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.

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

Sunny blinked.

"What?"

The old man smiled.

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

as if he was remembering a

them became Sleepers, and some became Dormant abominations. Then, after the first solstice, there were Awakened. However, there were also Nightmare Gates of the Second Category, and with

He paused.

Saints. And North America. And now, we have

not like the sound

is he

"...Wonder about what?"

old man let out a heavy

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

thought for a bit, then

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

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

nodded with

thinking, young man! It is always good to have a healthy amount of skepticism.

Sunny frowned.

"Yes? What detail?"

man looked at the scientist surrounding them and

a 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

eyes suddenly shone

it is just an echo of