Sunny had his eyes shut as he claimed the relic, not even wanting to see if it worked or not.
But that did not matter anyways, as he heard the spell whisper:
[You have claimed an Aspect Legacy Relic.]
[You have received a Memory.]
'N-No way…'
He actually got it?
Sunny hurriedly summoned the runes.
Memory: [Drop of Ichor]
Sunny couldn't believe his eyes.
He had thought for sure this wouldn't happen!
He continued to read the runes, to make sure what he was seeing really was real.
Memory Rank: unknown
Memory Tier: unknown
Memory Type: unknown
Memory Description: [Before, there was only boundless, eternal….]
'I'll be damned!'
This was the real thing!
He really got it again!
'W-What's gonna happen this time?'
Was Blood Weave gonna eat it again?
Should he keep it and give it to someone else?
'Hell no!'
Even if the lineage was almost certainly going to be devoured once again, it could still be used to strengthen his Weaves… He would never give that up!
It wasn't like there were good options either, with the only shadow user he actually knew being Shadow Blade Kurt, and that guy… didn't really have a bright future.
The gloomy shadow had finally returned to the room, as he had recalled it after completing the first two stages of the Shadow Dance.
Sunny looked at his shadow.
"Here goes nothing. Again."
He summoned the Drop of Ichor.
His room, which was submerged in darkness, suddenly came to life as soon as Sunny willed the drop of ichor to manifest itself into reality. Countless shadows moved and danced around him, forming an invisible whirlpool. Sunny wrapped Gloomy around himself as watching it dance around excitedly felt quite embarrassing. The movements of the shadows around him were strange and erratic, fraught with anticipation, excitement, and longing.
Slowly, golden sparks of light appeared in the air in front of him and then shot toward a single point in space, coalescing into a small radiant dot. However, the Memory did not appear yet. Instead, more and more sparks flew into it, thousands upon thousands of them, until, at last, it seemed as though wide streams of brilliant golden light were constantly flowing into the slowly growing sphere of radiance.
This continued for almost an entire minute, and when the sparks finally disappeared, a brilliant drop of golden liquid was floating in the air in front of Sunny. It was suffused with a beautiful light that didn't seem blinding, but completely illuminated his room with ease.
…However, there was also something dark about the shining drop of divine blood. Contrasted against its golden radiance, the shadows around him were now suddenly much deeper, darker, and starkly pronounced. All their movement ceased, as though they were frozen still by awe and reverence.
The last of Sunny's doubts were dispelled.
'This can't be anything else.'
It had to be Shadows blood.
Sunny's body was extremely tense, as he prepared himself for the pain that was sure to follow.
[You have acquired a drop of ichor. Do you wish to consume it?]
"...No."
The runes dissipated a moment later as the Memory returned to Sunny's soul.
At the last moment, he changed his mind.
'I'll… I'll just hold on to it, for now.'
Even if it ended up laying Dormant within his soul forever, Sunny felt that it was a massive waste to let Shadow's lineage vanish just like that.
Perhaps one day, he would give it to Rain, or someone with a great affinity to shadows.
…Or perhaps one day, he'd consume it himself. After all, Blood Weave was the one that destroyed the lineage last time.
Although he had never managed to control it fully, he had started to feel it more and more in the final days of his time as a Master. He suspected that once he became a Transcendent, he'd be able to stop Blood Weave from devouring the ichor.
But at the same time… Sunny wasn't an idiot.
He knew there was a reason the Shadow Lineage had been destroyed in the past. He didn't know what that reason was, but he was sure there was one.
Because he could practically feel the hands of Weaver, twisting and turning every situation to their divine will. He'd have to be an idiot not to see it.
Sunny did not know what that vile Daemon wanted to achieve, destroying Shadow's lineage. Perhaps he would never find out.
But for now, it would lay dormant, hovering around his soul core like a tiny satellite.
He looked at the shadows populating his soul with a wistful expression.
The shadow of Mountain King stood silently alongside its minions, there was also the slave captain he had killed and robbed, alongside the shifty slave.
Sunny's mood darkened once more.
'Damnation.'
He had a lot of work to do.
He sighed, returning to the real world.
***
"Ugh…"
Sunny awoke groggily, pain still coursing through his body. The burden of forcefully awakening the Shadow Dance with his untrained body had not been light, yet for some reason, Sunny felt that his muscle memory still remained, as if his body still had the Shadow Dance engraved upon it.
'...'
He stared at the ceiling for a while.
He had another nightmare, but his body didn't even have enough energy to shoot up like before. Soft light shone through the curtains of his, as he had slept the entire afternoon, evening, and night. Sunny slowly sat up, aches all over his body.
'Just when will this damn winter solstice come…'
After all, once the winter solstice passed, he wouldn't be able to dream anymore.
Sunny stood up with a bit of effort, and immediately made his way to the washroom, as he desperately yearned for a freezing cold shower.
Sunny entered the shower after unclothing himself and turned on the tap, sighing in relief as the coldness washed over him. It did not soothe his pain but at least it distracted him from it. Sunny sat in the shower for at least half an hour before reluctantly turning the tap off and leaving. He still had classes, after all.
Sunny changed his clothes and slowly staggered his way to Teacher Julius' class.
As he attempted to enter the room though, in his haze, he managed to miss the doorknob as his face slammed into the door.
"Oof!"
Sunny stepped back and rubbed his forehead.
'How embarrassing…'
This time, he managed to grab the doorknob and enter properly.
As entered, he realised everyone in the room was staring at him.
'Right.'
He did just slam loudly into the door before entering after all…
Teacher Julius looked at him strangely.
"Young Man! Where have you been?"
'Hm?'
"What do you mean?"
"Well… you've been gone for a whole day now! What happened to you? You look terrible!"
Sunny showed no outward reaction, but inwardly he was shocked.
'A day? I didn't think I was that exhausted…'
Not wanting to give anything away, Sunny awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"That's uh… because I'm an idiot. Please don't ask anything else!."
Teacher Julius nodded in understanding, as the other students in the classroom snickered at him.
Sunny grumbled under his breath and made his way to his spot to endure another class.
***
The weeks passed by before Sunny knew it.
He had been able to patch any missing gaps in his knowledge quite nicely.
'At least I know what a cat is now…'
His mood had barely recovered, but he was at least able to accept the fact that he had truly regressed. Sunny wasn't sure on what he was going to do moving forward.
His memory of the future still hurt him every time he thought about it, but there was nothing he could do about that anymore but wait.
Two weeks in, Sunny saw Jet again, and was able to truly acquaint himself with her. They understood each other well, having many terrible experiences growing up.
He also asked for her contact number, so they could speak again in the future as it was rare to meet another person from the outskirts that was an Awakened.
'I can't believe I got a girl's number.'
Sunny thought to himself silently as he walked around the academy. He didn't have any impure intentions of course and genuinely just wanted to keep in contact with Jet, but still…
And after four weeks in the academy…
The Winter Solstice arrived. As did his birthday.
***
'Seventeen again huh?'
Sunny sat alone as a large group of Sleepers mingled and spoke together. He was enjoying a steaming cup of coffee as they sat in silence.
He yawned and took a sip of coffee.
'Still bitter…'
Despite this being the second time he'd been in this exact situation, he still had the same thoughts as before. He thought of the people he once enjoyed this sort of thing with, the ones that would wish him a happy birthday and throw him a celebration. His mood sombered, as he steeled his will and prepared himself.
This was their last day on Earth. He had prepared what he could, but as he had no assets to his name there was not much to prepare.
The entire room was in low spirits, as no one knew what was to come. Sunny had already said his goodbyes to Teacher Julius, although they were nowhere near as close in this life as they were in Sunny's last, which Sunny felt was a shame.
The instructor — who had now learned was named Instructor Stone, Awakened Rock's older brother — appeared.
'What a ridiculous family.'
As the sun was setting, Instructor Stone led them all outside as every Sleeper gathered in the foyer of the Sleeper Center. Sunny let out a breath and watched the steam escape his mouth, as he trudged through the snowy park around them.
He entered the shrine-looking medical center alongside everyone else, closely following the instructor. Instead of going straight to the sleeping pods, they went further down into the basement.
Sunny looked at the row and rows of wheelchairs. In each wheelchair, a person with a blank and peaceful expression sat, seemingly gazing into nothing.
Sunny shifted his vision out of curiosity. He saw the complete desolation of the Hollow's souls. With his Weaves evolved he had found that he had gained the ability to see even deeper into someone's souls, to the point where he could see what their soul sea looked like.
"Look well. All these people were like you once. Be it Sleepers or Awakened, these are all people we have lost to the dream realm."
The instructor spoke with a heavy voice.
"Every single one of these people could be you. Many of these people were strong, many of them were weak, but they are all still dead."
Some of the Sleepers gasped, not understanding what he meant.
"These are hollows, people whose souls have perished while traversing the Dream Realm. If you're lucky, once you die your body dies alongside you, but if not."
He motioned to the catatonic bodies sitting in wheelchairs.
"You'll end up like them."
The instructor gave them a meaningful look.
"So don't die out there."
***
Half an hour later, the Sleepers had been led to their personal rooms and were preparing to enter their pods.
In one of the rooms, Jet was staring emotionlessly at the pod before her, her true feelings were betrayed by the slight quiver of her lip.
And in another room, there was Sunny. He stared at the pod with startling intensity, his jaw clenched. His shadow was cast lazily on the ground, giving him a thumbs up as encouragement.
Sunny looked up, determination in his eyes.
He took a step forward, taking a deep breath.
***
In the vast echoing darkness, he heard… nothing.
'...'
Sunny floated in silence.
He looked around, as he had found himself in the endless space between dream and reality. Within what he thought to be the nexus of the Nightmare Spell.
Sunny looked at the boundless black void surrounding him, the myriad of stars, woven together
in countless strings of light.
It was a beautifully inconceivable pattern.
It was…
'Not supposed to be here…'
What was going on? He was supposed to be sent straight to the Dream Realm… Last time he found himself nearly drowning immediately. But now, he was just floating in silence.
'Is.. something supposed to happen?'
He felt a bit of apprehension, a situation such as this had never happened before.
Sunny waited some more.
…
…
…
…
…
Nothing happened.
'I'm… I'm not stuck here am I?'
…
…
…
…
…
An hour passed.
…
…
…
…
…
Several hours passed.
Sunny turned his neck around, trying to get a look at something. Anything.
But there was nothing. He couldn't even move from where he was, as he was stuck floating in place.
Sunny struggled incessantly, but to no avail.
He was truly stuck. In a seemingly inescapable place.
'Damnation!'
What was he supposed to do now?!
He did not dare shift his vision to peer into the endless weave of stars, he had already learned from his mistake earlier. He was certain his dormant mind would not be able to withstand it.
Sunny immediately fell into a flurry of dark thoughts.
'Damn it.'
What about Nephis?! And his cohort?!
'Damn it…'
What about Rain?!
'Damn it!'
What about the world?!
'Damn it!!!'
And then, as if answering his plea, the endless amount of stars woven together began to brighten, as if it had finally recognized his existence.
Sunny sucked in a breath in anticipation.
'Come on, please!'
The stars continued to brighten as they began to move in a complex manner, shifting around as the lines followed them. It looked as if it was performing an eerie spell, stars shifted erratically with seemingly no pattern at all.
Sunny continued to hold his breath.
The lines began to shift even faster, and Sunny began to feel a little danger. But suddenly, everything stopped.
Sunny blinked.
All the stars rapidly closed in on him, and Sunny felt the world fade.
"Damn-"
***
"-Nation!"
Sunny was falling.
Sunny immediately looked around, trying to orient himself before he hit the ground. He seemed to be in another dark void. He began to panic slightly, before belatedly realising…
He wasn't in a dark void, but rather he was looking at one.
He was looking at the Dark Sea.
'I'm in the Forgotten Shore.'
He was not sure whether he should be delighted or bitter.
On one hand, he would have much less trouble maneuvering this place, which was especially important considering how weak he was currently.
But on the other hand, this place held nothing but bad memories. Memories that he was now going to relive.
However, he had no time to think of such matters. As he was about to hit the water.
Sunny shifted himself midair, streamlining his body as much as possible to minimize his surface area when hitting the water.
But unfortunately, he did not have enough time to do it completely.
'This… is gonna hurt.'
Sunny closed his eyes and braced himself as he wrapped the gloomy shadow around himself.
Less than a second later, he hit the water with a loud splash. Although he attempted to mitigate the damage as much as possible, a portion of his back had still been hit.
Sunny felt as if he had been slapped by a Titan. But he had no time to be in pain, as he immediately spread his arms and legs out underwater as he began to swim to the surface. Sunny spread his Shadow Sense outwards to detect any latent threats, but found none. He then extended it even further in hopes of finding any suitable land to plant himself on.
But there was none.
'I seem to have landed somewhere else…'
At least this time there was no Corrupted Devil chasing him immediately.
What a relief…
Sunny broke to the surface, gulping in air as he looked around in hopes of seeing any recognizable landmarks, yet all he saw was dark water in every direction.
'This isn't good.'
Sunny sighed, picked a random direction, and began paddling along in hopes of finding something. He continued to swim for several minutes in hopes of finding anything, and yet he found nothing.
'Just where am I?'
He was starting to grow cold. He wanted to summon the Puppeteers Shroud, but the wet fabric would slow down his swimming, potentially endangering him. Thankfully, Blood Weave seemed to abate this somewhat, as he could clearly feel the warm blood still flowing within his body.
Sunny began to feel lost again.
'Damn it! I just got out of that damn place, but now I'm just in the middle of nowhere again…'
His kicking sped up a bit out of frustration. He had been swimming for several minutes already, luckily he hadn't been attacked yet, but unluckily he hadn't found a single piece of land.
Sunny began to grow tired, his weak body unable to handle the exertion and the freezing temperatures at the same time. He did not know how much longer he could do this.
But luckily, it didn't seem to be so long, as Sunny felt the sea shift, and he noticed that the sky was turning grey. And not much longer after, a glimpse of a pale sun could be seen rising above the horizon.
Since he had been stuck within that mysterious place for several hours at this point, a new day was already coming to the Forgotten Shore.
And with it, the Dark Sea suddenly surged, as it began returning to the hollows underground.
"Dam-!"
…Along with Sunny.