"My lord..."
"Spare me!"
He struggled in agony.
But the force gripping his neck did not relent.
The voice coming from the depths of the hall was as hoarse as the shrieks of countless undead. Every time he heard it, he felt as though his soul were being sliced apart.
"I do not want to hear any useless reports or information from you. Your job is not to come here and report your incompetence to me. If they find you, then find another way to keep exerting your influence. Use your laws and that so-called dream you embody to continue serving the Lord of the End."
"You should understand that freeing your will was not an act of forgiveness. It was because you still have some use to us, just like those other so-called gods."
The chill around his neck grew ever more intense.
It felt as though his Divine Spark could shatter at any moment, plunging him into that endless darkness once more.
"I'm sorry... Lord Nightmare King..."
"Please forgive me..."
His body crashed heavily to the ground as the invisible force vanished. As though he had just survived a brush with death, he lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.
That cold, chaotic voice sounded again.
"My nightmares will expose themselves for them to purge. But I do not want you to be as incompetent as you are now the next time you appear before me."
"Make good use of your laws. Their operation this time suppressed more than half of our Broken Eyes. You should have reported their exact targets to me beforehand, but you failed. Understand this: I freed you from Father God not out of mercy, but because... you still have some use."
He knelt on one knee, pressed his forehead to the cold