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Chapter 1380: Cage of Futures
Shadow Slave

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  1. Offline
    Pro100zver25
    + 18 ⋅ 0 -
    1384: Novel idea.

    Eventually, Nephis was done with the pile of soul shards.

    Sunny stored a few of them inside the Covetous Coffer, then dismissed the alloy chest and rose, looking around the flooded hall. Although the structure sustained some damage during the battle, it had not collapsed yet. He did not know how much longer the lost temple would last, though. The sight of numerous cracks covering the distant ceiling did not fill him with confidence.

    "…It's not the end of the world."

    Sunny had to remind himself that even if the temple collapsed, the three of them would be just fine. They were Masters, not mundane people — it was just hard to remember the difference, sometimes. No one would be able to remain composed when there were countless tons of stone and cold water ready to fall on their heads.

    "Shall we go?"

    Nephis had finished absorbing the soul shards, and Fiend had finished stuffing his face with what remained of the Drowned. They had rested enough, as well… nothing was preventing them from exploring deeper into the temple. Rising to her feet, Cassie nodded.

    "Yeah. Let's go."

    Nephis did a few stretches and brandished her sword in a flowing series of strikes, familiarizing herself with the subtle change of her physical power. Then, she followed the two of them to the far end of the flooded hall.

    "What are we searching for, exactly?"

    Cassie was looking at the cracked wall behind the dais, her expression glum. After a few moments of silence, she responded in a distant tone:

    "This temple used to be dedicated to knowledge. The three sybils who ruled Fallen Grace each had different responsibilities, and this one, as the senior, was the guardian of truths. She oversaw a vast library where everything the sybils knew about the world was recorded. Many faithful priests and priestesses were responsible for keeping and expanding the library, as well."

    The blind girl sighed.

    "…Of course, most of that knowledge was lost when the sybil succumbed to the Defilement, and the rest had to have slowly deteriorated after her imprisonment. The recent water damage probably obliterated most of what was left. Still, there is a chance that we'll find hints of what to expect on our journey."

    Finally, Cassie noticed a small door that was obscured by darkness, most of the narrow corridor it led to submerged underwater. Taking a step in that direction, she said:

    "Among other things, the sybils kept detailed maps and records of the Great River here. Every city, every settlement, every stronghold of a powerful Seeker… from what I was able to learn, these maps were engraved on stone slates. They would not have been destroyed that easily. The information about the place where Effie and Soul Reaper are trapped should have been recorded, as well."

    The geography of the Tomb of Ariel — or rather, of both the human settlements and the hazardous environments — was constantly shifting. Human cities migrated, while dangerous areas changed or moved.

    Considering the treacherous nature of the Great River, keeping maps was not too simple of a task. That said, some places had a constant location. And even if it changed, the knowledge of how they had been in the past could help Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie learn what it was exactly that they would have to face.

    "Great…"

    Usually, Sunny would have preserved his essence, but since the battle was behind them, and he was being spoiled by the Crown of Twilight, he simply commanded the water to part instead of jumping into its cold embrace. It took some effort for him to move so much of it, but a few seconds later, the flooded corridor was flooded no more.

    The three of them descended from the dais and entered through the small door, venturing into the very heart of the lost temple. As they walked, Sunny couldn't help but feel a bit disturbed. There were much more signs of the sybil's rampage here, close to the inner sanctum. Even though the Defiled abomination was dead now, the marks she had left on the ancient walls remained as eerie and ominous as ever. Cassie opened her mouth to say something, but remained silent in the end. A grim expression settled on her exquisite face. The bright glimmer of her beautiful eyes dimmed, replaced by somber darkness. He frowned, worried that they should have given the blind girl more time to rest.

    In the end, Sunny hurried his steps to catch up to her and asked:

    "Are you alright?"

    Cassie hesitated for a few moments, then smiled faintly.

    "Yes… sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

    Then, she traced the frightening marks left on the wall by the fury of the imprisoned sybil.

    "I was just thinking what it must have felt like, to be buried here alive. The people of Fallen Grace… they thought that they were showing mercy by not killing her. Or reverence and devotion, perhaps. But..." She sighed and shook her head.

    "Wouldn't it have been better to just die?"

    Sunny lingered for a while, not knowing what to answer. It was just a curious question to him — but to Cassie, who had lived an entire year playing the role of a sybil, it had to be much more personal.

    Eventually, he shrugged:

    "I'd rather die, yes."

    The blind girl smiled.

    "Yeah. That just goes to show… that good intentions often produce the most cruel of results. Don't you think?"

    When Sunny nodded, she paused for a moment, then suddenly added in a dark tone:

    "However… personally, I disagree. I'd rather live, no matter what."

    He looked at her with surprise, slightly confused by the contradiction.

    "Why?"

    Cassie remained silent for a few moments. It seemed as though she was considering his questions seriously. Eventually, she chuckled:

    "…Honestly, I'm not quite sure. Pride, maybe? The world is trying to kill us so hard. It just feels like such a shame, to let it have its way."

    Sunny stared at her with an incredulous expression.

    "What the hell?"

    Wasn't it basically the same thing he had told Hero all those years ago, in the First Nightmare? It was like listening to a more refined and eloquent version of himself. Was it such a surprise, though? Although he and Cassie came from entirely different backgrounds, they were more alike than anyone would think… simply because they both shared an affinity to fate, and knew better than most how tyrannical fate was.

    He kept quiet for a bit, then scoffed. Before Sunny could respond, though, Nephis spoke from behind them:

    "Well, then, what's the problem? Just make sure not to die. There, problem solved."

    He nodded with a grin.

    "Exactly. I mean, it's not that hard… if a fool like me can stay alive, anyone can."

    Cassie smiled, amused by their awkward attempts to raise her mood.

    She nodded.

    "Ah… alright. What a novel idea. I'll take it under advisement."

    As the sound of quiet chuckling echoed in the dark corridor, the three Masters went deeper into the darkness of the ancient temple.
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    1. Offline
      Pro100zver25
      + 18 ⋅ 0 -
      1385: Flame of Divinity.

      As they walked through the corridors, Sunny kept clearing their way with the help of the Crown of Twilight. Of course, they could easily swim through the flooded portions of the temple — but why would they, if there was an easier way?

      The walls of the narrow corridors glistened, reflecting the light of a luminous Memory Nephis had summoned. Soon, Sunny noticed a subtle change in them. If the ancient stone was unadorned before, now, it was covered by the remains of beautiful murals. He couldn't quite understand what was depicted on them, though — partially because the murals were heavily damaged, partially because the images were quite strange. They were more symbolic than descriptive… at least that was the conclusion he made.

      "…What's that?"

      Noticing that Nephis seemed to be interested in the murals as well, Sunny finally gave voice to his curiosity. She hesitated for a few moments, then shook her head.

      "I'm not sure."

      In front of them was an image depicting a vast black field that looked strangely terrifying. In the middle of it, a mass of golden flame was burning, illuminating the darkness with its radiance.

      Cassie slowed her steps and turned slightly, facing the mural. After a moment of silence, she said matter-of-factly:

      "It's the myth of creation."

      The two of them looked at her with some confusion. Feeling their gazes, the blind girl sighed, then smiled lightly.

      "The inhabitants of the Dream Realm had a myth of how the world came to be, of course. Actually, many of them. Most shared common points, though."

      She pointed to the mural.

      "In the beginning, there was only the boundless void of chaos…"

      Sunny tilted his head a little, remembering the description of a Memory he once possessed… the Memory of a drop of Shadow God's blood. The runes he had read told the same.

      Of course, Cassie was slightly altering the meaning due to the difference between the language of the waking world and the runic language the Spell used. There was no void of chaos… because the words "void" and "chaos" meant the same thing.

      Come to think of it, it had been the same in the human language once, as well. These days, when someone said "chaos", they wanted to describe some sort of a huge mess. But the initial meaning of that word simply meant emptiness… the void.

      So, saying that there was only the void meant the same thing as saying there was only chaos.

      It was the dark abyss that Weaver had apparently visited, and where the gods had come from.

      Cassie, meanwhile, continued:

      "The void was everlasting and everchanging. Terrible beings dwelled within the void, as well. But then came desire, and with it came direction."

      She pointed to the golden flame.

      Sunny raised his eyebrow. These last words were exactly the same as in the description of the drop of ichor.

      "Yeah, I've heard something similar before. But, to be honest, I never really understood what all of it actually means. Desire, direction… why are they so significant?"

      It was Nephis, not Cassie, who answered:

      "It's simple, really. Well… it's a paradox, but a rather simple one. Since the void was eternal, limitless, and forever changing, it was inevitable that sooner or later, it would produce something that contradicted its fundamental qualities. In other words, something unchanging. That was desire. A single constant in the forever shifting abyss."

      She coughed, and then added with embarrassment:

      "Oh… at least that was how it was explained to me. But if you think about it, it makes sense. A desire can't change, because if it does, it ceases to be itself and becomes a different desire. So, the concept of desire is static by nature."

      Sunny blinked a couple of times.

      "Huh? What? That's… a bit too complicated for me. What a weird myth! I like the ones you tell way better — you know, the stories about cunning men defeating giants, building wooden as… horses to conquer cities, and fighting sea monsters."

      A subtle smile appeared on Neph's face. Sunny enjoyed the view of it, then scratched the back of his head and added:

      "But I get the idea. Desire was the first unchanging thing born from the everchanging void, so it was in contradiction to the void."

      She nodded.

      "Yes. A desire also can't exist by itself. It needs a subject. You want something, strive for something, dream of something… so, a desire has to be directed somewhere. Hence, with it came direction."

      Sunny looked at her with a strange expression.

      "That… strangely makes sense."

      So the direction the myth spoke about was a natural consequence of desire… or rather the concept of desire being born within the void. And since both were constant, their existence was in opposition to the forever changing abyss. Where there had been only chaos, there was now something resembling order.

      …Coincidentally, the word "directionless" could also mean "disorderly" in the runic language. And therefore, the word "direction" could also mean "order".

      Even though it was not entirely correct, such an analogy made it easier for Sunny to understand the underlying meaning of the strange creation myth. It was a conflict between chaos and order… the void creatures represented chaos, while the gods represented order. He hesitated for a moment, then asked:

      "But a desire for what? What was that desire?"

      Cassie laughed quietly.

      "Nobody knows. In fact, I don't think that anyone can know… we humans are not capable of truly understanding divine matters, after all, so this myth is merely a crude facsimile of the real story. Personally, I think it was the very idea of desire, not a specific one. That's why there is a fairy tale about the Well of Wishes here in the Tomb of Ariel — a magical place that can grant any wish, not just the correct one."

      Sunny looked at her, amused.

      "…You know that fairy tale too?"

      Cassie coughed and turned away in embarrassment.

      "Oh. Yeah… it's popular among the younger inhabitants of Fallen Grace. I listened to it once or twice out of curiosity."

      She lingered for a moment, then walked to the next mural. On it, six radiant figures were shown standing around the mass of golden flames, which had become much smaller. Vague, but terrifying shapes could be seen in the surrounding darkness, swarming them. The blind girl pointed at the image.

      "The gods were born from desire. Then, they waged a terrible war on the old ones, the creatures of the void."
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      1. Offline
        Pro100zver25
        + 19 ⋅ 0 -
        1386: Forests, plains, rivers, and a vast blue sky.

        The next few murals depicted the battles between the six radiant figures and the vague shapes hiding in the darkness of the abyssal void. Sunny found them quite funny… he already knew that the war between the gods and the unknown were waged with weapons like death, time, and space. It had truly been a war beyond human comprehension.

        However, the ancient people had drawn the murals according to their human imagination. In them, the gods battled the void creatures with swords, spears… and even fists, from time to time. Imagining a god having a fistfight with a primordial horror was rather comical. Sunny shook his head.

        "It's curious, isn't it? The gods are always said to be the enemies of the void creatures… but really, they are void creatures themselves. Just of a different breed."

        Both the unknown and the gods had been born from the void. So, the gods were unknown themselves — primordial beings from before anything remotely human had ever existed. It was just that they were a very special kind of these ancient abominations. A kind that was inherently opposed to the abyss that had spawned them, and everything it represented.

        Nephis slowly nodded.

        "Indeed. But does it matter?"

        Sunny lightly shook his head.

        "I guess it doesn't."

        Awakened and Nightmare Creatures were also two sides of the same coin. That didn't make them the same. The three of them continued forward, studying the murals. Eventually, the void creatures seemed to have been defeated, albeit not destroyed. Beaten and diminished, they crouched in a dark corner of the abyss, surrounded by the six radiant figures.

        "This is interesting."

        Sunny knew very little about how the war between the gods and the unknown had ended. The description of the drop of ichor only said that the void had been bound… but not how it had happened.

        Finally, the three of them stopped in front of the second to last mural.

        On it, the six radiant figures seemed to be holding a net made from what was left of the golden flame, surrounded by a whirlwind of sparks. They threw the net on the crouching creatures of the void, engulfing them in radiance. The last mural depicted a familiar landscape — the black abyss was gone, replaced by forests, plains, rivers, and a vast blue sky.

        He looked at Cassie expectedly. She had been the one to spend a whole year with the inhabitants of the Nightmare, after all. If anyone knew their myths, it would be her.

        The blind girl sighed.

        "In the end, when the old ones were defeated, the gods took direction and used their weapons to wrap it around the void. That was how the void was sealed. And… that was also how the world was created."

        Sunny stared at the last mural, overcome by an eerie feeling.

        "Wait a second…"

        The forests, plains, rivers, and a vast blue sky… the crouching beings enveloped by a net of golden radiance…

        He already knew that these murals had been drawn according to the limited imagination of their creators. So, if he looked beyond what was drawn, at the underlying meaning…

        Desire, direction… order… the absolute laws like time and space that the gods had created to use as weapons.

        Did it mean that the gods had created the world… the universe, rather… by sealing the void in the cage of universal laws?

        And if this was how the world had been born…

        He shivered.

        "So… wait… does it mean that everything we know is basically a cage for the abyssal beings of the void? That… that everything is just the outer shell of a prison built to contain the abyss?"

        Cassie and Nephis turned to him somberly. After a while, the blind girl said, her voice strangely calm:

        "I think… not quite that literally, but yes. The void was never destroyed, it was only bound. And the world is what binds it… not the waking world, and not the Dream Realm. More of… existence itself, as we know it."

        Sunny remained silent for a while, not knowing what to say. What Cassie said sounded terrifying. It was as though he was standing on the surface of a deep, dark ocean, separated from its lightless depths only by a thin, fragile film of ice.

        That ice was all of existence.

        "Damnation…"

        Why was he so bothered by some stupid myth, anyway?

        The answer was obvious. It would have been easy to dismiss the whole thing as an ancient superstition if not for one detail. The Spell had put the same story in the description of the drop of Shadow God's blood, which meant that there was at least some truth to this myth, no matter how distorted.

        "Curses."

        Eventually, he let out a shaky breath and said in an unconvincingly carefree tone:

        "Well… that's a bit disturbing, isn't it?"

        Indeed, it was. Much more than that, however…

        It raised so many questions. Was his interpretation of the myth close to truth? How had Weaver entered the void if it was sealed by existence itself? What had the Demon of Fate witnessed there, exactly?

        Come to think of it, the creation myth explained a lot of things, but one thing it failed to explain were the daemons. Where had they come from? Who was the Unknown, whose children they supposedly were? How were the daemons and their progenitor connected to the gods and to the void?

        There were much more fundamental questions, as well. For example, the path of Ascension led to divinity, while the path of Corruption was opposed to it, leading to unholiness. And since what opposed the gods was the void… was the true meaning of "profane" and "unholy", as used by the Spell, actually having to do with the void?

        Was the abyss sealed within the world the source of Corruption? Was the vile darkness permeating the souls of Nightmare Creature a manifestation of the everlasting void? And how did the Nightmares, the Spell, and Weaver's mysterious schemes fit into all of this?

        Sunny suddenly shuddered as a certain thought entered his mind. Now that the gods were dead…

        Was the spreading Corruption a sign that the seals containing the void were weakening?

        Was the cage the gods had created slowly falling apart?

        The disturbing chill he had felt after learning the truth of the last mural was washed away by curiosity… but now, the feeling of dread was back. He hesitated for a few moments, then cleared his throat and looked away from the ancient, damaged, fading image of forests, rivers, and plains.

        ...The net of black cracks covering the painted vastness of a blue sky did not look ominous at all.

        "Let's go find that damned library and get the hell away from here as fast as possible, shall we? This place… it seriously gives me creeps…"

        For once in his life, Sunny hoped to never find answers to the questions gnawing at his mind.
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        1. Offline
          Turnc4406
          + 4 ⋅ 1 -
          Bridge and river, forest and waterfall, orchard, sea and sky. Harsh and sweet and bitter to leave it all; I'll bless my homeland 'til I die.
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  2. Offline
    KennethSimpson
    + 4 ⋅ 0 -
    I just read a novel on webnovel called During the Dark ages. It was written by a new author called shadowlord4318 and it was surprisingly good. You guys should totally check it out if you have the time.
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    1. Offline
      LordMr
      + 3 ⋅ 0 -
      Vou ver e se for bom já agradeço
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    2. Offline
      LordMr
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      Tô no capítulo 7 e estou gostando. Valeu pela indicação. Gosto quando o protagonista não é muito "anormal" prós padrões humanos modernos em um Apocalipse
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      1. Offline
        LordMr
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        Cap 56, vale a pena a leitura é rápida
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  3. Offline
    Awybin
    + 17 ⋅ 0 -
    I wonder if his intention to join the battle created the opening that Cassie needed or if it was just a coincidence that she found the perfect future just when he was going to act
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    1. Offline
      LeoLusterPow
      + 5 ⋅ 0 -
      Considering she choose a future where he didn't join the battle, I would say that his intention to do something that Cassie didn't have him did nothing
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  4. Offline
    Extranous
    + 18 ⋅ 13 -
    Now that I think about it. Mc has always been giving nephis and Cassie more than they gave him. He's lost much for their sake yet they haven't repaid him at all, especially nephis. Cassie, can be excused since she gave him that infinite glass bottle.
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    1. Offline
      Vespa99
      + 23 ⋅ 6 -
      I beg to differ. For one, Sunny would not be here if not for Nephis teaching him how to wield a sword. She even sacrificed herself for him on Forgotten Shore, even if Sunny is pissy about her becoming his master, it was something she did to save him.
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      1. Offline
        REN・DOVERঐ
        + 4 ⋅ 9 -
        I'll only agree with her teaching him but the rest is BS my guy..... She sacrificed herself not cause she wanted to. If she hadn't have learnt about his true name, things would have been different
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        1. Offline
          Vespa99
          + 5 ⋅ 0 -
          How so my guy?
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        2. Offline
          Slayer0710
          + 3 ⋅ 0 -
          Huh? If she knew his True name, couldn't she have just ordered him to sacrifice himself for her? Why do opposite, doesn't make sense. eyetwit
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      2. Offline
        Ryousuks
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        Her teaching him wasn't out of goodwill. They had an agreement. She was paid in shards, and considering she must had been nearing saturating her first core, that deal was favorable to her.
        How would she had known Sunny would become an expert swordsman in just a few short months?That was Sunny genius.
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        1. Offline
          Deci
          + 0 ⋅ 0 -
          Yeah but she also didn't need to teach him her family tecniques. And sunny needed her to get stronger as well since he didn't need that soul shards.
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    2. Offline
      REN・DOVERঐ
      + 7 ⋅ 2 -
      Nah gee.... Neph was his sword master at the beginning and that was what shaped him to become who is is now. Cassie broke his trust by revealing his true name to Neph, while knowing that it'll enslave him.
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      1. Offline
        Solobot
        + 5 ⋅ 1 -
        By that logic, isn’t Neph equally bad for actually taking the action of enslaving him?
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      2. Offline
        Slayer0710
        + 4 ⋅ 1 -
        Sunny had planned to abandoned Cassie at start, he said so himself, it was also hinted Cassie knew about it. Nephis saved her without expecting anything in return. Who should Cassie choose? Also, Sunny said so himself that due to Cassie's "betrayal", Mordret couldn't enslave him, thus, saving his life indirectly. Considering Cassie can see future, that betrayal just may have been to save Sunny one way or another.
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      3. Offline
        Ryousuks
        + 0 ⋅ 0 -
        Again, Nephis taught him how to wield a sword because of their deal. Do you think she would have known Sunny would master how to wield it in a few short months?
        Don't say it like she did it out of goodwill.
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  5. Offline
    Turnc4406
    + 29 ⋅ 0 -
    "In how many of those futures do we defeat the Sybil?"

    "One."
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    1. Offline
      REN・DOVERঐ
      + 15 ⋅ 1 -
      Dr. Cassie Strange swindler
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      1. Offline
        The_Imm۞rtal
        + 6 ⋅ 0 -
        Factual
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    2. Offline
      The Foreboded
      + 7 ⋅ 0 -
      To be fair, she defeated it by conquering every future in which she lost so the actual saying would be..
      "In how many of those futures do we defeat the Sybil?"
      "All of them" hokage
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