A ripple spread throughout the Waking World, and then beyond.
It was invisible, existing on a plane of existence higher than humans could comprehend. Still, there was one being who could.
On the moon, a broken space suit contained a creature that abruptly stopped its casual walk upon the lunar surface.
Golden eyes spilled from the darkness, full of alien control.
The world warped as he walked, precise and insidious. His Will was of a Supreme. Indeed, this was the Third Sovereign, one whose name was erased from history.
The Original Dreamspawn.
"How interesting," the man's words did not travel in the abyss of space, yet they seemed to echo throughout the lunar body.
This was a place of horror, the Moon consisted of many terrifying creatures, so much so that even the Dreamspawn had to hide every now and then.
Still, despite the distance, he watched the humans mile about. The forces of his old comrades, Song and Vale, prepared for a war.
Insignificant little toys.
However, strangely, he felt an unusual sensation coming from Antarctica. With his Will, he stretched his consciousness downwards, not seeing, not learning, but rather simply Willing himself to know what this thing was.
For that was a part of his Aspect– to know things.
However, when he finally did know what this was, his face slightly contorted, and he amended his previous statement.
"How…disgusting."
…
Gehrman could no longer see.
And yet, he could see everything.
Whoa.
His consciousness spread to a truly insane degree in this new body. His thoughts felt different and scattered. To his surprise, Dissociation was spreading through him, fracturing his mind.
However, the result was strange.
Instead of conflicting thoughts and minds, it all felt…sorted. As if his past lives each had their own line of thought.
But there was more.
What is this?
Good gods I can see so far.
Can't see.
What the hell is this body?
It's like a combination.
Mother.
…
After waiting for a bit, Gehrman analyzed each line of thought, trying to identify them. It was surprisingly complex.
His Transformation ability had changed his body, but the change to his mind proved far more interesting and immediately alarming.
The good news was, his main consciousness, that of Gehrman, was still dominant and present. It was that mind that now sorted through the others.
A colder, painful mind was working through his own new form. Feeling the "human" aspects of this body. Old Gehrman.
A calculated, sharp mind controlled his many appendages, gaining complete control of the physical aspect of this new body. Johann.
A bright, vivid mind greedily gathered an enormous amount of data from its surroundings. Dorian.
An angry, emotional voice noted the Madness, the emotions, and the feelings of himself, and the Nightmare Creatures a few kilometers away. This was a cacophony, one that Gehrman wasn't too sure of how it came to be. Transmitting emotions and less mathematical data. He was fairly certain that it may have been the DID personalities that Dorian had, Tokka and Aventine. Still, it was many more voices than that, each a receptor for unusual data.
An anguished, wailing mind erupted with Madness and energy, acting as a supply of power and Will. This, surprisingly, was the Orphan of Kos.
Without a doubt, this was the outcome of the first [Cord of the Eye]. However, Gehrman was uncertain if that was the only thing that had changed from the "altering" he had undergone.
He shuddered to imagine what that mind would have been, if he had not inherited the concept of the Orphan of Kos.
Especially because of the identity of the last brain.
A churning, withering mind thrummed, providing no true value, only existing and pulling Gehrman closer to the Void. The Moon Presence.
All of this was happening simultaneously. As the 7th mind, Gherman himself had to corral all the minds and order them in a way that allowed him to actually make physical actions.
Soon, he found himself raising his hand, helped by Johann. The minds worked in sync, sharing a bit of themselves to smooth out the movement.
Indeed, all the minds started to meld, giving its produced data to the other minds. Only the Moon Presence mind was separated from the others.
This allowed each mind to act as its very own processing center, but made it so Gehrman could analyze the combined data to make decisions on movements, actions, and Aspect Ability. Gehrman wanted to test this, but first he needed to figure out everything about his new body.
For one, he couldn't see. There was no light that his mind now processed, instead, it appeared his [Sixth Sense] had improved exponentially further, giving him much more in depth data on the surroundings. Gehrman's "vision" could now encompass a whopping 10 kilometers in every direction.
The sheer magnitude would have shattered, or at least greatly strained Gehrman's mind if it had not split like it had.
7 minds…was rather nice. Even if one of them was quite useless. He shuddered to try and call upon the Moon Presence mind. Fortunately, it seemed content to simply exist in the back of his collective consciousness.
Gehrman quickly made the connection between the minds and the number of Soul Cores he now held. For some reason, he was almost certain that this was a connection determined by his Divine Aspect. It was likely that Sunny and Nephis' Transformation Ability would also change depending on the number of cores they had.
In any case, even though the senses and mental state were the most overwhelming, Gehrman's physical body was of the greatest interest to him.
Taking it in, he was somewhere between horrified and awed.
His first thought was that he had become identical to the Moon Presence he had seen trapped in his Soul Sea. Gehrman's "face" had no actual eyes, nose, ears, or anything else that constituted a normal face. Instead, it was a black oval with prominent indents.
It looked as if a long black rock had been flattened and then had a hammer taken to it. Gehrman raised his hand, or rather his claw, to touch the face.
He had a claw with 5, elongated fingers that ended with sharp ends like a beast's claw.
This was all the exact same as the Moon Presence. His hands, limbs, and core body all were made of bloody bone. A creepy and wide ribcage that protected nothing came from the long, strong spine of the form.
However, there were also some key differences.
Patches of grey skin appeared randomly, covering the bones and acting as extra sensory points.
His legs were also different, not the beastial crouch of Paleblood, but longer, more human like legs were below Gehrman. Still, there was a slight bend in them, though he could walk sort of like a human in this form. It would be awkward and crouched, but a true standing nonetheless.
Then, there was an array of thick, strong black tentacles. Feint red and blue veins could barely be seen on each tentacle. A huddle of these tentacles framed his "face" taking on the appearance of flowing "hair".
Then, down by his hips, another gaggle of tentacles writhed, sort of looking like a bunch of tails.
However, there was an additional batch of tentacles sprouting from each of his shoulders, making him even more slimy and tentacle-y than the Paleblood Avatar inside his Soul.
From his back, translucent wings formed that emanated some red and bright light. These were similar to the wings that sprouted from the back of the Orphan of Kos when he went into what was essentially a "second phase". That being said, the wings were bigger, and less tattered than Orphans had been.
If he were to describe it broadly, he would say it was a fusion of the Moon Presence and the Orphan of Kos.
Still, there was even more to this body.
For one, he felt much, much faster. Somehow, despite standing at around 10 meters in height, Gehrman knew that he was much lighter. He got the feeling that if he tried to hop slightly off the ground, he would go soaring in the air.
This was because 99% of his body was made of blood. Indeed the bone and patches of skin were exceptionally thin. The tentacles and wings also had a complex network of sturdy veins in them as well.
The floating Gherman now performed in his Transcendent human body seemed like a joke now. It was actually easier to move in this body if he was constantly floating.
Still, given the nature of this body, he would not lose much momentum and power if he had to throw a punch in the air instead of the ground.
…Throwing a punch was something he might be actually doing as well. It was incredibly rare for a Saint to use a weapon Memory in their Transcendent form.
Transcendent weapons were hard to come by, so it was rather rare to get one that would work perfectly in their Transformed state.
Gherman, however, had an incredibly large variety of Memories to choose from. Not only did his form have hands that could act similarly to humans, he also had an overwhelming variety of options. After the last Nightmare, he had every single Trick Weapon (in one form or another) as a Memory.
Most of them didn't have any super special Enchantments though, so his hands and tentacles would do the same amount of damage.
Still, he had his [Burial Blade], and the [Rusted Anchor] which he was fairly certain he could wield if he used the same method as Phantasm had– using multiple tentacles to support it.
These were Supreme weapons, but there were several others that would also work.
Ideally, he would leave the [Rusted Anchor] to Phantasm, since Gehrman believed that the Echo could use the Memory plenty effectively, even without any "training".
Gehrman clenched his long, clawed hands, bringing his train of thought back. His minds worked together, and he also noted that he could have had that entire internal monologue while he was moving, he didn't have to have a single stream of consciousness anymore, so if he wasn't delegating, he was underutilizing his Transformation.
"Let's give this a test run," Gehrman said.
In his Transformation, he did not have a mouth, but a voice still echoed out from him, as if every part of his body was a mouth. It was raspy and sounded like a bunch of whispers combined together.
His semi-translucent, membrane-like wings flared. The sound barrier cracked, moving so fast that even an Ascended may not be able to track the creature with their eyes.
So it was that the [Infant Great One] descended upon Eastern Antarctica.
…
Sunny sat back and rubbed his temples. Deep in a hidden grove, his Shadows spread across a vast swathe of land.
For the first time in a long time, he was actually being used as a scout.
Ever since Falcon Scott, the First Irregular Company was – for all intents and purposes – gone.
Despite this, he much preferred the current role he now filled. Corralling a bunch of refugees and guiding them to Siege Capitals, only for them to have a slim chance of escaping… It was a heavy burden.
Though he held no less responsibility, he didn't have to look out for anyone but himself now.
…That was because half of his cohort was dead, maybe more.
Quinten was technically still alive, but he had been pulled into the 2nd Nightmare a while ago. An Awakened with a utility Aspect taking on the 2nd Nightmare alone was not a pretty picture. The guy was resourceful but his chances of survival were abysmal.
Luster and Kim had escaped, now they worked for Headquarters, processing data safely behind the desk.
The other three, Dorn, Belle, and Samara were all dead.
Sunny's hands unconsciously gripped as the memory of their death hit him again.
That thing, I'll kill it if it's the last thing I do. It may not be soon, but I'll come for you, bastard.
Killing the Winter Beast was a tall order. Even Tyris, a powerful Saint who perfectly countered it, ended up grievously wounded by it.
It had swallowed the Irregulars stationed at Falcon Scott, and then the Siege Capital itself. Granted the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been…
Damn it, when will that guy get his ass back here?
If he recalled correctly, it was a couple months until Gehrman returned from the dead last time. It shouldn't be much longer now.
At that moment, one of his Shadows got a clear view of his target.
A Corrupted Terror.
This was not something he could take on by himself. Even though he had managed to kill the Terror of LO49, that had been with the help of Naeve and Bloodwave, a Master and Saint of the House of Night.
Out here by his lonesome, he stood little chance.
Especially since it still seemed to control an army of Nightmare Creatures. Terrors usually went one of two routes after evolving from Tyrants.
They would always gain some new insidious power. The Terror of LO49, and the other Terror that was constantly stuck in his mind, the Soul Devouring Tree from the Forgotten Shore, both had incredibly powerful Mental Hexes.
Without the adequate protections, even the strongest of humanity could be brought to heel by such things.
However, there were also Terrors whose new ability was so powerful, it might as well have an army.
One of his more recent Shadows, the demonic looking horse named Nightmare was one such Terror.
When Sunny had encountered it in the 2nd Nightmare, the Shadow Creature had tormented him with thousands of horrible nightmares. Only after what seemed like years of constant, vicious battle did it end up running out of Nightmares, and Sunny managed to finally slay it.
It was an odd thing, since it was a Shadow Creature already, when the Spell announced his acquisition of Nightmare, it was not as an Echo, but a Shadow.
This meant that with enough nourishment, his servants could grow in Rank and Class.
Saint, who used to be an Awakened Monster, was now a Transcendent Devil.
Serpent, who was actually half way across the world, protecting his sister in case anything happened to her, was an Ascended Devil.
And finally, there was his most recent acquisition.
That annoying and abominable Imp. That one had the power to grow based on the things it consumed, and since it had managed to nibble Sunny's flesh a while back, it had gained some properties of Shadows, thus allowing him to become his servant as well.
He wasn't particularly happy with the little bastard though. Despite its name, Ravenous Fiend, and its impressive Rank and Class (a Transcendent Devil), it was probably weaker than even Nightmare was right now.
Plus, the Imp had chased him across the whole damn Antarctic Center, popping up at random moments to try and kill him before running away. It was only two weeks before the Winter Beasts arrived that he had finally managed to kill the thing.
Despite their power, it was none of these Shadows that were doing the scouting. Instead, it was Sunny's actual shadows, the things followed him wherever he went, but they could detach from his corporeal form. They acted as his eyes and ears, and if they could also each act as augmentations for him and his Shadows…it was hard to keep all of these shadows straight, but what was there to do? Rename the terms?
Preposterous.
As he gathered everything he could on this new Terror, he started to put together a report in his mind that he would send to Jet and HQ in a bit.
However, at that moment, a horrible feeling came over him.
What the hell is that!?
The level of pressure it exuded was comparable to the Winter Beast, but it was far more sinister and far quicker.
His shadow scouts instantly retreated, moving incredibly quickly over the mountainous passages and trying to return to their master, who was also fleeing.
He performed a Shadow Step, teleporting to a shadow as far away as he could. After that, he summoned Nightmare, along with an overpriced saddle he made into a Memory, after forming out of the sparks of the Spell they blasted off.
He grabbed his communicator, letting his now extensive battle experience numb himself to the panic of such a harrowing thing appearing out of nowhere.
"Jet, got an emergency here," Sunny said.
A short crackle made him fear that the communicator had failed. It would do that sometimes, if a very large gate managed to appear between HQ and wherever Sunny was.
However, this time it was just a momentary issue.
"What do you have for me?" Jet's voice cut in. Despite the casual words, her voice was dead serious, disturbed by the slight panic in Sunny's voice.
"A Titan. A Corrupted Titan by the feel of it. It's incredibly fast, appearing out of nowhere. I'd put it as something comparable to Winter Beast."
"Shit," Jet's voice lowered. "I'll send word to Wake of Ruin, he'll get the Great Clans Saints to mobilize…he'll probably have us tag along too. So if you can get some data on it, that would be appreciated."
"What happened to me being a simple scout?"
"You're a Marshall in case you forgot, you were never simple. Plus you're probably the strongest Master we got besides me…and the crazy guy."
Jet said that last part a bit skeptically. Unlike everyone on the Forgotten Shore who was absolutely certain of Gehrman's death, and thus his resurrection. Jet and the majority of the Government did not 100% believe that the man would return.
Yeah, it sure would be nice to have him back. He actually managed to do something to the Winter Beast, having him here would probably mean that they wouldn't even need to send me.
Sunny cursed the dead man.
Then scouting shadows separated, moving in a u-shape and taking cover before trying to see what they could.
Titans, and really any especially powerful Nightmare creatures, could actually see and harm his shadows. If he had not had pulled them under with him when the Winter Beast attacked, he would have lost them, and probably died in the process from the damage to his Soul.
So he kept a safe distance.
At least, what he thought was a safe distance. However his judgment proved incorrect.
All of a sudden, even from the dozen or so kilometers away, the biggest explosion Sunny had ever seen went off.
A pillar of red tinged flames erupted at the spot where the Corrupted Terror had been. The blast pierced the clouds and shook the world.
The flames expanded, the explosion carrying on for a few kilometers before peetering out.
A few seconds later, Sunny was hit with the shockwave.
Both he and Nightmare grunted as it hit them. It was not enough to bother either of them in the slightest, but the fact that the explosion's effects reached them from such a great distance surprised them both.
"What was that?" Jet's voice crackled, sounding alarmed.
"Uhh…I think that thing solved our Corrupted Terror problem," Sunny said in disbelief. Of course, the size of an explosion or the damage of an attack did not necessarily indicate that the Nightmare Creature would die, especially at high Ranks.
However, Sunny simply couldn't imagine that Terror surviving that.
His fear and confusion escalated. Infighting between Nightmare Creatures was not unheard of. But with such a dense human population in Antarctica, there was quite literally no reason for this to occur.
Another crack sounded, and suddenly, one of his shadows was gifted with the most disgusting and revolting sight he had ever seen.
He had seen his fair share of Nightmare Creatures, all of them horrendous to look at, but this thing took the cake.
It was vaguely humanoid, but had a mix of bestial and aquatic features. A black rock seemed to act as its face, and dozens of black tentacles floated impossibly from its body.
The aura it exuded was simply devastatingly oppressive.
It was, quite simply, the strongest creature Sunny had ever encountered. Even the Vile Thieving Bird's spawn was less horrific (though, admittedly, it was still just in an egg at the time).
And then, that utter nightmare waved at his shadow. Its massive, bony fingers shyly offered him a greeting.
Only then did Sunny see the things Soul Cores.
7 odd, but decidedly Transcendent Cores powered this thing.
Sunny couldn't help but let out a disbelieving breath.
"I guess I can forgive your absence, since you came back as a Saint."