Shadow Slave

pain.

"Yeah... I think I understand."

Many things became clearer now. Finally, he knew more about the Sovereigns, and the power they wielded. Awakened, Masters, and Saints... all of them were bestowed with great strength, but that strength was of a personal kind. Supremes were, without doubt, even more fearsome warriors- however, their true advantage lay in their authority.

He was not too certain about: what exactly a Domain did - even Nephis did not know the details, after all - but understood the concept. A Domain was a physical manifestation of a Sovereign's Aspect, a territory where their rule was supreme.

And that manifestation, while representing their personal strength, relied on external factors to exist and grow. Authority, influence, power... power over someone, and not just yourself. All of these things were conveniently intertwined in the form of Citadels, which the Spell created.

Citadels...

Sunny looked down, as if trying to pierce the Ivory Tower with his gaze. Then, he sighed.

There were still a lot of unanswered questions.

On the surface, the intention of the Sovereigns seemed obvious... well, with the exception of Asterion, who was the most mysterious of the three. They had established their Domains in the unique Citadels that had once belonged to the daemons, and then slowly expanded their rule, uplifting loyal Ascended to Sainthood.

...And eliminating those Transcendent who refused to swear fealty to them, thus failing to become the vessels of their Domains. The only two exceptions were the House of Night and, to a much lesser extent, the government. Both were convenient to have around and fulfilled a necessary function. The seat of power of the great clan Night, on top of that, was located in the deadly waters of the Stormsea. Launching an invasion into their territory was a dire task.

'But what about Professor Obel's theory?'

Indeed, something did not add up. if Anvil of Valor and Ki Song were so obsessed with perfecting their Domains, then why were they suppressing the emergence of Saints? l?ghtnоvеl?саvе~с?о?m. The more Transcendents there were, the more human Citadels there would be in the Dream Realm, and the more territory they would be able to conquer.

Come to think of it, if they really had no choice but to wage war on each other, then why had they waited for two decades to start it? Why were they only attempting the conquest now?

Why had they waited for the Chain of Nightmares to descend upon the Southern Quadrant?

Sunny frowned, then glanced at Nephis.

"I feel like we are still missing a key piece of information. This timing... it's just too strange."

'And hateful.'

Of course, there was a possibility that all of it was just a coincidence. Maybe Ki Song simply decided to use the power imbalance that the death of Saint Cormac and Mordret's Ascension had created. But Sunny felt like there was more to this war than they thought.

Neph leaned on the parapet of the sunlit balcony and sighed.

"We certainly do. The Sovereigns have many secrets, and I won't claim to know all of them. But... does it really matter what they are hiding? The truth remains the same."

Sunny scoffed.

She was right. Nephis was determined to destroy the Sovereigns, because they were suppressing humanity in its conquest of the Spell... and, more importantly, stood in her way. She did not care what motivated the Supremes, and neither did Sunny. He hated them all the same.

Valor and Song deserved each other, as far as he was concerned. But Antarctica was about to be swept up in their treasonous strife, and that... that, he could not allow to happen.

'Look at you go. Do you even hear yourself? Who are you to defy the great clans? Do you imagine yourself to be someone capable of stopping them? You're definitely not... sure, you have some power, but in the grand scheme of things, you're just a bug. A single Master, no matter how strong, is only capable enough to be an expendable pawn.'

Sunny gritted his teeth.

It was true... no matter how incensed he was, there was nothing he could do. The best Sunny could hope to achieve was to minimize the damage that the clash of the great clans was bound to do to the evacuation effort. A little.

That only made him angrier.

"Well... then that's exactly what I am going to do. I will prepare, learn their weaknesses, and try to suppress the fallout of their despicable acts as much as I can."

Luckily, Sunny knew just the right person to provide him with information. Knowing what the opponent was planning came first.

He remained silent for a few moments, then glanced at Neph.

"So, what exactly is going to happen? What will be their first move?"

She smiled wistfully.

"In a few months, the great clans will announce that they are sending reinforcements to the Southern Quadrant. Both Song and Valor will dispatch a strong force to Antarctica... but not too strong. l?ghtnоvеl_саvе_с?о?m. A couple more Saints, a dozen or two Masters, and a few hundred Awakened. Officially, their mission will be to support the Evacuation Army in fighting the Nightmare Creatures. In reality, however, they are being sent there to fight each other."

Sunny scowled, slightly confused.

"...How, though? By now, most of the human forces on the continent are concentrated in the siege capitals, with very little reason to venture outside. Are these Saints and their forces going to just go and attack the cities?"

Nephis shook her head.

"No... at least I think they won't. Not unless there is a very good reason to. In truth, they won't be staying behind the walls of the siege capitals most of the time - because they have a secondary goal, as well. One that requires going outside and attacking the Nightmare Creatures."

He tilted his head a little.

"And what goal might that be?"

Changing Star simply looked at him, and a moment later, Sunny's eyes widened slightly.

"The pyramid?"