Wa.. ke… up… Cam… us…

Uurgh… that voice again… can’t it take a hint?... why does it… have to… bother me… every time… I sleep…

…Oh, for the love of –!

*Zap*

“Gaaaah!!”

“…awake yet?”

Ugh… it feels like someone just tazed my butt… WAIT! Where am I!? Wasn’t I fighting Baron bird-beak!? What the hell happened!?

“Calm down, Camus. Ease your thoughts…”

I have to go back! Vai’s in danger! Soruna’s in danger! All the girls in the Pavilion are in danger!

“…you’re not calming down, are you…”

*Zap*

“Graoooooon!! That one really hurt, you motherfu – huh?”

“Finally! You realize you’re not alone yet?”

What the… now that I see it… I’m standing in this… sort of space where everything is dark colors just sort of mixing and swirling… also… the one in front of me is an azure-robed man – no… a Dracovian!?

“Meh… close enough. Welcome to your subconscious!... kind of. How are you feeling… brother?”

Bro – wha?... wait, what?

“Hehe… of course you wouldn’t know… anyways, thanks to that Apostle you were fighting, I finally found a way to contact you properly. Thank goodness he was one of Zenistra’s. Had it been one of the other three, they wouldn’t have bothered with such a roundabout tactic of trying to entrap your mind. Maybe Gosphaem’s, but it’s a stretch… anyhow, though it’s a temporary one, it’s enough to give my poor lost younger brother a little bit of direction.”

…okay…that was a LOT to take in at once… hold on, this guy is my brother? I have a brother?

“That’s right dear Camus, you have a brother. Three in fact. I also advise you to get used to it soon. Myself included, a lot of your siblings tend to talk in such a long and roundabout manner… we hardly get to meet people properly you see, so it’s like a breath of fresh air for us to be able to converse after several millennia of mundane worldly management in silence.”

S-siblings!? A-also, have you b-been reading my mind all this time!?

“Indeed, I have! Comes with being a god after all… or at least beings who have a good grasp of manipulating aspects of the world or reality… kind of like being in another tier or level of existence which puts entities below that to your management or responsibility so the world gives you perks in helping with that.

You’re not quite there yet, sadly. Oh, but you’re on the, he he…somewhat… right track. As to what degree I can read your mind? I’m very sad to say that I pitied that poor poor… goat in your dream the other night. Normally, I’d have stopped after that, but seeing…”

What the fuck? A goat? What are you –

“Ah… it’s better not to say, dear brother. Such a memory would only beg to be unseen once witnessed. After all, I’m still quite perturbed after the terrible ordeal you’ve put the poor creature through, I swear –“

WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO A GOAT!? Also… GET TO THE FUCKING POINT!

“Now now, no need to be rude. That sort of language right there is what our oldest brother dislikes the most. You wouldn’t want him reprimanding you now… seriously though, do you honestly want to know?”

…

“…good choice. Now then, due to my additional rambling due to your earlier outburst, we don’t have much time left for conversation. As to your current situation, due to the nature of your opponent’s skill, it allowed me to… hijack his ability for my own purpose. Currently, he’s in a separate thought dimension braving the horrors I’ve conjured to keep him busy. Before you ask, gods have an unspoken rule not to touch each other’s Apostles and familiars. Wouldn’t want to cause all-out-Divine War now, wouldn’t you? Well, at least not at this time.

You on the other hand… are a wild card with a potential risk of tipping the balance between the Light and Dark Gods, hence their interest in you. As for us? The Dragon Gods are too busy keeping the world running in proper order to bother wiping those other gods’ assess…pardon my language.”

Well… that answers some of my questions at least…

“Indeed, it does. But the rest will have to wait for later as they’re too troublesome to explain without ample time. For now, just know that we’re here to help guide the world in your favor for the time being. However, know that we can’t interfere too much as it will… garner some notice from ones we’re trying to avoid.

In any case, my temple is found below this city, so once you’ve done your business, do pay your old brother Astranir a visit. You’ll have to deal with the Devils at some point anyhow, so think of it as killing two birds with one stone.”

Below this city, huh… hey wait… ASTRANIR!?

“That is correct. Astranir, Dragon God of Dreams and Magic and the Head, at your service.”

H-He even gave an elegant bow… I-I’ve been mind-screaming and conversing with the God who governs Dreams and Magic this whole time…

“Now now, no time for pointless adoration. Time to go. Also, I’ll give you a little gift for our first meeting. Your abilities in magic are abysmally horrifying since you’ve been neglecting practice, so as to not put us siblings to shame, I’ve left you with a little, uh.. “tutorial video” to help push your practice along.”

With a wave of his black scaly hands, he opened a swirling vortex before us and sent me floating through it. Wait, how do I access this gift?

“No worries, you’ll find out once you start fighting again. Oh, and one last thing, stop relying on that [Status] magic your dad taught you. There are some flaws that he didn’t realize so he couldn’t fix it when he created it. While it appears to be useful, it’s actually not as accurate as you think, so try not to get killed by it.”

Godspeed brother… stop ignoring my voice in your dreams… and see you again soon…

With that last thought, he soon faded from my view as the vortex closed. I turned around and saw that I was heading towards a light. This view was familiar, but at least I knew better so I didn’t panic. Soon, I entered the light.

====================================================================================

*SMACK*

I got out of the light and the first thing that greets me is the floor. Typical…

I pulled my head out of the hole it just made just in time to turn around and see that crow-bastard getting spat out from a big ball of darkness towards the opposite end of the hall.

“Dragon… what… did… YOU DO!?”

Standing up, I see he’s also quite pissed. Not surprised since he looks like he just went through an angry horde of gobs. Why gobs? Because there’s a small green arm still holding on to one of his ankles.

Strangely though, all the weapons, blood, and limbs around him started fading like dust after a few seconds, almost like when that titan with the blinged-up glove snapped his fingers.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t checked his abilities yet. Didn’t Astranir tell me not to use Status? I find it hard to believe it’s flawed and I really don’t wanna listen considering this was one of my dad’s specialized spells but… he is the God of Magic… I’ll just confirm it for now.

[Status]

Name

Korvo

Race

Human/???

Age

??

Title

Crow Herald, 4th Elder of the Serpent’s Shadow

Job

Shade Executioner

Total Ability Grade

A+

Stats / Attributes

STR – B+

VIT – C

AGI – A+

END – C+

INT – A

MP – B

Skills / Bonuses / Blessings / Curses

Passive

Enhanced Speed 9

Coordination 5

Blessing of the Dark Goddess: Zenistra

Active

Dark Magic 5

Corruption Magic 7

...is this it? The guy feels tougher than this shows and I feel that there should be more in this list. If it weren't for what Astranir told me, I'd have thought he had an ability to distort information. He hasn't even used his artifact weapon yet... I think.

“To think that my Chains of the Mind didn’t work and was even forced into an alternate dream dimension. I didn’t think your magic blocking heritage would extend towards skills bestowed by gods…

In any case, this farce has gone on long enough. You may have broken my skill with your strange abilities, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have other ways to best you. The real fight begins now, dragon.”

A weird long-ass black sword – needle?- suddenly appeared from out of his right sleeve. It also started coiling into weird shapes. I think I get the gist of how this thing works.

This guy has also gotten the wrong idea about what I could do, but no way I’m telling him I got help from the Lord of Magic himself.

I take a look around and found Vai in a corner behind a pillar being held back by that Orsul guy with tears in her eyes. I gave her a smile that I hope she recognizes as a smile then looked towards crow-man.

I’ll need her to stay back as I take this fight to the next level. Bringing out World Breaker, it’s time for round 2.