'I'm going to bring another guy to lunch today, is that okay with you?'
'Ok.'
These were the messages exchanged by Gehrman and Sunny just a few hours before their daily meet up. Things were progressing smoothly on the Weaving of Memories, and Sunny had made a breakthrough in developing a Supreme Charm. The only issue was that it was merely of the 1st Tier, and it had not been a pure creation.
Instead, Sunny took the already existing Charm in his possession, [Memory of Cold] and took out its Ascended Soul Shard and replaced it with a Supreme one.
This manual upgrading of Memories effectively did the same thing as Gehrman's [Walking Workshop], but with much less resources and much more skill.
In any case, Sunny now had the ability to defend against the Winter Beasts cold. In theory it should make him immune from it giving the Class difference, but that thing was already breaking rules simply by being as powerful as it was, so they were both fairly certain it would only make it so he wouldn't immediately die in the bitter cold of the near-center storm.
Sunny figured that the reason Gehrman had brought new people to lunch was so that they could discuss strategy, maybe even have some others accompany them.
However, when he arrived there, only Gehrman sat at the table. It was just like any other one of their little meetings.
This restaurant was a bit more grandiose than the other ones they usually went to, with a decorated private area set aside for what seemed to be just the two of them. Indeed this was a place frequented by the Government higher ups and the rich, which made it all the more impressive that Gehrman managed to get them such privacy.
Of course, it wasn't like anyone could deny the Red Judge anything. His folk tale had spread and turned into something bordering on religious fervor.
Sunny had thought that when he had accidentally gone viral on the Dreamscape as Mongrel or when the refugees created this "Devil of Antarctica" character around him that he knew what it was like to be sensationalized.
That was nothing compared to this.
The only thing that may be comparable was the initial return of the Forgotten Shore Sleepers and the subsequent skyrocketing of "Changing Star of The Immortal Flame" into mainstream pop culture.
Still, the mystique that Gehrman was working with put him in a class of his own. Sunny doubted that even the Government's considerable propaganda machine could have manufactured this.
It was simply on that large a scale.
It wouldn't be incorrect to say that every human alive was aware of him now, though to what degree was widely varied.
It didn't help that a bunch of names and titles were being attributed to him in lieu of a True Name, which was an actual mystery. Not even Sunny himself knew what it was, and though Gehrman was willing to throw out his knowledge left and right when he first Ascended, even then it had been kept a total secret.
It probably wasn't even listed in Government databases.
So for now, people have gotten creative.
The simplest title, Saint Gehrman, was actually out of the question because the name "Gehrman" was not concretely accepted as the Red Judges real name.
Sunny suspected that the folks of the New Workshop were having a bit of fun with the citizens, as there was no doubt that multiple denizens of that place knew his actual name. Still, the waters were muddied with fake accounts and stories that attested to different names.
So instead other names got popularized. "Saint Red Judge" was a bit of a mouthful, so people opted for "Saint Red" or "Saint Judge" most often. A slight twist on that was made by a particularly fanciful soul, calling him "Saint Judgement" and likening his being to one of a mythic punisher of evil. That name was also gaining popularity.
However, those were the names used in public, on the internet where people had more confidence there were still other names.
"Saint Horror", "Saint Butcher", and "Saint What-The-F***-Is-That" were jokingly (and on rare occasions, seriously) tossed around when discussing him.
At the moment, his only official name came from the only credible source. The Documentary the Government made called him The Red Judge, even after talking about his Transcendence the title remained the same.
Such an imposing figure, was drinking out of a wide brimmed glass with what looked like sugar on the rim and fruit floating in a yellowish concoction.
The lighting was surprisingly bright for what felt like a clandestine meeting, and even though it was just the two of them, Sunny couldn't help but feel that something was off.
Brows furrowing Sunny slid into his seat in the center of the room. It was completely quiet, and Gehrman realized that a concealing Memory had already been put into effect to obfuscate their conversation.
Meaning there was someone else coming.
Or maybe they were already here.
Sunny's eyes were "blessed" by [Blood Weave] the unique Attribute/Divine Lineage that he had long ago obtained from the Daemon of Fate, Weaver. With this, he could see the weaves of Memories as well as the Soul Cores in another.
7 Horrifically twisted, bloody Soul cores permeated with unfathomable energy within Gehrman, but there was nothing else.
Still, that didn't mean they were truly alone. A few people had gotten
"I've made a decision," Gehrman said. He spoke as if they had been mid conversation. It appeared he was excited about something. "I am not going to help you in killing the Winter Beast."
Sunny blinked. That wasn't what he had been expecting. He wasn't entirely opposed to this turn of events, he believed that his soon to be completed [Siege Souviner] would be able to deal some serious damage to the Titan. Though push his risk to death up substantially, it was not enough to make him back out.
However, what Gehrman said next made him consider it.
"Instead, you will have another Master joining you."
Sunny's finger twitched as he resisted the urge to summon a Memory at that very moment.
He couldn't have taken Gehrman, it's not possible.
Still, that fear ran through his heart, scaring him deeply for the first time in a long time.
"If you mean who I think you mean, then the answer is no."
Instead of Gehrman responding next, it was a clipped, smug voice that responded.
"Ah, what did I say, you really don't seem to know your 'friends' at all, Mister Gehrman."
Sunny's eyes darted to the source of the sound. He had long looked throughout the whole place for any mirrors in which that bastard could hide. It was a bit disconcerting, but this had become something of a habit for him. He would never admit it, but the Prince of Nothing had been the first person to well and truly pull one over on him, and so he was one of the very few people who could invoke a feeling of fear in Sunny.
Still, the fact that he missed the obvious hiding place made him want to kick himself. He was in the glass that Gehrman was drinking out of. That wide rimmed…
Sunny couldn't help himself when he saw Morderet finally.
He laughed.
It was with such sharpness that it surprised even him, and the other two seemed to flinch at the sound.
Mordret was in the reflective surface of the Gehrman's fancy cocktail glass, but since it was so wide and warped in such a way, Mordret's appearance was also different than usual.
He was still there, the eerie, mirror-like eyes filled with darkness and paleness as they reflected Sunny, but his proportions were all wrong.
In an old comic that Sunny had once come across in the Outskirts, there was a scene in which a character went to some park with rides and terrible food. There was also a place called a "fun-house" with mirrors that curved and twisted.
The effect was elongated proportions, impossible appearances, and overall silliness.
Mordret looked like he was in a fun-house mirror.
The Prince of Nothing seemed to realize this as his form abruptly morphed, shrinking and falling to the bottom of the glass where there was a relatively flat surface that he could appear normal on.
Mordret didn't do anything to indicate embarrassment, Sunny wasn't sure the guy could be embarrassed, but he very much enjoyed imagining it all the same.
"Intresting, I didn't know your appearance could morph like that with the reflections," Gehrman said. He didn't appear amused, but in fact fascinated. "Mirrors can warp light, I wonder if you could manipulate your physical body in such a way to dodge attacks."
Mordret was silent for a while, but when he did respond it was to Sunny.
"Sunless! My good friend, it has been so long since we last spoke. Too long, don't you agree?"
"I could have gone without seeing you again for the rest of my life and been quite happy."
"Oh? Well I confess, I don't feel the same way. If I never got to pay you back for how you slighted me, my indignation would grow to be quite the cancerous sore on my soul," Mordret's visage turned overtly malicious, and his voice dripped with venom. However, just as the slip occurred he went right back to normalcy.
"However, like I told you at that little dance that Valor put on, I am willing to let bygones be bygones. You didn't follow your precious Changing Star and the seer Cassia into the clutches of my fathers Clan, and for that you have my respect."
A complicated well of emotions crossed Sunny's face at the mention of Nephis, but it was ultimately quelled and replaced with a scowl.
Mordret continued on, an absurdly fake smile planted on his face.
"You need not be grateful for having my respect, but you should be proud. There are very, very few who have earned it. In fact, I could count them on a single hand."
Mordret waved his hand, the proportions of the fingers elongating slightly along the slightly curved bottom of the glass.
"Which is why I allowed this beast into talking me into a rather precarious situation. It is true that I have no need for the Winter Beasts death, but the proposition of being able to Reflect such a thing…well its enticing."
Sunny paled at the words.
He was not exactly sure how Mordret's Reflections worked. They were born from one of his Soul Cores, but then they were independent entities and could grow on their own. In the Forgotten Shore, Sunny had come across "Beastie" who was (based on several clues) made when Mordret was just a boy. In other words, when he was Awakened.
"Beastie" would have been an Awakened Beast then, but when Sunny faced it, it had been a Fallen Devil.
If Mordret properly nurtured a Reflection of his, it was theoretically possible to raise it to the level of the Transcendent Titan, at which point it could Reflect the Winter Beast.
There was a caveat to this though, a rather obvious one. Reflections could only reflect what had been put in front of them.
Sunny didn't know if the independent Reflection itself had to have witnessed the thing it was mirroring or if only Mordret had to, but either way if the Prince of Nothing wanted to mirror the Winter Beasts Titanic power, he would have to get close to it.
"Absolutley not," Sunny said firmly. He turned, his gaze full of malice, to Gehrman. "What the hell are you thinking, madman? If this monster got his hands on the power of the Winter Beast he would slaughter Antarctica all over again, maybe even the world? You can't use your madness as an excuse for such an idea. Not this time."
Sunny was seething. At the same time though, he was unnerved. Gehrman was always doing weird stuff but this was downright dangerous. As mad as Gehrman was, compared to Mordret he was downright civil.
"Now, now, you seem to have quite the foul opinion of me, Sunless," Mordret said. "Why would I ever do such a thing like attacking humanity itself. You know this, my one goal is to kill my father and his precious clan. So long as humanity doesn't get in the way of that, there is absolutely no reason for me to do such a thing."
"The fact that you would do it if it came to that is the problem you damn maniac. And don't act like you wouldn't, you completely slaughtered the North in the 2nd Nightmare, killing who knows how many innocents just to further your strength."
Mordret tilted his head like a cat.
"Sunless…those people weren't real, you know this right?"
"So because they weren't real, when they were calling for help, screaming to save their children as they were mercilessly slaughtered, you didn't feel anything? No, Mordret, even if they had been real you wouldn't have felt anything. You simply can't."
Mordret seemed slightly taken aback by the vehemence in Sunny's voice.
"Oh? I didn't know you yourself were such a protector of the innocent. Has your time on this gods forsaken continent given you a hero complex, Devil of Antarctica?"
Sunny's eye twitched at the mention of his nickname.
He was about to continue when Gehrman finally interrupted them.
"I would like to interrupt, if you two don't mind, as I feel this isn't quite going well."
Gehrman stepped his fingers together and his face relaxed, he let out a long breath, and when he talked it was with such calm quiet and fluidity that Sunny's brow rose and Mordret looked as if a new person had taken over Gehrman's body.
"The reason I would like you two to work together on this is for the simple fact that if you get right down to it, you want the same things. On top of that, your ideals are not too different from each other, you just have different amounts of information. So, let me correct that for you."
First, he looked down at Mordret, who looked back up at him after getting his baffled expression under control.
"You are under the impression, much like your father might I add, that mundane lives are worthless. I don't blame you, it is true from a neurological standpoint that you can't comprehend empathy, so I am not going to try and push that impossible thing onto you. Truth is, I find it tough myself at times, so let me put it to you from my perspective."
Gehrman paused for a moment, acting like a public speaker who had just hooked an audience.
"Mundanes are untapped potential, the children, obviously since they can contract the Nightmare Spell and become Awakened, but as I have recently found out, the adults also can Awaken just the same. You of course know of the little Legacy trick in which the child is brought to the Dream Realm by a Saint to ensure they contract the Nightmare Spell. Well, as it turns out, the same can be done to adults, and since they are fully grown, the seed will sprout immediately upon their return to the Waking World pulling them directly into the First Nightmare."
Both young men looked a bit shocked at this. The mechanics of it made sense, it was even logical, but it was evident that neither had considered it. Such a thing was simply against the culture of society. The Nightmare Spell was something one fled from, not ran towards.
"In fact, 500 or so of my New Workshop Hunters have already undergone this process and become Sleepers. By the time of the solstice, we project a few thousand will join them. Of course, not everyone is cut out for it. The only reason so many have done so is because they are under my jurisdiction and tutelage, as well as being raised in the Outskirts. Still, in killing the whole of Fort Balmuth for example, we are losing out on perhaps 500,000 Awakened, a portion of whom will likely become Masters, or even Saints based on current statistics."
Gehrman's monologue came to an end as he looked deep into Mordret's eyes. It was as if he was Willing his perspective on the young man's mind.
"Needless to say, the more Awakened, the better. Such people could prove insurmountable in the fight against Nightmare Creatures. More importantly, at least for you, they could prove uniquely helpful in building a comfortable and worry free society."
Gehrman then turned to Sunny.
"Something you don't seem to understand about our friend, Mordret, is that though he finds joy in killing and massacre and the despair of others, he would still find it preferable to be able to go home after a day of such activities and relax in a nice bed after having a steamy shower in safe quarters."
Sunny looked at Mordret dubiously, and the Prince of Nothing returned his gaze with a similar amount of confusion.
"Think about it, and answer honestly," Gehrman said in a low voice. "Am I wrong?"
Mordret opened his mouth as if to retort, then he closed it. He thought for a while. So long that Sunny was starting to wonder if Gehrman's words had broken a fuse in Mordret's head.
"I suppose…such a thing would be preferable. Though such a thing is impossible. Even in Song there are no truly safe quarters."
"Maybe if you weren't a blood thirsty maniac-" Sunny started, but was cut off by Gehrman.
"Sunny raises a valid point. There are multiple reasons not to kill innocents, but comfort is actually one that I'm sure you overlook. It is easier to be seen as a sadistic hero than a villain, though I am sure you are all too used to being seen as such. Still, you don't need to. There are plenty of sociopaths and psychopaths that manage to lead civilized everyday lives and contribute meaningfully to society."
Sunny looked between them like this was the most insane thing he had ever heard.
Gehrman sighed then and turned his gaze away from Mordret, leaving him to contemplate his words.
"Sunny, you haven't been entirely fair either though. You had a poor first impression and you let that guide you into making an enemy out of someone who shares the same goals as you. You got over me being an insane bloodthirsty murderer, why can't you at least try to do the same with Mordret?" He spoke with a soft sadness that was so uncharacteristic Sunny felt tempted to reach across the table and touch the guy to see if he was real.
"You don't go around reveling in it, and you don't commit mass murder," Sunny countered.
"I do quite often revel in the bloodshed, and I have committed mass murder. Just the other day in my Third Nightmare I slaughtered an entire village of people, I even brought two different cults to the village so I could kill them all too. Granted the village people were sort of fish at that point, but the act still stands as an atrocity. Still, everything I do is to contribute to humanity."
Sunny felt his heart go cold.
No one knew what transpired in Gehrman's 3rd Nightmare. He had been uncharacteristically closed lips about it. Now he knew why. He had perpetrated a massacre.
He was as inhuman of a monster as Mordret, only reigned in to a degree where they could share lunch and appear a normal person.
Still, there was a distinction.
Gehrman never did anything to the humans of the real world, unless one counted the idiots who tried to - or rather did – kill him on the Forgotten Shore.
Which Sunny did not consider true murder.
After all, he himself had killed more than one human.
It clicked then, what Gehrman was trying to do.
Damnation.
The guy was acting as a god's damned counselor. Trying to build common ground between Sunny, himself, and the damn Prince of Nothing.
For a moment, just a moment, Sunny considered it. The morals and consequences was cast aside and he thought about it simply in terms logic.
The three of them together, what couldn't they do?
Sunny thought about the goal far away in the distance, the inevitable conflict that was the most dire.
The Sovereigns, Anvil and Ki Song.
Even if he became a Transcendent Titan, he doubted he could kill either of them. They were too experienced, had too many resources, and too much power that the powerful Class difference as well as the difference in Aspect power was simply not enough.
But if the three of them worked together?
It suddenly seemed possible.
They might die, but it seemed possible.
A shadow crossed his face and he cursed himself for even thinking of working together with that maniac.
In fact, if it weren't for everything they had been through together, he might have even considered never working with Gehrman again after what he had just revealed.
If a powerful Saint came up to him and said he'd slaughtered scores of people in their 3rd Nightmare, Sunny would be hard pressed not to consider the guy an enemy.
Damnation!
What was this bullshit! He felt like he was being put under a Mind Hex.
His eyes trailed to Gehrman and he felt himself freeze. Something odd happened, a silent conversation passed between them, or rather, a silent message. One from Gehrman to Sunny.
'Never trust him, always be wary of him, but trust me. Work with him, and you will be unstoppable. Don't worry about the consequences, I can handle him if he lets his tendencies get the better of him.'
Mordret looked up at him then his face without a mask, totally slack and emotionless. With that very same face – his true face – he asked: "I myself would find a temporary, distant alliance…agreeable. What do you say, Sunless? Shall we kill a Titan?"