Shadow Slave

Hidden in the darkness, Sunny was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. There was a grimace on his face, as if he was suffering from a toothache.

Which, of course, was impossible — his teeth were notoriously indestructible, not to mention deadlier than most enchanted weapons.

He barely ever met abominations whose hide he couldn’t bite through. However, sinking his teeth into an idea would be difficult even for Sunny.

“Ah, that man... is impossibly frustrating.”

A bitter sigh escaped from his lips.

Asterion had come to the Immortal Flame manor uninvited — an unfortunate event, but not an entirely unexpected one. Then, he questioned the authority of the manor’s owner, suggesting that he’d do a far better job of ruling over humanity.

It would have been great if convincing everyone that he was a superior ruler was what he had truly been after. However, Asterion had never really intended to present himself as a better choice for the throne than Changing Star — not during this council, at least.

All he had wanted to do was to tear her down.

He wanted to hurt the idea of Nephis, the last daughter of the Immortal Flame clan. It did not even matter how severe the damage was — in fact, all he needed was to put a single blemish on an otherwise pristine surface of her esteem.

That blemish, even if it was a small scratch, could become a festering wound from which seeds of doubt would sprout. He did not need the champions of the Human Domain to lose faith in Nephis... he just needed them to leave the manor with a vague hint of uncertainty in their hearts. His insidious Aspect would do the rest.

After all, Asterion did not aim to convince anyone — he only aimed to subjugate them. However, their conviction had to be compromised first to achieve that.

‘It is a bit funny, really.’

Once, a very long time ago, Nephis had told Sunny that she had no reason to settle for submission when she could have loyalty. Asterion was the exact opposite of her, only seeking submission with no regard to loyalty.

That was why he had attacked her past and her actions. Mocking her achievements, mentioning the death toll among the Sleepers of the Dark City, comparing her to the original Sovereigns, revealing the truth of why she had joined Valor — none of these attacks were arguments seriously meant to discredit Nephis.

They were just provocations... they were feints meant to mask the real blow.

That blow was the fact that Nephis and Sunny had contemplated slaying the Sovereigns before attaining Supremacy themselves. They had indeed gambled with countless lives, almost sending hundreds of millions of people into the First Nightmare. Sure, there had been extenuating circumstances. They had good reasons to have made that decision... and they succeeded, in the end. Their chances of defeating the Sovereigns without becoming Supreme had been exceedingly slim, to begin with.

But that did not matter. Because people were not rational creatures.

People were, first and foremost, creatures of emotion. And emotionally, the fact that Changing Star — an icon of benevolence and righteousness, at least in the minds of countless people — had actually made a callous decision to potentially sacrifice countless lives... felt like a betrayal.

It certainly showed her in a different light. Sunny was not concerned about the people gathered in the Immortal Flame manor, though.

The Saints, the distinguished Masters, the seasoned government officers — they were the consummate professionals who kept the world spinning. Most of them had faced the Nightmare of the Spell and accumulated extensive battle experience. They had cool heads and knew how to keep their reason. They were also those who knew Nephis personally and understood the boon of having her watch over them on the battlefield better than anyone else.

So, even if they allowed themselves to be rattled by what Asterion said for a short while, they swiftly regained their composure when Nephis began to speak. Their faith and allegiance to Changing Star were not going to be ruined so easily.

...But they weren’t Asterion’s true target, either.

Sunny sighed, feeling truly restrained by the need to hide his existence from the world for the first time. If only he could involve himself in this battle of public opinion personally... if only he could face Asterion in the open and tear his arguments down.

But he couldn’t.

‘I wonder which of Neph’s guests are already under Asterion’s control.’

There had to be some, no doubt.

Hoping to keep anything a secret when so many people were involved was a fool’s errand. And with the enemy actively wanting to spread the information as far and wide as possible, there was no doubt that what had been discussed in the Immortal Flame manor today would fly around the world soon.

It was when the words Asterion had spoken reached the masses that the true problems would start.

The general population, after all, did not know Nephis personally. They weren’t hardened by countless battles and did not possess the same cold-blooded rationale as the best and the brightest of the Human Domain. They had not been in the council chamber to hear the verbal exchange between Asterion and Nephis, and therefore would not be able to comprehend all its nuances.

They would only hear two things.

First, that Changing Star had concealed a great number of gravely important things from them — like the fact that the first Supreme humans had emerged decades ago, as opposed to years, and that the Great Clans murdered Broken Sword. It wasn’t quite enough to call Nephis a liar, but it was enough for many to question if she could be trusted.

Second... that Changing Star had almost slaughtered hundreds of millions of innocent lives in pursuit of her revenge. And it was that last fact that would leave a deep wound on the idea of her.

Sunny smiled bitterly.

‘Isn’t it ironic?’

He often claimed to be the most honest person in the world, but now, he was being wounded by the truth.

Sunny sighed.

‘How terrifying.’