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Chapter 1910: Rivergate
Shadow Slave

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Comments 37

  1. Offline
    Grim Reader
    + 10 ⋅ 0 -
    let's drown these fish... in boiling oil 🍤
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  2. Offline
    Cassie.1hater
    + 26 ⋅ 0 -
    Bloodwave being alive is such W
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  3. Offline
    GoatBom
    + 33 ⋅ 0 -
    BLOODWAVE IS ALIVE 🙏🙏🙏
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    1. Offline
      confused-reader2
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      Top three true names oat, and it’s not number three
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  4. Offline
    kollosus_na
    + 33 ⋅ 0 -
    Gods lol… Now Morgan has to deal with Effie!
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  5. Offline
    ZEXOS
    + 18 ⋅ 0 -
    1911. Untamed Chaos


    Morgan gazed at the ancient fortress below her. The Knights of Valor and the warriors of the Dagonet clan were preparing for battle — they had protected the river for decades, not letting a single abomination from the Stormsea reach the Mirror Lake.

    Of course, the best of them were in Godgrave now... and the guest who had come from the sea this time was a much more dreadful creature than the abominable dwellers of. the depths.

    She winced.

    The river passed the series of great locks and flowed south, disappearing beyond the horizon. The Stormsea was somewhere out there, as well, a few days away. In truth, Morgan did not need to destroy Rivergate...

    Because it was already doomed.

    The warriors crowding the walls of the fortress did not know it, and the six Saints she had recruited did not know it either. But in truth, there was no way to stop her brother here. He would destroy Rivergate himself — everything except for the Gateway — and unleash the caged river, washing away all signs of the destructive battle.

    The warriors would die. The civilians living in the young city that had grown upstream of Rivergate would most likely become collateral damage in the Transcendent clash.

    Morgan's goal here was not to save the ancestral home of clan Dagonet, but to get a measure of the enemy's strength, and hopefully destroy a couple of his Transcendent vessels.

    Still, still...

    Fighting a losing battle did not feel pleasant.

    Morgan had inherited the lineage of War God. and so, she was often called the Princess ofWar. She had been fighting against Nightmare Creatures since before she was an Awakened — in fact, Morgan had barely finished middle school when she was sent into an arena to face a Dormant Beast for the first time.

    Her First Nightmare had been a ruthless one, and she had undergone the trial of the winter solstice like any ordinary Sleeper would. As an Awakened, she led countless warriors into battles to protect the lands controlled by her father, as well as various cities in the waking world.

    She had conquered the Second Nightmare without losing a single member of her cohort, and excelled in every duty entrusted to her as a Master...

    Until Antarctica.

    In the four years since, Morgan‘s renown had only grown. She had challenged the Third Nightmare alone, attained Transcendence, and took her rightful place as the general of the Valor army.

    Changing Star might have shone brighter on the battlefield, but it was Morgan who governed the powerful war machine of the Sword Domain, making sure that the blossoming kingdom suffered no setbacks.

    Today, many people called her a genius strategist...

    Of course, most of those people had no idea about what that word really meant. In truth, there was no strategy to a war of Awakened.

    There was only chaos.

    In a battlefield where Saints and Devils fought, chaos reigned supreme. There were too many strange Aspects, too many bizarre powers, too inconceivable variables. Most lessons taught by the history of warfare went out of the window, leaving only mayhem and carnage in their wake.

    So, the only thing a strategist could do was rein in the chaos, tame it, and make it serve their goals.

    ...Take Rivergate, for example.

    It was a mighty fortress — one that should have been nearly impregnable for any enemy coming from the south.

    But what did it matter if the enemy possessed the Ability to connect two reflections through his small, personal Mirror Realm and travel between them, bringing his army along?

    The warriors on the walls were preparing to repel an attack from the south, the siege weapons were aimed downstream, and even Morgan herself was looking there. But her brother could easily attack from the north, taking the city behind the fortress hostage first.

    In fact, he could just bypass Rivergate entirely and go directly to Bastion.

    Only he wouldn't.

    Because Morgan was here, taming the chaos.

    Mordret‘s goal was Bastion, but he did not know what traps his father and Clan Valor had set up for him there. So, he would not attack it recklessly — conquering the Great Citadel was a time-consuming affair.

    And if he left Morgan behind to advance north...

    She would simply go south and take the Night Garden, instead.

    That was also the reason why Mordret could not spread his vessels thin and attack the cities of the Sword Domain situated further inland — not only would he have to surrender the Citadels of the Stormsea to place new tethers, but the former Great Citadel of the House of Night would be left defenseless.

    ...Of course, Morgan was sure that her brother actually wanted her to attack Night Garden. Otherwise, he wouldn't have run it ashore, turning it into an almost irresistible bait. Who knew what kind of trap he had prepared for her there?

    After all, Mordret — that thing pretending to be her brother — was an heir of War, as well, no matter how much her father wanted to deny it.

    Mordret knew how to tame chaos, too.

    Between the two of them, the one who could do it better would survive, and the other one would die.

    'Funny.‘

    Morgan smiled, enjoying the warm breeze.

    She did not really have memories of her brother from early childhood. He had already been gone by the time she grew old enough to remember anything. Morgan's mother had died giving birth to her, and her father was a distant presence at best — he was more of a teacher than a parent, full of demanding expectation, but devoid of warmth.

    She was mostly raised by the elders of Clan Valor. But there was a distance between her and the members of branch families, as well as the children from the vassal clans. Growing up, the closest thing she had to friends her age were the daughters of Ki Song... who were now her enemies, funnily enough.

    Still, it had not been an unhappy childhood.

    ...Until the brother she did not remember returned.

    Morgan had been ten or eleven when he showed up in Bastion, having already conquered the First Nightmare. She was happy at first, but then... then, she quickly learned that there was something wrong about the eerie boy who called himself Mordret.

    Mordret had taught her what fear was, all the way back then.

    And now, standing on the wall of Rivergate, Morgan felt it again.

    She hated to admit it, but she was a little afraid.

    An amused smile appeared on her face.

    'How refreshing.‘

    It was such a nostalgic emotion. She had not felt it in a long, long while. Turning to her six Transcendent companions, Morgan lingered for a moment, and then said:

    "What are you waiting for? Get to business."

    Nightingale gave her a confused look.

    ...Even his confusion looked elegant and dashing.

    He was so annoying.

    "What business?"

    Morgan raised an eyebrow.

    "What do you mean? Command the soldiers to retreat, get them off the walls, start evacuating the city. Put everyone on boats and send them up the river to Bastion."

    Rivergate might have been doomed, but that did not mean that everyone here had to die or become a hostage to the Prince of Nothing. Even though there was some strategic value in using the garrison as cannon fodder to stall his vessels, Morgan decided to forego the most rational path this one time.

    She shook her head.

    "Stop staring and start moving. Go! I want the city to be empty by evening..."
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    1. Offline
      ZEXOS
      + 20 ⋅ 0 -
      1912. Self-Reflection


      It wasn't easy to evacuate an entire city in the span of a day, even if it was many times smaller than Bastion. Luckily, Morgan had Nightingale with her — with his commanding voice, everything went smoothly and swiftly.

      The warriors defending the fortress were reluctant to leave their post, but they did not dare to disobey her. The members of the Dagonet clan were even more reluctant to abandon their Citadel without a battle, but Morgan persuaded them without too much trouble. They were mostly non-combatants, anyway — the true strength of the clan was far north, fighting in Godgrave.

      The rest knew that they would be of no real help in the clash against the banished prince of Valor.

      By the time the sun started to roll toward the horizon, Rivergate had grown eerily quiet. Now, only the seven Saints remained in the ancient fortress, calmly preparing for battle. The Saints from the House of Night were grim and full of murderous desire for vengeance... the three government Saints were strangely nonchalant.

      Or maybe not so strangely. Two of them were the survivors of the Forgotten Shore, after all, while the third was Soul Reaper Jet — Morgan wasn't even sure if it was possible for them to lose composure.

      'Like Nephis.‘

      Morgan briefly contemplated destroying the Gateway of Rivergate, but then discarded that idea. It would not mean much for the war, anyway — not in the long run, at least. The infrastructure of the Sword Domain would suffer greatly, though, and it would be hard to rebuild after the war was over.

      If there would be anyone left to rebuild, that was.

      "Death! Death!"

      Morgan stared at the annoying crow that seemed to always follow Soul Reaper around with displeasure.

      She scowled slightly.

      "What are you saying, stupid bird?"

      The crow stared back at her, then fluttered its wings in the air.

      "Bird! Bird!"

      Morgan sighed and shook her head. What was she doing talking to an Echo? Finally, their preparations were complete. She threw one last glance at the river, which shone beautifully in the radiance of a blazing sunset, and took a canteen of water off her belt.

      Opening the lid, Morgan took a sip of water, then poured the rest on the paved surface of the rampart.

      For a moment, she could see her reflection in the puddle, surrounded by the reflections of the six Saints.

      Then, her reflection smiled.

      And spoke.

      "...It has been awhile, my dear sister."

      None of the Saints reeled back, but those of them from the House of Night visibly paled... even Saint Aether, who used to the ideal of composure and decorum in the past, seemed unnerved.

      Morgan nodded somberly, not paying the young man any attention.

      "Indeed. The last time I saw you... was it when you failed to kill me and ran away to save your sorry skin? And right after giving the big speech about how uncompromising your desire to see me dead was, no less. That must have been quite embarrassing for you."

      Her reflection laughed.

      "Ah... what a sweet memory! You floundering in the dirt, too weak to stand up... I truly cherish it a lot."

      Morgan gritted her teeth, the familiar feeling of shame cutting her like a blade. Mordret had taught her what shame was, as well.

      Her reflection, meanwhile, pretended to look around.

      "I see you've evacuated the town. How very unlike you, my dear sister. I would have rather expected you to string every man and woman living there on the fortress walls, to serve as padding. That would be more in line with our family's style, wouldn't it?"

      The reflection smiled pleasantly.

      "...Of course, nothing is stopping me from going after the boats first, and then returning here to finish you off."

      Morgan met his smile with one of her own.

      "Funny you should mention boats. Tell me, did you crash the Night Garden into the shore because of some devious plan, or simply because you couldn't properly control it?"

      At that moment, Soul Reaper sighed.

      "Are you really just going to trade insults?"

      Morgan's reflection shifted its gaze to the three government Saints. Its smile suddenly brightened.

      "Saint Jet, Saint Kai, Saint Athena... it warms my heart to see you again, my old comrades. Naeve, Bloodwave, and Aether too. I cherish the memories of conquering Nightmares and battling the Stormsea side by side with you all, as well."

      Saint Naeve stared at the reflection coldly, then uttered through gritted teeth: "You vile creature..."

      The reflection remained silent for a few moments, its smile slowly draining away. Eventually, it stared at them with an eerie, inhuman expression.

      Seeing her own face wearing it was a little disturbing, even for Morgan.

      The reflection spoke once again, this time not bothering to put on a human mask:

      "I am going to say it once. The six of you... have nothing to do with this. This is between me and the Great Clan Valor — a family affair, if you will. So, I'll give you a chance to escape. Surrender the fortress and leave. Then, I will spare your lives."

      Saint Naeve looked at the reflection darkly.

      "It is indeed a family affair. Our family, which you slaughtered!"

      Soul Reaper Jet, meanwhile, just shrugged nonchalantly.

      "It would be really inconvenient for me if you conquer Bastion. So... sorry. We'll stay."

      Her crow chose that solemn moment to caw loudly:

      "Sorry! Sorry!"

      Morgan glanced at the stupid bird, shook her head, and looked back at her reflection.

      "It must be getting really crowded in your head, huh? Did you really think they would take you up on that offer?"

      The reflection remained motionless for a few moments, then suddenly smiled. "Not really. But I had to ask for the sake of politeness. Not that that is out of the way..."

      Its smile turned bleak and eerie.

      "...Prepare to die, I guess. Ah, I have really waited for this moment for a long, long time."

      A moment later, the wall under their feet trembled slightly.

      And at the same time, the water of the river far downstream churned, revealing several gargantuan shapes.

      Morgan looked at the sunset and took a long, deep breath.

      Scarlet sparks danced around her head, forming into a black helmet.

      "Prepare for battle."

      And just like that, the battle for Rivergate began.
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  6. Offline
    Crosby
    + 11 ⋅ 0 -
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/17mz3nqRiVIA7ssL7vTFE9B7cXqvrxQX5yWO5TlMxOfI/edit?usp=sharing

    1911, 1912
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    1. Offline
      DanielPlay
      + 1 ⋅ 1 -
      Thanks bro, G3 filled a lot of sausage in this chapter 1911 to delay the start of the battle.
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    2. Offline
      Dummybaron
      + 5 ⋅ 0 -
      G3 thank you for Morgan pov chapters, you almost gave me hope that you didn't begin to develop her character just to kill her off in the end.
      Morgan pls survive
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  7. Offline
    MefetraN7
    + 0 ⋅ 14 -
    А я писал до всей этой заварушки что кэсси ОПЯТЬ что то скрывает. Даже параллель привёл с рекой времени где кэсси так же знала и молчала. Здесь так же, опять молчит и скрывает ведь "она лучше знает"(нет). Как ей можно доверять?!?! Человек бесконечно лжёт, не знаешь где правда и где ложь. Я даже уверен что кэсси все помнит, но строит из себя непомнящего.
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    1. Offline
      Zrilla
      + 4 ⋅ 1 -
      Я не думаю что Кэсси всë помнит, нит. А вот то что она может строить планы в тайне от других это так, но вряд ли эти планы направлены против целей Нефис.
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    2. Offline
      Doksoo
      + 23 ⋅ 0 -
      to say that Cassie remembers everything considering that we had chapters from her Pov = the height of stupidity.
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      1. Offline
        MefetraN7
        + 2 ⋅ 7 -
        Ты из всей этой писанины только до этого доебался? Самому не смешно? Это даже не было утверждением, просто моя мысль, не удивился бы. В конце войны ебало к осмотру будет у вас. Кэсси я не доверяю, если у кэсси будет выбор слить санни но спасти все, она сразу сольёт санни, уже проходили.
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        1. Offline
          Dummybaron
          + 2 ⋅ 2 -
          Так Санни бы на её месте так же поступил бы лол.
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          1. Offline
            MefetraN7
            + 1 ⋅ 2 -
            Да и? Только вот санни гг этой ранобе. И мы на его стороне) LOL
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            1. Offline
              Dummybaron
              + 1 ⋅ 2 -
              Ну я такой не приязни к Касси не питаю прости,. Понятное дело что она что-то планирует, скорее всего что-то не очень приятное, но как говорится "No pain = No gain"
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            2. Offline
              Doksoo
              + 4 ⋅ 1 -
              Huh, no, I don't have a blind "attachment" to the main character's side like the "mc fanatics".
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              1. Offline
                MefetraN7
                + 0 ⋅ 1 -
                У меня нет слепой привязанности к кэсси как у некоторых лишь потому что она милая девушка.
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                1. Offline
                  Dummybaron
                  + 0 ⋅ 0 -
                  Но у тебя есть слепая привязанность к Санни только потому что он главный герой?
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        2. Offline
          Jiros
          + 0 ⋅ 0 -
          Слить Санни дело святое. Дело богоугодное.
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  8. Offline
    Reii
    + 12 ⋅ 0 -
    Effie calls Sunny a doofus but she's the true doofus cheerful I want to know what's up with Cassie though. Still no word from her is worrying. 20
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    1. Offline
      Evinie
      + 12 ⋅ 0 -
      I was almost worried but then I remember its Cassie, she's very strong and low-key. I think nobody but the closest people to her know what her aspect does...
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      1. Offline
        SrgtLock
        + 7 ⋅ 0 -
        I wouldn’t be surprised if Cassie had an aspect to her power that nobody knows about. Although I’m not a fan of her sneaking about, that’s for sure.
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        1. Online Offline
          ArMiks
          + 3 ⋅ 0 -
          ironic how a blind girl is sneakier than most eh?
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          1. Offline
            Earthly Desert Fox
            + 3 ⋅ 0 -
            This is actually very convenient. She was just a crying girl at first. If she had stayed the same, I would have given up on the novel completely. I'm allergic to stupid characters. I mean, in this case, she would have followed in Sakura's footsteps.
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            1. Offline
              SrgtLock
              + 0 ⋅ 0 -
              Well let’s not forget she started off as a non blind girl, then became one that has to be thrust into a world designed to kill her. The fact she lives at all is a testament to her fortitude and luck. Sakura was a dunce most of the series.
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