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.

ever asked yourself this... did the Spell bring Nightmares with it, or did the Nightmares bring the Spell? Ah, forgive me. This is still too broad. Here is another question - do the Nightmares produce the Awakened, or do the Awakened produce

Sunny blinked.

"What?"

The old man smiled.

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 descended on the waking world in stages.

suddenly became distant, as if he

Nightmare Gates of the 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 more

He paused.

there were Saints. And North America. And now, we have the Chain of Nightmares... one

like the

he trying to

"...Wonder about what?"

old man let out

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

bit,

argument has a big flaw, Professor. If there really was a correlation 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 just giving in to the desire to see patterns in the chaos that all us, humans,

in the world right now, but there had not been any when that Gate swallowed an entire continent. In any

nodded

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

Sunny frowned.

"Yes? What detail?"

old man looked at the scientist surrounding them and smiled

powerful 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

suddenly shone with

that destroyed North America... who knows? Maybe it is just an echo of a god