"Damnation! Turn that–the crazy off!" Sunny let out a torrent of curses as he tensed and shook his limbs. He looked like a man who had just had a bucket of ice water dumped on him. Indeed, he was a little worse for wear.
Though their souls were now equal due to both being Transcendent Titans, the weight of carrying Gehrman with him through the shadows was still straining. Not only that, he had been coated in a truly exaggerated amount of Madness.
The waves of that strange energy were still radiating off Gehrman's prone form. Dimly, he registered what Sunny had said and put the burden of the Madness completely on his other brains.
He wasn't able to allot some of them to the Soul Dungeons because of this, but the alternative was spreading it to Sunny…and his guests.
A dozen or so soldiers all came into the large throne room that Sunny had fallen into. Gehrman suspected that he had wanted to take him somewhere more discreet, but he had trouble moving Gehrman any further.
These new guests were not shadows, however. Instead they were very human and vaguely familiar. However, they were also bearing the crimson red of Valor.
"Ugh, you have house guests?" Gehrman groaned, not getting up from the floor.
Sunny abruptly stopped his movements, taking on a cool and collected posture.
An awkward air filled the room. That was unsurprising considering it appeared that Sunny had – in some form – pledged allegiance to Valor. Then he randomly brought a (supposedly) puppet of the dead Prince of Song into his inner sanctum.
The only reason Gehrman didn't feel bad was because he was recognizing more and more faces.
"Fire Keepers?"
Indeed, he knew them (in passing mostly) because they had been either in the Outskirts of the Bright Castle or within Gunlaug's system.
Some had allied with Nephis' little coup. Others likely had only fought under Changing Star's banner after she had officially become ruler of the small army of Sleepers.
After Antarctica, all of them had reached Ascended status, and had become some of the most impressive individuals in the realms, and each and every one of them had pledged allegiance to Changing Star.
Indeed, they each held the insignia of their leader, marking their status as the elite who served under Valor's second "Princess".
Of course, they knew him as well. Back in the day he had earned quite a reputation largely due to exaggerated rumors. He had also gained renown during the chaotic days after Gunlaug's fall but before Nephis could corral everyone under one banner. During that time, he had hunted Nightmare Creatures who drew near to the Bright Castle, nearly single handedly replacing the entire Castle Guard.
So there was a certain amount of respect, but also a large amount of fear, in their eyes.
"I'm not dead by the way, so, um, I'm not a puppet that Ki Song is tugging around. So…not technically a part of the enemy army."
The Fire Keepers were silent. Sunny – who Gehrman just now noticed was adorned with that demonic black mask that he sometimes wore – just stood with arms crossed, trying to look like everything was under control.
"You did declare yourself their Prince though," one of them said. "So technically, you are–"
The brave Fire Keeper was cut off as two others both hit him, cutting off his sentence.
"Technically," another Fire Keeper stepped forward. "Technically we don't know what side you're on since you aren't in the Song Court right now. Plus, Lord Shadow brought you here. Since this is still his Citadel, and not Valor's we don't have any right to try and make you leave."
Gehrman gave them a dubious glance.
It was obvious what they were really saying.
Please don't kill us. We didn't see anything.
Each was an extraordinarily formidable Master, but perhaps because of that they had enough sense to know that fighting Gehrman was akin to diving into the maw of certain death.
So they just…backed up. Quietly, all of them left the room without another word.
The awkward silence hung for a bit.
Then Gehrman sat up with a grunt. His lips turned upward into a smirk.
"Lord Shadow" Gehrman said with fake gravitas.
"Shut up."
"Don't get me wrong, it's a great title. Just, you know, self indulgent."
Sunny's shoulders slumped a bit.
"I spent a lot of time cultivating this image, I think you could stand to be a bit more respectful of it."
"I'm so respectful…my lord."
"I should have left you back there."
Gehrman paused, his body involuntarily tensing. "How long has it been since our last meeting? I kind of lost track of time."
"A little over two months."
"...damn."
Sunny walked over to stand beside Gehrman's sat form.
"Have you been fighting him this entire time?"
"Pretty much. The break in the Godgraves cloud cover allowed me to maintain my Essence supply."
Sunny didn't say anything. Gehrman suspected he was making a face behind that demonic mask of his, but he had no inkling on what it could be.
"Is he heading on over right now? You shouldn't encounter him. There was a specific reason but I can't quite recall," Gehrman rubbed his head, trying to conjure his reasoning.
"If you are worried about the Divine Lineage of Shadow, don't be. It's not in my possession."
Gehrman's eyes lit up.
"Yes! The Lineage's that's what it was," he let out a sigh before he processed Sunny's words. "Wait, 'Lord Shadow' doesn't have Shadow God's lineage? It's your whole damn aesthetic though!"
Sunny bristled at the mocking of his title.
"No, I don't have it. Still, you're right, I should stay as far away from him as possible. There is something else he might feast on. I don't know what would happen if he took my true Lineage…I'm not sure what would happen, but I don't want to risk it."
Gehrman frowned.
"You're true Lineage?"
Then, something that hadn't happened in a while occurred. A skip, one that occurred when Gehrman's thoughts were erased due to Sunny's lack of Fate.
The shadow looked at him with some surprise. At least, that's what Gehrman figured he was feeling based on his body language.
"You knew?"
"About whatever you're Divine Lineage is? I guess I must have considered that the information refuses to stick in my head."
"Huh." Sunny crossed his arms. "I suppose the exact nature of it is not important. What is important is stalling the Dreamspawn. I sent two of my Shadows to deal with him, but I doubt they'll last for more than an hour."
Gehrman's brow raised.
"An hour against a Supreme? That's pretty damn good. Do you have Supreme Shadows now?"
"Fiend evolved into a Supreme Devil, but I didn't send him. Saint has immunity to mind attacks, and Serpent can mimic that Attribute. They have two Supreme blades and some powerful charms as well. One of those swords is…"
Sunny shivered.
"I can't watch the battle. I have to pull back my shadow sense. If I behold that damn sword it will instill me with Corruption in an instant."
"What the hell? When did you make such a thing?"
"I didn't. If you recall my tale of the Tomb of Ariel, remember my Corrupted twin retained his ability to Weave. That guy had thousands of years of experience, and he was motivated. That sword, the [Sin of Solace], is probably the most deadly weapon in the both worlds right now, besides some ancient relics probably. However, he didn't just make it stronger. He altered the [Cursed] Enchantment. In the Tomb, the Ascended version of me beheld a fully formed phantom, the true manifestation of the sword. In his madness, he expanded its capabilities. Now that it was Supreme, the sword's ability to drive the wearer mad grew to an astounding degree. That phantom knows the secret of the Tomb of Ariel, that knowledge of Defilement is enough to cause Corruption to take over any soul, and as it is right now, that phantom can appear to more than just the wielder."
…
Asterion frowned as a strange image appeared before him. Floating above that dreadful jade blade, a phantom of a beautiful young man floated. His gaze was sinister and his expression twisted.
"What is this? Where is that foul bastard?" the phantom frowned. "This is…not the Tomb of Ariel."
The Dreamspawn's face was unamused. In all his Nightmares and extensive exploration throughout the Dream Realm, he had never come across something like this.
"What are you?"
The obsidian eyes of the phantom snapped to Asterion. What happened next was quite unsettling, even for the Dreamspawn. The phantom rippled and within a moment its shape had changed. The scowling face appeared once more, this time it was with Asterion's own features though.
"Now this is interesting. A Supreme, huh? Not only that, but one so adept at wielding the Will that I can't peer into your mind."
A small trickle of unease made its way into Asterion's heart, but it was crushed easily. He recognized instantly that it came from the sword's passive aura, not his own fear.
The phantom wearing Asterion's face looked around. "Saint and Serpent, we really are out of that godsforsaken place then. Not only that, the bastard avoided becoming the Mad Prince. Granted, I hated that piece of filth as well, but it isn't right that he managed to escape unscathed. He doesn't deserve sanity."
"Aren't you pleasant," Asterion said dryly.
His twisted reflection leaned forward.
"Hey, Sovereign, do you want to hear a secret?"
In the next moment, Asterion's hair stood on end and his instincts screamed immense danger. He extended the full power of his Will and Aspect.
The phantom was a manifestation of the sword. It was not a true living being. It was, at its core, thought and feeling. And those two things were subject to Asterion's dominance more than anything else.
So before it could whisper the secrets of Defilment, the phantom was abruptly snuffed out, disappearing without a trace.
At the same time, two biting sword wounds slid through his body. True, actual pain hit Asterion as the mental damage wrought by both swords ripped through him.
He grunted, evading the perfect onslaught that came at him. Both of the mutated Stone Saints moved with flawless efficiency, each covering each other's weak points while also putting Asterion in a situation where he could not escape.
Both blades were extraordinarily dangerous. He suspected that even with his Will, the white blade may still cut through his defenses. The mirror-like blade, on the other hand, could very well be held off.
Furthermore, there was something far weaker than those blades: the bodies of his enemies.
Both were powerful Transcendent creatures, but to Asterion they were not worth a second glance. It was only due to the weapons they wielded that he was on edge.
A deafening explosion rippled through the landscape of shadow as Asterion brought his palm down on the ground, causing a devastating explosion that formed a large crater. With broken stances, he used his Will to engage with them once again. This time landing a blow on each, cracking their dark, stone-like bodies.
Yet they did not shatter.
Asterion's eyes glimmered, begrudgingly accepting this as a genuine fight.
"Fine then, take your break, Gehrman," he dropped into a battle stance and smiled. "Don't keep me waiting."