Shadow Slave

Sunny was not sure that he was buying what Ananke believed... but at the same time, he couldn't completely discard it.

'Damn Weaver...'

Just why did the creator of the Spell have to be a nebulous and elusive creature - not only surrounded in mystery, but also obsessed with lies? Could there be anyone more untrustworthy? Even though Sunny had inherited Weaver's forbidden Lineage, wore Weaver's Mask, and had a high affinity to fate, which was Weaver's Domain... he still knew close to nothing about the Demon of Fate.

Where had Weaver come from? Who hid behind the fearsome black mask? What motives had guided them? What goals had they pursued?

He shook his head with resignation and looked at Ananke, frowning.

'Whatever. If I can't learn about Weaver, I should at least learn everything else.'

Sunny collected his thoughts before asking the next question.

"Grandmother, you said that the purpose of the Nightmare Spell is to save the future from the doom of the great war between the daemons and the gods. To be honest... I am not entirely sure what that really means. What exactly is that doom? What made the war so terrible?"

The old woman gazed at the flowing expanse of the Great River, lingered for a moment, and sighed.

"It was indeed terrible. Of course, I have not experienced the horror of those days myself. What I do know was passed down to me from my elders, who had... granted, they escaped the war before the end came, so even they didn't know how and why the true devastation happened."

catch her breath, then continued

Demon of Desire escaped her chains. The youngest among them, the Demon of Destiny, called upon his siblings to wage war against the heavens... five answered his call, and only

her frail

other, forgetting the

eyes were distant, as if the old woman was imagining the wide world that she had

six Demons assembled vast armies and led them against the gods. What was different about that war... was that they were not immediately defeated. After all, there were many lesser deities, but none

The old woman trembled.

of coming to a conclusion, the war only continued to grow fiercer. Those loyal to the gods took up arms, and in response, the Demons recruited more allies - mortal champions who had suffered the tyranny of the Empire, ancient creatures that had been banished into the darkest corners of the Underworld, and everyone else who bore deep grudges

River and remained silent for a while. Eventually, she

the fighting deities could destroy entire cities. Over time, countless humans were displaced or lost their lives. That was when we started calling it the Doom War, believing that it would become the end of everything... it was also when Weaver

Was that radiant creature one of the soldiers in the dreadful war between the six daemons and the six gods? Was it, perhaps, one

Or... an actual angel?

the Dream Realm, then it was no surprise that the ancient humans there saw it

Ananke sighed.

back then, the Demon of Fate was despised by all - the followers of the gods, the followers of the daemons, and even those who did not want anything to do with the war. We, the priests of the Nightmare Spell, were despised as well. Few listened to

Sunny tilted his head.

"...Alluring?"

The old woman nodded.