At the very center of the arena, below where the most glorious battles took place, watched and appraised by the Great Goddess of War herself...
Were her unit of five greatest warriors.
Champions taken in and trained from birth by the War Goddess, the unit composed of five humans who became true gods.
Humans who became Sacred.
The difference was immense.
A Noble Creature could reach the same Rank, but never would they be able to rival a human who reached Sacred with an Aspect. There would always inherently be a difference.
Superior by all regards.
Lesser gods.
But gods.
Yet—
The elite unit of the Great War Empire...
The Great Goddess of War's supposed Sacred army, capable of taking down the strongest of beings outside of the Great Gods and Daemons...
Were on their knees, cowed in fear as the harrowing figure of a mortal—a mere demigod...
A mere Sovereign overwhelmed them.
As shadows rose to the call of their Sovereign, a blade arose in his hands.
A Sacred one at the front tried to scurry away.
Another, holding a massive shield, looked cautious and frightened.
Two more were in the face, grimacing and hesitating, holding their weapons and charging an Aspect.
Another one's back was turned as they activated an artifact to escape.
Yet the man did not care.
With eerie calm, he swung his sword into the empty air as his Will descended and the fabric of space tore open, colliding with the blade and shield and sending the Sacred back.
The Lord of Shadows landed on the ground as cracks appeared under him, reaching the end of the arena.
His shoulders rose for a moment as torn flesh left some dried blood on his shoulder.
A light breath escaped him as he coughed faintly.
Yet his Will kept pushing back against the constant attempts at attacking him.
"Y-You... how are you keeping up with us?! Are you using Concepts? You're not Sacred?! H-How?!" the one on his back gasped.
The Lord of Shadows did not answer. With each step, he let his Will attack everything around him.
Essence poured into his odachi as he raised his blade firmly.
"I'm a very good swordsman."
However, something happened.
All gazes turned upward as a presence appeared.
No—
The Lord of Shadows narrowed his eyes.
"Four."
Space tore open in four different moments as everyone felt their knees buckle.
A choked laugh escaped the Sacred warriors as the warriors of the Great War Empire rasied their arms in reverence, unaware of the additional pressure.
The four masked Sovereigns looked up as their minds raced.
"What now?" the Seer of Paths asked.
"Whatever it is, we need to get to him. He's too close," the Harbinger of Ruin glanced at the Lord of Shadows.
The Keeper of Fate used Weaver's eyes despite the pain and exhaustion as he looked for a way out.
The Lord of Shadows' mind raced as he made a plan.
"Get to me. Now."
His firm voice came over essence echo as the three did not hesitate.
However—
"Little Shadow!"
The Great Goddess of War roared as her avatar manifested, only glaring at the Lord of Shadows.
"Wretched bastard!"
The Daemon of Destiny appeared as his eyes of darkness fell on the Seer of Paths.
"Mortal."
The Great Goddess of Sun looked at the Keeper of Fate.
"Human child."
The Daemon of Repose looked at the Harbinger of Ruin.
The four Sovereigns nearly fell to their knees as their legs strained beneath the pressure.
Yet the Lord of Shadows did not yield.
He simply raised his head and met the Great Goddess of War's glare.
The battle had only just begun.
At that moment, the Lord of Shadows understood.
There was a slight miscalculation in their plan.
Fate was clearly aware of their attempts to weaken the Gods' forces for the coming Doom War.
However, four Divine entities appearing simultaneously was simply not possible unless...
They had disrupted something far greater than merely weakening the Great Kingdom of War.
The Keeper of Fate narrowed his eyes as blood spilled from his left eye, and he fell to one knee.
"Agh!" he grunted as the Seer of Paths appeared at his side.
The Harbinger of Ruin looked between them and the Lord of Shadows.
The man had called them over, but with the Divine beings pinning them down with their gazes, even standing still was becoming a difficult task.
His teeth clenched behind his mask.
"What do we do?!"
The War Goddess looked at the others.
"What are you doing in my realm?" she demanded, her voice overwhelming enough to send the Noble Beasts and Transcendents to their knees.
The Sacred warriors prostrated themselves before her at once, not caring whether the Goddess even looked at them.
The Sun Goddess remained calm as she looked at her fellow Great Goddess.
Her gaze turned to one of the masked men.
"The human child defiled my decree and freed the Daemon of Desire, Hope, alongside the Mark of Shadows," she said as she looked at the Keeper of Fate.
"I do not wish for conflict with you, War. However, I will need at least one of them, for my people are still in unrest after what happened all those ages ago."
"And she had to pick today to do that, huh?" the Lord of Shadows muttered as his legs remained stiff.
He turned to move the shadows or summon a Memory.
!!!
The War Goddess looked at him as a crushing pressure descended upon his soul, sending excruciating pain coursing through his being.
"Wait your turn, little shadow," she said.
"I care not for your matters, War Goddess," Nether said as he looked at the Seer of Paths beside the Keeper of Fate.
"No matter. It's been tainted by that shadow's essence. I'll eradicate it alongside you once I'm done teaching the little shadow a lesson."
"Wait a moment," Rime spoke.
"That one is mine. When the people of that mortal Shadow God banished from Death appeared, the humans of the Domain came to me for help. But before I could help them, he came and killed the mortal somehow."
Her eyes narrowed.
Before the Divine entity could speak—
"Hey, now."
The Lord of Shadows looked up as the deity frowned.
"You know, you all sound almost as petty as you actually are, behind that whole Divine Titan facade," he said.
He winced in pain as the four Divine beings turned their attention toward him.
His soul was taking the pressure, and that was after he had defeated the five Sacred warriors as a Supreme.
The War Goddess moved first as she began—
Step.
All beings stopped.
Step.
The four masked Supremes raised their heads in alarm.
Step.
The Divine Titans frowned in confusion as they turned their heads.
Step.
All eyes landed on a man covered in black layers, walking out into the open from the colossal warrior's entrance.
His long hair, tied into a high ponytail, fluttered in the wind as he walked forward with a melodious smile, as if there were no threats to begin with.
The masked Supremes stared, their eyes widening in shock behind their masks.
"That—" the Seer of Paths began but stopped.
"But why?" the Harbinger of Ruin let out.
The Keeper of Fate looked up, his hand remaining over the left eye of his mask.
Out of the Divine beings' sight, his thought processes remained painfully slow. His brain bled, and his eye was partially blinded and healing.
However, the man who had walked out did not look at them.
His gaze turned toward the four Divine Titans.
The Great Gods and Daemons turned toward him with frowns.
The Sacred warriors on the ground, close to the Lord of Shadows, stared as well.
"Another Supreme?" one said in confusion as his gaze darted toward the Divine beings in the air.
The black-haired Supreme did not mind as he smiled at the Divine entities.
The Goddess of War moved to face him better.
"Who's he?" Nether frowned in confusion.
Rime tilted her head.
"Starting with charming, he is quite good-looking for a mortal."
"He is strangely entrancing for a mortal... or even a Divine," the Great Goddess of Sun added.
The Great Goddess of War moved forward.
"You... who are you—no."
Her eyes narrowed.
"What are you?"
The man smiled at her charmingly.
"Me?" he questioned.
"I'm no one, really."
The Divine entities frowned.
"No... there's something about..." the Great Goddess of War murmured.
"He's different... even from us. There's something fundamentally different about his entire being..." the Great Goddess of Sun said, narrowing her eyes.
"Why are you here?" Nether's voice echoed as he moved forward.
The handsome man smiled again.
"Oh, that? I just came here to help my friends," he said.
The Great Goddess of War's expression changed as she looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Friends?"
The man smiled and looked at the four masked Supremes.
"Just those guys right there. They seem to be in a bit of trouble with you four appearing, so I believe intervention was necessary," he said.
...
The Divine beings frowned.
"And you think you can intervene?" the War Goddess asked with an edge to her tone as she exerted pressure on the Supreme.
However—
"What?"
Her eyes widened as the Supreme took a few confused steps forward.
"Ah, well, you see, I don't exactly have a choice here," he said. "Apologies. However, I won't allow you to hurt my friends."
The Gods' faces turned cold as they looked at the mortal.
"How dare—"
A calm stare.
Unbothered.
Somewhat happy, even.
"That will be all."
He raised his hand and opened his palm as runes appeared on the back of his hand, glowing golden.
Instantly—
The Divine beings' attention shifted as their heads turned toward something.
Millions of golden threads formed into knots.
"Weaving!" Nether gritted out, recognizing his eldest sibling's sorcery.
The Great War Goddess turned to look at the man.
"Mortal!" she roared.
"Next time, maybe."
He smiled as he closed his fist.
Suddenly, the Gods disappeared.
Their Divine presences vanished alongside them.
"That should buy enough time," he said.
The four masked Supremes and five Sacred warriors stared. The Noble Creatures, the Transcendents, and the other Sovereigns carefully raised their heads as well.
"W-What the hell?" a Sacred warrior muttered as he looked at the new Supreme carefully.
"W-Where did the Great War Goddess go?"
"And the other Divine beings?"
"All right, you four."
The Supreme's calm tone reached the masked Supremes as they looked at him.
"Wonderfully done," he said with a pleasant smile.
"But I suppose we'll all have to step up our game, huh?"
He turned in one direction.
!!!
All beings, even the four masked Supremes, felt pain in their souls as every head turned toward one side.
The Sacred warriors' eyes widened.
"T-That!"
The Lord of Shadows narrowed his eyes.
"So that's how it is."
The Keeper of Fate looked up as the Seer of Paths held him over his shoulder while the Harbinger of Ruin guarded them.
"The reason Fate forced four Divine beings here."
"My~"
The Supreme mortal looked forward with a smile.
"You're not holding back your presence like the Great Gods and Daemons. There are some of your own people here, you know," he said.
A young-looking man wearing warrior-like golden armor, carrying a noble presence, walked forward with calm, confident steps.
A spear rested in one hand as he looked ahead.
The Supreme looked at him with a smile and tilted his head.
"I don't know what you did," the newcomer said in a calm but deadly voice.
"However, I will deal with all you intruders before the Great War Goddess returns."
The Harbinger of Ruin wore a grim expression behind his mask.
One of the few humans who would participate in the Doom War as—
"A Divine human."
One of the very few...
The Divine human, an Imperator as well as the only one above the five Sacred warriors, walked forward as a golden glow covered him.
The Supreme regarded his presence with a small smile.
"As expected," he said.
"The strings of Fate are quite tight around you."
His smile disappeared for a moment as his eyes narrowed.
"Auro of the Nine."
Auro, the Divine human warrior of the Great War Empire, stopped as he looked up carefully.
"...Who are you?" he asked.
The Supreme man walked forward.
"Oh, I'm but a humble Divine Shadow," he said as his smile returned.
"I suppose you can call me Sunless."
...
"Sunless, I don't know why you are calling me that. However, for your crimes against the Great War Kingdom of the Great Goddess of War, I will kill you in the name of the Great War Goddess," Auro said.
Sunless smiled.
"After all this time... you still pretend to be a hero, huh?"
Auro didn't react to the seemingly provocative words.
His essence moved.
"You are a Supreme. While that is something to be proud of, it will not be enough, Sunless," Auro said as essence poured into his spear.
Sunless smiled.
"Ahh, I'll have to agree," he said.
Auro would have blinked. However, he didn't, instead assuming a combat stance.
Then—
From Sunless's shadow rose another being.
A Soul Serpent.
Auro's eyes narrowed.
'Sacred... Titan. A Soul Serpent, so he is one of the Shadow God's?'
He analyzed the creature.
Then—
The Transcendent Titan moved, turning into a shadow before becoming a weapon.
A black odachi, oozing shadows and strength, emanating its Rank and Class as well as the weapon's might.
A Sacred sword of the Seventh Tier.
"Since being a Supreme will not be enough..." Sunless said as a small smile appeared on his lips.
"I'll just have to become Sacred now."
He raised his sword.
Auro didn't waste time as he hunched and lunged forward, the ground behind him cracking.
"All right, you all."
Sunless raised his blade and brought it down, cutting through the air.
And space itself.
"Let's step up."
Auro's eyes widened.
Unmaking.
A process that could last several centuries in order to ascend to the Sacred Rank naturally.
No matter the Sovereign, should they attempt it, becoming one with a Concept meant undergoing an understanding of their Domain and becoming one with it, losing their sense of self and needing to return to their senses over time.
A process that usually required over a century.
And the stronger one's Domain was, the longer it took.
So Auro knew it should have been impossible.
It was impossible.
So how?
How?!
The Supreme cut through space, and an orb of shadows formed around him.
Auro only noticed two things as he covered the massive gap in the blink of an eye.
First was the Will of a Supreme, how the Supreme exerted himself on the world around him and sent his Will wherever the world touched.
Shadow Dance.
The orb seemed to collapse faster than it formed.
Yet...
Auro stopped in his tracks as he realized the entire battlefield had changed.
For—
An overwhelming presence descended upon the battlefield.
The Transcendents fell to the ground, coughing and choking under the pressure, while Sovereigns fell to their knees, gasping for air.
The Sacred warriors looked horrified.
And the four masked Supremes?
They melted into puddles of shadow before forming again.
The Keeper of Fate's mind was healed.
The Lord of Shadows' body was energized once again.
The Seer of Paths and the Harbinger of Ruin seemed to have recovered as well.
And Auro?
Auro could only stare in shock as the Supreme before him emerged as...
A Sacred Titan.
"I suppose this should be enough for now," Sunless said with a smile as shadows roared with strength around him.
Auro looked at him with a wary gaze.
Despite the fact that there was still a Rank gap, he couldn't help but feel wary of Sunless.
"Who... how did you become Sacred so quickly?" he asked.
Sunless smiled.
"Ahh, now I have to answer," he said, still seemingly amused.
"Well, not that hard. I simply used my battle art and replicated the control of space from an abomination I killed, then used my Supreme Will to kill time in it, letting myself experience the centuries-long Unmaking within what was quite literally no time in that little bubble of pocket dimension I created. It was all about the timing..."
He smiled.
"Quite literally."
Auro regarded him for a moment, astonished.
Then his eyes narrowed as he gripped his spear.
"No matter. You will die," he said.
Sunless smiled.
"Ahh, well, you see, for that, one has to be alive. However, I'm neither alive nor am I human. Just a shadow now," he said as he moved into a stance as well.
"Quite a handsome one as well."
Dash.
!!!
As if space did not exist at all, the two simultaneously appeared before each other as Sunless's odachi descended upon Auro's spear.
BOOM!
SWOOSH!
As the two weapons collided, a loud explosion resounded, its vibrations reaching the clouds as a wind blew across the entirety of the Great Kingdom of War.
Sand, dirt, and small fragments of stone were sent flying as the clouds parted in all directions.
As the Greatest of Abominations and his seven shadows ascended to Sacredhood.
...
In the strange hall and world.
Eurys looked at the man.
His eyes narrowed.
"...You are... the Greatest of Abominations?" he muttered to himself.
Sunless, situated on his throne, looked at no one in particular, his fingers tapping against the armrest in thought as a small smile remained on his lips.
"I suppose some rules were broken today, weren't they?" he said.
Immediately, his eyes narrowed as his fingers stopped.
"What do we know about infighting?"
The Lord of Shadows looked away as the Keeper of Fate lowered his gaze.
Sunless looked at the Keeper of Fate.
Eurys's eyes sharpened.
'What will he do? Throw Divine power at them and make them feel unimaginable pain? Or maybe even imprison them?'
Sunless's gaze shifted to the Lord of Shadows.
"Did you two make up?" he asked.
"..."
"W-We did," the Keeper of Fate said with a small, nervous smile.
"You already know we did. Why waste time?" the Lord of Shadows said, looking away.
Eurys watched the exchange between them.
"You know, you all are acting awfully easygoing, considering how you were talking about... the Greatest of Abominations..." he said.
Sunless frowned.
"Greatest of what?" he said with a light sigh. "I suppose the Great Gods and Daemons called me that at one point, but I really don't prefer that title."
Eurys watched him.
'He... doesn't?'
"Ahh... apologies? Oh, Great Third Paradox?" he said carefully.
The last thing he wanted was to be turned into an abomination or flung into the Void. Who knew what the hell this thing could do?
And strangely...
He looked quite... normal.
'I was imagining something like a creature with multiple hands and five eyes, a horrendous creature. But I suppose they did say he walked the path of ascension from being a human, so looking better with a higher Rank was inevitable,' Eurys thought.
Sunless threw one leg over the other with a smile.
"Ahh, no need for such titles. Just call me Sunless," he said.
"...Sunless?" Eurys repeated.
His world had yet again begun to tilt on its axis.
Sunless turned away.
"Now, about the infighting. You all made up?"
The Keeper of Fate looked up at him.
"Yes... uh..."
"I'm not convinced," Sunless said as he stood up and took a few steps forward.
"Come on, come here," he said.
Eurys's eyes narrowed.
He was finally going to see what the damned being who had made Great Gods and Daemons work together was truly like.
Whatever facade of happiness and innocence was being put on would fall now.
The Lord of Shadows looked away as his shoulders tensed.
The Keeper of Fate's smile weakened.
"I-I assure you, there's no need for this—"
"Here."
His voice hardened.
"Now."
The Keeper of Fate looked at him, then sighed as he slowly stood up.
The Lord of Shadows did not move.
Sunless looked between them and sighed.
"Why must you force me?" he said to himself and raised his hand.
Eurys tensed.
Then—
Shadows moved beneath the Keeper of Fate, and the sitting Lord of Shadows stiffened and jerked as they were carried forward.
"Ugh—"
"Damnit!"
Both appeared and safely stood in front of Sunless as he looked at them.
"Now... make up with each other," he said, crossing his arms.
The Lord of Shadows grunted.
"I'm not doing that."
"I'm sure—" the Keeper of Fate was cut off.
"Hugs. Now."
Sunless shut them down.
"..."
"..."
'...What?' Eurys thought.
The Lord of Shadows kept looking away while the Keeper of Fate hesitated.
Then the Keeper of Fate sighed, smiled, and wrapped his arms around the Lord of Shadows.
The man stiffened in annoyance before putting an arm around the Keeper of Fate and patting his back in a brotherly gesture.
All the while, Sunless nodded approvingly.
He turned around as he spoke.
"And call me Sunless or Boss. No need for those Greatest of Abominations or Third Paradox titles," he said as he took his throne.
The Keeper of Fate regarded him with a smile, while the Lord of Shadows disappeared into the shadows, ignoring the look the Seer of Paths was giving him.
"And speaking of titles," Sunless said as he looked at them all with displeasure.
"Why are you all using your titles? And what's with this 'Oh Great' and such?" He paused. "I gave you all wonderful names."
"That's not true," the Lord of Shadows said.
"It is because I said it is," Sunless replied with a smile.
"That—and the names are still up for debate." The Seer of Paths raised his hands.
"No, they are not. I am not changing your names," Sunless said.
"You changed the Keeper of Fate's name," the Child of Erasure said.
"That's because his name no longer fit him, and I just said not to use titles!" Sunless said with a sigh.
The Keeper of Fate sounded almost confused.
"My name fits me?"
"It does," the Harbinger of Ruin said with his arms folded.
The Keeper of Fate lowered his head.
The Lord of Shadows looked at Sunless sharply.
"And our names fit us now?"
Sunless gasped and leaned back.
"Of course they do..."
A small smile came to his lips.
"Gloomy."
"..."
"..."
Eurys looked between them.
The Seer of Paths looked away as his shoulders shook.
The Crown of Grace raised his sleeve to his face.
"His name is Gloomy?"
"It is. Fits, doesn't it?"
"...BAH! It does!" Eurys laughed as the Lord of Shadows stared at him.
"If Eurys had eyes and hands, he'd wipe tears," the Seer of Paths muttered to the Child of Erasure.
They were sitting far enough away, yet everyone heard.
Eurys looked at Sunless.
"So all of them have names like that?"
"Uhm—uhm, uhm—uhm, yes! They're nice, aren't they?" he said cheerfully.
Eurys looked around, now actually curious.
"What are they?" he asked.
The seven stiffened as they looked at him.
Sunless didn't care as he spoke.
"Of course! Here they are."
Sunless pointed toward the Lord of Shadows.
"Gloomy." The Lord of Shadows looked away.
"Softy. He used to be Haughty." The Keeper of Fate smiled nervously.
"Happy." The Crown of Grace gave a small, embarrassed wave.
"Crazy." The Harbinger of Ruin looked away with his arms crossed.
"Creepy." The Child of Erasure looked at Sunless for a moment before quietly looking away.
"Naughty." The Seer of Paths turned his head aside, clearly trying not to react.
"And Lazy." The Cursed of Truth remained reclined comfortably in his seat.
Eurys stared at all seven of them.
Then at Sunless.
"...These are their names?"
Sunless nodded proudly.
"Wonderful, aren't they?"
The seven remained silent.
Eurys looked at Sunless.
"They fought Gods!"
"I made them."
"How the hell does that justify that?!"
"For once, I agree with the skull."
"Keep his name," Eurys said dryly.
"...Damned bones," the Lord of Shadows muttered and looked away.
Eurys looked at him, examining the man.
"And what about you?" he asked.
Sunless looked at him, still smiling.
Eurys's eyes narrowed.
"There was Divine Rank pressure here, but you're... a Transcendent?" he asked.
Sunless rested his hand on his chin.
"Well, I was not always just a Transcendent, but the end of the Doom War... was quite inconvenient for me," he said, smiling more.
"So I fell back to Transcendent, hence Saint. Though I live as an Ascended, since I was already a bit too high to raise suspicion, and the Supremes can be quite resourceful with Saints these days," he said.
Eurys looked at him.
"An Ascended, huh? Well, that still doesn't explain the Divine Rank pressure that was here earlier, and what the hell is this place?"
Sunless smiled.
"Ahh, this place? It's Little Hollow," he said.
Eurys looked at him.
"Little Hollow? What's that?" he asked.
Sunless leaned to the other side of the throne.
"Little Hollow is one of my Shadow Creatures, one of the Shadow God's many Noble Creatures. I can attach one to each of my cores."
"...And Little Hollow has a Divine presence. Why?" he asked.
Sunless crossed his legs again.
"Oh, that's because Little Hollow is a Divine Titan, the only one in existence right now."
'!!!'
"You have a Divine Titan?!" Eurys asked.
Sunless smiled in amusement.
"I believe that's what I said."
"So you have power that can wipe out anyone in all of existence? How is it even obeying your commands?!" Eurys asked in shock and bewilderment.
A Divine being's Will should have been enough to break free of whatever was forcing it to stay.
'Wait a second... where is his Soul Serpent?' he thought.
"To answer your first question, no. Little Hollow isn't that strong. Its existence itself is more... utility-based, if you will," Sunless said.
Eurys's attention was caught.
"Much like its name suggests, Little Hollow is... hollow, in a sense."
"My soul is anchored to this Citadel, and the seven, being connected to my soul, also use it to situate seven Citadels in this place all at once. The nature of this place allows me to connect seven Citadels to this one, allowing for a widespread network of instant movement for all of us."
"...That's... useful," Eurys said.
"Right?" Sunless said in amusement.
"And what of these dead Gods? Why are they here?" Eurys asked.
"Ahh, these? They are my kills, you see. However, they are here as part of my nascent Domain, which I will be able to access as a Supreme."
He sighed.
"However, the problem is that they are all Cursed and Divine, and the nature of my Aspect cannot keep all of them inside. If they were in my Soul Sea, they would have broken free and entered the actual world."
He smiled.
"I hope you understand how... disastrous it could be in that scenario," he said.
Eurys stared at him.
That was more than an understatement.
"And you... ah, yes, the boon of a Great God. You have the Shadow God's powers, so your Soul Sea must work like a smaller Shadow Realm for anything you kill, allowing it to become part of your Domain?"
Sunless looked at him.
"How perceptive, as expected of the great Eurys, who killed the War God's avatar by sneaking in as a slave," he said.
Eurys didn't care about his history being mentioned. They already knew enough about the other members of the Nine.
"So this Divine Titan... you use it as storage of sorts? It works as an extension of your Soul Sea, where you can store the dead shadows of your kills until you're strong enough to control them?"
Sunless snapped his fingers.
"Exactly."
Eurys looked at the seven.
"How did he even make you all?" he asked.
"None of your concern, Bones," the Lord of Shadows said.
"Now then—" Sunless said, getting everyone's attention.
The seven looked at him.
"Let's talk about why we are all here."
Everyone settled as the seven became attentive.
"First things first. My position in the Domain War has changed. Little Anvil wants me to be a smith for him and the Sword Domain," Sunless said.
...
"...Who's Little Anvil?" Eurys asked.
"He's one of the three Supremes in all the realms right now," the Keeper of Fate answered calmly.
"..."
"A smith for the Sword Domain? You?" the Lord of Shadows asked, an edge entering his tone.
Sunless waved him off.
"I'm smithing for my lady, so it's fine."
He paused as a smile came to his face.
"In fact, this means Birdy and I get to stay with her all the time now. If anything, let's spare the Sword Domain a few Saints and kill more of Song's when you have to," he said, looking at the Lord of Shadows.
The man stared at him for a moment before sighing.
"Understood."
Sunless blinked as if remembering something and looked back at the Lord of Shadows.
"Oh, and by the way, good job on that whole, 'I'll tear your daughter limb from limb and spike her head atop your castle unless you heed my warning.'"
Sunless grinned.
"That was cool even for a lie."
Eurys looked between them.
"A lie? You threatened a Supreme that you would kill his daughter?" he asked.
It did not make much sense for a Saint to walk directly into the heart of a Supreme's Domain and threaten them.
Sunless looked at him.
"The strategy is simple," the Keeper of Fate said. "We want the Domains' attention on the Lord of Shadows so every battle has to account for the Citadel in Godgrave, which is already in a conveniently important position in the war."
"By personally making sure each Supreme is aware of him and has a personal interest in the Citadel, Shadow had to leave a strong impression on both of them and make them account for his existence," the Cursed of Truth finished.
"As a result, more Saints always have to remain in reserve on each battlefield, making sure the other side is not willing to risk committing too much while leaving themselves exposed to the Lord of Shadows."
"And the reason?" Eurys asked.
"The more Saints both factions keep away from direct conflict, the fewer Saints end up fighting each other," the Harbinger of Ruin said, glancing at the Lord of Shadows.
"For all the bravado and drama, that's the main point of the strategy. We can't afford to lose many Saints."
Eurys looked at them, already understanding where this was going.
"How long?" he asked.
A moment of silence followed.
Sunless stood with a sigh.
"At most fifteen years. But I'd say around ten... before the last of the Divine Realms, the War Realm—what we now call the Waking World—is consumed by the Dream Realm."
His expression grew more serious.
"As time passes, more Nightmare Gates will open. Corruption will pour through them until, eventually, the War Realm becomes part of the Dream Realm."
The hall fell quiet.
"The more Nightmare Gates we tackle and shut down, the more time we gain. The more Saints that fight in the Dream Realm, the more livable territory we can secure. And the more land we secure, the more people we'll eventually be able to bring through."
Sunless looked around at them.
"But more than anything, we need Supremes capable of dominating the Dream Realm and making it safe enough for people to actually live there."
He paused.
"The Dream Realm is still largely uninhabitable. Ki Song and Anvil don't want to try saving all of humanity because they believe saving billions of people is simply impossible."
His expression sharpened.
"And, as things stand right now, they're justified in believing that. They've already brought over about as many people as the parts of the Dream Realm under their control can support."
Eurys remained silent.
"What isn't justified is that instead of working together to expand that territory, they're fighting each other over land that is already prosperous."
Sunless's fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
"They're not trying to create more. They're killing each other over what already exists."
His eyes narrowed.
"And to make it worse, they refuse to allow capable Saints to form cohorts, challenge Fourth Nightmares, and create more Supremes. They've done that for nearly two decades."
The Harbinger of Ruin's arms remained crossed.
"And now they're throwing those same Saints against each other in the Domain War."
Sunless nodded.
"If all those people worked together..."
He sighed.
"Well. That isn't going to happen so long as the three cowardly Sovereigns remain in control."
Eurys watched him.
"Then kill them."
Sunless shook his head.
"We can't."
Eurys's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Because if their Domains collapse, so does everything those Domains are supporting."
Sunless leaned forward slightly.
"Supremes can establish stable passages between the realms. Anvil and Ki Song have been doing that for the last four years. For all their failures, they're still important."
He paused.
"Millions of mundane people live under their Domains. Those Domains protect them from the Nightmare Spell. They stop those people from being dragged into their First Nightmares."
Eurys's expression changed.
"If the Sovereigns die..."
"Their authority disappears," Sunless said. "And if their Domains disappear before something replaces them, millions of mundane humans will become infected by the Spell."
His voice became flat.
"Most of them will die."
Silence filled the hall.
"We can't allow that."
Eurys looked at him for several moments.
"So you need at least one Supreme."
Sunless nodded.
"At least one."
"One Supreme capable of taking over before you kill the others."
"Yes."
Eurys thought for a moment before looking at him again.
"But your Domain..."
Sunless raised an eyebrow.
"You said you're the heir of Death. The dead belong to your Domain. A rather unique kind of Domain, certainly, but can you even include the living in it?"
Eurys tilted his head.
"How exactly do you plan to tie humanity into a safe Domain?"
Sunless smiled.
"Ahh, no. I can't."
Eurys stared at him.
"...Then you can't help."
"Not personally."
Sunless's smile widened.
"But I have someone in mind."
He winked.
"My gorgeous girlfriend."
The seven remained silent.
Eurys stared at him.
Sunless continued cheerfully.
"She has a rather unusual Domain as well. Unlike Anvil and Ki Song, hers doesn't depend on territory in quite the same way."
His smile softened slightly.
"It depends on people trusting her."
Eurys's eyes narrowed.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning she can accept any Saint willing to stand on her side with a mental command and immediately bring them into her Domain."
Sunless leaned back against his throne.
"If we play our cards right..."
A small smile appeared on his lips.
"My lady can create the Domain we need."
A slight smile appeared on Eurys's face.
"You have a girlfriend?" he asked.
Sunless looked at him.
"Yes."
"...Does she even know about all this?" Eurys asked. "You said you live as an Ascended in the world so you don't attract attention, despite having a Citadel sitting under the Sovereigns' noses."
Sunless was quiet for a moment.
"Not yet."
Eurys stared at him.
Sunless leaned back slightly.
"I'll tell her. Everything."
He paused.
"But I wanted to make sure she stopped thinking she had to sacrifice her own happiness first."
The seven remained attentive.
"She has a bad habit of keeping people away from her because she thinks getting close to them will only put them in danger. Me. Birdy. Anyone she cares about."
His expression softened.
"If I had simply walked up to her and said, 'By the way, I'm actually a Saint, I have enough power to protect myself, and you don't need to worry about me,' then she wouldn't have really changed."
Eurys watched him.
"She would have just accepted that I was safe."
Sunless nodded.
"Exactly."
He looked down at his hand.
"I wanted her to get used to taking some risks with her own happiness. To choose to hold onto something instead of letting it go the moment she became afraid she might hurt it."
A small pause followed.
"So I let her believe I was weaker than I really am."
Eurys's brow rose.
"...That's rather unfair."
"It is."
Sunless did not deny it.
"But sometimes you have to do things the hard way."
His gaze moved toward the distant dark waters.
"I wanted her to choose me while thinking I was someone she might actually have to protect. I wanted her to decide that being happy was worth the risk."
His voice remained calm.
"And she did."
The Keeper of Fate lowered his gaze slightly.
Sunless continued.
"By the end of the Domain War, I'll tell her everything."
Eurys studied him.
"Everything?"
"Everything."
"About the Seven?"
"Yes."
"This place?"
"Yes."
"The Gods? Fate? You?"
"All of it."
Sunless paused.
"Until then, I'm going to help her grow stronger."
Eurys's eyes narrowed slightly.
"How?"
Sunless smiled brightly as a memory appeared in his hands.
A dark wooden demonic mask.
"By entering the war with my own mask, of course."
"..."
"... what?"
Sunless blinked.
Eurys stared at him.
"No, I'm trying to understand what the fuck I just went through in the last two hours," he said.
Sunless's lips twitched.
Eurys continued before anyone could interrupt him.
"First, I was in the Shadow Realm after finally getting out because of a Nephilim. Then, while I'm making my way through that damned place, that gloomy bastard over there kidnaps me and brings me into what I was apparently supposed to believe was the stomach of a fucking Divine Titan."
"Not a stomach—" the Keeper of Fate began.
"Shut up!"
The Keeper of Fate merely smiled behind his mask.
Eurys swung his gaze back toward Sunless.
"Then I sat through a lecture about the history of existence itself. I watched you stand in front of the War God and the Shadow God at the same fucking time. I was told that you're some abomination Weaver and Oblivion talked about before you were even born. Apparently Fate itself fears you enough that it had to keep you weak."
The Lord of Shadows did not even bother reacting.
The Seer of Paths had leaned faintly to one side, openly entertained.
The Harbinger of Ruin remained where he was, eyes closed and arms folded, as though none of this concerned him.
The Crown of Grace wore a faint, pleasant smile.
The Child of Erasure was not even looking in Eurys's direction.
The Cursed of Truth seemed to have accepted that this was simply happening.
And Sunless himself stood there with an increasingly amused smile.
Eurys pointed accusingly at him.
"Then these bastards spend all this time painting a picture in my head of some incomprehensible Divine monstrosity beyond anything I have ever heard of, only for a perfectly normal, reasonably decent-looking man to casually walk in here and tell me that his current plan is to play fucking smith for his girlfriend!"
Sunless's smile widened.
Eurys wasn't finished.
"Because apparently some Sovereign ordered him to, while said man is secretly planning to make his girlfriend the Queen of all the realms and help her become a demigod by repeatedly trying to kill her while wearing a fucking Daemon's mask!"
Silence.
Then the Seer of Paths slowly brought his hands together.
Clap.
"An excellent use of paraphrasing."
Eurys turned his skull toward him.
"Do not encourage him," the Keeper of Fate said pleasantly.
Eurys's attention snapped back toward Sunless.
"Did I miss anything?"
Sunless thought about it.
Then he raised one finger.
"The important thing."
Eurys's eye twitched.
"What?"
Sunless smiled.
"My girlfriend is the most beautiful, drop-dead gorgeous woman ever born."
"..."
The Lord of Shadows finally moved, although only enough to tilt his head faintly away.
The Keeper of Fate's shoulders shifted with what might have been restrained laughter.
The Crown of Grace's smile became slightly brighter.
Eurys stared at Sunless for several long seconds.
"You are the Greatest of Abominations."
"Apparently."
"The Third Paradox."
"So I've been told."
"The Slayer of Gods and Daemons."
"On occasion."
"And that was what you thought was important?"
Sunless nodded solemnly.
"Very."
Eurys made a sound that suggested being a skull was the only thing preventing him from developing an aneurysm.
For a few moments, the hall settled again.
Then Eurys's gaze moved across the seven figures surrounding them.
There was something else bothering him now.
Something considerably more practical.
"You know what? Fine. Since you're standing here anyway, answer something else."
Sunless looked at him.
Eurys gestured toward the Seven.
"Exactly how strong are you compared to them?"
That earned slightly more attention.
Eurys continued.
"I've spent the last few hours listening to these bastards explain things they accomplished that should have been impossible. The Lord of Shadows can apparently fight almost anything that walks. The Harbinger has that damned spear. The Keeper plays around with Weaver's sorcery. Every single one of them seems to have some ridiculous specialty."
His gaze returned to Sunless.
"And supposedly all of them came from you."
Sunless hummed thoughtfully.
"That's a slightly complicated question."
"Of course it is."
"But not too complicated."
Sunless raised one hand and gestured casually toward the Harbinger of Ruin.
"The Harbinger mainly uses his spear. Using that thing properly requires an excruciating amount of strength, concentration, and essence, so maintaining everything else at its highest level while wielding it would be unnecessarily taxing. Because of that, he mostly uses his shadows for augmentation while concentrating the majority of his ability on the spear itself."
The Harbinger of Ruin opened one eye briefly before closing it again.
Sunless's finger moved.
"The Lord of Shadows is different. He specializes primarily in my Aspect and Shadow Dance."
The masked figure remained silent.
"He's the strongest of them in straightforward combat because he's using the abilities I've spent the longest honing. Shadows were where my journey began, after all. Shadow Dance, augmentation, manifestation, movement, weapons, direct battle... those are his specialties."
Eurys glanced toward the Lord of Shadows.
That explained quite a bit.
Sunless's finger moved toward the Keeper of Fate.
"The Keeper specializes heavily in Weaving and everything surrounding Fate. He's spent an absurd amount of time understanding both, so most of his attention remains there. He can still fight perfectly well, naturally. He simply prefers his paired swords when things become unpleasant."
The Keeper of Fate inclined his head.
"The Cursed of Truth and Child of Erasure aren't primarily combatants," Sunless continued. "That doesn't mean they're helpless. They're still me. If necessary, they can rely on the Shadow Aspect and handle themselves against most things that would be stupid enough to attack them."
The Cursed of Truth smiled faintly.
The Child of Erasure still wasn't looking at them.
"The Seer of Paths relies heavily on his own understanding of paths, possibilities, and the abilities he developed around them. His combat style is built around making the most effective choice available and forcing his opponent toward the wrong ones."
The Seer of Paths gave Eurys a small wave.
"Right now, though, he's mostly wasting those talents by playing intelligence agent."
"I prefer 'gathering useful information,'" the Seer of Paths said.
"Spy."
"How cruel."
Sunless ignored him and gestured toward the Crown of Grace.
"The Crown is capable enough in battle as well, but he inherited a great deal of my crafting ability and then spent a rather unreasonable amount of time improving it. So he has his own work."
The Crown of Grace smiled.
Finally, Sunless lowered his hand.
"The important part is that each of them specializes."
Eurys narrowed his eyes.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they can technically use most of what I can use, but doing everything simultaneously would create unnecessary strain. Concentration, essence, mental load, conflicting techniques... eventually it becomes inefficient. So each of them focuses on the abilities best suited to their role."
Sunless raised one finger again and moved it faintly from side to side.
"But me?"
His smile became almost smug.
"My augmentation is better. My fundamental abilities are more developed. And unlike them, I don't need to limit myself to one specialization."
Eurys stared.
Sunless shrugged.
"I can use all of it."
"At once?"
"At once."
Eurys looked around the hall again.
The spear.
Shadow Dance.
Weaving.
Erasure.
Truth.
Paths.
Grace.
Then back toward the seemingly ordinary man standing before him.
Sunless gave him an innocent smile.
"Basically, anything they can do..."
He raised his finger.
"...I can do better."
A pause.
"And I can do all of it."
Eurys was silent.
Then—
"You're an asshole."
Sunless laughed.
"Now, Eurys, let's get to the actually important part."
He clapped his hands once.
The shift in him was subtle.
The amusement did not disappear, but something underneath it became sharper.
Purposeful.
Eurys noticed.
So did everyone else.
"Until now, I've told you what happened, what is happening, and what eventually needs to happen," Sunless said as he began walking toward the center of the hall. "But I haven't explained why you were taken from the Shadow Realm and brought here."
Eurys's amusement disappeared.
Sunless turned toward the Seven.
"That's about to change."
His gaze first settled on the Keeper of Fate and the Child of Erasure.
"You two work together. Start making contact with the necessary people. Keeper, identify every connection supporting Asterion's Domain. Erasure, once we know exactly how his name and identity are propagating through it, start removing them."
The Keeper of Fate's golden eye gleamed.
The Child of Erasure finally looked toward Sunless.
"Erase Asterion from enough minds," Sunless continued, "and his Domain dies with his name."
Neither argued.
Sunless turned.
"Shadow, back to Godgrave."
The Lord of Shadows rose.
"Continue exactly as before. You remain my strongest retainer there."
A faint scoff came from beneath the mask, although the Lord of Shadows offered no complaint.
"Truth, Bastion. Keep watching Valor."
The Cursed of Truth inclined his head.
"Seer, Ravenheart. Same assignment."
The Seer of Paths sighed dramatically.
"Back into the cold."
"You'll survive."
"Unfortunately."
Sunless moved on.
"Harbinger, finish eliminating the Nightmare creations in your assigned region. Once the area is clean, prepare it for human settlement."
The Harbinger of Ruin opened his eyes.
"Understood."
"Crown..."
Sunless looked at him.
The Crown of Grace smiled.
"I know."
"Good."
Eurys watched all of this silently.
It was strange.
Only moments ago, these seven had been ancient monsters in his mind. Beings who had fought Gods, slain Daemons, defied curses, destroyed kingdoms, and survived eras that had broken civilizations.
Yet now they simply listened.
Not like slaves.
Not even particularly like servants.
More like parts of something finally receiving direction from the whole.
One after another, they bowed their heads.
Not deeply.
Simply enough.
Respect.
Then darkness began gathering around them.
The Lord of Shadows disappeared first.
Then the others.
One by one, the Seven dissolved into shadows until only Sunless and Eurys remained within the vast hall.
Eurys watched the last traces of darkness disappear.
Then he slowly turned toward Sunless.
"And me?"
Sunless smiled.
"Ah."
Golden-black strings formed in the air.
Eurys immediately became suspicious.
"What are those for?"
"My friend, you and I have somewhere to visit."
"Don't call me your—"
The strings wrapped around the skull and lifted him effortlessly.
"Put me down."
Sunless started walking.
"Absolutely not."
"Sunless."
"Come on, Eurys."
The shadows ahead of him deepened.
His expression lost a fraction of its playfulness.
"I've shown you what the Gods did."
He stepped toward the darkness.
"What the Daemons did."
Another step.
"What the Nine did."
The shadows opened.
"And what we did."
Eurys went quiet.
Sunless glanced back at him.
"Now I'm going to show you why you were brought here in the first place."
Together, they disappeared into the dark.
...
The darkness released them.
Eurys barely had time to curse before the world around him changed.
There was no hall.
No marble.
No thrones.
No distant branches of the great tree.
Instead, there was mist.
Endless, pale mist stretching into darkness so profound that even Eurys could not immediately tell whether he was looking across a place or toward the end of one.
For several moments, he said nothing.
Then his attention shifted upward.
And upward.
And further still.
"...What the hell?"
Something enormous moved through the mist.
At first, Eurys mistook it for part of the landscape.
A mountain.
Perhaps a wall.
Then the thing shifted.
Scales moved.
The distant structure curved.
Another portion of it disappeared through the clouds far above.
Eurys stared.
The vast shape was not merely large.
It was difficult to understand as a single living being at all.
Its coils stretched through the mist like pieces of geography, disappearing into the distance only to reappear elsewhere. Its body rose so high that great portions of it vanished beyond sight, and even the smallest movement made the surrounding shadows tremble.
Eurys slowly turned toward Sunless.
"...That is a serpent."
Sunless glanced upward.
"Yes."
"That is your Soul Serpent?"
"Also yes."
Eurys looked back.
The Sacred Titan dwarfed everything around them.
He had seen enormous beings before.
Great creatures.
Titans.
Monsters whose bodies could crush fortresses simply by moving through them.
This was different.
Soul Serpent seemed less like a creature occupying the Shadow Realm and more like a piece of the Shadow Realm that had decided to move.
Eurys was quiet for a moment.
Then—
"So that's what you've been running around without."
Sunless smiled.
"Sharp as ever."
Eurys scoffed.
"Don't flatter me."
Sunless continued forward.
The strings carrying Eurys followed.
As they moved, Soul Serpent's impossible body remained around them, parts of it appearing and disappearing in the mist until Eurys eventually realized something else.
It was guarding something.
Something ahead.
Something that made even the Sacred Titan seem almost insignificant.
Eurys's humor disappeared.
"What is that?"
Sunless did not answer immediately.
Instead, he stopped.
One hand rose toward his face.
Darkness gathered around his fingers.
Then a mask appeared.
Eurys's eye narrowed immediately.
He recognized the feeling before Sunless even placed it over his face.
"Weaver."
Sunless paused.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Indeed."
He put the mask on.
The change was subtle.
Yet Eurys felt something about him become harder to perceive.
Not concealed.
Simply protected.
Sunless lowered his hand.
"There were three masks of importance created by Weaver. The others you met possess masks patterned after those worn by the high priests."
His fingers brushed the surface of his own.
"This one is different."
Eurys stared at it.
"This one belonged to Weaver personally."
Silence followed.
Sunless looked ahead.
"I took it for myself at the end of the Doom War."
Eurys did not need him to explain further.
He had already read the title.
Slayer of Weaver.
His gaze slowly shifted away from the mask.
Toward whatever lay ahead.
Sunless continued walking.
"You should prepare yourself."
Eurys's attention sharpened.
"For what?"
"The Gatesward."
Eurys frowned.
"The Gate?"
"No."
Sunless's voice became slightly more serious.
"The Gatesward."
They passed through another veil of mist.
And Eurys saw it.
For a moment, his mind failed to understand what his eye had perceived.
It was not the Void beyond.
It was not even the Gate itself.
It was merely the structure guarding it.
The boundary.
The wound in existence surrounding the place where something that should never touch reality waited on the other side.
Eurys's entire perception seemed to seize.
The shape did not remain a shape.
Distances refused to agree with themselves.
Something appeared infinitely far away and directly before him at the same time.
Lines seemed to fold into themselves, yet never moved.
Darkness existed where darkness should not have been possible.
For one terrible instant, Eurys had the sensation that he was looking at something that reality itself had never been designed to contain.
His thoughts staggered.
Then his Supreme soul asserted itself.
The pressure remained.
But his mind held.
Eurys slowly inhaled out of habit, despite possessing no lungs.
"What..."
His voice was quieter.
"...the fuck is that?"
"The Gatesward."
Sunless stood beside him as though they were overlooking an ordinary valley.
Eurys turned toward him.
Sunless tapped his mask.
"Do not misunderstand. You are not looking into the Void."
He turned toward the impossible structure again.
"You are not even looking through the Gate."
A pause.
"You are merely seeing the Gatesward."
Eurys stared at him.
Sunless continued.
"For most mortals, that alone would be enough to tear their minds into a thousand pieces."
Eurys's gaze moved back toward it.
"And you're standing here."
"I'm wearing Weaver's mask."
Sunless lightly touched it again.
"As a Transcendent, I'm still mortal. Without this, looking at the Gatesward directly would not be particularly healthy for me either."
"Healthy?"
"My mind would break."
Eurys slowly looked at him.
Sunless shrugged.
"You, however, are Supreme."
His voice carried faint amusement.
"A demigod, more or less."
Eurys grunted.
"So I get the privilege of going insane slightly slower."
"You get the privilege of remaining sane."
"Wonderful."
Sunless continued forward.
Only then did Eurys begin noticing the lights.
Dozens.
No—
more.
They hung throughout the mist around the Gatesward.
Each one possessed such density that Eurys could feel their presence despite the impossible pressure already surrounding him.
His eye slowly widened.
He knew what they were.
"...Soul shards."
Sunless nodded.
Eurys counted.
Then counted again.
His expression changed.
"Ninety-one."
"Correct."
Eurys stared at the lights.
Sunless stopped beside one of them.
"Six Great Gods."
His gaze moved across the mist.
"Seven Daemons."
"Thirteen Divine beings."
He raised one finger.
"Seven soul shards each."
"Ninety-one."
Eurys went silent.
Each shard before him belonged to a Divine being.
Remnants of entities that had once stood at the absolute summit of existence.
And there were ninety-one of them gathered here.
"What are they doing?"
Sunless looked toward the Gatesward.
"Holding everything together."
Eurys narrowed his eye.
Sunless gestured toward the mist.
"If you could perceive Weaving the way I can, you would see something beneath all of this."
His voice lowered.
"A net."
Eurys looked around.
"How large?"
Sunless laughed softly.
"Large enough that trying to understand the whole thing at once would be foolish even for me."
He raised his hand.
"An endless tangle of Weaving spread across the Gatesward. Threads upon threads upon threads. The soul shards anchor it. Feed it. Keep it from collapsing."
Eurys stared toward the impossible boundary.
"And beyond that?"
Sunless became quiet.
"The Void."
That single word seemed heavier here.
Sunless continued.
"The Forgotten God is still there."
Eurys's eye narrowed.
"Sleeping?"
"For now."
"And the others?"
Sunless's head tilted faintly.
"Countless."
Eurys looked toward him.
Sunless gestured toward the Gatesward.
"One Unholy creature would be enough."
"Enough for what?"
"To end everything."
Eurys went still.
Sunless did not smile.
"One."
He raised one finger.
"Not even necessarily the greatest among them."
"The classifications we use for creatures within existence do not translate neatly to what exists beyond it. Some things in the Void are stronger than anything we would comfortably call a Divine Titan."
His hand lowered.
"The exact intricacies are not worth discussing right now."
"Convenient."
"No. Merciful."
Eurys said nothing.
Sunless turned back toward the Gatesward.
"If even one slips through one of the weaknesses in this containment, existence as we know it is finished."
The mist drifted around them.
"And there aren't merely thousands waiting behind it."
His voice became quieter.
"Not millions."
A pause.
"Countless."
Eurys felt something unpleasant settle in him.
Sunless continued.
"The Abyss does not stop producing."
"New things form."
"New powers."
"New principles."
"New consciousnesses."
"Things that cannot even properly be described as creatures."
"And all of them exist on the other side of this."
Eurys stared toward the Gatesward for a long time.
Then his eye narrowed.
"...This is what one of us was supposed to open."
Sunless looked at him.
"Yes."
Eurys's jaw would have tightened had he possessed one.
"The Nine."
"Yes."
"We were going to remove this barrier."
"You were going to create the conditions for it."
Eurys remained silent.
Rage did not immediately come.
Something colder did.
A sense of nausea without a stomach.
He had spent centuries believing the Nine had been instruments of rebellion.
Enemies of the Gods.
People who had suffered beneath Fate but still managed to resist.
And now—
"The whole damned thing..."
His voice became low.
"We were going to let it out."
Sunless did not answer.
He did not need to.
Eurys stared into the mist.
Eventually, Sunless moved again.
"This is also where Weaver died."
Eurys looked toward him.
Something in Sunless's voice had changed.
Barely.
There was no grief in it.
No mourning.
But there was something softer.
Respect, perhaps.
Sunless stopped near the edge of the mist.
"By the time Weaver reached this place, the end had already come."
"He was dying."
Eurys watched him.
Sunless's masked face remained turned toward the Gatesward.
"He crawled here in agony."
"He knew he would not survive."
"He had already accepted that."
For several moments, only the mist moved.
"But he still came."
Sunless raised his hand toward the ninety-one lights.
"He used what remained of the Divine."
"Their soul shards."
"His Weaving."
"And everything he had prepared."
A pause.
"Then he gave birth to the final net."
Eurys stared at the Gatesward again.
"The Nightmare Spell."
Sunless nodded once.
"The final restraint."
"The thing keeping the Forgotten God asleep behind the Gate."
"And keeping everything else from entering with him."
Eurys looked toward Sunless.
"You killed Weaver."
"Yes."
There was no hesitation.
"And yet you're speaking about him like that."
Sunless was silent for a moment.
Then—
"For all the things Weaver did..."
His voice softened faintly.
"...he saved existence here."
That was all.
No defense.
No condemnation.
Just the statement.
Sunless continued walking.
Eurys watched him for a moment before the strings pulled him along.
Eventually, they reached one of the immense coils of Soul Serpent.
Its body shifted.
Shadow flowed.
A vast opening formed within it.
Eurys stared.
"Where exactly are we going now?"
Sunless glanced back.
"Somewhere you shouldn't know exists."
"Wonderful."
They entered.
For a moment, everything became shadow.
Not darkness.
Shadow.
A strange misty tunnel of living blackness surrounded them as though they were moving through the inside of an impossibly vast artery.
Eurys looked around.
"This is inside Soul Serpent?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"I hate that answer."
"You'll hate the next one more."
The shadows ahead opened.
And the world changed again.
Eurys emerged into stillness.
Absolute stillness.
There was no wind.
No movement.
No progression.
Broken expanses floated in the distance.
Fragments of realms.
Mountains suspended where there should have been sky.
Pieces of oceans hanging motionless.
Cities frozen.
Clouds that did not move.
Everything looked like existence had shattered—
and then simply stopped.
Eurys stared.
"What..."
Sunless stepped forward.
"...did you do?"
Sunless looked across the broken world.
"Welcome to the contingency."
Eurys slowly turned.
"The what?"
Sunless smiled faintly.
"Imagine the Void as an endless ocean."
Eurys remained silent.
"Now imagine two spheres floating within it."
Sunless raised two fingers.
"Two separate existences."
Eurys stared at him.
"One is ours."
One finger.
"The existence where everything began."
The second.
"And this is the other."
Eurys did not speak.
Sunless waited.
Still nothing.
Finally—
"You did what?"
Sunless chuckled.
"Weaver started it."
Eurys's eye widened.
"And I made the situation considerably more complicated."
"You made another existence."
"Not exactly from nothing."
Sunless looked outward.
"The framework already existed."
"History developed here as well."
"Realms."
"Mortals."
"Gods."
"Daemons."
Eurys looked across the frozen fragments.
"The same ones?"
"Versions of them."
Sunless nodded.
"Two timelines running separately."
"The beings beneath Time belonged to their respective histories."
"But those who stood beyond ordinary Time were... more complicated."
Eurys stared at him.
"Of course they were."
"The important part is what happened at the end."
Sunless's expression became serious.
"The Doom War happened here too."
Eurys's gaze returned to the broken landscape.
"And this was the result."
"Partly."
Sunless looked outward.
"The realms were torn apart."
"Corruption spread."
"Some of the Divine became corrupted."
Eurys immediately turned.
"What?"
Sunless raised a hand.
"They died."
"Shadow purified what could be purified."
"When something dies, corruption does not simply continue as though nothing happened. Shadow exists for a reason."
His hand lowered.
"The concepts associated with the dead Divine were purified when their corruption died with them."
Eurys narrowed his eye.
"But Fate remained."
Sunless looked at him.
"Very good."
"The Forgotten God is different."
He pointed toward nothing in particular.
"Think of Fate as a script."
"Even if the one who wrote the script dies, the writing does not disappear."
"Especially when that script has become part of existence itself."
Eurys remained silent.
"The Forgotten God is still alive in our existence."
"The Tapestry still bears the direction created by that corrupted will."
"Even if you purified the being tomorrow, the paths already woven would continue to lead toward the same destination unless something interfered."
Eurys looked at him.
"You."
Sunless smiled.
"Eventually."
His gaze returned to the frozen world.
"But this place had another problem."
"Existence was collapsing."
"Realms had been shattered too thoroughly."
"Everything was coming apart."
"So..."
Eurys already disliked where this was going.
Sunless continued.
"I killed Time."
Silence.
Eurys stared.
"You..."
His voice became quiet.
"...what?"
"Time."
Sunless gestured around them.
"Only here."
"Don't worry."
"That doesn't make it better!"
"It made the collapse stop."
Eurys looked around again.
The motionless clouds.
The suspended water.
The frozen cities.
The broken realms drifting in nothingness.
"You killed the concept of Time."
"I killed its active expression here."
Sunless corrected him calmly.
"I did not erase Time from existence."
Eurys slowly turned toward him.
"There is a very important difference."
"You say things like that far too casually."
Sunless smiled.
"Occupational hazard."
He raised his hand.
Far away, something moved.
The only thing moving.
A figure.
No.
A creature.
Its body seemed woven rather than born, composed of strange structures that moved across fractures in reality itself.
It worked slowly.
Patiently.
Stitching.
Pulling broken pieces together.
Eurys stared.
"What is that?"
"My other Sacred Titan."
"Other?"
Sunless gestured backward.
"Soul Serpent."
Then ahead.
"The Weaving Titan."
Eurys's eye narrowed.
"You have two Sacred Titans."
"Yes."
"Naturally."
Sunless ignored the sarcasm.
"Soul Serpent acts as a bridge."
"Essence."
"Movement."
"Access between the two Shadow Realms."
"The Weaving Titan does the opposite job."
"It remains here."
"Stitching together what was torn apart."
Eurys watched the distant creature work.
"Like the Dream Realm."
"Not quite."
Sunless's voice became thoughtful.
"The Dream Realm consumes."
"Absorbs."
"Corruption spreads through it, realms collapse into it, and eventually everything becomes part of one greater ruin."
He gestured toward the distant titan.
"This is reconstruction."
"I'm taking what was torn apart and sewing it back together."
"Slowly."
"Far too slowly."
Eurys looked at him.
"And you need to become stronger."
Sunless smiled faintly.
"Now you're beginning to understand."
He turned.
"Eventually, I have to enter this place personally."
"I need to repair things the Titan cannot."
"Time itself."
Eurys's eye narrowed.
"You intend to bring Time back."
"Yes."
"After killing it."
"Also yes."
Eurys stared at him.
Sunless looked almost cheerful.
"Death is not erasure."
He continued before Eurys could interrupt.
"That matters."
"When something dies, it does not necessarily cease to exist in every possible sense."
"Shadows remain."
"Concepts can remain."
"Structures can remain."
"I made certain Time remained recoverable."
Eurys's expression slowly changed.
"You planned this."
"Parts of it."
"How much?"
Sunless went quiet.
And for the first time since they arrived, there was something almost uncomfortable in his silence.
"Less than I would like."
Eurys watched him.
Sunless looked away.
"At the end of the Doom War, I sealed away a great deal of my own memory."
"Why?"
Sunless did not answer immediately.
"There were things I needed to retain."
Eurys's eye narrowed.
"More important than your power?"
Sunless stopped.
For one brief moment, the humor disappeared completely.
"Yes."
Firm.
Simple.
Absolute.
Eurys stared at him.
Whatever those memories were, Sunless was not going to explain them.
Not now.
Sunless resumed walking.
"I remember the main events."
"Enough to know what happened and enough to know what must happen."
"My battlefield instincts remained. Flragments of progression."
"Pieces I've reconstructed over the last few years. But there are gaps."
Eurys listened.
"The natural paths of Ascension. The later stages. Pieces of Shadow Dance. Methods I once used to reach higher."
Sunless looked toward him.
"And I can't use the Spell."
Eurys frowned.
"Because you're outside Fate."
"Precisely."
"No Fate. No connection. No Nightmare."
Sunless spread his hands.
"So I need to ascend naturally."
Eurys slowly understood.
"And that's why I'm here."
Sunless smiled.
"There it is."
Eurys stared at him.
"You dragged me from the Shadow Realm because you want me to teach you."
"Help me reconstruct what I've forgotten."
Sunless corrected.
"Supremacy first."
"Then Sacredhood."
"Eventually..."
His gaze shifted toward the frozen existence.
"Divinity."
Eurys remained silent.
Sunless stepped closer.
"Tell me, Eurys."
His voice became quieter.
"How much of your life did Fate choose for you?"
Eurys's eye hardened.
Sunless continued.
"How much suffering? How much loss? How much of the Nine's hatred? How many kingdoms? How many dead?"
A pause.
"All so one sleeping God could eventually be freed."
Something dark stirred within Eurys.
Sunless looked directly at him.
"You wanted to rebel and believed you were rebelling but Fate had already accounted for it."
Eurys said nothing.
"So now I'm giving you something different."
Sunless smiled faintly.
"A chance to act alongside something Fate cannot properly see."
Eurys's gaze sharpened.
"Me. Fateless."
"The blind spot."
His voice lowered.
"If you help me grow stronger, your actions stop being merely another movement inside the script."
Eurys stared at him.
Sunless's smile became almost challenging.
"So tell me. Do you want to help me?"
Silence.
"Do you want to defy Fate?"
Something began bubbling inside Eurys.
Not simple anger.
Something older.
Rage.
Satisfaction.
Vindication.
All the misery.
All the centuries.
All the certainty that he and the others had fought against the world itself—
only to discover the world had been guiding their hands.
Eurys began laughing.
Low at first.
Then louder.
"Fine."
Sunless waited.
"Fine!"
His voice echoed through the frozen existence.
"Fate, huh?"
Eurys's grin could not be seen, but Sunless could hear it in his voice.
"Then let's put that wretched thing in its place."
Sunless smiled.
"Excellent."
Then he raised one finger.
"Though, technically, you don't have many other options."
Eurys went silent.
"...What?"
Sunless looked entirely innocent.
"You eventually want to die properly, don't you?"
Eurys stared.
"The Shadow God's curse still exists."
Sunless gestured toward himself.
"And I am currently the only Divine Shadow in existence with any realistic chance of breaking it."
Eurys said nothing.
"But I can't do it yet."
Sunless's smile widened.
"So whether you want revenge on Fate or simply a proper death..."
He spread his hands.
"...helping me ascend is very much in your best interest, my friend."
Eurys remained silent for several seconds.
"I was beginning to like you."
"Sorry, couldn't help it."
"Filthy bastard."
Sunless laughed.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Eurys looked around the frozen realm again.
A question came to him.
"How old are you?"
Sunless blinked.
"That's complicated."
"Everything about you is complicated. Answer."
Sunless put a finger against his chin.
"A few hundred million years, at least."
Eurys stared.
"...No."
Sunless looked amused.
"Yes."
"That's impossible. From the dawn of Time until now, existence itself hasn't—"
"Subjective experience."
Sunless waved one hand.
"Details."
Eurys's eye twitched.
"But you are correct."
Sunless thought again.
"From the Golden Age until the end of the Doom War, I was only a few thousand years old."
Eurys stared harder.
Sunless continued.
"At the same time, I'm only four years old."
Silence.
"But personally..."
He smiled.
"I prefer twenty-four."
Eurys looked at him.
A few hundred million.
A few thousand.
A few years.
Twenty-four.
"...Bah."
Sunless raised an eyebrow.
"I don't care anymore."
"Probably healthier."
"Just tell me where I'm supposed to stay when you're not dragging me through impossible realms."
Sunless smiled.
"Now that is easy."
Shadows gathered around them.
The frozen world disappeared.
When they emerged again, the dark hall surrounded them.
The Seven were gone.
Only the great thrones remained.
Sunless raised one hand.
Shadow shifted.
Another seat formed.
Not a throne comparable to his own.
Not one of the ancient seats belonging to the Seven.
Something smaller.
Simpler.
Almost honorary.
A dark cushion surrounded by a low frame of shadow.
Sunless lowered Eurys onto it.
Eurys looked around.
Then at the vast hall.
Then toward the countless remnants of dead Gods.
"...I'm supposed to sit here?"
"Yes."
"With dead Gods everywhere?"
"Yes."
"And those seven bastards appearing whenever they feel like it?"
Sunless smiled.
"Not only that."
Eurys glared.
Sunless snapped his fingers.
The surrounding shadows rippled.
"Little Hollow has certain conveniences."
Eurys's attention shifted.
"You can use the shadows connected to it as viewing points."
"Think of somewhere accessible."
"Something you want to see."
"And you'll be able to observe it."
Eurys paused.
"Either existence?"
"Within reason."
Eurys was silent.
Then—
"...That's actually generous."
Sunless smiled.
"I have my moments."
He turned away.
Shadows began gathering around his feet.
Eurys watched him.
"Where are you going?"
Sunless glanced back.
"I have something more important to do."
Eurys stared at him.
"More important than rebuilding an existence?"
"Yes."
"More important than finding a way to reach Sacredhood?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to prepare some impossible contingency against the Forgotten God?"
Sunless laughed.
"No."
Eurys narrowed his eye.
"Then what?"
Sunless stepped backward into the shadows.
"Something important, my friend."
And disappeared.
Eurys stared at the empty space.
"...That tells me nothing."
He remained still for several moments.
Then remembered what Sunless had just told him.
The shadows.
Viewing points.
Eurys hesitated.
Then concentrated.
Darkness rippled.
An image appeared.
Sunless emerged from a shadow elsewhere.
His clothes shimmered.
The ancient darkness vanished.
His familiar ordinary garb returned.
Eurys stared.
Then Sunless began walking toward home.
Toward the place where Nephis and Orphne were waiting.
"Ahh just in time to cuddle and make breakfast." he said cheerfully.l
Silence.
Eurys remained perfectly still.
Then—
"...You've got to be fucking kidding me."
...