Shadow Slave

1528 New Eden

Mordret studied him with a neutral expression. Then, he smiled pleasantly.

"How should I know? Am I a Sovereign?"

Sunny stared at him silently for a few moments. Eventually, he shook his head.

"No… but you are a son of one, was raised by another, and currently serve the third. If you don't know, then who would?"

Mordret laughed.

"Well, if you put it like that, it does sound like I should know. However, Sunless, you seem to be mistaken about something. The thing is… I don't care to know. Why should I care about the waking world? Whatever happens to it has little to do with me."

Sunny frowned.

Indeed, Mordret had spent most of his childhood in the Dream Realm, so he had little attachment to Earth. More than that, he was not someone who would care about the lives of hundreds of millions of innocent people, let alone feel inclined to do something to save them.

All Mordret cared about was his revenge against the Great Clan Valor.

A faint smile appeared on Sunny's face.

"Sure, you might not care about the waking world. But you do care about your father's plans — at least as far as to be able to try and ruin them better. So cut the crap and just tell me what you know. If you don't mind."

Mordret stared at him with amusement for a while, then sighed and shook his head.

"Well, why not? But I'm afraid that you are overestimating me. I really do not know what my father and the Queen of Worms are planning. I am not exactly on speaking terms with the former, and the latter does not trust me enough to share such secrets. All I know is that they are serious about having a war with each other. That was why I joined Ki Song."

He lingered for a moment and added, his voice losing its usual lightheartedness:

"I'll warn you, though. Don't presume to understand the Sovereigns, Sunless. You might think that you have them figured out, but you don't. They are far older than we are, and far more powerful. They are also not some cardboard villains. My father, Ki Song, and the third one… are the most exceptional individuals of their generation, or maybe even of all generations. They did not end up on their thrones by accident."

Sunny looked at him somberly.

are you trying to

shrugged with

would do. But if you think about it, why would they do that? Even if the Sovereigns only care about the Dream Realm, they still need Awakened to populate it. And Awakened cannot exist without mundane people. You can't make

Although the terms he used were very cynical, the underlying message held true. Indeed, there had to be an immense population of mundane people for a

world was indeed destined to be consumed by the Dream Realm, the Sovereigns could not allow themselves to abandon it completely

what Sunny had learned about them

He frowned, feeling confused.

head and asked,

the third one? Asterion, what does

soon as those words were spoken, Mordret's smile dimmed, growing

do me a favor, try not to speak that name

blinked a couple of times,

"Come on. Really?"

long sigh, then

his powers are a bit beyond comprehension. If you feel threatened by Ki Song or my father, wait till you meet him. Better yet, hope

leaned back, crossing

scary about him? If he's so powerful, why isn't he participating in this war Song and Valor started? Where is he? Come to think of it, where does he come from? There is almost nothing written about him in the history books. Is he

Mordret shrugged.

the other two. Yes, Domains can be different in nature. Most are like what my father and Ki Song possess, territorial. That is why Valor and Song are fighting over territory. But not his… his is

for a few

Lineage of War, Immortal Flame from the Lineage of Sun, House of Night from the Lineage of

Sunny shook his head.

lineage of Heart

as emotions, memory, hunger, and growth. What kind of Aspect could Asterion possess, then? What powers did he wield? What was the nature of

a deep

come from the Legacy Clans. Legacy Clans have been in power since before we were born, so we are conditioned to assume that it has always been like that. But, in fact, there were many powers

government and the Legacy Clans maintaining the world order together — was established after several other, fringe factions had been defeated by the first Legacies. Even with all the

what he had been told

for

the old man is not that old, actually. It's just what I call him. The faction he comes from, you see, was a small group of the Path of Ascension zealots. Real fanatics, far more extreme than anyone you could have met among the Legacies.

He shook his head.

man who would one day become the third Sovereign… was actually born there.