Ending the Plague

Cassie after becoming a newborn Supreme, revealed that her Domain drew power from every memory she possessed. She was stalling for time to erase humanity's memory of Asterion and weaken his Domain by summoning a terrifying horror known as the Mad Prince.^[1] He is summoned by Cassie because he is the most terrifying Corrupted creature she can think of and because he flawlessly countered Asterion's most fearsome powers.^[2] (Refer to Mad Prince's Return and Mad Prince's Ability)

After killing the soldiers of the Hunger Domain and leaving Jest alive, Mordret appeared to speak with Cassia, questioning whether she had known what would happen to them before agreeing to an unspecified request. He then traveled through the reflections in the pool of blood to the Night Garden, where he shattered part of the ship's living hull and confronted the defenders of the Great Citadel, offering them a choice between resolving the situation peacefully or through violence.^[3]

Cassie had called out to Mordret and she was calling out to the others, as well. While leading the escaped prisoners through Mirage Castle toward the throne room, Effie was contacted telepathically by Cassie, who revealed that she needed Effie to become a conduit of her Will willingly. Although Effie did not fully understand the request, she agreed, and Cassie warned her to be wary of the thing in the throne room before the connection faded.^[4]

Cassie had extended her Aspect over the army of the Hunger Domain, using their shared senses to entangle the Awakened, Masters, Saints, and even their Supreme ruler, allowing her to perceive and influence them through a million eyes. She had then begun erasing memories within the minds of Asterion's thralls, targeting anything containing him or even his name, and worked to spread this cleansing across vast distances by using key conduits of her Will. To achieve this, she relied on individuals such as Effie, whose efforts in Bastion helped extend her influence, while also seeking additional conduits in Jet and Kai. Cassie then located Jet and Kai in the Jade Palace, where their advance had been relatively smooth with the aid of a powerful Supreme Devil, until they reached the great hall containing the Gateway.^[5]

Cassie had monitored her allies across multiple battlefields, calling out to Effie, Jet, Kai, and Rain through her Aspect. She was shocked to discover that Rain was at Ivory Tower, having secretly repaired the archway, infiltrated the Great Citadel, and used her unique Naming ability to put its defenders to sleep, intending to sever Asterion's connection to the Citadel and steal it from beneath him. Realizing that all four Great Citadels were close to changing hands, Cassie focused on freeing people from Asterion's domain while continuing to influence the battle. Meanwhile, the Mad Prince and Asterion fought a brutal duel in the Ebony Tower, during which Cassie freed Morgan from Asterion's control, allowing her to betray him and wound him before the conflict escalated further.^[6]

After the Mad Prince and Asterion's battle devastated the Ebony Tower, Cassie expanded her awareness across countless people and began erasing all memories of Asterion from their minds. As those memories vanished, Asterion's Hunger Domain weakened, significantly diminishing the Dreamspawn's power.^[7]

Asterion was steadily weakened as Cassie erased humanity's memories of him, dismantling the Hunger Domain and stripping away multiple Great Citadels. While the Mad Prince fought to protect Cassie, Asterion exploited the situation and nearly reached her, even as his incarnations were reduced and battered. At the last moment, Morgan trapped Asterion in a mirror construct, halting his advance. Cassie then banished the Mad Prince's manifestation and continued cleansing the remaining influence of Asterion from the world, effectively collapsing his domain.^[8]

• Effie's perspective
• Jet's perspective
• Kai's perspective
• Mordret's perspective

Mordret had dragged Asterion through the reflections into the Glass Hell, where they crashed onto the glass wasteland before quickly regaining their footing. There, Asterion found himself surrounded by three enemies—Changing Star, the Lord of Shadows, and the King of Nothing—who had formed a triangle around him. As Asterion acknowledged their return, the Lord of Shadows declared that although they could not kill him, they would make him regret being alive.^[9]

With no civilians nearby in the remote Glass Hell, Sunny and Nephis were finally able to unleash their full power against Asterion, while Mordret invaded Asterion's Soul Sea and assaulted both his soul and mind, mocking the Dreamspawn for the smallness he found within him. At the same time, Cassie continued eroding Asterion's Hunger Domain and the very idea of his existence, leaving Sunny and Nephis to destroy his physical body. Asterion revealed his monstrous true form—a colossal chimera made from the countless beings he had consumed—but the combined might of Sunny and Nephis overwhelmed him, repeatedly annihilating and burning his body even as it regenerated endlessly. Realizing they had outgrown Asterion now that his Domain was collapsing and humanity was no longer his hostage, Sunny and Nephis drove him deeper into the Hive, where their battle became a prolonged clash of Wills. As Asterion's strength steadily waned under attacks from all sides, Nephis grew stronger as humanity's restored faith returned to her Domain, reclaiming her position as humanity's guiding star. Asterion's defeat became increasingly inevitable, and Sunny felt they would soon subdue him—until Cassie suddenly warned him to retreat.^[10]

Cassie warned Sunny that Asterion was deliberately prolonging the battle to assimilate his lineage, believing Sunny carried the lineage of Shadow God, and revealed that Mordret had discovered this plan through a soul duel with the Dreamspawn. Realizing the danger of letting Asterion obtain Weaver's lineage, Sunny withdrew from direct combat and instead empowered Nephis while she, Mordret, and Cassie simultaneously struck at Asterion by destroying his heart, attacking his soul, and erasing the last memory anchoring him to humanity. As Asterion's authority, power, and presence rapidly diminished, Sunny used the Chain enchantment to bind him, reducing the monstrous chimera to a powerless human form. Standing over the defeated Sovereign, Sunny declared that Asterion's long reign of destruction was finally over, and with the appearance of the Nameless Temple, the plague of Asterion came to an end.^[11]

After destroying the Hunger Domain and ensuring the Dreamspawn's defeat, Cassie severed herself from all her marks and retreated from the overwhelming burden of perceiving the world through countless perspectives. With Asterion's plague eradicated and the Dreamspawn imprisoned, she lay down on the fractured floor and fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.^[11]

• Sunny regained his fate and was remembered by the world, while most of humanity simultaneously lost memories of the previous several years, causing widespread confusion and uncertainty.^[12]
• A global crisis emerged as people discovered unexpected changes in their lives, such as new homes, deceased loved ones, grown children, newly acquired powers, and higher Ranks they could not remember achieving.^[12]
• Key leaders and Awakened individuals took charge of recovery efforts:^[12]
  • Jet coordinated operations in NQSC^[12]
  • Kai managed the situation in Ravenheart^[12]
  • Effie restored order in Bastion^[12]
  • Nephis led humanity's forces on the Chained Isles^[12]
• Cassie fell into a deep restorative sleep after exhausting herself by linking all of humanity through her Aspect, while Mordret retreated to the Hollow Mountains and Sunny addressed urgent threats and responsibilities.^[12]
• Sunny worked to reunite the Shadow Clan and prepared to investigate new dangers, including the mysterious disturbances surrounding the Burned Forest on the Forgotten Shore.^[12]
• Human society gradually began to recover as soldiers, doctors, officials, and civilians continued performing their duties despite missing memories, allowing stability to slowly return.^[12]
• The cohort reunited at Nephis's manor, where Sunny received an emotional welcome from his friends, strengthening their bonds and giving them renewed hope for the future.^[12]
• Sunny met Rain privately after the cohort's meeting, where they shared an emotional conversation about their family bond, his years of secretly watching over her, and the reasons he had hidden the truth. Despite Rain's frustration over his long absence and deception, the siblings reconciled through laughter and heartfelt gratitude, strengthening their relationship and giving Sunny a sense of peace and belonging.^[12]
• After being temporarily imprisoned within a sorcerous circle beneath the Nameless Temple and guarded by Sunny's new Shadow, Asterion was taken by Sunny to the ruins of the Crimson Spire on the Forgotten Shore, where he was cast into the Dark Sea and sealed away, bringing the Dreamspawn's story to an end.^[12]
• Ananke arrived at the estuary of the River of Tears, embraced the unfamiliar yet vibrant Dream Realm, and used the Names of Return and Liberation to summon and welcome the River People into their new life.^[12]
• Cassie used her Aspect within the Ebony Tower to resurrect the fallen Dreamers of the Dark City, including Gunlaug, Kido, Gemma, Park, Stev, and Jubei, bringing them back to life after many years and ending her solitude in the darkness.^[12]

• One year after the Dreamspawn Plague was purged, humanity continued recovering from the loss of several years of memories while facing the growing threat of the Dream Realm consuming Earth.^[13]
• People across the world struggled to rebuild their lives after the forgotten years, with individuals such as Beth discovering she had reinvented electricity and entered a relationship with Quentin, while Yutra and his wife came to terms with having a son they could not remember raising.^[13]
• Many survivors were forced to relive old grief and trauma, mourning loved ones lost during forgotten conflicts, while Seishan, Morgan, Kai, Effie, Jet, and others who retained their memories continued to bear the psychological scars left by the Dreamspawn's manipulation.^[13]
• Humanity established Remembrance Day on the first anniversary of the calamity, honoring those whose lives and memories had been swallowed by oblivion and giving survivors an opportunity to reflect on what had been lost.^[13]
• The Dream Realm underwent dramatic changes following the war between the Human Domain and the King of Nothing, causing environmental upheaval, mass migrations of Nightmare Creatures, and increasingly dangerous battles to defend human territories.^[13]
• The waking world moved closer to collapse as Nightmare Gates multiplied, releasing more abominations, disrupting technology, threatening major population centers, and pushing Earth's remaining cities into a state of constant crisis.^[13]
• Humanity gained renewed hope through major advancements, including Song of the Fallen's ascension to Supremacy, the alliance with Ananke and the River People, the expansion of Stormsea settlements, and the public release of natural Awakening techniques that allowed ordinary people to pursue power without relying solely on the Nightmare Spell.^[13]