Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 835, Part 3: The Brotherhood of Shadows sounds too dark. I hereby declare this place to be called the 'Brotherhood of Holy Light'.

Diakum was transported by a strange ghost ship to a strange starport. According to the information gathered along the way, this "floating island," shrouded in a peculiar fog that made it difficult for even the senses of the gods to penetrate, was located in the mysterious "Void Quadrant."

This was the first time the vigilant had heard this seemingly profound but actually mysterious word.

According to the pirate captain, who exuded both swagger and cunning, the so-called "Void Quadrant" is a peculiar substance that acts as a "buffer" between different universes within the entire multidimensional system, and can be basically equated with the "Aether" that fills the galaxy of Azeroth.

The void quadrant is boundless and difficult to traverse, while countless universes under the multidimensional system are encompassed within it like isolated islands. Of course, this must be a super complex multidimensional structure.

Even with the esoteric wisdom of the Lord of Dawn, it would be difficult to understand the structure of this system. Dick suspected that the scoundrel pirate himself might not know either, so he deliberately said some mysterious things to evade him.

But the pirates did give him a lot of useful information.

For example, the floating island in front of us, located deep in the void quadrant, is the main base of the "Brotherhood of Shadows." Although each member has their own "direct universe" as their territory, they usually shoulder the organization's tasks and work silently in their respective territories.

But they focus on this when they need to do something that an individual cannot do or when they have an important discussion.

This island, shrouded in gray fog, is the home port of Captain Black Shaw's fleet. He is tasked with retrieving lost souls from the Void Quadrant, a mission that requires his flagship and the other ghost ships in his fleet to constantly sail through the dangerous and mysterious Void Quadrant.

The pirate was visibly fed up with this, but because he couldn't beat the others in the organization, he was being exploited to the point of ecstasy.

This might be why he chose to cause trouble when Diakum "returned".

The Vigilant didn't care what the scoundrels were planning; he had his own plan and had already successfully completed his paladin's daily chore of "kicking down the tavern door and initiating evil detection."

However, the scoundrel also told the vigilant something else important.

This island shrouded in gray fog is "owned"!

This island, teeming with secrets, and the tavern on the dock are both "projections" that the "boss" of the Shadow Brotherhood cut out of his own universe.

This is his home!
Although the guy was considered an incurable gambler by the pirates, and was always irresponsible and domineering, he was genuinely concerned about the Brotherhood of Shadows.

He had already given up his home as a secret club for his brothers to hold meetings and relax, and now Diakum was eager to tear down this "filthy" home.

Members of the Shadow Brotherhood all started as "gods".

Although there are certainly differences in strength between individuals, the lower limit can be guaranteed. As the representative of the Brotherhood's "upper limit," Cypher Hawke, as usual, went to the gambling game today, ready to win a lot of money from his brothers who had scored the winnings to fund the organization. From the moment he sat down at the gambling table, he was restless.

After playing a few rounds and losing a lot of chips, his unease grew stronger, and he felt that something terrible was about to happen or was happening.

"boom"

When his unease reached its peak, this burly, broad-shouldered man, with rings of different colors and styles on all ten fingers, exuding a violent aura, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He patted the table and casually picked up a cigar from the side and lit it.

Standing up amidst thick smoke and a hazy mist, he looked disgruntled and somewhat dejected, and said to his "card-playing buddies" hidden beneath various disguises:
"I have something to do today, so I'm not playing."

"Don't bother me!"

A cosmic master, disguised as a "giant frog," skillfully arranged the cards and drawled out:
"You've lost quite a bit today. Instead of trying to win it back, you should cut your losses. That's not like you. I've brought three nearly new dimensional tuning forks as stakes. I'm going to win back the 'pocket universe' I lost back then from you."

I heard that you and your bunch of weirdos transformed that thing into a real universe that's qualified to be entered into an infinite-dimensional database?
Wow, that's awesome.

Although you're a terrible person, your brothers have some really amazing skills. When are you going to introduce them to everyone?

"Shut up."

Displeased, Cyber ​​squinted and surveyed the card table, reached up and unbuttoned the top button of his collar, stretched his neck, and said:

“If I find out that any of you were involved in this mess today, then we’re not playing cards anymore, we’re going to beat people up! If I catch you in the act, the next time we gamble together, we’ll use that idiot’s head as the dice.”

"Humph"

Another gambler said, quite annoyed:
"No matter how powerful you are, 'Overlord,' can't you kill us all? The hero who crossed the Origin Wall alone to the other side and came back is old now. How many years has it been since you last made a move?"

Ever since you formed that 'brotherhood,' you've been acting as both father and mother, gathering a bunch of problem children and cleaning up their messes every day.

The 'tyrant' who once roamed the multiverse is dead!
Cypher Hawke has now fallen so low that he has to use his own savings to raise funds for his incompetent organization.

Even the most formidable sword, unsheathed for years, how much of its sharpness remains in you?

"You're welcome to try. You dislike me but don't kill me because you don't want to, right?"

Cyber ​​turned around, waved his hand casually, and said:
"I may indeed be getting old and decrepit, but I've raised those 'problem children' you all talk about quite well."

Want to fuck me?
Hmph, you'll have to get past my brother first.

Oh, I forgot, it's not like you guys haven't tried it before. Of the thirteen old brothers who used to gamble together, only six of you old bastards are left.

What about the other seven?
The grass on the grave must be ten feet tall by now, right?

"You're so uncultured! Is that grass that's ten feet tall considered grave mound grass? That's clearly trees planted on a grave mound, okay?"

"You've got some serious skills! Fine, you guys wait here, I'll go back and check, and maybe even scrape together some money for my funeral while I'm at it. Since you want to play, let's fight to the death today, the bet is locked!"

"You're not allowed to leave until you've lost everything, even if you have to pawn your pants!"

"Alright, alright, you go ahead, we'll be waiting for you here."

Amidst the cheers of his fellow gamblers, Cypher, cigar in hand, ripped open the "barrier" of the multidimensional system and stepped into the void tide that could tear everything apart, braving the bone-chilling wind as he hurried towards his hometown.

His unease grew stronger, as if he had forgotten something important while preparing for today's grand gamble.

As they approached Gray Fog Island, Overlord slapped his forehead, finally remembering what he was supposed to do that day.

What the hell!

Isn't today the day Dick returns?

My mighty and unparalleled second brother, with a heart as kind as a bodhisattva, has returned!

No wonder I felt so uneasy. Without me keeping things under control, and with that bastard Blake Shaw definitely stirring things up behind the scenes, it would be strange if my house wasn't destroyed.

Horse riding!
Gambling is indeed harmful to brain health, turning a perfectly healthy polytheist into someone with amnesia. Look, even this polytheist gambled so much that he almost lost his wife and children, and even lost most of his savings for his coffin.

Good kids, please don't touch this stuff.

With this "repentance," the Shadow Brotherhood's leader, Grand Elder, finally returned to his island. Like a shooting star, he pierced through seventeen tides in the Void Quadrant to reach his island. The gray mist that obscured others' perception could not block his gaze. He glanced around and found the island to be quite quiet.

Her own bar, as always, shone with warm lights, like a gentle girl waiting for her sailors to return to port.

This relieved him, who was smoking a cigar.

Thinking that his "second brother" must be inside, Cyber ​​spent a few seconds fixing his hair and clothes before reaching out and gently pulling the doorknob.
"bang"

It's like triggering a "self-destruct mechanism".

As Cypher Hawke stared in disbelief, his beloved old bar collapsed completely in seconds, as if by a controlled explosion. Amidst the flying dust and smoke, only the doorknob in his hand remained intact.

As he looked down at the exquisite doorknob that the craftsman had made especially for him, a heartbreaking cracking sound rang out from his palm, and even his beloved doorknob shattered in his hand.

In the ruins clearly left by a fight, two people lay sprawled out, Diakum being the one standing.

Hmm, this seems to explain the outcome of the battle just now.

But the vigilant are not in perfect condition either.

His body was now evenly divided into three parts, with light and shadow pulsating above his chest, doing its best to dispel the death aura remaining on the Lord of Dawn and suppress his boiling emotions and will.

His chest was covered with death energy slashes, and a strange thing called "Heaven's Lock" suppressed the flow of his power like a seal.

Within his body, his spiritual world was filled with all sorts of vain spells from the Vain Lord, and in Diakum's spiritual world, the mad magic sword named "Judas" was also pressing down.

Before being suppressed by the Eclipse Symbol, the latter was strangely thrown into the mind of the Lord of Dawn, like a "demon seed" rooted in it, absorbing all of Diakum's mind and emotions as nourishment, making Dick feel as if he had been directly hit by an enhanced version of the "Black Eclipse Sword".

He stood there, leaning against the only pillar still standing in the ruins of the bar. To his left was Death, immobilized by the shrunken Sun, and to his right was the Void Lord, bound by the chilling Eclipse.

Hearing the noise, he looked up, opened his eyes, and saw Cypher Hawke standing in front of the ruins with a numb expression. The latter had a cigar in his mouth, and ash smoke kept gushing out from each of his "smoker's breaths".

"Hi."

Dick struggled to raise his hand and greeted him, saying:

"Long time no see. Are you still gambling? When I left, you were having a domestic dispute with your wives. They seemed to be planning to take half of your assets in order to force you to quit gambling."

How is it going?

"nailed it."

Looking at the ruins of the bar before him, the overlord said with a heart full of despair:

"I no longer have to worry about my property, because my last bit of 'secret stash' was just wiped out by three bastards who didn't even bother to fight in the storeroom or the dance studio."

He sighed.

He tossed the shattered golden handle aside, stepped into the ruins, and whispered:
"You remember now? That jerk Blake Shaw has so obediently returned your memories to you?"

"No, he tricked me into coming here to 'slay demons and eliminate evil spirits'."

Dick shrugged and said:

"During the battle just now, Merlin used his imaging ritual to re-imprint my 'first half of life' into my mind, but to be honest, for me now, it is more of a 'story of someone else'."

Perhaps I need some time to adjust and convince myself to accept my past self again.

"Well, it's nothing serious, just two different lives, but you're still you."

Cyber ​​nodded magnanimously.

He walked to the side of Death, who was suppressed by the blazing sun, extended his fingers, curled them to gather strength, and slammed them onto the surface of the symbol of the sun with a bang. Under Diakum's twitching gaze, the sun entity that he had been suppressing Death was smashed to pieces.

The owner of this place turned to look at the raven sealed in the eclipse, shook his head, reached into the cold eclipse, and pulled the suffering raven out by the neck.

The two guys, who had broken free from the seal of light and shadow, sat there panting. Cyber ​​continued forward and walked up to Dick.

He frowned and stared at him, then reached out and placed his hand on the Vigilant's shoulder. As the five rings on his left hand lit up one by one, all the curse effects and death aura marks on Diakum were purified. Then, the Overlord bound his hand into a claw and gently grabbed at his chest.

The demonic sword Judah, which was wreaking havoc in Diakum's mind, was pulled out like an eel and casually tossed aside beside the panting Raven.

After doing all this, the Overlord, with an expression as gentle as an elder brother, patted Dick on the shoulder with a warm smile and said:
"Anyway, it's good that you're back. This godforsaken place feels a bit less bright without you. Although we're all stray dogs that crawled out of the gutter, nobody wants to stay in the gutter forever."

you.
You always manage to bring a glimmer of light to the darkness that fills everyone's hearts. We certainly don't need too much light—it would be uncomfortable for us stray dogs in the dark—but when licking our wounds, having someone nearby chanting scriptures provides a strange sense of security.

"Sorry, I ruined your bar."

Dick said:
"I will make it up to you."

"It's alright, it's just a minor loss. We're all family, and I'm not such a petty older brother."

Although this bar is where my wives sealed all my assets to limit my 'high spending,' leaving me only my savings and money for my funeral.

Although this bar was the only safe haven my adoptive father had made when he took me in after I became homeless, and it was the only place where I could feel safe during that miserable life as a stray dog.

Although this bar is where I first found you and decided to form a fraternity, I see it as the only refuge for our poor, homeless fellow countrymen who have wandered far from home and can't return to this merciless universe.

But how to say it?

I'm a magnanimous person, and I don't hold grudges, so there's no need for compensation.

It's not you who should be compensating it.

Cypher laughed heartily, unbuttoned the collar of his shirt that he had previously fastened to welcome Dick's return, and magically produced two brass knuckles inlaid with Infinity Stones, which he then wore on his wrists.

Under the horrified gazes of Dick and the other two, he stretched his shoulders, letting the aura of violence spread like a roar from the abyss, and said with considerable magnanimity:

"In short, the matter of one person having seven broken bones is now over."

"Fuck!"

Having just escaped the eclipse, the Void Lord cursed and turned into a flock of dark birds, preparing to tear through dimensions and escape. However, Cyber ​​teleported past and punched him into thin air.

The visible shattering of the void transformed into a violent torrent that swept across the galaxy, and in the next instant, it carried Merlin the raven, causing him to scream as he crashed to Diakum's feet.

The Vigilant looked at him, and the Void Lord looked up at the Vigilant.

He spat out a mouthful of blood as soon as he opened his mouth.

"escape."

He stretched out his hand and said tremblingly:
"The wounds he inflicted were all 'real wounds' that could not heal."

"There's no escaping it!"

Death rushed over, grabbed Tessalak, and shouted at Diakum:

"What are you standing there for? Draw your sword! Didn't you already stack up your Heavenly Reckoning skill? Unleash that Dawn Sword that made you beat us up so coolly!"

"This"

Dick was still hesitating.

After all, he had indeed destroyed someone's home in the previous battle. His high moral standards made him unsure whether he should draw his sword and retaliate, but Cyber, who had already started killing, didn't care about that.

With a whoosh, he appeared in front of Diakum.

The Lord of Dawn immediately transformed into a streak of light to dodge, but in the next second he was forcibly pulled out of the light by the head. With a "Skull Crush" strike from the smiling Cypher, Dick was slammed into the shattered floor.

Didn't we agree to break bones?

Oh, so smashing a skull counts as breaking a bone, right? What kind of violent demon are you?!

"Go together!"

The raven, still coughing up blood, struggled to support Judas, and he called out:
"Call the men! Get all the brothers here! That gambling addict, Cyber, has lost a lot of the organization's assets and still won't change his ways. Today we'll stage a 'mutiny'! Either he quits gambling, or the Brotherhood disbands."

"Coming!"

The moment the raven cried out, a dozen or so figures dressed in different styles of combat suits tore through space and leaped into the ruins.

This is the "Master Legion" coming to lend a hand!

The leader, the master craftsman himself, Lord Mason, the Shadow Brotherhood's chief logistics officer, piloted a cool "Cosmic Overlord" suit of armor. He pointed a finger at his ferocious older brother and screamed:

"I told you long ago that gambling is bad! But repeated persuasion is useless. Since reasoning with him is useless, let's use physical means today! How can the Brotherhood function well with such a gambling addict as its leader?"

Now that our legendary 'conscience' has returned, let's support Diakum as the new leader of the Shadow Brotherhood, Pshaw!

Go!

My fearless clones, the day has come to deliver the victory for the dragon!

"What are you doing here, someone who works in logistics?"

Merlin teleported to Mason's side and called out:
"Go and call the scumbag pirates over! Dick will hold the front line to make sure he doesn't get killed, but we need his amazing thieving skills to keep the battle going."

"Oh, the pirate said we should go first, and he'll be here soon."

"That guy set a fire and then ran away. He's not coming back, you bastard! Don't let me catch him! That wrecked ship has to be torn down!"

(End of this chapter)