Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2998

Sunny and Nephis had not been able to battle Asterion in the past because he used humanity as a shield against them. The Dreamspawn settled in Bastion, so if they tried to attack him, a vast swath of the city — if not all of it — would have been destroyed by the ferocity of a battle between Supremes, with innumerable casualties among the civilian population. But there were no people here, in the distant reaches of the Glass Hell. The nearest human settlement was thousands of kilometers away, so they could unleash their powers fully.

So could Asterion

But before any of this could happen, Mordret regarded the Dreamspawn somberly, as if appraising him...

And vanished without a sight.

Almost at the same time, Mordret appeared in Asterion's Soul Sea, having entered it through his golden eyes.

There, a radiant soul core was shining in the starlit heavens like a silver moon. Most of the Citadels were gone from Asterion's Domain, but something remained... there was a towering, blooming tree rising from the waters of his soul, its heavy branches swaying above the deep waters.

The air was permeated by the sweet smell of rotten fruit. Asterion split his consciousness between the world outside and the vast expanse of his Soul Sea, where an invader was calmly walking across the water toward the tree.

The Dreamspawn smiled faintly. "Aren't you wary of challenging me to a soul duel, boy? Oh, and congratulations, by the way. On killing yourself six times over... how truly ruthless! I applaud your callousness"

Mordret smiled chillingly. "Why should I be wary?"

He shook his head, not slowing his steps. “You forget, Dreamspawn. My predecessor was cautious about challenging powerful beings to a soul duel because this was the only place where he could truly die. But me? I can die anywhere, anytime!

His smile widened faintly, never reaching his eyes.

"So what is there to stop me?"

There was nothing.

Asterion’s expression darkened a little. He remained silent for a moment, and then asked in an even tone:

"Shouldn't you be more cautious than he was, then, not more reckless?"

Mordret chuckled.

"Where's the fun in that?"

The shadow of the tree had already fallen on him by then, and he finally stopped, looking at Asterion one last time before they clashed.

"It seems that you are forgetting something else, Dreamspawn!"

Mordret inhaled deeply and glanced at the reflections dancing on the restless water. "Here, I can mirror every power you wield. That means that I can feel every emotion you feel, and hear every thought you think... just like you can hear me. You already know what I am going to say, but I will still say it regardless."

Mordret glanced at Asterion as the smile drained from his face, leaving only coldness behind.

"I used to think of you as a giant. But now that I have seen the depths of your mind, Dreamspawn, I have to say...”

A corner of his mouth curled upward faintly.

“You are so small.”

The branches of the towering tree swayed as Mordret lunged forward, his mirror-like eyes shining with reflected killing intent. Mordret attacked Asterion’s soul while at the same time using Asterion's own powers to assault his mind.

Somewhere out there, Cassie was besieging the Hunger Domain, having already obliterated most of it. She was eroding the very source of Asterion's existence — the idea of him.

Which meant that only his physical body remained.

Destroying it was the task for Sunny and Nephis.

In front of them, the pretend smile slipped from Asterion’s face, replaced by an expression of bestial hunger. He took a step forward, and the glass wasteland groaned under his weight.

In the next moment, the tall figure of the Dreamspawn exploded into something monstrous and gargantuan, rushing at them like a destructive avalanche.

He had assumed his Transcendent form. The true form of the Dreamspawn was revealed in all its grotesque glory, blotting out the sky. It was a grotesque, menacing mountain of flesh that consisted of innumerable maws, myriad limbs, countless tails, innumerable hungry eyes — of all the beings he had consumed, absorbing parts of them into his being.

The flesh twisted and undulated, bleeding as his innumerable insatiable maws sank their fangs into other parts of his immense body — as if he was devouring himself in the frenzy of hunger.

Sunny was disturbed and appalled... but most of all, he felt ready.

Nephis faced the Dreamspawn undaunted, as well.

As the grotesque chimera rushed at them like a tide, a soft radiance ignited under her skin. And then, a vast and boundless shadow shrouded her like a dark mantle. She raised the Blessing, its blade piercing the sky...

And then brought it down, parting the red sea of grotesque flesh in a blinding conflagration of white flame.

The power of that single blow was so unimaginably annihilating that an incandescent cut extended into the distance, disappearing beyond the horizon. The edges of the line cut into the surface of the Glass Hell were glowing, streams of molten glass flowing into the depths... into the endless labyrinth of the Hive.

The Blessing had plunged deep into those depths, as well, penetrating the Glass Hell all the way to its dark roots.

Such was the combined power of Changing Star and Lost from Light.

Pure might was not the only thing born of their union, though. Their Wills seemed to have fused into one, as well, soaring to swallow the heavens. The tyrannical force of their shared authority was so unimaginable that the world felt soft and malleable to Sunny, ready to offer them its support.

At that moment, they had risen to the heights of power neither of them could have imagined before. They were as close to being a deity as a mortal being could be before undergoing Apotheosis, and from that height, godhood almost felt within reach.

It was different from how it had been when Sunny augmented Nephis as a Master.

That was because back then, he could only send his shadows to empower her. But now, he was a shadow himself, and therefore, it was his incarnations that had taken her into their dark embrace, augmenting her power. And so, just like how it happened when Sunny wrapped himself around his Shadows, he could feel Nephis. He sensed what she sensed and shared her emotions, gazing at the world through her eyes.

The world Nephis saw was stark and pure, painted in hues of black and white by absolute clarity.

And he could feel her pain, as well.

At first, Sunny shuddered, ready to convulse and scream from the awful agony of being burned alive — it was not only his body that burned, but also his soul, his mind... his spirit. All of him was aflame, drowning in the blinding torment.

But he endured the pain. In fact, he was glad to share it. Because he knew that he could soothe it, as well.

At least a little.

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