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Chapter 2524: The Wise and Benevolent Prince Mordret

Mordret laughed.

"Me? Goodness gracious... I don't even officially exist in this reality. How are you going to make me into bait?"

Sunny grinned.

"How else? By dressing you in a fancy suit and giving you some hair gel, naturally. You will take the place of your nicer self and draw Madoc out. Naturally, your life will be in grave danger when you do... but that is a risk I am quite willing to take."

He let out a dreamy sigh.

"Actually, I am looking forward to it." Mordret picked up his overturned glass and emptied the rest of the bottle into it. Taking a sip, he gave Sunny an amused look.

"But what's in it for me?"

Sunny shrugged.

"That is negotiable, but... look at yourself. You can put on a brave face, but it is obvious that your time here in the Palace of Imaginations has not been pleasant. I don't think I ever saw you in such a sorry state. Staying alive while the entire Mirage City is hunting you has not been easy, has it? So are you really in a position to make demands?"

Mordret laughed.

He savored his drink, then gave Sunny a curious glance.

"Have you really not entered the Great Mirror to kill me?"

Sunny grimaced, uncomfortable with having to answer that question. It threatened to reveal too much of his secrets to Mordret, which was never a good thing.

"I did not even know that you could be killed outside a soul duel before meeting your better half. So, no."

Mordret considered something for a few moments.

"But now that you know, you probably would not mind killing me. Isn't that the case?"

‘Damnation.’

Sunny let out a frustrated sigh.

"Sure. There are too many reasons to kill you, and too few to keep you alive. Please don't take offense... actually, please do. I meant it as an insult."

Mordret chuckled and finished his drink in one gulp.

"Well, you are wrong. The reasons to keep me alive might be few, but they outweigh the myriad reasons to be rid of me that you and Changing Star seem to have. In fact... forget about why you came here. Why do you think I came here, Sunless?"

Sunny frowned.

"Wasn't it to stop Morgan from carving your other self's heart out?"

Mordret slowly shook his head.

"That was a reason, but not the reason... in truth, I would have come here even if Morgan had not learned about his existence."

He glanced Sunny right in the eye and smiled.

"Gods... you really have no idea, do you? How troubling."

Sunny's frown deepened.

"I do have an idea. In fact, I have several ideas — and the more you keep talking in circles, the more ideas I get."

Mordret sighed and glanced away.

In a rare moment of sincerity, his mask of decorum slipped, revealing a hint of some somber emotion, as well as unease.

Then, he put his polite smile back on. "Allow me to enlighten you, then. I've been quite heartbroken to learn that you managed to kill my father before I could, Sunless. So heartbroken, in fact, that I was considering doing something unwise to get back at you. Something childish and vindictive... like devastating the entire Sword Domain or turning NQSC into a graveyard before slowly pulling you limb from limb."

While Sunny's expression turned dark, his smile widened a little.

"Ah, but I swiftly regained my senses. Sure, it pained me a great deal to have my vengeance stolen from me... but I am nothing if not a pragmatist. The goal I chose to make the purpose of my existence was gone. So, like the wise and benevolent man that I am, I decided to look to the future instead of dwelling on the past."

Sunny smiled darkly.

"Oh? You sure it wasn't because pulling a Sovereign limb from limb posed a bit of a problem to your benevolent self?"

Mordret laughed.

"Ah, indeed. Despite my anger, the prospect of making two new Supremes my sworn enemies did not seem too enticing."

Sunny studied him for a while.

"So, what was the future you envisioned for yourself? Did you find a new goal?" Mordret shrugged.

"It is too soon to speak about new goals. I have to ensure my safety first. My actions, you see, are a matter of necessity at the moment — not of choice."

Sunny scowled.

"What the hell do you mean? What necessity?"

Mordret chuckled.

His laughter did not sound very joyous, though.

"Think about it. I hid my Flaw — my one weakness — in this secretive place. Not even my father knew about his existence or about the Palace of Imagination. You learned about my Flaw from Morgan, while Morgan learned it from the legacy left behind by Ki Song. But how did Ki Song know about it, not to mention where to find it?"

Sunny glanced at him somberly.

"I don't know. I assumed it was through some form of divination... perhaps Death Singer had lent a hand."

Mordret shook his head.

"No, it wasn't divination. Someone simply told her about it. Someone who knows more about me than anyone else, and with whom she could bargain to keep my father in check."

Sunny tensed.

The person Mordret was hinting at could be only one man.

"You mean... the third Sovereign."

Mordret smiled sharply.

"Indeed. The Dreamspawn knows my weakness very well. He knows a great deal of things... in fact, I am not sure if there is anything he does not know."

His voice sounded a bit peculiar. If Sunny did not know Mordret better, he would have believed that the bastard was... afraid.

But, naturally, that was impossible.

"So what does it have to do with you coming to the Palace of Imagination?"

Mordret shrugged.

"It's easy. My Flaw has been safe here until now, but not anymore."

He lingered for a few seconds, and then added with a chilling smile:

"Because the Dreamspawn is coming. And when he does, no one in the world — any world — will be safe anymore."

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  1. Offline
    + 40 -
    Chapter 2525 The Dreamspawn Cometh

    A heavy silence settled in the tent bar, broken only by the muted rustle of the rain outside. The mention of the nebulous Sovereign, Asterion, caused the chill of the night to feel colder, and the darkness in the corners of the bar to seem darker... even though both Sunny and Mordret had avoided mentioning his name.

    After all, those who knew of his existence all believed that the Dreamspawn could hear his name being spoken aloud, no matter where and when it was spoken.

    Even knowing about him could attract his attention.

    Sunny smiled crookedly.

    "The Dreamspawn... oh my, what a scarecrow."

    He leaned back, relaxing on his plastic chair, and shrugged.

    "I've been hearing scary stories about this man for decades now. But is he really that frightening? From what I could tell, his only claim to glory was joining your father in betraying Broken Sword. Even then, they just barely managed to kill him."

    Mordret shook his head.

    "I think you misunderstand something, Sunless. It wasn't that the Dreamspawn joined my father... my dear father only dared to tum on Broken Sword because he had struck a deal with the Dreamspawn. Which, albeit it pains me to admit, is not at all an indication of my father's weakness — rather, Broken Sword was b111b3)H that much of a monster."

    He smiled pleasantly.

    "I should know. After all, I was the price my father paid to ensure the Dreamspawn's support. And because of that, Broken Sword ended up dead despite all his dire power."

    He shrugged.

    "You are quite a treacherous person yourself, Sunless, so you should know that the means one uses to achieve victory do not matter too much. The only thing that matters is who is left standing at the end of the battle — that is the only true measure of power. The Dreamspawn might have used cunning and treachery to kill Broken Sword, but he still killed him. Which means that, in the end, he was a deadlier monster."

    Sunny could not argue that point.

    Still, he felt reluctant to agree.

    "Sure, cunning and deviousness are a part of one's power. But what of it? How diabolical that guy could have been if he ended up being outplayed and trapped on the Moon by his allies?"

    He smirked.

    "Gods. Who's to say that he is still alive, even? That mysterious boogeyman everyone seems to be terrified of might have died years ago. There is a Category Six Gate on the Moon, after all... or maybe something even more unfathomable. Which means that there is an Unholy horror guarding that Gate. Even if the nature of the waking world is suppressing its powers, I find it hard to believe that your Dreamspawn has survived decades in the domain of an Unholy abomination."

    Mordret smiled faintly.

    "Oh, he's alive. Of that, I have no doubt."

    He looked at Sunny with a strange darkness hiding in his gaze.

    “And the two of you — you and your own Dreamspawn — have made a fatal mistake. I cannot in good conscience blame you, though... in truth, his return became inevitable the moment the King of Swords and the Queen of Worms fell. Do you think that he is staying on the Moon of his own free will? No, of course not. He could have escaped it a long time ago, if not for the fact that they were suppressing him all this time, and preventing his insidious influence from spreading back to Earth."

    Mordret sighed.

    "However, the only two people who could shield the world from him are gone now. Changing Star, you, and even me — we simply do not know enough about the Dreamspawn and his powers to take their place in time. We do not have the benefit of having thoroughly prepared to contain him, either. So, he is coming... in fact, I am willing to bet that his influence has already started spreading both across the waking world and the Dream. Realm."

    Sunny raised an eyebrow.

    "Who says that we haven't prepared?"

    He sighed and looked away.

    "Naturally, we are no fools. We suspected that a confrontation with the third Sovereign was inevitable, too — so, we have been looking for signs of his return ourselves. Of course, it has not been easy due to the fact that merely knowing about him puts our agents in dantiger... but we have been looking." That was one of the purposes — perhaps the main purpose — of the Shadow Clan. Sunny had created a vast information network that spanned both worlds, serving as his eyes and ears, precisely because he wanted to know about Asterion showing up as soon as possible.

    The members of the Shadow Clan did not know what they were looking for themselves, for safety reasons, but that did not prevent them from reporting all odd and suspicious things they had noticed to Sunny, as well as serving as conduits of his shadow sense.

    In fact, he was going to receive the next report soon, now that the busy days of the winter solstice were behind them.

    Mordret looked at him with an amused smile.

    "Then you have not been looking well enough."

    Sunny remained silent for a while, then sighed.

    "The Dreamspawn... what is he like?"

    Mordret studied him for a long while, then took a deep breath and let out a short laugh.

    "Oh, him? Well, if I were to describe him succinctly... I'd say that he is a mirror image of your Changing Star. A being very much like her, but also the exact opposite of her and what she stands for, like the dark side of a brilliant sun. Or maybe he is what Changing Star was supposed to be, taken to the logical conclusion."

    Sunny scowled, surprised and unnerved by that answer.

    "What do you mean?"

    Mordret gave him a somber look.

    "You know what a Dreamspawn is, don't you? A being born of both worlds, belonging to neither. Someone walking on the edge between a human and a Nightmare Creature."

    Sunny's scowl deepened. That was one way to interpret it. Nephis was no Nightmare Creature, but in some sense, she did share a degree of... kinship with them.

    That was the reason why she could absorb a portion of the soul fragments of the abominations who died to her flames, just like Awakened who killed other Awakened could.

    "What of it?"

    Mordret smiled darkly.

    "Well, it seems to me that both of them have taken the burden of being a Dreamspawn to an extreme end. Changing Star denied the Nightmare part of her so thoroughly as to become the very symbol of humanity. Completely incorruptible. " (updates on ligh‌tnov‌elwor‌ld.‌org)

    He looked at Sunny and added in a lower tone:

    "That man, however — the first and original Dreamspawn — did the opposite. He doesn't care about being human at all... in fact, I don't think he even considers himself a human. Instead, he has accepted the creature part of him with open arms... and among all creatures, he is the most terrifying one of all. He is the kind of creature who walks around wearing a human face."

    Sunny shivered.

    ‘I think... I am starting to understand how Mordret ended up being who he is..."




    ChapterChapter 2526 Nightmare Spawn

    2526 Nightmare Spawn

    Sunny looked at Mordret in displeasure.

    Now, even he was starting to feel a little uneasy at the mention of Asterion. He was also a little stunned.

    The idea of a human who considered himself a spawn of Nightmare had never crossed his mind. Even more disturbing was the fact that Asterion had an actual claim to such a title.

    Mordret chuckled.

    "It is not that surprising if you think about it. What is a human, after all? There are some common traits we all share, like having two hands and two feet... being featherless bipeds. However, does a Saint cease to be a human when they assume their Transcendent form? Hardly. In truth, we also share more profound things. Our way of thinking, culture, values... our birthplace."

    He sighed.

    "But that man was born in a different world, and raised by people who had quite a peculiar culture and values. More than that, he was unique even among them — the first of his kind. The first human child born in the Dream Realm... the first Dreamspawn. He only encountered human civilization after becoming Awakened. So, it's not that hard to imagine that he would consider himself a stranger to our merry band. Oh, and I am using ‘our! figuratively. In truth, I feel somewhat like a stranger to mankind myself."

    Sunny offered him a half-hearted smile.

    "So what you are telling me is that while Nephis is a Dreamspawn, that man is better described as a Nightmare Spawn."

    Mordret shrugged.
    "A Dream Spawn, a Nightmare Spawn... is there really a difference? In the world we live in, the two are one and the same."

    Sunny pursed his lips.

    "There is a difference. Names have a power, you know... regardless, I am more interested in something else. That man, whatever we call him — is he actually Corrupted?"

    Mordret hesitated for a while.

    "I am not quite sure. These Dreamspawns are all paradoxical creatures, you know. I do not think that he is truly Corrupted. I believe that he is still walking the Path of Ascension. However, who can tell? He might be a human who is walking the Path of Corruption, or a Corrupted man who is walking the Path of Ascension. Or maybe there is no difference between the two for him at all."

    He grinned.

    "If I knew that much about the Dreamspawn, I wouldn't be here, desperately trying to prepare for his return. I can tell you one thing, though..."

    Mordret looked at Sunny with a smile.

    "Of all the people in both worlds, I am the one who knows the most about him. So, coming back to the question that provoked this unpleasant conversation... the reason neither you nor Changing Star can afford to kill me is that I am your best ally in the fight against the Dreamspawn."

    That soured Sunny's mood quite a lot.

    He was feverishly digesting the new information about Asterion. Sunny had known that the third Sovereign would become a problem sooner or later... however, after hearing Mordret out, he was inclined to believe the bastard. The problem would arrive sooner rather than later. And the danger posed by Asterion was maybe even greater than Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie had anticipated.
    Worse of all...

    No matter how much Sunny was revolted by the idea, he could not deny Mordret's last statement. They could not afford to exterminate their best source of information about Asterion, at least not just yet.

    Killing Mordret would be a mistake, despite how much of a loose cannon he was and all the awful crimes he had committed. They could make him answer for those after Asterion had been dealt with, regardless.

    On top of that... Sunny was still not entirely comfortable with the idea of killing the Other Mordret in cold blood just to get rid of this one. That guy was innocent, having done nothing wrong — nothing to justify an execution, anyway.

    Sunny had killed plenty of people in his life, and was not above doing what had to be done in order to achieve his goals. But he was not entirely callous, either — so, he felt undecided on what to do with the Other Mordret.

    And that, without a doubt, was another fact Mordret was counting on.

    ‘That slippery bastard...'

    Sunny looked at the Prince of Nothing somberly.

    "I might — just might — consider keeping you alive. However, you should think about giving me a taste of what you are offering, to help me make the decision. What powers does Asterion possess? What is his Aspect? What is his Flaw? Why is he searching for Divine Lineages? And so on."

    Mordret laughed.

    "So many questions."

    He lingered for a while, then spoke in a distant tone, as if musing aloud: "Let's not mention his ability to manipulate and compel living beings, as well as to know things that are not supposed to be known. That is his Aspect — at least I suspect that it is — but not his nature. His nature, meanwhile..."

    Mordret frowned slightly.

    "The Dreamspawn bears the lineage of the most elusive of the gods — Heart God, the God of Souls. As well as emotions, memory, growth... and huntiger. So, he wields an eerie power to consume and assimilate things. That is what makes him a monster. He is... a chimera."

    Sunny blinked a few times.

    "Wait, you don't mean that..."

    Mordret nodded.

    "Yes. It is not supposed to be possible, just like the existence of beings who are both divine and profane is not supposed to be possible, but the Dreamspawn is capable of bearing several Lineages at the same time. He inherited the lineage of Heart God from his parents... he assimilated the lineage of War God from my blood. He received the lineage of Beast God from Ki Song, and plundered the lineage of Storm God from Nightwalker."

    He chuckled.

    "He kept Nephis of Immortal Flame alive because he needed her to grow up and Awaken to steal the lineage of Sun God. And he has waited for a long, long time for the lineage of Shadow God to finally reveal itself. For you to reveal yourself. So, now that all he seeks is within reach, he will inevitably come for the two of you... to finish his collection and absorb all six Divine Lineages. What for? That, I do not know."

    Mordret looked at Sunny and raised an eyebrow.

    "How's that for a taste? Ah, am I not a generous and benevolent person? Look, I turned a new leaf. That is the second time I shared valuable information with you for free."

    Sunny remained silent for a long while.

    'The good thing is that my incarnations can sense what is happening in Mirage City. So, they'll be relaying this information to Nephis and Cassie immediately."

    After a while, he sighed.

    "Fine. Let's strike a deal, you and I. What do you want in exchange for acting as bait to lure the Castellan out, and helping us deal with the Dreamspawn in the future?"

    Mordret shrugged.

    "It is as I said. I want safety. Ensure the survival of my pathetic other self — put him in a place more secure than the Palace of Imagination. The safest place in both worlds... settle him on the Ivory Island, and guard him as fervently as you guard each other, both from the Dreamspawn and from Morgan. Actually, from anything that can harm him even a little bit." (updates on l‌ight‌nov‌elwo‌rld.‌org)

    Sunny tilted his head a little.

    "You want us — Nephis, Cassie, and me — to become... roommates with your other self? That is your price?"

    Mordret smiled pleasantly.

    "Quite aptly put. Yes... at least until the Dreamspawn is dealt with. I know, cohabitating with that worm is an unpleasant prospect, but please bear with him for a while."

    Sunny frowned.

    He wasn't sure that Mordret was being sincere... in fact, he was quite certain that the bastard was deceiving him, somehow.

    But there was one thing Sunny knew for sure...

    It was that Mordret absolutely detested Asterion. A long time ago, the Prince of Nothing had shared his intentions with him — he had wanted revenge against the Dreamspawn almost as much as he wanted to avenge himself on Valor.

    That made his motives at least a little bit believable.

    "In fact, he is giving us a hostage."

    What would that lunatic be able to do if his very death was in their hands? Nothing.

    Sunny looked at Mordret somberly for a long while, then sighed.

    "It's a deal."
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  2. Offline
    + 25 -
    Quote: Nyfeirg
    Like others I'm skeptical about Asterion's power, unless he is already Sacred (but knowing that he should at least have a domain cemented into the reality but it doesn't seem people are really aware of his existence, but because recently people have been enticed by him and spreading his name in the shadows, maybe that will help him to become sacred? But I wonder how he, from the moon, was able to communicate with others on Earth? And above all: how did he go to the moon?)

    It seems there's another one here misunderstanding a lot of things. Aster is not spreading his name to gain influence., power or anything to do with his domain. Mordred already hinted his aspect has something to do with summoning echos and Sorcery(not clear yet since anyone can summon echoes)
    Consider the time Rain saw Asterion's name on the wall. Why did she forget about it afterwards?
    Now think about Sunny talking to Nemphis about events they shared in the past before broken fate. Do you really not see the obvious? If it's not broken fate the only other possibility is an aspect like Effie's husband who's name can't be remembered but clearly it's not.
    Now look at Sunny and Rain's aspects. Sunny has shadow summoning and Sorcery while Rain has runic name summoning and Sorcery. All 3 of them can sever connection with fate and spell. Still not connecting? 7
    PS the dreamspawn is not on the moon in reality. He's not even from the awakened world. Who knows he may have been the moon from the very beginning. This is not clear too. But I am. Interested to know about his relationship with the moon as well. There's just too little info 7
    It's possible the moon is Asterion, Sunny and Rain's Domain which would explain a lot of things on chapters 367,368 and 1840
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  3. Offline
    + 15 -
    Quote: Jonathan Howard
    Anvil was probably one of the strongest supreme, in history without an incomplete domain. He was insanely strong and almost killed sunny after sunny became supreme, this is while sunny had a weapon that could ignore wills, which was the main advantage time was supposed to give anvil over him, and while sunny had a complete domain. He was carried by the cursed sword though, since it was responsible for most of his more powerful abilities.
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    1. Offline
      + 61 -
      he was such a strong supreme that he lost to the new supreme))) with a bunch of swords of the cursed rank and so on.. Don't talk nonsense))
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  4. Offline
    + 70 -
    Hot take, I don’t think Asterion is going an antagonist. Sunny doesn’t even have blood to extract anymore and the only other parts of his aspect inheritance are non physical. Unless Asterion has the most insane hacks in the story, he cannot win unless he stat checks. G3 is already having problems with characters being too inflatedly strong which is why Sunny is 24/7 nerfed, I don’t think he’ll want to once again raise that ceiling.
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    1. Offline
      + 40 -
      I bet he'll have some insane hacks, like way stronger than ki song and the other one
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    2. Offline
      + 60 -
      His domain is definitely going to be the strongest that we know of. Maybe he even has Weaver's second mask and has been able to survive using the "Where is my Eye" enchantment and has made plans accordingly.
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    3. Offline
      + 80 -
      I feel like the fact that Sunny doesn’t have the lineage of the Shadow god is a bigger issue than him not having blood.
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  5. Offline
    + 40 -
    As long aster couldn't kill one supreme beast (broken sword) alone, supreme titans are gonna be fine. Y'all don't fall for this BS hype!
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    1. Offline
      Kon
      + 40 -
      Who said he couldn’t face Broken Sword alone? Who turned to whom for help? Who was the most feared, and who made others uneasy just by being near?


      Broken Sword was unmatched with the blade and likely still the greatest even among today’s generation of awakened, but there’s more to it than just swordsmanship.

      But yes, I agree, unless Asterion is a fellow divine aspect user, I don't see how Sunny or Neph will not be fine.
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      1. Offline
        + 10 -
        Санни уникален даже среди божественных аспектов. У него 7 тел, у него самодостаточный домен, который только растет со временем... Так что не знаю... Вот мне что интересно, каким станут Санни с Неф, когда достигнут предпоследнего или последнего ранга? Если боги создали вселенную(я этого не понимаю, кто объяснит?), что у каждого своя вселенная была...
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    2. Offline
      + 10 -
      We don’t know Broken Swords aspect rank, All we know is that he didn’t carry a lineage.
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      1. Offline
        + 30 -
        Well at the last fight he did carrie a shadow of a lineage but yeah point taken
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  6. Offline
    + 10 -
    Like others I'm skeptical about Asterion's power, unless he is already Sacred (but knowing that he should at least have a domain cemented into the reality but it doesn't seem people are really aware of his existence, but because recently people have been enticed by him and spreading his name in the shadows, maybe that will help him to become sacred? But I wonder how he, from the moon, was able to communicate with others on Earth? And above all: how did he go to the moon?)
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    1. Offline
      + 00 -
      ммм, а в чем проблема? я думаю при должной подготовке Соловей мог бы попасть на луну будучи мастером еще. А тут верховный. У них по сути вообще уже нет никаких потребностей.
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    2. Offline
      + 00 -
      He didn't go to the moon, he was sealed there by Anvil and Ki song, but you're right, we don't know how he was sent there. It hasn't been mentioned yet.
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  7. Offline
    + 30 -
    Naturally, your life will be in grave danger when you do... but that is a risk I am quite willing to take.
    Some of you may die.... but that's a sacrifice I am willing to make.
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  8. Offline
    + 00 -
    Asterion is apparently super powerful? I suppose it's because more people are getting to know him and the more people that know the stronger he becomes, i think. Is that how his Domain works?
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    1. Offline
      + 10 -
      Нет разницы как силен его домен, если он всего лишь верховный. Санни самый сильный, после идет Неф, а астерион слабак в сравнении с ними, если только не поднялся на более высокий ранг. А то, что он собирает родословные вряд ли что-то даст ему в плане силы.
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    2. Offline
      + 00 -
      Even if that's how his domain works it's not that worrying, Nepfis has exactly the style of domain with I believe a few minute details
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  9. Offline
    + 60 -
    I’m growing more and more doubtful that Mordret will be killed by Sunny or Nephis — this is most likely his “redemption” arc. He’s simply far too useful for a potential Fifth Nightmare and for the fight against Asterion.
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  10. Offline
    + 01 -
    Magmun said he got wet seeing Asterion’s name… could aura truly transcend such limits…?
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