Shadow Slave

Mordret had managed to become Supreme — and without the guidance of the Nightmare Spell, no less. The feat he accomplished on that day was perhaps his greatest triumph.

But it was full of bittersweet irony, as well. He had endeavored to become strong enough to be self-sufficient and never have to depend on anyone. To be beholden to no one.

So, Mordret reached the peak of power and built a Domain that only encompassed one being — himself.

However, what he had truly wanted once was to belong somewhere and be accepted by someone… to not be alone anymore.

But he made himself into a king who belonged nowhere and ruled no one, whose only company was his own reflections. Mordret was not sure if that was funny or fitting. Perhaps it was both.

One thing was certain, though — now that the crown finally rested on his head, he did not feel gratified or proud of his astonishing achievement. Instead, he only felt a sense of grim anticipation.

Attaining Supremacy was only the minimal requirement for being able to survive the return of the Dreamspawn, after all — it only gave him a fighting chance, nothing more. So, he dedicated himself to preparing for war.

The Human Domain was strong. Ruled by two powerful Supremes who had joined hands — both wielders of Divine Aspects, just like Mordret — it was confidently poised to meet the dire threats arrayed against it by the Nightmare.

But Mordret had no doubt that it would fall. The powers of the Dreamspawn were simply too perilous. It was not that he was particularly powerful — although he was powerful, no doubt… rather, it was that his Aspect was too sinister. Asterion was devious and innately capable of turning one’s strength against themselves, so the mighty Human Domain was nothing but a liability.

Changing Star and the Lord of Shadows were too attached to their humanity, though. They were never going to shed the dead weight of mankind, even if that weight was pulling them under the water — if they did, they would have stood a good chance of defeating the Dreamspawn. But they were not going to, which meant that they would drown.

Mordret, on the other hand, wasn’t attached to anything except his own life. He had never truly been a member of the crew, so he refused to go down with the ship. He wanted to survive, no matter the costs.

So, he retreated into the Hollow Mountains — into the nothingness that shrouded them like white mist.

To some, the Hollow Mountains would seem like a useless and terrible domain. There was literally nothing there, except for terrifying creatures that had gotten lost in the fog. But to Mordret, this strange region of the Dream Realm seemed precious. Because to him, it was an impenetrable fortress that only he got to rule.

The white mist that frightened most other people was like a fortress wall to Mordret, and once he was hidden behind it, not even the Dreamspawn would be able to easily invade his lands.

Mordret, meanwhile, would be able to invade the lands controlled by Asterion with impunity. That was why he had struck a deal with Changing Star and the Lord of Shadows, claiming the Hollow Mountains as his own.

Ruling them turned out quite different from what he had expected, though.

The Hollow Mountains were a region of the Dream Realm in and of themselves. The jagged mountain chain was incredibly vast — so vast, in fact, as to be a realm of its own. And it had been, once, in an odd kind of way.

Very few people knew that the Hollow Mountains were a scar left on the world by the fall of a Void Creature that the gods had slain in the ancient, primordial past. However, even those who knew did not really understand what it meant.

In truth, that colossal Void Creature had not simply fallen on some mortal realm, causing its terrain to become jagged and drowned in nothingness. Rather, its death had left a scar on existence itself — so, the Hollow Mountains were both a realm and a part of countless different realms, serving as a bridge between them for those valiant or desperate enough to try crossing it.

Maybe that was why it stretches across the Dream Realm, bordering so countless of its regions. In that sense, Mordret’s strategy was a sound one.

But he had underestimated just how bleak and dreary residing in the Hollow Mountains would be.

He did not dare venture into the hollow interior of the mountains, where elemental darkness ruled — utter darkness was the enemy of reflections, after all, and his powers were mostly useless there.

Instead, he built an abode on one of the jagged peaks, away from the places where true horrors dwelled, and spent most of his time hunting Nightmare Creatures in the regions bordering the mountains to expand his army of vessels. The vessels themselves, meanwhile, did not reside in the white mist of nothingness.

Instead, they resided in his personal Mirror Realm, where Mordret had built an entire city.

The city was well-developed and quite lively, even if it only had one citizen. The problem, however, was that when Mordret emerged from his inner Domain, all he saw… was nothing.

Nothing as far as the eye could see, with no color, no sound, no scents, and no movement.

No detail at all for him to appreciate.

Only the white mist.

There was no one around him, either… only his own vessels.

Mordret had become the man he was today by reflecting the cruel ruthlessness of the world back on itself. But now, all he could reflect was himself. What kind of man did that make him, then?

Ironically enough, Mordret had never been as alone as he was as a Supreme — except for his years of imprisonment in the mirror cage.

Faced with nothing and surrounded by nobody except himself was… boring.

It was quite insufferable, in fact.

Hidden in the Hollow Mountains, Mordret continued to build his vessel army while spying on humanity.

He knew what he had to do. But he just felt that it would be such a shame for humanity to be wiped out. A world where no one except himself existed would be so dull, after all.

People were entertaining.

He even contemplated if there was another way…

But before Mordret could even consider things properly, the Dreamspawn finally escaped his lunar prison and descended into the mortal world.