The Estuary trembled under the weight of three colossal wills.
Daeron launched himself at the Guardian before it could regain its balance. The Sacred Demon, though gravely wounded by the destruction of the time nexuses, was still a Sacred-ranked being with an inexhaustible will—an entity whose existence transcended the limits of what mortals could comprehend. Its shattered body moved with a ferocity born of desperation, its tentacles striking the water with a force that could still kill a careless Supreme.
The battle on the surface was violent and desperate.
Daeron, in his sea serpent form, lunged at the Guardian with everything he had left. His fangs tore through the Demon's shifting flesh, and his tail struck with the force of a meteor, generating shockwaves that sent columns of water shooting toward the invisible ceiling of the cavern. But the Guardian fought back with the tenacity of a cornered beast, and every impact from the Supreme was met with a counterattack that pushed Daeron back.
Uriel watched from a distance, his body exhausted and his cracked soul core pulsing with pain. The battle was desperate. Daeron was fighting a spirit—an entity that did not depend entirely on a physical body to exist. The Sacred Demon could be wounded, but its essence remained intact, and as long as its will held firm, it would keep fighting.
And then, from the depths of the Great River, something changed.
The water began to churn, and a presence that Uriel recognized as familiar—but transformed—emerged from the darkness. Cronos broke the surface with the grace of a being that had transcended its own limits. His body radiated an energy that distorted the space around him, and in his eyes shone the eternal light of tamed time. The Transcendent of Time was no longer a Transcendent. Now he was a Supreme.
The first Supreme born from the Great River.
Cronos did not hesitate for a single moment. His will spread like a mantle over the battlefield, and time itself responded to his call. The Sacred Demon's wounds began to accelerate, opening and deepening at a rate that defied the creature's natural regeneration. At the same time, the time around Daeron and Uriel slowed, giving them fractions of a second to react, while their own movements accelerated, becoming faster and more precise.
The advantage was overwhelming.
Daeron felt the change immediately. His attacks, which had previously been blocked or dodged, now found their mark with lethal precision. The Guardian, on the other hand, moved as if submerged in honey, its tentacles slow and clumsy under the weight of distorted time.
"Now!" Daeron roared, his voice resonating across all frequencies.
The Supreme of the Black Tower lunged with renewed ferocity, his fangs sinking into the Sacred Demon's flesh while his tail struck with the force of a cataclysm. The Guardian shrieked—a distorted sound that was the agony of a soul trapped in a crumbling body.
Uriel, strengthened by Cronos's will, felt his own power intensify. The fatigue he had been feeling faded momentarily, replaced by a clarity that allowed him to see the Guardian's movements with a sharpness he had not possessed before. Every tentacle that rose to attack was an opportunity; every movement of the Demon was a weakness that could be exploited.
But even with the advantage, it was not enough.
The Guardian, though wounded and slowed, was still a Sacred being. Its will, though weakened, was still strong enough to resist the combined attacks of two Supremes. Every wound Daeron inflicted closed slowly, and every blow Cronos accelerated was mitigated by the creature's innate resistance.
The battle dragged on, and Uriel knew they could not maintain this forever. Cronos, though now a Supreme, was still adapting to his new power. Daeron, though experienced, was exhausted from the prolonged fight. And he himself, with his cracked soul core, was a burden that could only be borne for a limited time.
Uriel made a decision.
"Cronos, Daeron! Focus on weakening its will. I'm going to do something risky."
Without waiting for a response, Uriel transformed.
His body dissolved into a formless mass of pure darkness—a living shadow that spread in all directions. White eyes sharp as blades opened across its surface, and mouths full of nightmare fangs gnawed at the edge of reality. This was the power he had feared to use—the Aspect that connected him directly to the Void that had created him.
The sea of darkness surged against the Sacred Demon.
Cronos and Daeron understood what Uriel was attempting. Without a word, they concentrated their wills on weakening the Guardian's resistance. Time accelerated and slowed in chaotic patterns, disorienting the Demon, while Daeron's attacks grew more ferocious and precise.
The Guardian's will, which had been unshakable, began to crack under the combined pressure. Its tentacles moved with less force, its regeneration slowed, and its presence in reality began to fade.
Uriel seized the moment.
His sea of darkness engulfed the Sacred Demon, and with an effort that felt as if his very soul was tearing apart, he dragged the Guardian into his interior. The creature's will fought against him, but the combined power of two Supremes had weakened it enough. Uriel felt the spirit's soul and essence being sucked into his Sea of Souls—a process that caused him such intense pain that he nearly lost consciousness.
And then, the Guardian vanished from reality.
Uriel's sea of darkness retracted, and his human form returned to existence. He fell to his knees on the water's surface, gasping and trembling. The effort had left him exhausted, and his cracked soul core pulsed with a pain that threatened to cloud his mind.
---
Within his Sea of Souls, chaos reigned.
Uriel's inner space, normally an ocean of tranquil darkness, was now agitated and turbulent. The wounds he had received during the battle were reflected in his soul, and waves of black energy crashed against the boundaries of his being with a violence he had not felt since his Second Nightmare.
The Sacred Demon landed in that sea of souls with the impact of a meteor. Its shattered body writhed in the darkness, and its will, though weakened, still pulsed with the need to survive. The creature rose, its tentacles spreading in all directions, searching for an exit—a fissure in Uriel's soul that it could exploit.
But then, something moved in the depths.
From the heart of the sea of souls, an ancient and terrifying presence awakened. The guardian of Uriel's soul—the thing that had been protecting his essence since the moment he became a creature of the Void—rose to confront the intruder.
The Sacred Demon attacked with all its fury. Its tentacles struck the guardian with the force of a cataclysm, but the impact caused not the slightest damage. The dark thing—the divine entity that dwelled within Uriel—was immune to the spirit's attacks.
The guardian of Uriel's soul was a being of divine nature.
Uriel, watching from somewhere between consciousness and sleep, confirmed his suspicions. The thing that protected his soul was something older than the known gods—an entity that had existed in the Void before time and space were created. It was the reason his soul could withstand corruption, the reason he could manipulate darkness in ways others could not.
The divine guardian dragged the Sacred Demon into the depths of the sea of souls, and Uriel felt the creature's presence gradually fade. He did not want to see what would happen next. He knew the guardian would do what it had done with other intruders: consume the Demon, assimilate its essence, and strengthen its own existence.
Uriel withdrew from his Sea of Souls, returning to the outer reality with a sigh of relief.
---
When he opened his eyes, he saw the floating corpse of the Guardian.
The Sacred Demon's body lay on the water's surface, devoid of its soul and essence. The mass of grayish flesh, which had once been so imposing, was now just an empty shell. Without its will to sustain it, the body began to slowly decompose, dissolving into the Estuary's waters.
Cronos and Daeron watched him with expressions of bewilderment. The Transcendent of Time, now a Supreme, was the first to speak.
"Master, what was that?" Cronos asked, his voice filled with curiosity and awe. "I saw it disappear into you. How could you drag a Sacred being into your soul?"
Uriel smiled weakly, despite the pain pulsing in his cracked soul core. "I just sucked the Guardian in. Nothing really complicated."
Cronos raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, but did not press the matter. He knew Uriel would not reveal his secrets so easily.
Daeron, for his part, observed the floating corpse with a mixture of satisfaction and respect. "You did what even a Supreme could not. That is worthy of recognition."
Uriel nodded, but his expression darkened. "The cost was high. I feel a tremendous pain in my soul. The Guardian fought to the end, and my core... one of them is cracked. I need to rest."
Cronos moved immediately. "Let me carry you, Master. My Supreme ability allows me to control time with greater precision and complexity. I can accelerate your time to heal your external wounds, and with enough time, even begin to heal your soul."
Uriel did not argue. He let himself be lifted by Cronos, feeling the time around him begin to flow differently. The Supreme of Time's energy enveloped him, and the wounds on his body began to close at an accelerated rate. The pain in his soul core did not disappear, but it became more bearable, as if time were dulling the edge of the wound.
As Cronos worked, Uriel noticed something strange. The Estuary's waters, which had previously been in constant motion, were now becoming calmer. The currents that had guided them through the Great River were diminishing, and the temporal cycle that had kept the river bound was coming to an end.
"What's happening?" Uriel asked.
Cronos smiled, and in that smile was a mixture of pride and satisfaction. "I killed time again."
Uriel blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"When I destroyed the nexuses and assimilated the concept of time to become a Supreme, I broke the cycle that held the Great River bound. Time in this place will soon begin to stop. The river will cease to flow, and the Estuary will become static. This is the beginning of the end of the Great River."
Uriel nodded, understanding the implications. "Then our mission is complete. We broke the time of the Great River."
"Yes, we did," Cronos said, letting out a sigh.
"By the way, Master, why are you not a Supreme yet?" Cronos asked. Even Daeron was curious about that.
"Well, I have no idea, really, why I'm not a Supreme yet," Uriel admitted honestly.
He had defied fate, killed things far more powerful than himself, even devoured a Sacred-ranked being within his own soul—but Supremacy would not come.
It was as if the world itself denied him Supremacy, which frustrated him enormously. If he were a Supreme, he would have the power to reshape the world and prepare everyone to adapt and thrive in the Dream Realm. But that was impossible.
Uriel felt his eyes grow heavy.
"I'll sleep for a while. Wake me when..." he didn't finish the words before falling unconscious.
The last thing Uriel heard was:
[You have killed a Sacred Monster: Guardian of Hidden Truths]
[You have unlocked your Aspect Legacy]