Chapter 9: A Shiny but Treacherous Soul
Looking at the desolate expanses south of Falcon Scott, there were no nightmare creatures in sight anymore.
There were still many gates around, but the nightmare creatures guarding them were nowhere to be found. All had been slaughtered or fled.
This made the Shadow grin in avarice. 'Look at all these soul shards! Im gonna be rich!'
Since Sunny had his fate back and was still a known man who wasn't forgotten and erased from all records,he could actually sell these things and get rich!
Giving him a suspicious look, Jet cleared her throat. "Sunny, you do know this loot is government property, right...?"
"I know, i know, they'll get their share... maybe." Putting away the last few things they had gathered for the operation, he closed the lid of the [Covetous coffer] and unsummoned it.
She shook her head and summoned the clothing memories they had gotten donated from a few concerned soldiers. She wore the usual dark, full bodysuit that was a standard issue for high-ranking people and had many useful utilities such as heating, armor protection, etc.
And now she had summoned a memory of a large fur coat that went down all the way to her knees. Additionally, she now wore high fur boots that reminded Sunny of old Arctic expeditionarys he had seen in history books.
Covering her head was a hood that insulated her well and protected her head and ears from the cold.
At last, a cloth mask covered half her mouth and nose, stopping the cold winds from reaching her face.
"You really think this will stop the cold?"
Jet glanced at her overly covered form, then at Sunny again.
Sunny, meanwhile, was also done summoning his clothing memories above his armor. His outfit was looking about the same as hers, except his outfit was of a darker shade, which suited him well. They both looked like real arctic explorers now, ready to face any freezing temperatures.
"No, it won't stop shit once we're close... but it looks cool, I guess."
Jet just laughed, walking over to where Nightmare was standing. "Wow! Never saw you care about fashion, sunny..."
Sunnys smiled faintly beneath the cloth mask and then turned to stare at the all-encompassing blizzard that had covered the north of central Antarctica almost completely by now. One could barely make out a distance of 30 meters in the snowy darkness, so he was highly reliant on his shadow sense. "Times have changed... what can I say? I care about a great deal of things nowadays..."
He wasn't the same person as back during the Antarctic campaign. He had found new interests and things that were quite dear to him in his years wandering the dream realm alone and the many years after that.
Apparently, trying to at least look decent was one of those as well...
Sunny walked up to his loyal steed, Nightmare with a soft look. He reached out and patted it affectionately. "And I can't forget about you now, can i, Nightmare?"
Nightmare meanwhile let out a loud snort that made the grounds shake a little, steam coming out of its maw.
Jet gave it a complicated look... she had never really seen a horse before, considering her upbringing, but she was sure that this... wasn't exactly the cute pony she had fantasized about in her youth...
Ignoring her inner conflict, Sunny adjusted the saddle and mounted his steed with practiced ease. He held out his hand and helped Jet get on as well.
Jet was now seated behind him, arms around his waist as she looked over his shoulder. "Well, this is certainly one way to get around..."
Sunny shrugged. "It's the fastest way. Nighmare can get us exactly where we need to be and fast."
A sudden cold wind blew against them, howling loudly.
Jet covered her face with her arm, letting out a humorless chuckle.
"Well, it looks like times running out, Sunny. Let's go then."
He nodded, turning to look up at the alloy walls behind them one last time. On it stood many people, offering their farewells to them.
He saw Dorn, Belle, and Samara watching their departure with determined looks. Next to them stood many high-ranking officers and some awakened soldiers that had somehow found their way here as well...
Now sunny was tilting his head... 'Should I say something?'
He cleared his throat and decided to address them to lift their solemn mood. "My soldiers, take care of my Siege capital for now, will you? This place better be empty once I come back."
That earned him a few chuckles among them. An officer responded. "Of course, general! We'll take care of it!"
He meanwhile raised his fist in the air, now shouting. "And I will come back! And that Titan over there? It won't be such a problem much longer!"
Now, they raised their fists as well, cheering in an invigorated manner despite the cold winds.
"Go get 'em, General!" Another shouted.
"Good luck, General!"
Sunny grinned beneath his mask and saluted his soldiers, which they swiftly returned... it was a little funny to him.
Now that his business here was settled, he turned his gaze back at the snow filled desolate expanse in front of him.
"Alright then, hold tight." He gave Nighmare a mental command and leaned Forward, holding onto its pitch black mane tightly.
Nighmare let out a terrific neigh, shooting forward with incredible speed. Surrounded by the endless darkness that encompassed them, it's agility was enhanced tremendously.
"W-woah! Relax, I've never rode a horse before!" Jet yelped a bit, holding him tightly so she wouldn't fall off.
And so, they rode off into the raging blizzard and eternal darkness, hoping to become Titan slayers...
***
Now left alone to hold command, the Three Devils had let out a collective sigh... they would've all loved to go Titan hunting with their Captain and Soul Reaper, but instead, they were given this boring command role...
Of course, their captain had made this position look cool and special to everyone with how he inspired the masses and rallied the army. But in reality, it was mostly just boring management and logistics... being at the very top of a chain of command was anything but simple and straightforward.
And it seems their captain didn't like it either... he'd rather go and attack a corrupted Titan than deal with this after all...
"Well... what can you do?" Belle said with a sigh as he signed a paper lazily.
The trio sat in the Army HQ around a table with stacks of papers distributed among them. The Cold had long seeped inside the buildings, so they had to wear their memories and use a speeltech fueled generator to keep themselves properly warm.
Dorn looked over, scolding him a little.
"Come on now... we gotta make the captain proud. Everything is mostly already in motion, thanks to him and Master Jet anyway. We only have to keep it going as smooth and efficiently as possible."
"You're right, idiot... we just gotta keep this going." Belle grumbled, reading through another paper of logistics now.
Samara, meanwhile, wasn't really listening to them. She was glancing out of one of the large glass windows, watching another enormous vessel arrive, ready to dock and rescue more people.
A faint smile appeared on her face. The efficiency had drastically increased thanks to the newfound order and organization.
At this rate, it would only take around 2 days for the full evacuation to conclude.
Of course, the Winter Beast would arrive first, but now the captain and his allies had finally gone to delay it – hopefully – long enough to give them enough time and / or even slay it outright.
Which after seeing his scary echo... made her sure that he at least had a chance.
Overall, things were still bad, and the cold was becoming suffocating... but now there was at least hope. And if there was hope, then the people would always be able to fanaticly hold out until the very end. And she wasn't the only one who felt that way.
She sighed softly, turning back to look at her remaining cohort, the faint smile on her face refusing to go away now.
*
Meanwhile, outside of the HQ office...
Word had spread through Falcon Scott that The Devil of Antarctica, Mongrel, and Soul Reaper Jet had set out to hold off the Winter Beast.
People held mixed reactions as expected. On one side, they were relieved that they would go on this crusade for them. But on the other hand, they were – of course – worried for the outcome.
Yes, the Devil was strong. Yes, he had even managed to singlehandedly kill Leviathan in its own territory. Yes, eyewitnesses had spread rumors that his body is almost indestructible and has hyper-regeneration abilities.
But it was still a corrupted titan we were talking about. They all felt weak before the oppressive blizzard that weighed them down, trying to disrupt their efficient evacuation efforts.
But surprisingly, it was only a few among them who were giving in to despair. The vast majority pushed through the biting cold. They put on more layers of clothes. They worked harder to warm up. They knew that the Devil and his allies were out there, risking their lives for them.
And the feeling of powerlessness gnawed at them. They couldn't accept defeat. They couldn't let him down.
Not until every single soul on this damned city was saved.
Every few hours, new ships came, bringing them supplies and resources to sustain themselves. And then those same ships took in as many people as possible, as fast and efficient as possible. Thanks to the order and proper organized lines as well as clear priority evacuees, everything was going fast and efficiently. Even more so than in Sunny's previous timeline, where it was chaotic free for all.
There were many large bonfires spread around. They offered everyone warmth, rest, and light. Workers had short "firebreaks" every 45 minutes to avoid frostbite despite their many layered clothings.
A young soldier walked among his assigned group of refugees – which numbered almost 4000 currently – he held a crate filled with synthetic coal and flammable materials bringing it to a large bonfire that had been set up to keep people warm and cook their food. "Excuse me! Let me through for a moment, guys."
Just 3 years ago, he was infected at the age of 16 and miraculously survived his first nighmare. Now, through some bitter twist of fate, he somehow landed in this hell hole, working for the government. He was still a damn teenager, and here he was, saving the world or something. 'Well, at least I'm not fighting... im not like the Devil or any other fighter...'
A group of refugees parted for him slightly, giving him just enough space to get closer to the fire.
"Dear soldier, when is it time for lunch again?" A young woman called out to him. She was unhealthy pale from the harsh environment.
"Yeah, I've been working all day, I'm starving!" Someone chimed in, his voice filled with impatience.
The young soldier halted for a moment, looking over at the large crowd that huddled around the fire. "Huh? Oh, lunch should be... in an hour! Don't worry, the supplies just arrived!"
A few groans of displeasure and impatience went through the crowd like a wave.
'Ugh... fuck this.'
An uncomfortable heat crept up his neck despite the cold. He hated being put on the spot like that, but he hated being the bearer of bad news even more than that.
Arriving close to the fire, he met a few volunteers who were assigned here to keep it burning. With a grunt, he handed a gruff looking man the crate filled with flammable materials. "Here, that should keep it going for a while longer..."
The gruff man took it, looking at the crate, he put it down next to the others with a huff as well. "Yep, perfect. Was already starting to get worried."
The young soldier turned to leave, but the gruff man halted him for a moment. "Hey wait for a moment... the Devil... I've heard he left for the fight recently... is it true?" He sounded unsure.
The young man turned back, offering him a strained smile. "Uh... Yeah, yeah he did leave a while ago. I've heard it from my superior."
The gruff man nodded grimly, absent-mindedly throwing a piece of synthetic coal into the flame. "Hmm... so he actually left. That takes courage. An insurmountable amount of courage."
He chuckled, smirking at the young soldier for a moment.
"I guess we can't disappoint him now, can we?"
The young soldier halted, shrugging his shoulders with a strained smile. "I suppose we have to."
He paused for a moment, frowning a little...
"And if... that Madman actually gets us out of here..."
He looked up as the flames rose higher from being fueled, pushing away the eternal darkness...
'Then I will never be such a coward again.'
*
One of clan Night's vessels was sailing through the darkness and cold waters. It had been a while since its departure and there had been minor skirmishes with aquatic threats, but it was mostly a successful transport.
Standing on the deck, Professor Obel and his assistant Beth watched the distant spotlights of the enormous costal fortress illuminating the dark waters.
They had arrived in eastern Antarctica. And now they were about to go into Port at this enormous coastal fortress.
Obel let out a wistful sigh. "So we've made it. Now, only our friend Sunless has to make it as well..."
Beth looked over at him and then shook her head dejected. Defeating a corrupted titan as a mere Ascended – no matter how strong he may be – just wasn't possible in her opinion. She had seen him fight and lead, and she knew he had what it takes... but it seemed hopeless to her.
"I'm just thankful that he warned us in time. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have made it in time..."
Obel glanced over at her, the faint light of the distant spotlights illuminating them. He adjusted his glasses and smiled faintly. "Beth, I believe you severely miscalculated our dear friend Sunless. Back then, during the early years of the nighmare spell, everyone thought it was the end of the world. We had just come out of multiple catastrophes, and then the nighmare spell attacked as well..."
Beth listened to her professor attentively.
"But in the end, we always persisted. We had made the impossible possible... Again and again." He looked back over the dark horizon where they came from. "And this time will be no different, trust me. I felt it in my very bones when I talked to him, Beth."
Beth looked back where they came from as well, eyebrows furrowed. "I guess we'll see, Professor."
There was nothing they could do in Eastern Antarctica but pray to whatever Gods they believed and wait until more news arrived from Falcon Scott. It was an awful feeling.
The enormous vessel of clan Night approached to port fortress slowly, getting ready to dock and drop its anchors. The many spotlights illuminated it and gave it directions.
*
Among the furious snowy blizzard, the vague figures of a tenebrious steed and its two generously clothed riders were moving hastily through the rough terrain of central Antarctica.
At first, the cold hadn't been a large problem due to their preparations, but the closer they got to the eye of the storm, the more the cold was starting to seep through.
It was starting to become a bother.
Holding on tightly, Jet and Sunny both hadn't said a word the whole time yet. Well, there wasn't much to say after all...
The had extensively gone over the plans multiple times already. It was a simple plan, really.
They wouldn't go for a direct, head-on, brute force approach due to multiple reasons. Most importantly, Sunny didn't want to cause collateral damage should the Winter Beast lash out or use an unexpected trick. Sunny knew the Winter Beast quite well, but it is always good just to be sure.
The other reason was more of a personal one. They had gone head-on the last time he was around, and it failed miserably. He didn't want to relive old memories.
Additionally, Sunny didn't want any prying eyes, whether bystanding observers or pesky seers. Nobody could know about Serpent's existence as a Supreme Tyrant, nor find out just how he will actually manage to kill it.
If people learned these things, it would lead to more and more prying questions being asked, as well as unwanted attention from the Great clans and their Sovereigns being brought to him.
But Sunny also knew that as much as he wanted to stay in the shadows and be underestimated...
People would eventually find out that he had killed it one way or another. Hadn't he himself openly declared that he would go after it to all of Falcon Scott after all?
'The damned Sovereigns would be a much larger bother this time around...'
Sunny had, of course, thought of some ways to downplay his coming victory by either giving Jet all the credit or just lying that Saint Tyris had left it severely weakened, and that this supposedly evened out the odds in their favor.
But neither of those options was completely reliable. He couldn't lie after all... and who knew if Tyris would deny their claim, leaving them exposed?
Sunny sighed in dejection, the air coming out of his mouth quickly freezing.
'Problems, problems... we'll get to it once we cross that bridge.'
For now, they had to get everything in place and finish the final preparations. And after that...
<"Hey, Sunny? Do you think we're close enough?"> Jet's voice resounded in his mind, snapping him out his thoughts.
They had to use their mental link from the [Shroud of Graceless Dusk] to communicate with each other because the howling cold winds had escalated tremendously the closer they had gotten in the last hour. It had become incredibly hard to hear each other and also... it was getting quite uncomfortable to uncover their faces by now.
<"Sure... the highway should be around here, I think."> Giving Nightmare a mental command, it steered off to the left, bringing them down a rough path between 2 jagged mountains.
But after they had made their way down, they finally saw it. The coastal highway of Central Antarctica. Thanks to its favorable terrain, they could hastily traverse it as they had planned.
But why would they use this route? It was simple... they would avoid a head-on approach for now because the main objective wasn't to slay it outright. Instead, their main objective was to distract the Winter Beast and give the People of Falcon Scott enough time and hopefully relief from the cold so they could finish the evacuation as fast as possible.
And thus, they would use the coastal highway as a way to quickly out-maneuver the slow and clunky Winter Beast, flanking it from the South and using themselves as a "Lure" to drive it away from Falcon Scott and then...
'Right into our trap...' Sunny grinned beneath his mask, his eyes had a gleeful glint in them now.
Indeed... Sunny had 5 shiny soul cores, filled to the brim with the [Flame of Divinity], and on top of it [Soul weave] enhanced the quality and resilience of his souls and essence tremendously. And if he used his memory [Dying Wish] – which makes his enemies feel an irresistible urge to draw closer and kill him – on top of it?
'I'd become the biggest eye candy once more! Just not for humans, but a certain corrupted Titan instead...'
Jet had also filled her shattered soul core with an abundance of soul essence just before their departure, which helped as well and would keep her longer in the fight this time.
Overall, he felt a little proud of himself. Who could have thought up something so ingenious? Something so... treacherous.
'Huh... Am I really that bad?'
He didn't think so...
*
A while had passed, and they had gotten even deeper into the storm as they rode down the coastal highway. Tiny ice crystals had formed on their eyelashes and nose snot.
Riding on nightmare, Sunny was being softly shaken by nighmares galloping, which made him almost doze off a few times due to the slight lullaby and increasing cold. But if he knew one thing, then it was that you should never fall asleep in the cold. You might never wake up again.
He turned his head to the side, watching the blizzard around them through the shadows. He had calculated the new vague position of the Winter Beast again and was mostly sure that they had bypassed it from the left by now.
He sighed, Summoning his charm memory [Dying Wish]. It was a necklace depicting as a bleeding woman's statuette with a sword piercing her chest.
Memory Rank: Transcendent.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Charm.
Memory Description: [A young woman once wished to be free, but could only find her freedom in death. She called upon it, and touched by her sincerity, death came. But instead of embracing it herself, the young woman delivered death to those who held her in chains.]
Memory Enchantments: [Death Wish].
Enchantment Description: [Those who witness the wielder of this memory are compelled; friends to be inspired, foes to seek the wielder out. The power of the memory grows the more enemies they give the gift of death and can be consumed to heal the wielder's wounds.]
Death Charge: [342/1000]
Sunny wrapped 2 of his shadows around the memory, enhancing its enchantment 3 fold.
<"Alright, I did it, Jet! Hold tight!">
Jet nodded, leaning forward in preparation.
<"Let's hope your plan works out, Sunny!">
Nightmare snorted menacingly, picking up its pace once more. Its metallic hooves rang out loudly against the surface of the highway, sparks flying everywhere.
If they hadn't gotten the abominations attention yet, then he was sure that they now definitely did. The cold winds assaulted them from the back now, trying to freeze them and slow them down.
But they wouldn't stop now. The 3 of them grit their teeth and push through the shivers. They had to get into position now, and so they rode, luring the Winter Beast away.
'Agh... fuck this!'
He'd love nothing more than to summon the [Winter's nightmare] right now, but it wasn't the time yet.
And so... they rode and rode, trying to stay away from the ever worsening blizzard. A few hours had passed at this point, and Nightmare wasn't looking too good anymore. The immerse pace and distance wearing it down... and the biting cold wasn't helping either, freezing its joints and slowing it down.
But eventually, they had endured long enough. Sunny had finally sensed it through the shadows.
The path that led them away from the coastal highway and back into the mountain chain. But this particular spot had a large, open plain that would be ideal for the coming confrontation. He hadn't chosen just any spot either... this plain was actually surrounded by a bunch of active volcanos. These weren't as big as Mount Erebus, but they didn't have to be.
They parted from the highway, riding up into the mountains once more. Shortly after, they had reached their destination and now stood upon the frozen plains.
Both of them dismounted Nightmare, letting out tired sighs. Nightmare breathed heavily, it's heated breaths frozen in the winds.
Sunny reached out, patting it affectionately, a grateful smile on him beneath his mask.
'Thank you, Nightmare. We couldn't have done it without you my loyal steed. Rest now, I'll take care of the rest.'
Nightmare let out a tired niegh, leaning in and pressing its snout against him softly before slowly dissolving into the shadows. It would now rest and recover in his soul sea.
But it wasn't alone there... Serpent had been recovering in Sunny's soul for the whole journey now. It didn't have any major wounds from its expedition to Falcon Scott, nor their brief spar, but it was better to have his loyal Serpent fully rested and at full strength for what they were about to do.
Sunny glanced over at Jet. When both their eyes met, they both nodded simultaneously and started getting ready.
Now that they weren't running away anymore, it would only be a matter of time before the Winter Beast would catch up to them. The Winter domain was gonna become worse and worse by the minute.
If Sunny was honest, he hadn't expected the Winter Beast's pace to be this quick... was his soul really that shiny?
'What a greedy bastard you are... this mistake is gonna cost you your life, fool.' He smirked under his mask.
Jet was just streching herself after the long journey on horseback. A casual smile on her lips, as if they weren't totally insane for what they were about to do...
Sunny walked up to her, and she straightened herself again, crossing her arms now.
<"I guess it's time to prepare the trap now, huh...?">
<"Yep... I'm on it. Ah, but don't be startled... Serpent has become quite a big boy nowadays...">
Jet raised an amused eyebrow and then watched as an enormous shadow left Sunny and manifested itself before them on the large plain.
She had seen it already once, of course, but it was still a startling sight to see such a strong being from so close.
Sunny had told her that it was a Supreme Tyrant which greatly surprised her... just when did he get such a powerful echo?
This was when she realized that she still had a lot to learn about Sunny. 'Well...I must say he's quite good at keeping his secrets, that's for sure.'
Serpent was before them. It had a length of almost a hundred meters and a jaw large enough to effortlessly swallow a PTV whole... maybe even a few. Its tough onyx scales seemed impenetrable and oppressive, and its glowing red eyes radiated Death to any fool unfortunate enough to cross its path.
As if sensing something, it turned its enormous Serpentine head, staring at the distant blizzard with narrowed eyes.
'Did you sleep well, Serpent? I hope you did, because we've got a lot to do now!'
Sunny grinned in triumph and then stretched out his hand, the [Winter's nightmare] slowly manifesting in his palm...
Only... when the glowing red stone ball finally manifested and its enchantment [Gift of Heat] went into effect...
His hand was immediately burned to a crisp!
"Agh! Damnation!"
Sunny quickly dropped it with a yelp, flailing his hand around in pain. He looked at his burned hand with an annoyed look... [Flesh weave] was already growing new skin and repairing the damage in record time.
Jet stifled a chuckled and looked elsewhere.
Serpent was still busy staring at the distant blizzard with hungry intent.
Sunny sighed... had he overdone the memory? Probably not. Once the Winter Beast was actually close enough, it would probably be of great help.
Sunny looked down at the [Winter's nightmare]... it had already melted all the snow in a large circle around them and raised the temperature to an almost uncomfortable heat instead.
The sudden change was a little disorienting, but Sunny knew that it wouldn't last long.
<"Anyways... let's get this trap build already... I'm getting really tired of this.">
And so... they got to work.