Asterion

"Ah… good old Earth. It seems I have returned."

— Asterion, Chapter 2720, 'A New Beginning' ^[1]

Description

Asterion, commonly referred to as the Dreamspawn, is a former member of Broken Swords' cohort and one of the original three Sovereigns of the War Realm.

Appearance

"A gaunt man was sitting in the dust, wearing a tattered spacesuit. The visor of his helmet was cracked, and the oxygen in the tank attached to his back had long run out. Nevertheless, the gaunt man was somehow still alive."

— First appearance of Asterion, Chapter 1840, 'Bathed in Starlight'^[2]

As a teenager, looking at Asterion made others feel uneasy. Although he seemed perfectly pleasant and friendly, some part of him seemed slightly off, as if he were merely wearing the skin of a human.

As a Supreme, Asterion was tall and had an overwhelming presence that enveloped his surroundings. He appeared no older than 30, though he was in actuality in his late 40s, and had smooth and flawless tan skin. He had long and disheveled black hair that fell to his shoulders. His eyes were particularly striking, being an almost golden shade of amber that glistened in the light. He usually wore a friendly smile on his face^[3].

While confined on the moon, Asterion wore a tattered spacesuit with a cracked oxygen tank. He had a gaunt figure, and his lips were cracked.^[2]

Notable Abilities

Aspect

"Sunless… do me a favor, try not to speak that name aloud. Otherwise, he might actually hear you."

— Mordret regarding Asterion, Chapter 1528, 'New Eden' ^[4]

The Dreamspawn's aspect allowed him to become a mind reader. Even with fearsome mental defenses, one could never be sure that one's thoughts and emotions were not being manipulated. Even then, Asterion's aspect allowed him to read others like an open book.

[Aspect Name]: Unknown

[Aspect Rank]: Unknown

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[Dormant Ability]: Asterion's Dormant Ability lets him sense the emotions of others. After his Ascension, it expanded to encompass thoughts as well.^[5]

[Awakened Ability]: Asterion's Awakened Ability let him consume the powerful emotions of others. After his Ascension, it expanded to devour thoughts as well.^[6]

[Ascendant Ability]: Asterion's Ascendant Ability lets him influence the thoughts and emotions of others using his own. It also expanded the capabilities of his previous two abilities, letting them affect thoughts in addition to emotions.^[6]

[Transcendent Ability]: Assumes the form of a colossal mountain of flesh.

Asterion's Transcendant ability let him transform into a massive mound made up of chunks of all the beings he had consumed. In this form, he was a gigantic mountain of flesh, with countless maws, eyes, limbs, and tails. While in this form he retained the ability to repair his body from harm.^[7]

[Supreme Ability]: Unknown.

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[Aspect Legacy]: Unknown.

[Flaw Name]: Unknown.

[Flaw effect]: Unknown.

Asterion's existence was unique, allowing him to exist as both a being and an idea, which meant that he could not be destroyed until all knowledge of him was destroyed as well. Through this, he could manifest a new body for himself and repair his current body from any harm, no matter how badly it was injured. Even if he lost his body in another way, such as in a Soul Duel to Mordret, he would simply be able to manifest a new body for himself. Manifesting a new body for himself in this way likely required a large amount of Soul Essence, but this cost became more and more negligible the more of humanity his Domain encompassed.^[8]

Will

Like all Supremes, Asterion's will possessed the power to reshape the natural world and bend reality to his whim. Asterion's Domain and the Thralls within it served as conduits for his domain.

He could channel his will through them, with more powerful Thralls being able to withstand and endure a greater amount of his will. For instance, Asterion could channel his will through his enthralled Saints to create localized areas of will, within which even ordinary Awakened could endure the erasing effects of Nothing^[9].

Divine Lineages

Like many powerful Awakened, Asterion possessed a Divine Lineage. However, he uniquely possessed the ability to accommodate more than one Divine Lineage within his body. It is unknown if this ability is derived from the lineage of the Heart God, which the first one he came into possession of, or if it is a trait entirely unique to him. Because of this ability, Asterion desired to collect the Divine Lineages of all 6 gods.

By the time he had been imprisoned, Asterion had collected 4 out of the 6 Divine Lineages. He already possessed the lineage of the Heart God^[4], obtained the lineage of the War God from a young Mordret, stole the lineage of the Storm God from Nightwalker in the Eternal City, and somehow also acquired the lineage of the Beast God from Ki Song or one of her daughters.

Each Divine Lineage individually empowered all of Asterion's attributes, but each Lineage also provided a much greater enhancement in a single area. The lineage of the Beast God greatly enhanced his physical body, the lineage of the Heart God greatly enhanced his spirit, the lineage of the Storm God enhanced his mystical senses and intuition, and the lineage of the War God enhanced his intellect and affinity for combat. The sheer number of Lineages Asterion possessed, when combined with the fact that their enhancements only grew the higher one climbed on the path to divinity, made Asterion significantly stronger in many aspects than a Supreme of his caliber should have been.^[10]

Domain

"After all, those who knew of his existence all believed that the Dreamspawn could hear his name being spoken aloud, no matter where and when it was spoken."

— Asterion's name, Chapter 2525, 'The Dreamspawn Cometh' ^[12]

Asterion's Domain was known as the Hunger Domain. Rather than being territorial in nature, the Dreamspawn's Domain was more of an idea than a place.^[4]Asterion's name and the collective idea of him possess the power to spread. Once an individual is aware of it, they are compelled to repeat it unconsciously in conversation. Anyone else who hears the name in passing also becomes a carrier.

This virulent nature of Asterion's name forced the original Sovereigns to erase knowledge of Asterion's existence to suppress the growth of the Hunger Domain.

As for its effects, upon becoming aware of Asterion and his name, individuals are slowly assimilated into becoming subjects of the Dreamspawn's Domain. These thralls act as they usually do, showing no outward signs of disloyalty. However, internally, their loyalty to Asterion supersedes everything.

The initial subtlety of this infection makes subjects of Asterion's Domain difficult to detect, which is only compounded by the ease with which it spread in the first place.

Subjects of the Hunger Domain cease to be subjects of the Domains of other Supremes. Those who were formerly members of Nephis' Longing Domain could no longer be sensed by Nephis and lost the blessing of her healing flames. Members of the Shadow Clan who became infected were rejected by the Mark of Shadow, allowing them to be visually identified by other members^[13].

General Capabilities

"He was capable, effortlessly charming, devilishly smart... and strong. Really strong."

— Nightwalker on Asterion, Chapter 2657, 'Gift of Emptathy' ^[5]

Asterion was a powerful warrior and a skilled orator who lied as easily as he breathed. He occasionally used his own Aspect to alter his memories and suppress his emotions, making himself confident he was telling the truth even while lying.

Notable Equipment

Morgan

Although he did not usually wield any weapons or armor, in his final confrontation with Mordret, Asterion commanded Morgan to use her Transformation ability to become his sword.^[14] As a sword, Morgan had a black hilt and a scarlet blade, and was sharp enough to cut through Mordret's enchanted armor with ease.^[8]

History

Early Life

Asterion was born and raised in the wilderness of the Dream Realm. His family belonged to the Path of Ascension, a cult of powerful Awakened zealots who, after facing constant persecution from the powers that be within the human world, decided to forsake their lives in the waking world and settle in a permanent commune within the Dream Realm.

This cult saw the Dream Realm as a sort of promised land, and believed that the Spell was a divine guide meant to help humanity out of the dying world it had been born in and deliver the chosen among them to salvation. Asterion was the sole survivor of this cult, with the rest of its members dying from an unknown cause soon after Immortal Flame conquered the Second Nightmare^[15].

As a child born in the Dream Realm, Asterion was not sent into the Dream Realm on the Winter Solstice after his First Nightmare. As he was already within the Dream Realm, he instead made his way to a nearby citadel, where he anchored himself and concurrently Awakened^[15].

Attaining Supremacy

Around 30 years after the Nightmare Spell first descended^[16], when Broken Sword and his cohort were preparing to challenge their Second Nightmare, Asterion was brought to Bastion by Anvil of the Valor Clan. Anvil had made a deal with Asterion, promising to help Asterion find a way to enter the waking world in exchange for Asterion helping him and his cohort become Masters^[15].

Soon after, Asterion and the rest of Broken Sword's cohort entered their Second Nightmare, via the Seed of Nightmare linked to Gate C2-167^[17]. They conquered it within 3 months, becoming Masters^[18].

Some time after becoming a Master, Asterion and his followers, with the help of Nightwalker, launched an expedition to the Eternal City in search of an unknown item. He was unable to find this item, and killed Nightwalker before leaving with his followers^[5]. Before leaving, Asterion claimed the Divine Lineage of the Storm God from Nightwalker, despite already having the Divine Lineage of the Heart God^[5].

Some time after a Category Five gate swallowed America, Asterion offered Anvil a deal: to help him kill Broken Sword^[19].

Asterion and the rest of Broken Sword's cohort, bar Smile of Heaven, who had perished during the Gate catastrophe, conquered their Fourth Nightmare in the Underworld, becoming the first Supremes of the War Realm. Soon after conquering the Nightmare and before the cohort could fully realize their newly unlocked powers, Asterion, along with Anvil and Ki Song, betrayed Broken Sword, killing him.

Betrayal

After Broken Sword's death, the remaining Sovereigns began to spread their own influence. Anvil and Ki Song, who had long been wary of Asterion's strange habits and interests, used an expedition to Earth's moon to get rid of him. Asterion, who had long been interested in the moon and the Category Six Nightmare Gate that was located on it, took the chance to visit it.

The remaining two Supremes used this opportunity to destroy his domain. They massacred his followers, erased his name from public records, and forbade the government from mentioning his name in any capacity. Since Asterion did not possess any Citadels himself, this collapsed his Domain almost entirely, stranding him on the moon^[20]. While Asterion attempted to exert his influence on humanity during his time on the moon, Ki Song and Anvil of Valor's influence pushed back against any moves made by him.

Return to Earth (Volume 10, Dark Lord's Dreadful Travelogue)

After the Domain War and the death of both Anvil and Ki Song, Asterion was once again able to begin to exert his influence on the waking world. It started small at first. The occasional graffiti of a name here, a small new church there, but soon a critical mass of people had already become aware. Because the previous Supremes had so effectively suppressed information about Asterion, however, Sunless and Nephis failed to recognize the signs of Asterion's growing power.

Eventually, Asterion's influence grew strong enough for him to manipulate a group of his followers into conducting a ritual in a ruined city in the waking world. These followers knelt in circles and chanted Asterion's name. Eventually, this was enough to let Asterion escape his prison, and return to the rest of the world once again^[1].

War Against the Longing Domain (Volume 11, The Song of Ariadne)

Soon after returning, Asterion recognized the threat posed against him by Cassie and her Transcendant Ability, and decided to deal with her. Under the guise of meeting with Saint Cor, he lured Cassie to an exclusive club in the waking world, which he had secretly packed with members of his own Domain^[21]. Soon after sitting down at the bar, Cassie was simultaneously assaulted by all of Asterion's nearby thralls.

Cassie managed to use a Transcendant Memory to flee to her mother's house, but discovered that her parents had also become members of the Hunger Domain. Asterion himself then showed up at her mother's house, destroying Torment and ripping out her left eye before being driven away by Sunless^[3].

War Against the Mirror Domain(Volume 11, the )

Once Asterion had fully enthralled most of the Longing Domain, he turned his sights on Mordret and the Mirror Domain. Under his rule, all of humanity was able to work as one, without any internal conflicts. This greatly increased their military strength, causing them to begin to win the formerly losing battle against Mordret and the advance of his Domain. Asterion would personally appear on the battlefields of the Black Mountains, slowly poisoning Mordret's mind over time.

This unified strength soon reached a stalemate with Mordret, after which it began to push him back and reclaim the mountains for humanity. Of course, these battles did not come without costs. The natural landscape of the mountains was forever altered, with valleys being filled in with rockslides and glaciers melting under intense heat. The situation was similar in the Moonriver Basin, with the River of Tears changing course and unearthing horrors long hidden beneath the river. In the end, Mordret was driven back almost entirely, leading up to a final stand at the Ebony Tower of the Chained Isles^[22].

Personality

Asterion was an incredibly charismatic person. He valued deals, making multiple with Anvil across the course of their relationship and staying true to them. Somewhat paradoxically, however, he was also a prolific liar, often misrepresenting his own abilities and power to others.

Beneath his friendly exterior lies a hideous truth. Asterion did not consider himself to be human nor an abomination. Rather, he believed himself to be a being that belonged to both worlds who inherited traits of both— a Dreamspawn.

"Instead, he has accepted the creature part of him with open arms... and among all creatures, he is the most frightening one of all. He is the kind of creature who walks around wearing a human face."

— Mordret about Asterion, Chapter 2525, 'The Dreamspawn Cometh' ^[12]

Asterion's Goal

In line with the namesake of his Domain, Asterion hungers to consume anything and everything. Once he has consumed all of humanity to achieve Apotheosis, the Dreamspawn intends to consume every single Nightmare Creature to reach Divinity. After that, he desires to challenge and consume the Forgotten God, before moving onto the Flame from which the gods themselves sprang, and finally the very Void itself^[23].

Relationships

Broken Sword's Cohort

Having conquered his Second, Third, and Fourth Nightmares alongside them, Asterion appeared to have a close relationship with Broken Sword, Ki Song, Anvil of Valor, and Smile of Heaven— the other members of his cohort. Despite this, he did not seem to mind colluding with Anvil to assassinate Broken Sword.

Rest of Humanity

Due to his nature as a Dreamspawn, Asterion saw himself as something other than human, likening himself to a Nightmare Creature.

Trivia