She bowed.
“Ananke of Weave... greets the River People!"
***
On the other side of the Dream Realm, in the fractured halls of the Ebony Tower, Cassie inhaled deeply.
She was standing in the middle of a dimly lit chamber. Nothing adorned the black stone, and no one was keeping her company.
She was alone in the darkness.
Cassie had come here to call upon the power of her Aspect.
It was as Asterion had said — she could only manifest one Supreme being, and she was
already manifesting herself. Things were a bit better if she wanted to manifest a Transcendent, though. She could manifest a Transcendent Titan or seven Transcendent Beasts. She could also manifest Memories of that Rank... but manifesting beings or items of that Rank drained her essence. Maintaining the summoning permanently would present a problem.
However, doing so with memories of lesser Ranks was quite possible. She could sustain thousands of Dormant Memories in existence indefinitely, for example, if she so wished to.
Of course, Cassie had no need for a thousand Dormant Memories.
But she had something else in mind.
A cold wind seemed to blow across the dark chamber, and suddenly, there was a man of around her age kneeling on the stones in front of her.
The man seemed dazed and disoriented, gasping for breath. He was also entirely naked, so she picked up a folded blanket from a pile of them and wrapped it around his shoulders.
The man flinched and glanced at her, his eyes fresh with a memory of terrible pain. For a moment, he seemed stunned by her sublime beauty.
But then, a hint of recognition slowly appeared on his face.
The man groaned, then asked in a hoarse voice:
"You are... Cassia? Aren't you?"
Cassie nodded.
“I am. You must be confused... allow me to explain. Many years have passed since we saw each other last, and many things have happened in those years. I have brought you back from beyond the grave because despite all our differences... I believe that the world needs your potential."
She straightened and glanced at the kneeling man with a solemn expression. Then, she said:
“Sleeper Gunlaug! Welcome back to the world of the living.”
And soon, she repeated these words once more.
“Sleeper Kido! Welcome back to the world of the living..."
"Sleeper Gemma..."
“Sleeper Park...”
"Sleeper Stev..."
“Sleeper Jubei..."
She called their names one after another, until her voice grew hoarse and her head grew heavy.
On that day, the Dreamers of the Dark City finally returned from the crimson labyrinth of the Forgotten Shore.
And she wasn't alone in the darkness anymore.
[End of volume eleven: The Song of Ariadne.]