Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2918

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A perfect version of Cassie stood opposite her, looking at her with one remaining eye. It possessed the same powers as her, and even if the Reflection was not quite as adept as her at manipulating human memories — how could it be, when the very concept of humanity was alien to it? — it did wield the power to see a few seconds into the future. It also possessed the power to communicate what it sensed to other Reflections and Mordret himself, which allowed them to apply the power of Rivalen with a level of foresight and precision that made it many times more efficient, and therefore far more effective.

The cataclysmic barrage of the Hunger Domain continued for some time, unleashing such terrifying forces that a hurricane wind rose around the Ebony Island, tearing apart the clouds far in the sky and drowning the world in a suffocating, sweltering heat.

The Dreamspawn seemed willing to take things slowly and probe the defenses of his enemy at a leisurely pace. The man was as arrogant as he was terrifying, after all... Cassie had no doubt that he already felt like victory was in his hands.

She couldn't blame him, really. From where she stood, Asterion's victory seemed all but inevitable, as well.

“I wonder what he'll try next."

Mordret's voice sounded almost lazy.

They received the answer soon.

The cannonade slowly died down, and the sky cleared from the dark veil of raining arrows. Instead, an eerie sensation permeated the air, as if the world itself was under assault.

Cassie inhaled deeply and poured her essence into the runic circle, activating the defensive enchantments she had put in place. At the same time, the Reflections — all except the one mirroring her own delicate figure — seemed to ripple and transform, turning into a handsome man with dark skin and beautiful, silver eyes. They had assumed the shape of Nightwalker.

Somewhere far away, aboard the Night Garden, he was attempting to bend space to deliver the great army of humanity on Mordret's doorstep. However, Cassie's runic array had reinforced space around the Ebony Tower, making it more static and far less malleable.

The legendary founder of the House of Night might have been able to overcome her sorcery eventually, but the Reflections were acting against him as well. They used the same Aspect to counteract his power... in fact, they went one step further and used it to launch a counteroffensive, twisting space to rip the Night Garden apart.

In a matter of seconds, it was the Nightwalker who was on the defensive, not the other way around.

The fabric of the world rippled and groaned, torn between two merciless forces.

Cassie felt her hair stand on end, while Mordret sighed deeply.

"This is a little tedious. Is he trying to make me die of sheer boredom?"

Cassie, who was straining to feed essence to the runic circle she had carved, turned to him briefly.

“Why don't you make it more exciting, then?"

Mordret grinned.

“You are reading my thoughts."

Of course, she wasn't.

If anyone was reading Mordret's mind, it was Asterion... that was the very reason why this battle felt so unwinnable. How were they supposed to defeat an opponent who knew their every move in advance?

Then again... Cassie could roughly predict what Asterion would do, as well.

"Get ready. He has simply been testing the waters before. The next attack will be the true opening blow."

It would probably be the Crushing.

Asterion could not obliterate the Ebony Island with the Crushing — its power was proportional to how near one was to the Ivory Tower, after all, so he would have to bring the heavenly Citadel quite close to the enemy's stronghold in order to deal substantial damage.

And at that distance, Mordret would have all kinds of ways to enter the Tower of Hope and make it his, turning the Crushing upon the army of the Hunger Domain.

Asterion could still unleash the Crushing to make his enemies fight under a tremendous burden, though, even if they were not going to be instantly destroyed.