Shadow Slave

[Retreat! You must not allow him to wound you again!]

Sunny severed the ocean of clawed limbs rending at his armor, and frowned beneath the visor of his black helmet.

[Why? He’s.. he is losing.]

Cassie answered in a tense, concerned tone: [He is deceiving you. This battle is a ruse.]

“That damn bastard…”

The onslaught of attacks Sunny unleashed upon Asterion ceased, and he summoned the grounded battle style of Saint, switching to impregnable defense instead.

Cassie continued:

[He knows that he cannot defeat us, so he is using the battle against you and Nephis to assimilate your lineages. He has already absorbed the lineage of Sun God, and now… now, he is trying to absorb yours. He still believes that you are the heir of Shadow God!]

Sunny’s frown deepened, and as the monstrous chimera descended upon him in the frenzy of insatiable hunger, he took a step back.

Asterion believed that once he absorbed Sunny’s lineage, he would become a true incarnation of Divinity — the heir of all six gods. And just like fragments of the Weave enhanced each other as more of them were collected, embodying the complete lineage of the primordial Flame would make him a being whose power and potential nobody knew.

However…

What would happen if he absorbed the lineage of Weaver, instead?

Sunny did not know. Blood Weave had devoured the drop of Shadow God’s ichor once, so if Asterion stole it, he could very well end up being destroyed and devastated. Or… he could become incomparably more powerful, having fed the Weave five more Divine Lineages and therefore making it that much stronger.

In any case, Sunny could not allow Weaver’s lineage to fall into Asterion’s hands.

A lineage that had to be forgotten, falling into the hands of an immortal being whose existence spread like a plague? That was a recipe for disaster.

That was a path to the end of existence.

To think that they almost allowed it to happen…

His expression darkened.

[How did you even find out?]

Cassie remained silent for a moment, then answered quietly:

[It’s Mordret. He read it in the Dreamspawn’s mind… if he weren’t on our side, if he wasn’t whole again, and if he hadn’t challenged the Dreamspawn to a soul duel, we would have never known. The Dreamspawn would have stolen your Lineages and fled with them.]

Sunny smiled.

So countless coincidences had to happen to thwart Asterion’s sinister backup plan. Fate… was truly working against him.

[Alright. I’ll retreat.]

Sunny could not continue this battle…

But that didn’t mean that the battle was over.

Because he was connected to Nephis now, and even if he removed himself from the clash against Asterion, he could still contribute to the Dremspawn’s demise by becoming Neph’s strength.

The Jade Titan collapsed into a torrent of darkness, and a radiant figure rose from it, wielding an incandescent blade.

That blade pierced into the very heart of the hideous chimera, incinerating its hungry heart.

At the same time, in the Soul Sea of the fallen Sovereing, Mordret pierced Asterion’s chest with his hand, grabbing his heart and rending it out with cold ruthlessness reflected in his mirror-like eyes.

And at the same time, Cassie finally erased the memory of Asterion from the mind of his last human thrall.

The monstrous chimera convulsed.

Sunny felt the Will of the Dreamspawn reaching a breaking point.

It all happened fast after that.

Asterion still struggled ferociously against his enemies, but it was of no use.

His authority grew light like a feather, failing to bend the world to his will. His monstrous body grew weak.

His power was dwindling, and his presence was diminishing…

Until he resembled no more than a shadow of his former self.

It was then that Sunny activated the [Chain] enchantment of the Curse.

In the past, he had used it to prevent himself from being destroyed.

But it had a different use, as well…

It was also meant to bind his enemies.

A shadow of a chain rose from Neph’s shadow, and bound the shadow of the hideous chimera like an inescapable vice. The monstrous mountain of flesh grew still and then rippled, collapsing into a flood of ash. Soon enough, the wind dispelled the ash, and only a human figure was left in its wake, bound and kneeling on the shattered glass. Nephis assumed her human form, while Sunny rose from her shadow. Moments later, Mordret stepped out of the reflections, sparing them an aloof glance. The three of them stood above Asterion, who was straining hopelessly to free himself of the black chain.

In the end, he looked at them and smiled, powerless fury burning in his eyes.

“Do you… really think you’ve defeated me?” Asterion laughed.

“Ah, Anvil and Ki Song thought so, too…”

The furious gaze of his golden eyes fell on Nephis, and his smile widened.

“And Broken Sword thought that he could not be defeated. But who was laughing in the end?”

Sunny glanced at the bound Sovereign with quiet menace nestling in his dark eyes. “What is there to laugh about, bastard?”

He fell silent for a moment.

Slowly, the cold killing intent disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a tired darkness. “Nobody is laughing, you ghoul. And yes… we have defeated you. It took a long while, it took a lot of effort, and too countless sacrifices. But look where you are?”

Sunny shook his head.

“You know, Awakened are meant to protect the world against the Nightmare Creatures. But ever since becoming powerful enough to make a difference, all I ever did was try to protect the world against people. From people like you.”

He glanced at Asterion with contempt, then sighed and glanced away.

“I’m glad that is over now. Now that the last of you is defeated, all we’ll have to deal with are corrupted gods, Unholy horrors, and the end of the world. Isn’t it wonderful?”

Sunny paused for a moment and then smiled.

“But you won’t be here to witness that, Dreamspawn. Didn’t I promise you that you would regret being immortal? Cheer up. You are about to become the world’s foremost authority on regret.”

The towering edifice of the Nameless Temple slowly revealed itself from the darkness behind him, and as it did, the Dreamspawn’s expression changed slightly. A powerless growl escaped from his lips. ..The plague of Asterion was over.

…

Far away, in the crater of a towering volcano, a battered figure emerged from the smoke.

Kai swayed and fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

The horrid wounds that had covered his body were gone, but the memory of the pain he had endured remained.

It haunted him, making him feel like he was still burning.

Again… just like he had burned in the Ivory City.

Kai spent a long time catching his breath, then slowly turned and glanced back at the abyssal maw of the volcano.

He did not know whether the white dragon would soon emerge from it… but something was telling him that the Cursed Devil was not going to return to Ravenheart any time soon.

The thing that dwelled in the molten mantle of the world underneath the volcano might not be able to kill it, but the loathsome dragon was not going to escape unscathed, either. And the terrifying battle would take both horrors far away from this mountain chain, anyway.

It was funny…

The last time Kai had visited the caldera, Sunny had been the one to dive into the lava. But since Sunny wasn’t here to shoulder the burden of performing feats of lunacy, Kai had to take on the role of the madman himself this time.

The ground beneath him quaked slightly, but he found himself too distracted to pay it any attention.

Kai frowned slightly.

“Sunny.”

His eyes widened suddenly.

…

In the throne room of Bastion, Effie was crouching in front of her husband.

He seemed dazed, having trouble understanding where he was and how he had gotten here.

And he had not recognized her yet, either — well, it was no surprise. Having been starved to the point of complete emaciation, Effie hardly resembled her usual self. And he never saw her as she had been before becoming a Master.

The rest of the thralls of Asterion… former thralls… were no better.

In fact, the whole city seemed to be overcome by a sense of confusion.

‘Cassie really did a number on them…’

Effie sighed.

“I wonder what doofus would have said. Let me guess, something like… lost your memories? Worry not! The Brilliant Emporium Memory Boutique offers exclusive discounts to victims of amnesia!” A faint smile appeared on her gaunt face. Then, however, it froze.

Effie paled.

“D—dofus?”

Slowly, the memories of her encounters with Master Sunless surfaced in her mind. All the things she had said…

A mortified scream suddenly tore the silence of the throne room.

…

In the devastated hall of forbidden runes, Cassie was sitting on the floor, breathing raggedly.

Having destroyed the Hunger Domain and ensured the Dreamspawn’s defeat, she was slowly retreating into her own mind.

Her mind, which was buckling under the burden of perceiving the world from myriad perspectives.

Cassie had always dreamed of being able to see again. But now, after beholding the world through the eyes of humanity… she longed for darkness.

And so, Cassie released her Ascended Ability, cutting herself from all of her marks.

“It’s done, then.”

Her voice was quiet.

The plague of Asterion was eradicated, and the Dreamspawn himself was imprisoned. They would have to find a way to seal him safely, somewhere far away… but not today.

Lowering herself to the fractured floor, Cassie closed her eye and exhaled slowly.

A few moments later, she grew still.

Cassie was fast asleep, swallowed by the embrace of deep slumber.

Her sleep was peaceful and free of dreams.