Domain War

In Chapter 1743-1744, a group of six individuals, led by Nephis, plans to overthrow the Sovereigns, the powerful figures who have ruled the world for decades. Sunny, initially skeptical, is convinced by Nephis' vision of achieving Supremacy—attaining ultimate power by imposing her will on the world through her unique source element of longing and inspiration. Each member has their reasons for joining, from a desire for change to a belief in Nephis' potential. In the end, Sunny, embracing their shared madness, agrees to join their rebellion to reshape the world.

• Effie cares about how the world will be, as the stuck-up Legacies look down on everyone which drives her nuts. She doesn't trust the kings and queens that they will do a good job once all of humanity is living under their roof.^[8]
• Jet believes that the Sovereigns are not the best choice to guide humanity, as they have been stuck at their Rank for decades.^[8]
• Kai believes that defeating the Sovereigns is the right thing to do, no more or less.^[8]
• Cassie had always been supportive of Nephis's actions.^[8]

There are two tasks that needed to be accomplished. One is to eliminate the Sovereigns, the other is to usurp their thrones.^[9]

Cassie and Nephis are working to ensure the downfall of the Sovereigns by elevating Nephis's renown in the hearts of the people through propaganda. They have been fortunate to have the government turn Nephis into a symbol, which has allowed them to conquer the Second Nightmare as a Sleeper and be adopted by a Great Clan. The harsh treatment Nephis received from the elders of Valor has fueled her legend.^[9]

Cassie's job as her spymaster is to fan the flames and help the stories of her deeds spread faster and wider. She also aims to strengthen the foundation of her Domain, which will eventually consume the Sovereigns when they vanquish them. This will involve a surgical decapitation strike instead of a thorough culling and getting every Legacy Clan to bow before the new queen.^[9]

There are already several Saints who share a bond with Nephis, such as Sky Tide of the White Feather clan, who had been mistreated by Valor and whose life we saved during the Battle of the Black Skull. The government will follow Jet, and there are connections in the Song Domain. However, there is still much work to be done on this front.^[9]

One saving grace is that the weight of an individual in the era of the Nightmare Spell is infinitely greater than it had ever been before. If Nephis is the only Supreme left standing, many people would feel compelled to submit, as resisting her would be a tall task. To create a veil of legitimacy, Cassie must position Nephis as the voice of those opposed to the war from the very start. When she betrays her adoptive clan and eliminates both Sovereigns, she can present herself as a courageous person making a reluctant choice to stop two warmongering tyrants, not a murderous opportunist who wants to become a tyrant herself.^[9]

This work started long ago, but it has only ramped out in the last four years, with neither Cassie nor Nephis having rested for a minute after becoming Saints.^[9]

The King of Swords ordered Morgan to return to Bastion and stop Mordret, who has taken a dozen Saints from House of Night. Morgan questioned the fairness of this, as she believed she should stop him alone. The King of Swords argued that Morgan should find her own Saints. Morgan pointed to Naeve and asked to take him. Anvil warned Morgan not to lose to the creature again.^[11]

The fourteen Saints, including Nephis, Sunny, Saint Jest of Dagonet, Rivalen of Aegis Rose, and Roan of White Feather, were set to venture into the Hollows to conquer the Citadel.^[12] (Vanishing Lake)

Seishan and Death Singer were conquering a Citadel in the west, while Beastmaster protected the Song Army's stronghold and cleansed the western reach of the Collarbone Plain. Lightslayer never showed herself after the war council.^[13]

The King of Swords' authority expanded after conquering two ancient Citadels in Godgrave. The King's authority extended across the Collarbone Plain and Breastbone Reach. Anvil had battled the Hollows, clearing a safe area around the lake. The Sword Army established a secondary camp and garrison to guard the Gateway in the Hollows. They explored pathways to the remaining two Citadels, but neither were easy to reach. The Spine Ocean was perilous, and the dark waters below were home to untold horrors. The femur Citadel in the south was easier to reach, but the territory of the Cursed Tyrant, Condemnation, and other Cursed Ones in the Hollows halted the conquest of the King of Swords.^[14]

The Song Army's impact on Godgrave was growing as Seishan and Death Singer conquered the Citadel in the western part of the Collarbone Plain. The Queen of Worms appeared, saving the exhausted soldiers and her two daughters. The Song Army's precarious position in the west of the Collarbone Plain became nearly unassailable, and territories conquered by them were slowly encroaching on the northern boundary of the Breastbone Reach. The Song Army also aimed for the two remaining Citadels but only controlled one in Godgrave, cornered on the western part of the Collarbone Plain. Despite their efforts, Song still seemed to be on the losing side.^[14]

The Sword Army held a vast sphere of influence, dwarfing that of the Song Army. However, their strength was more or less equal. The Song Army had less territory but more Saints. Prince Mordret was besieging his father's Domain, and the outcome of the war was uncertain. The future of the world was in fragile balance.^[14]

The war between the two Domains, established on the bones of the dead deity, was changing from its early stage. The dangers faced by the Awakened were predominantly those posed by the Dream Realm, such as the scarlet jungle and powerful Nightmare Creatures. However, the two Domains had established themselves on the bones of the dead deity, leading to more frequent clashes between their soldiers. Fighting against humans and Nightmare Creatures was different, especially if Rain faced a Master or Saint. Sunny was uncertain about handling the next stage of the Domain war, as the House of Night had been wiped out and the government had been forced to break its neutrality.^[15]

The war between Anvil and Ki Song was more than a clash of sovereign Domains, it was a civil war tearing apart friendships and familial bonds. Allegiances felt arbitrary, as the Nightmare Spell had scattered people across the Dream Realm without regard for personal connections. Few had the resources to bridge the distances between Citadels or survive the perilous Stormsea. Master Orum's fate illustrated this cruel randomness. His clan's placement in the east meant servitude to Valor; had they been cast westward, he might have fought for Ki Song and avoided dying a traitor in a dark cell.^[16]

Discontent brewed in both armies as the shock of war faded and the threat of violence loomed. Resentment and fear spread, but defying the will of the Supremes seemed impossible. Yet Sunny saw potential in this unrest. He believed that as grief and disillusionment grew, soldiers would become more open to Nephis' revolutionary plan — to overthrow the Sovereigns who had forced them into fratricide.^[16]

The enthusiastic reception Nephis received confirmed Sunny's intuition. His own menacing reputation as the Lord of Shadows bolstered their cause; in a world ruled by might, his alignment with Nephis served as proof of her strength and legitimacy.^[16]

The second stage of the war in Godgrave was a brutal struggle for dominance, with the Sword and Song Armies vying for control over land and the remaining Citadels. While expeditions sought to claim these crucial strongholds, the armies clashed over territory, burning the scarlet jungle, eradicating Nightmare Creatures, and fortifying the land. Human forces often turned on one another, fighting over contested outposts, while Saints abstained from direct combat to avoid catastrophic losses, acting as deterrents instead.^[17]

• The Sword Army initially held an advantage, controlling East Collarbone Plain and much of the Breastbone Reach, while the Song Army was confined to the West Collarbone Plain. Both Domains launched expeditions to claim the two remaining Citadels, critical symbols of power.^[17]
  • Revel led one such expedition into the depths of the Spine Ocean, while a Saint from the Valor family pursued another, aiming to eliminate the Lightslayer. Meanwhile, Sir Gilead, unopposed by the Song Army, sought the southern Citadel, as the Queen of Worms ceded that territory.^[17]

Song had a significant advantage over the Sword Domain, but their defeat was crushing. Sunny and Nephis played a vital role in the victory but the fact remained. This result revealed that the Saints of the Sword Army were stronger, and revealed a disturbing truth about Anvil, the King of Swords. The Queen of Worms seemed to outplay her enemy on every turn, with her strategies being more elaborate and impactful. As time passed, the strategic position of the Sword Army looked increasingly hopeless, leading to doubts about who had inherited the lineage of War God.^[18]

Anvil only possessed overwhelming force because of Nephis and Sunny himself, which meant he understood what they were capable of far better than Sunny had assumed. The clash of the Transcendents happened because Nephis had defied Anvil's order, leading to the crushing defeat of the Song Domain. Sunny felt tense and uncomfortable, as if he was in the palm of Anvil's hand, ready to be crushed in an iron fist at any moment.^[18]

The battle ended Song's advance into the Breastbone Reach, and they would have to retreat or even be pushed all the way to the Collarbone Plain. Sunny and Nephis revealed a large part of their true power, and the fortunes of the Song Army were reversed in an instant.^[18]

The war spread rapidly, with the Sword Army's main camp becoming desolate as troops were sent to the Crossing Strongholds and new outposts. Nephis and Sunny spent their last peaceful days together, but instead of returning to the frontline, Nephis was ordered by Saint Tyris to bring the Ivory Island to the Western Collarbone Plain for the decisive battles. As they journeyed across Godgrave, the Sword Army clashed with the forces of Song and in the South, Mordret and Morgan continued their battle for Bastion. Meanwhile, the tacit agreement to keep the war from the waking world collapsed, leading to violence in cities like NQSC. Explosions, firefights, and disruptions weakened humanity's defenses. The number of Nightmare Gates and abominations increased, and the government's logistical struggles grew. Song's forces lost ground, and their compound in NQSC suffered breaches. As the chaos spread, the war in Godgrave neared its final stage.^[19]

Moonveil and Revel began their journey in the Hollows of Breastbone Reach during a rainstorm, navigating a flooded jungle's treacherous rivers aboard an enchanted ship. Pushing their powers to the limit, they survived abominable creatures and natural perils before crossing into the Hollows of the Second Rib. There, they fought powerful currents, vast fields of man-eating seaweed, slithering vines hanging from the darkness, and island-sized water lilies that enchanted the sailors and swallowed the enthralled humans.^[20]

They eventually reached the Spine Ocean, but their ship was destroyed, and the crew either drowned or were killed by the ocean's monstrous inhabitants leaving the two of them as survivors. Trapped by the Call of Nightmare, which indicated blooming Seeds beneath the surface, they realized retreat was impossible. Revel determined their only option was to conquer the Spine Citadel and use its Gateway to escape to the waking world.^[20]

Complicating matters, they were pursued by the Sword Army, which had also entered the Spine Ocean. This force, equipped with monstrous aquatic Echoes, included seven Sword Saints and Masters sent to kill Revel. Trapped like the sisters, the Sword Army posed a significant threat.^[20]

Resolving to both eliminate their pursuers to weaken the Sword Domain and claim the Citadel to strengthen the Song Domain, Moonveil and Revel prepared for the challenges ahead. They vowed to face the Spine Ocean's horrors and their enemies, determined to achieve victory or die trying.^[20]

As Sunny observed from above, the weary soldiers of the Sword Army—exhausted from a failed siege on the Greater Crossing Stronghold—were abruptly roused for another battle. Confused at first, they soon realized the Song Army had inexplicably begun dismantling their own fortress walls, causing panic and urgency in the siege camp.^[21]

Sunny and Aiko witnessed this strange development from the sky, noting the fall of the once-impenetrable ramparts. But then, a far more disturbing sight caught Sunny’s attention: movement in the chasm separating the bones of the dead god. From the depths, massive ash-covered worms began to rise, their skin burning under sunlight — horrifying puppet-creatures, likely fashioned from corpses.^[21]

Worse still, these worms acted as living ladders, allowing countless undead figures to climb out of the chasm. These were the reanimated dead from the long siege—soldiers and abominations once thought lost to the ash. Sunny realized the Queen had secretly conquered the ash dwellers and now commanded the fallen to rise in vengeance.^[21]

The undead army began pouring out of the chasm toward the Sword Army, signaling a grim and supernatural escalation of the conflict.^[21]

As the war dragged on, the Queen of Worms amassed an army of the dead, made from the countless fallen soldiers and Nightmare Creatures of both sides. Her undead pilgrims, once slow and expendable, had grown far deadlier — moving with expert precision, as though each were personally controlled by her.^[22]

When these ashen corpses surged from the chasm, climbing atop massive worm-like puppets, the Sword Army was caught off guard and unprepared. The initial attack was devastating, with undead tearing through soldiers in disarray. Sunny realized with horror that these puppets fought with skill rivaling even his own, and suspected Ki Song might be controlling every one of them directly.^[22]

The Queen's puppets, lacking souls, could not wield magical Memories, but their sheer numbers, savagery, and resurrection ability—as fallen soldiers immediately joined the enemy—caused severe casualties. Sunny, watching from above, felt responsible for the unfolding slaughter, knowing the battle was triggered by choices made by him, Nephis, and Cassie.^[22]

Despite the chaos, the Sword Army rallied with grit and coordination, forming proper battle lines. Saints joined the fight, and Nephis’s flames began to heal and protect, countering the Queen’s necromancy. Reinforcements from the Chain Breaker and Fire Keepers strengthened the defense, and it seemed the tide might turn.^[22]

As the Great Citadels fell, Anvil gained an unexpected advantage over the Queen, whose forces weakened as the Dream Gate collapsed and her domain in Godgrave diminished. Amid the chaos, Nephis descended onto the battlefield, demanding an end to the war—but in truth, she sought vengeance, vowing to kill the Sovereigns. When Anvil challenged her, she dismissed her own sword, Kinslayer and summoned a Blessing, preparing to strike.^[23]

As Sunny's Nameless Temple vanished from its original location, it reappeared in the heart of the battlefield, enveloping the Sovereigns in darkness and completing the trap. With the crushing force of the Ivory Island above, the raging Serpent below, and the suppressed Domains of the weakened King and Queen, the stage was set for their downfall. Standing before Anvil with cold arrogance, Sunny made his presence known—declaring himself the better smith as the final battle began.^[24]

As shadows consumed the battlefield and hope flickered in the hearts of weary soldiers, Changing Star stood between the Sovereigns, attempting to halt their war. But as Sunny and Nephis prepared for a decisive strike, Anvil made his move—not against them, but against the sky itself. With a single stroke of his cursed blade, something above was severed, and to Sunny's horror, the Ivory Island began to fall.^[25]

As Anvil severed the sorcery keeping the Ivory Island afloat, it plummeted, narrowly missing the Nameless Temple before crashing through the battlefield and vanishing into the Hollows. Amidst the chaos, the charming enchanter—Changing Star's infamous lover—was revealed, only for Anvil to strike at him with terrifying speed. But in a shocking twist, the delicate Master Sunless caught the deadly blade with his bare hand and shattered it with ease. As shadows coiled around him, the sinister Lord of Shadows emerged in his true form, challenging the King of Swords to battle. With the battlefield erupting into chaos once more, monstrous abominations awoke within the Nameless Temple, charging into the fray with devastating fury.^[26]

Sunny, wielding Broken Sword's style, clashed fiercely with Anvil, whose six levitating blades and cursed sword threatened to overwhelm him. Despite the King's overwhelming strength and control over metal, Sunny used his shadows to evade and strike, forcing Anvil to adapt.^[27] They clashed fiercely on the battlefield, both embodying the might of their respective generations. Anvil, with decades of battle experience and a near-unstoppable combat style, dominated with his ability to control metal and predict Sunny's every move. However, despite the gap in raw power, Sunny, empowered by his shadows and the Fragment of the Shadow Realm, was learning to wield the Will — a key part of Anvil's strength — as he adapted to his opponent's style, hoping to bridge the gap and turn the tide of the battle.^[28]

Sunny, battling Anvil, faces the overwhelming weight of the Sovereign's Will, which bends the battlefield to his advantage. Despite Sunny's ferocious speed and power, Anvil's mastery over his own Will makes it nearly impossible for Sunny to land a successful strike, leaving him feeling trapped and impotent. However, with the help of his shadows and the [Slaying Blade] ability of his Soul Serpent, Sunny gains a crucial advantage, bypassing Anvil's will and striking with devastating force.^[29] Sunny's strike with the Soul Serpent lands, breaching Anvil's armor for the first time in years, making the Sovereign bleed—a rare feat that briefly shifts the momentum. But despite the superficial victory, Anvil's calm demeanor betrays a deeper madness. The King of Swords reveals his twisted obsession with Nephis, seeing her as the perfect weapon he has spent decades forging, and Sunny, in his way, as a blemish to be eradicated. As Anvil batters Sunny and moves toward his goal, it becomes clear that his obsession is so consuming, he is willing to sacrifice everything—even his own life—to complete his 'masterpiece.' Sunny, bleeding and struggling, faces not just a foe of immense strength but one whose madness drives him toward a twisted, suicidal purpose.^[30]

Sunny undergoes a transformation after hearing Anvil boast about harming Nephis. Consumed by a cold, killing intent, he no longer cares about survival—only about ensuring Anvil's death. Despite being injured and outmatched, Sunny traps Anvil by pulling him into the shadows, signaling a critical turn in their battle.^[31]

Meanwhile, Nephis fights the monstrous Queen (a flesh golem). She deals powerful but temporary damage due to the Queen's regeneration using her radiant spirit form and soul flame. Nephis is badly wounded, both physically and spiritually, and realizes she's losing. Still, she refuses to hold back. In a final effort, she delivers a powerful attack that unbalances the Queen and sends it falling into the chasm. Hovering above the abyss, Nephis prepares to finish the fight by igniting her soul.^[31]

Nephis unleashes the full power of her soul by evoking multiple True Names, including her own ("Changing Star") and the Queen's ("Ravensong"). This releases a blinding pillar of flame that ignites the entire chasm in a radiant explosion, turning the battlefield into a radiant hell of white fire, destroying vast portions of terrain, Nightmare Creatures, and the corrupted jungle. It marks a massive turning point in the war.^[32]

Sunny, meanwhile, drags Anvil into the realm of shadows, where both become soul-forms. He discovers Anvil's soul is just as powerful—vast, unchanging, and terrifying. A brutal soul-battle begins. Sunny, using his mastery of the shadow realm and Soul Weave, manages to hurt Anvil's soul for the first time, while enduring the Sovereign's devastating attacks. Their fight becomes a war of attrition, soul against soul, as Sunny vows to see who will endure longer.^[32]

Nephis burns six soul cores at once to fuel an unprecedented explosion, unleashing the full wrath of her Transcendent soul. The devastating eruption obliterates the ancient jungle in the chasm, incinerating the powerful Nightmare Creatures that survived the snowstorm. As they perish, their fragmented souls flow into Nephis, healing and reforging her shattered essence in a torturous cycle of destruction and rebirth. Despite the overwhelming power of her attack, the Queen survives.^[33]

Though her previous monstrous vessel is destroyed, Ki Song—the Queen—remains mostly unharmed. Her voice, mocking yet strained, reveals she was indeed injured, though far less than Nephis. As she prepares to unleash her own full power, all the remaining Titan puppets dissolve into blood, joining a vast river that shapes itself into a new vessel.^[33]

The second flesh golem rises—colossal, monstrous, and easily a kilometer tall. Nephis, radiant and burning, now faces an enemy so vast that she is like a speck of dust before a mountain. Despite the odds, she ascends into the air once more, blazing with light—determined to keep fighting.^[33]

Sunny and Anvil engage in a brutal, soul-destroying battle in the Shadow Realm Fragment, both suffering grievous damage. Sunny fights with cold calculation, trying to kill Anvil despite knowing he can't win. Anvil grows stronger in the shadows, eventually severs the Shadow Realm, and casts Sunny back into the material world. Despite being soul-wounded, Anvil appears unscathed. The battlefield is in ruins; in the distance, Sunny glimpses the colossal new vessel formed by the Queen.^[34]

Sunny and Anvil resume fighting; Anvil dominates, delivering a series of cursed strikes that cut Sunny's courage, determination, and hope. A final strike tries to destroy Sunny's killing intent, but fails — Sunny resists, barely, and vows to kill Anvil. Anvil distorts space, banishing the shadows and exposing them to the material world's light, stripping Sunny of his power. Anvil pierces Sunny's abdomen and prepares to deliver a killing blow.^[34]

Sunny, grievously wounded and consumed by fear, is on his knees as Anvil brings down his cursed sword. Though ready to surrender, Sunny catches the blade with his bare hand, halting it just before his throat. Despite the pain and hopelessness, he refuses to give up—because surrendering means failing to kill Anvil. In that desperate struggle, a faint realization begins to dawn on him: the true nature of Anvil's weapon lies not in the sword, but in his tyrannical Will.^[35]

Meanwhile, Nephis is losing against the Queen's colossal vessel. Her flames are too weak to cause lasting damage, and her soul is rotting faster than it can heal. Realizing she can't win this battle and fearing losing herself to her full Transcendent form, she prepares to fall… until she sees Sunny being struck down and her forces overwhelmed.^[35]

Refusing to succumb to despair, Nephis blazes with radiance and flies upward, away from the battlefield—rising above the Queen, the storm of swords, and into the cruel sky, seeking something beyond.^[35]

Sunny, wounded and on the verge of death, finally understands the path to Supremacy. Realizing he must die on his own terms to achieve it; he rejects being killed by Anvil. As Anvil's sword pierces him, Sunny declares that no one is worthy to kill him and, with his last strength, stabs himself with his own blade, choosing death as his defiant act of rebellion. Meanwhile, Nephis, also on the brink of destruction, fights to survive in the blinding abyss, her will enduring even as her body dissolves. In her moment of survival, she also grasps the path to Supremacy.^[35]

Supremacy as the King of Swords wielded it. Though he lacked a clear direction, Sunny suddenly understood the tools he needed to find his way. But time was slipping away. As Anvil moved to finish him, a miracle occurred: above them, the clouds of Godgrave parted, and a deluge of annihilating light descended. Yet, a shield of flying, enchanted swords formed a barrier, protecting them temporarily, even as the radiant heat began to melt the steel. Though it wouldn't last, it gave Sunny just enough time to finish drawing the path to power—and finally, he understood what he had to do to ascend.^[36]

Meanwhile, far above in the godless sky, Nephis drifted through the merciless white abyss—pure, destructive radiance that even her flame-made body couldn't endure. Her mind, body, and soul were burned to nothing, until only her bare spirit remained. Even that began to crumble, but her indomitable will, forged from pain and longing, held her together. In this liminal state between life and death, Nephis saw the path to Supremacy and realized what her will must become. Her answer: she had to survive.^[36]

In contrast, Sunny's revelation was the opposite. He realized, with grim acceptance, that he had to die. Not be killed, but to truly, honestly die on his own terms. It was the only way for him to attain Supremacy. As Anvil's blade pressed deeper, and the sky began to break open above them, Sunny made peace with the absurdity of it all. Then, defiant and smiling beneath Weaver's Mask, he taunted Anvil, declaring himself the heir of Death—someone who could not be killed by another. With mocking laughter, Sunny reversed his blade and stabbed himself through the heart, embracing death as the only path to Supreme.^[36]

Sunny defied death by willingly ending his own life, sending his shadow into his Soul Sea rather than the Shadow Realm, allowing him to resurrect through sheer will and, in doing so, ascend to Supremacy and manifest a powerful Domain of shadows he had unknowingly built all along.^[37]

Nephis achieved Supremacy by forging her soul through pain and will, igniting her radiant Domain through the collective belief of humanity, and empowering her followers with healing flames and overwhelming strength to turn the tide of battle.^[38] Nephis, now truly Supreme, healed and empowered hundreds of thousands across the battlefield with her radiant flames, turning despair into hope—just as the ominous return of the Lord of Shadows sent a chilling wave of darkness through the ranks.^[39]

Sunny returned from death as a Supreme, his power vastly amplified by a self-contained Domain and limitless essence, overwhelming even the King of Swords as he unleashed his evolved soul and commanded the battlefield through the will of shadows.^[40] With the power to command an army of shadows, Sunny unleashes his terrifying strength on the battlefield, aiding Nephis' efforts and confronting Anvil with a chilling declaration of vengeance.^[41]

Despite being overwhelmed by Sunny's newfound power, Anvil remains composed and resolute, engaging in a brutal battle where Sunny vents his fury over Anvil's past mistakes, with each strike further pushing the King of Swords toward defeat.^[42] Sunny overpowers Anvil with his immense power, but Anvil remains unfazed, revealing that his "masterpiece" is complete, just as Nephis strikes with a massive flame to confront the towering golem of Ki Song.^[43]

Sunny confronted Anvil and during their tense exchange, Sunny demanded to know the true reason for Broken Sword's death, leading Anvil to reveal that it was because he had absorbed Weaver's forbidden Lineage—an act that risked awakening the Forgotten God through worship. Anvil explained that, like the daemon Hope, whose benevolence and human worship empowered the Forgotten God, Broken Sword's reverence would have unknowingly served the same purpose, making his death a necessary sacrifice to prevent the god's return.^[44]

Sunny's unique existence as a fateless being—forgotten by the world and unseen by fate—allowed him to escape the curse of the Weave, which demanded that he remain unknown, unloved, and unworshiped, lest a Forgotten God awaken and consume existence. Though once hidden in the shadows by nature and necessity, his rise to demigod status and growing fame now threaten that fragile anonymity. Still, because his Domain draws power not from people but from shadows, Sunny can wield his full strength without endangering the world—so long as he disappears again. In a final reckoning, he used that power to execute Anvil, the King of Swords, delivering justice for the countless lives ruined or lost by the Sovereign's cruelty, before casting his severed head to the ground and offering a grim mercy.^[45]

Nephis, consumed by her relentless pursuit of justice, confronted and overwhelmed the Raven Queen, Ki Song, whose power over blood and decay could not match Nephis's transcendent flames. In a battle marked by brutal sacrifice—most painfully felt through Cassie, who suffered with each blow—Nephis exploited the Queen's only weakness: her love for her daughters. In the end, Ki Song refused to flee, and so she burned, destroyed by the very mercy Nephis could still feel.^[46]

“	Her ghost continued to pursue us even after the woman herself was gone. That was what kept us together, pushed us forward, and allowed us to become the first human Saints. That… was also the root cause of all our failures. The seed from which this war was born.	”
― Ki Song to Cassie, Chapter 2187 Seeds of War

Smile of Heaven, the daughter of Immortal Flame, was an exceptional figure who could bring people together. She and her father died while trying to stall the Nightmare Creatures during a sudden Category Five Gate calamity in North America. Despite all evidence, Broken Sword refused to accept her death, believing that her soul had wandered into the Category Five Seed in the Dream Realm, rather than being destroyed. His obsession with rescuing her became his driving force.^[47]

Broken Sword's obsession with challenging the Fifth Nightmare as soon as possible led to internal strife among the group. Unlike Broken Sword, Anvil accepted Smile of Heaven's death and saw Broken Sword's belief as delusional and dangerous. In response, Anvil decided to kill Broken Sword, setting the stage for conflict. This act fractured the group and ultimately ignited the war.^[47]

Cassie struggles to follow Ki Song's reasoning. Initially, Smile of Heaven's death was stated as the root cause of the war, but now Broken Sword's death is being framed as the catalyst.^[48]

The Supremes had betrayed one of their own, Broken Sword, leading to an irreparable breakdown of trust. With Smile of Heaven was gone, and her lingering influence—her "ghost" in the form of Broken Sword—was also gone. Without their presence, there was nothing left to hold the Supremes together.^[48]

Anvil feared Ki Song, not because she was currently a threat, but because she had the potential to become one. Both Anvil and Ki Song feared the Dreamspawn, calling him a monster, implying that he was the most dangerous of them all. Most importantly, the Supremes had ceased to be human—they were now entities tied to Domains, each governing a unique form of power. This transformation made them fundamentally incapable of trust or cooperation.^[48]

Sunny and Nephis stand victorious on a quiet battlefield, defeating the Sovereigns and ending a long, brutal war. While they reflect on the cost of their triumph and the uncertainty of their future, Sunny unexpectedly turns on Nephis.^[49] Sunny and Nephis orchestrated a dramatic betrayal to fake his death and remove him from power, allowing Nephis to rise as the sole new Sovereign of humanity. Though their war against the old rulers ended in triumph, the world remains on the brink of collapse, and their burdens are far from over. While Nephis rules openly, Sunny retreats to the shadows, plotting a new beginning in the Forgotten Shore.^[50]