Shadow Slave

‘He’s insane. He’s actually unwell...’

That was the only thing Sunny could think of as he regarded Asterion with a frozen expression.

But no... Sunny had already established that the Dreamspawn was of sound mind. It was just that nothing about the way he saw the world was within the bounds of what humans would consider normal, while his thinking process was completely free of all preconceptions that most people shared. After all, why would Asterion not want to devour humanity, the Forgotten God, the entire world, and the everlasting Void on top of that?

The notion was no more preposterous than a random orphan from the outskirts of NQSC becoming an immortal demigod who commanded a legion of dead souls and ruled half of humanity. To someone who did not know Sunny very well, his strange story would sound like the ravings of a madman. Just like Asterion’s confession had sounded just now.

’He truly is a worthy heir of Heart God.’

The god of growth and hunger.

Asterion was more or less a flawless embodiment of insatiable hunger and unending growth. Nothing could ever satiate him, because his endless growth would always demand more fuel. So... in a sense, it was only natural that his ambitions went far beyond what Sunny and Nephis dared to want to achieve.

‘Hell...’

Just what had those damn Path of Ascension zealots done to raise Asterion into the eerie creature he was today? Was it their fault that he had turned out this way? Or had his mind become twisted as a result of their isolated colony in the Dream Realm being annihilated, instead?

No one knew much about the fate of that mysterious group. It had always been dismissively described as a fringe cult, but really, those supposed zealots were quite exceptional in their own way.

They had been some of the first Masters of humanity, just like Immortal Flame, Warden of Valor, and Nightwalker... one of them had claimed the Lineage of Heart God, as well. It was just that their beliefs clashed with the emerging Legacy hierarchy, so they decided to abandon the waking world entirely instead of being pushed out. That was how Asterion came to be born in the Dream Realm.

Their Citadel had fallen at some point, though, leaving him the only survivor. Come to think of it, Sunny did not know the details of how the Path of Ascension cult had been destroyed... however, there could have been only a few possible causes.

The most probable cause was that their settlement had been overrun by Nightmare Creatures. Alternatively... it could have been attacked by humans, instead. It was an established fact that the Legacy regime had been born in bloodshed, after all, having eradicated all other rising factions.

Would they have really left a fringe group like the Path of Ascension cult to develop in peace?

Looking at Asterion now, Sunny realized that there was a third possible cause.

The Dreamspawn could have slaughtered the Path of Ascension zealots himself. Considering his current disposition, it was not difficult to imagine that he would have began on his journey of endless growth by consuming the very group that had created him.

There was no way to know.

Sunny exhaled slowly.

‘He wants to devour the Void, huh’

In short, Asterion wanted to become equal to the seven great gods and declare war on the Void, as well as on the harrowing creatures that dwelled within it... just like the gods had done once. In a sense, that war had never ended, so he would resume where the gods had left off — after inheriting their legacy.

No wonder he was hunting down all the Divine Lineages.

‘No, wait...”

Sunny suddenly felt a little dazed.

The gods had not been able to destroy the Void, they had only been able to seal it. But Asterion was not planning to succeed where they had failed by relying on the same amount of power.

He was planning to attain power greater even than what the gods had wielded.

After all, if he really did manage to consume all humans, all Nightmare Creatures, the Forgotten God, and existence itself...

Then he would not simply become equal to one of the great gods. No, he would unite that which had been scattered all along... he would contain within himself all of the Flame of Desire.

So, he would become as powerful as the source that had given birth to the gods, not the gods themselves.

Seen in that light, his ambition to devour the Void suddenly did not seem quite as baseless.

‘He’s still mad, though.’

Sunny sighed.

”Do you suppose that we will just let you gobble up humanity?”

Asterion turned and looked at Sunny silently for a few moments.

Then, he asked in a pleasant tone:

“But what can you even do?”

Chuckling quietly, Asterion looked away. ”You can’t kill me. You can’t seal me, either — because to do so, you’ll have to sacrifice the lives of the very same humans you want to protect from me”

The sound of his voice was almost compassionate.

”Ah, but of course, by sparing them, you are only ensuring that I will get them all, eventually. Goodness gracious, I really do not envy you. You really are in a tight spot... it’s almost like the whole situation has been designed by someone to trap you.”

He grinned.

Looking at that grin, Nephis said in a calm tone:

”Do you really think that I will not burn all of Bastion down just to end you?”

A cold smile twisted her lips, as well.

“Do you think that there is anywhere in this world — in all worlds — that you can escape to if I decide to find you?”

She looked at him evenly.

”Go on, provoke me more. Let’s see which one of us is ready to make sacrifices.’ Asterion remained silent... and Sunny did as well.

At that moment, even he did not really know if she was bluffing.

Eventually, Nephis shook her head.

“Your arrogance is impressive, but your bluff is too simple to call. You try to pretend that neither of us poses any danger to you, and yet you spent years doing nothing but hiding. You even felt so threatened by a mere Saint as to ambush her — most pitifully of all, your ambush failed.”

She frowned.

“Countless humans have been infected by the idea of you already, but how many have you been able to make your thralls? The Human Domain stands strong, and all your efforts to shake its foundations have amounted to nothing. Yes, you are devious and dangerous... but do you really think that you can win?”

Sunny was not sure if that confidence was a bluff, either.

Asterion stared silently at her for a long while, as if unwilling to answer.

Then, suddenly, he grinned.

“Alright, it seems that you really are unwilling to make a deal with me. So, then... how about a bet, instead?”