In principle, a Great Being's control over Supernatural people on the same Path should have been absolute.
First, once Supernatural people chose a Path, they could no longer change it, forcibly binding them to a faction.
Second, Great Beings lived in Abodes within the Dream, while Supernatural people needed to obtain supernatural materials through [Dream Entry].
Beyond that, all Formless Arts depended on Great Beings to be cast. Without a Great Being's consent, every Formless Art would fail.
With sacrifice, growing stronger, and casting arts all forcibly controlled, common sense dictated that Low Rank Supernatural people on a given Path were playthings for its Great Being.
Yet the truth was precisely the opposite.
Sacrifice was compulsory. As long as the offerings were laid out according to the correct Ritual, the Great Being could not refuse.
Formless Arts were separate from Ritual arts, and almost no Rituals required a Great Being's involvement.
Now even the Dream had begun to destabilize, forcing the Great Beings to seal their Abodes.
Although the Dream was now full of monsters, preventing Supernatural people from entering, the Great Beings likewise could not extend their influence beyond their Abodes.
If this state of affairs persisted, perhaps Great Beings would eventually be unable to influence even the Dream.
Elliot suddenly realized that Great Beings seemed to be gradually bound by one rule after another.
They should have controlled and influenced the entire world, yet they had been forcibly driven behind the scenes, able to exert influence only indirectly.
It was just like the Supernatural itself. However powerful Supernatural people became, they never appeared openly. Though the veil called [Justice] that the Empire had hung up was fragile, it still concealed the Supernatural behind the curtain.
Elliot suddenly remembered the Old Duke's words:
-The Supernatural, too, might well be