Ah, how unfamiliar, how detestable.
At that moment, Asterion was bleeding. Like tears, streams of blood poured from the edges of his eyes.
It had been a long, long time since he had felt pain, let alone been injured.
However, he had made a gamble, it was only natural that the risk had some negative consequences.
Something rather fortuitous happened just a few short minutes ago.
There were three Saints that he kept track of whenever they went to the Waking World. Those were Changing Star, who held the Divine Lineage of the Sun God, Song of The Fallen, whose Transcendent Abilities seemed to be a direct counter to his being, and the abomination known as Gehrman.
Unfortunately, Gehrman was a powerful being, even as a Saint it was impossible to directly distill his name into that madness addled mind.
He also didn't have any followers who could truly spread "Asterion" throughout humanity, Song and Vale had seen to that personally.
At the moment, there were a very precious few who he was able to latch onto without having to expend an overwhelming amount of Will and Essence.
It was quite tedious to influence the world far below.
After all, he was still trapped on the Earth's moon.
A rather dangerous place to be sure.
Dreadful gods had made their home in this place, and although their presence was kept in check by the nature of the War Realm, it didn't mean he was free to roam.
On the contrary, Asterion had to stay on guard at all times. Unable to expand his Domain or further increase his power, all he could do was watch and wait.
And so he did.
His Aspect Ability centered around thought, and therefore knowledge. With his Will, he could gain knowledge of the world below every once and a while, especially if what he wanted to keep track of knew his name.
Unfortunately, he could not make them a part of his Domain or truly interfere with their thoughts from over 300,000 kilometers away. At least, not without great personal risk.
He wouldn't die so long as someone knew his name, but there were plenty of fates worth then death that the Nightmare Creatures on the moon could give him.
For that reason, he had never once forced someone to speak his name, though that was the easiest thing to make someone do, especially if they were thinking about him.
However, for the first time since being trapped here, he did just that.
A very unique scenario presented itself.
First was the discovery of another strange individual. A powerful Transcendent Shadow Creature. One that he could not recall ever encountering or knowing.
Yet that creature knew his name.
The Shadow did speak of that little lad, Mordret. Asterion could only assume that it was from that child this Shadow learned his name.
Whatever the case, this Shadow was alone with one of the Saints he was actually concerned with.
Near the Realm Boundary, Gehrman and this Shadow stood with calm ease.
So many things about this were new to Asterion. The existence of this Shadow Creature, the actual space in which the Realm Boundary existed, and the fact that he could barely sneak his Will into a region near the Realm Boundary.
Interfering this way would be even more taxing, but there would never be such an opportunity this ideal again.
Asterion had only really noticed the unique existence of Gehrman after he Transcended, and at that point he had learned that he was already familiarized with Ki Song.
Even if he spread the name of Asterion to him at that point, he was fairly certain Song would have a contingency to erase him from that person's mind.
However, Gehrman was traveling with a Shadow Creature, not preparing for the Domain War that was soon to descend upon the land.
For whatever reason, he was not with Song, and he would not be for some time if the conversation he was having was any indication.
So, expending nearly all of his seemingly endless supply of Soul Essence and straining his Will to the utmost, he made the tiniest of switches in the mind of the Shadow, offering up the name of Asterion to that terrifying Saint.
What he did not expect was for that Shadow Creature to have mental resistances so high, that the power Asterion had to expend was far, far beyond what he had originally planned.
Thus he was left in a very sorry state.
His goal was accomplished, but for the first time in decades he was severely damaged from over exerting himself.
Asterion was quite miffed about this. Even more so since – while digging around in that Shadows mind – he learned quite a nerve wracking fact.
The difficulty of influencing the Shadow could have been even worse. That thing had natural mental fortitude and a Charm that was far too powerful for someone like him to have. However, there was more.
A Transcendent Armor of the 7th Tier that provided even further Mental Protection. If he had that armor equipped at the time, Asterion may very well have failed.
Of course, if he had his Domain and was closer to the Shadow, it wouldn't have been nearly as strenuous, but the current circumstances meant that even a Transcendent with no knowledge of Will could have blocked him out.
I suppose I should keep an eye on that thing too.
He was not worried about the power the Saint wielded, but there was something off about him that gave Asterion pause.
Perhaps the Divine Lineage of Shadow has finally shown itself. That would be simply tremendous if that's the case. All I'll need is little Nehpis's Lineage, and then that man's, and I will have them all.
Indeed, Asterion was not just the inheritor of the Divine Lineage of the Heart. His nature and Ascended Aspect Ability allowed him to consume even concepts. The Divine Lineages could not be stolen, but their boons could be granted to Asterion so long as he had time to "feed".
This was how he had the powers of the Lineage of War (from Mordret), the Lineage of Beast (from Song) and the lineage of Storm (from old Nightwalker).
Once he completed his collection, something spectacular would surely take place. As the inheritor of the 6 gods who left behind Lineages, he would be the inheritor of all Divinity. A lineage from the Dream God would also be nice, but as that creature was now the God of Corruption, it was simply impossible.
As Asterion pondered this though, something else happened that was even more unexpected.
His intuition warned him of the coming break in reality, one that effects rippled across the world and even reached the moon.
Another Category 5 Gate.
Asterion frowned. He had considered the fact that there was only ever one Category 5 Gate a sign that his eventual evolution to Sacred would be one that only he would reach, and all of humanity would fall in his Apotheosis.
This new development indicated that at least one other would also reach that level.
Troublesome.
It was not a disaster. He would simply consume whoever else also managed Apotheosis.
It was inevitable, after all, that he would consume all things.
The Heart God was also the God of Hunger, after all.
And soon he would begin to feast.
He smiled down, even as his body continued to bleed from the shock of his actions. Still, Asterion was already healing, looking down at Gehrman with favor.
That man would always hold a special place in his heart now.
After all, his Madness had a very, very special side effect that only Asterion realized. After his battle with Vale, the "Sovereign of Steel" made his way to the Waking World to deal with the emerged Gate Guardians.
He was just as stalwart as ever, and just as deadly.
However, even though he seemed normal, it was clear that his battle against Gehrman had pushed him a bit.
The lingering Madness was of such potency that it interfered with the forever harsh defenses of Vale's mind.
So in that moment of weakness, Asterion had dug a little deeper into the mind of his old "friend".
I simply can't wait. It is sure to happen soon. The day when the thought emerges. The idea to strike yet another deal with me.
…
Even from where they were currently standing, they could already see the dim shape of the Gate Guardian emerge.
They were over 1,000 kilometers away, and yet the sheer scale of it cast a shadow across the whole of the continent.
That being said, it was quite different from what Gehrman had imagined.
It was not a grotesque beast, nor was it a skeletal, insectoid, or bipedal Nightmare Creature.
Instead, it was something he struggled to comprehend.
Sunny put it into words, but it still didn't make much sense.
"Is that…a tower?"
Indeed, the shape that appeared from so far away looked like a truly enormous tower. Gehrman couldn't get a fully accurate read on the size, but with some quick math he determined that its base was over a dozen kilometers.
The scale of it was mind boggling.
Especially since its width was not what made it so imposing.
The vague silhouette of monstrous size grew taller and taller at a rapid pace. Over the horizon, they saw it go from a height that towered over mountains, to one that towered over the clouds themselves.
Gehrman gave Sunny a glance, and the both of them rose high into the air. Above the clouds, there might have been a few dangerous Nightmare Creatures, but nothing they couldn't handle.
At the moment though, there were no feral creatures assaulting them. That was because they were all flying away or towards the new god that had descended.
Even above the clouds, the tower kept growing and growing.
It rose to impossible heights, breaching the atmosphere itself.
However, its endless growth finally stalled at the edge of space.
It was not as if it ran out of power or the ability to grow larger, instead it seemed that it had sensed something, and decided not to go any further.
"It probably sensed the thing on the moon," Sunny said. "There is something truly horrifying up there. Likely a creature of the Unholy Rank."
Indeed, that seemed the only plausible explanation seen as this Cursed being kept itself in check so as not to disturb that thing.
"Gods, this is…damn."
Gehrman was blown away. The only reason he had kept his cool (relatively) was the fact he had seen even larger and greater things. This thing was terrifying, but its size reached only that of one of the tentacle that Paleblood had manifested in that odd hallucination he had when accepting the Beast God's Lineage.
The two just stared at the thing for a long while.
"So, this changes things," Gehrman said slowly.
"No kidding."
"We could probably just stay here and get as much hunting done as we would in South America."
Sunny gave him a baffled look.
"Are you crazy? If Antarctica hadn't already been fully evacuated this thing would wipe out the continent by itself. Hell, decimate Australia even from this distance."
Gehrman shook his head.
"Something is off with this. Not just because it's…well, a tower. Instead, it's the pressure. Even from here we can see it, but do you feel the crushing weight of looking at a god? I imagine that we would feel something just from looking at its silhouette."
Sunny frowned, considering for a moment.
"It's weakened? Or having its power dampened?"
"Probably. I always wondered why the Cursed in America didn't wipe out all of humanity. It certainly has the power too, and yet it seems confined to that continent. Either it's a quirk of Cursed beings or maybe even the nature of the War Realm. Technology doesn't mix well with the Dream Realm and the Spell. Even devices that don't require service are useless there. Maybe the War Realm itself is a place where only technology can exist as it does, and in the same vein, the Realm itself rejects those that are too in line with Corruption."
"It's possible, but there isn't any verifiable proof–" Suddenly, Sunny abruptly stopped. "Or maybe there is. I've always wondered why the Sovereigns didn't appear in the Waking World. Even when Anvil showed up to take care of the Gate Guardians he didn't stay for long. Maybe that was also the work of the War Realm's nature."
Gehrman nodded, instinctually feeling this was accurate.
"Well, that's nice and all, but it doesn't help too much. There are still going to be an insane amount of Great and Corrupted Abominations spreading over the continent."
Gehrman smiled.
"Exactly! The perfect opportunity to ensure none of them stray too close to Australia while also becoming Titans. A perfect opportunity."
Sunny let out a sigh.
"I don't know what I expected…fine. It's a solid plan of action. Still, if you're trying to stay under the radar, this may not be the most effective way to do it. All eyes will be back on Antarctica for a while."
"That's true," Gehrman nodded. "I believe it might be time to let a special fellow know of my return. I believe he will also be of great help in clearing out these many Great Creatures."
Sunny shuddered. Dearly hoping that Gehrman wasn't referring to who he thought he was.