Shadow Slave

All of it transpired just like Mordret had predicted it would.

The name of the Dreamspawn spread like a plague, infecting people to make them hasten the spread even more. Changing Star and the Lord of Shadows scrambled to slow it down, but it was of no use.

Soon enough, Asterion announced his existence to the world, and in a matter of days, there was no soul in the two worlds who did not bear the idea of him in their minds. Then, he infected humanity with another idea…

Should Changing Star be trusted?

Even if people answered yes, the seed of doubt was already planted in their minds. And that seed opened the gates of their hearts for the Dreamspawn to walk through.

At the same time, Changing Star and the Lord of Shadows hesitated to draw Asterion into an open battle because he was using all the people in Bastion as a shield.

More and more humans fell under the Dreamspawn’s hex, fueling his Domain. And as his Domain grew more powerful, Asterion grew more powerful as well. He was already more fearsome than he had ever been, and stronger with every day.

Mordret waited, knowing that the time to observe and prepare was over.

Now was the time to act.

He wanted to live…

So everyone else had to die.

Finally, Mordret left the Hollow Mountains and descended upon Red Hill.

There were numerous people living there, so he fought countless soul duels at the same time. From mundane people to the Transcendent lord of the city, he took them all.

It was strange, though…

When a million incarnations of Mordret entered a million souls.

He wasn’t alone there.

The souls of mundane people were too weak to offer him any resistance. They were dormant, after all, and therefore lacked awareness. It all ended in an instant.

Those who were Awakened or of a higher Rank, though, had to be dealt with in a fight. Out there in the liminal space of the soul arena, Mordret could only wield the same weapons his enemies wielded — he could reflect their Aspects and Memories, but nothing more.

Still, he was a Supreme. Dealing with the warriors of Red Hill did not pose much trouble. However, even while destroying their souls, Mordret could not shake off an eerie feeling.

It was then that he noticed an odd anomaly. It seemed like there was also a third figure in the arena — a presence that could not be seen or felt, but kept whispering into the ears of the enthralled people.

It could not be seen or heard, but it did reflect on the calm waters of numerous Soul Seas, like a vague figure painted onto the placid surface.

And while Mordret was taking the bodies of these people as vessels, the ghostly whispers of that figure kept flowing into his ears, as well.

‘Damn it…’

That was what Mordret had been afraid of, as well as the reason he had stayed away from Asterion as much as he could.

Even if his mind was so vast that even he was struggling to keep it whole, as powerful and ferocious as the great swarm of his incarnations was, built into a fortress with impregnable walls… even if his soul was branded with the mark of the Demon of Destiny…

He was still not entirely immune to Asterion’s insidious powers.

Conquering Red Hill exposed him to the Dreamspawn. He mostly resisted the thoughts and emotions that the appalling Supreme had tried to implant into his mind and heart, but some residue still remained… like a layer of dust covering an immense mirror.

It was not enough to sway Mordret, but it was enough to make him feel concerned. There was no stopping now, though. He was adamantly convinced that Asterion would become unstoppable once all of humanity became a part of his Domain, so time was of the essence.

Mordret had to destroy humanity before Asterion could devour it.

And so, his war against the entire world began.

Mordret took the Glass Hell, Godgrave, Moonriver Plains, the Chaines Isles, and all the regions between them and the Black Mountains. He paralyzed the basin of the River of Tears and pushed the forces of the Human Domain south.

In the process, he slaughtered quite a number of people. The death toll of Red Hill was the highest by far, but the casualties among the Awakened warriors of the Human Domain were not minor either. With every death, Mordret felt the world becoming a little duller. He was not enjoying the war he had to fight at all.

But what could he do?

It had to be fought, and it had to be won. Otherwise, it would be his death that made the world less entertaining.

So, he persisted. He attempted to fight a few soul duels as he could in the process, not wishing to let Asterion’s claws sink deeper into his mind.

But no matter how hard Mordret tried, some degree of contamination was inevitable. He had to conquer more vessels to stem attrition of his army, and even if he did not engage in soul duels, merely being close to the thralls of the Dreamspawn made his condition a little worse.

And he had to meet Asterion face to face at times, as well — like during the battle for the Lake of Tears.

Every time they clashed, Mordret’s mind became a little more contaminated.

Slowly and gradually — that was how he was losing himself to the powers of the Dreamspawn.

And wouldn’t you know it? The solution delivered itself to his steps all of its own. Looking down at the unconscious form of Song of the Fallen, Mordret chuckled.

Here was the only woman in existence who could erase Asterion’s hex from a person’s mind.

So, he had a use for her, after all.

Looking at the Princess of Shadows, Mordret smiled.

“You know what? I decided not to kill you, after all. No need to thank me.”

The young woman stared at him silently for a moment.

“That is great. Very gracious of you. But…”

She paused, then asked in an exasperated tone:

“Who the hell are you, mister? Where the hell are we? What the hell is happening?”

Mordret laughed.

“Me? Oh… I am just a nobody.”