South of Bastion, thousands of kilometers away near the Storm Sea, there was a vast wasteland covered in large, vibrant trees, tall slopes, and mountains. At the center, surrounded by mountains, stood an enormous citadel. It possessed a massive circular stone wall. Four great rivers interconnected within the city, forming a large lake.
At the top of the lake stood an enormous stone castle with multiple towers. The castle was so large that it could easily shelter thousands of people inside. The castle was located in the center of the lake, offering a clear view of the entire city.
As was normal in citadels, these were in ruins and flames from abominations. However, the abominations had begun to be exterminated one by one thanks to the efforts of Shadow Garden, which had started the restoration of the ancient architecture.
In a secluded area, enormous columns of fire could be seen, followed by strong explosions. From the dust emerged Shade, who was running with a face full of fear. Behind him was the very incarnation of hell's wrath.
This was none other than Scarlet.
"Stop right there, you bastard! I'm going to turn you into fried chicken!" Scarlet shouted, launching an enormous ball of fire that generated a new crater.
"Scarlet, come on, we're adults. We can talk about this like civilized people!"
"Silence," she said, throwing more flames.
In the distance, several members of Shadow Garden who were using abominations controlled by Soul to help with construction watched as their leader's right hand tried to kill the leader.
"Do you think the boss needs our help?" asked an Ascended.
"And get in Lady Scarlet's line of fire? You must be insane," said an Awakened.
"Besides, it's a little amusing."
The group watched as Shade flew through the air, landing face-first on the ground, only to run from the incarnation of the living hell.
Scarlet stopped, looking at her lackeys, who immediately returned to their work.
---
A few hours later, Shade was on the ground gasping for air while Scarlet had run out of essence.
"Do you feel better now?" Shade asked.
"A little," the red-haired woman admitted.
Shade smiled.
"You've become very strong in this time, Scarlet. I still remember when I saved you from that turtle on the Forgotten Coast... ha, those were good times. Though having a Supreme-rank aspect, it was to be expected."
"Shut up, Shade," Scarlet said. "I'm still angry that you left without a word and just told us to conquer this citadel. Do you know we had to kill a great beast to obtain it?"
Shade blinked.
"You really killed a great beast? How many died? Do we need to give compensation to their families? Do you think fifty million is okay?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. No one died. Some were seriously injured, but they've already recovered."
"That's a relief." Shade sighed. Although he spent little time with Shadow Garden, this organization was like a big family of battle comrades in constant expansion.
"And how many members are there currently?"
"About 3,300. About six hundred joined us in the last few months who are still in training. Currently, there are about 72 Ascended who are training the new ones and eliminating the abominations to reclaim more of the city."
"I see," Shade murmured.
"And what about those preparing for the Third Nightmare?"
"They need more training and preparation. Maybe in two or three years we'll have some Saints. I plan to challenge the Third Nightmare within a year."
"Good. And the reconstruction of the city?"
"Pretty good. The soil is very fertile, and the river water is drinkable. As for construction materials, we use the rocks, though we use the castle for rest," she reported.
Shade nodded.
"Good. I'll soon go to the Waking World, so I'll see if I can bring some things to speed up the reconstruction."
"Why do you want us to have housing ready?"
"Well, that's a surprise. Just do it," Shade said.
Approaching Scarlet, he put his hand on her shoulder, and both disappeared, appearing inside the enormous castle. The hallways were made of smooth rock, as were the walls made of black rock, as if carved from a mountain itself.
There were enormous windows covered only by huge curtains, as well as ancient banners with symbols faded by time.
From what Shade understood from the report, this citadel was once a kingdom of connection in the war between the gods and the demons to attack the realm of the Demon of Imagination.
After the descent of the Nightmare Spell, it reached the Dream Realm. Its location was strategic because it was between Bastion and Godgrave, thousands of kilometers from Bastion and hundreds of kilometers from the Tomb of God.
"Hm. I'll have to visit Godgrave, but that will be after I become a Saint. That place is too dangerous for me."
Shade followed Scarlet until they reached a large hall where the portal the Awakened used to return to the Waking World was located.
A few hundred meters from the portal, there were two large doors of black wood that he opened, revealing a throne room. The room, like the entire castle, was large. Surrounding the throne lay an enormous hundred-meter dragon, Gunlaug. Around it was a massive number of soul fragments, ranging from Awakened to Transcendent.
"It's still surprising the number of soul fragments you managed to gather."
"Well, after the Antarctic Center was evacuated, there were thousands of abominations, so I took my time extracting the fragments to use them if necessary."
Shade walked down the hallway until he climbed some stairs that led to the throne, made of a large piece of glass as black as night. Sitting down, he looked downward.
"And how is it?" Scarlet asked.
"It's quite comfortable," Shade murmured, closing his eyes.
Looking at his runes, he focused on his current anchor.
Anchor: [Condemnation Town]
Then Shade entered the Sea of Souls. After searching for a bit, he sighed, not finding the replica of his citadel due to the omnipresent darkness in his soul.
Returning, Shade had an idea. Blinking, he looked at Scarlet.
"Hey, Scarlet, I want to introduce you to someone," he said, making Scarlet look at him.
"To whom?"
"You'll see."
Shade summoned Skadi, who materialized in an instant.
"Creature, what do you want now?" she asked, slightly annoyed.
"Hello, Skadi. Well, I was wondering if you could act as a monarch to train my subordinates. You know, it's much better than doing nothing in my soul," he said.
Skadi frowned and then said, "No."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to."
Shade sighed. Dealing with that arrogant and supreme woman was a problem, and she wasn't Uriel, who could somehow convince her.
"Shade, what is this echo of yours? And why does it speak?"
"Watch your tongue, girl." Skadi looked at Scarlet. Both redheads stared at each other, causing the temperature to rise throughout the room.
Shade watched this in silence, praying that the castle wouldn't be reduced to nothing but ruins.
Almost a minute passed until Scarlet yielded in the staring contest.
"Scarlet. She is Skadi. She's a Supreme, so you have to be respectful with her. And Skadi, please don't destroy the castle. I like its architecture. That's a suggestion, by the way."
The woman didn't respond, lost in her own thoughts. After reaching some kind of mental conclusion, she looked at Shade.
"I've changed my mind, creature. This might be something interesting."
I always forget she's kind of a tsundere, Shade thought. Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud if he still wanted to live.
Skadi looked at Scarlet.
"Follow me, girl. I'll teach you how to improve your aspect."
Scarlet nodded, knowing she would no longer have free time with her new mentor.
"Good luck. You're going to need it," Shade said.
"Do you really think it's a good idea to let Skadi train Scarlet?" asked Soul in Uriel's mind.
"Yes. Their abilities are similar, and so is their arrogance. So there are two possibilities: either they become good master/student, or they kill each other."
Shade heard a thoughtful noise in his mind.
"By the way, didn't you have to start selecting your subordinates?"
"Oh, that's right. I suppose I'll have the meeting now."
Shade stood up. "Can you call those Awakened who are in the Second Evacuation Army without assignments?"
"Yes. I'll ask them to gather in the throne room."
"Good, thanks Soul."
Shade waited a few minutes until he observed about six hundred Awakened gathered before him.
"Why did you call us, sir?" asked an Awakened.
"Well, congratulations. Half of you will be part of my special team called the Black Numbers for Antarctica," he said, making the Awakened excited.
"Wait, did you say half? What about the other half?"
"They will continue their normal functions. I wanted to have a legion just for myself and all that, but the government Transcendent said it would be too many resources and blah, blah, blah," Shade complained.
"So we'll do it simply. There are six hundred of you. Fight each other in pairs and defeat your enemy. In the end, the three hundred remaining will be part of my team," he explained.
Immediately, they all looked at each other. Moving apart, the place was spacious enough that they could fight without problems.
Shade watched as a free-for-all battle began, with aspects of all kinds and weapons, as well as echoes.
The battle was frantic and fast. Within minutes, three hundred Awakened remained, those who had won by force, cunning, strategy, or all of the above.
"Well, congratulations. You will be the Black Numbers. As for the rest, don't feel bad. I'll give you fruits and a soul fragment."