Shadow Slave

On a hazy summer day, the air in NQSC seemed to tremble with a strange kind of tension. Somewhere in the city, the passerby stopped to look at a motorcade of heavily armored PTVs that rushed past them in a neat formation. Somewhere else, a row of luxurious vehicles emerged from the compound of a renowned Legacy clan and rolled onto the streets.

Far away, the engines roared as a group of government APCs surrounded a single passenger sedan, seasoned soldiers manning the turrets. In a different place, an opulent carriage pulled by a grotesque Echo rolled past the stunned citizens, its interior hidden behind plush velvet curtains.

Scenes like these were happening all around the city.

That was because today, all the champions of the Human Domain were invited to attend a council by Changing Star, Nephis of Immortal Flame — the shining goddess of humanity. The city was overflowing with power. In fact, most of the power humanity possessed was concentrated in NQSC today, all that might slowly converging on a single point.

The secluded estate of the Immortal Flame clan, where the historic council was set to take place.

That manor had a history of its own, too. Once, a long time ago, it was merely one of the minor properties owned by the Immortal Flame clan. When the storied clan fell into decline, though, most of its lands and possessions were slowly sold off — until only this remote, modest manor remained. The future ruler of mankind had grown up behind its tall walls. Now, decades later, the Immortal Flame clan had regained its former glory and even soared to far greater heights than ever before, standing alone on the radiant, insurmountable peak of power.

The modest manor, meanwhile, had become the seat of that sublime power in the waking world, as well as the headquarters of the Fire Keepers in NQSC.

Today, the gates of the estate opened, welcoming an endless torrent of vehicles. A startling procession of the most renowned people in existence stepped out of them, looking at the elegant manor with complicated gazes.

Among them were Nightingale, the Steward of the West, and Raised by Wolves — Saint Athena, also known as the War Beast, Steward of the East. Soul Reaper Jet attended as well, acting in her role as the Steward of the North.

Morgan of Valor was here, too. So was Song Seishan and her six Transcendent sisters — and the legendary wanderer, Nightwalker, as well. He was accompanied by the three Saints of Night.

Wake of Ruin and Saint Thane, the Dream Merchant, arrived in the company of the highest mundane hierarchs of the government.

Besides them, most of the Saints of humanity had also gathered in NQSC today — except for those who had been exiled to Godgrave, as well as a few who had to stay behind in the Dream Realm so that it would not be left entirely defenseless on this extraordinary day.

Tyris of White Feather, Rivalen of Aegis Rose, Dar of Clan Maharana... Saint Bliss, Saint Hellie, Saint Ceres, Saint Siord... and numerous more.

The representatives of influential Legacy Clans who were not ruled by Transcendent champions were here, as well. So were distinguished Ascended that represented various forces of the Human Domain, from frontier legions to city administrations and agricultural committees. There were plenty of mundane people, too, since they were the backbone of the last human civilization.

All the people who made the world turn had gathered together in the manor of the Immortal Flame clan. The same had not happened when the King of Nothing rose to the throne of Supremacy, so numerous of them were troubled. The rest were simply waiting to be informed of what was going on, full of confidence in the Human Domain despite the worrisome rumors.

Even they become faintly uneasy when the Fire Keepers guarding the doors subjected them to a peculiar ritual, though. All of them still remembered the threat posed by the Skinwalker and the various measures that had been put in place in order to prevent his vessels from getting into human cities... this ritual was different, but also too similar to those measures not to recognize its purpose.

The expressions of numerous invited powerhouses darkened.

Everyone only had one thought on their minds, considering that a new Supreme had emerged.

’Is there going to be a new Domain war?’

Sunny did not need the ability to read their minds to know what they were thinking about.

He was hidden in the shadows, observing the arriving guests somberly. He paid special attention to Wake of Ruin, as well — even if the investigation proved that it was one of the old Saint’s staff members who had lured Cassie into a trap, Sunny could not rid himself of suspicion. Saint Cor was still a part of the Longing Domain, but he could have been influenced or outright enthralled by Asterion.

After all, nothing forced Asterion to brainwash his thralls into worshipping him. He could just as well brainwash them into worshipping Nephis, thus placing perfect spies inside her Domain — they had not developed means of ruling out such manipulation yet, so there was simply no way to tell.

No one could be trusted.

’This is not going to end well.’

The purpose of today’s council was to dispel the rumors and inform the champions of humanity about the return of Asterion... as well as subtly prepare them for the inevitable clash between the Longing Domain and the Hunger Domain.

Nephis was in a difficult situation. She had to inform her vassals about the danger Asterion posed, but at the same time, she could not tell them that he was perilous — because simply knowing that the Human Domain could be threatened by the Dreamspawn would shake people’s confidence in its ability to protect itself, thus making them more susceptible to Asterion’s influence.

In the end, all she could do was carefully tread the edge between the truth and a meticulously crafted lie.

Nephis, naturally, had wanted to simply tell her people the entire truth and let them deal with that knowledge themselves. Those who could endure it would become her allies in the struggle against Asterion, while those who could not — even if it was most of them — would become his pawns instead. She wanted to reject compromises and go for the enemy’s throat without caring about her own.

However, Sunny and Cassie had dissuaded her.

Because that would only play into Asterion’s hand.

Attempting to maintain an illusion of civility helped him as well, naturally, but to a far lesser degree. So, they had no better choice than to concoct a web of deception to trap humanity in... for now.

But Sunny still felt that, from the very beginning, it was their enemy who always held the initiative. All they could do was react to his actions, and if ideological wars were anything like true combat, failing to grasp initiative was one of the surest ways to end up dead.

Still, if there was someone who was better at deception than Sunny... it was Cassie. And with the two of them working together, humanity would probably have no choice but to be deceived.

’Nephis has to convince them.’

If she succeeded, Asterion and his eerie Domain would be dealt a significant blow. Inside the manor, the guests had poured into a spacious hall.