The Beginning of the Dream

"For now, the little one is out of danger. I just ground up some Purple Lotus and fed it to him. It should make him feel a little better."

"Thank you for your hard work, High Priestess."

Sauna shook her head, her face pale from excessive blood loss.

"I'm fine..."

She had just used an unconventional rapid treatment to heal her wounds, at the cost of draining both her vitality and spirit. Such exhaustion was almost irreversible, and even her once-kind, lively face had become worn and forlorn.

"The one suffering the most right now must be that child."

The High Priestess gently rubbed her eyes, an air of hopeless grief lingering around her.

Tamara trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself, her bluish knuckles digging deeply into her flesh. The sudden devastating news left her dazed, followed by an uncontrollable fury.

She could not believe that her dearest friend in the world, that girl with such a beautiful smile, had simply passed away. But the High Priestess's personal confirmation erased her last trace of hope.

Tally Whitehorn, Sian's mother, had left them forever. Never... never to return to life.

At the most desperate moment, to save Bloodhoof Village, she had sacrificed herself without hesitation, driven by courage, turning the enemy's scheme into nothing.

"She had such a wonderful son..." Tamara said softly.

"You have a good son too..." High Priestess Rivermane forced out a faint smile, trying to comfort Tamara.

She understood that the chieftain's wife was suffering no less than anyone else. Sian had lost his mother, while Tamara had lost her dearest friend.

The High Priestess had also lost her most beloved student, but there was probably no one left to comfort her.

"There is Cairne's son, and Hamuul's daughter."

"I think that, at a time like this, that child must desperately want someone to stay by his side."

The Kodo Beast plodded along slowly, its enormous silhouette heavy with sorrow. It understood that it had lost a master who loved it, yet it could not put its grief and anger into words.

"No... More than us, he needs his father."

Aldo had remained silent until now. He kept his head lowered, quietly adding one piece of charcoal after another to the brazier.

"Carl..."

"She probably... still doesn't know this terrible news. But if she did, I think she would come running here even at the cost of her life, then stay with little Sian..."

Tamara murmured to herself and looked up at the Kodo Beast's back. Baine and Bashana were caring for Sian there, while the other three adults traveled on foot.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I thought he was targeting me, so I had Tally take away the crystal core Moon left behind..."

"I... failed to protect her. I failed in my duty as her teacher..."

Sauna sank into painful memories.

"Quick! Take it and go!"

Sauna Rivermane unleashed the power of Stormkeeper. Dozens of chains of lightning formed a dense electric web, clashing relentlessly against her opponent's shadow power.

Her opponent was no weaker than she was. In a full-force battle like this, having more people would have been useless anyway, not to mention that they were short-handed. Most of the Shamans were stationed elsewhere; this was when their forces were at their thinnest.

Everyone believed the Satyr's target would be the High Priestess, and could only be the High Priestess.

Thus, sending the hot potato Moon had left behind away from the battlefield would kill two birds with one stone. It would divide his attention while easing the High Priestess's burden.

Flames swirled within the crimson crystal. This was the condensed core of the Ascension Ritual. Preparing for the worst, Tally accepted this burden without hesitation.

She knew that for her son and husband, for everyone living in Bloodhoof Village, she had to do this!

But something the Tauren had never expected happened.

"Remember the lesson of empiricism. It truly can blind you."

"Now then, everyone, think carefully. From beginning to end, I never explained why I came here, did I?"

The Satyr's tone was cruel and taunting, disgusting to hear.

A deadly premonition surged through the High Priestess's heart. She tried to stop something, but it was already too late.

As his words ended, a terrifying force field suddenly rose from underground, swallowing Tally and the two Shamans beside her. A purple curtain of light erupted without warning. The two Shamans were completely vaporized by the energy before they could even scream.

It was a trap, meant to lure Tally away from them!

The light curtain vanished in an instant, leaving behind a scorched patch of ground several meters in radius and two enormous, completely carbonized skeletons. Storm power still coursed through the skeletons. Amid the horrific scene, their final postures could vaguely be made out—they had remained in defensive stances, trying to flee. When the wind blew, they crumbled into charred dust.

At the center of the explosion, a cocoon was breaking apart. Tally wailed helplessly; she had taken nearly the full force of the blast.

Her skin had been completely burned away, her bones and muscles entirely carbonized. Even her eyes had utterly evaporated under the terrifying heat.

Yet she did not die immediately. The source of the energy eruption was embedded in her chest. The crystal core pulsed with a blue glow like a heartbeat, and radiating blue filaments spread from its center throughout her chest cavity, supplying an endless stream of energy—as if a seed of Nightmare had taken root and sprouted in her heart.

The extracted elements continuously remade her body. She was rapidly becoming elemental from head to toe. The process was agonizing beyond measure, and as interminable as hell.

"Aaarghhh!!!!" Tally let out a miserable, agonized scream amid the transformation.

"No! No! No! No!!!"

The High Priestess's mind went blank. In despair, she rushed toward her disciple's ruined body, but it was a foolish and fatal move, because she left her back completely exposed to the enemy.

For that, she was rewarded with a claw through her side.

"Let's hurry up and skip to the part where the villain explains his evil plan! I can't wait any longer!"

Ignoring the High Priestess struggling on the ground, the Satyr coughed lightly and stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce..."

His right hand rested over his chest while his left gestured outward. Then he began an impassioned speech like a brilliant orator delivering a grand address, though it only made his cruel villainous air all the stronger.

He paused dramatically in an absurd display, then let out a string of disgusting cackles.

"Allow me to introduce... the true face of Nightmare!"

Tally's body began trembling uncontrollably. At that moment, she had been completely transformed into an elemental being. The azure arcs of electricity gradually stained crimson, a sign of corruption.

The nature of elemental life meant she could no longer resist the will of the one bound to her by contract. Yet that alone was far from enough to squeeze out the power contained within this vessel.

It had to be said that Vel'th was truly a gifted figure. He was not only a master of shadow and the elements, but had also dabbled in fel energy and soul magic.

From the sacrificial rites of a newly born cult, Twilight's Hammer, he had obtained the marvelous technique of Ascension. Combined with the vast demonic knowledge in his head, a mad inspiration was born in the breeding ground of sin.

Turning a living creature into a fel creature—or, more simply, a demon—was exceedingly difficult.

Even in Satyr records, the only one capable of doing so was that Dark Titan. The Satyrs themselves had been personally transformed by that great being.

It was a blessing, perhaps also a curse. But lately, the curse's power had been steadily weakening, making the birth of new Satyr demons increasingly difficult.

And the Satyrs' leader, Xavius, who called himself the Nightmare Lord, was the first lucky recipient of that miracle descending upon the world.

That was right, lucky—at least, that was what Vel'th believed.

He had always considered the so-called Nightmare Lord nothing more than an insignificant title. Only those who controlled power could control everything, so he had always looked down on Xavius, seeing him as nothing but a clown who had stumbled into absurd luck.

Back to the point: transforming a living creature into a fel creature was extremely difficult, but turning a flesh-and-blood creation into an elemental creature was far simpler.

Yes, he had already acquired that method. It was called Ascension.

Vel'th thought that since even a dim-witted ogre could develop it, how complicated could it possibly be?

He creatively applied the techniques of demonic sacrifice to assimilated elementals, then conducted ten years of experiments on Centaurs, all to seize the immense power hidden within his enemies through contractual bonds.

Now, he would taste the fruit of victory.