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Chapter 2995: Time to Return
Shadow Slave

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  1. Online Offline
    Tammytrades
    + 0 ⋅ 0 -
    I went on a re-read recently and I'm almost catching up with the recent chapters.

    It made me realize why even after G3's attempt at Cassie's redemption, she still isn't quite liked.

    To breakdown Cassie's case ,
    -She planned to betray sunny
    ~She apparently apologized for it just after she made her decision to
    -She did the betrayal, coming to terms with the fact that she might have doomed him
    -When she was confronted, she tried to justify her actions
    -She didn't apologize because she had apparently apologized in advance and because words have no meaning when the damage has already been done.

    It's like having your partner plan to cheat on you for whatever reason, then you're given an apology with no reason tied to it, months later, you get cheated on, you find out your partners wrong doing and then they defend themselves. Trying to justify their actions and then say nothing because they've apologized to you well in advance when you didn't even know the reason for the apology.

    I mean, I understand Cassie, I do. Being new to the whole divination thing, she was right to be afraid thinking she'd lose her friend. She was closer to neph at the time she made the decision, so it was okay, I guess.

    But understanding doesn't take away the hurt from a betrayal.
    It doesn't matter that she started making plans to right her wrong, give sunny a choice.
    She shouldn't have left him hanging.

    Well, this is just my opinion.

    In her bid to right her wrong, she manipulates Sunny and her friends and enemies trying to bring about the desirable outcome of changing fate.
    Doing the exact same thing that got her in the mess in the first place.

    She should have given him a proper apology.
    While words don't fix mistakes, the sincerety of those words soothe the flames of rage and distrust.

    Another thing that I feel made readers dislike Cassie is oddly enough, Sunny's reaction.
    When Cassie barely showed any sincerety or remorse, he tried to hurt her with his words. He lashes out. Pretty normal. But then time passed and he seemingly moved on. That moving on is the issue.
    That's why most readers liked sin of solace. He brought up her betrayal and the way she reacted simple and plain. I mean I understand that it was a bit complicated for sunny to handle, that's why he tried to forget about it, get closer to her, trust her again... Oddly enough.
    His actions or rather, his inactions just made it more difficult to like her.

    And then there was neph.
    She's shown enough wit to understand life relationships.

    So tell me why she decided to act as though one of her friends didn't betray the other friend. I mean, sure it was hectic for her when she came back.
    But she was the nexus of the betrayal. She said nothing about it, did nothing about it... Even when confronted about her hold over him, the reason for her hold was never mentioned.


    I mean, sure in the end, Cassie made such "great" sacrifices- manipulating things to give sunny a chance at being free from fate.
    But those simple words were never truly said.
    On top of that, at the end of the 3rd nightmare, she just came out with her secret plans like a villain.

    I respect her actions, I truly do. Doesn't make liking her any easier. I don't hate her though.

    The end.
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  2. Offline
    Avid Reader
    + 2 ⋅ 0 -
    Quote: Mitch
    I hope this isn’t a team up job. Once Nephis and Sunny get out. Since Cassie has cut everyone who knows Asterion from him, they combine and kill his ass. Not before they see two dragons flying and think wtf is that and killing that frosty bastard and Nephis healing the singers tongue. Then they go and 2 on one Asterion’s ass , pause, then later everyone just becomes supreme some how on their own. Rain is catching everyone and just became a saint just because for some reason the writer thinks she needs to be important. She sucks. Thennnn kill that f#cking Mordret.

    Holy Skimwalking.
    This has got to be ragebait🫩🥀. Also when tf was Rain ever a Saint?
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    1. Offline
      mischievous schemer
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      Ik right. Like she just became a master like 2 seconds ago lol in that time
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  3. Offline
    Ohshitimsorry
    + 14 ⋅ 0 -
    2996 Killer Instinct

    “Die... just die, bastard..."

    Effie had the homunculus — what remained of it — pinned to the floor. Her emaciated figure was mangled and gruesomely brutalized, blood flowing down the polished steel of her battered armor like rust. There was no strength left in her body, no capacity to continue fighting... but her hazel eyes remained sharp and clear, burning with ruthless killing intent.

    That killing intent, the predatory resolve to bring her prey down, was the only thing that pushed her to move now.

    Beneath her, the thing that had been pretending to be the butler of Mirage Castle was still struggling to break free. The homunculus was in a ghastly state as well, his chest broken and caved in, countless wounds littering his artificial body. Only what spilled from his wounds was not blood — instead, it was liquid metal akin to mercury.

    The creature refused to die, and while it was broken and savagely mutilated, it still retained the strength of a Supreme Devil. So even in this weakened state, the thing was still utterly deadly.

    But so was Effie...

    Effie was deadly, too. That was who she had become on the terrifying streets of the Dark City, hunting down abominations much more powerful than her in order not to starve. Her killer instinct might have become buried under the red dust of mundane life, but it was still there... it was still ruthlessly sharp and deadly, having only been made more so by the years of experience.

    And so, she was intending to kill the homunculus.

    "Die!"

    Batting the thing's arms away with her mangled arm, she thrust her fingers into his neck. Pushing through the stone-hard mass of the creature's flesh, she growled and wrapped them around his spine.

    And then, with a ferocious scream, she tore his head clean off his shoulders.

    Well... not quite. There was nothing clean about it — in fact, it was the opposite.

    A fountain of mercury flowed out of the torn neck of the homunculus, and bits of sinew still stuck to the head as she raised it high above her own.

    Effie stared into the old man's spinning eyes for a brief moment.

    Then, she slammed the torn head into the floor with all her might, causing it to burst like a loaded grenade.

    There was a shockwave and a deafening thunderclap. When the dust settled, a vast web of cracks covered the stone floor of the throne room, spreading outward from the point where Effie's hand rested in a puddle of liquid metal.

    The body of the homunculus finally stopped moving.

    She exhaled slowly...

    And slowly fell to the floor.

    “Aaah...”

    Effie was in a sea of pain. Her strength had left her, and she couldn't even move a finger. Worse still, she could feel blood flowing out of her body. Her essence seemed to be flowing away, as well, as if her soul had become a sieve that was incapable of holding it.

    ‘Am I... dying?’

    She didn't know.

    It sort of seemed that way, though. Gathering what little strength she had left, Effie twisted her neck and looked at the Gateway of Mirage Castle. It seemed so far away... but she had to reach it, somehow. ‘Right. Let's crawl, Effie. Just... let's move.’ But she couldn't move. She couldn't make her body obey.

    In the end, she had only made it a few meters away from the headless corpse of the homunculus when a shadow fell over her. Looking up, Effie saw a familiar face.

    It was Thane. The defenders of the Castle seemed to have pushed her soldiers back, and they had no choice but to retreat into the throne room.

    Effie smiled weakly.

    “Thane... that Gateway is so damn far. I don't think I am going to make it. So... go conquer it in my stead, will you? No time... to waste..."

    The flamboyant Saint stared down at her with a frozen expression. Then, his lips moved slightly.

    "No, just... I think you should take it, Saint Athena."

    Effie's pale smile widened a tiny bit.

    “Oh? So... I should just take it, huh? Gods... how audacious. My husband is right there..."

    She tried to laugh, but it caused her too much pain, so she coughed instead and grew quiet.

    “Ah... I'm afraid I'm not very mobile at the moment, Thane."

    But someone had to finish the job.

    Thane stared at her for a moment, then looked away.

    And then, he shouted:

    “What are you standing there for, blockheads?! Come help Saint Athena reach the Gateway! It's inconvenient for her to move right now..."

    ‘What is he even...'

    Effie heard the sound of footsteps, and someone's hands carefully hoisted her up. Then, she felt the world moving past her. Her soldiers were carrying her to the Gateway.

    ‘How embarrassing.'

    But then again, Effie had experienced this exact thing myriad times in her youth, before regaining her health as a Master. Being lifted and carried around by people, unable to move through the world herself. Her eyes suddenly felt hot.

    She had tried to escape it so earnestly, and here she was, in exactly the same spot. Well, it didn't matter that much.

    Someone had to finish the job, and that someone was Effie.

    It did not matter whether she crawled to the Gateway or was carried to it.

    The only thing that mattered was she and her soldiers — most of them — were still alive, and the mission entrusted to them was about to be completed.

    In the fractured hall of the Ebony Tower, Asterion staggered slightly in the middle of a swing, allowing the Mad Prince to evade his devastating blow.

    Mirage Castle was now gone from his Domain, diminishing his terrifying power a little.

    The Jade Palace was gone, too.

    So was the Night Garden.

    And the Ivory Tower, as well — Rain succeeded in breaking his connection to its Gateway, stealing the Great Citadel from beneath a Supreme just as she had promised to do.

    Each of the Great Citadels only accounted for a small part of his tyrannical authority, considering that the spreading plague of his Domain did not rely on the Nightmare Spell. However, they still added to his power, so being robbed of all four was enough to make Asterion feel the loss.

    And those four Great Citadels, while important, were insignificant in the grand scheme of all the things Asterion was losing.

    The real attack was happening somewhere else, unseen and unwitnessed by anyone. It was happening within the minds of myriad people, where a furious battle between the Dreamspawn and Cassie was raging.

    And Asterion...

    Asterion was losing that battle.

    That was because while he could manipulate human minds, Cassie could manipulate their memories. And memories were the foundation of the mind — without them, there was simply nothing for the Dreamspawn to twist and pervert. So, instead of trying to overpower his fearsome Aspect, she simply made his powers irrelevant.

    All across the two worlds, people were being cleansed of the plague. Cassie erased their memories of knowing who Asterion was, of ever hearing his name... she tried to be deliberate about which memories she was destroying, but his influence was too ubiquitous by now.

    In most cases, she simply had to erase everything that had happened since the Dreamspawn escaped his prison on the Moon.

    But that was a blessing in disguise, as well. Because Cassie could work much faster without the need to be delicate... infinitely faster, even.

    In these moments of intense concentration, her mind had become so vast that even she struggled to define its boundaries. Millions of perspectives all fused into a roaring ocean of sensations, all enthralling her with their vibrant intensity.

    Then, billions of them.

    Billions of minds, multiplied by a deep sea of memories contained within each of them... Cassie would have long lost her own self, forgetting the way back to her own body and her own perspective... to her own identity.

    If not for the harrowing, unimaginable pain that originated in her empty eye socket and ravaged her entire being.

    That vicious agony, that unbearable torment, was like a beacon in the darkness, vast and blinding enough as to be unmistakable.

    Because her pain was unique, incomparable, and therefore could not belong to anyone else but her. Guided by the pain, Cassie remembered who she was as she erased the memories of who Asterion was from the collective consciousness of humanity.

    That was the real attack — that was where the true assault on the Hunger Domain was happening, and as more and more people were cleansed of the plague, Asterion's power dwindled.

    He knew it, as well.

    Cassie was aware enough to see that the Dreamspawn was paying her attention, searching for a way to break through the barrier of death and destruction that the Mad Prince had built from his own incarnations to protect her.

    And as she liberated more and more people from the mental vice of the Hunger Domain, his determination to eradicate her at all costs grew more and more firm — enough so that Asterion came to terms with losing a part of himself to the Sin of Solace if it meant stopping Cassie from continuing her exponential assault.

    Asterion was significantly weakened by then — he had lost the four Great Citadels, and since Cassie focused on cleansing the Saints first, the Citadels they controlled were disappearing from the Hunger Domain, as well. Myriad humans were already free of the plague, and millions more were being healed of his vile power every moment. So, his authority was not as absolute anymore. However, the Mad Prince was also not in the best shape. Only two of his incarnations remained, by then, and both of them were severely wounded.

    It was because he was fighting with one hand tied behind his back. In other circumstances, the Mad Prince would have lasted longer... would have found a way to overwhelm the dreadful Supreme, perhaps. Who knew? He was a killer who had experienced thousands of years of madness and slaughter, after all.

    But that was precisely the problem. The Mad Prince was a natural killer, but today, he was not fighting to kill his enemy. Instead, he was fighting to protect someone — protect Cassie — and Asterion quickly learned to use that against him.

    The Mad Prince could protect himself, but when Asterion aimed his wrath at Cassie, the loathsome Titan was forced to shield her to his own detriment. That was why he had been reduced to only having two incarnations now, and that was why Asterion seemed to be gaining an upper hand despite losing the Hunger Domain as they spoke.

    And on top of that... even without his Domain, Asterion was still a monster who had absorbed four Divine Lineages.

    Each Lineage provided an overall augmentation to the descendants of the gods — they were generally faster, stronger, and more resilient than most humans. That augmentation extended to the parts of them that were not physical, as well — their souls, their spirits, their minds.

    The difference between those who had divine blood in their veins and ordinary people was marginal at first, but the Lineages grew more potent and extensively expressed as the inheritors climbed the Ranks, drawing closer and closer to becoming Divine.

    And although the Lineages improved all aspects of a descendant's being, each also excelled in a specific area, which received a far greater augmentation than all the rest. The lineage of Sun God, for example, concerned the soul — it made Neph's soul far more resilient, while her essence was more potent and more plentiful... pure, powerful, and containing within itself boundless potential for both destruction and salvation.

    Asterion did not possess the lineage of Sun God yet, but he did possess the lineages of Heart God, War God, Storm God, and Beast God.

    The lineage of Beast God greatly enhanced his physical body. The lineage of Heart God greatly enhanced his spirit. The lineage of War God greatly enhanced his intellect and affinity for combat, while the lineage of Storm God enhanced his mystical senses, granting him incredible intuition and foresight.

    That was what the Mad Prince was up against.

    "Is it worth it?"

    Asterion skirted the blade of the Sin of Solace and tossed a piece of obsidian at Cassie.

    A rock tossed by a Supreme was annihilating enough to topple castles and pulverize warships, and she was too distracted by the ocean of foreign perspectives to skirt or deflect it in time.

    So, the Mad Prince was forced to shield her from it, which in turn opened him up to a vicious attack.

    Asterion’s palm connected with his chest, causing a shockwave.

    Pieces of black stone fell from the fractured ceiling, and the Mad Prince fell to his knees, bloody foam flowing out of his mouth.

    His gruesomely scarred face twisted into a demented smile.

    “What?"

    Asterion pressed his advantage, but the avatar had already disappeared into the shadows, another emerging from them instead with the tip of the Sin of Solace aimed at his heart.

    "You can't kill me, and you are not strong enough to subdue me. So, you will be destroyed here, mere moments after you've been summoned back from beyond the grave. So is it worth it? Dying to protect this treacherous woman?"

    The Mad Prince laughed.

    "Treacherous? Ah... she and I are two of a kind. We go way back, Torment and I. Plus, do you take me for a fool?"

    As one incarnation attacked Asterion from the front, the other emerged from the shadows behind him and delivered a debilitating attack.

    Both spoke in unison, their eerie voices fusing into a maddening whisper:

    “I might be mad, ghoul... but I am not a fool. She is the one who is manifesting me into existence, so why would I ever let you hurt her?"

    He laughed again, sending a spray of bloody foam flying through the air.

    "So what if you destroy me? The memories of me will remain in Torment's mind. I etched myself into her, and the scars she wears because of me can never be healed. Which means that she will summon me again, one day... and a new cycle will begin for me, no different from the Great River. Over, and over, and over again... until, one day, I escape."

    The blade of the Sin of Solace whistled past Asterion's head, almost taking out his eyes.

    “So, you can destroy me all you want. But you can't destroy her..."

    Asterion smiled then, as well.

    And then, as a horrible hunger revealed itself for a moment in his eyes, he stomped on the floor.

    The floor, which had already been damaged, began to crumble under their feet, slowing down one of the Mad Prince's incarnations for a split second — but that second was enough for Asterion to appear near him and grab him by the neck.

    He drove his other hand into the abomination's abdomen, piercing it with his fingers...

    And then ripped his body in half.

    Before the last remaining incarnation could react, the torn half of his avatar's body suddenly ignited with a blinding golden light under Asterion's hands, chasing the shadows that populated the ruined hall away — and using that moment of brilliant radiance, Asterion lunged at Cassie.

    There was no time for the Mad Prince to intercept him, and no shadow nearby for him to step into.

    And so...

    Moments before, in the present, Cassie let out a mental shout:

    [Morgan, now!]

    ...Before Asterion could reach her, a wall of liquid metal suddenly appeared in his way. The surface of the metal wall was perfectly smooth and polished, reflecting the Dreamspawn's glowing golden eyes back at him.

    A moment later, a different reflection appeared from behind his and reached out of the mirror-like surface of the metal wall, grabbing him...

    And pulling him into the mirror.

    A section of the floor collapsed, and Morgan's Transcendent form disappeared from sight, plummeting down in a rain of stone debris.

    Suddenly, the ruins of the forbidden hall were enveloped by silence.

    Cassie let out a shaky breath and allowed herself to sink to the floor, using the cracked wall to support her.

    She was cleansing the remains of the plague from the world, eradicating its last vestiges. The Hunger Domain... was all but gone. Concentrated on the task, she barely heard the sound of footsteps approaching her. By the time she looked up, the gruesomely scarred face of the Mad Prince was directly in front of her, his black eyes peering into her eye with dark amusement.

    Cassie shuddered.

    Seeing that, the bloodied abomination grinned.

    "I guess you will dismiss me now. Won't you?"

    Cassie did not respond, prompting him to chuckle.

    The Mad Prince studied her for a few moments, then leaned lower and whispered into her ear:

    “How long do you think it will take me to escape that pretty little head of yours, Torment? Shall we make a bet?"

    Cassie looked at him quietly, then pressed her lips together and released her Aspect Ability.

    The Mad Prince vanished without a trace, leaving her alone in the silence.

    ‘Never. You will never escape, monster.'

    Blood flowing down her face, Cassie sighed heavily and closed her eye.

    There were still people out there who remembered Asterion, the Dreamspawn. But most of them were already free of his influence. Cassie's job was almost done.

    ‘It's up to them now...'

    2997 Final Confrontation

    Far away from the Ebony Tower, a clear blue sky reflected on the surface of a desolate glass wasteland. This was the Glass Hell, a place where the war of extinction the King of Nothing waged on humanity had begun. Now, Mordret escaped from the reflections in the southern reaches of this remote region, dragging Asterion with him.

    The two of them slammed into the glass at terrible speed, sending a net of cracks running through it, and rolled away from each other.

    A moment later, both of them were back on their feet.

    Mordret rose slowly, wiping the blood off his lips with a somber expression. Asterion seemed undisturbed, looking around with a calm expression.

    They were not alone in the glass wasteland. Two more people waited there, and Asterion found himself caught between three enemies, standing in the middle of a vast triangle formed by their motionless figures.

    One of them was a young woman with silver hair, white flames dancing in her striking grey eyes.

    The other was a man with porcelain skin and raven hair, his eyes as black as onyx. And the last one was tall and slender, his cold eyes reflecting the world back on itself like flawless mirrors.

    They were Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan, the Lord of Shadows, and the King of Nothing.

    A grim smile twisted Asterion's smile.

    "...Look who's back."

    Nephis looked at him with cold contempt, not saying anything.

    The Lord of Shadows, meanwhile, smiled back.

    "It's good to be back. Now... shall we dispense with the formalities, you bastard?"

    He sighed and rolled his shoulders, as if preparing for a fight.

    "I know that we can't kill you, but you are going to regret being alive very soon. Please believe me... I am the most honest man in the world, after all. Two worlds, even."

    It took a unique combination of conditions for Mordret to reach across the Hollow Mountains and the Nightmare Desert, into the Tomb of Ariel.

    First and foremost was the Night Garden and its captain. One of the Great Citadel's Components allowed its master to open their Dream Gate not only between the waking world and the Dream Realm, but also between two points in the same world. Another of its Components was meant to help them navigate a path across vast distances, even if no previous master of the Night Garden had managed to decipher how to use that part of the living ship's sorcery effectively.

    Nightwalker, meanwhile, had a mystical ability to always get to where he wanted to go. He was just not of a high enough Rank to truly make use of the unique enchantments suffusing the Night Garden.

    That was why he had been one of the first people healed from the plague by Cassie, alongside Morgan. Of course, Mordret had already subdued both him and the other Saints of Night by then... it was a difficult fight precisely because he had to keep them alive.

    Slaughtering the House of Night for the second time would have been easier, but he was not the same man who had perpetrated that massacre. He had no reason to kill Nightwalker, and no desire to. Not to mention that he needed the man to accomplish what Cassie had asked of him. Another condition that had to be met to perform that task was Mordret himself. In truth, he did not need the Night Garden to connect two points of the same realm with his Dream Gate. That had already been one of his powers, and the Mirror Gate had been doing just that throughout the war his predecessor waged on humanity.

    When Mordret's power and the potent Component of the Night Garden were combined, his ability to reach distant reflections was greatly enhanced.

    But even that was not enough to travel to the heart of the Tomb of Ariel.

    One of the two most important conditions was that something had changed inside the great pyramid, making its interior less isolated from the outside world than it had been.

    And most importantly of all...

    Mordret had been able to enter the Tomb of Ariel because Changing Star and the Lord of Shadows were already there — especially the latter.

    The Lord of Shadows — Sunny — shared a deep connection with all the subjects of his Domain, be they alive or dead. The living subjects in particular bore the Mark of Shadows and served as conduits of his perception, which meant that there was a connection between them.

    One such subject had been very near to the Ebony Tower, actually — it was Rain, the Princess of Shadows, who was trying to conquer the Ivory Tower when Mordret was preparing to leave.

    He used the connection between her and the leader of her clan to trace the location of the Lord of Shadows — and then, he used that location to plot a course. Instead of sailing blindly across infinity, the Night Garden followed the mystical link between a Supreme and his subordinate, being pulled toward its source.

    That was how Mordret managed to arrive at the Estuary.

    There, he briefly explained the situation — as much of it as he himself understood, at least — and invited the two Supremes aboard the Night Garden.

    And now, here they were...

    Changing Star was back, and the Lord of Shadow was back as well.

    The world had irrevocably changed in their absence, and it was going to change once again now.

    Because they were going to vanquish the Dreamspawn and erase his profane existence from the world.

    In the throne room of Bastion, Effie's eyes widened. Then, a soft radiance suffused her skin, healing her countless wounds.

    Pure white flame burned away the bloodied cloth she had used to cover her stump, and then slowly began to coalesce into the shape of a hand.

    A sigh of relief escaped from her lips, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

    "They're back..."

    Far away, Kai was pushing his scorched body deeper and deeper into the incinerating expanse of incandescent lava. The heat here was devastating enough to make his midnight scales melt, even if he was protected by the [Dragonslayer] Attribute. His flesh beneath blackened and frayed, melting as well.

    He had dove deeper than the volcano, plunging into the vast magma chamber below — and deeper still, passing the crust of the Dream Realm, into its molten mantle. The pressure here was so terrifying that even his draconic body was on the verge of being crushed, his bones groaning under immense strain. The lava had turned viscous and difficult to push through, slowly becoming solid...

    But it wasn't quite impenetrable yet.

    ‘I... can't... anymore...'

    Kai was being burned and incinerated by the heat. He could still push through the lava, but not fast enough to outrun his enemy. The white dragon was still pursuing him, even if the horrid heat was draining the vicious cold that dwelled within his body. It was already only a few moments away from catching Kai in his maw and tearing him apart.

    But, hopefully... hopefully, they had made it far enough from Ravenheart.

    Hopefully, the white dragon would get lost in this harrowing ocean of incinerating radiance forever, and never find its way back to the surface.

    Kai was ready to say goodbye to the pain... But then, something moved in the incandescent radiance of the solidifying lava.

    He wasn't sure that his mind was capable of comprehending what he saw... his scorched eyes were mostly useless by now, anyway... but he felt a vast, alien, and incinerating presence rising from the depths of the molten hell towards them.

    Dozens of gargantuan tendrils moved through the lava, coalescing from the same incandescent liquid that surrounded them... hundreds of them, even, stretching into the fiery, immolating depths of earth.

    Where the ghastly core of the harrowing creature hid, drifting in the currents of liquid flame.

    And while the tendrils seemed to pay a bit of attention to Kai...

    The true target of their focus was the source of the lethal cold that had invaded their world.

    The white dragon opened its maw, straining to let out a roar.

    Its frenzied eyes pierced Kai with a chilling gaze for a moment...

    And then, the Cursed Devil clashed with the harrowing dweller of the fiery depths, sending ripples spreading through the sea of lava.

    Kai did not see it, though.

    He was slowly sinking into the depths of the earth by then. His consciousness was fading.

    He had endured enough...

    And then, the hue of the incandescent radiance that surrounded him changed subtly.

    In place of harrowing agony, a soothing warmth enveloped his body.

    The terrible burns covering it began to heal in pure white light.

    Kai moved slightly.

    He moved, and then pushed his body up.

    Sunny studied Asterion, thinking about the battle ahead.

    The battle... was not going to be an easy one, even with the three of them fighting the Dreamspawn at the same time.

    That was because they couldn't kill him. Even if Cassie had succeeded in attaining natural Supremacy and all but wiped out the Hunger Domain, she could not erase the idea of him from existence entirely.

    After all, if she did, then the three of them would not remember who Asterion was, and would therefore have no reason to kill him. There were beings out there who carried the idea of the Dreamspawn within them that were beyond her reach, as well. Like Eurys, for example, who had learned the name of Asterion from Sunny.

    That was the reason why they had left Ananke behind aboard the Night Garden. She had no idea who Asterion was, after all, and keeping it that way was more important than having her aid in this fight.

    So, they were not going to be able to kill him... which meant that they had to subdue him.

    And subduing someone — let alone an exceedingly fearsome Supreme — was far more difficult than simply killing them. Still...

    Sunny believed that they were going to win. In fact, he believed that this battle, albeit difficult, was nothing but a formality.

    In truth, Asterion had already lost.

    He had lost when he failed to kill Cassie before she became a Supreme.

    And he had failed to kill her, choosing to rip out her eyes instead, because he wanted to devour her with the rest of humanity. He did not want to lose the sustenance of a powerful Saint's soul as he attempted Apotheosis in the future.

    So, in the end... it was Asterion's greed that became his ruin.

    Ironically enough, it was his insatiable hunger that doomed him.

    Sunny smiled coldly.

    Asterion studied the three Supremes that faced him, his gaze lingering a bit longer on Mordret.

    Then, he turned to face Sunny.

    Something dark and guarded surfaced for a moment in his golden eyes.

    "The Tomb of Ariel... so that was where you were hiding. I see."

    He must have already read Sunny's thoughts by now and learned the general outline of things that had transpired in the Tomb of Ariel.

    That was why Asterion's facade of amused nonchalance had cracked for a moment. The Dreamspawn did not seem wary of Nephis or Mordret.

    In truth, he wasn't even wary of Sunny. ..But he seemed to be wary of fate.

    And now that Sunny was [Fated] again, Asterion finally felt a hint of apprehension. He inhaled deeply, and then faced them with a smile.

    “I must admit, I am impressed. I did not expect that there was a way to stop me... not any kind of way that any of you would be able to use, at least.”

    Asterion shook his head.

    “Let us not drag this out, then. I have quite a mess to clean up after destroying you three... ah, how frustrating...”

    A moment later, the desolate silence of the Glass Hell exploded into a furious litany of deafening thunderclaps. Its peace was destroyed, and only carnage reigned in the vast wasteland.
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    1. Offline
      mariokaa
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      So in the end they can't kill Asterion?? Damn. How are they supposed to kill him then. Maybe when they reached spirit, they would be able to overpower his aspect
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      mischievous schemer
      + 0 ⋅ 0 -
      Oh my lord, these two chapters are soo peak butwhy acinema
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  4. Online Offline
    M_DPrInCe
    + 3 ⋅ 8 -
    [spoilerl]ISN'T ASTERION JUST TWO OVER POWERED 5 SUPREMES
    3 DIVINE LIANEGE ONES
    2 BROKEN ONES CASSIA AND ANANKR
    OVERPOWERRD SAINTS JET EFFIE
    STILL VKICTORY NOT CONFIRMED WITHOUT SACRAFICES
    DAMMMM[/spoiler]
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    1. Offline
      Bandupkyy
      + 3 ⋅ 0 -
      Bro…..pls get a better fckin way of writing a spoiler tag
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      1. Offline
        Hussein
        + 3 ⋅ 0 -
        What did he spoil I don’t get it he is just stating what we all knew ??
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        1. Offline
          Avid Reader
          + 0 ⋅ 0 -
          I think how the guy failed to use a spoiler tag correctly just pissed everyone off.
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  5. Offline
    JR3
    + 0 ⋅ 0 -
    I just realized we are 4 chapters away from 3k chaptersjoy... That means we might only have 1k left before SS ends. butwhy
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  6. Online Offline
    totiwinkins
    + 0 ⋅ 0 -
    do u guys think that asterion will be just killed or we are going to get like a mental battle interrogatory between him and cassie in order to get the knowledge that he has on the nightmares, demons, asention, and so on? i would kinda like an asterion flashback to know whats in his head or why was he collecting divine lineages. Also that might be a power up that to turn the tides up against the pack, he is known to have a piece of every divine linage but sunnys so his trascendent transformation could be a lot more than we are specting.

    i Hope u tell me your takes.
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    1. Offline
      Ohshitimsorry
      + 0 ⋅ 0 -
      I still hope that Asterion will follow in his older comrade's footsteps and escape alive. Something like, "Haha, actually, this is all part of my plan, and now I'll take the bloodline of the god of sun and shadow and go level up somewhere far away or even conquer the fifth nightmare. Adios, losers."
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    KRi8 JAY
    + 5 ⋅ 0 -
    Chapter 2996: Killer Instinct
    Chapter 2997: Final Confrontation
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    1. Offline
      Bandupkyy
      + 4 ⋅ 0 -
      Bro you was quick ash lmao, they just dropped 2 sec ago
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  8. Offline
    Floein Valache
    + 0 ⋅ 0 -
    I supose mordret can just walk through the reflection of the water ?
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  9. Offline
    BlAzExx
    + 9 ⋅ 0 -
    Where Are our chapters 😪
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  10. Online Offline
    Fellow reader
    + 0 ⋅ 0 -
    Download pick me up! A magical ship with instant teleportation will cost favor points troll11
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