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.

the Spell? Ah, forgive me. This is still too broad. Here is another question - do the Nightmares

Sunny blinked.

"What?"

The old man smiled.

is 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

eyes suddenly became distant, as if he was remembering a distant

abominations. Then, after the first solstice, there were Awakened. However, there were also Nightmare Gates of the Second Category, and with them, more powerful creatures came into our world. Eventually, there were more

He paused.

And North America. And now, we have the

not like the

he trying to

"...Wonder about what?"

man let out a

there is a correlation between the number and power of Awakened in our world and the number and power of

for a bit, then simply

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

now, but there had not been any when that Gate swallowed an entire continent. In any case, Sunny was not going to mention

Obel nodded

healthy amount of skepticism. However...

Sunny frowned.

"Yes? What detail?"

old man looked at the scientist surrounding them

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

suddenly shone

the harrowing Gate that destroyed North America... who knows? Maybe it is just an echo of