Chapter 2290: False Alarm

Shadow Slave

Me da risa como los comentarios duran mas que el capítulo, bueno, mínimo eso significa que hay varios que le gustan la misma novela que a mi

Not Bs tho' I think I saw some something btw a certain fire keeper and and some blood sister in this (War Arc). Correct me if I'm wrong. This was not as far fetched as= Rain and Tamar slop.🤷

why is Rain still Awakened? I remember that following the Path, finding your Flaw and Aspect, you become a Saint

Chapter 2292: Name Giver
Translated from Russian with GPT

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Chapter 2292: Name Giver-

Rain had indeed expected her Aspect to awaken during the war… perhaps even at the very last moment, in her greatest hour of need — so that she could turn the tide and save the day in the most dramatic fashion.
Looking back, it was clear that was never going to happen.

Rain didn’t fully understand how the world worked — no one truly did — but she felt there was a subtle poetry in the foggy crossroads of fate. People and their choices rhymed with one another… as did the circumstances people could not control. So, in a way, lives were like poems.
Of course, not all lives, or at least not equally so. But the lives of those with great power, or those exceptional in some way, usually were.

Rain did not possess great power, and although she was special in a certain sense, she wouldn’t have called herself exceptional. Once, she had indeed achieved something remarkable — she became Awakened without relying on the cruel mercies of the Nightmare Spell — but most of that accomplishment belonged to her brother, not to her.

Even so, her life seemed to carry a poetic slant as well.
And though the poem of her life spoke of war and bloodshed, that wasn’t its main theme.
Her Deficiency, the Thorned Crown, proved it.
So what was the theme then?

The end of the Great War was a confusing time for Rain. She had barely come to terms with the fact that she was a Legacy — a future princess, no different from Tamar. But then, in the blink of an eye, her brother betrayed everyone and died.

Instead of a princess, she became the sister of a dead traitor… the vilest villain in the world, no less.

Fortunately, Rain was only Awakened, so she did not witness how Lady Nephis dealt with her brother — her vision wasn’t sharp enough for that. In truth, she didn’t even know what had happened until much later, when Cassie’s voice suddenly sounded in her head, telling her not to worry.
She learned that her brother was alive and only then realized that, in everyone’s eyes, he should have died.
So she never even had the chance to truly worry about him.

And even more fortunately, no one knew that Rain — or rather, Rani of the Seventh Royal Legion — was in any way connected to the Lord of Shadows.
One way or another, after that the world began changing at a terrifying speed.
When all was said and done, Rain chose to remain in Godgrave, to help build the road across the Clavicle Plain — a road meant to connect the former Domain of Swords and the Domain of Song.
She made this decision purely out of love for building… not that it was a light decision.

In fact, it carried great weight, and she made the choice after long, serious reflection about what she wanted to do with her life.
Rain was tired of war, tired of breaking things, and tired of seeing them broken.
So she returned to working with a road crew — though this time, she was not a simple laborer, but an elite Awakened.

And when, months later, the road was completed, her Aspect suddenly awakened — not on a battlefield, but right in the middle of a construction site.
It was a fitting moment, especially for someone whose Deficiency rendered all her combat experience and years of hard training more or less meaningless.

Rain had spent many hours wondering what her Aspect would be, but in the end… it turned out to be too strange for anyone to guess.
Honestly, it wasn’t like any other.

As an Awakened, Rain could command two Aspect Abilities.
Moreover, she possessed two essence pools — a soul essence pool and a spiritual essence pool.
The Dormant Ability allowed her… to give things names.
Or rather, Names — not quite True Names, but not ordinary either.
These Names were permanent and possessed their own power… modest power, considering she was only Awakened, but real nonetheless.

Assigning a Name required a one-time infusion of spiritual essence. The more essence she poured in, the greater the Name’s effect on the Named object and the world around it.
The problem was, Rain hadn’t yet figured out how to expand her spiritual essence reserves.
Despite this, by the time the road through Godgrave was finished, she had somehow managed to gather a decent amount — the sky above her Sea of Soul, once vast and clear, was by then entirely covered in storm clouds, with rain constantly falling onto the restless waters.

So Rain poured all that essence into the finished road, naming it the Road of Shadows.
The skies above her Sea of Soul cleared, brilliant sunlight once again illuminating the shimmering waters… and then, something miraculous happened.

Her brother had taken his Citadel with him, but left behind the Fragment of the Shadow Realm, whatever it actually was. As he explained to her, he could control the Fragment somewhat as a Sovereign, but not enough to use it where he was going.

A dome of impenetrable darkness stretched over the center of the Clavicle Plain, covering a rough sphere dozens of kilometers across.
But the moment Rain gave the road a Name, the sphere stirred, stretching out into a thin line that covered most of the road’s length.

Thus, the Road of Shadows was shielded from the merciless glare of the white abyss above Godgrave.
And Rain collapsed from essence exhaustion, causing quite a stir among the members of the Shadow Clan hiding among the road builders to protect her.

One way or another, everything had worked out perfectly — unfortunately, Rain hadn’t managed to pull off anything quite so grand ever since.

After the road through Godgrave was built, Rain traveled to the Bastion to take part in the construction of the Rivergate Dam and begin her Formation studies.

All the while, she cautiously experimented with Names and tried to better understand her own soul.
She discovered several interesting things — for instance, that giving Names in the runic language used by the Nightmare Curse was more efficient: achieving the same result required less spiritual essence.

Rain also discovered that Naming something which already had a True Name seemed impossible.
She also learned to better use her Awakened Ability.

This Ability allowed her to assign descriptors — Epithets, as they were called.
Unlike Names, Epithets weren’t permanent and only existed as long as she could sustain them with her soul essence.

For example, she could assign an Epithet to a shield, making it an Indestructible Shield.
As a result, the shield would become much sturdier — until Rain’s essence ran out.

In fact, as an Awakened, she could maintain two Epithets at once.
Thus, she could turn a shield into an Indestructible Magnetic Shield, causing enemy weapons to stick to its surface once they failed to break it.

Naturally, stronger Epithets consumed more essence.
The descriptor “indestructible” was more powerful, but also more costly, than the descriptor “durable”.

There were actually many factors affecting how powerful and costly Epithets were.

For example, the more an Epithet contradicted the nature of the object, the more essence it consumed — making a shield extremely sturdy was easier than making it fragile.
Assigning Epithets to living beings was also always more expensive...

But if she wanted to, Rain could make a person attacking her Motionless, especially if she knew their name, and even better — their True Name. At least for a few moments, if their rank wasn’t too high.

In fact, assigning Epithets to things with True Names or given Names always cost less essence.
It worked the other way around too — using a learned True Name as an Epithet required less essence and produced far greater effects than simply using a word from human language.

For example, assigning a sword the True Name of Burning would easily melt it, while giving it the simple Epithet “Burning” would at best heat it enough to make the opponent drop it.

Thus, using her Awakened Ability was sometimes much more effective than Formation itself.
After all, a Former had to speak Names and guide them to perform magic — and once the sound of their voice faded, the magic began to dissipate.
Whereas an Epithet would last as long as Rain had essence.

She could even maintain several minor Epithets indefinitely, if chosen wisely.
She could even assign Epithets to herself...

Rain took a sip of her cocktail and smiled at Telle and Tamar.
Her friends didn’t know it, but right now she wasn’t the Promise of Distant Skies.
At that moment, she was the Sober, Well-Rested Promise of Distant Skies.
Granted, the second Epithet was draining her essence at a truly disgusting rate.

It seemed that even the combined power of her Aspect and Formation couldn’t compare to Director Bethany.

Lex or Shiv wya?

Is it serious that the Saint of Sorrow died and Jest was left alive?

If I get 50 likes, I compose a slave chapter

The same type of weirdos shipping rain n Tamar are the same type of people that shipped Bakugo n deku. I understand shipping people but for people that have literally ZERO indication of it being something like that I think it’s ridiculous fr.

2291 An Elegant and Noble Outing

Rain chuckled and looked at the elaborately inked snake that wrapped around her arm and shoulder. Tamar wore a gown with extended cuffs, so hers was largely hidden — only its end could be seen, lying on her sleek bronze complexion.
 
"Apologies, Telle… I could arrange a meeting with the tattoo artist, but I fear your parents would disapprove."
 
Telle reclined with a disgruntled look. "My mother has a rebellious streak as well, you understand? Once, she slayed a Valor Saint. Our whole clan was exiled to Antarctica as retribution. But, never mind…"
 
She cast a final glance at Tamar's shoulder and averted her gaze with a proud snort. "I have no desire for a snake tattoo, regardless. Birds prey on snakes." She failed to conceal the trace of jealousy in her voice, though, which nearly caused Rain to laugh.
 
Telle and Tamar were rather alike in that they both had been nurtured by strict Legacy leaders, and usually displayed a rigid mask of restrained elegance to the outside. Yet, while Tamar's somber demeanor was innate to her, Telle's efforts to uphold a distant appearance were often awkward, obvious… and quite endearing!
 
Rain just managed to hold back a smile. Of course, that was only accurate for those familiar with her. To a casual observer, Tell of White Feather would seem like the embodiment of harsh and austere Legacy pride — and to those unfortunate enough to end up facing her blade, she would be akin to a frigid and pitiless terror.
 
…But that merely rendered the proud young lady increasingly charming. Rain scanned the area and signaled to a server. Before long, the trio was gazing upon artfully presented cocktails. Each resembled a static artwork contained within a vessel, adorned so finely that consuming them felt akin to a deed of destruction.
 
Telle regarded her two companions with uncertainty. "So… we're indulging in alcoholic beverages?" Notwithstanding her assured appearance, the stunning Feather Knight was in truth rather naive about mundane affairs. It was highly likely that she had never sampled liquor previously, hence she appeared hesitant.
 
Tamar gestured indifferently. "I suppose. I'm puzzled, however. Why is there such a quantity of ice? It feels as though we're consuming ice with a mere hint of alcohol."
 
Rain gazed upon them in exasperation. "You two comprehend nothing! I meticulously perused the culinary segment of the Bastion Gazette. This establishment is the trendiest locale on the Lakefront Promenade currently, and these three cocktails are reputed to be exquisite. They are inspired by the deposed Sovereigns. Observe… these represent the Bloody Queen, the Old Valor, and the Sweet Shadow."
 
Tamar's cocktail was vivid crimson, Telle's almost clear with precisely shaped ice blocks, while Rain's own was completely dark. She smiled broadly. "Additionally, there's the fourth variant, the White Flame, which is the most favored… it's crafted with premium Beast Farm cream and potent spirits, resulting in a blend that's both velvety and intense, heating the body and calming the spirit. At least, that's what the Gazette claims. In any case… cheers!"
 
They lifted their vessels and tapped them delicately. Then, every one of the trio sampled their own. 'Ah… so it's dark due to coffee liqueur!' Rain felt satisfied. The Sweet Shadow was, indeed, delectable... she resolved to rely on the Bastion Gazette henceforth.
 
Tamar set her vessel aside and smiled... she rarely grinned lately, so it was an uncommon and appreciated view. "Oh, isn't it time for felicitations? I observed the street lamps illuminate last evening. You two truly accomplished it!"
 
Rain beamed. "Indeed we did!" Telle gazed upon them, had another taste of her cocktail, and sighed. "I feel jealous. You two already possess electricity… it likely won't arrive at the Chained Isles for another ten years."
 
Following the war, the journeys of the three Awakened girls had diverged in various ways. The White Feather clan had reclaimed their ancestral territory, so Telle went back to the Sanctuary of Noctis with her family. She devoted the majority of her days to the Chained Isles now, solely coming back to Bastion every couple of months to represent her clan and handle formal affairs.
 
Tamar's destiny, meanwhile, was nearly the complete reverse of Telle's. Her father, the Saint of Sorrow, had perished in the last conflict of the Realm War… humanity had suffered the loss of numerous valiant fighters on that grim occasion, and she was among numerous who had been bereaved of companions and kin in the unforgiving forge of combat.
 
Rain desired to remain with her companion for some time, but regrettably, Tamar was not granted much opportunity to grieve. As the sole remaining offspring of the Saint of Sorrow, she had to take charge of her clan — and in its most trying times, nonetheless. Tamar may have ascended to the position of the new Lady of Sorrow, but she was only an Awakened.
 
Consequently, she was unable to assert dominion over the ancestral Citadel of the Sorrow clan — thus, her family were compelled to surrender their territories to an individual capable of doing so. That individual was precisely Saint Seishan, the erstwhile leader of the Seventh Royal Legion. Seishan had dealt with the family of the previous lord of the Lake of Tears courteously, but even though they were not coerced to depart, they nonetheless opted to forsake their erstwhile territory.
Consequently, Clan Sorrow transformed into one among the numerous declined aristocratic houses following the War. …Naturally, Rain knew Tamar well, so she was confident that her friend's clan would ascend anew eventually. Indeed, its reputation was already improving.
Tamar had enlisted with the Shadow Clan initially. Subsequently, she took part in the tournament held by the Fire Keepers and made a name for herself in the arena, vanquishing numerous powerful Awakened in an exceedingly fierce and impressive manner. She excelled sufficiently to reach the final round, nonetheless.
 
Thus, currently, Tamar was in a way a dual operative — admittedly, the factions she was part of were strongly connected rather than antagonistic. Publicly, she was an ascending talent among the recent recruits of the Fire Keepers. Privately, however, she acted as the Shadow Clan's team leader in Bastion… and also Rain's personal bodyguard at times. Life was indeed capricious occasionally.
 
Regarding Rain, she had remained in Godgrave for some time, subsequently arrived in Bastion to study Shaping under Lady Nephis and civil engineering as part of Chief Bethany's team. Additionally, at some point, she had also unlocked her Aspect.