a vast web of silk threads. All of
1:56:09them inevitably converged into a single
1:56:12outcome. Though her defeat, Cassie could
1:56:14withstand Night Walker for a time, but
1:56:16she could not overcome him. Her mind was
1:56:19slowly buckling under the pressure of
1:56:21wielding the crushing with an
1:56:22increasingly sophisticated measure of
1:56:24precision, while a small and meticulous
1:56:27part of it was coldly contemplating how
1:56:29to cut the ruthless adversary down.
1:56:32Sadly, Cassie was coming up empty. If
1:56:35she were to have any hope of defeating
1:56:36Nightwalker, she had to get close to him
1:56:39first. The distance between them was
1:56:41small, especially so in a battle between
1:56:44saints. Usually, she would have been
1:56:46able to close it in the blink of an eye,
1:56:47but her adversary made that impossible.
1:56:50Every time Cassie tried to get in melee
1:56:52range with Nightwalker, he simply
1:56:54expanded the space between them,
1:56:56stretching it so that she had to
1:56:58traverse a vast distance simply to take
1:57:00a single step. There might as well have
1:57:02been many kilome separating them. She
1:57:05could not make use of her dagger or
1:57:07force him to look her in the eye, kept
1:57:09at bay by his power. And every time she
1:57:11tried to retreat, he twisted space so
1:57:14that she ended up exactly where she had
1:57:16started, as if to tell her that there
1:57:18was no escape from him. All she could do
1:57:20was make sure that none of the ghastly
1:57:22ways in which her body was being broken
1:57:24was instantly fatal. Even that was only
1:57:27possible because of her supreme charm,
1:57:29consumed by pain. Cassie gritted her
1:57:32teeth. What a devious aspect. There had
1:57:35to be some drawback to Nightwalker's
1:57:37powers. aspect as potent as that had to
1:57:41have equally grave limitations. However,
1:57:44there was more to the marshall prowess
1:57:45of an awakened than the power of their
1:57:48aspect. Learning how to wield it more
1:57:50effectively and efficiently was just as
1:57:53important, if not more so. Night Walker
1:57:55had already been a legendary figure
1:57:57before his disappearance and then spent
1:58:00decades in an endless, relentless battle
1:58:02against beings who were vastly more
1:58:04powerful than him. On top of that, even
1:58:06if there were grave limitations to his
1:58:08aspect, his mastery was most likely
1:58:11unmatched, and therefore these
1:58:13limitations had little influence on how
1:58:15deadly he was. If Cassie were to wager a
1:58:18guess, she would say that commanding
1:58:20space in such a forceful manner was
1:58:22quickly depleting his reserves of
1:58:23essence. But even then, time was not on
1:58:26her side. There were five more saints
1:58:29and an entire army of awakened behind
1:58:31Nightwalker after all, and by the time
1:58:33his essence ran out, they would be here.
1:58:35Rain was going to open the pathway soon.
1:58:38If Cassie was not near the arch when
1:58:40that happened, all hope would be lost.
1:58:43So then, think, if she could neither win
1:58:46nor retreat, then she had to make Night
1:58:49Walker give up on the battle. Cassie's
1:58:51tunic had turned entirely red from the
1:58:53blood she had lost. She inhaled deeply
1:58:56and then spoke in a strained horse
1:58:58voice. Say, why is your master trying to
1:59:01kill me all of a sudden? He used to go
1:59:03out of his way to keep as many saints as
1:59:05possible alive. Doesn't he want to
1:59:08gobble me up anymore? Asterion was
1:59:11dreaming of Apotheiois, so each saint he
1:59:14could devour to fuel his ascension, to
1:59:16godhood was more precious to him than
1:59:18gold. Night Walker smiled and shrugged
1:59:21slightly. How should I know what is
1:59:23going on in his head? Still, in my
1:59:25opinion, it is simply a question of
1:59:27value. Cassie raised an eyebrow. Value?
1:59:31Unleashing another cruel attack upon
1:59:33her. Nightwalker seemed to nod. This is
1:59:37the last stand of the longing domain.
1:59:39After all, he has driven you into a
1:59:42corner. And do you know what is more
1:59:44perilous than a cornered rat? His voice
1:59:46was bitter and joyless. It's a cornered
1:59:49rat that controls a great citadel and
1:59:52can flatten the entire bastion with a
1:59:54thought, killing everyone who lives
1:59:56there in an instant. People do all kinds
1:59:58of things when they're desperate, after
2:00:00all. So, he must have judged that your
2:00:02personal value is inferior to the losses
2:00:05he would incur if you decide to do
2:00:06something stupid out of spite. Cassie's
2:00:09wrist snapped and her dagger fell to the
2:00:12ground. Hearing her quiet groan,
2:00:15Nightwalker sighed. You can't win, Song
2:00:18of the Fallen. Why are you insisting on
2:00:20tormenting yourself so much? I'm not
2:00:22enjoying this either, so please give it
2:00:24up and surrender already. Some distance
2:00:26away, hidden from sight. Rain was
2:00:29already channeling the names to summon
2:00:32divine flame. Cassie forced out a smile.
2:00:35Should I? With that, she willed the
2:00:38ivory island to move. The seven heavenly
2:00:41chains rattled as it did, sailing across
2:00:43the sky. It moved slowly at first, but
2:00:47its speed was increasing swiftly,
2:00:49raising turbulent winds. This reminds me
2:00:52of the good old days as her broken wrist
2:00:55ignited with white radiance and white
2:00:57splinters of bone retreated back under
2:00:59the shredded skin. She did something
2:01:01else. She reached toward the tether
2:01:03connecting her to the ivory tower and
2:01:05cut it. The spell whispered into
2:01:07Cassie's ear, announcing that her
2:01:09citadel was lost. Night Walker shuffled,
2:01:12sensing that something about the ivory
2:01:14island had changed. He remained silent
2:01:16for a moment, then asked in a guarded
2:01:18tone, "What did you just do?" A pale
2:01:21smile twisted Cassie's lip, "I simply
2:01:24followed your advice, Nightwalker." I
2:01:26surrendered the citadel. "Go on, take
2:01:29it. It's yours now." She paused for a
2:01:32moment, then added, "Well, not just yet.
2:01:35Since I surrendered my claim to the
2:01:36Tower of Hope, it belongs to no one at
2:01:39the moment. You will have to tether
2:01:41yourself to its gateway first if you
2:01:43want to become its master." She leaned
2:01:46down slowly and picked up her dagger.
2:01:48The Ivory Island, meanwhile, kept
2:01:51accelerating. Night Walker chuckled
2:01:53darkly. "Did you perhaps decide that if
2:01:56you relinquish control of the ivory
2:01:58tower and stop posing a threat to
2:02:00Bastion, Asterion would once again
2:02:02prefer to keep you alive?" Cassie
2:02:05straightened and faced him once more.
2:02:07"Honestly, I don't give a damn about
2:02:09what that ghoul prefers. It is true that
2:02:12I pose no threat to Bastion anymore, but
2:02:14I can still threaten the night garden,
2:02:16can't I?" She pointed to where the
2:02:18Titanic ship loomed in the darkening
2:02:20sky. "Right, I might have forgotten to
2:02:22mention just before relinquishing
2:02:24control of the island, I sent it on a
2:02:27collision course with the night garden.
2:02:29The Tower of Hope has no master at the
2:02:31moment, so there's no one to stop it,
2:02:34which means Cassie's smile widened, and
2:02:36she let out a chuckle. Many years ago,
2:02:39she had rammed into the Sun Prince with
2:02:41the chainbreaker. Now, she was sending
2:02:43the ivory island to ram the night
2:02:45garden. Whose idea was it to keep
2:02:47letting the blind girl behind the wheel?
2:02:49Night Walker remained silent, so she
2:02:51spoke instead. In other words, you have
2:02:54a choice to make. You can stay here and
2:02:57continue to keep me company, or you can
2:02:59rush to the gateway and attempt to gain
2:03:02control of the tower of hope before it
2:03:04slams into the night garden. If you
2:03:06don't want to see one of them fall from
2:03:08the sky and crash on top of Bastion,
2:03:10that is. It all comes down to what you
2:03:12value more. I guess it is simply a
2:03:15question of value. All that met her was
2:03:18silence. Cassie waited in the darkness,
2:03:22wondering what Night Walker's no
2:03:24Asterion's decision would be. In the
2:03:27next moment, Nightwalker suddenly took a
2:03:30single step and breached the distance
2:03:32between them, delivering a crushing blow
2:03:34to her head. Cassie toppled, blood
2:03:37streaming from her nose, then felt him
2:03:40grab her by the hair and violently yank
2:03:42her head sideways. At the same time,
2:03:45another dreadful blow descended upon
2:03:46her, cracking her skull open. Her
2:03:49consciousness faded in the past. Cassie
2:03:52activated her bracelets and moved,
2:03:54dampening the force of Nightwalker's
2:03:56attack while at the same time enhancing
2:03:58her own. She ducked under his blow,
2:04:01sliced apart the tendons of his wrist,
2:04:03leaned forward, and drove her dagger
2:04:05into his side in one smooth motion. Arg.
2:04:09The sharp blade plunged deep into his
2:04:12abdomen, forcing Nightwalker to hiss. In
2:04:14the vast expanse of possibilities, a
2:04:17gruesome barrage of crushing blows
2:04:19descended upon Cassie, breaking and
2:04:21mutilating her body. She weaved between
2:04:23them, finding the rare few where she
2:04:26escaped relatively unscathed. For a
2:04:29brief moment, the two of them were
2:04:30entangled in a violent clash. Night
2:04:33Walker did not make mistakes after that
2:04:34first reckless attack, so Cassie was
2:04:37unable to deliver anything more than a
2:04:39few minor wounds to him. The number of
2:04:41possible futures where she escaped.
2:04:43meanwhile kept dwindling with
2:04:45distressing speed. That was the result
2:04:47of him learning how to fight her and
2:04:49adjusting accordingly. Night Walker did
2:04:51not continue his onslaught after that
2:04:53first clash, though that was because he
2:04:55understood that he would not be able to
2:04:57bring her down quickly. It also seemed
2:04:59like Asterion had changed his mind about
2:05:01having her killed immediately after she
2:05:03relinquished the Tower of Hope, removing
2:05:05herself from the list of powerful
2:05:07threats. In any case, time was a luxury
2:05:10Night Walker could not afford anymore.
2:05:12He disengaged, remained silent for a
2:05:14moment, and cursed quietly. Then,
2:05:17without uttering another word, Night
2:05:20Walker turned around and vanished. A
2:05:22single step took him to the skull of the
2:05:24dragon, and another step took him inside
2:05:26the great pigota. He was rushing to
2:05:29tether himself to its gateway and
2:05:31prevent the ivory island from crashing
2:05:32into the night garden. Cassie staggered.
2:05:35She felt fatigued enough to faint and
2:05:37overwhelmed by the memory of the pain
2:05:39she had endured. But she had no time to
2:05:41waste either. She had to escape before
2:05:44Nightwalker tethered himself to the
2:05:46tower of hope. Turning around, she
2:05:49rushed toward the grove of ancient trees
2:05:51and the portal arch where rain had
2:05:53already summoned divine flame. The
2:05:56portal to the ebony tower was now open
2:05:58once more. A pool of inky darkness
2:06:01rippled inside the stone arch, and Rain
2:06:03was standing in front of it, confused,
2:06:06landing on the ground near the young
2:06:07woman. Cassie used some of her last
2:06:10strength to push rain inside. Then she
2:06:13carefully guided the wheelchair where
2:06:15the hollow remnant of Smile of Heaven
2:06:17sat into the arch and finally crossed
2:06:20the threshold herself. A cool darkness
2:06:23enveloped her battered body. The portal
2:06:26collapsed behind her, taking all light
2:06:28with it. Cassie was once again left in
2:06:31the darkness. This darkness was far more
2:06:33soothing, though. It was as if all
2:06:36strength left her in an instant, making
2:06:38it difficult to stay upright. Cassie
2:06:40exhaled slowly and then sank to her
2:06:43knees. In the silence that followed,
2:06:46there was suddenly the sound of
2:06:47unhurried steps approaching them. A cold
2:06:50voice resounded from above her, echoing
2:06:52in her stone chamber. "Well, well, well.
2:06:55Look what the cat dragged in." "Ah, if
2:06:58it isn't my favorite witch. Welcome to
2:07:00my humble domain, Lady Cassia," I must
2:07:02say. Being covered in blood suits you
2:07:04really well. The world was painted by a
2:07:07myriad shades of gray since Cassie was
2:07:09observing it through Rain's eyes. As
2:07:11Rain watched, Morrett remained silent
2:07:14for a few seconds and then smiled darkly
2:07:17while looking down at Cassie. What took
2:07:19you so long? A lonesome mountain was
2:07:22looming over a vast mountain chain,
2:07:24cutting the sky with its jagged edges. A
2:07:27radiant moon bathed its slopes in a pale
2:07:29light, and strong winds crashed into its
2:07:32towering dark mass over and over again,
2:07:35screaming in powerless rage with snow.
2:07:38Countless bones were buried under its
2:07:40cold veil. And although there were no
2:07:42footprints marring the pristine white
2:07:43expanse, a lone figure stood in the
2:07:46center of the ancient killing field. He
2:07:48was a man with dark skin and broad
2:07:50shoulders. His rugged physique seemingly
2:07:53carved from stone. His disheveled black
2:07:56hair was covered in snow, and his beard
2:07:58was brimming with ice. The man was
2:08:00holding an imposing great bow in his
2:08:02hand, a scattering of siege arrows
2:08:05thrust into the snow around him like a
2:08:07palisade, or like a forest of tombstones
2:08:10rising from graveyard soil. The man had
2:08:13once been Saint Dar of the Maharana
2:08:15clan. Now he was the vessel of more
2:08:17dread of nowhere, the king of nothing.
2:08:20The entirety of the Black Mountains was
2:08:22reflected in his all-seeing eyes. Those
2:08:24mountains were drowning in the bloodshed
2:08:26and violence of a relentless war
2:08:28campaign. The defensive line of the
2:08:30human domain stretched from east to
2:08:33west, serving as a barrier between the
2:08:35heartland of the dream realm to the
2:08:37south and the relatively untamed regions
2:08:39of the northern reach. It was composed
2:08:42of an interlocked chain of fortresses.
2:08:44The human strongholds occupied
2:08:46neighboring peaks, each capable of
2:08:48supporting two others with
2:08:50reinforcements and ranged fire. New
2:08:52layers of fortifications were being
2:08:54built as the old ones were destroyed. So
2:08:57even after breaking through several
2:08:59consecutive layers of the defensive
2:09:01line, Morrett still failed to destroy
2:09:03it. Of course, he could have bypassed
2:09:05the black mountains entirely. His
2:09:08ascended ability allowed him to connect
2:09:10his mirror domain to numerous
2:09:12reflections and use each reflection as a
2:09:14door that allowed his army an
2:09:16unprecedented degree of mobility and
2:09:19positional warfare was all but useless
2:09:21against him. Or at least it was supposed
2:09:23to be. But not in this case. After all,
2:09:26this was not a war where one side lost
2:09:28once its soldiers were routed. This was
2:09:31a war that would only end when one side
2:09:33went extinct. And so Morrid would have
2:09:35to kill all these soldiers eventually.
2:09:38So he was actually benefiting from
2:09:40having an orderly conventional war.
2:09:43Instead of invading the territory of the
2:09:45human domain in a blitz campaign, he
2:09:47moved slowly, meticulously securing his
2:09:50rear before advancing further. That way
2:09:53the losses among his vessels were curbed
2:09:55and he could thoroughly prepare against
2:09:57a future counteroffensive.
2:09:59So the Black Mountains had turned into a
2:10:01bloodbath. He was besieging several
2:10:04peaks at the moment, as well as fighting
2:10:06for control over a number of important
2:10:07mountain passes and using one of the
2:10:09strongholds he had already conquered to
2:10:11devastate the two neighboring ones. The
2:10:14mountains were quaking, a cascade of
2:10:16avalanches rolling down to shroud the
2:10:18battlefields in frigid clouds of snow.
2:10:21Blood was streaming down the slopes of
2:10:23deep gorges, painting the mountains red.
2:10:26The sheer ferocity of the immense
2:10:28battlefront was so broad and daunting
2:10:30that it could hardly be conceived. On
2:10:33one side, the best warriors of humanity
2:10:36fought side by side under the banner of
2:10:38their new master, the eldest supreme
2:10:40Asterion. Saints, masters, and awakened
2:10:44were all beholdened to the same hex and
2:10:46united by the same resolve to resist the
2:10:49enemy. There were hundreds of thousands
2:10:51of them, all hardened by the wars of the
2:10:53past and armed by potent arsenals of
2:10:56echoes and memories. On the other side
2:10:58was Morrett. He alone fought against the
2:11:01collective might of humanity, pushing
2:11:04humanity back. The forces were about
2:11:06equally split for now. In truth, the
2:11:09human domain was weakened by the
2:11:11internal strife between those few still
2:11:13loyal to the immortal flame and those
2:11:15who had already been enthralled by the
2:11:17dream spawn. Once the last faithful
2:11:20warriors were bewitched or eliminated,
2:11:22that strife would become a thing of the
2:11:24past, replaced by unnatural unity. Then
2:11:28the power of humanity would take a
2:11:29qualitative leap, and Morrett would miss
2:11:32the days when all he had to contend
2:11:33against were all the warriors of
2:11:35humanity and nothing more. Standing at
2:11:38top the towering black peak, Morrett
2:11:40inhaled deeply and pulled an arrow out
2:11:42of the snow, knocking it on the string
2:11:44of his fearsome great bow. He raised it
2:11:47to the sky and pulled with all the might
2:11:49of his stolen transcendent body. When he
2:11:51released the string, a small hurricane
2:11:54rose to send the slaying arrow off.
2:11:56Somewhere far away, a chain of ships was
2:11:59blocking the vast expanse of the river
2:12:01of tears. Army that was only marginally
2:12:04inferior to the one guarding the Black
2:12:06Mountains was scattered across the
2:12:08thousands of armored and enchanted
2:12:10vessels, somberly waiting for the enemy
2:12:12to reveal itself. Far below the surface
2:12:15of the water, an uncanny creature was
2:12:17slowly slithering across the bottom of
2:12:19the river. It was a gargantuan, ghastly
2:12:22being with a long, pale body and dozens
2:12:25of flexible limbs, each ending in an
2:12:27appalling human-like hand. Several fins
2:12:30trailed behind it like translucent
2:12:32sails, and at the end of its long neck,
2:12:34a giant mask carved in the image of a
2:12:37human face was covering its own
2:12:39appalling visage. The eerie beast hid in
2:12:42the deep water, looking at the bottoms
2:12:43of the ships far above. All around it,
2:12:47smaller abominations rose from the silt,
2:12:49ready to launch an attack. That was
2:12:52Morrid as well. Far north, an ascended
2:12:55warrior was leaning on the rocks at the
2:12:57lip of a smoldering caldera, hidden in
2:13:00the clouds of billowing smoke. In front
2:13:02of him, on the horizon, Ravenhart
2:13:05sprawled under the ashen sky. He was
2:13:08murderer, too. On the opposite side of
2:13:10the dream realm, a fairy man was ending
2:13:12his shift, wiping the sweat off his brow
2:13:15as the reflection of the castle rippled
2:13:17on the surface of the mirror lake. He
2:13:20was another vessel of Morritz, of
2:13:22course. Millions of his incarnations
2:13:24were scattered across the dream realm,
2:13:27fighting the war against the human
2:13:28domain on multiple fronts, while spying
2:13:31on all the citadels of humanity. His
2:13:34consciousness was like a vast ocean
2:13:36split between the numerous vessels, each
2:13:38shard of his soul that animated them,
2:13:40fighting for supremacy in the broken and
2:13:43fragmented expanse of his shattered
2:13:44self. It was only Morret's will that
2:13:47kept his consciousness together like
2:13:49glue. Without it, he would have long
2:13:51splintered into numerous independent
2:13:53beings, each possessing only a fraction
2:13:56of his power and identity. By exerting
2:13:58his authority on his numerous
2:14:00incarnations to force them into the
2:14:02shape of an individual, he was making
2:14:04them a domain. That was why to him it
2:14:08was important to have at least a
2:14:09symbolic representation of his true
2:14:11self. The very first of his vessels, the
2:14:15body that the nightmare spell had
2:14:16created for him in the image of his
2:14:18original mortal shell, was lounging in
2:14:20the ebony tower, far removed from the
2:14:23bloodshed and strife of the war against
2:14:25the human domain.
2:14:27He was studying the twisting runes
2:14:29carved into the walls of the ancient
2:14:30pagod by the demon of destiny, grimacing
2:14:33from the pressure they exerted on his
2:14:35mind. Then, however, a subtle shift
2:14:38forced him to look up and raise his
2:14:40eyebrows. Stepping into a reflection, he
2:14:43moved to the uppermost floor of the
2:14:45ebony tower and watched as three women
2:14:47stepped out of the stone arch, bringing
2:14:49with them the smell of smoke, blood, and
2:14:51defeat. One of the women was hollow,
2:14:54while the other two, well, well, well.
2:14:57One was a blind witch, while the other
2:14:58was the princess of shadows. "What
2:15:01splendid guests!" Morrett remained
2:15:03silent for a few moments, then asked in
2:15:06a pleasant tone. "What took you so
2:15:08long?" he stared at Song of the Fallen,
2:15:11expecting an answer. She was truly a
2:15:13pitiful sight, covered in blood and
2:15:16barely clothed, her red tunic. No. Had
2:15:19it been white once, torn in more places
2:15:22than he could count? Oh, no. I'll have
2:15:24to wipe the floor. Being a one-man
2:15:26kingdom had its pluses, but made it so
2:15:29that he had no attendants or servants.
2:15:31Rather, more dread was both the king and
2:15:34the servant. Both the person who wore
2:15:36the crown and the person who polished
2:15:38the crown, as well as wiped the floor
2:15:40for the king wearing it to tread upon.
2:15:42Song of the Fallen faced him and opened
2:15:44her mouth as if wanting to say
2:15:46something. However, instead she simply
2:15:49swayed and toppled to the floor
2:15:51unconscious. She had passed out. Taken
2:15:54aback, more dread lingered for a few
2:15:56moments and then turned to the young
2:15:57woman who was looking at him with weary
2:15:59eyes. He smiled. Oh my, dare I say I've
2:16:03never made a young lady faint from
2:16:05simply looking at me. Morret sighed.
2:16:09Should I be flattered or concerned? I
2:16:11wonder. Chapter 2872. Royal hostage
2:16:14looking at the three women in front of
2:16:16him. More dread pondered what to do. One
2:16:19was hollow, one was unconscious, and the
2:16:22last one wore the mark of the Lord of
2:16:24Shadows. More than that, as far as he
2:16:26was aware, she was somewhat of a
2:16:28personal protege for that terrifying
2:16:30man, which meant that he could not make
2:16:32her a vessel without risking it all in a
2:16:34soul duel against another Supreme. He
2:16:37could not take Cassia as a vessel either
2:16:39because she was blind. As for the hollow
2:16:42woman who had once been Smile of Heaven,
2:16:44actually he never attempted to possess a
2:16:46hollow person before. So Morrid was not
2:16:49sure what would happen. It used to be
2:16:51that he could only make living beings
2:16:53into his vessels. That had remained true
2:16:55for a while, and eventually Morris
2:16:58stopped trying to possess anything else.
2:17:00However, adversity was the mother of
2:17:03invention. It was only when the Lord of
2:17:05Shadows so unceremoniously killed the
2:17:08body of Saint Dar that Morrid discovered
2:17:10how his powers had evolved after he
2:17:13became supreme. Not wishing to lose a
2:17:15valuable transcendent vessel, Morrid
2:17:18tried to maintain control of it even as
2:17:20it was bleeding out. To his surprise, he
2:17:23actually found a way to do that. So, he
2:17:25was wearing Saint Dar's corpse all
2:17:27around the Black Mountains at the
2:17:29moment. Animating a corpse with a shard
2:17:31of his soul was actually not that
2:17:33difficult, as long as the corpse had not
2:17:36been dead for too long. Naturally, there
2:17:38was no point in doing so if the body was
2:17:41too damaged, but nevertheless, that new
2:17:43ability alone made his campaign in the
2:17:45Black Mountains far more sustainable.
2:17:48Not only were his vessels harder to
2:17:50destroy now, but he could also possess
2:17:52the fallen soldiers of the enemy. He did
2:17:54not even need to fight a soul duel to
2:17:56take them, which was a pleasant change
2:17:58of pace. So Morrid had a reasonable
2:18:01suspicion that taking the body of a
2:18:03hollow was within his power as well. It
2:18:06was just that he didn't want to. His
2:18:08vessels inherited their powers from the
2:18:10souls of the original inhabitants. Was
2:18:12by creating a reflection of the original
2:18:14soul that Morret could make use of the
2:18:16vessel's aspect and steal its memories.
2:18:20Smile of Heaven had lost her soul
2:18:21decades ago, though, so all he would be
2:18:23receiving was one more ascended body,
2:18:26and he had enough of those to risk
2:18:28earning changing stars wrath. "What to
2:18:32do? What to do?" Morret smiled. His
2:18:35instinct was telling him to eradicate
2:18:38Song of the Fallen immediately. But then
2:18:40again, Morret was not a beast incapable
2:18:43of acting against his instinct. He was
2:18:45quite good at keeping his natural
2:18:47inclinations at bay. In fact, so even if
2:18:50he was wary of the blind witch, he
2:18:52contemplated whether she could be useful
2:18:54to him if kept alive. The answer was
2:18:57yes. Life really is full of surprises.
2:19:01Life was nothing but unpredictable
2:19:04indeed. Actually, Morrett only had a
2:19:06very vague idea of what life was and how
2:19:09one was supposed to live it. That was
2:19:11because being incapable of feeling
2:19:13regret, he was not prone to
2:19:15introspection or, ironically enough, any
2:19:18kind of self-reflection either. But if
2:19:20he were to look back upon his life and
2:19:22ponder its meaning, Morre would have to
2:19:24admit that he had spent most of his
2:19:26unmed and a drift, searching for a sense
2:19:28of belonging that he was not destined to
2:19:30find. The memories of his early
2:19:32childhood were vague at best. He barely
2:19:35remembered his mother and his father.
2:19:38Even as a small child, Morret had known
2:19:40that his father did not like him much.
2:19:43He had been a quiet and withdrawn kid,
2:19:45failing to speak his first words until
2:19:47he turned four. At that time, he wanted
2:19:49to impress King Anvil and earn his
2:19:51affection. But before he could even try,
2:19:54the king handed him off to the dream
2:19:55spawn. That probably caused little
2:19:58Morrid a whole lot of anguish, even if
2:20:00the current Morrid was incapable of
2:20:02relating to those feelings. Asterion,
2:20:05meanwhile, was dangerous. Morrid
2:20:08remembered being scared of the odd man
2:20:10in his friendly smiles, knowing that his
2:20:12warm golden eyes hid the cold
2:20:14callousness of a ruthless predator. But
2:20:17Eststerion was too strong, too
2:20:19confident, and too charming. So it was
2:20:22no surprise that the forsaken little
2:20:24prince of the great clan Valor, who
2:20:26desperately needed to find a sense of
2:20:28security, eventually latched on to him
2:20:31as he would to a lifeline. Morre had
2:20:33silenced the inner voice that told him
2:20:35to be wary of his guardian, choosing
2:20:38instead to see him as some sort of
2:20:39surrogate father. In the end, he spent
2:20:42twice as many years with the dream spawn
2:20:44as he had with the king of swords.
2:20:46Asteryrion was not cruel, but he was not
2:20:49kind either. Instead, he was mostly
2:20:52indifferent, treating the hostage prince
2:20:54with a shallow kind of care. Still, for
2:20:57a while, Morrid thought that this was
2:20:59his life, and everything was going how
2:21:01it was meant to be. And then, Estrion
2:21:04discarded him with the same kind of
2:21:06easygoing indifference, Morret knew all
2:21:09too well. As it turned out, all that the
2:21:11dream spawn had needed from him was to
2:21:14awaken his divine lineage. After that,
2:21:17Morrid was of no more use to him, and so
2:21:20he sent Morrid away. At the time, Morrid
2:21:24had already shattered into seven
2:21:25fragments because of his flaw, so he was
2:21:28not quite capable of feeling regretful
2:21:30about parting ways with his heartless
2:21:32guardian. But that did not mean that he
2:21:34wasn't affected. On the contrary, he was
2:21:37quite bitter and hurt. It was a time
2:21:40painted in hues of darkness. And on the
2:21:42other side of it, Morre emerged as the
2:21:44creature he was now, an amalgamation of
2:21:47six parts of a once whole person,
2:21:49carrying the burden of the useless
2:21:51seventh. But at the same time he
2:21:53remembered feeling relieved. Chapter
2:21:562873 outcast Prince Morret felt relieved
2:22:00because no matter how thoroughly he had
2:22:01deluded himself, deep down he always
2:22:05understood what kind of monster the
2:22:06dream spawn was and what kind of future
2:22:09awaited him if he stayed by Asterion's
2:22:11side. Instead of regret, he eventually
2:22:14found himself full of quiet hope,
2:22:16anticipation, and timid excitement. He
2:22:19tried to repress these feelings, not
2:22:21wishing to be hurt all over again. But
2:22:23in the end, they refused to be
2:22:25extinguished and slowly grew to conquer
2:22:28his heart. Morrid thought that since his
2:22:30time with Asterion had come to an end,
2:22:33and the deal his father had struck with
2:22:35Asterion was complete, he could return
2:22:37home to valor. He imagined being
2:22:40welcomed with open arms, enjoying the
2:22:42affection of his true family, and
2:22:44finally being in a place where he truly
2:22:46belonged. After all, he was the prince
2:22:49of war. He had conquered the first
2:22:51nightmare at the tender age of 12 and
2:22:54emerged from its jaws as a master of a
2:22:56divine aspect. Certainly, his father,
2:22:59the king, could not wish for a more
2:23:02worthy heir, and therefore the future
2:23:05was bright. Reality, of course,
2:23:07shattered his naive optimism completely.
2:23:10It didn't take Morret long to realize
2:23:12that he was not welcome in the great
2:23:14clan valor. His father, who had disliked
2:23:16him before, now treated him with open
2:23:19contempt. The elders of the clan and the
2:23:21members of the branch families were wary
2:23:23of him and knew that he was not favored
2:23:26by the king. The retainers of the clan
2:23:28found him eerie and preferred to stay
2:23:31away. Soon Morrid swiftly became an
2:23:34outcast in the royal court. He was not
2:23:36the proud heir of clan valor or the
2:23:38prince of war. He was barely a prince
2:23:41really. At best, he was the prince of
2:23:44nothing. Having been rejected for the
2:23:46third time in his short life, Morrid
2:23:49finally understood that he would never
2:23:50belong anywhere. It was not because of
2:23:53how he acted, how he behaved, or because
2:23:56he did not try enough and went about
2:23:59trying in the wrong way. It was simply
2:24:01due to his nature. His nature was not
2:24:04like that of other people, and people
2:24:06despised nothing more than those who
2:24:09were other. So for the first time, more
2:24:12dread abandoned his desire to be
2:24:14accepted and acknowledged by his father,
2:24:16by Asterion, or by anyone else.
2:24:19Rejecting the notion of relying on
2:24:21others and having imprisoned his seventh
2:24:23self in the great mirror, he drifted
2:24:25through his days aimless and alone. He
2:24:28reflected the world back on itself and
2:24:30became just as cruel, indifferent, and
2:24:32callous. Eventually, he imagined that he
2:24:34wanted to become just as strong as well.
2:24:37strong enough to be self-sufficient and
2:24:39never have to depend on anyone, to be
2:24:42beholden to no one, only to himself.
2:24:45Sadly, Clan Valor had other plans. The
2:24:48king and his people were already wary of
2:24:50Morrid because of his eerie nature and
2:24:52because of his terrifying potential
2:24:54since they were already struggling to
2:24:56control him. What would they do if he
2:24:58went further on the path of ascension?
2:25:00Morrid already made them feel threatened
2:25:02for a good reason, perhaps. But at least
2:25:04he could be dealt with. What if he grew
2:25:06too strong to be contained? So they
2:25:09forbade him from challenging the second
2:25:11nightmare and withdrew all support. Only
2:25:14a madman would dare to challenge a seed
2:25:16alone. So they judged him to be
2:25:18sufficiently under control and tried to
2:25:20appease him as a distraction instead.
2:25:23However, Morrid would not be appeased.
2:25:25Instead, he sent himself into a
2:25:27voluntary exile on the chained Isles and
2:25:30settled in the sanctuary of Noctis. The
2:25:32White Feather Clan was a vassel of clan
2:25:35valor, but their young matriarch was
2:25:37aloof and known for shunning the royal
2:25:39court. So he was afforded a great degree
2:25:42of freedom in her thief. There Morrett
2:25:45went about preparing for the exact thing
2:25:47he was forbidden from attempting for
2:25:49challenging the seed of nightmare. His
2:25:51preparations were eventually revealed,
2:25:54even if he did not know it at the time.
2:25:56He only found out about it when the
2:25:57Knights of Valor ambushed him and cold
2:26:00steel pierced his heart. Morrid was
2:26:02supposed to die there. And then the
2:26:05glorious tale of the first wielder of a
2:26:07divine aspect coming to an englorious
2:26:09and distasteful end. But Morrid did not
2:26:12die because even if his father had
2:26:15decided to have him killed, nobody
2:26:17possessed the means of killing him. The
2:26:19Knights of Valor tried and failed. The
2:26:22elders of the clan tried and failed. And
2:26:24the king of swords himself failed as
2:26:26well. Morrid's body was destroyed. His
2:26:29soul was destroyed too, but he refused
2:26:30to perish. That was because he wielded a
2:26:33divine aspect. And his nature was not
2:26:35like that of other people. He was not
2:26:38entirely human. So to humans, he was the
2:26:41dreaded other. Humans possessed a soul,
2:26:44a body that served as its vessel, a mind
2:26:47that was its conduit, a spirit that was
2:26:50the driving force of all three, and a
2:26:52shadow that carried its death. That and
2:26:54the spark of the flame that was the
2:26:56source of it all were the sum of one's
2:26:58being. More dread, however, was made of
2:27:01one more component. His soul, his
2:27:03shadow, his spirit, all of them were
2:27:06mere expressions of his reflection. In
2:27:08fact, he was first and foremost a
2:27:10reflection, a reflection of a human, but
2:27:13a reflection nevertheless. It was his
2:27:16true self, his reflection that entered a
2:27:19living being's soul to destroy it and
2:27:22took control of the being's body. That
2:27:24was why soul duels were so perilous for
2:27:26Morret. They were the only time when the
2:27:29true core of his being entered a plane
2:27:31where anyone could wound or destroy it,
2:27:34and he was therefore as mortal as
2:27:36everyone else. But back then, clan valor
2:27:39did not know it. Even the king of swords
2:27:42did not possess a blade capable of
2:27:44vanquishing the others. At least he did
2:27:46not in that distant past. He was quite
2:27:49adept at runic sorcery, though, so he
2:27:51managed to build a prison for his son,
2:27:53whom he had failed to kill. That was how
2:27:56Morrett ended up being invited for a
2:27:58prolonged stay in the Night Temple.
2:28:00Chapter 2874. Success and failure.
2:28:03Chained in the mirror cage, utterly
2:28:06alone and powerless, Morrett spent a
2:28:08long time thinking about his senseless
2:28:10life, all the people who had betrayed
2:28:12and abandoned him, the birthright that
2:28:14he had been denied, and the precious
2:28:16things that had been taken from him. And
2:28:18slowly but surely, he was consumed by
2:28:20hatred, or rather, he allowed hatred to
2:28:23consume him. Morrit was full of
2:28:25bitterness, [snorts] anger, and
2:28:27unbearable resentment. Of course,
2:28:29naturally, he wished to avenge himself
2:28:31on the clan valor and on his heartless
2:28:33father most of all. But in truth, the
2:28:36hatred Morrid felt was not that
2:28:38overwhelming, at least not at first. It
2:28:41was just that he was tired of being
2:28:43aimless, so he decided to make vengeance
2:28:46his goal. The fact that walking the path
2:28:48of wrathful retribution was a sober and
2:28:52conscious decision on his part did not
2:28:54mean that he wasn't earnest in his
2:28:56devotion to it. Though sealed in the
2:28:58darkness, Morrid made a choice. He chose
2:29:01to surrender himself to hatred and made
2:29:03it the axis of his existence. He forged
2:29:06his own destiny out of the dark desire
2:29:08to see those who slighted him ruined and
2:29:11gone. That was how he endured his long
2:29:13imprisonment. Day after day, he waited
2:29:16and contemplated how he would destroy
2:29:18the great clan valor and take his
2:29:20father's life. There was a lot to
2:29:22consider. His father was supreme after
2:29:25all, which meant that he might as well
2:29:27have been a god rebelling against gods
2:29:29was a daring vocation. Morrid waited and
2:29:32waited and waited. He was nothing if not
2:29:36patient, and eventually his patience
2:29:38paid off. Six long torturous years
2:29:41later, Morrid walked out of the Night
2:29:43Temple, covered in blood. He left behind
2:29:46the aimless youth he used to be and
2:29:48embraced the murderous, wicked man he
2:29:50had become. That was how the prince of
2:29:53nothing was born. Now, nearly a decade
2:29:56later, Morrid had reached incredible
2:29:58heights. He seemingly achieved all his
2:30:00daring goals as well. Clan valor was no
2:30:04more. His father, the king of swords,
2:30:06was dead. Morret himself, meanwhile, was
2:30:09supreme. An incredible feat that only
2:30:11six other people in history had ever
2:30:13achieved. From the outside, his success
2:30:16truly seemed nothing short of
2:30:18remarkable. Not just anyone could fight
2:30:20against all of humanity alone. After
2:30:23all, and Morrett was not only waging war
2:30:25on the entire world, all by his lonesome
2:30:28self at the moment, he had humanity on
2:30:31the ropes. He had come a long way. But
2:30:34in truth, Mor dread life had been a
2:30:35mixed bag of success and failure. He had
2:30:38successfully escaped the Night Temple.
2:30:40He challenged the nightmare seed in the
2:30:42ivory tower and conquered it, becoming
2:30:45ascended, just as he had intended to
2:30:47once. Later, he joined the Song Domain
2:30:50and plotted against Clan Valor during
2:30:51the Chain of Nightmares, upsetting the
2:30:54balance of power and costing his sister
2:30:56a chance to pull off a decisive victory.
2:30:58Maddo of valor and an army of retainers
2:31:00perished in Antarctica while Morrett
2:31:03himself challenged the third nightmare
2:31:04and returned transcendent from the tomb
2:31:06of Ariel. During the domain war, he
2:31:09decimated the house of night and invaded
2:31:11the sword domain, single-handedly
2:31:13opening the second front of the war and
2:31:15costing the king of swords both the
2:31:17loyalty of his daughter and the great
2:31:19boon of ruling bastion. These losses
2:31:22robbed Anvil of strength in the final
2:31:24battle against Kiang and ultimately
2:31:26resulted in his death at the hands of
2:31:28the King of Shadows. However, Morre had
2:31:31failed in his ultimate goal, taking the
2:31:33life of his father with his own two
2:31:35hands. Stalled in Bastion by Morgan and
2:31:38her merry band of government saints. He
2:31:40missed the chance to cut the King of
2:31:42Swords down, instead it was the Lord of
2:31:45Shadows who had delivered the last
2:31:46strike. And therein lay the problem.
2:31:49After the death of the king and the
2:31:51collapse of clan valor, Morrid found
2:31:53himself aimless once more. He had
2:31:55achieved all his impossible goals and
2:31:57was not sure what to do with himself
2:31:59after that. His hatred, which gave his
2:32:02life meaning, was suddenly pointless.
2:32:04With his vengeance delivered, albeit in
2:32:07quite an unsatisfying manner. Morret
2:32:10found himself in a peculiar state of
2:32:12having no purpose anymore. He had
2:32:14already forgotten how to live without an
2:32:16overwhelming all-consuming goal
2:32:18dictating his every action by then. But
2:32:21there he was again, having no clear
2:32:23reason to go on. In that colorless,
2:32:25confounding void, Morret discovered a
2:32:28new fact about himself. It was that he
2:32:31wanted to live. Was ironic really, how
2:32:34much he abhored the idea of ceasing to
2:32:37exist and becoming nothing. Morrid
2:32:40wanted to be something someone and
2:32:42continue to live with or without reason.
2:32:44In fact, the desire to exist was a
2:32:46reason in itself. Perhaps it was only
2:32:49reasonable, though. After all, that was
2:32:51the nature of all beings born out of
2:32:53nothing. They all yearned to be
2:32:55witnessed by the living and become
2:32:57something. The problem, of course, was
2:32:59that Morrett already knew what was
2:33:00coming. With the sovereigns gone, the
2:33:03monster who had raised him would soon
2:33:05come back. And when Asterion escaped his
2:33:07seal, just like Morrett had once escaped
2:33:10his own, humanity was going to become
2:33:12its prey. Morret knew the hunger and
2:33:15ambition of the dream spawn better than
2:33:17anyone. He knew what Asterion was
2:33:20capable of as well. So he abandoned the
2:33:23notion of finding some complicated
2:33:24meaning to survival and dedicated
2:33:26himself to survival. For survival's
2:33:29sake, no different from a beast. In
2:33:31order to survive, Morrett needed to
2:33:34achieve two things. He had to retrieve
2:33:36his flaw from the great mirror so that
2:33:38Asterion did not get his hands on the
2:33:40wretched thing, and he had to become
2:33:42supreme. The latter especially seemed
2:33:45like an insurmountable obstacle. Morret
2:33:48had the example of changing Star and the
2:33:51Lord of Shadows in front of him, and yet
2:33:53he was not sure how to go about becoming
2:33:55a Supreme. Eventually though, Morred
2:33:58achieved both of those goals. But his
2:34:00problems were only beginning. Chapter
2:34:032875.
2:34:04The company you keep, Morrid, had
2:34:06managed to become supreme, and without
2:34:09the guidance of the nightmare spell, no
2:34:11less. The feat he accomplished on that
2:34:13day was perhaps his greatest triumph.
2:34:15But it was full of bittersweet irony as
2:34:18well. He had endeavored to become strong
2:34:20enough to be self-sufficient and never
2:34:22have to depend on anyone, to be beholden
2:34:25to no one. So Morrett reached the peak
2:34:28of power and built a domain that only
2:34:30encompassed one being, himself. However,
2:34:33what he had truly wanted once was to
2:34:36belong somewhere and be accepted by
2:34:38someone, to not be alone anymore. But he
2:34:41made himself into a king who belonged
2:34:43nowhere and ruled no one whose only
2:34:46company was his own reflections. Morret
2:34:49was not sure if that was funny or
2:34:50fitting. Perhaps it was both. One thing
2:34:53was certain, though, now that the crown
2:34:56finally rested on his head, he did not
2:34:58feel gratified or proud of his
2:35:00astonishing achievement. Instead, he
2:35:02only felt a sense of grim anticipation.
2:35:05Attaining supremacy was only the minimal
2:35:08requirement for being able to survive
2:35:09the return of the dream spawn. After
2:35:12all, it only gave him a fighting chance,
2:35:14nothing more so. He dedicated himself to
2:35:17preparing for war. The human domain was
2:35:19strong, ruled by two powerful supremes
2:35:22who had joined hands, both wielders of
2:35:25divine aspects, just like Mr., it was
2:35:28confidently poised to meet the dire
2:35:30threats arrayed against it by the
2:35:32nightmare. But Morrid had no doubt that
2:35:35it would fall. The powers of the dream
2:35:37spawn were simply too perilous. It was
2:35:40not that he was particularly powerful,
2:35:42although he was powerful. No doubt
2:35:44rather it was that his aspect was too
2:35:46sinister. Eststerion was devious and
2:35:49innately capable of turning one's
2:35:51strength against themselves. So, the
2:35:53mighty human domain was nothing but a
2:35:55liability. Changing Star and the Lord of
2:35:58Shadows were too attached to their
2:36:00humanity. Though they were never going
2:36:03to shed the dead weight of mankind, even
2:36:05if that weight was pulling them under
2:36:07the water, if they did, they would have
2:36:09stood a good chance of defeating the
2:36:11dream spawn. But they were not going to,
2:36:14which meant that they would drown.
2:36:16Morrid, on the other hand, wasn't
2:36:18attached to anything except his own
2:36:20life. He had never truly been a member
2:36:22of the crew, so he refused to go down
2:36:25with the ship. He wanted to survive, no
2:36:28matter the costs. So, he retreated into
2:36:31the Hollow Mountains, into the
2:36:33nothingness that shrouded them like
2:36:34white mist. To some, the Hollow
2:36:37Mountains would seem like a useless and
2:36:39terrible domain. There was literally
2:36:41nothing there except for terrifying
2:36:44creatures that had gotten lost in the
2:36:46fog. But to Morret, this strange region
2:36:49of the dream realm seemed precious
2:36:51because to him it was an impenetrable
2:36:54fortress that only he got to rule. The
2:36:57white mist that frightened most other
2:36:59people was like a fortress wall to Mr.
2:37:02and once he was hidden behind it, not
2:37:04even the dream spawn would be able to
2:37:06easily invade his lands. Morrid,
2:37:08meanwhile, would be able to invade the
2:37:10lands controlled by Asterion with
2:37:12impunity. That was why he had struck a
2:37:14deal with Changing Star and the Lord of
2:37:16Shadows, claiming the Hollow Mountains
2:37:18as his own. Ruling them turned out quite
2:37:21different from what he had expected,
2:37:23though. The Hollow Mountains were a
2:37:25region of the Dream Realm in and of
2:37:27themselves. The jagged mountain chain
2:37:30was incredibly vast, so vast, in fact,
2:37:33as to be a realm of its own, and it had
2:37:35been once in an odd kind of way. Very
2:37:38few people knew that the hollow
2:37:39mountains were a scar left on the world
2:37:41by the fall of a void creature that the
2:37:44gods had slain in the ancient primordial
2:37:46past. However, even those who knew did
2:37:49not really understand what it meant. In
2:37:51truth, that colossal void creature had
2:37:54not simply fallen on some mortal realm,
2:37:57causing its terrain to become jagged and
2:37:59drowned in nothingness. Rather, its
2:38:02death had left a scar on existence
2:38:04itself. So, the Hollow Mountains were
2:38:06both a realm and a part of countless
2:38:08different realms, serving as a bridge
2:38:10between them for those valiant or
2:38:12desperate enough to try crossing it.
2:38:14Maybe that was why it stretches across
2:38:16the dream realm bordering so countless
2:38:18of its regions. In that sense, Morret's
2:38:21strategy was a sound one, but he had
2:38:23underestimated just how bleak and dreary
2:38:26residing in the hollow mountains would
2:38:27be. He did not dare venture into the
2:38:29hollow interior of the mountains, where
2:38:31elemental darkness ruled. Utter darkness
2:38:34was the enemy of reflections, after all,
2:38:36and his powers were mostly useless
2:38:39there. Instead, he built an abode on one
2:38:41of the jagged peaks, away from the
2:38:43places where true horrors dwelled, and
2:38:46spent most of his time hunting nightmare
2:38:48creatures in the regions bordering the
2:38:49mountains to expand his army of vessels.
2:38:52The vessels themselves, meanwhile, did
2:38:55not reside in the white mist of
2:38:57nothingness. Instead, they resided in
2:39:00his personal mirror realm, where Morrid
2:39:03had built an entire city. The city was
2:39:06well-developed and quite lively, even if
2:39:08it only had one citizen. The problem,
2:39:11however, was that when Morred emerged
2:39:13from his inner domain, all he saw was
2:39:15nothing. Nothing as far as the eye could
2:39:18see with no color, no sound, no sense,
2:39:21and no movement. No detail at all for
2:39:24him to appreciate, only the white mist.
2:39:27There was no one around him either, only
2:39:30his own vessels. Morrid had become the
2:39:33man he was today by reflecting the cruel
2:39:35ruthlessness of the world back on
2:39:37itself. But now all he could reflect was
2:39:40himself. What kind of man did that make
2:39:43him then? Ironacly enough, Morurret had
2:39:46never been as alone as he was as a
2:39:48supreme, except for his years of
2:39:49imprisonment in the mirror cage, faced
2:39:52with nothing and surrounded by nobody
2:39:54except himself, was boring. Was quite
2:39:57insufferable, in fact. Hidden in the
2:39:59hollow mountains, Morric continued to
2:40:01build his vessel army while spying on
2:40:03humanity. He knew what he had to do. But
2:40:06he just felt that it would be such a
2:40:08shame for humanity to be wiped out. A
2:40:10world where no one except himself
2:40:12existed would be so dull. After all,
2:40:15people were entertaining. He even
2:40:17contemplated if there was another way.
2:40:19But before Morrett could even consider
2:40:21things properly, the dream spawn finally
2:40:24escaped his lunar prison and descended
2:40:26into the mortal world. Chapter 2876,
2:40:29Mental Residue. All of it transpired
2:40:32just like Mor Dread had predicted it
2:40:34would. The name of the dream spawn
2:40:36spread like a plague, infecting people
2:40:39to make them hasten the spread even
2:40:41more, changing Star and the Lord of
2:40:43Shadows scrambled to slow it down, but
2:40:46it was of no use. Soon enough, Asterion
2:40:48announced his existence to the world.
2:40:50And in a matter of days, there was no
2:40:53soul in the two worlds who did not bear
2:40:55the idea of him in their minds. Then he
2:40:59infected humanity with another idea.
2:41:01Should changing star be trusted, even if
2:41:04people answered yes, the seed of doubt
2:41:07was already planted in their minds, and
2:41:09that seed opened the gates of their
2:41:11hearts for the dream spawn to walk
2:41:12through. At the same time, Changing Star
2:41:16and the Lord of Shadows hesitated to
2:41:18draw Asterion into an open battle
2:41:20because he was using all the people in
2:41:22Bastion as a shield. More and more
2:41:24humans fell under the Dreamspawn's hex,
2:41:27fueling his domain. And as his domain
2:41:29grew more powerful, Asterion grew more
2:41:32powerful as well. He was already more
2:41:35fearsome than he had ever been and
2:41:37stronger with every day. More dread
2:41:39waited, knowing that the time to observe
2:41:41and prepare was over. Now was the time
2:41:44to act. He wanted to live, so everyone
2:41:47else had to die. Finally, Morrett left
2:41:50the hollow mountains and descended upon
2:41:52Red Hill. There were numerous people
2:41:55living there, so he fought countless
2:41:57soul duels at the same time. From
2:41:59mundane people to the transcendent lord
2:42:01of the city, he took them all. It was
2:42:04strange though when a million
2:42:05incarnations of Morret entered a million
2:42:08souls. He wasn't alone there. The souls
2:42:11of mundane people were too weak to offer
2:42:13him any resistance. They were dormant
2:42:15after all and therefore lacked
2:42:18awareness. It all ended in an instant.
2:42:21Those who were awakened or of a higher
2:42:23rank though had to be dealt with in a
2:42:25fight. Out there in the liinal space of
2:42:28the soul arena, Morrid could only wield
2:42:30the same weapons his enemies wielded. He
2:42:33could reflect their aspects and
2:42:34memories, but nothing more. Still, he
2:42:37was a supreme. Dealing with the warriors
2:42:40of Red Hill did not pose much trouble.
2:42:42However, even while destroying their
2:42:44souls, Morrid could not shake off an
2:42:47eerie feeling. It was then that he
2:42:49noticed an odd anomaly. It seemed like
2:42:52there was also a third figure in the
2:42:54arena, a presence that could not be seen
2:42:56or felt, but kept whispering into the
2:42:59ears of the enthralled people. It could
2:43:01not be seen or heard, but it did reflect
2:43:04on the calm waters of numerous soul
2:43:06seas, like a vague figure painted onto
2:43:09the placid surface. And while Morrett
2:43:11was taking the bodies of these people as
2:43:13vessels, the ghostly whispers of that
2:43:16figure kept flowing into his ears as
2:43:18well. Damn it. That was what Morre had
2:43:22been afraid of, as well as the reason he
2:43:24had stayed away from Asterion as much as
2:43:26he could, even if his mind was so vast
2:43:28that even he was struggling to keep it
2:43:30whole, as powerful and ferocious as the
2:43:32great swarm of his incarnations was,
2:43:35built into a fortress with impregnable
2:43:37walls. Even if his soul was branded with
2:43:40the mark of the demon of destiny, he was
2:43:42still not entirely immune to Asterion's
2:43:44insidious powers. Conquering Red Hill
2:43:47exposed him to the dream spawn. He
2:43:50mostly resisted the thoughts and
2:43:51emotions that the appalling Supreme had
2:43:53tried to implant into his mind and
2:43:55heart, but some residue still remained
2:43:58like a layer of dust covering an immense
2:44:00mirror. It was not enough to sway
2:44:02Morret, but it was enough to make him
2:44:04feel concerned. There was no stopping
2:44:06now, though he was adamantly convinced
2:44:09that Asterion would become unstoppable.
2:44:12Once all of humanity became a part of
2:44:14his domain, so time was of the essence.
2:44:17Morrid had to destroy humanity before
2:44:19Asterion could devour it. And so his war
2:44:23against the entire world began. Morrid
2:44:26took the glass hell godgrave moon river
2:44:28plains, the chains isles, and all the
2:44:30regions between them and the black
2:44:33mountains. He paralyzed the basin of the
2:44:35river of tears and pushed the forces of
2:44:38the human domain south. In the process,
2:44:41he slaughtered quite a number of people.
2:44:43The death toll of Red Hill was the
2:44:45highest by far, but the casualties among
2:44:48the awakened warriors of the human
2:44:49domain were not minor either. With every
2:44:52death, Morret felt the world becoming a
2:44:55little duller. He was not enjoying the
2:44:57war he had to fight at all. But what
2:44:59could he do? It had to be fought and it
2:45:02had to be won. Otherwise, it would be
2:45:05his death that made the world less
2:45:07entertaining. So, he persisted. He
2:45:10attempted to fight a few soul duels as
2:45:12he could in the process, not wishing to
2:45:14let Asterion's claws sink deeper into
2:45:17his mind. But no matter how hard Morrett
2:45:19tried, some degree of contamination was
2:45:22inevitable. He had to conquer more
2:45:24vessels to stem attrition of his army.
2:45:26And even if he did not engage in soul
2:45:28duels, merely being close to the thrs of
2:45:31the dream spawn made his condition a
2:45:33little worse. and he had to meet
2:45:34Asterion face to face at times as well,
2:45:37like during the battle for the Lake of
2:45:39Tears. Every time they clashed,
2:45:42Morrett's mind became a little more
2:45:44contaminated. Slowly and gradually, that
2:45:47was how he was losing himself to the
2:45:49powers of the dream spawn. And wouldn't
2:45:51you know it, the solution delivered
2:45:53itself to his steps all of its own.
2:45:56Looking down at the unconscious form of
2:45:58Song of the Fallen, Morrett chuckled.
2:46:01here was the only woman in existence who
2:46:04could erase Asterion's hex from a
2:46:06person's mind. So, he had a use for her
2:46:08after all. Looking at the princess of
2:46:11shadows, Morrett smiled. You know what?
2:46:14I decided not to kill you after all. No
2:46:16need to thank me. The young woman stared
2:46:19at him silently for a moment. That is
2:46:21great. Very gracious of you. But, she
2:46:25paused, then asked in an exasperated
2:46:27tone, "Who the hell are you, mister?
2:46:29Where the hell are we? What the hell is
2:46:31happening? Morrid laughed. Me? Oh, I am
2:46:36just a nobody. Chapter 2877. The king's
2:46:39witch. Sometime later, Morrid was
2:46:42leaning on the wall in the circular hall
2:46:44containing the stone archway. The
2:46:46princess of shadows was on the lower
2:46:48floors of the ebony tower, looking
2:46:50around. He had cleaned the floor, so it
2:46:53was as spotless as before. There was
2:46:55also a foldable army cot in the hall now
2:46:58on which song of the fallen was laying
2:47:00unconscious. Really now this woman is
2:47:03going to sleep through the end of the
2:47:05world. Well, maybe not the end of the
2:47:08world, but the end of the longing domain
2:47:11for sure. At that moment, finally the
2:47:13blind seer stirred. Morre could not see
2:47:16if she had opened her eye because of the
2:47:18bloodied blindfold covering it, but he
2:47:20was pretty sure she was awake now. Song
2:47:23of the Fallen. Cassia sat up slowly and
2:47:25leaned on the wall facing him. Her face
2:47:28was expressionless. How long was I out?
2:47:30Her tone was even too. Morrid smirked.
2:47:33Talk about spending too much time with
2:47:35Changing Star. Was the inability to
2:47:37emote infectious? He shrugged. A few
2:47:40hours reading a silent question on her
2:47:43motionless face. He added, "It's all
2:47:45over." Nightingale surrendered Ravenhart
2:47:48to Sean and her sisters. He is being
2:47:50tortured now. It's not pretty. Raised by
2:47:53wolves, meanwhile, is chained in a stone
2:47:55cell underneath Mirage Castle. Harder to
2:47:58stomach, Morrid smiled, amused by the
2:48:00pun, then shook his head. There are a
2:48:02few people here and there who have
2:48:04proved to be highly resistant or even
2:48:06immune to the plague. They are being
2:48:09cleansed as we speak. But those who are
2:48:11too valuable, like your friends, are not
2:48:14that lucky. The dream spawn is going to
2:48:16weaken and drive them to the edge first.
2:48:18all to compromise their resistance and
2:48:20take them when they're ready to give up.
2:48:22He sighed. Good old torture never goes
2:48:25out of fashion, it seems. Well, you'd
2:48:27know better, poor thing. Of all the
2:48:29saints in existence, changing star just
2:48:32had to go off on the most harmless one.
2:48:34Cassie lowered her head and fell silent,
2:48:37seemingly trying to cope with the
2:48:39dreadful weight of defeat. Mortit
2:48:41chuckled and raised his hands, clapping
2:48:43slowly. "Wow, and I thought myself a
2:48:46good actor. You really are a talent,
2:48:48Song of the Fallen. But please, enough
2:48:51with the theatrics. No need to act so
2:48:54surprised. Cassie sighed. Whatever do
2:48:57you mean? Morrid gave her a bright
2:48:59smile, even though she could not see it.
2:49:02Oh, it's just that I couldn't help but
2:49:03notice the manner in which you arrived
2:49:05at the Ebony Tower. That archway was
2:49:07built by Nether, you know, and Nether
2:49:09was a demon of a very practical sort.
2:49:12Instead of building a gateway between
2:49:14his temporary workshop and the ivory
2:49:16tower, he simply patched into an
2:49:17existing network of local pathways that
2:49:19hope had created in her kingdom. Local
2:49:22being the key word. This archway was
2:49:25supposed to remain inoperable while the
2:49:27tower of hope was away from the chained
2:49:29isles, but somehow it wasn't. He shook
2:49:32his head. Which means that you modified
2:49:35the runic circle of the archway on the
2:49:37ivory island at some point. well in
2:49:39advance, which means that you had
2:49:41already predicted what would happen if
2:49:43Changing Star and the Lord of Shadows
2:49:45failed to do whatever it is they were
2:49:47trying to do and prepared an escape
2:49:49route, which means that you already knew
2:49:51that the longing domain would fall. So,
2:49:54no matter how good your acting is, this
2:49:56surprised act really fails to look
2:49:59convincing. Morrit looked at her with an
2:50:01amused smile. What are they doing, by
2:50:04the way? Changing Star and the Lord of
2:50:06Shadows? Cassia remained motionless for
2:50:09a few moments, tracing her hand across
2:50:11the cot to figure out what she was
2:50:12sitting on. I don't know. I don't
2:50:14remember. Mr chuckled. Oh, I see. You
2:50:18must have erased your own memories of
2:50:19knowing then. How thorough. Well, it
2:50:23doesn't really matter anymore. Whatever
2:50:25it was that they hoped to achieve, they
2:50:28are already too late. Cassia did not
2:50:30seem to agree, but she did not say
2:50:33anything to contradict him. Morrett
2:50:35stopped smiling. You really are a
2:50:38terrifying witch, you know. No diver.
2:50:41Not even you can see the future anymore.
2:50:44And yet you still predicted everything
2:50:46that would happen to a tea. She stayed
2:50:48quiet for a short while, then said
2:50:50reluctantly. Not everything. Mordret
2:50:53studied her somberly. So you must have
2:50:56predicted what I would do as well.
2:50:58Otherwise, you wouldn't have dared to
2:50:59take refuge in my lands. I'm not sure if
2:51:02you're foolish or just that confident. I
2:51:05came very close to killing you, you
2:51:06know. Cassie faced him calmly, then
2:51:09shrugged. Sure, I predicted your actions
2:51:11and reactions as well. Morret's smile
2:51:14turned a little vicious. He did not like
2:51:16her arrogant attitude at all. However,
2:51:19he held himself back. Oh, am I that
2:51:22predictable? His tone was cold and
2:51:24ominous. Cassie lingered for a while,
2:51:27then offered him a smile of her own. Of
2:51:30course, there's no one more predictable
2:51:31than you. Still sitting on a low cot,
2:51:33she raised her head a little to better
2:51:35face him and added, "All you care about
2:51:37is survival. That is how beasts are not
2:51:40humans. What's so difficult about
2:51:42predicting the actions of a beast?" Mr.
2:51:44laughed. You do realize that you are a
2:51:46mere transcendent, right? And such a
2:51:48weak one at that. Oh, don't get me
2:51:51wrong. I know how fearsome you are, but
2:51:53that is only when you have ample time to
2:51:55prepare and when you aren't facing an
2:51:58overwhelming foe. That's me, by the way,
2:52:00an overwhelming foe. I can end you with
2:52:02a thought. Song of the Fallen. Actually,
2:52:05I'm quite tempted to. She tilted her
2:52:07head a little. But you won't, will you?
2:52:10Because you need me. You need me if you
2:52:12want to survive. Morrid let out an
2:52:15exasperated sigh. You must be thinking,
2:52:17"Look, I'm the only one who can erase
2:52:20the influence of the dream spawn from
2:52:22his mind. So surely I'm safe." But
2:52:25Cassia, do you really think that I will
2:52:27let you anywhere near my memories? That
2:52:30I will just invite you into my head and
2:52:32let you run a muck? Think about it.
2:52:34Really? From my point of view, you are
2:52:36no different from the dream spawn. Why
2:52:38would I exchange having my mind
2:52:40manipulated by him for having it
2:52:42manipulated by you? He shook his head.
2:52:45I've always been wary of you to be
2:52:47honest. Well, perhaps not at the start,
2:52:50back when you first came to the Night
2:52:52Temple as a freshly awakened youth. I
2:52:54was quite fascinated watching you and
2:52:56your cohort from my mirror cage. It was
2:52:59a bit of a remedy for my boredom, and
2:53:01such a palatable one at that. But when I
2:53:04realized that you manipulated events to
2:53:06help me break free, I've grown
2:53:07suspicious of how much you seem to know.
2:53:10Morrett exhaled slowly. Later, as I
2:53:13watched everyone dance to your tune
2:53:15without even realizing it, let alone
2:53:17suspecting the meek and unassuming Lady
2:53:19Cassia, I found the fact of your
2:53:22existence increasingly unsettling. You
2:53:24might have blinded everyone else to your
2:53:26true nature, changing star, the great
2:53:28clans, the government, and all the rest.
2:53:31But I could always see just how devious
2:53:33and eerily effective at manipulating
2:53:35things you were. And that was before the
2:53:37tomb of Ariel, even after. Well, even if
2:53:41nobody else seems to see it, I know what
2:53:44you are. I know what you're hiding.
2:53:47Cassia had been listening to him
2:53:48nonchalantly, but just then she finally
2:53:51showed a reaction. Raising her eyebrow,
2:53:54she asked, "Oh, and what am I?" Morrid
2:53:58chuckled. "Alam, the king of nothing
2:54:00after all, so let's start from what you
2:54:02are not. You're not even a person
2:54:04anymore, are you? You're just a shell of
2:54:07a person wrapped in a pretty bow. Cassia
2:54:10just sat there emotionless, facing him
2:54:13silently. Eventually, she said, "Takes
2:54:16one to no one." Morrid laughed. "Indeed,
2:54:20indeed. But we are a bit different, are
2:54:23we not?" She shrugged. "How so?" He
2:54:26leaned forward a little. "My condition
2:54:29is the result of my flaw. Yours,
2:54:31however, yours is self-inflicted, isn't
2:54:34it?" Cassia frowned slightly, more out
2:54:37of politeness, to show some kind of
2:54:39reaction as opposed to genuine concern.
2:54:42What do you mean? Mr. studied her for a
2:54:45moment, then leaned back again. Come on.
2:54:48Doesn't take a genius to figure out a
2:54:50few things about the thing that none of
2:54:51us can figure out. I'm talking about
2:54:53what happened to us in the tomb of
2:54:55Ariel, about the vast swaves of our
2:54:57memories that are missing. All of us
2:55:00suffered some loss of memory, but you
2:55:02suffered the most, didn't you?" He
2:55:05looked at her with a strange mix of
2:55:06disgust and pity. "There's barely any of
2:55:09you left behind that blindfold." Song of
2:55:12the Fallen remained silent, offering no
2:55:15retort to his description. Morrid
2:55:17watched her for a while, then continued,
2:55:20"All of us are missing memories, which
2:55:22is a strange thing, however. It doesn't
2:55:25seem that odd when one learns what your
2:55:27transcendent ability is, does it,
2:55:29Cassia? You wield a power to erase and
2:55:32manipulate someone's memories, and here
2:55:33we are missing some of our memories.
2:55:36Naturally, you weren't transcendent yet
2:55:38in the third nightmare, but torment was
2:55:40the one who erased them, wasn't she?
2:55:42Either you lied about her being dead, or
2:55:45that echo of yours slithered into our
2:55:47heads in herstead. Cassie had just faced
2:55:50him silently, then shrugged and said in
2:55:52an even tone, "I don't remember." Morrid
2:55:56couldn't help but laugh again. "Right,
2:55:58just like you don't remember where
2:56:00Changing Star and the Lord of Shadows
2:56:02have gone, because you erased your own
2:56:04memories of knowing, right?" She did not
2:56:06answer. Morre gave her a long look, then
2:56:09turned away. "Anyway, it is too much of
2:56:12a coincidence for you not to be
2:56:13involved. The most powerful seer of
2:56:16humanity enters the tomb of Ariel. And
2:56:19the second she returns, all seers in the
2:56:22world suddenly lose the ability to see
2:56:23the future. Not only that, but all the
2:56:26people who had gone into the pyramid
2:56:27with her are mysteriously missing chunks
2:56:29of their memories while she gains the
2:56:32ability to play with other people's
2:56:33memories. Only a fool would not suspect
2:56:36you. So, I guess everyone in the world
2:56:39is a fool except for me. So, I'll ask
2:56:41you again. Do you think that I'm foolish
2:56:44enough to let you touch my memories
2:56:45again? Cassia remained calm and
2:56:48expressionless.
2:56:49Yes, because you have no other choice.
2:56:52By then, Morred was truly amused. Don't
2:56:56I? She stayed silent for a while, then
2:56:59sighed. What is the alternative? What is
2:57:02your plan, Morret? What are you going to
2:57:04do without me? He shrugged. Well, it is,
2:57:07as you said. I'm planning to survive.
2:57:09Song of the Fallen turned her head,
2:57:11facing away from him. What happens after
2:57:14you survive? Her quiet voice was somber.
2:57:18"Imagine that you defeated the dream
2:57:20spawn. Humanity is gone, and you're left
2:57:22alive on its ruins, victorious and
2:57:24utterly alone. What are you going to do
2:57:27then?" He tilted his head a little.
2:57:29"Why, I'll continue trying to survive
2:57:31with all my might. There are plenty of
2:57:33things in this terrifying world that can
2:57:35and will destroy me if given the chance,
2:57:37after all. the cursed ones, the unholy
2:57:40ones. I guess I will have to become a
2:57:42god to start with. Becoming a god in
2:57:45order to survive is a bit of an
2:57:47overkill. But what to do? That is the
2:57:50world we live in. Casia shook her head.
2:57:54What happens after you've become sacred?
2:57:56After you've become divine, after you
2:57:59defeated all the fallen deities of the
2:58:01dream realm and became both its sole
2:58:03ruler and its sole inhabitant. After you
2:58:06survived, what kind of dull, dreary,
2:58:09unbearable life will you live then
2:58:11without anyone to share it with you? To
2:58:13witness you or be witnessed by you? Will
2:58:17it be that much different from being
2:58:18dead? For the first time, Morrid's smile
2:58:21grew a little forced. He remained silent
2:58:24for a while, then scoffed. Who knows?
2:58:26Being a god gives one all kinds of
2:58:28choices. I think I'll be spoiled with
2:58:30them for sure. Maybe I'll follow in the
2:58:32footsteps of the demon of destiny and
2:58:34try creating my own race of living
2:58:36beings to keep me company and chase away
2:58:38my loneliness. Perhaps I'll follow the
2:58:41example of the demon of imagination and
2:58:43retreat into the great mirror to live
2:58:45out a thousand lives surrounded by
2:58:47reflections. Maybe I will delve into the
2:58:50mists of the hollow mountains and behold
2:58:52the nothing beings, thus giving them
2:58:53shape and making them something. They
2:58:56are my kin after all. What will a world
2:58:59populated by beings like me look like, I
2:59:02wonder? Mr. smiled. Hell, perhaps I'll
2:59:06shatter myself into a million pieces.
2:59:08The pieces of me will inevitably start
2:59:10killing each. So, I'll see which one of
2:59:13us survives then. Song of the Fallen
2:59:16smiled darkly. I see. I guess you really
2:59:19are spoiled for choices. More dread
2:59:22chuckled. Isn't it a bit hypocritical
2:59:24though? Here you are advocating on
2:59:27behalf of humanity. But at the same
2:59:29time, you are offering to support me in
2:59:32the battle against the Dreamsporn,
2:59:34knowing full well that my victory would
2:59:35mean the end of humanity. What are you
2:59:38really after, Song of the Fallen? What
2:59:40is your own plan? She hesitated a
2:59:43little, then shrugged. My plan? Why not?
2:59:46Let me be honest. For once, my plan is
2:59:49to keep you and the dream spawn at each
2:59:51other's throats for as long as possible.
2:59:53I can't let either of you win too
2:59:55swiftly because that would mean that
2:59:57Nephas and Sunny won't have time to
2:59:59finish what they are doing. You cannot
3:00:01be allowed to win because that would
3:00:03mean the destruction of humanity.
3:00:06However, you cannot be allowed to lose
3:00:08either because that would mean that
3:00:10nothing would stand in the way of the
3:00:11dream spawn attempting apotheiois. She
3:00:14faced more dread once more. As far as I
3:00:17see it though, you are set to lose
3:00:19terribly at the moment. So here I am
3:00:21hoping to help you hold out because
3:00:24unlike what you seem to believe, the
3:00:27longing domain is not gone. It might
3:00:29have been weakened and almost destroyed.
3:00:32But it still exists. It will continue to
3:00:34exist for as long as even a single
3:00:36person believes in it. And that means
3:00:38that it will be able to rise once again
3:00:40one day. More dread grinned. Set to
3:00:44lose, huh? Well, she wasn't wrong.
3:00:47Despite being so wary of the dream
3:00:49spawn, more dread had underestimated
3:00:51just how powerful that monster was. No,
3:00:54rather. Even in his wildest dreams, he
3:00:57had never imagined that changing Star
3:00:59and the Lord of Shadows would just
3:01:00disappear, leaving the human domain to
3:01:03be ravaged both by the Dream Spawn and
3:01:05by Morrid himself. Their disappearance
3:01:08made all his calculations meaningless.
3:01:11And as a result, the dream spawn took
3:01:13full control of humanity far sooner than
3:01:15Morrid had anticipated. He had been
3:01:18gradually pushing humanity back up to
3:01:20this point. But now that the dream spawn
3:01:23controlled it completely, the balance on
3:01:25the battlefield was about to change. Not
3:01:28only would the battle effectiveness of
3:01:30all human armies grow tremendously
3:01:31because of his absolute control, but he
3:01:34himself would not need to hold back
3:01:35anymore. Morrett anticipated that his
3:01:38invasion would slam into an impenetrable
3:01:40wall. Soon after that, his forces would
3:01:43slowly be pushed back and eventually he
3:01:45would be forced to retreat back into the
3:01:47hollow mountains. Even if Asterion was
3:01:50incapable of following him into the
3:01:51white mist in force, Morrid would not be
3:01:54able to slow the dream spawn down from
3:01:56there either. That would mean that the
3:01:58dream spawn would be able to attempt
3:02:00apotheiois unopposed. And if he
3:02:02succeeded, then Morrid was not sure that
3:02:05even nothing would be able to protect
3:02:06him. So he really couldn't afford to
3:02:09refuse Cassia's offer of assistance. In
3:02:11the absence of changing Star and the
3:02:13Lord of Shadows, she was the best shield
3:02:16he could find against the Dreamspawn's
3:02:18sinister powers. It was just that he was
3:02:20very reluctant to accept her offer. What
3:02:23a pity. Things would have been entirely
3:02:25different if she were a supreme herself.
3:02:28Morrid sighed. You know, of all the
3:02:31people I've met, Cassia, you are the
3:02:33closest to becoming supreme and maybe
3:02:35the most worthy. After all, you've been
3:02:38bending the world to your will ever
3:02:40since you were an inexperienced youth.
3:02:42He shook his head. However, you will
3:02:45never become supreme. You are simply
3:02:47incapable of attaining supremacy. Not
3:02:50without the help of the spell, at least.
3:02:52And even if you do conquer the fourth
3:02:54nightmare one day, supremacy will only
3:02:56be a deadly poison to you. she raised an
3:02:59eyebrow. And why is that? More dread
3:03:01shrugged. Because you are an incomplete
3:03:04being with all your memories missing,
3:03:07you're barely a person. Supremacy is an
3:03:10act of imposing your authority on the
3:03:12world and reshaping it according to your
3:03:14will. But how can you reshape the world
3:03:16in your image if you don't even know
3:03:18what your image is? If you don't even
3:03:20remember who you are, Cassia remained
3:03:23silent for a while, then said with a
3:03:24faint smile, "That is all right. I don't
3:03:27need to be supreme. Sitting on the
3:03:29throne never suited me anyway. I am far
3:03:31more comfortable standing in the shadow
3:03:33of the throne. Now, if you agree to my
3:03:36proposal, I will be standing in your
3:03:37shadow. That will be enough. More dread
3:03:40pushed himself off the wall, walked over
3:03:42to the cot she was sitting on, and knelt
3:03:45in front of her, leaning forward to face
3:03:47her up close. He smiled darkly and said
3:03:50in a low tone, "Let's not talk about
3:03:52shadows, shall we? instead. How about
3:03:55you take off that blindfold? Let's not
3:03:57waste any time, Cassia. She remained
3:04:00motionless for a while, then asked. I
3:04:03take it you agree to my offer. Morret
3:04:05smiled. Didn't you already know that
3:04:07I'll agree? Ah, wouldn't it be great if
3:04:10we both were able to survive, Cassia? Of
3:04:13course. There is a good chance that we
3:04:15won't, but I'm willing to give it my
3:04:17all. I am planning to live longer than
3:04:19you at the very least. So, I won't kill
3:04:22you yet in exchange. You will make sure
3:04:24that my mind is free of the dream spawns
3:04:26influence. She lingered for a moment,
3:04:29then sighed and raised her hand to pull
3:04:31the blindfold down. I am not looking
3:04:34forward to this. Morrid tended to agree,
3:04:36however. He didn't want to let his
3:04:38trepidation show in front of her, even
3:04:40if she would be able to see a memory of
3:04:42him feeling trepidation soon. So, Morrid
3:04:45lied. I, on the contrary, am looking
3:04:48forward to this quite a bit. As far as
3:04:50lies went, that one wasn't very
3:04:53convincing. Rain had been left to her
3:04:55own devices. The king of nothing, that
3:04:58was who the tall man with peculiar
3:05:00mirror-like eyes had turned out to be,
3:05:02escorted her to the lower floors of the
3:05:04ebony tower. The floor beneath the
3:05:06archway hall was apparently deadly for
3:05:08most humans, so she had to be guided
3:05:11down with a blindfold, obscuring her
3:05:13vision. Rain thought that it was just an
3:05:15excuse to hide something from her. But
3:05:18when she felt her skin crawl, and an
3:05:20eerie sensation penetrate her heart as
3:05:22they walked down the stairs, she
3:05:24realized that the king of nothing had
3:05:25told the truth on this particular
3:05:27occasion. He seemed trustworthy in
3:05:29general, charming, even. The man was
3:05:32nothing if not pleasant, and treated her
3:05:34with graceful manners, even if his sense
3:05:37of humor was a bit off-putting at times.
3:05:39Needless to say, he did not resemble the
3:05:41bloodthirsty psychopath the rumors
3:05:44painted him to be one bit. That only
3:05:46made Rain more wary of him. I wasn't
3:05:50sure at first, but now my gut tells me
3:05:52that if anything, the rumors about him
3:05:54were too mild. That was because he
3:05:56seemed too normal. Rain loved her
3:05:59brother and was very fond of Lady
3:06:00Nephus. But even she had to admit that
3:06:03all supremes seemed to have a screw
3:06:05loose. The fact that the king of nothing
3:06:07was so adept at pretending to be sane
3:06:09only went to show that he was without a
3:06:12doubt the most deranged of them all.
3:06:15Still, he had not shown any immediate
3:06:17hostility toward them. Cassie also
3:06:19seemed well acquainted with the man.
3:06:22Well, of course she was, even if Rain
3:06:24wasn't privy to many secrets. She knew
3:06:26that they had conquered both the second
3:06:28and the third nightmare together. So,
3:06:30there seemed to be some history between
3:06:32the two that she wasn't aware of. It was
3:06:34just a shame that Cassie was still
3:06:36unconscious. Rain was reluctant to leave
3:06:38the blind woman alone with the king of
3:06:40nothing. But there was nothing she could
3:06:42do about it. After all, it was not like
3:06:45she could do anything to stop a supreme.
3:06:47Even if she stayed on the uppermost
3:06:48floor, she would not be able to
3:06:50accomplish much. So Rain went about
3:06:53settling the hollow remnant of Smile of
3:06:55Heaven in first. Luckily, the Ebony
3:06:57Tower seemed well stocked and fitted for
3:06:59humans to live comfortably. After
3:07:01finding a spare room for the
3:07:03expressionless woman and making sure
3:07:04that she was comfortable, Rain returned
3:07:07to the main hall which mirrored the
3:07:08gateway hall of the ivory tower and
3:07:11finally found herself being able to take
3:07:13a deep breath and think. Sinking into a
3:07:16chair, Rain stared at the tall ceiling
3:07:18in a days damnation. She was struggling
3:07:21to digest everything that had happened.
3:07:24Waking up, it was a lot to process.
3:07:27Someone had a lot of explaining to do.
3:07:29But the only person who could explain
3:07:31everything to Rain was currently
3:07:32unconscious. She remained in the chair
3:07:34for a while. Then she summoned the green
3:07:37canteen and drank some water. That
3:07:39reminded her that she was covered in
3:07:40sweat, soot, and quite a fair bit of
3:07:43blood. A shower would be nice, or better
3:07:46yet, a trip to the bath house. Sadly,
3:07:49Rain was not comfortable doing any of
3:07:51those things yet. The king of nothing
3:07:53seemed to have left her alone, but he
3:07:55was undoubtedly watching her every move,
3:07:57so she preferred not to do anything
3:07:59compromising without discussing
3:08:01boundaries with the creepy sovereign
3:08:03first, just in case. Letting out a sigh,
3:08:06she summoned the bag of withholding,
3:08:09pulled out some snacks, and enjoyed them
3:08:11in silence. Then Rain stood up and
3:08:13walked around the ground floor of the
3:08:15Ebony Tower, exploring its interior. She
3:08:18sat on the floor and meditated while
3:08:20guiding the flow of her essence. It was
3:08:22truly astonishing. The lever of control
3:08:25over it she could exert as an ascended
3:08:27was 10 times more refined and precise
3:08:30than what she had been capable of as an
3:08:31awakened, even with the help of the Mark
3:08:33of Shadows. She was going to have to
3:08:36relearn how to move her body from
3:08:38scratch. That will be a lot of work.
3:08:41Rain jumped to her feet and performed a
3:08:43set of simple exercises. She sprinted a
3:08:46short distance, jumped, crouched, lifted
3:08:48a few lumbering pieces of furniture,
3:08:50held her breath, summoned her bow, drew
3:08:53its string a few times. "Wow!" Rain was
3:08:57shocked. Her physical prowess had
3:08:59increased by orders of magnitude, so
3:09:02much so that she was having trouble
3:09:03controlling her immense strength. She
3:09:06felt fiercely strong, disgustingly
3:09:08mighty, astoundingly powerful, like she
3:09:11wasn't even a human anymore. And that
3:09:13was without even learning how to
3:09:15properly enhance her ascended body with
3:09:17essence, which was the main reason why
3:09:19masters were so insurmountably stronger
3:09:22than awakened. "Wow!" Rain shook her
3:09:25head. And then there was her ascended
3:09:27ability, which Rain still had no idea
3:09:29about. She could explore her aspect
3:09:31slowly and learn what she had become
3:09:33capable of over time, or ask Cassie, who
3:09:36was like a surrogate version of the
3:09:38nightmare spell in that sense. But
3:09:40Cassie was unconscious, which meant that
3:09:42all Rain could do was continue dying of
3:09:44curiosity. Instead of actually dying,
3:09:47she went about exploring the Ebony
3:09:48Tower. The first floor was taken by the
3:09:51great hall, the living quarters, and by
3:09:53various facilities. The second floor was
3:09:56drowning in heat. There was an enormous
3:09:58broer there, full of brilliant divine
3:10:00flame. The third floor, rain was stuck
3:10:02for a while on the third floor. That was
3:10:05where the workshop of Nether, the demon
3:10:07of destiny, had been. Nothing of
3:10:09importance remained there, of course,
3:10:11but simply being close to the tools that
3:10:14a deity had once used and the scraps of
3:10:16his discarded projects was an incredible
3:10:18experience for Rain, information about
3:10:20the demons was scarce. But considering
3:10:23who her brother was, she knew more than
3:10:25most. The prince of the underworld was
3:10:27somewhat of a personal idol for Re. He
3:10:30had been the divine builder after all,
3:10:32the architect and engineer who had
3:10:34created the stone saints, crafted
3:10:37incredible artifacts, and built an
3:10:38entire civilization in the underworld.
3:10:41Actually, this entire tower is a
3:10:43monument he had left behind. So was the
3:10:46ivory tower. In fact, a monument left
3:10:48behind by a deity. So was the great
3:10:50castle, the jade palace, the night
3:10:53garden. The gods were dead, and the
3:10:55people who had worshiped them were long
3:10:57gone. But the things they had built
3:11:00remained, having endured the worldending
3:11:02calamity. Rain found the fact that they
3:11:05still stood, sheltering humans deeply
3:11:08reassuring, beautiful, really, promising
3:11:11herself to spend more time in Nether's
3:11:13workshop. Later, she ascended the stairs
3:11:16with a feeling of wonder in her heart.
3:11:18There she found the shrine of Storm God.
3:11:21The statue of the elusive goddess of the
3:11:23black skies was drowning in darkness, so
3:11:27lifelike as to almost look alive. Her
3:11:29visage had been carved from stone with
3:11:31such skill that the fabric of the
3:11:33gossamer veil obscuring her face seemed
3:11:35to move slightly in the wind. The
3:11:38graceful lines of her inhumanly stunning
3:11:40face could almost be seen behind the
3:11:42veil. Rain felt peculiarly drawn to the
3:11:45nebulous statue and spent a long time
3:11:47looking at it, mesmerized. Eventually,
3:11:50she sighed and tore her gaze away from
3:11:52the altar of storm God, feeling an odd
3:11:55sense of poignant emptiness. The higher
3:11:58floor was where the king of nothing
3:11:59warned her to never enter without a
3:12:01blindfold. So, rain descended to the
3:12:04ground floor once again. She was
3:12:06thinking about finding a place to rest
3:12:08when another staircase caught her
3:12:09attention. This one led down,
3:12:12disappearing underground. After some
3:12:14hesitation, Rain descended the stairs
3:12:17and entered a large underground chamber.
3:12:20There, pieces of porcelain mannequins
3:12:22were strewn about, staring at her with
3:12:24eerily beautiful faces. They were not
3:12:27what drew her attention, though. In the
3:12:30center of the chamber, someone had
3:12:32cleared out a wide space and installed a
3:12:34tall, towering mirror there. A person
3:12:37who was not supposed to be there
3:12:39reflected from the surface of the
3:12:40mirror. It was a reflection of the king
3:12:43of nothing. At least Rain thought that
3:12:45it was his. The man was sitting on the
3:12:48reflection of the stone floor looking
3:12:50down. His figure was the same, and his
3:12:53face was the same. However, his clothes,
3:12:55the length of his hair, and even his
3:12:57very presence were entirely different.
3:13:00He looked much gentler. Damn psychopath.
3:13:03Damn. Rain backed up, not wanting to
3:13:06disturb the king of nothing. But at that
3:13:09moment the reflection raised its head
3:13:10and looked at her silently. Then he
3:13:13smiled. Oh, you must be Rain. It is nice
3:13:16to meet you. I am Mr. He. He paused for
3:13:19a moment and then added with a sigh. The
3:13:23other Mr. that is chapter 2880, Prisoner
3:13:27of the Mirror. Rain stared at the
3:13:30reflection for a while, then sighed and
3:13:33sat down on the floor. The other Morrid,
3:13:36huh? Is that what I'm supposed to call
3:13:38you, mister? The reflection smiled. You
3:13:42can call me whatever you like, although
3:13:44I am used to going by Morrit. Calling me
3:13:46the other Morrett would imply that I
3:13:48have a weaker claim on being myself than
3:13:50he does, which is a bit sad. Also, he
3:13:54hesitated, then said in a subtly sullen
3:13:56voice, "Mister, seriously, I'd rather
3:13:59not be called a mister. I'm a young man
3:14:02in my prime after all." Rain gave the
3:14:05mirror a dubious look.
3:14:07You're past 30, aren't you? The
3:14:09reflection coughed. Well, yes, but uh
3:14:12Rain chuckled. You say that I can call
3:14:14you whatever I like, but there are all
3:14:16these conditions. Any case, you seem to
3:14:19be aware of who I am. He remained silent
3:14:22for a moment, then nodded. Lm, I see a
3:14:26lot of what he does, and he sees a lot,
3:14:28so LM somewhat acquainted with who you
3:14:30are. the reflection. Morret studied her
3:14:33for a short while and raised an eyebrow.
3:14:36You don't seem to be surprised to meet
3:14:38me, though. I'd have thought that
3:14:40finding an identical copy of an infamous
3:14:42Supreme would be at least a little bit
3:14:43startling. Rain let out a little scoff.
3:14:46I know a guy who has seven bodies.
3:14:48Having one identical copy is not that
3:14:51impressive as far as I'm concerned. The
3:14:53other Morrid smiled. Oh, I think I know
3:14:56that guy as well. After that, he fell
3:14:59silent for a moment and then said in a
3:15:01neutral tone, "I, on the other hand, am
3:15:04quite surprised to see you. My other
3:15:06self usually doesn't let anyone near me.
3:15:08He is very concerned about my safety,
3:15:10you see, so I did not expect that he
3:15:13would allow you to wander in here
3:15:14unsupervised. It's a nice surprise."
3:15:18Rain could not help but sigh after
3:15:20hearing that. Damn it. She lingered a
3:15:23little, then said, "It's probably
3:15:25because he knows that I am harmless. I
3:15:27wouldn't hurt a fly. She had always been
3:15:30careful to keep her flaw a secret, but
3:15:32the king of nothing must have learned
3:15:34about it anyway, or at least guessed its
3:15:37general nature. That was most likely the
3:15:39reason why he allowed her to come in
3:15:40contact with the prisoner of the mirror.
3:15:42Morret looked at her with amusement and
3:15:44smiled. "Really? What a funny
3:15:47coincidence. Actually, I am the same.
3:15:50Harmless, I mean, you have my sympathy."
3:15:53His smile turned a little bitter. It is
3:15:56difficult to be harmless in a world
3:15:58where weakness is seen as sin, isn't it?
3:16:00Rain simply shrugged. There is a bit of
3:16:03that, yes, but I manage. She leaned back
3:16:06a little and looked at the ceiling. I
3:16:08guess any sin can be forgiven if you're
3:16:10lucky enough. I am quite a lucky girl
3:16:12myself. She glanced at the tall mirror
3:16:15in which the strange reflection seemed
3:16:17to be trapped and offered him a
3:16:18sympathetic look. You seem to be both
3:16:21harmless and unlucky, though. Must be
3:16:23tough. He mirrored her shrug with a
3:16:25smile. There is a bit of it. Yes. Rain
3:16:28remained silent for a while, then leaned
3:16:30forward and asked, "Hey, since you see
3:16:33everything that the King of Nothing
3:16:34sees, perhaps you can explain to me what
3:16:37happened. I am completely lost here.
3:16:39What the hell is going on?" Morret
3:16:42scratched the tip of his nose with an
3:16:43awkward look. Well, let's see. There is
3:16:46a man called the Dreamspawn who wants to
3:16:49consume all of humanity and become
3:16:50sacred. Over the course of the last few
3:16:53months, he slowly bewitched everyone and
3:16:56made them into his thrs. You were
3:16:58enthralled, too, and used as a hidden
3:17:00blade to kill Song of the Fallen. Lucky
3:17:03for you, she survived and cleansed your
3:17:05mind of the contamination. Some of your
3:17:07memories are missing as a result. Rain
3:17:09blinked a few times. That does explain a
3:17:12few things. Wait, did you say that the
3:17:15entire human race is enthralled? Her
3:17:17heart skipped a beat. Morret sighed.
3:17:20Quite a few nightmare creatures, too. At
3:17:22the moment, my other self and the dream
3:17:24spawn are at war. The Lord of Shadows
3:17:27and Changing Star are who knows where.
3:17:29Doing who knows what. Hopefully, they'll
3:17:32return in time to stop those two from
3:17:33destroying the world. Rain rubbed her
3:17:36face tiredly. So, I was enthralled as
3:17:38well. If the dream spawn was in my head,
3:17:42that probably explains how I was able to
3:17:44ascend so soon. Did he coach me? What an
3:17:48honor. Wow. and she stabbed Lady Cassia.
3:17:51She groaned, "Damn it, I finally
3:17:54achieved natural ascension, and I don't
3:17:56even remember how that knowledge is gone
3:17:58forever. What am I going to do?" Rain
3:18:01was supposed to share her experience
3:18:03with humanity to empower a new
3:18:05generation of awakened and all
3:18:07generations after that. Now, that
3:18:09precious experience was gone, erased
3:18:11from her head by Cassie. And since Rain
3:18:14could not ascend for the second time,
3:18:16she would never experience and learn
3:18:18ascension again. Would Cassie herself
3:18:21remember the contaminated memories she
3:18:23erased? She would, unless she erased her
3:18:26own recollection of contaminated
3:18:28memories to protect herself from being
3:18:30enthralled. In that case, I can help you
3:18:34with that. Morrid's voice distracted
3:18:36Rain from her dark thoughts. She looked
3:18:38at him and raised an eyebrow. What? The
3:18:42charming reflection hesitated for a
3:18:44short while, then shrugged with a smile.
3:18:47Natural ascension. I can explain how it
3:18:49works to you. Actually, I can teach you
3:18:52how to become a saint without conquering
3:18:53a nightmare as well. You really are a
3:18:56lucky girl, it seems. You just happen to
3:18:59stumble on the only person in the world
3:19:01who can. Rain gave the man a long look.
3:19:04And how would you know about natural
3:19:06ascension, let alone natural
3:19:07transcendence? Trapped in the mirror,
3:19:10Morrid leaned back inside. Why wouldn't
3:19:13I? That was how I became a saint after
3:19:15all. Chapter 2881.
3:19:18Harmless people. Rain stared at him in
3:19:22shock. You're lying. That was the first
3:19:24thing that came to her mind, so she
3:19:26blurted it out. She was the only human
3:19:29to have achieved natural awakening.
3:19:31After all, the only awakened who had
3:19:33never carried the spell. But deep down
3:19:36she did not believe that the prisoner of
3:19:38the mirror was trying to deceive her.
3:19:40She felt ismade. No, actually she felt
3:19:43happy. If there were others like her,
3:19:46then she didn't have to carry the
3:19:48crushing weight of responsibility alone
3:19:50anymore. Someone else, someone older and
3:19:53more experienced, no less, would be able
3:19:55to help her or perhaps even do it for
3:19:57her. That was great, wasn't it? Yeah.
3:20:01Rain cleared her throat. But why did she
3:20:04feel so dismayed? Then Morrett chuckled.
3:20:07I wish I were lying, but sadly I am
3:20:09telling the truth. He fell silent for a
3:20:12moment, then offered in an apologetic
3:20:14tone. That doesn't take away from your
3:20:16accomplishment or your uniqueness,
3:20:18though. To tell you the truth, Rain. I
3:20:21used a back door to become a master and
3:20:23then to become transcendent. I I guess
3:20:26you can say that I cheated. She frowned,
3:20:29feeling a headache. You know, mister, if
3:20:32you want me to stop calling you mister,
3:20:34you'd better stop talking in riddles and
3:20:35start explaining things clearly. He
3:20:37smiled. Sure, no problem. First of all,
3:20:41let me tell you that unlike you, I am
3:20:44and have been a carrier of the nightmare
3:20:46spell. I awakened the same way other
3:20:49people awaken by conquering the first
3:20:51nightmare and anchoring my soul to the
3:20:53dream realm through a citadel. After
3:20:56that, however, I spent a long time
3:20:58trapped in a different mirror, just like
3:21:00I am trapped in this mirror now. Mr.
3:21:03sighed, then raised a hand and mimed,
3:21:05knocking on the surface of the mirror
3:21:07from inside. Actually, I'm not literally
3:21:10trapped in this particular mirror.
3:21:11Rather, I am under house arrest at the
3:21:14very heart of my brother's personal
3:21:15mirror realm within his soul. Mirrors
3:21:18like this one are just windows I can use
3:21:20to look at the outside world. Rain gave
3:21:23him a concerned look. That felt like an
3:21:25unnecessary tangent. Morrid let out a
3:21:28quiet laugh. Oh, sorry. In any case, you
3:21:31need to understand something about me
3:21:33and my other self. We are a shattered
3:21:35being, he and one, two parts of the same
3:21:39hole. That is our flaw. Both of us are
3:21:42independent beings, but at the same
3:21:44time, it is in our nature to be pulled
3:21:46together in an attempt to become whole
3:21:48once more. Do you see what is strange
3:21:50about it? Rain frowned. Two people can't
3:21:54have the same flaw. All flaws are unique
3:21:57just like all aspects are. He nodded.
3:22:01Indeed. So it would not be fair to say
3:22:04that we are different people rather.
3:22:06Neither of us is a real person. We are
3:22:08just parts of a person both missing the
3:22:11other half. The flaw is not the only
3:22:14thing that we share either. We also
3:22:16share the same aspect as well as a kind
3:22:18of connection that even cannot explain.
3:22:21We are meant to be the same being and
3:22:23yet at some point one of us was supreme
3:22:26while the other was merely awakened. Do
3:22:29you see the problem? Rain furrowed her
3:22:31brow. Sounds like an issue of balance.
3:22:34All systems strive for equilibrium
3:22:36though. That's the holy law of
3:22:38structural mechanics. Morret chuckled.
3:22:41Structural mechanics? Well, I suppose
3:22:43you are right. As a result, my existence
3:22:46weakens my other self while his
3:22:48existence propels me toward greater
3:22:50power. However, a supreme being
3:22:52possesses much greater metaphysical
3:22:54mass, so to say, which means that I was
3:22:57being pulled upward much more than he
3:22:59was being pulled down. So, I had a much
3:23:01easier time achieving natural ascension
3:23:03and transcendence than anyone else
3:23:05would. The world itself was on my side,
3:23:08he coughed. Which is not to say that I
3:23:10did not achieve anything on my own. I
3:23:13might have had a powerful advantage, but
3:23:15I did invent the essence technique to
3:23:17become a master myself, as well as
3:23:19solving the mystery of how to become
3:23:21transcendence. Granted, I already knew
3:23:24the final form of what I was trying to
3:23:26achieve. My other half had already
3:23:28walked the path of ascension in mystead.
3:23:30After all, the nightmare spell was also
3:23:33helpful as far as understanding my own
3:23:35soul was concerned. Letting out a sigh,
3:23:38he glanced at Rain. which means that I
3:23:41can teach you how to become a saint.
3:23:43Even if actually becoming one would be
3:23:44much harder for you than it was for me.
3:23:47I can also explain how you became a
3:23:49master. I think it will be fun to have a
3:23:51pupil. I'm mostly by myself here in this
3:23:54mirror, you see. Rain stared at the
3:23:57mirror in question for a while, then
3:23:59leaned back, stretched her legs, and
3:24:02laughed. You know, when a strange man
3:24:05assures you that he is harmless and
3:24:07promises to give you something precious
3:24:08if you follow him, the natural instinct
3:24:11should be to run away. At best, you'll
3:24:14be scammed. At worst, oh, did I forget
3:24:17to mention that the strange man in
3:24:19question looks exactly like a notorious
3:24:21war criminal and serial killer, but
3:24:23insists that he's not the same person at
3:24:25all. Morrett blinked a few times. Well,
3:24:28if you put it like that, I guess it does
3:24:31sound a little concerning. Rain nodded,
3:24:34considered something for a few seconds,
3:24:35and spoke in an easygoing tone. That
3:24:38said, sure, I'll be your pupil. Why not?
3:24:42More dread, meanwhile, was saying.
3:24:44However, I can assure you, huh? What?
3:24:46You will? Rain nodded again. Yes. Why
3:24:51are you surprised? Do you maybe think
3:24:53that only a crazy person would agree to
3:24:55your offer despite knowing how it
3:24:57sounds? He nodded slowly. to be honest.
3:25:01Yes, I was thinking something along the
3:25:03lines. Rain laughed quietly. That's just
3:25:06because you don't know about my previous
3:25:08teacher. Morrid stared at her with a
3:25:10silent question in his mirror-like eyes.
3:25:13Rain leaned forward and said in a low
3:25:15tone, "Listen, my previous teacher was a
3:25:18real devil. He forced me to track down
3:25:21and kill countless nightmare creatures
3:25:23when I was a mere mundane person. He
3:25:26tossed me into a canyon once. He forced
3:25:28me to drag my grievously wounded friend
3:25:30across a wild region of the dream realm
3:25:33while an awakened tyrant was hunting us
3:25:35down. I had to kill the tyrant myself.
3:25:38In the end, me, a harmless girl who
3:25:41wouldn't hurt a fly. She pursed her lips
3:25:43and grumbled. He appointed himself as my
3:25:46roommate for 4 years and never paid any
3:25:49rent. He forced me to get a tattoo of
3:25:51his pet snake. He even hired his
3:25:54girlfriend to be my tutor. If that is
3:25:55not nepotism, I don't know what is.
3:25:58Morrett's eyes were wide by that point.
3:26:01Oh my, you endured a lot. That person,
3:26:04whoever he is, sounds completely
3:26:06deranged. Surely I'll be a step up. Rain
3:26:09gave him a long look and grinned. Not in
3:26:12a million years. You can compete for
3:26:14seventh place as far as people I learned
3:26:16from go. Morrett seemed stunned. Is
3:26:19seventh only. Seventh? Rain nodded. Of
3:26:21course. Do you know what kind of people
3:26:23have taught me in the past? Let's see.
3:26:26She raised a hand and started counting
3:26:28on her fingers. The Lord of Shadows,
3:26:31Changing Star of the Immortal Flame
3:26:33Clan, St. Kai, the Dragons Layer, the
3:26:36Jade, Saint, my mom, Chief Bethany.
3:26:39She's the person who brought electricity
3:26:40to the dream realm, by the way. Am I
3:26:43forgetting someone? I must be. Morrid
3:26:46cleared his throat. Yes, I see. It seems
3:26:49that I am in good company indeed.
3:26:51Chapter 282.
3:26:54Angels in the Marble. Sometime later,
3:26:58having said goodbye to her new
3:26:59acquaintance, Rain was in her new living
3:27:02quarters. She was sitting across from
3:27:04Cassie. The blind sear was in a much
3:27:07better state than before. She was clean,
3:27:09at least, having washed away the blood
3:27:11and soot that had covered her body.
3:27:13There were no wounds or scars on her
3:27:15either, since they had been cleansed by
3:27:17the miraculous white flames. Drops of
3:27:20blood were still seeping from beneath
3:27:22her blindfold, though, which made Rain
3:27:24feel a little concerned. Finally, Cassie
3:27:27sighed and leaned back. It is a peculiar
3:27:29one. I am not entirely sure I understand
3:27:32the scope of your new ability. She was
3:27:34talking about Rain's ascended ability.
3:27:36Of course, now that Cassie had hit a
3:27:38deal with the homicidal Supreme, who was
3:27:40waging war to obliterate humanity, they
3:27:43finally received an opportunity to rest
3:27:45and have a proper meal. After that, Rain
3:27:47immediately asked Cassie to take a look
3:27:49at her aspect. She had not died of
3:27:52curiosity in the end, but just barely.
3:27:55Cassie remained silent for a few
3:27:57moments. "Well, first of all, you can
3:27:59assign three epithets at the same time
3:28:01now, but you probably already knew
3:28:03that." Rain nodded. "Yes, so my ascended
3:28:06ability. What can I do?" Cassie frowned.
3:28:10Basically, it is about knowing the truth
3:28:12of things. It allows you to communicate
3:28:14with all things and understand all
3:28:16languages. Now it was Rain who had to
3:28:18frown. She really tried to hold herself
3:28:21back, but indignation still found its
3:28:23way into her voice. What? My ascended
3:28:26ability is to be a glorified automatic
3:28:29translator. What kind of crap was that?
3:28:31Cassie slowly shook her head. No, not
3:28:34quite. It is far more profound than
3:28:36that. However, I don't really. She
3:28:39paused for a moment and then sighed. I
3:28:41think it has to do with your attribute,
3:28:43Godheart. Rain tilted her head a little.
3:28:46That attribute was a very esoteric one.
3:28:49Its description simply stated that her
3:28:51heart was deeply bonded with the world,
3:28:54and nobody, not even Rain, was entirely
3:28:57sure what it meant. It seemed to be
3:28:59connected to her ability to accumulate
3:29:01spirit essence, as well as to the fact
3:29:04that the weather sometimes changed
3:29:06depending on her mood. It wasn't just
3:29:08Rain's heart that was bonded to the
3:29:10world. The world seemed to be bonded to
3:29:13her heart as well. Cassie remained
3:29:15silent for a short while, choosing her
3:29:17words and then said in a hesitant tone
3:29:20that ability has to do with the spirit.
3:29:22I think understanding languages is
3:29:25merely the side effect. The true ability
3:29:28is communication. You can communicate
3:29:30with the spirits of things and therefore
3:29:32you can know their truth and understand
3:29:34them. You know how a famous sculptor
3:29:36once said that every slab of stone has a
3:29:39sculpture hidden inside of it and how he
3:29:41simply takes a stone and cuts away all
3:29:43excess parts to create a statue? Well,
3:29:46you'll be able to ask the stone what is
3:29:47hiding inside it and what it wants to
3:29:49be. She paused for a second and then
3:29:52added that is just a metaphor, of
3:29:54course. Oh, and I'd wager that it will
3:29:56be easier to communicate with things
3:29:57that you can call by their names. Rain
3:29:59was still confused. What is a spirit,
3:30:02though? What kinds of things have
3:30:04spirits? Can I talk to animals, to
3:30:07plants, to nightmare creatures? Cassie
3:30:10hesitated for a while. I am not entirely
3:30:13certain. All living beings have a
3:30:15spirit. That's for sure. Even if it
3:30:18takes a supreme to know how to express
3:30:20the spirit through their will, but
3:30:22things that are not living might have
3:30:23their own spirits, too. A weapon can
3:30:26have a spirit, a mountain can as well.
3:30:29ancient Rome legions were believed to
3:30:31have spirits of their own, too. I really
3:30:34cannot tell you. In fact, I'd like you
3:30:37to tell me." She smiled. "But I don't
3:30:40think that you'll be actually able to
3:30:41talk to a mountain or to a rock, except
3:30:44if it's a truly extraordinary rock,
3:30:46possibly. I think that in most cases,
3:30:49the act of communication will be no
3:30:50different from sensing something
3:30:52intuitively." that I have a lot of
3:30:54experience with is a very helpful
3:30:56ability to have even if in your case
3:30:58that intuition will only hint at the
3:31:00nature of things, not at events that
3:31:02transpired in the past or will transpire
3:31:05in the future. Rain leaned back and
3:31:07stared at the ceiling with a dazed
3:31:09expression. What a strange ability. She
3:31:13was too confused to be either
3:31:15disappointed or elated. The more she
3:31:17thought about it, though, the more it
3:31:19made a peculiar and fascinating kind of
3:31:21sense. Well, first of all, I want to be
3:31:24a builder, you know. So, let's say a
3:31:27piece of metal can tell me about its
3:31:29structural integrity and whether or not
3:31:30it has hidden points of failure. Or if a
3:31:33piece of stone indeed tells me what kind
3:31:35of statue it wants to be, that'll be
3:31:37helpful, I think, sensing the nature of
3:31:39things. That is, she considered
3:31:42something for a few moments. Actually,
3:31:44now that I think about it, I've been
3:31:46dealing with the true nature of things
3:31:47for a long while now. has to do with my
3:31:50awakened ability with assigning
3:31:52epithets. Assigning fitting epithets
3:31:55takes way less essence than assigning
3:31:57ones that go against the subject's
3:31:58nature. Making a sharp sword dull is
3:32:01more difficult than making it sharper.
3:32:03If I can sense the true nature of
3:32:05things, I'll be able to assign them more
3:32:06potent epithets. That is already a boon.
3:32:10Rain lingered for a short while, then
3:32:12added. As for my dormant ability, I
3:32:15think it will work the other way around.
3:32:17From what you tell me, spirit seems to
3:32:19have a lot to do with identity. So, by
3:32:21giving something a name, I will be
3:32:23helping that thing develop a spirit.
3:32:26Possibly. If so, I'll be able to
3:32:28communicate with a named thing better
3:32:30than with a nameless one, and it will
3:32:32reveal more to me. She smiled. Well, and
3:32:35being able to sense the nature of
3:32:37various things will be incredibly
3:32:38helpful in general, no matter what I do.
3:32:41It's like divination, right? Only
3:32:43instead of divination, it's
3:32:45communication. He smiled dimmed,
3:32:47becoming a little petulant still. I was
3:32:50hoping for something cool and flashy.
3:32:52June always walks away from frozen
3:32:54explosions like some kind of dashing
3:32:56hero. I don't even want to think about
3:32:59what kind of abhorently cool ability
3:33:01he'll receive as a master. What am I
3:33:04supposed to tell him? That I can
3:33:06interpret many languages now. Rain
3:33:09closed her eyes with an exasperated
3:33:11sigh. The nightmare spell is already
3:33:13doing that for everyone except me.
3:33:16Cassie smiled. I'd be thinking about
3:33:18something else right now, though. Rain
3:33:20raised an eyebrow. Oh, what? The blind
3:33:23seer hesitated, then shrugged. I'd be
3:33:26wondering, does existence have a spirit?
3:33:29How high on the path of ascension would
3:33:31I have to climb to speak to the world
3:33:33itself? Something like that. Rain spared
3:33:37her a dubious glance. After a short
3:33:39while, she said, "Lady Cassia, Cassie,
3:33:43have you forgotten what world we live
3:33:45in?" Shivering, she shook her head.
3:33:47"It's the dream realm, the land of
3:33:50nightmares. Let's hope that I'll never
3:33:52grow powerful enough to hear what it has
3:33:54to say. Come to think about it, being
3:33:57able to sense the nature of things was a
3:33:59blade that cut both ways." Rain had said
3:34:02it as a joke, but after she did, her
3:34:05smile slowly disappeared.
3:34:07Cassie did not seem amused either.
3:34:10Instead, she simply faced the young
3:34:11woman with a solemn expression.
3:34:14Eventually, she said, "Knowledge is a
3:34:16perilous thing, Rain." The fact that it
3:34:19was Song of the Fallen speaking those
3:34:20words gave them much more weight. Rain
3:34:23sighed, "Yeah, I figured she knew enough
3:34:26to know that knowing too much was a
3:34:28death sentence. Actually, death seemed
3:34:31merciful compared to the horrible fate
3:34:33that awaited those who learned the wrong
3:34:35things by accident or on purpose. One
3:34:38had to protect their mind dutifully in
3:34:40the age of the nightmare spell. So, Rain
3:34:42had to be careful as well. Despite all
3:34:45the boons, her ascended ability granted
3:34:48her. It could also doom her. That was
3:34:51how things went. Anything that was of
3:34:53use came at a price. She remained silent
3:34:56for a while before asking quietly, "What
3:34:59are we going to do, Cassie?" She was
3:35:01worried about her family. She was
3:35:03worried about her brother as well, even
3:35:05if he seemed implacable at times. The
3:35:08only people she wasn't worried about
3:35:09were the members of her cohort who had
3:35:12escaped into a nightmare in time.
3:35:14Challenging the nightmare had actually
3:35:15turned out to be the safest bet because
3:35:18the real world was much more hazardous.
3:35:20If that was not irony, she did not know
3:35:23what was humanity, had been subjugated
3:35:25by a demented supreme, while another one
3:35:28was waging a war to have it destroyed.
3:35:30The world seemed to be ending ahead of
3:35:33schedule, no less, considering that it
3:35:35had already been ending for a while and
3:35:37was set to be destroyed completely in a
3:35:39few years or so, when the dream realm
3:35:42finally consumed Earth. Rain wasn't sure
3:35:45what to do. Cassie studied her for a few
3:35:48moments, then spoke in a soothing tone.
3:35:50"Ravenheart wasn't hit that hard. There
3:35:53were relatively few casualties. I saw it
3:35:56in Morret's memories. Your family should
3:35:58be fine." Rain soaked in a shaky breath,
3:36:02only realizing then that she had been
3:36:04holding it. She gave the blind woman a
3:36:06look of gratitude. Cassie leaned back
3:36:08inside. As for what we must do, we must
3:36:12do our best to help the king of nothing
3:36:14in the war against the hunger domain,
3:36:16against humanity. She paused for a
3:36:18moment and then added, "Because Sunny
3:36:21and Nephus left, things went arry for
3:36:23him, and he failed to wipe out enough of
3:36:25humanity before the enemy enthralled it.
3:36:28So, the mirror domain cannot compare to
3:36:31the hunger domain at the moment. Mordre
3:36:33will put up a fight, but eventually he
3:36:36will be pushed back against the hollow
3:36:38mountains." She turned her head a little
3:36:40and faced rain. You might think that one
3:36:42saint and one master won't be enough to
3:36:44change much in a war between supremes.
3:36:47But you'll be wrong. I am uniquely
3:36:49suited to help Morrid fight the dream
3:36:51spawn. He needs my help and I need
3:36:54yours. I need you to become my eyes for
3:36:56a while. Rain, will you help me? A pale
3:37:00smile appeared on Rains lips. It feels
3:37:02nice to be needed. Her tone wasn't very
3:37:05animated, though. She remained silent
3:37:07for a while and then said, "I did stab
3:37:10you after all, so naturally, I'll help
3:37:13you, Cassie, until Sunny and Nephas come
3:37:16back." Cassie smiled and nodded. "Until
3:37:18Sunny and Nephas come back." At the same
3:37:21time, the molten edges of the sun
3:37:23revealed themselves above the white
3:37:25dunes of the nightmare desert. the
3:37:27deathless. Most of them at least watched
3:37:30the light conquer the world in eerie
3:37:32silence, then retreated with the shadows
3:37:35sinking beneath the sand. Those who had
3:37:37lingered hid as well moments before the
3:37:39light washed over them. Sunny crouched,
3:37:42breathing heavily. His armor was in
3:37:45shambles, and there were several vicious
3:37:47cuts on his face. They were not
3:37:49bleeding, of course, but they weren't
3:37:51healing either. The killing will of
3:37:53those who had wounded him lingered in
3:37:55the cuts, and so his supreme body was
3:37:58struggling to erase them. He was tired.
3:38:01By now, the dark silhouette of the tomb
3:38:03of Ariel was much larger on the horizon,
3:38:06which meant that they had drawn much
3:38:07closer to it. By Sunny's estimation,
3:38:10they had made it halfway to the Great
3:38:12Pyramid, which was good news. The bad
3:38:15news, however, was that the Deathless
3:38:17they fought at night were growing more
3:38:19and more powerful. His shadow legion was
3:38:21in shambles with all weaker shades long
3:38:24vanquished. He threw those of them who
3:38:27were mended into the fight as soon as he
3:38:28could, but it was of little use. They
3:38:31would only be wiped out again, serving
3:38:33little purpose. The stronger shades,
3:38:36therefore, had become much more
3:38:37precious. It took longer for them to be
3:38:40restored in the dark flames of his soul,
3:38:42so he could not allow them to fall
3:38:44easily. Many of them were now torn and
3:38:46tattered, surrounded by billowing clouds
3:38:49of dark fog. Their figures were battered
3:38:52and vague. A shadow fell over him.
3:38:55Looking up, Sunny saw Saint. She
3:38:58silently stood guard above him, her
3:39:00fearsome black armor marred by ruby
3:39:02dust. Slayer was in the distance, calmly
3:39:06fashioning arrowheads out of shards of
3:39:08black stone. Nephus. Meanwhile, before
3:39:11Sunny could look up to see her, the sand
3:39:14quakd from the sounds of heavy steps,
3:39:16and another shadow fell over him. That
3:39:18one belonged to a towering skeleton
3:39:20encased in a strange armor that had been
3:39:23seemingly forged out of shards of glass.
3:39:26The skeleton was holding a fearsome
3:39:27great axe, its blade forged from the
3:39:30same glass, and looking down at him with
3:39:32a grin. Look, Shadow, your army is
3:39:35getting weaker with each day. Azerax let
3:39:38out a mocking laugh while mine is only
3:39:41growing stronger. Where is your
3:39:42arrogance now? Sunny glared at him
3:39:45silently. Eventually though, he was
3:39:47forced to answer. Same place. I am still
3:39:50pretty arrogant, I think. The ancient
3:39:53tyrant kept staring at him with a
3:39:55vicious grin. Lowering his battle axe,
3:39:58Azerax clacked his teeth against each
3:40:00other. I'll kill you one day soon. Sunny
3:40:03did not answer. Usually he would have
3:40:05mocked the deathless sovereign, but at
3:40:07the moment he was not in the mood. Not
3:40:10the least because of the fact that
3:40:11Azerax's bones, which had been white
3:40:14before, were now almost entirely black.
3:40:17Azerax had looked a little pathetic
3:40:19hanging there on the tree. His
3:40:22personality, too, seemed overly
3:40:23doineering for someone who possessed a
3:40:25true kind of strength. Those who were
3:40:28truly strong did not usually feel the
3:40:30need to constantly assert their
3:40:32dominance, after all. But once the
3:40:34ancient tyrant regained his freedom,
3:40:36Sunny swiftly realized that he was truly
3:40:39a force to be reckoned with. He was an
3:40:42incredible ally to have to the point
3:40:44that it was a little chilling. There
3:40:46were three things that made Azerak so
3:40:48fearsome. First and foremost was his
3:40:51skill as a warrior. Both Sunny and
3:40:53Nephis were astonishing combatants in
3:40:56their own right, but even they had to
3:40:58admit that Azerax was a daunting
3:41:00opponent. He was ferocious, vicious, and
3:41:03devastating, moving across the desert
3:41:05like a raging storm. But at the same
3:41:08time, he was deeply cunning, and eerily
3:41:10astute, guiding the annihilating power
3:41:12of his wrath with surgical precision and
3:41:15cynical malice. Most of all, he was
3:41:17experienced. A storied conqueror and a
3:41:20veteran of the Doom War, Azerax
3:41:23possessed a wealth of combat experience
3:41:25that they could not hope to match. could
3:41:27not even fathom perhaps considering how
3:41:29young they were in relation to the
3:41:31ancient tyrant. The second quality that
3:41:33made Azerax a terrifying existence was
3:41:36the refined skill with which he wielded
3:41:38his will. That too was something that
3:41:40neither Sunny nor Nifus could replicate
3:41:43because of the sheer difference in age
3:41:45between them. If what Azerax had told
3:41:47them about his empire being the
3:41:49forerunner of the war empire was true,
3:41:52then he had been supreme since the
3:41:54latter part of the age of heroes. a good
3:41:56thousand years before the age of demons,
3:41:58which saw the world be destroyed by the
3:42:00Doom War. That meant that he had been
3:42:03learning how to wield his will for
3:42:04thousands of years, while they were
3:42:06barely a couple of years into being
3:42:08supreme. As a result, the degree to
3:42:11which Azerax could bend the world to his
3:42:14will was far greater than what they were
3:42:16capable of, and the ways he could
3:42:18express his will were similarly far more
3:42:20varied and refined. Take the glass armor
3:42:24and the great axe he was wielding for
3:42:26example. Those weren't memories and
3:42:28neither were they spoils he had
3:42:30scavenged from other deathless. Instead
3:42:32he simply willed the sand to be
3:42:35pressured into an brilliant liquid which
3:42:37solidified into nearly indestructible
3:42:39shards of glass. Those shards then
3:42:41formed into an armor around him all on
3:42:43their own while at the same time
3:42:45coalescing into a heavy axe. and that
3:42:48one was merely a visible application of
3:42:50Will Sunny and Nephis had witnessed.
3:42:52There was no telling how else Azerax was
3:42:55reshaping the world his tyranny unseen.
3:42:57Neither of them could match that skill.
3:43:00The third quality that made the ancient
3:43:01tyrant so menacing was his aspect.
3:43:04Azerax was keeping the details of his
3:43:06aspect close to his chest, only letting
3:43:09a few details slip. But Sunny had been
3:43:11able to surmise the rest by observing
3:43:13him in battle. From what the ancient
3:43:15tyrant had told them, his dormant
3:43:17ability was the foundation of his
3:43:19conquest, and it was a frightening
3:43:21ability. Indeed, it made it so that
3:43:24every time Azerax killed a living being,
3:43:27he grew stronger. And over thousands of
3:43:30years of bloodshed, he had killed an
3:43:31incalculable number of living things.
3:43:34The deathless sovereign strength was
3:43:36indeed terrifying. The stuff of legends,
3:43:38really. People sometimes talked about
3:43:40how one could bring down a mountain with
3:43:42a blow, but it was usually a hyperbole.
3:43:45In the case of Azilax, however, it was
3:43:47quite a literal description. That
3:43:49augmentation did not only affect his
3:43:51might either. It also made his body or
3:43:54his bones now more durable. So, he was
3:43:58almost indestructible as well. It was
3:44:01his awakened ability that had made
3:44:03Azerax known as the plague of steel,
3:44:05though, and it was far more insidious.
3:44:07That ability made it so that every
3:44:09living being he defeated in single
3:44:11combat became his thr. Sunny was not
3:44:14sure if the beings the ancient tyrant
3:44:16subjugated were made unquestioningly
3:44:18loyal to him or if they maintained their
3:44:21original beliefs and aspirations while
3:44:23not being able to refuse his commands.
3:44:25What he did know, however, was that
3:44:27Azerax had begun to assemble his great
3:44:29army that way thousands of years ago. It
3:44:33was that ever growing army that earned
3:44:35him the title plague of steel. He also
3:44:37knew that Azerax had been making a very
3:44:39cynical choice every time he used that
3:44:41ability. He weighed the usefulness of a
3:44:43being and decided whether it would be
3:44:45more beneficial to make them his servant
3:44:47or simply to kill them in order to grow
3:44:50stronger. In any case, that was how
3:44:53Azerax was slowly assembling an army of
3:44:55deathless in the nightmare desert. After
3:44:57the first night, there were only a few
3:44:59undead warriors who had begun to follow
3:45:01his commands. After the second, there
3:45:04were twice as many. And by now, a whole
3:45:07army of skeletal horrors were following
3:45:09him into battle, threatening to outgrow
3:45:11the battered shadow legion. That was
3:45:14what made Sunny think that perhaps
3:45:15Azerax had not been bluffing when he
3:45:17proclaimed his desire to conquer the
3:45:19nightmare desert. The ancient tyrants
3:45:21ascended ability was a curious one. It
3:45:23allowed him to amplify his presence and
3:45:25use it as a weapon against his enemies.
3:45:27The suffocating oppressive power of his
3:45:29presence instilled dread and trepidation
3:45:32into the hearts of everyone around him,
3:45:34making them weaker. It could also turn
3:45:36into a quite physical manner of
3:45:38pressure, crushing his enemies into
3:45:40dust. The curious thing about it was
3:45:42that Azerax seemed to have possessed a
3:45:44powerful presence even as an ascended,
3:45:47his transcendent ability. Actually,
3:45:50Sunny was not sure. The ancient tyrant
3:45:53seemed to be capable of changing his
3:45:55size at will, at times becoming a
3:45:57towering colossus. But there was no
3:45:59telling if that was his transformation
3:46:02or if that was just another application
3:46:04of his will. As for his supreme ability,
3:46:07that ability granted the boons of his
3:46:09aspect to his vassal warriors. It made
3:46:11them grow stronger the more living
3:46:13beings they killed and allowed them to
3:46:16emanate an aura of dread and oppression
3:46:18that weakened their enemies. And since
3:46:20these warriors belong to his domain,
3:46:22their strength made Azerax more powerful
3:46:25as well. Some of his powers were of no
3:46:27use here in the nightmare desert. But
3:46:29Sunny could see how Azerax and his horde
3:46:31had been able to wash over the mortal
3:46:33realms like a steel flood, almost
3:46:35managing to conquer them all. Needless
3:46:38to say, it was reassuring to have this
3:46:40existential menace of the ancient past
3:46:42fight by their side in Ariel's hell. So,
3:46:45at first, Sunny had been really happy.
3:46:47That was before he noticed that the
3:46:49ancient tyrants bones were slowly
3:46:51changing color, making him look more and
3:46:53more like the mindless deathless they
3:46:55were fighting, and that Azer seemed to
3:46:57be regressing little by little, losing
3:46:59bits of awareness after every night.
3:47:02Once Sunny noticed that the ancient
3:47:04tyrants terrifying might and his growing
3:47:06army of deathless vassels did not make
3:47:08him happy anymore. They started to make
3:47:11him tense and wary instead. Sunny had
3:47:13not been too worried when they took
3:47:15Azerax off the tree. He knew that the
3:47:17curse of shadow god did more than simply
3:47:20make those branded by it deathless. But
3:47:23he figured that they had a lot of time
3:47:24before the ancient tyrant truly lost his
3:47:27mind. That was because he had a point of
3:47:30reference. It was Yuris. Yuris had spent
3:47:33a decade wandering the world in search
3:47:35of death after being liberated by
3:47:36Nephus. And he was still perfectly
3:47:39lucid. So Sunny had assumed that Azerax
3:47:43would be the same, that the curse of
3:47:45Shadow God was a poison that destroyed
3:47:47its victims. Slowly, however, it seemed
3:47:50like he had made a big mistake. He had
3:47:52failed to account for who Yurice of the
3:47:55Nine was, even among those who were
3:47:57exceptional and possessed uncompromising
3:47:59will. His resolve was unmatched. After
3:48:02all, he was a mortal man who had brought
3:48:04about the death of the gods and doomed
3:48:06all of existence to be destroyed. Even
3:48:09if Azerax was an Eldrich menace that
3:48:11even the ancient people had deeply
3:48:13feared, even if he was astoundingly
3:48:15adept at wielding his will, he was not
3:48:17Yuries. He might have been more
3:48:19powerful, but his mental fortitude could
3:48:22not compare. So mere weeks after Sunny
3:48:25and Nephas had taken Azerax off the
3:48:27tree, he was already showing signs of
3:48:29succumbing to the curse of shadow god.
3:48:32His bones, which had been flawlessly
3:48:34white once, were now entirely black. His
3:48:37mind was still sharp, but he had become
3:48:39a little strange in the last few days.
3:48:41Most importantly of all, his memories
3:48:43seemed to be fading, even if he himself
3:48:45was not aware of it. There was a small
3:48:48army of a thousand or so deathless
3:48:50following him by now. That army was
3:48:52still weaker than the Shadow Legion. But
3:48:54it continued to grow, while the Shadow
3:48:56Legion continued to diminish. It would
3:48:59be restored to full power in no time if
3:49:01Sunny was afforded a little break. But
3:49:04their schedule was relentless. Each
3:49:06night there was a new battle, and each
3:49:08battle was more fierce than the previous
3:49:10one. And yet they still had to push
3:49:12forward as fast as they could, not
3:49:14allowing themselves a single day of
3:49:16respit. That was because Nephis was
3:49:18growing weaker every day. Somewhere out
3:49:21there, the longing domain was coming
3:49:23undone. One citadel after another
3:49:25surrendering to Asterion. Those in the
3:49:28north had already been lost to Morrid,
3:49:30and more were soon to follow. Nephes had
3:49:33lost countless followers by now, and
3:49:35therefore was deprived both of the
3:49:37generous flow of spirit essence and of
3:49:39the immeasurable weight her domain used
3:49:41to afford her will. It was not a good
3:49:44time to grow weaker, to say the least.
3:49:46Azerax gave Saint a long look and
3:49:49wandered away to hide in the shadow of a
3:49:51protruding black boulder. Nephis
3:49:53descended from the sky and dismissed her
3:49:55wings. She looked pale and terribly
3:49:58drained, but her gaze and expression
3:50:01remained as calm and as resolute as
3:50:03ever. She looked around the desert,
3:50:05welcoming the rising sun. With a sigh,
3:50:08Sunny dismissed the curse, allowing it
3:50:10to return to its passive state. In that
3:50:12state, it empowered the dark flames of
3:50:15his soul by drawing on his spirit
3:50:17essence, thus enhancing the rate at
3:50:19which his shades were being repaired. It
3:50:22also allowed him to soothe someone's
3:50:23pain through touch rising to his feet.
3:50:26Sunny walked over to Nephas and took her
3:50:28hand. She remained silent for a while,
3:50:31then said quietly, "It's all right. It
3:50:33doesn't hurt anymore." Hearing that,
3:50:36Sunny closed his eyes for a moment. The
3:50:38smaller Nef's domain became, the fewer
3:50:41people there were for her to heal and
3:50:43empower. Therefore, the amount of pain
3:50:46she experienced was diminishing
3:50:48alongside her strength, which made a
3:50:50small part of him happy. He hated
3:50:52himself for feeling that way, though,
3:50:54because he knew that in the absence of
3:50:55pain, Nephus was tormented by anguish.
3:50:59Because the domain she had built was
3:51:00crumbling, and she would have never
3:51:02willingly chosen comfort over the
3:51:04well-being of her people. Nephis sighed
3:51:07and faced him, looking him in the eye.
3:51:10She remained silent for a while and then
3:51:12said quietly, "It's all gone." He
3:51:16frowned slightly. What is Nephis? Winced
3:51:19and looked away. Ivery Tower, Bastion,
3:51:22and Ravenheart. They are all gone from
3:51:25my soul sea, and they were the last
3:51:28citadels there. He froze, studying her
3:51:31expressionless face with grim intensity.
3:51:33Nephes inhaled deeply. The people who
3:51:36had been inspired by me are all gone,
3:51:38too. Not dead, just. I do not feel the
3:51:41sparks of their longing anymore. Their
3:51:44light is lost to me. It was such a
3:51:46brilliant sight. Billions of flames
3:51:49shining in the darkness. But now only
3:51:51darkness remains. There's barely any
3:51:54sparks left to illuminate it. She
3:51:56exhaled slowly. Cassie, Effie, Kai, and
3:52:00Jet are among those sparks. They are
3:52:03alive, at least, even if some are in a
3:52:05lot of pain. I can feel them longing to
3:52:07be delivered from the torment. Nephus
3:52:10paused for a moment and then added in a
3:52:12subdued tone. Point is, the longing
3:52:15domain is as good as fallen. The dream
3:52:18spawn and the king of nothing rule
3:52:20humanity now. We seem to have failed to
3:52:23complete our mission on time. She was
3:52:25exaggerating a bit, but only a bit. The
3:52:29members of the cohort remained loyal to
3:52:30Nephas, and just those four were enough
3:52:33to constitute a powerful domain. But of
3:52:35course, their power was incomparable to
3:52:37the power of all of humanity which
3:52:39Nephis had wielded before. There was the
3:52:42issue of how Sunny and Nephus would make
3:52:44it to the tomb of Ariel with her
3:52:45strength diminished so much. But more
3:52:48importantly, there was the abominable
3:52:50reality of all the damage the other two
3:52:52sovereigns were going to do to humanity
3:52:54in their absence. It was difficult not
3:52:57to feel defeated when thinking about the
3:52:59human domain being stolen from them by
3:53:01those two monsters. Still, Sunonny shook
3:53:04his head. The longing domain has not
3:53:07fallen. People are just under a mind
3:53:09hex. Once we destroy that hex, their
3:53:12loyalty to you and the immortal flame
3:53:14will be naturally reignited, and the
3:53:16longing domain will be as good as new.
3:53:19As for our mission, he gently nudged her
3:53:21fingers. Our mission has never been to
3:53:23stop the dream spawn from conquering a
3:53:25bunch of citadels. It is to prevent him
3:53:27from consuming humanity while attempting
3:53:29apotheiois. So, we still have plenty of
3:53:32time. Nothing has changed, you know?
3:53:36Nephus offered him a pale smile. Yes, I
3:53:39do. She turned and looked at the
3:53:41horizon. There, the tomb of Ariel loomed
3:53:44in the distance like a black scar.
3:53:46Pathetic. Azerax was leaning on the
3:53:49rocks, hidden from the sun. Sunny was
3:53:52not sure if the ancient tyrant was aware
3:53:54that he had begun to shy away from
3:53:55direct sunlight as of late, but it was
3:53:58not difficult to notice. The towering
3:54:00skeleton moved his ax slightly, staring
3:54:02at the two of them, holding hands with
3:54:04his empty eye sockets. The two of you
3:54:07disgusted me to the core simply by
3:54:09virtue of being who you are, but on top
3:54:11of that, you were an offense to the very
3:54:14idea of a supreme. He clacked his teeth.
3:54:17A supreme is someone who submits to no
3:54:19one, at least not voluntarily. On the
3:54:22contrary, simply by existing, he forces
3:54:24others to submit to him. Therefore, two
3:54:26supremes can never coexist as equals.
3:54:30Ideally, one will kill and plunder the
3:54:32lands of the other. At worst, one will
3:54:35be conquered but stay alive. Azerax
3:54:37shook his head. Yet here you are
3:54:40pretending to be love birds. How
3:54:42appalling. One of you should have killed
3:54:45the other a long time ago. He glared at
3:54:48them and spat. And how are you so
3:54:50ignorant and weak? Pathetic. Truly
3:54:52pathetic. Is this what remains of the
3:54:55flame? If so, you shame your ancestors.
3:54:58Sunny gave him a cold look. The ancient
3:55:01tyrant was not entirely wrong compared
3:55:03to him. They were indeed ignorant in
3:55:06some areas and could be perceived as
3:55:08weaker than the dire enemies he had
3:55:10faced in the past. However, hey, you
3:55:13fossil, remind me. What were you doing
3:55:1512 years ago? Azerax grinned, hanging on
3:55:18the tree. Sunny nodded. In all your
3:55:20supreme glory. Do you know what we were
3:55:22doing 12 years ago, though? Trying to
3:55:24survive as mundane humans. It only took
3:55:26us 10 years to become supreme. How long
3:55:29did it take you? Azerax laughed. A
3:55:32dormant human becoming supreme in 10
3:55:34years. Preposterous. Even I, the great
3:55:38and terrible Azerax, spent centuries
3:55:40climbing to the throne of supremacy.
3:55:42Stick to the truth, Shadow. You are a
3:55:45terrible liar. Sunny smiled. Oh no. I am
3:55:48the most honest person in the world.
3:55:50Actually, two worlds even. So, let me
3:55:53tell you the honest truth. You've been
3:55:55around for thousands of years and you're
3:55:57still merely a supreme. Now that's truly
3:55:59pathetic. He shook his head. Plus, the
3:56:02previous rulers of our realm had similar
3:56:05ideas to yours. The world is too small
3:56:08for two supremes, gaining ultimate power
3:56:11through civil war conquest, crap like
3:56:14that. Not only did it bring unspeakable
3:56:16harm to our world, but we killed those
3:56:18supremes together. I'd say that proves
3:56:21my point. No. Azerax just nashed his
3:56:25teeth silently, letting out a sigh.
3:56:28Sunny looked around the desert as the
3:56:30sun rose a little higher. He sighed and
3:56:33spoke to Nefis. I don't suppose we will
3:56:36be able to find the Black Skull. Now
3:56:38that I think about it, it's a bit funny
3:56:41and a bit sad. So many people died
3:56:44during the Battle of the Black Skull,
3:56:46but the Citadel they fought for ended up
3:56:48ownerless. The skinwalker chased more
3:56:51dread away, and even when he destroyed
3:56:53the skinwalker years later, it remained
3:56:56empty somewhere out there in the
3:56:58nightmare desert. Sunonny hesitated for
3:57:00a moment, then spoke to Azerax. Hey, do
3:57:04you maybe know who that skull belonged
3:57:06to? It's a huge skull, entirely black
3:57:09with three eyes. Azerax glared at him
3:57:11darkly. Three eyes must have belonged to
3:57:14one of that abominable girl's abominable
3:57:16kin, then the Nephilim. The ancient
3:57:19skeleton spat on the sand. Only, of
3:57:22course, he did not have any saliva or
3:57:24lips or a tongue or any other part
3:57:26necessary to spit. So, it looked quite
3:57:29odd. Azerax spoke in a somber tone.
3:57:33Three eyes. It's the sign of the void.
3:57:35It's the sign of the angels and of what
3:57:37angels touched. Nephilim were the same,
3:57:40even if they chose to hide their third
3:57:42eye most of the time. those horrid
3:57:44things. They joined our glorious army to
3:57:47fight against the gods. But even though
3:57:49we were glad to have their terrifying
3:57:51strength on our side, we weren't happy
3:57:53to be in their company. Sunny gave him a
3:57:56long look. Why did you all hate the
3:57:58Nephilim so much anyway? I never quite
3:58:01understood it. Azerak scoffed. Because
3:58:04they were abominations. They were
3:58:06something that was not supposed to
3:58:07exist. Their very existence went against
3:58:10the laws of everything. Things can be
3:58:12either divine or unholy, either of the
3:58:14flame or of the void. But they were
3:58:17both, and therefore in contradiction to
3:58:19everything that is right, good, and
3:58:21holy. He glared at Sunny. But why are
3:58:24you asking me? You have one of those
3:58:25abominations right in front of you,
3:58:27holding your hand. You can just ask her.
3:58:30Sunny smiled. I'm asking you because I'm
3:58:33interested to learn what you have to
3:58:34say. He remained silent for a few
3:58:36moments and then asked, "What about
3:58:39Godgrave then? Was the giant skeleton
3:58:41lying there in Nephilim once as well?
3:58:44Azerax leaned on his ax. What is godg
3:58:47grave? Did someone bury the gods? Sunny
3:58:50grimaced, then shook his head. No, it's
3:58:53just what we call that colossal
3:58:54skeleton. It must have belonged to a
3:58:57creature that was at least 10,000 km
3:59:00tall, and someone still managed to kill
3:59:02it. Azerax laughed. That is impossible.
3:59:06There has never been such a giant in the
3:59:08world. Only the world tree could
3:59:10compare, but it obviously did not
3:59:13possess a skeleton. So, it could not
3:59:15have been a Nephilim. In fact, I doubt
3:59:18that a creature like that ever existed
3:59:20at all. Sunny took a mental note of the
3:59:22fact that Azerax was not aware of the
3:59:25being whose skeleton had later become
3:59:26Godgrave. Did that mean that the ancient
3:59:29tyrant had been ignorant or that the
3:59:31enormous skeleton was only created after
3:59:33he had been nailed to a tree? Curious,
3:59:35that thing definitely had something to
3:59:37do with the void, though. So Sunny was
3:59:39not sure that he wanted to know the
3:59:41answer. They spent the day resting.
3:59:43Nephas meditated with her eyes closed,
3:59:46her face pale. Seeing her like this,
3:59:49Sunny was reminded of their times on the
3:59:51forgotten shore. The early days spent in
3:59:54the Crimson Labyrinth, searching for the
3:59:56city from Cassie's vision. Nephas used
3:59:59to meditate often back then, as well,
4:00:01learning how to cope with the pain of
4:00:03her flaw. She was not in pain at the
4:00:05moment, but being defeated and losing
4:00:08most of her domain must have hurt just
4:00:10as much, if not more. But he knew that
4:00:13she would be. If not all right, then at
4:00:15least the same. That was Nephus, after
4:00:18all. She did not know how to stop. No
4:00:21matter how hurt she got, she continued
4:00:23to push forward with the same blind
4:00:25determination, utterly devoted to her
4:00:27seemingly unreasonable goal. If he
4:00:30asked, she would say that it was just
4:00:32pain. She had grown used to pain even
4:00:35before they met, and that was why no
4:00:37amount of anguish could phase her. That
4:00:40said, her stubbornness did not mean that
4:00:42she was inflexible. On the contrary,
4:00:45Nephus could adapt to almost anything,
4:00:47becoming whatever she needed to become
4:00:49in order to overcome the obstacles
4:00:51facing her. At the moment, that meant
4:00:54that their present strategy had to
4:00:56change. Sunny fought on the ground,
4:00:58surrounded by his shades and protected
4:01:01by his shadows. As of late, there was
4:01:03also Azerax and his deathless army to
4:01:06support the Shadow Legion in case an
4:01:07especially tough enemy revealed itself.
4:01:10Nephus was alone in the sky, though.
4:01:12Dodging the arrows and javelins of the
4:01:14cursed prisoners of Ariel's hell was
4:01:17already difficult enough, but there were
4:01:19also beings capable of flight among the
4:01:21deathless. It did not really make sense,
4:01:24since nothing supported the weight of
4:01:25their skeletal bodies in the air. And
4:01:27yet, it was true. With her power
4:01:29severely diminished, Nephas could not
4:01:32stay alone in the sky anymore. So they
4:01:34decided that from tonight forward, her
4:01:36role was going to change. Instead of
4:01:38attacking the Deathless from above to
4:01:41make the passage of the Shadow Legion
4:01:43easier, she was going to be among the
4:01:45shades on the ground tonight. Nef's role
4:01:48would be to heal the shades as they were
4:01:49being damaged, which would allow the
4:01:51Shadow Legion to move much faster and
4:01:53face far greater threats. and if her
4:01:56help was needed, she would always be
4:01:58able to aim the blessing at their
4:01:59enemies and join the fight, which meant
4:02:01that Sunny would be the tip of the spear
4:02:03today. He was glad to be, but the
4:02:06tactics he used would need to be shifted
4:02:08to a more aggressive approach. Despite
4:02:10his irritating personality, Azerax is
4:02:13quite useful. It was not just that the
4:02:15ancient tyrant was powerful or that his
4:02:17thrs were strong. The most beneficial
4:02:20thing about him was that his deathless
4:02:22warriors could move ahead of the shadow
4:02:24legion, serving as a robust meat shield.
4:02:27Well, perhaps a bone shield in this
4:02:29case. The point was that their presence
4:02:32on the battlefield diminished the rate
4:02:33of attrition among Sunny's shades and
4:02:36allowed the Shadow Legion to be more
4:02:37effective. What do you think we will
4:02:40find there? Nef's voice distracted Sunny
4:02:43from his thoughts. At some point, she
4:02:45had opened her eyes and looked at the
4:02:47distant silhouette of the tomb of Ariel.
4:02:49Her voice sounded even, but there was a
4:02:51dark undertone to it. Sunny hesitated.
4:02:54Eventually, he shrugged. There's no way
4:02:57to tell. The real great river was bound
4:02:59to be entirely different from the one
4:03:01they had encountered in the nightmare.
4:03:03That was because there would not have
4:03:05been a twilight in the true tomb of
4:03:07Ariel. Daron's people had only entered
4:03:10the seed of nightmare, after all, not
4:03:12the actual pyramid. It was only the
4:03:15serpent king himself and a small number
4:03:17of his champions who had so there would
4:03:20be no city of the outsiders on the great
4:03:22river. There would be no army to lay
4:03:25siege to verge even if it had ultimately
4:03:27failed. This absence would affect the
4:03:30cities of the river people as well,
4:03:33changing everything Sunny and Nephis
4:03:35knew about their civilization. However,
4:03:38there would be no plagues either because
4:03:40the members of the cohort too had only
4:03:43entered the nightmare version of the
4:03:44tomb of Ariel, not the real thing. The
4:03:47forces of the defilement would not have
4:03:49been led on a terrifying conquest of the
4:03:51great river by the six heralds of the
4:03:54estuary, and so the cities of the river
4:03:56people could still be intact. Sunny did
4:04:00not believe that they were, though he
4:04:02sighed. But I am certain that it will be
4:04:04bad. His opinion was based on one simple
4:04:07fact. It was that he had encountered
4:04:09many nightmare creatures from the tomb
4:04:11of Ariel during the chain of nightmares.
4:04:13The fact that they had been able to
4:04:15escape the dream realm in great numbers
4:04:17hinted at the fact that the civilization
4:04:19of the river people had fallen after all
4:04:21and that there was nothing but
4:04:23corruption in the great pyramid anymore.
4:04:25And there was something else as well. It
4:04:28was the vile thieving bird. If it had
4:04:30really made a nest at the heart of the
4:04:32tomb of Ariel after escaping the
4:04:34nightmare and returning to life once
4:04:36more, then there was no telling how its
4:04:38presence affected the great river. That
4:04:40loathsome bird was a unique existence
4:04:42that had been hated both by the gods and
4:04:45by the void beings, which meant that it
4:04:47did not really belong to either side.
4:04:50That made it highly unpredictable. From
4:04:52what Sunny knew, the vile thieving bird
4:04:55was only interested in shiny things and
4:04:57anything that had to do with Weaver, so
4:04:59there was no telling what it would do.
4:05:01There was a high chance that it had left
4:05:03the tomb of Ariel already, even if Sunny
4:05:06believed that it hadn't. There was also
4:05:08a chance that it simply waited in the
4:05:10estuary. Alternatively, it could have
4:05:13already destroyed Verge and eaten the
4:05:15first seeker. It could have stolen the
4:05:17eyes of every human in Fallen Grace or
4:05:20weave. It could have even stolen all
4:05:22seven suns from the skies above the
4:05:24great river just to add them to its
4:05:27collection of shiny things. So Sunny did
4:05:30not know. Nephas smiled faintly. Worse
4:05:33than this, he chuckled. Listen. I might
4:05:37be a bit oblivious at times, but even I
4:05:39am not foolish enough to say something
4:05:41like, "No, things just can't get any
4:05:43worse aloud. Things can definitely get
4:05:46way worse." He looked up. Do you hear
4:05:49that, universe? I've learned the sun was
4:05:51already setting, so Azerax emerged from
4:05:54the deep shadows at the base of the rock
4:05:56formation and put his fearsome ax on his
4:05:59shoulder. Deep in the shining carropase
4:06:01of his glass armor, the black skeleton
4:06:04seemed to be absorbing the scarlet
4:06:06radiance of the sunset. Prepare
4:06:08yourselves, Waifes. The night is coming.
4:06:11Sunny sighed and rose to his feet.
4:06:13Nephus followed his example, her simple
4:06:15white tunic fluttering in the rising
4:06:17wind. All around them, the sand rippled.
4:06:20The deathless warriors subjugated by
4:06:22Azerax rose from beneath the dunes,
4:06:25forming a crescent formation in front of
4:06:26the three supremes. Then an army of
4:06:29shades rose from sunny's shadows to
4:06:32stand behind them. The wolf and his
4:06:34pack, the obsidian wasps, the great
4:06:37beasts of God, and the assaoras of
4:06:40condemnation, the immortals of the
4:06:42eternal city, and more. Saint and slayer
4:06:45moved forward to lead them. serpent
4:06:48slithered across the dunes like an onyx
4:06:50river, his chilling hiss reverberating
4:06:53under the dark sky. Sunny inhaled
4:06:56deeply, feeling his strength grow as
4:06:58deep shadows shrouded the world. He
4:07:01divided himself into seven avatars and
4:07:03reached into the shadows, preparing to
4:07:05encase each in a fearsome shell. Azerax
4:07:09was already walking forward to stand at
4:07:11the forefront of the joined formation of
4:07:13the Deathless and the Shades. Tonight is
4:07:16going to be different. Tonight we will
4:07:18taste the true meaning of dread, the
4:07:20true horror of Ariel's hell. His grins
4:07:23seem to grow wider and more vicious.
4:07:26That is because we are close to the
4:07:28inner expanse of the desert. Here only
4:07:31the most elite armies of the demon
4:07:33legion and the divine host clashed for
4:07:35the right to rule hell. So tonight we
4:07:38will probably face the worst fiends who
4:07:40dwell in this god-forsaken land, the
4:07:42blessed land. Supreme sacred. Have you
4:07:46ever faced sacred beings in battle,
4:07:48Shadow? Sunny shook his head. No. Azerak
4:07:51scoffed, unsurprising. You wouldn't know
4:07:54the dread and horror of earning a
4:07:55deity's wrath. Sunny interrupted him in
4:07:58a calm tone. I did kill a few cursed
4:08:01beings, though, including a cursed
4:08:03tyrant. No, wait. two cursed tyrants.
4:08:07One was alive while the other was
4:08:09already dead, but I still killed both.
4:08:12Azerax stared at him silently for a few
4:08:14moments, then turned his skull to Nefus.
4:08:17She shrugged. I did fight a few cursed
4:08:20ones, but I only ever killed one. A
4:08:22demon. She paused for a moment and then
4:08:25added in a calm tone, "What about you?"
4:08:28The the ancient tyrant remained silent
4:08:30for a while. Eventually, he just looked
4:08:32away and stared at the desert. Well,
4:08:35anyway, you're out of luck because if we
4:08:37do encounter one of the sacred beasts of
4:08:39the high commanders tonight, the
4:08:41darkness nestling in his eyes seem to
4:08:44grow deeper. You'll get a chance to face
4:08:46a sacred being who cannot be killed.
4:08:48Let's see how strong you are then,
4:08:50Sunny. All seven of his incarnations
4:08:52looked at Azerax at the same time. He
4:08:55lingered for a moment and then sighed.
4:08:57If we do encounter something like that,
4:08:59it won't matter how strong we are. He
4:09:02smiled. What will matter is how swift we
4:09:05can run. And we can both run faster than
4:09:07you. So, who is really out of luck here?
4:09:10Huh? With that, he commanded the Shadow
4:09:13Legion to march forward. Another night
4:09:16in hell had begun. Chapter 288. Other
4:09:20side of the coin. The Deathless were
4:09:22already rising from beneath the dunes,
4:09:24ready to descend upon those who had
4:09:26invaded Ariel's hell in all their
4:09:28unending fury. Sunny and Azerax took
4:09:31their places at the head of the battle
4:09:33formation, while Nephus remained at the
4:09:35back, standing among the shades like a
4:09:37flash of pure white flame in the sea of
4:09:40darkness. Just before the battle began,
4:09:43Sunny glanced at the distant, but not as
4:09:45distant as before, silhouette of the
4:09:47tomb of Ariel. That moment, he thought
4:09:50he heard something. An echo of a
4:09:52distant, iniccernable whisper that
4:09:54crawled into his ears and disappeared as
4:09:57if it had burrowed into his brain. He
4:09:59stumbled slightly. Azerax gave him a
4:10:02contemptuous glance. What shadow? Are
4:10:06you afraid? Sunny remained motionless
4:10:09for a moment, then shook his head. The
4:10:11incarnation who was closest to Azerax
4:10:14did at least. No, I just I thought I
4:10:18heard something. Didn't you hear it,
4:10:20too? The black skull of the ancient
4:10:22tyrant just stared at him with its empty
4:10:24eye sockets, then turned away with a
4:10:26snarl. Get your head into the game.
4:10:29Sunny smiled darkly. What the hell was
4:10:32that? Of course, he knew what it was,
4:10:34even while asking the question. It was
4:10:36the call of nightmare. The great pyramid
4:10:38was built from numerous enormous blocks
4:10:40of black stone, and each of those blocks
4:10:43was a seed of nightmare, just like the
4:10:46one that had been knocked free and sent
4:10:47flying by some titanic blow eons ago,
4:10:51ending up far away in the desert. The
4:10:53block of stone Sunny and his cohort had
4:10:55used to enter the nightmare about the
4:10:57last days of the river people. All seeds
4:11:00emanated the call, and all awakened were
4:11:02susceptible to the call. In fact, the
4:11:05more powerful you were, the more
4:11:07maddening the call of nightmare became,
4:11:09drawing you forth to challenge the seed.
4:11:12Actually, Sunny had never known if the
4:11:14call of nightmare was simply something
4:11:16innate to the seeds, or if it was a
4:11:18function of the spell meant to push
4:11:20awakened to grow stronger.
4:11:22Now that he was not a carrier of the
4:11:24spell, but still suffered from the
4:11:26maddening melody of the call, though he
4:11:28knew that it was the former, which was
4:11:30an interesting philosophical question to
4:11:32ponder if one had free time. Why were
4:11:36all awakened drawn to the nightmare
4:11:38seeds? After all, it was only the
4:11:40carriers of the nightmare spell who
4:11:42could destroy them by challenging the
4:11:43nightmares. For everyone else touching a
4:11:45seed simply meant surrendering
4:11:47themselves to corruption. Perhaps that
4:11:50was why the seeds emanated the call.
4:11:52Maybe they were meant to lure living
4:11:54beings into becoming twisted by
4:11:55corruption, like enormous fly traps
4:11:58emanating a sweet scent. Or maybe it was
4:12:01the reverse side of what the puppeteer
4:12:02had once told Sunny. According to the
4:12:05giant moth, all nightmare creatures were
4:12:07drawn to the flame because of a
4:12:09maddening contradiction within them.
4:12:11They longed for the flame and wanted to
4:12:13either possess or destroy it, because
4:12:15only then would they know peace. Perhaps
4:12:17the awakened were drawn to the void for
4:12:20the same reason as well, and the call
4:12:22they heard was simply an expression of
4:12:23that innate primordial longing. That was
4:12:27the philosophical question. Sunny,
4:12:29however, did not have the luxury of free
4:12:32time to ponder it. Instead, he had to
4:12:35contemplate a far more practical matter,
4:12:37with so many seeds of nightmare
4:12:39constituting the tomb of Ariel. millions
4:12:41of them, quite likely, just how
4:12:44deafening the call of nightmare would
4:12:45become by the time Sunny and Nephis
4:12:48reached it. Would they even be able to
4:12:50withstand it without going mad? I guess
4:12:52we'll cross that bridge when we get
4:12:54there. Sunny shook his head as if trying
4:12:57to shake the whisper out of his ear. I
4:12:59have seven heads and they are all in the
4:13:02game. Worry about your own head, Fossil.
4:13:05Azerax laughed. I've never beheaded
4:13:07someone seven times. I have something to
4:13:09look forward to now. Thank you, Shadow.
4:13:12In front of them, the endless horde of
4:13:14deathless was already advancing to
4:13:16descend upon the invading army like a
4:13:18flood. Sunny exhaled slowly and sent all
4:13:22seven of his avatars forward, one step
4:13:25at a time. The battle washed over him,
4:13:28drowning out all unnecessary thoughts.
4:13:31Azerax had been right. Tonight, the
4:13:34oppressive force of the Deathless felt
4:13:36much heavier. Sunny and Nephas had
4:13:39already been fighting in the nightmare
4:13:40desert for weeks. Not a single night had
4:13:43been easy, and their fatigue
4:13:44accumulated. Their enemies, on the
4:13:46contrary, only kept growing stronger and
4:13:49stronger the deeper into Ariel's hell
4:13:51they went. The Deathless were naturally
4:13:54a terrifying foe to face. After all, it
4:13:57was in their name. Fighting creatures
4:13:59who could not be killed was something
4:14:00that only a madman would do. And yet
4:14:03Sunny and Nephus did just that night
4:14:06after night. The undead warriors
4:14:08couldn't be destroyed, but they could be
4:14:10rendered harmless. To achieve that, each
4:14:13had to be dismantled bone by bone. And
4:14:16even then, the black bones tended to
4:14:18assemble back together after some time.
4:14:21So, they had to crush the bones into
4:14:23dust, even if each of those bones was as
4:14:26tough and durable as a steel weapon of a
4:14:28high rank would have been. Added to that
4:14:31was the chilling skill and cunning of
4:14:33the deathless warriors, as well as their
4:14:36eerie ability to cooperate with each
4:14:38other and instinctual understanding of
4:14:40military tactics. The most deadly thing
4:14:43about the deathless, however, was their
4:14:45will. To most people, the undead
4:14:48prisoners of Ariel's hell and sunny
4:14:50shades would seem quite similar. But
4:14:53actually, they were the opposite of each
4:14:55other. The shades were shadows cleansed
4:14:58of their mortal vessels and their sense
4:15:00of self, while the deathless were mortal
4:15:02vessels who had been denied their
4:15:04shadows and therefore their deaths. As a
4:15:07result, they were just as void of
4:15:10personhood, but at the same time far
4:15:12more aware of their own selves, and
4:15:15therefore in possession of a quiet but
4:15:17powerful will. More than that, their
4:15:20will was vast like an ocean. Sunny had
4:15:23already encountered that phenomenon
4:15:25while fighting the Black Millipede
4:15:26tribe. Back then, none of the Millipedes
4:15:29had possessed a will powerful enough to
4:15:32threaten him, not even the queens, since
4:15:34he outclassed them. However, there were
4:15:37simply too many nightmare creatures in
4:15:39the great swarm of their ghastly tribe.
4:15:42Their weak wills fused together, forming
4:15:44a vast and alarming force that could
4:15:46crush and wash away anything, least of
4:15:49all a lone enemy. Sunny had withstood
4:15:52the harrowing immensity of the black
4:15:54millipede's collective will, the spirit
4:15:56of their species because he was a
4:15:58supreme titan, and because he was
4:15:59cunning and cautious, eroding it away
4:16:01bit by bit before finally forcing a
4:16:03decisive battle. However, the deathless
4:16:06were far more powerful than the black
4:16:08millipedes had been, and he was pressed
4:16:10for time on top of that. So, even with
4:16:13three sovereigns, Sunny, Nephis, and
4:16:16Azerax, fighting side by side and
4:16:18supported by three supreme shadows,
4:16:20waging a war on the Deathless was a
4:16:22daunting affair. They had made it this
4:16:24far into the desert due to their
4:16:25strength, determination, and skill, but
4:16:27most of all, due to their ability to
4:16:29adapt, their ability to learn. Chapter
4:16:322889. Ancient grudges. The Deathless
4:16:36were growing stronger the deeper into
4:16:38Ariel's hell they went. Yes, but Sunny
4:16:40and Nephas were learning how to fight
4:16:42them better as well. There were the
4:16:44mundane lessons of how to dismantle the
4:16:46undead warriors faster and more
4:16:48effectively. There were the broader
4:16:50lessons of developing better strategies
4:16:52and implementing better tactics as well.
4:16:55Most importantly, Sunny and Nephas were
4:16:57learning about the nature of the
4:16:58Deathless and therefore about their
4:17:00weaknesses. One of those weaknesses, for
4:17:03example, was the tenuous grasp the
4:17:05undead warriors had on their aspects and
4:17:08powers. Most Deathless had either lost
4:17:10them entirely or could only use them on
4:17:12a shallow level, as if using muscle
4:17:15memory to do something that they did not
4:17:16understand or remember anymore. As a
4:17:19result, fighting the undead horrors was
4:17:21an exhausting but mostly straightforward
4:17:23affair. It was combat in the purest of
4:17:26forms. A clash that relied solely on
4:17:29physical prowess and marshall skill,
4:17:31even if the physical power involved in
4:17:33that clash was obliterating and
4:17:35terrifying enough to destroy lesser
4:17:37realms and reshape the very landscape of
4:17:39hell. It was a physical clash shaped by
4:17:42the underlying battle of waring wills.
4:17:44Of course, even then, Sunny and Nephas
4:17:47had found ways to overcome the
4:17:49tyrannical vastness of the enemy's will.
4:17:52The secret to doing so lay in the fact
4:17:54that it was not just two wills that
4:17:56clashed with each other. Their will
4:17:58against the will of the Deathless.
4:18:00Instead, it was actually three wills
4:18:02struggling to subjugate one another.
4:18:05That was because the Deathless were not
4:18:07a monolithic force. Even if they were
4:18:09united in their determination to
4:18:11obliterate the invaders, the undead
4:18:13warriors who had once belonged to the
4:18:15demonic legion were still opposed to the
4:18:17undead warriors who had once belonged to
4:18:19the divine host and vice versa. Even
4:18:22consumed by the curse of shadow god, the
4:18:25two great armies still struggled against
4:18:27each other, their resentment ran so deep
4:18:29that even after forgetting themselves,
4:18:31the deathless still carried an
4:18:33overwhelming hostility toward the enemy.
4:18:35The thousands of years that had passed
4:18:37since the Dmore did not diminish their
4:18:39animosity toward each other one bit. If
4:18:42anything, it only made that animosity
4:18:44far greater. The Deathless seemed to
4:18:46forget their strife when faced with a
4:18:48new enemy, but that was only an
4:18:50illusion. In truth, both sides still
4:18:53harbored a deep resentment for the other
4:18:54army, even while they were trying to
4:18:56eradicate the invaders. That division
4:18:59was not noticeable in their movements
4:19:00and seamless tactics, but betrayed
4:19:03itself in the turbulent expanse of their
4:19:05will. In other words, there were
4:19:08powerful undercurrens in the vast ocean
4:19:10of crushing will the deathless wielded,
4:19:13and those undercurrents clashed and
4:19:15collided with each other, creating a
4:19:17state of chaos and discord. If one knew
4:19:19how to make use of that discord, how to
4:19:22slip through the cracks in the
4:19:23insurmountable mountain of the enemy's
4:19:25will, they could overpower it with far
4:19:28less effort than would have been needed
4:19:30to summit the mountain through brute
4:19:32force. So that was how Sunny and Nephis
4:19:35managed to make it halfway to the tomb
4:19:37of Ariel despite facing a seemingly
4:19:39endless horde of ancient, undying,
4:19:41immensely powerful foes. Tonight,
4:19:43however, it all felt different. The
4:19:46power of the deathless they faced had
4:19:48taken a qualitative leap. The billowing
4:19:51ocean of murderous will they possessed
4:19:54felt deeper than ever before. Their
4:19:56presence, too, felt different from
4:19:58before. It was colder, cruer, and far
4:20:01more focused. Let's think positively.
4:20:04The seven incarnations of Sunny were the
4:20:06vanguard of the battle formation,
4:20:08serving to break the momentum of the
4:20:10advancing Deathless and soften them up
4:20:12for the marching army behind him. He
4:20:14moved like water, being elusive at times
4:20:17and exploding with crushing power at
4:20:19others. His mind had entered the state
4:20:21of battle clarity and turned into a
4:20:24diamond under the pressure of
4:20:25controlling seven supreme bodies in a
4:20:27ferocious deadly battle. Every second he
4:20:30unleashed a hurricane of attacks and
4:20:32withtood a storm of blows, breaking and
4:20:34weakening the deathless while attempting
4:20:37to remain whole. His shells were damaged
4:20:39and torn, but at a slower rate than his
4:20:42ability to repair them, so he could
4:20:44continue to fight. Some distance ahead,
4:20:47Azerax was rampaging among the undead
4:20:50warriors. He had grown to tower over the
4:20:52dunes, clashing with the most powerful
4:20:55of the enemies as the desert quakd and
4:20:57groaned around them. Unlike Sunny, there
4:21:00was nothing elusive or flowing about how
4:21:02the ancient tyrant fought. His battle
4:21:05style was all about dominance and
4:21:07oppression, explosive force and
4:21:09relentless aggression, which was not to
4:21:11say that it was brutish or lacked
4:21:13sophistication. On the contrary, Azerax
4:21:16channeled his merciless, cruel fury in a
4:21:18chillingly calculated manner. As Sunny
4:21:21watched, he lunged forward to clash with
4:21:24a towering black skeleton clad in the
4:21:26rusty remains of bronze armor. The
4:21:29ancient tyrant created a false opening
4:21:31by lowering his enormous ax, then ducked
4:21:34under the enemy's rusty greatsword. The
4:21:36same time, he hooked his opponent's leg
4:21:38with the beard of the axe and pulled it
4:21:40back, sending the black skeleton falling
4:21:43to the ground in a cloud of white sand.
4:21:46In the blink of an eye, Azerax was upon
4:21:48his fallen enemy, bringing his foot down
4:21:51on the undead warrior's chest. He
4:21:53pressed the deathless champion into the
4:21:55sand and brought his ax down on his
4:21:58skull as a shock wave rolled from the
4:22:00point of impact and the skull of his
4:22:02adversary cracked. However, it did not
4:22:05shatter. Azerax had left it in one piece
4:22:08on purpose. Because a second later, when
4:22:10the ancient tyrant removed his foot from
4:22:12the enemy's rib cage and dashed forward
4:22:14to meet the next opponent, the deathless
4:22:17warrior slowly rose from the ground and
4:22:19joined the formation of the undead
4:22:20warriors who followed the deathless
4:22:22sovereigns commands. Sunny was trying to
4:22:25keep up. How do we think positively?
4:22:27Well, let's think about it as training.
4:22:29Training to finally kill Yurice, that
4:22:31vile bastard. Unlike Azerax, who could
4:22:34subjugate the Deathless by defeating
4:22:36them, Sunny could only dismantle them
4:22:38completely, or at least severely damage
4:22:41them and leave the rest to his soldiers.
4:22:43So, every clash took him much longer.
4:22:46But hey, there's seven of me, so who's
4:22:49to say which one of us is accomplishing
4:22:51more? While Sunny and Azerax fought in
4:22:54the front, their armies followed behind,
4:22:57soaking the brunt of the undead horde's
4:22:59assault. The deathless following Azeraxs
4:23:01were in the first row of the formation,
4:23:03assembled loosely, while the soldiers of
4:23:05the shadow legion were positioned behind
4:23:07them. The skeletal warriors were the
4:23:10first line of defense, and the shades
4:23:12were the sharp blades that lashed out
4:23:14from behind them to bring the enemies
4:23:15down. Well, most of them, at least. The
4:23:18wolf was not someone who respected or
4:23:21had a need for a defensive formation, so
4:23:24it ravaged the enemies wherever there
4:23:25was an opening, crushing their black
4:23:28bones between his mighty teeth. From a
4:23:30distance, the battle formation of the
4:23:32invading army looked odd, almost comical
4:23:35even. It was as if an army of living
4:23:38beings divided itself in two, with the
4:23:40blackened skeletons of the soldiers
4:23:42moving forward while their inky souls
4:23:44fell back. The enemy was much stronger
4:23:47tonight than it had been before, but the
4:23:49speed with which the invading army
4:23:51advanced was not at all slower. Chapter
4:23:542890 proper healer. The speed of their
4:23:57advance did not diminish. That was
4:23:59because today Sunny employed a much more
4:24:01aggressive approach. His shades were not
4:24:04cautious anymore, and neither were they
4:24:06trying to preserve themselves at all.
4:24:08Instead, they intentionally ignored the
4:24:11blows that rain down upon them in order
4:24:13to deliver the adversary as much harm as
4:24:15possible as quickly as possible. This
4:24:18complete lack of self-preservation went
4:24:20against most underlying rules of combat
4:24:23and gave them a fearsome advantage
4:24:25against the deathless. Of course, it
4:24:27came at a cost. The price of this speed
4:24:30was destruction, and yet they were not
4:24:33being destroyed. Once a shade received
4:24:35enough damage, the formation of the
4:24:37shadow legion would instantly shift,
4:24:40allowing it to fall back and for another
4:24:42shade to take its place, the wounded
4:24:45one, meanwhile, would reach the rear of
4:24:47the formation, where Nephis moved among
4:24:50the shades, waiting for their turn to
4:24:51advance. She would lay her radiant hands
4:24:54on the torn and tattered surface of the
4:24:56returning shade, and heal it, allowing
4:24:58the silent warrior to rotate back to the
4:25:01line of battle contact soon. That way,
4:25:04the formation of the Shadow Legion
4:25:06continued to revolve with fresh and
4:25:08nearly uninjured shades constantly
4:25:10attacking the adversary. Look at me
4:25:13playing the general. Who could have
4:25:14thought that he would command an entire
4:25:16army one day back when he was crawling
4:25:18through the mud with the rest of the
4:25:20grunts in Antarctica? Sunny was glad to
4:25:22see his latest strategy work. However,
4:25:24he knew that it was unlikely to last
4:25:26long. That was because while Nephus
4:25:29healed the shades, she wasn't bringing
4:25:31fire and destruction upon the deathless
4:25:33from the sky. Their focus wasn't split,
4:25:36and the undead warriors further behind
4:25:39the contact line were not being torn
4:25:40apart and damaged by her flames. The
4:25:43pressure was going to mount the longer
4:25:45the battle continued, and his best hope
4:25:48was that the increased power of the
4:25:49Shadow Legion would balance out the
4:25:52absence of Nef's incinerating flames.
4:25:54But if it did not, that was all right.
4:25:57as well. After all, Nephas could always
4:25:59join the battle again. With the longing
4:26:02domain in shambles, her power was
4:26:04diminished, not gone. She was still a
4:26:07supreme titan and a wielder of a divine
4:26:09aspect. She was still a descendant of
4:26:12sun god. So, even in this weakened
4:26:14state, she was a terror to behold. It
4:26:16was just that they needed to find a way
4:26:18to use her powers in the most effective
4:26:20and efficient way. Nephus had almost
4:26:22always fought on the front line. Not the
4:26:25most common role for a healer, but also
4:26:27not something that was unheard of.
4:26:30Tonight, they were going to see if she
4:26:31could do just as much damage or perhaps
4:26:33even more of it by staying back. She was
4:26:36in a unique position to do so. After
4:26:38all, usually those who would be fighting
4:26:41on the front line in her place were
4:26:42people, and unlike her, people could not
4:26:45heal their own wounds. So, they died.
4:26:48Neither the deathless thrs of Azerax nor
4:26:51Sunny's shades could die, though.
4:26:53Therefore, Nef could allow herself to
4:26:56stay back without paying a bloody price
4:26:57for it. So far, it was working really
4:27:00well. It was working splendidly, even so
4:27:03much so that Sunny could not help but
4:27:05wonder just how much more fearsome the
4:27:07Shadow Legion would have been if he were
4:27:09still bonded to Neph, and could
4:27:11therefore share in the power of her soul
4:27:13flames. Perhaps he would find out one
4:27:16day soon. Their small army advanced
4:27:18forward in a devastating storm of
4:27:20violence. Just like during every
4:27:23previous night, the nightmare desert was
4:27:25being ravaged by that storm, silently
4:27:28enduring the deafening mayhem of the
4:27:30battle and the inconceivable fury of
4:27:32forces unleashed by each clash. Saint
4:27:35fought on the left flank of the battle
4:27:37formation, while Slayer fought on the
4:27:39right. The former was just as methodical
4:27:42and indomitable as always, while the
4:27:45latter was just as malevolent and
4:27:46vicious. No, if anything, Slayer had
4:27:49become even more ruthless than usual.
4:27:52She had come around a lot ever since
4:27:54Sunny first became her master, but
4:27:56during these weeks in the nightmare
4:27:58desert, she slowly returned to her
4:28:00former feral self. Perhaps the hell of
4:28:02Ariel reminded her of her days in the
4:28:04shadow realm. One was a desolate
4:28:07wasteland of obsidian dunes, while the
4:28:09other was an endless desert of white
4:28:11sand. One was populated by the shadows
4:28:14of the dead, while the other was
4:28:16populated by undying skeletons. Wasn't
4:28:19difficult to imagine that Slayer felt
4:28:21right at home here in hell. The
4:28:23difference, of course, was that now she
4:28:25was of a higher rank and had regained
4:28:27her aspect. So instead of stalking and
4:28:30hunting her prey, Slayer was simply
4:28:32tearing it apart. When needed, she used
4:28:35her bow and arrows. Most of the time,
4:28:37though, she fought by assuming the
4:28:40shapes of the beasts she had once slain,
4:28:42and there seemed to be a myriad of forms
4:28:44she could take, choosing the most lethal
4:28:46one depending on the situation she was
4:28:48in and the enemies she faced. Sunny, who
4:28:52was notoriously bad at recognizing
4:28:54extinct animals, saw all kinds of
4:28:56harrowing beasts in these last few
4:28:58weeks. Most of them were powerful
4:29:00mythical creatures of the distant past,
4:29:02of course, but still, he was almost glad
4:29:05to have been born in the time when most
4:29:07of the planet was a lifeless desert. He
4:29:10couldn't wrap his head around the fact
4:29:11that humans had survived when all these
4:29:13strange, terrifying creatures were just
4:29:16walking around as if it was no big deal.
4:29:18Take a mongoose for example. Hey,
4:29:21Shadow. Azerax had just finished
4:29:23stomping a skeletal deathless beast into
4:29:25dust after shattering its skull with his
4:29:28ax and was now looking ahead with a grim
4:29:30expression. I think we are about to feel
4:29:32some agony. Sunny did not need to be
4:29:35warned because he had felt it himself
4:29:38out there in front of them. The dunes
4:29:40were moving as something rose from
4:29:42beneath them, sending rivers of sand
4:29:45flowing down from its enormous form. But
4:29:47that was not what made him tense.
4:29:50Instead, it was the fact that the world
4:29:52itself was changing. The currents of
4:29:54will were twisting as if a vast
4:29:56whirlpool was forming in its boundless
4:29:58oppressive ocean. You just had to open
4:30:00your jaws and say it, didn't you?
4:30:02Sunny's voice was full of resentment.
4:30:05The ancient tyrants warning was coming
4:30:07true. It seemed that they had stumbled
4:30:09upon a sacred foe after all. A giant
4:30:12slowly rose from beneath the dunes,
4:30:15erasing them as rivers of white sand
4:30:17flowed down from his rising figure. His
4:30:20shape and appearance were slowly
4:30:22revealed. The being who had changed the
4:30:24underlying currents of the world, with
4:30:26his mere presence resembled a human, a
4:30:30skeleton of a human. At least he towered
4:30:32above the desert like a terrifying
4:30:34monument, a tattered robe of fluttering
4:30:37ivory fabric obscuring his ancient
4:30:39bones. Those of the bones that were in
4:30:42sight were black, like the bones of
4:30:44other deathless, but also different.
4:30:47That was because they were inlaid with
4:30:49strips of pure gold, which framed his
4:30:51cheekbones, empty eye sockets, and rose
4:30:53above his skull like a crown. In his
4:30:56hand, the giant was holding a white
4:30:58staff, one that might have been carved
4:31:00from the trunk of a sacred tree, or
4:31:02perhaps fashioned out of the spine of an
4:31:04enormous serpent. At the top of the
4:31:07staff, a clear crystal was emanating
4:31:09pure white light said in gold. The
4:31:12moment the heavy gaze of the giant
4:31:14skeleton fell on Sunny in the shadow
4:31:16legion, he felt as if something pressed
4:31:18him into the ground. A few of the
4:31:20severely damaged shades simply
4:31:22collapsed, vanquished by the mere weight
4:31:24of that gaze. Damnation.
4:31:27Sunny stared at the deathless spirit,
4:31:29momentarily frozen by the oppressive
4:31:32power of the fallen deity's presence.
4:31:34Azerax was staring at the enormous
4:31:36skeleton as well, his jaw set grimly. A
4:31:40moment later, he opened it and said,
4:31:42"It's it's him." The wandering archon.
4:31:46Sunny finally composed himself. "What
4:31:48are his powers? What concept does he
4:31:50command?" Azerax remained silent.
4:31:53"Answer me, damn it!" Finally, the
4:31:56ancient tyrant turned to look at one of
4:31:58Sunny's incarnations. Strangely enough,
4:32:01it seemed like his usual confidence was
4:32:03gone. He spoke in a distant tone. I I
4:32:07don't remember. Why don't I remember
4:32:09then? His empty eye sockets were
4:32:11suddenly full of anger. Who cares what
4:32:13powers he wields? It's a damn spirit
4:32:16shadow. Even if he lost his aspect, his
4:32:19will alone is enough to be a problem.
4:32:21Sunny winced and studied the
4:32:23battlefield. That's true. With the
4:32:26arrival of the wandering Archon, the
4:32:28fragile balance on the battlefield was
4:32:30broken. His tidal will was like a
4:32:33guiding force that subjugated the
4:32:34collective will of the deathless, not
4:32:37intentionally, but simply by virtue of
4:32:39being so overpowering. It was a single
4:32:42source of intent that gave shape to the
4:32:44tumultuous vastness of their murderous
4:32:46determination. As a result, the cracks
4:32:50Sunny and Nephus used to resist the
4:32:53deathless horde were gone. Their will
4:32:55could not overcome the enemies anymore,
4:32:57and so the world was being bent and
4:32:59twisted against them. The Deathless grew
4:33:02stronger, faster, and more durable. The
4:33:05silent warriors of the Shadow Legion and
4:33:07the undead warriors following Azerax,
4:33:09meanwhile, grew slower, and weaker.
4:33:12Their weapons missed more often. The
4:33:14sands shifted beneath their feet, and
4:33:17the blows raining down at them found
4:33:19their marks with greater ease. Sunny's
4:33:22expression turned grim. They had to deal
4:33:25with that sacred skeleton, but that was
4:33:27easier said than done. Sunny was wary of
4:33:30cursed beings. But he was not
4:33:32particularly wary of the wandering
4:33:34archon. That was because it was the
4:33:36unnatural powers that made nightmare
4:33:38creatures of the cursed rank, the dark
4:33:41gods of the dream realm so dangerous.
4:33:44The deathless only had a tenuous grasp
4:33:46on their powers at best. So a deathless
4:33:49champion of the sacred rank was not as
4:33:51frightening. All he possessed was raw
4:33:54power and the terrifying immensity of
4:33:56his will. However, Sunny and Nephis were
4:33:59both supreme titans and had Azerax as an
4:34:01ally as well. By all accounts, the three
4:34:04of them should have been enough to slay
4:34:06a cursed one or two, especially if those
4:34:09cursed ones were mere beasts. However,
4:34:12the deathless could not be killed, and
4:34:14therein lay the problem. They could not
4:34:16slay the wandering archon, so they had
4:34:19to dismantle him bone by bone. And
4:34:22completely obliterating a sacred being
4:34:24was far more difficult than simply
4:34:26killing them. Looking at the towering
4:34:28figure of the deathless spirit, Sunny
4:34:31made a tentative prediction that if the
4:34:33three of them, Nephis, Azerax, and
4:34:35himself, joined forces and poured
4:34:38everything they had into the battle,
4:34:40they would be able to destroy the
4:34:42terrifying creature before it destroyed
4:34:44them. The problem though was that the
4:34:46wandering archon was not alone. There
4:34:48was still a great horde of deathless
4:34:50warriors around them. And these undead
4:34:52horrors would not stay still while the
4:34:55champions of the invading army assaulted
4:34:57their god. If all three of them focused
4:34:59on battling the sacred prisoner of
4:35:01Ariel's hell, the deathless would
4:35:03swiftly overwhelm their army and attack
4:35:05them from the rear, making an already
4:35:07deadly clash simply impossible to win.
4:35:10So that meant that instead of destroying
4:35:12the wandering Arkin, someone would have
4:35:14to stall it until dawn. I'll take him
4:35:17on. Shadow. Azerax seemed to have
4:35:20regained his previously indomitable
4:35:22confidence and was now looking at the
4:35:24deathless spirit with a dark
4:35:25anticipation. In truth, he had probably
4:35:28never been rattled by the appearance of
4:35:29this powerful foe. Rather, what had
4:35:32robbed the undead tyrant of his
4:35:34confidence was the fact that he could
4:35:36not quite remember who the wandering
4:35:37archon was. That was perhaps the first
4:35:40time he realized that there was
4:35:41something wrong going on with his mind.
4:35:43Something wrong with it, apart from the
4:35:45damage caused by spending thousands of
4:35:47years nailed to a tree that was sunny,
4:35:50gave him a dark look. You will do no
4:35:53such thing. Azerax was powerful,
4:35:56powerful beyond compare, even having
4:35:59been made so by countless years of
4:36:01bloodshed. However, that power of his
4:36:04would be of little use against an enemy
4:36:06that could not be destroyed and could
4:36:08only be contained for a time. His aspect
4:36:11was that of a conquering warlord, not a
4:36:13brawler. Apart from that, if Sunny was
4:36:16honest with himself, he would have had
4:36:18to admit that he was alarmed by the
4:36:20implausible notion that Azerax could
4:36:22actually win that fight. In the unlikely
4:36:25event that he did, there would possibly
4:36:26be a sacred vassel following him around,
4:36:29and that was not something Sunny wanted
4:36:31to see. tempting as it was, that only
4:36:34left him and Nephis. Then Sunny, she was
4:36:38already near them, having advanced from
4:36:40the rear of the battle formation. Sunny
4:36:42turned to her, and for a brief moment,
4:36:45they looked into each other's eyes. That
4:36:47brief moment was enough for them to have
4:36:49an entire mental conversation without
4:36:51saying a word. Though Nephas was willing
4:36:54to take on the Wandering Archon, she was
4:36:56eager, even wanting to prove to the
4:36:59world and perhaps to herself as well,
4:37:01that she was still Nephas of the
4:37:03Immortal Flame Clan, that she was
4:37:05changing Star with or without her
4:37:07longing domain. However, Sunny did not
4:37:10think that she was the right choice for
4:37:12this particular trial, either. Both of
4:37:14them were badly matched against the
4:37:16Deathless Spirit and against the
4:37:18Deathless in general. Nef's powers lay
4:37:21in controlling flames and summoning
4:37:23destruction upon her enemies. But the
4:37:25undead warriors did not burn easily, so
4:37:28destroying them took her a lot more
4:37:30effort than usual. Nephus had incredible
4:37:33staying power due to her ability to heal
4:37:35herself. True, which meant that out of
4:37:37the three of them, she could last the
4:37:39longest. And yet, the number of tools
4:37:42she could use against the wandering
4:37:44archon was quite limited. Sunny, on the
4:37:46other hand, he was nothing if not
4:37:48versatile. Ne excelled in healing and
4:37:51destruction, but he had all kinds of
4:37:53tricks up his sleeve. So, for a task
4:37:56that involved containing a powerful
4:37:58enemy without being able to obliterate
4:38:00him, he was the best choice. His domain
4:38:03was just as robust as it had been
4:38:06before, too, so he would not have to
4:38:08fight a sacred being in a weakened state
4:38:10like Nephis would. Letting out a sigh,
4:38:13Sunny looked away. I'll stall the
4:38:15archon. I'm the best equipped to handle
4:38:17a battle like that and possess the
4:38:19strongest domain among us three at the
4:38:21moment. Two, continue pushing forward,
4:38:24Nephus. Take my place in the formation.
4:38:27My shadows will support you. So, clear a
4:38:30path forward. Azerax, you do what you
4:38:32do. Get as far away from that thing as
4:38:35possible, as fast as you can. I'll buy
4:38:37you some time and rejoin you before
4:38:39dawn. If he survived, the undead tyrant
4:38:42stared at him solemnly. It seemed like
4:38:45he was regarding Sunny with something
4:38:46that resembled emotion for the first
4:38:48time. Eventually, he looked away and
4:38:50said, "And what are we supposed to do if
4:38:52a second spirit rises from the sand?"
4:38:54Sunny blinked a couple of times. Did he
4:38:56just He clenched his fists. "Hey,
4:38:59Fossil, I'm going to tear your damn jaw
4:39:01off. Can you stop running your mouth,
4:39:03fool?" Shaking his head. Sunny headed in
4:39:05the direction where the wandering Archon
4:39:07was already taking heavy steps, walking
4:39:09towards them. "If a second spirit shows
4:39:11up, deal with it. Smack it with your
4:39:13damn axe. Why don't you? Better yet,
4:39:15smash him with your skull. There doesn't
4:39:17seem to be anything inside it anyway.
4:39:20Azerax laughed. Look, now you're finally
4:39:23starting to resemble a real Supreme.
4:39:26Sunny cursed at him. That damn bastard.
4:39:29I'm going to come back and kill him
4:39:30right after I kill Yurice. He gave Saint
4:39:33an order to assume command of the Shadow
4:39:35Legion and commanded his shades to
4:39:38follow Saint. By then, Nephas was
4:39:41already descending upon the deathless in
4:39:43a whirlwind of white flame. Azerax
4:39:45dashed forward to rejoin the fight, his
4:39:48heavy ax crushing bones with each blow.
4:39:51Now, it was up to Sunny to make sure
4:39:53that they would not have to deal with
4:39:55the deathless spirit. This is probably
4:39:57going to hurt, he called upon the wolf.
4:40:00What was the best way to fight a sacred
4:40:02enemy? Of course, it was to be sacred
4:40:04yourself. Sadly, Sunny was not a spirit
4:40:07yet. However, he did command four sacred
4:40:10shades. Puppeteer, abundance, the rat
4:40:14king, and the wolf. The puppeteer moth
4:40:17was technically the most powerful of
4:40:19them, being a tyrant. However, its
4:40:21powers did not lend themselves well to
4:40:23direct confrontation, or rather not as
4:40:26well as those of the other sacred
4:40:28shades. That was the very reason why
4:40:30Sunny had managed to defeat the spirit
4:40:32of doubt and was alive today. Abundance
4:40:34and the Rat King each excelled at many
4:40:37things, but facing a single
4:40:39overwhelmingly powerful adversary was
4:40:42not one of them. The wolf, however, the
4:40:44wolf had been a spirit of primal fury,
4:40:47cunning, and hunting. It personified the
4:40:49concept of the wolf, and wolves were
4:40:52exceptional hunters. They were known to
4:40:54bring down prey much larger than
4:40:56themselves, as well. Apart from that,
4:40:58the wolf had been a cursed demon, a
4:41:00being of a higher class than both
4:41:02abundance and the rat king. So, it was
4:41:05Sunny's best choice to battle the
4:41:07wandering Archon. The problem, of
4:41:10course, was that despite being sacred,
4:41:12the wolf was a sacred shade, and shades
4:41:15did not quite possess a will of their
4:41:17own. And even if sacred shades were
4:41:18somewhat different, they still could not
4:41:20compare to real spirits. The shadow of
4:41:23the will they could exert was far less
4:41:25potent than that of living beings.
4:41:27Sacred or cursed, there was a cure for
4:41:30that, though a partial cure, but a cure
4:41:32nonetheless. As the wolf launched itself
4:41:35into the horde of the deathless,
4:41:37barreling toward the distant figure of
4:41:38the wandering archon. It was surrounded
4:41:41by all seven of Sunny's incarnations.
4:41:44And then all seven avatars turned into
4:41:47shadows, wrapping themselves around the
4:41:49shadow of the primeval predator. 1 2 3 4
4:41:557 With each shadow, the power of the
4:41:58wolf increased. More than that, it
4:42:00became a direct conduit of Sunny's own
4:42:02will. That will was supreme, not sacred.
4:42:06But it was the will of a titan. It was
4:42:09empowered by spirit weave as well. And
4:42:11when it was being channeled by a sacred
4:42:13shade, the result was truly fearsome.
4:42:16Not quite as fearsome as having a true
4:42:19sacred being attack the enemy, but still
4:42:21terrifying nonetheless. As Sunny wrapped
4:42:24himself around the wolf, he fused with
4:42:26it on a deep level. As always, he was
4:42:29instantly overwhelmed by the vastness
4:42:31and unfathomable depth of a sacred
4:42:33being's consciousness. Was so
4:42:35overwhelming, in fact, that Sunny could
4:42:37not contend with all of it. Instead, he
4:42:41had to limit his perception to a narrow
4:42:43band, only focusing on what was
4:42:45important. All around him, the will of
4:42:47the wandering Arkan churned and flowed,
4:42:50drowning the world. If there was one
4:42:52silver lining in all of it, though it
4:42:55was that even if expressing their will
4:42:57seemed as natural as breathing for the
4:42:59spirits, the deathless did not possess
4:43:01enough of themselves to wield it with a
4:43:03fine level of precision. Sunny, however,
4:43:06knew how to wield his, even if the
4:43:08natural affinity of his will death was
4:43:10meaningless in a battle against the
4:43:12deathless. The fact that he was adept at
4:43:14wielding his will like he would a weapon
4:43:16gave him an advantage. The wolf flew
4:43:19through the horde of undead warriors,
4:43:21followed by his pack. Some of the shadow
4:43:23wolves were brought down and vanquished
4:43:25in that mad dash, but most made it
4:43:27through the mass of deathless by
4:43:29following the leader of their pack. The
4:43:31wandering Archon was already near. It's
4:43:34good to learn. The deathless spirit
4:43:36raised his staff and brought it down. It
4:43:38seemed to fall slowly and looked too far
4:43:40away to hit Sunny. But the space itself
4:43:43was torn apart and twisted by that
4:43:45unhurried blow. And a split second
4:43:47later, the wolf was only a single moment
4:43:49away from being erased from existence,
4:43:51as if it had never existed at all. That
4:43:54not knowing death means not knowing
4:43:56salvation. Sunny pulled the sacred shade
4:43:59into the shadows, stepping through them
4:44:01to appear behind the deathless spirit,
4:44:03ignoring the laws of space. Two could
4:44:06play that game. Not knowing death means
4:44:08that one's suffering will never end. I
4:44:11would have loved to teach this bastard a
4:44:13harsh lesson about unending agony. The
4:44:15wolf lunged into the air, aiming to sink
4:44:18its fangs into the enemy's throat.
4:44:20Sadly, the archon was suddenly facing
4:44:22them. The horrifying gaze of his empty
4:44:24eye sockets pressing Sunny into the
4:44:26ground. But no, they weren't empty. Two
4:44:29golden discs were set into the eye
4:44:31socket like enormous gold coins. An
4:44:34eerie radiance was spilling from behind
4:44:36those discs. But something tells me that
4:44:38the deathless know that better than I
4:44:40ever would. Instead of the towering
4:44:43skeleton's spine, the wolf could only
4:44:45bite into his arm. The shadow of the
4:44:48primordial beast pressed down onto the
4:44:50sleeve of the ivory robe, aiming to
4:44:52crush the black bone beneath. It pulled
4:44:55the arkin down, jerking its head
4:44:57sideways with terrible force to tear the
4:45:00entire forearm off. At the same time,
4:45:03two wills, the elemental will of the
4:45:05deathless spirit and Sunny's sharp
4:45:07deadly one clashed with each other,
4:45:10sending an invisible, imperceptible,
4:45:12inconceivable shock wave spreading
4:45:14through the fabric of the world. They
4:45:16were competing to see which one of them
4:45:17would get to lure the universal laws of
4:45:19existence to their side. Come on. Come
4:45:22on. In the end, the bones of the
4:45:24wandering Archin did not shatter. The
4:45:26obsidian fangs of the wolf cracked
4:45:29instead. In the next moment, the
4:45:31deathless spirit calmly brought his
4:45:33staff down on the enormous beast's back.
4:45:36The blow fell on the spine of the wolf
4:45:38with the weight of an entire realm,
4:45:40almost managing to snap it in half. The
4:45:43wolf survived the attack by releasing
4:45:45the enemy and allowing the force of the
4:45:47impact to throw it down, rolling over
4:45:49the dunes in a whirlwind of white sand.
4:45:52A few moments later, it was already on
4:45:54its feet. The wolf was ready to continue
4:45:56the fight. a terrifying growl escaping
4:45:59from its m. Sunny, however, Sunny was in
4:46:03a sea of pain because the moment the
4:46:05archon struck his shade with the staff,
4:46:08a net of cracks spread across one of his
4:46:10cores as well. He suppressed a tortured
4:46:13groan. "Yep, it hurts a lot." The
4:46:16deathless spirit towered above the
4:46:17shadow of the wolf, and in the darkness
4:46:19of the night, he seemed like a black
4:46:21mountain that obscured the distant
4:46:23radiant ocean of stars. He might not
4:46:26have been stronger than the sacred
4:46:27shade, but his will was far superior.
4:46:30Sunny was not even sure that calling it
4:46:32superior would be the right word. The
4:46:35difference between his own will and that
4:46:37of the archon was like the difference
4:46:38between a clear brook and a vast sea,
4:46:41like the difference between a stone
4:46:43fortress and the boundless expanse of
4:46:45the wide world that surrounded it. The
4:46:47archon did not possess a weakness that
4:46:49Sunny could easily exploit either. In
4:46:52the battle against abundance, Sunny had
4:46:54been able to lock it in space and slowly
4:46:56poison the enormous godworm with his
4:46:58death will, but the archon was
4:47:00deathless. In the battle against the rat
4:47:03king, Sunny had been able to destroy the
4:47:06single rat that was the source of the
4:47:08terrifying swarm, thus cutting its
4:47:10connection to the puppeteer and watched
4:47:12the rats devour each other to satiate
4:47:14their maddening hunger. But there was no
4:47:17single weak spot that could be used to
4:47:19destroy the archon, and no one was in
4:47:21control of him. In the battle against
4:47:24the wolf, Sunny had been able to grasp
4:47:26the concept wielded by the enemy and
4:47:28personify its opposite. That allowed him
4:47:31to hold out long enough to use the
4:47:32cursed demon's own terrifying power to
4:47:35fuel the grand spell he had woven in
4:47:37advance, thus destroying it. But there
4:47:40was no spell that could help Sunny
4:47:42against the Archon. And the Arkin did
4:47:44not seem to wield any concept either. Or
4:47:46rather, it did, but it was of no help to
4:47:49Sunny. After exchanging the first blows
4:47:52with the deathless spirit, Sunny had
4:47:54gotten a better taste of his will. And
4:47:56what he found was that the ancient
4:47:58horror seemed similar to Azerax, the
4:48:00plague of steel, in some regard. There
4:48:03was almost nothing common between them,
4:48:05except for one thing that mattered most.
4:48:07Azerax was supreme and therefore his
4:48:10will had an innate affinity just like
4:48:13Sunny's will was innately tied to death
4:48:16while Nefs was connected to desire and
4:48:18longing. What of the plague of steel
4:48:21then? What affinity did his will
4:48:23possess? What concept did he personify
4:48:26or at least would grow to personify if
4:48:28he ever underwent apotheiois?
4:48:31Sunny had racked his brain about it for
4:48:33a while, observing the ancient tyrant
4:48:35closely in the ferocious battles they
4:48:37fought. The answer he eventually arrived
4:48:39at was, needless to say, quite
4:48:41surprising. The deathless sovereigns
4:48:44will expressed only one concept, and
4:48:46that concept was himself. The natural
4:48:50affinity of Azerax, the plague of steel,
4:48:53was to nothing more and nothing less
4:48:55than Azerax himself. Perhaps he was too
4:48:58arrogant and full of deadly ambition to
4:49:00tie the concept of himself to any
4:49:02greater force. After all, as far as
4:49:04Azerax was concerned, there was no force
4:49:07and no element that was greater than
4:49:08him. In the end, all of existence,
4:49:12including all the elements and forces
4:49:14contained within it, was meant to submit
4:49:16and bow down before him. The Arkin was
4:49:19very similar, albeit for a different
4:49:21reason. The deathless spirit was not
4:49:24overcome by an insatiable lust for
4:49:26conquest. But whatever it had been,
4:49:28whatever concept he had personified,
4:49:31whatever kind of apotheiois he had
4:49:33undergone was washed away by the curse
4:49:36of shadow god and the merciless passage
4:49:38of years. Now he was an empty fallen
4:49:41deity that personified nothing but
4:49:43himself. Whatever made him the wandering
4:49:46Archon had been erased and swallowed by
4:49:48oblivion. And so he wielded no power but
4:49:52the power of godhood itself. The power
4:49:55to reshape the world according to his
4:49:57will. On one hand, it was a great
4:49:59relief. After all, Sunny still
4:50:02remembered his terrifying experiences in
4:50:04Ariel's game, especially the days that
4:50:07were mysteriously missing from his
4:50:09memory. the days of the battle against
4:50:11the eerie snow demon that had infected
4:50:13their minds. He also remembered the
4:50:15cursed demon abjuration which had come
4:50:18close to wiping out all of humanity
4:50:20during its battle against Nephis. So it
4:50:23was a boon that the Arkin did not
4:50:25remember how to wield his powers,
4:50:27whatever those powers might have been.
4:50:29At the same time, it put Sunny at a
4:50:31disadvantage because there was no
4:50:33concept for him to counteract or channel
4:50:35the opposite of. There was nothing for
4:50:38him to exploit. And so all he could do
4:50:40was try to match the deathless spirit in
4:50:43a contest of brute force. Luckily, the
4:50:46wolf was not helpless in the fight
4:50:48against an overwhelmingly strong enemy.
4:50:51Yes, the Arkin was far greater than it,
4:50:54towering above the giant beast like a
4:50:56dark mountain. But the Archin had been a
4:50:59human once, or at least a creature that
4:51:01resembled humans, and there were very
4:51:04few things humans feared more than a
4:51:06predator stalking them in the night.
4:51:08After that first clash, where the wolf
4:51:11received a devastating blow, it changed
4:51:14tactics, channeling all the cunning and
4:51:16ferociousness of a primeval beast. At
4:51:19the same time, having become one with
4:51:21the wolf, Sunny reshaped himself in the
4:51:23image of a wolf and sharpened his will
4:51:25for a focused singular purpose. That
4:51:28purpose was to force a concept upon the
4:51:30hollow deity of Ariel's hell on the
4:51:33spirit who had been the wandering archon
4:51:35once, the concept of prey. When the
4:51:38deathless spirit and the wolf clashed
4:51:40for the second time, the world rippled
4:51:42and twisted like a piece of crumpled
4:51:44paper. The nightmare desert shook. The
4:51:47wolf did not manage to bring down the
4:51:49archon, but this time it managed to
4:51:51escape unscathed, if only just barely. A
4:51:54split second later, it was already
4:51:56moving through the shadows, ready to
4:51:58attack the enemy again. Time was
4:52:01flowing, and the deathless spirit was
4:52:03focusing on the wolf instead of turning
4:52:05his attention to the shadow legion. So,
4:52:09even if Sunny was in pain after enduring
4:52:11a heavy blow to his soul, he was
4:52:13accomplishing his mission. Out there on
4:52:15the battlefield, the Shadow Legion and
4:52:17the Undead Warriors serving Azeraxs were
4:52:20making their way forward. However, their
4:52:22pace had slowed down to a crawl, and
4:52:24they were suffering casualties at a far
4:52:26greater rate than before. After all,
4:52:29Sunny's absence could not be ignored.
4:52:31Not only had he acted as not one but
4:52:34seven deadliest champions of the
4:52:36invading army, splitting the tide of the
4:52:38deathless before they could reach the
4:52:40battle formation, but he was also the
4:52:42commander of the shadow legion. Now that
4:52:44he had to pour all of his attention into
4:52:46the battle against the Archin. His
4:52:48shades could only follow Saint and Saint
4:52:51despite her wararmmaster attribute was
4:52:53yet incomplete. She was a mere devil
4:52:55after all, so her ability to lead armies
4:52:58was going to remain rudimentary for as
4:53:00long as she did not rise to the class of
4:53:02tyrant. Added to that was the fact that
4:53:05the deathless spirits will was still
4:53:06fueling the undead prisoners of the
4:53:08nightmare desert with indomitable
4:53:10resolve. The world itself was playing
4:53:12favorites, assisting the deathless while
4:53:15obstructing their enemies. Nafas was not
4:53:17there to heal and mend the wounded
4:53:20shades anymore, either since she was
4:53:22fighting on the front line. So, the
4:53:24invading army was suffering. The shades
4:53:26were being slowly whittleled down and
4:53:28vanquished. Even the undead warriors of
4:53:31Azerax were starting to be destroyed
4:53:34just like Sunny and Nephus had
4:53:35dismantled and obliterated the Deathless
4:53:38before. The Deathless were not
4:53:40dismantling the turncoats. The curse of
4:53:42Shadow God would probably restore them
4:53:44eventually, but not nearly fast enough
4:53:47to be of use for the expedition to the
4:53:49tomb of Ariel. Azerax seemed to have
4:53:51pushed himself even further than before,
4:53:53rampaging among the enemy like a spirit
4:53:55of inevitability and destruction.
4:53:58However, even his terrifying strength
4:54:00was not enough to turn the tide of this
4:54:02losing battle. Nifas had to get involved
4:54:05and fill the great chasm left by Sunny's
4:54:08absence. Somehow, even if she possessed
4:54:10only one body, not seven, and could not
4:54:13control the shadow legion at all. So
4:54:16that was what she did. At first, she
4:54:18simply summoned the blessing and entered
4:54:20the melee, serving as the spearhead of
4:54:22the slowly advancing formation. Her
4:54:24sublime swordsmanship revealed itself in
4:54:27all its glory, and as flashes of
4:54:29brilliant white light illuminated the
4:54:31dark mass of the charging deathless, her
4:54:34live figure could be seen moving between
4:54:36them, cutting one after another down.
4:54:39But of course, that was not enough. Even
4:54:41channeling her flames through the
4:54:43blessing to unleash incinerating rays of
4:54:46pure light was not enough since the
4:54:48deathless were too numerous and too
4:54:50powerful, resisting the devastating
4:54:52power of her burning soul with daunting
4:54:54efficiency. Having dismantled another
4:54:57skeleton and crushed its skull under her
4:54:59foot, Nephis stopped for a moment and
4:55:02looked over the endless horde of the
4:55:04deathless, her gaze turning cold. She
4:55:07closed her eyes for a heartbeat and
4:55:09exhaled slowly. When she opened her eyes
4:55:12again, they were full of imilating white
4:55:15flame. A soft white radiance ignited
4:55:18under her skin. Then it grew brilliant
4:55:20and blinding until there was nothing
4:55:23soft about it. And as Nef's tunic
4:55:25collapsed into a whirlwind of white
4:55:27sparks, she assumed the form of the
4:55:29spirit of light, of a being whose body
4:55:31was woven out of pure radiance and
4:55:33flame, not mortal flesh. When she did,
4:55:36the night of Ariel's hell did not seem
4:55:38so dark anymore. That radiant form,
4:55:41however, was not Nef's true and full
4:55:43transformation. It was merely a shell
4:55:46that contained the boundless ocean of
4:55:48her soul flame in a radiant vessel. And
4:55:50now Nephis chose to open that vessel,
4:55:53unleashing herself upon the world.
4:55:56Suddenly, the darkness retreated, and a
4:55:58titanic, billowing pillar of roaring
4:56:00white flame escaped into the vastness of
4:56:02the sky, washing over it like an
4:56:04imilating flood. The fire churned, and
4:56:07if one glanced closely, they could
4:56:09glimpse a vague flowing silhouette of
4:56:11something colossal being drawn by the
4:56:13moving flames, appearing and
4:56:15disappearing in the dance of fire before
4:56:17they were blinded by its pure radiance,
4:56:19of course, as if the flame was a living
4:56:22thing that moved with purpose and
4:56:23otherworldly intent. Right now, its
4:56:26intent was to devour the deathless. The
4:56:28boundless ocean of flame descended upon
4:56:30Ariel's hell like a white inferno,
4:56:33swallowing a vast swath of the undead
4:56:36horde in front of the advancing army.
4:56:38The desert was drowned by the sea of
4:56:40fire, which stretched all the way to the
4:56:42horizon. Countless deathless were
4:56:45trapped in the inferno, burning in it,
4:56:47being gnawed on and shattered by it.
4:56:49Their figures were like black
4:56:51candlesticks melting in the light. The
4:56:53visage of changing star unleashed was
4:56:56both radiant and terrifying. Sadly, even
4:57:00her true shape was not powerful and
4:57:02devastating enough to wipe out the
4:57:03prisoners of hell, especially now that
4:57:05her domain had been broken, and her will
4:57:08had lost the weight of billions of souls
4:57:10that used to empower it. The weaker of
4:57:12the deathless were destroyed, and those
4:57:14of them on whom Nephis focused her
4:57:16incinerating will were being slowly
4:57:18turned to ash. But most of them, while
4:57:21damaged and burned by the flame,
4:57:23continued to move. Some, those who were
4:57:26powerful enough, fought against the
4:57:28living flame. Dealing it invisible
4:57:30wounds, Nephus healed those wounds and
4:57:33endured the agony, scorching them in
4:57:35turn. The rest waited through the ocean
4:57:38of flame, blinded, still overcome by the
4:57:41desire to obliterate the invaders who
4:57:42had dared to enter Ariel's hell. Their
4:57:45black bones slowly ignited like embers
4:57:48and then turned incandescent, shining
4:57:51with an angry red glow in the sea of
4:57:53fire. It was then that saint, whose
4:57:56fearsome armor and jade body were all
4:57:58but impervious to elemental attacks,
4:58:01emerged from the flame and slashed the
4:58:03nearest deathless with her black blade.
4:58:05The adamantine bones, which had been
4:58:07nearly indestructible before, parted in
4:58:10front of the dark sword like butter.
4:58:12That was because even if they were not
4:58:14destroyed by the soul flame, they were
4:58:16rendered softer and far more fragile in
4:58:18their incandescent state. Saint did not
4:58:21stop even for a split second, instantly
4:58:23dismantling the deathless warrior before
4:58:25moving on to the next one with measured,
4:58:27indomitable steps. Behind her, the
4:58:30figure of Azerax emerged from the flame
4:58:33as well. The ancient tyrant laughed, his
4:58:36glass armor shining like a terrifying
4:58:39beacon. His ax fell, splitting a
4:58:42deathless beast in half, and his boots
4:58:44stomped the fallen creature into dust. A
4:58:47swarm of red embers shooting to swirl in
4:58:50the overheated air. Luckily, neither the
4:58:52undead vassels of the ancient conqueror,
4:58:55nor the shades needed to breathe.
4:58:57Otherwise, their lungs would have turned
4:58:59to ash already. The rest of the invading
4:59:02army moved behind its champions. The
4:59:04white flames flowed, opening a path to
4:59:07them. A few seconds later, the two
4:59:09forces clashed, and this time, the
4:59:12Deathless fell far more easily under the
4:59:15blades, claws, and fangs of the
4:59:17invaders. The Shadow Legion marched on
4:59:20through the white flame, which parted in
4:59:22front of it like an imilating sea. It
4:59:24seemed to be working for now, but even
4:59:27in the depths of her agony, Nephi knew
4:59:29that she would not be able to maintain
4:59:31that fearsome assault for long. That was
4:59:33because she had lost most of her domain,
4:59:36and therefore the vast torrent of spirit
4:59:39essence that used to flow into her soul
4:59:41was replaced by a thin stream. She was
4:59:44burning more essence than she was
4:59:46receiving, and even with the fire
4:59:48empowering her soul, she would exhaust
4:59:50her reserves of it soon before that
4:59:52happened. They needed to leave the
4:59:54deathless spirit and the vast expanse of
4:59:57his insurmountable will behind. Far
4:59:59away, engaged in a ferocious battle with
5:00:02the deathless spirit. Sunny could only
5:00:05vaguely see Nefus and the shadow legion
5:00:07advancing in the distance. The nightmare
5:00:10desert was illuminated by her radiant
5:00:12flames, and dark figures clashed in a
5:00:15sea of white radiance, indistinguishable
5:00:17from each other. His shadow sense was
5:00:20going haywire from all the chaos and
5:00:22mayhem of the cataclysmic battle. So he
5:00:25was having trouble determining which
5:00:26figures were friends and which ones were
5:00:28foes. Their army was advancing at a good
5:00:31rate. Though so it seemed that Nephas
5:00:34and Azerax had a handle on the situation
5:00:36for now at least. At first the Shadow
5:00:40Legion was behind him. Then it was far
5:00:42to the side circling around the area
5:00:45where Sunny and the Archon fought. And
5:00:47then it was finally ahead of them,
5:00:50slowly making its way closer to the
5:00:52looming shape of the tomb of Ariel.
5:00:55There was not enough distance between
5:00:56the shadow legion and the deathless
5:00:58spirit yet, though, and there wouldn't
5:01:00be for a long time. So Sunny had to
5:01:03continue fighting. It was tough. The
5:01:05Archin was a terrifying enemy. An enemy
5:01:08that Sunny had no business fighting
5:01:10really. And even if the wolf was cunning
5:01:12and elusive, attacking from the darkness
5:01:14only to retreat moments later, aided in
5:01:17its predatory dance by Sunny carrying
5:01:19its weight through the shadows. The
5:01:21damage they had received was slowly
5:01:23accumulating. The giant figure of the
5:01:25wolf was frayed now, surrounded by a
5:01:27billowing cloud of gray smoke. Sunny,
5:01:30meanwhile, was in the throws of agony,
5:01:33several of his soul cores already
5:01:35covered in cracks. Every time the wolf
5:01:38was a little bit too slow to evade the
5:01:40archon's attack, his entire being shook
5:01:42and quakd, barely surviving the
5:01:45terrifying tyranny of the fallen deity's
5:01:47unfathomable killing. Intense Sunny
5:01:50could endure a lot of punishment, but
5:01:52there was a limit even to his endurance.
5:01:54For now, soulweave was preventing his
5:01:57wounded soul from collapsing and his
5:01:59cores from crumbling. But if the battle
5:02:02continued in the same manner, he would
5:02:04suffer a loss or even be outright
5:02:06destroyed. Unfortunately, the battle had
5:02:08to go on. He had occupied the deathless
5:02:11spirit for some time now, minutes,
5:02:13perhaps even dozens of minutes, but Dawn
5:02:16was still hours away, which meant that
5:02:18Sunny had to continue fighting against
5:02:20an undying god of hell for hours more.
5:02:23And he was not sure that he could manage
5:02:24that. Think, think, Vic. The wolf clawed
5:02:28at the looming figure of the archon,
5:02:30adding more rifts to his tattered robe.
5:02:33It bit onto the white staff of the
5:02:35deathless spirit, leaving deep grooves
5:02:37in it and ripping one of the golden
5:02:39ornaments free. It leaped into the air
5:02:42and sank its fangs into the giant
5:02:44skeleton's jaw, dislodging it from the
5:02:46joints. Now the archon's jaw hung
5:02:48crookedly, which only made him look more
5:02:50terrifying. The eerie glow emanating
5:02:53from behind the golden coins covering
5:02:55his eyes grew more intense, and Sunny
5:02:58felt something cold grasp his heart. The
5:03:01ark in twisted space and time, answering
5:03:04to the ferocious attack. Sunny felt a
5:03:06ghastly pain first, and only then felt
5:03:09the deathless spirits bony fingers
5:03:11rending through the wolf of his hide,
5:03:13leaving a ghastly wound on its side, and
5:03:15on Sunny's soul as well. I don't think
5:03:18I'm going to survive until dawn, even if
5:03:20he used the chain enchantment of the
5:03:22curse. It would only buy him a little
5:03:25bit more time. His mind spun furiously,
5:03:28trying to come up with something, some
5:03:30trick, some devious scheme, or even some
5:03:32bold gamble to turn the tide of this
5:03:34brutal battle. Was there some
5:03:37application of his aspect abilities that
5:03:39he could use? Some revelation he was
5:03:41failing to grasp, some memory he could
5:03:44summon to turn the tables? Memories. He
5:03:47remembered every memory in his soul
5:03:49arsenal and every enchantment those
5:03:51memories possessed. He also remembered
5:03:54every instance of using those
5:03:55enchantments and what the results were.
5:03:58Sunny had created most of those memories
5:04:00himself. So he knew what they were
5:04:02capable of very well. That was why he
5:04:05knew that there was no memory that could
5:04:06truly help him defeat a sacred being.
5:04:09Not really. That was because memories
5:04:11did not usually possess a will of their
5:04:13own and were therefore only as powerful
5:04:16as the will of their masters. In the
5:04:18battles between beings of lesser ranks,
5:04:21that did not matter that much. But when
5:04:23one fought against a deity, any memory
5:04:25could be easily rendered ineffectual
5:04:28simply by being denied the power to
5:04:29reshape the world in accordance with its
5:04:32design. So even if Sunny had forged a
5:04:34sacred memory for himself, it would
5:04:36still be fueled by his supreme will.
5:04:39Unless there was an adversarial will
5:04:41opposing him, it could still work just
5:04:44fine if it was designed well enough to
5:04:46push against the universal laws of
5:04:48existence. But if Sunny had to fight
5:04:50someone like the wandering Archon, even
5:04:53his most powerful memories would
5:04:54probably prove to be unreliable. Forged
5:04:57myself, a sacred memory. The wolf
5:05:00received another blow and was thrown
5:05:02into the air, collapsing on the sand
5:05:04with a terrifying impact. Moments later,
5:05:07Sunny let out an anguished groan and
5:05:09focused on the deathless spirit.
5:05:12Suddenly, a completely mad idea found
5:05:15its way into his mind. Sunny had been
5:05:17known to entertain an outlandish idea or
5:05:20two, but this one was really truly mad,
5:05:23even by his standards. But is there a
5:05:26reason why it shouldn't work? Actually,
5:05:28there were a million reasons, but Sunny
5:05:31did not need those. He only needed one
5:05:33reason why it could work. his will would
5:05:35do the rest and make the remotely
5:05:38possible become inevitable. Hopefully,
5:05:40in any case, he knew that he was not
5:05:42going to last long against the Archon,
5:05:45and this was the only plausible, albeit
5:05:47deeply mad idea he had been able to come
5:05:49up with. Let's try it, then. What's the
5:05:52worst? No, I'm not finishing that
5:05:54sentence. As the wolf staggered to its
5:05:56feet and glared at the deathless spirit
5:05:59bearing its fangs, Sunny secretly
5:06:01allowed one of his incarnations to
5:06:03separate itself from the sacred shade.
5:06:05He hid in the darkness, watching
5:06:07intently, and when the wolf lunged
5:06:09forward to attack the archon again,
5:06:12quietly assumed a human form once more.
5:06:15Looking around in hesitation, Sunny took
5:06:17a deep breath and reached into his soul
5:06:20sea. He needed to retrieve something
5:06:22from there, as well as summon a
5:06:24particular memory. The shadows flowed up
5:06:26his body and extended from his torso,
5:06:29turning into two additional pairs of
5:06:31hands. "If brute force doesn't work, try
5:06:34sorcery," he summoned Weaver's needle.
5:06:37"Sny stumbled on that particular idea
5:06:40while lamenting how unreasonable the
5:06:42situation he had found himself in was.
5:06:44No, really, it wasn't enough that he had
5:06:47to fight a minor god. That malevolent
5:06:49deity just had to be an undying one on
5:06:52top of that, a sacred foe who literally
5:06:54could not be killed because he was not a
5:06:57living thing to begin with. Shadow God
5:06:59had taken his death and therefore stole
5:07:02away his life as well. The concept of a
5:07:04living being was a complicated one in
5:07:06the world of the nightmare spell. Take
5:07:08Sunny for example. Technically, he was
5:07:11dead, but in the broader sense, he was
5:07:13still a living being. So was Jet, who
5:07:16could be considered one despite being
5:07:18physically and functionally a magically
5:07:20reanimated corpse. There were all manner
5:07:23of nightmare creatures out there as
5:07:24well. Wraiths, ghosts, and specters of
5:07:27all kinds, golems, and automatons,
5:07:30walking suits of malevolent armor, and
5:07:33things that could not even be described,
5:07:35let alone understood. But all of them
5:07:37would still count as living beings. And
5:07:40for one simple reason, because they
5:07:42could be killed. They had shadows and
5:07:45they had souls. The Deathless were
5:07:47neither dead nor alive, though they had
5:07:50lost their shadows. And no matter how
5:07:52Sunny looked, he could not determine if
5:07:54they had souls either. So, by all
5:07:57accounts, those cursed by shadow god
5:07:59were not living beings. They weren't
5:08:02ideas or concepts either, because what
5:08:04constituted them was solid matter. What
5:08:07were they then? Well, by method of
5:08:10elimination, the answer was simple. They
5:08:12were things. There were all kinds of
5:08:14ways to challenge that statement, but
5:08:16for Sunny, it sounded good enough. The
5:08:18Deathless were things. They were no
5:08:20different from items. Cursed things that
5:08:22were controlled by malevolent wills, but
5:08:24items nevertheless. So then, what kind
5:08:27of memory could help Sunny deal with a
5:08:30sacred thing that had been cursed by
5:08:31shadow god? He had been considering that
5:08:34question feverishly while at the same
5:08:36time wielding his will to push back the
5:08:39oppressive authority of the sacred thing
5:08:41in question. He even asked himself what
5:08:44kind of memory he could have created to
5:08:46get himself out of this situation if he
5:08:48was good enough at weaving to create
5:08:50memories on the fly. And then it
5:08:53suddenly hit him. If the deathless were
5:08:55things, if they were no different from
5:08:57items, then did he really need to make a
5:08:59memory to survive the battle against the
5:09:01wandering archon? What if he made the
5:09:03archon into a memory instead? The
5:09:06question was so preposterous that Sunny
5:09:08instantly threw it out of his head,
5:09:10concentrating on finding an actual
5:09:12solution. However, once the idea rooted
5:09:15itself in his mind, it refused to go.
5:09:17And a few moments later, he found
5:09:19himself coming back to the same
5:09:20question. I have finally lost it. I
5:09:23have, haven't I? But what if he hadn't?
5:09:28Technically, nothing was stopping Sunny
5:09:30from turning a deathless into a memory.
5:09:33A memory was simply an item enchanted
5:09:35with the rudimentary spellweave. After
5:09:37all, which allowed it to be disassembled
5:09:40into soul essence and stored in its
5:09:42master's soul, as well as summoned back
5:09:44to be reconstituted as matter. The
5:09:47Deathless had neither a shadow nor a
5:09:49soul. They weren't living beings and
5:09:51were things instead. So, if Sunny could
5:09:54just create a rudimentary spellw weave,
5:09:56anchor it in a sufficiently pure soul
5:09:59shard and attach it to the black bones
5:10:01of one of them, then theoretically he
5:10:04could dismiss the Deathless as he would
5:10:05a memory and keep it stored in his soul
5:10:08in a disassembled state. It was just
5:10:10that attaching a spellwave to a moving,
5:10:13sinister, murderous skeleton was not
5:10:15exactly something that could be
5:10:16accomplished easily. And normally, there
5:10:18would be no reason to. After all, it was
5:10:20not like turning one of the Deathless
5:10:22into a memory would give Sunny control
5:10:24over it. It would only allow him to
5:10:26dismiss and summon the skeleton like he
5:10:28would a memory and nothing more. Once
5:10:31the Deathless was summoned back, it
5:10:33would immediately attack Sunny once
5:10:34again. It would probably destroy the
5:10:37spellwave rooted inside of its bones as
5:10:39well. But ah, to hell with it. I'm going
5:10:42to try. Sunny was already in quite a
5:10:45desperate situation, and he neither
5:10:47wanted nor planned to control the
5:10:49archon. All he wanted to do was get rid
5:10:51of him so that the shadow legion could
5:10:53escape. And Sunny himself could survive.
5:10:56He was sure, almost sure, that if he did
5:10:59manage to dismantle the deathless spirit
5:11:01and draw him into his soul sea, the
5:11:04thing was not going to destroy his soul
5:11:05from within. That was because unlike
5:11:08shades and shadows, a memory was not an
5:11:11actual thing when dismissed, not the
5:11:13items it became when summoned. Rather,
5:11:16it was an idea of that thing, a
5:11:19blueprint used to reassemble it from
5:11:21essence. So, the archon would cease to
5:11:23exist as a thing within Sunny's soul
5:11:26sea. Most likely, I guess we'll see.
5:11:29Stealing himself, Sunny sent one of his
5:11:31incarnations away from the wolf and
5:11:33summoned two things. One was Weaver's
5:11:37Needle, and the other was a sacred soul
5:11:39shard stored in the replica of the
5:11:41Nameless Temple. Sacred shards were not
5:11:44at all simple to come by. Sunny had
5:11:46procured a few in Ariel's game, and a
5:11:49few more were unearthed by the forces of
5:11:51the human domain here and there in the
5:11:52dream realm. However, most of them were
5:11:55gone now. He had used some to survive
5:11:58the death game, while the rest became
5:12:00anchors for the defensive arrays he and
5:12:03Cassie created to protect key citadels
5:12:05of humanity. The one Sunny summoned was
5:12:08the last in his possession. Now, how the
5:12:11hell do I even do it? As six
5:12:13incarnations of Sunny were empowering
5:12:15the wolf in its battle against the
5:12:16Archon, his battered soul drowning in
5:12:19agony, he tried to calm himself down and
5:12:21think things through clearly. Come on.
5:12:24Come on. The deathless spirit's staff
5:12:26brushed across a tall white dune no more
5:12:29than a few hundred meters away from him,
5:12:32erasing it from existence and making
5:12:34Ariel's hell shudder. Sunny crouched low
5:12:37to maintain his balance and gritted his
5:12:39teeth. In theory, it was simple. Weaving
5:12:42took a lot of time and concentration, so
5:12:45it was not something that could be done
5:12:46in the midst of a battle, at least not
5:12:48by him. And he was the best and only
5:12:50weaver in existence. Memories could not
5:12:53be woven or unraveled on the fly, but
5:12:56that only held true for proper memories.
5:12:58A rudimentary one, no different from the
5:13:01very first one Sunny had ever created,
5:13:03could be created quite easily. All he
5:13:06had to do was weave the fundamental
5:13:08enchantments that the nightmare spell
5:13:10used as the basis of all memories and
5:13:12then connect them to the item that was
5:13:14supposed to become a memory. No, not
5:13:17even all of the rudimentary
5:13:18enchantments. Sunny did not care if the
5:13:20Archon could passively mend himself
5:13:22while stored in his soul. In fact, he
5:13:25would very much prefer if the damn
5:13:27Deathless couldn't. He did not need the
5:13:29memory of the wandering Archon to
5:13:31possess a title and a description
5:13:33either. All he needed was to imbue that
5:13:35thing with the quality that allowed it
5:13:37to be dismissed or summoned, as well as
5:13:39make himself the being in control of
5:13:41when that happened. So, first of all, he
5:13:45needed to weave strings out of shadow
5:13:46essence. He needed to anchor them in the
5:13:49sacred shard and create the rudimentary
5:13:51enchantment of summoning. Then he
5:13:54somehow needed to embed the shard and
5:13:56the weave into the archon while staying
5:13:59alive no less. Well as alive as someone
5:14:02who was technically dead could be
5:14:04nothing to it. Smiling weakly, Sunny
5:14:08began weaving ethereal black strings out
5:14:10of his essence. Usually he would weave a
5:14:13considerable length of the shadow string
5:14:15before beginning to weave it into a
5:14:17sorceress pattern, but right now there
5:14:19was no time for that. So Sunny wo faster
5:14:23than he had ever before, his six hands
5:14:25moving in rapid harmony. As soon as
5:14:28there was any length of the string at
5:14:29all, he immediately threaded it through
5:14:31Weaver's needle and anchored it in the
5:14:33soul shard, then continued to create
5:14:35more while beginning to shape the
5:14:37familiar pattern of the summoning
5:14:39enchantment. Sunny had created this
5:14:42particular pattern so many times that he
5:14:44could weave it with his eyes closed.
5:14:46Weaving it while simultaneously battling
5:14:48a deity, though was proving to be a
5:14:50challenge. Most of Sunny's mind was
5:14:52preoccupied with the battle. He assisted
5:14:54the wolf while at the same time
5:14:57straining all of his being to resist the
5:14:59boundless will of the archon. That was
5:15:02already almost beyond his limit, so he
5:15:04hardly had mental capacity for weaving
5:15:06as well. And yet he had to manage
5:15:09somehow. So he did. Chapter 2896
5:15:13to work. Luckily, the wolf was a lethal
5:15:15and ferocious being, even without
5:15:17Sunny's direct control. In fact, if
5:15:20Sunny attempted to issue the sacred
5:15:22shade commands to tell it how to fight,
5:15:24he would only be getting in the way. The
5:15:26wolf had more battle experience than he
5:15:29did, was a better hunter than he was,
5:15:31and understood its own capabilities
5:15:33better than Sunny could ever hope to
5:15:35understand them. The Archin was too
5:15:37fast, too strong, and too beyond the
5:15:40scope of normal understanding for Sunny
5:15:42to be in his element while fighting it.
5:15:44Anyway, the laws of existence were
5:15:46bending and twisting around the
5:15:48deathless spirit, rejecting the very
5:15:50notion of common logic. Time, space, and
5:15:54even causality had become unreliable at
5:15:56best, making the archon immensely deadly
5:15:59and unpredictable. One moment, he was
5:16:01taking an unhurried step. A split second
5:16:04later, he was already upon the wolf,
5:16:07raising his terrifying staff to crush
5:16:09the sacred beast beneath it. At times
5:16:11his blows arrived before they were
5:16:13delivered. Time itself hastened or
5:16:15slowed down, or even seemed to flow in
5:16:18reverse on occasion. Sunny was rattled.
5:16:21Luckily, the wolf was not. It did not
5:16:24try to understand or predict the archon
5:16:26and the results of his actions. Instead,
5:16:29it acted on pure instinct, reacting
5:16:31faster than Sunny could even realize
5:16:33what was happening. At the same time,
5:16:36the wolf was calculating and cunning,
5:16:38steadily evading the deathless spirit
5:16:41while never letting him get distracted
5:16:43and turn his attention to the distant
5:16:44shadow legion. With Sunny's augmentation
5:16:47and assistance, the shadow of the wolf
5:16:50was putting up an admirable fight
5:16:52against the archon. It was so fearless
5:16:54and ferocious, in fact, that Sunny
5:16:56imagined that if it had been any other
5:16:58cursed or sacred beast, they would have
5:17:00stood a good chance of defeating it. The
5:17:03wolf would have long torn the creature's
5:17:05throat open and feasted on its flesh.
5:17:07However, the sacred being they faced
5:17:09today was deathless, and so no matter
5:17:12how ferocious and fearsome the wolf was,
5:17:15all it could do was endure as its body
5:17:17was slowly being broken and mutilated.
5:17:19And Sunny, meanwhile, endured his soul
5:17:22being torn to shreds. Arg. The weaver's
5:17:25needle trembled in his fingers. He was
5:17:28not in good shape. None of his cores had
5:17:30crumbled yet, but they were all full of
5:17:33cracks, almost on the verge of being
5:17:35broken. The silent waters of his soul
5:17:38sea were undulating restlessly, while
5:17:40the replicas of the two citadels he
5:17:42controlled were quaking, fishers slowly
5:17:44climbing up their walls. It hurt like
5:17:47hell, of course. Just need to hold on a
5:17:49little more. The Shadow Legion was far
5:17:51in the distance by then, almost gone
5:17:54behind the horizon. Nef's fierce flames,
5:17:56which had illuminated the entire desert,
5:17:59were now a distant halo. The dawn was
5:18:02not yet near, but Sunny figured that he
5:18:05was perhaps halfway there. He had really
5:18:07managed to buy a lot of time, but sadly
5:18:10not enough of it, and he did not think
5:18:12that he could endure 10 more minutes,
5:18:15let alone a few more hours. not without
5:18:17losing a few of his cores at least, and
5:18:20therefore a few of his shadows. Who
5:18:22would it be? The youngest of the seven
5:18:24lazy, or maybe their eldest gloomy
5:18:27sibling, or perhaps both, and more?
5:18:30Sunny gritted his teeth, like hell. The
5:18:34weave was slowly taking shape beneath
5:18:36his needle, torturously slowly, compared
5:18:39to how familiar it was. It was funny,
5:18:42really. Usually Sunny did not even pay
5:18:44attention to this part of the weaving
5:18:46process. He wo the rudimentary patterns
5:18:49almost unconsciously, relying on
5:18:51experience and muscle memory. But now
5:18:54this simple weave seemed as difficult
5:18:56and impossible to master as it had once
5:18:58a long time ago when he attempted
5:19:01sorcery for the first time. Back then,
5:19:04he was in a cage in the Red Coliseum,
5:19:07waiting for an overwhelmingly
5:19:09terrifyingly powerful adversary, an
5:19:11ascended zealot to come and kill him.
5:19:14Now he was in literal hell, fighting a
5:19:17fallen god. Sunny wasn't sure if one
5:19:19could call that a successful career.
5:19:22"Get in shape, damn it!" the wolf, and
5:19:25Sunny's soul endured another blow. The
5:19:28giant beast fell to the sand, gray
5:19:30smoker pouring like a waterfall from its
5:19:33maw, while Sunny's hand trembled. As a
5:19:36result, the pattern he had almost
5:19:37completed came close to coming undone.
5:19:40Snarling, he ducked to let a piece of
5:19:43shrapnel moving at supersonic speed
5:19:45flash just above his head and grabbed
5:19:47the unraveling threads with one of his
5:19:49hands. If not for the flesh weave, he
5:19:51would have lost his fingers right there
5:19:53and then. But luckily his body had been
5:19:55altered to excel at weaving, as were his
5:19:58spirit, mind, and soul for that matter.
5:20:01So Sunny managed to keep the pattern
5:20:03together. It was almost finished by
5:20:05then, requiring only the smallest
5:20:08touches, catching Weaver's needle with
5:20:10his teeth. Sunny used all six of his
5:20:12hands to finish the pattern. And even
5:20:15though his very being was swaying and
5:20:17reeling from the pressure of having to
5:20:18battle a sacred being's will, he finally
5:20:21managed to complete the familiar
5:20:23spellweave. Sunny let out a tired sigh,
5:20:26holding the radiant soul shard in his
5:20:28fist. Then he turned to look at the
5:20:31towering figure of the archon. Great.
5:20:34Now the worst part. He had to embed the
5:20:36soul shard and the spellweave anchored
5:20:39to it into the deathless spirit. How was
5:20:42he supposed to do that? The wolf had
5:20:44barely managed to rise when another
5:20:47devastating blow threw it to the ground
5:20:48once more. Sunny felt his vision
5:20:51darkening and swayed, failing to
5:20:53suppress a tortured groan from escaping
5:20:56his lips. "Damn it! Crap! Curse it all!"
5:20:59he straightened with another groan and
5:21:01turned to look in the direction of the
5:21:02tomb of Ariel. The shadow legion had
5:21:05finally disappeared behind the horizon,
5:21:07and Nef's radiance was like a distant
5:21:09pale line above it. Sunny was surrounded
5:21:12by darkness. He inhaled deeply. Fine
5:21:15then, let's do it. No point in
5:21:17dillydallying with that. He looked at
5:21:20the archon once more and stepped into
5:21:22the shadows. When Sunny emerged from
5:21:24them, he was standing directly on the
5:21:26shoulder of the deathless spirit. He was
5:21:28quite high above the desert, and the
5:21:31howling winds immediately crashed into
5:21:33him, straining to throw him down. The
5:21:35ivory fabric of the archon's tattered
5:21:38robe was like a soft carpet beneath his
5:21:40feet. The ancient horror's skull was
5:21:42like a hill in front of him, and the
5:21:44golden crown set into the black bone was
5:21:46like a tall ridge. Naturally, only a
5:21:48complete fool would climb the body of a
5:21:50malevolent god. Standing on the shoulder
5:21:53of the archon, Sunny was more or less
5:21:55surrendering himself to death. He could
5:21:57be squashed into a bloody puddle in an
5:21:59instant, or killed in a million other
5:22:02ways. The black skull turned slowly, two
5:22:05huge discs of gold staring at him like
5:22:07eyes. From that distance, Sunny could
5:22:10vaguely see the images etched into them,
5:22:13but because of the eerie radiance
5:22:14spilling from within the archon's skull,
5:22:17he couldn't quite make out what those
5:22:18images showed. He wasn't sure that it
5:22:21would be wise to see them. The Archin's
5:22:23terrifying gaze descended upon him like
5:22:25an avalanche, making every wound on his
5:22:28body scream in pain, and every crack on
5:22:30his battered soul widened a little.
5:22:33Sunny forced out a smile. Hey, bastard.
5:22:36What gave you the courage to bully my
5:22:37wolf? The Archin stared at him silently,
5:22:40his dislocated jaw hanging in a twisted
5:22:43grin. Then he slowly raised a hand as if
5:22:46intending to squish Sunny like an
5:22:48annoying fly. Sunny lunged forward,
5:22:51rushing toward the base of the deathless
5:22:53spirit's spine. Far below, the wolf
5:22:56growled and leaped into the air,
5:22:58abandoning caution to weigh the fallen
5:23:01deity's arm down. It was sent crashing
5:23:03into the ground by an inexplicable blow
5:23:05that came before the archon moved his
5:23:07skeleton hand to deliver it, slowly
5:23:10crumbling into a torrent of shadows. But
5:23:12that bought Sunny time. As his six
5:23:15shadows appeared on the white sand,
5:23:17having been robbed of the shade they had
5:23:19been augmenting, he reached the spine of
5:23:21the deathless spirit and thrust the soul
5:23:23shard at it. Threw it. And then he did
5:23:27what he usually did when turning objects
5:23:29into memories using Weaver's Needle. He
5:23:31attached the pattern to the unseen layer
5:23:33of the archon's being, therefore
5:23:35connecting the two together, bonding
5:23:37them. Did Did it work? The skeletal hand
5:23:41was already barreling toward him,
5:23:43obscuring the sky. At that moment, Sunny
5:23:47heard a voice. His own voice. It was the
5:23:50handy bracelet speaking. You have
5:23:53received a memory. Sunny was at best a
5:23:56heartbeat away from being destroyed.
5:23:59Dismiss. He was so panicked that he
5:24:01shouted the mental command out loud in
5:24:03the next second. Sunny fell into a
5:24:05hurricane of white sparks plummeting
5:24:08toward the white dunes. The shoulder of
5:24:10the deathless spirit which had supported
5:24:12his weight was not there anymore.
5:24:15Instead, a vast storm of essence sparks
5:24:18was pouring into his mangled soul.
5:24:20Chapter 2897. Ad hoc memorization. Sunny
5:24:25fell through the hurricane of ethereal
5:24:26sparks and hit the sand with enough
5:24:28force to send a cloud of it into the
5:24:30air. The resounding thump of his landing
5:24:32was quite jarring, but he was not in the
5:24:35state to pay it any attention. Ouch! He
5:24:38rolled onto his back with a groan. Above
5:24:40him, the blinding storm of essence
5:24:43sparks was obscuring the world. The
5:24:45sparks flowed in powerful torrancets,
5:24:47twisting as they plummeted down toward
5:24:49him into him. The colossal whirlwind of
5:24:52essence was entering his soul and all he
5:24:55could do was stare at it in a daysaze.
5:24:57He had actually succeeded. I can't
5:24:59believe that it actually worked. Sunny
5:25:01drew a shaky horse breath. Then he
5:25:04exhaled slowly. But it did. It really
5:25:07had. Back there in the heat of the
5:25:09moment. Sunny had been desperate and
5:25:11daring enough to believe that it would.
5:25:13And because he needed it to, he
5:25:15unleashed his will to make sure that it
5:25:17did. It seemed that his insane idea had
5:25:20already been in accordance with the laws
5:25:22of existence, or at least close enough
5:25:24to how they were supposed to work for
5:25:25his supreme will to make up for the
5:25:27difference, and now he had a deathless
5:25:30spirit as a memory safely stored in his
5:25:33soul sea. Well, the safely part still
5:25:36remained to be seen. Sunny could not do
5:25:39anything with that memory, but the mere
5:25:42fact that the Arkin had been memorized
5:25:44meant that he wasn't here anymore, and
5:25:46that was already a life-saving boon. Not
5:25:48only did it mean that Sunny did not have
5:25:50to have his soul course shattered, but
5:25:53the will of the Deathless Spirit was not
5:25:54affecting this corner of the Hell of
5:25:56Ariel anymore, which meant that Napas
5:25:59and the Shadow Legion would have an
5:26:00easier time battling the Undead Horde.
5:26:03And speaking of the undead horde, the
5:26:05vast storm of essence sparks was finally
5:26:08beginning to thin out. Most of it having
5:26:11already rushed into Sunny's chest. He
5:26:13could finally see what was happening
5:26:15around him. And what he saw made him let
5:26:18out a stifled curse. The battle was not
5:26:20over with the disappearance of the
5:26:22archon. It was merely returning to being
5:26:25simply terrifying again as opposed to
5:26:28completely unreasonable. The wolf had
5:26:30been vanquished back to his soul. So
5:26:33Sunny was alone, surrounded by countless
5:26:35deathless. They had stayed away during
5:26:38his battle against the Archon. But now
5:26:41the undead warriors of Ariel's hell were
5:26:43starting to pay him attention again. His
5:26:45other six incarnations had crumbled.
5:26:48Sunny had been so out of his mind due to
5:26:50the pain and the sheer lunacy of what he
5:26:52was attempting to do that he failed to
5:26:54maintain his avatars. So they reverted
5:26:57to being simple shadows once more. Now
5:27:00these shadows gathered around him,
5:27:01looking at his battered figure with
5:27:03concern. They did not look that well
5:27:05either. Each had been born from and
5:27:08innately connected to one of his cores
5:27:10after all, so they had come very close
5:27:12to becoming homeless and most likely to
5:27:15being destroyed. Sunny forced out a weak
5:27:18smile. What are you looking at, fools?
5:27:21The shadows glanced at each other. The
5:27:23happy shadow was just happy to be alive.
5:27:26The creepy shadow seemed fascinated by
5:27:28the idea of collecting malevolent undead
5:27:30as trophies. The hotty shadow could not
5:27:33believe that Sunny was so pathetic as to
5:27:35get them in that state, while the
5:27:37naughty shadow did not even care,
5:27:39staring in the direction where Nephus
5:27:41and the shadow legion had gone instead.
5:27:43The crazy shadow was mad. The lazy
5:27:46shadow could not be bothered to show a
5:27:48reaction, seemingly bored. As for the
5:27:51original invaluable helper, the gloomy
5:27:54shadow, it did not get a say because
5:27:56Sunny was currently using it to manifest
5:27:58himself. He could just imagine the
5:28:00exasperated eye, though. Maybe a slow
5:28:03mocking round of applause. He sighed and
5:28:06slowly got to his feet. Come, help me
5:28:08up. The shadows wrapped themselves
5:28:11around him, and he instantly felt
5:28:13better, stronger. Sunny had little time
5:28:16before the deathless descended upon him
5:28:17like an avalanche, so he briefly
5:28:19assessed his state. It was, in one word,
5:28:23terrible. His soul sustained so much
5:28:26damage that it would have long collapsed
5:28:28if not for soul weave. His cores were
5:28:30covered in cracks. His soul sea was
5:28:33turbulent and restless, and there, high
5:28:36above, an enormous sphere of light was
5:28:38orbiting the seven battered black suns.
5:28:41That was the archon, or at least a
5:28:43disassembled version of him. When Sunny
5:28:46stared at the radiant sphere, he felt a
5:28:49chill run down his spine. He did not
5:28:51sense any kind of consciousness or will
5:28:53in the memory, but it did have a
5:28:56presence. And that presence was full of
5:28:58malice. As he watched, a small spark of
5:29:01light separated itself from the sphere
5:29:03and drifted upward, dissipating after a
5:29:05few moments. Sunny shuddered. The memory
5:29:08of Archin wanted to be summoned, it
5:29:10seemed. Of course, Sunny had no
5:29:13intention of doing that. If he had a
5:29:15choice in the matter, the damn thing
5:29:17would never see the light of day again.
5:29:19But at the same time, it felt like there
5:29:22was now a ticking time bomb in his soul.
5:29:24Who knew when that bomb was going to go
5:29:26off? I'll probably have to travel to
5:29:28Shadow Realm, summon the bastard there,
5:29:31and run away as fast as I can. But for
5:29:34now, he needed to run away as fast as he
5:29:36could from other deathless, not the
5:29:38sacred horror he had imprisoned in his
5:29:40soul. Sunny grimaced from the appalling
5:29:43pain that permeated his entire being,
5:29:45and glanced at the undead warriors, who
5:29:47were already rushing at him like a tide.
5:29:50Then he took a step back and turned into
5:29:52a shadow, fleeing across the dunes from
5:29:54the deathless horde. He was a decent
5:29:57enough fighter and a proficient
5:29:59sorcerer. But if there was one thing
5:30:01Sunny was really good at, it was running
5:30:03away. He caught up with Napas and Azerax
5:30:06just before dawn. As the sun rose above
5:30:09Ariel's hell, the deathless stopped
5:30:11their relentless onslaught and
5:30:13retreated, burrowing into sand. The
5:30:16undead following Azerax did as well. The
5:30:19battered soldiers of the Shadow Legion
5:30:20were motionless, standing among the
5:30:23dunes in eerie silence. Sunny rose from
5:30:26the shadows and walked the rest of the
5:30:28distance in the pale radiance of early
5:30:30dawn. He looked around, searching for
5:30:32his shadows. Saints armor was dented and
5:30:35broken, her jade skin visible through
5:30:38the breaches. Slayer was nursing a few
5:30:41wounds of her own, even if her
5:30:42countenance was as cold and menacing as
5:30:45ever. Serpent had coiled itself and hid
5:30:47its head, towering above the desert like
5:30:49a mountain of onyx scales. Sunny saw
5:30:52Azerax as well. The ancient tyrant was
5:30:55sitting on the ground with his head
5:30:57lowered. As rays of sunlight fell on his
5:30:59mighty form, he moved slightly and
5:31:02burrowed his hand into the sand, staring
5:31:04at it, absent-mindedly in subdued
5:31:07silence. Finally, Sunny's gaze fell on
5:31:11Nefus. She had regained her human form
5:31:13and was now sitting on the sand,
5:31:15watching the sun rise. Her face was calm
5:31:18and devoid of all emotions, her humanity
5:31:21having been burned away by the ferocious
5:31:23white flames. This was the first time
5:31:26Nephus had fully unleashed her aspect
5:31:29after losing the connection to most of
5:31:30the longing domain. So Sunny was a
5:31:33little concerned about her. Groaning and
5:31:36grimacing, he limped toward Nephus and
5:31:38sat down nearby. Are you all right? She
5:31:41turned her head and studied him
5:31:42silently, then gave him an indifferent
5:31:45nod. Raising her hands, Nephus pulled
5:31:48Sunny to lie on her lap and placed them
5:31:50on his chest. Her skin ignited with a
5:31:53soft radiance, and he felt her flames
5:31:56seep into his soul, mending it and
5:31:59washing away the pain. Sunny let out a
5:32:01relieved sigh. Ah! [sighs] He was dead,
5:32:05tired, and the soothing warmth made him
5:32:07feel sleepy. As he lay there, his head
5:32:10resting comfortably on Nef's lap, an
5:32:12annoying shadow fell on him. Opening his
5:32:15eyes, Sunny saw Azerak staring down at
5:32:18him with a grin. Well, that grin of his
5:32:21was eternal, and he could not get rid of
5:32:23it, even if he wanted to. So, Sunny
5:32:26could not blame him for it. The ancient
5:32:28tyrant scoffed, "Well, well, you really
5:32:31did survive a battle with the Archon
5:32:33shadow. Good job distracting him and
5:32:35managing to escape him as well." Sunny
5:32:38blinked slowly. Huh? Who said that I
5:32:41escaped from the archon? Azerax tilted
5:32:44his skull. Would you be alive now
5:32:46otherwise? Tired and embraced by a
5:32:48blissful warmth, Sunny smiled lazily.
5:32:51No, I mean, I did not have to escape
5:32:54because I wiped that thing out. There's
5:32:56no trace of it left in this desert
5:32:58anymore. Not even a single bone. The
5:33:01archon only exists as a memory now. So,
5:33:04I suggest you forget about him. Azerax
5:33:07stared at him darkly. That can't be
5:33:09true. Sunny chuckled. Why, I didn't even
5:33:12need a weapon to deal with that guy. I
5:33:14did him in with a needle. In fact, I
5:33:16just told him something like, "You're
5:33:18dismissed." And poof, he exploded.
5:33:21Azerak scoffed. "You're lying." Sunny
5:33:24simply shrugged. "Neis," meanwhile
5:33:27brushed the hair away from his face and
5:33:29smiled faintly. "He never lies." Her
5:33:33voice was calm, and even Azerax stared
5:33:35at them for a while, then shook his
5:33:38skull and walked away with angry steps.
5:33:40The sun was rising above Ariel's hell. A
5:33:44new day was beginning. The tomb of Ariel
5:33:47looked closer than it had ever before,
5:33:49but also insurmountably distant. Chapter
5:33:522898 malign and destructive. Rain walked
5:33:57across the ashen soil of the Ebony
5:33:59Island. It was strange. The island
5:34:01looked very much like the ivory island,
5:34:04but was also completely different. There
5:34:06was no emerald grass, no clear lake, no
5:34:10grove of ancient trees, and no bones of
5:34:12a dead dragon either. Instead, there
5:34:15were ruins of mysterious structures
5:34:17buried in the ash, dark stone and
5:34:19obsidian births protruding into the
5:34:21chasm that separated the island from the
5:34:23rest of the chained Isles. The pigota
5:34:25itself was entirely black as opposed to
5:34:28the pristine white of the ivory tower.
5:34:31In fact, it was so lusterless and black
5:34:34that its walls seemed to devour light
5:34:37like a vertical rift in the fabric of
5:34:39the world. The seven broken heavenly
5:34:41chains hanging from the stone slopes of
5:34:43the ivory island were nowhere to be seen
5:34:45either. Instead, there were other chains
5:34:49just as enormous and mighty, but new and
5:34:51shiny as opposed to ancient and
5:34:53weathered. These chains were quite
5:34:55mundane and had been forged in the
5:34:57subterranean smelting plants of NQSC.
5:35:00Then they were delivered to the chained
5:35:03isles through a dreamgate and used to
5:35:05connect the ebony tower to the rest of
5:35:07the flying islands in order to prevent
5:35:09them from gradually collapsing into the
5:35:11sky below. Now the enormous alloy chains
5:35:14stretched over the vast chasm at the
5:35:16heart of the chained Isles. drawn taut,
5:35:19the Ebony Island served as the nexus of
5:35:21the entire region, holding it up in the
5:35:23sky. Quite impressive. Rain could only
5:35:27vaguely imagine the amount of ingenuity,
5:35:30industrial might, and complex
5:35:32calculations that had gone into pulling
5:35:34the Ebony Island from beneath the sea of
5:35:36divine flames in the depths of the sky
5:35:38below, then turning it into the anchor
5:35:41of this fractured continent. It
5:35:43definitely took the efforts of numerous
5:35:45people including a few saints and a
5:35:47supreme to accomplish and a bit of
5:35:49divine sorcery of the demon of destiny
5:35:52as well. Humans might not have
5:35:54understood how it worked, but they
5:35:56seamlessly integrated it into their
5:35:58design. Nevertheless, the result looked
5:36:00no less magnificent and humbling than
5:36:02all the other impossible sites one could
5:36:04find in the dream realm. more so even
5:36:07considering what it represented.
5:36:09Flawless synthesis of ancient sorcery
5:36:12and modern engineering, as well as a
5:36:14brilliant example of what was possible
5:36:16when all kinds of different people,
5:36:18mundane and awakened, worked together to
5:36:20achieve a benign and constructive goal.
5:36:23It was an example of how the world was
5:36:25meant to be, but very rarely was rain
5:36:28focus. Rain flinched and turned her gaze
5:36:31back to where Cassie was kneeling on the
5:36:33ground, painting runes on the stone
5:36:35surface of the ebony island with a
5:36:37brush. Sorry. She was here to serve as
5:36:40Cassie's eyes, so there was no time to
5:36:42gawk at the sights. With rain focused on
5:36:45the runes, Cassie was able to continue.
5:36:48As her brush glided gracefully across
5:36:50the black stone, she spoke in a measured
5:36:53tone. This rune doesn't have a meaning,
5:36:55but it expresses denial or prohibition.
5:36:58Adding it to a phrase changes the
5:37:00meaning, while adding it to a word often
5:37:03creates an antonyym, but not always.
5:37:06Synonyms and antonyms are a separate
5:37:08topic. So, we will not get into them
5:37:10right now, which was probably wise
5:37:13because it was a topic completely alien
5:37:15to Rain. At the moment, Cassie was
5:37:17creating a defensive array to protect
5:37:19the Ebony Island from the siege she
5:37:21believed was inevitable. similar to
5:37:24those she and Sunny had created before
5:37:26to reinforce a few other citadels, but
5:37:28also different since she could not rely
5:37:30on his expertise anymore. Rain and
5:37:33Cassie had been at it for several days
5:37:35already, and since Rain had nothing to
5:37:37do but stare in the right direction,
5:37:40Cassie decided to give her lessons on
5:37:41runic sorcery as she worked. Rain was
5:37:44soaking the knowledge like a sponge.
5:37:47There was a lot of overlap between
5:37:48shaping and runic sorcery. After all,
5:37:50the latter was based on the former.
5:37:53However, there were also enough
5:37:54differences to make the two completely
5:37:56different from each other. There were no
5:37:58synonyms in shaping, for example.
5:38:00Everything only had one name, and every
5:38:03name was absolute. So, there could be no
5:38:06names that had the same meaning. There
5:38:08were more differences than that, of
5:38:10course. In shaping, there were only the
5:38:12names and their medium. The shaper,
5:38:14runic sorcery, on the other hand,
5:38:16involved much more. There were the runes
5:38:19themselves which transcribed the names
5:38:21and the sorcerer who drew them. There
5:38:23was the canvas on which the runes were
5:38:25drawn, the tool used to draw them, and
5:38:28even the medium that transferred the
5:38:30runes from the brush to the canvas,
5:38:32unless they were carved, in which case
5:38:34there wasn't. The runes themselves were
5:38:37far more complex than the names, too,
5:38:39and there was an art to expressing the
5:38:41names through either solitary runes or
5:38:44combinations of them. Not everyone could
5:38:46fathom the names, but everyone could
5:38:48learn the runes and transcribe an
5:38:50approximation of a name they were not
5:38:52equipped to know. It was like an
5:38:54entirely new universe. But since Rain
5:38:56was a gifted shaper, she took to the
5:38:58runic sorcery easily as well. It was
5:39:01actually far more fun than learning the
5:39:03names. Cassie was still talking. This
5:39:05rune describes space. However, there are
5:39:08countless runes that describe space in
5:39:10the runic language, all bearing a
5:39:12slightly different meaning. So if you
5:39:14want to transcribe the true name of
5:39:16space, you need to list them all in
5:39:18order. If you aspire to achieve a good
5:39:20result, that is. Rain studied the
5:39:23stunning weave of runes for a few
5:39:25moments, then tilted her head. But what
5:39:28does that element of the array do?
5:39:30Cassie smiled faintly. Do you still have
5:39:33that scarf of yours in case of
5:39:35emergency? She could see Rain's own
5:39:38runes, so she probably knew. So she was
5:39:41only asking for the sake of being
5:39:42polite. After spending time with Cassie,
5:39:45Rain realized that the blind sear did a
5:39:48lot of things simply to make people feel
5:39:50comfortable in her presence. It was a
5:39:52habit born of necessity, both because of
5:39:54her disability and because people would
5:39:56have found it odd and disturbing to be
5:39:58around an oracle as powerful as she was
5:40:01otherwise. Rain raised a hand and
5:40:03touched the silk scarf wrapped around
5:40:05her neck and shoulders. "Sure, I do."
5:40:08Cassie nodded. "This is what I'm trying
5:40:10to do. Sunny designed it to lock you in
5:40:13space in case the cloud veil above God
5:40:16grave broke unexpectedly.
5:40:18Actually, he used the same kind of
5:40:20enchantment later to defeat a cursed
5:40:22beast. Abundance, and now I'm trying to
5:40:24create a derivative runic enchantment
5:40:26that accomplishes the same thing. Rain
5:40:28frowned. You are trying to lock the
5:40:30Ebony Tower in space. Continuing to draw
5:40:33runes while pouring essence into the
5:40:35brush, Cassie shook her head. No, I'm
5:40:37trying to lock space around the Ebony
5:40:39Tower. She sighed and turned slightly,
5:40:41facing the vast chasm. More dread is
5:40:44putting on a brave face, but the dream
5:40:46spawn will push him back against the
5:40:48hollow mountains eventually. The mirror
5:40:50domain is simply not powerful enough to
5:40:52contend against the entirety of the
5:40:54human domain. Perhaps it would have been
5:40:56if given more time, but Morrett had
5:40:59attained supremacy less than a year ago.
5:41:01His domain is too young. Cassie shook
5:41:04her head. The war will arrive here
5:41:07eventually. This is where Morrid will
5:41:09make his last stand. And you remember
5:41:12why we had to run away from the ivory
5:41:14island, don't you? Rain nodded. Because
5:41:17of the night garden. Cassie smiled. No,
5:41:21not because of the night garden. It is
5:41:23because of the man commanding the night
5:41:25garden. His aspect allows him to
5:41:27manipulate space. So he is a walking
5:41:29nightmare for anyone planning to fight a
5:41:31defensive battle. She returned to
5:41:33drawing runes. The Ebony Island is a
5:41:36natural fortress because it is
5:41:38surrounded by a vast abyss. If
5:41:41Nightwalker is allowed to twist the
5:41:43space around it however he wishes, that
5:41:45advantage will be gone. So naturally,
5:41:49one of the functions of the defensive
5:41:50array I'm creating is to reinforce space
5:41:53here and make it less malleable. Now
5:41:56focus this rune. Rain looked at the
5:41:59expanse of black stone where Cassie was
5:42:02drawing the runes and concentrated on
5:42:04listening. In the process, however, she
5:42:07couldn't help but look at Cassie
5:42:08herself. Her chest tightened. Cassie did
5:42:12not look that well. She seemed to have
5:42:15lost weight and her skin was unhealthily
5:42:17pale. Worst of all, the left side of her
5:42:20blindfold was soaked in blood once
5:42:22again, reds rolling down her cheek from
5:42:25time to time. She looked fragile. Rain
5:42:28gritted her teeth. It was all because of
5:42:31that man, Morrett. Every morning, Cassie
5:42:35entered his quarters where she cleansed
5:42:37his memories of the plague. And every
5:42:39morning, she left with blood on her
5:42:41face, weaker than she had been the day
5:42:43before. It was because of the strain of
5:42:46using her transcendent ability despite
5:42:48missing an eye. But more than that, it
5:42:51was because of the strain of
5:42:52experiencing the memories of a
5:42:54sovereign. The Supremes were more than
5:42:56just humans after all, and their minds
5:42:58were too vast for mortal people to
5:43:00fathom. And from what Rain was able to
5:43:03find out, Morrid of nowhere was the most
5:43:06inhuman of the Supremes. Naf felt the
5:43:09desire of countless people. Sunny shared
5:43:12his senses with his shades. The dream
5:43:14spawn was connected to his thrs somehow,
5:43:16as well, sharing in their thoughts and
5:43:19emotions. But the king of nothing was
5:43:21different. He simply existed shattered
5:43:24across millions of vessels. Each vessel
5:43:26representing an instance of his inhuman
5:43:28mind. So that was what Cassie
5:43:31experienced every time she delved into
5:43:33his memories. She experienced being
5:43:36millions of beings at the same time.
5:43:38Needless to say, that demented
5:43:40kaleidoscope of perspectives put a
5:43:42tremendous burden on her own mind which
5:43:44albeit transcendent was still human. And
5:43:48speaking of inhuman, rain fertively
5:43:50looked up. Cassie was not the only one
5:43:53preparing the Ebony Island for a siege.
5:43:55Chapter 28.99, last battlefield. The
5:43:57king of nothing was preparing, too.
5:44:00Only, unlike Cassie, he wasn't drawing
5:44:02runes on the black stone. Instead, he
5:44:06was simply bringing some of his vessels
5:44:08to the Ebony Island. Looking at them,
5:44:11Rain could not help but feel her stomach
5:44:13churn. Creepy, creepy, creepy. Mr. of
5:44:18Nowhere seemed like the most inhuman of
5:44:20the sovereigns for more than one reason.
5:44:22It was not just that his soul was split
5:44:24among millions of vessels. It was also
5:44:27that most of those vessels were not
5:44:28human. Instead, they were nightmare
5:44:31creatures. The chained island bordered
5:44:33the hollow mountains in the north and
5:44:35the glass hell in the west. So, it was
5:44:38an important confluence point for the
5:44:40king of nothing. It was also a gate
5:44:42leading south across the regions of the
5:44:45dream realm conquered by the king of
5:44:46swords decades ago and over the black
5:44:49mountains where the heartland of the
5:44:51dream realm lay. So there was always a
5:44:53constant procession of ghastly
5:44:55abominations passing through the ebony
5:44:57island. Some came from the hollow
5:45:00mountains while some came from God. The
5:45:03latter especially gave rain chills
5:45:05because she still vividly remembered
5:45:07watching too many of her comrades being
5:45:09torn apart and devoured by the hideous
5:45:12creatures of the scarlet jungle. The
5:45:14nightmarish vessels of the king of
5:45:16nothing came to Chained Island through
5:45:18one of the mirror gates and left through
5:45:20another. Traveling toward the black
5:45:22mountains where a fierce battle was
5:45:24raging across countless peaks. They had
5:45:26rarely lingered before. But now things
5:45:29were different. As Rain watched, a
5:45:31colossal abomination that resembled a
5:45:33hideous tick dragged its swollen belly
5:45:35across the ash. Numerous revolting
5:45:38shapes moving beneath its gray skin in a
5:45:40nauseating pattern, reaching the edge of
5:45:42the island, it turned to face the ebony
5:45:44tower and fell to the ground heavily,
5:45:47burrowing all eight of its segmented
5:45:48legs deep into the obsidian bedrock. A
5:45:51swarm of eerie transparent abominations.
5:45:55Rain recognized them as the crystallin
5:45:57insects from the glass hell. Followed
5:46:00carrying heavy plates of forged metal.
5:46:02Moving with flawless precision, they
5:46:05began constructing an iron cradle around
5:46:07the gargantuan tick, as if wanting to
5:46:10protect it from threats coming from
5:46:11neighboring islands. Looking at it, Rain
5:46:14couldn't help but feel like she was
5:46:16watching a squad of army engineers build
5:46:18fortifications around a fixed artillery
5:46:20position. On the other side of the
5:46:22island, something that looked like a
5:46:24hill of long black hair was laying on
5:46:26the ground. There was a ghastly
5:46:28abomination hidden under the mountains
5:46:30of black hair, though a thing that
5:46:32looked like a hybrid between a spider
5:46:34and an ape, its long limbs ending with
5:46:37enormous hands, a crowd of mundane
5:46:40humans was dismantling an ancient ruin
5:46:42near the monstrosity, all wearing the
5:46:44same absent expression. Dozens of them
5:46:47strained to move each enormous block of
5:46:49obsidian, piling them near the
5:46:51abomination
5:46:53terrain. It looked like soldiers
5:46:55preparing projectile ammunition for an
5:46:57enormous trebuche. Some distance away, a
5:47:00swarm of nightmare creatures that
5:47:01resembled crystal wasps was spilling
5:47:04over the edge of the island like a glass
5:47:06river. They crawled down its inverted
5:47:08slopes and hid on its dark side, far
5:47:11away from where anyone could see them.
5:47:13They were stealth aircraft deploying to
5:47:15protect the island from aerial attacks
5:47:17from the sky below. Somewhere else, a
5:47:20dozen horned beasts were pulling a
5:47:22massive shape covered in black fabric
5:47:25across the obsidian. Rain was almost
5:47:27sure that it was meant to serve as an
5:47:29air defense battery. Things like that
5:47:32were happening all across the Ebony
5:47:33Island. In a few areas, groups of small
5:47:36abominations were planting scarlet seeds
5:47:38into the ash. The same was happening on
5:47:41all islands surrounding the Ebony Tower.
5:47:43Crazy bastard. Is he creating minefields
5:47:46out of the scarlet jungle? Rain was
5:47:48suddenly covered in cold sweat. That
5:47:51loathsome jungle was only contained by
5:47:53the incinerating skies above Godgrave.
5:47:56What was going to happen if someone
5:47:57brought it away from that white abyss?
5:48:00Would it consume all of the dream realm
5:48:01like an unstoppable tide? She shivered.
5:48:04Well, probably not. After all, the
5:48:07Scarlet Jungle had existed for thousands
5:48:09of years, but never moved past the
5:48:12armbbones of the dead god. So perhaps
5:48:15the king of nothing knew what he was
5:48:17doing after all. Rain, stop staring at
5:48:20those things. Rain flinched again and
5:48:23hurriedly looked back at the runes. She
5:48:25hesitated for a few moments and then
5:48:27sighed. The one in the basement is nice.
5:48:30The other one though is a bit of a
5:48:32horror show. Cassie smiled. He can hear
5:48:35you, you know. Rain coughed, then
5:48:38shrugged nonchalantly.
5:48:40Well, if he has manners, he'll pretend
5:48:42that he didn't. Cassie shook her head
5:48:44slightly and focused on drawing the
5:48:46runes. After a while, though, she said
5:48:48quietly. It was north of here many years
5:48:51ago. When I first met Morred, her hand
5:48:53grew still, and she turned her head to
5:48:55face north, as if trying to see
5:48:57something in the distance. Now, that
5:48:59that was a horror show. It all ended
5:49:01with a battle between two saints. One of
5:49:04them died and as a result of their clash
5:49:07an entire island was destroyed. That is
5:49:10why there is only one citadel on the
5:49:12chained aisles now, not two. With that,
5:49:16Cassie continued working on the
5:49:18defensive array and said somberly.
5:49:21I wonder what will happen when two
5:49:22supremes clash here instead. Rain did
5:49:25not know how to answer. At the same
5:49:28time, inside the ebony tower, Morrett
5:49:31was leaning on a wall with his eyes
5:49:32closed.
5:49:33He was breaking the blockade on the
5:49:35River of Tears. At the same time, he was
5:49:38encircling Ravenheart. At the same time,
5:49:41he was battling vicious predators in
5:49:43Godgrave. At the same time, he was
5:49:46invading the Great Hive under the glass
5:49:48hell. At the same time, he was waging
5:49:52war on humanity and the Black Mountains
5:49:54and much more. He was watching Song of
5:49:57the Fallen and the Princess of Shadows,
5:49:59too. Well, if he has manners, he'll
5:50:02pretend that he didn't. Still keeping
5:50:04his eyes closed, Morrett smiled. Cheeky
5:50:08girl, finally opening them. He looked at
5:50:11the divine flames burning in the great
5:50:13braier at the center of the dark hall.
5:50:15The white flames reflected in his
5:50:17mirror-like eyes, and for a few moments,
5:50:20it was as if white sparks were dancing
5:50:22in them. With a sigh, Morrett looked
5:50:24away from the flame and descended the
5:50:26stairs to the ground floor of the Ebony
5:50:28Tower. Then he descended deeper
5:50:31underground, walking to the large mirror
5:50:34standing in the circular chamber. He
5:50:36looked at the reflection of himself
5:50:38sitting there on the floor. Morrid
5:50:40studied his other self for a while and
5:50:42then smiled. Made a little friend. Did
5:50:45you? After a short pause, the part of
5:50:48him that was imprisoned in the mirror
5:50:50smiled. I did. Then again, I doubt I
5:50:52would have been able to befriend anyone
5:50:54unless you allowed it. So, thank you,
5:50:56brother. Morrid scoffed. It's just that
5:50:59I know how boring it is being trapped in
5:51:01a mirror. You at least got a whole
5:51:03miniature realm to enjoy and explore,
5:51:06complete with windows to the outside
5:51:08world. All I had gotten was a stone
5:51:10cell. Look, compared to our father, am I
5:51:13not generous? Am I not merciful? The
5:51:15other part of him remained silent, then
5:51:17shrugged slightly. I couldn't say. I
5:51:20never really had the opportunity to get
5:51:22to know him after all. From what I hear
5:51:24though, anyone would seem generous and
5:51:26merciful compared to our father. Morrit
5:51:29laughed.

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