In Godgrave, an enormous, ornate temple appeared. It had not been there a moment before. It had not dropped from the sky nor risen from the ground. The Citadel had just appeared.
However, that was not the most drastic change in Godgrave that day. What followed was unlike anything this land had ever seen. The only thing that could possibly alter the system of obliteration that the Sun God left was the power of another God.
As it so happened, Sunny had access to some of that power. A minor fragment of Shadow God's Domain was deployed, the most recent thing he had grasped from his Aspect Legacy.
Instantly, it was as if all light and color was snuffed out in the overwhelming presence of shadow. If one looked from an impossibly high view point in order to see the entirety of the continent-sized skeleton, they would see what appeared to be a moderately sized black mole appear on its pale being.
Within this region, Sunny expanded his senses. In this land, his Shadow Sense was boosted to the max, and he gained a level of base omniscense. And so he traveled around the immediate area, slaughtering the Great creatures who still resided on the surface of the bone near his Citadel.
Using Shadow Shell, he took on the form of a massive goliath, the visage of a demon with horns that curved into a crown appeared in Godgrave and ruthlessly took out more and more abominations.
Soon, his Soul reached a point of total saturation, and the creature shuddered before teleporting back to his Citadel. Safe within his walls, he evolved.
The formation of the 7th Titan Core was as painful as all the others, but the gratification of finally reaching this level after so many years was enough to dull the exquisite pain.
Just like that, all four Divine Aspect Users had become Titans.
…
Changing Star and Song of the Fallen remained within the Ivory Tower as the people of Bastion prepared for war. There was a fervor to them that displeased Nephis. Since unlocking her Aspect Legacy in the 3rd Nightmare, she had gained the odd ability to feel the "Desire" of those around her.
Hundreds of thousands of Awakened had just been born as the Dreamers from this batch of the Solstice anchored themselves to various Citadels.
It was a nebulous but persistent thing that defined humanity. At its most basic level, a human could not live without Desire, and there were so many other things compounding on top of that primeval instinct to survive.
Desire for connection, power, glory…Nephis felt it all in the people of Bastion.
Despite not showing it, she felt it herself. Though the glory didn't matter, it was a useful tool to inspire the people. Power was paramount, as it would allow her to achieve the goal that had driven her since childhood. The deaths of Song, Vale, and Aster.
Secretly though, deep down, she wanted connection to. It was never something she showed or even admitted. Still, it was there, a quiet yearning for something, or someone. Ever since the 3rd Nightmare, for some reason, she felt that desire explode, as if she had lost something precious.
In this environment though, there was no hope for such a thing. At least she had Cassie, who always stayed by her side. The others in the cohort were rare sights, working for the Government and thus unable to appear in Bastion aside from the most brief appearance.
So she drowned herself with work.
"Do you have any updates on the missing prisoners?" Nephis asked.
A little while ago, a few Awakened and even two captured Ascended had inexplicably disappeared.
Cassie had noticed since her Transcendent ability allowed her to delve into the memories of those people, extracting information from them. The ability to see and even erase Memories was extraordinarily powerful. In fact, Nephis considered it the most powerful Transcendent Ability she had ever seen, aside from perhaps Mordrets.
"...I haven't. It is odd. The only thing I can think of is that Anvil himself had moved them into his fort in True Bastion. Not a single guard or elder knows a thing. All they've been told is 'don't worry about it.'"
Nephis frowned.
"He wouldn't need to do this if he had just planned to kill them. Torture is unnecessary because he has you. There is no reason for it besides a personal vendetta, but that's impossible since the majority are far too young. There is no chance that he has a history with them."
Cassie nodded, her glazed over beautiful blue eyes saw nothing, and yet she appeared to be splitting apart the fabric of the world to find an answer.
"Human experimentation, perhaps?"
"He would include some others in that in order to be efficient. I would be able to figure it out from the normal marks."
During Transcendence, Cassie's other abilities also improved. She could "see" through the eyes of others since being Awakened after applying a "mark" on that person. At this point, Cassie could telephatically speak to the marks as well as being able to see the runes of whatever the mark saw.
At this point, she had an incredibly vast network of individuals who she was constantly monitoring. At this point, nothing happened in the Bastion that everyone lived in (Imaginary Bastion) and the True Bastion, the secret true Great Citadel that existed within the city's reflection.
Only higher ups knew the secret of this place, as it was also where Anvil resided. His forge, constantly clanging as he continued to increase the thousands upon thousands of incredibly powerful swords.
It was also where they suspected the prisoners were located.d
Still, even with all that, they were coming up empty.
The two stood in silence, both their brains working in what they felt was futility.
Suddenly, Cassie stirred a bit.
"Something interesting just got reported to Elder Sodenhiem. It appears that they found a new Citadel in Godgrave. One that is on the surface no less."
Nephis frowned at the change of subjects, but if Cassie was bringing it up, there had to be something more, and indeed there was.
"Not only that, there is a sole Saint living there," Cassie said.
Nephis raised an eyebrow at that.
"Someone from the House of Night or the Government?"
"Neither, the newly Awakened described him, and we haven't ever encountered anything like him. They call him the Lord of Shadows."
…
Mordret moved from the reflection of a dying sea serpent's eye into the Saint who had killed that tiny bit of "him".
He did not challenge the House of Night Transcendent to a Soul Duel. Instead, he just stayed in that Reflection as he traversed back to Night Garden.
The Great Citadel was a truly enormous ship, the only thing that could brave the Storm Sea. Despite the waves being tall enough to be considered a tsunami in the Waking World, they harmlessly broke against the bow of the Night Garden.
Soon, a small opening appeared higher up on the ship's starboard. Mordret spent a small amount of time marveling at it. He had heard that the Nightgarden was a "living ship", but the reality behind that didn't sink in until he saw it mold around the Transcendent traveler and take it into its embrace.
The Saint returned to human form, but this had no effect on Mordret's state. He continued to easily infiltrate the Great Citadel.
The lives aboard the city-sized ship appeared incredibly peaceful. Unbidden, the image of the entire place drenched in blood came to him, only to be shut out. He had made a promise to Gehrman after all, and he planned to keep it.
…though he might take a few more Saints than he said. A few of them were simply too useful to pass up. Having a Saint's body and Aspect was roughly equivalent to a Great creature simply due to the nature of their versatility and ability. For the stronger, more legendary figures of the House of Night, they may even be equal to a Great Demon or Devil. This wasn't to say they were as strong as those dreadful creatures, only that they were worth that much to Mordret.
"Saint Naeve! There is news from Bastion and Ravenheart. Both have sent demands that we join their Domains as the war starts."
The young Transcendent frowned. He did not appear surprised, but that didn't mean he was pleased.
"The council has already been called, yes?"
"Indeed, the meeting has been set to be held in the Waking World in 10 hours."
"Is there any news about the New Workshop? I would suspect a similar rude demand was made of them."
The Awakened looked taken by surprise.
"I'm not sure, though I doubt they would break neutrality."
"Indeed, Song let their founder die and Valor quite literally killed him. Send some of my personal Masters there to make sure that peace is maintained there. If the other Elders disagree, I'll make sure to take the heat for it, so send them fast."
"Of course sir!"
The Awakened scurried off, and Mordret felt that if he could feel guilt, he may have experienced it then. The House of Night was perhaps the only Great Clan to treat the New Workshop with the respect it deserved. The unique Trick Weapons developed by the Workshop were still being bought to this day, as the weapons specifically made for underwater combat were a massive boon for them.
Mordret was of course partial to the New Workshop as well, less because of what they produced, and more because the people there were more interesting. So he figured that killing some of the higher ups in the House of Night would, by association, be a bit rude since he respected them so.
However, Mordret wasn't going to pretend he had developed enough humanity to actually turn down the opportunity in front of him.
A thrill ran through him as he imagined the Soul Duels to come.
…
Gehrman sat in the hollows of Godgrave, surrounded by flame. This was not the fire of the Sun God, instead it was the burning destruction of science and Vermin. The red jungle trembled and tried to grow through it, but the bloodflame continued to keep it at bay.
Furthermore, the waves of Madness pouring off Gehrman were so potent that even the Great Nightmare creatures who sensed the flame within the Transcendent Titan's Soul were hesitant to approach.
There was no distinction nor clever application. All types of Madness – save for the potentially reality shattering Void – were pouring off him with wild violence.
If a mundane person were to stand near him at this moment, they would start ripping their hair off and clawing at their face.
However, the figure that appeared nearby did neither.
He stood in a sleeveless black tunic. It clung to his upper body tightly, emphasizing his sublime form. Enormous and muscular arms that perfectly suited his figure. Comfortably loose pants and a flowing fabric rippled from his waist.
This man, or rather, this creature observed Gehrman with glowing golden eyes. The pressure exuded by this Transcendent Titan. His long black hair billowed as if he stood on a windy rooftop.
"My goodness, that is quite some serious pressure from a mere Transcendent."
Gehrman kept his eyes closed, not bothering to turn to the figure.
"Can't say the same for you. What, are you, a homunculus created by Anvil? I would think he'd create something more than a Supreme Beast to send after me."
The creatures smiled.
"No, I am not a creation of Vale, though I imagine that he likes to think so," he let out a deep chuckle. "Ordering me around like this, he has some serious gall."
Gehrman's brows furrowed. A suspicion started to creep into his mind, one that unsettled him.
He let out a laugh of his own.
"What are you suggesting then, that you're a Sovereign?"
"Of course," the Dreamspawn smiled. "I believe you know of me, as I rose to the Rank with Vale and Song."
"...shit," Gehrman stood up and let his Madness become more direct, focusing it on that creature. Still, the man did not seem bothered one bit. His grin simply broadened as he watched Gehrman prepare himself.
"You know my name too, I personally made sure of that."
In that moment, his golden eyes looked the furthest thing from a human.
"It is so nice to meet you, I owe a lot to you, you know. Without you, I doubt I could have convinced Vale to finally free me from that prison, to finally let me spread once again. So that humanity can once again know the name of Asterion."