Casters Pov
I take a long deep breath. Changing star has called a meeting at the immortal flame mansion. I look out the window of the PTV, the house of night, sorrow, and a few others clans PTV's pass mine. Its rather clear what this is going to be about, Asterion.
"So young caster, what do you think about this meeting?"
I glance away from the window at the driver. I suppose it is good to talk about all of this.
"The world is changing quite a bit all in rapid secession. I suppose it started with the sovereigns going public... but theres also them having beat the fourth nightmare in the first place. Their changes had been more slow at first. Preparing everything for their take over."
I reach up holding the hourglass in my hand, I stare down at it.
"Young caster your posture"
I sit up straight letting go of the charm that started it all, or did my flaw?
"I do believe he will appear. That man has heard of this meeting. I am not fully aware of all the details but... I think we will have to start talks with ■■- the sovereign of snow."
It will take a few months, but no matter how unserious they may act their still able to be pragmatic. One of the sovereigns will be starting a war sooner or later, and so far the easiest to defend position any of them truly have is them.
"I do not think they will be open to talks, just having closed the deal with the Chained Isles"
I nod looking back out the window, we are getting closer. I feel too old for this.
"Do you think the servants should move to the dream realm?"
"Not yet, its not fully stable as of yet. I get the feeling it will become far more unstable soon"
he hums slightly, such a odd habit yet one of them that makes him, him.
"After this prepare everything for a long lock down. I will issue the same for the citadel."
Soon the car slows down to a park. I nod to him, I will go this alone. It's only right. I exit the car, looking around as I do. There's countless saints around, as well as the fire keepers. Even slightly weakened as they are, having so many members joining the third nightmare. That will be a strong chip in the bargaining with heat seeker. They have a small domain and in what I am very sure to be a new coming domain war no citadel can be spared. I walk into the Immortal Flame mansion, i am a survivor of the forgotten shores, yet I am not truly part of the fire keepers, am I? I need to focus I am being too contemplative. I am stopped by a fire keeper, one that had ridden on flame of the divine when running to the crimson spire. I'm not sure what memory their using
"hey caster"
i smile, as I should, with a nod
"its been some time, taking care of a citadel takes a lot of time"
they nod with a smile
"oh I'm sure, have you had any luck taking down those posters of heat seeker?"
I heavily sigh
"nope, not any at all. More and more pop up any time I try to take any down. I swear soon someone's going to take paint to the walls."
They laugh
"oh I'm sure. You can pass now, good luck with all of that"
I keep walking, the fans of heat seeker have for some reason flocked to my citadel, I'm starting to blame that movie for all of that.
We have some time before it starts so I go to saint Tyris, I still will likely need a in with them
"saint Tyris, I hope you've been well"
she turns to me with a calm expression
"i have been"
I keep a polite smile
"I heard you made a deal with sovereign heat seeker. How's that been treating you so far"
"its been well so far. Heat seeker put noctis at the sanctuary, hes been helpful so far."
The beast of twilight? I suppose that makes sense, it was his from what im aware of.
"Thats good, with everything going on it must be quite the change"
she nods with a ever calm expression. I hear that the meeting will be starting soon so I nod to her
"wish you well"
she looks away
"you as well"
I walk over to my seat and I sit down. It seems the separation is mainly by if we had been with song or valor, I am by the saint of sorrow and another more minor saint. The door opens and changing star along with heat seeker walks in with heat seeker by their side like the executioner they get one of their many titles from. They walk over to the two seats, even next to each other changing star still feels in charge
"Many of you have heard the rumors by now. Today, I intend to put these rumors to rest and inform you of what truly happened, as well as how these events will affect the Human Domain going forward."
She looks out at all of the gathered saints.
"It is true. The Dreamspawn, Asterion, has returned from the place where he had been imprisoned by the Great Clans Song and Valor..."
a careful tone so far, he isn't here.
"He is Supreme. He has been Supreme for a long while, and wields immense power — a power far greater than the King of Swords and the Queen of Worms wielded, perhaps. And unlike the King of Nothing, Asterion is not going to retreat from the world and isolate himself in a remote region of the Dream Realm."
I narrow my eyes, the king of nothing, for what little interactions I had with him, didn't seem to be type to fully leave any place. Still no matter
"Instead, he has chosen to reside in Bastion. As for what goals Asterion pursues and the relationship between him and the Human Domain..."
I notice changing star tense, i suspect many others have as well. The doors open
"Apologies. My invitation got lost in the mail, it seems."
He looks the whole meeting over, his eyes land on me for a second before he continues to changing star, his glance at heat seeker who was sitting as they normally do, was only a second or two longer then mine.
"The purpose of this esteemed gathering, if I were so bold as to wager a guess, seems to be a discussion regarding none other than me. So, I've decided to save you all the trouble of having to wonder about my intentions, and come to dispel whatever doubts you might have."
His smile is pleasant, wouldn't i know quite a bit about that. Looking kind while keeping intentions hidden.
"Is no one going to offer me a seat?"
Everyone close to him gets up, some as if burned others trying to get into his good graces.
"That's better, isn't it?"
He takes a seat opposite to the two supremes. Changing star keeps a composed expression, heat seeker looks away from whatever they had been "looking" at on the wall, their movements seem judging.
"Welcome to the Immortal Flame manor. The last time we saw each other here, I was what... four, five years old? Time flies."
he keeps smiling, i doubt they would fight here, i doubt i could help much but if I have to I will jump in "Indeed" he then glances around once again, is it amusement in his eyes?
"Why is everyone wearing such serious expressions? Oh, but I do have a guess. There is a question you all want to ask, but are scared to hear me answer. Isn't there?"
He finally stops looking at everyone.
"Now that I am here, will there be a new Domain war or not?"
He keeps a chipper tone even while talking about something that tore the world apart last time
"Goodness. Please, lay down your worries. Nothing of the sort will happen — not if I have anything to say about it, and definitely not by my command. After all, I am here to help."
Here to help? Isn't that what I was on the forgotten shore? Why do I have to think about that time.
"The Dream Realm is already consuming parts of the Waking World, and its profane masters are already stirring, lured by the scent of human souls. Humanity needs all the strength it can muster in order to survive the future — so, all I aspire to do is add to that strength."
There's another angle to this isn't there?
"Ah, but this is exactly why the Domain War happened, isn't it? My former comrades, Song and Vale, believed that two weak Domains could not endure the burden of the future. Only one ultimate, absolute Domain could — in the absence of Spirits, naturally. That was why they ended up throwing humanity into the meat grinder of Godgrave. Misguided as they were... funnily enough, I share their belief."
His words leave a lot open.
"I have no intention of diminishing the power of humanity by dividing it between two Domains. Even if I did... the idea of a second Domain war is preposterous, don't you think? The first one was fought by two established Supremes and their vast forces, after all, which happened to be of roughly equal size."
He raises his hands
"I have only recently escaped the trap they had set for me. I am alone, without a follower — let alone military forces. Changing Star, meanwhile, rules a Domain that spans three billion souls, fueled by every Awakened in existence and all the Citadels of the Dream Realm... the Human Domain. Her boundless power is fueled by all of mankind. How could I ever hope to wage war on her?"
He chuckles, none of this is funny
"That would be foolish. No, I too am in favor of having only a single Domain encompassing all of humanity. Even that boy, Mordret, seems to understand absolute power... my guess is that he chose to retreat into the Hollow Mountains because building his strength by consuming Nightmare Creatures seemed like a better choice than competing with the Immortal Flame. I have no desire to desert mankind, though. So, I intend to stay and help defend the Human Domain."
Something about how he's phrasing things is ticking me off.
"As an outsider, I can see a few issues plaguing the Human Domain clearer than most, though. So, the first bit of help I want to provide is make a few things clear. After all, it seems like many of you have grown blind to the truth, or possibly had never known it at all."
There it is a building of his point. Talking around things, implying what he wants to say
"Almost as if by design. It is true that an absolute Domain has a better chance of surviving the future. However..."
he looks around at everyones faces
"Isn't it strange that none of you questioned if Changing Star was the best person to rule that Domain?"
There it is, the point of this all. To spread doubt get into everyones heads. Heat seeker scoffs
"now pardon me if I sound biased here, but it damn well isn't you who could be the best to rule humanity. You have far less close connections, your outright combat power is far lower, and while yes you have been sealed away theres no showings of you being a good leader."
Unlike her and with the forgotten shores. They wave their hand at nightngale who nods with a smile
"Every second word that man uttered was a lie. He's about as trustworthy as Nightmare Creature... well, now that I think about it, most Nightmare Creatures are not very deceitful. So my comparison does them a disservice."
Theres talking, quiet yet still there. With a chuckle Asterion shushes most of the talk
"Oh, my. It seems that I've been caught red-handed. How embarrassing... well then, fine. I'll admit that I wasn't entirely forthcoming."
He looks around, playing at judging our reactions
"i can see how you would not trust anything I say henceforth... which would be troublesome, to be entirely honest. How about this, then? From now on, I solemnly swear to speak the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the truth. Esteemed Saint Nightingale can be my witness."
Nightngale says nothing, all of the eyes on him, is it comforting, or does it make him uncomfortable?
"Now I do understand the idea that she's the best leader thats been in charge yet. That's does not mean that she will forever be the best. Now i am not overconfident enough to say that only I am the other option here, but you've shown that you dont intend to take over the human domain, even if one of their abilities seems to be able to bring back subordinates, while making them far stronger"
I turn my eyes to heat seeker, I don't know how it works exactly but it is a... slightly reasonable point.
"They dont gain more aspect abilities. Their overall power is far lower then if they rank up. My domain can't heal, can't make a person stronger, thus if I was in charge more people would be dying only temporary improving humanities overall power. My domain is far better for things like exploration because of the benefits it gives"
He nods slowly
"I suppose so but-"
hes cut off by changing star
"why dont you name what your domain does to compare?"
He chuckles
"my domain? Now that you've both laid out your domains effects i should as well. My domain aids in cohesion and allows fast reactions as well as fast and true information sharing, something I can see your domains have trouble with"
theres almost a uproar, mostly of younger saints, about him calling changing star a lier, not much about heat seeker. I should speak up
"both have been far more truthful then either domain was in the past. Hell, even the forgotten shpre proves that they do tell the truth"
Asterions gaze lands on me for a second before he looks away as he lifts his hand
"yes I understand but bringing up her past, even more so the forgotten shores? From what I hear, more than a thousand Sleepers resided on the Forgotten Shore when she arrived. But by the time she was done with them, barely a hundred had survived the slaughter."
I should not clench my hands. Even if i want to.
"Tell me, Saint Nightingale. Am I lying?"
Nightngale says nothing a slightly troubled look on his face
"a savior? Well, possibly... then again, possibly she simply used the corpses of those poor children to pave a path to salvation for herself. It was just that she failed to walk it, in the end. Who's to say?"
He shakes his head a sad look playing on his face
"Ah, but it doesn't really matter if she callously indoctrinated them into becoming sacrificial lambs, does it? What matters is the result of her radiant leadership. A mere hundred. A survival rate of less than ten percent... it's difficult to call that a resounding success, I'd say."
Heat seeker leans back
"oh really now? You know ive heard a few things myself. Now not from a trusted source but... I heard from the king of nothing that you took him in when he was a child, and abandoned after his first nightmare at 12 letting him find his way back to his father who im sure you totally weren't aware was at least emotionally neglectful. And that you took him to horribly dangerous places. One of them being over the hollow mountains. Now answer me this, doesnt that mean you could have technically saved them? Or even shared how you got there leading to them likely having been saved unlike what happened?"
Theres a long silence before countless voices overlap at the new information. All of it is heavily incriminating. Its more then clear that it was leaked out of spite towards him, but heat seeker has shared strong opinions in the past about parents, so not out of character. Still, when did they find all that out? Changing star clears her throat
"first i must address about the forgotten shores. Comparing me to Anvil and Ki Song... and yourself, for that matter... is quite misguided. There is a fundamental distinction between us, after all. That distinction is that they capitulated before the Nightmare Spell, while I never did. From the days I spent on the Forgotten Shore until today, my resolve to defeat it has never wavered. I have always endeavored to support and inspire others to fight valiantly against it, as well."
She grts a cold look, like the one she had facing Gunlaug
"It was so on the Forgotten Shore, as well. Yes, more than a thousand Sleepers existed in the Dark City once — rotting slowly as they were being ground to dust by the Dream Realm. They had no hope and no future, quietly awaiting their meaningless ends. But yes, indeed, I was not their savior. I was merely the person who showed them a way to save themselves... or die proudly, with a sword in their hands, instead of dying senselessly on their knees."
Cassia walks in, so many eyes snap to her arrival.
"That said. Those who did survive by following me to the Crimson Spire — the valiant men and women whom you besmirched by calling them sacrificial lambs — still follow me to this day. The Fire Keepers are here. The members of my cohort are here, as well. Song of the Fallen, Nightingale, Raised by Wolver, Soul Reaper Jet, oh and even heat seeker."
Her voice is so cold, its far too much like that day. Would i have been subjected to that same coldness if I had went up
"every member of my cohort has never died. They are all still alive, serving humanity as some of its most fearsome warriors. That is a one hundred percent survival rate, Dreamspawn. In that regard... what do you have to say for yourself? How many members of your own cohort still live?"
She leans forward
"Smile of Heaven. Broken Sword. Iron Heart. Ravensong. Everyone who has ever relied on you as a comrade is dead. So... do you really want to lecture me about results?"
He starts truly grinning at her words. Why? I think I have a idea, its myself would be one of them, the assassins, the murder attempts, all of it.