Shadow Slave

“Why… won’t you… die?”

As the heavenly chain swayed and groaned beneath him, Mordret pushed forward and drove his sword into Asterion’s chest. The sharp blade pierced the skin and the muscle, sliding between the Dreamspawn’s ribs to cut open his heart and sever his spine. It escaped in a torrent of blood from his back, glistening like a scarlet monument to the vicious act of murder.

Asterion simply smiled, grabbing Mordret’s wrist and bringing his own sword down… His sword, with a black hilt and a scarlet blade, was the embodiment of Morgan of Valor. Mordret’s stubborn sister had walked such a long and thorny path to free herself from the fate of becoming a blade that someone else wielded, and yet here she was, reduced to being an obedient weapon nevertheless.

And such a lethal weapon, as well. Snarling, Mordret wrenched his wrist free of Asterion’s hold and staggered back, avoiding the eerily sharp blade of his sword by a hair’s breadth. That blade was sharp enough to cut the world itself, so it made short work of his enchanted armor. Already, Mordret was covered in shallow wounds, his black armor shredded and battered. Asterion, meanwhile…

Just a few moments after Mordret’s sword was torn from his chest, followed by a gushing stream of blood, his body seemed as good as new. The ghastly wound in his chest was gone, just as the other wounds Mordret had dealt him. Even his clothes seemed whole once more, pristine and unblemished.

The Dreamspawn took a step forward, a cold glint appearing in his golden eyes.

“Why do you insist on continuing this senseless game, boy? Come, now… it’s long overdue for you to see reason.”

As his golden eyes reflected in Mordret’s own, Mordret grimaced and grabbed his head briefly, groaning.

“Wouldn’t… you like to know…”

All around them, the battle for the Ebony Tower was raging on. The seven Reflections were still drowning in the flood of human soldiers. The champions of the Hunger Domain were still advancing across the celestial chains. Both above and below them, a myriad of winged abominations were engaged in ferocious fight.

But the cadence of the battle was changing now.

The vessels of Mordret that had attacked the Night Garden were all but wiped out, which allowed the titanic ship to take a more active role in the siege of the Ebony Island.

The two Saints of the White Feather clan had joined the battle for the Sky Below, leading their warriors into a lethal clash against the detestable vessels that defended it — and now, the forces of the Hunger Domain were close to breaking through.

Seishan was getting closer to the shores of the Ebony Island, growing stronger and stronger as more blood was spilled around her.

Things were not looking good for Mordret… Especially because his adversary refused to die.

As a Supreme Titan, Mordret was stronger than Asterion. More than that, he was far more skilled a warrior, and his devious cunning was beyond comparison. However, the Dreamspawn encompassed all of humanity within his Domain, and so, all of humanity added weight to his Will.

So, existence itself was bending to help Asterion win while working against Mordret at the same time. It was as if he was fighting on the bottom of the ocean, the great weight of dark water pressing him down — his adversary, on the contrary, was supported and protected by the cold currents.

And yet, despite that, Mordret had prevailed in the vicious exchanges with Asterion over and over again. He had avoided the fatal edge of Morgan’s Transcendent form and pierced Asterion’s body… he severed Asterion’s limbs, cut off his head, bled him until the entire surface of the heavenly chain was slick with blood, split him in two, even — over and over again.

Even as his armor became battered and torn and dozens of shallow wounds littered his original vessel… the vessel the Nightmare Spell had granted him after the Second Nightmare, at least, to replace the one destroyed by the Knights of Valor… Mordret continued to fight, dealing deadly wounds to the Dreamspawn.

It was partially due to his own strength and skill, and partially due to the fact that one of his Reflections was still wearing the image of Cassia, and could therefore glimpse a few moments into the future. Thanks to that, Mordret was managing to hold Asterion back despite the dire gap in the weight of their Wills.

It was all useless, though, because the Dreamspawn could not be destroyed. His body was merely a manifestation of an idea, after all, so for as long as the idea of him still existed, he could manifest himself anew as many times as he wanted.

There were probably some conditions involved, such as a steep price paid in soul essence, but since Asterion now commanded all of humanity, his essence was endless.

And so…

Breathing heavily, Mordret commanded his sword to extend into a spear and pointed it at Asterion, forcing a smile onto his pale lips.

“Stop trying to poison my mind, old man. It won’t work.”

Taking another step forward and raising his sword, Asterion responded to his smile with his own.

“Oh? I think it is working just fine.”

Mordret did not show it, but he had to agree. The longer they fought, the deeper Asterion’s claws pierced his mind. He could already feel a peculiar, irrational impulse to surrender to despair and abandon all caution, challenging the Dream Spawn to a soul duel — which was indeed a good option, now that he thought about it…

‘No, you fool!’

Mordret shook his head, as if hoping to get rid of the thoughts instilled into him. Challenging Asterion to a soul duel was a sure way to die, or worse still, become a thrall. After all, Mordret would be completely vulnerable if he invaded the Dreamspawn’s vast, sinister soul — and while he would be able to mirror Asterion’s Aspect there, he would not get the benefit of ruling the Hunger Domain.

More than that, even if Mordret did win and destroy Asterion’s soul, gaining control of his body in the process… what was the point of that?

The idea of the Dreamspawn would still be intact, which meant that Asterion would simply manifest a new body and a new soul for himself.

That was something that Mordret found more and more difficult to remember. Instead of answering Asterion, he simply thrust his spear forward, throwing himself into the fight once more.

Indeed, why was Mordret persisting in such a senseless affair?

Defending the Ebony Island, facing the Dreamspawn in battle…

Why, it was because Mordret had a plan, naturally.

It was a desperate plan, no doubt… a gamble, even, one where he had to put everything — including his life — on the line. However, he simply saw no other way to emerge victorious in the war against the Dreamspawn.

Even if Mordret retreated today and hid himself in the Hollow Mountains, launching raids on the territories of the Hunger Domain from the safety of their endless mists, he would be merely prolonging his death. Asterion was simply too powerful and too diabolical, and having already conquered the world, he was not going to be defeated in the future.

The only chance to stop him was now.

So, Mordret had set his last, desperate plan into motion — without letting Asterion read it in his thoughts.

Hiding something from the Dreamspawn was not an easy matter, but because of how vast and fragmented Mordret’s mind was, he could barely manage.

All he had to do was concentrate on the carnage of battle, on the perspectives of his innumerable vessels — all drowning in a harrowing sea of violence — and on the pain of being cut and torn apart a hundred times every moment.

For now, at least, Asterion did not seem aware of what Mordret was prepared to do.

“I think this is enough, don’t you?”

The Dreamspawn’s voice was laced with a hint of mockery.

As Mordret attempted to erase the relaxed smile from his face with the tip of a spear, Asterion’s gaze suddenly turned cold and ruthless. Lunging forward with startling speed, he grabbed the shaft of the spear and easily shattered it between his fingers. As the enchanted weapon disintegrated in a rain of sparks, he was already beside Mordret.

His palm collided with the black metal of Mordret’s breastplate, and a awful shockwave rattled the world.

Mordret was sent flying hundreds of meters back, a fountain of blood escaping from his mouth. Bouncing off the bloodied surface of the heavenly chain, he rolled a hundred meters more and finally came to a halt, trying to rise to his feet weakly.

In the next moment, though, he reeled back and cursed. Asterion was already beside him, delivering a lethal slash with the vermillion blade of his sword — even though Mordret skirted, the sharp edge still caught him across the chest, easily slicing through the bent breastplate and leaving a deep wound.

Blood flowed down Mordret’s body…

And, unlike Asterion, he couldn’t simply manifest himself a new one.

Even if he did have a myriad of spare bodies to choose from.

A flurry of destructive blows descended upon Mordret, making the heavenly chain rattle and groan. Asterion seemed to be everywhere, all at once, his dire strength making both the Sky Above and the Sky Below shake.

Mordret suppressed a groan.

In the end, he escaped the relentless assault in one piece, even if just barely.

Asterion, meanwhile…

Seemed calm and collected. He had not even broken a sweat.

Mordret smiled darkly.

“Ah, yes. It is indeed enough.”

His smile widened a little, then dimmed, replaced by a somber expression.

“Thank you for entertaining me for a short while. But now, if you don’t mind… I must depart.”

Asterion was already upon him, a ruthless glint igniting in his golden eyes.

“But I do mind.”

The scarlet blade of his sentient sword fell down with impossible speed, cutting all ways of escape.

More blood spilled on the bloodied surface of the celestial chain.