Everything was dark and cold.
Sunny was in the middle of a nightmare. He was alone in deep water, a speck in the ocean of monsters. He could barely distinguish up from down and he wasn't sure he was swimming in the right direction. He wasn't sure he was swimming at all, because he didn't have any point of reference to compare his movement to.
Other than, of course, the shadows.
The ocean was full of shadows. Massive shapes were moving beneath the surface, around and beneath him. Those dark giants were the masters of this pitiful pit of hell. Sunny could only pray that none of them would notice him — but then again, gods were dead, so that didn't help much.
Sunny was tired, weak and alone. He was easy prey for any hunter he might encounter - but he had two advantages on his side.
The first one was his shadow sense. It let him perceive his surroundings with some accuracy and as such he wasn't completely helpless. He would at least know the death was coming for him as opposed to being completely clueless until the moment that something would eat him. He also sensed the mass of the Bone Ridge on the very edge of his vision and so he had a goal to work towards.
His second advantage was the Crown of Ice. Before he had thought it quite an useless memory considering its high rank. He had theorized that the crown's best enchantments were probably active ones that required him to channel soul essence... and that might still be true.
But the real boon of the crown came underwater.
Sunny had summoned the crown immediately when he heard the Dark Sea coming and that act had probably saved his life. The memory allowed him to breathe underwater as well as to swim faster than he normally could. To Sunny it almost felt like the water was helping him propel himself forward. Unfortunately the crown didn't grant him any resistance against coldness, which was strange considering where the memory came from. As such Sunny was unbearebly cold. He felt like his skin had become solid ice, scraping with every movement and burning him like frozen fire.
Whatever. It's not like I haven't been cold before...
The spell really liked its twisted little jokes, Sunny thought. Or maybe it was Fated.
Damn it.
He had felt something moving underneath him. Its shape was quite massive and Sunny could feel the water pressure tightening its grip around him as it moved . He grit his teeth and kicked himself forward harder. Hopefully the creature wasn't coming for him at all. Maybe it was just stretching or doing something else eldritch horrors liked to do.
Nevertheless, he continued to swim as fast as he could despite the deep fatigue.
The Bone Ridge was coming closer and closer and after five agonizing minutes Sunny felt slimy but smooth surface under his hand. Fervently he began to climb, shadow wrapped around himself. Before long he took in a breath of fresh air. His head was above the water.
His fingers curled, trying to find purchase within the bone. Slowly he dragged himself upwards and crumbled as soon as he was couple of meters from the edge. He was shiwering, his armor memory was soaked and he was still so cold. His teeth were clattering and his toes and fingers were so cold he couldn't sense anything with them.
Agh... Why am I not dead?
It was extremely improbable that he had survived without so much as an encounter with one of the sea creatures. Maybe it was that cursed attribute of his again. He looked at the sky and saw absolutely nothing. Being in Forgotten Shore at night was like being at the bottom of a giant bowl - no light was in sight. Sunny was content with that. He was happier in the company of shadows anyway.
And speaking of company...
No. He didn't want to think about them. The pain resurfaced in his mind, so sharp he himself was surprised at the intensity of it.
In any other moment his thoughts would have run rampant and he would have laid there, not wanting to think or feel but being unable to stop. But now he was tired. He had fought his way through the labyrinth and swam for miles in the black waters of the Dark Sea. There was not a single ounce of his body that didn't long for rest.
And so, he drifted asleep.
*******
The morning light broke through Sunny's eyelids as he woke up. He reached reflexively to his right where Cassie — or sometimes Nephis — had slept during their journey. They were often sleeping close to each other. Sunny had not liked it at first (at all), but strange things happened when you were the only three humans in an area as large as a continent. In the end he had started to like the arrangement.
This morning there was no one beside him.
Sunny groaned and sat up when the situation hit him.
He was a slave. Again. And if that wasn't bad enough he was now on his own. He had abandoned Nephis and Cassie yesterday in an emotional state, but that had also been the most logical thing to do. Nephis couldn't give him commands if she wasn't near him after all. He could journey west, always a day ahead of them, until he reached the human citadel. And then... then he would have to figure something out.
The journey would be hard, but it would be possible. He was sure of it.
Before he did anything else though he opened his runes. He just had to see it... But he didn't even make it to the part of his runes that described his Innate Ability before he froze. He saw something that made his eyes widen.
The [Fated] was gone.
His attribute had evolved.
[In Disarray]... What the hell? How did this happen?
He closed his eyes and looked again. Then he slapped himself. When nothing changed he finally read the new Attribute Description.
[In Disarray]: "Your path through time has been altered. Each step you take is bound to bring about disorder and confusion. Some people are cursed, some are blessed, but neither of those can escape their destiny unscathed."
Sunny was positively astounded. He would have been elated if not for the nagging suspicion that this was somehow all Changing Star's doing.
Star of Change... That's some poetry by Spell...
And indeed, as he proceeded down to the bottom of his runes his mood soured.
He had a master now.
Sunny clenched his fists but read Nephis's runes hungrily nonetheless. This was information he was going to need if he wanted to break free someday, no matter how distant the possibility of such occurrence might feel now. And speaking of that, Sunny realized he should really get going. His plan of action relied on being always a step ahead of Nephis and Cassie. He didn't have time to sit idly.
He quickly realized that the area he was approaching next was vastly different from the rest of the labyrinth. The absence of all-consuming coral forest didn't make him feel any better — quite the contrary, it made him feel exposed. The grey ground of ash was devoid of any life and everything was eerily quiet.
At the far edge of the plain rose a colossal hill and on top of the hill was a magnificent tree. Its bark was ebony black and its leaves were red like blood. Somehow the tree made Sunny feel even more uneasy than its surroundings did. What was a tree doing here in the Dream Realm? How did it survive? More importantly, how did it drive the coral maze away from it? It was almost like the usual foliage of the Forgotten Shore was scared of this thing...
He slowly approached the hill and the ominous feeling persisted. He was being careful, hiding behind larger boulders whenever possible. Gloomy was acting as a scout, and Sunny also concentrated on his shadow sense so nothing could attack him from behind.
Gloomy had scaled the hill before him, entering the shadows that the massive red-leafed tree cast. It's branches moved hypnotically with the wind and soft rustling of leaves lingered in the air, smothering all other sounds.
That was when he saw it. When Sunny lowered his gaze from the tree he noticed movement. Something was crawling very slowly from behind the tree. It was coming his way...
It was a massive carapace scavenger, much larger than the centurions they had fought earlier. Its carapace was made of heavy metal and its red eyes burned menacingly. It was at least a demon, Sunny thought.
But why was it moving so slowly?
Why wasn't it attacking?
Sunny saw the answer almost immediately and he felt like laughing.
The demon was wounded.
Not only that, its injuries seemed to be quite severe. Its limbs were broken or cut and its armor was pierced in many places. Its iron scythes were dull (and one of them was no more) and its eyes were dim. It looked exhausted. It looked like it was about to die.
I won't get a better chance than this.
Sunny steeled his resolve. He rembered the burning hatred and bitterness of yesterday and used the emotions to empower himself.
He had to keep moving, making his way west. The carapace demon was in his way and so, it had to die.
He was not going into the fight blindly, though. He wanted to observe the demon for a bit. He needed a plan and he neede to know where to strike.
He fixated on the different wounds the nightmare creature had, trying to determine the best possible place to strike as well as uncover any additional weaknesses he could use to his advantage. The demon had probably been injured against some abomination that lived in the sea. Quite possibly the fight had even taken place during last night. Sunny watched with his shadow as the demon limped towards him. He wasn't sure if it was aware of him or if it was just doing its normal thing. Somehow he got a feeling that it was patrolling around the tree like a guardian.
When Sunny was about to be discovered he finally called his shadow back. He summoned both the Crown of Ice and the Azure Blade and stepped from behind a rock.
"Hey there, you bastard!"
*******
"We came too late."
From the first light of the morning they had made their way through the labyrinth, determined to get to the Bone Ridge and meet Sunny. Nephis was desperate for a way to fix things between them — and she firmly believed they could be fixed. She was not so naive as to think it would be possible right away, but they would hopefully at least be able to talk without Sunny trying to kill her.
The traveling was slower now that they didn't have Sunny to scout for them. Many times they had to turn back and try another path or hide quickly when a bigger horde of nightmare creatures went by. Nephis fought a couple of times as well, venting her frustration in expense of the unlucky creatures. Her sword made quick work of them but not a glimmer of interest or elation showed on her face.
And with all their efforts they were still unable to get to the Bone Ridge in time.
"He's gone again... "
"How far is then next island?" Cassie asked. She had been quiet all day other than the few times she had warned against going in particular direction. Now she looked thoughtful.
Nephis looked west and saw the familiar land of ash and beyond it an even more familiar hill. On it a colossal tree rose to the sky, one that she had thought about many times over the years. It was a measly awakened terror and yet it was one of the rare nightmare creatures that she had ever truly feared. Some of that fear persisted even now...
"Not too far. But it is dangerous. The hill is situated on the edge of a large grey area. The coral forest doesn't grow there, there's only ash. And on the hill is that tree... It looks beautiful but is in reality a dangerous nightmare creature. It is a terror, I think, and guarding it is an awakened demon."
She thought about it and felt the corners of her lips tighten. "Sunny won't go there alone. No matter how much he loathes me, he is not stupid. He must be coming back here any minute now."
Cassie nodded. "So we should wait again. Have you thought about what to say to him?"
Cassie couldn't see her face but she could undoubtedly hear the tension in her voice. Nephis cursed herself inwardly.
"Somewhat."
Cassie nodded again. She seemed to be on edge as well. Nephis could read her well - she was her closest friend after all and had not yet grown so adept at hiding her true feelings.
She was sorry and she was scared. But under it all she seemed to... pity Nephis. She wasn't sure what to make of that. She had always been the one pitying her, cursed with her Flaw as she was.
"If you don't mind me asking... " Cassie began. She seemed unsure.
"Yes?"
"Why did Sunny react in such a way when you said his True Name? What exactly did you do?" She blinked and then looked up, hopeful. "Oh, and also... can we eat something before nightfall? I'm hungry."
Nephis sighed. "We can eat. As for the effect of his True Name... I'm afraid I can't tell you. All I can say is that it has formed a particular bond between us that enables me to read his runes, for example. Any more you have to ask him." She had begun to set up a fire and the familiar motions of the task helped her mind to ease a little. "Or actually, don't ask him, at least not yet." Sunny wouldn't appreciate more people knowing about his secrets.
They talked some more and ate in silence. As the sky begun to darken Nephis grew restless. Sunny was nowhere in sight and the Dark Sea was coming. The air was becoming colder and a light breeze blew her silver hair. Her fingers drummed the rock beneath and her eyes were concentrated on the grey hill that loomed over the horizon.
What is taking him so long?
She looked at his runes again when the Dark Sea came back - they were vivid and full of life so he was at least not dead - but where was he then?