Rivers of the Night

Chapter 861: Trust

Matriarch Macie somehow looked even younger now than she had before, at only about 16 or 17 years old. Her command over her aura was infinitely greater, and even while standing on the hull of a moon-sized ship, she somehow felt larger than even it.

Ameridia’s pupils constricted, confusion coloring her face.

This aura… hadn’t they already felt it from Ayame? Why was it suddenly on Matriarch Macie now?

Kenton’s eyes snapped open and he looked toward Matriarch Macie, a dangerous warning in his eyes.

Bamby’s eyes opened soon afterward, sparks of flame forming in his crimson irises as scales began to grow along his body again.

However, Matriarch Macie didn’t seem to notice them at all, her gaze the absolute picture of calm until she saw Lyra, after which she smiled.

“Well, if it isn’t my little disciple.”

Her voice carried across the world as though they weren’t separated by light-years. The calm cadence seemed to belie how insane she had been the last time she came across Theron.

“Oh!” Macie’s cheery voice echoed again as her gaze moved past Ameridia. “I can smell it on you. You have my scythe, do you not? Won’t you give it back to me?”

Ameridia’s eyes narrowed.

No. She did not have Macie’s scythe. However, she had once seen something she felt that Macie was referring to right now, and it was in the possession of someone whom Kenton and Bamby had been hunting down just moments ago.

“Oh, never mind. It seems that I am mistaken.”

Kenton and Bamby both stood, their eyes focused with menace.

Macie finally looked over at them and then chuckled.

“There are only two of you. What do you expect to accomplish… when I have an entire army?”

The huge ship shook to a stop, and then one black-armored behemoth of a man appeared after another. Every one was at least three meters tall, their weapons even taller and broader than they were. It simply looked like an army of giants.

It was no wonder their ship was so large.

However, Ameridia’s eyes opened wide because of a pair of weapons she seemed to only now finally notice on Macie’s back. It was a twin pair of crescent moon blades, so curved they were most accurately called miniature scythes.

Their most standout feature was their shape, but a close second was their color.

One was silver.

The other was gold.

Those… those were Sunrise and Sunset, a pair of unique weapons that stood above the Transcendent Grade.

A pair of weapons only the Supreme Commander should have.

What was going on?

“What have you done with the Supreme Commander?” Ameridia asked slowly.

Macie blinked. “Supreme Commander? What an arrogant title. I can’t tell you clearly, but I’m sure someone with such a prideful name would surely be able to defend themselves and not crumple to just the slightest bit of pressure, no?”

There was an innocence in Macie’s eyes that made Ameridia absolutely sick to her stomach.

When Ameridia didn’t respond, Macie clicked her tongue.

“How boring.”

“… Ameridia… were we wrong?” Messo asked softly.

Ameridia didn’t respond immediately, her furrowed brow speaking volumes.

After a long while, she took a breath and exhaled.

“It seems that your father and his ‘friend’ really are troublemakers,” Ameridia finally said slowly.

Messo forced a smile. Thinking of her father, a complicated look flashed in her eyes.

Her father would give her anything she asked for at the drop of a hat. He was so uncaring about the consequences of it all that even when he acted exactly the same as those Ancestors he had once hated in his own youth, he didn’t blink an eye.

It wasn’t that Ancestor Tatsuya was unaware. He just didn’t care to act like a hypocrite if he had to.

He only cared to see the world through his lens. So even when it required destroying the world itself, he didn’t care to take the selfish path.

All things considered, Ancestor Sacharro—the Nameless Immortal God—was somewhat similar. He looked at the bigger picture a bit more, but ultimately, if it came down to it, he would choose himself and his family.

Maybe when you grew to a height where you could look down on the entire world, you were allowed to do that.

Unfortunately, that path came with problems.

When the universe forged not just one, but two powerhouses that it could no longer rein in, it was either forced to the sidelines to watch as everything it built collapsed…

Or to destroy it itself, wipe the slate clean, and start from the very beginning.

The universe chose the latter. Ironically enough, the universe was corrupted by its very own Heart Demon…

A Heart Demon that manifested in the form of the Nightingale Clan.

The Nightingale Clan had just one goal and one goal alone:

Destroy it all, destroy everything, wipe it away until nothing was left. The Clan was born in the very cracks in the universe that Ancestor Tatsuya and Ancestor Sacharro left behind.

The Ancestors of the two most powerful Clans in all of Existence could feel it happening. They were smart enough to understand what to do, but they had very opposing views on how to deal with it.

Ancestor Tatsuya wanted to do what he always did.

Destroy it.

He wanted to erase the world until nothing of the Nightingales remained, until the universe had no choice but to bend to his will.

However… Ancestor Sacharro was opposed to this. It wasn’t clear what his plan was or why he stood in Ancestor Tatsuya’s way. But what was clear was that Ancestor Sacharro’s interference had led to a situation where the Nightingales, though once destroyed, had been able to slowly rise back up again.

And now they were here, standing at Heaven’s Gate.

**

High in the skies above the Mountain of Heaven, a battle that could only be described as existence-shaking was taking place.

A pair of men with eyes as sharp as blades and bodies riddled with wounds and exposed bone stood across from each other.

“Why the long face, Ryu?” Ancestor Sacharro grinned.

Ancestor Tatsuya’s face was indifferent, radiating a frigid cold.

“Oh my, don’t look at me like that. Hasn’t this been fun? Wasn’t it lonely at the top?”

Ryu’s response was an open palm, a spear appearing to rest in it. But then its blade lengthened and Ryu opened his other palm.

Soon, two great swordstaffs rested in his hands, each one crackling with lightning and chaos.

“Oh, are we getting serious now?”

Ancestor Sacharro reached out and a scythe manifested in his palms. It was as pitch black as nothingness itself, swallowing all light that even deigned to touch it.

“You know, they once called me the Reaper of the Martial World. I might have to give you that Title instead. As you know, I’m not much of a fan of Titles.”

“You insist on standing in my way, Dyon. I understand why you have, but I cannot abide by it.”

“Is that the mighty Ryu giving me an explanation?” Dyon blinked with amusement in his eyes.

“Not an explanation—an edict.”

Dyon’s smile didn’t fade. “Maybe there is little difference between our individual strengths—though I am clearly stronger. However, where you’ll lose time and time again is that you insist on doing everything on your own.

“I learned how to trust others long ago.”