novelraw Chapter 275: World Collapse
Chapter 275: World Collapse
Chapter 275: World Collapse Below the endless stream of cosmic stars, Merlin watched as the world continued to shatter around him. A grand chasm of darkness that once held this realm’s history was about to be invaded by something… incomprehensible.
“It is finally here! A dream many have held will now be fulfilled!”
An ocean of shadows crept toward him as he bowed gracefully in the Rift Gate’s direction. Sensing the danger, the Sleepless Guide smiled and activated a skill he hadn’t used in centuries:
[Dream Inheritance]
All who worship the end—every Fallen across the continent who seeks the consumption of this world… Their dreams have finally manifested—their debt to the Sleepless Guide must now be paid!
In an instant, a rush of information flowed through his nebulous form. A magecraft incantation belonging to a foreign Divine Authority had now become accessible, alongside thousands of other affinities and their spells! Everything the Fallen possessed has now become his as well.
Without wasting a breath, he channeled his newly acquired anima and activated a spellform more complex than anything else in the 6th Circle: World Collapse. His Soul Realm’s expansion encompassed the entirety of the battlefield as the Dreamfire Lord, the Mother of Silver, the Gold-Giver, and Guntharion all launched their attacks at him simultaneously.
“Are you sure you want to focus on me?” The hooded figure stared deeply at the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold who was now battling the darkness creeping over the colossal chasm. Next to Her stood Cassia who was continuing her role of influencing the Hollowed Star fragments. “Your daughter is in danger, you know?”
[Meaningless threats.]
The voice beamed from above and below as the shadows of the Nameless Mist surrounded him from all sides. Merlin quickly activated another skill, [Legacy Mist], discarding his current body for the one that exists in a previous memory and causing his location to shift elsewhere. In the distance, he saw through his control of the Holy Maiden that She was also quickly losing control of Her darkness. Guntharion’s authority over the Nameless Mist superseded Hers.
Merlin chuckled. “How reckless. Defeating Her might be easy, but are you sure you’ll be able to handle the cost?” With that said, he gave the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold a new command: Erase everything—even yourself!
[Tsk.]
The battle between two kinds of shadows grew even more chaotic, preventing the Divine Authorities of the other Gods from reaching him momentarily. Seeing this, the Whispering Dream couldn’t help but smile.
Although Merlin wasn’t certain he could fully avoid the Nameless Mist’s growing effects, this was still a measure he needed to take. Out of all the Empyreans from the First Age, Guntharionwas the only one capable of defeating Arthur in His prime—it was in his best interest not to underestimate Him.
Since Cassia was in the midst of all of this, Guntharion was now forced to fight two protective battles at once while trying to stop him. He needed to prevent the Holy Shrine Maiden from being erased by the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold while also protecting Her from Herself. And since Cassia currently possessed the Hollowed Star fragments, her death or erasure would truly doom the rest of this world entirely. She was still required for the ushering in of a new age—if that was even possible…
As for himself, Merlin wasn’t all that concerned about being erased—[Witness Mark] and [Memory Shard] were still actively preserving his nebulous form. While the former allows him to maintain his presence within anyone who witnesses his existence, the latter lets him fragment his own body into shards which he had scattered across the continent—all of them planted inside the dreams of certain individuals. Although most of them have already been consumed by Guntharion’s darkness, many still remain…
As for the Dreamfire Lord’s mind-melting flames, he had already prepared a counter for it through [Lucidity Warp]. As long as the flames operated like dreams, he could immediately ‘warp’ their temperature to a manageable degree.
What was much harder to counter, however, had to be the Gold-Giver’s Gilded Chain Divine Authority. He had no proper way of resisting the temptation of gold, silver and jewels being thrown at him. Although he possessed [Desire Vector] which allows him to redirect his desires in any way he likes, the ability had many limitations.
For one, it could only steer his temptations toward a single direction, which means using it too much would limit his ability to multi-task. He would be forced to focus on a single thing while ignoring everything else. Secondly, the Gold-Giver, who was known for His exploitative methods, could easily ‘buy out’ the ability’s functions for His own gain if given enough time. His Divine Authority was truly a terrifying one.
Therefore, the conclusion the Whispering Dream came to was rather simple: Finish the spellform as quickly as possible!
The Divine Authorities present in this space weren’t fully complete yet, since They were busy trying to prevent the total collapse of Their respective domains. The Vynasian invasion has given him the perfect distraction.
While continuing to [Dream Hop], Merlin channeled every bit of his willpower into constructing more and more of the necessary axioms. Sometimes, he would pair it with [Lucidity Warp] to kill the dream fires that try to torch his nebulous form. It felt as if he was falling endlessly from one imaginative world through the next—[Memory Shard] after [Memory Shard] was being consumed before he could even admire the view.
By now, the Whispering Dream was essentially fighting in multiple places all at once. The entire continent had become his chessboard.
Although he felt [Desire Vector]’s effects weakening with every added millisecond, his mind still calculated that it was still within the threshold of success. The number of dreams he was inheriting was growing by the second as more and more Fallen joined the invasion of this world. All that anima and parallel processing allowed him to accelerate his casting even quicker.
Thanks to his Soul Realm’s Inherent Ability—Somnial Court—the spellform itself was also split across multiple dream realms spread wide around the continent, preventing Guntharion from fully erasing it. Even if parts of the segmentation were discovered, Merlin could easily recover them through [Dream Hop] and [Witness Mark] which were allowing him to exist in simultaneous locations.
Heroic worlds, romantic worlds, adventurous worlds, chaotic worlds, food worlds… There were so many dreams for him to travel to—all of them containing a distinct [Dream Seed]. As the Nameless Mist continued to encroach upon each mind space, Merlin would use what remained of their existence to further the spellform’s activation before finally [Dream Hop]ping away to another dream to repeat the process. Somnial Court continued to shift the segmented portions of the spellform across hundreds of dream worlds, preventing Guntharion from fully eliminating them.
In that moment, it felt as if everything was going according to his vision.
Until it didn’t…
Inside the dream of a lecherous man, Merlin stood frozen as the magecraft spell he had been carefully manifesting suddenly collapsed. Silvery-white flames bled across the dreamscape. In the distance, he spotted the man in question—sleeping in a bed surrounded by beautiful women—burned from the inside out before he could even realize what had happened, his ashes scattering in the wind.
Merlin clicked his tongue. “The Argent Mandate…” Astrea’s Divine Authority.
A fracture in the dreamscape suddenly appeared, raining down silver arrows and spears at his location. He reacted quickly and activated [Dream Hop], escaping into another mind space. But the same still happened anyway…
This time, the very structuring of the dream itself collapsed. She was now imparting justice upon him with the help of the Gold Giver’s Gilded Chain! From the very start, the manipulation of his desires had simply been a trap.
I should have steered myself more clearly with [Desire Vector]. Because of the limitations of the ability, he had instead tried to subvert the greed growing within him into completing the spellform. Which meant, he had to accelerate its casting through the sacrifice of more people, even when his own calculations viewed it as unnecessary for his survival.
“How hypocritical of you, Astrea! To aid in influencing my greed just to impart your twisted justice in the end!”
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Feeling the dream’s collapse, the world once again shattered, returning him to his present state in the Cathedral of Aeons. The segmentation of the spellform was continuing but his mind was currently experiencing ‘guilt’ from the Ardent Mandate’s Divine Punishment.
Before he could realize it, a colossal radiant spear pierced through his nebulous form, killing him instantly. If not for [Legacy Mist] recreating his body from a memory that preceded the growth of his greed, he might have truly ceased to exist in that moment.
Gritting his teeth, Merlin glared at the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold who was still losing the battle of darkness and grinned menacingly. He had been saving this contingency plan for after he finished casting the spellform, but that was no longer possible.
His target was now the Holy Maiden’s dream world!
[Despicable scum.] Guntharion’s voice echoed loudly across the ancient space. He tried to erase the distance between the Cathedral of Aeons and the Shepherd’s dream realm, but it was too late.
Merlin had fully entrenched himself within Her
mind space! All around him, a sea of darkness could be seen with strange shadowy figures peeking out of the horizon. No matter how hard Merlin tried, there was no way for him to reach them, even with [Dream Warp]. Although this was his second time being here, the Sleepless Guide still couldn’t help but feel a strange creeping sensation all over his body… The figures in the distance seemed to cling to the Shepherd’s memories, as if wanting to exist even after erasure.
However, he knew there was no time to analyze the deeper meanings behind this dream. He had to complete the spellform incantation he had gained from the Fallen as quickly as possible. Although most of his progress had been reset due to Astrea’s interference, many of the segmentations still remained across the continent.
He glanced up into the shadowy skies and noticed a floating stone tablet, its surface carved with an unreadable script. Countless fractures scored the colossal slate, and from them dark mist seeped without end.
Merlin smiled slightly. This was the Avalon Ruin’s Dungeon Core key, and the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold’s Soul Weapon… the Stone of Last Silence. The relic Guntharion had been searching for all along!
After stealing it from the Avalon Ruins, Guntharion knew that Merlin had likely stored it inside the dream realm of someone under his control. But He didn't know where it was being hidden. This was why He had no choice but to hold back against the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold—He simplyhad no intentions of killing Her when the option of sealing Her Soul Weapon still existed.
Who would then expect that the one thing He had been aiming to discover had been hiding in plain sight all along? Rather than leaving the Soul Weapon exposed in a distant dream world, Merlin chose a subtler solution—allowing the Shepherd to defend it Herself. After all, that was why She had awoke in the first place. He was simply helping Her achieve Her dream.
Naturally, exposing this secret compromised his plans somewhat. Now that he had breached Her dream, Guntharion will immediately grasp his thoughts and rush to follow after him.
Still, the Sleepless Guide knew that he had bought enough time. Guntharion could not simply erase this dream as He had done before; doing so would go against His own objectives. The same restraint, however, couldn’t be expected from the Gold-Giver, the Mother of Silver, or the Dreamfire Lord.
He needed a new distraction… and luckily, he knew the perfect one.
“Oh Astrea… If you truly seek balance, then perhaps I should aid you in that endeavor.” With that said, he glanced through the hundreds of remaining dreams under his control and smiled. It was time to use his second contingency plan:
[The Chosen One]
An ability he had only really used on King Arthur Himself to aid in His ascension. But his target this time was something none of the Gods would expect: The SIlver Wing Valkyrie Battalion!
“O’ Worshippers of Pure Silver, heed my call! The righteous flames of our crusade should once again be ignited! Those who seek to corrupt humanity’s nature must be purged!”
Somewhere across the Staterran Empire, the remaining soldiers underneath Illythia one by one stopped in their tracks. Their battle against the Vynasians which had once occupied their minds suddenly disappeared. A radiant voice had reached them from beyond their own minds… One that they
were familiar with.“A new crusade…” Sinara whispered softly while holding her radiant silver glaive.
“Balance… Balance must be brought! We are the ones chosen for this endeavor!” Her heart burned with excitement and fervor as she raised her Soul Weapon into the air, announcing her intentions to the world.
In the distance, Illythia pulled her radiant spear out from one of the Fallen soldiers she had just slain. She stared blankly at her knights who seemed to have been enthralled by some kind of spell… “What in the Mother’s name…”
Watching from within the shadowed dream realm, Merlin couldn’t help but laugh. “What will you do now, Astrea? They have mistaken my voice for yours. They truly believe themselves to be your chosen crusaders!”
It was now inevitable that the last-minute alliance between the Statterran knights and the Selkie Federation soldiers was no longer going to be sustainable. What had begun as a desperate cooperation against the Vynasian invasion would now prove fatal for both armies.
Although the Gold-Giver and the Mother of Silver had once maintained a position of neutrality, Merlin knew that Their Divine Authorities were diametrically opposed. One preached collectiveness and human pursuit of greatness through justice and moral clarity, while the other supported individualistic ambitions and greed over all else. Even if the two Gods were working together against him, Their dominions still reflected this fundamental difference! The faithful followers of both religions have been slowly drifting apart for years now.
This made Their relationship ripe for exploitation.
As he channeled his anima once again into the spellform, Merlin couldn’t help but mock Her even further. “Did you think I wasn’t aware of your authorities? Parts of them have drifted into this world long before your resurrection. There were even some that I researched during the height of the Avalon Empire itself!
“I’ve been planning all of this for more than a thousand years—how could you not anticipate such an outcome? But then again, one should expect naivety from a being as pure as silver.”
Sighing softly, he finally refocused his efforts on the magecraft incantation.
Although his ploy worked, he was still certain that Astrea would eventually regain control over Her followers. The chaos outside the Cathedral of Aeons will likely slow down the Dreamfire Lord as well, since He was acting on behalf of the Beast of Knowledge who was likely still preparing for His own descent. Too many Divine Authorities acting chaotically will inevitably accelerate the collapse of this world whose fate had yet to be synchronized with the rest of the orbits.
Really, it only took Merlin four minutes and fifty three seconds to complete the spell without interruption. His calculations had once again proven correct.
Across the now devastated Cathedral of Aeons, the Rift Gate which had opened above the Main Branch’s chasm had now expanded enough to encompass the entirety of the cosmos above. The darkness surrounding the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold had already been consumed by an even greater darkness—Guntharion. He was likely to enter Her dreams within the next few seconds. The Mother of Silver, the Gold-Giver, and the Dreamfire Lord once again refocused their efforts back to Merlin.
However, it was already too late…
“World Collapse!”
The fissure spread wildly across the entire continent, ushering in the beginning of the end. A thick, nauseating liquid fell from within, raining down upon every mountain, forest, city… Everyone looked at the sky in horror. Others in excitement, awaiting the destruction they had all been promised.
Something… something was truly about to enter this world.
First, a hand emerged. Then a face no one could comprehend. Finally, the rest of its body crawled out of the void. No one across the continent could truly identify its visage—all that remained was their own feeble imaginations, fueled by fear that was slowly corrupting Yarian’s Collective Subconscious.
From the heavens, The Silver Eyed Moon glared deeply into the strange entity’s form, as if to assess its prowess. All the other Gods—including the Greenfather and Slumbering One who were busy containing the Spirit Blossom Willow’s awakening—came to a halt. Only a single thought remained in that moment: They had to stop that thing. NOW.
But just before anyone could act, a feeble light twinkled amidst the darkness of history. The Silver Eyed Moon shifted—its gaze aimed at the colossal chasm marking the center of the Cathedral of Aeons.
Something was ascending through the Main Branch’s infinite space.
From within the collapsing shadowed dream, Merlin froze, staring through his shared vision with the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold. From within the ancient chasm, two figures emerged—one shorter than the other. They were rapidly approaching the Estuary of the Stars, a feat no one below the rank of Sovereign should have been capable of achieving without the exploitation of certain loopholes…
“Wait… Sovereign?” His eyes widened. “Impossible…”
Although he knew Soren could likely escape the infinite space by replicating his exploit through his newly obtained Ephemera affinity, the chances of it actually succeeding were less than one percent. Not to mention the Demon of Knowledge…
But then, it finally hit him. A realization he couldn’t have anticipated.
“Sienna… She altered his fate in her final moments!”