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401	Chapter 401 Clueless The acid stored in the demon's stomach had melted the gra.s.s, but now, new blades were already rising from the ground, taller than before. It took Sunny some time to find the coins between them… the rain did not help, either. But in the end, he discovered all three. The coins were identical to the first one: they were cast from gold and heavy, a beautiful wooden ship with a tree growing around its mast depicted on one side and the face of the mysterious stranger on the other. Hiding the coins in his pack, Sunny wiped the rainwater off his face and looked at the remains of the winged demon. In a flash of lightning, he saw the whole creature, red gra.s.s growing through its white bones, darkness nesting in the empty eye sockets, terrifying fangs crowding the ma.s.sive, powerful jaws. Even in death, the creature looked frightening. 'Where have you come from, ugly?' With a sigh, Sunny looked at the sky, allowing rain to pelt him in the face for a while. Whatever little chance he had of tracking the flying abomination by following the trail of its blood was now gone. What else could he do? Closing his eyes for a moment, Sunny walked a few steps and retrieved a piece of gnawed wood from the mud. Just as he had remembered, it resembled a broken corner of a chest, with a strip of metal reinforcing the seem. Both the strip of metal and the wood itself had been violently torn from the rest of the chest, it seemed, by the bite of the dead demon. Which meant one thing… there had to be at least one chest full of mysterious coins somewhere out there, probably. But how was Sunny supposed to find it? The Chained Isles was a vast land, full of numerous dangers and hidden places. All he knew about the creature was that it had been mortally wounded by the dwellers of the Dark Side and then succ.u.mbed to the Crushing. ReadNovelFull.me Speaking of the Crushing… the rattling of chains thundered in the distance, announcing that the Iron Hand Island was entering the ascent phase. Sunny had to leave this place quickly. The next time he returned, the bones of the demon would most likely already be turned to dust. Gritting his teeth, Sunny walked over to the skull of the abomination and dislodged one of its fangs with a powerful kick. Picking up the jagged bone dagger, he studied it for a few moments, and then put it in his pack. If all else failed, he would try to find an Awakened with affinity to revelations and convince them to perform a divination upon the fang. There was one person capable of something like that on the Chained Isles, at least. But… Sunny wasn't really willing to request help from that particular seer. Not unless there was no other choice at all. 'We're not there yet.' Banishing the dark thoughts out of his mind, Sunny threw a last glance at the dead demon and the surrounding area, trying to see if he had missed a clue. However, there was nothing. With a troubled look on his face, he dissipated into the shadows and hurried back to the Sanctuary. \\\* By the time he returned to the Sanctuary, dawn was not that far away. Sunny snuck on the Altar Island and placed two of the three coins on the cold surface of the stone monolith, then waited for a bit. Nothing happened. 'Huh.' Disappointed, he waited patiently for the moon to appear from beneath the dark veil of clouds. After some time, the Sanctuary was finally illuminated by pale moonlight, and two coins on the altar immediately gleamed, reflecting it. Then, they shone with a soft light of their own. The coin he held up in his hand, however, did not. A moment later, the Spell whispered, its voice entwined with the rustle of the leaves and the murmur of flowing water: [Your shadow grows stronger.] [Your shadow grows stronger.] Sunny smiled. 'So, both the altar and the moon are needed.' Hurriedly, he placed the third coin on the altar, and soon heard the Spell repeat itself for the third time: [Your shadow grows stronger.] 'That… should bring me to two hundred and one.' And also… was he seeing things, or had the obsidian dagger moved ever so slightly? With a skeptical frown, Sunny tried to lift the d.a.m.ned knife, but just as before, nothing he did had any effect on it. 'Ugh, whatever!' His recent discovery was enough of a reward in and of itself. He had received four shadow fragments — the equivalent of killing a Fallen Monster — without having to risk his life one bit. On its own, this amount was not that considerable… but what if he found a thousand, or even a few hundred of these miraculous coins? What if he reached the treasury where the chest bitten into by the winged demon was hidden? That… would change a lot. The problem was, Sunny had no idea where to look. Pacing back and forth, he thought for a while, and then said to himself: "I should probably find an expert on all things Chained Isles." Somebody who might know about this type of Nightmare Creature, their behavior, and usual haunts… somebody who had spent long years in this region of the Dream Realm and was friendly enough to talk to Sunny. 'Now who do I know who fits into all these criteria?' Sunny stopped pacing, lingered for a few moments, and then turned his head to the ring of ma.s.sive menhirs. A strange expression appeared on his face. \\\* In the early morning, a lone figure approached the hallway leading to the White Feather clan's residence. Saint Tyris and her people occupied the northern part of the Sanctuary's interior. Sunny had no idea what went on there, since he had never been invited, but he knew that both entrances to their compound were usually guarded. Today was not an exception. Before Sunny could step foot inside the hallway, a young warrior in a cuira.s.s decorated with etchings of hawk feathers appeared from an alcove and glanced at him with a vigilant expression. "State your business, Awakened." Sunny stared at the young man with an earnest expression, then smiled. "Oh! I am here to see Master Roan. He once told me to come find him if I need anything. So… here I am. In need of something. Can you fetch him really quick?" The guard blinked a couple of times, then frowned: "What is this about, exactly?" Sunny grinned, lingered for a few moments, and then said honestly: "...Demon hunting." ReadNovelFull.me?
402	Chapter 402 Chain worm Sunny had no idea if Master Roan was currently in the Sanctuary, but judging by the fact that the guard did not immediately send him away, he probably was. The young Awakened gave Sunny an evaluating look, then whistled softly and returned to his alcove. Nothing seemed to happen for a few minutes, but then, Sunny hear the sound of approaching footsteps. A young woman wearing a simple white garment appeared from behind the curve of the corridor and glanced at him, then gestured for him to follow. Sunny shifted slightly, then moved forward, walking behind the girl. 'What would you know? I am walking into the lair of a Legacy clan of my own free will. Never say never, I guess…' He had really never expected himself to do something like this any time soon. Instead of walking further into the compound, they entered a narrow staircase and ascended to the very top of the Sanctuary. There, ma.s.sive stone monoliths lay flat on top of the menhirs, creating an almost uninterrupted surface. There was a whole separate world above the Citadel, as it turned out. Gra.s.s and moss covered the expansive stone circle, which stretched far into the distance. Sunny could see guards standing at the outer edge of it, keeping watch on the neighboring islands. Here and there, siege weapons were placed at irregular intervals, aimed at the sky. Right above the White Feather residence, a graceful structure was built on top of the ring of menhirs. With tall windows and beautiful ivy climbing its walls, it resembled a large stone chateau. The walls of the mansion were still wet from rain and shone softly in the light of the rising sun. ReadNovelFull.me A path led from its door to an airy pavilion at the edge of the stone monolith, with a round table standing in its center. The mighty griffin was laying near the pavilion, its head hidden under one of the eagle wings, while Master Roan himself seemed to be enjoying a hearty breakfast inside. The young woman gestured for Sunny to go forward and walked toward the mansion, soon disappearing behind its door. '...I guess this is how Saints live.' For a moment, Sunny was full of envy. The chateau on top of the Sanctuary seemed so beautiful, simple, and peaceful… the complete opposite of the noisy, overcrowded, and poisoned world where humans came from. Of course, that peace was a lie. The Dream Realm might have seemed like a paradise sometimes, but that paradise was dire and twisted, hiding all kinds of horrors that were ready to descend upon you at any moment. 'Whatever. My house is much better, anyway. It has all a man can need, and then some… I bet they don't even have designer lamps here…' ...Pitiful, really. Entering the pavilion, Sunny greeted Master Roan with all respect he could muster. The older man smiled and invited Sunny to seat with a relaxed gesture. "Good morning, Sunless. I must admit, I didn't expect you to seek me out so soon. Did something happen?" Sunny sat down, smiled politely, then shook his head. "Nothing that I would want to concern you with. You see… I am not here to talk about something that happened, but more about something that might happen." Master Roan raised an eyebrow and laughed: "Don't tell me… wait… are you here with a business proposal? Am I about to become a customer of Sunny's Brilliant Emporium?" Sunny choked. "Uh… no. What? Where did you hear about that?" The handsome Master grinned. "I hear things." 'What are those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds saying behind my back?!' Sunny forced out a smile, then shook his head. "No, no. I am not here as a highly respected, rich, and famous entrepreneur. Nor am I here as a well-regarded member of the Wilderness Survival faculty of the Awakened Academy. I am actually here as an advanced scout of the Sanctuary of Noctis." Master Roan grew serious. "Oh. Continue." Sunny nodded, then hesitated for a bit, and finally said: "After we parted two days ago, I returned to the Sanctuary. On my way back, however, I rested for a while on the Iron Hand Island. And there… well, I found the remains of a Nightmare Creature there." The older man frowned slightly. "That's not unheard of. Iron Hand is usually safe, but you know how Chained Isles are. Nightmare Creatures migrate, sometimes naturally, sometimes to avoid the Crushing." Sunny scratched the back of his head. "That's true. However, the abomination was a Fallen Demon. It is strange to see one that close to the Sanctuary, and especially so because I have never seen or even heard about that type of creature. It was rather scary." Roan's frown deepened. "A Fallen Demon on the Iron Hand Island? That is indeed strange. You've done well to bring me this information, Sunless. Did you get a good look at it, by any chance?" Sunny sighed. "Well, you see, it was in the depths of night." Then, he smiled. "...But, luckily, I can see perfectly in the dark! So, yes. I got a very good look. Let me describe it…" He described the demon to the best of his ability, not sparing any detail. He even remembered every wound and injury on the abomination's body, hoping that their nature can shine a light on what exactly had killed the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. The longer Sunny talked, the darker Master Roan's face became. Finishing his report, Sunny glanced at the older man and asked: "So… what type of a demon was that, exactly? And why have I never encountered one before?" Master Roan shook his head. "You are lucky to have never met one of these fiends, kid. They are a very rare and vicious breed of Nightmare Creatures, known as Chain Worms. Luckily, it was already dead. Otherwise, I doubt that we would be having this conversation right now. Even I am reluctant to face a demon such as this alone. No offense, Sunless, but if that thing was alive, you would have ended up as its dinner." Sunny hesitated for a bit, then asked cautiously: "Chain Worms? Why are they called that?" The older man sighed, then looked at the breathtaking vista of the Chained Isles in front of them. After a while, he said: "It is because these creatures feed on metal. Once one of the heavenly chains is weakened, they appear from the Dark Side to feast on it. Steel weapons are useless against these abominable things, so fighting one, let alone many, is almost an impossible task." Master Roan stared into the distance with a bleak expression, and then added darkly: "I've seen whole islands crumble into the Below because of their hunger…" ReadNovelFull.me?
403	Chapter 403 Sky Tide Master Roan grew silent for a few moments, then smiled after noticing Sunny's troubled expression: "The heavenly chains near the Sanctuary are all fine, though. So you have nothing to worry about." 'That's not what I am worried about…' Sunny had already received a piece of valuable information that could help him find the mysterious treasure. But he wanted to know more… Before he could ask another question, however, a sudden shadow shrouded the pavilion, the stone chateau, and the expanse of weathered stone surrounding it — as though a cloud moved across the sun, hiding it. The sleeping griffin stirred and raised its head, its vertical pupils narrowing. Just a moment later, the shadow disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Simultaneously, a strange sound reached Sunny's ears — it was as though a thousand wings rustled as they cut the air. Then, a woman was suddenly standing at the edge of the stone ring, her silhouette outlined against the rising sun by a bright halo. It seemed as though she had always been there, but Sunny could swear that there was no one near them just a second ago. ReadNovelFull.me 'Oh…' The woman was tall and slender, her posture straight like an arrow. She was wearing a light steel armor, its pauldrons and greaves decorated with white feathers. Her long blond hair was fluttering in the wind like a cascade of pale gold. When she turned around, Sunny saw two piercing amber eyes staring at him, and shivered. Her face was cold and stunningly beautiful, more akin to that of a G.o.ddess than of a human being. …The woman's pupils were narrow and vertical, exactly like those of the mighty griffin. The ruler of the Sanctuary had returned home. 'c.r.a.p!' With a shudder, Sunny forced himself to look away and hurriedly bowed. This was his second time meeting Tyris of the White Feather clan, also known by her True Name, Sky Tide… one of the few Saints of the human race, the demiG.o.d in charge of the Chained Island. Just by virtue of existing, the Saint exerted a strange influence on everything that surrounded her. It was not oppressive, like the dreadful aura of Gunlaug's golden armor, just… different. As if the world itself was reacting to her. The blades of gra.s.s seemed to bent slightly toward her, the winds sang subtly lower as she approached, and even sunlight appeared to become a bit brighter in her presence. Master Roan shifted and rose from his seat. "Good morning, sunshine!" Sunny flinched. 'Uh… what?' It took him a couple of seconds to realize that the fearless griffin rider was addressing his wife, and not him. 'Sunshine… sunshine?!' Is that how he addressed a Saint?! 'Well, she is his wife, after all. I guess?' Once he thought about it, everything made sense. But still, the idea of addressing a Transcendent as "sunshine" seemed very weird, for some reason. Sunny cautiously looked up and saw a wide smile on Roan's face. Saint Tyris herself, however, was as cold as ever. "Good morning, Ro." Even her voice was cold and heavy, like the howl of an approaching storm. Turning her head slightly, Saint Tyris looked at Sunny with a silent question. …Countless poets would have been ruined if they saw the elegant curve of her eyebrow. 'Huh… wow... wait, what am I thinking about?' Master Roan patted Sunny on the shoulder and said: "Awakened Sunless visited to tell me about a demon he encountered on the Iron Hand Island. It was a Chain Worm… already dead, fortunately. Still, we should explore the nearby island. Don't you think?" Saint Tyris lingered for a few moments, then shook her head. "No need. The only failing chain on the Isles is far away from the Sanctuary, connecting Shipwreck Island to the Twisted Rock. This is where the Chain Worm came from. I just saw it myself." She turned away, then sighed slightly. "Of course, we will have to prepare. All islands are connected, after all. After the Twisted Rock falls, its demise will echo through the entire region. Many islands will shift, causing changes to the severity of the Crushing on others. The migrations patterns of the Nightmare Creatures will be affected, too." 'I should probably get going.' Sunny cleared his throat, then said awkwardly: 'Uh… it's been an honor to meet you again, Lady Tyris. I… uh… shall take my leave, then.' Sky Tide nodded indifferently, then said: "Thank you for informing us of your finding, Awakened Sunless." He nodded, then rose from his seat and cautiously took a few steps away. When Sunny was almost out of the pavilion, however, the cold voice of the Saint stopped him: "Wait." He turned around and forced out a smile: "Yes? How can I help you?" Tyris looked at him for a few moments, then said in a calm, emotionless tone: "You come from the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, if I am not mistaken." Sunny nodded. "Yeah. What about it?" The beautiful Saint lingered for a second, then asked: "Song of the Fallen... do you know her?" 'Ca.s.sie? Why bring her up?' Sunny smiled. "Yes. We've met. Why?" Saint Tyris looked at him for a few moments, then said: "Good. Song of the Fallen will be visiting the Sanctuary soon. She will be glad to see a familiar face, I think." With that, Sky Tide turned away, letting Sunny know that he was free to go. He hesitated for a second, then walked away. As soon as neither Master Roan nor Saint Tyris could see his face, a dark expression appeared on it. 'Coming to visit… what the h.e.l.l is she coming here for?' \\\* Indeed, just like Sunny, Ca.s.sie had chosen Chained Isles as the region to anchor herself to. Their reason was most likely also the same — the proximity of the Isles to the Hollow Mountains. Luckily, she was not a resident of the Sanctuary. Sunny had no idea how the blind girl had managed it, but she somehow convinced clan Valor to let her and her cohort anchor themselves to the second human Citadel in the region, the Night Temple. While Sanctuary was closer to the southern border of the region, Night Temple was situated far to the north, almost on the outskirts of the misty Death Zone. For that reason, the two of them had been comfortably separated and had not seen each other even once in the past months. But now, that was about to change. Exiting the White Feather residence, Sunny grimaced. 'Glad to see a familiar face? h.e.l.l. I doubt it…' ReadNovelFull.me?
404	Chapter 404 Soft Life The Sanctuary was slowly waking up. Now that the sun had risen, groups of Awakened were preparing to venture outside, while those who had stuff to do in the Citadel itself were going about their business. A few of them greeted Sunny as he walked toward the Altar Island. By now, he should have been able to return to the real world. After everything he had discovered during the night, there was a flame burning inside his chest that demanded action. His eyes gleamed when he thought about the mysterious treasure hidden somewhere out there, in the darkness. But although Sunny was a very rapacious person, he knew how to keep his avarice in check… well, most of the time. 'Shipwreck Island…' Sunny had never been that far away from the Sanctuary, but he had heard about that deadly place. The Shipwreck Island was situated almost at the center of the Chained Isles, far removed from both human CItadels. The Nightmare Creatures there were especially ferocious, and the islands themselves were far more bizarre and dangerous than those closer to the edges of the region. If one could somehow survive the Crushing and look upon the Chained Isles from above, they would see that there was a vast empty s.p.a.ce at the very heart of this shattered land. Some people a.s.sumed that this was where the Ivory Tower had once been chained, before all seven of its anchors were broken. After that, the islands bordering the Tear slowly fell into the Sky Below one after another, making it grow wider and wider. The hole at the heart of the Chained Isles was slowly expanding, and one day, thousands of years from now, it was probably going to devour the whole region. …But Sunny had no interest in that remote future. ReadNovelFull.me What concerned him right now was that the Shipwreck Island was on the very edge of the Tear, and as such, presented a lot of danger for a young Awakened like him. If Sunny wanted to venture out that far, he would have to study and thoroughly prepare for a long and perilous expedition. And in the meantime, he had to hurry to the real world. Even though he felt the call of treasure with every fiber of his being, desperate to reduce the gap between himself and Nephis, the things he had to do back in reality were… crucial. 'Calm down. It's nothing serious, really.' Approaching the white altar, he glanced at the obsidian dagger suspiciously, then placed his hand on the cold marble. 'There's no reason to worry, so...' \\\* The lid of the steel sarcophagus silently opened, letting out beams of light and clouds of cool mist. Sunny yawned and climbed out of the sleeping pod, then stretched with a satisfied smile on his lips. His body felt refreshed and energized, as if he just had a long, perfectly comfortable sleep — not at all like what he had to endure in the past two months while using cheaper Academy pods. 'Now that… is what I call money well spent.' Indeed, the luxurious machine might have been the best purchase he had ever made. Not counting the Mantle of the Underworld, of course… Leaving the compact underground fortress of his bas.e.m.e.nt, Sunny walked over to the kitchen, glanced at the broken remains of his fridge with a bit of shame, and retrieved a few ingredients to cook himself breakfast from the debris. Out here in the real world, it was currently early morning. He sent the happy shadow outside to observe the surroundings, and then turned on the stove. Real eggs, real lettuce and tomatoes, real bread, real bacon, real coffee, real juice… it took him just a few minutes to cook himself a breakfast that would have been considered the epitome of a lavish lifestyle by any inhabitant of the outskirts. Walking to a dining table that was too large for one person, he placed his breakfast on its synthwood surface and activated his communicator. There were no new messages, and he didn't really know what else to do with that thing. Usually, people of his age would have an active presence on the network and feeds breaking with all kinds of news, events, and videos, but Sunny had almost no digital presence whatsoever. Nor did he want to have one, really. He knew how to access various resources and services, of course, and many of the things on the network had once been the stuff of his dreams: the unlimited amount of games, books, shows, and entertainment of all sorts was on the tip of his finger. But, ironically, now that Sunny had free access to all these alluring things, he had no time to dive into any of them. Right now, he had too much to do, and his dreams were filled with only clangor of steel and nightmarish abominations. 'Maybe one day…' Slowly consuming his food, Sunny used the communicator to quickly sketch and describe the coin he had found... keeping its true secrets to himself, of course. Outside, his neighbors were preparing to face the new day. The sun was rising above the giant city, and crowds of people were on their way to work. The shadow found a hidden spot on the porch of his new home and observed the quiet street from its shelter. It saw a few PTVs drive by, humming slowly as they rolled or levitated toward the exit from the terrace district. Several well-dressed adults walked by, heading for the public transport terminal. Some time later, it was time for the students in school uniforms to follow them. Sunny sipped coffee and observed these children through the shadow, trying to imagine himself having such a life. Waking up in a safe home. Eating the delicious food a parent had prepared for you, not having to think about where your next meal would come from. Going to a place where an unlimited amount of knowledge and mentorship was available to you, completely free. Having no real worries and no real fears. Just… living. What a strange existence that would be… He stared at the students with a complicated expression. They were so… soft. Their clothes were soft, their eyes were soft, and their lives, too, were soft. How were these children going to survive the real world? The real world was hard, cruel, and unforgiving. Just like Sunny himself was. A person like him had a much better chance of surviving in such a world. Not to mention the h.e.l.lscapes of the Dream Realm. Finally, the stream of students grew thin. One of the last to walk past Sunny's house was a young girl of around fourteen years. She was about as tall as him, with pale skin and black hair. The girl seemed to be a bit uncomfortable in her own body, like all teenagers tended to be, and the school uniform did no favors to her slender physique. Her dark eyes, however, were very sharp and clear. …Luckily, unlike her brother, Rain seemed to have taken after their mother, who was a rather attractive young woman from what Sunny remembered. Even though she was still just a child, he could already see that one day, the teenage girl walking past his home was going to become a real beauty. Finishing his coffee, Sunny placed the empty cup on the table and sighed. '...Found you.' ReadNovelFull.me?
405	Chapter 405 Going Back to School Indeed, the awkward fourteen-year-old girl was his little sister, Rain. And indeed, it wasn't a coincidence that Sunny had bought this exact house in this exact district of the city. While the terrace neighborhood was nice and charming, the real reason he had chosen this home, in particular, was because it stood next to the place where Rain lived. It was on this street, a year and a few months ago, that he had watched from the shadows as she was having dinner with her adopted family, their warm and happy life displayed for him to see through the wide window of their brightly illuminated living room. …Well, now Sunny had a living room and a wide window of his own, even though there was usually only darkness behind it. Back then, he had become painfully aware that his fantasy of saving his little sister was empty and misguided. Rain didn't need to be saved, least of all by a troubled outskirt stray like him... a ghost of the past that she most likely did not even remember. If he had knocked on her door on that night, nothing in her life would have changed for the better. Sunny wasn't the same penniless kid anymore. He was an Awakened, one marked as a special strategic a.s.set by the government. He was considerably wealthy, connected… even powerful. But, deep down, he still believed that the statement held true. His clothes and circ.u.mstances might have changed, but Sunny himself remained the same. Twisted and damaged, like anyone who had seen the truth of this world would be. What's worse, now that he had risen above his previous pathetic self, he had a whole swarm of new, much more serious problems. Nephis, the Sovereigns, the legacy of mysterious Weaver… all of these things promised a future full of turmoil and danger. He was not exactly the kind of person who had good things to offer to anybody. ReadNovelFull.me So, no. Sunny had not changed his mind about keeping himself out of Rain's life. He wasn't going to approach her, and had no desire to meet her face to face. ...There was, however, a problem. Now that Sunny was an Awakened, statistically, Rain's chances of becoming infected by the Nightmare Spell herself had grown. But even if he forgot about that statistical correlation, there was still a possibility that she would end up in the First Nightmare, no matter how small. By now, Sunny was eighteen, and Rain was fourteen. Almost every person infected by the Spell had fallen victim to it while being older than sixteen and younger than nineteen, which meant that there were about two years left before Rain would be in real danger, and about four before she would be out of it. Even if they were more or less strangers and didn't owe anything to each other, Sunny felt... responsible for her. Perhaps Rain did not remember him due to how little she had been at the time of their separation, but he remembered everything. To him, she was the last memento of their long-lost home. Now that he had the ability to pull some strings behind the scenes to ensure that her chances of surviving the First Nightmare were enhanced — be it through access to better battle instructors or something else — he couldn't just sit still and do nothing. But to do that, he first needed to understand how well Rain was being prepared already. Hence, he bought a house near the place where she lived and let his shadows loose to explore the neighborhood and spy on her and her family. 'Uh… when I put it that way, it sure sounds a bit creepy.' Sunny stood up, yawned, and shrugged. He was an Awakened whose power lay in shadows, deceit, and bloodshed. Before that, he was a street rat willing to do anything in order to survive. Mundane humans had no idea about what he had gone through, what he had done, and what he was capable of as the result. If they did, they would probably be horrified. So, a little hint of creepiness was only to be expected. Putting on a warm hoody, he walked outside, hid his hands in his pockets, and headed toward the public transport terminal at a slow pace. His shadow was a few hundred meters ahead, stealthily following Rain and keeping an eye on her. No one was the wiser to its presence. Sunny sighed and looked at the cloudy sky. 'Time to go to school, I guess.' \\\* Rain went to a rather elite school, as it turned out. Judging by the prices of the homes in the terrace district, Sunny knew that her adopted family was reasonably well-to-do, but it seemed that he had underestimated either their wealth or their connections. The school was not the most prestigious out there, but it was close. Enough that only the kids of government officials and conglomerate heirs attended it… for the most part, of course. There were a few kids who seemed to be there because of their academic achievements, but not enough to make a difference. The children of government servants arrived on public transport, like Rain; the chaebols came in expensive PTVs, which were controlled by personal drivers. Sitting at a table in a cafe a kilometer or so away from the heavily guarded entrance to the school, Sunny suppressed the desire to whistle. 'That's… like something out of a drama. I wonder if I'll see someone's getting slapped in the face today…' Suddenly remembering his first encounter with Master Jet, Sunny coughed and rubbed his cheek in embarra.s.sment. The happy shadow was still following Rain, stealthily moving from one shadowy patch to another. Then, it waited for a good opportunity and dove inside the shadow of one of the kids walking toward the same cla.s.sroom as her. Sunny got comfortable and ordered a few pastries and a pot of tea. He couldn't quite believe that he was going to waste time attending school, of all things, even if it was in that very strange manner. He hadn't been to school in a dozen years already, not counting the month spent in the Academy. 'Well… this should be interesting.' ReadNovelFull.me?
406	Chapter 406 Educated Guess A couple of hours later, Sunny was ready to claw his eyes out. Not because the lessons taught to Rain in school were boring, but because he had to watch a bunch of ent.i.tled kids exist in an enclosed s.p.a.ce and make it as hard for everyone to learn anything as possible. The elite school seemed like a place of learning, but in fact, it was more like a battlefield. The hidden politics among the students and the hierarchy of numerous cliques they formed were more complex than the ruthless strife between the factions in the Bright Castle, and judging by their behavior, just as dire. …But it was not. No one's life was at stake, no one was going to be exiled and starve to death if they did a wrong thing. All of this was simply about prestige, vanity, and standing. It was utterly stupid! However, once Sunny thought about it a bit more, he realized that it was not. Not to them, and maybe not at all. These kids were put under immense pressure, a.s.signed a numerical value, and forced to compete with each other. As the result, they inevitably developed a fierce sense of resentment toward their rivals, which was only made deeper by the deep sense of insecurity this system instilled in them. No wonder they were at each other's throats. ReadNovelFull.me The school was, in fact, not only meant to teach the kids the skills necessary to survive and thrive in the real world, but also to destroy the very same softness Sunny had pondered about a few hours earlier. It wasn't hard to imagine that, at the end of it all, the best and most resilient students would become harsh and jaded, while the rest would simply be broken and discarded. A wasteful system, and one of very questionable effectiveness. Sipping tea in the quiet cafe, Sunny shook his head. 'Rich people…' Luckily for him, Rain seemed to be unaffected by the vitriol her cla.s.smates seemed to be more interested in than the actual studying. She sat calmly at the back of the cla.s.s, avoiding getting embroiled in any drama, and dutifully learned everything the teachers explained to the students. …The lessons themselves, surprisingly, turned out to be very interesting. Sunny even found himself enjoying these hours very much. There had not been any combat lessons yet, but he did manage to catch this school's version of the Wilderness Survival course, as well as listen to a rather intriguing lecture about the early exploration of the Dream Realm. He also saw a lesson dedicated to various Nightmare Creatures, their biology, capabilities, and weaknesses. If he had known that much during his first months on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e… well, it would not have changed much, really. No matter how much a person knew about these things, no Sleeper was meant to face challenges of that magnitude. And yet, he couldn't help but feel a bit wistful. He had been denied access to this treasury of knowledge as a kid. Who knew how his life would have turned out otherwise? It would have been a lot more interesting and enjoyable, at least. By then, he had some idea of Rain's depth of knowledge and overall readiness for the Nightmare Spell, but he still did not know how well she was really being trained. He had to see her during a lesson in combat for that. After a while, Sunny had become a little bit bored. Listening to a lecture about spelltech absentmindedly, he looked around the cafe. At this hour, there weren't a lot of people there, but that was swiftly changing. The white-collar workers from the surrounding buildings were now on their lunch break, as were senior students of the school. Several noisy groups were occupying tables near him, so he couldn't help but catch bits and pieces of their conversations. "No way! When is it coming out?" "In a couple of months, I think." "Who will play the female lead, then? No, wait! Let me guess…" These guys were apparently discussing some upcoming film, excitedly wondering about the casting. Something about their conversation appeared strange to Sunny, but he didn't pay it too much attention. "...none. That is the mindset of a true battle master!" "No way he meant to say that. Who do you think Lord Mongrel is, a n.o.body? Of course not! He only said that because he considers social status and renown meaningless. In the eyes of a warrior, such things are not even worth mentioning. The only thing that matters is your strength! That's why he hides his n.o.ble upbringing." Sunny stared at the couple of young men that were in the middle of a heated debate, then shook his head. 'That's hilarious. What are the chances?' Apparently, there was somewhere else out there with a similar alias. And that guy, from what Sunny could hear, was not only a total buffoon, but also went around calling himself a Lord, pretending to be some wise philosopher and teaching people how to be a "true warrior". 'What an idiot… well, figures. Only an idiot would choose such an alias on purpose, after all. I wonder what this guy's problem is? He has to be horribly insecure about something, for sure…' Then, however, he had to focus on Rain again, because she was finally heading for the school's dojo. The combat lesson was about to begin. The instructor, surprisingly, turned out to be an actual Awakened. It was a man in his late thirties, with a mighty build and cold eyes of an experienced fighter. Sunny couldn't tell what Aspect the man possessed, but he was obviously not a sheltered non-combatant. Rain's instructor was the real deal. He had to have enough money to never be required to work a single day in the real world, so the fact that he was teaching a bunch of kids in a school meant that he was doing it either because of his principles or because of an obligation to one of their parents. In any case, it was a good thing for Rain. In the next hour or so, Sunny watched the students train and fight each other with various weapons. He expected them to use fake ones, but to his surprise, the Awakened instructor insisted that the kids both wore heavy protective gear and wielded real ones, even if the weapons were blunted to not pose a real danger. 'Good approach, I guess.' Rain's level was… better than he had expected. Not comparable to someone like Caster or Nephis, of course, but miles better than anything he would have been able at her age. She was swift, nimble, and strategic, utilizing every opening the opponent presented to her full advantage. She seemed to prefer using ranged combat, but could hold her own in a melee with the help of a wide range of weapons, from a long spear to a light saber. There were kids who were better than her, and those who were worse, but none who could compare to her in terms of wits. And yet, a deep frown appeared on his face. 'There is one thing that is lacking.' …Viciousness. His sister was not nearly vicious enough. ReadNovelFull.me?
407	Chapter 407 Dreamscape Qualifications Judging that he had seen everything he needed to, Sunny rose and left the cafe, then headed home. The happy shadow left the premises of the school, unnoticed, and soon wrapped itself around his body... but not before showing how proud and satisfied it was with its flawless performance. 'Yeah, yeah. You did well.' On his way back, Sunny was thinking over what he had learned about Rain. His sister seemed to be smart and well-adjusted, and receiving the kind of training most kids in this world could only dream about. But was it enough? He did not know. No one could know, really. After he had returned from the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, several people told him that they would have never survived in that h.e.l.l. But their words rang hollow to Sunny, because how would they know? Until a person was thrown into a situation like that, there was no way to tell what would remain of their resolve once everything else had been stripped away. Brave people broke, while cowardly ones found strength that they had not even known was inside them. Kind people became cruel, while cruel people became lost. Only by looking at a mirror of a nightmare could one truly see their real face. Before Sunny entered the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, he had thought himself to be strong. But once there, he had to learn the hard way that his strength was brittle and illusory, that it could shatter under the smallest amount of pressure. To survive, he had to build within himself a new kind of strength, one that could not be broken by anything, or anyone. That was how he had survived. ReadNovelFull.me How was he supposed to know how Rain would measure against the horrors of the Spell? And how was he supposed to make her chances of surviving its trials better? Consumed by these thoughts, Sunny returned home and tried to put his mind at ease. This was not something that he could decide in a hurry, anyway. For now, he had many other things to do. Activating the Dreamscape pod, Sunny climbed inside and closed his eyes. 'Time to relax a little…' At least out there in the Dreamscape, things were simple. He just had to fight, learn, and win. …Granted, his previous visit to the Colosseum had turned out to be a fiasco. But Sunny had high hopes for more elite arenas. He just had to gain enough victories to enter them — about seventy more to gain access to the lower-ranked professional dreams. Not that hard... He had lost all interest in dueling with amateurs, and couldn't wait to meet better opponents who could teach him a variety of polished styles. 'Ah, better do it quickly.' Appearing on the sand of the Colosseum, Sunny sighed behind the mask and willed the Soul Serpent to a.s.sume the form of the somber odachi. 'Huh… that's weird.' For some reason, today, much more people wanted to challenge him. A literal crowd of Awakened a.s.sembled around Sunny in a span of a minute, staring at him with disturbing intensity. Also, the challengers seemed to be way more talkative… 'What's up with these fools?' "Hey, Mongrel! What is your real name?" Sunny stared at the young woman challenging him, then answered with slight irritation: "Mongrel." She smiled knowingly, as if struck by a mysterious epiphany, then asked: "What style do you practice?" Sunny frowned behind the mask. "I practice no style." The girl opened her mouth to say something else, but he interrupted her by stepping forward and activating the challenge. Two seconds later, the girl's dead body was already turning into a rain of sparks. 'Why are they so chatty today? I don't have a lot of time. If I want to enter a professional arena next time, I have to be fast…' Looking at the crowd of Awakened, Sunny sighed dejectedly and growled: "Words are worthless, silence is gold. Don't waste my breath!" The challengers looked at each other with weirdly enlightened expressions, then grew quiet. 'That's better! At least they're an understanding bunch.' Now that people seemed to have lost their desire to chat uselessly before every d.a.m.n duel, things went much faster. Sunny had no plans of copying the styles of these talented amateurs today, so he could be as efficient as possible. It required him to really exert himself, though. They were all Awakened, after all… each and every one of them. Behind the black mask, Sunny was sweating an ocean and silently whispering curses. But what could he do? He just had to get it done. Because he took no breaks between the duels, his reserves of shadow essence grew dangerously low at some point. Sunny was forced to command the Soul Serpent to return to his body to accelerate the acc.u.mulation of essence and slow down its expenditure. Noticing that he had dismissed his sword, the challengers a.s.sumed that he wasn't going to fight anymore and sighed with disappointment. Glancing at them, Sunny gritted his teeth and hissed: "Next!" He was not that far from accomplishing his goal for today, and the Mantle of the Underworld was like a weapon itself. Especially if he manipulated its weight to make his blows carry the weight of a mountain… metaphorically speaking… His aking muscles protested, but he endured the torment and continued. 'Just a few more…' As the next challenger stepped forward, Sunny dashed toward him, deflected the glancing blow of a spiked mace with a vambrace, and struck the young man in the face with all the strength he could muster. The black onyx gauntlet grew terribly heavy as it flew through the air, connected solidly… and caused the young man's skull to explode, more or less. Sunny secretly panted and cursed. 'That… uh… I can't keep this up much longer…' Luckily, he only had a few more duels to win. About an hour after he had entered the Colosseum, Sunny finally reached enough victories to qualify for a better arena. By then, he was so tired that he felt like throwing up. 'G.o.ddammit… that was incredibly tough. All in day's work, I guess…' Throwing one last glance at the crowd of silent Awakened, Sunny shook his head. 'What a bunch of weirdos…' With that, he gave the Dreamscape the command and left the illusion, both exhausted and satisfied with his progress. …Left alone on the sand of the Colosseum, the challengers remained quiet for a few minutes. After a while, one of them said: "He shook his head." Another Awakened sighed heavily, then said in a solemn tone: "Yes. We are not worthy enough…" ReadNovelFull.me?
408	Chapter 408 Oh, No Sunny crawled out of the simulation pod and lay on the cold floor for a while, breathing heavily. 'How come an illusory arena is so exhausting?' The designers of the Dreamscape were really weird. The people who frequented the Colosseum were even weirder, though. Sunny couldn't even begin to understand the quirks of their behavior. 'That's how subcultures are, I guess?' After a while, he stood up and went upstairs to make himself some food and replenish all the energy he had spent during this intense and taxing hour. Sunny made himself a light dinner, devoured it with wolfish hunger, and then relaxed in a chair while drinking a cup of delicious tea. As he rested, his communicator buzzed. He took a sip of tea, then opened the message Effie had sent him. "Hey doofus! Have you seen this? I think I found a new boyfriend for your girlfriend!" ReadNovelFull.me The message ended with a winking emote and an attached video link. Perplexed, Sunny clicked on the link… and spit out all of his tea. Forgetting to wipe his chin, he stared at the holographic screen in front of him with wide eyes. "What… what the h.e.l.l is this?!" The video was… of him. Of his duel in the Dreamscape, to be precise. \\\* Caught in stunning quality, the recording of his short duel against the young man in azure armor was playing on a loop, set to menacing and epic music. The caption read "Mongrel Victorious". Sunny stared at it for a while, then slowly lowered his gaze and looked at the view count beneath the video. 'S—seven… seven zeroes?!' Was that Leo Striker guy someone famous? Sunny only came to his senses because of the pressure of his Flaw. Gritting his teeth, he sent Effie a short message: "I have not seen this." 'What the h.e.l.l is happening?' Feeling apprehensive, he went on the network and typed "Mongrel, Dreamscape" in the search bar. Immediately, thousands upon thousands of results showed, all featuring the fearsome image of Weaver's Mask. Sunny gulped. "Oh, no. Oh, no." He opened the first link, and almost spat blood. "Mongrel defeats Leo Striker, Daoist Saifer, and the Fool in three strikes!" The short montage of a bunch of his duels played… this one had even more views. 'That doesn't even make sense. Were those two famous as well?! What three strikes, I hit the second guy twice…' Feeling an approaching headache and a bit of panic, Sunny scrolled through the feed, growing paler and paler with each second. There were countless videos, captions, and discussions. Thousands of people were fervently debating his duels, his ident.i.ty, and the hidden meaning of his words. It seemed as if they had somehow become convinced that he was some sort of a profound sage, going around spouting words of enlightened wisdom. There were whole discussion boards dedicated to interpreting his "teachings"! "Oh, no…" Sunny grabbed his head, realizing that the buffoon he had heard being discussed in the cafe… was him! Come to think of it, many of Rain's cla.s.smates had been talking about this stuff, too. Had she seen this garbage as well? He groaned. …At least no one seemed to have any idea about who Mongrel was. His efforts to obfuscate his ident.i.ty were working, as was Weaver's Mask. But the worst was still to come… As Sunny was studying the mess he had made, new notifications started appearing in the feed. "Mongrel returns!" "Mongrel decimates the Colosseum!" "Seventy victories in sixty minutes: Lord Mongrel's shocking rampage!" "Mongrel is Saint [REDACTED]'s b.a.s.t.a.r.d son: CONFIRMED!" He closed his eyes. '...G.o.ds. What is this c.r.a.p?' Opening a random link, he read in horror: Mongrel #1 Sympathiser: "I was there, guys! It was incredible! He was like a natural disaster! So awesome…" Random Shoe: "Did you hear what he said?" Mongrel #1 Sympathiser: "Words are worthless, silence is gold! So profound. My whole outlook on life changed." Random Shoe: "Wow, my dad used to say me the same thing when I tried to talk to him after school." Mongrel #1 Sympathiser: "Wait. Shoe… are you Mongrel's son?" "User Random Shoe changed their name to Mongrel's Son" Mongrel's Son: "Aren't we all Mongrel's children?" Sunny closed the link and went to another page. "Silence is Gold. One strike of a sword is worth more than a thousand words: an in-depth a.n.a.lysis of the postneonihilist philosophy of Mongrel." 'Postneo… what?' Stupefied, he opened another link. "Reacting to Mongrel's 70 wins! You gasp you lose!" And another: "Mongrel does not believe in styles. Styles only separate men..." And another: "I spent a night with Mongrel: a candid confession of a former idol trainee." Deactivating the communicator, he sat quietly for a while, and then groaned again. "Oh, no!" \\\* The new recording of Mongrel's stunning performance in the Colosseum flew around the globe in no time at all. Starved for new information about the mysterious demonic fighter, people became glued to the screens of their communicators… They were not disappointed by what they saw, to say the least. Mongrel's already considerable renown — or infamy, depending on who you asked — became even more widespread. Sunny had grown up in the outskirts, so he had never been really exposed both to the network culture and to the peculiar fanbase of the Dreamscape. That was why he had severely underestimated the effect his recent visit to the amateur arena would have on the people interested in these things. He had only wanted to reach the number of victories required to access the professional duels as fast as possible, but failed to take into account how outstanding the feat of defeating seventy opponents in just one hour would look from the side. …Especially considering the fact that he had killed the last half a dozen or so with his bare hands, not even bothering to use a weapon. These last few duels looked especially striking, impressive, and gruesome. If before people called Mongrel a sword demon, now he had become just a demon in their eyes. What's worse, even though it took all of his power and lots of effort for Sunny to achieve these victories, due to the fact that his face was always hidden behind the fearsome mask, he appeared to be completely calm and indifferent, as if defeating so many people in a row was nothing to him. A walk in the park. Added to the fact that he had dismissed his sword near the end of the hour and then left after shaking his head, it seemed as though Mongrel was not only a demon, but also held all the rest of the duelists in utter contempt. Mongrel was disappointed in them… That disappointment ignited a fire in the hearts of many duelists of the Dreamscape, pushing them to train harder, reach higher, become stronger. Mongrel's status was always in front of them, reminding these young men and women what they were striving to achieve: "Mongrel" "Victories: 100" Defeats: 0" And of course, all of them continued to wonder about his true ident.i.ty. Very soon, someone made a logical connection: an incredibly talented young warrior appeared in the Dreamscape soon after the hundred survivors of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e returned to the real world, putting every Awakened there to shame. Obviously, Mongrel was one of these hundred heroes! But which one? It didn't take people a lot of time to solve the mystery. On one of the discussion boards on the network, an anonymous user wrote: "Guys, isn't it obvious? Who is among the best of the best of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e warriors, and also has a big reason to keep his ident.i.ty a secret?" Another answered: "Wait… wait. You're right! It was right in front of us the whole time!" And then, the shocking piece of news spread through the network as wildfire: "Mongrel's true ident.i.ty is…" Kai of Nightingale! ReadNovelFull.me?
409	Chapter 409 Treasure Hunt "Night&Gale representative agency publishes an official statement: popular idol and fashion icon, Night, is NOT the controversial Dreamscape sensation, nor has he ever partic.i.p.ated in any scandalous activities under the alias Mongrel…" Sunny read the latest news t.i.tle on the screen of his communicator and covered his face with a hand. 'Oh, G.o.ds…' How did poor Kai end up being involved in this mess? Had the world gone completely insane?! He stared at the message icon at the bottom of the screen nervously, half-expecting to receive an angry message from his friend. Or was it up to Sunny to apologize in advance? Kai had seen him purchasing the Mantle of the Underworld, after all. Even though the onyx armor did not look the same as it had before being repaired and turning from pure stone to the strange stonelike metal, there was a possibility that he would recognize it… 'Ugh. Why is life so hard?' Sunny shook his head resentfully and stared at the ceiling. ...And then there was the issue of Rain. Sunny had watched her walk home through the eyes of the shadow, and was once again consumed by uncertainty. Did he need to intervene? What was the best way to help her? Did she even require his help? ReadNovelFull.me There was no easy answer to any of these questions. He turned off the communicator, sat in the darkness for a while, then stood up and went to the kitchen. Retrieving all the things that could spoil quickly from the ruined refrigerator, Sunny cooked himself a decadent dinner and ate in tense silence. '...To h.e.l.l with this. I'll deal with all these problems after returning from the Shipwreck Island… it shouldn't take me that long to reach it, investigate, and come back anyway. A week at most…' Why waste time on all this nonsense when there was a treasure waiting for him in the Dream Realm? Sunny had already retrieved all the pertinent information he could find from the Academy database. All Awakened had some level of access to the base of shared knowledge about the Dream Realm and the Nightmare Creatures, and due to his position as the research a.s.sistant a.s.signed to the Wilderness Survival faculty, he had more than most. It wasn't really enough to venture on such a dangerous expedition, but at least gave him a basic understanding of what to expect. The rest he was going to have to learn from the people in the Sanctuary who had actual experience of traversing those parts of the Chained Isles. And then, there was also Ca.s.sie… she could help him even more. With a dark grimace, Sunny washed the plates, spent a few moments admiring their design and craftsmanship, then went about preparing himself for a long stay in the Dream Realm. Soon, he entered the bas.e.m.e.nt, activated the maximum level of security measures, and climbed into the steel coffin of the sleeping pod. As the lid of the sarcophagus closed, he sighed and thought: 'One week… I bet everyone will forget all about this Mongrel idiocy in a week…' His gloomy shadow dejectedly shook its head. \\\* It took Sunny a whole day to talk to everyone he needed to talk to and gather enough information about the Shipwreck Island and the routes he could take to reach it. As it turned out, the journey promised to be even more perilous than he had expected. Awakened did not usually go that far into the wilderness of the Chained Isles alone, and even established cohorts were reluctant to venture this close to the Tear. The Nightmare Creatures out there were ferocious and powerful, and the islands themselves presented more danger than here on the edges of the region. ...Those people did not have his Aspect, though. Sunny did not consider himself to be more powerful than a full cohort of experienced Awakened would be, but his powers were tailored perfectly for scouting, traversal, and escape. Even if he was going to find himself facing against an overwhelming foe, he was reasonably certain of his ability to at least run away. Plus, he had Saint. The taciturn demon was worth half a cohort alone and by herself. As the sun was crawling down from the heights of the Sky Above, he found himself in his room, studying the makeshift map of the Chained Isles. On it, Sunny had marked the potential routes to the Shipwreck Isles, as well as known dangers he would face on the way. Of course, such a map was not completely reliable. Nightmare Creatures tended to migrate and travel between islands to escape the Crushing… but the really terrifying ones tended to stay put. Even taking into account that some of the places he wanted to go through could turn out to be inaccessible due to entering the ascent phase, Sunny was more or less sure that he could reach the Shipwreck Island in three to four days while remaining comparatively safe. …With one exception. No matter how he looked at it, he was going to have to traverse an island known among the inhabitants of the Sanctuary as the Reckoning. Not much was known about that place except for the fact that several cohorts lost members there, while others had not come back at all. Apparently, the creature that inhabited the island was especially twisted and deadly, and was capable of messing with a person's sight. No one really knew what it was, however. All that Sunny was able to find out was that the creature was most likely not Corrupted. People were under the impression that it was of the Fallen rank, but had different opinions on what its Cla.s.s was, exactly. It didn't seem to be a Tyrant, at least. 'I can fight perfectly well even if it plays tricks with my sight. And it's not like I have to defeat it… or even fight it, really. I can just slip past and be on my way…' With a sigh, he rolled the map up and placed it in his pack. There was already a bit of food and a few supplies for a prolonged journey there. Sunny couldn't take too much with him, since there was a rather small limit on the weight of things he could pull with himself into the shadows. He could also only do so with inanimate objects… at least for now. He had no idea if that was going to change in the future. Finally, he opened his chest and took out the fang he had retrieved from the dead Chain Worm on the Iron Hand Island. Sunny stared at the fang for a long time, a dark expression on his face. Ca.s.sie was going to visit the Sanctuary soon… with this thing and her affinity to revelations, Sunny could make his expedition much safer, not to mention increase his chances of actually discovering the treasure. …Or he could avoid having to ask her for help and take much more risk, with no guarantee of success. After a while, Sunny threw the fang back into the chest and closed the lid. 'I'd rather die, honestly.' With a grim smile, he locked the chest, picked up his pack, and headed to the exit. As the sun rolled into the dark embrace of the Sky Below and disappeared, he left the safety of the Sanctuary behind, approached the edge of the island, and jumped toward one of the heavenly chains. ReadNovelFull.me?
410	Chapter 410 Reckoning Sunny traveled northwest, trying to cover as much distance during the night as he could. He rushed across gargantuan chains as a swift shadow, soared up onto the island, traversed them on foot, and dove into the darkness once he reached the other side. He was moving across the Chained Isles with enviable speed… but still not as fast as someone capable of flight would. Using Shadow Step expended up a lot of shadow essence, so he had to replenish it often to continue riding the heavenly chains. That, however, put him in a lot of danger. The islands were teeming with Nightmare Creatures of all kinds, as well as deadly natural… well, unnatural, really… threats. Sunny had to remain cautious at all times, keeping one shadow wrapped around his body while the other scouted ahead. He hid in the shadows to avoid fighting with wandering abominations or, if there was no other choice, teleported away. These jumps, however, only served to devour more of his essence, forcing him to rest and circulate it through the coils of the Soul Serpent as he waited for his cores to fill up. Most of the time, he didn't feel like there was a real threat to his life. Sunny's combination of Attributes and Abilities made him a very hard prey to hunt. No matter what kind of a horror tried, he always managed to slip away — for now, at least. As long as he did not venture into the territory of the really terrifying Nightmare Creatures, like those Corrupted fiends that claimed some of the islands or the beings that dwelled on the dark side of them, he was going to be alright for as long as he managed his essence carefully. Against those powerful abominations, though, even being a shadow was not a guarantee of safety. He still remembered the two ghostly torches in the dungeon beneath the ruined cathedral in the Dark City... On his way, Sunny visited many islands that he had already explored before, and some that he never had a reason to visit. Each was lethal in its own way, and hid alluring mysteries… most of which were bound to turn out to be nothing but inescapable traps, of course. He suppressed his curiosity and moved past. With two skies full of bright stars, the Chained Isles were stunning at night. Even while rushing forward and hiding from the abominations populating this breathtaking and terrible land, Sunny couldn't help but marvel at its dark beauty. ReadNovelFull.me But beautiful things… beautiful things were the most dangerous. By now, he had learned that lesson all too well. At dawn, Sunny finally reached the island that was supposed to be the first stop on his journey. It was a desolate place where nothing lived, with rocky ground and plenty of small impact craters that had been left behind by the debris on the neighboring island. The chains holding that island in place had broken once, a long time ago. As the result, not restrained by anything, it soared high into the sky and eventually fell apart, ripped to pieces by the Crushing. Its remaining neighbor was not of any particular to Sunny, but it was a good place to rest and catch his breath. Hiding in one of the craters, Sunny ate a miserly breakfast and drank from the Endless Spring. Then, he looked at the rising sun, studied his map for a few minutes, and summoned Saint. As the taciturn demon stepped out of his shadow — at enough of a distance to not subject him to the soul-eroding effect of the Broken Oath, of course — Sunny glanced at her, tiredly rubbed his face, and said: "I am going to sleep. You stand watch, please." The Shadow stared at him indifferently for a second, then nocked an arrow on the string of her bow and turned away. Sunny sighed. He could do without sleep for a couple more days, but it was wise to keep himself in the best possible shape. One never knew what could happen in the Dream Realm, after all. Using his pack as a pillow, Sunny lay down and close his eyes. 'Just a few hours…' \\\* A day later, he reached the Reckoning. The ominous island that so many people in the Sanctuary dreaded was large, spanning no less than a dozen kilometers across. What's worse, it was supported by only two chains, which were situated almost exactly opposite of each other. Two get to the next one, Sunny had no choice but to travel the whole length of the island. There was gra.s.s covering the ground, with a forest of tall evergreen trees visible in the distance. He could see a rocky hill far away, with a waterfall rushing from a weathered cliff. Just like everywhere on the Chained Isles, it was unclear where the water came from and where it went. Sunny was already used to the strangeness of this land to pay it any attention. The Reckoning seemed like a beautiful and tranquil place. Idyllic, even. However, looking at it through the eyes of the shadow, Sunny couldn't help but feel a deep sense of unease. Something… something was very wrong with this place. It was very picturesque, however, he couldn't see or hear any living beings on the island. There was no sound other than the rustle of the wind, no movement other than the slow swaying of the trees. There were no beasts, no insects, no… anything. Not a single Nightmare Creature could be seen wandering the expanse of the peaceful island. What could be so terrible that even Nightmare Creatures did not dare to come to this place? Or had they been slaughtered by the owner of the island? If so, where were the bones? Or bone dust, at least. '...I don't like this.' Initially, Sunny thought of traversing the Reckoning in his usual manner, on foot. But now, he changed his mind. It was better to waste an additional amount of shadow essence than to risk meeting the ruler of this ominous place face to face. If it had a face... With a frown, Sunny used Shadow Step to leave the heavenly chain and appear on the surface of the island, near the shadow he had sent to take a look at it. Sunny did not a.s.sume physical form, preferring to remain incorporeal. That way, he would be able to reach the other side of the Reckoning unseen. 'Where is that terrible creature, anyway?' He couldn't see any hint of it anywhere. Full of grim apprehension, he slowly moved through the deep shadows that were cast by the tall trees of the evergreen forest. No matter how hard Sunny looked, he didn't notice any movement near him. It was as though the Fallen abomination that gave the island its name, Reckoning, had simply disappeared. 'Maybe it can't be seen…' Sunny cut off his vision and concentrated on the Shadow Sense. His perception of shadows came into focus, reaching far and wide. And there… 'What was that?!' There was one shadow in particular that didn't belong to anything, approaching him with terrible speed. 'The... the b.a.s.t.a.r.d is invisible!' Sunny froze, becoming absolutely still. In this state, he was not only one of the shadows, but also indistinguishable from the larger shadow he was hiding in. He didn't possess a physical body, so nothing was supposed to be able to hurt him in that state. At least physically... The invisible creature continued to move in his direction, even faster than before. 'Wait… no, something doesn't make sense…' Even if the abomination was invisible, why was there no sound? Why didn't gra.s.s bend beneath its feet? It was almost as if the Nightmare Creature that dwelt on the Reckoning was… really… A shadow. Before Sunny could react, the owner of the Reckoning was upon him. And then, he learned that... Shadows, too, could feel pain. ReadNovelFull.me?
411	Chapter 411 Reflection Sunny had never fought in his shadow form, and really, he didn't even know how. All he had were his instincts, but that wasn't enough. In fact, trusting your instincts too much was a sure way to get yourself killed. Intelligence was the most dangerous weapon in the a.r.s.enal of a human, and it was Sunny's mind that ended up saving his life. He had realized that his enemy was not invisible, but a shadow just like him only a moment before the creature was upon him. In that split second, Sunny managed to come up with the only way to escape death. As sharp pain pierced his entire being, he lunged forward… and escaped the shadows, rolling away on the gra.s.s. Jumping to his feet, Sunny staggered and clutched at his side, blood flowing between his fingers. "Argh…" The shadow of the unknown abomination lunged in pursuit… and swiped uselessly across his body, not causing him any harm. It was just a shadow, after all. Throwing a glance at the thin tear in the Puppeteer's Shroud and a deep wound beneath it, Sunny took a step back. Simultaneously, he gave his shadows a command to hide themselves under his armor and augment his body. Physical attacks couldn't harm shadows… but shadows also had no way to harm living beings. That was the thought that had saved him. If he had failed to a.s.sume the shape of a human in time, he would have been dead by now… most likely. ReadNovelFull.me Because he had not, however, he and the shadow creature were now at a standstill. The master of the Reckoning Island tried to attack him several more times, each strike ending up as fruitless as the previous ones. Then, it froze, as if slightly confused by the situation. Sunny finally had a chance to take a good look at the hostile shadow. It looked just like a shadow would — like a dark, ethereal silhouette of a person painted on the gra.s.s in black. The creature seemed to have two legs, two hands, and one head. If Sunny didn't know what it really was, he would have a.s.sumed that the shadow was cast by an ordinary person. There was no one else in sight, though. Backing away and grimacing because of the pain radiating from the deep wound in his side, Sunny stared at the enemy and thought feverishly: 'No, this is wrong…' A shadow creature was, indeed, deadly for someone like him. But to every other human on the Chained Isles, it was completely harmless. How was it, then, that so many people had been killed by it? And what about the Nightmare Creatures? How had this shadow slaughtered so many living beings? His eyes widened slightly. Sunny threw his hand to the side to summon the Midnight Shard… and just in time. What happened next caused him to shudder. The creature moved once again, and then, two dark flames appeared in its darkness. A moment later, a human figure stepped out of the shadow. It was a young man with pale skin and cold, cruel eyes of an experienced killer. A spark of madness burned in their depths. The stranger had black hair and was wearing a light armor made out of soft silk and black, l.u.s.treless leather. In his hands, the apparition was holding a long, slightly curved blade of an austere tachi. Sunny felt fear grip his heart as he recognized the face in front of him. Of course, he did. It was his own face, after all. Looking at the devil of Reckoning was like looking into a mirror. 'That's, uh… since when was I so scary?!' Sunny recoiled in shock. "What the h.e.l.l are you?" The apparition mimicked his expression, then opened its mouth. Its lips moved, however, there was sound, as if the abomination was mute. Sunny had no problem reading its lips, though. "...What the h.e.l.l are you?" 'What is going on...' Before he could finish that thought, though, he had to defend himself against a lightning-fast strike of the enemy's sword. Sunny deflected the fearsome attack and staggered back, his hands trembling from the force of the impact. 'Curses…' The b.a.s.t.a.r.d might have looked like Sunny, but it was much, much stronger. About as strong as a Fallen Devil would probably be… Sunny had no time to recover before his evil twin was upon him once again, attacking with the painfully familiar grace of his own battle style. This time, the tip of the tachi missed Sunny's eyes only by a few centimeters. A vicious smile appeared on the apparition's face. Sunny grunted. As the abomination launched a flurry of lethal attacks his way, each swift and vicious, he struggled to defend himself and fought through the pain. He was barely holding on… for now, at least. Because of how strong and fast the creature was, Sunny had no doubt that he'll be killed eventually. How could he fight against someone who knew all his tricks, but was also much more powerful? Even the Shadow Dance was useless... what was the point in trying to mirror the style of an opponent who had stolen his technique from Sunny himself?! The situation did not look good, at all. Especially because blood was still streaming down Sunny's torso. Between two strikes, he dashed back and pierced the apparition with a furious gaze. "You... poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d... of all the faces out there, you just had to choose mine? Fool, couldn't you have chosen someone, I don't know… taller?!" Internally, though, he couldn't help but think: 'Not gonna lie, the evil version of me looks sort of… awesome. Am I really this dashing in real life?' Sunny didn't really know how to feel about this. ...He wasn't, of course, trying to speak to the creature because he wanted to chat. He was just trying to distract it while Saint was drawing her bow. A moment later, a black arrow whistled in the air, aimed at the devil's heart. …However, the young man with cruel dark eyes simply stepped to the side and swiped the arrow away with his sword. Sunny cursed. …He became really despondent, though, only a moment later, when a sudden ripple spread through the bizarre creature's body. In a blink of an eye, the apparition changed. Its face suddenly became white as alabaster and inhumanly beautiful, with ruby eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips. The soft fabric of its armor turned black as onyx and hard as stone. The shape and height of its body changed, too. Before Sunny could even react, he wasn't facing his own reflection anymore. Instead, he was facing Saint's. 'c.r.a.p…' As the sickening feeling of his soul slowly falling apart permeated Sunny's entire being, the perfect copy of the taciturn demon raised its bow and sent an arrow flying straight at his heart. ReadNovelFull.me?
412	Chapter 412 Perfect Adversary 'Well… one mystery is solved, at least.' Sunny became painfully aware of how the devil of the Reckoning was able to slaughter so many Awakened, and why no Nightmare Creature could survive on its island. If the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was able to turn into a copy of any enemy while remaining as powerful as a Fallen Devil, then very few things could ever hope to escape from it alive. And those Awakened who had escaped despite everything mistakenly believed that their companions fell to a creature that could mess with people's sight… what else would they think after watching a human being killed by what looked like their exact copy? Well… why had no one thought that it was an actual copy and not a trick on the eye, d.a.m.n it?! If there was one thing that landed Sunny in this dire situation, it was that people in the Sanctuary severely lacked imagination! …All these thoughts flashed through his mind as he used Shadow Step to disappear and fall awkwardly to the ground a dozen meters behind the devil, completely out of the way of the flying arrow. 'Great… but now what?' Just a few moments before, Sunny had been contemplating abandoning the fight and simply running away. Unlike some humans he had met in the past, he wasn't burdened by useless things like pride or vanity. If the situation called for a cowardly escape, he was ready and willing to do just that. ReadNovelFull.me But now that the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had turned into Saint and was holding a bow, the idea of trying to run was not very enticing. The last thing he wanted was to be hit in the back of his head by an arrow. 'Think, think…' There was no time to think, though. The reflection of Saint swiftly spun and lunged toward him. As Sunny teleported further away, the creature suddenly pivoted and crashed into the trunk of a tall, ancient tree. A moment later, Sunny emerged from the shadows and saw, with horror, a giant ma.s.s of heavy wood plummeting on him from above. Desperately burning through his essence, he filled his body with as much strength as possible and raised his hands, trying to catch the falling tree. As a groan escaped from his mouth, Sunny's feet dug into the soft soil of the Reckoning Island. Somehow, he managed to stop the tree without being crushed by it. It was at this moment that a second arrow flashed toward his heart… Only to collide with another one in the air and fly aside. Some distance away, the real Saint dismissed the bow, raised her sword, and dashed toward the impostor. 'Eat that, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!' Sunny gritted his teeth, strained his already overtaxed muscles, and threw the ma.s.sive tree at the abomination with a tremendously powerful push. When he used his essence and augmented his body with both shadows, Sunny was able to achieve bursts of truly inhuman strength. How was the b.a.s.t.a.r.d going to escape this? The creature indifferently lowered its shoulder, then simply disappeared into the shadows and appeared on the other side of the flying trunk. Then, it met attacking Saint with a devastating shoulder bash. The onyx armor of the taciturn demon cracked, and she was thrown back, causing another tree to explode into a cloud of splinters. Sunny paled. 'S—shadow Step. Not good…' The apparition turned to him and mockingly tilted its head. Something… something was very wrong with that thing. It seemed maleficent and utterly mad, but at the same time… incomplete, somehow. Behind the evil will and terrifying killing intent that dwelled in its ruby eyes, there was a hint of some other, boundless emotion. Sunny faintly recognized the feeling of it, since he had felt the same deep and indescribable emotion one time before. Far below the Hollow Mountains, in the darkness of the misty stone labyrinth between to otherworldly rivers, he had sensed the same feeling of loss, anguish, and confusion in the shadows left behind the by companions of the First Lord of the Bright Castle. '...What even is that thing?' He had no time to ponder about its nature, though, because the creature had once again turned into a pale young man with dark eyes and was lunging at him, a vicious smile frozen on its lips. Feeling a cold shiver running down his spine, Sunny realized that he would not win this fight. Nor was he capable of escaping from the Reckoning alive. This time, he was truly in danger. He was really going to die on this beautiful, peaceful island… and the last thing he was going to see before falling into the embrace of death would be his own reflection staring back at him through the eyes of his killer. Unless… Sunny sent Saint back into the Soul Sea and met the apparition's attack with a block, feeling his body shudder from the force of the blow. He had a.s.sumed that the Devil of Reckoning was a shadow, and it was indeed similar to one… but, really, it was not. It only appeared as a shadow because Sunny himself had been in the form of a shadow when they first clashed. And once he had turned into a human, the devil, too, became a human. The young man with the cold eyes of a killer took a small step and made a high thrust with the tachi. Sunny, however, knew his one fighting style too well to be caught by that trap. Knowing that the thrust was just a feint, he threw his own blade downward, and just barely managed to deflect a vicious slash that followed. He was late by a fraction of a second, though… another tear appeared in the fabric of the Puppeteer's Shroud, and a shallow wound on his thigh began sipping with blood. The creature was more of a reflection than a shadow. It mirrored everything about its enemy. Their appearance, their weapons, their battle technique. Even their powers… otherwise, how would it be ble to use Shadow Step? In a sense, it was a perfect adversary. But that wasn't all… Sunny grimaced as the apparition threw his sword away and delivered a powerful kick that almost turned all of his ribs into bone dust. If not for the burst of essence he had sent to his legs, Sunny would have never managed to dodge that devastating blow. But his essence was already running dry, and his enemy seemed to be even stronger now… as if the more Sunny bled, the more powerful the pale young man became. The devil was even able to mirror the Memories its enemy wielded. Before, Sunny had experienced the soul attack of the copy of the Broken Oath. And now, the creature was obviously being fed raw power by the Blood Blossom… He attacked with the Midnight Shard to by himself a couple of moments to think… The apparition had not seemed to be affected by the Broken Oath, though. Was that because it had a.s.sumed the form of Saint, who was immune to soul attacks? Did this mean that the devil was able to copy not only powers and Memories, but Attributes, too? The creature easily deflected Sunny's attack and leaned forward to deliver the final blow. Sunny's only hope to escape it was to jump back… But what else did the creature copy? Was it really a perfect reflection? There was only one way to find out. Instead of jumping back, Sunny stepped forward and collided against the apparition, completely open, unable to escape being struck down by the enemy's blade. Before the deadly strike came, however, he leaned close to the devil's ear and whispered, so softly that no one except for the two of the would ever be able to hear what he had said: "Stop, Lost from Light." And then, the devil froze, as if suddenly turned to stone. Sunny smiled. …It was a perfect reflection, indeed. ReadNovelFull.me?
413	Chapter 413 Mirror Beast The apparition stood motionlessly, frozen in place by Sunny's quiet command. He could see his face reflecting in its dark eyes, even paler than usual, beads of sweat glistening in the sun. The creature was completely still, all its terrifying strength shackled by the four simple words Sunny had whispered to it. It was... enslaved. No matter how powerful the strange abomination was, no amount of power could ever allow it to disobey the command of its new master. ...Sunny. By stealing his face and his powers, the creature had also inherited his Innate Ability, Shadow Bond. Sunny had made use of that bond to subjugate the devil, and now, it was at his mercy. For now, at least. With a pained grimace, Sunny fell to the ground and drew in a hoa.r.s.e breath. 'That… that was close.' The wound on his thigh was not too serious, but the cut he had received as a shadow was long and deep. Blood Weave had prevented him from losing too much blood and was going to ensure a fast recovery, but it had its limits. The wounds needed to be tended to… however, they could wait. Right now, Sunny had to decide what to do with the former ruler Reckoning... the dreadful creature that had slain plenty of humans, and only G.o.ds knew how many Nightmare Creatures, which was now under his full control. ReadNovelFull.me Such a powerful abomination… it would surely be very helpful to have something that fearsome serving him, unable to disobey any command. He glanced at the frozen creature and shivered. Looking at it was still like looking in a mirror, after all. Despite knowing that the thing in front of him was a Nightmare Creature, he couldn't help but see a slight young man with pale skin and dark eyes… couldn't help but see himself. Yes, having a Fallen Devil do his bidding would be extremely beneficial, especially because the apparition looked exactly like him. With a bit of cunning and preparation, Sunny would be able to seemingly appear in two places at the same time. If he ever needed to prove that he wasn't Mongrel or accomplish something shady without drawing any suspicion, that would be a perfect way to do so… there were countless scenarios where such an ability would be incredibly useful. But there lay the problem. The creature was only enslaved because it had a.s.sumed his form. Since the creature could take any shape, it was going to stop possessing his Aspect Abilities — including Shadow Bond — as soon as it turned into something else. Then, it would be free of its shackles and able to do whatever it wanted, including unleashing its wrath on Sunny. That was why he had dismissed Saint before attempting to subjugate the apparition. He needed it to remain as his own reflection, and no one else's. Yes, he could circ.u.mvent the possibility of losing control over the terrifying creature with a long series of complex orders that would limit when and how it could use its shapeshifting. But coming up with a foolproof net of prohibitions was a herculean task… Sunny wasn't even sure that it was possible. He had spent a long time thinking of ways to escape this exact fate, so he knew better than most — better than anyone, perhaps — how hard it was to keep an unwilling slave under control. Especially if the enslaved being was more powerful than its master. There would always be a way to twist words, find a loophole, and turn the orders given by the master against themselves. Sunny was sure of it. He had to be. So... what was he supposed to do with the frozen abomination? Standing up with a grimace, Sunny faced his perfect copy and looked at it with regret. The main reason for what he was about to do, nevertheless, was way less complicated. He simply didn't want to be a slaver. He didn't want to own any living thing. Sunny lingered for a while, and then said. "Don't be scared. I won't make you a slave. That would be too cruel of a fate, don't you think? Even… even for a Nightmare Creature like you… " With that, he raised his hand, as if to caress the cheek of the pale young man, and then swiped it swiftly across his neck. Almost invisible in the bright light, the ghostly blade of the Moonlight Shard trembled as drops of crimson blood fell from it into the vibrant gra.s.s. The young man didn't move, but his pupils widened. A few moments later, blood flowed from between his lips, painting his pale skin red. Sunny looked at the dying apparition, deeply disturbed by the visage in front of him. …It was not every day that one got to see himself die. 'That's... that is...' He paled slightly, but did not look away. In front of him, a person who looked exactly like himself was slowly drowning in blood, a crimson torrent flowing from his cut throat. A few moments later, when the creature was on the death's doorstep, its body suddenly trembled, and then shifted slightly. A tortured smile appeared on its face. The apparition's lips moved, but just as before, no sound escape from them. However, Sunny thought that he had managed to read a few words: "…we… never… searching." That was what the apparition had tried to say. Then, the light in its eyes extinguished. A strange ripple spread over the young man's body, and a moment later, thin cracks appeared on his skin. After a second or two, the creature shattered into a rain of silver gla.s.s, which then turned into a stream of light and disappeared. Only one jagged mirror shard remained laying in the gra.s.s, reflecting nothing but cold darkness. As Sunny stared at all this in bewilderment, the Spell whispered: [You have slain an Ascended Reflection, Mirror Beast.] Sunny blinked. 'Wait… what did it just say?' The Spell, however, wasn't done speaking. [...You have received a Memory.] ReadNovelFull.me?
414	Chapter 414 Mystery of the Dark Mirror Sunny stared at the ground, confused. 'What just happened?' Why did the Spell call that thing and Ascended Reflection? What was a Reflection? And why was it Ascended instead of Fallen? How could a Nightmare Creature be Ascended? He frowned. '...Was it not a Nightmare Creature? How is that possible?' The apparition was definitely not a human, so what else could it be if not one of the Dream Realm's abominations? And one more thing… The Spell did not say that his shadow had grown stronger, did it? ReadNovelFull.me To make sure, Sunny checked the number of his shadow fragments. Just as he had suspected, it didn't change. He even dove into the Soul Sea, and saw that there was no new shadow among the rows of the creatures he had slain. 'This is very, very strange.' What the h.e.l.l had he just killed? With a deep frown on his face, Sunny bent down and cautiously picked up the jagged mirror shard that the apparition had left behind. No matter how he looked at it, the shard resembled a perfectly mundane piece of gla.s.s, with a thin layer of silver painted over its reverse side. The only strange thing about it was that no matter how Sunny turned the shard, it refused to reflect anything except for an impenetrable veil of darkness. There was also an inscription on its reverse. Sunny's frown deepened when he realized that the inscription was not made with runes… instead, what he saw were the familiar letters of the human alphabet. They were clumsy and awkward, as if written by a child's hand. There was only one word written on the mirror shard: "Beastie" '...What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean?' The mystery of the Mirror Beast was so strange that for a time, Sunny even forgot about the burning pain in his side. Eventually, he whispered: "...An Echo?" Echoes did not possess souls, so he expected that slaying one would not reward him with any shadow fragments, just like what had happened after Mirror Beast's death. The apparition, however, was obviously not an Echo. It was too independent, sentient, and had too much... individuality to be a simple copy of a dead Nightmare Creature. Not to mention that it had been ruling the Reckoning for the past few years, with no human master in sight. There was, however, a type of being that it resembled. Sunny threw a dark look at the remains of a tree that had been shattered by Saint's body. …In many ways, the strange Reflection resembled a Shadow. Was the Mirror Beast a type of Echo created by someone's Aspect? Its creator must have been incredibly powerful, then. If so, where were they? What had happened to them, and why was their Reflection wandering the Chained Isles in a feral state? There were no answers. It was just a theory, anyway. Sunny had no proof whatsoever to substantiate it. Maybe his new Memory would give him some answers… He was about to summon the runes, but a sudden pulse of pain reminded him that he was, in fact, still wounded. With a hiss, Sunny clutched at his side and looked around, searching for shelter. He was going to have to tend to his wounds... and rest after the fight with Mirror Beast. The Memory could wait until after he wasn't bleeding so much… Wrapping the strange mirror shard in a piece of fabric and placing it into his pack, Sunny used some of his last remaining reserve of shadow essence to step through the shadows and appear near the rocky hill in the center of the island. His shadow had noticed a shallow cave there, which was situated — obviously — behind the foaming wall of the picturesque waterfall. Walking on a narrow stone ledge that led behind the waterfall, Sunny checked that the cave was empty, and then entered its cool shade. \\\* The cave wasn't very big, but due to its location and hidden nature, there was no better shelter on the entire island. Rather happy with this discovery, Sunny groaned and lowered himself to the ground. Sending Saint to keep watch outside, he dismissed the Puppeteer's Shroud, then opened his pack and took out a small box containing several thin needles and a span of silk thread. Staring at the needles with a deadpan expression, Sunny sighed. 'I hate this part.' Due to his Awakened body and the nature of Blood Weave, Sunny could recover from most injuries much faster than any mundane human, or even one of his peers, would be able to. However, if he wanted to be able to travel again by tomorrow, he still had to take measures. With another sigh, the threaded one of the needles, gritted his teeth, and began suturing the edges of the long cut on his side together. The process was not very pleasant, to say the least, so the cave was full of the sounds of heavy breathing and suppressed curses for a while. Finally, Sunny was done. Washing the dried blood off his body with the help of the Endless Spring, he grimaced and looked around. Now that he had time to take a better look at the cave, he noticed that it had, apparently, been used as shelter by another human at some point in the past. There was a circle of stones built to contain a fire, with a bunch of firewood arranged neatly by its side. By now, the wood had long rotten, letting Sunny know that the cave remained empty for many years. There was a pack much like his own laying on the cold stones near the firepit. He limped toward it and took a look inside. There was nothing of particular interest there — just the usual supplies a traveling Awakened would take with them on a long expedition, most of them ruined by the humidity inside the cave and the pa.s.sage of time. He did, however, retrieved a rolled-up map and studied it for some time. The map had been drawn on a piece of monster hide, so the humid air did it no favors. Most of it was unreadable, with only a few small pieces remaining intact. Sunny judged that the person who had left it behind was much more knowledgeable about the Chained Isles than he was… sadly, none of that knowledge had been preserved. The only legible word he could easily read was written near the edge of the Tear. It read: "...Hope?" Sunny sighed. The stranger whose map he was studying had most likely been killed by the Mirror Beast. For a moment, he entertained the idea that the map had actually been left behind by the creator of the strange Reflection, but that theory made little sense. Why would such a powerful person leave not only his things, but also his creation behind? Putting the map back into the rotted pack, Sunny glanced at the firepit and said after a long pause: "I'm sorry that your hopes had been for naught… whoever you were. Now, your nightmare is over." With that, he hesitated for a few moments, and then finally summoned the runes. It was time to take a look at the Memory he had received for slaying the terrifying creature that the Spell had called the Mirror Beast. A few seconds later, Sunny's eyes widened. 'Weapon! It is a weapon…' ReadNovelFull.me?
415	Chapter 415 Cruel Sight Sunny stared at the shimmering runes, excitement rising in his heart. This was what he had been waiting for… Memory: [Cruel Sight]. Memory Rank: Ascended. Memory Tier: IV. Memory Type: Weapon. 'A weapon…' Sunny had been searching for a new weapon for a long time. He was very fond of the Midnight Shard, since that was the sword he had carried through the darkest time of his life, and which which he had fought his way out of the h.e.l.l of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. It was a very powerful Memory, too, one whose enchantment had saved his life on several occasions. However, Sunny felt that he had outgrown the austere tachi. Or rather, the obstacles he was facing these days had. ReadNovelFull.me Many of the Nightmare Creatures on the Chaines Isles were of the Fallen rank, and their tough hides presented a lot of resistance to the sharp blade of the Awakened sword. Not to mention those Corrupted horrors that Sunny avoided to the best of his ability, for now, but was inevitably bound to encounter one day. The other reason he wanted to procure a new weapon was the fact that the [Unbroken] enchantment, while extremely potent and useful, could only be accessed in very rare circ.u.mstances… namely, when Sunny was nearing death. This meant that the most powerful trait of the Midnight Shard could only help Sunny if he made a terrible mistake. If Sunny fought with skill and foresight, however — thus keeping himself from being mortally wounded — the powerful enchantment remained inactive, as it had for the past months. Paradoxically, the better Sunny performed, the less useful the Midnight Shard was to him. It was nice to have a last resort, but Sunny did not like the idea of relying on a tool that could only be effective if he failed. He wanted to possess a weapon whose enchantments were reliant on his success, and as such, both strengthened him and rewarded him for doing well. Hopefully, this was one such weapon. It was an Ascended Memory of the fourth tier — equivalent to a Memory he would have received from a Fallen Devil. That was already a tremendous start… His most powerful weapon right now, the Moonlight Shard, had come from a mere Fallen Beast. Trying to control his expectations, Sunny trembled in antic.i.p.ation and read further: Memory Description: [...Full of pride, the n.o.ble knight made a deal with the Dreamsp.a.w.n. Years later, the knight had defeated all his enemies and became a mighty king. On the day that his son uttered the first word, the Dreamsp.a.w.n came to the king and demanded his pay. He left the kingdom with the child and disappeared, never to be seen again. Much later, the young prince returned and stood beneath his father's throne. He expected to be met with joy and warmth, but was met with fear and suspicion instead.] Sunny frowned. 'Huh… what the h.e.l.l does that mean?' The description mentioned a Dreamsp.a.w.n… or rather, the Dreamsp.a.w.n. That was the name of an Attribute Nephis had, which she possessed because of being born from a Hollow mother. Were there other people with the same Attribute among the human race? There had to be… and, judging by this strange tale, they had been feared even here, in the Dream Realm? No, that didn't make any sense. Nephis was described as being born of two worlds, so how could a native of the Dream Realm possess the same Attribute? 'Very strange… many the name is just a conscience…' Sunny shrugged, then concentrated on the runes. 'Tell me what you can do…' Memory Enchantments: [Shapeshifter], [Light Eater], [Ghost Blade], [Dark Mirror]. 'Four of them!' His eyes gleamed. [Shapeshifter] Enchantment Description: "This weapon can shift form between a sword and a spear." Sunny hesitated for a moment, then turned away from the runes and summoned the Cruel Sight. He just had to see this… A tenebrous mist shrouded his hand, and then, an elegant sword appeared in it. It was much shorter than the Midnight Shard, with a leaf-shaped blade that was about as long as the distance between Sunny's elbow and the tip of his middle finger. The blade seemed to be forged out of polished silver, and served as a perfectly clear mirror. Looking into it, Sunny could see the reflection of his pale face and the wall of the cave behind him. The hilt of the short sword was made out of polished black wood, which was encased in intricately engraved silver near the guard and at the pommel. The Cruel Sight was light and swift. Sunny slashed the air several times and smiled. It was going to take some time to get used to using a single-handed sword, but he liked it. It already felt like an extension of his hand. It was much more suited for stealth attacks, too. The sword was also double-edged, which gave him more freedom in how to use it. But that wasn't all… Following a mental command, the hilt of the sword suddenly began to extend. A second later, Sunny was holding a long, graceful spear. The black shaft contrasted against the silver blade, creating a beautiful and somber image. The blade itself kept its length, so Sunny could perform not only thrusting attacks, but also cuts and slashes. He stared at the somber, elegant spear for a bit, then commanded it to turn back into the sword. This was going to be a challenge. Sunny wasn't really proficient with polearms, but he had seen how versatile, unpredictable, and deadly they could be in the hands of a master. Not to mention that he had wished to have more distance between himself and the Nightmare Creatures he fought on numerous occasions… this weapon was a perfect combination of mobility and reach, allowing him to effortlessly switch between a nimble shortsword and a devastating long spear. It gave him access to the best of both worlds. His smile widened. "Perfect… this is perfect!" What else could it do? There were three Enchantments left: [Light Eater] Enchantment Description: "The blade of this weapon can reflect, absorb, and expel light." That would be useful to control shadows, as well as potentially blinding the opponents... [Ghost Blade] Enchantment Description: "This weapon can strike at incorporeal targets." An incredible ability that would give Sunny the ability to fight against some of the most dangerous creatures in the Dream Realm, those wraiths that were immune to physical damage. [Dark Mirror] Enchantment Description: "Each attack of this weapon can be augmented with elemental damage. It can be charged with any element the wielder has been damaged by." "Current Charge: None." Sunny gasped. 'A permanent elemental augmentation. This… is… incredible!' ReadNovelFull.me?
416	Chapter 416 Hanged Man Sunny stared at the emptiness for some time, thinking. His new weapon was an Ascended one of the fourth rank, which already made it much more formidable than anything else in his a.r.s.enal. It was adamantine and sharp as a razor, which would allow him to cut through Fallen creatures as if they were made of b.u.t.ter… well, not exactly, but rather close. Added to that were the considerable reach of its spear form and the incredible swiftness of its sword form. But there was more. The Cruel Sight was capable of augmenting its attacks with elemental damage. That meant that each wound Sunny would deliver to his enemies would be more dire… not only that, but the nature of the augmentation could be changed, which meant that if given enough time to prepare, he would be able to exploit the weaknesses of his opponents with the element they were most vulnerable to. He just had to get himself wounded by that same element. 'Ouch...' Everything that was worth it had to hurt a little. Sunny had learned it many years ago. Speaking of which. He sighed, then summoned the Cruel Sight and held it in his hands for a bit. Then, he stood up and walked toward the exit from the cave. ReadNovelFull.me As the sound of the waterfall grew louder and louder, he prepared himself. …A second later, Sunny entered the field of soul erosion emanated from Saint's armor. Instantly, he felt weak and in pain, as though the very essence of his self was being dissolved by a terrible force. 'Argh… curses!' No matter how many times he was subjected to the effect of the Broken Oath, it was a vile feeling every time. The only good thing about it was that souls, just like bodies, could heal with time. And as long as he did not spend too much time being damaged by the evil Memory, he would be able to recover in a day or two. Gritting his teeth, Sunny summoned the runes describing the Cruel Sight and simultaneously send essence into its silver blade, activating the [Dark Mirror] enchantment. As his contorted face reflected in the polished silver of the elegant sword, nothing about it changed. However, the Cruel Sight suddenly seemed… different. As if an invisible, cold, and sharp aura surrounded its edges. Sunny looked at the description of the [Dark Mirror]: "Current Charge: Soul." With a relieved sigh, he took a few steps back and escaped the radius of the Broken Oath. The sensation of his soul being slowly destroyed swiftly disappeared. The runes, however, did not change. Sunny had to feed the Memory with a small amount of shadow essence to activate the augmenting enchantment, but its blade would remain entwined with the element of his choice until he charged it with another. A cruel smile appeared on his lips. …Just like that, Sunny now possessed a weapon capable of dealing soul damage — the rarest and most insidious type of damage he knew of, one that very few beings out there had any resistance to. In a span of one day, his lethality had grown manyfold. Dismissing the somber sword, Sunny turned around and walked back into the cave. "I guess I am the true harbinger of reckoning now…" His gloomy shadow lingered for a bit, then scratched the back of its head. For once, it had nothing to add. \\\* Two days later, Sunny was finally approaching Shipwreck Island. Currently, he was on the neighboring one, hiding in the shadow of a collapsed stone tower that had long ago become overgrown with moss. Somewhere behind him, the body of a giant worm-like creature lay on the ground, its body sipping with foul black blood. Sunny had spent a lot of essence jumping through shadows to avoid being devoured by that thing. No matter how many times he had pierced its flesh with his spear, the worm seemed to possess an almost endless amount of vitality. The fact that Sunny had no idea where any of the abomination's vital organs were only made the situation worse. In the end, however, the Nightmare Creature had succ.u.mbed to the damage being continuously dealt to its soul. And now, it was dead. …Swarms of smaller, but no less repulsive worms were already emerging from the ground to feast on its flesh. Sunny did not care — he had already retrieved the soul shard from the creature's body, and he surely had no plans of using the worm's meat as food. And regardless, his attention was currently concentrated elsewhere. 'What… the h.e.l.l…' The Shipwreck Island was currently at the height of its ascent phase, and loomed high above in the sky. As the result, Sunny was able to see its underbelly, far away in the distance. The downside of the island was shrouded in eternal shadow, and something vast and terrifying was moving in it. The inhabitants of the Dark Side were all powerful and unsightly, but the thing nesting under that one, in particular, was especially harrowing. Perhaps all islands this close to the Tear sheltered such horrors… But even that was not the thing Sunny was looking it. 'I guess… I have my answer…' A long time ago, one of the chains connected to Shipwreck Island had broken, and now hung down. Entangled in it, a giant iron corpse swayed slowly in the wind. The creature resembled a man made entirely out of metal. The heavenly chain had coiled around one of his legs, so the giant hung with his head down, his face rusted and severely damaged. His powerful chest was caved in and shattered by some t.i.tanic blow, and one of his arms was torn away at the shoulder. This was, without a doubt, the creature whose lost limb gave the name to the Iron Hand Island. The dead giant swayed despondently in the wind, producing sounds of rusty metal sc.r.a.ping against the iron of the heavenly chain. Those sounds were loud enough to reach across the gap between two islands and be heard by Sunny in his hiding place. Looking at that humbling sight, Sunny shivered. 'Who could have killed such a thing?' Of course, there was no way to know. Just like always, finding one answer had immediately presented Sunny with a dozen new questions. Nervously shifting his gaze between the hanged giant and the swarm of worms ravenously devouring their elder, Sunny remained hidden in the shadows and waited. Soon, the rattling of chains announced that the Shipwreck Island was starting to descend. Sunny tensed. 'It's time...' ReadNovelFull.me?
417	Chapter 417 Shipwreck The chain leading to the Shipwreck Island was about four kilometers long, which was on the shorter side by the Chained Isles standards. As a swift shadow, Sunny would have been able to ride it all the way to his destination in just a few minutes. Sadly, the heavenly chain was currently drawn taut and nowhere near the Sky Below, which meant that its links weren't covered by a thick layer of shadows. He was going to have to cross it on foot. As the ground behind him started to move, announcing the approach of something far more hungry and terrifying than the swarm of gluttonous maggots, Sunny slid out of his hiding spot, dashed toward the edge of the island, and jumped down. Falling through the vast expanse of the blue sky, he landed on the iron surface of the heavenly chain, rolled down a few meters, and then finally caught his balance. The chain stretched far into the distance, rising higher and higher until it connected with the slowly descending Shipwreck Island. Unlike how it was with the other pieces of land Sunny had seen in this strange region of the Dream Realm, the chain didn't simply disappear into the soil, but instead led to a tall stone structure that resembled a castle gate. Two ma.s.sive pillars rose high into the sky, overgrown by vines and moss. The gate itself had been broken a long time ago, and now, the s.p.a.ce between the pillars was empty, the wind pa.s.sing freely through its vast opening. ...Further away, the corpse of the iron giant continued to sway in the air, his one remaining hand pointed at the Sky Below. Summoning the Cruel Sight, Sunny turned it into the spear and cautiously moved forward. ReadNovelFull.me The further he walked, the lower the Shipwreck Island descended, until finally the heavenly chain became almost horizontal. In about an hour, Sunny crossed the abyss separating two isles and approached the stone structure he had noticed from afar. Up close, it was even more monumental. He found out that he had been wrong, though: the pillars did not seem like they had ever served to house a ma.s.sive gate. Instead, they just reached for the sky, built for some unknown purpose. There were weathered steps cut into each of the pillars, leading all the way to the top. Sunny frowned. 'Who would be crazy enough to climb that high?' Even now that the island had descended, up there on top of the monumental pillars the Crushing must have been suffocating. With a shrug, he used the Dark Wing to glide upward and climbed onto a wide stone platform between the pillars. From here, the remains of an ancient road led further into the island. Following it to reach the top of a low hill, Sunny stopped and looked down, at the sight of the peculiar landmark that gave this place its name. At the very heart of the desolate island, a large wooden ship lay broken on the ground. It must have been beautiful and magnificent once, but now, all that remained of its former glory were the fluid lines of the graceful and narrow hull. The ancient wood somehow remained untouched by the pa.s.sage of time, but the bow of the ship was completely shattered. There were also large breaches here and there along the length of the wreck, and green vines covering large sections of it. What was a ship doing at the heart of a land that had no rivers and no seas remained a mystery, but Sunny became hypnotized by the sight of a crushed vessel for a completely different reason. A triumphant spark appeared in his eyes. 'I guess I am in luck today!' With a dark smile, he shifted his gaze and looked at the tall mast of the ship. A dead, withered tree coiled around it, its naked branches stretching into the sky like bones. Sunny recognized that tree, even if it looked very different from how it was depicted on the reverse side of the mysterious coins, full of life and in bloom. This was the same ship he had seen before. …Which meant that the coin might have come from inside the wreck, or at least was connected to it somehow. Initially, Sunny had only planned to scout the vicinity of the island and search for the traces left by the dead Chain Worm. But now, he felt as if this scouting expedition could actually lead him directly to the treasure he so desperately wanted to find. What were the chances that the coins depicting the strange ship came from somewhere else? Close to zero, most likely. Now, he only had to sneak into the wreck, explore it, and return in one piece. …Which was not an easy task, considering how close to the Tear the island was. Sunny could not see any Nightmare Creatures moving across its surface, but he knew that there had to be some, and that they were going to be of the truly dreadful kind. Still, he wasn't going to turn back now. 'It's worth it…' \\\* Sunny spent some time observing the island. No matter how hard he looked and how much his shadows roamed around, he couldn't see any abominations anywhere near the ancient ship. …That didn't mean there were none, though. It just meant that they were better at hiding than he was at looking. After a while, Sunny frowned and summoned Saint. The taciturn demon stepped out of his shadow a few hundred meters down the slope of the hill and indifferently looked around. Then, she dismissed her bow, and instead summoned a melee weapon. The Midnight Shard appeared in her hands, its austere blade reflecting the black onyx of the Shadow's armor. …The two suited each other very well. Saint turned her back to Sunny, raised the long tachi, and calmly headed toward the distant wreck. After thirty seconds or so, he left his shelter and followed, keeping to the shadows. Minute after minute pa.s.sed in tense silence. Despite his expectations, they didn't meet any powerful abominations. The island was quiet and deserted, covered only by overgrown ruins, vines, and piles of broken wood. When they were halfway to the ship, however, something finally changed. As Saint approached one of the piles of debris, it suddenly moved. …And then a.s.sembled itself into the shape of a tall, menacing humanoid creature, its hands ending in long jagged blades. As countless similar piles of splintered wood began to move all around them, Sunny breathed out a curse. It had started so well! ReadNovelFull.me?
418	Chapter 418 Remnant Crew 'Damnation!' Before the first wood wraith could even fully form, Saint was already upon it. The blade of the Midnight Shard flashed through the air… and bit into the body of the creature with the dull sound of an axe striking the bark of a tree. The effect was somewhat the same: although she managed to do some damage, the wraith simply ignored the shallow cut and lurched forward, towering above the graceful stone knight with destructive menace. Its hands fell down with crushing force, the wooden blades aimed at Saint's helmet. …Wood couldn't cut stone. Right? The Shadow seemed reluctant to check. She easily sidestepped the creature's attack and thrust upward, driving the tip of the Midnight Shard into the enemy's neck. Augmented by one of Sunny's shadows, the sword went deep into the adamantine wood. A moment later, the second shadow wrapped itself around the body of the taciturn demon, causing her skin to shine with dark radiance. The coral gem of the Broken Oath glowed brightly on her black breastplate. Saint twisted her blade and pushed it sideways, causing half of the wood wraith's neck to explode into a rain of splinters. The creature staggered and lashed out with another strike, but it was too late — the Shadow calmly shifted her weight from one leg to another and delivered a devastating slash, beheading her enemy. As the wraith fell apart and turned back into a pile of debris, she looked at it indifferently, and then hit the dull side of the Midnight Shard's blade against her shoulder twice. The voice of the Spell whispered: ReadNovelFull.me [You have slain a Fallen Beast, Sailor Doll.] [Your shadow grows stronger.] Sunny gritted his teeth. 'Crap!' Augmented by two shadows, Saint had defeated one of these Dolls without too much problem. …However, there were countless more rising from the ground. Sunny counted at least several dozen before losing count. 'What should I do?' Fighting the horde of Fallen Beasts was clearly suicide. He could either retreat, or order Saint to draw their attention away and sneak onto the ship. He could also recall one of the shadows, send it ahead, and then use Shadow Step to travel instantly between his current position and the wreck. But that meant leaving Saint weaker. Decisions, decisions… 'She should be fine for a few minutes, right?' Throwing a glance at the taciturn demon, Sunny sighed and dashed toward the ship. "Have fun, you three!" Saint looked at him, then silently turned away and raised the Midnight Shard. As Sunny jumped from shadow to shadow, something crashed thunderously behind him. [You have slain a Fallen Beast…] 'But not too much fun…' No matter how formidable his demon was when augmented by the shadow and wielding a powerful Memory, she was still just an Awakened. He had to be swift… As Sunny appeared from a shadow, something massive suddenly lunged at him. Without slowing down, he dove under the blade of another wood wraith, then lashed out with the Cruel Sight. The silver blade of the sword cut through the body of the abomination, leaving a deep gash on its side. Sunny slid on the moss, escaping from the attack reach of the massive creature. Twisting around, he thrust his sword into empty air. A split second later, however, the hilt of the somber weapon extended, turning it into a long spear. The silver blade pierced the chest of the wood wraith with surprising ease. The Sailor Doll was still alive, but its soul was damaged. It staggered and took a step forward, driving the spear deeper into its flesh. Sunny tilted his head, then dissolved into shadows and appeared behind the creature. A moment later, the Moonlight Shard pierced its head. [You have slain a Fallen Beast, Sailor Doll.] [Your shadow grows stronger.] Sunny retrieved his weapons. [You have slain…] Saint was busy, too. Glancing back, he saw that she was close to being surrounded by a mass of menacing wooden creatures. 'Not good…' Not wasting any more time, Sunny turned away and continued moving toward the wreck. \\\* A few minutes later, Sunny reached the broken ship, dove into one of the breaches in its hull, and hid in the shadows. Then, he immediately dismissed Saint. Making sure that nothing pose an immediate threat to him, he then quickly checked on the taciturn demon in the Soul Sea. The Shadow had received several wounds in the fight against the swarm of wraiths, but none of them was too serious. She was going to have to spend some time restoring herself in the nurturing black flames of the Shadow Core, still. 'Rest well, Saint. You deserve it…' Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then retrieved the Memories he had entrusted to her. Who knew what he was going to encounter inside the ancient ship… it was better to be safe than sorry. Looking around, he studied the interior of a small room he had found himself in. Sunny had no knowledge whatsoever of what the insides of a ship were supposed to look like, let alone of an archaic wooden vessel like this one. That was why he couldn't even guess what purpose this cabin had been intended for. All he saw were piles of debris… absolutely mundane, for a change… and thick brown vines covering the walls. The air was stale and murky. It smelled a little sweet… 'Oh, crap. Here we go again.' With a subtle shudder, Sunny stared at the strange reddish-brown vines. Those things, without a doubt, were alive. …They were also the source of the sweet smell permeating the air that Sunny was currently breathing. What was even worse, they were obviously just a small part of some much, much larger organism. As a strange feeling appeared in his lungs, Sunny sighed, took a piece of cloth from his pack, and wrapped it tightly around the lower part of his face. 'Blood Weave to the rescue. Let's see what's inside…' He only took a few steps when something gleamed on the floor in front of him. Bending down, Sunny picked up the small object and stared at it with a complicated expression. A heavy golden coin rested in his palm. ReadNovelFull.me?
419	Chapter 419 Eureka Grasping the coin in his fist, Sunny took a step forward, then cautiously walked around a thick vine sprawled across the floor of the small cabin. Or was it a wall? Since the ancient ship was laying on its side and at an angle, it was hard to differentiate the floor from the ceiling. The surface beneath Sunny's feet was skewed, forcing him to bend to be able to keep balance. The piles of debris and the vines weren't making things any easier for him. By now, Sunny was almost sure that the vines were a part of a larger creature. His suspicion only grew when he climbed through the narrow doorway and left the cabin. Finding himself in a wide corridor, Sunny felt that the sweet smell permeating the murky air became much stronger. Here, everything was covered by a thick layer of reddish moss, with twisted vines growing through it as they stretched in every direction. Sunny could help but feel as though he was now inside some giant being, with the wooden carcass of the ancient ship serving as its bones, the moss representing its flesh, and the vines being its veins. The warm breeze that blew through the wreck at rhythmic intervals reminded him of slow breathing of a slumbering giant. It came from somewhere deeper in the ship, bringing with it the sickeningly sweet smell, and then disappeared for a dozen seconds, only to appear again. 'Let's, uh… not do anything to awaken that thing, then.' Sunny thought for a few moments, and then decided to keep both shadows wrapped around his body instead of sending them to explore the ship. In situations where a confrontation with an unknown enemy could happen at any moment, having them close by was of paramount importance... at least that approach had saved his life many times in the past. ReadNovelFull.me Taking a step forward, he felt the moss spring under his foot, and then swayed. His vision blurred slightly… 'Argh…' His worse expectations did not come true. Unlike the Blood Blossom, the tiny grains of pollen — or spores, or whatever it was that he had breathed in — had not tried to take root in his lungs and grow through his flesh. Instead, they simply poisoned him. The posing had entered his lungs, then traveled to his bloodstream, and was now spreading through his body. Sunny could easily see himself losing consciousness and falling to the ground, his body then becoming overgrown by the reddish moss, slowly digested by it, turned into nourishment for the creature that had usurped the wreck of the ancient ship… But he wasn't going to. As soon as the poison entered his bloodstream, Blood Weave went into a frenzy. It seemed to really dislike anything alien invading its territory. Slowly but surely, it went about destroying the toxin. Sunny just had to endure the pain. Summoning the Cruel Sight, he used the shaft of the spear to help himself keep balance and waited for his vision to become clear again. After a minute or two, Sunny slowly exhaled and continued on his way. A few minutes later, still suffering from pain and weakness, he picked up a second coin from the moss and stared at it for a second. The beautiful person with a crescent moon drawn on their forehead smiled at him with a carefree expression. Sunny frowned in response. 'What are you so happy about, fool?' Turning away, he noticed another coin gleaming in the moss a couple of meters further down the corridor. …It was almost as if someone left these coins here like breadcrumbs to lead an unsuspecting treasure hunter to their prize. '...Very convenient.' Full of unease, Sunny walked other to the third coin, picked it up, hid it in his pack, and then cautiously moved deeper into the wreck. Soon, he approched a wall with a massive gate barring it. The wooden surface of the wall had cracked and was bent outward, as if something was pressing heavily on it from the other side. The vines out here were especially thick and vernicose, shining in the beams of sunlight that fell through a wide hole in the hull of the ship right above. The sweet smell in the air was almost overwhelming. Sunny stared at the warped wall, a grim expression on his face. Although he could not see through it, he could feel the shapes of shadows on the other side. Hidden from him by the thick bulkhead was a much larger, vast and open space. He judged it to be the main cargo hold of the ancient ship. And in it, something massive was moving, slowly expanding and contracting. Brown vines that had devoured the wreck all originated from that place. The sickening breeze that blew through the ancient ship from time to time came simultaneously with the contracting of the massive shadow. Sunny lingered for a while, then decided that he had no desire to disturb the slumber of that being. Instead of trying to open the door, he jumped up, grabbed the edges of the hole above him, and climbed onto the exterior of the ship's hull. He was reasonably sure that a treasure such as miraculous coins would not have been stored in the main hold with the rest of the mundane cargo, anyway. Unless he was absolutely certain that he had no other choice, he was not going to enter it. Sunny was of a rather high opinion about his abilities, but not so high as to forget all fear. That thing inside was not for him to fight, at least not yet. How was he supposed to kill a giant mass of vines and moss, anyway? Instead of trying, he walked on the sloping hull of the ancient ship, carefully avoiding breaches through which thick brown vines were crawling outside, and soon passed the area of the main cargo hold. Now, he was approaching the shattered bow of the ship. Out here, the hull was heavily damaged, with most of it being riddled with wide cracks, jagged holes, and splintered boards. The sight of it made Sunny wonder about what had happened to the graceful ship he had seen on the miraculous coins. The vessel was obviously not an ordinary one... why had it crashed here, on that remote island? Why was its bow in such a devastated condition? What had the ship sailed on, to begin with? Had it just flown through the skies? If so, maybe the Crushing had gotten to it. Feeling that he wouldn't be able to remain hidden in the shadows on this treacherous surface, Sunny crawled back inside and landed softly on the carpet of moss. …Just a few steps from where he found himself, several golden coins were gleaming on the ground, with one more laying further down the dark corridor. Sunny cautiously gathered them, then moved deeper into the wreck. It wasn't long before he found the compartment that must have served as the ship's treasury. He knew that there was something special about it instantly… simply for the fact that the floorboards around the heavy door were the only place on the entire ancient ship that was completely free of the reddish moss, the vernicose vines, and the air near it was void of the sickeningly sweet smell of the poisonous spores. Standing in from of the door, Sunny smiled. '...Eureka!' ReadNovelFull.me?
420	Chapter 420 Amazing Chest Ahead Sunny approached the heavily reinforced door and tried to sense if something was moving on the other side of it. There was nothing. It didn't feel as though something dangerous waited for him inside the treasury. On the contrary, with how fresh the air was and how clean the floorboards were, the treasury looked almost… inviting. He wasn't entirely convinced, though. Sunny lingered for a bit, then commanded one of his shadows to separate itself from his body and slide under the door. It was going to remain very close, so he was willing to risk weakening himself for a bit. 'How do I even open this thing?' A moment later, Sunny grimaced and covered his face with a palm. '...When did I become this stupid?' Looking through the eyes of the happy shadow, he saw the armored compartment in its entirety. ReadNovelFull.me It was a large room, with a high ceiling and three heavy chests standing in its center. The entire back wall of the treasury, though, was missing, letting in a flood of sunlight through the jagged edges of a massive breach. 'Of course it's missing!' The Chain Worm had to have gotten inside somehow, after all. Sunny doubted that the demon could have fit through the door of the treasury, let alone politely lock it behind itself after leaving. He sighed, then shook his head and decided to attribute this momentary lapse of judgment to the taxing nature of having to endure the pain of being poisoned. No one was there to witness him making a fool out of himself, anyway! Regardless, there was no terrifying Nightmare Creature laying in wait on the other side of the reinforced door. Nothing was going to attack him if he entered. Sunny considered climbing back on top of the hull of the ship and finding a way to enter through the breach in the back wall of the treasury, then simply stepped through the shadows and appeared inside. He was too excited and impatient to waste any more time... not to mention that the more times he spent here, the more chances there were of something going terribly wrong. If there were really hundreds of coins in one of those chests, though… that would be a trophy to put all other trophies to shame. A find of a lifetime. Sunny waited for a couple of seconds, letting his eyes adapt to the bright light of the sun, and then studied the three chests standing in the middle of the armored compartment. All three were open. Two stood empty, but the third… His eyes widened in shock. The third chest was long and adamantine, its dark wood reinforced by strips of dull metal. It was large enough to fit an adult man… And filled to the brim with heavy gold coins. Some spilled out of it and were laying on the floor in a tantalizing pile, showing either the beautiful face of the mysterious charmer or the reverse depicting the ancient ship. 'Thousands… there are thousands of them!' Sunny felt his heart skip a bit and swayed slightly. In front of him was a treasure that would take him all the way to forming a third core, and then some. With this many miraculous coins, Sunny would be able to annihilate the gap between himself and Nephis… maybe even overtake her. 'This… this can't be true…' He instinctively wanted to think that it had been far too easy… but it wasn't, really. He had almost died while fighting the Mirror Beast, allowed Saint to be injured in a fight against Sailor Dolls, walked through the poisonous darkness of the ancient wreck… if it wasn't for the Blood Weave, he would have been already dead. How many people out there could boast about carrying the legacy of a daemon in their veins? For almost anyone else, this trip would have been fatal. Not to mention that very few could have made the series of discoveries and logical conclusions that would lead them here. So no, it wasn't too easy to get to where he was currently standing. It wasn't easy at all. And anyway, Sunny was due for a bit of good luck. Recently, nothing had really gone his way… take this whole Mongrel fiasco, for example. Or everything that had happened in the Crimson Spire. …The heavy chest stood silently, surrounded by sunlight. The golden coins shined in the bright radiance, inviting him to come and take them. Sunny gulped. This sight was so beautiful. His eyes gleamed with avarice. 'Don't mind if I do…' Taking several steps forward, he approached the chest. 'Gold is heavy. How am I going to carry all of this back to the Sanctuary? Damnation! I won't be able to enter the shadows with all that burden, too. That is a problem.' He reached for the coins… but then stopped suddenly. His hand hovered just outside the invitingly opened chest. Something… wasn't quite right. Sunny frowned. 'What is it… huh, maybe a can bury the chest and make several trips… wait, no, what's wrong here?' His frown deepened. There was no danger inside the treasury. Nor was there anything moving outside of it. The terrifying creature that had been slumbering in the cargo hold of the ancient ship was still asleep. There were no Sailor Dolls wandering nearby, too. So what was disturbing him? 'The… the Chain Worm…' The Chain Worm had swallowed several coins. He also had a piece of the chest in its stomach, the wood splintered, the strips of metal torn… Sunny had even thought how lucky he was that the demon decided to feast on the metal reinforcing the chest and bit a chunk out of it, swallowing the coins in the process. So, if he had torn a piece from the chest… why wasn't the chest missing a piece? And what had mortally wounded the Chain Worm, anyway? Confused, Sunny glanced at the two empty chests. They were perfectly whole, with no parts missing. Then, he looked back at the large, heavy chest in front of him, his hand still hovering a few centimeters away from the pile of gold inside. The chest had all its corners, too. …One of them, though, was of a slightly different color. Like a patch of new skin that had grown over a wound, and didn't quite match all the rest. Since when were chests capable of healing? 'What the h...' Before Sunny could finish the thought, though, the chest seemed to have sensed his hesitation. It suddenly lurched forward, and as massive jagged teeth suddenly appeared from beneath the gold, its heavy lid closed on Sunny's hand with a sickening sound of breaking bones... ReadNovelFull.me?
421	Chapter 421 Ecstasy of Gold As golden coins moved, revealing several rows of terrifying triangular teeth, Sunny recoiled… but it was too late. The heavy lid of the chest suddenly came to life and closed with astonishing speed, another row of fangs appearing from behind its edge. 'What…' Just a fraction of a second before the creature sunk its teeth into his forearm, Sunny's other hand shot forward. The blade of the Cruel Sight slid between the falling guillotine of the chest's lid and the fabric of the Puppeteer's Shroud. A moment later, the chest closed, and Sunny screamed. Because of his quick reaction, the creature failed to bite his whole hand off. However, its jaws turned out to be horribly powerful. With a sickening sound, the bones in his arms shattered. Neither the leather vambrace of the Puppeteer's Shroud nor the augmentation of the shadow managed to resist the terrible strength of the gluttonous chest. Sunny found himself caught in the abomination's crushing maw, with the blade of Cruel Sight laying flat on top of his broken arm and protecting it from being pierced by the sharp teeth that protruded from the lid of the chest. From below, several triangular fangs were slowly sinking into his vambrace. There was no obvious way to free himself... 'What the h.e.l.l is that thing?!' As several coins fell out of the creature's mouth and rolled on the floor, the chest pressed down harder, making Sunny shriek from blinding pain. "B—b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Let go of me, you vile piece of rotten wood!" Instead of doing that, the chest moved closer, forcing Sunny to fall to his knees. Something wet and coa.r.s.e touched his hand, and a disturbingly long and wide tongue emerged from beneath the golden coins, sliding across his arm and dripping with viscous saliva. ReadNovelFull.me Then, the tongue moved toward his neck. Sunny stared at the horrid sight in outrage, then screamed: "What the Spell?!" As the second shadow wrapped itself around his body, gifting him a vast boost in strength, Sunny tried to pull his broken arm out of the abomination's maw, but its bite was just too d.a.m.n overbearing. All he accomplished was almost knocking himself out from the pain of bone shards sc.r.a.ping against each other. "Argh! c.r.a.p!" As the unnaturally long tongue of the chest almost reached Sunny's neck, he growled, and then commanded the Cruel Sight to turn into a spear. At the same time, he activated the [Dark Mirror] enchantment with a burst of shadow essence, embuing the silver blade with soul-destroying power. The Memory extended inside the creature's mouth, hitting it in the back of the… whatever it had instead of a throat. The tip of the spear sunk into the adamantine wood only by a centimeter or two... the wound was by no means serious, but it must have hurt the chest a lot, because it suddenly let out a shrill shriek, and then spat Sunny's maimed arm out. Sunny fell to the floor and rolled away, then rose to one knee. 'Yes!' Before he could celebrate getting his freedom back, however, the chest suddenly swayed… and then rose into the air, revealing a gaunt and revolting body hiding beneath. More coins rolled on the floor. The abomination must have been a masterful contortionist, because at its full height, it was almost three meters tall. Sunny had no idea how the creature managed to hide all that bony flesh inside the fake chest, even if the chest was large enough to swallow a human whole. Its long and emaciated limbs unfolded with repulsive cracking sounds, and then, it towered menacingly above Sunny, the long tongue dripping with saliva. 'Oh, curse it a…' Before he could even react, the creature moved one of its long legs… and kicked him in the chest with the force of a derailing train. Ads by PubFuture Sunny's body shot back, smashed through the reinforced door of the armored compartment, and rolled into the corridor outside. He tried to groan, but all the air had been knocked out of his lungs by the terrible collision. His skull seemed to be in one piece, as was his spine… barely. It did feel, however, as though his entire body had recently suffered from being stomped on by a whole herd of elephants. In his disoriented state, Sunny couldn't help but think confusedly: '...Elephant… what the h.e.l.l is an elephant?' Then, however, all thoughts disappeared from his head, because he noticed the vile creature falling on all fours, and then launching itself forward, the lid of the chest rising for another bite. When the abomination landed, though, there was nothing to bite into. Sunny had used Shadow Step and fell out of a shadow ten meters further into the corridor, then landed awkwardly on his broken arm and whimpered. 'Oh, d.a.m.n… that hurts…' The toothy chest hovered in the air for a couple of moments, as if bewildered, then slowly turned to face him. Sunny sighed, then picked himself up from the floor and tried to stand up. His first attempt failed. Gritting his teeth and hiding how much pain he was currently experiencing, Sunny threw a furious glance at the creature and growled: "Come here, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" With that, he used the Cruel Sight to help himself stand up, and then pointed the spear at the creature. The chest tilted to the side. 'How come… it seems as though the b.a.s.t.a.r.d is grinning? How can a chest even grin?!' But there was no mistaking it — the abomination was mocking him. It became especially apparent after a grating, high-pitched giggle escaped from somewhere inside it. The sound of it was so offensive, both to Sunny's pride and his ears, that he would rather have his arm broken all over again that listen to it. 'Funny, is it?' Sunny smiled, then unhurriedly lowered the spear… And thrust it into one of the thick brown vines sprawled on the floorboards in front of him. The abomination's giggle abruptly stopped. It froze and stared at Sunny, as if utterly stunned. …And then trembled. 'Not so funny now, huh?' A moment later, the entire ship trembled, too. ReadNovelFull.me?
422	Chapter 422 Rude Awakening Whatever it was that slumbered in the cargo hold of the ancient ship did not like one of its vines being damaged, let alone having its soul cut by a sharp blade. As the whole wreck trembled, a strong gust of warm, pungent wind hit Sunny in the back, tousling his hair. The air became even murkier than it had been before. The chest creature froze, staring at him with something that resembled a mortified expression. Even its tongue stopped swaying in the air and retreated back under the pile of golden coins. Now, it was Sunny's turn to grin. An evil gleam appeared in his eyes. Retrieving the Cruel Sight, he said: "Goodness gracious. How clumsy of me." The abomination lingered for a few moments, gave him a hateful look, and turned slightly toward to door of the treasury. Then, however, it halted. 'Don't tell me…' Faced with the terrible danger of facing the awakened master of the wreck, the creature was still hesitating. The prey was right in front of it… To Sunny's misfortune, he and the bizarre monstrosity shared one fundamental character flaw. Both were very, very greedy. ReadNovelFull.me Before he could even blink, the abomination suddenly turned back and lunged at him with a shrill giggle rumbling from somewhere in the depths of it. All Sunny could do was spend more essence and use Shadow Step again, appearing on the spot where the creature had been a second ago. As he slipped on the debris of the shattered door and fell, the abomination shot through the air and crushed into the wall of the corridor, pulverizing the wooden boards and getting entangled in the vines covering them. It huffed and puffed, then tried to extricate itself from the mess of glistening vines. …However, they wouldn't let go. In fact, as Sunny watched in horror, the whole corridor moved. The reddish-brown ma.s.s that it was overgrown with rippled, and the thick vines crawled toward the trapped creature, long thorns suddenly appearing on their vernicose surface. The abomination giggled again, this time nervously, and doubled its efforts to free itself, slashing at the vines with its talons and biting into them with its terrifying teeth. As sickeningly pungent juice flowed into its maw, the creature shuddered. 'c.r.a.p, c.r.a.p, c.r.a.p…' Turning on his stomach, Sunny lunged himself forward and rolled into the treasury. Here, there were no vines and no moss, only two empty chests and a scattering of gold coins gleaming on the floor. As he hesitated, thinking of what to do next, something crashed with a deafening noise in the corridor behind him, and a moment later, the tall silhouette of the gaunt monstrosity appeared in the doorway. Sunny's eyes widened, and he brandished the Cruel Sight, preparing to defend himself. The abomination, however, did not pay him any attention anymore. Jumping over Sunny, it landed in the middle of the armored compartment… and then ran as fast as it could toward the breach in the back wall. Without stopping even for a second, it reached the breach and dove through it, escaping the awakening wreck. Sunny followed its escape with his eyes, and then blinked. '...Huh.' Then, his gaze fell on the floor of the treasury. The coins were still there, glinting in the bright sunlight. They didn't disappear or dissipate after the creature had run away. The coins… were real. 'They're real…' As the ancient ship shook and trembled, and the ma.s.s of vines crawled toward the treasury, Sunny gritted his teeth and lunged toward the coins, grabbing them and pushing them into his pack. 'Real, they're real…' He was in such a hurry to gather all the coins that he even cut himself slightly on the piece of mirror that was still stored in the pack. "Ouch!" 'If these coins are real… then the rest of them inside that d.a.m.ned chest are real, too.' Ads by PubFuture Perhaps there weren't as many as he had thought, since the chest turned out to have a false… everything, but just the top layer that was visible to the naked eyes had to contain a thousand or more coins, at least. As Sunny hunted down the last shiny golden disk left in the treasury, his attention was elsewhere. It was concentrated on his shadow — the one he had hidden in the abomination's own shade when it jumped over him. Now, the shadow was following the bizarre creature as it ran toward the edge of the island, its gangly arms swaying in the air. Sunny expected it to be a.s.saulted by the Sailor Dolls, but the menacing wood wraiths seemed to be retreating from the wreck themselves. Some even dropped to the ground, turning back into piles of debris. …The ground was moving. 'Well, what do you know…' He thought that the Dolls learned to fall apart and rea.s.semble themselves as a way to combat the Crushing, since many Nightmare Creatures on the Isles had adapted to its harsh reality in one way or another… but maybe, this peculiar ability had initially been just the means to hide themselves from the being that inhabited the wreck. In any case, he couldn't let the chest escape. Not when a thousand shadow fragments were hidden inside the abominable thing! Palming the last coin, Sunny threw the pack over his shoulder, then picked up the Cruel Sight and stood up. A determined expression appeared on his face. The abomination was already halfway to the edge of the island. "Where are you running, b.a.s.t.a.r.d?" Diving into the shadows, he expended a large burst of essence and appeared out of his own shadow right in front of the creature. Since he could only use one hand now, the weapon Memory had turned back into a shortsword. Before the abomination could react, the Cruel Sight lashed out and bit it into its thigh. The silver blade went all the way through, escaping from the back of it in a rain of black blood. The chest let out a startled shriek… and then the monstrosity tumbled to the ground, rolling over its head and sending pieces of moss and mud flying into the air. The force of its crash was so fearsome that the ground trembled. Or… was there another reason? Before Sunny could do anything, brown vines shot from under the moss, wrapping themselves around the body of the bizarre abomination. One of them, however, slid around his leg instead. ReadNovelFull.me?
423	Chapter 423 Risk and Reward 'Not good…' The vine wasn't as large as some of the ones Sunny had seen back on the ancient ship, but it was still as thick as a man's arm, with curved black thorns protruding from its glistening surface. The vine brought the sickeningly sweet smell with it. Sunny hacked at it with the Cruel Sight, but barely managed to break the vine's skin. As a fine aerosol of aromatic juice shot into the air, the d.a.m.ned thing moved. His eyes widened. The vine easily shredded the leather boot of the Puppeteer's Shroud, as if the Awakened armor of the fifth Tier was made out of tissue paper. Before the sharp thorns could saw off his foot, however, Sunny cursed and brought the Cruel Sight down once more, this time augmenting the silver blade with both of his shadows. The shortsword hacked through the vine, severing the stretch of it that was wrapped around Sunny's leg. The rest of it didn't like being cut one bit: surging forward, it aimed at his torso. Several more appeared from beneath the most at shot at Sunny, too. However, now that nothing was holding him, he could finally use Shadow Step again. Before the vines reached his body, Sunny turned into a shadow. Safe and sound in their tranquil embrace of the darkness… for now, at least… he slid a few meters away and stared at the struggling abomination. The creature was entangled by several thick vines, which moved across its body, leaving b.l.o.o.d.y trails on it. Sparks flew as the black thorns sc.r.a.ped fruitlessly across the adamantine surface of the wooden chest, though. It seemed to be much tougher that the rest of the creature's body. ReadNovelFull.me The monstrosity gathered its limbs underneath it, then pushed with all its might, trying to stand up. An angry shriek escaped from its maw. The vines were trying to hold it down, but either they were much weaker here, far away from the wreck, or the abomination was much stronger than Sunny had thought. It raised to its knees, then lashed out with its talons, ripping two of the vines apart. Suddenly liberated, the monstrosity crawled from underneath the remaining vines, and then dashed toward the edge of the island on all fours. Sunny hissed. 'c.r.a.p!' Why couldn't it just lay still and die?! He escaped the shadow and ran after the unreasonably swift abomination… but it was too late. Just a few moments later, the bizarre creature reached the very edge of the island and jumped off of it without slowing even for a moment. The lid of the chest clicked close as it plummeted down. "What the h.e.l.l!" Sunny reached the edge a few seconds later and froze as he looked down. A grim expression appeared on his face. \\\* Some distance below, a gargantuan heavenly chain escaped from the mouth of a stone structure similar to the one Sunny had seen on the other side of the island. This one was slightly different, though, mainly because both of the ma.s.sive stone pillars had broken and collapsed a long time ago. …The chain itself was different, too. Sunny had never seen such a thing on the Chained Isles. It seemed… sick, somehow. Weakened. The chain was covered in rust, its iron links dim and lifeless, robbed of their usual sense of indestructible stability. This one was rather long, stretching for good ten kilometers or so into the distance. Because the Shipwreck Island continued to descend, it was slightly angled upward. Sunny could see a relatively small isle on the other end of the chain, far into the distance. …And everywhere in between, grotesque Chain Worms were crawling all other the weakened heavenly chain. Not that Sunny saw them alive, he understood that he had underestimated just how disturbing these creatures were. With their long serpentine tails, human-like torsos, and long muzzles that brimmed with dagger-like fangs, the demons looked like misshapen maggots devouring the dying chain. Ads by PubFuture …Or maybe it was already dead, and they were simply feasting on its corpse. Some were thin like the one Sunny had seen before, some engorged on the rusty iron and bloated beyond any reasonable measure, towering above the damaged chain like small hills of flesh. The scales on the latter ones looked like they were now made out of steel, and shined as they reflected the sunlight. Those who had not satiated their hunger yet were much thinner and flew around, resembling giant metal dragonflies. '...c.r.a.p.' The d.a.m.ned chest creature landed directly on the rusted heavenly chain, gathered its long limbs, and dashed away from the Shipwreck Island, swaying dangerously as it went. From time to time, it fell to all fours and launched itself into the air, jumping from one link to another. It wasn't long before the bizarre abomination encountered a Chain Worm. The winged creature lunged at it… only to be kicked in the muzzle and have one of its wings ruthlessly torn apart. The chest creature tossed the maimed Chain Worm back toward the island, where its body was suddenly grabbed by a long root that lazily extended from the darkness of the Dark Side, then disappeared from view. The abomination took in the terrible sight, giggled, then turned around, and continued running away. Sunny hesitated. His prize was getting away. But… The small island he could see in the distance had to be the Twisted Rock — the isle directly bordering the Tear. There would be no more land to escape to if he went there. And the only chain that connected Twisted Rock to the Chained Isles was currently being devoured by the demonic Worms. It didn't seem to be on the verge of collapse just yet, however… how would Sunny know? It's not like he had seen a heavenly chain break before. Perhaps it was time to give up on his pursuit and turn back. He lingered on the very edge of the island, sensing brown vines crawling closer and closer. Risk it all or retreat and lose the chance to get his hands on the miraculous treasure forever? Nephis was about to become a devil in just a few days… No matter what decision he was going to make, he had to make it right now. In the end, Sunny had to silence his avarice and consider the situation objectively. Going after the bizarre abomination posed a huge risk… but it also promised a huge reward. In the end, what made him decide was not greed, emotions, or even rational thought. It was his intuition. For whatever reason, Sunny felt a strong aversion to the idea of turning back. It was as though Twisted Rock exerted an invisible pull on him, drawing him closer. He had never experienced something like this, at least not to this degree. He knew that his intuition was not a simple thing. It was connected to the [Fated] Attribute and the special properties his eyes had inherited from Weaver. Somehow, Sunny was capable of perceiving the trembling of the strings of fate around him, from time to time. Considering how strong his intuition was pushing him toward the Twisted Rock, something out there had to be of utmost importance to his fate, or at least have a connection to it. '...Fine. Let's get those coins!' With a grim expression, Sunny summoned the Dark Wing and dove into the empty abyss of the skies. ReadNovelFull.me?
424	Chapter 424 Unlucky Streak Sunny glided through the skies, tensely observing the underside of the Shipwreck Island through the eyes of his shadow. The chain ahead of him was teeming with a swarm of Fallen Demons, but behind him… he didn't even want to know what the thing hiding in the darkness was. One thing became clear, though, and it was why none of the Chain Worms had tried to devour the iron giant that swayed in the wreckage of a broken heavenly chain… or rather, had succeeded in trying to bite a piece out of him. The dead colossus was like cheese in the mousetrap, attracting these vile creatures into the range at which the being that dwelled in the perpetual darkness could catch them. Sunny was sure that many Chain Worms had attempted to feast on the iron giant, but ended up being the feast instead. Currently, he was trying to avoid the same fate. Luckily, the Dark Wing allowed him to glide diagonally away from the Shipwreck Island instead of plunging straight down, avoiding the attack range of the terrifying being. He reached the chain without attracting the attention of the bottom dweller, and instantly became a shadow, hiding on its underside. Waiting for a few moments, Sunny studied the length of the heavenly tether in front of him. '...Not too bad.' A large section of the unusually long chain hung low, reaching the Sky Below. He would be able to ride most of it without being noticed by the Chain Worms. The last stretch of it, though… Sunny was going to have to use Shadow Step to jump from shadow to shadow if he wanted to avoid having to fight a swarm of the Fallen Demons. The problem was that his reserves of shadow essence were already running low. Except for the short walk across the hull of the ancient ship, Sunny had no chance to really replenish it. In the meantime, he had used a lot to get to the wreck, fight the d.a.m.nable chest abomination, and pursue it. Chances were, he would reach the Twisted Rock with no essence to spare whatsoever. ReadNovelFull.me How was he even going to kill the vile chest, especially with one of his arms broken? He hesitated for a bit, then rushed forward, swiftly reaching the section of the chain submerged into the Sky Below and continuing to fly through the darkness once there. To avoid tempting fate, Sunny remained on the underside of the gargantuan tether, where there were way fewer Worms crawling around. He did, however, encounter several, and saw up close how they were tearing into the rusting iron of the chain as he silently flew past. The sight of it was simultaneously disturbing, fascinating… and strangely sad. 'All things must come to an end, I guess…' Even as seemingly eternal as the miraculous heavenly chains. ...Soon, he caught up with the chest creature and followed it from the shadows. The bizarre monstrosity was still running as fast as it could, jumping from link to link and using its long gangly limbs to keep balance. From time to time, it got into a short and vicious fight with one of the Chain Worms and either left them severely wounded, or promptly escaped with a ghastly wound or two of its own. By now, its grating giggles grew somewhat miserable, as well as menacingly angry. Sunny observed its fighting habits, thinking about how to deal with it best. At the same time, he was meticulously calculating the amount of shadow essence he would have to spend to cross the last section of the way to the Twisted Rock, trying to find a way to keep his reserves as high as possible. …His calculations, thought, had turned out to be for naught. When both Sunny and the chest monstrosity were about halfway to the small island, a dreadful sound reached their ears. It was the rattling of the chain. Sunny froze for a moment, then glanced toward the goal of this journey. 'Oh, no…' The Twisted Rock had entered its ascent phase, and was now rising quickly into the sky. \\\* 'Curse it all!' Sunny remembered thinking that he was in luck today, and couldn't help but growl… mentally, of course, since he had no vocal cords currently. Where the h.e.l.l was this supposed luck?! The fact that the Twisted Rock was ascending meant two things for him. One was that he would have to act fast and try to kill the chest creature before the Crushing became too terrible, or somehow obliterate the d.a.m.ned thing while being weighed down by it. The second was that the position of the heavenly chain was swiftly shifting, making it so that the stretch of it submerged into the Sky Below was becoming shorter and shorter. This meant that he would have to spend much more essence to reach the island without attracting the attention of the swarm of Chain Worms. And he didn't have a lot of essence to spare, to begin with… 'd.a.m.n it!' As the angle of the chain increased and the bizarre monstrosity swayed, then fell on all fours and rushed forward even faster, Sunny tried to deal with the resentment growing in his heart and followed it. '...Was my intuition wrong?' Things didn't seem too good for him right now. Soon, the two of them emerged from the darkness of the Sky Below and saw the sunlight again. The chest creature seemed indifferent to it, but to Sunny, it was an ill omen. Out here in the sunlit expanse of the Sky Above, the heavenly chain was not covered in an uninterrupted layer of shadows anymore. That meant that he couldn't move through it un.o.bstructed. Instead, Sunny had to either step from one shadow to another, if they were close enough, or send his own forward and make use of it to jump over long stretches of brightly lit parts of the heavenly tether. 'd.a.m.n it...' Knowing that there was no other choice now, Sunny burned through his essence in order to not fall behind the rushing monstrosity. Soon, his reserves grew dangerously low. It was still enough to reach the Twisted Rock… probably… but once there, he would have to fight while both of his cores were nearly empty. That meant no bursts of speed, strength, and resilience that he had already gotten used to. No access to active enchantment like the [Dark Mirror]. No more using Shadow Step to escape dangerous situations, at least for a while. …And added to all that, one of his arms was broken and completely useless. Oh, and there was also the Crushing. If Sunny had teeth in his shadow form — or a mouth, for that matter — he would have gritted them right now. Full of dark emotions, he thought: '...Doesn't matter. I'm getting these coins even if it kills me!' ReadNovelFull.me?
425	Chapter 425 Twisted Rock Soon, the vile creature drew close to the Twisted Rock. It crouched near the vertical stone wall of the floating island, giggled, and then suddenly shot upward, jumping no less than twenty meters high. Its talons pierced the weathered stone, and the abomination nimbly climbed up, soon disappearing from view. Far below, on the rusted surface of the damaged heavenly chain, a hunched human figure suddenly appeared from the deep shadows. Sunny felt the chain sway as the island rose higher and higher, then looked up with a dark expression. In this direction, Twisted Rock was the last piece of land before the empty expanse of the Tear. It also only had one iron tether connecting it to the rest of the Chained Isles, so now that the bizarre monstrosity was up there, it had nowhere else to run. With a pained grimace, Sunny summoned the Moonlight Shard, cut one of the straps off his pack, then tied it around his neck to create a makeshift sling for his broken arm. He was going to have to set the bones and make a proper splint later, but for now, this was going to have to do. With his arm secured and cradled against his chest, Sunny waited a few seconds for the sharp pain to subside, then activated the Dark Wing and used the Prowling Thorn to fly up the overhanging slope of the stone island. The dragonfly cloak only allowed him to levitate if there was a surface beneath it to support the enchantment. If there wasn't, he was only able to slowly glide down instead of falling without any control. So, to travel up, he had to either push off of something or pull himself toward something. The Prowling Thorn made that process easier. Due to the burden of the early stages of the Crushing, Sunny had to exert more strength than usual to propel himself upward. After using the heavy kunai to do so several times, he finally crested the edge of the Twisted Rock and soared a few meters above it. ReadNovelFull.me The Twisted Rock… was a dreadful and miserable place. The island was rather small, and all of its surface was nothing but an uneven expanse of dark stone. That stone, however, looked really strange. It was as if once, a long time ago, it had been melted by unimaginable heat and then abruptly solidified again, creating strange shapes and swirls. …Here and there, blackened bones protruded from the molten stone, telling the tale of countless humans and beasts who had drowned in that scorching inferno. The sight of them was eerie and disturbing, like something torn from the actual h.e.l.l. Thrown down by the Crushing, Sunny landed heavily on the dark stone and swayed, then supported himself with the shaft of the Cruel Sight. His graceless arrival made enough noise to attract the attention of the chest fiend, who was crouched a dozen or so meters away. The creature froze, then turned around and faced him. Sunny scowled. …A mangled corpse of a Chain Worm was hanging from beneath the half-closed lid of the chest. As the creature turned, the tail and claws of the dead Fallen Demon sc.r.a.ped across the molten stone. The bizarre abomination stared at Sunny for a few moments, then opened its maw and swallowed the remainder of the Chain Worm whole. Despite the fact that the demon was at least five times bigger than the chest that served the fiend as the head, it somehow disappeared inside without leaving a trace. The creature licked the blood off its sharp teeth and giggled. This time, its laugh sounded rather hateful. A cold smile appeared on Sunny's lips. "Right back at you, b.a.s.t.a.r.d." \\\* As the fiend rose to its feet, towering above Sunny menacingly at full three meters of height, the Cruel Sight shifted and turned into a somber shortsword. Its silver blade gleamed, seemingly absorbing the bright sunlight. The heavenly chain rattled below, and as its rusted links sc.r.a.ped against each other, the Twisted Rock continued to ascend. The smile disappeared from Sunny's face. Staring at the gluttonous abomination, he couldn't help but feel a bit of fear. The thing was tall, fast, and incredibly strong… much stronger than he was, especially now that his reserves of shadow essence were almost completely drained. Despite the fact that it was heavily wounded, both by his sword and by the claws of the Chain Worms, it still appeared agile, vigorous, and full of murderous spite. However, this fight was not going to be as suicidal as it might have seemed. There were three main reasons why Sunny felt confident in his chances of defeating the bizarre abomination. The first one was hanging on a thread tied around his neck. It was a beautiful amulet in the form of a crimson flower… the Blood Blossom. The fiend was bleeding heavily from the deep cut on its thigh, which had been left there by the sharp blade of the Cruel Sight, and from a mult.i.tude of ugly wounds delivered to the gaunt body of the monstrosity by the Chain Worms it had fought while traversing the heavenly chain. The more black blood flowed from those wounds, the more the morbid charm Memory enhanced both the Puppeteer's Shroud and the Cruel Sight, as well as any other Memory Sunny would want to use. The second reason was rather simple, and it was the fundamental difference between the two of them. The abomination might have been stronger and faster than Sunny, but it lacked his combat skill and insight. As long as the gap in power was not absolutely overwhelming, a polished technique could turn the tide of any battle. More than that, fighting things that were bigger and more powerful than him was more or less Sunny's specialty by now. However, the third reason was the most important, and the one he hoped to exploit the most. Yes, the fiend was stronger than Sunny… but it was also much, much larger and heavier than him. That meant that it was going to be affected by the Crushing much more. No matter how bad it was going to get for Sunny, it was going to be many times worse for the towering abomination. Out here on the Chained Isles, being small and lithe was sometimes a great advantage. Feeling the burden of the Crushing pressing down on him more and more, Sunny raised his sword and aimed it at the bizarre fiend. '...Let's see which one of us is going to break first.' ReadNovelFull.me?
426	Chapter 426 Most Terrible Battle The fiend shifted its weight, then lunged forward with a shrill giggle. It was terrifyingly powerful and fast, but because its movements were clearly telegraphed, Sunny had plenty of time to react. Diving under the long arm of the abomination, he narrowly avoided being torn apart by the sharp talons and lashed out with the Cruel Sight. As the silver blade bit into the abdomen of the creature, piercing its tough skin just under the ribs, he continued forward and spun. Just a split second later, Sunny was already behind the enemy. …However, he wasn't safe. Without pausing ever for a moment, the bizarre monstrosity pressed its hands against the ground and then kicked back with both legs. There was enough power in that strike to shatter a small hill, but Sunny was already moving, getting out of range. He had not observed how the fiend fought against the Chained Worms for nothing. He knew that the wretched thing could use all four of its limbs to attack, and that its joints seemed to be able to bend in any direction. Not only did he know what the abomination was capable of, he also knew what it liked and tended to do. He also knew where it was most vulnerable, and where none of his weapons would be able to do any harm. That's why he had aimed for its gaunt body instead of the much larger and obvious target — the chest itself. Sunny had always been very perceptive, and practicing Shadow Dance only sharpened his ability to observe and understand such things. Maybe it was thanks to that that he had managed to learn so much about the fiend so fast. As the soles of his boots sc.r.a.ped against the dark stone, a fleeting thought pa.s.sed through his mind: ReadNovelFull.me 'How would it feel to shadow a Nightmare Creature… I wonder…' Then, he had no more time for unnecessary thoughts. Crushing through blackened bones, the abomination bent its joints in the opposite direction of where they were supposed to turn, spun, and lunged at him once again. This time, it was moving on all fours, the lid of the chest serving as its lower jaw. That made it almost impossible for him to dodge out of the way. …Sunny had no idea why the golden coins weren't spilling out, but luckily, they seemed to be held in place by some strange force. Unable to use his maimed arm to help himself keep balance, he had no choice but to jump down and roll under the attacking fiend. The Cruel Sight flashed again, leaving a deep cut on the leg of the creature. At the same time, a pulse of sharp pain radiated through Sunny's entire body… even though he took care to protect his broken bones, he couldn't keep them from sc.r.a.ping against one another completely. But the worse pain was still to come. 'That is going to hurt…' Sunny had already known that he would not be able to get back to his feet before the next attack came. Due to the fact that the abomination would have to perform it from an awkward position, it was not going to be as devastating as the previous blows. The Crushing had also become considerable enough to slow down both of their movements… But those long and sharp talons were absolutely deadly even if there was not much force behind them. As the fiend pivoted and snapped one of its limbs in his direction, Sunny sent both of his shadows from his body to encompa.s.s the Puppeteer's Shroud. A moment later, the talons slashed across his torso… and slid from the l.u.s.terless black leather of the chest guard without piercing it. The strike itself, however, was still powerful enough to throw Sunny flying back. He counted on that, though, and used the momentum to create distance between himself and the vile creature. Landing on his feet, Sunny suppressed a groan and brandished the Cruel Sight once again. As the heavenly chain rattled, Twisted Rock rose even higher, and the burden of the Crushing suddenly pressed him down even more. \\\* Some time later, Sunny was on the verge of pa.s.sing out from exhaustion and pain. "Argh! Curse you!" He staggered back and hunched over, using the shaft of the Cruel Sight to keep himself standing upright. His breath was ragged and pained, and drops of both sweat and blood were rolling down his face. Things… were not going great. For the both of them, actually. The ferocious clash between himself and the vile giggling fiend had gone for much longer than either of them had ever expected. After the first few minutes, it had become apparent that neither one could easily kill the other. Sunny was too devious and slippery to be caught by the bizarre creature, and the d.a.m.ned chest monster was too vigorous and resilient to succ.u.mb to the dozens of shallow wounds that Sunny had delivered to it. What's worse, all of its vital organs seemed to be hidden inside the chest, which was nearly indestructible. It was the most terrible battle of all… A battle between two c.o.c.kroaches! As the result, their fight lasted for a simply stupid amount of time. By now, both were in rough shape. Sunny was almost dead from exhaustion, bleeding from several ugly wounds, and in a world of pain. The abomination looked even worse. Its gaunt body seemed to have gone through a meat grinder, and its long tongue was hanging lifelessly over the edge of the chest, not even trying to move. Neither was ready to give up, though. The fiend panted heavily and stared at Sunny. Then, it giggled once again. This time, the giggle sounded tired, slightly bewildered… but mostly full of searing hatred. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d really, really wanted to rip Sunny to shreds now. Staggering forward, it tried to swipe at him with one hand, but crashed heavily to the ground instead. Lying there motionlessly, the bizarre creature let out a despondent growl. The Crushing was almost unbearable by now. Sunny wasn't sure that he would be able to withstand it for much longer, so the abomination had to be having an extremely rough time, too. In fact, it was certainly being tortured by the oppressive force much more. Very soon, both of them were going to be completely immobilized. He just had to kill it before that happened. Not sure that he would be able to take another step, Sunny extended the Cruel Sight to its full length and thrust it forward. The silver blade pierced the skin of the fiend, causing more black blood to seep out. 'Good… bleed to death, you piece of c.r.a.p!' He could feel the enhancement of the Blood Blossom become a tiny bit stronger, but at this point, it was already meaningless. The charm was just an Awakened Memory of the second tier, after all. Whatever boost it could provide was not that substantial when dealing with Fallen Nightmare Creatures and Ascended weapons, especially past the point where the incremental increases in its potency were truly substantial. The abomination tried to dodge the attack, but failed to move fast enough due to the merciless pressure of the Crushing. It tried to stand up… but failed. A grim smile appeared on Sunny's face. 'Got you…' His enemy, it seemed, was now completely helpless. But Sunny could still move… he could still attack... he had not even used any of the shadow essence that had been acc.u.mulating in his cores this whole time. The reserves weren't large, but there was some... Retrieving his spear, he gathered his strength, and then thrust it forward again, delivering another wound to the bizarre creature. And then again, and then… 'Die, just die already…' …And then, the fiend giggled mockingly, and suddenly gathered its limbs, which then disappeared into the bottom of the chest. A few seconds later, the whole body of the creature was out of sight, leaving only the adamantine, indestructible chest standing in the middle of the stone island. The tip of the spear sc.r.a.ped against the dark wood, not leaving even a scratch on it. Sunny stared at it, dumbfounded. Then, he let out a yelp, and as the power of the Crushing increased even further, fell to his knees. "What the h.e.l.l?! Come back here, you coward!" His hands trembled from strain as he lifted the Cruel Sight and struck the chest once again, to no result whatsoever. Sunny seemed to have overexerted himself with that last strike, because the spear fell out of his hands and plunged to the ground, striking the stone with enough force to send a few cracks through it. Then, it bounced and rolled away, finally getting caught on a piece of bone about two meters away. He stared at the Cruel Sight with a shocked expression, and then dismissed the Memory instead of trying to walk… or crawl… that far to retrieve it. Sunny turned to the chest and gritted his teeth. A moment later, sparks of light appeared around his hand again. "Don't think that it's over!" The lid of the chest trembled, and then rose a bit. The creature clearly strained to achieve even that much. A gloating, hateful giggle emerged from the depths of it a moment later. …That was the exact moment when Sunny tossed a polished crimson gem that had appeared in his hand toward the chest. Just a split second after the Broken Oath flew inside the abomination's maw, the lid snapped close, pressed down by the obliterating force of the Crushing. A m.u.f.fled sound resounded from within the chest, but no matter how much the lid trembled, it didn't rise again. Sunny fell to the ground and laughed, then groaned and whimpered as he arduously crawled a few meters away and finally grew still just outside of the Broken Oath's soul-destroying reach. Laying there in complete exhaustion, unable to move anymore, Sunny grinned. "Who's laughing now? Try to swallow that, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d…" ReadNovelFull.me?
427	Chapter 427 Death of a Mimic The Twisted Rock soared higher and higher into the sky, and as it did, a terrible crushing force a.s.saulted the two living beings that were pressed into its surface, separated only by a dozen meters of dark stone. The large adamantine chest did not look too good. The wood was slowly losing its color, the strips of metal reinforcing it showed growing patches of rust. It seemed as though the creature was struck by some terrible disease. In a sense, it was… after all, the Broken Oath was currently destroying its soul bit by little bit. Sunny did not look that much better, though. He was laying on the hard stone, looking at the merciless skies, struggling to breathe and endure the pain. His armor was soaked in blood, and his broken arm was pressed tightly against his chest. His face was deathly pale, almost the same color as the tall and majestic Ivory Tower that floated high above the world, shrouded in the whitest of clouds. Every breath was a torture. Sunny knew that he was not going to bleed to death because of the Blood Weave, but the wounds still needed to be tended to. His broken bones, especially, were in need of attention. This Crushing was turning out to be tragically long, though, not giving him the chance to do so. Well, that was not a surprise. The single chain connecting the Twisted Rock to the rest of the Isles was much longer than most, which meant that the small island was going to rise very, very high. Higher than Sunny had ever been in this strange and deadly land. ReadNovelFull.me The Crushing was not only going to last longer, but would also be vastly more terrible than the few previous times he had experienced it. By now, the hours of hardship he had endured together with Master Roan several days ago seemed like a pleasant walk in the park. Now, it seemed as though he was being slowly crushed under the weight of the entirety of heaven. Sunny was only alive because he didn't have to hide his powers anymore, and could use all of his abilities without restraint. Unlike on the day he had met the dashing griffin rider, both shadows were now tightly wrapped around his body, augmenting its resilience threefold. For that reason, he had not turned into a puddle of b.l.o.o.d.y goo yet. Although it certainly felt as though he was getting close… If things became really unbearable, he could still escape into the shadows and either wait out the worst part of the Crushing or try to escape back to the heavenly chain before his shadow essence ran out. Since he had spent this whole time patiently circulating it through the coils of the Soul Serpent, there was a considerable amount flowing through his cores by now. He had also spent this whole time waiting for the d.a.m.n chest fiend to finally die, as well as considering his options on how to transport the gold coins back to the Sanctuary of Noctis. Since it had turned out that only the upper layer of the treasure pile was real, he now had much more options… however, all of them required him to burn through a lot of essence to cross back through the swarm of Chain Worms. The problem was confounded by the fact that Twisted Rock was going to be destroyed soon, which meant that he could not risk making several trips to the Citadel and back. He had to carry his spoils away while the island was still attached to the rest of the Chained Isles. For that reason, Sunny was trying to endure as much of the Crushing as he could before turning into a shadow. …He also did not forget about the strange way his intuition had reacted to the dying island. Before the burden of the Crushing became too overbearing, he had sent one of his shadows to scour the whole place in search of anything that might have been important enough to affect the strings of fate. However, there was literally nothing on the Twisted Rock except for barren stone and ancient, blackened bones. The shadow explored every nook and cranny of this miserable place, only to find nothing at all. He had even sent it to take a look at the underside of the small isle, but it was as empty and desolate as the rest of it. Sunny was left very confused by that turn of events. He was certain that there was nowhere on the Twisted Rock that he had failed to search. And yet, there was nothing on the island to cause his intuition to react so strongly. What was going on? Had he failed to notice something, or was he mistaken about the whole thing, to begin with? Sadly, after a while, the Crushing had become too terrible for him to endure without the help of the second shadow, so he had to call it back. And now, here they were. A sudden sound attracted Sunny's attention. Glancing sideways, he noticed that a crack had appeared on the surface of the adamantine chest. Black blood seeped out of it, soon turning into a stream. A few seconds later, a second crack appeared near the first. He would have smiled if not for the fact that even such a simple action was rather strenuous now, this high above the Sky Below. 'It's not going to be too long now…' \\\* A few minutes later, there was a pool of black blood surrounding the large wooden chest. Sunny endured the pain and counted the seconds. Before he reached a thousand, the vile creature trembled slightly and giggled one last time, its grating voice full of doleful outrage. Then, the bizarre monstrosity shuddered and grew absolutely still. It was finally dead! Sunny couldn't help but grin slightly. 'Finally… all those coins… are mine!' As the heavenly chain rattled and groaned, the voice of the Spell resounded above the h.e.l.lish stone island. Its words sounded like music to his ears... [You have slain a Fallen Devil, Mordant Mimic.] [Your shadow grows stronger.] [...You have received a Memory.] ReadNovelFull.me?
428	Chapter 428 Covetous Coffer Despite the torturous burden of the Crushing, Sunny couldn't help but feel jubilant. Not only did he receive eight shadow fragments and a powerful Memory, he had also defeated a Fallen Devil all by himself, without even Saint providing him any help. The Black Knight, too, had been a Fallen Devil. So killing one solo meant a lot to Sunny. It was a poignant milestone that made him feel like all his hard work and all the vile things he had gone through were not for nothing. He was accomplishing his goal. Growing stronger. …Of course, the Mordant Mimic was not as terrifying of a foe in battle as the guardian of the ruined cathedral had been. One was a creature that seemed to have been created solely for combat, while the other mostly relied on deceit and ambushing its prey to achieve victory. And yet, the chest fiend was by no means an easy foe. If anything, its devilish nature only made it that much more dangerous. 'Argh!' As the Twisted Rock rose higher, the Crushing struck at Sunny with even more dreadful force, making his mirth dissipate in a wave of miserable suffering. A m.u.f.fled groan escaped from his lips. 'Endure… just endure a bit more… this h.e.l.l is going to end soon.' For now, he had no choice but to keep suffering, wait, and stare at the distant silhouette of the Ivory Tower. The beautiful paG.o.da seemed so close now that he could almost imagine himself reaching out and encompa.s.sing it in his fist. ReadNovelFull.me With nothing else to do, Sunny summoned the runes and found the familiar cl.u.s.ter out of habit: Shadow Fragments: [223/2000]. 'I wonder how many coins are in that d.a.m.ned chest…' Would he be able to create the third core with their help? Shifting his gaze, Sunny found the runes describing his Memories. A new one was now shown at the end of the list. His eyes glistened slightly as he concentrated on it and read the description: Memory: [Covetous Coffer]. Memory Rank: Ascended. Memory Tier: IV. 'Huh…' Sunny really couldn't believe his fortune. This was the second Ascended Memory of the fourth tier that he had acquired in a span of just a few days. Even without considering the main boon of the expedition — the miraculous coins — this journey had already proved to be incredibly fruitful. But what kind of a Memory would the bizarre carnivorous chest leave behind? Curious, he read on. Memory Type: Tool. 'A utility Memory!' While not as showy as armors and weapons, utility Memories were the foundation of every Awakened's a.r.s.enal. Take Sunny, for example — some of his most precious Memories were tools. Endless Spring, Ordinary Rock, Silver Bell… even Weaver's Mask. Excited, he tried to forget about the obliterating pressure of the Crushing and concentrate on the runes. Memory Description: ["You are very strange!" said Noctis. Why was his new friend so deathly afraid of chests? Why was he so timid and pale? "Don't be afraid, these are just my treasure chests. They won't bite. Well... except for this one. This one will eat you alive."] Sunny blinked. 'That… is interesting.' So Noctis of the Sanctuary of Noctis was a person, after all. What's more, he or she had apparently been in possession of several treasure chests, including one that could eat people alive. Had the Mordant Mimic once been a pet of this Noctis? If so… What kind of a person would keep a Fallen Devil as a pet? Suddenly full of dread, Sunny continued to read. Memory Enchantments: [Mendacious Coffer], [Capacious Chest], [Locomotive Chifonnier], [Lurid Trunk]. Sunny stared at the runes with a deadpan expression. 'What… do all these words… even mean?' Struggling to understand the names of the enchantments, he wondered if the Spell was having a stroke and shifted his gaze to the descriptions. [Mendacious Coffer] Enchantment Description: "This Memory can mimic the form of any inanimate object. The size and intricacy of the simulacrum are dependent on the wielder's Soul Core capacity." 'Makes sense. I am sure that the Mimic only a.s.sumed the form of a chest, instead of being born… created?... as one. I wonder what kind of a shape I can currently manage, though.' He studied the runes again: [Capacious Chest] Enchantment Description: "This Memory is bigger on the inside. It can be summoned and dismissed while storing inanimate items. The size of the storage s.p.a.ce, as well as the maximum weight of stored items, are dependent on the wielder's Soul Core capacity." Sunny suppressed the desire to grin. 'Yes!' This was exactly what he needed right now. This enchantment solved the exact problem he was facing — the need to carry all the gold coins away before Twisted Rock was destroyed. Once again, luck was on his side! But that wasn't all. The ability to store items in the Covetous Coffer, and then store the Coffer in his Soul Sea, opened up a sea of possibilities. In a sense, it was just like Effie's incredible bag, but better — the bag had to be carried around if there was anything inside of it, while the Coffer could be stashed away until needed. And if so… could Sunny bring items from the Dream Realm to the real world with its help? He couldn't wait to find out. Thinking of all the money he would make, Sunny turned his attention to the remaining enchantments: [Locomotive Chiffonnier] Enchantment Description: [This Memory can move around and follow its wielder.] '...Nice! That will solve the problem of having to carry all the items if I store too much inside. They are still going to weigh a ton, after all.' [Lurid Trunk] Enchantment Description: "This Memory will protect itself against potential thieves. By eating them." Sunny blinked. 'That is... a bit scary. I better remain on the good side of this bizarre Memory, huh?' Overall, he was incredibly happy with the Covetous Coffer. This new utility Memory of his was simply fantastic! Not only was it capable of solving his current predicament, it would also make his future ventures into the Dream Realm much more comfortable and efficient. Not to mention the possibility of being able to bring soul shards into the real world with its help, and selling them there at a high price… Soul shards meant money, and money meant being able to purchase Memories. With more Memories at his disposal, Sunny would be able to bring Saint to two hundred shadow fragments faster... which would hopefully make the two of them vastly more powerful. Now, he just had to survive the Crushing. …He was almost ready to give up and turn into a shadow when the heavenly chain finally drew taut, stopping the rise of the Twisted Rock. One more deafening rattle rolled through the air, and then, everything grew quiet. The Crushing was at its peak now. Sunny was hurting terribly, but still able to withstand it. He just had to endure until the island entered the descent phase, and the pressure would slowly start to reduce. Sunny strained his chest and drew in a hoa.r.s.e breath. 'Thank G.o.ds…' However, before he could feel any relief, the whole island suddenly shuddered, and a strange piercing noise a.s.saulted his ears. It sounded... it sounded like the sound of metal being torn apart. Sunny's pupils widened. 'What… was that?!' ReadNovelFull.me?
429	Chapter 429 Schism A moment later, a deafening roar of ma.s.sive iron links being torn apart rolled other the entire island, which then lurched up by a few meters and suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Sunny yelped, feeling the Crushing a.s.sault him with even more obliterating force. 'The chain… the chain is failing!' Why did it happen so soon? For a few moments, he felt nothing but pure, b.e.s.t.i.a.l panic. Then, he forced himself to regain control over his mind and threw a desperate glance toward the not-so-distant edge of the Twisted Rock. Would he be able to escape in time? He lingered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and commanded one of the shadows to slide off his body onto the ground. As soon as it did, a m.u.f.fled scream escaped from his lips. It felt as though a giant hammer struck his body, making every bone in it shudder and groan. Sunny turned his head to the side and spat a mouthful of blood. 'Curse it all…' ReadNovelFull.me The shadow flew to the edge of the island and slid over its edge, desperately trying to reach the dying chain. …But it was too late. As Sunny watched in horror, one of the links of the heavenly tether broke. Only one, the weakest of them all… but that was all it took. 'No!' The chain that connected Twisted Rock to the rest of the Chained Isles snapped in two, and as ten kilometers of gargantuan iron links slowly fell toward the Sky Below, the island suddenly shot upward. Since it was still in the ascent phase, and now unrestrained by anything, the speed of its rise was simply terrifying. 'No, no, no!' The Crushing struck at Sunny with such fury that he couldn't even scream. He felt himself being slowly broken, and feverishly tried to come up with a solution. 'Step through the shadows… jump down and try to glide to the Shipwreck Island…' No, that would never work. There were more than ten kilometers separating these isles from one another, which was far outside the Dark Wing's capabilities. He could try to chase after the piece of the chain still connected to the Shipwreck Island, but chances of catching up with it were close to zero. The length of the heavenly tether was falling deceitfully slow, but it was just an illusion caused by its colossal size. In truth, the torn end of it was flying through the air at tremendous speed, moving both down and away from the Twisted Rock. The repulsive silhouettes of the gluttonous Chain Worms were growing smaller by the second. Sunny was already late to rush in pursuit of it, and every moment that pa.s.sed made the probability of success lower. 'Great! G.o.dd.a.m.n great, you fool! You finally let your greed kill you!' Sunny growled, full of fury at himself, but then suddenly stopped. No, that didn't make any sense. He was not on this island because of greed. Even though Sunny had made several risky decisions in order to get to the miraculous coins, at the end of it, standing on the edge of the Shipwreck Island, he put his avarice aside and made a sober choice. He came here because his intuition had told him that something on the Twisted Rock was very important to his future. But what was it?! There was nothing but stone and bones in this d.a.m.ned place! What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to survive? Sunny tried to calm down and think. He summoned his shadow back, and briefly regained the ability to breathe. It wasn't going to be for long, though. The Crushing was already overwhelming his physical ability to resist its lethal pressure. Sunny had a few dozen seconds, at most, before he would be forced to retreat into the shadows or die. 'Think… think… there has to be a way out. Hide inside the dead Mimic or the Covetous Coffer? No, the items inside the Memory maintain their weight, which means that they, too, will be affected by the Crushing. And even if not, what's the point? Even if the chest survives until the Twisted Rock itself is torn apart and plunges down into the Sky Below, I'll just be falling forever inside of a box instead of on my own… that's like dying inside of a coffin…' And the Twisted Rock was going to be destroyed by the Crushing, inevitably and without a doubt. As it rose higher and higher, it was going to start to fall apart. When enough of it was destroyed to obliterate the mysterious force that kept the isles afloat, the remaining debris was going to fall down and eventually disappear into the Sky Below. …Alongside what was going to remain of Sunny. He lay motionlessly for a few seconds, then for a few seconds more. Another crack appeared on the corpse of the Mordant Mimic. Then, the stone beneath it cracked, too. Sunny did not move at all. The cracks on the stone widened and crawled in every direction. A few moments later, a heavy sigh escaped from his lips. Sunny had one last gamble left… Gathering all of his strength, he groaned and pushed himself off the ground. Even though it felt as if he was lifting a mountain, and every muscle in his body trembled at the edge of bursting apart, he somehow managed to sit up. Then, Sunny summoned Weaver's Mask. After returning from the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e and deciding to create a separate persona to investigate the Sovereigns, as well as do all the things that Sunny didn't want to be a.s.sociated with his name — the one which would then accidentally become known as the famous Lord Mongrel — he had decided to never use any of the equipment that it wielded if there was even the smallest chance of someone connecting him to the mysterious masked man. But he had little choice right now. His last hope was… fate. He knew that something had drawn him to the Twisted Rock, even though in the end he failed to find it. In the past, his intuition only reacted that strongly to the things that were connected to the G.o.ds, the Unknown… and Weaver. So, there was a high chance that Weaver's Mask would show him the way to salvation. As the cool black wood caressed his kin, Sunny forced air into his lungs… and sent his shadow essence toward the mask. He was going to do something that he dreaded doing for many months… Activate the mysterious [???] enchantment of the divine Memory. When the power of his soul poured into the Weaver's Mask, Sunny froze for a moment… And then let out a horrible, inhuman scream. ReadNovelFull.me?
430	Chapter 430 Tapestry of Fate The moment Sunny's essence touched the black wooden surface of the divine Memory, Weaver's Mask suddenly reached into his very soul and hungrily drank more… and then more, and more, and more. In a fraction of a second, all of his reserve of shadow essence was sucked dry, with only a tiny bit of it remaining… almost as if these pitiful drops were not even worth being consumed by the mask. And even then, all it could achieve was activate the [???] enchantment for just a single moment. …That single moment, however, was enough to almost drive Sunny insane. Suddenly, a horrifying pain pierced his eyes and his mind, akin to the suffering he had experienced after consuming the Drop of Ichor, only so much worse. Infinitely worse. As he shrieked, all traces of intelligence disappearing from his voice, the world he saw changed. Suddenly, all Sunny could see was an endless, beautiful eternity of twisting threads. Those threads transfixed everything in existence, connecting every living being and every object, every thought and every concept, every dream and every nightmare, stretching infinitely into every direction, as well as into the past, the present, and the future. These were the Strings of Fate. ReadNovelFull.me They were just like the threads of light that the Spell was woven of, but while the magnificent and inconceivably complex pattern that Sunny had seen twice in the empty void between dream and reality composed the function of the Spell, what he glimpsed right now connected… everything. All of the universe as it had existed, was existing, and was going to exist. ...Much worse, when observing the weave of the Spell, Sunny could only sense and guess at its meaning. But the terrifying enchantment of Weaver's Mask not only allowed him to see the tapestry of Fate, but also forced the understanding of it onto him. The knowledge of everything, everywhere, all at once… Of course, such knowledge was too much for any human to endure. Just the tiniest, infinitesimal amount of it was enough to instantly destroy any living being… except, maybe, for a G.o.d. ...Or a daemon. As blood streamed out of Sunny's nose, eyes, and mouth, and a silent scream died on his lips, he instinctively did the only thing that could save him from being obliterated by the sight of the Strings of Fate — he dissipated into the shadows. This was, perhaps, the reason why his eyes did not turn into smoldering embers and his head did not just explode right there on the spot. Shadows had no eyes and no skulls, after all. However… Falling into the embrace of darkness, Sunny realized with cold horror that Weaver's Mask, somehow, was still resting on his face. When he turned into a shadow, it had turned into one, too. His vision shifted from that of a human to the colorless sight of a shadow, but he could still see the eternity of Strings of Fate. There were especially many of them near him. The infinite threads were tightly wrapped around his body, as well as around his soul, encompa.s.sing and piercing it… it looked almost as if he was strung on them like a small marionette. And among those threads, two shone much brighter than the rest. One was made out of pure white flame and stretched far away into the distance, leading north, toward the Hollow Mountains. The other was made out of beautiful golden light, and led… down. Down and away from both the Shipwreck Island and the Twisted Rock, diving into the Tear and disappearing into the boundless darkness of the Sky Below. …Although it seemed as though eons had pa.s.sed, in reality, it was no more than a fraction of a second. Sunny's head did not explode because he had turned into a shadow, but his mind was still on the verge of utter, irrevocable destruction. A fraction more, and it was going to be wiped out from existence by the divine knowledge of Fate. 'But what… what can I do… the mask is a shadow now…' His thoughts were scattered and weak. And yet, he fought through the shock and managed to remember an important detail. He could dismiss the Memory. But that… would be too slow. Even if it took only a second, there would be nothing left of him by the end of it. A wave of desperation rose from the depths of his heart. And then, the shadow essence that Weaver's Mask had absorbed finally ran out. Instantly, the enchantment deactivated, and the ruthless worlds of endless threads disappeared with it. Sunny could only see what all humans… and shadows… were meant to be able to see. A piece of dark stone soaring into the sky as the merciless grinder of the Crushing was slowly breaking it apart. Sunny sensed hazily that there was something urgent about the situation, but he was... was not entirely there. Although the terrible visage of the Strings of Fate was gone, his mind was scattered and empty. He couldn't really lose conscience while in the form of a shadow, but not being able to think or even recognize the existence of his self was very close to it. Soon, however, he started to slowly gather the pieces of his wounded, shattered mind back together. He was in dire danger, after all… The entire Twisted Rock was shaking and rumbling as it rose higher and higher into the Sky Above. Wide cracks appeared on its surface, growing larger with each second. The blackened bones had already been turned into dust, and now, the only thing standing above the stone was the ramshackle, lop-sided, dead treasure chest. The corpse of the Mordant Mimic, strangely, seemed to be much more st.u.r.dy than the ascending island itself. It was still in one piece, at least, and almost whole. '...I need to come up with a plan.' As this thought formed in Sunny's mind, he suddenly came to his senses... and realized several things. One of them was what he had to do. The other was that the pitiful drops of shadow essence left in his soul cores were about to evaporate, which meant that he would not be able to remain in the form of a shadow for much longer. The third one was that he still had not retrieved the golden coins from inside the chest. ...Now, whether he lived or died depended on one thing — whether he would be forced out of the shadows and turned into a b.l.o.o.d.y puddle first, or whether the Twisted Rock would fall apart first. Which would it be? 'Well… I might as well try, right?' Flowing through the shadow cast by the treasure chest, he dismissed the Broken Oath. A tiny amount of shadow essence, from which the Memories were created, returned to his soul. Hiding on the surface of the dead Mimic, Sunny dismissed the Blood Blossom and the Puppeteer's Shroud, too. Finally, he dismissed Weaver's Mask, which brought him much more essence than the previous three Memories combined… even if, in the grand scheme of things, that amount was still rather insignificant. Still, if it could gift him even one second more, it was worth it. Circulating his essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent to slow down its expenditure and enhance the speed of its regeneration, Sunny hid on the treasure chest and waited for his fate to be decided. After something that felt like an eternity, when the Twisted Rock had soared so high above the Chained Isles that the Crushing started turning smaller pieces of stone into fine dust, the island finally shuddered... and cracked open. One of the rifts that opened in the blackened stone was directly beneath Sunny and the dead Mimic. The whole section of the isle suddenly broke off, separating from it in a rain of rock shards. Sunny caught a glimpse of petrified bones encased in the solidified stone… and then the chest he was hiding on floated up. For a few seconds, all of it — the remaining core of the island, the sea of stone debris, and the dead Mimic — continued to rise higher and higher. Larger pieces of rock were crushed into smaller ones, and then turned into dust. A deafening thunder filled the air. But then, as if an invisible switch had been turned, the mysterious force that had kept the Twisted Rock floating between two skies for thousands of years was no more. Suddenly, everything that was too heavy to be carried away by wind slowed in its ascent, froze in the air for a few moments, and fell down. The cracked treasure chest tumbled down, too, falling toward the Sky Below. Sunny, who was still just a shadow adhered on its side, saw the world spin around. The last drops of his shadow essence were about to disappear. …But that was fine. They would last him long enough to reach the alt.i.tude where the Crushing wasn't immediately lethal anymore. When it finally happened, Sunny suddenly appeared on the surface of the chest and held onto it for dear life. The pressure of the Crushing first threw him against the wood hard enough to break a few ribs, then tried to rip him away. But Sunny would not let go. His d.a.m.ned coins were in that d.a.m.ned chest! Together, he and the dead Mimic fell lower and lower, until, finally, the Crushing weakened enough to allow Sunny to move. Summoning the Dark Wing, he commanded it to turn into a blur and changed the direction of their fall. However, he was not trying to move toward the distant silhouette of the Shipwreck Island out of desperation. Instead, he was guiding the chest in the opposite direction, aiming it into the vast empty expanse of the Tear. ReadNovelFull.me?
431	Chapter 431 Fall From Grace As Sunny and the treasure chest plunged through the skies into the boundless black abyss, pieces of the shattered island pursued them. The Crushing was slowly growing weaker, but it was still strong enough to kill most Awakened. If not for the power of his shadows, Sunny would have been long dead. And even with it, he was much closer to becoming a corpse than he would have wished to be. His whole body was bruised, bloodied, and in pain. …Which he could see very clearly, because, in addition to being terribly banged up, Sunny was also currently completely naked. 'What a… glorious sight. d.a.m.n it!' He had dismissed the Puppeteer's Shroud to absorb the shadow essence spent on its summoning, and had none of it left to manifest the armor again. The last drops had been spent to summon the Dark Wing. As the result, Sunny found himself falling into the Sky Below atop a lop-sided treasure chest while wearing nothing but his pack and the strip of leather holding his broken arm in place. His only hope right now was that neither Master Roan nor Saint Tyris would suddenly appear to save the day and see him in this state. He would rather plunge into the Tear than live through that embarra.s.sment. Well… not really. ReadNovelFull.me 'I take it back. Both of them can descend from the clouds and carry me away in their arms. I won't mind! No, really!' But no one came to his rescue. Dodging the heavy slabs of shattered stone and desperately trying to glide through the field of debris, Sunny slowly pushed the chest toward the empty expanse of the Tear and prayed that nothing would damage his fragile cloak. It was having enough trouble obeying his commands already. The Dark Wing wasn't really designed to carry heavy weights. It could barely support just Sunny himself… and that was in normal conditions. Now that Sunny was refusing to let go of the dead Mimic, and with both of them being affected by the Crushing, the enchanted cloak was on the verge of breaking apart. Instead of gliding smoothly away from the falling rocks, Sunny and the treasure chest were more or less just falling between them at a slight angle. Needless to say, dodging the debris of the destroyed island in these circ.u.mstances was not easy. But, somehow, Sunny managed to protect both himself and the Dark Wing for long enough to escape the danger zone in one piece. By then, the Crushing had become almost bearable. Sitting on the lid of the treasure chest and feeling the terrible pressure grow weaker and weaker with each second, Sunny grimaced from pain, then let out a relieved sigh. The cool breeze was softly touching his burning face, as well as his... well, everything. All things considered, the fall was not unpleasant. But then, a sudden thought appeared in his mind. '...What are you feeling relieved about, idiot?' Oh… right. Looking down, Sunny saw nothing but the swiftly approaching, boundless dark expanse of the Sky Below. The endless abyss that stretched downward forever, and from which there was no escape. Not unless one knew how to fly. That was where he was headed. \\\* Except for the golden String of Fate Sunny had seen disappearing into the depth of the Tear, he had no reason whatsoever to believe that he would survive the fall into the Sky Below, let alone ever be able to return to the Sanctuary and the real world. Most likely, he was going to go mad and either be devoured by some terrifying abyssal t.i.tan or die of hunger. His life, almost literally, was hanging by a thread. …But right now, he didn't care. All he cared about was the physical relief of not being pressed down upon by the Crushing. He was still wounded all over and in pain, but experiencing just the normal amount of it was almost euphoric. 'It's the small things that matter…' Like not being constantly crushed by an invisible, murderous magical force. Or resting comfortably on a wide lid of a treasure chest instead of having your limbs being crushed in its jaws. …Simple stuff like that. Now that the Crushing was almost gone, Sunny used the Dark Wing to push the dead Mimic deeper into the Tear, as well as keep it level in the air. The treasure chest was wide and long, and its lid was flat. In a sense, it was almost like a firm, narrow cot. There were worse ways to fall into an endless abyss, really. Sunny stared at the wide sweep of the Tear, trying to burn the memory of the golden string of light into his mind. The Tear was situated in the center of the Chained Isles, and was both vast and absolutely empty. Some people believed that the Ivory Tower had once stood in its middle, and was the first island to break free of its chains. Over thousands of years, islands that had bordered it were slowly destroyed one after another, causing the Tear to grow. By now, it was a couple of hundred kilometers across, and from what Sunny could tell, the String of Fate led to somewhere in its very center. The question was… how deep in there was the thing on the other end of the String? The longest someone had flown down into the Sky Below before turning back was a week. Was the mysterious object hidden in an even deeper part of the abyss? And what was that object? Sunny could not even guess. The only thing he knew was that his intuition had pushed him toward the Twisted Rock because of it. If so… it should have been something that would allow him to survive. Right? Of course, his fate might have been to just die there. Fate didn't really discriminate against any type of occurrence, including fatal ones. Regardless, Sunny was going to find out. …It's not like he had a choice now. Feeling the air get colder, he shivered and watched the sky around him grow darker and darker. Soon, there was no light left in it at all. Sunny had fallen into the Sky Below. ReadNovelFull.me?
432	Chapter 432 First Day of Nothing 'This is… sort of grim.' Sunny was falling through a boundless, empty void of cold darkness. Far below, false stars were shimmering with pale white light. Their radiance, however, did very little to illuminate the Sky Below. Everywhere around him, there was just… nothing. Sunny was still resting atop the treasure chest, holding onto it with his one healthy hand. He had no reference point to measure how far he had traveled, but suspected that the distance was swiftly leaving the realm of mundane sense and logic. He was not very educated, however, even he knew that a falling object would forever accelerate at a steady pace… theoretically. That meant that every second Sunny was falling, his speed was increasing exponentially. By now, it had to be simply insane. But he did not really feel that speed. All he felt were wisps of cold wind caressing his skin from time to time. If there was one good thing about the situation, it was that he had acc.u.mulated a bit of shadow essence and was able to summon the Puppeteer's Shroud again. So he wasn't naked anymore, at least. If there was one thing he did know, though, it was the approximate speed with which he could glide forward with the help of the Dark Wing. Adding the weight of the dead treasure to the equation, he could more or less calculate the distance he was covering horizontally. With that in mind, he guessed that he would reach the middle of the Tear in around a day… Problem was, he had no reliable way to measure time, as well. There were some clues he could try to use, like the rate of shadow essence regeneration or the state of his wounds, but they were not exactly reliable. In heroic stories, characters often found themselves in similar situations. Every time that happened, the hero somehow managed to measure the pa.s.sage of time by the state of their facial hair. Sadly, despite being eighteen, Sunny could not grow even the most pitiful of beards. That was a real shame. '...I guess I'm not hero material.' ReadNovelFull.me With a bitter sigh, he stared at the lid of the treasure chest and tried to a.s.sess his physical state. Things weren't good, but they also weren't very bad. He had sustained minor internal damage due to the Crushing, as well as several rather ugly wounds in the battle against Mimic. The half-healed cuts left on his body by the Mirror Beast had also opened at some point, and were now hurting once again. The worst injury was, of course, his broken arm. His mental state was also somewhat in shambles after being ravaged by the visage of the Strings of Fate. Luckily, there seemed to be no long-lasting effects. Even the splitting headache was already growing fainter. Sunny also could not remember the exact details of what he had seen, as if his mind completely erased them from his memory to protect itself. The only thing that remained was the fragment of the memory that he had preserved on purpose — the image of the thread of golden light leading deep into the Tear. Sunny stared at the black nothingness, waited for a while, then slowly exhaled. 'Great. Now what?' There was no answer. \\\* After a while — Sunny had no idea how long — he got tired of waiting for something to happen and decided to act. 'Might as well…' The first thing he did was summon the Covetous Coffer. Sunny expected that an identical chest would appear near the dead one, but instead, what he saw was a miniature version of it. A box made of dark wood, with strips of iron reinforcing it, appeared on the lid of the treasure chest. It was about the size of a jewelry box, but not at all elegant. In fact, the Covetous Coffer looked more mean than graceful… somehow. As Sunny stared at it, the lid of the box raised slightly, revealing rows of sharp iron teeth. He blinked. 'I guess that's all I can manage with my current Soul Core capacity.' Shaking his head, Sunny looked at the Coffer and said in an uncertain tone: "Come here." Immediately, eight short iron legs appeared from under the box, and it scurried over before plopping down near him. Sunny hesitated for a few moments, glanced at his fingers, then cautiously opened the lid of the box. Luckily, it didn't try to bite them off. Taking off his pack, Sunny transferred its contents into the box. Although it seemed rather small, the Coffer swallowed all his supplies without any problem. '...Perfect.' Sunny closed the box, patted it on the lid, and dismissed it. Then, he summoned the Moonlight Shard and methodically cut his now empty pack into strips of leather. Using his one healthy hand and his teeth, Sunny tied them into a semblance of a rope, then tied himself to the treasure chest, and finally calmed down. Now, his coins weren't going anywhere. Satisfied with his handiwork, Sunny rested for a bit. He was starting to feel tired… and sleepy. Falling through the endless abyss turned out to be way less exciting than he had thought. In fact, it was extremely boring. There were still a lot of things he had to do, though… With a grimace, Sunny cautiously shifted his weight and crawled to the end of the chest. There, he used the Moonlight Shard to widen a crack on the side of the dead Mimic and separate two long planks of wood from it. Then, he made a roll out of the last strip of leather he had and bit down on it. 'This... is going to suck.' Without giving himself too much time to think about it, he removed his broken arm from its sling, and then proceeded to swiftly set the bones… just like he had been taught. A sharp, blinding pain pierced his mind. When Sunny regained his vision and the ability to think straight, he saw that his arm did not look like jelly anymore. It seemed more or less straight. 'That will have to do...' Hissing and cursing, he used the two planks of wood and the strip of leather to create a st.u.r.dy splint, then carefully placed it back inside the sling. Now, his broken bones had a good chance of growing back together correctly. Hopefully. After that, Sunny summoned the Endless Spring and the Covetous Coffer, took some of his remaining food out of it, and had a strangely relaxed meal on top of the dead Mimic's lid. By the time he was done, the Sky Below… did not change at all. He was still falling into its depths, slowly moving the treasure chest toward the center of the Tear with the help of the Dark Wing. …He was also absolutely exhausted. Sunny somberly stared at the distant false stars. He stared at them until his eyes started to water and his thoughts became slow and muddy. Then, he stared at them some more. After a while, he thought: 'I can't take it anymore.' By then, his reserves of shadow essence were full by a third. Judging that around twenty-four hours had pa.s.sed after the destruction of the Twisted Rock, Sunny sighed, then dismissed the Dark Wing and allowed the chest to start falling straight down. He was going to have to keep falling into the Sky Below for six more days... at least. Probably longer. Sunny shook his head, knowing full well that these estimations had almost nothing to do with reality. Then, he did something that he had never thought he would ever do… He cautiously lay down on the long lid of the dead Mimic, tightened the rope connecting them together… and closed his eyes. Soon, Sunny was dead asleep, plummeting into the darkness of the abyss without a care in the world. ReadNovelFull.me?
433	Chapter 433 More of the Same Nothing Sunny's bed trembled slightly, and he felt the wind blowing across the room. Still mostly asleep, he sighed and tried to pull the blanket higher. However, that d.a.m.ned thing was nowhere to be found. 'Where the h.e.l.l is it…' Reluctant to let go of sleep, he blindly searched for the blanket. Instead of finding it, though, Sunny suddenly felt his whole bed careen to the side. Startled, he opened his eyes… and saw nothing but darkness surrounding him. 'What the?! Oh… right.' He wasn't in his small room in the Sanctuary. He was plummeting into a lightless abyss atop the corpse of a Fallen Devil, instead. Sunny stared into the darkness for a bit. Then, he yawned. 'Well. At least I slept well.' ReadNovelFull.me Indeed, he was feeling rather refreshed. Most of his aches had either disappeared or grown milder, and even his wounded mind felt soothed. He felt rested, energized, and much better overall. The only problem was, he was still falling into the endless void of the Sky Below. Sunny scratched the back of his head, though about this predicament, then summoned the Endless Spring and drank some water. Then, he concentrated and tried to a.s.sess the situation. ...The situation was absolutely the same. He was surrounded by nothing, nothing had changed while he slept, and there was nothing he could do about it. Sunny sighed and stared at the treasure chest beneath him. After a while, he thought: 'If you think about it, this is just next-level pettiness. Not only did I kill this poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I even went so far as to take a nap on top of its dead body. Talk about insulting…' Somewhere down, down below, false stars shimmered with white light. Judging by how much of his shadow essence had regenerated, Sunny judged that he slept for about twelve hours. A bit longer than usual, but he was really exhausted after everything that had transpired. These calculations of his, of course, were very rough. But if he a.s.sumed them to be correct, that would mean that he had left the Sanctuary six days ago. He had no idea how long it was going to take to reach the thing on the end of the golden String of Fate, but had to a.s.sume that it would take at least a week… much longer than that, most likely. Back in the real world, his body was safely hidden in the luxurious sleeping pod in the bas.e.m.e.nt of his house. The pod would keep it alive for months, so Sunny was not too worried about his physical well-being… yet. Would anyone miss him? ...Probably not. Kai and Effie were used to his long ventures into the Dream Realm, and even if none of them had been as long as this one was going to be, they would just a.s.sume that he was too lazy to answer their messages and go about their business. They were famous heroes now, after all, with packed schedules and plenty of problems of their own. Teacher Julius didn't expect any reports from him, too. The lookouts in the Sanctuary were not in the habit of keeping a detailed record of who went in and out of the Citadel. The most anyone was going to think about him would be when Ca.s.sie arrived from the Night Temple, and he wasn't there to help Saint Tyris receive her. But she would just think that he was avoiding her, as he had done before. Sitting on the lid of the dead treasure chest in boundless darkness, Sunny realized that no one was really going to care that he was gone. So many things had changed, but even more remained just the same. Throwing a long look at the beautiful gla.s.s bottle in his hand, Sunny remained motionless for a while, then dismissed it and knocked on the lid of the dead Mimic. 'Whatever. I have my coins, at least!' \\\* Some time later, he was performing a strange aerial dance. Holding onto the rope connecting him to the dead Mimic with his one functioning hand, Sunny summoned the Dark Wing, then cautiously climbed onto the side of the big chest and tried to balance it so that the heavy thing didn't flip. Because of the fact that both of them were plummeting down with incredible speed, his body felt pleasantly light. Sunny thought about it for a while, then frowned. How did that even make any sense? Yesterday, he had thought that the speed of his fall was going to increase exponentially, which meant that at some point his body was bound to be simply torn apart… probably. But now, he realized that his a.s.sumption was wrong. Since he could breathe in the Sky Below and felt the wind — or rather, the air moving past him as he fell through it — it meant that the speed of his fall had a limit dictated by the air resistance. He did not, however, feel that resistance too much. By all accounts, he should have been hearing the roaring of the wind and feeling it a.s.sault his body, instead of falling through the emptiness in something that resembled comfort. Common sense didn't seem to be working the Sky Below. 'Better not think about it too much.' What was the point of trying to understand the laws of a place that simply denied all logic? He had far more practical things to do. Trusting the leather rope to hold his weight, Sunny let go of it and summoned the Moonlight Shard. Then, perched precariously on the side of the treasure chest, he inserted the narrow blade of the ghostly stiletto between its lip and the lid, and tried to pry it open. The task turned out to be far more difficult than Sunny had antic.i.p.ated. Not only did he have to do everything with only one hand, he also had to balance the chest to prevent it from spinning in the empty void… as well as keep an eye on the rope, hoping nervously that it would not break. After some time and plenty of exasperated curses, however, he finally managed to pry the jaws of the dead devil open. Inside its maw, a pile of golden coins was waiting for him to claim them. A dark smile appeared on Sunny's face. Then, he let out a shaky, slightly unhinged laugh. "Ah! It feels nice to be rich…" ReadNovelFull.me?
434	Chapter 434 A Lot of Nothing Summoning the Covetous Coffer, he commanded the toothy box to climb inside the… bigger, toothier box and open its lid. Then, he started whistling a lighthearted melody while throwing the heavy coins inside. 'One, two, three, four… ah, what a day to be alive… five, six…' One after another, the miraculous golden discs disappeared into the Coffer. After a while, Sunny shifted his weight slightly, got more comfortable, and continued gathering his spoils. In the end, he had recovered almost fourteen hundred coins from inside the dead devil. Just as Sunny had expected, the entire top layer of the treasure pile had turned out to be real. That was an incredible, astonishing boon! Suddenly, everything that had happened seemed worth it… Almost. Glancing at the lightless void around him, Sunny sighed. 'Who knows if I will even be able to return to the Sanctuary? Without the altar, these coins are just dead weight.' Somewhat disheartened, he lingered for a few moments, then turned his gaze back to the opened treasure chest. ReadNovelFull.me The top layer of the treasure pile that he had successfully plundered was indeed real, but beneath it… Sunny struggled to keep the contents of his stomach inside. Beneath the treasure, the limbs and organs of the Mimic were tightly packed together, taking up most of the chest's volume. The whole thing was soaked in black blood and producing a sickening stench, not to mention looking like a butcher's nightmare. 'Disgusting… so disgusting…' Thinking about how repulsive the sight in front of him was, Sunny used the Moonlight Shard to cut through the terrible sludge and fished out four large soul shards with a wide smile on his face. After cleaning them up a little, he placed the alluring crystals inside the Covetous Coffer and dismissed the Memory with a feeling of great satisfaction. After that, Sunny stared inside the treasure chest with a dubious expression on his face. The thing was… he only had around three days worth of provisions left, stored neatly inside the Covetous Coffer. If he rationed his food, it would probably last him for about a week. After that… Sunny scratched the back of his head, then shuddered and closed the lid of the chest with a loud thud. '...I'll think about it when the time comes. But, hopefully, it never does!' With that, he climbed back onto the dead devil and rested for a while, looking into the darkness. As time slowly pa.s.sed, Sunny grew more and more solemn. Finally, he came to a frightening realization. …He had nothing else left to do. \\\* "This is going to be a problem." An eternity later — or just a few hours, who knew — Sunny was sitting on top of the treasure chest and dying from boredom. He was still falling through the boundless dark abyss. Of course, what else would he be doing? There was nothing else to do! The Cruel Sight was in his hand, the silver blade shining with a bright radiance. He was using its [Light Eater] enchantment to summon the sunlight the somber spear had absorbed and project it into the darkness of the Sky Below. Thanks to that light, the shapes of his two shadows could be clearly seen, one resting on the surface of the chest to his left, the other to his right. Sunny shook his head, then said: "I am dying of boredom here. I have never been this bored. How are we going to survive weeks of this c.r.a.p? What do you guys think?" The happy shadow to his right hesitated, then raised a fist encouragingly. Its sentiment was quite clear: "You got this!" The gloomy shadow to his left stared at him grimly, then simply shook its head. Its meaning was clear, too… "Just give up already…" Sunny blinked a couple of times, then smiled. "Well, I think it's going to be fine. I'll just… think about it as a vacation. Yeah. When was the last time I could just relax and do nothing? That's right… never! If you think about it, guys, this is a G.o.dsend opportunity. An opportunity to rest and laze about as much as I want." He remained silent for a while, then added: "I literally have no choice but to do nothing. Lucky me, right?" The gloomy shadow glanced at him, then covered its face with a palm. Even the happy shadow hesitated for a bit before giving him a timid shrug. Sunny frowned. "What do you mean, go crazy? I am not going to go crazy! I'm so done with being crazy. Been there, done that, as they say. There is zero possibility that I will go crazy." The shadows didn't answer, making him huff angrily. "Whatever! Why am I even speaking to you two? It's not like you even have enough decency to pull your weight in the conversation!" He scowled and dismissed the Cruel Sight, letting the darkness shroud everything once again. The shadows became invisible. After a while, Sunny said scornfully: "And it's not like I don't have better alternatives to talk to, anyway." …Where had he put the Ordinary Rock? \\\* By the time three days had pa.s.sed — at least Sunny suspected that it had been three days, since that was how long his shadow essence usually took to fully recover without the aid of the Soul Serpent — he was, indeed, on the verge of losing his mind. It wasn't even the boredom that was the worst, it was the absolute lack of any external stimuli. Nothing ever changed in the Sky Below. Nothing ever happened. Nothing ever appeared, or disappeared, or was there at all. There was nothing but empty darkness, the distant shimmering stars, and him. And falling. At the start of it all, Sunny had been worried that he would encounter evil, colossal, inconceivably horrifying creatures in the abyss. That was what one would expect from an abyss, right? But there was none. By now, he almost hoped to encounter a stray t.i.tan or two. He had heard that people were p.r.o.ne to going insane in isolation, but never expected to be in such a situation himself. Sunny had spent the first day thinking about this and that, remembering his experiences and trying to learn something from them. He wondered about the Mirror Beast and the Cruel Sight. Why was the silver spear even called that? Then, he understood. It was called the Cruel Sight because its polished blade showed a person their own reflection. He wondered about the shipwreck, the coins, the Mimic, and the person called Noctis. How were all of these things connected? After a while, he guessed that Noctis had been the captain of the ancient ship, the master of the Mimic, and the person whose face was depicted on the miraculous coins. Noctis was also probably the one who had created the coins, in the first place. That's why they could only be used in his Sanctuary. He wondered about what Kai, Effie, and Ca.s.sie were doing. He wondered about Nephis. On the second day, he summoned the runes and saw that she had become a devil. Sunny stared at the counter that showed [2/4000] with a deadpan expression, then sighed and dove into the Soul Sea. There, he had studied all of his Memories and the shadows of all the creatures he had killed. That only took him a couple of hours. ...Or an eternity. On the third day, Sunny just lay on the lid of the dead mimic and stared into the void. His mind was starting to behave in strange ways. Although there was nothing around him, Sunny could sometimes see strange shapes and silhouettes in the darkness, as well as hear distant noises. He wanted to think that they were real, but knew that it was just the result of prolonged sensory starvation. Human minds were weird that way… they couldn't really withstand a lot of nothing. Suddenly, the story of a man who had to turn back after seven days of descending into the Sky Below out of fear of going insane made much more sense to him. To make himself perceive at least something, Sunny summoned the Silver Bell and rang it in the darkness, listening to the melodious ringing as it disappeared into the abyss. And now, he was sitting on the treasure chest, looking at the distant stars, and speaking with the Ordinary Rock. "So, how has your day been, Rock?" The Memory answered in his own voice: "Same old nothing. Yours?" Sunny remained silent for a while, then said: "I am enjoying my vacation." The Ordinary Rock laughed. "Sounds wonderful! How is your vacation going?" He sighed. "Splendidly. I've yet to hit the rock bottom." For a while, there was nothing but silence. Then, a new question came: "...Why is it so dark?" Sunny smiled weekly. "Why wouldn't it be dark? This is the Sky Below, after all!" But then, he froze. '...What?' The voice that asked the question… had not come from the Ordinary Rock. That voice was not his own. ReadNovelFull.me?
435	Chapter 435 Listening to Nothing Sunny shuddered. The voice he heard… was not his own. It sounded pleasant and calm, and seemed to have come from the darkness of the Sky Below itself. '...Have I finally lost it?' His first thought was that he had gone crazy again and was now hearing things. His second thought was much less comforting… 'd.a.m.nation!' Had he summoned some unholy t.i.tan from the depths of the Sky Below, after all?! Sunny outstretched one hand, ready to manifest the Cruel Sight, but then hesitated. If the owner of the voice was not a figment of his imagination, but some harrowing being of the void, was it really wise to agitate it? Would the silver blade even do anything against it? ReadNovelFull.me 'Calm down. Calm down. Maybe you just imagined the whole thing…' As if to answer his thoughts, the void laughed softly. "Ah, my apologies. I seem to have startled you." Sunny gulped. The pleasant voice seemed to belong to a young man, but no matter how hard he looked into the darkness, he couldn't see anyone… or anything… nearby. He was reminded of his first meeting with Kai, only this time... this time, things were much more frightening. "N—no worries. I just… didn't expect to hear another human's voice here. You, uh… you are a human… right?" The void was silent for a while, then answered in a neutral tone: "A human? I used to be a human once, I guess." Sunny realized that he couldn't even pinpoint the direction from which the voice was coming. It was just… there, somehow. Everywhere. Around him... He tensed, then asked cautiously: "Used to? Then what are you now?" The voice disappeared for a few moments, then sighed. Finally, it answered: "...Lost." Sunny blinked. 'What the h.e.l.l does he mean?' "Lost? As in lost in the Sky Below?" The darkness let out a sad laugh. "...No. Not in the Sky Below." As Sunny felt cold shivers run down his spine, it hesitantly added: "I am sorry. I haven't spoken to anyone in a long, long time. Instead of lost, It would be more proper to say that I am one of the Lost. My body in the waking world was destroyed, but my soul continues to exist here, in the Dream Realm. I hope that explanation is more clear." One of the Lost… Sunny knew of these people, although he had never met one in person. Just like there were Hollow — people whose souls were destroyed, leaving an empty body behind — there were also the Lost. People whose bodies had somehow died in the real world, leaving their souls stranded in the Dream Realm. There wasn't a lot of them, since most of the time the soul perished shortly after the body had, but there were some. Knowing that the owner of the voice was one of these lost souls made Sunny relax a little… not that he had any reason to believe that the stranger was telling him the truth. He could have been a Nightmare Creature, still. Or something worse... But even if he was Lost, that didn't explain how they were able to converse. The Lost, from what Sunny knew, were just like any other Awakened in the Dream Realm. It was just that they couldn't return to the real world. What they certainly were not were disembodied voices coming from the void. He shifted his weight slightly, ready to… do something to protect himself, if need be, and asked: "Sorry to hear that. But how is it that I am able to hear your voice, but can't see you?" The voice lingered for some time, that answered with a bit of amus.e.m.e.nt: "That is a good question." Sunny waited patiently for him to expand on that answer, but that seemed to be it. A bit irritated, he said: "Well? Aren't you going to explain?" Instead, the voice suddenly asked: "Why are you descending into the Sky Below? This is a very dangerous place." Sunny blinked a couple of times, then coughed. "Ah, that… well, you see… I am not so much descending into the Sky Below as I am falling into it. I got stuck on an island because of the Crushing, and sadly, that island broke off its chain. So, I had to jump off. And here I am." Then, he frowned. "Wait… dangerous place? Why is it dangerous? I haven't seen anything dangerous anywhere in this dreadful pit!" The voice lingered for a while, then sighed with regret. "You'll see. When you reach the stars… then you will see." Then, it disappeared. Sunny stared into the darkness, a bit disturbed. A deep frown appeared on his face. "What do you mean? What will happen when I reach the stars?" But there was no answer. No matter how long Sunny waited, the voice did not speak to him again. The void was silent and empty, just as it had been before. In the end, he just ma.s.saged his temples and cursed. "What the h.e.l.l was that?!" Did he imagine the whole thing? Had his mind finally cracked? Sunny stared at the Ordinary Rock, as though expecting it to actually talk and collaborate his story. Sadly, the Memory could only repeat the sounds it had recently heard… 'Wait… the sounds it had heard!' Sunny hurriedly commanded the Rock to repeat everything it had recorded in the past few minutes. Then, feeling cold sweat appear on his forehead, he listened to his own voice speaking to nothing. His words were repeated, but where the words of the strange voice should have been, there was nothing but silence. Dismissing the Ordinary Rock, Sunny clutched his hair and groaned. "Crazy… I've gone completely crazy… curse it all, it has been just four days, and am already turning back into a lunatic!" Not even a full week pa.s.sed by, and he was already going insane. "This is the worst vacation ever!" After a while, he frowned. Despite being mostly sure that the whole thing was just a symptom of his sanity slowly breaking apart, Sunny cautiously crawled to the edge of the chest and looked down, at the distant shimmering stars. ..Was he imagining things, or did they seem to be a little closer? ReadNovelFull.me?
436	Chapter 436 Nothing to worry About After the conversation with the disembodied voice of the void — whether it was real or not — Sunny felt different. Not exactly better, but at least not as lost and unmoored as before. 'That would be really ironic if the voice was just a figment of my imagination, wouldn't it?' The empty void around him didn't seem as empty anymore. Even if it was now full of potential danger, the danger was better than nothing. …Anything was better than nothing. After four days spent in the endless silence of the dark abyss, Sunny realized just how terrible nothingness was. The human mind was simply not built to withstand it. In any case, he wasted some time staring at the distant stars, and then got to thinking. Now that his cores were once again full of essence, he had no tool left to measure time. After considering his options for a while, he summoned the Cruel Sight and activated the [Dark Mirror] enchantment. Even though he had no enemies to fight in the Sky Below, simply keeping the enchantment active was going to drain his shadow essence. Sunny felt that he could keep it going for about two hours straight. After his reserve of Essene became approximately half-empty, he dismissed the Cruel Sight and sat cross-legged in the center of the dead devil's lid. Plummeting through the lightless void, Sunny inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Then, he concentrated on the flow of essence through his body, feeling it permeate every fiber of his being. ReadNovelFull.me Directing it into the coils of the Soul Serpent, he felt its flow accelerate and widen. By using the Shadow, he was going to replenish all of the spent essence in about a day. That was going to be his clock from now on. Sunny exhaled, directed the shadow essence into his left hand, and concentrated it in his thumb, then in his index finger… Thanks to the Soul Serpent, his control of the essence was better than that of most Awakened. However, it was still rather crude. Sunny innately knew how to enhance his physical attributes by expending it, but wasn't really efficient with how he did it. To him, it was a matter of instinct — he just thought about making his hand stronger, and the essence flowed like a torrent to achieve the desired effect. That was how all young Awakened used it. True masters, however, were much more intricate in their control of essence. They could isolate every muscle, every nerve, every bone in their body and only enhance those parts of it that they needed to perform an action. Their expenditure of essence was more akin to a trickle than a torrent, but achieved the same result. That's why between two Awakened with similar soul core capacity, one could be able to fight at his peak physical prowess for much longer. …Now that Sunny had nothing else to do, he decided to really work on this aspect of mastery over his own body and soul. He had practiced essence control before, of course, but between the constant need to hunt down Nightmare Creatures and the fact that Soul Serpent served as an effective replacement for months of training, not as much as he could and should have. Directing the flow of essence into his right hand, Sunny sighed and thought: 'Vacation is over.' \\\* Two more days pa.s.sed… or rather, two cycles of spending shadow essence with the help of the Cruel Sight and then waiting for it to regenerate, which Sunny had decided to count as days. He spent that time meditating as he controlled the flow of the essence through his body, sleeping, and feeling hungry. Now that Sunny was rationing his food, the feeling of hunger that he had forgotten ever since becoming infected by the Nightmare Spell returned. Even then, his supplies were on the verge of running out. He only had enough for two meager meals left. After that, Sunny was either going to have to starve, or consider opening the treasure chest again and gnawing on the dead devil's raw meat. Both possibilities seemed rather bleak. What he was more concerned about, however, were the shimmering fake stars of the Sky Below. Now, he was more or less sure that they were slowly growing larger. If not for the conversation with the voice of the void, he would have never noticed the subtle change. But after being alerted to their importance and spending a lot of time observing the stars, he had become convinced that the voice — whether it was one of the Lost, a Nightmare Creature pretending to be human, or simply a manifestation of his damaged psyche — had been right. He was slowly drawing closer to the stars burning in the deepest reaches of the abyss. If only the voice had told him why, exactly, the stars were dangerous… Luckily, on the seventh day of his plummeting through the Sky Below, the voice returned. Sunny was grimly eating his second to last piece of food and staring into the darkness, feeling his mind teetering on the verge of madness, when the voice resounded from the void again: "...What a curious creature you are." 'Oh, thank G.o.d!' Sunny choked on a piece of dried meat, took a sip of water from the Endless Spring to chase it down, and glanced at the empty expanse of the Sky Below with a dark expression. "Where the h.e.l.l have you been?!" The voice remained silent for a bit, then answered apologetically: "Talking like this is draining for me. I was recovering." Sunny frowned, trying to glean some information about the nature of the owner of the pleasant voice from this statement, but then gave up. He had too few clues to guess. "Well… if you are about to disappear for a few days again, at least tell me what's the deal with these stars first. Why are they so dangerous?" The void hesitated: "You don't know?" Sunny blinked. "Of course, I don't know! Why would I ask if I knew?" When the void answered in a few moments, it sounded slightly surprised: "Well. Those lights are not really stars. They are actually remnant conflagrations of the divine flame." Sunny thought about what he just heard, then tilted his head to the side. "Divine… flame? What? Why would divine flame burn in the depths of the Sky Below?" The voice chuckled. Then, it said with a bit of amus.e.m.e.nt: "How do you think the Sky Below came to be? A long time ago, this was a beautiful and prosperous land, you know." The amus.e.m.e.nt drained from its voice, replaced with something much darker. "But then, its prideful ruler provoked the wrath of the Lord of Light. The Lord… ah, you probably only know him as Sun G.o.d… brought down his heavenly flame upon the lands, shattering the earth and burying an unquenchable fire beneath it." The void grew silent, and then sighed. "Over the ages, that fire devoured everything — the earth, the land, even reality itself. All that is left is this empty abyss, and the remnant fragments of the divine flame still burning deep below. So, I am sorry to say this… but unless you know a way to survive the searing heat of the all-destroying heavenly fire, you will probably burn to death in a few weeks." ReadNovelFull.me?
437	Chapter 437 Nothing, Nothing, Nothing Sunny sat silently for a few moments, thinking. 'Sun G.o.d…' So, the ruler of this land had angered the G.o.ds, and one of them struck down her kingdom. He could just imagine it — a vast pillar of incandescent white flame falling from the skies, piercing the ground and causing the whole region to fracture, its fragments falling into the searing inferno of the divine flame one after another. Well… not all of them had fallen. He glanced up, wondering if the Chained Isles were created to save the citizens of the destroyed kingdom from annihilation. If so… that prideful ruler must have been not so simple herself. Who would be powerful enough to dare resist the wrath of the G.o.ds? And what had that being done to provoke it? But more importantly… How the h.e.l.l did the voice of the void knew so much about it? ReadNovelFull.me A subtly suspicious expression appeared on his face. "...Really? This is very interesting. And how exactly do you know all this?" Sunny hesitated, and then cautiously added: "Did you, perhaps, have something to do with that prideful ruler?" The voice was silent for a moment, and then suddenly exploded with sincere laughter. "Oh my! I wish! Wouldn't that be grand… but no, I am just an Awakened who had studied the Chained Isles, probably the same way that you have studied them in your travels. The ruins here are all but destroyed by the endless cycle of the Crushing, but if one knows where to look, there are still some answers left to find." Sunny smiled. "True. But I am actually a research a.s.sistant for the Wilderness Survival faculty of the Academy, and yet I have never seen any of the information you possess in the database. With the level of access that I have, that is very strange, isn't it?" The voice chuckled. "How am I supposed to report my findings to the Academy? I can't even leave the Dream Realm." Sunny blinked. That… actually made a lot of sense. Sort of. Lost or not, an Awakened still had to survive somehow in the Dream Realm, so they were bound to live in one of the Citadels. Probably. So, it wasn't like they had no contact at all with the real world, even if it was only through the other inhabitants of their Citadel. Unless the owner of the voice was not a usual Lost. Or was lying to Sunny... Or was just a figment of his imagination. He frowned. "...By the way, where are you, exactly? I haven't heard a voice like yours anywhere in the Sanctuary. And I have spoken to most of the Awakened there at least once." The voice lingered for a while, then answered: "I am not in the Sanctuary." What was that supposed to mean? There was another Citadel on the Chained Isles, the Night Temple. But only those serving Valor were allowed to anchor there. Well… excluding Ca.s.sie and her cohort. Did the owner of the voice have something to do with the great clan Valor? Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Are you from the Night Temple, then?" …But there was no response. It seemed that the mysterious young man Sunny had been speaking with — if he was even real — had once again reached his limit, thus ending their conversation. Sunny sighed. "I swear to G.o.ds, this is even more annoying than when Effie leaves me on read!" Who knew that a voice of the void could be more irritating than someone who had been almost literally raised by wild wolves? "No manners! No decorum..." \\\* Soon, Sunny regretted not asking the voice necessary questions. He would have to be more strategic with his words in the future... "Survive heavenly fire… survive heavenly fire…" Sunny glanced at the stars and felt that they had drawn even closer. How was he supposed to withstand the searing heat of the divine flame? Could that flame burn shadows? He didn't really have an answer, but felt that it would be at least damaging to him, even in his shadow form. And then, there was a more looming problem. The voice said that it would take Sunny a few weeks to reach the layer of the abyss containing the false stars, which meant that he was going to be… very, very hungry by the time he did. Humans could survive a surprising amount of time without any food, but it would take a heavy toll on his body. Sunny had no idea what he was going to find on the other end of the golden String of Fate, but doubted that it would be a warm welcome. He had to be ready to confront danger, and becoming starved and weak was not really an option. Sunny lingered for a while, then stared down, at the lid of the treasure chest. Was he really going to have to eat… that? Even his shadows seemed disgusted by the idea. But hey… food was food. 'Right?' With a sigh, Sunny summoned the Covetous Coffer, took out his last meal out, and looked at it with regret. "Tonight… we feast!" '...Tomorrow, we mourn. And barf. Probably.' \\\* A few days later, the stars were visibly brighter than they had been before. The sight of the black void littered with shimmering lights would have been beautiful if not for the terrible danger they represented. Sunny was sitting in the center of the plummeting treasure chest with an extremely miserable expression on his face. It was deathly pale, and his chin was covered with drying black blood. Raising a piece of raw devil meat to his mouth, he tore a piece of it with his teeth, and forced himself to chew. 'Disgusting… this is so disgusting… who knew I would miss the taste of synthpaste one day? Maybe I should just starve, after all!' As soon as he thought that, the void suddenly spoke again: "Oh, G.o.ds! You are actually eating that!" Sunny stared into the darkness with hatred, swallowed the piece of mimic meat, and said evenly: "Sure. Want a bite?" The voice hesitated for several seconds, then asked: "You're eating it raw?" Sunny gritted his teeth. "Of course I am eating it raw, you fool! How else am I supposed to eat it? I don't exactly have a kitchen here!" Then, with a furious determination, he tore another piece of meat and chewed on it. As it turned out, his face had not reached its maximum paleness before. Now, it seemed not only white, but also a little green. The void sighed. Then, it asked curiously: "Are you not afraid of poisoning yourself?" Sunny snarled. "...I have a strong stomach." He had, indeed, considered the possibility of catching a severe case of food poisoning from eating the corrupted meat of the vile devil. As an Awakened, however, his digestive system was much stroтger than that of mundane humans. And on top of that, there was Blood Weave. So, he judged that his chances of dying from eating the mimic were rather low. …Now matter how poetic it would have been. Choking to death on the flesh of a devil you killed would be, too... 'How funny.' Sunny swallowed the disgusting meat and took a sip from the Endless Spring. A few moments later, the voice asked: "Have you thought of a way to survive the divine flames?" He stared at his broken arm, then shrugged. "I considered a few." The voice seemed to be pleased to hear that. "Good. I have thought about it, as well…" ReadNovelFull.me?
438	Chapter 438 Prince of Nothing Sunny stared into the void suspiciously. "Yeah? And how come you are so concerned about my well-being?" The voice remained silent for a bit, then answered wistfully: "I haven't really spoken to anyone in a long, long time. It would be a shame to finally find someone to talk to, only for them to die soon. Don't you think?" 'That guy is definitely not just a simple Lost… what is his deal, really? Is he actually a human or only pretends to be one?' Sunny thought for a bit, then said: "I guess. And since we're on the topic… how is it exactly that we are able to talk?" He expected the voice to change the subject or ignore the question, but to his surprise, it actually answered: "I am not really sure. This has never happened to me before, either." ReadNovelFull.me After a while, it added hesitantly: "Have you… have you perhaps found a piece of a broken mirror somewhere?" Something clicked in Sunny's mind. "Broken mirror… Mirror Beast… Beastie…" The Ascended Reflection! The shard of a mirror that the strange creature had left behind was still inside the Covetous Coffer… smeared with his blood… 'c.r.a.p!' So the owner of the voice was the creator of the murderous Reflection Sunny had encountered on the Reckoning. That… that gave him as many questions as it had given him answers. He couldn't really think about it right now, though, because the pressure of the Flaw was already building in his mind, forcing him to speak. "Now that you mention it, I did, indeed, recently find a piece of a broken mirror. With the word "Beastie" written on it in a child's handwriting." The voice remained silent for a while, then asked quietly: "Oh? How exactly did you find it?" Sunny did not answer for as long as he could, then reluctantly spoke: "That mirror shard was left behind by a powerful creature I killed. I took it with me, thinking that it might turn out to be important." This time, the voice was quiet for an especially long amount of time. When it finally spoke, there was a hint of anguish in it. The owner of the voice tried very hard to suppress it, but his pain seemed to be too deep to not seep into his words even slightly. "...So it's dead. I see." Then, it fell silent once again. Sunny tensed. After a while, he asked carefully: "You, uh… you're not going to be angry with me for killing your pet, are you?" A deep sigh resounded from the void. "Angry… with you? Why would I be angry with you? You are not to blame for what happened to us." Sunny shivered, suspecting that whoever or whatever it was that had been responsible for the Mirror Beast becoming separated from its creator — and eventually dying by his hand — was extremely lucky that the owner of the voice had become one of the Lost. Then, he asked cautiously: "What… what exactly was it, though? I have never seen a creature like that." The voice seemed more in control of itself when it answered after a few long moments: "A manifestation of my Aspect Ability. A kind of an Echo, you can say. I… I created him when I was just a lonely kid. We were together for a long time, before… before we weren't anymore." Sunny tilted his head, then frowned slightly. "What do you mean, a kid? A kid with an Aspect Ability?" The voice laughed bitterly. "Ah, that… I had my First Nightmare when I was twelve. It's rare, but does happen sometimes. Few children survive the trial, though." Sunny blinked. 'Being sent into the Nightmare at twelve… of course very few survive!' He did know that, in extremely rare cases, the people infected by the Spell were outside of the usual age range. The entire first generation of the Awakened had been, for example. And there were cases of this anomaly to this day, even though it usually happened to someone older than the norm, not someone younger. 'And I thought that I was unlucky…' He cleared his throat, then said awkwardly: "Well… I am sorry for your loss. If it makes you feel any better, the creature tried to say something before it died. Uh… we never stopped searching. Something like that." The voice, however, didn't respond. It seemed that its owner had once again spent all of his soul essence… or whatever it was that allowed him to communicate with Sunny… and was now gone for another few days. Sunny sighed. "Curse it! I didn't even have time to ask him how to survive the d.a.m.ned stars!" More strategic with how he chose his words, d.a.m.n it! \\\* Sunny spent a few more days plummeting into the void. By now, he was having trouble remembering what it even felt like, to not be falling. The darkness seemed to be eternal and everpresent, as though he had always been here, in its empty embrace, and all of his actual life was just a strange dream. 'Maybe it was?' No... no, it wasn't. He was almost sure. By the time the voice returned, the void had changed slightly. Not only were the distant shimmering lights now closer and brighter, but it also felt as if the air was getting warmer. Sunny was in his usual spot, sitting cross-legged in the center of the treasure chest and training to better control the flow of shadow essence. On the surface of the lid near him was a dark longbow and a quiver of black arrows. "...You practice archery?" Sunny opened his eyes and glanced into the darkness, then shrugged. "Not really. But I hope to learn a bit of it soon." He made a grimace and nodded toward his broken arm: "I do need two functioning hands before I'll be able to, though." The bow and the quiver of arrows were the same he had entrusted to Saint before. Both of the Memories were Ascended, but only of the first tier. The bow's enchantments made it incredibly strong and st.u.r.dy, while the only enchantment that the arrows possessed was that they came as a whole quiver instead of a single one. His broken arm, meanwhile, was healing. He could already move his fingers, but the process was far from over. He was halfway there, though. Sunny healed much faster than mundane humans, and even other Awakened. He was sure that in another week or so, he would be able to take off the splint and draw the black bow. The voice lingered, then said: "We had no time to discuss the divine flames last time." Sunny nodded. "Indeed." Then, he remembered something and asked: "Oh, by the way… what do I call you? Do you have a name? It's a bit awkward to keep thinking of you simply as the Voice." The voice laughed. "A name? I used to have a name, I guess." Sunny sighed. "Yeah? Well, what is it?" The void lingered for a while, then answered with amus.e.m.e.nt: "...Mordret. Or, rather... Prince Mordret, I guess." Sunny opened and close his mouth a couple of times, then asked with suspicion in his voice: "Prince? What are you the prince of?" Mordret laughed. "Nothing! I am a Prince of Nothing. Nothing at all…" ReadNovelFull.me?
439	Chapter 439 Do or Die Sunny stared into the darkness with an incredulous expression, then shrugged: "Sure. Whatever. Nice to make your acquaintance… Your Highness. I am called Sunless, by the way. Sadly, no t.i.tle." Silently, though, he thought: '...The young prince that the Dreamsp.a.w.n had taken away?' Oblivious to his suspicions, Mordret hesitated, then asked politely: "Sunless? What an unusual name." Sunny grimaced. "Yes. My mother had a… on second thought, forget that! Are you going to tell me about the divine flame or not?" The Prince of Nothing was silent for a bit, then said: ReadNovelFull.me "There is not much to tell. The heat of those flames is absolutely deadly. Unless you have some way to fly, you are in big trouble. Which, I a.s.sume, you don't… otherwise, you wouldn't be in this predicament, to begin with. Right?" 'Well… you can't argue with sound logic, I guess!' Sunny sighed. "...I can control the direction of the fall, but yes, no true flight." He hesitated, then added reluctantly: "For what it is worth, my Aspect Ability allows me to turn incorporeal, as well as teleport for short distances." He didn't really want to share the details of his powers with the mysterious prince, but currently, there was no other choice. Mordret obviously knew more about the Sky Below than Sunny, so his advice was vital. The lost prince thought for a few moments, then said: "Turning incorporeal will help against being cooked by the heat, but it won't save you from the divine flame itself. However, not everything is lost. Even though you can't fly, you do have some mobility. With some luck, you might be able to dodge the conflagrations." Sunny glanced into the darkness with a resentful expression. "That I already figured out myself. Tell me something that I don't know, genius." The void chuckled. "Fine. But only because you asked nicely…" Then, it disappeared. Sunny's face twitched. "G.o.ddammit! He's gone again!" But a second later, Mordret's voice suddenly resounded from the darkness: "No, no. There is still time. I was just thinking…" He was quiet for a few moments, then said hesitantly: "There is actually a path through the divine flame. An empty rift in the tapestry of stars where none of it remains. If you find it, you might survive." Although it was hard to control his emotions these days, Sunny tried his hardest to suppress the misplaced anger and calm himself down. When he spoke, his voice sounded almost even: "Why didn't you tell me sooner? How far am I from this rift, then?" Mordret sighed. "How would I know? It's not like I know where you are, exactly. More than that, I had never managed to find the rift myself. The Sky Below is vast and deadly, after all…" '...So, he was exploring this abyss, too. Why? What's out there, beyond the fake stars?' Sunny tilted his head, the asked cautiously: "If you never found it, how do you know that it's there?" The void remained silent for some time. After a while, when Mordret spoke again, his voice sounded distant and weak: "The Tear… it should be somewhere near the Tear. I think…" With that, Sunny felt that he was alone in the darkness again. This time, the mysterious prince was truly gone. He sat motionlessly for a while, staring into the endless nothingness of the Sky Below. "Near the Tear…" The String of Fate, too, had pointed toward the Tear. To somewhere very near its center. If the rift in the annihilating field of the divine flames had anything to do with the golden thread, then Sunny had a much better chance of finding the path through the merciless stars than Mordret had ever had. …He had already half-found it, really. Looking down, Sunny sighed and closed his eyes again, returning to the endless routine of circulating the shadow essence through his body. \\\* Day pa.s.sed after day. The closer Sunny drew to the obliterating stars, the calmer he became. Now that mortal danger was getting near, his mind had no time and reason to slowly destroy itself. The absolute nothingness of the void that had a.s.saulted it, too, was much less empty now. Not only was it full of threat, but also of heat and light. And shadows… Sunny had dismissed the leather elements of the Puppeteer's Shroud and undid the bands of its upper garment. Stripped to the waist, he meditated in the darkness, the Soul Serpent coiling around his pale and lithe body. Because of the rough diet of only eating the poisonous meat of a dead devil, he had practically no fat left. His skin looked a bit feverish and was drawn tautly across his lean muscles, making for a sight that was both splendid and a little disturbing. His broken arm had almost healed, so he removed the splint and spent some time every day doing simple exercises to bring it back to its former strength. He had to be cautious not to overexert it too soon, though. The plan of how to survive the field of stars was slowly forming in his mind. It was bound to be a gamble one way or another, but Sunny was not going to give up without doing everything he could to survive. …His confidence was somewhat reinforced by the fact that he had, most likely, discovered the rift that Mordred told him about. Following the direction of the golden String of Fate that had been practically burned into his mind, Sunny studied a particular cl.u.s.ter of the stars for an entire week before finally noticing something that looked like a tiny, almost imperceptibly minuscule gap in the vast tapestry of countless shimmering lights. Trusting his judgment, he summoned the Dark Wing and used it to push the treasure chest toward that particular cl.u.s.ter. Luckily, he was already not too far away from it… most likely because he had been aiming to follow the golden string from the very beginning of his fall. As a few more days went by and the stars grew even larger, Sunny became more or less certain that the tiny gap was, indeed, there. It had grown slightly bigger, too. What he was uncertain about, however, was his ability to reach the rift without being incinerated by the annihilating heat of the divine flame. The field of false stars was vast, and the rift was tiny in comparison. At the speed that he was falling, missing it would be far too easy. But what choice did he have? 'Do or die...' Well... when had it ever been any different? ReadNovelFull.me?
440	Chapter 440 Merciless Stars After more than three weeks of falling into the Sky Below — at least Sunny thought that it had been that long — he sighed and stood up, balancing on the dangerously swaying treasure chest. His hair was wet with sweat, and his skin glistened in the piercing white light of approaching stars. By now, they did not resemble white dots in the boundless darkness of the abyss. Instead, each was the size of a fist, surrounded by a furious, blinding halo. The heat permeating the void was suffocating. Sunny stared down, at the ocean of white flames beneath him. If this was what remained of the inferno of heavenly fire after thousands of years of burning in an empty void… he shuddered to imagine what it must have looked like right after the hammer of divine punishment had fallen on the ancient land. His gaze was locked on a small empty s.p.a.ce between several radiant stars. The rift. This was his goal. As Sunny stared darkly at the tiny patch of emptiness amid the vast field of flame, the void suddenly spoke: "Have you… huh? Is that a… uh… what a large tattoo you have." ReadNovelFull.me Sunny glanced at the darkness, then shrugged. "What about it?" Mordret lingered for a few moments, as though not sure what to say, then asked with amus.e.m.e.nt: "Sunless… are you sure that you are a research a.s.sistant?" Sunny grinned. "Of course I am! Do you know how many contribution points they give me every month? I scribbled a few words about this and that, and that bought me a house. An entire house! Maybe being a researcher is not as swell as being a prince, but it's still a sweet gig… with all due respect, of course. Your Highness." The void laughed. "You are such an interesting person." Sunny stared into the void with an incredulous expression. "You are a bit of an enigma yourself, are you not?" Mordret remained silent for a bit, then asked: "Are you ready for what is about to come?" Instead of answering, Sunny pointed to the ocean of merciless stars. "Look there." When the lost prince spoke, his voice was strangely regretful: "I can't really see that well. What is it?" 'Oh… right.' Sunny hesitated for a few seconds, then said: "I think I found the rift you told me about." Mordret asked with surprise in his voice: "...Really? You found it?" Sunny shrugged. "We'll see. You said that it should be somewhere under the Tear, right? Since I fell right into the Tear, there's a chance that I'm right." The void lingered, then said in a somber tone: "What if you're not?" Sunny smiled. "Then it has been nice knowing you. Anyway… anything else you want to tell me before you go? I doubt that we'll have the opportunity to speak again before I reach the stars." Mordred thought for a few seconds, then said: "I might not be able to reach you at all after that. So… good luck?" Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Really?" The voice of the void answered after a long pause: "Yes. Why?" He shook his head. "Nothing, really. I just thought that you are stuck somewhere out there, beyond the stars." Mordret chuckled. "...No. I am stuck somewhere else." His voice grew strangely distant. Then, an almost inaudible whisper reached Sunny's ears: "I hope… survive… Sunless…" Then, the lost prince was gone, leaving Sunny alone in the darkness once again. He sighed. "Me too. I hope I'll survive, too." \\\* After Mordred disappeared, Sunny waited for a bit, and then broke the rule he had set for himself for a second time since starting this expedition — he summoned another Memory that should have been tied only to Mongrel. The Mantle of the Underworld. The intricate onyx armor weaved itself from sparks of darkness and covered him from head to toe. Sunny was not accustomed to wearing its closed helmet, since he was usually using Weaver's Mask instead, but it was not uncomfortable. His field of vision, however, became slightly constricted. 'Hopefully, no one will be able to see me this far into the abyss.' Out here in the Sky Below, he felt as though no one, not even those who were attuned to revelations, could peer into his secrets and glean anything about them. …The only exception to the rule was the Prince of Nothing himself. But he was gone now. The Mantle possessed two enchantments that would most likely prove themselves to be extremely helpful soon. The [Stalwart] trait of the armor imbued it with high resistance against various types of elemental damage, including fire. Just seconds after donning it, Sunny felt the suffocating heat retreat, replaced by a pleasant coolness. How long would that coolness last, he did not know. The [Living Stone] enchantment, on the other hand, allowed the Mantle of the Underworld to repair itself while being worn. This trait would come into play later, helping Sunny protect himself even after the divine flame became intense enough to damage the onyx armor. After that, Sunny summoned the dark longbow and the quiver of black arrows. By now, his hand had recovered enough for him to be able to draw the mighty bow… he just hoped that he would not need to. Finally, he summoned the Cruel Sight and attached it to his belt. …All preparations were now done. Looking down through the narrow slit of the visor, Sunny sighed… Now, everything depended on his resilience, luck… and how deep his reserves of shadow essence were. \\\* In the stark darkness of the empty void, deeper than even the memories of a blue sky could reach, a cracked treasure chest was plummeting toward an ocean of searing white flames. Its underside was bathed in the furious light, while its lid was drowning in the deepest of shadows. Wisps of smoke were slowly rising from its smoldering wood, and the strips of iron reinforcing it were slowly starting to glow as they turned orange. Sunny, who had become a shadow and was once again hiding on the lid of the dead devil, felt fine… for now. Until the treasure chest was destroyed, he was protected from directly touching the light of the divine flame. But how long would the corpse of the mimic last? He was thinking about something else, though… something far more dreadful. 'The rift… the d.a.m.ned rift! I am going to miss it!' ReadNovelFull.me?
441	Chapter 441 Ocean of Flame Sunny almost managed to direct his endless fall toward the tiny gap between the remnant conflagrations of the divine flame, but on that incredible scale, even the smallest mistake was bound to take him many kilometers away from the goal. …A mistake that he had inevitably made, since there were no lessons on navigating eternal voids, especially without any tools except for his own two eyes. 'd.a.m.n it!' Right below him, swiftly approaching, was an ocean of obliterating light, heat, and fire. The conflagrations themselves were rather small, no larger than a dozen meters in diameter, and chaotically scattered in the void at a considerable distance from one another. Each looked like a furious, undulant orb of dancing white flames. The s.p.a.ce between them, though, was not safe. It was permeated by immolating heat that nothing could withstand… at least nothing Sunny had at his disposal. As the adamantine wood of the treasure chest started to slowly catch fire, he hesitated, then glanced at the empty darkness of the distant rift in the ocean of light. Whether by accident or by design, there was a point in the field of false stars where no conflagrations remained. A roughly circular breach was torn through them, promising him safe pa.s.sage. But how was he supposed to reach it? If Sunny jumped off the plummeting chest right now, he would probably be able to glide all the way to the rift… the distance was just right. However, he was pretty sure that the Dark Wing would be instantly turned to ash by the terrible heat of the remnant vestiges of the divine flame. ReadNovelFull.me Not to mention that he himself would probably get thoroughly cooked inside the Mantle of the Underworld if he remained corporeal for that long. With a mental sigh, Sunny left the comforting embrace of the shadows. A kneeling figure in an intricate onyx armor appeared on the lid of the smoldering treasure chest. 'Argh…' Despite the protection of the [Stalwart] enchantment, the air he breathed in was thin and scoldingly hot. It almost felt as if he was inhaling fire. Other than that, however, the Mantle of the Underworld did a good job of keeping the heat at bay... and yet, Sunny could feel it starting to slowly get warmer. He didn't have a lot of time. Standing up, he raised the dark longbow, nocked an arrow on its string, and gritted his teeth. Then, sending a thin trickle of essence into the muscles of his shoulder and back, he strained his body and drew the mighty bow. …It felt as though he was lifting a mountain. '...How the h.e.l.l does Saint make it look easy?' Feeling his muscles tremble, Sunny aimed toward the rift and hesitated for a second. After he did this, there would be no going back. 'What is there to go back to, fool? Aren't you sick of that d.a.m.ned chest?!' Relaxing his hand, he let go of the string. The black arrow shot into the darkness with incredible speed, instantly becoming illuminated by a blinding radiance. It was strange… the void was full of light now, but with nothing to reflect it, the Sky Below still appeared black and empty. Only when something entered the emptiness did the light become visible. Sunny felt the chest sway, and struggled to keep his balance. A couple of moments later, the fletching of the arrow suddenly caught fire and burned away. However, that didn't affect its flight too much. The arrow pierced the darkness and turned into a distant spark, covering almost an entire kilometer in just a few seconds. Then, however, it slowed down considerably, and its wooden shaft began to smolder. It was time to move. As Sunny felt flame licking his greaves, he held his breath… and used Shadow Step. The arrow he had sent flying in the direction of the rift was wrapped into one of his shadows. As the shadow unfurled itself from the igniting shaft, Sunny shot out of it as if launched from a giant slingshot. As soon as he left the shadow, it instantly wrapped itself around his body, and then slid toward the quiver. 'c.r.a.p!' Sunny found himself flying through the darkness with nothing to support or shield him from being directly exposed to the immolating radiance. The Mantle of the Underworld suddenly shone in the torrent of light, instantly growing considerably warmer. It wasn't burning his skin yet, but he suspected that there was not much time left before that happened. Especially because his momentum was not only horizontal, but also vertical, and was becoming more so with each moment. He was still plummeting toward the ocean of flames, approaching it with terrifying speed. The closer he got, the more obliterating the heat would become. Twisting as he fell to orient himself in the void, Sunny nocked another arrow and drew the bow again. This time, it was considerably harder, since he had nothing to stand on and had to rely solely on the strength of his arms and shoulders. Just in the few seconds it had taken him to draw the bow, the heat became much more destructive. Another arrow flew into the darkness, and several seconds later, he used Shadow Step again, appearing almost two kilometers closer to the rift. …It was still decently far away, though. 'Curses!' Sunny flew through the obliterating darkness and struggled to nock another arrow. The glossy black surface of the Mantle of the Underworld was starting to glow, slowly turning incandescent. He was still fine inside, though. For now. If a little hot… Another arrow disappeared into the darkness, and Sunny jumped through the shadows again. This time, the jump devoured pretty much all of his remaining shadow essence. Whatever little there was left would not have been enough to repeat the process the fourth time. However, maybe… just maybe… he wasn't going to have to. After using Shadow Step three times in a row, and turning some of his vertical momentum into horizontal one with each jump, Sunny was now plummeting diagonally through the void, seemingly toward the very edge of the rift. 'I am going to make it… am I going to make it?' Even if he would, it was going to be very, very close. The string of the bow suddenly caught fire and broke with a loud ring. Dismissing the bow and the quiver, Sunny sent both of his shadows to reinforce the Mantle of the Underworld and threw his hands and legs to the sides. He was trying to create as much surface area as possible to utilize the resistance of the air in his favor. He was well-versed in all kinds of falling and gliding thanks to using the Dark Wing so often, so this was not something new to him. Granted, he had never done it in a heavy armor. Speaking of which… Sunny hesitated, then directed some of his remaining essence into the Mantle of the Underworld to activate the [Feather of Truth] enchantment and make the armor as light as possible. Then, all he could do was endure the growing heat and wait and watch as both the obliterating ocean of flames and the circle of saving darkness approached him at tremendous speed. His life now depended solely on which of the two was going to swallow him first. ReadNovelFull.me?
442	Chapter 442 Burning Heaven Surrounded by a radiant halo, Sunny plummeted into the darkness. His breath was ragged and hoa.r.s.e, and his eyes were blinded by the piercing shine of the immolating ocean of white flames beneath him. Fearing that his eyes would be permanently blinded by it, he closed them, which helped a little. 'Hot… it's so hot…' He was drawing closer and closer to the remains of the divine inferno, and as he did, the stonelike metal of the Mantle of the Underworld was growing hotter and hotter. Soon, its outer layer turned bright red. Then, it started to melt. 'd.a.m.n!' Sunny directed more of his remaining essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent, activating the [Living Stone] enchantment of the Underworld armor. As the onyx melted and cracked, causing him excruciating pain, the Mantle began to repair itself. Before anything could fully breach the surface of the incandescent onyx, the damage was undone. …For now, the enchanted armor could heal itself faster than it was being destroyed. In large part due to being augmented by both of his shadows, perhaps. Sunny encountered another problem, though. ReadNovelFull.me It was getting harder and harder to breathe… not even because the air was scalding and hot, but because there was not enough of it. Fire fed on oxygen, after all. Luckily, Sunny was no stranger to being deprived of it. What's more, thanks to the Blood Weave, he could get by without breathing for much longer than most Awakened… and he suspected that he would have to do just that very soon. Hopefully, he would be able to reach the rift shortly after that. And speaking of the rift… He carefully opened his eyes a little and glanced into the blinding inferno beneath, trying to judge whether or not he was going to make it. For now, it seemed that he would easily pa.s.s the field of fire and enter the dark emptiness… but that was just an illusion. Sunny had to factor in that his forward momentum was constantly growing weaker, which meant that his trajectory would become more and more vertical the longer he fell through the searing abyss. It was too hard to tell whether or not he was going to make it. Gritting his teeth, he shifted his weight and lowered one hand, grabbing the hilt of the Cruel Sight. Then, he raised the silver blade to his chest, threw a cursory glance at his warped reflection, and activated the [Light Eater] enchantment of the somber sword. Instantly, the mirror blade began to absorb the merciless light of the false stars, growing white-hot and incandescent. Sunny, however, found himself able to see once again. He even felt a little cooler, although it might have been just wishful thinking. Surrounded by a strange bubble of darkness left behind by the devoured light, Sunny plummeted toward the obliterating stars. 'Almost! I'm almost there!' By then, the conflagrations of the divine flame were so close that it seemed as though he could reach out and touch them. No matter how hard Sunny tried, he couldn't draw in even a little bit of air into his lungs. The rift was so close… But in the end, it turned out to be just a little bit too far. Sunny reached the very edge of the field of flames. He only had to fly past one last cl.u.s.ter of conflagrations. However, his fall took him straight into the embrace of fire instead. Sunny would have screamed if there was any air in his lungs. Moving at a terrible speed, he pierced right through one of the seething orbs and emerged from the other side of it, wreathed in white flame. A terrible pain enveloped his whole being. But it wasn't physical pain… it was the similar kind of pain he had experienced while using the Broken Oath, only magnified a hundredfold. '...shadows... my shadows!' His shadows were wrapped around the Mantle of the Underworld, and so, they had been badly damaged by the divine fire. The armor itself had caught aflame and was now quickly disintegrating. The fire was spreading, too, threatening to envelop him whole. Half-blind from pain, Sunny did the only thing that could save him now — he dismissed the onyx armor. The Mantle of the Underworld fell into countless sparks of darkness, which then disappeared, causing the fire to be extinguished. Naked and hurting, Sunny fell into the darkness and saw the Cruel Sight crack, the silver of its blade becoming dull and tarnished. Following an instinct, he activated the [Dark Mirror] enchantment, and then dismissed that Memory, too. Finally, he wrapped the wounded shadows around himself and circulated what little shadow essence he had left through his entire body, spending all of it to make himself more resilient… And then, he felt cool wind touch his blistering skin. Sunny fought through the terrible pain and opened his eyes. Behind him, there was a wall of ruthless radiance. But in front of him, there was nothing but darkness. …He had reached the rift. \\\* 'Hurts… everything hurts. c.r.a.p… this is so unfair!' Sunny flew deeper into the rift, creating more distance between himself and the conflagrations of the divine flame. Of course, they were too close for him to feel comfortable. But at least he could breathe again, and wasn't being cooked alive. Well… at least not very fast. Before being badly hurt by the divine flame, Sunny had hoped that somehow, miraculously, he would turn out to be immune to it. He was technically a shadow of a Sun G.o.d's descendant, after all. Why wouldn't he be immune to the manifestation of his master's domain? Well… his master's indirect ancestor's domain, to be precise. Plus, he was not just any shadow, but a divine one left behind by Shadow G.o.d himself. Light and shadows were two sides of the same coin, weren't they? As it turned out, the divine flame didn't care. 'Argh!' Currently, Sunny was falling through the rift. He had reached its center and dove straight down, hoping to stay as far away from the surrounding stars as possible. It was as though there was a tunnel of empty darkness torn through the very heart of the field of flames, and he was following it down. Down, down, down… It was hard to even conceive of a world where he wasn't constantly falling down. Now that he had no Mantle of the Underworld to protect him from the blaze, Sunny was suffering a lot. Rift or not, the air was still permeated by the unbearable heat. His skin was red, with patches of it blistering. Some of it was badly burned by his unfortunate clash with the divine flame and because he had not dismissed the burning Mantle of the Underworld fast enough. It was not life-threatening, though. …Yet. 'Come on! End, G.o.ddammit!' But the field of flames showed no signs of ever ending. Until it did. After a while, when Sunny was on the verge of losing conscience from the constant heat, he noticed that the scattering of the immolating stars around him became a bit thinner. And then, even more so. And then, suddenly and without any warning, he fell out of the field of divine flame and found himself surrounded by nothing but blessed nothing once again. …The radiant inferno was now above him, growing further away with each second. It looked as if… As if heaven was on fire. And beneath him… Sunny looked down and shivered. 'What... how?' His eyes widened in shock. ReadNovelFull.me?
443	Chapter 443 Secrets of the Void Out there in the empty darkness of the void… something even darker loomed, hidden from the radiant light of the ocean of flame above. Sunny peered at the distant black silhouette and shivered. '...What the h.e.l.l? What is it doing here?' Far below him, a small island cut from dark stone floated in the endless emptiness, surrounded by drifting slabs of shattered obsidian. A tall and magnificent paG.o.da stood in its center, built of a flawlessly black material that was neither wood nor stone. Its l.u.s.terless walls seemed to devour any light that touched them… It was the perfect replica of the Ivory Tower... but at the same time its opposite. The two paG.o.das were so alike that for a moment, Sunny even thought that he had somehow found himself high up in the Sky Above. But no. The island that the Obsidian Tower stood upon was different. It was larger than the one every Awakened on the Chained Isles was used to observing in the skies, and had no broken chains hanging from its stone slopes. On its desolate surface, remains of mysterious structures could be seen, turned to ruin by the pa.s.sage of time. Several obsidian pillars protruded horizontally from its edges, stretching into the empty void like strange wharves. From high above, Sunny couldn't see much of the island in detail. But he was approaching it fast… '...c.r.a.p!' ReadNovelFull.me Too fast! Sunny hesitated for a moment, then suppressed the desire to immediately summon the Dark Wing. The divine flames were still too close, and their heat could damage the fragile Memory. He had to wait for a bit… there was still time. Even if it was going to run out pretty soon. Sunny continued to fall, waiting. With every minute, the heat of the immolating stars dissipated a little. And with each minute, the dark island grew closer and closer. Finally, knowing that there was no more time to waste, Sunny summoned the Dark Wing and commanded it to turn his fall into a glide. The dragonfly cloak turned into a blur behind his back… but it also began to produce thin wisps of smoke, threatening to catch aflame at any moment. 'Curses!' Supported by the enchantment of the Dark Wing, Sunny's descent started to slow down little by little. His speed, however, was too great to be nullified in a single instant. It was dropping swiftly… but was it swift enough to prevent him from splattering all over the surface of the mysterious island? And was the transparent cloak even going to endure for long enough? Sunny cursed and trembled as he watched the Obsidian Tower approach. 'Here goes nothing! d.a.m.n!' In the end, he still landed with enough speed to shatter all bones in his legs from the impact against the ground. At the last moment, however, Sunny turned into a shadow and dove into the deep darkness enveloping the island instead. Safely embraced by the shadows, he submerged himself into them, and finally allowed his mind to relax. 'Safe… I'm safe…' …He was finally safe. For a few seconds, at least. \\\* Sunny was in a world of pain. His shadow essence was running out, too. Also, he had no idea what terrifying danger was waiting for him on the mysterious island that remained hidden in the deepest reaches of the Sky Below for thousands of years, nor what deadly secrets waited for him inside the Obsidian Tower. …But for now, he did not care. All he cared about was that he was not falling anymore. 'Bliss… this is pure bliss!' Floating in the dark embrace of shadows, Sunny couldn't get enough of the fact that, for the first time in almost a month, he was… stationary. He finally had solid ground under his feet again! Metaphorically speaking, of course. In any case, it was such a beautiful feeling. Sunny allowed himself to relax and rested for a bit, safely hidden in the deep dark shadows. After a while, he sighed and forced himself to turn his attention to the outside world. Moving closer to the surface of the deep darkness that embraced him, Sunny cautiously took a look outside. '...Huh?' Strangely, what met him was complete and utter silence. There were no Nightmare Creatures on the island, no abyssal horrors, no terrifying beings to devour him whole. Not even a single unholy t.i.tan slumbered nearby, ready to wake up at the slightest disturbance. The island seemed… empty. Which was very fortunate, considering that Sunny was running very low on shadow essence and was going to have to a.s.sume his physical form soon. He hesitated for a few moments, then took stock of his equipment and himself. His soul was seriously wounded, but not beyond its ability to heal itself… in time. His body was not exactly whole, but in somewhat of a splendid shape, considering all that had happened. He even had all his limbs intact. Both the Mantle of the Underworld and the Cruel Sight, as well as the Dark Wing and Saint's bow were heavily damaged. Luckily, none of these Memories were completely destroyed. It was going to take a long time before he could use them again, though. Days… maybe even weeks. On the bright side, Saint herself had recovered from the wounds received on the Shipwreck Island ages ago. Sunny actually could have summoned her at any point during his journey through the Sky Below, but there was no real reason to. Plus, the treasure chest would not have accommodated both of them, especially considering how much the living statue weighed. The [Dark Mirror] enchantment of the Cruel Sight now also had two elemental augmentations for Sunny to choose from. Its runes showed: Current Charge: Divine Flame. Latent Charges: Soul. 'Divine flame, huh…' Well, if there was one benefit from being burned by the d.a.m.n thing, it was that now he would be able to cause similar pain to others. So, it was totally worth it in the end... no doubt about it... 'I guess we will have to see.' And lastly… Sunny was now completely sure that the thing on the other end of the golden String of Fate was the Obsidian Tower. His intuition was calm and silent. That told him that he had arrived at his destination. Somewhere inside, a thing that was deeply connected to his fate waited. Glancing at the magnificent silhouette of the black paG.o.da, Sunny sighed… and left the safety of the shadows, emerging from them to step onto the surface of the island that no other human had visited in thousands of years. If ever… ReadNovelFull.me?
444	Chapter 444 Obsidian Tower Sunny stood naked on the rocky surface of the dark island. He grimaced and looked at his body, which was a map of burns — some more severe than others — then summoned the Puppeteer's Shroud. Not wishing for the soft fabric to touch the worst of his wounds, he left it the way it had been during the latter stages of his journey through the Sky Below, with the leather elements gone and the upper garment undone and tied around his waist. This time, his body was wrapped in shadows and appeared black, as if cut from the same obsidian that the dark island consisted of. The coils of the Soul Serpent seemed to shimmer as the essence flowed through them. A moment later, Saint stepped from behind him and moved forward, summoning the Midnight Shard as she walked. Knowing how badly his soul was damaged, Sunny decided to keep the Broken Oath locked away for a while, so the Shadow was not surrounded by the destructive aura anymore. He was also not in any shape to fight himself, at least not very effectively, and that was why the austere tachi was currently in the hands of the taciturn demon. If push came to shove, Sunny would either use the Moonlight Shard or command the Soul Serpent to a.s.sume the odachi form. With a heavy sigh, he summoned the Endless Spring and greedily drank the cold water from it, then leaned forward and poured some on his head. After that, he finally felt like a human once again. …All in all, things weren't that bad. He was alive and in one piece, suffering from neither thirst nor hunger. Here on the dark island, the air was pleasantly warm. Bright stars burned in the empty void high above, making for a beautiful view. Right in front of them, the graceful silhouette of the Obsidian Tower rose from the ground like a black rift in reality. It turned out to be much larger than Sunny had thought, but nowhere near the scale of the Crimson Spire. That cursed thing seemed to be too gargantuan to even exist, while the ancient paG.o.da was more or less fit to have been built for humans. Well… maybe for extremely tall humans. Or... tiny giants? ReadNovelFull.me As Sunny studied the Obsidian Tower, Saint tilted her head and stared at the black paG.o.da, too, her ruby eyes reflecting some strange emotion. Was it… recognition? Why would his Shadow recognize a tower hidden in the depths of the abyss below the Chained Islands? 'Strange…' Sunny frowned, then dismissed the Endless Spring. He remained motionless for a few moments, then slowly headed toward the tall paG.o.da. Saint followed. As they walked across the island, Sunny had time to look at the various ruins left on its surface. It was hard to determine what they had been once, but Sunny got the feeling that he wasn't looking at the remains of buildings. More like… structures? Devices? Their purpose was now impossible to determine, but whatever it had been, he doubted that anyone could have ever lived inside. The closest he could get to putting his feeling in words was that these ruins reminded him most of the bowels of the underground factory his mom had worked in when he was little. Even though the factory was much larger and built of alloy instead of cut blocks of obsidian, not to mention being much more advanced, the sensation was the same. '...Just what was the purpose of this island? Who lived here? Who built that strange tower?' The closer Sunny got to the Obsidian Tower, the more he was impressed by its graceful beauty. Even though the paG.o.da was hidden in the depths of the Sky Below, where very few creatures would have ever seen it, the unknown builder spent time to ensure that it replicated the magnificence of its Ivory counterpart perfectly. It would have been breathtaking if it wasn't so… menacing. Surrounded by nothing but emptiness and silence, the Obsidian Tower appeared ominous just by virtue of existing. 'I am not… not scared at all.' He did, however, was thinking about one thing in particular… Which tower was really the replica, and which one was the original? The beautiful white paG.o.da that flowed high above the Chained Isles, or the menacing black one that hid in the darkness below? Maybe he was going to find out… Soon, Sunny and Saint approached the tall gates of the Obsidian Tower. Nothing attacked them, and no frightening sound came from inside, announcing that something that dwelled beyond the black gates was awakening in hunger. The paG.o.da was silent, just like the rest of the dark island. The strange thing, though, was that Sunny could not feel any shadows on the other side of the ma.s.sive door. Not because there weren't any, but because the walls of the tower seemed to shield the interior from his Shadow Sense. A cold shiver ran down his spine. 'I have never encountered anything like this before. Have I?' He hesitated, then approached the black door, summoned the Moonlight Shard, and scratched its surface. A layer of black dust fell down, revealing a much harder, and even blacker surface beneath. Sunny raised an eyebrow. '...Soot?' The entire paG.o.da was covered in a thick layer of soot. He stood motionlessly for a bit, trying to understand what meaning was there in this fact, then simply shrugged and studied the ancient gate. The problem he was facing… was that the gate didn't have a handle to open. Neither did it have a keyhole, a bell to ring, or a knocker to announce his arrival. 'How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to open it?' Without Shadow Sense, he couldn't use Shadow Step to simply appear inside. So, for the moment, Sunny was stuck. 'It would be very, very funny to travel all this way only to find out that I can't open a d.a.m.n door. Right?' Slightly embarra.s.sed, he looked at Saint and asked: "Any ideas?" He didn't really expect an answer from the taciturn demon, but to his surprise, the Shadow stared at him for a few moments, and then lowered her sword. Then, she raised one hand and pointed to her eye. Sunny observed all of that in complete bewilderment, then blinked a couple of times. 'Eye? What does she mean?' Then, an idea came into his mind. Turning back to the door, he put one hand on it, and then shifted his gaze in a similar manner he did when looking beneath the surface of Memories to look at their spellweave. And there, beneath the obsidian surface of the tower's gate, he saw it. A weave. It wasn't the weave of ethereal threads he was used to seeing, though. Instead, it was a much cruder and more primitive version of it, created from very physical diamond strings that stretched beneath the stone surface, creating a beautiful, but simple pattern. Sunny had only seen this type of weave one time before. Inside Saint herself. Back when she was just an Echo, he had noticed it hidden behind the radiant pattern of the spellweave. He had thought that it was what made the stone warriors alive, in the first place. That it was created by the last child of the Unknown in the cavernous halls of his dark domain… And that it might have been the precursor of the Spell itself, or maybe an imitation of it. Was this tower built by the Lord of the Underworld too, then? …Sunny hesitated for a moment, then moved his hand to a particularly bright nod of the diamond weave and sent a small amount of shadow essence into it. For a moment, nothing happened. And then, the gates of the Obsidian Tower opened. ReadNovelFull.me?
445	Chapter 445 Respite Visible only to Sunny, the diamond weave beneath the surface of the gate ignited with ghostly light. Almost immediately, a thin vertical crack appeared in the ancient stone. Then, the gates silently opened, and a gust of wind hit Sunny in the back. He took a few steps away, hiding behind Saint, and cautiously looked over her shoulder at the dark entrance. Nothing was moving in the darkness. From what he could see, the interior of the Obsidian Tower seemed quite mundane. As soon as the gate opened, his Shadows Sense could finally penetrate the invisible barrier surrounding the graceful paG.o.da — it didn't detect any danger, as well. It really did seem safe. He waited for a few moments, then coughed and waved a hand in front of his face, trying to get the soot that had flown into the air away from it. "Ah, well. Nothing to worry about, then. Let's go!" Sunny glanced at Saint, lingered for a second, and added in a polite tone: "...Oh, ladies first." ReadNovelFull.me The taciturn demon turned her head slightly, stared at him with one ruby eye, then simply walked forward and stepped over the threshold of the ancient tower. Sunny waited for a few moments, and followed. Tightly gripping the handle of the Moonlight Shard, he dove into the darkness that reigned behind the tall frame of the entrance, made a dozen steps forward, and found himself in a wide corridor that seemed to encircle the entire first level of the paG.o.da. The corridor stretched both far to the left and to the right. Here and there, Sunny could see large doors leading to differently sized rooms that were situated in the direction of the tower's outer wall, all the way to the bends of the corridor. And right in front of him was an intricate wooden gate decorated with beautiful engravings. Behind it was the central hall of the tower. Sunny hesitated for a bit, then pushed the wooden gate, which opened easily and revealed a vast chamber on the other side. 'That smell…' His eyes widened. Behind the gate was a large hall with a very tall ceiling. As soon as the gate opened, gla.s.s lanterns ignited on its walls, filling the interior of the Obsidian Tower with ghostly blue light. There were various things in the hall, all of which demanded Sunny's attention. There was a stand holding smith's tools and implements, all masterfully crafted from black obsidian and silver. A badly burned worktable with a scattering of beautiful soul crystals on its black surface. A stone wall with mysterious schematics cut into it, the cuts themselves so smooth and deep that he couldn't even begin to imagine what had left them behind, let alone what the schematics described. There were strange devices forged from silver and black steel, some of which reminded him of astronomical instruments, but also very mundane things, like chairs, tables, and even something that resembled a very long bed. All of it was perfectly preserved and immaculate, with not a speck of dust anywhere, cleaner than even his own house in the real world was… despite the thousands of years that must have pa.s.sed since the Obsidian Tower was visited last. It also all felt slightly… wrong. The sizes of everything were almost fit to be used by a human, but slightly different. The shapes of the handles of all the tools were slightly strange. The way the pieces of furniture and equipment were arranged in s.p.a.ce filled him with a slight feeling of unease, even though he didn't know why. …But Sunny did dwell on this for too long. Neither did his gaze linger on any of these items. His attention was pulled toward one specific place. Not too far from him stood a simple wooden table. And on it… was all kinds of delicious food. Juicy meat, freshly baked bread, succulent grapes, gla.s.s jars of exquisite wine, beautiful pots full of steaming tea, all of it waited for him, as if served only a few seconds ago. Sunny's mouth watered. 'How is this possible? This has to be an illusion… right?' Covered in layers of soot, sweat, and blood, he walked toward the table. His boots left black marks on the pristine floor of the hall. Arriving at his destination, Sunny reached out and grabbed a piece of bread with his dirty hand and greedily devoured it, then took one of the intricate silver goblets and filled it with wine. The rest of the goblets clattered to the floor, thrown off the table by his careless movement. Not paying it any attention, Sunny gulped down the sweet wine and laughed, sending breadcrumbs flying into the air. "Ah… this is not bad, really…" He would have preferred something without alcohol, but then again, this wine tasted so good... There was a wide grin on Sunny's face, but also dirty traces left by tears. His shoulders trembled. "This really hits the spot…" He was aware of the fact that the food could have been full of poison, but didn't care too much. He was just too hungry, tired, and spent. His body and his soul both hurt too much. He was at his wits' end. Refilling his goblet and grabbing a piece of perfectly roasted meat, he wandered away from the table and took another look at the large hall. "There's no one here, right, Saint?" The Shadow silently walked behind him, vigilantly looking around and keeping the Midnight Shard ready. But there was nothing to use it against. Sunny wandered for a minute or so, and eventually stopped near a large bed covered with black, lavish furs. Dropping the empty goblet on the floor, he hesitated a little… and then climbed into the furs. '...Who's been sleeping in my bed?' Sunny dismissed the Puppeteer's Shroud and lowered his heavy head onto a soft pillow. He wanted to give Saint the command to stand guard, but there was no need. The taciturn demon was already doing exactly that… Before Sunny could think about something else, the exhaustion of the past few weeks took over his mind, and, offering almost no resistance, it slipped easily into the embrace of darkness. The first thing Sunny ended up doing after discovering the Obsidian Tower and finding his way inside… was falling on a bed and going to sleep. He slept well. ReadNovelFull.me?
446	Chapter 446 Relentless Destroyer Sunny slept for a long time, the exhaustion slowly leaving his battered body. After a while, though, his consciousness rose from the deepest layers of slumber, summoned back by pain and thirst. With a sigh, he turned to his other side and tried to go back to sleep. After a few more hours of tossing and turning, though, Sunny was finally awoken by the loud sound of something crashing to the floor. '...What is Saint doing?' He reluctantly opened his eyes and sat up. As Sunny's weight shifted, the bed beneath him suddenly broke with a loud crack. He rolled onto the floor with a startled yelp. "Huh?!" Standing up, Sunny looked at the broken bed, then at the hall of the Obsidian Tower, which was now submerged in darkness. A bewildered expression appeared on his face. The room he had entered before had gone through a dramatic transformation while he was asleep. The magical lanterns were now extinguished, and everything inside seemed dilapidated and decrepit, almost on the verge of crumbling to pieces. The magnificent tools and implements had rusted through and deformed, the worktable had collapsed under its own weight — that was the sound which had awoken Sunny — the food he had enjoyed yesterday had turned to dust. The pristine condition of the hall was gone, and now it was full of darkness, debris, and dirt. It was as though eons had pa.s.sed since he fell asleep. ReadNovelFull.me A cold feeling appeared in his chest. '...Have I slept for a thousand years?!' Remembering fairy tales where similar things often happened, Sunny felt a hint of horror, but then thought about it for a few moments and calmed down. No, he had not… judging by how much shadow essence had acc.u.mulated in his cores, he slept for about twenty-four hours straight, which was a lot, but nowhere near a thousand years. Saint, who was keeping watch nearby, also didn't look as if she had been guarding him for a few centuries. Instead, it was the paG.o.da itself that had aged. As if an invisible seal that had kept it untouched by the pa.s.sage of time for all those thousands of years was now broken, and time was finally catching up with it. Time was the most relentless destroyer, after all. Sunny sighed with relief, then grimaced. 'Curses! I should have eaten more yesterday… much, much more!' All that delicious food, wasted! Shaking his head dejectedly, Sunny looked around, then accessed his own state. His wounds were already much better than they had been the day before. The burns were still rather painful, but within his capacity to endure without being slowed down in battle… too much. A couple more days of rest, and he would be close to being fully functional again. He was really hungry, though. But that was going to have to wait. Summoning the Moonlight Shard, Sunny gave Saint a command to follow, and went to explore the Obsidian Tower. \\\* It took Sunny about an hour to fully explore the first level of the ancient paG.o.da. Some of the doors in the outer corridor had collapsed and turned to dust, some remained standing and required him to use a tiny bit of shadow essence to unlock them. Behind the doors were all kinds of rooms. Most of them were empty, suggesting that the master of the tower had moved away a long time ago, taking all the valuable things with him, while some contained weathered debris and dust. Sunny spent a lot of time trying to understand what all these things had once been, by the damage done by the accelerated time was too extensive to even guess. '...Such a shame.' Feeling strangely disappointed, Sunny decided that it was time to move on to other levels of the tower. He still had to find the thing that had pulled him toward this place, as well as — hopefully — some means of returning either to the Chained Isles or to the real world. The idea of being stuck on this island forever did not seem very appealing. Especially now that there was no food anywhere around... Not finding anything interesting on the first level, Sunny decided to explore further. From the outside, it had seemed as though the Obsidian Tower had six levels, which really surprised Sunny. He had expected there to be seven. However, after finding two stairwells — one stair leading up, the other down — he realized that there was an underground level, too, which explained this small discrepancy. Everything having to do with the Spell and the Dream Realm had a tendency to be tied to the number seven… except the G.o.ds, of whom there had been only six. 'I guess that's why they are called G.o.ds… no law can bind them. Not even such a weird and random law as all things coming in sevens.' Sunny looked up, then looked down, and decided to explore the underground level first. Letting Saint go ahead, he entered the spiraling staircase and descended into the depths of the dark island. Unlike the ground level, the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Obsidian Tower turned out to be one giant hall. And in it… Sunny recoiled. For a second, it seemed as though hundreds of dismembered corpses were piled at the center of the hall, forming a morbid hill. But as Sunny took a step back and instinctively raised the Moonlight Shard, he realized that he made a mistake. The bodies piled in the center of the chamber were not that of people. Instead, they were… dolls. Hundreds of broken porcelain dolls, each the size of a human, were discarded in the underground hall. Their fragile bodies were shattered and broken, laying there like abandoned toys. Some were missing limbs, some were left with gaping holes in their torsos. Some had long ago turned into piles of small fragments, with not even their faces remaining. But those faces that did remain… Sunny tilted his head, then glanced at Saint. Every broken doll had the same face, or rather, all of their faces looked alike… as if they were all imperfect copies of the same original. They had the same flawless, inhumanly beautiful features that Saint had, only the craftsmanship behind the faces of the broken dolls seemed much less refined, as though the sculptor had not yet perfected his skill when creating them. There all looked like Saint's lesser siblings. ...If Sunny ever had doubts that the Obsidian Tower had once belonged to a certain Underworld Demon, now there were none. The last child of the Unknown had clearly spent some time here. Was probably the one who had created the black paG.o.da, in the first place, for some mysterious purpose Sunny couldn't even begin to guess. Then, however, his attention was drawn to something else. The floor of the vast hall was covered by a thick layer of dust, which should not have been disturbed in a few thousand years. …But it had been. A set of fleet footprints led all the way from the bottom of the stairs, where Sunny was standing, to the pile of broken dolls, circled it, and then mysteriously disappeared. Sunny stared at it for a few moments, surprised. 'Someone… someone had entered the Obsidian tower before me." ReadNovelFull.me?
447	Chapter 447 Primal Fear Sunny stared at the footprints for some more, then frowned. 'How does this make any sense?' The Obsidian Tower had been sealed before he opened its gates. After he did so, the magic that had preserved everything inside was dispelled, which meant that those doors had not been opened in thousands of years. It wasn't that easy to gain entry into the paG.o.da, to begin with. Not even mentioning the fact that one had to travel through the Sky Below and find the only rift in the boundless ocean of divine flames, there was also the fact that the gate had to be open by pouring essence into the weave of diamond strings beneath its surface. Sunny could only see the weave and understand its meaning a little because his eyes had been transformed by the drop of Weaver's blood. He a.s.sumed that there were other Awakened with similar abilities, but there had to be very, very few of them… and what were the chances that one would find their way to the dark island beyond the immolating sea of stars, which was hidden in the depths of this endless void? And how would they enter the paG.o.da without causing its seal to break? 'Just who was it that snuck into the Obsidian Tower unseen? And when?' It had to have happened long before today. Sunny knew for a fact that Saint would not have let anyone come and go without waking him up. Neither would his shadows: even when he slept, they were aware and vigilant. ReadNovelFull.me So… it could have happened at any point in the thousands of years since the tower had been abandoned by its rightful owner. For now, he had no answer. Feeling a little apprehensive, Sunny approached the pile of broken dolls and studied them for some time. Saint came closer, too, and stared at them silently. Then, she poked one with the tip of the Midnight Shard and turned away indifferently, as if loosing all interest in the porcelain mannequins. '...I guess she doesn't care too much about lesser versions of her.' Saint repeatedly shown her disdain toward things that seemed to be replicas of her kind. It had been the same with the Black Knight, and even with the walking colossus of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. Sunny clearly remembered how unimpressed his Shadow had been with the awesome stone giant. Turning away from the broken dolls, Sunny looked around and noticed that the walls of the chamber were lined with ma.s.sive gla.s.s vessels. Some were whole and some were broken, but all were empty. The gla.s.s was black and opaque, covered with a thick layer of soot… from the inside. '...Weird.' Not finding anything else of interest on the underground level, he returned to where he had started and rested for a while, drinking water from the Endless Spring and trying to suppress his hunger. 'This place is so… eerie.' It was, indeed. The black tower stood at the edge of an endless void of darkness, empty and abandoned, with everything inside of it made out of nothing by an inhuman mind. It was not a very welcoming place... at least not for humans. Sunny stared at the ancient walls that surrounded him, and wondered about the secrets of the past. After a while, he stood up and cautiously headed for the second level of the great paG.o.da. …As soon as Sunny set foot on it, though, he instantly felt that something was very, very wrong there. The feeling of deep, subtle, primordial terror he suddenly experienced was unlike anything he had known before… with the exception, perhaps, of those few moments back on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e when the walking colossus had lifted the giant three-eyed skull from the depths of the dark sea. But here, this feeling was even more dire, even more invasive. 'What… what is this…' Just like the underground level, this one consisted of only one great hall. The black walls rose high into the darkness, creating a magnificent and solemn atmosphere. At the center of it, cut into the obsidian floor, was a ma.s.sive silver brazier. And in it… Sunny shuddered and took a step back. Something was… growing from the brazier, spreading outward like a vile kind of rot. It had infected the very stone of the ancient tower, turning it into a semblance of repulsive, black, pulsating flesh. The silver brazier was infected by the terrifying growth, too, its metal somehow becoming a part of it. It seemed as if everything would become absorbed and transformed by the spreading corruption as long as it was touched by the harrowing growth… entire worlds would be devoured by it, perhaps, if given chance. The thing slowly spreading from the ancient brazier felt like… pure evil. Sunny shivered, gave Saint a signal to stay back, and shifted his gaze slightly. He was looking past spreading black flesh, at the source of this harrowing infection. At the very center of the brazier, blackened by the flames that must have raged in it once, lay a severed human arm. Well… it resembled that of a human, at least. The arm was much longer than it should have been, and the hand had seven fingers that ended with sharp claws. The rot seemed to be spreading from a terrible torn wound on the forearm, to the charred and emaciated flesh, and then outward, to everything else around it. Despite the repugnant state of the severed arm, the cut that separated it at the shoulder seemed clean and perfectly smooth, as if delivered by a steady and unfaltering blade. But Sunny was more affected in something else. A deep frown appeared on his face when he noticed it… In his mind's eye, the vile arm was radiating a blindingly bright, overwhelming, beautiful golden radiance. It was awash in the light of divinity. A frightening thought appeared in Sunny's head. 'Can... can it be?' In front of him, stricken by the harrowing rot, was... a severed arm of a deity. ...It was also the reason why fate had brought him to this lost and forgotten corner of the abyss. ReadNovelFull.me?
448	Chapter 448 Golden Needle Sunny stared at the severed arm of an unknown deity, then at the harrowing, profane rot spreading from it. Then, he tiredly rubbed his face. '...Why can't anything ever be easy?' He was sure that his fate was somehow connected to that arm, which meant that he was going to have to get to it somehow. But Sunny was also sure that there weren't enough rewards in all of the universe to make him go anywhere near that rot, let alone touch something infected by it. He had the feeling that this thing was way, way out of his league. In fact, he suspected that a divine being had ruthlessly severed their own arm because even someone as powerful as that had no means to resist that spreading corruption. What was Sunny supposed to do, then? Well… Trying to remain as far from the rot as possible, he studied it for a while before coming to a strange conclusion… or rather, a strange question. If the corruption was so terrible, then why had it not spread through the entire tower? Why had it only managed to crawl a few meters out of the silver brazier, turning a small portion of the second level of the paG.o.da into its flesh? ReadNovelFull.me 'Scratch that. Why didn't the whole island become one giant chunk of rotten black... whatever the h.e.l.l that thing is?' The answer was not hard to guess. It was because the rot, just like everything else inside the tower, had been sealed away from time for thousands of years. And now that Sunny had broken that seal… His frown deepened as he glanced at the silver hearth that was overgrown and had become a part of the spreading rot. Now, there were only two possibilities. Time was going to catch up to the devouring corruption, and it was either going to slowly consume everything… or starve and die. Could that thing last for thousands of years with nothing to feed on except for cold stone? Did it need to feed on flesh and souls, or would anything do? '...I guess I am going to find out.' Keeping an eye on the patch of harrowing rot, Sunny tried to suppress his fear and took a step forward. It didn't seem like the rot was spreading. At least not yet. In any case, he wasn't going to get closer to it. But he also knew that if the worst happened, he had no tool at his disposal that would save him. If that thing began to grow, slowly spreading across the whole of the Obsidian Tower, and then across the whole island, Sunny was simply going to die. Probably jump down into nothingness to avoid becoming a part of that... thing. There was nowhere else to retreat to in the Sky Below, after all. And he doubted that he would be able to find a second secret island out there in the void... So, his only hope was to find something inside the paG.o.da to save him. He had to explore further… Plus, there was a possibility that the rot would swiftly wither and die. Not that Sunny would bet on it. Pressing his back against the cold obsidian, Sunny dismissed Saint and skirted around the outer wall of the great hall until he reached the staircase that led higher, to the third level. There, he summoned the taciturn demon again, hesitated for a bit, and then left one of his shadows to keep an eye on the devouring rot. Feeling irrational panic at the thought of turning his back to the silver brazier, Sunny gritted his teeth, and then cautiously ascended the spiraling stairs. As soon as the terrible thing disappeared from view, he let out a relieved sigh and realized that his entire body was covered in a cold sweat. Raising a trembling hand, Sunny wiped his face, and then continued to climb higher. Saint being by his side gave him a little confidence, at least. The Shadow seemed absolutely unperturbed by the horrific visage they had left behind. '...I bet fear can't even fit into that stone head of hers. Do Shadows have the ability to be afraid?' He didn't know whether or not Saint could feel fear, but the gloomy shadow certainly could. In fact, behind its haughty exterior, it was rather cowardly. He was sure that the b.a.s.t.a.r.d would have been trembling all over if not for the fact that it was currently wrapped around his body. Trying to distract himself with these thoughts, Sunny entered the third level of the Obsidian Tower… and froze, dumbfounded by what he saw there. 'I… I see. Wait, no. What the h.e.l.l am I looking at?' The chamber he found himself in was smaller than the previous three halls he had explored — mostly because the paG.o.da narrowed the higher it went, but also because the level was separated into several chambers. And in that chamber in particular, dozens of porcelains arms floated in the air, each at a different level of being disa.s.sembled into tiny parts. It was as though someone had stolen them from the pile of broken dolls in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Obsidian Tower and then brought them here to… to do what, exactly? Sunny stared at the floating garden of disa.s.sembled arms, and then walked closer. He felt as though he was in some bizarre anatomy museum… As it turns out, the porcelain dolls were much more complex than he had thought. In their disa.s.sembled state, their limbs showed how intricate the design was, and how many moving parts went into making each one as functional and articulated as that of a human. The joints, in particular, seemed like a marvel of engineering… not to mention the incredibly delicate weave of the diamond string beneath. Even spelltech automatons could not boast of that level of ingenuity and intricacy. But why were these arms brought here and taken apart? Who had done it? The Prince of the Underworld himself? It didn't look like it… why would he need to study his abandoned creations? It all became clearer when Sunny reached a stone pedestal standing at the far end of the chamber and saw a faint golden light emanating from a small object laying on it. On the surface of the table were numerous parts that had been scavenged from the disa.s.sembled porcelain arms, several skeins of beautiful diamond string… and a long, narrow needle. It was the needle that gave off a faint, weak radiance. Sunny looked at the needle, then glanced at the floating porcelain arms, noting for the first time that each was missing a part or two. Finally, different pieces of information connected in his mind, and he felt that he understood something about what had transpired in the Obsidian Tower. Sometime after the Prince of the Underworld had left this hidden island — perhaps years, or perhaps thousands of years — an uninvited guest had snuck into the black paG.o.da like a thief, somehow getting past the closed gates without ever opening them or disturbing the seal that had been preserving this place from being ravaged by time. That thief was a divine creature themselves… and also horribly wounded. One of their arms had been torn open and infected by the spreading rot that no one, not even a deity like them, could expel. That was why the thief had severed their infected arm at the shoulder and tossed it into the divine flame that had been burning in the silver brazier on the second level, and then went down to the bas.e.m.e.nt to collect limbs from the broken porcelain dolls. It was that deity that had circled the pile of them and left the footprints in the dust for Sunny to notice. In the end, the thief ascended to the third floor and fashioned a new arm for themselves from the parts of the Prince's discarded mannequins… and then sewn it onto their body with the diamond strings threaded through a sharp needle. …That was the needle Sunny was currently staring at, and the divine light on it was emanated by the remnant traces of the thief's blood still left on its surface. But who was the thief? And why was Sunny connected to their severed arm by a golden String of Fate? Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then reached for the needle… but suddenly froze. The shadow left behind to monitor the harrowing rot had noticed something. The black, ulcerous flesh… was changing. ReadNovelFull.me?
449	Chapter 449 Thousand Years of Hunger 'Here we go…' Sunny faced the stairwell and stood motionless, looking at the black rot through his trembling shadow. Sensing something, Saint turned around, too. The tip of her sword hesitantly rose into the air. The next few moments were going to decide whether he was going to live or die... or maybe be condemned to a fate much worse than death. One level lower, the harrowing corruption that had been spreading from the severed arm of a deity was moving. The black ulcerous flesh was rising and falling, as if in the throes of… death? Or transformation? Sunny gritted his teeth, waited for a second… And then breathed out with immeasurable relief. 'Dying… it's dying.' It felt as though he had been sentenced to execution, only for a pardon to arrive at the last possible moment, when the rope was already pressing on his neck. Indeed, the terrifying rot was withering. As thousands of years that pa.s.sed since it was locked in the Obsidian Tower caught up with it, the devouring corruption appeared to be dying of starvation. The stone surface a.s.similated into it convulsed and wriggled, as if consumed by pain. The silver brazier was melting. ReadNovelFull.me The growths of the bulbous black flesh were slowly receding, their color turning ashen. The process was slow, but at the edges of the patch of corruption, the rot was already turning into… into wisps of darkness, which then disappeared without a trace. As tension left Sunny's body, he couldn't help but sway a little. 'Good… something has gone my way, at last.' Before, he had been considering his options and finding no possible way to escape from the rot if it was to start spreading. He had considered trying to damage it with Broken Oath, but doubted that anything the Awakened Memory could do would work, considering that even the original owner of the seven-fingered hand resorted to severing their limb completely instead of trying to destroy the spreading corruption. He had also entertained the idea of using the Cruel Sight, which was now infused with divine flame. But something told Sunny that the ma.s.sive brazier where the rot had taken root had once been full of it, too… that was apparent from how charred the severed arm of the transient deity was. If even thousands of years of burning in annihilating divine flame couldn't destroy or stop the black rot, then what hope did he have? In the end, though, the corruption had destroyed itself. Neither divine flame nor an actual deity had been able to damage the black rot, but its hunger — and the relentless nature of time — were. 'Thank G.o.ds…' Sunny inhaled deeply and tiredly closed his eyes. The corruption was slowly dying, pieces of it slowly disappearing, bit after bit. All that was left behind were the damaged stone and the memory of primal horror. He grimaced. 'But also, d.a.m.n the G.o.ds! Why would they allow for such a thing to exist…' Shaking his head, Sunny wiped the sweat off his face, then turned around and walked back to the stone pedestal. Reaching with one hand, he picked up the long, sharp needle and stared at it for some time. The needle seemed to have been made out of polished iron, but due to the traces of divine blood absorbed by it, the cold metal had a.s.sumed a feint golden shine. Sunny looked at it for a long time, trying to understand if this was a mundane item or some mystical artifact. In the end, he had to admit that he had no clue. The needle did not turn into a Memory like Weaver's Mask had. He didn't see any spellweave inside of it, either. However, the needle also didn't feel like a simple object. It was… strange. He thought for a bit, then summoned the Covetous Coffer and carefully placed the needle inside. The skeins of diamond string also went in, easily disappearing into the gluttonous box. 'I will have time to study it later…' With that, Sunny hesitated for a bit, then reluctantly headed back toward the second level of the great paG.o.da. He was going to watch the harrowing rot die, and then try to approach the severed hand of the mysterious deity. \\\* Some time later, Sunny was sitting on the lowest step of the stairs leading to the great hall, staring at the ma.s.sive brazier in its center. What was left of it, to be precise. The devouring corruption took its sweet time dying. Even the hunger of thousands of years could not destroy it so easily, it seemed. The black flesh writhed and pulsated, disappearing little by little. Several times, veins of rot tried to spread outward, clearly sensing the presence of a living being nearby and l.u.s.ting to absorb it… him. But the profane infestation was too weak to overcome the entropic power of starvation. The silver brazier, which had long ago become a part of the horrid corruption, melted and fell apart, then disappeared into wisps of pure darkness. Soon, it was clear that the rot was not long for this world. All that remained from its vile flesh were a few growths infused into the severed arm itself. Staring at the disintegrating rot, Sunny felt both deep, primal terror and a strange compulsion to try and damage it a little in hopes of being credited for the kill by the Spell. Who knew what reward he would receive? But in the end, Sunny remained still. Firstly, because he wasn't even sure that the corruption would be acknowledged by the Spell as a creature. He didn't really know if that thing was… alive, for the lack of a better word. If it was an ent.i.ty, a process, or a manifestation of some profane law that he didn't know of. Secondly, because he was absolutely unwilling to approach the rot, even now that it was dying. He wasn't even willing to let his Memories get anywhere near it. The Memories were connected to his soul, after all. Who knew if that thing was capable of spreading to a Memory, and then to his very soul through the invisible link? So, Sunny simply sat silently and waited. After a while, the corruption finally died. The charred flesh of the severed arm became ashen, crumbled into dust, and finally disappeared in wisps of deep, impenetrable darkness. All that remained was the empty hall, the patch of mangled obsidian in its center… a single piece of pristine alabaster bone shining with blinding gold radiance. A sole phalanx of a finger. Sunny waited for a few minutes, gathering his courage, then sighed and stood up. He glanced at the small bone, scowled, and walked toward it. …It was time to see what fate had in store for him. ReadNovelFull.me?
450	Chapter 450 Alabaster Phalanx Sunny stepped into the patch of mangled obsidian and slowly approached the alabaster phalanx, then kneeled beside it and lingered, studying its golden shine. He was trying to determine if any sign of the harrowing rot remained, but also felt pulled toward the radiant bone and found it hard to look away. 'All of this insanity, just for that little piece of bone. What secrets does it hold?' He hesitated for a moment, then reached down and picked up the phalanx. Sunny had instinctively expected it to crumble into a torrent of white sparks and hear the Spell proclaim that he had acquired a new Memory, just like what had happened with Weaver's Mask… that Memory being, perhaps, another Drop of Ichor. But nothing of the sort happened. The bone felt cold and smooth to the touch. There was still marrow inside, wet and infused with bright golden radiance. Sunny tilted his head, stumped. What was he supposed to do now? In hindsight, the fact that the phalanx was not going to turn into a Memory was rather sensible… obvious, even. After all, Memories were simply copies of real items recreated by the Spell, just like Echoes were copies of actual creatures — or items conjured by it from scratch following some unknown principle. This, however… this was the real deal. ReadNovelFull.me The alabaster bone had nothing to do with the Spell. It wasn't a recreation, it was… the original. Sunny frowned, feeling unsure about how he was supposed to proceed. Then, a certain scene suddenly appeared in his mind. Back in the ruined cathedral of the Dark City, Saint stood above the rusted remains of the Black Knight, holding a black gem in her hand. With a hint of some dark emotion burning in her ruby eyes, she raised the gem to her mouth, and bit into it. Before he could fully process the implications of this image, Sunny followed a strange instinct. Without allowing himself time to think about it, he opened his mouth, put the phalanx inside… and swallowed it. 'What?!' He blinked a couple of times. 'What did I just do?!' Sunny stared at his empty hand, in which a divine bone had been just a few seconds ago, with wide eyes. And then… it was as though a furious fire ignited in his chest. 'c.r.a.p!' \\\* Sunny tumbled to the floor, feeling a harrowing pain permeate his entire being. It was the unbearable agony he knew and remembered all too well… the feeling of his very nature being forcibly changed into something that it was never meant to be. That nothing was ever meant to be… Or maybe simply not allowed to. It was the opposite of the euphoric sense of rebirth the Awakened experienced after completing the First Nightmare or returning from the Dream Realm for the first time... the feeling of your whole body being torn apart and rea.s.sembled, only to be torn apart once more. "Argh! Here… here we go again!" The torturous suffering he was experiencing was very similar to what he had gone through after consuming the drop of Weaver's blood. Back then, it had felt as though every muscle, every fiber, every molecule in his body were destroyed and recreated over and over again, becoming slightly different with each time. The agony had been especially excruciating when it came to his eyes, which had felt as though two white-hot rods were inserted into them… This time was different. The pain was concentrated in his spine, in his bones, in the marrow permeating them. His fingers in particular felt as though there was molten, incandescent, liquid metal flowing through them. Sunny shrieked. "d.a.m.n it! G.o.d d.a.m.n it! d.a.m.n it all!" It hurt so much… However, the torture did not last as long as it had back in the branches of the Soul Devouring Tree. After a few more minutes of it, Sunny felt the Blood Weave suddenly come alive and rush through his veins, absorbing the harrowing heat and then carrying it to every cell of his body. Slowly but surely, the pain lessened. But the process of transformation continued. Sunny sprawled on the floor, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He could feel himself changing… it was a strange and extremely unpleasant sensation, one suffused with a feeling of profound wrongness, but not as devastatingly excruciating as it had been just a few seconds ago. "h.e.l.l, that was... rough." His voice was hoa.r.s.e and creaky. Sunny glanced to the side and noticed Saint, who was standing silently above him and looking away with cold indifference. 'Such heartlessness! No sympathy at all…' At least the happy shadow seemed very concerned about him… or itself. It was pacing nervously, turning to Sunny from time to time and timidly offering its encouragement. The gloomy shadow was currently wrapped around his body, so it couldn't offer any feedback. He had no doubt that it would have just mocked him, anyway. 'That jolly guy is… really irritating! I would rather be mocked, curse it all!' Gritting his teeth, Sunny closed his eyes and endured the unpleasant feeling of his body being demolished and reconstructed as best as he could. After a long while — which felt like an eternity — it was all finally over. A deep feeling of relief spread through Sunny's body. It felt… more solid, somehow. Strong, firm… Resilient. 'Just what have I…' The voice of the Spell suddenly thundered in the solemn dark hall, interrupting his thoughts. Was he imagining it, or had there been a note of dark excitement in it? It said: [One of your Attributes has evolved.] [You have acquired a new Attribute.] 'You don't say!' Sunny struggled to sit up, and then hurriedly summoned the runes. 'What… what have I done to myself this time?' The runes shimmered in the air in front of him, and Sunny quickly looked at the cl.u.s.ter describing his Attributes. Attributes: [Fated], [Ember of Divinity]... 'Wait… ember?' This was new. He concentrated on the [Ember of Divinity] and studied the string of runes: Attribute Description: [Deep within your soul, an ember of divinity shines, almost ready to erupt into a radiant flame.] 'Huh… so I have an even higher affinity to divinity now. Makes sense…' He had just swallowed a phalanx of an actual deity, after all... Impatient, Sunny turned back to the list of Attributes, where three more remained. The first two he knew all too well… [Child of Shadows], [Blood Weave]. But the third one was new. At the very end of the list, several new runes appeared. Sunny held his breath, and read: Attribute: [Bone Weave]. ReadNovelFull.me?
451	Chapter 451 Bone Weave 'Bone Weave…' Sunny let the sound of it echo in his mind, overwhelmed by a feeling of savage joy. He didn't know what that Attribute gifted him, yet, but was certain that it would be something special. The Blood Weave had saved his life so many times, after all… And after his encounter with the Mordant Mimic, he learned that having strong bones was as important as having tenacious blood. Shifting his gaze away from the runes, he stared at one of his hands, then made a fist. This was the arm that had been shattered by the vile creature, and then slowly healed while he was falling into the Sky Below. Even though Sunny had already been able to use it for the past few days, it used to feel weak, awkward, and slightly damaged. But now, it was as good as new. ...More than that, actually. It was better than ever before. All of his bones felt much more durable and resilient. Stronger. His joints seemed to be slightly more agile, too. His teeth felt as though they could crush stones and cut through metal. The strangest change, however, happened to his fingers. It wasn't very apparent, though. On the surface, it simply felt as though they had grown subtly more sensitive, the tactile feeling of touching things becoming deeper and richer. However, Sunny suspected that the true change was more profound. He just didn't know what it was, exactly. Blood Weave had altered his eyes in a very fundamental way, so Bone Weave had to have a lot of promise. ReadNovelFull.me He ran his fingers across the soft surface of the Puppeteer's Shroud, vividly feeling the silken fabric slide against his skin. '...Neat.' Then, Sunny stretched his limbs, sensing their newfound agility. He was already weirdly limber due to practicing Shadow Dance, which demanded the utmost level of pliability from the pract.i.tioner's body. Now, however, it was even further enhanced. Satisfied, Sunny turned back to the runes and read: Attribute: [Bone Weave]. Attribute Description: [You have inherited a part of Weaver's forbidden lineage. Your bones have been altered and imbued with steadfast temperance…] He tilted his head, stunned by the somewhat expected, but still profoundly fascinating piece of information he just received. 'Weaver's legacy!' So the severed arm had actually belonged to the mysterious Demon of Fate. It was Weaver who had snuck into their sibling's tower while bearing a terrible wound, sliced off their rotting limb, and then fashioned a new one from the parts scavenged from the broken porcelain dolls before sewing it onto their body with diamond strings. It was Weaver's footprints that Sunny had seen in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the great obsidian paG.o.da. He trembled. Even though Sunny had seen many incredible things and lived through many unlikely events, both wondrous and terrifying, he suddenly felt awe. It was as though... as though he was suddenly in the presence of divinity. Demon of Fate had been to this dark island, had walked the same halls that Sunny walked, and breathed the same air. The sharp needle infused with remnant traces of their blood was currently inside his storage Memory, as well as the diamond string they had used to sew a new arm to their body. Unlike the miraculous black mask, the needle was not a Memory, either. It was the actual thing. But most of all… Sunny had swallowed a phalanx bone of the divine being in question. 'Crazy! This is crazy!' He blinked a few times, then suddenly thought: 'Was, uh… was this how Neph felt when she first met Kai, I wonder?' What a random and ridiculous thought… Then, a slight frown appeared on his face. …Why would Weaver secretly come to their younger brother's abandoned workshop? What was the harrowing rot that had been spreading from their wound, and what manner of creature could have wounded them so terribly? What could even damage a deity? Sunny had so many questions… Luckily, the description of the Bone Weave was not over. Several strings of runes still remained. He concentrated and read: [...When children of the -unknown- rebelled against the G.o.ds, Weaver was the only one to refuse the call of war. Despised and hunted by both sides, they disappeared. No one knew where Weaver went and what they did… until it was too late.] Sunny shivered. A few things became more clear from this short description. Firstly, it cemented his suspicion that, at some point in time, the seven daemons — children of the mysterious -unknown-, who were also strangely described as having created themselves — had waged war against the G.o.ds. Or, rather, six of them… since Weaver apparently decided to not join either side in this conflict. Secondly, Weaver's reluctance to partic.i.p.ate in the war had landed them in big trouble with both the G.o.ds and the other daemons… unsurprisingly. One side would have seen the Demon of Fate as one of the enemies simply by virtue of them being a daemon, while the other would have seen them as a traitor... for that same reason. That could potentially explain how Weaver ended up being ghastly wounded, and why they had to sneak into the Obsidian Tower in secret. These two pieces of information were extremely fascinating, but it was the third one that gave Sunny pause. 'No one knew what Weaver did… until it was too late.' That sounded so ominous. That made it seem as though Weaver alone had turned out to be more terrible than both the six daemons and the six G.o.ds combined, in the end. What exactly had Weaver done? Sunny really wanted to know the answer to this question, and not only out of idle curiosity. He was carrying two parts of Weaver's lineage inside of him now, after all. …The lineage that was described as being forbidden. Was the reason for that connected to what Weaver had done? Just as always, the answers Sunny had received brought him a swarm of new questions. 'Curses!' With a sigh, he dismissed the runes and stood up. There was no sense in pondering about that now, not without finding more information, both about the daemons and the G.o.ds. After all that had transpired, he was incredibly tired and hungry. …But mostly hungry. With a resentful sigh, Sunny gave Saint a sign to follow and headed back toward the first level. ReadNovelFull.me?
452	Chapter 452 Above and Beyond Several days later, Sunny was sitting on a piece of broken furniture in the central hall of the first level of the Obsidian Tower. The Covetous Coffer stood near him, its lid open and its sharp teeth revealed. He was holding the Cruel Sight in his hand. The silver blade of the somber spear was incandescent with white radiance, infused with divine flame. …Sunny was currently using said divine flame to roast a piece of repulsive, slightly rotten black meat. That was the last piece of mimic's flesh he had stored inside the Coffer before taking a plunge into the ocean of merciless stars. Saint was also nearby, staring into the distance with her usual cold indifference. He glanced at her, then sighed. "Sorry that I haven't fed you in a while." The Shadow did not react to his words in any sort of way. Sunny continued to talk, though, unbothered by the taciturn demon's apparent lack of interest. "Hey, that's not true! It is not my fault. Blame my incredible luck, instead. What can I do, the Memories I find are just too incredible. How can I let you eat them… I can't..." ReadNovelFull.me He grinned, then threw a dubious look at the sizzling black meat, and sighed. "I guess it's done…" Dismissing the Cruel Sight, Sunny brought the meat to his mouth and took a bite out of it. As he chewed, an absolutely miserable expression appeared on his face. "...Ah, that's the stuff. I tell you, Saint, this meat absolutely delicious. I pity you, really, for being unable to taste this divine… oh d.a.m.n it, how can anything be so vile!... this divine dish. It's the best devil steak you can possibly eat in a lifetime. Just a single bite… can really… change your life…" 'For the worst!' At least chewing the d.a.m.ned thing was much easier now. Before the acquisition of Bone Weave, eating mimic's meat felt like gnawing on an old leather boot. It felt pretty much the same now, but Sunny's teeth were different. They were able to slice and cut through the tough meat of the devil with ease. Plus, it wasn't raw. That was already a reason to celebrate. Feeling his eyes tearing up from disgust, Sunny glanced at Saint and forced the smile to remain on his face. "I see you are left speechless by my culinary skill. Fair, fair…" However, in the next moment, a voice suddenly resounded in the darkness of the Obsidian Tower: "...You actually survived!" Sunny choked on a piece of the vile meat. For a second, he thought that his loyal Shadow had only been pretending to be mute all this time, instead simply choosing not to speak to him… But no, he recognized the voice. Sadly, it wasn't Saint... It was Mordret. The Prince of Nothing was back. 'Thank G.o.ds!' Sunny had been burdened by being all alone on the dark island much more than he was willing to admit. Even though he didn't trust the mysterious voice, he felt relieved to hear it. Swallowing the meat, he took a sip from the Endless Spring, then looked around the hall and said: "As you can see. Although, being the honest to a fault young man that I am, I have to admit that it wasn't easy… or pleasant. In fact, I can hardly believe that I survived myself." He glanced at his body, which was still in a rather sorry state. His burns were healing, but much slower than they would have usually healed. Even though the divine flame had not touched him directly, just the heat radiated by it was enough to leave long-lasting traces that even Blood Weave wasn't able to remove fast. Mordret remained silent before speaking again, as he usually did. When his voice appeared, it was full of genuine surprise: "You really found the rift in the ocean of flames?" Sunny shrugged. "As it turned out, I was more or less falling toward it the whole time. But even then, I almost burned to death trying to reach it. My most powerful Memories were heavily damaged, and I only survived thanks to a bit of luck." Which was technically true, although not nearly all of the truth. The mysterious prince hesitated, then asked: "...Where are you now?" Sunny tilted his head. 'How much of my surroundings can he perceive, I wonder?' The first thing that Mordret had ever said to him was ask why it was so dark, so he probably could see something, at least. "Can't you see where I am?" The voice answered, most likely honestly: "I can see a big hall filled with ancient, broken things. That doesn't tell me a lot, though." 'Makes sense…' Sunny nodded, feeling the pressure of the Flaw building up in his soul, demanding for him to deliver an answer. He gestured at the interior of the Obsidian Tower. "Well… beyond the false stars, the void continues for who knows how much further down. But some distance from the flames, there is actually a single island floating in the emptiness. There is a magnificent black paG.o.da on that island, which looks like the exact copy of the Ivory Tower. That is where I am right now, inside that paG.o.da." Then, Sunny scratched the back of his head, and added: "But anyway, how come I can still hear you? Haven't you told me that your voice would not reach beyond the stars?" Mordret sighed. "That was what I thought. Luckily, I seem to have been wrong." After a short pause, he said in a strange tone: "The Ebony Tower… so it does exist." Sunny blinked. 'I guess it's one way to call it?' Then, however, a complicated expression appeared on his face: "Wait... you knew about it?" The mysterious prince remained silent for a bit, then answered: "That is what I had been trying to find before… before I couldn't search anymore. There were some hints that a duplicate of the Ivory Tower exists somewhere in the Sky Below. I hoped to reach it." Sunny chose his next words cautiously: "Oh, really? What else do you know about that place?" Mordret thought for a few moments, then answered wistfully: "It is said that a very powerful being came to this shattered land after it had been destroyed by the Lord of Light. Back then, the Sky Below was not as boundless, and there were much more fragments of divine flame still burning in its empty darkness. That being… wanted to harvest those flames." Suddenly, a lot of small details about the dark island and the Obsidian Tower became much clearer. Sunny already had suspicions about the true purpose of this place, but now, they were confirmed. The ruined machines outside the paG.o.da, the blackened worktable, the ma.s.sive gla.s.s vessels covered with soot from the inside, the silver brazier… The Prince of the Underworld had not truly lived in the magnificent paG.o.da. It was not his home, just a station he had built in the ocean of flame — which had been much larger back then — to harvest some of the divine fire. Why he had need of it, Sunny did not know. But he suspected that the prideful demon had either succeeded in his purpose or failed, and that was why he eventually left and sealed the Obsidian Tower, which then stood abandoned for thousands of years. …And at some point during that time, another child of the -unknown- had come here for a short while, although their purpose was very different. This revelation came and went. There was a question burning in his mind that had nothing to do with such distant past, instead. It was much more pressing. Sunny swallowed another piece of meat and asked casually: "Harvest divine flames? Very interesting. Was that why you wanted to come here, too?" Or had Mordret been after something else? …Was after something else? The lost prince laughed. "No, not really. In fact, I wasn't that interested in the Obsidian Tower itself, to begin with." Sunny frowned: "Why did you want to find it if you weren't interested in it?" Mordret sighed. After a long pause, he answered, his voice dark and full of suppressed emotion: "What I was interested in was not the copy, but the original. The Ivory Tower. The two are supposed to be connected somehow. If one finds that connection… they might just be able to reach past the Crushing and step foot on the heavenly isle…" ReadNovelFull.me?
453	Chapter 453 Shrine of Stars Sunny remained silent for a while, thinking feverishly. A bridge between the two towers… That was his chance to escape this dismal place and return to the real world! ...The problem was, he had no clue what this connection Mordret had told him about was. However, he had an idea. In the past several days, Sunny had explored the rest of the Obsidian… of the Ebony Tower. He had made a couple of fascinating discoveries, but most of it was now full of nothing except dust and rubble. Pretty much everything inside the paG.o.da disintegrated due to the onslaught of time after he had opened its gates. The most promising and mysterious of his finds, though, was situated on the last level of the tower, in a small circular hall that housed nothing except for a graceful stone arch, which stood lonesomely in its center and looked like a misplaced, empty doorframe. The most intriguing part about the arch was that it was surrounded by a circle of runes… almost like the Gateway in the Crimson Spire had been. In fact, that was what Sunny a.s.sumed it to be — an inactive Gateway. For that reason, he had spent these days trying to find a way to activate it. He had poured shadow essence into the arch itself, as well as every corner of the hall. He had studied the unfamiliar runes, hoping to either find a way to translate them or maybe discover a place where they had been damaged, thus rendering the arch useless. But nothing had worked… yet. ReadNovelFull.me The information provided by Mordret instantly changed his perception of the arch, though. If what the lost prince had told him was true, then maybe it wasn't a Gateway to the real world. Maybe it was an entrance to the magical bridge connecting the Ebony Tower to its Ivory counterpart. Still... how was he supposed to make the d.a.m.n thing work? With a deep scowl appeared on his face, Sunny asked: "If this place is really connected to the Ivory Tower… then how would one go about using that connection? Do you have any ideas? There is something that looks like a portal here, but it doesn't work. I tried to open it a hundred times, to no avail." Mordret thought for a bit, then said uncertainly: "Have you tried saturating it with essence?" Sunny grimaced. "Of course! What am I, a fool? That was the first thing I attempted." He hesitate for a few moments, then voiced something that had been keeping him worried for a while: "Maybe… maybe it requires some sort of a key to be opened?" The voice remained silent for a long time. Then, Mordret said: "No, I don't think so." Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?" The lost prince answered casually: "Because only doors that can be kicked open require locks and keys. The master of this place wasn't someone who needed such things to keep uninvited guests away." 'Huh… makes sense, I guess. He seems to know a lot about the Prince of the Underworld, though. I thought knowledge of daemons was really scarce…' Sunny sighed. "So, how do I activate the connection then?" Mordret considered the question for a second or two, the said with a hint of doubt in his voice: "The creator of the Ebony Tower was a builder of things. A genius artifex, but also of practical sort… from what little knowledge of him remains. He would have probably used whatever was at hand, and went for the simplest solution. Builders don't like overcomplicated things, after all." Sunny considered his words. 'The simplest solution…' A seed of an idea appeared in his mind. With a thoughtful expression, he took another bite out of the piece of meat and chewed it thoroughly. The lost prince politely remained silent while Sunny ate. After a while, however, he suddenly spoke: "Oh, by the way. I don't want to worry you, Sunless… but there seems to be a powerful Nightmare Creature standing right behind you…" Sunny almost choked again. If not for the fact that he was looking both forward and back at the same time with the help of the shadows, he would have jumped and summoned the Cruel Sight immediately. But he knew that there was no one behind him. Except for Saint… He swallowed the foul meat, then smiled weekly. "Curses, you almost gave me a heart attack! That's... that's not a Nightmare Creature. Can't you differentiate a real demon from an Echo?" Mordret remained silent for a bit, then said with amus.e.m.e.nt: "She is your Echo? Fascinating…" Sunny frowned: "What's so fascinating about it?" However, there was no answer. The mysterious prince was gone once again, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared. Usually, Sunny was irritated by this annoying habit of his, but this time... …This time, he was glad. Sunny couldn't wait to go back to the sixth level, but didn't want Mordret to see what he had found on the level before. He still didn't trust the lost prince… even though Mordret had been nothing but helpful up until now. Extremely so, in fact. Sunny didn't know if he would have even been alive without his guidance. 'Later… if I manage to return to the Sanctuary in one piece, I'll start trusting him then. A little. Maybe…' Finishing up his meal — the last he was going to have in a while — Sunny stood up, stretched, and headed toward the stairs. \\\* After he had received the Bone Weave and rested, Sunny explored the rest of the third level of the Ebony Tower. However, he had not found anything of note there. He also had not discovered any more traces left behind by Weaver, which disappointed him a great deal. The fourth level, however… was much more interesting. The central hall of it was fashioned into a vast, somber shrine. At the center of it stood an altar cut from a single slab of black onyx, and behind it was an incredibly beautiful statue of a young woman dressed in a flowing tunic, her face obscured by a veil. The young woman was holding a star in one hand, and a bolt of lightning in the other. …Sunny was pretty sure that she was none other than Storm G.o.d, also known as the G.o.ddess of Black Skies. Deity of the oceans, of the depths, darkness, stars, travel, guidance, and disaster. Which was really interesting. Why would the Prince of the Underworld build a shrine to his sworn enemy at the very heart of the Ebony Tower? Their relationship, it seemed, was not as simple as Sunny had thought. He had been much more interested in the altar itself, though. After finding the shrine, Sunny had tried to place magical coins on the onyx surface, and even spilled a bit of his blood on it. But this time, the G.o.ds had not answered. The coins, too, simply remained laying on the altar instead of turning into shadow essence. It seemed that the altar was not mystical at all. In fact, as far as altars went, this one appeared to be quite mundane. Sunny had quickly lost interest and continued exploring the great paG.o.da. And he had not been disappointed by that decision. Because there was something very, very important on the fifth level of the Ebony Tower… ReadNovelFull.me?
454	Chapter 454 Hope The fifth level of the Ebony Tower had almost killed Sunny. It was completely empty, its black walls drowning in darkness and unadorned. There was no dust, no ruined pieces of furniture, tools, or strange metal devices. Not even lanterns. There were, however, countless runes carved into the walls themselves. And almost all of those runes were of the kind that radiated a sickening, dire sensation that made one feel as though their mind was breaking apart. The same mysterious runes that the Spell used to describe the Unknown, and that Sunny had seen written on the floor by the prisoner of the small cell that was hidden under the ruined cathedral in the Dark City. Back then, looking at them dealt a heavy blow to Sunny, but he persisted and was eventually able to read a single phrase that the prisoner had written, unlike everything else, in a familiar script… Hail Weaver, Demon of Fate. Firstborn of the -unknown-... On the second to last level of the Ebony Tower, however, there were much more of the terrible runes. And most of the seemed far more intense, far more... powerful. When Sunny had first set foot into the dark hall, he yelped and jumped back, then rolled down the spiraling stairs all the way back to the shrine of the Storm G.o.d. …Good thing his bones were now much more hardy. ReadNovelFull.me Eventually, however, he had returned to the hall of runes. Sunny knew that looking at the vile writings could destroy his sanity, maybe even outright kill him, so he had done so with his eyes closed and while leaving the shadows behind, so that they, too, could not see the ancient walls. Even then, he felt a terrible pressure constantly a.s.saulting his mind. He was not going to leave without learning at least something from this chamber of secrets. Where else would he ever be able to study writing left behind by an actual daemon? So, he tried to limit the scope of what he saw and glance at the obsidian walls, one little section at a time. The experience was nothing short of horrid, but at least tolerable. …And only when Sunny summoned Weaver's Mask was he able to look at the portions of the hall without feeling like pa.s.sing out or falling down in a fit of convulsions. The forbidden runes turned less dreadful, but did not give up their secrets. He didn't know their language, after all. The Spell, too, either refused or failed to translate them. His exploration, however, was not for naught. Because, while slowly moving around the dark hall, he discovered something extremely valuable. It was... a map. Or rather, a strange semblance of one. Both the runes and the images const.i.tuting the map were cut into the stone, their lines smooth and deep. Sunny did not know what tool the Prince of the Underworld had wielded to leave these markings behind, but imagined him simply using his nail to cut into the indestructible stone that even divine fire couldn't destroy. At the center of the map, jagged mountains were depicted, shrouded by mist. Directly south of them, an island with a familiar silhouette of a graceful paG.o.da floated above flames. Even further south, separated from the mountains by a vast emptiness, was a mighty castle. Far to the west, a snowy peak stood near a fuming volcano, and nestled between them was an arched bridge. To the south-west, a strange ship floated on ghostly waves. Sout-east of the mountains, divided from them by a long stretch of nothingness, a perfectly symmetrical pyramid was cut into the obsidian wall. And lastly, to the north, further away than any other image, above all of them, was… a familiar shape. A fearsome mask stared at Sunny, crowned with three horns. …Weaver's Mask. The map was strange, however, because the areas she depicted seemed... disconnected, somehow. There were no borders, no terrain, no measure of distance between them. The ideas of north, south, east, and west were only something Sunny had a.s.signed to the map out of habit. Truly, it could have been the exact opposite, or impossible to apply to the logic of the map altogether. But at the same time, it fit with the geography of the Dream Realm as he knew it, somewhat. Each of the images had an inscription near them, written in a runic language that Sunny had trouble understanding. It was similar to the one used by the Spell, but also different enough to make translation either impossible or difficult. But even without reading the inscriptions. he easily guessed what the images meant. The mountains depicted in the center of the map were, of course, the Hollow Mountains. Even if the image itself was only familiar, their closeness to the Ivory Tower cemented that conclusion. The Ivory tower, of course, represented the Chained Isles. The castle to the south had to be Bastion. Although Sunny had never seen it with his own two eyes, he knew its silhouette and appearance from childhood, just like any other human in the real world. Its likeness was the stage for countless dramas, movies, and webtoons, after all. Similarly, he recognized the great stone bridge nestled between a snowy peak and a raging volcano — it was the road to Ravenheart, the great Citadel ruled by clan Song. Knowing the position of Bastion and Ravenheart, it wasn't hard to surmise that the ship sailing on the ghostly waves represented the Stormsea, where the citadel of the third great clan, House of Night, was located. Sunny had no idea what the pyramid to the east represented. The seventh image, however, was rather clear… it meant Weaver. By knowing who it described, he was also able to translate the inscription near the depiction of the mask… It read: "Fate." There was another symbol near it, though, which meant something akin to a question mark, an inquiry. So, actually, it was "Fate?". Basically, even the Prince of the Underworld had no idea where his eldest sibling lived. …And this was what the images were, in Sunny's mind. They represented the seven daemons, or rather, their domains. Which was nothing short of tantalizing in and of itself, but also meant several things. Firstly, that the three great clans had inherited their Citadels from three daemons… or at least built their strongholds in the regions of the Dream Realm where daemons had once dwelt. Secondly, that the Underworld, most likely, was situated beneath the Hollow Mountains. This Death Zone was the very dark and cavernous domain to which the Prince of the Underworld had retreated after his conflict with the G.o.ddes of the Black Skies. And lastly… that the ruler of the beautiful and prosperous land that had invoked the wrath of Sun G.o.d and doomed their kingdom to destruction — and eventual transformation into the Chained Isles — was a daemon, as well. Coincidentally, the inscription cut into the stone near the image of the Ivory Tower was the only one after that of Weaver's that Sunny was able to translate, since the runes closely resembled those usually used by the Spell. It was "Desire". The other meaning of the runes, however, was… hope. The Ivory Tower had once belonged… to the Demon of Hope. ReadNovelFull.me?
455	Chapter 455 Doorway to Heaven That revelation had given Sunny a lot to think about. The Demon of Hope… or Desire. A daemon whose power was most likely tied to souls and mind. What act could such a being have committed to cause Sun G.o.d to destroy their whole domain? And what had happened to that being after? Just as usual, there were no answers. Sunny was slowly learning more and more, though. For now, the pieces of information he had earned were scattered and disconnected. But if he continued to slowly acc.u.mulate knowledge, one day, they were going to start clicking together. And then... what terrible and wondrous truths would he uncover? Enough to make up for a lifetime of lies, perhaps. …Apart from inscriptions dedicated to Weaver and the Ivory Tower, Sunny failed to translate anything else. He had, however, memorized every little detail of the unfamiliar runes describing the Hollow Mountains, Bastion, Ravenhear, a ship sailing on the Stormsea, and the mysterious pyramid to the east. 'I'll have to visit Teacher Julius when I'm back in the real world. He has to know something about this script, right?' Thinking about the map, Sunny entered the rune hall, kept his eyes closed, and walked to the entrance to the stairwell leading to the sixth level of the Ebony Tower. ReadNovelFull.me The last one. When he entered the chamber of the stone arch, he sighed with relief. The pressure emanated by the terrifying runes was finally gone, leaving his mind at ease… the headache caused by them, however, was going to persist for a few more minutes. Sunny sat down, leaned his back against the wall, and stared at the arch while waiting to fully recover. The highest level of the great paG.o.da was not very large, in comparison to the six others. It was just one big hall, circular in shape, and almost completely empty. The only thing inside of it was the arch itself. It was tall and composed of the same material as the rest of the Ebony Tower. In fact, the arch didn't seem to have been built… instead, it was almost as if it had simply grown out of the floor, without any seam separating it from the black stone. It looked like a doorway that someone had put in the middle of the chamber, for some reason, and then forgot to attach a door to it. This was Sunny's only hope of escape. He stared at it for a long time, thinking about how to make the portal work. In the past, he had tried a lot of things to activate the arch, as well as studying the circle of runes surrounding it. But nothing he had done accomplished anything. His recent conversation with Mordred, however, had given Sunny an idea. What had Mordret said? That the Prince of the Underworld was somewhat of a divine smith. A builder of things… but also of the practical sort. That he would have used whatever was at hand, going for the simplest solution. That more or less confirmed what Sunny knew of the prideful daemon already. After all, Saint and her kin had been created by the Prince of the Underworld. In retrospect, Sunny had completely failed to understand the magnitude of that accomplishment. To create a living being from nothing… a whole race of them, really. That did sound like something that only a G.o.d would be able to do, didn't it? The Prince of the Underworld, however, was not a G.o.d. He was a daemon, a lesser deity. Was the creation of Saint and her people his way of showing the true divinities that he was in no way inferior to them? Or was he guided by some different ambition? 'I wonder how the G.o.ds reacted…' Teacher Julius had described daemons as terrible beings that inspired fear because of their unknown origins and strange powers. What happened after one of them had accomplished something that was supposed to be in the purview of only the G.o.ds? Saints description, back when was an Echo, said that she and her kin were designed to bring peace, but were born into an endless war instead... 'Huh.' But regardless, that was not the point. The point was that Saint was made out of stone. Sunny had always thought that it was an integral part of her design, a fundamental aspect of the vision her creator had for the living statues. To make them stronger, perhaps, or harder to destroy. But after witnessing the porcelain dolls and speaking with Mordret, Sunny was not so sure anymore. The broken dolls showed that the material from which to make his creations had not mattered to the Prince of the Underworld too much. 'What was at hand… the simplest solution…' Was Saint made out of stone… simply because there was a lot of stone in the Hollow Mountains for its Prince to use in his experiments? There was nothing but stone there, really. 'That, uh… can't be right, can it?' But somehow, Sunny felt that it was, indeed, right. He glanced at Saint and blinked a couple of times. '...Lazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d!' Sunny shivered, half-expecting to be struck down for thinking about the mighty daemon in such unflattering terms. When nothing happened, he shook his head and returned to his thoughts. There was plenty of stone in the Hollow Mountains, but there was literally nothing around the Ebony Tower. But what about in the past? What had there been a lot of around it back at the time the Prince of the Underworld resided in the Sky Below? What would he have used to power his magical engines? This paG.o.da had been built to harvest divine flames, after all. Feeling the headache finally retreat, Sunny stood up and walked over to the arch. Then, he summoned the Cruel Sight, activated the [Dark Mirror] enchantment, and poured his essence into it, watching the silver blade become infused with incandescent white light. Then, he hesitated for a moment, and lightly pressed the tip of the somber spear against the cold black stone. …Immediately, it was as though the floodgates had been open in his soul. The shadow essence flowed into the Cruel Sight, and through it, the divine flame flowed into the arch. Sunny staggered. In just a few seconds, all of his essence was spent. However... the portal did not open. Something in the hall did change, though. The circle of runes surrounding the obsidian arch began to glow with weak, shimmering light. That light was dim and barely visible, but it was, without a doubt, there. Sunny stared at the runes for a long time, and then, a wide grin appeared on his face. "...Bingo!" ReadNovelFull.me?
456	Chapter 456 Leaving Nothing Behind For the next few days, Sunny's life became rather monotonous. He would meditate while circulating the shadow essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent to enhance the speed of its recovery, pour it into the obsidian arch… and repeat the process. With each cycle, the runes surrounding the portal became brighter and brighter. The portal was slowly coming to life, feeling Sunny with hope so intense that he struggled to contain it. He had no doubt that he would be able to activate the arch. And then… he would go to the Ivory Tower, find a way to descend back to the Chained Isles, somehow, and return to the real word. And by a new refrigerator. 'And stock it with all kinds of food!' Sitting on the stone floor of the highest level of the Ebony Tower, Sunny looked at the Covetous Coffer, which stood nearby, with a resentful expression. He knew full well that there was no meat left there, or any other kind of food. Who knew he would miss the vile flesh of the Mordant Mimic one day? 'I guess one should never say never…' Sunny was close to fully replenishing the shadow essence, so his thoughts began to wander. ReadNovelFull.me Out of boredom, he dove into the Soul Sea, stared at the shadows for some time, then paced around, then summoned some of his Memories and read their descriptions for the hundredth time, then stared at the looming black suns of his Shadow Cores, then paced some more, the summoned a few other Memories. 'Boring… so boring…' After a while, something finally attracted his attention. The runes of Weaver's Mask... had apparently changed a little. Before, there was a [???] in place of the name of its third enchantment. After Sunny had activated that enchantment… almost frying his brain in the process… the name changed, however. He blinked a few times, then looked at the runes again. 'Did I... did I read it right?' But no, there was no mistake. The first two enchantments were just as before, [Mantle of Lies] and [Simple Trick]. The third one, however, now had new runes describing it... Memory Enchantment: [Where is my eye?]. [Where is my eye?] Enchantment Description: "Helps the wielder peer into the tapestry of Fate." Sunny looked at the runes with a deadpan expression for a few moments, and then laughed so hard that it threw him out of the Soul Sea. "Oh… oh G.o.ds… where is my eye! Priceless!" By the time he was done laughing at Weaver's strange naming sensibility, the cycle of restoring the shadow essence was complete. Sunny shook his head, smiled, then stood up and summoned the Cruel Sight. By now, the circle of runes was burning with a furious white radiance, turning the somber black hall into a stark tapestry of darkness and light. It seemed as if the air inside the arch was rippling slightly, hazy from heat. He walked toward the obsidian arch and, without wasting any time, touched it with the tip of the silver spear. Once again, his soul essence was devoured at terrible speed. This time, however, only half of it was consumed. As bright light suddenly hit Sunny in the eyes, he took an involuntary step back and raised a hand to shield them. A cool breeze caressed his face, and he could suddenly smell... bark, gra.s.s, soil. Life. When his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Sunnyslowly lowered his hand and looked at the arch with a bewildered expression. It was as though a rift in reality appeared inside the Ebony Tower. All around the portal, the hall was just as it had been — dark, somber, cut from l.u.s.terless black stone. …Inside the portal, however, was a clear blue sky. Sunlight had suddenly invaded the Ebony Tower after thousands of years spent in utter darkness, and brought with it the sounds of the wind and the rustling of leaves. Sunny could see the skies, but also the ground. A beautiful green meadow continued from where the obsidian floor ended, full of vibrancy and life. A shadow of a tall tree shaded the proximity of the portal, and there was a path of white stone leading from it toward… Some distance away, a pristine white wall rose higher than Sunny could see through the portal. Surrounded but the blue skies, clouds, and vibrant green gra.s.s, it seemed to be the epitome of beauty and tranquility. The whole sight was like a paradise. He swallowed. 'The… the Ivory Tower. Mordret was right!' What's more, judging by how softly the gra.s.s swayed under the wind and how lazily the branches of the tree moved, the heavenly island was really… it was really not affected by the Crushing. In that regard, at least, it was safe. 'Yes!' Suddenly tense, Sunny quickly glanced at the circle of runes. Just as he had expected, it was already growing dimmer. The portal was burning through the meager amount of divine flame Sunny had been able to charge it within these past days, and was going to close soon. "Curses!" Well… it was not as though he had not been prepared to go through the arch as soon as it opened. He had done everything he wanted to do in the Ebony Tower, given the circ.u.mstances. There was not much to be done here, to begin with. Time had destroyed every possible trophy he could have found, and the most valuable treasures — the Bone Weave and the knowledge of the map left behind by the Prince of the Underworld — were already in his possession. Now, he just had to escape alive. Dismissing all of his Memories, Sunny wrapped both shadows around his body… and dashed toward the light. 'Please, please don't be an illusion!' He appeared near the portal, dove inside… and stumbled, falling to his knees. His fingers touched the soft gra.s.s, and, with his tactile sense enhanced by the Bone Weave, Sunny felt every tiny detail of its texture, of the rich soil beneath, of the heat of the sun on his skin. It was all real. It was wonderful! As the portal shimmered and closed behind him, Sunny closed his eyes tightly and let out a short, quiet cry. He had too many emotions boiling in his heart to put them into words. He made it. He escaped from the void. He left nothing behind… \\\* While Sunny was feeling the joy of escaping from the Sky Below, something else happened. Somewhere far away, or maybe close by, there was a room built of cold stone, full of deafening silence. It was dark and empty, arranged in the shape of a heptagon, with seven corners drowning in deep shadows. There were seven mirrors standing at each of the seven walls of the room, pointed at its center. There was nothing there. …However, in each of the seven mirrors, a figure of a young man reflected, sitting on the stone floor with his hands chained behind his back. The young man was still and motionless, almost as if he was just a statue and not a living being. But then, something changed. A few moments after Sunny crossed the portal and appeared on the isle of the Ivory Tower… One corner of the young man's lips curled upward slightly, forming a hint of a smile. Mordret was glad to see Sunny escape, too. ReadNovelFull.me?
457	Chapter 457 Ivory Tower "Saint… come look at this…" Sunny sat on the soft gra.s.s, enjoying the sunlight and the cool wind. He had not even known how much he missed them... missed everything, really. Looking back, it was hard to imagine that he had endured more than a month of utter nothingness without losing his mind. His experiences in the Dark City, it seemed, made him far more resilient. ...The shadow of the Ivory Tower was slowly moving closer as the evening approached, marking the pa.s.sage of time. It was peaceful and quiet on the green meadow of the heavenly island. Answering his call, the taciturn demon appeared nearby and stood silently, observing the magnificent white tower. Her ruby eyes, however, did not show any emotion. He sighed. "...Well, I think it's lovely." The soaring island was not very large, so Sunny could more or less see its edge not too far away, surrounded by floating slates of shattered marble. There was a meadow on this side of it, a grove that rustles under the wind, and a graceful gazebo built of the same white material as the Ivory Tower itself. The stone arch inside of it was also white, and empty. The portal was gone. Some distance away, connected to the gazebo by a stone path, stood the magnificent great paG.o.da that had once belonged to the Demon of Hope. If its copy in the Sky Below was somber and ominous, the original was the complete opposite. It was beautiful, graceful, and slightly surreal, as if too sublime to exist in the mortal realm. …In a sense, it did not. ReadNovelFull.me Something about the Ivory Tower made Sunny uneasy, however. He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but it was as though he simultaneously felt pulled toward it and threatened by it. The sensation did not come from his intuition, but more so from the deepest corners of his soul. It was rather strong. And there was also something strange in the shape of the tower itself. There was a weird thing that went around the base of it, circling the whole perimeter of the great paG.o.da and disappearing from view. That thing was almost of the same color, but slightly less pristine, and made out of long and weathered sections. After looking at it for a while, Sunny finally realized what the thing was. …Bone. Wrapped around the tower was what remained of the tail of some giant, dead creature. He frowned. '...Good thing it's dead. I hope it remains this way.' Sunny sighed, used the Cruel Sight to help himself stand up, and headed toward the edge of the island. Saint followed, putting the blade of the Midnight Shard on her shoulder. Reaching it, he cautiously looked down and saw the disjointed patchwork of the Chained Isles far below. From this high, they looked like pieces of a beautiful mosaic that someone had laid out on the backdrop of velvety darkness, with a scattering of radiant stars shining in between. Sunny gazed down for a while, then picked up a rock from the ground and threw it over the edge. The rock fell for a hundred meters or so without meeting any resistance. Then, however, it suddenly cracked and exploded into shards, which then became dust and were scattered in the wind. '...Curses.' It seemed that the Crushing was still there. It's just that the Ivory Tower itself was not affected by it, as well as the island it stood upon and a small area surrounding it. How was he going to come down? Sunny stood at the edge for some time with a resentful expression on his face, then turned around and walked deeper into the island, circling the Ivory Tower from the left. On the other side of the great paG.o.da was a clear lake, with streams of water flowing out of it and falling over the edge of the island. In the bright sunlight, it seemed as though the entire surface of the lake was shining with pure golden radiance. Sunny looked at his reflection in the water, then at an intricately engraved bench standing near it, cut from white stone. Finally, he walked further on and reached a vantage point from which the gate of the graceful tower could be seen. 'Oh…' The gates looked very similar to those he had opened in the depths of the Sky Below, with the main difference being the color and the absence of soot. …As well as that there were skeletal remains of a giant beast lying in front of them, its serpentine body wrapped around the tower, its ma.s.sive skull resting right near the tall white doors. Each of the terrifying fangs of the great beast was as long as Sunny was tall, at least. Deep darkness nestled in its empty eyes. He shivered. 'Is that… a dragon?' Indeed, it was. Right in front of Sunny were the weathered, snow-white bones of an actual dragon. The image of the mighty creature laying dead in front of the pristine tower was solemn, mysterious, and terrifying. What could have killed such a being? Thinking that he didn't wish to know, Sunny lingered for a while, then headed toward the remains of the dragon. He was desperately hoping that the great beast would not stir and come to life. If that happened… well. It was better to not even think about it. Reaching the white skull of the mighty creature, Sunny hesitated for a bit, then walked between the terrifying fangs and approached the gates. …They were slightly ajar, so he didn't even need to use essence to unlock them. Sunny gathered his courage, raised his hand… and pushed the gates open. Suddenly, he felt a bit sleepy. 'What… what is this?' Shaking his head to chase the sleepiness away, Sunny walked inside the tower and found himself in a great hall, bright light streaming through its tall windows. The air inside, however, was infused with a strange, shimmering darkness. And in its center, there were… Chains. Seven chains sprawled from the pristine white floor, as if growing out of it, each ending in a broken shackle. The shackles were inscribed with a myriad of runes and marred, their metal torn. They were also the source of the strange shimmering, which rose from their surface in ethereal wisps. A chaotic, everchanging ma.s.s of pure darkness pulsated in the very center of the great hall. No, it was not darkness… rather, it seemed like a rift in the fabric of reality, one that could devour even light itself. Sunny tensed, then took a tentative step forward, hoping to see what was hidden behind the darkness. As soon as he did so, however, a familiar voice echoed in the silence of the great hall: "Stop, Sunless! Turn back if you wish to live." ReadNovelFull.me?
458	Chapter 458 Shackles of Hope Sunny froze, then took a careful step back and stared at the walls of the great hall. Mordret's timing, this time around, was impeccable. It was not like Sunny had planned to get too close to the ma.s.s of darkness, but he might have underestimated the danger it presented. To be honest, he felt that he wasn't thinking entirely straight... it was not like he had lost control, but the strange pull he felt outside the tower was much stronger here, exerting a subtle effect on his mind. Sunny tensed and glanced at the pulsating dark rift, then realized that the pull emanated from the shackles that were the source of it. "...Why? What is that thing?" The lost prince remained silent for a few moments, then sighed. "I really can't make sense of you." Sunny blinked. That was not the answer he had expected! ReadNovelFull.me "What? What is that supposed to mean?" Mordret answered with a bit of doubt in his voice. "Nothing, really. It's just that… some things about you suggest a certain background, but then there are as many contradictions. Don't you know what a Seed of Nightmare looks like?" Sunny jumped back, then cautiously looked at the ma.s.s of shimmering darkness again. So… that was a Seed of Nightmare. A vile manifestation of the Spell that grew in the Dream Realm and eventually blossomed, opening a Gate to the real world for the Nightmare Creatures to enter. The thing that Awakened were supposed to seek out and destroy by challenging the Nightmare contained within. No wonder it exerted a pull on him. He scowled, then said with annoyance: "How am I supposed to know what a Seed of Nightmare looks like? I only became an Awakened a few months ago!" Mordret spoke in his usual polite tone: "Have your clan elders not taught you anything?" Sunny opened his eyes wide, a shocked expression appearing on his face. "Clan? What clan?! Do I look like a Legacy to you?!" The lost prince did not answer, letting Sunny boil with outrage in silence. Eventually, he slowly exhaled and asked dejectedly: "Anyway… are you sure that that's what it is?" Mordret lingered for a long time, then said quietly: "I am. I searched for it for a long time, after all." Hearing these words, Sunny frowned. '...What?' "Wait… is that why you were trying to reach the Ivory Tower? To challenge a Nightmare?" He rubbed his face in frustration, trying to find a way to make sense of that statement, then shook his head: "Why the h.e.l.l would you do that? There's no shortage of Seeds of Nightmare everywhere in the Dream Realm, ones that are not hidden behind endless voids and oceans of divine flame!" These things were not so numerous that one stumbled on one every day, but also not so rare to go to this lengths to reach one. What had Mordret been thinking? The lost prince answered after a short pause, his voice slightly amused: "...You are not a Legacy, indeed." Sunny let out a heavy sigh. "Either you are extra obscure today, or I can't understand you for some reason. What do Legacies have to do with any of this?" Mordred thought for a bit, then said: "This Seed of Nightmare… is a very, very special one." 'What is he going on about?' The only thing that differentiated Seeds, in Sunny's mind, was their Category. A Category Two Seed would blossom into a Category Two Gate, and contained a Second Nightmare. If an Awakened challenged it and pa.s.sed the trial, they would become a Master. If a Master challenged a Category Three Seed and survived the Third Nightmare, they would become a Saint. The same thing went for Sovereigns, although there only had been three Fourth Nightmares conquered in all of human history, as far as Sunny knew… and he knew more than most people. How could a Seed be special? As if guessing what he was thinking about, Mordret spoke: "There are a lot of Master, but not all Masters are equal. There are a few dozen Saints, but not all Saints are equal. And similarly, there are numerous Nightmares… but not all Nightmares are equal." Sunny scowled. "How so? Is it easier? More difficult?" The lost prince sighed. "Neither. As far as the difficulty of the trial is concerned, the Spell is always fair… in its own perverse way. However, that doesn't mean that the outcome is always the same. What enemies you vanquish determine what Memories and Echoes you receive. What battles you fight determines what experience you will bring back." Sunny thought back on his own a.r.s.enal of Memories, and had to admit that the more unique Nightmare Creatures he had thought, the greater the reward was. In that sense, challenging a… "unique" Nightmare would certainly pose more risk, but also promise a greater boon. Add the existence of the Lineage Memories into the equation… A deep frown appeared on his face. Mordret, however, was not done talking. "...But more than that, the nature of the Nightmare you challenge determines what knowledge you will receive, and what secret you will be able to glean. As a researcher, you should know that the lessons humans can learn from the decrepit ruins in the Dream Realm are not that profound. Where do you think most of our knowledge comes from? It comes from the stories people bring back from their Nightmares, of course." That… made sense. There were actual natives of the Dream Realm out and about in the Nightmares, after all. Like Auro of the Nine. Even if he was really just an illusion, an illusion created by the Spell was no simple thing. Most of the knowledge Sunny possessed was built on the foundation of what he had learned from the n.o.ble swordsman and Scholar. How much more would he know if he had gone into the Nightmare with the intention to not only survive, but also learn? Sunny glanced at the dark Seed. It had grown in the tower that had once belonged to one of the seven daemons. What mysteries would such a Nightmare reveal? Mordret gave him time to think, then said in an even tone: "For that reason, Legacy clans — not all of them, but the truly powerful ones — select the Nightmares for their members to challenge very carefully." Sunny lingered for a bit, then raised an eyebrow: "...What crazy clan chose that cursed Seed for you to try and find, then?" The lost prince laughed. "Oh, no! No one had wished for me to seek it. It was my decision alone. In fact, I suspect that only two people in both the waking world and this one know about its existence. Me… and now you." He chuckled again, and then added: "But that is what makes it so special, as well. None of them could have learned of its existence, reached it, and taken its rewards as their own." After that, Mordret suddenly grew silent. He remained that way for a while, and then added quietly: "Well… it's not like I managed to do it, too." He sighed, lingered for a few moments, and then added in a wistful tone: "Can you imagine what secrets that Seed hides? What one would learn from that Nightmare? A Nightmare... a Nightmare that was created from the chains with which Hope herself had been bound…" ReadNovelFull.me?
459	Chapter 459 Seed of Nightmare 'Hope… herself…' Sunny stared at the seven chains, finding new meaning in their cruel visage and the misshapen, torn remnants of the seven rune-inscribed shackles. So the Sun G.o.d's ire had not been quelled by just destroying her kingdom. He had gone a step further, binding the Demon of Hope at the heart of her decimated domain… for how long? And how had she escaped, in the end? He tilted his head. "So the Demon of Hope was chained here?" Mordret answered with a hint of surprise in his voice: "...You know of the daemons?" A crooked smile appeared on Sunny's face. ReadNovelFull.me "I do... a bit. Why wouldn't I? Although truth be told, there's not a lot of information about them, even among the Dream Realm researchers. So… the ruler that you had told me about was one of the daemons? A lesser deity?" Mordret kept silent for a bit, then said dejectedly: "Yes. I am not sure that those two words really go together, though. I also don't know what Hope had done to earn the wrath of the Lord of Light. However, I do know that these seven chains are what holding is the Chained Isles from falling into the Sky Below." Sunny raised his eyebrows. "What?" The lost prince sighed. "People think that there are numerous heavenly chains connecting all the island, but in fact, there are only seven, and you are looking at their roots... or rather, there were only seven. Each of them had to be broken for the Ivory Tower to become untethered, of course. So, now the islands are linked by the fragments of the original seven chains, many of them severed from each other. That is why they are slowly crumbling, one after another." Sunny thought for a bit, trying to correct the way he used to think about the Chained Isles. The new information was interesting, but not very useful… Shaking his head, he turned back to the Seed of Nightmare. "So… what is the category of that thing? I guess it contains a Second Nightmare, since you wanted to challenge it?" Mordret answered succinctly: "Correct." '...That's one way I can get out of the Dream Realm, then… but am I suicidal enough to go into the Second Nightmare alone? Whole cohorts of experienced Awakened routinely perish in their attempts to become Masters. What would my chances of survival be with no one to cover my back?' Just as Master jet had said, no one survived in the Dream Realm alone. She probably knew from experience. He scowled. "Wait… will this Seed create a Gate in the real world if it's not destroyed?" When Mordret answered, his voice was almost indifferent. "Indeed. But not for a long time… maybe in a few years, or a decade. It has not matured enough to be able to bloom, yet." Sunny hesitated. "But it can be challenged, right?" The lost prince did not answer for a while, but then finally said: "Yes. A Seed can be challenged before it blooms, as well as after. If the Seed is not found in time and a Gate opens, challengers can fight their way through and enter the Nightmare directly. The Gate also disrupts the anchors of those near it, so Masters and Saints that enter the Dream Realm will appear in the vicinity of the blooming Seed. After that, they can lead Awakened to it." He paused, then added: "In fact, most of the Seeds are not found in time, because the Dream Realm is vast and only partially explored. That's why the Nightmare Creatures are entering our world so often. Challenging a Seed before it blooms is much better. In this case, however… I would advise against it." Sunny turned away from the ma.s.s of shimmering darkness, then asked in an even tone: "Yeah? Why?" Mordred let out a heavy sigh. "Conquering a Second Nightmare alone is not impossible, but attempting it is tantamount to gambling your life away. The chances of returning alive are very slim. That is why Awakened challenge them as members of cohesive, experienced cohorts. Even then, many don't survive… most, even. But this Nightmare is actually far worse. Entering it is a guaranteed death sentence, regardless of how many challengers there are. Unless…" Sunny kept his ears open, suddenly very attentive. "Unless what?" The lost prince remained silent for a short moment, then said: "There is a black altar in the place you call Night Temple. On it lies an ivory knife. Only those who have shed blood on the altar and received the Memory of the knife have a chance to survive the trial that hides within this Seed." Sunny blinked a couple of times. 'Wait… that sounds very familiar!' He thought for a few seconds, then asked: "Would the obsidian knife from the white altar of the Sanctuary of Noctis work?" Mordret laughed. "Sure. Having both would be even better, incredibly so. However, I don't know the method to receive the Memory of the obsidian knife. The ritual seems to be different from the one required for the altar in the Night Temple, and I have never figured it out." 'You didn't… but I might have.' The image of the Covetous Coffer appeared in Sunny's mind, full of golden coins. There were almost fifteen hundred of them inside. Would that be enough to allow him to lift the obsidian knife off the altar? He had a feeling that it would. "What do these knives actually do, though? And how the h.e.l.l do you know all this?" However, there was no response. Mordret was once again gone. Sunny was left alone in the beautiful hall of the ivory paG.o.da, staring at its white walls and the darkness that had taken root between them. The Seed of Nightmare was calling to him, demanding to be challenged… and destroyed. Or maybe simply to be fed a delicious human soul. 'Crazy. This is crazy…' Challenging a Second Nightmare alone was very similar to throwing his life away, and that was even without the particular piece of information that Mordret had given him — that no one would be able to survive this very special Nightmare without a Memory of one of the two altar knives, or better yet, in possession of both. The question was… what was worse? Challenging the Nightmare, or attempting to survive the Crushing? ReadNovelFull.me?
460	Chapter 460 Fight or Flight Sunny remained in the Hall of Chains for a while, looking at the Seed of Nightmare and the shimmering darkness that suffused it. Then, he walked outside. Full of thought, Sunny pa.s.sed between the jaws of the dead dragon and slowly headed toward the lake. There, he sat on the stone bench and stared at the water with a dark expression on his face. The wind lightly caressed his face and his pale skin, soothing the few remaining burns that he had received in the Sky Below. Saint stood silently by his side, her graceful onyx figure reflecting in the clear waters of the lake. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips. '...I am almost home.' More than a month ago, he had ventured on an expedition to explore the Shipwreck Island and search for clues about the whereabouts of the treasure left behind by mysterious Noctis. He had only planned to be gone for a week. He had found the treasure, but also fought and defeated two devils: one Fallen, and one Ascended, receiving two powerful Memories in the process. After that, he gazed at the tapestry of Fate through the eyes of a divine mask, and plunged into an endless abyss. He spent several weeks plummeting through a sea of nothingness, only to be met by an ocean of flames in its depths. On the other side of the fire was a black tower built by an ancient demon, and in it was a severed hand of a deity, consumed by a terrible rot. There, Sunny swallowed a phalanx bone of Weaver, and received the second part of their lineage. After that, he used divine flames to open a portal between the dark void and the sunlit heavens, and found the seven chains that a G.o.d had once used to bind Desire, the daemon of Hope. ReadNovelFull.me And somewhere along the way, he met a lost soul who called himself Mordred, the Prince of Nothing… a disembodied voice that came out of nowhere, and helped him along the way. Now, Sunny just had to do one last thing… either plunge into a deadly Nightmare, or off the edge of the Ivory Island, to be met with the obliterating fury of the Crushing. With a heavy sigh, he turned around and stared at the white bones of the great beast that had wrapped its mighty body around the base of Hope's beautiful tower once, thousands of years ago, before succ.u.mbing to death. "...Let's get this show on the road, I guess." \\\* Some time later, Sunny was leaning on the wall of the Ivory Tower. He was in a tight spot between the tail of the dead dragon and the white surface of the great paG.o.da, with Saint standing near him, her weapons dismissed. With a crooked smile, Sunny wrapped the two shadows around his body and circulated shadow essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent, preparing for what was about to come. Then, he looked at the taciturn stone demon and raised his eyebrows. "What are you waiting for? Push!" Saint gave him an indifferent look, then took a step forward, placed her hand on the surface of the ma.s.sive bone in front of her, and pushed with all her demonic strength. Her feet sunk into the soil by a few centimeters, but the ancient bone did not move. …Until Sunny joined his Shadow, that was. Pressing his shoulder against the adamantine white surface, he poured shadow essence into his muscles, and pushed, too. Although it felt as though the strain was going to kill him, the bone finally gave. One of the ma.s.sive vertebrae comprising the dead dragon's tail rolled over, separating from the rest. "Come on! Keep at it!" …Of course, Sunny was not going to challenge a Second Nightmare alone. What was he, crazy? Well, maybe he was a little. But being suicidal was not a part of his very mild, borderline charming craziness. Instead, he was going to throw a piece of the dead dragon's tail off the edge of the Ivory Island and ride it all the way down to the ground, hoping that it would survive the onslaught of the Crushing. If a dragon couldn't, then what could? "Put your back into it!" Saint didn't really need his encouragement… or advice… so Sunny was mostly shouting for his own benefit, since producing loud noises seemed to help him cope with the strain of trying to push the ancient bone, for some reason. Luckily, now that it had been dislodged, the process became easier. Together, they slowly moved the ma.s.sive vertebra past the gazebo containing the inactive portal, then past the grove of ancient trees, and finally to the very edge of the island. There, Sunny stopped for a moment and tried to catch his breath. Then, he cautiously looked down. That… was a mistake. If before the colorful mosaic of the flying islands far below was simply a breathtaking sight, now that he had to actually jump down, it made Sunny dizzy and frightened out of his wits. "Uh…" But it was too late to change his mind. ...Wasn't it? Gritting his teeth, Sunny tried not to think about the inconceivable height and climbed inside the vertebra, which, of course, was hollow at the center. There was just enough s.p.a.ce there to fit his body, and that was the reason why he had chosen this particular one, in the first place. He lingered for a long time, trying to gather his courage. 'Maybe it's not too late... maybe I should just enter the Seed. What's the big deal, anyway? It's... it's just a Second Nightmare.' But no, there was no way back. He simply had to do it. Inhaling deeply, Sunny held his breath for a moment, and then screamed in a small voice: "Saint! Push it over!" Outside the ma.s.sive vertebra, the taciturn demon stared at the surface of the ancient bone for a moment. And then... gave it a devastating kick. As the tail bone of the dragon plunged off the edge of the Ivory Island, giving Sunny a serious rattle, he yelped, dismissed Saint, and dissolved into the shadow that dwelt in the hollow s.p.a.ce inside the vertebra. Of course, he wasn't going to try and survived the Crushing in his physical form… he just needed a large enough shadow to hide in. As long as the dragon bone endured, the shadow would too, and he would be safe. …If it endured. For a couple of seconds, everything seemed fine, but then the vertebra left the bubble of safety surrounding the heavenly island, and suddenly… an inconceivable pressure struck it from all sides like a hammer of a wrathful G.o.d, making the porcelain bone produce terrifying cracking noises. Once again, Sunny was plummeting with terrible speed through the sky. Only this time, the vehicle he had chosen to transport him was even stranger, as well as spinning like crazy, with the wind roaring deafeningly all around. Luckily, he couldn't get sick as a shadow… otherwise, his already empty stomach would have become emptier. 'Curses! Don't break, you d.a.m.n bone!' The vertebra of the dead dragon was cracking and slowly breaking apart… but, miraculously, still holding together. At this height, the Crushing was deadly enough to pulverize the flesh of a Saint — a bona fide demi-G.o.d — into a b.l.o.o.d.y paste. Maybe even a big, red cloud. But the adamantine dragonbone was only now beginning to slowly crumble apart. Once the process started, though, it became unstoppable. Sunny panicked as he watched wides crack appear on the white surface all around him. Then, a piece of the bone flew away, letting in a chaotic flood of light. Cursing, he shifted away from the breach, but seconds later, another appeared, and then another. The size of the shadow he could hide in was growing smaller and smaller. 'c.r.a.p!' Soon, there were more holes and cracks in the bone than he could count. And then... it crumbled completely. At the last second, Sunny slid onto the biggest remaining slab of the ancient vertebra, and then went into a crazy dance, shifting from one side of it to another as the fragment spun and exposed different parts of it to the sunlight. Small pieces broke off from it, and then, the fragment itself cracked, too. 'Argh!' Finally, the piece of the adamantine vertebrae disintegrated into a rain of splinters that were too small to fit Sunny into their shadows. With nowhere else to hide, he was thrown out into the physical world, his body instantly becoming the victim of the bone-breaking force of the Crushing. …Luckily, his bones were now much more robust than before. And the Crushing was already not as irrevocably obliterating as it had been higher up. As a loud scream escaped from Sunny's mouth, he continued to fall, feeling his body go through a cruel meatgrinder. But with the help of two shadows and a generous outpour of shadow essence, it wasn't enough to kill him, or even seriously wound him. It was simply painful, damaging, and unpleasant. The tail bone of the dead dragon had carried him down for long enough to go through the worst layers of the Crushing. Now, all he had to do was stick the landing. With a suppressed groan, Sunny struggled to control his fall and finally managed to stabilize his body, preventing it from spinning madly. The Chained Isles were now much, much closer than they had been before. In fact, he could even recognize a few nearest ones. 'Don't you dare miss, you pale b.a.s.t.a.r.d!' He really, really didn't want to repeat the whole d.a.m.ned process again. Summoning the Dark Wing, Sunny waited for a second for the dragonfly cloak to activate its enchantment, and then slowly started to turn his fall into a glide. A single thought rang in his mind: 'I made it… I actually made it… c.r.a.p, I really did!' \\\* Some time later, a figure of a young man fell from the skies and nimbly landed on the index finger of the giant iron hand that lay in the center of a peaceful, quiet island. The young man looked a bit strange… he was naked above the waist, with several half-healed burns covering his pale skin, and a menacing, intricate tattoo of a coiling black serpent covering his arms, as well as a large part of his torso. His black hair was wild and disheveled, and his dark eyes seemed a little crazy. Sunny swayed a little, caught his balance… ...And turned to a group of Awakened who were sitting around a dancing campfire, staring at him with their mouths wide open. A bright smile appeared on his face. "Ah! Good day to you, fellow humans. Say…" As mad intensity appeared in his eyes, Sunny licked his lips and asked hoa.r.s.ely: "...Is that food I see roasting over your fire?" ReadNovelFull.me?
461	Chapter 461 Welcome Home The heavy lid of the metal sarcophagus opened, letting out bluish light and wisps of cold mist. Soon, a pale hand emerged from inside. Jumping out of the sleeping pod, Sunny landed on the floor, felt the ceramic texture of the armored plates beneath his bare feet, and let out a low, satisfied sigh. 'I'm back, finally!' It was so nice to return to the real world. After meeting the cohort of the Sanctuary Awakened on the Iron Hand Island, he traveled back to the Citadel with them. Some were curious about where he had been for more than a month, but most weren't even aware that Sunny had gone missing. He used the full scope of his formidable ability to bend the truth ever which way, and left them with the impression that his recent expedition had been long, but not very exciting. …They did continue to give him strange looks the whole way back, though. For some reason. But Sunny wasn't too bothered by that. After entering the Sanctuary, he went straight for the altar. Since it was the middle of the day and the moon was hidden behind the horizon, he couldn't use the coins immediately. So, instead, he simply touched the altar and left the Dream Realm. 'Home, I'm finally home…' ReadNovelFull.me Even though Sunny had not spent a lot of time in his new house, the feeling of safety both its walls and the real world gave him was extremely comforting. Miraculously, even though he had been gone for many weeks, his body felt completely fine. It was as though he had only slept for a night. "That's the magic of technology!" Glancing at the extravagantly expensive sleeping pod, Sunny decided that he had spent his money well, and headed for the exit out of the bas.e.m.e.nt while whistling a cheerful tune. Then, however, he froze. 'What the h.e.l.l…' Something was not right. First of all, he had never used the lighting in the underground dojo. But now, it was turned on, drowning everything with bright light. Secondly, the armored doors of the lift leading up were violently torn open. It was as though a ma.s.sive Nightmare Creature had broken through the defense systems of the house and ripped them apart, bending the adamantine alloy like it was wax. 'c.r.a.p!' Sunny jumped back and summoned the Cruel Sight. What could have come here? Did a Gate open nearby? Full of tension and grim determination, he used the stairwell to climb to the ground floor and cautiously entered his living room. The first thing he saw there were… Dirty… dishes? Lots and lots of dirty dishes... The second thing he saw were two hazel eyes staring at him with scathing accusation. 'Have I gone really… really crazy?' Somehow, Effie was in his living room, sitting in her wheelchair with a bowl of steaming cup noodles in one hand and chopsticks in the other. There was a very disgruntled expression on her face. 'What the h.e.l.l is she doing here? What's going on?!' Staring at Sunny, Effie swallowed a mouthful of noodles, and then said in a dark tone: "You're back. Way to make your friends worry, a.s.shole…" \\\* As it turned, back when Sunny had been falling into the Sky Below and thinking about how no one would miss him… he was very, very wrong. In fact, the opposite had happened. About two weeks after he stopped answering their messages, both Effie and Kai got worried. Effie went to the Academy to check on him, and that was when they learned that Sunny moved out of the dormitory. "b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You could have told us that you bought yourself a house, you know? You owe me a housewarming party!"= Sunny blinked. 'A what party? Is there really such a thing or is she pulling my finger?' Not knowing where to find him, Kai used his connections to learn Sunny's new address. Since he was limited in where he could go without drawing the attention of the press, Effie went instead. And when she found the bas.e.m.e.nt locked… well… "My… my armored doors! It was you, you broke them!" She sneered. "What are you crying about? Those "armored" doors of yours were pathetically easy to break, anyway. Buy yourself better ones! Anyway, I thought that I was going to find your corpse in the sleeping pod. Do you even know how that made me feel?" A heavy expression appeared on her face. "That would have been a… a real tragedy…" Sunny sighed. 'Well. At least she cares.' "...I mean, just think about it, all those amazing Memories you h.o.a.rd, gone just like that! If you're going to die, at least give them to me before you do!" '...Spoke too soon.' After making sure that his life signs were stable inside the sleeping pod, Effie stayed to keep a watch on him, while both she and Kai tried to find out where Sunny was. Apparently, they went as far as contacting the representatives of the White Feather clan. "You didn't!" Sunny grabbed his head, realizing that he had a lot of explaining to do once he was back in the Sanctuary. A cohort of random Awakened was one thing, but if Saint Tyris herself was aware of his disappearance, things were going to get much harder for him. Effie snorted. "Of course we did! We also contacted Ca.s.sie and her Fire Keepers, since they have a cohort in that remote h.e.l.lhole you are anch.o.r.ed at. But even she didn't know where the h.e.l.l you have disappeared to!" 'Curses!' They even brought Ca.s.sie into it… Sunny groaned. "But why… why would you do all this?" Effie gave him a long look, then shook her head dejectedly. "Doofus… can you stop being such a doofus?" He stared at her in bewilderment. "What is that supposed to mean?" She shook her head again and activated her communicator. "Ponder on it! And while you're at it, be quiet for a few minutes. I need to call Kai and tell him that you have turned up. Poor guy must have flown halfway to the Chained Isles by now." Sunny eyes grew wide. "F—flown… what?!" Effie gave him a pitying look. Then, she said: "...What part of be quiet did you not understand?" ReadNovelFull.me?
462	Chapter 462 An Epic Quest After Effie gave Kai a call and let him know that Sunny was alive and back in the real world, they spent a minute in awkward silence. Sunny looked around, taking in the sight of his once pristine and orderly living room. Now, there were dirty dishes everywhere, as well as empty packets of take-out food… at least he thought that that was what they were, since he had never actually bought one before. Effie was such a slob! There were even several pieces of clothing thrown into a corner! Speaking of clothing… 'c.r.a.p!' "By the way, Sunny… when did you get this bada.s.s tattoo? A big, long snake no less! Makes a girl wonder…" He sighed heavily, cursing the fact that he had not adjusted the Puppeteer's Shroud after summoning it back in the bas.e.m.e.nt. There were no burns on his skin now, after all. "...It's not really a tattoo. It's a magical serpent that helps me control and regenerate essence faster. Don't ask why it manifests as a tattoo, because I have no idea, really." ReadNovelFull.me He hesitated for a bit, then asked: "So you've been just living here for these past few weeks?" Effie shrugged. "Sure. Someone had to monitor your vital signs. Plus, my family… well, they deserved a break after taking care of my comatose body for four years, and everything before that. So I bought a very nice place for us, and then, sort of… moved out." Then, an animated expression appeared on her face: "Don't worry, though! The stuff you keep in your bedroom remained a secret. I can't even go up the stairs, remember?" Sunny stared at her in outrage. "What stuff?! There's no stuff! I don't even use the bedroom! I can't really sleep, can I?!" Effie laughed. "...Right. Makes sense... that you are not doing it on the bed kind of guy. Oh, yeah! What happened to your fridge?" He glared, then looked away in embarra.s.sment. "Ah, that… I sort of broke it. By accident." Then, a sudden smile appeared on his face. "...Wanna go buy a new one?" \\\* Since Kai wanted to meet, Sunny and Effie decided to visit an elite shopping center in the center of the city, and then wait for him in a posh restaurant nearby. The former huntress also told Sunny that she would hold off on asking questions about his unexpected adventure until all three of them were together, so that he didn't have to repeat everything twice. Which suited him fine, since he needed time to decide what he wanted to tell his friends, and what would be better kept to himself. There was so much he needed to think about, and do… the journey into the Sky Below had not only disrupted his plans in the real world, but also added new things to his agenda. From training to wield a spear better to setting up a shop to sell the soul shards he had brought back with the help of the Covetous Coffer, there were just too many opportunities in front of him. He also had to decide what to do about Rain. And continue practicing Shadow Dance in the Dreamscape... everyone had forgotten about Mongrel by now, surely. No doubt about it. 'Adult life is hard…' They reached the shopping center with the help of a pa.s.senger PTV, which seemed a bit too luxurious to Sunny, but was a necessity, considering that it would have been hard for Effie to move around in public transport. Not only because of her disability, but also because she was somewhat of a celebrity. He had noticed at least three propaganda posters depicting her — the way she looked in the Dream Realm, to be exact — on buildings as the PTV drove toward the heart of the city. Even he had to agree that Effie looked… impressive. Like a beautiful G.o.ddess of war that knew no fear or would never surrender to anything, not even the hopeless darkness of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. Triumph and perseverance… that was what people needed to see, considering how hard and dire life in the real world could seem sometimes. Even if it was just a sweet, benevolent lie. It gave them hope, at least. A hope gave them strength. ...Noticing his gaze, Effie grinned. "Looking good, am I?" He had no choice but to tell the truth: "...Yeah." She giggled. "Do you remember how Scar and Park came up with a story to make me seem like some kind of a folk hero in the outer settlement, back when Gunlaug's people were searching for me? Well, the government ran wild with it, as you can see. Plus the fact that I was in charge of the first line during the siege… they made me into a poster girl for the young generation of the Awakened. Right after Nephis, of course." Her face suddenly grew dark and solemn. After a long pause, Effie added: "...It's a shame that neither of them lived long enough to see their stupid story become a worldwide hit. Park would have been so full of himself now, if he did. I can just about hear him boast." And that was the bitter truth that people didn't get to see. The terrible price of the triumph they celebrated was known only to those who had gone through it, and somehow emerged alive on the other side. The two of them spent some relaxing time in the shopping center, Effie resting in her wheelchair, Sunny pushing it from behind. From time to time, someone recognized her as the famous Raised by Wolves, and politely expressed their respect and admiration. He, on the other hand, seemed almost invisible. Sunny didn't mind. It was better that way, really. Being invisible suited a shadow very well. More importantly, the act of buying a stupid refrigerator filled him with pure delight — he had been fantasizing about it for so long in the Sky Below, after all. In a sense, this whole thing had just been a giant obstacle on his epic quest to buy a fridge. And now, after overcoming countless dangers and hardships, that deadly quest was over! Sunny worked out the details about the delivery, and soon, it was time to meet up with Kai. He had never been to a posh restaurant before, but it seemed as though his outer appearance was decent enough to not look out of place — the mundane clothes he wore had been chosen with the help of the charming fashion icon himself, after all. Or maybe it was Effie's presence that made everyone there extra polite and a little bit reverent. They entered a tastefully decorated s.p.a.ce and saw a tall individual in a black cap and an ordinary face mask standing nearby. The weirdo was wearing sungla.s.ses inside. Before Sunny could understand what was happening, the masked individual quickly approached and gave him a big hug. 'Uh… does he really think that his disguise is fooling anyone? And why is he always trying to hug me?!' Of course, it was Kai. No amount of masks and sungla.s.ses could hide the glamorous aura of the enchanting Nightingale. It only made him stand out even more. Sunny sighed. 'That dashing b.a.s.t.a.r.d…' ReadNovelFull.me?
463	Chapter 463 The three of them sat down and were presented with old-fashioned, paper menus to make their choice from. Sunny stared at the word "steak" for a bit, then shuddered and shifted his gaze to the salad section. A few minutes later, a waiter approached to take their order. Effie spoke: "I guess… three portions of bibimbap, three portions of samgyeopsal, three bowls of jjajangmyeon, and three portions of tteokbokki." Then, she turned to them, smiled innocently, and asked: "...Oh, and what about you, guys? What are you going to order?" Sunny almost choked on the water he was drinking from a beautiful crystal gla.s.s. The waiter, though, somehow managed to keep a straight face. 'What a professional…' ...Since they were seated in a private booth, Kai finally took off his cap and sungla.s.ses, then smiled brilliantly. His voice sounded so sincere that it irked Sunny... a little. ReadNovelFull.me "It's so nice to see you, Sunny. Effie and I were really worried!" Sunny cleared his throat. "That's, uh… thanks. I guess. I sort of… a.s.sumed that you wouldn't notice that I was gone." Effie sighed. "I am starting to wish that I didn't, you idiot! Anyway… what the h.e.l.l happened? Why were you gone for an entire month?" He hesitated, then said: "Do you want to hear the long version, or the short version?" Kai gave him a curious look: "Let's start with the short version, I think?" Sunny scratched the back of his head. "Alright. Well, in that case… it basically just wanted to find clues about a hidden treasure, but ended up almost being eaten by a treasure chest, falling into a bottomless abyss on top of a devil's corpse, and being burned by divine flames. Luckily, there is this voice I can hear in my head sometimes, and it helped me to only get burned a little." Effie tilted her head and gave him a strange look. Kai's smile paled a little. Sunny took a sip of water and continued in a carefree tone: "Anyway, deep in the void, I found a black tower. There were some broken dolls and a rotting severed arm inside, which I… uh… ate, sort of. From the black tower in the abyss, I went to a white tower in the skies, and then rode back to the ground on a dragon's tail. That's basically it. Oh, and before all that, I kind of killed myself, I guess. Got a very nice Memory out of it, too!" The two of them stared at him for a few moments, and then sighed almost simultaneously. Kai shook his head. "I take it back. Let's hear the long version…" \\\* Sunny explained the sequence of events that led to him being gone for more than a month, keeping a few things to himself — like the true number of the miraculous coins he had collected, everything having to do with Weaver, and the real reason for why he was so desperate to grow stronger as fast as possible. When he was done, Effie giggled. "Well. That [Fated] Attribute of yours has really been in overdrive lately, hasn't it?" A sour expression appeared on Sunny's face. "I guess. I had solid three months of nothing too bad or too good happening before that, though. But that's the thing, when it does finally happen, one thing usually leads to another. It's not all terrible, though. I had to work really hard to survive, but other than that, this expedition was a windfall for me." Kai took a sip of tea, and then said thoughtfully: "And what about this voice… Mordret? Do you trust him?" Sunny hesitated, then shrugged. "After I made sure that he is not just a figment of my imagination, I came to believe that Mordret is indeed one of the Lost, and most likely an Awakened just like we are. Most likely, he can communicate with me over a large distance because of the mirror shard I picked up after putting down that strange artificial Echo of his. Other than that, though… I don't know. He is very mysterious, to say the least." He thought for a bit, and then added: "Every piece of information he had given me turned out to be true, so far. And very helpful. I might have not been alive right now if not for him. So it's hard to say, really." Kai smiled. "Well, in that case, he is alright in my book." Sunny paused as the waiter approached to bring the dirty dishes away and refill their gla.s.ses. After they were alone once again, he remained silent for a bit, then turned to Effie: "But anyway… I do believe that what he said about the Seed is true. I think I can get the Obsidian Knife, which is supposed to make the Nightmare easier. So… I wanted to ask. Effie, I know that you can snap your fingers and have a dozen of the most powerful Awakened cohorts in the world accompany you to conquer the Second Nightmare. But... would you consider… challenging one with me?" He expected her to tease him a little before giving an answer, but Effie remained quiet for a bit, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. After a while, she said: "Challenge a Nightmare? Now, barely four months after we had become Awakened? Are you crazy, Sunny?" He smiled. "No, I don't mean now. Both of us need time to grow stronger and prepare, of course." After saying that, Sunny looked away. "...In seven months. After the winter solstice. That's when I plan to return to the Ivory Tower and go into that Seed. Will you come with me?" Effie looked at him for a long time, then smiled, too. "Sure. Why not? I wouldn't have it any other way, even. But, Sunny… I have one condition." He raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is it?" Effie glanced at Kai, then said calmly: "You need to convince Ca.s.sie to join us, too. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but it doesn't matter. Members of a cohort don't need to be friends. They just need to work well together… and our cohort worked perfectly, back on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. Caster is dead, and Nephis is gone… but Ca.s.sie is still here, and we both know how invaluable her Aspect is." As Sunny's face darkened, she added: "Plus, isn't she anch.o.r.ed at the Night Temple? She can help you get the Ivory Knife, as well. That princeling said that having both would be much better. A Nightmare is a Nightmare and will be absolutely deadly, no matter how prepared you are. Letting go of any advantage is stupid." 'Convince Ca.s.sie…' A wave of anger and protest rose from the depths of Sunny's heart. Even though he had time to recover from what had happened in the Crimson Spire and understood the reason why Ca.s.sie had done what she had, he was still full of resentment. He was still hurt. He was still unwilling to even think about forgiving her… But Effie was right. No matter how he felt about Ca.s.sie, she was a boon for any cohort… especially now, since she had grown much more confident in her powers after becoming an Awakened. She also had other survivors of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e following her as they waited for Nephis to return, and the connection to the Clan Valor emissaries in the Night Temple. He didn't have to forgive her to fight side by side with her. He just had to trust that she won't betray him again… which he reluctantly did. Even though Sunny didn't want to give Ca.s.sie the benefit of the doubt, he knew that she had learned a bitter lesson. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips. '...What should I do?' …It was at that moment that Kai, who had remained silent during their conversation, suddenly spoke: "If you don't mind… count me in, too. I want to challenge the Second Nightmare with the three of you, guys, as well. In fact… even if you do mind, I insist!" ReadNovelFull.me?
464	Chapter 464 Pa.s.sion Blossoms Hotter in theCold Heart of Despair Both Sunny and Effie stared at him in surprise. After a while, the former huntress asked: "Challenge the Nightmare with us? Don't you have a great position in Bastion, safe behind its walls? Have Sunny infected you with his madness?" Kai frowned, then looked away. After a while, he said: "Yes, I do. But… do you guys remember Aiko? She had a gambling den in the Bright Castle. Well, anyway, Aiko has a real talent for managing various things, so the agency hired her as my manager. One evening, we ended up talking about the Dark City." A sad smile appeared on his face. "Both of you only lived in the outer settlement, which had its own share of challenges, of course. Much more dire than what we who paid tribute faced in the Castle. But… but life wasn't that bright there, too." He remained silent for a bit, then continued: "Aiko had it way worse than I, though. Especially after one of the Pathfinders made a point of making her life a living h.e.l.l… Andel, whose head Lady Nephis eventually took off his shoulders. We all knew it, but no one really helped." A heavy sigh escaped from Kai's lips. ReadNovelFull.me "Because what could anyone of us really do against one of the Pathfinders? But there was a lot of these compromises, of little lies we told ourselves as we closed our eyes to every dark, dirty thing that went on around us." He looked at Effie, and said: "People were starving in the outer settlement while we had our bellies full? Well, it wasn't our fault, because the Castle couldn't feed everyone. Surely, if there was more food, we would have shared. The Guards decided to hara.s.s someone? Well, that wasn't our fault either, because Tessai was too powerful, and we were too weak to resist him. And so on, endlessly. Everyone went as far as they needed to keep thinking of themself as one of the good guys." Kai grew silent, then said quietly: "But, you see, it actually was our fault. All of us have committed the same crime… we were all weak. When I spoke to Aiko, I finally realized that in this world, being weak is a sin, too. At least for us, the Awakened. So… yes, I want to challenge the Second Nightmare, despite being safe and sound behind the walls of the Bastion. Because I never want to close my eyes to anything, ever again." He looked at them, then smiled. "Seven months? That's more than enough time for me to prepare. Plus, don't you need someone who can fly? Or are you going to simply jump into that weird undersky again and just hope to miss all those flames?" Sunny coughed. Kai had a point… "Well… if you put it like this…" \\\* After Kai's unexpected and poignant confession, they spent some time simply relaxing, laughing, enjoying their food, and chatting about this and that. Kai shared his experience of winning twelve consecutive weeks of the Avatar Singer and having to lose on purpose in the end, and the furor his face reveal and the subsequent announcement of Night&Gale's upcoming comeback alb.u.m caused in the music industry and among the fans. …He also complained about having to hire a second publicist because of a strange scandal he had gotten somehow involved in on the network, causing Sunny to look away in shame and keep his mouth tightly shut. Effie mostly talked about all the fried chicken wings she had eaten and all the sorts of beer she had drunk, as well as what types of Nightmare Creatures she had hunted… and fried, and ate. She also joked about all the propaganda events the government wanted her to partic.i.p.ate in, and the various ways with which she had managed to dodge most of them. Sunny shared his experience of buying a house, and how it made him feel. He almost got sentimental thinking about his beautiful armored doors that Effie had smashed through, and about his new, expensive, shiny refrigerator. Finally, Kai had to return to his schedule. Before they parted, though, he hesitated, then took out two colorful pieces of synthetic paper from his pocket with a very embarra.s.sed expression on his face. Without saying anything, he handed the brochures to Sunny and Effie. Sunny took one, and stared at it with a confused expression. It appeared to be an invitation of some sort. On it was an image of two people standing back to back with swords in their hands, both of them extremely beautiful, in a professional kind of way. The guy was dark-skinned and handsome, with broad shoulders and an incredibly masculine face. The girl was thin and languid, with a slim figure that bordered on being gaunter than Sunny had been in his outskirts days. She had a doll's face with big, glistening eyes and full, slightly parted lips. …She was also wearing a very strange and impractical armor, a regal cloak, and a very expensive silver wig. 'What the h.e.l.l is this?!" The t.i.tle at the top of the brochure read: "A Song of Light and Darkness" And right below it, in a smaller font: "Light shines brighter in the darkest of nights. Pa.s.sion blossoms hotter in the cold heart of despair." Sunny stared at the piece of paper in his hand with wide eyes. "Kai… my friend… what did you just hand me?" Effie laughed. "No way! They finished filming it?" Kai coughed. "That, uh… yeah. The premier is in a week, actually. My agency arranged for me to attend and give a short speech. So, uh… will you two come, please?" Sunny shook his head. "No, wait… no, actually, what is this thing?!" Effie looked at him with pity. "Haven't you heard? They made a movie about us. I mean, about what happened on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e… sort of. Have you not heard about all the casting news?" He slowly shook his head. "No!" Then, Sunny frowned: "Alright… alright, I get it. But why would I ever want to go and watch this? I would rather eat another Mordant Mimic! Sorry, Kai, but I am not going…" Effie looked at him with mischief and grinned. "Oh… hey Sunny, do you remember how I said that I only had one condition to join you in the Nightmare? Well, scratch that. Actually, I have two…" ReadNovelFull.me?
465	Chapter 465: Subjective Value After a white, Sunny a. Effie returned to his home —Just in time to receive the dcevery of the refrigerator. Two tall antl broad-shouldered store workers unloaded it from the cargo hoLd of their delivery vehicte and placed the big box down wife a bit of strain After that, one of .em smiled a. asked "Good day Where should we put it?" Sunny waved a hand\_ "Ah, . need I'LL do it myself" The Loaders Looked at him doubtfuLly, then simply shrugged and Left after getting his signature\_ After the vehicte drove off, Sunny Looked around, then ea.,/ Lifted the heavy box antl carried if inside the house without any effort wha.oever. Soon, the refrigerator was standing in the place where his ofd one used to be, the synthwood panels covering its doors Mending in with the minimalist design of the kitchen Effie and Sunny stared at rt.r a white, satisfied Then, he said "I Like it. a lot" Effie smiled\_ "Yeah\_ Beatty ties the whole room together.- doesn't it, Welt V any case, I hope you won't break if again" After that she yawned and said in a fired voice "Ugh- I'm beat lime. refire to the Dream Realm. What about you," Sunny thought fora few moments\_ Suddenly, a wide smite appeared on his face "I have an errand to run, but after that, I am going in, too Oh \_ wait Where are going to steep," Effie shrugged 'Your guest room, where else] He blinked. "Don't you need a steeping pod," The former huntress giggled. "I have one In your guest room\_ What? Why are you staring at me Like that, Was I supposed to shutle between the Academy antl your comatose body every day," ReadNovelFull.me Sunny Lingered fora bit then sighed\_ "Make sense I guess I shot. have put one .ere, to begin wit. What are the chances of me having mundane humans as guests," Then, he waved Effie goodbye and headed for the door as she tumed her wheelchair around antl rotted toward the guest bedroom He was very exerted about what he was going to do Some time Late, Sunny was in a beautifully Lit store, pushing a shopping cart forward and slowly fitting it to the brim wrth all kinds of food, as well as some other things\_ He was quietly whs.-Ring a cheerful tune, imagining alt this stuff going into his new fridge The contents of the cart would have cost more than he couttl ever dream to make, back when he had been Living in the outskirts But now, he could not only afford if, b. even do so without having to count his money or feet apprehensive about the cost He route! l.u.s.t\_ buy as much he wanted of any quality that he wanted antl bring it back home his own home. Life had changed so much\_ After a white, he felt as though he got enough Now that he had the Covetous Coffer, he cotttl not only bring soul shards out of the Dream Realm\_ but also bring stiff from the real. woad to the Chained IstesiThat meant so much\_ an unlimited amount of spices, all kinds of snacks to make the Long days of exploring Less dreadful various Little things to make hceseff more comfort., h.e.l.l, if he wanted to, he couLd even bring a tent antl steep in if Like a king, 'Incredible\_. oh, this is simply incrediffiet Of course, not all of these things couLd be bought in a general store But he coutd visit other places or simply order stuff on the network As he was heading for the registers, a familiar voice suddenly putted him out of his thoughts " \_MonniCan we get ice cream," Sunny froze fora moment, then slowly turned his head and Looked. his Left, down a Long aisle he was pa.s.sing\_ There, a pate girl of around fourteen years was standing near a tan, graceful woman in her forties\_ An eight-year-old boy with Monde hair antl a bright scele was pushing a tub of ice cream into her hands\_ Sunny watched Rain and her family for a .w moments, then turned away antl continued on his way, Leaving them behind A quiet sigh escaped from his lips At Least she's doing fine\_ Well, of course she is. I W only been gone for a month. Why would anything happen simply because I wasn't here,' He reached the register, then heceated for a bit antl turned back When he returned,.ere were several tubs of delicious ice cream added to his cart As the Light of dawn shined on the Chained Isles, Sunny appeared on the Attar Island of the Sanctuary of Noces He stared at the sky, grimaced at the absence of the moon, and headed toward his room Some time Late, though, he emerged from there wrth a peculiar wooden box following him wrth the help of eight small iron Legs With the Covetous Coffer in tow, Sunny walked into the garden, found a facet!. rock, Lifted the toothy box, antl carefully ptaced if near hceseff Then, he took out a single soul shard antl put it where everyone coutd see Soon, one of the Awakened noticed him a. approached\_ "Ah, Sunny, You're back, Looking to sell some shards again?" Sunny smiled. "Oh\_ yes, sure\_ But hey! That's not alt Brabant Emporium has some new merchandise," The Awakened Looked at him with doubt, then asked "Really? Like what," Sunny's grin grew wider. "How Lucky that you happened to ask Let's see\_" He put his hand inside the coffer, which then somehow disappeared into the comparativ Then, Sunny began taking outvarious items, speaking as he did so et maLL box up to the shouLder. "What do I have A store] Take a Look for yourself- toothpaste, Solt dean underwear, Salt Poppet and all ',In., spices! Personal hygiene products! Are you a woman, No? Have a female friend, then? What really, Well, with the stuff I have here, .at can be fixed Oh, what is ffis? Woutd you Look at that" As more and more people gathered antl stared at the absolutely mundane, b. precious items that affiost none of them had access to in the Dream Realm with something resembling l.u.s.t in their eyes, Sunny's own gleamed with greed "By the way, Brilliant Emporium is also proud. announce the opening of a conveyance sercece \_ want our dedicated staff to bring something specific from the real. world, No problems Want. se. something to the real woad in.ead? That's not a problem, either\_ For just a small commission " 'I am going to get rich So, so ricer Yes, soul shards were a rare commodity in the real. woad. But a good pair of underpants in the Dream Realm was, perhaps, even more valuable. ReadNovelFull.me?
466	Chapter 466 A Gracious lnvitation Sunny spent a very pleasant morning selling all the stuff he had brought to the Dream Realm to a crowd of Awakened, each of them ravenous for the small comforts the real world could provide. Very few had a close enough relationship with a Master or a Saint to be able to get these things here, in a place as remote as the Chained Isles. Things were slightly different in large Citadels like Bastion or Ravenheart, but on the frontier, most people simply had to figure out ways to get by with makeshift replacements. Still, nothing could compare to the real deal. All in all, the Brilliant Emporium was performing splendidly. Of course, Sunny did not charge too much for the small necessities he sold, but it added up. He wouldn't charge a whole soul shard, even if it was from a Dormant creature, for a tube of toothpaste. But a few tubes, plus a toothbrush, plus some soap and a box of tea leaves, and a promise to bring some sugar with him the next time? That could work. Unlike before, he wanted soul shards instead of Memories. He was going to take these shards to the waking world, where their value was much higher. Out there, soul shards came from only two sources: some were brought back by Ascended and Transcendent from their journeys into the Dream Realm, and some were scavenged from the corpses of the Nightmare Creatures that had invaded reality through a Gate. They were always in short supply, because anyone in possession of a shard was more likely to use it themselves than to sell it for credits. Saturating their Soul Core meant much more to an Awakened than worldly currency… after all, dead men could not spend their riches. The demand, on the other hand, was extremely high. Not only because all Awakened strived to become stronger, but also because young Sleepers, especially, were able to use these shards to increase their chances of returning from their first venture into the Dream Realm alive. That was the reason why even Caster, a scion of a prestigious Legacy clan, had not entered the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e with his core already fully saturated. ReadNovelFull.me And that was the reason why Sunny was going to profit a lot from being in possession of his new favorite Memory... the magnificent Covetous Coffer. After all, he — for better or worse — had no use for the soul shards whatsoever. He could not consume them, so there was no choice to be made between growing stronger himself or earning credits from others. He was going to sell the shards, buy Memories, and feed them to Saint. This simple system was almost unfairly lucrative for Sunny, because Memories, unlike shards, had no additional value in the real world. Every Sleeper and every Awakened could bring back Memories from the Dream Realm and freely exchange them there. …Which did not mean that Memories were cheap. In fact, they were extremely expensive. But the correlation between the number of soul shards he would have to sell and the number of Memories he would be able to buy was very much in his favor. And of course, Sunny also didn't even need good Memories. The worse, the better! The usefulness of a Memory dictated its price, but did not affect the amount of Shadow Fragments Saint received from consuming them at all. His smile was growing wider and wider. 'Two months… three, max. That's how long it's going to take me to bring Saint to [200/200]. And what happens next? Oh my, I can hardly wait to find out…' His pleasant thoughts, however. were eventually interrupted by a shadow falling over him. '...Another customer?' Sunny looked up and tensed a little, recognizing the person in front of him. It was a young woman wearing a simple white garment… the same one that had escorted him to meet Master Roan before his journey to the Shipwreck Island. The representative of the White Feather clan. He suppressed a heavy sigh. "Uh… what can I do for you?" The young woman bowed slightly, then said in a neutral tone: "Saint Tyris invites you to share a meal with her, Awakened Sunless." 'Curses… that is what I have been afraid of.' Sunny shivered slightly. What were the chances of him keeping all his secrets to himself during a conversation with the fearsome demi-G.o.d in charge of the Chained Isles? Saints were creatures of another breed. It wasn't a coincidence that there were only a few dozen of them across all of humanity… they were not only the most powerful, but also the most skilled, strong-willed, brilliant, and deviously cunning members of the human race. Each was a force to be reckoned with. Nothing less would suffice if one wanted to survive the harrowing trial of the Third Nightmare. He wasn't sure of his ability to fool such a person. Sunny forced out a weak smile. "...It would be my pleasure." The young woman nodded, then turned around, obviously expecting him to follow. Sunny sighed, then dismissed the Covetous Cover and stood up from the rock. It was time to face Sky Tide again. \\\* The graceful stone chateau perched on top of the tall menhirs of the Sanctuary was just as Sunny had remembered it. The open pavilion at the very edge of the ancient monolith had not changed, as well. It was bathed in sunlight and exposed to winds, opening to a breathtaking view of the Chained Isles. The Ivory Tower floated far above, shrouded in white clouds. This time, there was a simple meal served for three people on the round table in the center of the pavilion, and both Master Roan and Saint Tyris were preparing to eat. The young woman led Sunny to them, gestured to a free chair, and then moved to stand silently by Sky Tide's side. Sunny lingered for a bit, then said awkwardly: "Uh… greetings, Lady Tyris, Master Roan. It's an honor to be invited to join you for dinner. Uh… lunch? Yeah. To join you for lunch." Saint Tyris simply nodded and didn't say anything, but Master Roan looked at him and grinned. Then, he gestured to the food on the table. "What are you waiting for, Sunless? Dig in! Food's growing cold." Sunny hesitated for a moment, then smiled. If there was one rule he tried to follow faithfully in his life… it was to never refuse free food. Master Roan didn't have to ask him twice. ReadNovelFull.me?
467	Chapter 467 Dinner with a Saint It seemed that the conversation was not going to happen until after the meal, which suited Sunny fine. Not only did he get to enjoy a simple, but delicious food provided by the White Feather clan, but he also received a bit more time to think about what he was going to say, and how. Sunny focused his attention on the plate in front of him, and after a few moments, a delighted smile found its way onto his face. 'That's really good!' Noticing it, Master Roan chuckled: "You like it? Well… I am not going to say that I cooked it myself, because that would be a lie, but I did hunt the beast with my own two hands. I also watched and gave very wise advice when Tyris was planting the vegetables!" Sunny choked. 'Tyris planted… what? Sky Tide grew these vegetables herself?!' The image of the stern Saint doing gardening did not fit into his mind at all. He threw a furtive glance at the unnaturally beautiful woman, and swallowed. 'Yeah… can't imagine it.' ReadNovelFull.me Saint Tyris was calmly eating, not a single emotion appearing on her face. At the mention of her name, she looked at her husband for a second, and then returned to her meal without reacting in any way. Sunny didn't know if she was simply like that around strangers, or always aloof… in any case, it was hard to picture Sky Tide doing mundane things like gardening. Not knowing what to think of it, he lingered for a few moments, then said awkwardly: "...Yes. Thank you, it's very tasty." It was too good, in fact. The food was disappearing from his plate at a concerning speed, which meant that he had to sort out his thoughts fast. Basically, there were three things about his recent adventure that were better kept secret. The first one was the miraculous coins and their connection to the Sanctuary of Noctis. The second was Mordret… despite the fact that Effie and Kai had easily believed him, telling total strangers that there were voices in his head was not the best of decisions. Besides that, Sunny got the feeling that the lost prince might have been in not so friendly relationship with the emissaries of the Valor clan that resided on the Chained Isle. Sky Tide did not serve Valor directly, but her clan was still allied to the rulers of Bastion, to the point that one might have gone so far as to call them a va.s.sal clan. And lastly, there was the whole thing about the Ebony and Ivory Towers, the connection between them, and the Seed of Nightmare. If it threatened to create a Gate at any moment, he would have felt obligated to inform the White Feather clan, so that someone else could destroy it before that happened. But since the Seed was far from blooming, he wanted it all for himself. However, Sunny suspected that he will have to sacrifice one of these secrets to keep the others intact. The question was... which one? Finally, the food was gone from their plates, and the young woman in white poured beautiful ember tea into their cups. Sunny blew on his, and glanced at Master Roan: "So, uh… not to appear impolite, sir, but to what do I owe the pleasure?" 'Here it comes…' He hesitated, then added: "Is it about my friends making a ruckus after I have gone on an unusually long expedition? You weren't too inconvenienced by having to look for me, were you?" He was expecting a confirmation, but instead, a surprised expression appeared on the strapping Master's face. "Look for you? Uh… why would we look for you?" Noticing that Sunny was confused, he remained silent for a moment, and then smiled. "Ah! There must have been a misunderstanding. Nightingale and Raised by Wolves did, indeed, bring your disappearance to the attention of our clan. I was going to explore the places where you had been seen last to investigate, but luckily, Lady Ca.s.sia arrived at the Sanctuary just in time. She informed us that you would return in a few weeks, so we didn't have to worry." A tense smile froze on Sunny's face. "She did? Well… I'm glad your time wasn't wasted, then." 'd.a.m.n it! d.a.m.ned Ca.s.sie and her d.a.m.ned visions! How much does she know?' He took a sip of tea to hide his expression behind the cup for a second. That changed things… on purpose or not, Ca.s.sie had helped him avoid the scrutiny of having to explain his absence to the White Feather clan. That, however, posed another problem. And that problem was Song of the Fallen herself. The timing of her visit to the Sanctuary of Noctis and this strange action of hers were probably not a coincidence… what was she playing at? Or was he being too paranoid, looking for a meaning where there was none? Ca.s.sie was not some machiavellian mastermind, after all... unlike Sunny and Nephis both. At least she had not been. Putting down the cup, Sunny cleared his throat. "But then… why did you invite me?" Master Roan smiled and produced a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "Oh, it was just to hand you this. Lady Ca.s.sia left you a message before leaving on an expedition with her cohort." Sunny tried to seem calm and nonchalant as he took the piece of paper and unfolded it. Inside, two words were written in awkward handwriting: "Desecrated Grove" They were, without a doubt, left by Ca.s.sie. After becoming blind, writing was hard for her. That's why the penmanship seemed so crude. 'What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean?' Desecrated Grove… Sunny had heard of that place. It lay west of the Sanctuary, separated from it by a stretch of long chains. The Grove itself was not the most deadly of territories, but there were several Corrupted creatures nesting on islands in close vicinity to it. Had Ca.s.sie known that he would want to speak to her, and left him a direction to where to find her? Why would she lead her cohort to that remote place, which was situated as far from the Hollow Mountains as one could get on the Chained Isles? 'Strange…' Sunny folded the note, put it under the vambrace of the Puppeteer's Shroud, and smiled: "Thank you." Things like that weren't too strange. Since he had gone on a long expedition and missed Ca.s.sie, who was planning to remain in the Dream Realm for a while herself, it was logical to communicate through messages. She could have just sent one to his communicator, though… Although, if he was honest with himself, there was a big chance that he would ignore the message if she had. Sunny finished his tea, and then asked cautiously: "So… I can go?" Master Roan shrugged. "Sure. It was nice to see you again, Sunless. I hear your Emporium is doing well!" Sunny couldn't believe his luck. Expressing his grat.i.tude, he rose to leave. Just as he did, though, Saint Tyris spoke for the first time. Piercing him with a penetrating gaze, she said evenly: "...Have you been to the Reckoning Island?" He froze. Under the stare of Sky Tide, twisting the truth didn't seem that wise anymore. Sunny hesitated, then said simply: "Yes." Saint Tyris looked at him for a few moments, then turned away. "Next time someone asks, say no." Taken aback, Sunny stared at the stunningly beautiful woman for a bit, gather his courage, and then quietly asked: "May I know… why?" Sky Tide kept her gaze at the breathtaking vista of the Chained Isles below them. Then, in a calm voice, she answered: "You may not." ReadNovelFull.me?
468	Chapter 468 Desecrated Grove Sunny descended from the White Feather's aery in a complicated mood. If he ever had doubts that the lost prince was harboring dire secrets, now, there were none. Why else would Saint Tyris caution him to not speak about the Mirror Beast, who had seemingly been the only trace left of Mordret's existence? Mordret had conquered the First Nightmare when he was only twelve… such an individual, surely, would have been as famous as Nephis back in the real world. And yet, Sunny had never heard of him, or of anyone who had accomplished the same feat. It was almost as if someone very powerful had purposefully erased any mention of the mysterious prince from history. …How had he lost his physical body, to begin with? And where was his spirit body in the Dream Realm? Did… did he even have one? He must have had it once, at least. The pack Sunny had found on the Reckoning contained a detailed map of the Chained Isles, with the word "hope" written on it next to a question mark. Back then, he thought that the owner of the pack had been killed by the Mirror Beast. Now, however, he suspected that it had belonged to Mordret himself. So, the lost prince had at least visited the Chained Isles before disappearing. Was the great clan Valor complicit in his disappearance? Sunny had no real reason to come to that conclusion, other than the fact that the Chained Isles were in their sphere of influence, and that Saint Tyris hinted at her knowledge of the nature of the Mirror Beast. But why hadn't she killed it herself? ReadNovelFull.me 'I am going to have to ask Mordret a lot of questions when he appears.' Which wasn't going to happen for many days, sadly. Until then, Sunny had other matters to attend to. He glanced at the sun and judged that it had barely reached its zenith. The moon wasn't going to appear for a while… so, even though the desire to place his precious coins on the altar gnawed on him, he decided to address the most pressing problem first. …Ca.s.sie. No matter how reluctant Sunny was to face his former friend, he had to speak to her. He couldn't make plans for the future without knowing who would be by his side as he challenged the Second Nightmare. And he absolutely needed to challenge it. Collecting essence was fine, but becoming a Master would change the power dynamic between him and Nephis much more. And even though creating future cores would be harder after he achieved a higher Rank, being an Ascended also meant that there would be much fewer things out there that could squash him like a bug. …Not only among the Nightmare Creatures, but also among the humans. The more crumbs of information about the Sovereigns Sunny learned, the more disturbed he became. He was distrustful by nature, so he didn't believe that these hidden overlords would not try to exert their influence on him or try to destroy him one day, simply by virtue of being able to do so. And even without this threat… there were hundreds of Master in the world, which meant that there were hundreds of people who could kill him without breaking a sweat. But if he became a Master himself… well, then there would only be a few dozen individuals he would have to be really wary of. Like Saint Tyris. ...Not to mention that, as an Ascended, he would be free to come and go from the Dream Realm as he wished. He would even be able to abandon it forever, and never come back. Wouldn't that be a nice choice to have? 'So… the Desecrated Grove it is.' Sunny frowned, then returned to his room, took out his map from the Covetous Coffer, and spent some time adding all the details he remembered from Mordret's map onto it. Soon, he was in possession of an intricately detailed depiction of most of the Chained Isles on his hands, complete with descriptions of what dangers he was likely to meet, and where. With its help, traveling to his destinations was going to be much safer. Sunny studied the route to the Desecrated Grove and sighed. '...Shouldn't be too hard. I can probably reach it by morning, and return to the Sanctuary the next day at night, when the moon is high in the sky.' And finally get to use the coins he had bled so much to earn. He dismissed the Covetous Coffer, stretches his limbs, and headed toward the exit from the Sanctuary. \\\* The journey to the remote island that Ca.s.sie named in her note indeed turned out to be uneventful. Sunny rode the heavenly chains in the form of the shadow and traversed the islands on foot, avoiding any Nightmare Creature that crossed his path. The southern part of the Chained Isles was relatively safe, or at least safer than the northern part. Well, no surprise — it was bordering regions of the Dream Realm that had been tamed by humans more than a decade ago, while to the north there was nothing except for the dreadful Hollow Mountains. The Desecrated Grove itself was somewhat near the main route from one of the Great Chains — which connected all of the Chained Isles to the rest of the Dream Realm — to the Sanctuary of Noctis. People who were either coming to or leaving the region used that route to travel between the Great Chain and the Citadel, so it was often patrolled by the White Feather forces. Sunny traveled along the established route, then left it to go deeper into the dangerous wilderness of the flying islands. He carefully avoided all the places where Corrupted Nightmare Creatures were known to dwell, and kept his eyes open for any sign of danger. However, nothing that couldn't be avoided happened. None of the islands Sunny wanted to cross were rising, so he even managed to escape having to endure the Crushing. The sun rolled down over the horizon and disappeared, and the moon followed its example. As the first light of dawn ignited in the east, Sunny flew through the shadows and then soared high into the air, cresting the edge of a large island and softly landing on its soil. The Desecrated Grove… he had arrived. Sunny let out a heavy sigh. …He had almost hoped that some terrible monstrosity would attack him on the way, making it so he wouldn't have to meet Ca.s.sie. The searing mess of emotions he felt toward her… was much scarier than any Nightmare Creature could ever hope to be. At the end of the day, humans were much harder to deal with than monsters. ReadNovelFull.me?
469	Chapter 469 Fire Keepers The Desecrated Grove was a large island, its surface overtaken almost entirely by a forest of twisted, charred, dead trees. The ground was covered by a thick layer of ash, which was often thrown into the air by the strong winds. Grey flakes rained down from the sky. There were many Nightmare Creatures nesting in the dark forest, and although most of them were only of the Awakened Rank, one had to be careful to not get ambushed, surrounded, or stumble upon an especially ferocious abomination. Sunny couldn't even begin to guess why Ca.s.sie would choose such a place to establish a camp. However, he could already see the signs of human presence. There were four chains connecting the Desecrated Grove to other islands, but the one he himself had used was the most convenient. Any sane leader would have chosen the same route, and even though the Crushing was capable of making anyone's path unpredictable, the other three were just too much of a risk. That's why Sunny wasn't surprised to see human footprints leading toward the menacing wall of blackened dead trees, already mostly covered by a new layer of ash. There were also signs of a battle, with several misshapen carca.s.ses laying on the ground and showing clear signs of their soul shards being removed. Judging by the fact that they were only partially devoured by the scavenging Nightmare Creatures, Ca.s.sie's cohort must have pa.s.sed through no more than a week ago. Sighing, Sunny tied a piece of cloth around his mouth and nose, summoned the Cruel Sight, and started following the footprints. Soon, he entered the ashen veil of the twisted forest. His ability to see through any shadow proved to be invaluable once again: if not for that gift, he would have been scared witless, expecting a sudden attack to come from the surrounding darkness at any moment. ReadNovelFull.me With his sight, the Shadow Sense, and the ability to see all around himself with the help of one of the shadows, Sunny felt confident that nothing would be able to get close to him unnoticed… at least not on this comparatively tame island. But that was the thing about the Dream Realm. Even creatures that were supposed to be easy to deal with could kill you in a second if you weren't careful enough. Tame or not, everywhere in this G.o.dforsaken world was a potential death trap. As Sunny went deeper into the forest, he discovered more signs of Ca.s.sie's cohort pa.s.sing through. There were marks left behind by violent skirmishes, as well as several abandoned campsites. It seemed as though the Fire Keepers had been taking their time, slowly exploring the path ahead and moving their camp further and further into the depth of the Desecrated Grove after clearing a long stretch of it. 'Why travel here all the way from the Night Temple? She had to cross the entire region, getting away from the Hollow Mountains, only to get stuck on an unexceptional island. I just don't get it.' Sunny was clearly missing something… With a slight frown, he turned into a shadow and glided through the darkness, covering much more distance with every minute than he had been on foot. He still preferred to be cautious, though, sending one of the shadows ahead and moving slow enough to be able to react in time if something unexpected happened. After an hour or so, he finally found them. Ca.s.sie and her cohort were camped at a secluded clearing that was around halfway to the heart of the island, dangerously far removed from the edge. If the Desecrated Grove entered the ascent phase, the time window for them to get back to the chain before the Crushing became deadly would be extremely narrow. Since it was early morning, most of the members were asleep, with only two lookouts standing watch with torches in their hands. Sunny observed them for a few seconds from the shadows, and then sent his own forward. He recognized both of the watchmen, since they had spent a lot of time together during the struggle for the throne of the Bright Castle, as fellow members of Neph's faction. The Fire Keepers were comprised of about forty survivors of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e — those who had decided against pledging their allegiance to the Legacy clans that wanted the recruit them, as well as the government, and had not become fully independent like Effie and Sunny had. Although Ca.s.sie was their nominal leader, she didn't command the whole host herself. Instead, Neph's followers were divided into several cohorts, each operating in different regions of the Dream Realm. Fire Keepers were not a formal organization, but more of a loose alliance of people who shared similar beliefs and principles, the main being the hope that Changing Star was going to return alive one day. …Sunny's shadow entered the circle of light created by one of the torches, glared at the lookout, and then waved at him. The young man stared at it with wide eyes. "What the h.e.l.l?!" The other swiftly turned, summoning her weapon. "What is it?" The first one remained silent for a moment, then sighed. "Ah, c.r.a.p…" He ma.s.saged his temple, as if experiencing a headache. "...I think it's Sunny." \\\* There were eight people in Ca.s.sie's cohort, every one of them a familiar face. …Well, Sunny more or less knew all of the survivors of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, had fought with them back to back, so that wasn't surprising. What did surprise him, though, was how warm they welcomed him. Even if some were clearly displeased with having to wake up a bit early and warry of his entrepreneurial ambitions — which they had been amply subjected to during the war for the Bright Castle — they were still clearly happy to see Sunny. Soon, his shoulder began to hurt a little from all the friendly slaps it received. "Would you look at that! Four months on these d.a.m.ned islands, and this is the first time we actually cross paths!" "How have you been, Sunny?" "Oh! I was so sad that we missed you in the Sanctuary. Glad you decided to visit!" Sunny smiled weakly and responded to their greetings, feeling both strangely warm inside and extremely uncomfortable with all the attention. Truth be told… he was glad to meet them again, too. He still couldn't quite believe that anyone had escaped the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, let alone a whole hundred of young men and women, some of whom were in front of him right now. After the greetings were done, he looked around and raised an eyebrow. "Uh… sure, guys. Likewise. But where's Ca.s.sie?" The Fire Keepers glanced at each other, then one of them smiled. "Oh, right! You must be dying to see her." '...Not exactly.' The girl who spoke shook her head and turned toward a path leading somewhere away from the camp. "Let's go. I'll take you." …Not too far from the camp, a deep hole was dug near the roots of one of the dead trees. Beside it, with her back to him, stood a delicate girl with pale blond hair and an elegant rapier hanging in a scabbard on her belt. Hearing their footsteps, Ca.s.sie turned around. A small smile appeared on her face. "Sunny. You've made it..." ReadNovelFull.me?
470	Chapter 470 Come Winter Ca.s.sie had changed since the last time they met. Her hair was longer, and there was a strange silver half-mask covering her eyes, its surface blind and intricately engraved. It matched the polished steel of the armor she was wearing on top of a midnight blue coat, comprised of a short cuira.s.s, vambraces, greaves, and a segmented pauldron. The Quiet Dancer hung on her belt, but there was also a long dagger opposite it, its guard twisting upward. What changed most of all, however, was her demeanor. The blind girl seemed… much older, somehow. Firmer, poised, but also weary. As if pressed down upon by the weight of years. 'What? What years? She's younger than me!' Sunny struggled a little, then pretended to smile, too, for the benefit of the young Fire Keeper who no doubt expected a warm reunion. No one knew what had happened between them, after all. "Yeah. I received your note… cryptic as it was. And here I am. In the flesh." The girl who had led him to Ca.s.sie glanced at them, then made an excuse and went back to the camp, tactfully deciding to remove herself from what she thought was going to be an emotional meeting of two old friends. ReadNovelFull.me …Former friends, really. Sunny hesitated a little, then asked: "So… how have you been?" Ca.s.sie sighed, then turned back to the excavated roots of the charred tree. After a while, she spoke: "Not so good, actually." Her voice sounded distant. "We… we have tried to venture into the Hollow Mountains, as you must know. But it was hopeless. That place is pure death, for anyone who dares set foot into the mist. We hoped to find a way back to the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. In the end, however, we were lucky to simply escape alive." Ca.s.sie remained silent for a bit, then asked: "What about you?" Sunny grinned: "Me? Oh, I've never been better…" With that, he summoned the Covetous Coffer, fished out some fresh, fragrant fruit from it, and sat down on a nearby stump. Taking a big bite out of a juicy peach, he chewed it with gusto, and then glanced at the blind girl. "Oh, sorry. I only brought enough for one." …Yes, Sunny knew that he was being ridiculously petty. But so what? Pettiness was his middle name. Figuratively speaking. "So, you failed to return to the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, and now… what are you doing, exactly? Why are you digging up trees in this vile forest?" Ca.s.sie smiled a little, then answered evenly: "...I am looking for something." Then, she turned away from the hole and faced him. "Yes, I told the White Feather clan that you will return alive. No, I did not see a vision of where you were, and what you did in the past month." Sunny stared at her with a dark expression: 'What is this?! She can read minds now?!' "...And no, I can't read minds. If you must know, my Second Ability allows me to sense what will happen in the next few seconds. That's why I can walk around without a cane, and knew what you were going to say." He grimaced. 'That's… going to be very annoying, I think.' Sunny looked at Ca.s.sie, reevaluating her armor and weapons. With an Ability like that, she might have become a very formidable fighter. Or not. He didn't really understand how it worked, to tell the truth. So, he asked curiously: "Does that mean that you can see now?" Ca.s.sie shook her head. "No… not exactly. But if I want to take a step forward, and sense falling into a ravine, I can walk around it instead. If I sense being pierced by a sword, I can try to deflect it. And if I sense being asked a question, I can answer it." He thought for a bit, then said: "So, what is my next question?" The blind girl simply shook her head. "I don't need to waste soul essence to guess. You want to know how I knew that you will come back to the Sanctuary in one piece." Sunny finished his fruit, threw the pit into the hole, then smiled: "Indeed. If you did not spy on my recent adventures, then how did you know that I wasn't going to die?" Ca.s.sie lingered for a bit, then turned away. After a while, she said: "It's still spring." He scowled. "What does that have to do with anything? You knew that I would be fine because it's spring?" Ca.s.sie smiled. "Yes. I knew that you wouldn't die. Because, you see…" She paused for a moment, and then said calmly: "...I already saw you die, in winter. Both of us, actually." \\\* After Ca.s.sie dropped that bomb, Sunny simply stared at her for a whole minute, his eyes wide and the words refusing to come out of his mouth. Finally, he gritted his teeth and hissed: "What the h.e.l.l?! You saw us die?!" Ca.s.sie sighed, then gave him a simple nod. "Yes." Sunny growled. "Elaborate!" The blind girl hesitated for a little while, then asked evenly: "Are you sure you want to know? You've seen what happened the last time I shared my vision with someone, and tried to challenge fate." A dark, resentful expression appeared on Sunny's face. With his voice full of anger, he spat: "Who cares?! Tell me what you saw this instant!" Ca.s.sie sighed and turned to face him. "Alright. But remember… remember what happened to the three of us, before. How we tried to deceive fate, but were played by fate instead." She grew quiet for a moment, and then said: "This is what I saw: there was a crumbling island falling into the Sky Below, and the two of us — bloodied, mangled, and weak — falling down with it. It was snowing. Above us, a giant bird flew, wreathed in thunderclouds. It was fighting a terrifying black wyvern, their blood falling down like rain. Then the darkness swallowed us… and we were gone." Ca.s.sie looked down, then added solemnly: "That was how we died." ReadNovelFull.me?
471	Chapter 471 Quid Pro Quo When Ca.s.sie was done speaking, Sunny remained silent for a bit. Then, he said: "Anything else? More details?" The blind girl shook her head. "Because of the blizzard, it was hard to see what surrounded the crumbling island, and it was already too damaged to recognize it. So… no, no more details. Uh… you were wearing a metal armor, I think? Not the Puppeteer's Shroud." Sunny ma.s.saged his temples with a bleak expression on his face. "Well… it's not as bad as I expected." Ca.s.sie tilted her head a little. "It's not?" A dark smile appeared on his lips. ReadNovelFull.me "We already know that your visions are easy to misinterpret. You haven't seen us die, really… right? The light go out of our eyes, our bodies being torn apart, and so on. You just saw us badly injured and falling into the darkness. So what? I have already fallen into the Sky Below once, and here I am, good as new." The blind girl hesitated. "You fell into the Sky Below?" Sunny waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, but that doesn't matter. Wait, no… actually, it does matter. It's the reason I came to see you. I have almost forgotten because of this… charming revelation of yours." After that, he grew silent, thinking about Ca.s.sie's vision of their death. Despite Sunny's bravado, inside, he wasn't as nonchalant about it as he wanted to appear. Yes, her visions had been misleading in the past… but not all of them. Some were as straightforward as possible. And yes, although he had already gone through the endless void below the Chained Isles once, there was no guarantee that he would survive it second time, not unless he had chosen to do so himself. After the Twisted Rock was destroyed by the Crushing, Sunny managed to survive due to three reasons: one of them was Mordret, one was that he had already been near the Tear, and the other was the [Where is my eye?] enchantment that he had used in a moment of desperation. That enchantment had almost killed him, itself, and only failed to do so because his already exhausted shadow essence ran out just at the right time. If his reserves had not been depleted, and he was forced to endure staring into the eternity of Fate for a few seconds more, his mind would have been destroyed completely. If he was thrown into the Sky Below once more, away from the Tear, there would be a very slim chance of him finding the rift in the ocean of divine flame again. Especially if he was as badly wounded as Ca.s.sie implied. And there were giant birds fighting wyverns in the sky above. So, what he had to do now was… well, what the h.e.l.l was he supposed to do? The vision did not provide any actionable information. The only thing Sunny could think of was to work really hard to get himself a flight-capable Memory or Echo before winter. And maybe make a will. He sighed. "So… what have you been doing to prevent the two of us from dying? How can you calmly dig around in the mud, knowing what is going to happen?" Ca.s.sie lingered for a moment, then smiled. "In fact, I am digging around in the mud for that very reason." Sunny snorted. "What are you hoping to find there? A pair of wings?" She shook her head. "No… I am just hoping to find a preserved root." 'A root? What can a root do to save us from dying?' He kept quiet for a bit, then said: "Alright. Suit yourself. Anyway, I wanted to talk with you about something." Ca.s.sie looked into the depths of the forest, then nodded. "About what?" Sunny gathered his thoughts, then explained: "I have found a Nightmare Seed. A very special one, that contains a very special Second Nightmare. And I want to challenge it after the winter solstice… actually, scratch that. I want to challenge it by the end of the autumn." His initial plan was to give himself and his companions seven months to prepare, but considering what Ca.s.sie saw happening in winter, these plans had to change. Whatever it was that she predicted, facing it as a Master would be much more desirable than facing it as an Awakened. …Unless her vision took place inside the Nightmare, of course. Regardless, now, he decided to return to the Ivory Tower before the autumn was over. Six months was a tight amount of time to get ready, but now so different from his initial plan. He could make it work, provided that other people whom he wanted to take with him would, too. "That Seed is also located in a very special place. In fact, it's right above our heads, in the Ivory Tower. I found a way to get there without being killed by the Crushing… although that other path is, arguably, just as dangerous." Sunny pointed down. "It's in the Sky Below. Effie and Kai are coming to the Chaines Isles to join me. We hope that you will challenge the Nightmare with us, too. Oh... and we'll need your help getting into the Night Temple. There's an item we need to retrieve there." Ca.s.sie faced him and remained silent for a while. With her eyes being hidden by a mask and her face unmoving, it was hard to tell what she was feeling or thinking about. Finally, she said: "You want me to join? After what I have done to you?" Unseen to her, a cold expression appeared on Sunny's face. He looked at the blind girl for a long time, then shrugged. "Why not? We don't have to be friends to go into a Nightmare together. We don't even need to like each other. We can just be… temporary allies. Wasn't that what I was to you, anyway? If you can handle that, so can I. I don't mind being used, as long as I get to use you in return. Pretty simple." Ca.s.sie turned away and didn't say anything for a few moments. Then, she answered: "Alright. I will go to the Night Temple with you, and help you conquer the Second Nightmare. But… I want your help with something in return." Sunny raised an eyebrow. "My help? With what?" The blind girl hesitated for a second, and then said: "You have been to the Shipwreck Island, haven't you? The creature that dwells there… in a few months, I want you to help me kill it." ReadNovelFull.me?
472	Chapter 472 : Worthy Reward Sunny stared at the blind girl with surprise clearly written on his face. Allowing this surprise to seep into his voice, he asked: "The vine creature? You want to kill that thing?" Why would she want to attemptto do something that dangerous? Ca.s.sie nodded. He shook his head. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d sprawls through the entire island, its vines buried underground. It is Corrupted, which means that our weapons will barely be able to out it. And, if that was not bad enough, the vines produce clouds of deadly poison. Are you sure that you want to attack It? The blind girl lingered for a few moments, then answered calmly: "It is a Corrupted Monster, indeed. It is terrifying and lethal, yes, But I am sure that we can destroy it, with enough preparation. Everyone has weaknesses, after all. That creature is susceptible to fire, for example. There must be other things we might be able to exploit, too! Sunny thought rota while, then shrugged. "Fine. I will help your cohort fight the monstrosity on the Shipwreck Island. I will not promise that we will succeed, though! Ca.s.sie sighed. Then we have a deal. My cohort and I will remain in the Desecrated Growth until our business here is done. I expect it to take a month, at least Maybe more. After, we will return to the Sanctuary, recuperate, and proceed to the Shipwreck Island! She paused for a moment and then added: "And then, I will help you challenge the Second Nightmare: Sunny smiled. "If we don't die before that, you mean?" The blind girl turned back to the roots of the dead tree. "...Yes. If we don't die before that! ReadNovelFull.me On his way back to the Sanctuary, Sunny had a lot to think about. Firstly, there was the fact that he would have to cooperate with Ca.s.sie again, which made him feel all sorts of complicated emotions. The manner of their relationship, at least, was set clear — it was purely an alliance of convenience, and nothing else. He could put away his resentment for the sake of mutual benefit After all, Sunny could be a very pragmatic person when he needed to be. Secondly, there was the perspective of returning to the wreck of the ancient ship, this time to do bathe with the vine monster that ruled over the island. Sunny knew very well how dangerous that thing was, so he had a lot of preparations to do if he wanted to come out of that fight in one piece. The divine flame augmentation of the Cruel Sight, however, was going to come in very handy. And lastly, there was the ominous prediction that Ca.s.sie had made about both of them dying sometime in winter. Or falling into the Sky Below, at least. That\_ he didn't even know what to think about that. However, Sunny was not going to let this vision affect his decisions. The last time he had tried to act on the knowledge received through Ca.s.sie's prophetic gift did not end well for him\_ or. anyone, for that matter. The best thing to do was to keep it in his mind, but continue'. act as if nothing had changed. At least he thought that this was the best course. Tired and mentally exhausted from the long journey to and back from the Desecrated Grove, Sunny approached the Sanctuary of Noctis in the middle of the night. His shadow essence reserves were almost depleted, and his head buzzed from all the thoughts swarming inside of it. Landing on the soft gra.s.s and hearing the familiar sound of water falling over the edge of the island, Sunny gritted his teeth. "Forget about it for now. First things first.: The moon was high in the sky, which meant that he was finally going to get his sweet, enchanting reward. His desire to find the source of the miraculous coins the dead Chain Worm had brought with it to the Iron Hand Island staled this whole ordeal, and now, the coins would be its end. His prize was waiting for him up ahead\_ Entering the Sanctuary, Sunny walked through the empty garden and approached the clear pond in its center. Stopping fora couple of moments to make sure that no one was watching him, he then crossed the stone path leading to the small island in its center. There, a white altar stood in the shade of an ancient tree, and an obsidian knife lay on its surface. 'The moment of truth.: Sunny summoned the Covetous Coffer, took out one of the gold coins out of it, and placed it on the altar. The coin shimmered, reflecting the moonlight and then disappeared. Your shadow grows stronger] A big smile appeared on Sunny's face. Summoning the runes, he read: Shadow Fragments, [224/2000], 'It works!' Initially, Sunny thought of going about using the coins in a slow and deliberate manner, throwing a dozen or so on the altar each time he had to return to the real world — to minimize the chances of being noticed and well as arising suspicion. But now that the reward was in his sight he decided against It No\_ he wanted all of it right now. He deserved it. Putting the wooden box on the altar, he turned it to the side, and then put his hand inside. A moment later, a stream of golden coins flowed onto the white surface. Then, they all started to disappear. [Your shadow grows stronger.[ [Your shadow grows stronger.[ [Your shadow grows stronger...] In the end, Sunny ended up sacrificing all fourteen hundred or so coins to the altar. Frightened to believe that it actually happened, he summoned the runes again, then rubbed his eyes, and read the line describing his shadow fragments three times in a row — just to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving to him. Luckily, they weren't. The runes now showed, 'I did it.. I did it? In the first two months on the Chained Isles, Sunny worked really hard to hunt down Nightmare Creatures and slay them. And yet, he had only been able to collect two hundred fragments. His last journey, harrowing as it had been, though... gave him so much more. A wide grin appeared on Sunny's face. '...Who said that greed is a sin? It's a virtue! A G.o.dd.a.m.n virtue, I say!' ReadNovelFull.me?
473	Chapter 473 : Mobius Loop A Big Hit with Young Adults Feel the fighting spirit surge and burst through your Beautiful Warriors' tight armors. Queen's Blade Visit Site Because of the sudden influx of so many shards, Sunny got disoriented and swayed. His body was subtly rebuilding itself, growing stronger, more powerful\_ the difference was stark enough for him to feel it with every fiber of his being. As Awakened absorbed soul shards—or shadow fragments, in his case—the capacity of their cores grew, and their physical capability was slightly enhanced. Usually, it happened at such small increments that the difference was hard to judge, but this time, Sunny had done something pretty preposterous and consumed fourteen hundred shadow fragments all at once. He wondered if anyone else in history had accomplished the same feat. 'Not... not likely.... Grabbing the edge of the altar to support himself, he endured the strange and euphoric sensation as best as he could. How could anyone do such a thing, if — as far as Sunny knew — everyone except Nephis and him were limited to having only one core? They wouldn't even be able to absorb this much... Back on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, Sunny had gone from having almost no shadow fragments to fully saturating his core at a thousand. In the process, he went from being no different from a mundane human, to the pinnacle of humanly possible, to breaking past those limits. Becoming an Awakened had elevated him even further above what was considered normal. He was much stronger and faster than any mundane human could ever hopeto be, and capable of enhancing his prowess even more with essence, achieving truly superhuman might. ReadNovelFull.me And now, he went through a transformation that was similar in scale. his rise on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, becoming so much more powerful. In fact, he was now probably the strongest Awakened both in the waking world and in the Dream Realm, with the exception of those whose Aspects directly enhanced their physique. And even then, he could soil double\_ even triple his physical ability with the help of the shadows. 'Insane!' Sunny drew in a deep breath, then silently flexed his muscles, feeling a new strength course through his veins. He felt.. incredible. Incredibly strong, incredibly fast, incredibly resilient But that wasn't all. The capacity of both of his Shadow Cores was also dramatically enhanced, almost doubling in a matter of seconds. Therefore, his e e of shadow essence were now also much deeper. That meant that he could fight M his peak form for longer, use the active enhancements of his Memories more, remain in the form of a shadow for a bigger amount of time, control his shadows at a larger distance, and travel further when using Shadow Step. In short.. Sunny had just become even more of a menace. Slowly getting accustomed to his new and improved physique, he couldn't help but smile. Now that he had finally made use of the miraculous coins, his previous disaster of an expedition came into perspective. Despite how much he had suffered and how close he had brushed with death, it all felt worth it, somehow. His goal was to grow stronger, and Sunny had just made a big step toward that goal. \_It felt good. While Sunny was consumed with triumphant thoughts, his gaze fell on the obsidian knife that lay on the altar. He lingered for a while, then cautiously reached with his hand and touched the cold stone handle. Will it work?' That knife remained on the altar of the Sanctuary for as long as humans lived there. Pretty much every Awakened that had ever set foot into the Citadel tried to raise it off the white surface at least once... including Sunny. But none of them succeeded. The knife seemed to weigh more than the entire island itself, as if it was glued to the altar. No matter how much people tried, no one had ever managed to move it even by a millimeter. However, when Sunny used the miraculous coins for the first time, he seemed to have noticed that the obsidian knife moved a little. Therefore... he had made a conclusion that if he were to place enough coins on the altar, the knife might become detached from it and fall into his hands. Holding his breath, Sunny wrapped his fingers around the handle. '...Here goes nothing?' Putting all of his strength into the pull, he tried to lift the obsidian blade of the altar. The knife, however, offered no resistance at all. It behaved like any knife would, easily sliding off the white stone, which then caused Sunny to lose his balance and tumble to the ground in a graceless roll. Sitting up, he stared at the knife in his hand with wild eyes. Then, he shuddered. 'c.r.a.p!' Sunny half-expected for the entire Sanctuary to suddenly plunge into the Sky Below, or for the Gateway to stop functioning. That's why he wanted to just lift the knife a little, and then place it back down if something had gone awry. Instead, he was now a few steps away from the altar, with no way of getting back to it immediately. \_luckily, none of his fears came true. Despite the fact that the obsidian knife had left its usual spot on the altar, the island seemed fine. Everything was just as it had been a few seconds ago. He exhaled with visible relief. 'Well... good. I wouldn't want to mess things up too bad for everyone here on the Chained Isles: Rising to his feet, Sunny looked at the obsidian knife. It seemed. have been cut from a single piece of black stone, with its blade sharpened and polished. There wasn't anything special in how the knife looked. In fact, it seemed a little bit crude, almost primitive. There was also one little problem. The knife did not turn into a Memory. Sunny had expected it to disintegrate into a rain of sparks and enter his core, just like Weaver's Mask had done, or like Shard Memories behaved when raised by a new wielder. Mordret had mentioned something to that effect when speaking about the ivory knife in the Night Temple. He told Sunny that one had to spill blood on the black altar, to receive a Memory of the blade that rested on its surface. But the obsidian knife did no such thing. It just remained in his hand, as material and palpable as one could imagine. What was even stranger, though... Was that the knife didn't appear to have a spellweave. lt was, without a doubt a magical item. Sunny could feel that it was, even if he didn't know what properties that entailed. However, when he looked beneath the surface of the knife, he didn't see the familiar pattem of ethereal strings weaving themselves around anchoring lights. What he saw instead was just brilliant radiance, as though the knife was filled to the brim with soul essence. And in that radiance was just a single string... It wasn't the same type of ethereal string, though. It was a... Sunny frowned. A String of Fate. A single String of Fate was somehow placed inside the obsidian knife, folding on itself endlessly, with its two ends connected to create a perfect, neverending circle. Sunny stared at the strange String for a while, and then furrowed his brow. what is that all about? ReadNovelFull.me?
474	Sunny studied the obsidian knife for a while, and concluded that he had no idea what this thing was supposed to be capable of. It wasn't a Memory, and it didn't have a weave, so neither the Spell nor his own ability to perceive and somewhat understand such things could help him. The only thing Sunny knew for certain was that someone had plucked a string from the tapestry of Fate and placed it inside the knife, making a circle out of it… for some mysterious purpose. Everything else was going to have to wait until the next time he heard from Mordret. The lost prince was bound to know more about the obsidian knife, since he seemed to know a lot about the Chained Isles and their past in general. Now, however, Sunny had to deal with another problem… He had to explain the disappearance of the knife to the White Feather clan, somehow. Come morning — or at any moment, really, if someone decided to leave the Dream Realm or entered it in the middle of the night — people would become aware that the knife that no one had been able to lift or move was now gone. Sunny had no doubt that it was not going to take a long time for them to figure out that it was him who had taken it. And after that... 'What to do, what to do…' In the end, he came up with a really crazy idea. Something that he would have never even considered, in normal circ.u.mstances. Something that went against his very nature. ReadNovelFull.me …He went and told Master Roan the truth. Well, the part that had to do with the miraculous coins, to be precise. Visiting the White Feather compound in the middle of the night was a bit strange, but luckily for him, the older man turned out to be up. He was preparing to leave on a patrol, and so rose early to make the necessary preparations. After Sunny was done talking, the mighty griffin rider stared at him for a while with a perplexed expression. Then, he asked to take a look at the knife. Sunny reluctantly handed the obsidian blade over and watched nervously as Master Roan inspected it. He was really hoping that the White Feather clan would not decide to keep it… there were very few things Sunny could do if they did. Finally, the strapping Master returned the obsidian knife to him and asked curiously: "So you managed to lift it by using Noctis coins on the altar?" Sunny nodded. "Yeah… wait, you know about the coins?" Master Roan nodded. "A few have been found here and there on the Isles over the years. It seems that this was the preferred currency people who lived here thousands of years ago used. No one had ever discovered a literal treasure trove of them, though, as you did." He thought for a bit, and then smiled. "Actually, I think I have one stashed somewhere. Wait here for a bit, alright?" With that, Roan disappeared into the stone chateau, and then returned ten or so minutes later, holding a familiar golden coin in his hand. "Found it! I used to carry it with me a lot before, as a lucky charm. Let's go." Together, they returned to the altar island. The first thing Master Roan did was glance at the moon, and then place the coin on the altar. Once again, it gleamed and disappeared, leaving a bewildered expression on the handsome man's face. "I'll be d.a.m.ned! I just received a bit of soul essence. You were right!" He shook his head in astonishment. "To think that these coins had such a use all this time, and no one was the wiser. Good job, Sunless!" Then, Master Roan hesitated for a few moments, and asked: "Can you place the knife back on the altar?" Sunny did as he was asked, and then watched as the mighty griffin rider used all of his formidable power in a vain attempt to lift the obsidian blade off the white surface. When he was done with that futile attempt and stepped back to catch his breath, Sunny simply took hold of the handle and retrieved the knife without any problem. "Interesting!" Then came the moment of truth. Sunny tensed as he waited for the older man's decision. After thinking about it for a while, Master Roan said: "Well… I don't know if you know this, Sunless, but there is a sacred rule among us Awakened in the Dream Realm. The sanct.i.ty of this rule is una.s.sailable and beyond reproach. And that rule is… finders, keepers." Sunny blinked. 'What?' The strapping Master grinned: "So you don't have to worry about either me or Tyris taking that knife from you…" Then, however, his smile dimmed. "...Other people, though, might not be as reasonable. Even if no one knows what power this thing has, or if there even is anything special about it, someone might get too excited and act in a regrettable manner. So I'd advise you to put the knife back on the altar, until the time you feel like using it." Sunny considered his words and had to admit that this, indeed, would be the best decision for now. Master Roan helped him confirm that no one else would be able to take the knife, and carrying it around before venturing into the Nightmare had no benefit. Summoning the memory of how exactly the obsidian blade had been placed on the altar, he put it in its previous spot and took a step back. Master Roan nodded. "Good choice. Please, do tell us if you find out anything about its purpose… at least if it has anything to do with the well-being of the Sanctuary. If need be, we'll compensate you fairly to either take the knife off your hands or lend it for a bit, if that's what you prefer." Sunny agreed to this condition, since it sounded reasonable. With that out of the way, the strapping griffin rider looked at him with sparks dancing in his eyes. "So, uh… what are you going to do now?" Sunny frowned. 'What a weird question…' "Go home, take a shower, deal with some real-world business. Why? What are you going to do?" Master Roan laughed: "What do you mean, what I am going to do? I am going to go on my patrol, and then I'll go… coin hunting, of course. I suspect that everyone in the Sanctuary is going to be searching for Noctis coins like madmen for quite some time after that discovery of yours. People are going to get really busy…" Sunny remained silent for a bit, and then said in a very serious tone: "Good luck, then. Oh, and one thing… if you find a big chest full of them, make your griffin stomp on it a few times before coming closer. Better yet, do that to every chest you encounter in the future. Never trust a chest not to eat you, is what I am trying to say… I sure won't!" With that, he said goodbye to the handsome Master, placed his hand on the altar, and returned to the real world. There was a lot he had to do there… ReadNovelFull.me?
475	Chapter 475: A Few Things To Do Some time later Sunny was in his kitchen, eating the breakfast he had just prepared. He was thinking of all the things on his to-do list. They were, in no particular order selling the soul shards he had brought with him from the Dream Realm, and setting up a stable method to sell more in the future; returning to the Dreamscape to partic.i.p.ate in duels on the professional arenas to practice Shadow Dance and feed the Mantle of the Underworld with victories; observing Rain and thinking of a way to deal with that whole situation; learning how to properly fight with a spear; visiting Neph; writing a report about the Noctis coins for Teacher Julius. There were probably more things he had to do, but was forgetting. But he already had enough on his plate. Finishing the breakfast and staring toward the door of the guest bedroom, where Effie still slept while her spirit wandered the Dream Realm, he shook his head and went out to sit on the porch as he drank some delicious tea. It was early morning. Sunny enjoyed the pleasant view of the terrace district, watched as Rain walked to the public transport hub on her way to school, and then activated his communicator. He was going to start with the simplest of tasks. Navigating to the market section of the network, he habitually imputed his identification number to access the Awakened section of it. Sunny had browsed the wares there before, even if back then he barely had enough money to buy anything. Today, however, things were different Today, he was approaching the network as a seller, not as a buyer. ReadNovelFull.me Sunny entered 'soul shards" as the keywords and stared at the listings, appreciating the number of zeroes in their prices. It seemed as though the value of shards was not uniform... of course, the higher Rank shards cost much more. But people, strangely, also seemed to care about what Nightmare Creature the crystal came from, and how it had been defeated. 'What the h.e.l.l? Apparently, there were\_ collectors among the wealthy mundane humans who were very interested in this sort of thing. Some superst.i.tious Awakened also believed, for some reason, that absorbing "bad" shards would be detrimental to the purity of their souls. Weirdos.: Sunny didn't Imew a lot of things, but one thing he did know was that there was not a single Awakened out there with a pure soul. Even the best of them were murderers by nature, and their hearts were painted black by the nightmares they had experienced. Not to mention that there were no bad or good soul shards. They were all pretty much the same, coming from terrible monsters and earned through bloodshed. Anyway, that was something he was going to consider when creating his own listing. After getting the gist of the pricing, Sunny opened the form to create his own digital shop. Without thinking too much, he named it "Brilliant Emporium and went on to fill out the entire form. Then, it came the time to put his soul shards into the auction. Sunny wrote simply: 'Four soul shards coming from a Fallen Devil, Mordant Mimic. The creature was killed and eaten by the proprietor of the Brilliant Emporium himself. Before that, the Mordant Mimic had been pretending to be a treasure chest and devouring those lured by the promise of treasure. In the end, it bit off more than it could chew.' Satisfied with that, he finalized the listing and stared at it for a bit as if expecting someone to bid instantly. Howeves nothing of the sort happened. With a sigh, Sunny deactivated the communicator and went back inside. 'Soon... I will be rich soon.... It took several days for all four of his soul shard to sell. After that, Sunny had to arrange secure delivery, which was somewhat of a headache on its own. Overall, the process took too much time from his already packed schedule. He also felt that he was missing some crucial knowledge on how to make his business really boom. Even though the product he was trying to sell was first cla.s.s — there was not a lot of Fallen Rank soul shard out there, compared to Dormant and Awakened ones—the bidding had not really taken off. He did make a sizable amount of money, but not as sizable as it could have been. Still, it was enough to purchase a couple of cheap lower Rank Memories. Sunny simply looked forthe most useless ones, which no one else would ever want to buy, and made the minimum offer. Whoever it was selling them must have been happy beyond belief to finally be rid of these things. Sunny was going to feed the Memories to Saint immediately after receiving them, but before that, he spent a lot of time training with the Cruel Sight in his underground dojo. He had a solid understanding of how use a short sword, but a spear was an alien beast to him. Even though Sunny knew the basic rules of combat technique and could perform somewhat effectively while wielding any weapon, he was far, far away from mastering them. How fortunate it was then, that he had a renowned spear master — Raised by Wolves herself — crashing in his guest bedroom. Granted, she couldn't really spar with him due to her condition. But he had Saint for that In the end, the three of them spent a lot of time in his bas.e.m.e.nt Effie was observing and explaining to him what to do, how to do it and most importantly, what not to do. Saint served as his opponent and the mighty enemy to polish his nascent skill against And Sunny\_ Sunny found himself once again in the role of a willing punching bag. It was just like in that week they had spent in the hidden chamber of the ruined cathedral in the Dark City. Sunny even got nostalgic, remembering how cozy and nice things had been back then. Now, howeves things were much better. Not only was there an unlimited amount of delicious food they could eat during the breaks in his training, there were even medicine and ice baths to ease the pain in his bruised and beaten body. Training with Saint was really effective, but she really didn't know how to pull her punches! Just like that a few days pa.s.sed. And then, something that Sunny had been dreading for a while finally, and inevitably, happened. ...It was time to accompany Kai to the premier of the Song of Light and Darkness. ReadNovelFull.me?
476	Chapter 476 A Song of Light and Darkness Some time later, Sunny was pondering his life choices while sitting in the back row of a crowded theater. The lights were already off, which obviously meant nothing to him. People seemed to be really excited to see the movie, though… especially Effie, who was to his side, munching on something called popcorn and staring at the screen. In the darkness, somber music started to play, reverberating through the entire s.p.a.ce and making the audience shiver. Effie suddenly jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "Do you know who is the composer for this thing? It's Griffin! I don't know how they managed to get him, but he scored the entire movie. Such an honor! Can you believe it?" Sunny had no idea who this Griffin guy was, but judging by Effie's reaction, he was someone famous. Ma.s.saging his ribs with a grimace, Sunny offered a stifled answer: "I can." On the screen, the interior of a s.p.a.cious and beautifully lit room appeared. A small girl with silver hair was playing on a carpet, while a handsome man with dark circles under his eyes was shown studying a map. 'What the h.e.l.l…' Was that supposed to be Nephis? If so, her hair should have been black. It only turned silver after her First Nightmare. Effie giggled. ReadNovelFull.me "So cute!" The girl, meanwhile, approached the table and reached to touch the strange sword that lay on it. The blade of the sword was short and misshapen, as though shattered a long time ago. Before the girl could cut herself, though, the man lifted the sword and brought it out of her reach. "This is not a toy, Nephis!" Sunny palmed his face and grimaced. "But, daddy… why is your sword broken?" The man smiled. "So what if it is broken? It is still sharp." Then, he put his hand on the girl's shoulder and looked at her with a very serious expression: "One day you will wield a sword too, darling. When you do, remember one thing: we, Awakened, only raise arms to protect humanity. As long as we don't give up, no matter how dire the situation is, there will be hope. Just like this sword, humanity is more resilient than it seems!' Sunny tilted his head. 'Wait, this doesn't even make sense…' The scene, however, was already over. The screen turned black for a few moments, and the movie transitioned into the future. Nephis — now a languid jade beauty with a slim waist, generous figure, long eyelashes, and mesmerizing grey eyes — was entering the Academy. What followed was a long training montage showing her defeating every other Sleeper there with a training sword, all the while offering words of wisdom. Like "never give up hope", or "remember your duty", or "we are humans!". The propaganda was so tacky and laid so thick Sunny could help but cringe The only person the jade beauty couldn't defeat was a handsome young man with masculine features, broad shoulders, and a n.o.ble bearing… Han Li Caster. 'Oh, no. Oh, no…' Sunny should have guessed by the invitation Kai had given him, but the director of the movie was obviously hinting at the nascent romantic feelings between the two. Their conversations in the Academy seemed to be about swordsmanship, but were also somehow deeply flirtatious. The actors had mad chemistry together. He wanted to vomit, but the audience was clearly enthralled by the two leads. Sunny didn't dwell on this preposterous thing for long, though… because right about then, his own character was introduced. 'What he Spell is this?!' The actor hired to play him… was a literal child! It was a teenage boy of about thirteen years of age, with a mischievous grin and a face that, for lack of better words, simply begged to be punched. Worse than that, he was shown as extremely uneducated, clumsy, and naive. In short… Sunny was the comic relief! He turned to Effie in outrage, only to see her laughing silently. "Oh, man… who's the casting director for this movie, I need to send them flowers!" Even his shadows were laughing. Both of them! Sunny gritted his teeth, promised to exact revenge on Kai and Effie for making him endure this, and turned back to the screen. Finally, Nephis entered the Dream Realm and found herself on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. The coral labyrinth and the dark sea were recreated with such detail that he couldn't help but shiver. 'Well… they did their research, at least!' The audience was holding their breaths during Neph's journey to the Dark City. The terrifying nature of the dark tides and the deadly battles with Awakened Nightmare Creatures populating the Labyrinth created a truly tense, suffocating atmosphere. Of course, everyone knew that the main character was not going to die in the first half of the movie. But that's where Sunny — as well as Ca.s.sie — came into play. Just as he had expected, the movie showed them as a burden that had to be carried by Nephis on her heroic journey. But since very few people knew who Sunny was, his fate was uncertain. Nephis was bound to survive, but what about her friends? And, thanks to his character, there were also moments of pleasant levity amidst all the tension. A few times, the whole audience exploded with laughter after Sunny on the screen did something especially stupid or said something really outrageous. He had also slowly developed a catchphrase. It was… "Are you crazy?!" That not only allowed the audience to chuckle, but also gave Nephis the opportunity to educate her worthless follower, thus naturally delivering a lot of necessary exposition. The real Sunny wasn't amused, though. Because they weren't laughing with him… they were laughing at him. 'Idiots! What do you even know?' They didn't know anything... Since no one really knew what the three of them had gone through on their way to the Dark City, the writer simply came up with some dire dangers for Nephis to overcome. Eventually, though, they made it to the ancient city, and met Effie. Effie was played by a very tall, athletic, and attractive actress. …The way she played her, though, was a sight to behold. Basically, the actress went out of her way to portray the huntress as a charismatic, but not very bright savage who was all brawn and no brain. All she knew how to do was fight, eat, and break things. Sunny turned to Effie and grinned, full of malice and gloating. This was the first time he had ever seen the boisterous young woman... completely mortified. "Casting director, you say? I think I'll send them flowers, too." ReadNovelFull.me?
477	Chapter 477 Standing Ovation After Nephis reached the Dark City and the huntress was introduced, both Sunny and Effie watched the rest of the movie with bleak expressions. The second act took place in the outer settlement, and was dedicated to Neph's heroic attempts to protect and inspire the young men and women trapped there. There were a lot of impa.s.sioned speeches, blood-chilling expeditions into the Dark City, and tense altercations with Gunlaug's forces. There were also a lot of shenanigans from young Sunny, to the delight of the audience. At some point, people started to scream "Are you crazy?!" along with him. And a bit later, there was a sort of comical moment of growth for the character, when he asked "...Am I crazy?" instead and went along with Nephis without offering his usual critique, which was met with cheers. …Most of this part of the movie, though, was dedicated to the genuine respect and camaraderie that blossomed between Nephis and Caster in this dire time. With the handsome male lead as her right hand, Changing Star successfully united the people of the outer settlement, reminded them what it meant to be humans, and challenged Gunlaug to save boisterous Effie from unjust imprisonment. The duel itself was ch.o.r.eographed somewhat well, even if it had nothing to do with the real thing. The moves both the radiant heroine and the cruel tyrant used were flashy and dramatic, and expressed the mood well, but anyone trying to actually fight like that would probably risk having their enemy die of laughter. The third act showed the siege of the Crimson Spire, the heroic stand of the warriors of the first line and Effie, Kai's battle in the skies with the Spire Messengers, and Neph and Caster fighting back to back, slaying dozens and dozens of Nightmare Creatures together. The audience seemed to have forgotten to breathe, and even Sunny had to admit that the battle scene was filmed especially well, showcasing the chaos, horror, and terrible toll of human lives that such a ma.s.sacre was bound to reap. Many side characters that people had already grown to love died heroically, and he even heard a few sobs coming from the darkness. Enhanced by the beautiful music, the atmosphere was not tragic, though. On the contrary, it was triumphant and exalted, as if to die in this way was the highest honor a human could receive. ReadNovelFull.me A bit uncomfortable, Sunny shifted in his seat. 'That Griffin guy really knows how to make a tune…' When the situation was the most desperate, with the dark water rising and threatening to drown all the surviving warriors, a sudden change happened. The sea suddenly retreated, and the monsters started to fall to the ground. Caster, covered in blood and wounds, looked at Nephis and whispered: "My Lady! The sun…" Indeed, the sun had suddenly turned menacingly red, its light eradicating the remaining Nightmare Creatures and a.s.saulting the humans. For the first time in the entire movie, an uncertain and desperate expression appeared on Changing Star's face. Salvation came from someone who the audience would have never expected to see do something so profound — a clear ringing of the bell resounded in the air, and the small figure of clumsy, useless Sunny could be seen near the tower, waving his hand in the air. The survivors rushed toward the Crimson Spire and entered inside. There, Nephis looked up, and then turned to Sunny. "Someone has to stall the Terror so that everyone could escape. I will do battle with that nightmare, but there's an important task you must complete. Lead all these people to the Gateway!" Sunny on the screen looked at Changing Star with fear: "Lady Nephis… are you crazy? I am just a clumsy kid from the outskirts. How can you entrust something so important to someone like me?" Sunny in the real world suppressed an infuriated groan. People in the audience, though, were rather emotional: "You can do it, Sunny!" "You got this, kid!" "You're a great scout, don't sell yourself short!" On the screen, the beautiful actress playing Nephis looked down on the comical, slightly pathetic boy in front of her and put her hand on his shoulder. "We, Awakened, must rise to the occasion to protect humanity. As long as we don't give up, no matter how dire the situation is, there will be hope. I believe in you, Sunny. You are capable of much more than you think!" With that, she left the survivors and went off to fight the Terror, while Sunny guided everyone to the Gateway. And somewhere in the process, Caster left the group to aid Changing Star in battle. The last scenes of the movie cut between the hundred survivors fighting their way to the Gateway and the tragic duo battling the terrifying creature at the top of the Spire. Many people in the audience were crying, knowing full well that neither of them was going to return to the real world. In the end, Caster heroically sacrificed himself to protect Nephis, breaking the hearts of so many viewers. The survivors found the Gateway and escaped seconds before it was destroyed. The last shot showed bloodied Neph walking out of the tower, holding a broken sword in her hand. As she gazed at the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, a lone tear rolled down her cheek. "As long as we don't give up… there is hope." The screen turned black, and in the next moment, the audience exploded with applause. Sunny stared at all those people, many of them applauding with tears in their eyes, with a strange expression on his face. 'Did they… actually like that c.r.a.p?' He turned to Effie, lingered for a moment, and asked: "Uh… did you like it?" The former huntress gave him a long look. Then, she said: "What I am, an idiot? Of course I didn't like it. It's such a piece of c.r.a.p!" Sunny exhaled with relief. At least there was one other sane person in this theater… ReadNovelFull.me?
478	After the movie was other, Kai appeared to deafening applause and gave a short speech, congratulating the director and the crew of the movie and then inviting them on the stage for a short Q&A. Sunny stared at the director of this travesty, seriously considering silently a.s.sa.s.sinating him for a few moments. Then, he glanced at Effie, who — judging by her face — was thinking the same. He lingered for a few moments, then asked: "What do you want to do?" The young woman inhaled deeply, turned to him, and smiled. "...I am hungry. Let's go eat." Together, they snuck out of the screening hall and went to find the theater's restaurant. There were a lot of people there who, just like them, had decided to skip the PR portion of the event and were now enjoying food and drinks, discussing the movie with lively expressions. Sunny and Effie got themselves something to eat and sat at an empty table, then grew quiet for a while. Each was preoccupied with their own thoughts. Now that Sunny had a little time to digest the movie, his anger subsided a bit. In fact, he was even happy. Sure, the way he was portrayed in the story was as far from the truth as it could have been, and more than a little bit humiliating. But… in a way, this was exactly what he needed. ReadNovelFull.me Now that Nephis had become his master, he didn't have to hide his strength and True Name that much. But he still preferred to remain in the shadows — not only because there was a possibility of becoming masterless again, but also because it was the best way to be in the world so full of hidden dangers and powerful enemies. Being renowned would make a lot of things difficult for him, and make every battle he fought after that harder. After all, there was no better advantage than being underestimated by the enemy. From that point of view, the ridiculous way in which he was portrayed in the movie was a blessing. It made the possibility of anyone thinking highly of him that much lower. Of course, not everyone was going to watch that travesty, but many would, and their opinion was going to spread. Who would believe that a Changing Star's b.u.mbling sidekick was, in fact, one of the most dangerous Awakened alive, and thus consider him as a serious threat? ...Pretty much no one. So, in fact, the director of the Song of Light and Darkness unintentionally made him a favor. Satisfied with that conclusion, Sunny looked around. He saw several people looking at Effie with stunned expressions, clearly gathering their courage to come and introduce themselves. But no one had, yet. He could hear their whispers, though: "Look! It's her, Raised by Wolves!" "Oh, my!" "I heard about her situation, but to actually see... She is so brave!" Effie herself was strangely quiet. She ignored the whispers, then looked at him and asked: "Hey, Sunny. Can I ask you something?" Sensing that this was not going to be a simple question, he tensed a little, and then said: "Sure. What is it?" Effie hesitated for a few moments, then lowered her voice, so that no one would be able to overhear: "Did Caster really leave to help Nephis?" 'Ah…' Sunny stared at his friend for a bit, then shook his head. "...No. He left to make sure that she dies." Effie inhaled deeply. "...I see." She didn't continue that conversation, as though his answer confirmed something that she had already suspected. Well… despite her often boorish demeanor and the way she was portrayed in the movie, Effie was anything but stupid. In fact, she was extremely intelligent, cool-headed, and cunning — otherwise, she would have never survived for three long years alone on the streets of the Dark City. It was only natural for her to have suspicions, considering how much she knew. Luckily, Effie did not ask anything else. …Mostly because of a strange man who entered the restaurant, looked around, noticed their table, and walked over with gleaming eyes. 'Oh no… another fan of Raised by Wolves…' The man stopped in front of them, glanced at Effie, and then turned to Sunny with an awed expression: "A… are you Awakened Sunless?" Sunny blinked. 'What?' "Uh… yes?" A bright smile appeared on the man's face. "Oh my! Oh, goodness! It is such an honor! I am such a huge fan of yours!" 'What is happening?!' Sunny stared at the beaming man, trying to comprehend what he was saying. Misjudging his expression, the man hurriedly said: "Oh, sorry! I was so nervous that I forgot to introduce myself. I am a writer… in fact, it was I who wrote the screenplay for A Song of Light and Darkness. And it's all… all thanks to you!" Effie stared at Sunny with an expression that didn't promise him anything good and asked in a sweet voice: "Oh? All thanks to him, really? How come?" '...I'm in trouble!' The man's smile grew even wider. "Exploration Report on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e! Ah, it is such a brilliant piece of academic work. I based most of my research on your profound work, Awakened Sunless! Everyone on the crew and everyone in the cast read it at least once. I even insisted on giving you the co-writer credit, but sadly, it was impossible… you know, due to you not being a member of the screenwriter's guild. But fret not! I'll let everyone know that if it weren't for you, this movie wouldn't exist!" Sunny stared at the man with wide eyes, and then said in a weak voice: "Please, don't…" But it was of no use. "Ah, you are so humble! So modest! Well, of course, what else would I expect from a researcher as talented as you? But it wouldn't be right for me to receive all the praise… no, people must know…" He looked at the restaurant and proclaimed, not even trying to keep his voice down: "...that it is you, Awakened Sunless, who they must thank for being able to enjoy our wonderful film!" Sunny looked at the floor. 'I guess I am going to have to kill Kai. Or wait, no. Actually, that probably makes us even after the whole Mongrel disaster...' ReadNovelFull.me?
479	Luckily for Sunny, Kai was finished with his business soon, and they were able to leave the theater for a more private s.p.a.ce. …Otherwise, there might have been civilian casualties at the premier of the Song of Light of Darkness. After that d.a.m.n writer had announced Sunny's ident.i.ty to everyone in the restaurant, the amount of people asking him to say "Are you crazy?!" to their faces almost pushed him to the brink. In any case, soon he found himself in a sophisticated lounge in the company of Effie, Kai, and Aiko. The pet.i.te girl looked very sharp in a fashionable business suit and radiated a sense of cold professionalism that made people think twice before approaching laidback and friendly Kai… which, Sunny supposed, was a big part of being an idol's manager. When they were seated, the idol in question gave them a guilty look. "Well… uh… it wasn't that bad, was it?" Effie smiled at him, and said sweetly: "Sure, sure! But also, the only reason you're still alive is that it would be a ch.o.r.e to clean the blood of my wheelchair." Kai chuckled nervously and glanced at Sunny: "What about you?" Sunny shrugged. ReadNovelFull.me "I don't mind. Actually, I am happy to be portrayed as a b.u.mbling fool." The charming archer blinked. "Really?" Sunny gave him a serious nod. "Of course! It's easier to fool people who think that you're the fool. So… I don't mind." Kai looked away in embarra.s.sment. "Anyway… you don't have to worry too much, really. These types of films are usually made to boost public morale. No one is really going to take them seriously. Even mundane people understand the difference between reality and fiction when it comes to the Awakened." Sunny laughed. "Sure. When they want to." He was a mundane person for most of his life too, after all. And even though he grew up in the outskirts, he used to consume cheap entertainment just like everyone else in the waking world. Yes, he knew how to recognize propaganda and what to not take seriously, but at the same time, many things that had nothing to do with the truth found their way into his mind and silently became beliefs. That was how well-engineered falsehoods worked. They spent some time chatting and joking about especially ridiculous moments in the movie, and at the right moment, Sunny said: "By the way… I talked to Ca.s.sie. She's in. But we'll need to do it before winter, so minus one month for preparations." Effie smiled. "Good news! I'll start packing, then. I am south of Bastion right now, so it will take me… two, three months to get to the Chained Isles? Unless one of you knows a friendly local Saint." Sunny thought about Saint Tyris, and remind silent. No, that woman frightened him too much to ask for a favor. He wondered how Master Jet had managed to convince her, in the first place. Kai nodded. "We can meet in Bastion and travel north together. It will be safer." Aiko, meanwhile, was looking at them with a confused expression on her delicate face. "Travel north? Do it before winter? What are you talking about?" A guilty expression suddenly appeared on the charming archer's face. "That… uh… I haven't mentioned it before. But, basically, I am going to join Sunny, Effie, and Ca.s.sie to… to challenge the Second Nightmare." Aiko stared at him with a shocked expression. "Not to steal from Sunny, but… are you crazy?! Have you told the agency?" Kai smiled weakly. "...No? I was hoping that you will tell them, actually. They'll listen to you! Isn't it a good thing, really? For public relations. Plus, as a Master, I won't have to visit the Dream Realm every day." The pet.i.te girl scoffed. "If you survive!" Then, she glanced at Sunny and Effie, and shook her head. "Ah, who am I kidding… I guess I'll be jobless again, soon. You guys have fun for a bit, I'll go get a drink." With that, she rose and went toward the bar. Sunny thought for a bit, then rose, too. "I'll go keep her company." Kai gave him a thankful smile. "I appreciate it." 'What does he think I am going to do?' Sunny gave his friend a confused look, then followed Aiko. Of course, he wasn't doing it out of consideration. In fact, he wanted to talk to her about something in private. When he approached the bar and stood near the pet.i.te girl, she gave him a dirty look. "Whatever it is, no. h.e.l.l no..." Sunny blinked. "What do you mean?" Aiko smiled crookedly. "I know that look of yours. The last time you looked at me like that, Stev and I almost ended up as the Blood Lord bait. What, do you want me to join your suicide crusade?" He shook his head. "No, no. Nothing of the sort. In fact, it's about your job…" The pet.i.te girl raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Sunny nodded. "Well, since there's a possibility of you losing a part of your income, and Kai tells me that you are really good at managing stuff... how would you like to help me manage a blossoming new business?" Aiko looked at him with a dubious expression. "Are you opening an a.s.sa.s.sination agency?" He almost choked. "What? What made you think that? No, I just found a way to move items between the real world and the Dream Realm. My dream, if you need to know, is to become the proprietor of an elite Memory store…." The pet.i.te girl stared at him with wide eyes. "...Really?" Sunny frowned. "Yes, really! Why, can't I have a dream? Just imagine, sitting safely in a fashionably decorated store without having to risk my skin in the Dream Realm, and have tons of money simply flow into my hands. That's the stuff dreams are made of, is it not?" Aiko shook her head with a bewildered expression on her face. "I guess?" Sunny smiled. "You understand! The others might think that it's silly, but I know you wouldn't, as a former business owner yourself. Anyway, I won't have a large enough a.r.s.enal of Memories for a while, but I can start creating a reputation for the store already. A brand name, or whatever it's called. So I just sold four Fallen soul shards on the network, from a devil I killed… and ate. But for some reason, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d's shards did not fetch a really good price…" Aiko looked at him with a frown. "Well… what category of the vendor license did you apply for? Who's your appraiser? What's your feature strategy? SEO approach? Pool of endors.e.m.e.nts?" He remained silent for a bit, then said: "...You see, you said a lot of words, and most of them even sound familiar, but I have no idea what you mean." 'What the h.e.l.l was she talking about? What's a SEO? Are there different licenses? Wait, do I even need a license? Don't tell me that I need to pay taxes, too...' The pet.i.te girl closed her eyes for a moment. "None? You did none of these things?" Sunny nodded. "It's a miracle that you even managed to sell those shards!" He smiled. "That's why I need someone smart and resourceful like you to help me! For te… five percent commission of every sale. Just think about it. How many Awakened out there can bring soul shards to the real world, and bring spices to the Dream Realm? We'll be rich in no time!" Aiko sighed and remained silent for a bit. Then, she said: "That is a high-risk business venture that wholly depends on two unpredictable factors — you staying alive and you continuously hunting down Nightmare Creatures, which are usually in contradiction to each other. So in normal circ.u.mstances, I would have said no. But… it is you, I guess. Plus, you have a good relationship with all three of the newest Named Awakened, as well as a lot of prestige as a member of Changing Star's cohort. And now even some pop culture fame…" Aiko shrugged, thought for a long while, and then said categorically: "Ten percent." Sunny grinned and offered her his hand for a handshake. "Perfect! Welcome aboard Sunny's Brilliant Emporium!" The pet.i.te girl stared at him in shock. "Wait… you actually named the store Brilliant Emporium?! Can the naming be changed?!" He shook his head. "No. It's non-negotiable. But what's wrong with that name? It's a great name! I think that it's… you know... brilliant…" ReadNovelFull.me?
480	After that night, Sunny became really busy. 'Delegating… that's the secret of success.' That was his thought after Aiko joined the Brilliant Emporium as a manager. With her help, he went through all the necessary paperwork to make his improvised network store seem legit. Sunny noticed the difference right after listing the soul shards he had gathered from the inhabitants of the Sanctuary for sale. Not only did they got purchased much faster, but the price was also pleasantly higher than expected. He also didn't need to spend a lot of his severely lacking time on managing sales, delivery, and purchases. Aiko streamlined the process and created a simple and efficient system where he handed her the inventory and the updated information on what items the Awakened wanted to receive from him in the Dream Realm, and she did the rest. While its volume of sales was not overwhelming, the Brilliant Emporium started functioning as a real business with a constant level of activity and a slowly growing client base. Sunny just had to collect the money and spend it on low-tier Memories to feed to Saint. Well, and remain alive while getting the soul shards, of course. Sadly, despite how appreciative of the concept of delegating he became, this was the only part of his busy life that he could entrust to someone else. All the other things he had to do were either too personal, or too secretive to recruit anyone to help. No one was going to do his research for him, so Sunny had to spend time writing reports, bringing them to Teacher Julius, and working with the old man to make them worthy of being rewarded with contribution points. Nothing had brought him quite as much as the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e report had, but the points were slowly acc.u.mulating. Similarly, now that Ca.s.sie was gone on a long expedition, he was the only one of Neph's friends — of which there were only two, really — who could visit her. That was not a burden, but took away some of his time nevertheless. He also kept an eye on the runes describing her status, and saw the number of soul fragments in her possession increase at a frightening speed almost every day. Sunny didn't know where Nephis was and what she was doing, what kinds of enemies she was fighting, but they must have been as powerful as they were ample in numbers. ReadNovelFull.me He had to keep up. Now that he had received a vast boost to his power through sacrificing the miraculous coins to the white altar in the Sanctuary of Noctis, less than four hundred fragments stood between him and being able to create a third core. That meant that he had to continue venturing into the wilderness of the Chained Isles to hunt down Nightmare Creatures. Armed with the Cruel Sight and the ability to infuse its blade with either invisible soul damage or radiant divine flame, he was now able to go further than he had before, and challenge creatures that previously he chose to avoid. Their deaths rewarded him with shadow fragments, while their bodies gifted him soul shards that were then sold and converted into Memories, and through those, into shadow fragments as well, this time for Saint to consume. It was a virtuous, but exhausting and wildly dangerous cycle. And as if the pressure of having to keep up with Changing Star wasn't enough, he also had to continue training, both with the spear — with the help of Effie and his taciturn demon — and without it, to practice Shadow Dance. That second task, however, had turned out to be much harder than Sunny expected. Before plunging back into the Dreamscape, he decided to be careful and check what the situation with Mongrel was. A quick search on the network could tell him if everyone had forgotten about the masked swordsmen or not. And as it turned out… they did not. To Sunny's dismay, he found out that in the month of his absence, the people infatuated with Mongrel had not only persisted in their excitement, but also brought it to a whole new, truly ridiculous level. All of them were flooding the network with theories and discussions, and countless individuals — even those who missed out on the initial sensation — were waiting with bated breaths for one glorious moment. The return of Lord Mongrel! With each day that pa.s.sed, their antic.i.p.ation only grew stronger. No matter how discrete Sunny could be, once he appeared in the Dreamscape, it was going to create too much noise and attract too much attention. 'd.a.m.n it all! What a disaster!' He was on verge of pulling his hair out in despair. It was worth remembering that the persona of Mongrel — oh irony! — had been created to help him stay anonymous, potentially in order to safely glean secrets about the sovereigns in the future. What a joke it was, that the faceless phantom he created ended up being much more famous and recognizable than its creator. In any case, the situation was seriously messing up Sunny's plans. He simply couldn't use Dreamscape, which caused his progress with Shadow Dance — and the Mantle of the Underworld — to stall. And if that wasn't enough, there was another unexpected problem he encountered. That one wasn't as inconvenient and pernicious, but made him worry a lot, for whatever reason. It was that Sunny had not heard from Mordret again after returning from the Ivory Tower. Despite the fact that several weeks had pa.s.sed, the lost prince remained gone. Sunny's head, once again, had only one voice resounding in it — his own. Usually, that would have been a good sign, but Mordret's absence made Sunny tense and full of vaguely bad premonitions. What could have happened to his mysterious helper? Was he simply unable to establish contact outside of the Sky Below and the Ivory Island, or had something happened to him? There was no answer. Sunny even took out the mirror shard from the Covetous Coffer and smeared a few drops of blood on it, to no result whatsoever. The piece of mirror remained the same — absolutely dark and refusing to reflect anything. It was after one of these fruitless attempts that Sunny left Effie to enjoy the dinner he had cooked for them by herself and went out to sit on the porch in a dark mood. It was early evening, and shadows were slowly growing longer and deeper. Maybe because of his exhaustion, or maybe because of how used he was to being safe in his home, but Sunny got consumed by thoughts and lost track of his surroundings... something that rarely happened. …That was why he was so shocked to hear someone's voice just a few meters away. "...What are you staring at?" Sunny blinked a few times, then focused his sight on the person who had addressed him. In front of him, at a bit of distance, just between the sidewalk and the path leading to his porch, stood a fourteen-year-old girl in a school uniform, with black hair and dark eyes… and a very unamused expression on her pale face. Sunny's chest grew cold. 'c.r.a.p!' It was Rain. Looking right at Sunny, she sighed and repeated: "I said what are you staring at... brat?" ReadNovelFull.me?
481	'What is she doing here?! Why is she talking to me?!' ,m Although Sunny was panicking on the inside, none of the emotions reflected on his face. Armed with the extensive experience of deceit, manipulation, and facing terrifying Nightmare Creatures in melee, he kept a straight face, threw a dark look at Rain, and calmly said: "I am not staring at anything. And who are you calling a brat, you brat? Respect your elders!" The girl scoffed. "What elders? You're obviously younger than me!" Sunny opened his eyes wide in outrage. '...Ouch.' He knew that he looked younger than his age, but to be mistaken for a middle schooler… that was just too much! It was getting dark, so maybe that was the reason for her mistake. Rain, meanwhile, was not done speaking: ReadNovelFull.me "And you were definitely staring at me, with a very nasty expression. I almost tripped! Didn't your parents teach you not to stare?" Sunny opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then opened it once more. "First of all, I am eighteen. Second, I was just zoning out and thinking about stuff… adult stuff that a youngster like you would not even understand! And lastly, my parents taught me all they needed to teach me, but what do they have to do with any of this? They're not here!" Rain mockingly raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You live in this big house all alone?" Sunny furrowed his brow. "Not only do I live in this house alone, I also own it!" …But right at that moment, Effie suddenly shouted from inside: "Sunny! Come eat, dinner is getting cold!" He froze, then felt the tips of his ears growing hot. 'd.a.m.n it, Effie!' "Uh… that's a guest of mine. She's staying over… for reasons." Rain stared at him for a few moments with a funny expression on her face, then asked: "Your name is Sunny?" Sunny shrugged, trying to appear as indifferent as possible. "Sure. Why?" She suddenly laughed. "What's so funny?" "No, no! It's just… my mom calls me Rainy. What a coincidence!" He relaxed. 'Oh… for a moment, I was afraid that she remembers me. But it doesn't seem that way. Good. That is good…' Was he a little bit disappointed? Sunny took out his communicator, pressed a b.u.t.ton on it, and threw an etched chip that slid from the slick device to Rain. She was in process of asking another question: "Oh, and by the way, I often see you meandering on the porch and skipping school… are you a delinquent or wh…" Then, she caught the chip and stared at it in confusion. "Uh… what's this?" Sunny smiled with a corner of his mouth. "Can't you see? That's a government-issued citizenship chip. Now how would I have one if I wasn't of legal age?" Rain looked at the chip, then grew even paler than usual. "You, you really are eighteen?" She was so mortified that she even used the proper honorifics. Sunny laughed. "Of course I am! As a respectable adult, I never lie. I am the most honest person in the world, really." The girl seemed like she was currently wishing to sink into the earth. "Oh… I am so s—sorry, then. I didn't think…" As a child that grew up in a good family, she was most likely taught to be very polite to elders, so this situation was more or less a nightmare. Sunny himself had never a.s.sociated with types of people who were particular about etiquette, but from what he had seen in Rain's school, among her ilk, social hierarchy and proper rituals were all the rage. Luckily, Effie decided to appear at that very moment to put an end to the awkward situation. Opening the door, she rolled her wheelchair onto the porch while saying angrily: "Listen, doofus, are you going to eat or not? Because if not, I'll eat your portion too, you know…" Then, she stopped and stared at Rain, then at Sunny. After a few moments, she asked: "Who's your friend?" Sunny rubbed his face. "Eat as much as you want. And this girl lives in the neighborhood. She was just pa.s.sing by." Rain nodded. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. I, uh… am very sorry. I was just on my way home from school, and made a mistake. You see, what has happened…" Effie grinned, then gestured for her to stop talking. "Let me guess… this one right here was zoning out with a nasty expression on his face, and then looked at you and said something wildly inappropriate?" Rain blinked a couple of times, then said: "Yes! I mean, no… he didn't say anything. It was me, I said something inappropriate!" The former huntress shook her head. "Then you're lucky! Sunny here is a bit special. One of a kind! The things that sometimes come out of his mouth…" Sunny stared at her in outrage and hissed: "The things that come out of my mouth?! You're the one to talk!" She sighed, then looked at Rain with a hurt expression on her face: "You see how he bullies me? Ah, that's no way to treat a guest, Sunny. So ungracious! What will this nice neighborhood kid even think…" Rain energetically shook her head. "No, no! I won't think anything. I… have to go home, actually. It's been nice meeting you!" With that, she hurriedly turned around a made a step to walk away. Effie raised her voice a little: "Bye! Nice meeting you, too! If you feel guilty about the misunderstanding, you can stop by any time! With food! All will be forgiven!" Sunny stared at her with wide eyes, not quite believing what he was hearing. Finally, when Rain's figure disappeared behind the green fence, Effie turned to him and smiled. "...It's almost like there's a factory somewhere in the city releasing whole batches of tiny, pale, bony teenagers. That girl is almost as pale as you, Sunny! I can't believe it…" With that, she shook her head, turned her wheelchair, and went back inside to continue her dinner. Leaving Sunny alone, flabbergasted and trying to determine if he was currently awake. '...What was that? What just happened?' Of all the countless scenarios he had in his head of how his first meeting with Rain would go… This was definitely not one of them! ReadNovelFull.me?
482	Sunny was too shaken by what had just happened to do anything else today. So, he just went down to the bas.e.m.e.nt, entered the Dream Realm, and remained in his small room in the Sanctuary instead of going out to fight Nightmare Creatures. There, he just slept peacefully for the entire night. This was a very strange way to act for Sunny, but many Awakened did just that every day. Unless their Citadel was under attack — which happened frequently in most parts of the Dream Realm — or they were a.s.signed a certain duty, people just remained in their quarters, slept, and returned to the real world without throwing themselves into any kind of danger. Others performed various tasks to earn a livelihood in the Citadel, all the while staying safe behind its walls. Few frequently ventured outside and challenged the wilderness of the Dream Realm. And who could blame them? Most people were made Awakened against their will, after all. It was the Spell that wanted humans to risk their lives, go through deadly trials and endure terrible suffering, not people themselves. So there was nothing wrong with a person who wanted to stay as safe as possible, for as long as possible. If anything, it was Sunny who behaved abnormally. In any case, he felt refreshed and more balanced when he returned to the real world in the morning. A good night of sleep helped him put his unexpected encounter with Rain in perspective. Yes, it was an unfortunate mistake on his part, and yes, the fact that she now knew his face and name was less than ideal. But truly, nothing too bad had happened. Rain just thought of him as a neighbor. Not even an acquaintance, just a… stranger. Which was just as Sunny wanted it. To be on the safe side, he could avoid leaving the house for a while, altogether. ReadNovelFull.me …And yet, in the evening, he found himself sitting on the porch again, enjoying the view and a cup of tea, as he had already grown used to. 'After yesterday, I doubt that she'll ever want to approach this house again. So I should be alright…' But as it turned out, he was not. Sunny noticed Rain walking from the public transport terminal long before she came anywhere near his home, because one of his shadows was stationed further down the street to keep a lookout. He sighed, then lowered his eyes and pretended to study the synthwood surface of the porch, hoping to avoid making eye contact with the teenage girl. This time, he was not going to give her a reason to come closer and talk to him. However, it was all for naught. When Rain approached the path leading to his door, she slowed down a bit, hesitated, then turned and walked directly to him. 'What the h.e.l.l…' Sunny raised his head and stared at her with a bit of surprise. "Uh… hi. It's you again." She nodded, then took off her backpack and produced a big food container out of it, seemingly full of something delicious. Then, Rain handed it to Sunny. "Here. My mom made it. Your friend said to bring food, right? Oh… and I'm really sorry. For, you know… yesterday." Sunny blinked a couple of times, then took the container from her hands and stared at it for a bit. 'd.a.m.n Effie… who told her to ask for food? I cook great food for the both of us myself!' Then, he pretended to smile and said: "Yeah, she did. And no problem. Say thanks to your mom." Sunny thought that the conversation would be over after that, but Rain lingered. There was a sort of curious expression on her face. "It's nothing much, just some pasta with mushrooms and cream sauce. My favorite. Uh… Sunny, right? I'm Rain, by the way." He looked at the food container again, reevaluating his stance on its existence. Nothing special, huh… he was willing to bet that the ingredients she listed were all natural, too. A far cry from synthpaste people like him usually consumed to keep their bellies full in the outskirts. Sunny knew a few guys who would kill to eat something like this. His smile became more genuine. "Yup, I'm Sunny. Nice to meet you, Rain." She smiled slightly, hesitated for a few moments, and then asked: "So you're really eighteen? And live alone in your own house? I mean, with that nice friend of yours." Sunny shrugged. "Sure. She's just staying over until she finds a place of her own, though. Why?" The girl looked at him with wide eyes. "I mean… aren't you a bit young to live on your own? Aren't your parents worried?" He stared at her for a couple of seconds, then tilted his head a little. "I think that I'm of a perfect age to live on my own. And no, my parents aren't worried about me one bit." Rain smiled, as though hearing the most fascinating thing ever. "But, like… who cooks your food? No, wait… who buys your wood? Do you get an allowance? Or do you have a stipend from your university? Wait… do you even go to a university? I have so many questions!" Sunny mentally groaned. 'Questions… I hate questions!' Outwardly, though, he remained calm. "What kind of questions are those? Obviously, I buy and cook my food myself. And who needs a university? A stipend! I am a wildly successful young entrepreneur, if you must know. Basically, I do whatever I want." Rain stared at him. "And your parent just let you? They're not lecturing you every day about the future, the importance of having a productive career, and how you must be always ready in case you get infected by the Spell?" Sunny furrowed his brow. "No, none of those." Rain looked at him with envy and sighed. "You're lucky! My mom and dad are like hawks!" '...What the h.e.l.l is a hawk? Something bad, I presume…' He remained silent for a while, a complicated expression appearing on his face. Finally, Sunny said: "...Don't be hard on your mom and dad. You're the lucky one, really. I sort of twisted the truth a little. My parents don't care about where I am and what I do… because I don't have parents. So… I would rather be in your situation than mine, great as it is. Yours is a bit greater." Rain stopped smiling and looked at him with a hard-to-read, sad expression on her pale face. Then, she said quietly: "Oh… I see. Sorry. I didn't know." She smiled a little and waved. "Well, I'll be going then. Enjoy the pasta, Sunny!" The young girl put her backpack back on, turned around, and left. Sunny remained on the porch for a while, staring at the tray of food. Slowly, a dark expression settled on his face. 'I can't continue doing nothing anymore… I need to make a decision and proceed. I wasted too much time as it is, already…' He avoided doing anything about getting Rain ready for the possibility of becoming infected by the Spell, because he didn't know what to do, and how. But this inaction had to stop. He had to come up with something… ReadNovelFull.me?
483	The problem was, he just didn't know enough to make a good decision. And even then… was he even qualified to make it? Sunny had a lot of experience dealing with various situations, possessed a quick wit, and was street smart, as well as having a real talent for killing things and remaining alive. Without wasting time on false modesty, he could admit that he excelled at many things. But were the things he excelled at even applicable to training a young girl for the Nightmare Spell? After all, what he wanted to give her were not combat skills or survival tactics… those she was being taught already, in an elite school that someone like him would have never been able to attend. What he wanted to give her was a mindset that would allow her to survive in the unforgiving h.e.l.l of the Dream Realm. And mind… mind was a delicate thing. If he went about it in the wrong way, he could bring more harm than good. Not to mention that everyone was different, and what worked for him was not guaranteed to work for someone else. Take his own friends, for example… all of them had wildly diverging mindsets, but each had been able to thrive even in a place as dire and harrowing as the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. 'So… what the h.e.l.l do I do?!' Sunny ma.s.saged his temples, then sighed. First… he had to observe more and understand more. Whatever he wanted to decide, it was stupid to try and base that decision on observing Rain for a single day as she went about her cla.s.ses. ReadNovelFull.me 'Maybe I'll get inspired. Or my intuition will give me a hint…' With that thought, he frowned, finished his tea, and went inside. \\\* The next morning, Sunny left his house early and used the transit system to reach the district where Rain's school was located. Now that he knew the place, he didn't need to follow his sister around. Instead, he went ahead, returned to the cafe he had hidden in the last time, and sent one of his shadows to keep watch on the entrance of the school as it waited for the young girl to appear. Half an hour later, he noticed her figure and silently ordered the shadow to follow Rain inside. 'I am going to have to keep studying her demeanor for a while… a few weeks, at least. By then, it is going to be clear if my initial impression was right, or if I need to reconsider my evaluation. I'll also understand her strengths and weaknesses much better.' Sunny had to stop himself from groaning. A few weeks… that was going to really eat into his time. Both the hunt for shadow fragments and his training with Effie and Saint were going to suffer. Which was such a shame. Recently, he was starting to feel a hint of confidence when handling the Cruel Sight in its spear form. Previously, Sunny had mistakenly considered the spear to be a rather static weapon, one mostly capable of only straightforward thrusting attacks. And on the surface, it was… more than that, this was actually one of its best features. Anyone could use a spear with a decent level of effectiveness. That was why it ruled the battlefield for thousands of years — unlike the sword, a person didn't need endless hours of practice to become a proficient amateur with it. But in the hands of a master… in the hands of a master, the spear was a completely different beast. It was swift, deadly, and unpredictable, capable of a vast variety of attacks at a wide array of ranges. It was a truly versatile weapon capable of dealing devastating damage to anyone who would dare to approach its wielder. What Sunny liked the most, though, was how deceiving a spear could be. Cruel Sight, in particular, was especially flexible due to its long blade, which could both piece and slash. Not to mention the fact that the length of its shaft could be changed at will. …Sunny was still much more comfortable with swords, though. Especially familiar ones, like the Midnight Shard of the great odachi form of the Soul Serpent. He was growing rather fond of the ability to keep his enemies further away from his body that the Cruel Sight gave him, nevertheless. So it was a real shame that he was going to have to reduce the amount of time he trained by a lot. That was not even the main reason why he felt malcontent about the prospect of spending weeks observing Rain at school, though. The main reason was… teenagers. Sunny clearly remembered the mental trauma he had experienced after being forced to watch the young elites attending the prestigious school making life difficult for both themselves and the teachers. Even after having to fall into an endless abyss while eating the rotten meat of a devil and burning in the ocean of divine flames, he would rather repeat the whole thing than experience school life again… Well, almost. Not really… With a sigh, Sunny concentrated on the pastry in front of him and prepared for a long and arduous day. That pastry alone made his mood better, simply because of the fact that it didn't come from a Mimic. The young elites were the same — venomous, incredibly misguided, and infuriating. Luckily, Rain was also the same — she studied quietly and avoided all the drama, which basically made her a pariah. 'Good girl, Rain… that's right, disregard all the nonsense and learn as much as you can. Knowledge is a privilege… these cla.s.smates of yours are too stupid to value it, but you're not…' Well, it wasn't as though they were some delinquents, either. Academic achievement was the cornerstone of the social hierarchy in this elite school, so the compet.i.tion among the students was fierce. It was just that most saw learning as a tool to earn status, as opposed to the goal. Not that their priorities were any of Sunny's business. Hour went after hour, and at some point, he decided to leave the cafe and take a walk to chase away the boredom. But before he could, however, something happened. His communicator suddenly let out a grating, echoing ringing sound. A second later, the sound repeated. …And it wasn't only just him. Every person in the cafe, from the clients to the members of the staff, was receiving the same notification. Sunny's chest grew cold. He knew that sound, of course. Everyone in the world knew and dreaded it. Looking down, he saw the familiar text appear on the screen of his communicator. 'No...' The notification read: EMERGENCY ALERT EMERGENCY ALERT GATE ACTIVITY DETECTED IN YOUR PROXIMITY ETA: 201 SECONDS EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! ReadNovelFull.me?
484	Chapter 484 The Gate 'A Gate… there is a Gate…' Before Sunny even comprehended these words, he was trembling, cold fear rising from the depths of his heart to swallow him whole. This was not a conscious response, but an instinctual reaction — something that his body had learned to do in the past, the terror that all modern humans came to bear in their very bones. The grating, echoing ringing meant only one thing — run! Run if you wish to live, if you don't want to die in a manner so harrowing that words could not describe it. But Sunny wasn't a mundane human anymore. Strangling the instinctual fear, he threw it aside and stared at the screen of the communicator with a dark expression on his face. The notification was similar to the ones he had seen several times in the past. Previously, when he lived in the outskirts, he had learned of the devastation an opening Gate could bring firsthand. Wherever you lived, you were bound to hear that sound once every few years. Granted, the infrastructure in the outskirts was way less developed than in the proper parts of the city, and there wasn't a lot of Awakened around. So the results were often more disastrous. He was in a very respectable district right now. But ironically, things were much worse. ReadNovelFull.me Sunny wasn't very versed in the technology the government used to detect the appearing Gates in advance, but he knew that it failed this time. Usually, people would receive a notification at least ten minutes, half an hour, sometimes even days before the dreaded event. This gave most of them time to evacuate out of the impact zone, and also allowed the government forces to arrive before the flood of Nightmare Creatures broke free of the opening Gate and cut through the ranks of the nearby Awakened who tried to stall it. Two hundred seconds… that was nothing. Less than nothing. It was not nearly enough time for people to run, and not nearly enough for help to arrive. Such a small time window meant only one thing… That unless something happened, there was going to be a ma.s.sacre. He was safe, though. He could just Shadow Step away at any moment. As people jumped to their feet and ran to the exit with panicked expressions, Sunny sighed and pressed on the notification. Immediately, a map opened up, showing him the location of where the Gate was going to appear, as well as optimal evacuation routes. 'Too close…' There was no way that Rain's school was going to be able to evacuate thousands of students in time. If their hazard protocols were well established, they were not even going to try. They would just gather the children in the most protected part of the school, activate their defense systems, and try to hold until help arrived. The school was in the direct vicinity of the opening Gate, though. Sunny wasn't sure how well its defenses would do, no matter how formidable they were. Even if there were several Awakened staffed as security personnel or instructors for this exact eventuality, they wouldn't be able to do much. The true elites would not take such positions, after all. 'What to do…' This time, the notification interface was different from how Sunny had seen it in the past. There was an additional, urgently blinking symbol on the map. It was very similar to the insignia Master Jet wore on her sleeve, only this one had two stars on it instead of three. This symbol was there because the communicator knew that Sunny was an Awakened. …There were one hundred and ninety-two seconds remaining until the Gate opened. Out in the cla.s.sroom where one of his shadows was currently hiding, the children and the teacher were still staring at the notification with stunned expressions, not yet comprehending what it meant exactly. Or simply refusing to… Not paying a lot of attention to the chaos happening around him, Sunny pressed on the symbol, and additional information appeared on the screen. ATTENTION ALL AWAKENED REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION ATTENTION ALL AWAKENED REQUEST IMMEDIATE... Below that, several lines of text shimmered: Gate Category: 2 (89% probability), 3 (10% probability), HIGHER (undefined). Strike Force ETA: 16 min, 14 sec. 'Thirteen minutes!' A corner of Sunny's twitched, a resentful grimace appearing on his face. The earliest any government force would be able to arrive to the Gate was in thirteen minutes after it had opened. Thirteen minutes… that might as well have been an eternity. 'Too long!' And now, Sunny had to make a decision. He had to either run away or respond to the call to arms to stand in front of the Nightmare Gate, hoping to survive in the flood of monsters for thirteen entire minutes. Well… it wasn't that hard of a decision, really. Sunny knew that he was going to stay — not out of any sort of moral obligation, but simply because he wanted to. He was equally as reluctant to turn tail and allow the Spell to invade his world with impunity as he was to see countless nice, mundane humans die in the maws of Nightmare Creatures. Like the polite waitress who served him the delicious pastries, or the baker who had made them. This was his world, his city, and his fellow humans. Before, Sunny was always weak and had no choice but to run, hide, and tremble in fear. ...He was done living his life in fear a long time ago, though. He was also done allowing anyone — or anything — to take what was his without a b.l.o.o.d.y fight. He was done being weak. But even that wasn't the real reason. Perhaps Sunny would have considered the approaching disaster too much of a risk and retreated… but Rain was there, very near to the center of the map displaying the Gate's impact zone. So really, running away wasn't even an option. One hundred and eighty seconds remained. Now left alone in the empty cafe, Sunny stood up and stretched. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips. "This is going to be… a wild, wild ride…" ReadNovelFull.me?
485	Now that he knew that he was — insanity! — going to act, Sunny had to decide how exactly, and do it very fast. Sadly, the question was not as easy as it seemed. His life was too complicated for anything to be easy… Not only was the answer to the question not too obvious, but, what's worse, he had mere seconds to make a decision, which was not nearly enough to think things through with any sort of clarity. But what choice did he have? None at all... Sunny grimaced. 'Let's speedrun our options.' The safest and most cowardly option was to Shadow Step into the cla.s.sroom through the shadow spying on Rain, grab the girl, and bring her away. At least it seemed safe on the surface. ReadNovelFull.me In reality, though, such an action would cause all types of terrible consequences both for him and for his sister. Not only was he going to have a lot of explaining to do, revealing all the things he wanted to keep hidden, he would also leave countless witnesses, as well as digital evidence, connecting Rain to him and vice versa. In the future, whenever he was going to end up having really dangerous enemies — which Sunny had no doubt would happen one day, soon — that evidence was going to come to light and lead them to her. Which was not something he was willing to accept. So, he was going to leave that option as the last resort, and act on it only if the school's defenses were breached and Rain was in imminent danger. With that out of the way, there was only one path left — doing his civil duty and going directly to the Gate, in hopes of stalling the tide of Nightmare Creatures long enough for the cavalry to arrive. Awakened who didn't work for the government were expected and encouraged, but not technically obligated to respond to a call like that. Many, maybe even most, did not, and chose to run instead. And who could blame them? Not everyone with an Aspect was a combatant, and even those who were had not become one voluntarily. Forcing these already traumatized people to go to their potential deaths under the threat of retribution if they refused was not something the government was eager to do. Or maybe, it simply couldn't — forcing Awakened to do anything was a dangerous idea, since they could potentially topple the government if pushed too much. So, the government preferred to use a carrot instead of a stick when dealing with them. It was a delicate balance. Sunny wasn't sure that he was even going to see that carrot, though. Because he was facing a dilemma. Yes, he had decided to fight in front of the Gate, but this could also be done in several ways. …Two ways, really. Sunny could go into battle as himself, or… as Mongrel, protecting his ident.i.ty from the prying eyes, and himself from any attention. Using Weaver's Mask was not without risk, as every time he did so without proper preparations could potentially leave behind context clues that would allow smart people to narrow down the list of suspects. But the alternative… right now, with not a lot of time to weigh all the pros and cons, Sunny felt that the alternative was worse. If he wanted to have a hope of surviving for thirteen minutes, he was going to have to go all out, showcasing the full scope of his true powers. That meant that all his efforts to create an image of a talented, but not too dangerous or noteworthy young Awakened were going to be destroyed. He was going to become really, really famous… and draw the eyes of ent.i.ties he wanted to remain blind to his existence for as long as possible. Perhaps even worse, he was going to create one too many coincidences for Rain to continue not noticing his secret attention. It was one thing to have a quirky neighbor… if he suddenly showed up near your school in your moment of need, and turned out to be one of the most deadly Awakened of his generation, though… that would most likely be enough to make her start asking questions that Sunny wasn't ready to answer. So… Awakened Sunless was going to have to cowardly run away from the Gate. While Mongrel was going to have to stand and fight. 'What a messed up situation...' One hundred and seventy seconds remained. Sunny sighed, knowing full well that this decision was not ideal. At the minimum, Mongrel's persona prevented him from using some of his most powerful tools — anything that people knew and a.s.sociated with Sunny, no less. Like the Cruel Sight… Very few people had seen him use Saint, however. In fact, outside of Neph's cohort, Mordret was pretty much the only person who had. There were also the people he had fought the Lord of the Dead with, but all of them were gone now… with one notable exception. Seishan was still alive and out there somewhere, in the embrace of one of the three Great Clans. So summoning Saint was not ideal, too. Even though someone else could have received a similar Echo, revealing her was really risky. He could only do it if things got really desperate. 'Uh… maybe I should reconsider…' But there was no time to consider things anymore. There were less than three minutes left before the Gate opened. He would just have to manage, somehow. Sunny closed his eyes for a moment, then checked where the cameras monitoring the cafe were located, and walked into their blind zone. There, he summoned the Covetous Coffer, placed his communicator on its lid, and sent the box scurrying in the direction opposite of where he himself was headed. After that, Sunny took a deep breath… and dissipated into the shadows. A few seconds later and hundreds of meters away, an armored figure wearing a fearsome black mask walked out of the darkness, the blade of the great odachi resting on its shoulder. Mongrel had arrived to the Nightmare Gate. ReadNovelFull.me?
486	The road ahead of Sunny was almost empty. Only several people could still be seen, running away from the vertical line where the air was rippling strangely, a hundred or so meters behind their backs. When they saw his menacing figure, the stragglers recoiled. Someone let out a frightened yelp. Not paying them any attention, Sunny calmly walked forward. The Soul Serpent rested on his shoulder. 'Strange… I have never seen an opening Gate up close before.' The deserted street in front of him did, indeed, look very eerie. Not only because it was almost entirely empty, both of pedestrians and of rushing PTVs, but also because light and shadows were behaving very strangely, the hue of the light slightly wrong, the movement of the shadows slightly erratic. The sound was strange, too. It was deadly quiet, but at the same time, Sunny couldn't get rid of the feeling that there were barely audible noises coming from all directions, a.s.saulting his ears like an inaudible cacophony of m.u.f.fled, distant, demented screams. There was a strange pressure rising in the air, getting stronger the closer he got to the nascent Nightmare Gate. The Gate itself was easy to recognize. It looked like a tall vertical depression in the fabric of the world, a place where light refracted in unnatural ways and the inaudible screams were the loudest… not a rift in reality yet, but a hint of one. In front of the Gate, half a dozen people stood, staring at it in tense silence. The Awakened who, just like Sunny, decided to answer the call. 'Only six of them…' ReadNovelFull.me While that fact didn't promise him anything good, it was to be expected. Two hundred seconds was just not enough for a lot of willing defenders to arrive. Even those who were ready to risk their lives in an attempt to protect the civilians needed time to get to the Gate, after all… this bunch were those who had already been in the immediate impact zone when the alert was sent to their communicators, just like Sunny. Maybe they were overly confident in their abilities, or maybe, just like he, they had people they cared about in the surrounding area, perhaps even in the very same school where Rain was, a few hundred meters behind their backs. In any case, he couldn't help but feel a bit of respect toward these people. Coming to a Gate already required a lot of courage… remaining even after it became clear that there were going to be less than ten Awakened fighting side by side to stall the tide of monsters was beyond that. These people were ready to die to fulfill their duty. '...Fools. Brave, brave fools.' What about Sunny himself, then? 'I am a fool, too. But a cowardly one.' Sunny had no plans of dying today. He knew what he was doing, and had ways to escape if things got too dire. Without slowing down even a little, he calmly walked past the six Awakened and stopped with his back to them, closer to the Gate than anyone else. Unwittingly, Sunny found himself standing at the head of the small group of defenders. Unlike them, he showed no sign of fear. The others were staring at the Gate with pale faces, their bodies tense, their eyes full of unease and dark resentment. Sunny's pose, however, was confident, indifferent… almost relaxed. And in the eyes of the fearsome mask, there was nothing but darkness. The others reacted to his arrival with excitement. One more Awakened to fight with them was already a good thing, but this one, in particular, looked especially imposing. His onyx armor and fearsome blade were obviously a cut above the Memories they themselves had in their possession, and his calm demeanor suggested either an experienced fighter… or a madman. And then, someone recognized him. "Wait… isn't that M—mongrel?!" The others looked at the girl who spoke with confusion. "Who?" She stared at them with wide eyes. "That's… that's Lord Mongrel! Haven't you heard of him?" A hint of recognition appeared in the eyes of the Awakened gathered in front of the opening Gate. One of them glanced at Sunny, lingered for a moment, and asked: "I am sorry, friend. This young woman seems to have heard of you. If I may ask, are you an Awakened of some renown?" Sunny didn't move a muscle, and lied almost on autopilot: "...I am not an Awakened. I have no renown." The man raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, not an Awakened? Then who are you?" Sunny cursed inwardly. 'My d.a.m.ned tongue…' He gritted his teeth, remained silent for a second, and then answered in a calm tone: "I am just a human." Then, he sighed and turned his head slightly, staring at the six Awakened. From the look of their Memories and how they held themselves, they weren't elites. Several seemed to know how to hold a sword, but that was all. They were going to get eaten alive once the Gate opened. Disheartened, he asked: "Combat Aspects?" The defenders looked at each other, and then the girl who had recognized him answered: "I have an Awakened Aspect that enhances my agility and allows me to strike with deadly precision. Two guys have Dormant Aspects centered around endurance and strength, and the other two can perform ranged elemental attacks." So, three weak Combat Aspects, two supporting fighters, and no one capable of proper support or healing. He lowered his head for a moment. There were only thirty seconds left before the Gate opened. Slight tremors were running through the ground beneath his feet, and bits of dust and small pieces of gravel were slowly rising into the air, levitating on the invisible currents of energy coursing through the air. 'How I am going to do this?' Sunny gripped the hilt of the Soul Serpent tighter, then said hoa.r.s.ely: "Stay back, kill anything that gets past me." He paused for a moment, and then added: "...Make them bleed." The girl stared at him with wide eyes. "Stay… stay back? But, sir, you can't do it alone! There will be a horde of them! Even if there were a hundred of you, that wouldn't be enough to kill them all!" Sunny turned away and looked at the slowly opening rift in front of him. How could he get these people to stay out of his way? The best place for them to be was at the back, finishing off anything that Sunny failed to kill and preventing the Nightmare Creatures from escaping into the city... escaping toward Rain's school. Failing to come up with a better lie, he opened his mouth and said coldly: "One of me is enough to kill them all." With that, Sunny left the girl standing there with an open mouth, and walked forward. 'What's the big deal, anyway? It's… it's just a Nightmare Gate…' His legs, however, were trembling a little. Just at that moment, an especially strong tremor ran through the ground. The shadows exploded in a mad dance, the sunlight growing dim and ghostly. The wind howled through the empty street, as if the air was being sucked into the widening rift. And then, an invisible shockwave spread out of it, making the windows in the surrounding building shatter. Sunny resisted the push and suddenly felt the familiar feeling permeate his soul. ...The call of a Nightmare. The Gate had opened. ReadNovelFull.me?
487	Sunny took a step forward and brandished the Soul Serpent, feeling the indomitable nature of Saint's grounded battle style permeate his bones. The gloomy shadow wrapped itself around the blade of the odachi, causing it to shine with dark radiance. Just like the taciturn demon, this Serpent shared a kinship with the shadow, and as such, the augmentation it received was even more powerful than Sunny himself could enjoy. Even though the odachi was only of the Dormant Rank, for now, this alone made it equal to an Awakened blade in terms of sharpness, durability, and lethality. He activated the [Living Stone] and [Feather of Truth] enchantments of the onyx armor to make it light as a feather and able to heal the damage it was bound to receive. Then, Sunny summoned the Blood Blossom charm and willed the armor to integrate it, activating the [Underworld Armament] enchantment. This way, the enhancing effect the crimson flower had on his Memories and Shadows was going to be inherited by the Mantle itself, and then strengthened even further. He had not told the other Awakened to make the Nightmare Creatures bleed just to seem cool. He literally needed there to be as much blood flowing to the pavement as possible, so that his armor and sword became as powerful as possible. The Gate was open now, revealing a dark rift in the fabric of reality, as wide as the street itself and as tall as the buildings. It seemed to devour all light around it… and call to him. Call for him to enter. …Sunny wasn't too preoccupied with the gate itself, though. His gaze was locked on the unclear silhouettes moving through the darkness. Soon, the first Nightmare Creature burst into the daylight, leaving cracks on the asphalt with its black claws. ReadNovelFull.me '...Good.' Had he not wanted to acc.u.mulate shadow fragments? Had he not wanted to raise the counter of the [Prince of the Underworld] enchantment? Well, he should have been careful about what he wished for! There were going to be hundreds of abominations coming through the rift today to satiate his wish… The Second Category Gates were the most frequent to appear in the waking world. As such, everyone was familiar with how they functioned. The first few waves of advancing Nightmare Creatures were not going to be too terrible, at least for a fighter of Sunny's caliber. They would be comprised mostly of Dormant creatures, with some Awakened abominations mixed in. Their Cla.s.ses and numbers, too, would be comparatively low. But these first few waves… they were just a hint of the horror to come. Pretty soon, every Nightmare Creature coming from the Gate was going to be of the Awakened Rank, with more and more Fallen ones appearing as well. Their Cla.s.ses were going to rise, until there were as many Demons as there were Monsters and Beasts around. And if Sunny was still alive by the time this second stage was nearing its culmination… well, two things could happen, neither promising him anything good. Either the Gate was going to end up really being of the Second Category, or not. If it continued to grow, reaching the Third Category, then there would be more and more waves of Nightmare Creatures, hundreds of Fallen abominations lunging into the real world from the dark void between worlds, with Corrupted horrors and creatures of higher Cla.s.ses appearing among them. If it didn't… then, the Guardian of the Gate would manifest itself into reality. The Guardian was always at least one Rank higher than the Gate's Category, and could be of any high Cla.s.s, from a Devil… to a dreaded t.i.tan. …In any case, Sunny had to live through the initial waves first to find out what was going to kill him in the end. The first creature to appear from the darkness resembled a terrifying hound with bloodred bone spikes growing from its mottled, black fur. It landed on the road and opened its maw, then produced a guttural, hoa.r.s.e roar. …And then abruptly grew silent as Shadow Serpent's blade slashed across its neck, severing its head entirely. [You have slain a Dormant Beast…] Sunny jumped back, and just as he did, more silhouettes lunged at him from the dark rift, their eyes burning with madness and bloodthirst as they smelled what was waiting for them up ahead… A whole world full of defenseless, untainted souls for them to devour. 'Not so fast, you filth…' Sunny had a very simple plan. He was going to build a barrier in front of the Gate. …He was going to build a mountain of bleeding corpses right at the border of the darkness, to show the next waves of Nightmare Creatures how welcoming the real world was to their kind. As soon as more spiked hounds entered into the light, he lunged forward to meet them. Blood sprayed into the air, and as the menacing odachi reaped another life, Sunny shifted his weight, slammed the pommel of the sword into the face of a lunging creature, then swiftly stepped forward and pierced the third one through the throat. Before the drops of blood even fell to the ground, he tore the blade from the corpse of the abomination, slicing it almost in half, and brought his heel on the skull of the beast he had previously slammed to the ground. In the process, he increased the weight of the Mantle of the Underworld, so the creature's head simply exploded under his boot. All of it took no more than two seconds. …And on the third second, a dozen h.e.l.lish beasts emerged from the rift, some of them running, some of them jumping high into the air to land on him from above. Behind them, a macabre wall of flesh, claws, and fangs was spilling out of the darkness like a rabid tide. Sunny growled, feeling the enchantment of the Blood Blossom activate and fill his sword with an unquenchable bloodl.u.s.t. 'Come! Come, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Let this mongrel guide you all to h.e.l.l!' ReadNovelFull.me?
488	No matter how fast Sunny was, how intricate his control of the shadow essence was — he had spent a whole month doing nothing but practicing it, after all — no matter how strong his body could become as the result, he still couldn't be in several places at the same time. Yes, he had two cores br.i.m.m.i.n.g with power, and his armor and his weapon were augmented by a combination of an Aspect Ability and enchantments. Killing one of the infernal hounds without receiving a hit was not that big of a problem… several, even. But a dozen? That was too much, even for him. So Sunny didn't even try. At this point, Mantle of the Underworld was as close to the pinnacle of the Ascended Rank as a Memory could be, so these Dormant beasts had no chance of piercing it with their fangs. He could allow himself to be bitten a few times. He just had to be strategic about it. He had to protect his neck and the back of his head, as well as pay attention to balance and ma.s.s. Yes, the abominations couldn't get to his flesh just yet, but an impact was still an impact. If he wasn't careful, the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds were going to topple him, and once he was on the ground, the game would be over. Luckily, he had [Feather of Truth] at his disposal and could manipulate the weight of the onyx armor, turning it from incredibly light to as heavy as a mountain. In conjunction with the cautious use of Saint's grounded style, which excelled at solid footwork and indomitability, he could stay upright no matter how many beasts attacked him. Ignoring the creatures that were lunging at him from the ground, Sunny dashed to the side to avoid being landed on by one of the jumping hounds, and received another on the tip of the odachi, allowing the momentum to impale it on the sword. Before the heavy carca.s.s could weigh the Shadow Serpent down, Sunny used the long hilt as a lever and slammed the dead creature into the ma.s.s of its attacking kin. ReadNovelFull.me By that time, one jaw was already closing on his thigh, and another was centimeters away from his forearm. The bloodred fangs sc.r.a.ped against the stonelike metal of the onyx armor, not leaving even a scratch on it. Sunny let go of the hilt of the odachi with one hand, then hooked its blade under the throat of one of the attacking abominations and made a simple move forward, slicing through tough fur, skin, and vulnerable flesh beneath. His other fist landed on the head of the second beast. Unseen to anyone, the Moonlight Shard appeared in it at the last moment, its ghostly blade easily piercing the creature's skull and disappearing as fast as it had appeared after destroying its brain. Sunny spun, throwing both corpses aside, caught the hilt of the odachi with his second hand, made a small thrust to pierce a lunging hound's head right through one of its eyes, and then dashed forward to descend on the group of them entangled in the carca.s.s of the abomination he had caught on the tip of his blade earlier. What happened next could only be described as a morbid, b.l.o.o.d.y dance. Sunny moved through the ma.s.s of Nightmare Creatures, much faster than any of them were, his great sword flying through them with graceful and fluid logic, sending more and more blood spraying into the air. Somehow, he managed to avoid most of their attacks, and those he did not ended up sliding fruitlessly from his armor. He almost made it look easy. …But of course, it wasn't. Any of these beasts, even though they were only Dormant, could ma.s.sacre countless mundane humans, or kill a less skillful Awakened in one fell lunge. It was just that today, they met a far more terrifying creature. A true Awakened fighter. And a monstrous one, at that… Sunny cut through the ma.s.s of spiked hounds, strategically leaving many of them maimed, but alive. They could only bleed as long as they weren't dead, after all. And he needed them to bleed a lot to bring the Blood Blossom to the peak of its strength. There were many of them around him… too many, really. But that, too, could be used to his advantage. He used the corpses of the beasts he had slain, the ones he had left alive, and those who were yet to meet his blade as a barrier to slow down the others. Through superior speed and clever positioning, he was able to not only always remain moving, but also evade being surrounded. Things weren't exactly easy, but he was still managing without too much strain. His main problem right now was to not allow any of the abominations to move past him and escape into the streets. Luckily, the few that did manage to slip by were quickly finished by the six Awakened staying behind, observing the ma.s.sacre with grim, tense, and darkly awed expressions. However, Sunny wasn't oblivious to the fact that this successful start was an illusion. The first wave was just an appetizer, after all. Simply a hint of the true calamity to come. So, his goal, for now, was to kill as many of the dormant beasts as he could, bring the augmentation of the Blood Blossom to considerable strength, and throw as many corpses at the stretch of cracked asphalt directly in front of the Gate as possible, to make it harder for the stronger abominations to enter into the real at full speed. He felt the dreaded change too soon, though. It came in a form of an eerie, long whistle that suddenly made the hounds lunge at him with renewed fury. And then… A crude arrow suddenly flashed out of the darkness of the rift, almost hitting him in the eye. The arrowhead, fashioned out of a splinter of a red bone, exploded against the wood of Weaver's Mask, throwing his head back. 'What the…' He swiftly repositioned and caught his balance, then dashed forward and skewered several beasts on the blade of the Shadow Serpent. More arrows flew out of the darkness, piercing the flesh of the attacking hounds or sliding off the onyx surface of the Mantle of the Underworld. He felt each hit, though. The power behind these arrows was truly monstrous. 'Awakened… Awakened creatures are coming! Already?!' As soon as he thought that, the first of the hunters came out of the darkness, following their hounds into the real world. Sunny gritted his teeth. A tall, desiccated humanoid with skin as black as coal and as rough as the bark of an ancient tree, wearing rotten remains of fur armor, raised a mighty bow made out of wood and bone, and looked at him with empty holes where his eyes should have been. Furious, red flames burned in their darkness instead. 'c.r.a.p!' Sunny grabbed one of the hounds and hoisted its body up… just in time for the arrow to pierce its body instead of hitting him in the face. 'Bows, they're using bows?!' How was that even fair?! Feeling the bloodl.u.s.t of the Blossom charm surge in his heart, Sunny threw the dying hound at the bone hunter, gripped his sword, and dashed forward once again. ReadNovelFull.me?
489	There were several ancient archers aiming at him already, and more and more of the hunters were appearing from the darkness. Some wielded bows, some spears with jagged flint blades and crude axes. Those were Awakened Monsters, each and every one — equal in Rank and Cla.s.s to Carapace Centurions Sunny had fought once, a long time ago, on the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e. And to Sunny himself, technically. …A much tougher enemy for him to slaughter. Luckily, unlike the ma.s.sive centurions, the hunters weren't covered in adamantine chitin from head to toe. Ducking under the flying arrow, Sunny lunged forward and thrust the tip of the odachi into the desiccated flesh of one of the bowmen. The black, bark-like skin offered a lot of resistance to the shadow-honed blade, but the force of the blow was terrible enough to rip through flesh and bone, allowing it to pierce the body of the hunter and emerge from his back. Sunny just hoped that these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had anatomy similar to humans, and that their hearts were located in the same place. From the look of it, they were… however, the monster did not react to having his heart destroyed as a human would. Instead of dying, he simply grabbed the blade of the Shadow Serpent and took a step forward, skewering himself deeper onto it, in an attempt to reach Sunny with the other hand. 'Curses!' Sunny twisted the blade, severing the monster's fingers, and then pulled the odachi upward, slicing through his ribcage, neck, and skull. ReadNovelFull.me This, finally, caused the bowman to die. [You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.] 'Revenants… great! Simply great, d.a.m.n it!' So he was fighting corpses that were possessed by some sort of a murderous spirit… as such, the hunters weren't fully sentient. That didn't stop them from remembering some of their craft, though. Not only were they able to wield their stone weapons with deadly skill, they also seemed to coordinate their attacks, herding Sunny like prey. The archers moved apart so that he would have no choice but to show his back to one while attacking another. Those with melee weapons rushed forward, aiming to surround him. The situation was quickly turning desperate. Sunny gritted his teeth, dodged a strike of a stone axe, saw it shatter the asphalt into dust, and lashed out with the Shadow Serpent. Just a moment after the blade of the great odachi severed the attacker's legs, another arrow hit him in the shoulder, causing Sunny to stagger and almost lose his balance. He glanced around him, noticing that the enemies had succeeded in positioning themselves in a way that would have doomed a normal enemy. He was surrounded from all sides, with archers hiding behind mighty hunters wielding spears and axes. 'd.a.m.n it. I didn't want to do this…' As a dozen arrows streaked through the air to bite at his armor… Sunny suddenly disappeared. A moment later, he appeared behind one of the archers and decapitated him with one terrible strike. Before others even had time to register what had happened, Sunny was inexplicably at the opposite side of their formation, his odachi piercing the head of another archer. Almost leaving afterimages behind, the figure of the warrior in the menacing onyx armor seemed to blink between half a dozen monsters in the span of a few seconds. Each time it appeared, one of the creatures died, their black bodies crumbling into piles of severed limbs and shattered skulls. The blade of the great odachi shone with dark radiance, cutting through the ancient hunters like a reaper's scythe. A few moments later, Sunny slid backward on the broken asphalt, leaving a b.l.o.o.d.y trail behind. A low growl escaped from beneath his mask. Enhanced by the [Underworld Armament], the enchantment of the Blood Blossom was behaving strangely. It was supposed to augment his Memories, Echoes, and Shadows, but with so much blood flowing to the ground, Sunny found that even his body and mind were being affected by the morbid charm a little. He felt both exhilarated and frustrated — exhilarated by the slaughter he was perpetrating, and frustrated because he wanted… needed… to kill more, cut more, make them bleed more, more, more, so much more… 'Blood... blood... more!' Sunny basked in the ecstasy of bloodshed for a split second, and then lashed out at himself, making the rabid thirst recede. He needed to be careful. This bloodl.u.s.t was beneficial, but could easily blind him. He had to maintain clarity… that was the only way to control the flow of the battle and survive. Thankfully, he knew how to keep a cool head better than most. …Regardless, although using Shadow Step so many times in rapid succession cost him a lot of shadow essence, he had managed to break the enemy formation and eliminate most of the archers. The rest were going to be much easier to deal with now. But of course, the Gate was not done with him. It continued to spew more and more enemies, making any progress he had made meaningless. As a new wave of hunters emerged from the darkness, a frenzied ma.s.s of hounds rushing between the wraiths, he paled a little. '...Too many!' No matter how superior his armor, weapon, and skill were, he was going to get buried under the tide of Nightmare Creatures due to their momentum. And even if he managed to cut a hole in the wall of abominations, the rest were going to move past him and descend upon the six Awakened, and then, inevitably, escape into the streets of the city. Toward Rain's school. 'd.a.m.n! This is going to suck!' As the new wave of creatures lunged forward, joining the survivors of the previous one, Sunny shifted his Memories around. For a brief second, the Broken Oath took the place of the Blood Blossom, its soul-eroding aura being inherited and enhanced by the Mantle of the Underworld. A wave of nausea washed other Sunny's mind. 'Argh!' A mental scream rang in his head. Luckily, he was prepared for the pain. His armor provided him with a solid defense against soul attacks, too… even ones coming from the Mantle itself. The attacking Nightmare Creatures, on the other hand, had no resistance to it at all… Sunny had only kept the Broken Oath active for a second before changing the slotted charm back to the Blood Blossom, but it was enough to break the momentum of the tide of abominations. The hunters staggered, the hounds stumbled and slowed down. For a brief moment, the whole ma.s.s of monsters seemed disoriented. Sunny used this opportunity well. The dark figure wearing a fearsome mask suddenly appeared in the very middle of the enemies, and before the Nightmare Creatures could regain their bearing, the great blade of the odachi turned into a whirlwind of darkness, leaving clouds of b.l.o.o.d.y mist and severed corpses everywhere he went. Sunny had abandoned Saint's grounded style, reduced the weight of the Mantle of the Underworld to that of a feather, and turned to pure offense, dancing between the enemies like a dark, slaughtering demon. For now, he was still at his peak… But exhaustion was already not too far behind. As he fought, his breath was slowly becoming hoa.r.s.e and labored. 'How… how long has it been?' He thought back to what had happened until now… And felt the first hint of desperation. Just a couple of minutes. The whole battle took slightly more than two minutes. And he had to continue for at least eleven more… ReadNovelFull.me?
490	Six minutes. That was how long Sunny managed to hold on until things really went from bad to terrible. By then, the ground in front of the Gate was littered with piles of corpses, their blood flowing down the pavement like a crimson stream. He had lost count of how many dormant abominations he had slain, how many ancient hunters he had sliced apart. Despite how strong and fearsome the primeval wraiths were, their a.s.sault had broken against the impenetrable barrier of his blade, his Aspect, and his will. Sunny paid a price, though. By now, his muscles were burning, and he had to force the air in and out of his struggling lungs. The Mantle of the Underworld held, but his body beneath the black stonelike metal was beaten and battered. The armor itself was covered in blood and dented slightly in several places. Those dents did not come from the hunters, though. During the third wave, new Nightmare Creatures emerged from the darkness of the Gate… among them were larger beasts, more terrifying than the hounds Sunny had been slaughtering. And their masters. The demons of the mysterious Barrow were similar to the desiccated huntsmen, but much taller, stronger, and better equipped. They wielded masterfully crafted flint weapons and armors made out of rotten leather and bone, their empty eyes burning with hungry red flames. What's worse, they really knew how to use their stone spears and swords. ReadNovelFull.me Met with the strange, ferocious, and deviously lethal battle style of the primeval demons, Sunny was sent for a loop. This was like nothing he had ever experienced before. They fought with the straightforward, yet insidious resolve of cunning apex predators, with the evil will to kill through any means necessary, always following the most efficient and barbarously cruel path to dominance. It should not have worked, but it did. The dents on Sunny's armor could attest to it. Well… he shouldn't have been surprised. If these ancient wraiths came from people similar to his own world's prehistoric humans, then they were the most devastating of predators, ruthless killers on a planetary scale. From what little Sunny knew about history, ancient humans had spread across the whole planet like a plague, eviscerating whole types of living creatures — including all other nascent branches of the human kind — in one fell avalanche. With their flint weapons and the knowledge of fire, they became nothing less than the cause and perpetrators of the sixth ma.s.s extinction, equal to the likes of ma.s.sive asteroids and climate shifts despite their puny size and lifespan. …He was kind of starting to miss the carapace legion. In any case, Sunny somehow managed to kill these terrifying fighters — a few of them, at least — too. More than that, he reached into the very essence of Shadow Dance and greedily absorbed every nuance of their primeval and ferocious fighting style, and then reflected it back at the waves of Nightmare Creatures, bringing his already terrifying dance of death to a truly chilling level of brutality. The Blood Blossom had long ago reached its limit. Minutes pa.s.sed, and despite the fact that Sunny was battered and growing dangerously tired, his reserves of shadow essence swiftly diminishing, for a few moments, he felt as though he had things under control. That maybe… just maybe… he was going to stand his ground for the whole thirteen minutes. And then, he realized that he would not. As the sixth minute came to an end, a furious bellow shook the world, and something ma.s.sive lunged at him from the darkness of the Gate. The barrier of corpses he had built in front of it exploded, and a giant beast — twice as tall as Sunny as weighing at least twenty times more — emerged from it in a cloud of blood and bone fragments, two empty eye sockets full of ghostly red flame. Sunny stared at it with wide eyes. The creature resembled a giant bison, its black fur mottled and rotten, a ridge of long, scarlet bone spikes piercing the hide along the spine. The head of the monstrosity was crowned with two jagged, bloodred horns. 'A Fallen… that thing is Fallen!' The bison was also different from the hounds and larger beasts he had been fighting against, since it — just like the ancient hunters — was itself a wraith. A corpse reanimated by the malevolent spirit of red flame. 'c.r.a.p!' Sunny hurriedly commanded the [Feather of Truth] to make his armor as heavy as possible and lowered his stance, knowing full well that he couldn't allow that thing to get past him. In the next moment, two thousand kilograms of rotting flesh and sharp horns crashed into him at full speed. 'Cr…' For a split second, everything became dark. …Then, Sunny found himself bouncing off the asphalt and then rolling across it at a terrible speed, up until the moment a wall of a building stopped him and exploded, shards of cement flying into the air. 'Not... good…' Disoriented, he shook his head, feeling drops of blood seep under Weaver's Mask, and then used the Shadow Serpent to help himself stand up. Then, he looked toward the Gate through the red mist clouding his sight. The ma.s.sive wraith was approaching the six terrified Awakened. Its speed, however, was slow, and its steps staggered. There was a big hole in its forehead where the thick, adamantine bones of the skull were shattered and cracked, bits of b.l.o.o.d.y pulp spilling out of it and falling to the ground. Just before the impact, Sunny had brought his armored fist down on it, summoning the Moonlight Shard at the last moment. His plan was to pierce the big b.a.s.t.a.r.d's brain, but because of the violent force and momentum of their collision, he ended up doing that, and then punching a hole through the creature's forehead with his spiked gauntlet. Sunny's thoughts were slow and astray, but he was already starting to regain his senses. 'I have a concussion, I think…' Failing to breach the last few meters to the six Awakened, the bison stopped and swayed. Its legs suddenly caved, and it toppled over, sending a tremor running through the ground. …A flood of abominations was already rushing into the breach it had created, though. Into the empty s.p.a.ce where Sunny had been. Still disoriented, Sunny staggered, then raised the Soul Serpent weakly. 'Bad. This is really, really bad…' ReadNovelFull.me?
491	As Nightmare Creatures rushed forward, the six Awakened began to act. The two with elemental Aspects attacked first. Something flashed in the air, and then one of them was suddenly surrounded by a swiftly spinning ring of fire. The fire disc then flew forward and collided against the ma.s.s of abominations, immolating one of the hounds and burning several more. The other raised her hand, and a thin blade made of nothing but air whistled as it bit into the flesh of one of the hunters, severing one of his arms at the shoulder. Sunny blinked. [You have slain a Fallen Monster…] The fastest of the Nightmare Creatures were already lunging at the defenders. The girl he had spoken to before took a step forward and attacked with a slender saber, striking at the neck of a spiked hound and opening its artery with a precise cut. Two more Awakened were covering her from the sides, both wielding a shield and a Memory weapon of their own — one a short sword, the other a steel pike. The last one did something to repel the arrows that were already flying toward their bodies, but Sunny had no idea what. [Your shadow grows stronger.] The Awakened were performing well… they acted with sufficient coordination and foresight, doing everything in their power to slow down the tide of approaching monsters. Although not elites, each of them was a capable combatant. They were brave and determined. …And yet, it was not going to be enough. Not nearly enough to survive, let alone prevent the invaders from escaping into the city. ReadNovelFull.me [You have received a Memory.] 'What to do, what to do…' Not fully realizing what he was doing, Sunny commanded the shadow to wrap itself around his body, and for the Soul Serpent to slither back onto his skin. Immediately, he felt much more powerful, his head more clear. His muscles brimmed with raw strength, double what he had just a second ago. His breathing became deeper. Sunny knew that he had to slow the abominations down, and then get back into the fight. That was the only way... Making a step forward, he swayed a little, and then grabbed the roof of an abandoned PTV to help himself keep balance. …Bending down, he then grabbed the bottom of the heavy alloy vehicle with his other hand. Sending all of his essence rushing through his body, flooding it with as much strength as he could muster, he then growled and dug into the alloy with his fingers. And then, sending cracks through the asphalt, Sunny strained every muscle in his body to perform one devastating, explosive push. The window of the PTV exploded, and as its frame deformed, the whole vehicle suddenly flew into the air. It breached the distance between him and the rushing tide of Nightmare Creatures and crashed into it from the side like a bizarre cannonball, turning several dormant beasts into b.l.o.o.d.y pulp, breaking numerous bones, and sending most of the front row of abominations tumbling down. The runes shimmered in front of Sunny, and with no time to waste, he threw just one look at them, searching for the description of his new Memory. He was only interested in one thing: Memory Type: Weapon. 'Good enough…' Not bothering with reading the rest, Sunny summoned the weapon and used Shadow Step to appear amid the reeling abominations. Some had avoided his improvised ram and were already either attacking the six Awakened or escaping into the streets. He couldn't do anything about it now. What he could do, though… As an ancient spear with a head crafted out of a long and sharp piece of black obsidian materialized in his hands, he thrust it into the throat of one of the wraiths, then used its back end to slam another one in the chest. Then, Sunny spun the spear and brought it down on the head of a lunging hound, shattering its skull with one terrifying blow. While he tried to overcome the ringing in his ears and continued to fight, more Nightmare Creatures got past him… and more still were already emerging from the Gate 'Die, die, die… die, you d.a.m.n wretches, die faster!' \\\* "They breached the line of defenders!" The voice of the headmaster seemed calm, considering the situation, so the children gathered in the combat training hall of the school didn't panic, either. Nevertheless, they could feel that the adults were frightened, and that fear spread like an infection. The children were frightened, too. For many of the younger kids, this was the first time they experienced being near an opening Gate. Those who were older knew what to do, in theory… only none of those things could be done. There was just not enough time to evacuate or reach the nearest shelter, and so, the lessons they had learned were useless. Everyone was gathered in the most protected place in the school — the gymnasium — and huddled together. The younger children were placed in the middle, the older ones near the edge, with the teachers standing the furthest from the center. The combat instructors were armed with actual Memory weapons, which looked menacing and beautiful… at least to Rain, who had never seen her teacher wield one of his real weapons before. With him, the other instructors, and a couple of bodyguards who happened to be inside the school because of those children whose parents were really important, there were five Awakened among them, each armed and ready to fight. The other teachers and older students were armed, too, albeit with mundane weapons. Rain herself was holding her training sword, realizing for the first time how flimsy and pathetic it was. Before, the sword had always seemed to weigh a ton and be unnecessarily sharp. Now, she wished that it was a real weapon, and not just a training one. 'What is going to happen?' Because she happened to be standing near the headmaster, she saw her combat instructor glance at him and say something in a low voice. Rain wasn't supposed to hear it, most likely, but she did. He said: "It's a miracle that they held that long, really. Only seven of them… I don't know who these people are, but they should have been overwhelmed in the first minute." 'Overwhelmed? But… but… if seven Awakened were supposed to die in less than a minute, then what about the five protecting us?' Rain suddenly felt cold and scared. The whole thing didn't seem real… how can something like this happen? This school was so prestigious and expensive, and so many important people sent their children here. Surely, the defenses… As if answering her thoughts, m.u.f.fled sounds of firing penetrated the walls and sent shivers running through everyone's bodies. The automatic turrets had gone online, which meant that there were Nightmare Creatures approaching. Rain's father worked for the government, handling matters having to do with the logistical support of the Awakened, and although he didn't like to talk about work, she knew more about these matters than most kids of her age. Because of that, she understood how ineffective mundane weapons were against the creatures of the Spell, especially ones of higher Ranks. So she just hoped that... Something broke with a deafening crash, and the whole gymnasium suddenly trembled. '...C—curses!' Rain gripped the hilt of her sword tighter, and turned toward where the crash had come from with a pale face. Her eyes widened. \\\* Hundreds of meters away, in the ma.s.s of Nightmare Creatures, Sunny sent another abomination to h.e.l.l, threw its body away, and growled. There were so many of them! Too many! Through the shadow hiding beside Rain, he saw that those monsters that had gotten past him and the other defenders had reached the school. He also saw more and more creatures arriving through the gate… beasts, monsters, and demons, Awakened and Fallen… there was simply no end to them! And he was dead tired and growing weaker, fast. His body was at its limit, his reserves of shadow essence were running dry, and even the Mantle of the Underworld was showing signs of straining to resist the neverending rain of blows he was not able to evade anymore. Feeling blood streaming down his face, Sunny briefly glanced toward the distant school, then back at the gate. And then, he shivered. Something had changed. Something was... coming. In the darkness of the Gate, a new silhouette appeared. A moment later, all the beasts that surrounded him froze, and then howled triumphantly, as if to welcome the new creature to the waking world. The Gate Guardian had arrived. ReadNovelFull.me?
492	Sunny stared at the Gate, momentarily paralyzed by dread. Then, he snapped out of it and fought through exhaustion, rushing to kill as many abominations as he could before the Guardian came out of the Gate. He had an inkling that after, there would not be an opportunity to pay them any attention. 'Is… is it the Guardian? How many minutes has it been?' He had no idea. Somewhere along the way, Sunny had lost count of the time. All he knew was that it had not been long enough… Meanwhile, a hulking figure emerged from the darkness of the Gate, and as it did, the red flames burning in the empty eye sockets of the ancient wraiths flashed brighter, their dead mouths opening to produce a litany of menacing howls. 'C—c.r.a.p…' The Guardian was more than four meters tall, his desiccated body resembling that of the primeval hunters and demons Sunny had fought, but at the same time much more frightening. He wielded a long spear, its blade cut out of a single slab of obsidian and covered in so many stains of ancient, dried blood that it seemed as if the stone itself had absorbed them and turned dark red. The giant was wearing an intricate leather armor, much more robust and imposing than those of the lesser wraiths, with strips of strange, bluish iron woven onto it. His wrists bore dozens of bracelets made out of iron and bone, and on his shoulders was a cloak fashioned out of the hide of some terrifying monster. The skull of the creature served as his helm, and his face was covered by a disturbing burial mask, its features twisted and b.e.s.t.i.a.l. The mask — and the skull on his head — each had three eyes, all six emanating intense, malevolent red radiance. ReadNovelFull.me Sunny felt a cold shiver run down his spine. 'What… what is that thing…' He didn't know what kind of a creature the ancient chieftain was, but had no doubts that he was a Fallen Tyrant… and a very powerful one, at that. Maybe the barrow these wraiths were coming from had been built to entomb this ancient menace, to begin with. And his mask had three eyes. …Anything with three eyes made Sunny shudder, for reasons he did not fully understand. After the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, he knew that this was a sign of something too terrible for him to know. Could he kill a Fallen Tyrant? Maybe if he had a lot of time to prepare and study his enemy, and attacked from the shadow. But now, with Sunny exhausted and battered, his shadow essence running out, and hundreds of Nightmare Creatures surrounding their master in bloodthirsty exaltation, he stood no chance. None at all. Well… maybe a very tiny one. And what else was he going to do other than try and fight, put his tail between his legs and run away? Well… sure! Why the h.e.l.l not? Sunny was not some kind of a hero, nor had he ever wanted to be one. ...But he wasn't going to run away just yet. As the Nightmare Creatures renewed their a.s.sault with even more frenzied rage than before, he gritted his teeth and brandished the obsidian spear, feeling the primal battle style of the ancient wraiths seep into his very bones. Sunny was not done spilling blood… He had a little bit of fight left in him, still. \\\* In the gymnasium, silence and fear gave way to mayhem and panic. The walls of the school had been breached, and Nightmare Creatures crawled inside, madness burning in their terrifying empty eyes. "Back! Get back!" The children were pushed against one of the walls, teachers standing between them and the terrible monsters with mundane weapons in their trembling hands. The Awakened were engaged in a ferocious battle, but just the five of them were not nearly enough to stop all the abominations. It was inevitable that sooner or later, some of the abominations were bound to get through. And soon, they did. A giant, harrowing beast that resembled an infernal wolf, jagged red spikes growing through its black flesh and drops of saliva falling from its maw, tore free of the battle and lunged at the children. Rain had never seen something so unstoppable. How was anyone supposed to fight such a thing? No human possibly could… The teachers tried, however. Several of them drew their bows, but the arrows simply slid off the mottled black fur of the h.e.l.lhound. The headmaster tried to stop the creature with a heavy pike, but was simply thrown away, the weapon flying out of his hands. And then, there was no one else standing between the monster and the defenseless children. \\\* 'G.o.d… G.o.ddamit…' Sunny was at the end of his rope. Which, in a sense, was precisely where he wanted to be. He wasn't trying to stop the flood of Nightmare Creatures by killing all of them anymore. That was simply impossible, with how many there were, and how many were coming from the Gate every second. He was, however, trying to draw as much attention as he could. All of the attention, really. And to accomplish that, he had to do one simple thing. He had to attack the Tyrant. How hard could it be? 'Let's find out…' Sunny wasn't planning to get into a prolonged fight with the d.a.m.n Barrow Chieftain, or whatever that thing was called. He was just going to exchange one… maybe two strikes with the scary b.a.s.t.a.r.d, hopefully deal him a tiny wound, and Shadow Step into safety. Enough was enough... He knew his limits. Tearing through the ma.s.s of abominations, Sunny cut a b.l.o.o.d.y path toward the hulking tyrant, and finally appeared in front of him. As soon as the burial mask with three burning red eyes turned his way, Sunny suddenly felt small and weak. The pain he felt in his battered body surged, and an involuntary groan escape from his lips. He just wanted to stop and fall to the ground. To kneel… 'Argh… a mind attack?! What, that is all?! b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you should have met Gunlaug… learned how to really make people cower…' And also, his own mask was much scarier than the crude thing covering the tyrant's face. Fighting through the oppressive hex, Sunny lunged forward and raised his bloodied spear. He didn't get a chance to attack, though. Although it didn't seem as if the Tyrant of the Barrow was moving with haste, his hand shot toward Sunny with such terrifying speed that he barely had time to react. The giant didn't even deem it necessary to use a weapon, intending to crush him with a fist. Making the Mantle of the Underworld as heavy as he could, Sunny turned the shaft of the spear around and held it with both hands, knowing to deflect the blow instead of blocking it. He should have been able to… The fist of the desiccated giant connected with the ancient spear… …And easily shattered it, as though it was a mundane stick and not a Memory of the Ascended Rank. Before Sunny could even feel the terrible impact reverberate through his bones, five ma.s.sive fingers closed around his torso like a steel bear trap. And squeezed. 'C—c.r.a.p!' [Your Memory has been destroyed.] What a shame... he didn't even get a chance to learn what it was called... The stonelike metal of the Mantle of the Underworld groaned, but held. His bones, reinforced by the steadfast temperance of the Bone Weave, held too. Not that Sunny was having a good time. It felt as though he was being slowly crushed to death, unable to draw in a single breath. It hurt as h.e.l.l, too… much worse than that, actually... But worse still, while the tyrant had him in his grip, he couldn't use Shadow Step. He couldn't escape. 'I... I think... I messed up…' As Sunny struggled in the tyrant's iron grip, the giant tilted his head a little, and easily lifted him off the ground, bringing his prey closer to the three burning red eyes. ReadNovelFull.me?
493	Sunny gritted his teeth and groaned, feeling his whole body being slowly crushed by the monstrous chieftain of the Barrow Wraiths. One of his arms was pressed against his body, and the other one was, too… but just barely. If only he could free it… But no matter how hard he tried, the tyrant's hold was just too strong. …Back in the gymnasium, the terrifying beast was lunging at the defenseless children. Its maw was wide open, the red shine of the ghostly flames burning in its eyes reflecting from the jagged, sharp fangs. It was flying directly at Rain, moments away from closing its jaw on her throat. She felt paralyzed by fear, desperately wishing to run, but unable to move. Was this how she was going to die? No, no… it couldn't be! But it was... Suddenly, a spark of a strange, dark emotion ignited in Rain's heart. 'Die? No… not like this… I refuse!' ReadNovelFull.me She was holding a sword, was she not? Even if that thing was going to devour her, Rain was determined to die fighting, just like she had been taught to. She was going to remain human, not a cowering animal only good enough to be the stronger beast's prey. She owed that much to her parents, at least. Knowing full well that her dull training sword was not going to stop a Nightmare Creature, Rain stubbornly made a motion to raise it. Even though her mind was panicked and her thoughts scattered, the body remembered countless hours of practice… Not that it was going to do her any good. The hound was already so close that she could see every harrowing detail of its hideous snout and frothing maw. There was no escape... 'Unfair! This is unfair…' This childish thought appeared in her mind, as it had undoubtedly appeared in the minds of countless people just before they were killed. ...And then, something strange happened. Suddenly, two beautiful magenta lights ignited in the darkness to the side of the lunging creature. A moment later, a dark blade of a strange, stonelike sword flashed out of the shadows and easily sliced through the abomination's neck, separating its head from its torso. A round shield made of something that resembled stone then appeared and swatted the headless body away from Rain, not allowing even a drop of blood to fall on her. As she froze in shock, a graceful woman wearing menacing black armor stepped out of the darkness, two ruby flames burning behind the visor of her closed helmet. Rain had never seen someone so terrifying, yet so magnificent. The woman glanced at her with indifferent calmness, and then turned around to easily pierce another hound with her stonelike sword, then sever one more in half with a swift, vicious strike. It was as though the flesh of the abominations offered her no resistance. 'Three… she just killed three Nightmare Creatures…' And not only that, but she also killed them in the span of a second, with a confident, relaxed ease. 'Who… who is she?' Before Rain knew what she was doing, she heard herself saying in a small voice: "Who are you?" The beautiful knight did not answer and simply stood between the children and the advancing monsters, her back straight and solid like a stone wall. Rain stared at that back, feeling as if nothing was going to get past this frightening, taciturn warrior. A burning desire suddenly appeared in her heart. She didn't know whether the menacing black knight was a human, a spirit, or a strange Nightmare Creature. But she knew one thing... 'Strong… I want to be strong, someday. Strong like her…' \\\* In front of the gate, Sunny was slowly suffocating in the iron grip of the Fallen Tyrant. He was being brought closer and closer to the three burning red eyes, and as he did, it felt as if life itself was being sucked out of him, his mind balancing on the verge of breaking apart. 'What… the h.e.l.l…' There had to be something that he could do… some trick he could employ to wrestle free. A Memory he could summon, an enchantment he could activate… But no matter how hard he tried, nothing worked. Sunny's vision was slowly starting to grow dark. 'Dammit! I… I need to…' He could have summoned the Cruel Sight if his hands were free, but they were not. He could have turned the Mantle of the Underworld too heavy for the tyrant to lift, but it was already as heavy as the [Feather of Truth] allowed, weighing as much as a small mountain… what else was there in his a.r.s.enal?! Sunny was almost ready to panic, and then… a subtle change suddenly happened to the world. If was easily missed or discarded, more of a feeling than an actual shift. Sunny only noticed it because it felt strangely familiar. …It felt as though the whole world suddenly became colder by a couple of degrees. But why would it? Before he could properly consider the meaning of the subtle change, though, something flashed through the air, and suddenly, Sunny could breathe again. He could do so because… because the hand holding him wasn't connected to the tyrant's body anymore, the arm severed cleanly at the elbow. 'What…' Sunny fell to the ground and rolled away as a fountain of seething blood shot out of the stump that used to be a Wraith Chieftain's arm, evaporating and turning into a cloud of scorching red mist. 'What just happened?' Steel reeling, he struggled to stand up and saw someone landing on a piece of rubble next to him. It was a beautiful woman who seemed to be in her late twenties. She was wearing a dark blue uniform with silver epaulets and leather boots, her short hair as black as a raven's feather, and her skin as white as snow. Her icy blue eyes were colder than the deepest reaches of a frozen h.e.l.l. In her hand, the woman was holding a somber glaive, drops of boiling blood swiftly turning into ice on its slender blade. She looked like... like Death herself. 'Master Jet!' Indeed, it was Soul Reaper Jet. ...The cavalry had arrived. 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494	Sunny had never been that happy to see anyone in his entire life. Master Jet arrived just in the nick of time, saving him from having to regret the decision to send Saint to aid Rain. …Not to mention that she was really pleasant to look at. More importantly — taking off a Fallen Tyrant's arm with one strike! Even for an Ascended, this was an incredible feat. Tyrants were not creatures one usually dared to challenge alone. Instead, they were dreaded horrors that were capable of decimating whole cohorts of experienced, battle-hardened fighters. Masters rarely worked together, simply for the fact that there were too few of them and too much for each one to do. But facing a tyrant was one of the things that pushed them to band together. And even then, not everyone was guaranteed to return from the fight. Truly, Teacher Julius had not been exaggerating when he said that even Saints were wary of Soul Reaper Jet. And yet… although her entrance was spectacular, would she be able to battle the tyrant and survive? Even though the chieftain was seriously wounded, that wound came from a surprise attack. Now that she lost the advantage, things could change really fast. As if answering his thoughts, Master Jet glanced at him. Despite the fact that they were surrounded by piles of corpses, the terrifying giant looming above them like an omen of doom, an unexpected smile suddenly appeared on her cold face. "...Cool mask." With that, Soul Reaper sprung forward, turning into a blue blur. Her movements were so fast that Sunny had only been able to perceive them because he was an Awakened, his senses vastly superior to that of a mundane human. ReadNovelFull.me Several things happened at the same time. The somber glaive flew away as it spun fast enough to appear as a blurry circle. It cut a b.l.o.o.d.y swath in the ma.s.s of abominations, eviscerating dozen in a matter of a second as it moved in a wide arc. At the same time, Master Jet streaked across the bloodied, broken asphalt and appeared behind the tyrant, then caught the glaive and immediately lunged forward in a devastating thrust. The chieftain was much faster, though. His spear seemed to almost teleport into the path of the glaive, positioned for an indomitable block. Something weird happened then. Master Jet's weapons suddenly turned ghostly and eerily luminous, and simply pa.s.sed through the shaft to the spear, then effortlessly pierced… no, phased through the creature's armor, burying itself deep in his chest. Right where one of the soul cores should have been. 'What the…' Things didn't go as she had planned, though. Sunny got that suspicion because of a slight frown that appeared on Jet's face, and the fact that the tyrant did not slow down even one bit. Instead of having its soul damaged or one of his cores destroyed, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d simply took a step forward and raised his spear, which suddenly ignited with blinding light and flooded the area directly in front of the Gate with menacing red radiance. Sunny sighed. "Well… that's my cue to get the h.e.l.l out of here." This was not a battle he could handle, at least not in his current state. Master Jet seemed to have the situation under control — even if she ended up as no match for the Barrow Chieftain, she would at least be able to stall him until the rest of the government forces arrived. Sunny, on the other hand, would probably just be erased from existence by the destructive fallout their battle was bound to produce. Since Saint was doing fine in the gymnasium of the school, protecting both the children and the teachers, he didn't have to worry about Rain, as well. All that was left was to do… Was to get more shadow fragments and, hopefully, an additional Memory or two while Soul Reaper was doing the heavy lifting, of course! 'It's a good thing she arrived way faster than thirteen minutes, though… what an exemplary employee! I am starting to understand why Master Jet always seems sleep deprived. I hope the government gives her a raise…' With that, Sunny picked himself off the ground and used Shadow Step to appear near the six Awakened, who were on the verge of being overrun by the advancing Nightmare Creatures. Honestly, it was a miracle that all of them were still alive. Summoning the odachi once again, Sunny cut down a hunter who had been aiming at the familiar young woman with a bow, and gave her a cursory glance. Something exploded behind him, in the direction where Master Jet was fighting the tyrant, painting him with shades of deep red. "L—lord Mongrel! What should we do?!" Wasn't that obvious? 'Run, you idiots!' Grimacing behind the fearsome black mask, Sunny opened his mouth and said, his voice full of resentment toward the fact that he had to tell such an obnoxious lie: "Stand and fight." The girl stared at him, a sudden expression of shame clearly written on her face. "Of course… of course… that is what an Awakened ought to do…" Suppressing an infuriated groan, Sunny strained his aching muscled and raised the Soul Serpent. 'What a joke! I better not see that quote going viral on the network…' \\\* In the end, the Gate was contained with, miraculously, no civilian casualties. Soon after Master Jet appeared, the government strike force finally arrived. Several swift air carriers descended from the skies in the howling of jet engines, and dozens of Awakened jumped down, all clad in high-quality armor and wielding powerful weapons. Almost at the same time, armored vehicles appeared on the road and opened fire on the ma.s.s of Nightmare Creatures, their spelltech cannons managing to obliterate the weaker abominations and herd the more powerful ones away from the city streets. Operated by mundane humans, these machines were meant to control the battlefield and make it easier for the Awakened to eliminate those creatures too tough for human weapons to destroy reliably. More cohorts, machines, and mundane soldiers followed. Master Jet, unbelievably, ended up actually killing the tyrant. The break in their battle came when she suddenly shifted from attacking the chieftain himself to aiming for the three-eyed skull he wore as a helmet. As soon as she managed to crack the skull, the red flames burning in the eyes of the wraiths were extinguished, leaving them disoriented and weakened. Many simply fell to the ground, losing their perverted unlives. The tyrant staggered, and then collapsed in a hip of rotten fur and desiccated flesh, sending a tremor through the b.l.o.o.d.y battlefield. This time, he was truly and utterly dead. After that, the scales of the battle tilted drastically in the favor of humans. Noticing a dedicated team of Awakened enter the school to secure the students, Sunny dismissed Saint and glanced at the scene of slaughter one last time. His heart was in agony. …Not because of the havoc and destruction that seemed to envelop once peaceful streets, but because of all the soul shards and contribution points he was going to miss out on. 'Such cruelty! Such injustice!' Well, at least he received a very large number of shadow fragments, several Memories, and even learned a new, profound and deviously deadly battle style. This thought did not console him very much, though. Almost on the verge of crying, Sunny sighed… And dissolved into the shadows. Without saying anything or demanding any credit, Mongrel was gone just as suddenly as he had appeared. All that was left behind were scores of dead Nightmare Creatures and the memories of those who saw him fight. And some time later, in a dark and empty alley, Awakened Sunless, who avoided the summons to defend the Gate, walked toward an especially remote corner and bent down to pick up the Covetous Coffer, which was furtively looking out from behind a big garbage container. Taking his communicator, Sunny patted the box on the lid and dismissed it, then stared at the screen with a dark expression. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips. "Ah, it's good to be a coward…" ReadNovelFull.me?
495	By the time Sunny limped back to his house, the news of the Gate opening in a prestigious district of the city was all over the network. Luckily, the school Rain attended was situated really far away from where both of them lived — none of the mayhem had reached the terrace neighborhood, leaving it as quiet and peaceful as ever. It was a bit strange, to see that nothing had changed here despite the fact that mere tens of minutes of riding the train away, the bodies of numerous Nightmare Creatures littered the ground. Life simply went on. Well, it wasn't really that surprising. If people reacted strongly to every instance of a Gate appearing, nothing would ever get done, and everyone would live every day of their lives in fear. So, those not affected by the disaster directly did not allow it to disrupt their moods or routines. People could get accustomed to anything, even the constant possibility of terrifying monsters suddenly coming out of an infernal rift in reality on their street. As long as important parts of city infrastructure weren't damaged, no one was going to care that much. And even if they were, citizens knew how to adapt — public transport would be rerouted, power outages would be dealt with by switching to autonomous generators or simply using candles, and so on. The Gate was contained, the impact area was already being cleaned by the government workers. When tomorrow came, the cafe Sunny had visited would be open again, as if nothing happened. Life would return to normal. ...And those who had experienced the terror of the Gate firsthand would go on, silently bearing an invisible scar on their heart. But that was alright, too. Collecting scars was something that everyone who lived in this world had to do as they matured. This was the reality of the Nightmare Spell. 'Why am I suddenly in a philosophical mood?' Sunny shook his head, then scoffed and opened the door of his home. Effie was in the living room, taking advantage of the state-of-the-art entertainment system Sunny had bought and paid for. When she saw him, a surprised expression appeared on her face. "G.o.ds, what happened to you? Did a piano fall on your head?" ReadNovelFull.me 'What a strange question…' Sunny sighed, then glanced at her arkly. "No. A Gate fell on my head… sort of. d.a.m.ned thing opened right near a cafe I sometimes visit. They sell incredible pastries, so… good news is, I managed to finish my pastry! Before getting the h.e.l.l out." Effie gave him a shocked look. "Goodness! You were near that mess? I heard that the government barely gave people time to evacuate this time." Sunny shrugged. "Near, yes." The young woman stared at him, then grinned. "So… how many contribution points did you get? Enough to upgrade the entertainment system, maybe? You won't believe the quality of the haptic interfaces these days… I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, of course. Just something to consider…" He gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated sigh. "None! I didn't get anything, okay?!" Effie blinked a couple of times, then looked at him with a bit of disappointment. "Well… no need to get emotional. There's no shame in avoiding such fights. Everyone wants to live, you know." Sunny waved a hand dejectedly, then turned around. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, I'll go take a bath. Have fun." Leaving his guest… well, more like an uninvited housemate… alone in the living room, Sunny went away and prepared an ice bath for himself. When he lowered his aching body into the cold water and endured the initial shock, a pleasant numbness enveloped him. Sunny glanced at the tapestry of bruises covering his skin, and sighed. 'Can I still be considered pale if I am mostly black and purple? Gee, I always wanted to stop being pasty. But not like this…' He closed his eyes and relaxed, enjoying the ice bath. None of his wounds were serious enough to really worry about, so he just had to wait for his body to heal itself. That was going to take a few days, which Sunny was fully intending to spend lazing about and doing nothing. Wasn't that the dream? After a while, he got a bit bored and decided to do something productive. He could either check on how much he had gained in the b.l.o.o.d.y battle, or see if someone had come close to connecting him to Mongrel. Sunny thought for a few moments, then reached for his communicator. 'Let's see the extent of the damage first…' A few moments later, a low groan escaped from his lips. "Oh for Spell's sake…" \\\* "Shocking news! Mysterious online sensation Mongrel returns to single-handedly contain a Category Two Gate!" "In the Shadow of a Lord: Mongrel's heroic stand caught on camera!" "Who is Lord Mongrel, the courageous hero that everyone is talking about? The answer might shock you!" "WE KNEW IT ALL ALONG! Mongrel is a woman confirmed!" "STAND AND FIGHT: words to live by. Mongrel refuses to give up!" Sunny stared at the screen of the communicator with resentment, then suppressed the desire to crush it in his fist. 'What is wrong with people?!' Apparently, a bit of his recent performance had been caught on tape. The shockwave of an opening Gate was supposed to mess with electronics, but one camera had miraculously survived. The image was really grainy and stuttered every few seconds, but he could make out a dark figure moving through the ma.s.s of Nightmare Creatures, the Soul Serpent flashing through the b.l.o.o.d.y mist, its blade surrounded by a halo of black radiance. The battle style of the Barrow Wraiths and his need to spill as much blood as possible added an extra layer of brutality to the recording, making him seem like a demon that had escaped from some lightless h.e.l.l. Sunny grimaced as if in pain, and tentatively looked down, on the views counter beneath the video. When he saw it, the communicator slipped from his hand and fell into the water. Good thing it was waterproof... 'd.a.m.nation… well, you've done did it now, fool! Congratulations! You've gone mainstream…' ReadNovelFull.me?
496	Chapter 496 Stand and Fight "Today, a terrible tragedy almost happened in a peaceful and prosperous part of the city. It was a day like any other, until a sudden notification alerted the citizens that a Gate was about to open nearby. With no time to evacuate, numerous people were going to die… but then, a courageous Awakened placed himself in the way of Nightmare Creatures, holding off the entire advancing h.o.a.rd by himself and refusing to give ground until the government forces arrived! This hero then disappeared without demanding any reward, not leaving even his name behind — only scores of slaughtered monsters and numerous saved lives. Who is this brave and modest savior? Where did he come from, and what is his true ident.i.ty? Well, some readers might recognize him as the viral Dreamscape sensation, Mongrel…" Sunny stared at the communicator, which had water dripping from it, with a dark expression on his face. 'An official newspaper… this is a d.a.m.n published article, not a random network thread!' Previously, Sunny had only gone really viral among the people who were interested in the Dreamscape and dueling. Even though the recording of his performance in the Colosseum reached a wider audience, most of the people who had seen it did not pay Mongrel a lot of attention, since they didn't understand the details of his achievements. This one, however… this one was different. Everyone could relate to a Gate opening and knew how terrifying and calamitous such an event could be. So, the new video showed Mongrel in a context that revealed just how bizarre and exceptional his deeds were to everyone. Add to that the fact that the combination of the Mantle of the Underworld, the Soul Serpent, and Weaver's Mask looked really striking and menacing, and that — miraculously — no civilian had died despite the late warning by the government, and Sunny found himself in a sea of trouble. ReadNovelFull.me Suddenly, he was happy with the fact that he had not been able to augment himself with both of his shadows. At least his physical prowess did not seem too out of the realm of humanly possible… or rather, possible for an Awakened. The other good news was that there, thankfully, was no recording of Saint. The cameras in the school had been properly damaged, and for that reason, people only knew of her by verbal description. …Which caused its own share of problems because of how similar the Mantle of the Underworld was to her armor. Due to that and the nature of how rumors distorted the truth the more they were shared, soon, many people were convinced that Mongrel had protected the children in the school personally. And that led some to become convinced that Mongrel… was a woman. Sunny tiredly covered his face with a hand. His worst fears had not come true, though. Despite the fact that the recording showed him using Shadow Step, no one learned the true nature of his Ability from the grainy image, and no one connected him and Mongrel together. Maybe because of the ridiculous way A Song of Light and Darkness portrayed Sunny, but no one even tried to a.s.sume that Changing Star's b.u.mbling sidekick was actually the dark, deadly, demonic swordsman Mongrel. Instead, there were countless discussions like this: Mongrail\_Seeker: "New information on Mongrel's Aspect! Previously, we all thought that his Ability had to do with physical enhancement or perception, right? But we were all wrong! The new video clearly shows that his Aspect is actually spatial sorcery!" Spirit of the Colosseum: "Do you realize what that means? It means that he didn't even use his Aspect in the Dreamscape duels! That was all just pure skill. Crazy!" Anonymous User: "...You mean HER Aspect?" Mongrail\_Seeker: "Heresy! Lord Mongrel is not a her!" Anonymous User: "...You mean LADY Mongrel?" Spirit of the Colosseum: "I better ping @Mongrel's Son. He should know who his dad is!" Anonymous User: "... You mean his MOM?" Sunny let out an infuriated sigh. 'Well, at least no one is mentioning me. If you think about it, the more people think that Mongrel is a lady, the better. Yes, this is good! No, seriously… so good… curse them all…' And of course, there were a lot of nonsensical threads a.s.signing some deep and profound meaning to every stupid lie he had said. Like: "I am just a human: Mongrel reminds us of the only truth. There are no mundanes or Awakened, only humans and the Nightmare Creatures. He knows that everyone is equal before the Spell…" Or: "Make them bleed! Wow, I have no words. So cool… how can anyone be so cool? At the end of the day, that is all that any of us can do. Repay each drop of human blood the Nightmare Creatures spill with a river of their own..." But mostly, it was the d.a.m.ned idiotic advice he had given to one of the six Awakened near the end: "Stand and fight… am I the only one who got shivers after hearing that? Such simple, but all-encompa.s.sing adage. Lord Mongrel, he is a true Awakened…" Everywhere he looked, it was the same three words. So many people were repeating, praising, and adding them to their bios that Sunny wanted to vomit. 'What is happening…' As people continued to watch the recording and discuss it, the truth got hazier and hazier. Pretty soon, everyone seemed to have forgotten that Sunny had not actually contained the Gate by his lonesome self. No one mentioned Master Jet, who had literally saved his skin and took on the Guardian alone, eventually defeating the Fallen Tyrant without a cohort of Masters supporting her. No one mentioned the six Awakened who had helped him, and a literal army of government soldiers who had done the really heavy lifting and wiped out the entire horde, which he had only stalled until their arrival. It was all Mongrel and his courageous, selfless, heroic stand against numerous Nightmare Creatures, as if he was some sort of a fearless, slaughtering demiG.o.d. 'It's almost like no one even cares about the truth!' Sunny threw the communicator on the pile of clothes and closed his eyes in frustration. …It was a very strange sentiment. The irony was not lost on him one bit. 'Curses… who knew that I would be lamenting a lack of truth one day? Me, of all people! What is this situation?!' Indeed, making Sunny care about the truth was not easy. It was no simple trick… ReadNovelFull.me?
497	Chapter 497 Unexpected Turn Eventually, Sunny climbed out of the bath, dressed himself, and moved to the kitchen to make himself something to eat. After the intense gauntlet of the Gate battle, he was hungry like a wolf. Ravenous, really... Cooking calmed him down a little, and the pleasant smell made his mood a bit better. Now that Sunny had some time to think, he saw the whole situation in a new light. Yes, his hope for Mongrel to be forgotten was utterly shattered. But there was a bright side to this fiasco — now that he had completely failed to keep a low profile... there was no more reason to. Which meant that he could resume practicing Shadow Dance in the Dreamscape, and hopefully master its second step before winter came. He just had to rethink how he viewed the persona of Mongrel. Initially, Sunny had planned for it to be unseen and anonymous, merely a camouflage he would put on to accomplish certain things — things that were inconvenient or too dangerous to be tied to his own name. ...Well, that ship had sailed. He was pretty sure that from now on, anything having to do with Mongrel was going to be at the center of people's attention. But that wasn't necessarily bad. There were ways to remain unseen even in the spotlight. In fact, sometimes it was easier — all magicians knew that the secret to pulling off a flawless trick was not to become invisible, but to direct the crowd's attention toward something eye-catching and away from the hand performing the switch. Sunny was not a magician, but he did consider himself to be an experienced cheat. The principle was more or less the same. ReadNovelFull.me So if he played his cards right, the more attention Mongrel received, the more freedom he would have to move unseen in the shadows, accomplishing his goals under everyone's noses with no one being the wiser. "Maybe…" Such a thing was hard to accomplish and hid more risk, but also promised a greater reward. So, not all was lost. Plus, he had protected Rain. That was the only thing that really mattered. Everything else paled in comparison. Sunny finished his decadently generous dinner and moved to the porch. Sitting in the shade, he relaxed, grimaced a little due to pain, and took a sip of tea. He was suddenly in a great mood. And why wouldn't he be? It was finally time to take a look at his spoils. The battle might have been hard and had almost cost him his life, but he had not fought for nothing. Summoning the runes, Sunny glanced at the familiar string of them and smiled. Shadow Fragments: [1814/2000]. 'Incredible…' In just ten or so minutes, Sunny had gained more shadow fragments than he usually did in weeks. From what Sunny remembered, he slaughtered almost a hundred Nightmare Creatures in front of the Gate. Granted, most of them were of the Dormant Rank and had not contributed any fragments to his growing cores, but still, it was a monumental accomplishment. It made him think back to the first abomination he had ever slain, the Mountain King's Larva. How tense and terrifying that fight had been, how convinced he was that the perverse creature would kill him. Who would have thought that one day in a not-too-distant future, he would be able to slaughter a hundred Nightmare Creatures of similar and greater power without being torn to pieces? Sunny had come so far… Lowering his gaze, he glanced at the runes describing his Memories and couldn't contain a delighted grin. 'Oh, I was so lucky today…' Without even counting the obsidian spear he had gotten and then swiftly lost to the tyrant, there were six new Memories in his a.r.s.enal, most of them of the Awakened Rank. Sunny studied them for a bit and, coming to the conclusion that none were better than his current ones or performed something he wasn't already capable of, dove into the Soul Sea. He fed the Memories to Saint and looked at her runes, satisfied with what he saw: Shadow Fragments: [179/200]. 'So close…' At this rate, he would probably be able to reach the full two hundred before having to go into battle with the vine creature inhabiting the wreck of the ancient ship. If Saint grew even more powerful before then, her presence was going to change a lot of things. Sunny drank his tea in the peaceful silence of the terrace district, grimacing from time to time because of the pain in his bruised body. But even the pain couldn't spoil his mood. "Ah, today was a good day…" He watched Rain be brought home in a PTV, made sure that she was fine… well, as fine as a young girl could be after experiencing a close brush with an opening Gate… and went inside. He was due for some well-deserved rest. \\\* In the evening, when the sun hid behind the horizon and the street lamps were flooding the city with pale white light, Sunny was resting in his living room, doing nothing in particular. He was lazily scrolling through the pages of a popular webtoon and appreciating the twists and turns of its simple story. 'Crazy. Do people really think about such stuff?' His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a strange sound. It took Sunny a couple of seconds to realize what it was, since he had never heard it in this house before. Someone was knocking on the door. 'What the h.e.l.l…' Who could be visiting him at this late hour? Putting the communicator away, Sunny sent his shadow to take a look and scratched the back of his head in confusion. …Standing on his porch was none other than Rain, wearing her cozy home clothes and looking uncharacteristically nervous. 'What is she doing here?' For a moment, Sunny considered pretending that he wasn't home, but then sighed and stood up. There was no point in hiding, since they literally lived almost next to each other. Walking over to the door, he lingered a second or two, made sure that none of his bruises were showing, and then opened it. "Uh… yeah? What's up?" Not knowing that Sunny had already seen how nervous she was, Rain pretended to be calm and gave him a polite smile. "Hey, Sunny. I… the food container? Mom wants it back." He stared at her for a couple of seconds. "Oh. Wait here…" He walked to the kitchen, retrieved the container from the dishwasher machine, and returned to the porch. "Here. Tell your mom that her cooking is delicious. We really enjoyed it!" Rain took the container, but didn't leave. Instead, she just stood there silently, looking at him with a tense expression. Sunny frowned. "Can I…" But at that exact moment, she suddenly blurted out: "I know who you are!" If Sunny had a drink in hand, he would undoubtedly do a spit take. 'What?!' As his heart almost stopped, he looked at Rain with a deadpan expression. Maintaining it cost him a lot, though. 'What does she think she knows?!' "...Well, of course you know who I am. I introduced myself when we met for the first time, didn't I?" She opened her mouth, then closed it again. After a bit of an awkward pause, Rain said: "No, I mean… I know that you are an Awakened." Sunny blinked a couple of times, but before he could come up with something to say, she hurriedly continued: "Sorry! It's just… my dad works for the government, so he knows such things. You are so young, with no parents, but are able to afford a house in this neighborhood. Plus, you don't go to a university or to work. So… you are an Awakened, aren't you?" 'Solid reasoning...' He hesitated, then simply shrugged. "Sure. Not like it's a big secret, anyway." Rain remained silent for a few moments, and then asked: "...Are you any good?" Sunny stared at her for a bit. Then, a grin slowly appeared on his face. "Me? Oh... the best of the best! Probably the strongest Awakened in the world, really. No one else can even compare." A slight scowl appeared on Rain's face. "I'm being serious! Are you any good or not?" Sunny lingered for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah, I'm alright. Why are you asking?" Rain looked at him for a while, as if gathering courage. Then, she clenched her fists and blurted: "Can… can you train me?" Sunny stared at her, dumbfounded. 'Well, I'll be d.a.m.ned. That took an unexpected turn...' ReadNovelFull.me?
498	Chapter 498 Superficial Connection 'Train her…' Wasn't that exactly what he wanted? It was. But wasn't it also exactly what he wanted to avoid? Yes, it was that too. Sunny was in a strange predicament. The solution to the problem that had tormented him for many months had suddenly fallen right into his lap out of nowhere, but to make use of it, he had to do something that went against all his previous reservations. He didn't want Rain to be connected to him in any way. If Sunny was honest with himself, he had to admit that he was drawn to her… or rather, to the faint, half-forgotten memories of a different, happy time that she represented. His desire to reconnect with Rain was both selfish and misguided, since he knew that nothing was going to bring those memories back to life. …And if Sunny was really honest, he had to admit that deep down, he harbored a lot of resentment toward her, too. For having a loving family while he had none, for being fine. For not needing him at all. What a mess of emotions that was! And if there was one thing Sunny was really bad at dealing with, it was his feelings. For him, fighting hordes of Nightmare Creatures was much easier. ReadNovelFull.me And then, as if his inner turmoil was not enough, there were external forces at play, too. There was his [Fated] Attribute, the strange connection he had to Weaver, and Nephis with her murderous feud against the Sovereigns and the inhuman will to see the Spell destroyed. The more he and Rain were connected, the higher were the chances of her being implicated in all this. But… Maybe, as long as they only had a shallow connection between a kid from an affluent family and her hired tutor, things weren't going to get out of hand. He also had to consider that the threat posed by a potential First Nightmare was much greater than that of being superficially tied to him. After all, Sunny had not done anything to attract the really dangerous kind of attention… or rather, had not been caught doing anything like that yet. …While he was torn between these conflicting thoughts, Rain waited patiently, and then, misjudging his silence, said: "Oh! Of course, I will pay you. I have some money saved for a trip, and… well, I can also talk to my parents. It's just that you're the only Awakened I know… you know? Apart from my combat instructor in school." Sunny looked at her, a deep frown on his face. Eventually, he asked: "What brought upon this conversation? Why do you suddenly want someone to train you? You said it yourself, you already have a combat instructor. I thought you rich kids get taught everything you need in school." Rain suddenly grew quiet and looked away. After a while, she said: "Ah, that… you probably haven't heard, but there was a… there was a Gate that opened near my school today. Many people almost died. I saw a real Nightmare Creature, even. It was… was this close to me. An Awakened like you won't probably understand how it feels, right? Oh! Sorry, what am I saying? Of course you'd understand. I mean… what I meant to say is that I was absolutely powerless, and that was… not a nice feeling. Not a nice feeling at all." He glanced at him, and said with a suddenly serious voice: "So I want to become strong. Really strong. Strong enough to never feel that way again." Sunny almost laughed. 'Oh, what irony… here we are, so different and in such different situations, but our desires are completely the same. Become stronger, so much stronger. As strong as one could possibly be…' Rain paused for a few moments, and then added: "And what we are taught in school is not nearly enough. At least… at least it wasn't today. Some of my cla.s.smates have private tutors that their parents hire for them, real Awakened fighters. But it's just a question of status to them. They don't really learn… or if they do, I didn't see it make any difference when the Nightmare Creatures were trying to kill us…" Sunny smiled from the corner of his mouth. "That's because a thousand hours of training will never be as impactful as one real fight. My own… mentor told me that once." He hesitated for a second, and then sighed. "I myself was trained by a very special person. The best fighter I have ever met, and probably ever will. The funny thing is, though, I sort of swindled her into teaching me how to handle a sword. Felt a little guilty about it ever since. So I guess it won't hurt to pay it forward and help someone like you out." Sunny looked at Rain with a dark expression, realizing that he had already made a decision. 'Ah, to h.e.l.l with this... why make things complicated when they are actually really simple?' He shook his head. "Be warned, though. If you want me to train you, I will really train you. It's going to be hard as h.e.l.l and hurt a lot. I don't want to hear any complaints, or see you slacking off. Understood?" Rain suddenly giggled. Sunny scowled. "What's so funny?" She waved a hand. "Sorry! Sorry. It's just… it's funny when you act all strict and serious, because you, you know… are barely older than me. But I do understand. I'll work hard, I promise." Sunny stared at her for a bit, then said in a low voice: "What do you mean, barely older than you? I'm ages older than you! Just half the c.r.a.p I've seen would be enough for a few lifetimes of the likes of you!" Then, he smiled menacingly and added: "Oh, and by the way, I also won't be cheap! I have mouths to feed, you know. That guest you've seen… I can't seem to get her to leave. There's also a stone-hearted beauty who always follows me around, and her diet is unreasonably expensive. But what can I do, attracting women with terrifying appet.i.tes seems to be my curse…" He sighed, looked at Rain, and added: "But if you still didn't change your mind, then fine. I'll train you, Rain…" ReadNovelFull.me?
499	…Somewhere far away, in the depths of an endless and inescapable nightmare, a blinding disc of an incandescent sun was bathing the dunes of a vast desert in a flood of immolating heat. The sands of the desert were flawlessly white, and the azure sky above them was deep and boundless like an ancient ocean, with not a single cloud blemishing its silken expanse. Being battered by the heat, a lone figure moved across the sand. It was a young woman with striking grey eyes, her skin covered in terrible burns, her silver hair dirty with blood and surrounded by a radiant halo of reflected light. She wore charred remains of a shattered armor, and wielded a broken sword, its silver blade fractured and ending in a jagged edge close to the hilt. The young woman walked forward, the trail of her footprints stretching far into the distance and disappearing over the horizon. To her left, there was nothing but an endless sea of white dunes; to her right, a line of black mountains eventually created a boundary for the scorching desert. Far ahead, there was a tree with scarlet leaves and a scattering of something that looked like pale fruit hanging from its wide branches. ...This was where Nephis was headed. She had to reach the tree before the night came, or… no, it was better not to think of it. Her water had long run out, and the thirst was slowly taking hold of her mind. Her tortured body was a sea of pain, but she could still walk. She could still fight. She was still not willing to give up. ReadNovelFull.me ,m …After a while, the tree grew closer. Nephis stopped and stared at its white bark, its scarlet leaves, and the shapes she had thought were fruit. But they weren't. Instead, tens of thousands of skulls hung from the beautiful branches, fastened to them with glistening threads of black silk. A spring of water formed a clear pool in the shadow of the great tree, and on its bank, with his back to her, stood a figure clad in a strange, rusted armor. 'A… human?' No… the figure was too tall to be one of her kind. As if hearing her thoughts, the creature turned around, revealing a desiccated face of a corpse, hollow eyes emanating ominous blue radiance, and six hands, each grasping the hilt of a weapon. Two hands held long swords, their blades sharper than a razor and curved slightly, two hands held menacing twisted sickles, and the last two held a heavy scepter and a broken shield. The chestplate of the creature's rusted armor was shattered, revealing a harrowing wound beneath. Being consumed by thirst and exhaustion, Nephis raised a hand, as if begging the creature to stop. But, of cause, it didn't. With furious madness burning in its eyes, the abomination lunged at her, striking down with one of the sickles. It moved faster than lightning, sending a scarlet cloud of fallen leaves swirling into the air with a strong gust of wind. Taking a step back, Nephis raised her broken sword to deflect the devastating strike, as if forgetting that it had no blade. At the last moment, though, a ray of pure sunlight appeared where the blade should have been and stopped the sickle from rending her flesh. Nephis swayed from the force of the impact, but remained standing. Her cracked lips opened, and a hoa.r.s.e whisper escaped from them: "Let us burn, then… let us burn together…" In the next moment, white flames ignited in her eyes. Her skin suddenly shone with pure radiance, which then became brighter, and brighter… and then, brighter still. Throwing the sickle away, she dodged two thrusting swords and danced around the armored giant, her blade of sunlight piercing the rusted armor with terrifying ease. The two of them fought in the shade of the ancient tree, thousands of skulls staring at their battle with empty eyes as they swayed in the wind. Nephis was much slower and weaker than the six-armed demon, but her skill was flawless, inexplicable, and deadly. She moved with the flow of the battle as if it was her natural element, controlling its cadence with indifferent ease. Her flesh mended itself seconds after being torn, and the flames burning in her eyes only grew hotter. Deathly pale from the harrowing pain, her beautiful face grew colder and colder, becoming almost inhuman. Her sword of sunlight, meanwhile, left molten marks on the body of the ancient demon. And even though such wounds could never harm it, after a while, the creature suddenly staggered. …Of course, it did. That was a Memory left behind by the Nameless Sun of the Forgotten Sh.o.r.e, after all. Everything it touched was doomed to have its soul destroyed. Finally, Nephis managed to find an opening and dashed forward, slashing upward with the Nameless Sun. The sunlight blade cut through the rusted armor and severed one of the demon's arms, then fell down and sliced through another. Before the creature could recover, she was already upon it. Nephis sidestepped a crushing blow of the heavy scepter and places her hand on the demon's face. The creature froze, and then opened its mouth, as if to scream. …However, all that escaped from it were dancing tongues of white flame. As the pure radiance enveloping Neph's skin dimmed, it was as though the demon burned from within. Flaming fissures opened on its body, leaking pristine fire and radiating annihilating heat. His flesh boiled and blacked, and eventually, the blue shine of his eyes was replaced with blinding white light. And then, that light was extinguished, leaving two dark, charred holes behind. Nephis let go of the creature's face, and watched as its scorched body fell to the ground. She stared at it for a few moments, and then indifferently turned away. Making a few steps forward, Nephis swayed and fell to her knees. Then, she reached into the pool with trembling hands, put her palms together, and brought a handful of cold, sweet water to her lips. Finally, her terrible thirst could be quenched. ReadNovelFull.me?
500	After drinking her fill, Nephis sat silently on the edge of the pool for a while, staring into the distance. Her eyes, however, were moving, as if reading an invisible book that floated in the air above the calm waters. Some time later, a pale shadow of a smile touched her lips. 'That guy… he did something crazy again, didn't he?' She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 'How is he so fast…' In the past months… years, lifetimes?... spent traversing the Dream Realm, surrounded by nothing except for pain and bloodshed, Nephis had started doubting the memories of her previous life. Sometimes, all of it seemed like something that she had simply imagined… a bittersweet dream she had invented to escape from the horrors of the real world. This world. The world of neverending nightmares. The change of the runes describing Sunny was the only connection she had left to the actual reality. Perhaps, it was the only thing keeping her sane. ...Even if the things she saw in the shimmering runes were sometimes hard to believe. ReadNovelFull.me The impossible Lineage that should not have existed, the divine Memory of the seventh Rank, the strange essence of his soul, the true nature of the taciturn stone demon… and of course, of his Flaw. It seemed that Sunny had much more secrets than Nephis had suspected. With that knowledge, many things made much more sense now… but at the same time, many others seemed much more incredible. Well, it was not like she didn't have secrets of her own. And anyway, it was all in the past. Everything was in the past. All that remained was the future. ...She did hope that he was doing well, though, out there in the real world. With Ca.s.sie... Looking up from the water, Nephis shifted her gaze to the ancient tree and saw two weathered skeletons cruelly nailed to its white bark. Both stared at her with empty eyes, their teeth bared in eternal grins. After some time, one of the skeletons said: "My, oh my. Am I that pleasant to look at?" The other grated its teeth and let out a creaky growl, then strained, trying to wrestle free of the large silver nails impaling it to the tree. However, no matter how furiously it struggled, the nails held true. Nephis looked at the skeletons with a calm expression, no emotion reflecting in her cold, grey eyes. The first skeleton spoke again: "Is that… is that living blood I smell? G.o.ds! What terrible sins have you committed, girl, to be cast into this h.e.l.l alive? Even for a revolting nephilim like you, this is too harsh of a punishment." Finally, she opened her mouth and said hoa.r.s.ely, in a voice of a person who had almost forgotten how to speak: "...What language do you use?" The skeleton laughed. "The only language there is in this place, of course. Why? Do you wish to learn it?" Nephis remained silent for a long time, and then said: "I seek a way back to the waking world. Do you know how to escape this place?" The skeleton stared at her with a grin. "The waking world? What is that?" The second skeleton suddenly spoke, his voice deep and full of rage: "Can't you smell the stench of a daemon on this abominable thing? She is one of Weaver's, you fool!" The first skeleton turned its skull a little, and then asked: "Is that so? My, oh my. In that case, you will not find guides better than the two of us. Just take us off this d.a.m.ned tree, and we will lead you to wherever you want." Nephis stared at them for a while, then turned away. "...I don't need two guides. Which one should I pick?" The second skeleton strained to free himself again, and then roared: "I am Azarax the Mighty, the Plague of Steel, King of Kings, conqueror of a hundred thrones! Choose me, nephilim! I will guide you to the sh.o.r.es of the Underworld and through its dark expanse, back to the world of the living! You will need a powerful guide if you wish to escape!" She spared him a glance, then said to the other one: "...What about you?" The first skeleton answered in an aloof tone: "Me? Oh, I am no one. Just a humble slave." Nephis lingered for a bit. Finally, she asked: "Why are… the two of you… nailed to this tree?" The skeleton who had called himself Azarax growled: "Don't you know where you are, abominable creature?! I am here because I led my armies into the great war, slaughtered a myriad of souls, and was punished for my strength and my pride!" She shifted her gaze to the other one. The first skeleton answered succinctly: "I have angered the G.o.ds." Nephis tilted her head a little. "How?" The skeleton sighed with regret. "Well, if you must know... I slit a G.o.d's throat. My, oh my! One could say that it was a misunderstanding. Was there really a need to be so petty?" The sun was already falling behind the horizon, and chilling cold was spreading across the white desert. Nephis summoned her white cloak and wrapped herself in it, shivering. Soon, night descended upon the world, revealing a myriad of bright stars. As it did, the sand moved, and slowly, countless figures rose from beneath it. All of them were corpses with no flesh remaining of their perfectly black bones, some of creatures that resembled humans, some of towering giants, and some of beings who were too strange and terrifying to describe. In a clamor of rusted armor and a litany of howls, the hordes of abominations clashed against each other, continuing their terrible battle even in death. Nephis moved closer to the tree, which somehow remained an isle of calm in the sea of terror, and looked at the first skeleton. "You… remind me of someone I knew. Come morning, I will take you off the tree. To guide me though." The skeleton cackled. "Very well, vile creature. Even though you are revolting, I will keep my promise." Nephis grinned. "...What do I call you, then?" The skeleton remained silent for a bit. "A name? I used to have one of those, before. What was it? Oh!" He moved its jaw a little, and then said: "Eurys. Eurys of the Nine…" ReadNovelFull.me?

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