During the Age of Architects, there was once a creature that ruled the void around the Dimension of Waves.
Humans gave this being a name, one chosen for its particular ability to completely absorb one's sanity as sustenance.
Thriving off the deceased dimensions ravaged throughout the branches of the World Between, the Descender of Madness was considered at the highest pinnacle of sea terrors.
Classifying it as one of the Ten Great Ones, the ancient race of Architects spent centuries building the seals necessary to restrain such a beast, their labor finally paying off with the successful binding of the terror.
However, unknown to them at the time, the restrained creature combined itself with its chains, ascending to become something greater than a mere Great One.
Reborn not as a terror, but rather, a living barrier around the Dimension of Waves, the Descender of Madness exists as the most powerful defense in all of reality, a shield capable enough to prevent the descent or onslaught of deities themselves.
Not only that, but to the humans of the dimension, the sky that was once beautiful and rich with the view of the World Between was now concealed completely, an illusory sky so strong that even the God of Illusions could only temporarily reveal its splendor.
Yet, in the present day, when a sword forged with the spirit of the Primordial God of Space collided with a Singularity produced by a staff embedded with a Yggdrasilium core, that impenetrable barrier shattered for only a single moment.
In that time, the spectacle of the Descender of Madness was revealed at last to the human world, a monster so horrifying that it was deemed one of the Ten Great Ones.
Its wings wrapped around the dimensions of the sky, the pitch-black shadow looming over like a guardian watching over its people.
For those in the northern hemisphere, the head of the insect-like creature could be seen, its trillions of eyes focused on one point directly in the center of the Abyss.
The Descender had mandibles like a spider and a face not dissimilar from that of a dragonfly, a bony facial structure marred by dead flesh and exposed tissue.
While only the shadow could be seen, its appearance struck fear into the hearts of all, a terror so terrifying that even the world had decreed to hide it behind a barrier.
However, only an instant after the intense rays of light from within the colosseum faded, it vanished into the heavens yet again, the illusory veil returning at last.
Yet, the damage had already been done, as not too long after, reports of children banging their heads against walls, men leaping into the sea, women burning themselves in fire, and every other hellish fantasy erupted throughout the world.
An epidemic of Madness had spread far and wide; the effects, while not long-lasting, were devastating enough to claim over one thousand lives throughout the world.
To those inside the stadium where the event was occurring, such ideas of insanity were shredded beneath the properties of Masaru Kurogane's blade.
Clarity washed over their minds, freeing them from the extreme effects they faced from witnessing the sight firsthand.
Even to the powerhouses within the highest box of the arena, their eyes had fogged over for a moment, a mystical presence long forgotten wedging its way back into reality.
Only two individuals were free from its effects, both of them being humans who had witnessed a Great One in their lifetimes.
Aaron Grimstall, the blond-haired Ghostship wielder who had watched as the Abyssal Fog cleared to reveal The Watcher.
Not only that, but the Old Man's presence surpassed even a Great One, while the deity within his mind, who was attempting to suppress the cascading effects of the Primordial God of Space's resounding voice, counted even higher than one of them.
Even with the god who dwelled within's intervention, he had nearly lost consciousness after the booming sound from the spirit, his thoughts devoid of reason, a puppet only able to observe.
On the other hand, the second of the unaffected individuals was none other than Maria Elaris, the pontiff of the Five Sacred Churches.
As an Angel, she had been in the presence of Death himself and throughout her long life even come into close contact with the God Slayer and his blade.
In that room, none could compare to her in acquaintances; however, as the heavy silence in the viewing box broke, a sudden burst of fury slammed outwards.
Cauron Thorn had already leaped downward towards the ground, the barrier around the arena unsalvageable and in need of complete repair.
Both Lepaie Quinn and Vaelmyr Droskyn burst with rage, the blond-haired boy being forced to activate Absolute Tranquility as a byproduct.
"WHERE IS LISPENTINE!"
The King of Souls shouted at such a decibel that the glass cracked deep, the purple-haired Sea King soon echoing his sentiment.
"SUMMON TWYNAM IMMEDIATELY!"
Lepaie shouted at the dazed Irvin, who stood by the door, the brown-haired man quickly bolting from the room.
Beside Aaron, Akari muttered words that sounded like gibberish, her eyes glazed over and murky.
"Hey!"
The blond boy shook her shoulders gently, her consciousness returning with a burst.
"Eh? W-what happened?"
Her eyes glanced over the room before her hands instantly clasped over her ears, the sound of the Kings shouting resounding like explosions.
The boy's barriers blocked out most of the noise; however, his dazed state made him follow the pink-haired girl instinctively.
Standing up swiftly and shaking her chains in displeasure, the blonde-haired woman vanished in a puff of golden light.
Slowly, Aaron's mind began to clear; the whispers of the Primordial now faded to an extent where he could think freely once again.
W-what just happened? T-that voice was…
A migraine slammed into his temples, the thought of even the memory as painful as a bullet wound.
Leaning forward in his chair to rub his head, he caught the reflection from down in the dust-covered battlefield.
After the strike had collided, a barricade of sand had rushed upward, hiding the two fighters beyond the storm.
Now, however, a clearing appeared in the endless rush of dust, the sight of the two challengers leaving Aaron frozen.
Masaru Kurogane held his sword in one hand, its sheen still flickering with a pitch-black haze that threatened to tear reality in two.
His eyes were firmly locked on his opponent, who lay ahead of him, the Multimage's torso severed from her legs completely.
She was alive, a feat only possible by the healer who was tending to her, a familiar face to the blond boy in the booth.
Maria Elaris, the pontiff herself, imbued such potent Holy Magic into the woman that one could physically witness the two pieces of her body fusing together once again.
Such an injury would've been impossible to heal if the cut wasn't perfectly straight, the swordsmanship by the black-haired man so precise that even the particles aligned in an exact line.
Throughout the entire spectacle, Bianca Santoro did not close her eyes once; the woman's multicolored pupils simply locked on the man in the distance.
The examinee she had once proctored now surpasses even her in power, a mystical strength so absurd that even the Kings could not deny it.
Inside Aaron's mind, a feminine voice echoed out in a whisper, a layer of warning laced deep within her tone.
『You shouldn't have heard that voice, Aaron… There'll be consequences for the link being severed, and he won't allow it any other way. I'm—』
And with those words, she was forcibly silenced by the deity within the blond boy's mind, a punishment for his eavesdropping on the unknown.
…
The Watcher stared up into the heavens above, the sight of his old friend staring down at him making him sigh aloud.
"You were truly one of a kind, Madness… I pity that sorry state of half death that you have been restrained in."
He took a step forward, the pitch-black waves of the Abyss reforming themselves to allow the demigod passage.
"You should've reduced your size and dove into these ancient waves alongside the others and me, then perhaps, we could've…"
The creature's empty sockets stared downward at a small island ahead of him, the bare surface standing in protest to his march.
Raising his arm slowly, he extended a single finger out of the thousands covering his hand, the sky above instantly overshadowed by a cloud.
"The sea has grown boring without your existence, my old friend… Izmania has yet to choose a successor to break free from the chains, and it is still doing what it has done for millennia…"
Closing his eyes slowly, he heard a bolt of lightning slam into the island in front of him, a smile coming across his tenctacled mouth.
Gazing downward, he continued forward, the once standing island now erased from the fabric of reality, and only floating debris that slowly sank beneath the waves remained.
"The Slayer has been chained completely, as it is almost time for Convergence, and that thing won't leave his side for a second."
Raising his eyes towards the sky one final time, he watched as the appearance of his ancient friend vanished yet again.
"Oh, how I wish I could join you and the others in your rest… My last hope to leave this world is still young, and I truly cannot wait any longer for his strength to mature. Perhaps that seven-headed fool will give him a chance to grow…"
The world barrier sealed completely, and the appearance of the god-like being vanished in a flash of light.
"Wouldn't that be nice, old friend?"