"Oh, but before that, I was very famous. Not only was I famous, but even my secret alter ego was famous. World-renowned, even. I was a war hero, too. And extremely wealthy. In fact… do you know Princess Nephis? Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan? I was practically her boyfriend."
Something lunged at him from the darkness… a grotesque monstrosity that towered above the ground, its mottled fur wreathing with a swarm of pale maggots. Its misshapen head was crowned with sharp horns, and its maw was wide open, revealing a wall of massive fangs.
So… was Shadow one such priest, as well, or at least considered himself to be one? Or had he simply slain a follower of Weaver in one of his Nightmares and received the mask as a reward?
Considering the time the members of the cohort had spent traversing the harrowing desert, the Spell sent them back to the exact moment they had entered the Seed of Nightmare.
Instead, six identical versions of him were sitting in a semicircle around him, all clad in fearsome onyx armor, staring at him with confused expressions.
At the same time, Sunny put his foot forward and felt emptiness beneath it. Losing his balance, he fell down and rolled on sharp rocks, quickly becoming covered in bruises.
Then again, the Mad Prince had looked pretty human-like. So, perhaps, he would have retained his general appearance, with only his soul becoming consumed by Corruption.
"Gods… I'm so tired of this boring play. Each time you escape the Defilement, you are given the choice of remaining with your allies. And each time, you choose to betray them. You… you really are a piece of scum, you know that? Do you know how many times you've broken your promises? How many times you've betrayed Changing Star in the name of seeking freedom?"
Just as it had happened with the cycles of the Great River, which were thrown into utter chaos by the appearance of the Mad Prince, the tapestry of fate would become chaotic and unpredictable with the appearance of a fateless being. The entire flow of fate would change as a result of that.