Seishan slowly opened her eyes, awaking from a restless slumber. She wasn't refreshed one bit, but she got out of the luxurious bed and stretched as if she had.
Switching from a pale night gown to a resplendent deep red dress, the most recent Saint of the Song Clan prepared herself.
About a month ago, she had returned from her 3rd Nightmare. Alongside her, several promising vassals offered up their heirs to fight alongside her in that trial. They were all capable, but it was obvious she was a cut above the rest.
There were very, very few people who could match a Divine Lineage Heir without having one themselves. A Divine Aspect would naturally do the job, but at the moment every Divine Aspect user was also an inheritor of a Lineage, so that didn't really factor in.
Still, there were others who managed to stand on the level of the royals of the Great Clans. Those individuals were also now Transcendent, and they worked for the Government. Raised by Wolves, Nightingale, Soul Reaper, and Caster.
It was unclear how they managed to cultivate such deadly prowess and ability. They hadn't even unlocked their Aspect Legacy's like the other Vassals who served under the Great Clans did.
Even so they were a cut above the rest, and Seishan did not consider her victory against any one of them a sure thing.
She was working hard to change that though.
All her sisters were.
The loss of Gehrman, even if it was temporary, was a bitter reminder of their own weakness.
They may be some of the strongest Saints, but they were not immune from failure. Antarctica had taught them that very well.
Seishan let out a sigh, opening the doors to her private chamber to find two Blood Sisters standing guard.
These two had also taken on Nightmares at the same time that Seishan had, thus they were now Masters.
She looked at both in turn, silently waiting for one of them to spring some good news on her.
Like usual, no news of Gehrman's return was received.
At that moment though, a loud ruckus could be heard coming from several halls down. With Seishan's senses, she picked up on it easily, but she doubted that even her Dormant self would be unable to hear it.
There was no masking this sudden surge of…whatever this was.
It took her a moment to realize what was happening.
"Are there any updates on Hel's condition?" Seishan asked her subordinates. As she asked after her seer sister, she started walking in the direction that the commotion came from.
"Not especially, though one of our Sisters met with a Firekeeper, and they mentioned Song of the Fallen was having a tough time as well. It goes without saying that whatever this is, it affects both Domains."
The edge of Seishan's lips twitched downward.
It was technically good news. Their most powerful seer had undergone several fits of failure in her future scrying, and any other diviners in the ranks of Song had similar issues.
Song of the Fallen, Cassia, was perhaps now the greatest seer in the world apart from Hel. Maybe she was even better.
If she was also having trouble, the issues related to future-sight were not related to Song in any way. It was instead something that had affected a concept on a much higher scale.
It didn't matter though.
Hel could still make shorter-term divinations. Her Aspect could still come through when judging the odds of success in certain ventures, it just wouldn't allow for specific events to become plain to her like they had in the past.
As Seishan drew closer, she was able to make out some of what her sister was saying. Unfortunately, it was the same as usual.
"Death! Catastrophe! Apocalypse! We're all doomed! Everyone's going to die!" the shrill voice of Death Singer bounced off the walls. The changing volume indicated that the Saint was literally running through the halls.
"Gods, Hel, would you shut the hell up! The sun just came up!" Lonesome Howl's distant growl shook throughout the palace, but it was even further away than Seishan was.
Turning the corner, she saw Hel in all her frazzled glory.
The Princess of Song scattered toward Seishan as soon as their eyes met.
"Shan! Shan! We gotta get everyone out of Antarctica! Something really, really bad is coming."
Seishan's face became more grave. Had her sister lost track of where they were in the timeline?
"The Chain of Nightmares already happened. Everyone has evacuated. It's fine. You're safe and well in the Palace."
"Not that! It's worse than that! No more going to the Waking World any time soon, it's too dangerous right now."
Seishan stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Hel's shoulder.
"What did you see?"
"A tower! It was really, really tall. Super big too. It wasn't like anything I've ever seen!"
"...A tower?"
Seishan's face turned a bit apprehensive. Usually Hel's predictions were more esoteric or strange. She couldn't recall a time when a simple shape was the cause of such a commotion.
"Yes! Oh, also Gehrman is back. The tower though is–"
Seishan now grabbed both shoulders.
"Wh- did you just say Gehrman was back? What does that have to do with–"
And then she felt it.
The distortion of the world that occurred when a truly powerful soul entered the realm. It was faint for most Saints, but his arrival always had a more drastic effect than most.
Seishan was running before she could finish her conversation with Hel, the loud clack of heels struck the floor with such loud cracks that it sounded as if she was destroying the palace beneath her.
Of course, the Jade Palace held strong as she turned the corner to Gehrman's room.
And there he was, opening the door and looking around for the source of the loud sound.
Seishan stopped her momentum abruptly, causing her hair to fly about a bit. She stood a few feet away from Gehrman.
He did not look any different, though his face was painted with a mix of surprise and anxiety.
His hair was messed up. More so than usual. Some strands on the side of his head were sticking straight out, making it look like he just woke up from a nap.
Seishan froze. She didn't know what to do. Hug him, kiss him, something else? What was a princess to do in such a scenario, what was a wife supposed to do?
What Seishan did next was most likely not what either was supposed to do.
She walked forward with powerful strides, reached out her, and patted down the sides of his hair, smoothing it out.
He blushed slightly as she did so, a bit nervous from the closeness. She didn't realize why until he asked the question that didn't even occur to Seishan.
"You look…uh, you're a Transcedent," he blinked a couple of times. "You look nice."
It was such a simple thing, such a small compliment, that it shouldn't have affected Seishan at all.
It did though, her heart skipped just a little from seeing his small smile and nervous words.
"Do I look different?" she asked.
"I mean, a bit, I can't really describe it. You've always been suprenaturally beautiful, so it's more from a feeling than a physical change."
It took a bit of willpower, surprisingly, for Seishan not to make a comment on how she "felt".
It caught her off guard, but seeing him back after so long, the first thing she wanted to do was not hold him, or talk, it was something more carnal.
Perhaps it was the influence of the Beast God's Lineage. Maybe it was the fact that despite being technically married for almost 2 years, they still hadn't done anything besides share a kiss.
Still, now was not the time to lose oneself.
"I'm glad you're back, I shall inform my mother, and we can catch you up on the war preparations."
Gehrman's eyes focused and his demeanor shifted.
"That sounds good, but I'd like to keep my return secret right now. Besides your sisters, your direct retainers, and the Queen, no one else should know I'm back."
Seishan tilted her head.
"Is there a specific reason for that? Now that you're back we have the advantage in the Domain War, if we push quickly, we may grasp a secure victory."
"That is great and all, but right now I want to hold back on that. Something just came up that we should probably deal with."
"What is that?"
"A god."
"...ah."
…
In the throne room all 7 Song Sisters, the sole prince, and their mother finally gathered. It had been a long while since even all the sisters could get in one place, as many of them were out on missions at one time or another.
This time though, it took them mere minutes to gather.
The mood was a strange mix of excitement and grave dread.
"A second Cursed Nightmare Creature," the corpse of Ki Song muttered with a dire tone. This is a very bad sign. It indicates that in the future, two Sacreds will be born. I always thought that the Gate in America was indicative of either Vale or I's apotheosis…but two Category 5 Gates is a rather grave sign."
Gehrman gave her an odd look.
"Is it? I figure the Gates are just based on yours and mine achievement of the Sacred Rank. It doesn't necessarily indicate that this Domain War will become a Holy War."
The room tensed slightly at Gehrman's bold proclamation.
It was a reminder that even though he was on their side, he still had intentions of going against that particular order barring further ascension that Ki Song had set.
"...Indeed, this would be the best case scenario," the Queen replied quietly. She appeared to be having some internal conflict on the matter. On one hand, she didn't care to break her policy, but now that there was a second Category 5 Gate, there wasn't much of a point holding Gehrman's growth back.
"I worry though. Given how you walk on the path of Divinity, your advancements may not cause Gates to form. I feel we would have had several strange Gates that produce your Beasts of Yharnam if Gates did form as a result of your growth. Perhaps it is all internal."
Gehrman's face went blank.
Wait…am I an idiot?
Where did the beasts in the Soul Forest and the Chalice Dungeons come from? It was something he always considered random, just a byproduct of either his Aspect, Paleblood, or both.
Now though…
Are all the Soul Beasts from Nightmare Gates that are in my Soul? I haven't found any Gates so I can't be sure, but it makes sense. Gods, my Soul Sea has to be the busiest Soul in existence!
Gehrman shrugged.
"Then one of you seven will become a god as well, no need to jump to the worst case scenario."
The looks that he received ranged from grateful to incredibly befuddled.
In his mind, Gehrman also considered a more likely possibility. It was likely that the Gate was indicative of Changing Star or Mordret's apotheosis. Hell, it could even be Sunny, Caster, or someone else from the Workshop.
He wasn't entirely sure which one it would be, but they felt like the most reasonable candidates.
"Your optimism is appreciated," Moonveil said with a smile.
"It's also not the most pressing matter," Lonesome Howl said. "If this thing is in Antarctica, then it may very well spread to Australia. Or, more likely, the waves of Great Nightmare Creatures that live in South America. If a war breaks out between those abominations, we may very well experience the birth of several new horrors that we won't be able to handle. Hell, another Cursed might be born if the conditions are met. If that happens…the planet might not be able to handle that kind of pressure. The Waking World might very well be destroyed."
Needless to say, the mood soured even more thanks to Howl's foreboding words.
"Alright, then we have a clear path forward," Gehrman did a little stretching, hoping to come across more confident than he felt.
In truth, coming back here was a bit of a risky move.
He really, really didn't want to ignite the war early. A conversation with the Raven Queen was an absolute must after this little meeting. Ideally, as soon as possible. Some of "her" might already be mobilizing, after all.
Gehrman let his hand lazily reach out, and a stream of blood flew from his wrist. It coalesced in a second into a spinning recreation of the planet earth. He raised it up a bit in order for everyone to see the points of interest: Antarctica and South America.
"The tower is in Western Antarctica. Our first priority is finding out more about it. Obviously the tower itself is just an outer shell, and the real thing is inside. It won't go any higher since there is that thing on the moon, but it still probably has the ability to spread laterally."
Gehrman paused for a moment, thinking of the nature of this Cursed.
"The Crimson Terror in the Forgotten Shore is the closest thing I've seen to this. That thing was also a small core that spread and corrupted its surroundings. More disturbingly, the red coral towers it spread all throughout the region had a secondary effect. Any Nightmare Creatures that died in it would be absorbed by the Terror furthering its growth and eventual evolution. Making sure that doesn't happen should be priority zero."
Howl crossed her arms and frowned.
"How do we deal with the hordes if we can't kill the abominations near the tower?"
Gehrman smiled, this was part of the reason why he believed Song had a serious advantage in this situation. It was also why he came back to the Jade Palace.
He turned and looked at the sister that he had the most trouble with.
"Beastmaster, how many thralls can you control at the Great Rank?"
Eunbin looked at him with surprise. She had been quiet the whole meeting. In fact, she hadn't even looked at Gehrman since his return.
A vertical scar now marred her face, courtesy of Whispering Blade during the Battle of Black Skull. However, her seductive beauty was not decreased in the slightest.
"I'm not sure. Enthralling Great creatures is a deadly affair. I would need almost half an hour just to fully enthrall a Great Beast, even longer with those of higher Class. It is weak and nascent, but they do wield the Will. It takes a lot of Essence to do the job."
"What about maintaining control, does that cost Essence?"
He already had an inkling of the answer. After all, she controlled well over a thousand Nightmare Creatures at a time during the Battle of Black Skull. And there were more in the Dream Realm at that time as well.
Beastmaster shook her head.
"Once they're under my command the effect is permanent so long as mental manipulation stronger than mine intervenes. I can alter their behavior and nature to a degree, though I am not sure how much I will be able to do that with Great creatures."
Gehrman nodded, the plan already forming in his mind.
"Then it sounds like the issue is just keeping them in place long enough for you to implant the mental hex. Fortunately, you have me. And now that your mother has gone public, she could also help out as well."
Gehrman gave Ki Song a glance. He knew that she would be fine with this. There was no way she wouldn't jump at the opportunity at bolstering her daughters (and thus her Domain's) strength.
"You're right about the Will being problematic though. Even without an Essence cost, it may put strain on you to manage them. Valor doesn't have a monopoly on Memory creators though, I would recommend we put the best and brightest of Song to work on making something that can offset this burden."
Ideally Sunny would make something, he was definitely the most qualified. However, there was no way that guy would pitch in on helping out on strengthening Ki Song's Domain.
Still, they were a Great Clan, making or finding a suitable Memory shouldn't be that big of an issue.
Gehrman tilted his head.
"...Speaking of Will, we should probably all train a bit with it as. Well, when I fought Anvil, the only thing besides it that actually did anything was Madness."
The room went deathly silent.
The sisters were shocked because of the casual nature of mentioning that he had gained access to the thing that made Sovereigns untouchable.
That wasn't what made the room so tense though.
It was the pressure the Ki Song suddenly exuded. It was involuntary, a reaction mixed with surprise and something else.
"...What did you just say?" the Queen asked.
Gehrman stared at her blankly for a moment.
"I guess I still haven't told you all about what went down after I got pulled into the Dream Realm at the Battle of Black Skull. Fighting against that guy was definitely undesirable. I managed to land a few hits and injure him a tad, but if I fought him 100 times, I doubt I could win a single time with the power that I had."
Unbeknownst to him, that single sentence changed the future of the Domain War.
It was not his admission of weakness to a Supreme. It was not his mentioning of Will that had been what set Ki Song's instincts off.
It was a simple misstep that nobody caught except the Sovereign of Ravenheart.
Gehrman had just said "The Battle of Black Skull."
He had said he had just returned. He came back the second his resurrection was complete. However, Ki Song now knew that to be a lie.
Because she had monitored him ever since he came back.
So she knew that no one had mentioned the name of that battle, a name that would only be made when he was already dead.
In other words, he was lying.
In Ki Song's state of ever spreading being, the cracks in her human facade started to worsen.