Chapter 2788: Truth Blade |
The vague suspicion Sunny felt when Asterion easily guessed the true story of what had happened on the Forgotten Shore — while painting it with an uncharitable brush, naturally of course — became a certainty now.
"That bastard!"
Left alone in the dark corridor, Sunny gritted his teeth.
Asterion lied as easily as he breathed, so they had prepared to match his offence with their own deception. Sunny and Cassie had worked quite hard to come up with the best strategy to keep the Human Domain as resistant to his plague as possible. The web of deceit they had woven was intricate and vast.
However, the Dreamspawn chose a different weapon to make them bleed today. He chose to wield the sharpest blade there was...
He chose the truth.
"Damnation!"
There were plenty of truths that could hurt the cohesion of the Human Domain. Nephis was not at all the icon of virtue and nobility that the masses believed her to be, after all. She had committed plenty of morally questionable acts, and so had her most trusted subordinates. Depending on how much Asterion knew, the results of revealing the truth could be gravely damaging.
That was why he had not seemed bothered when Nephis used Kai to discredit him. Because that had been Asterion's goal all along — to involve Nightingale in the conversation and thus hone his blade to cut them even deeper.
There was only one truth Asterion was not going to reveal... the fact that the Lord of Shadows had never died, and was quietly supporting the radiant goddess of humanity from the darkness.
That was because Asterion's goal was to weaken and compromise the public's confidence in the Human Domain. Admitting that there was a second Supreme protecting it from the shadows could cause some backlash at first, but eventually, it would just serve to show that the Human Domain was secretly twice as strong as people believed.
Naturally, that went against Asterion’s goal. He did not seem to know that Sunny carried Weaver's blood in his veins instead of that of Shadow God, yet — but even without that knowledge, revealing Sunny's existence could only do him harm.
...Every other truth was fair play, though. Sunny sent Cassie a mental message to share his suspicion. At the same time, he feverishly considered what particular secrets the Dreamspawn could reveal to deal them a painful blow.
In the meantime, Asterion sighed.
“My former comrades are indeed all dead. You killed some of them yourself, didn't you, Nephis? It must have been difficult."
He looked around the hall, his golden eyes gleaming with a mysterious light.
“It is quite a heartbreaking story, don't you think? A girl who was orphaned young survives the horrors of the Dream Realm, becomes a Master, and finds a new family as an adopted daughter of her late father's friend, the king... only to be forced to rebel against the king and destroy her new family with her own hands."
Asterion faced Nephis once again and smiled.
"Of course, there is a different story as well... equally as heartbreaking, but far more sinister. It is the story of an orphan girl who survived the horrors of the Dream Realm out of pure hatred and spite, warmed her way into the royal family, gained the trust of her adopted father, the king — and then conspired to kill him and take his crown as her own."
One of the champions of the Human Realm could not hold back his outrage and raised his voice:
“How dare you?!"
Asterion smiled.
“Ah, there are so many lies obscuring the true shape of the world. Some of you have never even glimpsed the truth. Others..."
He glanced at Wake of Ruin and several other members of the older generations.
“Others know it too well, since they were complicit in burying the truth. Well, let me shine a light on a few things and reveal the truth for everyone to see. Saint Nightingale... you will be my witness, won't you?"
Kai gritted his teeth, prompting Asterion to chuckle.
"Many of you seem to be under an illusion that Star of Ruin only rebelled against the Great Clans because she could not endure the madness of their war anymore. But, in fact, killing the original Sovereigns and usurping their thrones had always been her goal."
The champions of the Human Domain looked at him with dark, hostile expressions.
“What reason could she have had?!"
Asterion chuckled.
“Why... it was to avenge her clan, of course."
Neph's expression turned darker, and a wave of stunned whispers rushed across the hall.
Asterion sighed and shook his head.
"What, did you think that the illustrious Immortal Flame clan just flickered out of existence all on its own? No, naturally not... in fact, it was methodically destroyed by the very people who used to fight side by side with Broken Sword and Smile of Heaven."
His expression turned somber.
“Since we are already talking about it, let me reveal a small truth to those who are too young to have known it already. Anvil, Ki Song, and I... we did not challenge the Fourth Nightmare because of the Chain of Nightmares. In fact, we conquered the Fourth Nightmare almost two decades before the Chain of Nightmares even started. And it wasn't just the three of us, either — Broken Sword was with us too. He was the one who had led us into the Nightmare, in the first place."
A hum of stunned voices rose from the gathered guests.
Asterion smiled darkly.
“It is just that the same two people who imprisoned me had killed him immediately after the conclusion of the Nightmare. Then, they dismantled the Immortal Flame clan and hid in the shadows, pulling the strings of humanity as they saw fit... that is why the woman you call Changing Star was raised and nurtured not by benevolence and noble intentions, but by malice and hatred instead. That is what the white flames you call pure are fueled by."
He chuckled.
“She never intended to be a princess of Valor. She never failed to endure the suffering caused by the war. Instead, she bent the knee in front of her father's killer, served him faithfully to bide her time, and hit at the last possible moment — not because the war was taking too heavy a toll on humanity, but simply because that was when he was at his weakest. That was when she had the highest chance to succeed. She and the sellsword Saint she subjugated, used, and then killed.”
Saying those words, he looked at Nephis.
"Am I wrong, Star of Ruin?"
A dead silence settled in the vast hall. The gazes that had been focused on Asterion now all turned to Nephis, gleaming with a chaotic mixture of emotions.
Paying them no heed, Nephis studied Asterion for a short while, and then tilted her head a little.
Her voice sounded even:
“So, what you are trying to say is... nicely done?"
As Asterion raised an eyebrow, she continued with a faint smile.
"That is to say, if I were indeed as determined and diabolical as you insinuated... wouldn't that make me only more powerful, dangerous, and effective at achieving my goals than everyone assumed? An orphan girl from a fallen clan growing up to bring down two of the most powerful rulers in the world and usurp their Domains — from planning to execution, she must be quite brilliant. Wouldn't people feel better knowing that someone like that is leading them through the era of the Nightmare Spell?"
She chuckled quietly.
"Look, Asterion.”
The champions of the Human Domain were all gazing at her. Their eyes were not brimming with shock and revulsion, though. Instead, they were full of respect, awe, and wary admiration.
Nephis smiled.
"Yes, the Sovereigns killed my father and ruined my clan. Yes, I hated them and wanted to avenge myself upon them. And yes, I prepared for a long time to take them down. However... you are twisting the truth, as always. Destroying the Great Clans has never been my goal. My goal has always been to conquer the Nightmare Spell — that is the true reason I resisted the war and rebelled against the Sovereigns in Godgrave. It was because their complacency, callousness, and inaction were harming humanity's chances of making it through the jaws of the Spell. And I wanted humanity to survive."
The champions of the Human Domain listened to her with intense attention. None of them had been swayed by Asterion's argument... if anything, many of them seemed more enraptured by the idea of Changing Star than ever before.
Sunny could understand why. The true story of Nephis, while not as glossy and clean as what everyone believed, was nevertheless far more poignant and engaging. It was difficult to relate to perfection, after all.
But all people loved a flawed hero and a twisted story of tragedy, betrayal, and vengeance.
That was why Changing Star's claim of being the best person to lead humanity to salvation rooted itself only deeper in their hearts.
However...
Asterion simply smiled, as if he had gotten what he wanted.
He remained silent for a few moments, then leaned forward and asked in an insidious tone:
"...But not all of humanity, right?"
Hidden in the shadows, Sunny paled.
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