Sunny's hair was a little disheveled, and his face had paled from exhaustion, with dark circles appearing under his eyes. But he remained focused on the weave, moving the needle with precision, fearing he might disrupt the balance of the woven shadow threads and destroy the weave. He hadn't moved from his place for three days and hadn't eaten for three days. Today was the fourth day.
Most of the fundamental structures of the weave that would make the Chest of Greed an Echo had been completed. Of course, he wouldn't be able to create an Echo in his current state, but the Chest of Greed was a special case—it possessed some living qualities that made it easy to simply apply the final touches to make it an Echo and then transform it into a Shadow.
"This is so exhausting… I'm never doing this again. Why did I think this was the best way to descend into the Lower Sky?"
[Your Memory has been destroyed…]
After a short while, the Spell went silent, as if doing something, then it whispered:
[You have received an Echo: marvelous Mimic]
Sunny sighed and then sank into his soul sea. Six black suns were burning above, reflected on the surface of the dark water. Thousands of shadows stood, each monstrous in form—from scavenging shell-hounds to centipedes, the Shadow spawn, and Solvan. All the shadows looked with respect at Sunny, who stood afar in the center, gazing at his new Echo.
The Mimic no longer resembled its previous concept. Sunny had placed a spatial enchantment inside it so that he could put living things into it or enter it himself. It now resembled a small hut, but one that could fit several people. The Wonderful Mimic opened its mouth, revealing an internal space fitting its size. The floor, ceiling, and walls all appeared to be made of wood. Sunny touched the surface of the Mimic, revealing new runic letters:
[Convert Echo into Shadow? 100/100]
"Yes."
[As you wish.]
An invisible ripple spread across his soul sea, followed by a subtle connection extending between Devil's core and the Mimic. When looking at the Mimic's weave, it appeared to be corroding, replaced by black flame that completely purified it. Then, when looking at the rows of shadows, it seemed as though the Mimic's shadow was dissolving and flowing toward the Echo to complete the transformation. Four embers ignited within the soul of the Mimic and then flared brightly.
Sunny stood watching the transformation process completely, then looked at the Mimic, which had become alive, waiting for the Spell to announce it.
[Your Echo has been destroyed.]
[You have received a Shadow…]
Sunny exited his soul sea, then summoned the Mimic to appear before him in its large size. The Mimic opened its mouth, and Sunny entered inside, greeted by the space within. The space inside the Mimic was dark, though Sunny could see in it, it still felt somewhat gloomy.
So he summoned a luminous Memory and placed it in the center of what should be called the room, then summoned another storage Memory and pulled out a bed. It was the Priestess's Bed.
"This looks better."
Then he brought out several things he would need later and commanded the new Mimic to move toward the edge of the island…
And jump.
"I'm insane, aren't I?!"
His new Shadow hesitated slightly, then obeyed his order reluctantly. He didn't know what was happening outside except because he had left three of his Shadows to reinforce the Mimic and monitor for him on the outside, while he sat inside with a tired face, waiting for this ordeal to end so he could sleep.
The Mimic moved on its legs at great speed and soon reached the edge of the island after a few problems and devouring a few creatures. It jumped into the Lower Sky.
Inside the Marvelous Mimic, nothing moved or shifted—it didn't float or sway—because the inside of the Mimic was a spatial pocket unaffected by the outside. Upon sensing their fall through the shadows that were outside with the Mimic, Sunny lay on his bed.
"Ah… four weeks of falling in a sky with no one… I hope I don't go mad."
Beneath the chained islands, several stars lit up the sky below, and beyond those stars, an ebony tower stood in the darkness, waiting for someone fated to explore it.
_________________________
Sunny spent the first week in mostly good mental condition—well, good by his standards, since he didn't scream at his Shadows except at the beginning of the seventh day. But problems started appearing from there, as he began talking to his Shadows, who showed different expressions from him. Some responded with disdain and contempt, while some didn't bother to reply at all. Of course, the happy Shadow was excluded from this.
As for the second week, it was worse, as the number of times he talked to his Shadows increased. And he started eating food more than usual, but everything remained fine until the end of the week when he summoned the ordinary rock and began talking to it.
"So, rock, what are you doing with your life?"
"Ah, well, I'm falling with a crazy person who has six Shadows into a field of Divine flames."
"Oh, that sounds fun."
Their conversation continued like this for days until the middle of the third week when Sunny decided to summon the Saint. The Saint appeared beside his bed and looked around the place for a while, then gave Sunny an inquisitive look.
"Don't worry about this mess, Saint. Just sit, sit… consider it your home."
The silent knight did not move at this suspicious command. Seeing this, Sunny wasn't affected but continued speaking.
"Well, Saint, as you can see, I'm lonely, so I decided to talk to you. I've always been curious about you, so you don't mind if I ask you some questions to pass the time?"
The silent knight shook her head in disapproval, but Sunny continued speaking.
"So, what would you do if you faced a cursed Terror—I mean, a vile bird who loves stealing shiny things—how would you kill it?"
The Saint moved toward him, stood over him, extended her gauntleted hand, and knocked him several times hard on the head. It was as if she were testing his intelligence. When she didn't get any result, she disappeared into the shadows without Sunny commanding her.
"I'm going insane… I can't wait until we reach the Field of Flames."
And at the beginning of the fourth week, there was a short distance left between Sunny and the Field of Divine Flames to the point where he could swear the Mimic had started to sweat.