Chapter 545 : The Shout

When Rachman’s voice spread in a strange manner into the hearts of all the Addus people in Karnak and its surrounding areas, the fear that had gripped them—fear of that apocalyptic sandstorm—suddenly lessened. They didn’t know the voice’s source, nor had they seen the person, but for some reason, every Addus citizen instinctively chose to believe these solemn, ethereal words. That trust seemed to arise from deep within their bloodline, bound to their very souls.

For a time, all the Addus people in Karnak stepped out from their shelters, braving the storm, looking to the distant north in search of the unknown speaker. No longer did they pray before the terrible calamity. With the collapse of both recognition and legal legitimacy, the power of Sandstorm Diedin began to rapidly diminish. As his power waned, Diedin, who had also heard the voice, dragged his withering disaster-like body toward the direction from which the declaration had come, attacking in fury.

“That spirit is retreating… and its power seems to be weakening. Did something happen?”

North of Karnak, Setut—still possessing Shadi—felt the slowing of the wind and commented gravely. Shadi, eyes wide with astonishment, replied.

“Rachman… I just heard a voice claiming to be King Rachman. He declared that Diedin’s kingship was revoked, that he denied him…”

“What—King Rachman? You mean the very first founding king of this nation? You heard his voice, and he revoked that spirit’s royal title?”

Hearing Shadi’s words, Setut was momentarily stunned. But after thinking for a bit, he understood and said.

“King Rachman… so that’s it. Hah… Seems those sect fellows are more capable than I expected. They’ve awakened the soul of this nation’s first king. By invoking the strongest depth of recognition and highest legal legitimacy in Addus, they denied Diedin and shook the very source of his power. That’s quite the move.”

“King Rachman… so it was truly his soul speaking?! As expected, when it came to a decisive moment regarding the future of Addus, we didn’t choose wrong… He’s on our side!”

Shadi said with visible excitement, looking toward the distant sandstorm. He then asked Setut.

“Setut! If King Rachman has denied Diedin, does that mean he’s done for?!”

“It’s not that simple. His power is weakening, but it’ll take time before it drops to a level we can deal with. This isn’t the time to let your guard down.”

Hearing this sobering reply, Shadi’s initial excitement faded, replaced by a solemn gaze toward the storm.

“I see… Let’s hope those worshippers of Heaven’s Arbiter have a way to stall him…”

…

Out in the wilderness, the sandstorm continued forward. Karnak lay only about eight kilometers from Death Eagle Valley, and at Diedin’s speed, it wouldn’t take long to arrive. Though his power was decreasing, his originally massive form still gave him overwhelming might. At this rate of decay, he would still retain enough destructive power upon reaching Death Eagle Valley.

After all, Diedin had ruled Addus for more than a decade—unpopular though he was, his image remained deeply imprinted in the minds of the current generation. That recognition could not be erased by a single declaration. So while his sandstorm power was fading, it would not vanish on its own.

“To possess the ability to turn public recognition and legal legitimacy into power… yet use it to destroy your own people? How pitiful…”

Standing atop a peak in Death Eagle Valley, Rachman, possessed within Nephthys, gazed toward the rapidly approaching face of the sandstorm and muttered in lament. Diedin, now uninhibited by atmospheric resistance, had nearly reached Death Eagle Valley. Despite his weakened state, he still retained a towering form that stretched from earth to sky.

To maximize his destructive force and movement speed, Diedin had compacted his body, transforming from a widespread cyclone into a focused sand tornado. His destructive radius now exceeded one kilometer. From the outside, it looked like a giant dark yellow sand pillar over two kilometers wide, stretching into the clouds. Diedin’s face remained horrific, and his oppressive presence at close range was overwhelming. If a small city like Karnak were caught in that radius for even a few minutes, it would be completely flattened.

As Diedin’s edge approached, yellow sand filled the sky over Death Eagle Valley. The fierce wind lashed at Nephthys’ cloak, and Diedin’s colossal face glared angrily at her. But Rachman, dwelling within her, remained unmoved. Compared to Diedin’s body—two kilometers in diameter—Nephthys was minuscule, even more insignificant than an ant compared to an elephant.

“Soulbound Pact… Halt…”

Facing the approaching behemoth, Nephthys raised her sword and whispered softly. Instantly, Diedin’s advance slowed, as if impeded by shamanic force—but only for a moment. He quickly resumed his charge, and from the whirlwind came his mocking voice.

“It’s useless… Old fool. Without a send-off ritual, your power still belongs to me. What can you possibly do with that feeble soul and this vessel? Crawl back into your grave! You’re only good for providing kingship power! You’re long dead! Addus belongs to me now!”

The sharp ridicule echoed across Death Eagle Valley. Seeing that her power was unable to stop Diedin, Nephthys’ expression turned grave.

At that moment, on the other side of Death Eagle Valley, beyond the towering storm Diedin had become, Dorothy stood, looking up at the relentless, unstoppable sandstorm approaching.

“Although it’s weakened a lot… if we want it to disappear completely, this alone still isn’t enough… Looks like, in the end, we’ll have to go all out.”

Staring at the sandstorm tornado that still retained its terrifying destructive might, Dorothy murmured softly. Then, she reached up to her robe and lifted the veil covering her face, revealing her delicate features.

Next, Dorothy levitated into the air, rising to a height of over ten meters. With wind and sand whipping around her, she took a deep breath and, facing the raging storm, uttered ancient words.

“—Fus-Ro-Dah—”

The ancient syllables came from Dorothy’s mouth. Her voice wasn’t loud; under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t even drown out the howling wind. However, what happened instead was that, the moment these words rang out in the world, the sound they produced was several times louder than thunder.

A roar from a distant foreign world, from the very origin of time, echoed once more in the skies of Addus. As that ancient, mysterious speech resounded amidst the wind and sand, the entire world seemed to resonate with it. In that moment, Dorothy felt a strange illusion—as if she were giving an order to the world itself, commanding it to unleash power and shatter the storm.

BOOM!!!

A sound louder than a thunderclap, deeper than the earth itself, rang through the heavens. Every creature who heard it instinctively covered their ears and looked to the sky in fear. The ancient syllables resonated with the world, releasing an unparalleled force—a massive impact like a tsunami—that surged upward toward the massive pillar of sand.

Suddenly, the giant sand column, struck directly by the impact, bent at a ninety-degree angle like a person clutching their stomach in pain. The spirit form of Diedin, which extended throughout the sandstorm, felt a soul-level pain, an unbearable pressure.

“What…!”

At last, under the crushing force of the impact, the sand pillar collapsed. The raging wind and sand were shredded apart, and the residual force continued upward, scattering the dense clouds and creating a hole in the sky. Sunlight, long obscured, now poured down from above, revealing a sudden patch of clear blue beneath the once-dark sky.

Bathed in the sunlight and amidst the shattered storm, Diedin’s spirit body floated midair, torn into pieces by the furious shout. His limbs—one arm, both legs, and even most of his torso—were gone. His face showed an expression of disbelief and agony.

“What… was that…?!”

Feeling his soul ripped apart, Diedin howled in disbelief. He had never imagined that his towering form, the body of a calamity, would be torn to shreds in a single blow—reduced to such a state.

Even though confusion clouded his mind, Diedin knew that the top priority was to reassemble his spirit, to rebuild his calamity form using the surrounding environment—as much as he could, as quickly as possible. But just as he was about to do so, a streaking shadow raced toward him from afar. Before he could react, the figure was already in front of him—Nephthys, sword in hand.

Staring at the graceful figure that not even her robe could fully conceal, Diedin’s eyes widened. He clearly felt a soul resonance from her, a sensation he had experienced once before, during the royal ascension ritual in the underground palace fourteen years ago.

“Your Majesty… the First King…”

Shing!

Without hesitation, Nephthys’ blade sliced through the air, cleanly severing Diedin’s head. Before he could recover from the shock, she continued swinging her sword, butchering what remained of his already shredded spirit body into countless fragments.

Diedin’s soul was gravely damaged and could no longer maintain its form. It collapsed into a cluster of soul flame. Sensing the opening, Nephthys reached out, thrust her hand into the soul flame, grabbed something, and yanked it out.

She pulled out two things: a goblet formed from spirit essence and a smaller orb of soul flame.

With these extracted, Diedin’s soul flame began to tremble violently and emitted a wail of agony.

“No… I… am the King… of Addus…”

With this cry, Diedin’s spirituality quickly deteriorated to the point where even the soul flame could no longer hold together. In its final spasms, the last remnant of the soul flame disintegrated into threads of spirit, dissipating in all directions.

In Nephthys’ hands, the spirit goblet quickly materialized into a tangible object. Soon after, the orb of soul flame was inhaled by Nephthys, merging with the spirit of Rachman, who had possessed her body.

Looking at the goblet in her hand, then at the clearing sky and the barren lands of Addus, Rachman—possessing Nephthys—couldn’t help but sigh.

“It’s over…”

With that sigh, Nephthys turned her gaze to the direction from which that thunderous roar had come. Her expression grew solemn, and she muttered.

“Looks like… something extraordinary is emerging in this era. What will it bring to Addus?”

…

Elsewhere, Dorothy was slowly descending from the sky. After landing, she looked toward the broken sandstorm and the torn-open clouds. Under the sunlight, she closed her eyes, savoring the sensation of using the Unrelenting Force Shout in the real world for the first time.

“To resonate with the bones of the earth… to issue a command to the world… and unleash mighty power… This—this is the very principle behind the Thu’um in the world of Nirn.”

“I didn’t expect it… Even after being localized into this world, the essence of the Dragon Shout is much the same. I was able to use the Dragon Tongue to resonate with the ‘Earth Bones’ and give orders to the world…”

Murmuring to herself, Dorothy reflected on her experience. By using the Unrelenting Force shout, she had glimpsed a piece of the truth of this world—through the Dragon Shout as a medium.

In the world of Nirn from The Elder Scrolls, the world was created by gods called Aedra. At the suggestion of Lorkhan, they gathered to create the world. During the creation, many Aedra exhausted their power and became trapped in the physical world, their corpses forming the very earth itself. The bones of gods became the Earth Bones, and their blood became ebony ore. The essence of the Dragon Shout (Thu’um) is to resonate one’s shout with the Earth Bones, invoking phenomena.

In Nirn, this is the principle behind the Thu’um.

In this world… it’s almost the same…

When Dorothy unleashed the full power of her three-word Dragon Shout, she felt the presence of something akin to the “Earth Bones” of Nirn in this world.

(T/N: I briefly checked Skyrim wiki and can’t find this part of the lore. Was this author’s own lore parody?)