I arrive at the ivory island. Looking around i enter it. I see sunny and neph looking... troubled.
"■■■■ what do you know of him?"
I walk over sitting down with the two.
"I know the outline of his powers. And what would have become of me if I hadn't become a sovereign that day."
The two share a glance
"I'll explain. From what entropy has informed me of, my original fate was likely incredibly grim. I believe if I had followed that road, for starters I wouldn't have gone into the depths of the snow, thus never upgrading snow crown, never making my daggers, never getting the king of ashes and never having the chance to become a sovereign. Thus i would have been a saint when he arrived. It is likely that he... won in this timeline. I would have lost quite a bit and finally became a sovereign because of it. From her wording, and other physical tells i believe i would have been tortured."
Sunny scowls deeply. Neph freezes for a second before she glances down at her hands
"so he is fully against us then and we are to lose"
I shake my head
"no no. Do remember you now have me as well. My domain seems to have been mixed with entropys and thus grants those in it high resistance to mental attacks. As well as the fact I am confident that we will gain 20- 100 new saints soon enough"
sunny frowns
"what."
I nod
"the midnight actors guild and everyone else within my territory went into the 3rd nightmare remember? I suspect most will survive"
I wave off that topic.
"Either way. I believe we should take measures to halt the last sovereign"
Soon the members of the lasts domain are rounded up and put into a prison, for everyone's good of course. At first it starts off with fights.
"Damnation These fool!"
I snicker
"yeah. I mean some did come from the black market. I dont know what you want me to day."
Sunny groans his voice more tired then when he fights for days on end
"I swear I'll end up like the dead gods at this rate"
next comes.... the praying. I laugh loudly at the frankly crazy turn of events
"it isn't funny"
I just laugh louder
"they... they worship a wall!"
Next comes the.... frankly most crazy thing yet.
"There's a ton of pregnant women!"
I try not to laugh, again at least.
"So they think their in basically hell.... so they have a ton of sex? What did you get a bunch of-"
"cutting you off. Why would I know!? Im not a crazy cultists!"
I start laughing. While this whole thing happens I keep some minor contact with mordret, who is at least a little amused at being made the scapegoat. He does mention that if it was up to him, those who had fallen to the lasts domain wouldn't have been left alive. In some ways, it is fair, but ultimately it is a foolish idea. Killing them would only make humanity weaker in the end. If only they would stop fucking like rabbits. I mean who does that in the situation they think their in!?
I appear at the the ivory island. I look down at the mirror lake and at the dream gate, of the last sovereign. My breath comes up short. Too soon. It's too damn soon. I close the mini dreamgate i used to appear on the island as it lowers to meet him. I grab the edge of the helm of screams, and i lower it over my face. The ivory island lands on the water and I step off, the water under my feet freezing. Hopefully the talks with saint Tyris can be completed soon, soon enough that she won't even know this happened. Me and changing star stand side by side watching the man
"My dear Nephis. How well you have grown up."
Creepy, knowing what he did.
"It warms my heart to see that even if my friends are gone, their daughter is alive and well. You took up the torch that had fallen from their cold hands and raised the banner of Immortal Flame high... higher than ever before, shining a radiant light to guide humanity through the darkness. They say that humanity will not be extinguished as long as Immortal Flame still burns, after all."
He gets a almost cruel glint in his eyes.
"As long as the last daughter of Immortal Flame still stands unbroken."
He looks to me with a smile as well
"and you sovereign of snow, it is good to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."
I nod
"there's a lot to know"
his eyes narrow for a second in confusion
"yes there is. Like your status as a general in the dreamer army or as a war hero and as the angel of God grave."
Hes going somewhere with this
"I'm glad humanity has fallen into the hands of two people who care so deeply for it"
there's countless cheers. They don't know what their cheering for. I cut him off before he can speak again. He reminds me of entropy.
"We should talk inside. A new sovereign coming out is quite important after all."
We stand in the hall of the great and terrible ivory tower. Sunny comes up from the shadows
"The Lord of Shadows... Sunless, was it? This is our first proper meeting, I think. My name is Asterion. Ah, but you already knew that. Although"
he glances at me, he's got a odd look in them, like someone looking at a puzzle they can't figure out
"you did not."
Should I mention it? No no. It has to be in public.
"Mention what?"
"It's rude to look into someone's head"
he keeps smiling. I can see why mordret acts like that.
"Yes i suppose, you yourself are being very polite to now scream out your thoughts"
he studies us for a good bit before he sighs, dramatic, are all sovereigns dramatic?
"You've achieved so much, Nephis."
He gives neph a proud, almost fatherly look. Oh my god another entropy
"No, truly. You gave me quite a start. I did expect you to make your parents proud, but I never imagined that you would attain Supremacy and conquer the world. You brought down two Supremes..."
he looks at sunny with a fake looking mischievous smile
"And seduced the third. How very devious of you. Well done."
He glances at me
"and are such close friends with the forth too"
he's not even.... oh i do not like him.
"will repeat myself. What do you want?"
He gives a fake shocked look. Oh my gods I really do not like this man
"Didn't I say? I want to help."
I scoff and sunny laughs
"Please. Don't make me laugh."
He sighs and starts... looking at the gate way. I could throw him into the coldest depths of my territory.
"I felt it already, but the three of you seem to harbor a deep animosity toward me. I've never done anything to deserve such hostility, so I truly cannot help but be perplexed. Why do you treat me as an enemy?"
I roll my eyes. Neph gets visibly angry, it being visible is rare
"You dare ask? I could not help but notice how you dared to utter the name of my father with that dirty mouth of yours, as well. My father, whom you killed."
He gives her another fucking look. Like he's hurt by her words
"Indeed, I did. However, you should know by now why Broken Sword had to be killed. Do you think that I felt joy while watching my closest friend die? On the contrary, it felt as if my own heart was being pierced. But it had to be done, and so, we did it. To prevent the Forgotten God from awakening!"
Wow he's punchable. And annoying.
"Oh... I see. You were the good guy all along. Why were Anvil and Ki Song terrified of you, then? Why did they trap you on the Moon?"
He gets a confused look.
"Isn't it only natural for villains to fear a good man? I don't see a reason why I, the victim of their treachery, should be condemned for it. Not to mention that Nephis is only alive because I prevented them from coming after her in full force. Who knows? That might have been why they turned against me, in the end."
She chuckles at his words
"How admirable. A good man, though? How shameless are you? Would a good man put a mind hex on numerous people, turning them into obedient thralls?"
He keeps on smiling.
"And after turning them into obedient thralls, I commanded them to do... what, exactly? Continue with their lives as if nothing was the matter, doing their best to contribute to society? How dreadful. I must truly be a monster."
Would he cut the shit.
"Let us be honest, Nephis. Those people might have fallen under my power, but I've never done anything to abuse that power or harm them. If anything, you two are the ones doing them harm. And besides..."
his smile slightly changes
"Haven't you done exactly the same? Haven't you lied, manipulated people, and twisted the truth to win their loyalty? From the Forgotten Shore to Godgrave, you did everything you could to enthrall and subjugate those around you — that was how you conquered humanity. Ah, but don't get me wrong. I am not judging you. If anything, I am impressed... it was beautifully done, really. And from such a weak position, no less!"
He starts clapping
"Can you rightfully admonish me, though?"
I scoff loudly
"wow. Such a fun little speech. You really are annoying. Theres a difference. A big one too. The fact that those in her domain can choose. What choice do they get when you mind control them?"
I point at him.
"And don't claim you care. Because I know when someone doesn't care about something. And you. You don't care a lick about those people. Why else would you have them stage a escape attempt, why else would you have caused the attack on river gate, and the volcanos to erupt"
he gets a confused look
"You kidnapped all those people and put them into a harrowing prison. naturally, they would want to escape... they don't need me to manipulate them into trying to regain their freedom. People value freedom above all else, after all. As for erupting volcanoes and attacking Nightmare Creatures, it feels like you're just looking for random things to blame on me now. What do I'have to do with these unfortunate events?"
"All when you just so happen to appear? That is doubtful. Another problem is, there's been activity on the volcanos that erupted, from what my scouts have observed, from those within your domain. The nightmare creatures that have attacked don't normally act like that, most are notably quite cowardly or don't like another kind that is attacking."
He makes a confused face
"oh and you are fully aware of this, how?"
I take out a long report, one on the nightmare creatures close to the water way to bastion.
"Ive been working with the song sisters quite closely. Its smart to keep note of all of the nightmare creatures i can. And as for the mountains and volcanos. I intended to look within them, we dont want anything inside to come out and threaten Ravenheart."
He hums softly. Clearly not really caring for my very smart and well thought out words. Rude. Neph speaks a tone of not even slightly hidden rage
"I guess you did not attack Cassie, either?"
my head slowly turns to neph. He what.
"No... I did attack your friend, Song of the Fallen. I had to."
"I had to take her power away... in order to protect you. After all, I am here to help."
I am going to beat this man's ass. Better yet I'll get war on him.
"What the hell are you talking about, you lunatic?"
After a bit he sighs almost tiredly
"The two of you seem dreadfully wary of my Aspect. Well, it's only fair — commendable, even. Those who are capable of manipulating the mind are the most insidious of foes, after all. I have faced persecution because of the nature of my powers my entire life."
Yap yap yap
"And yet, you are strangely trusting of your supposed friend, Song of the Fallen, who possesses the power to manipulate and alter memories. You do not seem to ever ask yourselves if that power had been turned against you... which is a bit strange, don't you think? For two people as cautious as you."
He takes a step forward shaking his head almost sadly
"It is not just strange, it is outright startling — if we consider the fact that Nephis and all those who entered the Third Nightmare with Song of the Fallen are suffering from unexplainable gaps in their memories, with entire swathes of their lives missing... as if intentionally erased."
He looks at neph with a fake compassionate expression
"Those gaps in your memory... they start from your days on the Forgotten Shore, don't they? From the time you met the woman named Cassia for the first time."
I snicker
"wow throwing things at the wall now I see. How shameful."
He turns to me a confused look
"it was from a cursed terror within our 3rd nightmare. It messed with the strings of fate causing mass memory loss. Trying to separate cassie from us, that just goes to show how badly you want her gone"
he frowns for a while before he gets a amused look
"you didn't believe a word i said."
His smile finally drops all pretense of being here to help gone
"That little oracle of yours was proving to be troublesome, so I had to take her eyes. Ah, but I only managed to take one. What a pity... but do not worry"
he smiles at us, hunger in his eyes
"I'll rip out her other eye sooner or later."