"Are you serious? This must be a joke." Harus stared at him skeptically. It wasn't without reason, what he'd just heard was absurd. Who in their right mind would believe in such a ridiculous plan?
But then again… from what he knew about Amon, the boy was unsettlingly unpredictable. He could find a path even when none existed.
Seeing the dubious looks on his companions' faces, Amon smiled faintly. The crystal monocle over his right eye gleamed with a disturbing luster as he adjusted it.
"Hmm… guess."
Harus gave him a blank, unimpressed look before glancing down with lifeless eyes.
Yeah… we're dead, he thought grimly.
Not everyone was discouraged, though. Gunlaug laughed and slapped Harus on the shoulder.
"What did I tell you? I was right, it's really fun being with him! Hahaha!"
Amon wasn't sure how to feel about Gunlaug's support. Of course, he was happy that his subordinate was following him without fear… but at the same time, the man was genuinely insane.
Still… he wasn't wrong.
It was fun.
Slowly, Amon's lips curled into a greedy smile as he leaned forward, expression becoming sharp and conspiring.
"I planned this from the start. I didn't know the exact chances back then, but now… I'm convinced it'll work. All we need to do is follow the procedure, and everything will be fine."
Aiko shifted uneasily, fear twisting her expression as she trembled.
"Two months…? But why?! Why should we stay here for so long?!"
Amon shrugged, looking down at the fire and lightly poking the ashes with a stick. His voice remained calm and composed.
"There are a few reasons. First, people need to believe we're dead. Cassie is an oracle. She saw the destruction of the spire and the gateway, which means she can confirm our elimination."
Kai frowned, confused, and the others didn't look any different. Why pretend to be dead?
What does Cassie have to do with this? And how was he so sure she really saw it?
Before any of them could question him, Amon continued.
"Five hundred Sleepers, the strongest this generation has ever seen, return to the waking world. What do you think will happen? And what would have happened to us, the most powerful cohort in Forgotten Shore's history, if we went back with them?"
"Great clans…" Caster muttered. His expression darkened. As someone born in a Legacy Clan, he knew all too well what would happen next. "They'll try to pressure the survivors. Seishan and her handmaidens will obviously go to the Song Clan. And if Luna, the most powerful Sleeper of the Dark City, follows Seishan back, many Sleepers who admire her would be influenced by that choice and join the Song Clan as well."
Caster paused, his expression growing more conflicted as he thought through the implications… and what would happen to him once he returned. Will I be executed? he wondered, his bright green eyes dimming with worry.
"Nephis or Medici… or maybe both… will be forced to join the Valor Clan," he said quietly. "They won't let those two stay independent. I don't know how the King will react, but the Elders will never allow it. There's too much risk of them joining the opposition. Which means either Nephis and Medici submit to Valor… or they get killed to remove any future threats. After all, those two are ridiculously strong."
Amon nodded, his face growing still and cold as he thought about Medici. Just be safe, hotdog…
"Exactly. That's why we're laying low. Once the military power between the great clans evens out, only then will we return. If my conjecture is correct, it will take at least two months for the great clans' strength to finally reach equilibrium. At that point, the pressure on us will be much weaker. The great clans won't dare to move recklessly and break the balance. So we wait for the political situation in the waking world to stabilize."
Now it made more sense. The cohort nodded, following his logic. There were no guarantees… but it was worth a try.
However, Kido frowned. Even if that reason was clear, she still couldn't understand the other plans Amon hinted at. She wasn't the only one, everyone was equally confused about his deeper motives.
Kai, who had been quietly following the conversation and could tell Amon was telling the truth, glanced at him with a small smile.
"I see… So what about the other reasons, Amon?"
Amon blinked. He couldn't exactly tell them he had used Decryption to check whether Cassie had the same dream as in the novel. Nor could he admit he knew about the novel itself. There was also the fact that he could perform divinations, his last one was to determine whether his plan would work and if he and his cohort would be safe after returning. He had received a positive result, which was why he decided to take this gamble.
So, he left those truths unspoken and used his eloquence to steer everyone away from awkward questions.
"Second reason is simple… None of the Sleepers will risk using their connection to the gateway to come back right now. The Spire isn't operating, and the gateway is shut. The power supply was cut off after the Terror's death because there's no vessel… or more accurately, no awake vessel who can fulfill the role of Soul Conduit. By the time we return, the survivors will have already chosen different citadels to anchor themselves to with the saints' help. There are so many survivors that it will take time, and the saints will have to transport them one by one…"
"Yeah, but I still don't get it," Kido snapped, irritation creasing her brow. "What does that have to do with anything?"
A small smile tugged at Amon's lips. He drew a map of the Forgotten Shore in the dirt with his stick: first the crimson spire, then the Dark City, the crimson coral labyrinth, the statues, and so on.
"Why, huh? 'Cause I was a bit greedy and gambled…" Amon said simply.
"…"
Silence stretched. They stared at him for a full minute, faces blank, mouths closed. Not even Gunlaug made a stupid joke or laughed, and knowing his personality, he would have even joked about their own deaths. That alone spoke volumes about the absurdity of the situation.
Amon looked up under their piercing gazes, a little confused. "What?"
"I'm going to kill him," Aiko blurted, springing to her feet, eyes wide with a mix of disbelief and fury.
Before she could take another step, Amon continued, his expression pleased and amused. "Calm down, Aiko… Can't you see all of this? Tens of thousands of soul shards, countless valuable materials, ores, and mystical items… Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
Aiko blinked, her eyes widening as she froze in place. Then her body trembled, and she pressed her lips together, awkwardly coughing into her fists. She straightened, placing her hands on her hips, and a strange, respectful smile crept across her face.
"Boss… can I marry you?"
"Nope. I'm into tall girls with a big ass…"
"I'm going to kill him!"
"Enough fooling around," Harus said coldly.
Aiko instantly flinched and avoided his gaze as she sat down, staring at the ground.
Hiss, why is he so scary!? she thought in outrage. They were supposed to be a cohort… but honestly, this was the weirdest group of people she'd ever met. And considering everyone in the Forgotten Shore was weird, that said a lot about just how bizarre her friends were.
Amon noticed Harus's serious, questioning stare and nodded knowingly.
"You're curious about how we go back, right?"
Harus nodded. That simple word made everyone go silent. The hope of returning home was stubborn, no matter how hopeless things were, it refused to die.
"Harus," Amon said calmly, "do you know what this spire actually is?"
Harus frowned, confused by the sudden question, but still answered. "It's a citadel, obviously," he rasped.
Amon smiled faintly and shook his head.
"It's not just a citadel. The Crimson Spire is a giant soul machine. It was built to collect soul essence and funnel it into the artificial sun. But it can't function without one small yet crucial component."
He paused, his expression growing thoughtful as he looked up at the endless stairs and activated his Spirit Vision. Faint signs of fluctuating essence lingered.
"A living being to serve as the fulcrum of all that power. The conduit of all those souls. The vessel."
That… was unexpected. Harus straightened slightly, his expression shifting. Still doesn't explain how we… He froze. Wait… No way. Is he serious!?
Disbelief and sudden excitement crashed over him as his eyes shot toward Raven, lying quietly on the folded clothes.
Amon's smile widened.
"Bingo. Raven is the Soul Conduit. When I sealed the Dark Sea, the Crimson Terror was finally freed from its shackles. That's why its light suddenly changed, turning into that annihilating white radiance that wiped out most of the living creatures on the Forgotten Shore."
He leaned back, massaging his neck, still feeling a bit of pain from when Evangelo had beaten him up.
"The Crimson Terror did that to ascend… to become a Titan. But because I burned the city, it couldn't accumulate the amount of soul essence required for evolution. If I hadn't destroyed the city and wiped out the Abominations living in it, then all that death, all those countless souls, would've been guided into the Spire by the Labyrinth, like a colossal hecatomb, to fuel the Terror's evolution."
Amon paused, expression growing thoughtful, then finished the puzzle.
"If that hypothetical scenario had really happened… and we killed the Terror while it was evolving, then the Spire and the Gateway would have been destroyed as well."
He raised two fingers.
"There are two reasons. First, the artificial sun above the Forgotten Shore is the Crimson Terror, they are the same being. Second… during its evolution, the Terror would have been unstable. And because it serves as the vessel, there's a mystical connection between it and the Spire. The vessel showing instability is equivalent to the Spire itself becoming unstable. So, if we killed the Terror in that state, it would inevitably result in the destruction of the Crimson Spire… even if a new vessel were born afterward."
His subordinates stared at Amon with stunned expressions. No, it wasn't just shock and disbelief etched into their seemingly blank faces. There was also confusion, even a hint of apprehension, after learning the truth of the Spire… and Amon's plan.
Gunlaug, despite his usual habit of fooling around, was serious this time. He looked up at the colossal Spire, those stairs leading from earth to heaven, and sighed. His expression shifted, conflicted and thoughtful, as he assessed the gravity of the situation. Understanding what Amon had done, his blue eyes dimmed, a frown forming on his handsome face.
In that moment, his solemn expression gave his cohort the impression of the tyrannical ruler of the Bright Castle, rather than the alcoholic and gambler he usually appeared to be with them. It was a chilling reminder that Gunlaug was still a man who had enslaved an entire city and ruled it with an iron fist.
"So that's your plan… I see…" he muttered. "All of this just to steal the Spire. And no one will even know it's in our possession."
Amon blinked in surprise, his smile widening as he noticed the cold gleam in Gunlaug's eyes. So he figured it out…
Meanwhile, Gunlaug narrowed his eyes, pulling his blonde hair back and smiling wryly.
"There are also the beasts locked in the Horizon's Edge. You intend to let one kill another so that the Spire will accept it as a secondary vessel. It's an Awakened monster, so it should survive… and even if it can't, it doesn't matter, since the beast is already corrupted."
His gaze flicked back to Amon.
"As for all the soul shards you've been collecting… you're going to use them as fuel to keep the Spire stable, maintain the artificial sun, and have a component of the Citadel in your hands... Huh?"
Gunlaug laughed, shaking his head in amusement. Then he paused, his eyes drifting toward Amon's peculiar smile.
He still couldn't fully comprehend Amon's thought process, but he knew this much: Amon was greedy. Even if he acted as if he were generous and unconcerned with wealth, his heart was still filled with avarice.
At first glance, he seemed unassuming compared to his companions. Though vastly more powerful, his ambition and will appeared… quiet and insignificant.
But that was only on the surface.
He tilted his head, his expression growing thoughtful. Amon was so greedy that even he felt almost appalled.
And here I thought he was just a funny kid without any real ambition…
Wait a second...
Now that I think about it, there were too many coincidences since he stepped into the Dark City.
Gunlaug frowned, his eyes widening for a moment as he reflected on the past… Medici joining the Hunters, inevitably drawing both them and the Pathfinders away from Gemma… Luna joining the Handmaidens, which had led Seishan to support Medici once the war broke out…
Changing Star's cohort suddenly leaving the Dark City, some of her strongest followers eventually aligning with either Medici or Seishan…
But that move wasn't random, was it?
All that graffiti, exposing Changing Star and staining her reputation… propaganda to manipulate public opinion.
All the shard memories being stolen and disappearing overnight, throwing every faction into chaos… the Lord of the Dead was already killed, and the memory market robbed… rebels were seen using stolen memories.
And I... I was deceived into believing in my own power… when my supporters had already betrayed me.
Too many coincidences.
Nothing went as I planned.
And the same could be said for Changing Star, every one of her plans ended in failure.
Medici and Luna were smart, yes, but not cunning enough to weave something this grand.
It was Amon... He did it... He orchestrated everything.
In the end, he revealed himself and destroyed the city and the castle, which were supposed to be the culmination of all his schemes… Then he openly declared his support for Medici, becoming his subordinate.
Or… was that really the end of his plans?
No.
There was another layer beneath it all.
All of that was just a decoy.
Amon never intended to submit to anyone. In fact, he deceived everyone from the very start. He gave them the castle, the memories, the knowledge… but in reality, he always intended to take everything back when the time was right.
And now... He let everyone leave the Forgotten Shore, making them believe that he and his subordinates sacrificed themselves for their survival.
But Amon never intended to die.
Instead, he swindled the survivors, making them believe they were choosing the best path for themselves when, in truth, it benefited him the most. He stayed behind, using the survivors as scapegoats, because he feared the influence and power of the Great Clans. He would bide his time until the power of the Great Clans balanced out, then exploit the animosity between them so they wouldn't act rashly or aggressively when he eventually returns.
And now…
He is the sole ruler of the Forgotten Shore.
And no one even knows it.
In the end, Amon never wanted to sit on the empty throne where others once ruled.
He wanted the entire realm for himself.
The true culmination of all his plans was this:
He intends to steal the sun.
As Gunlaug finally understood, a chill of foreboding ran down his spine, but so did exhilaration.
"Hahaha… I was right. This boy really is funny… This is… unbelievable. The most unreasonable development I've ever seen… Hahaha…"
Looking at Gunlaug's dumbfounded expression, Amon tilted his head, still poking at the dirt with his stick, and thought… Oh, my friend… that's the most reasonable development. After all, I'd be an idiot if I didn't use all the knowledge I have… Knowledge is power, isn't it?
In that moment, Amon felt a familiar sensation returning, as something within him shattered and fused with his spirit. His vision sharpened, his physical strength surged, and his spirituality, essence output, senses, and everything else were greatly enhanced.
Amon smiled faintly with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he adjusted his monocle. He looked up at the sun, raised his hand toward it, and then clenched it, as if he were grasping the sun itself…
Finally… Prometheus was fully digested.
[End of Volume I: The Three Legendary Transmigrators.]
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[A/N: Sorry, guys. I was busy, so I wasn't able to write. That being said, this volume is finally over. There will be a time skip, and we'll see what's happening in the waking world. I tried to explain everything, but if you still don't understand some things, feel free to ask in the questions section.
[Questions]
Anyway, this marks the culmination of all of Amon's plans. And that's how he finally digested Prometheus, by stealing the sun itself. As you guys know, I like to change the story, so expect more twists. I mean, what's the point of writing fanfic if everything stays the same?
Also, do you remember when Amon, Medici, and Luna escaped the catacombs and entered the Dark City?
[He wisely left out the fact that he was also going to… well, it would be fun, so whatever.]
That's what he was thinking about. And yes, at the end of the day, he's a scammer, so if anyone didn't expect this from him… I don't know, it was expected. He's Amon, after all.
So, what do you think about Amon's performance in the Forgotten Shore?
1. Peak
2. Good
3. Meh
4. Bad
Personally, I chose "Peak," because he drained the realm dry and got everything. I mean, he tried to exploit every loophole he could find and didn't waste a single opportunity.
If you enjoyed this arc, some reviews would be greatly appreciated as well.
That's it for now. Enjoy!]
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