Shadow Slave

Chapter 880: Cause and Effect

The old man chuckled and looked at his subordinates, who were packing things up in a hurry. After a while, he signed.

"Whether Nightmare Gates are produced by the Spell or not, there is definitely a connection between the two. Or rather, the three... since Awakened are also part of this equation."

He grew silent after that, and then added in a more serious tone:

"What interests me the most, however, is which of the three came first."

Sunny looked at him with surprise.

"Forgive me, Professor, but isn't that common knowledge? The Spell came first, bringing with it the Nightmares. Then, we Awakened appeared as the result."

He frowned slightly.

"... Of course, common knowledge is not always trustworthy. But in this case, it seems to follow logic."

Professor Obel shook his head.

"Who can really say? The beginnings of the Spell are not documented well. Back then... the world was not in the best shape, and by the time we knew that something was happening, it was already out of our ability to prevent, contain, or control. We tried, of course, but... even then, some truths never get to become widely known, or even be put on paper at all. It is very likely that what you said is true. There are other possibilities, though, ones that would demand entirely different solutions."

Sunny looked at him with a perplexed expression.

"What do you mean?"

The elderly scientist hesitated.

forgive me. This is still too broad. Here is another question - do the Nightmares produce the Awakened, or do the Awakened

Sunny blinked.

"What?"

The old man smiled.

widely known that one becomes an Awakened through surviving the First Nightmare. However, after that, things become more interesting... you are too young to remember, but at the beginning of it all, the disasters of the Spell

suddenly became distant, as

Second Category, and with them, more powerful creatures came into our world. Eventually, there were more Sleepers, more Awakened... there were also Masters. But with them came

He paused.

we have the Chain of Nightmares... one

not like

he trying to

"...Wonder about what?"

old man let

just a scientific inquiry, Master Sunless. Don't take it close to heart. As scientists, our duty is to ask questions, and one of these questions is whether there is a correlation between the number and power of Awakened in our world and

thought for a bit, then simply shook

and we, Awakened, were somehow responsible for attracting bigger and better Nightmare Gates, then there would not have been a Category Five Gate in North America before a bunch of Supremes ran around the world. I think you are

had not been any when that Gate swallowed an entire continent. In any

nodded with

amount of skepticism. However... your point is only

Sunny frowned.

"Yes? What detail?"

the scientist surrounding them

Awakened emerging only flows down the river of time as we, mortals, do. However... if it spreads like a ripple through time, just like the aftershock of a Gate manifesting itself into reality, then it doesn't matter when their Ascension happens. The first Supreme might appear in a few years, but the consequences of their rise could

fatigued eyes suddenly shone with

knows? Maybe it is just an echo of a god emerging from the human