Months passed.
Despite being under house arrest for most of this time, these months were extremely stressful for Caster. There were, obviously, a lot of reasons behind that.
Such as the news of all this getting to the Song Domain and his own clan.
The Song clan had been pressuring the Sword clan for the action of attempted murder against Caster. However, since they lacked a clear justification, they couldn't exert much power.
Sword Domain had the excuse of having their night temple destroyed, whether Caster was the cause of it or not didn't matter. And officially, Caster wasn't a part of Song Clan, nor was related to the Song clan in anyway. Since Han Li Clan being a subsidiary clan of Song was not public information.
To the Song clan, Caster was a really precious resource. If it was anyone else, they likely would have killed Caster, simply due to the potential threat he had as a divine aspect user.
However, Caster and the Han Li clan had been one of the more loyal clans under the Song domain, and hence Ki Song had decided not to eliminate the threat, but rather tame it.
It was because of this that Ki Song even tried pressuring the Sword Domain for holding Caster hostage.
The actual situation was different, since White Feather clan wasn't holding him hostage but rather protecting him. But that didn't mean that the Sword Domain higher ups couldn't take advantage of that.
Ki Song wasn't really desperate to save Caster. After all if Sword domain did something to Caster, they would definitely be able to intervene. It'd be different if Caster was free, since then they'd be able to fabricate evidence and frame him. But they knew that Caster was held at Noctis' Sanctuary. Hence making it much harder to frame Caster, and even if they did end up framing him and harm him, Song would not have trouble proving them wrong and getting an initiative to launch an attack on Sword domain.
Moonveil told him that his father, Saint Orlan, urged the sovereign to free Caster. Which was not what Caster wanted.
White feather clan would let him go sooner or later, and he was protected, rather than taken hostage.
Staying there wasn't at all bad for him.
In fact, Caster had way more stuff to do at Chained Isles, the Song domain freeing him would mean that he'd have to return.
This political battle was restricting his plans.
He didn't have a good excuse to stay. He couldn't keep saying he had to stay at the Chained Isles due to information from Book of Books.
One of these times they'd catch on and figure out his lies.
But he had no choice. He had to make some sort of excuse or he'd be kicked off. In the end, he had to garner a bit of suspicion.
Ki Song obviously couldn't just listen to his request since he was at the Chained Isles, outside of her place of control. She 'suggested' a method to not only let Caster be free but still remain protected by the influence of Song.
It was a suggestion only in name, though. Caster felt like he was pushing his luck and this might very well end up being the last chance.
So he had to agree.
Even though the method was... a bit annoying, to say the least.
The next day it was announced that Saint Moonveil is getting engaged with Caster.
And as such, the Sword domain had 'no choice' but to stop messing with Caster.
In the first place, all they wished to find out was Caster's battle strength. If they truly wished to kill Caster, they would have sent a Saint, not a group of Masters.
They were not idiots who don't learn. After having troubled by Mordret, how could they ever take a divine aspect user lightly?
The question was, why weren't they serious about killing Caster?
It was uncanny.
Sword Domain made a complete enemy out of Caster, and now that Caster was publically being sheilded by Song Domain, he ended up becoming a loose end for them.
Caster, despite wracking his brain for ideas only ended up with weak points.
For the first time since Kieron's transmigration, Caster lacked information.
Despite having Kieron's memories, and as such having memories about the Shadow Slave webnovel, Caster wasn't omniscient.
Due to the changes to the future that have been brought due to Kieron, Caster has a hard time deducing things.
So for now he stopped thinking about this. He had better things to worry about.
Getting back to the topic, after the engagement was announced all of his friends, except Sunny and Nephis, soon visited him to congratulate.
Even Effie.
It seems Effie too wanted to remain at least friends.
Because of this announcement, the engagement date had been pulled forward. And as such, a celebration ball had been scheduled and was being prepared for.
This happened towards the start of the second month, in the first month though...
Cassie was working hard fixing the chain breaker and spreading the necessary propoganda with the help of the government. A documentary regarding the liberation of the inhabitants of the forgotten shore got released too. Its name ended up different from the novel, "Lightning is the only way" ended up being its name.
Which, in retrospect, makes sense. Kieron had thoroughly abused Lightning in the forgotten shore.
However, due to Caster's "arrest" he couldn't go watch it.
Kai ended up suggesting to the entire cohort to watch it together when Caster gets freed. That has yet to happen but Caster wanted to go watch it too. He was looking forward to the short break. After all, Caster was burdened with unexpectedness all around him. Like there was an occurance that Caster had not expected at all just a bit prior to this announcement.
After the battle between Sunny and Nephis against the Marverlous Mimick, unexpectedly the island had crumbled.
Because of that Nephis and Sunny BOTH fell into the sky below.
This was the reason these two didn't come to congratulate. They were too busy falling into the void.
Canonically, only Sunny fell into the sky below.
This time though, due to whatever reason, despite having the help of Nephis, the same thing happened again.
But because he had the help of Nephis, things didn't get bad enough for him to use weaver's mask. Instead, the two contacted Caster.
He had sent Nephis to not let that happen, but sending her there only made it worse.
'What the spell do you want me to do?!'
Caster, not expecting this to happen, was unable to think of a solution immediately.
Immediately, Caster began searching for Kieron's memories to think of any way to help.
It would have been super helpful if he had the novel itself!
Luckily, the memories of Shadow Slave weren't vague, and he got to a solution in a few hours.
But this would just make Sunny really, really cautious of him.
'Sigh, I have no choice.'
After activating the wall of communication again, he told him the solution.
[Sunny... You'll have to trust me on this one. I know you have a divine memory of the seventh tier. Weaver's mask. I also know you're the heir of Weaver, if you're curious... the method I ended up deducing with the help of Book of Books is to use a suitable enchantment from that memory. I'm not sure of the name, it wouldn't tell me. However, if you activate it, you'll end up seeing a mirage of lines and weaves. These weaves... are fate weaves. There will be a special weave that connects to you. It will lead you to a special place. Whatever happens, reach that place, or you'll die from the divine flames. It may take you weeks if not over a month to reach the place it will lead you to. The most important thing for this is to drain all your essence before using that enchant. I'm certain you'll die if you use it for even a moment longer. And even if you drain your essence, you'll take a lot of damage. Since you have Nephis with you... that shouldn't be a problem. Let me emphasize again, drain your entire essence before using it, or you'll die.]
After Sunny did all that, Caster gave Sunny even more information. Like about the second part of weaver's lineage, how he can get back to the sanctuary, and that there's a dragon's corpse over there which is a nightmare gate.
Infact, it is the nightmare gate Caster wanted to go to.
Caster's plan was to use chain breaker to go down there safely, but it was Sunny's fate that he had to fall into the sky below.
He suspected this to be the fate restoration phenomena.
Despite having Nephis, Sunny still fell. That should not have happened as the two of them together are a terrifying duo.
Most likely a new variable appeared.
However, this was only the beginning. The restoration phenomena was acting overtime.
Over the course of these two months, a major chunk of the Gold Reapers died.
The five hundred man army had tragically gone down to four hundred and fifty.
It was a massive loss in power.
All of them were dying nightmare creatures and the deaths were spread apart.
The sudden surge in nightmare creatures around the Gold Reapers were of course noticed by Caster. But he could do nothing.
His earlier suspicions about this happening due to the fate restoration phenomena kept getting becoming stronger.
Caster theorized that fate wanted to kill the people who survived when they should have died.
And that would include him...
Getting back to the Sunny and Nephis situation.
With Caster's help everything ended up alright, and in about a month the two returned to the sanctuary.
By the time they got back, Caster had been freed.
The two were pleasantly surprised to see that. But then Caster told them about the engagement and it truly surprised them.
"What?! You're not dating Effie?!"
Sunny had a bit of a misunderstanding.
"No... why would you think that?"
"I don't know, maybe because I saw you two literally kiss!"
Surprised, Nephis uttered:
''When did that happen?''
Just as the battle at the crimson spire had begun Effie had made a move on Caster, however she wanted Caster to answer her only after leaving the place.
When that happened, the two were hidden by a corpse of a nightmare creature so others probably didn't see. But perhaps Sunny saw through his shadow.
After all, he was scouting thoroughly back then.
"No... no. Effie simply made a move... I was just caught off guard."
However, she had a grimmer look on her face.
It must have become all too real that Caster might very well end up as her enemy in the future.
Caster was part of the Song Domain.
No matter what their relationship had come to, Nephis would not yeild just because of that.
In the following few days, Caster ended up teaching Sunny how to weave.
At least the basics.
Because Caster himself was an entry level weaver.
Caster and Sunny spent a whole lot of time practicing weaving together. The two were progressing fast because both were extremely talented at weaving, Caster's progress at weaving was even faster than before since Sunny had brought Weaver's needle from the Ebony Tower.
In just a few weeks, Caster had succeeded in making 3 fully functional memories.
They didn't have any special effects, just the simplest form of ability of memories. The ability to be stored in soul seas.
The impressive part was that he learnt to name even more efficiently than before.
He wanted to try making enchantment weaves but after hours upon hours of failures Caster had to give up. His essence manipulation wasn't at a level to be able to produce that.
Sunny on the other hand was being taught the basics.
After getting into weaving, he spent almost all his time weaving and occasionally hunting.
Caster had told him to stay as a Demon until he enters the second nightmare, so he wasn't extensively hunting.
Sunny was suspicious for the reason, and other things like how Caster could see the weaves and produce them. But Sunny could only grit his teeth and trust Caster on the surface.
Not only did he not want to be on Caster's bad side, Caster had benefitted him in the past and continues to do so in the past.
He was anxious if Caster knew his true name too. But there wasn't anything he could really do about that.
Over these weeks Sunny had learnt to produce the soul storing ability too.
It wasn't much, but it was enough preparation for Sunny's part of the second nightmare.
During the time Caster wasn't practicing weaving, he was extensively hunting monsters. his nurturing of his grazes was really expensive.
It required entire cores.
Even if he only hunted fallen nightmare creatures, it could still take four hundred to five hundred of them to get a new core.
***
Name: Caster
True name: Opposer of Miracles.
Rank: Awakened.
Class: Tyrant.
Soul Cores: [5/7]
Soul Fragments: [4051/5000].
Memories: [Green Jade Jian], [Hourless Charm], [Book of Books], [Vivienna's Armor], [Spark of Light], [Bundle], [Cloak of night], [Moon Sabers], [Aquifer's Gift], [Celestial Cord], [Silent Chest], [Resonant Flute], [Dawn Shard], [Dark Wing], [Ashveil Tunic], [Nameless Sun],[???], [Starhoarder], [Pale Feast], [Cruel Sight], [Caster's Shard], [Triad of Vitalis], [Veil of Love], [Everlost Achiever], [Dusk Warden], [Blackplate]…
Echoes: [Evermelt]
Attributes: [Traveller], [Carrier of Grazes], [Weave Sorcerer], [Apostle of Eternity], [Flame of Divinity].
Aspect: [Lies of the Omniscient Reader].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Innate Ability: [Character list].
Aspect Abilities: [Acquired Haste], [Grazing].
Aspect Legacy: [Fragments of the Final Wall].
Walls: [The Fourth Wall], [The Wall of Impossible Communications].
Grazes: [Laylah], [Mordret], [Welthe], [Evelyn].
Flaw: [Strength is death], [Satisfaction's Plague].
Flaw Description: [Lifespan shortens every time aspect is used.]
Flaw description: [You will never feel satisfied.]
Gateway: Noctis Sanctuary.
***
He had four grazes at the moment.
Caster had been really hesitant to feed his grazes because of the massive investment but he decided to give in.
Mordret's graze only six out of seven cores already filled, since mordret used to be a terror, not a beast like every other human.
***
Graze Name: Mordret
Graze Description: [The Prince of Nothing, who lost everything, his body, soul, birth right, everything attempted to take over the "Architect of ■■" in the depths of his volatile soul. The architects design decieved the cunning Prince in a long fought battle. The Prince felt fear for the very first time as he lost his will in an instant against the Architect's impossible design. Now, bound as his graze, meant to serve him for eternity.]
Rank: Awakened.
Cores: [6/7]
Soul Sea: Inactive
Status: Graze
Attributes: [The War], [Flame of Divinity], [Mirrorborn].
[The War]: You have inherited the lineage of the War God.
[Flame of Divinity]: Your soul is aflame with the light of divinity.
[Mirror Born]: Mirror's are like your kin.
Abilities: [Reflection], [Devouring Gaze].
[Reflection]: Allows one to travel through mirrors, create and control reflections.
[Devouring Gaze]: Allows one to possess someone's soul through their eyes.
[Merging Impossible.]
[Do you wish to sacrifice a core? Y/N].
***
Caster had the capability to give the seventh core to Mordret's Graze for a while.
However he held off on it.
Until now.
'Yes. I will sacrifice the core.'
Suddenly, he felt the searing pain of loosing a core again. But it wasn't very hard to endure now. He was getting used to it by now.
Surprisingly, forming a core hurts more than loosing it.
After a while, the core left Caster's soul and entered the graze, or that's what it felt like to him anyways.
As soon as that finished, Caster's eyes lit up.
Cores: [7/7].
Shards: [7000/7000].
Soul Sea: Activating.
Status: Graze -> True Graze.
[The graze, 'Mordret' is evolving.]
[The graze, 'Mordret' has turned into a true graze.]
With that, white sparks rise from Caster's still body. They gathered from the chest, circling faster until they fuse into a trembling sphere of pale light. It pulses gently, thin filaments forming from the brightness. One by one, the strands snap and dissolve.
Following that, the sphere elongates, stretching into the form of a body. Light pours downward into legs, outward into arms, tapering into fingers.
Then the light concentrates and softens into a face.
The sparks had turned into a humanoid figure.
Its facial features sculpted from the brilliant bright light.
And then with a burst of white light, blinding Caster, it disappeared.
Almost.
Caster could see a very subtle, but apparent outline of a translucent silhouette of the body that had just formed.
He stretched his hands outwards and tried to touch this silhouette however his hands just passed right through.
"Whoa..."
He checked the runes again.
Graze Name: Mordret
Graze Description: [The Prince of Nothing...]
Rank: Awakened.
Cores: [7/7]
Soul Sea: Active
Status: True Graze
Attributes: [The War], [Flame of Divinity], [Mirrorborn].
Abilities: [Reflection], [Devouring Gaze].
***
The merging and evolution statements had disappeared.
'What does soul sea being active mean?'
He went to his soul sea to observe.
What he saw blew his mind.
He saw a whole new section in his soul sea.
It was Mordret's soul sea.
This did not include the memories he had in his life, they must have been destroyed upon his death, but this meant that he could equip the grazes with memories.
'That is... incredible.'
Caster's soul sea was devided into two halves, one was where the library was at, and the other was where Mordret's soul sea's section was at.
Mordret's true graze now, not only had a physical body, but also a soul sea.
'The expense of making a graze into a true graze is totally worth it!'
Kieron, despite killing thousands if not tens of thousands of nightmare creatures never once got an echo. So Kieron had wondered why that was happening.
Initially he just ruled it off as a mistake in the soul merge, that limited him from getting his second aspect. But now Caster had a new lead.
'Maybe... it was because of the aspect limiting that! If I can manually make true grazes, no matter how expensive they are, they are definitely going to be many times better than a normal echo.'
Caster left his soul sea and went back to the dream realm.
He decided to see what the graze can do now.
Previously, he could activate a graze at a time and utilize its abilities.
But after a bit of experimenting, he found out he can activate Mordret's graze and another one of the grazes at the same time!
This likely meant Caster could use multiple grazes, like three or four at once when he gets more true grazes.
'But that's going to take a long time.'
He experimented a bit more, and it turns out, Caster can use the true graze's abilities even if the true graze is in its physical form and using its abilities. This happened because of a soul connection they had.
However, this was only one way. Caster could use the abilities of his grazes but his grazes can't use his abilities.
As broken as this may seem, there is a downside.
It is that if the true graze gets killed, Caster would suffer a massive backlash too.
He used the book of books to get the answers to a few more questions but he only got the answer to one.
It was that these grazes are kind of like spirits.
True Grazes are both spirits and physical beings.
And as such a graze always remains incorporeal, but a true graze can change between either at will.
In the incorporeal form, the graze can pass through objects and be invisible. Only those who can see spirits would know of their existence.
Or those with special sensory abilities.
Caster couldn't share their senses, so it did not have as big of a potential for scouting as Sunny's shadows. However, Mordret's true graze could speak, so scouting was possible.
He looked at the graze, it didn't have the facial features of Mordret. It was a completely new face. Even in solid form, his figure looked to be reflecting light a little. Kind of like how the mirror beast looked when it hadn't reflected anything.
His entire skin was ethereal blue and translucent. It gave an illusory vibe.
"Well, now you're my servent Mordret."
Caster knew that for now, his highest priority should be grinding for his grazes.
Because the aspect ability is grazing, using the graze doesn't count as activating his aspect. Which means that as long as he uses his grazes, he can fight for as long as he has soul essence for and can disregard the problem of his aspect.
It was almost like his aspect was fighting against his flaw. Giving him a better chance.
It was similar to Cassie in that sense.
Her flaw made her blind, however as she progressed in the story, she kept getting ways to get information and even see in a way.
Of course, having eyes would have been much better, but it is undeniable that her aspect allowed her to fight against her nearly deliberating flaw at the start.
There was one thing Caster was still curious about though... it was the merging statement.
For Mordret's graze, it said merging was impossible.
But for the other three grazes it had, it said something else.
For Laylah and Welthe's grazes it said merging was available, while for Evelyn's graze it said merging was unavailable.
From all this information, Caster deduced that merging meant some sort of aspect evolution.
And he was correct.
There seemed to be some limits too. Like an awakened graze can't merge with an ascended graze. And that it takes longer for any evolution to happen, the higher it is from Caster's rank. For example merging or evolving an ascended graze would take longer than doing the same for an awakened graze.
Merging two grazes means that the abilities of the two grazes will evolve in a way that merges the abilities of the two.
However, if the grazes are incompatible, the evolved graze will have enhanced abilities of only one of those two, the core graze. And this core graze can be chosen.
Caster's current situation was like that too.
He could merge Laylah and Welthe, but the two grazes were not compatible, so he could only have the abilities of one of the two. Although, they would be enhanced.
This was a dilemma.
He needed more true grazes to enhance his aspect strength, but he was also unwilling to let go of his grazes.
But he didn't hesitate for long.
He decided to merge the two.
However, when he did that, both the runes of both grazes went gray and it stated to be "under evolution".
It was a bummer that he'd have to wait but there was no way around.
Caster stopped thinking unnecessarily and cracked his knuckles before setting off to battle with his new partner.