Kai was a powerful Saint, but there was only one thing that he could claim to be superior to all other Transcendents. Those were his eyes. His Awakened ability sharpened them, allowing his archery to be even more dangerous than it already was.
Sure Gehrman's senses could give him a more complete view of the world around him, but they could not stretch as far as the sigh from the Dragonslayer.
It was only natural, therefore, that it was only him who saw the curious oddity whose impact would land far, far away in some toxic wasteland in what was once Europe.
The meteor had streaked across the sky, it was only notable because such phenomena were not very common these days. With horrible creatures existing in the upper atmosphere, flicking away a rock that just so happened to enter their space was an obvious and easy chore.
It was because of this, Kai reported it to the Government. Though based on his eyes it would land far away from any Siege Capital, it was an odd enough occurrence for him to make a report.
…
Andrews was a Government Awakened. Born in the horrors of the Chain of Nightmares, he had been one of the mundane soldiers who had been pulled into his first Nightmare during that time of horror.
He was a pilot, and a pretty good one at that.
Since his Aspect wasn't anything too astounding, he kept this job. Though flying through the air was a nonstarter for many obvious reasons (that was, until The Red Judge had proposed a super-large carrier to help with the evacuation effort) it was very rare for his talents to be put to use.
Usually he was either behind the controls of a drone or low flying aircraft that could respond in emergency situations. It was a dangerous gig, but as a recent Awakened he felt more secure in his livelihood these days. Plus, they paid him more.
After being honorably discharged due to logistical reasons, he had been enjoying a relatively quiet life in his home in NQSC. He felt that it was finally time for him to start looking for a lady to settle down with, thanks to his current status, he had even gone on several dates. Needless to say, he was content.
Which was why it bugged him that he had to be called back to action so soon.
It was just a recon mission to make sure that nothing was abhorrently wrong with the meteor that Saint Nightingale had spotted falling to earth.
These days, the Government was more on edge than ever. A second Cursed creature had appeared, after all. Despite what the news was saying, Andrews knew just how terrifying a single Corrupted creature could be. Even though one of the Cursed had destroyed America, he didn't think the public had the proper fear in their hearts for Nightmare Creatures of the 5th and 6th Rank.
He understood their paranoia, many had theorized the collapse of the planet itself should the strain of too many "fallen gods" appear on Earth. If this meteor had gotten through because it harbored something akin to a Great creature, they had to log it.
It should be impossible for a Great Creature to become a Cursed. Nightmare Creature evolution took a long time and had very, very few documented cases. Still, the database needed to be accurate.
So there he was, in a hyper jet going well over mach 5, trying to reach the approximate coordinates that Saint Nightingale had provided.
It would have been dangerous flying this low anywhere else, but the wastelands of Europe were so devoid of life that he didn't have to really worry about disturbing anything. He was more worried about the radiation and toxicity here messing with his jet.
He had been given several layers of protection against such things, a few potent Memories for the mission, as well as a number of back up contingencies to ensure his safety. Plus, he was getting paid a lot more than usual for taking on this mission.
Since Andrews didn't have to get remotely close, just enter the general vicinity, and let the gizmos on board measure the distortion the thing caused in the world, he was pretty confident in his ability to make it back home.
This would make a good story too. Just mentioning that he kind of, sort of, helped Nightingale would be enough to bag practically any woman. Of course, Andrews was a fan of that guy too, so he also had a little pride in responding to something he called in.
Soon, he started to get close to the target. Sure enough the sensors (that he was completely befuddled by) started to whir and spin. Most of it was analog since anything too digital would be fried, even if he was staying far away from Nightmare Creatures and known Gates.
He didn't understand how they worked, but he did see the readings.
Andrews had been briefed on how to report what he saw.
Unfortunately, what he saw was not in the briefing. Despite this, he did not feel the least bit confused or concerned. Instead, he simply started to patch in the Government agent who would log his response.
The readings were off the charts. It seemed that multiple Great creatures were there, though there was something strange about them. Instead of fluctuating randomly and identifying a range, the sensors picked up on a stagnant source.
Such a thing was impossible for a Nightmare Creature.
That meant this could only be one thing…
"Andrews, you got something?" a garbled voice made its way through.
"Yep, looks like a bunch of Corrupted. We got lucky today," he said.
"Seems that way. How did a bunch of Corrupted get past all the things up in the atmosphere though?"
Andrews just chuckled.
"Not my department. I'll let the egg heads worry about that. Anyway, I'm turning this thing around."
"Understood. Have a safe flight back."
"Of course."
The communication shut off and Andrews let out a sigh. Just as he said, he quickly turned the plane around and started to head back home.
There was something else I had to do…oh yeah.
Andrews recalled something important. After flipping some switches, he changed it to autopilot. Putting it on that setting out here was pretty much forbidden. The option was only there in case of dire emergencies.
But this was an emergency that he needed to tend to fast.
He summoned a Memory, a sharp knife. Humming a bit, he removed the gear covering his torso and tapped the knife against his arm.
"Gotta find a bone…" he muttered.
After lining things up, he unceremoniously brought the knife deep into his own flesh and started cutting. He grunted, despite not feeling any pain. That was nice, not feeling any pain even when one had to cut himself.
Still, it was tough to carve letters into his own bones. Bone was tough, after all.
"Gods I just hope this is good enough. It would be a real shame if I mess this up," Andrews said to himself.
Blood was spraying everywhere as the cockpit started to get stained with red. It smelled of iron, which Andrews didn't appreciate. Still, it was something he had to do. No matter what. It was the most important thing.
His hyper jet was gonna blow up in a few seconds probably so he needed to…finish.
"There we go. That should be good." Andrews' body was pale from the excessive blood loss. He was shaking from the trauma to his body, even if it didn't register in his mind.
Sighing, he waited for a few more moments, satisfied with himself.
Then there was a "malfunction" in the jet's engine, and he exploded within a fiery ball of destruction. His skin was instantly charred and melted. If not for the fact that he was Awakened, there was no way that the deep inscription on humerus.
A little while later, someone would come investigate the wreckage, and Andrews' mission would be truly fulfilled. For that person would collect what pieces of him they could find and then bring it back to a Government facility.
Their, the coroner would take a good look at him and notice something inexplicably carved into one of his bones.
The coroner shrugged, because such a thing was normal. They had never seen it happen before, but it was normal. Nothing to make a fuss about.
Still, the coroner felt like sharing what they saw to someone else, maybe a few people at the bar later. It was such an interesting word after all.
"Asterion."
…
"Vale," the Dreamspawn smiled. "It's been so long."
Anvil looked at the third Sovereign with derision. The man popped off the cracked astronaut helmet that had somehow mostly survived the impact back to Earth.
Without it, he could see the creature's face. Almond skin, long and perfect dark hair. A strong build, not as top heavy as Anvil's own. He would have been beautiful if he weren't so eerie.
Those golden eyes…little Nephis never had any oddities like that until she was altered by her Aspect. Despite both being Dreamspawn, this creature had always leaned more to the Nightmare Creature side of his hybrid existence whereas Nephis remained a stalwart human.
"Not long enough," Anvil said.
At the same time he extended his Will and power outwards.
Somewhere a good ways away was a plane, presumably from the Government. The Dreamspawn would have noticed it too, probably taken over the mind of whoever piloted it, and then would attempt to spread his name once that person got back to civilization.
Without any discernible movement, Anvil activated his Aspect and bent the metal inside the jet's engine, causing the whole thing to blow. Satisfied that the pilot had died, he returned his attention to the thing across from him.
The Dreamspawn turned his head slightly, looking off in the distance where the pilot had been.
"My, how cruel. I thought that raising a daughter may have softened you. I never really did get to meet little Morgan. A shame, don't you think?"
"Let me be clear. You are my sword. Just as you were against Broken Sword. I will not allow you to expand your Domain that easily."
The beautiful man tilted his head and smirked.
"Is that right? Yet you did spread my name a bit, didn't you? You needed to give me enough strength to get back here, after all."
"There is a prison for death row criminals. They now are aware of you. They exist in a pit you will not find and that they can not escape. There are no guards, nothing for them to infect. This is the most I will give you, and you will have nothing more. If you attempt to make a single move to spread yourself further, I will slaughter them all, then put you right back on that rock."
The Dreamspawn raised an eyebrow.
"I was up there of my own volition, do you really think you can force me to go there when I am unwilling?"
"With my current Domain, I could do so easily."
"Hmm," The Dreamspawn's face turned contemplative. "Perhaps. In any case, I have no intention of incurring your wrath just yet. I'm willing to make another deal, Vale. What are the terms?"
"Kill the one known as Gehrman."
In the toxic wasteland devoid of any life, nothing moved. Not a single gale of wind passed by. There was utter silence.
Then, Asterion laughed. It was a loud and booming sound, one with genuine jubilation, which was very rare for one such as him.
"That weird thing? It is but a Saint! With such a mighty Domain, you can not–"
Asterion's form was split down the middle. In an instant, a line appeared, and then his body fell into two different pieces. It only took a moment before the world twisted and the Dreamspawn returned to his former state, alive and well. Such was the nature of his immortality. So long as one knew his name, he could not perish.
Anvil gave a deadly cold stare. His lips drew into a line.
"Ah," The Dreamspawn collected himself. "I understand."
He did not apologize. In fact, Asterion had never once apologized his entire life. At least, as far as he could recall. Anvil knew this, so there was no point in pretending to have shame.
"Indeed, I can do this. What will you offer me in return? I quite liked having your first born, but I'm afraid that your children are not of any real interest to me these days."
Anvil scoffed.
"You are not in any position to ask for anything. A few months, perhaps a few years of freedom while you hunt Gehrman is all the reward you deserve…but I will allow more. Perhaps 100 years on the other side of the Hollow Mountains. You're own Citadel in the Nightmare Desert and a small host for your Domain. Do whatever you want with them, just know that if you step out of line, you will meet your end."
Asterion cracked a grin yet again.
"Not as tempting as last time, but I can't really say you're wrong."
He shrugged.
"Fine then. Still, I think it's a bit rude to say it will take months or years for me to kill Gehrman."
Anvil turned and brandished his sword. With a single slice, he cut open the world and formed a Dream Gate to the prison he would hold Asterion in.
"You will understand once you meet him."
…
Asterion sat crossed legged in the runic array that held him powerless and weak. Drained of Essence and separated from anything that could possibly give him power…
The Dreamspawn couldn't stop smiling. It was such a treat, such a pleasure to pull old Vale around like this. His old friend had aged horribly, and that second weakness after the fight with Gehrman left him enough room to put enough thoughts in the mind of his friend that the "King of Swords" couldn't even think of all the holes in this daring "plan" of his.
The second he called down Asterion, and he had returned to the land of the living, the human race was irrevocably set for annihilation. There was no chance for recourse now. All those decades of planning on the moon had led him to a clear path of becoming Sacred without the 5th Nightmare. Soon, he would have the chance to achieve his goal.
Still, never during that entire time did he think he could also feast upon Song and Vale along with the rest of their Domains.
Ah, this will be fun.