Chapter 3186: Lots of Fishes |
“What purpose might you have in seeking me out?"
Mordret smiled faintly.
After countless years spent in the Nightmare, his past should have grown distant, erased from his memory by the passage of time and a torrent of new experiences — or at least eroded and chiseled away, becoming pale and faded. But he found it to be untrue.
Even now, he remembered his old life vividly. Perhaps it was because no matter how long he lived and how countless memories he accumulated, the first ones would always remain vivid and meaningful. After all, the importance of the foundation did not diminish the more floors one built — on the contrary, its nature shaped the rest of the building, no matter how towering.
His childhood spent by the Dreamspawn's side, his First Nightmare and shattering, his imprisonment and the blissful, but hollow existence in the Great Mirror... being taken away from the gorgeous mirage of his fake life and caged in his brother's soul, only to be forced to kill his brother later.
There were other memories, as well — the memories of the other part of himself he had killed.
Returning to the cold embrace of Clan Valor, being betrayed and spending long years locked in a mirror cell, the madness of the Kingdom of Hope, the ceaseless currents of the Great River, the bloodshed and violence of the war between the Sword and Song Domains, and everything that followed.
Those memories belonged to him thanks to Cassia, Song of the Fallen, so he felt indebted to her.
After all, they were all that remained of his dearest brother.
"I've been searching for something for a long time. However, it is hidden from me, as if obscured by fog. You are a master of fog... there is nothing you can't find, as long as it reflects light. So, I was hoping to conscript your help."
Mordret studied her for a few seconds. Song of the Fallen was one of the few living beings he shared a bond with. However, he did not fool himself into believing in her benevolence. There was a reason his brother had been wary of her... every word she spoke carried a hidden meaning, and everything she did was a part of an intricate scheme that even he could not glean. Those caught in the web of her lies could end up receiving incredible boons. However, they could meet a calamitous end as well. Her attention was both a blessing and a curse.
But...
There were very few things in the world he cared about.
He had nothing to lose — except time.
And time was cheap in this Nightmare. Mordret smiled faintly.
“It warms my heart to know that the lady thought of me, of all people, in her time of trouble. Ah, but a gentleman has to have a proper reason to act. So, even at the risk of sounding uncouth, I feel obliged to ask... what's in it for me?"
Cassie pointed to the carved bones scattered in front of her.
“How about I tell your fortune?"
Mordret chuckled.
“I am not interested in such things."
She sighed, then gathered the bones and picked up her bowl, hiding the coins in the folds of her tattered cloak.
“Let's make a deal, then. Help me find what I am looking for... and when the time comes, I will help you find what you are looking for."
Mordret raised an eyebrow.
“What is it that you think that I want to find?"
Cassie rose and rolled up the dusty rug. Facing him, she raised her head slightly. Then, she said:
“I don't think that even you know. So, I will help you to find out."
***
Years later, the two of them arrived in a realm infected by Corruption. It used to be peaceful once, with vast seas and a scattering of islands that brimmed with flowers and emerald grass. But now, peace was gone.
Far away, at the heart of the realm, its largest landmass had become a fountain of abhorrent Corruption. The waters were infected by abominations, as well. The humans who had called this land their home had either been swallowed by the spreading darkness or were forced to migrate to the edges of the realm over several generations, their lives full of hardships and constant fear.
Their champions had already perished in the battles against the endless torrent of abominations. Their kin from the neighboring realms were too busy fighting existential battles of their own to come to someone's help.
It was then that a blind oracle crossed the boundary of the infected realm, carrying a mirror wraith in her one remaining eye. Cassie put her bowl down near the well in a crowded village, hoping to hear the stories that the locals had to tell. However, people here were downtrodden and anxious, buckling under the weight of harsh life. None of them had money to spare, and even if some of them did, they only glanced at Cassie with distrust and suspicion.
Even after a few hours had passed, her bowl remained empty. She still learned a lot from encompassing the village with her senses, but it wasn't the same as becoming a foil vessel for the people to pour their worries and aspirations into.
Cassie sighed.
The goal of her search was hidden from her senses, and yet she felt that it was close. She knew that it was, in fact — Mordret had told her as much. His senses covered a vast area, after all, myriad reflections serving him as a myriad of eyes. He had been Cassie's guide for a long time, and now, they finally reached the end of the path. Suddenly, something fell into her bowl. It didn't sound like a coin, though.
Reaching forward, Cassie felt around the clay bowl and picked up a peculiar item. To her surprise, it was a piece of homemade candy wrapped in a thin cloth.
Raising her head, she faced her only client in this realm — a small boy, too young to lose even a single tooth, looking at the candy with a deep sense of regret and longing.
There was also a hint of hope hidden in the rhythm of his rapidly beating heart. He glanced at Cassie and hesitated for a moment.
"Do you tell fortunes, grandma?"
Cassie's face was hidden by a veil, her clothes were tattered and covered in dust, and she made a point of keeping her posture slightly bent, her steps and movements tentative and careful. She also used a wooden staff to support herself as she walked — so, it wasn't surprising that people assumed her to be an old woman. It was, in fact, an impression she meticulously created and maintained. Smiling behind the veil, she nodded. “Indeed. Are you interested in learning the secrets of fate, young man?"
The boy nodded eagerly.
“Yes! My daddy and the other daddies can't catch any fishes! Because their boats are broken. Daddy is always sad, and my tummy hurts without the fishes. When will my daddy smile at me again?"
Cassie remained silent for a long while, then quietly scattered the carved bones. The sea was teeming with abominations, so of course, the local fishermen had lost their boats. They were fortunate not to have lost their lives, really... but how long could they and their families survive without fishing? These people have lost their land, their roots, and the means of sustaining themselves. Even if Corruption and the abominable creatures it created did not kill them, starvation and destitution soon would.
So, the piece of candy the boy had given to the fortune teller must have been a real treasure for him.
Pretending to look at the bones, Cassie smiled behind her veil.
“Oh, my. Look at this!"
The boy glanced at the bones, his eyes widening in wonder.
Cassie pointed to one of them.
"Great fortune awaits, young man! Soon, there will be lots and lots of fishes. You daddy will smile all day, and your tummy won't hurt anymore. There will be a lot of candy, as well."
The boy smiled hesitantly.
"Really?"
Cassie nodded.
“Of course!"
His smile widened slowly.
“Really, really?"
Cassie gathered the bones.
“Really, really. Trust me — I've been telling fortunes for countless years."
She didn't lie to the boy. What she had told him would, most likely, come true.
Because Cassie was here. She had come to this realm pursuing selfish goals, but the sea of Corruption tormenting it stood in her way.
So, she was going to eradicate the Corruption and destroy its appalling spawn. She was going to cleanse this realm.
***
Finally, Cassie had reached her goal.
Having exhausted her power, she called upon the King of Nothing. And once the King of Nothing revealed himself, the sea of Corruption had no choice but to be destroyed.
Mordret did not command an army of vessels, and neither was he accompanied by powerful Reflections. All he had was a spear and an unbreakable will to see the adversary fall.
But he was a Supreme Titan, after all, as well as a wielder of a Divine Aspect and a descendant of War.
So, the abominations fell.
Following in his footsteps across a ravaged landscape, Cassie passed towering carcasses, splinters of obliterated trees, and pools of black blood so deep that one could drown in them. Eventually, she reached the slopes of a vast crater.
The abominable life spawned by Corruption was even thicker here, emanating waves of chilling, penetrating malevolence. It was so plentiful, in fact, that even Mordret found it difficult to cleave a path through its mass. Cassie hesitated, knowing that she had one more champion to call upon...
But hearing the echoes of his mad laughter and feeling the cold edge of a flawlessly white jade blade, she chose to keep that monster caged in her memory.
‘I'm almost there...’
In the end, Mordret fulfilled his part of the deal and guided her to the very bottom of the crater, where the source of all this Corruption was lying on the blackened soil. It was a single, radiant eye seeping with drops of golden ichor.
"Do not look into its depths."
Hearing her warning, Mordret frowned and averted his gaze.
Kneeling in front of the eye, Cassie trembled slightly.
'Finally, I've found it.'
It was the torn eye of a deity...
It was Weaver's eye.
The one that had been stolen by the Thieving Bird and drove it mad, infecting its soul with Corruption.
“What a ghastly thing”
Mordret's voice was quiet.
“What are you planning to do with it?"
Cassie hesitated for a few seconds.
“I am planning to make it mine."
He stared at her, a stunned expression on his face.
Then, he frowned and shook his head slightly.
“That doesn't sound like a good idea."
Despite the fear that held her in an iron grasp, Cassie forced out a pale smile.
“I've run out of good ideas countless years ago."
With that, she raised a hand and pulled her blindfold down.
Her one remaining eye was revealed, its radiant blue depths full of trepidation. The gaping wound in place where her other eye had been was revealed, as well.
Cassie remained motionless for a long while, then reached toward Weaver's eye with a trembling hand.
Picking it up between two fingers, she shuddered once more...
And then pushed the bloodied eye into her empty eye socket.
Moments later, a horrible scream shattered the sky above the deep crater.
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