[ Immediately after hearing the greetings of the Spell, Sunny found himself blind and drowning. As he instinctively tried to open his mouth to scream, salty water rushed inside, making him choke and twitch. ]
The screen remained dark, only the sounds of water and limbs trying to move in it were heard.
"Did... Did he just fall on the Dark Sea? Right from the start?!" Effie asked, perplexed and slightly mortified.
Professor Julius tapped his chin in thought.
"If I remember things right, the Dark Sea is in fact a Great Nightmare Creature, right? Timing with several other creatures of high ranks?"
"Yes, Professor. This could be one of the worst places where he could end up." Kai explained.
Naturally, both he and the other members of the cohort knew that there were worse places, like that one nest of spiders, where they found one of the sleepers of their year's batch.
[ More than that, he couldn't see anything. No, it's not that he couldn't see—it's just there was no source of light around. Usually, darkness wasn't a problem for Sunny, but, for some reason, his sight wasn't working anymore. Maybe the seawater he was submerged in was blocking it. ]
[ If it wasn't for the special space perception that the affinity to shadows gave him, he would have been completely disoriented. With its help, though, he barely managed to understand which side was down, and which side was up. ]
[ Luckily, Teacher Julius's lessons had included swimming. Swearing to thank both the old man and Master Jet once he came back, Sunny forced himself to stay calm and began to swim upward. ]
[ In a few long and tense seconds, his head broke through the surface of the water. Sunny was finally able to draw in a deep, hoarse breath. ]
[ 'Breathe, breathe. You're still alive!' ]
They breathed a sigh of relief, some even tried to breathe as if their own breathing would allow Sunny to match their breathing.
Only after calming down a bit did they finally laid eyes on the Forgotten Shore as Sunny had seen it for the first time.
It was an endless jet-black expanse of twisting and undulating waves that flowed below a empty black sky. There was no moon, stars, or any time of light coming from the dark sky.
It was a dark vastness of repressive nothingness.
[ 'This is… a sea? An ocean? Was I dropped in the middle of an ocean?' ]
Before he could get an answer to his questions, both he and the audience noticed something else, approaching him on the water. It was a triangular dorsal fin, it was hundreds and hundreds of meters away, but it was fast approaching.
"It's a shark!!!" Ling Ling screamed dramatically, mimicking a movie he had seen with his father.
[ 'Wait… if it's so far away… then how come I can see it so clearly?' ]
[ 'Damn you, Spell!' ]
[ With eyes full of horror, Sunny spun again, desperately trying to find something—anything! — to save him. And there, a short distance away, he finally noticed a black mass protruding slightly above the water. ]
[ Not wasting even a second on thinking, he started to swing his arms and legs, swimming in the direction of the black mass with a considerable speed. However, no matter how fast he swam, the giant shadow of the unknown creature was closing the distance between them much faster. ]
"Once again my teachings have been proven useful." Julius declared happily.
[ Just seconds before the unknown colossus got to him, Sunny reached the black mass, stretched out his hands, and pulled himself out of the water. He rolled away from the edge, scratching his skin on the uneven rocks, and jumped in fright when the whole surface underneath him shuddered, as though something massive had collided with it. ]
They saw as Sunny backed out from the edge of the water, just as terrifying jaws appeared from the water, rows upon rows of gigantic teeth, as long as he was tall.
It seemed, like the rock he had climbed upon was not tall enough to save him from the monster that was chasing him.
[ 'Why is it even trying to eat me?! I'm too small to be considered a filling snack for something this enormous!' ]
[ … However, before the monster had a chance to attack, a colossal tentacle suddenly broke through the water and rose into the air like some strange, black tower. Before too long, it fell down, entangling the owner of the giant maw and pulling it back under the water. ]
The rooms went silent.
There was no need for a concrete explanation. It was a simple manifestation of the famous saying, "There is always a bigger fish".
Rain watched the screen silently.
Most of the figures she used to idolize before she awakened, and still kinda did, had come from such a place.
Changing Star, Nightingale, Song of the Fallen, Raised by Wolves.
And not to forget her brother.
It was an unforgiving hellscape, that would pose a challenge even as an Awakened.
And yet, they had survived, clawing their way out from that hell.
[ 'So, it wasn't trying to eat me,' he realized, frozen. ]
[ 'It was trying to run away.' ]
Nephis stared silently at the dark water on the screen, searching her memories for anything that resembled the creature.
And the truth of the matter was. The creature that had just been dragged down to its death was a creature she was aware of. Not because she had fought it or seen it from afar.
Its carcass had been the main source of food for the Carapace Scavengers around the area, at least for the first days she and Cassie, and Sunny, had spent in the Forgotten Shore.
It was because of that corpse, that she was able to evade fighting in the time between lighting that fire and Cassie's vision directing them West.
[ A few minutes later, Sunny was pretty sure that nothing was going to devour him, at least not immediately. With that certainty, he was finally in a state of mind to stop trembling and explore his surroundings a little. ]
[ Sunny summoned the Puppeteer's Shroud and watched as dark-grey garments covered his body. It even came with a pair of high, soft-soled leather boots. Clad in grey fabric and lusterless leather, he suddenly felt much safer. ]
[ Not to mention, warm. ]
Perhaps because of how dark things were, or the sheer intensity of the moment, none of them had realized Sunny's nakedness. Only noting it when the narrator had pointed it out and Sunny had summoned his armour.
[ After that, Sunny sat down in the middle of the platform, as far away from water as he could, and tried to remember the unique characteristic of every explored region of the Dream Realm he could think of. ]
[ Unfortunately, none of them matched this starless, dark void. ]
[ 'Of course not,' he thought with a bit of resentment. 'Even if some unlucky humans had ever come here, I doubt that they were able to return to the real world alive.' ]
"That is why studying Dream Realm regions is so important." Julius explained. "The information can mean life and death. The less knowledge you have of a region, the less chance you have."
None of them argued, it was something they knew very well.
Since most of them were Saints, they had learned a lot before challenging their second or third nightmares. Often researching the area around the nightmare seed to learn more about what occurred in the nightmare.
At the very least know it's basic geography before hand.
[ With a soft sigh, he habitually looked for his shadow. However, due to the total darkness that surrounded him, it couldn't really be seen. He just barely felt its presence. ]
[ "This must be a paradise for you, right? All this gloom and not a star in sight!" ]
[ The shadow, of course, did not answer. ]
[ "Anyway... good job earlier." ]
"At least I know I would like living there." Revel admitted.
Her sisters looked at her with judging stares, especially Seishan.
"Oh... Sorry, Shan."
"No worries, Rev."
[ After a while, he closed his eyes and listened. Minutes merged together, growing into hours. ]
[ Suddenly, Sunny caught a slight change in the sound of the sea. It was as though something was shifting. He opened his eyes and noticed that one corner of the sky was slowly turning grey. Soon, a glimpse of a pale sun could be seen rising above the horizon. ]
[ A new day had come to the starless void. ]
[ And with it, the dark sea suddenly surged. ]
"Oh, is it the phenomenon described in one of Nobody's, or I guess, Sunless' works? The Dark Sea retreats during the day and comes back at night?" Julius asked, intrigued and curious.
"Yeah, this is the one. The Forgotten Shore's naturally imposed curfew, love it or hate it, it was a good way to learn how to feel the hours pass without a clock, never going to be late again I can tell you that much." Effie joked.
[ Looking down, he blinked and then kneeled to make sure that what he saw wasn't an illusion. ]
[ The sea seemed to be receding. ]
"It kind of reminds me when I open my tub's drain." Rain commented absentmindedly, receiving a few agreeing nods.
They continued to watch as the dark waters lowered, faster, faster, yet faster. The stone formation where Sunny was protruded out of the waves, revealing meters and meters of rock.
As the light of day approached and the images on the screen began to turn brighter, the monstrous ebb tide continued. They saw as Sunny stood on the edge of what seemed to be a tall cliff, hundreds of meters spearating him and the descending waters.
Eventually, sharp crimson blades began to puncture themselves out of the water. As the water dropped even further, a forest of crimson coral was slowly revealed.
The Crimson Labyrinth had been unveiled.
[ Half an hour later, utterly shocked, Sunny stared down and realized that the sea was completely gone. If not for the black seaweed left hanging on wet rocks and scarlet pillars of coral, he would even doubt if it was ever there. ]
[ His small circular island had turned into the peak of a strange, towering, irregularly shaped cliff. Looking down, he felt his head spinning. ]
[ 'I'm not seeing things, am I?' ]
[ What the Spell was that? ]
"That, my dear friend Sunless, was your first encounter with a creature of corruption! And of the Great Rank as well, as expected of you!" Noctis said in between laughs.
Daeron looked thoughtfully what were the dark sea had once been. A mixture of curiosity and reproach filled his mind.
'A living sea...'
He wondered if the God they worshiped, Storm, had any connection to the being. Maybe not, but it was a thought that he couldn't help.
[ Despite the sudden disappearance of the dark sea and its hidden monsters, Sunny was in no rush to climb down from his circular stone platform. Firstly, he felt that if the sea was able to disappear, it was surely able to come back, perhaps at any moment. ]
[ Secondly, he did not know what dangers the coral labyrinth was hiding. Perhaps there was something even scarier than the owner of the giant tentacle down there. ]
"Smart thinking." Detective Sunless complimented.
[ But that did not mean that he wasn't going to explore. ]
[ Sunny sat down and commanded his shadow to separate itself from his body. Then, taking control of it, he approached the edge of the platform and nimbly slid down. ]
[ Habitually moving from one shadow to another, he began the descent. At this moment, Sunny was glad that shadows had no weight and were not affected by gravity. ]
"What a convenient ability." Morgan commented.
"Indeed. His value as a scout is unmatched, no wonder he was able to write a whole report on the Forgotten Shore even when he spent only a single year in it." Seishan agreed.
[ "Say, don't you think that you need a name?" ]
As soon as that was heard, those who knew Sunny widened their eyes. They knew what was about to commence.
Sunny's poor naming sense and habit of naming everything were about to be revealed to everyone.
Those that were even closer to him, already knew the name of his first shadow.
Gloomy.
It was as good as it sounded. Perhaps even the shadow disliked it, or it was just being... gloomy.
Rain sighed. She hated how her brother's naming sense, even if awful, made some sense.
'How ironic. Mom was a poetic soul, Sunny names things too literally, and I have an aspect related to giving names... Was Dad the outlier?'
[ Although his shadow was already too far away to hear him, they still could communicate through their shared connection. Of course, the fact that it could did not mean that it would. The shadow was sort of taciturn, mostly because it didn't have vocal cords and was unable to speak. ]
[ Plus, its temper wasn't that great. ]
[ "How about… Shameless? No? What about... Shady? Also no? Hm, what about something simpler, like… What? Well, do you have suggestions then? Alright, alright! We'll shelve this conversation for later." ]
"You know... When he acts like this, I'm afraid we are never going to recognize if he ever goes insane or not." Kai worriedly said.
"I have to agree with you there, Kai." Jet nodded to that.
"What if he starts behaving like a sane person when insane?" Effie proposed with a soft smirk.
[ By the time he was done with this short monologue, the shadow had already reached the bottom of the cliff. The range of [Shadow Control] was not limitless, but it was just barely enough to explore their nearest surroundings. ]
[ Soon, he circled the strange cliff and froze, scared by the sight of what was happening in its shadow. ]
[ There, the corpse of the giant shark-like creature that had briefly pursued him the previous night was laying on the ground, the pillars of coral around it shattered and broken. ]
More precisely, half of it.
It seemed like a big bite had been taken out of it, spilling its grotesque innards out of the wound and stretching them far away into the distance.
The half that was bitten off was nowhere to be seen, most likely eaten, they reasoned.
[ Around the corpse, hundreds of smaller monsters were scurrying, tearing away and devouring its flesh bit by bit. Each of them was about two and a half meters tall, looking like a weird mix of a demonic crab, a centaur, and a nightmare. ]
[ They had four pairs of long, segmented legs that ended in scythe-like protrusions. At the front, a human-like torso was protruding from the carapace, also clad in thick chitinous armor. The head, if it was even the appropriate word, was situated directly on top of the torso, with no neck in between. It had two narrow eye slits and a viscous-looking mouth with several slimy mandibles. Instead of hands, the monsters had two enormous pincers. ]
"Carapace Scavengers..." Effie said.
"It has been a while since I saw one of them." Kai added.
The members of the Shadow Clan stared at the crab-like creatures, their minds went to some of the weakest members of their lord's army.
Some of them had seen them, the shades of the Carapace Scavengers.
Fighting them as a Sleeper was not exactly the best scenario to imagine. Not to say it was impossible, they weren't members of the most mysterious clan of humanity for nothing.
[ Currently, they were all using those pincers to tear off chunks of meat off the desiccated corpse and stuff them into their mouths. From time to time, a fight for an especially juicy piece of meat would break out, ending up in a few monsters being torn apart and quickly devoured by the victors. ]
[ Sunny swallowed. ]
[ Both because the sight of heavily armored, powerful monsters made him nervous and because looking at them feasting, he suddenly felt very hungry. ]
"Honestly... Same, doofus. Same." Effie said, earning a shake of the head from her husband.
[ 'Each of them seems like trouble. And there are hundreds of them.' ]
[ His luck, like always, was awful. ]
[ 'At least I don't have to wonder why the labyrinth feels so empty. All the inhabitants are having a party!' ]
"Thankfully, they didn't invite him." In the Alter Room, Sunless said.
"Not that we are really party people." Lost Sunny commented.
"You are right about that." Detective Sunless agreed.
[ The shadow turned around and looked up, taking in the sight of the strangely shaped cliff. It took Sunny a few minutes to shift his perspective and recognize it for what it was. ]
[ 'That's… a finger. That's a hand. That is… a sword?' ]
"That is one of the statues of the Forgotten Shore, they were also mentioned in Sunless' report." Julius commented, his curious eyes studying every visible inch of the statue.
[ 'It's a statue.' ]
It was indeed. At very least two hundred meters tall, so massive that it boggled the mind. From there, they could identify it was a plate armor-clad knight, with seven stars carved into his breastplate.
In his hands was a stone sword pointed at the ground.
However, there was something that diverted their attention the most...
[ However, the most striking thing about it was that the giant stone knight was missing his head. In fact, the roughly circular platform Sunny was standing on turned out to be the top of his neck. And by the looks of it, the head wasn't missing by design—it was as though something, or someone, had violently tore it off at some point in the distant past. ]
[ 'What on Earth is this place?' ]
... It was missing its head.
[ Without any hints to find the answer, he led his shadow back to the giant's neck and settled at the western edge of it, studying the feasting monsters. ]
[ He didn't move until the sun was about to set. ]
"Is he trying to time the Dark Sea's ascension and regression?" Naeve asked.
"As he should, don't want to accidentally be swallowed by a terrifying flow of water—not the best experience." Nightwalker commented.
[ Just as Sunny expected, as soon as the sun touched the horizon, a deafening rumble could be heard coming from somewhere below. The monsters instantly stopped their feast and scurried away, some hiding inside the coral pillars, some simply burying themselves in the soft soil. ]
[ A few minutes later, the first streams of black water appeared in the labyrinth. Their volume quickly grew, and soon an apocalyptic flood devoured everything around. The sea was returning with the approach of the night. ]
[ In an hour, the circular platform was the only thing above the dark waters once again. ]
[ With an empty stomach and a head full of thoughts, Sunny returned to the center of the platform and sat down. After a while, he beckoned to his shadow and said: ]
[ "Wake me up if anything happens." ]
"What? Is it supposed to just start screaming at him?" Effie asked amused.
"From what I know, the shadow is capable of stirring him awake through whatever links their senses." Nephis explained.
"Convenient." Revel grumbled.
[ In the middle of the night, however, a sudden impulse stirred him awake. Sunny jumped to his feet, his groggy mind full of tense apprehension. He was afraid that the owner of the giant tentacle had come back to finish the job. ]
[ However, the sea was quiet and calm. He didn't hear any abnormalities around the knight's statue. ]
[ "What is it?" Sunny whispered, addressing the shadow. ]
[ The shadow silently pointed him in a particular direction. ]
[ Turning his head, Sunny squinted. He quickly understood why it was a good idea to wake up. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to see… ]
[ Out there in the distance, a few kilometers away, a small orange light was shimmering in the darkness. Its reflections were rising and falling with the movement of waves. ]
Nephis and Cassie straightned slightly.
The memory of it was still very present and clear, maybe because it didn't include Sunny in it. The night where they lit up a bonfire to stay warm and be able to see in the darkness under the starless sky.
Big mistake to say the least.
[ Pretty soon, the light disappeared. ]
[ "Other Sleepers? Natural phenomenon? Or some monster laying a trap?" ]
"What Sleeper would light up a fire in the middle of monster infested water?!" Effie exclaimed, perplexed.
The others seemed to share her opinion. Although they had all comitted such mistakes during their carreer, it was hard not feel weirdly bothered that someone was comitting a similar mistake.
Nephis coughed, silencing the room.
Effie stared at Nephis, turning her head towards the furthest rows of seats to do so.
"Seriously princess? That is you?"
"That is us, yes." Nephis answered, her face masking any sort of embarassement.
"Us?" Kai asked.
"Me and Cassie."
"So you remember this?" Seishan asked.
"Yes, it is a clear memory for me." Nephis cleared and looked at Cassie, who nodded in confirmation.
[ Memories of nightmarish deepwater creatures immediately came to his mind. ]
[ Shaking his head, Sunny lay back down and attempted to return to his slumber. However, this time sleep was escaping him. Pangs of hunger were still not unbearable, but slowly becoming more and more intense. The thirst, however, was worse. ]
[ In the end, he remained awake up until the sun rose again, sending the dark sea in retreat. ]
[ As soon as the morning came, the pincer monsters crawled back from their hiding spots and rushed to the giant carcass to continue their feast. ]
[ Sunny watched them for some time and then walked to the opposite side of the platform to take a look in the direction where he had seen the mysterious light the previous night. ]
"Is he going on your direction then?" Kai asked.
"He is not completely sure what it is, he might not want to risk it." Eunbin commented
"Yes, but if the corpse get eaten before he can make a decision he might be forced to stay atop the statue forever. If he doesn't want to stay stagnant, he will have to move." Morgan argued.
[ At a considerable distance from the headless statue, five or six kilometers away, the ground rose naturally and formed something akin to a hill. On top of that hill, an especially massive coral pillar rose to the sky. ]
[ From the looks of it, its upper branches were just high enough to stay above water in the night. ]
Nephis recognized the place obviously.
She felt her heartbeat accelarate a bit. Not because of any feeling the place itself envoked in her, but because of how close their meeting was about to be.
[ Various ideas stormed into Sunny's head, but at the end of it, only two questions were really important. ]
[ First of all — would he be able to find the way through the labyrinth and cover that distance during the day? And more importantly, should he even attempt to do it? After all, there was no indication that the source of the mysterious light was something beneficial, as opposed to dreadful and deadly. ]
[ Not having enough information to make a choice, Sunny settled back to study the monsters. He did, however, send the shadow to investigate as far into the labyrinth as the range of Shadow Control allowed, hoping to chart at least the beginning of the path that could potentially lead him to that hill. ]
[ Logically speaking, he was as safe atop the headless statue as he probably could be in this strange place. The only problem was, he was going to die soon because of thirst or hunger. ]
[ Both problems were solvable if he were to venture down. He could desalinate the seawater in a number of ways taught to him by Teacher Julius, with materials that were present pretty much everywhere in the Dream Realm. He could also prepare traps and hunt a pincer monster to eat. With their massive size, just one of them would be enough to feed him for weeks. ]
"So he could stay as long as he wants to." Rain said.
[ He could easily see such a routine: hunting by day, returning to the statue at the approach of the night. It was probably his safest choice. ]
[ However, this way of doing things lacked one vital element: the potential for improvement. It was well suited for keeping Sunny alive, but had no way of giving him hope. If he was destined to spend the rest of his life in the small area surrounding the headless statue, devouring monsters and trembling at night in fear of being devoured by something bigger in turn… ]
[ Well, he would rather just jump down and end it right now. ]
"That's kind of extreme..." Rain frowned.
[ That pretty much meant that the only choice left for him was to try and reach the source of the orange light. And if Sunny was really trying to attempt it, he had to do it before the pincer monsters were done consuming the giant carcass. ]
[ That way, at least, the surrounding segment of the labyrinth was going to be free of them. ]
"Like I said, if he wants to make a move, he must do so now." Morgan said, slightly proud of being proven right.
[ Firm in his choice, Sunny decided to leave the headless statue the next morning. He would spend the rest of today exploring paths through the labyrinth and preparing himself mentally. ]
[ With that, he closed his eyes and concentrated his perception on the moving shadow. ]
They watched as the screen split and the footage sped up to an enormous degree as the day went past.
[ In the night, a sudden storm descended upon the dark sea. Sunny was stirred awake by the shadow in time to prepare himself for the crushing winds and the pelting rain. ]
[ Usually, rain always put him in a bad mood. But this time he was too thirsty to think about anything except for freshwater. Staying low so as to not be blown over the edge of the platform, Sunny cupped his hands and waited until they became filled with rainwater. Then he raised them to his mouth and greedily drank. ]
The first part striked Rain in a way she was very displeased by.
It hit her in a place she didn't know she had.
It was a sudden, and completely idiotic thought.
'Does he hate me?'
Naturally he does not. She knew that. However, just thinking of how the weather she was named after left him in a bad mood, made her feel awfull.
But she could understand. After all, if eclipses were as common as rain, she would probably feel sorrowfull just from thinking how she had forgotten him not once, but twice.
She could understand that his "bad mood" was related to his incapability to "save" her and provide for her.
As she was thinking a flash of lightning brightened the footage allowing them to see clearly the expression he was wearing.
A wide grin of pure satisfaction.
[ The storm continued to rampage for several hours. Sunny crouched in the middle of the platform, enduring its rage. More than once, a tall wave would crash into the headless knight's neck, threatening to wash him away. But Sunny held tight to the deep grooves in the stone surface of the platform, sticking to it like glue. ]
[ By morning, when the storm finally dissipated, all of his muscles were sore. ]
[ But there was no time to waste. ]
"No rest for the wicked as they say." Sunless said.
"I don't think we are that wicked, though?" Lost Sunny said.
"Are you sure? Are you certain that's a fact?"
[ Sunny had to thank Wilderness Survival classes once again, since he had been taught the basics of rock climbing as well. Teacher Julius was adamant about giving his student a crash course in all possible forms of traversal. Additionally, Sunny had already scouted the optimal way down and memorized the best holds and indentions to grab onto with the help of his shadow. ]
"Ha!"
No one had to look to realize that Professor Julius was once again smirking.
[ Soon, his feet finally touched the ground. ]
[ Despite the fact that leaving the safety of the headless statue was going to put him in considerable danger, Sunny instantly felt his mood improving. Remaining passive for the last couple of days did not suit his character well. Now, even if his plan were to end in failure, at least he was going to go down doing something that he had decided to do. ]
[ Trying and failing was better than not trying at all. ]
"Do or do not, there is no try." Mundane Mordret said, drawing a deadpan gaze from his sister.
He looked back at her.
"What?"
"I should've never let you go to movie night with Sunless, Kai, and Uncle Jest. Now you won't stop spouting references."
"Aren't these the joys in life, dear sister? Let me live a little."
[ He headed for one of the paths that were supposed to lead him to the distant hill and entered the cool shade of the crimson labyrinth. ]
[ Immediately, a strange feeling enveloped his mind. It was as though the world beyond the labyrinth did not exist anymore, and all that was left were its twisting, dark paths. ]
[ 'This thing almost seems endless.' ]
[ Shaking his head, Sunny sent the shadow to scout ahead, hoping to be notified of any latent danger in advance, and began to move forward. His life now depended on whether or not he would reach the distant hill before the sun began to set. ]
[ He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he were still inside the labyrinth once the dark sea came back in an unstoppable flood. ]
"That is bound to be unpleasent."
[ The shadow moved ahead of him, not meeting any hurdles. Sometimes it would climb high to scout the direction of different paths, allowing Sunny to choose the optimal route most of the time. However, he still had to backtrack a considerable distance once or twice, ending up either in a dead-end or on a path leading in the wrong direction. ]
[ Despite that, everything seemed to be going smoothly. ]
[ Sunny even had time to carefully study the interior of the labyrinth, noticing more details of its composition, as well as a frightening amount of unrecognizable bones hiding in the mud beneath his feet. ]
"It seems that everything is going well. It seems that corpse is really attracting the lot around the place, it's practically empty." Effie comented.
She could vaguely recall how there were at least a couple of them every two turns in the crimson labyrinth.
[ Because of how well things were going, he lowered his guard a little. His arrogance was also to blame—with his extensive preparations and skillful control of the Shadow Scout, Sunny subconsciously patted himself on the shoulder and assumed that everything was going to be fine. ]
[ That's why, when the mud directly in front of him started to move, he was a fraction of a second late to react. ]
[ In the next moment, a massive pincer shot out of the ground and tore through the air, threatening to cut his body in half with one crushing strike. ]
"Sunny!" Rain found herself calling out.
[ 'Crap!' ]
"Yes, 'crap' indeed. That's what you get for letting your guard down." Morgan demonished.
[ This was the only thought in Sunny's head as he awkwardly fell backward, allowing the pincer to close right in front of his face with a loud "clack". The jagged, chitinous blades were so close that he could clearly see bits of mud sticking to their surface. ]
[ Just as this realization dawned on Sunny, he desperately rolled to the side. In the next moment, the pincer lunged down, sending small tremors through the mud. If not for his quick reaction, Sunny's chest would have been caved in by that blow. ]
[ He was just beginning to stand up when the pincer swiped sideways. Luckily, Sunny was ready: instead of trying to dodge or block the attack, he went with it, letting the pincer collide with his outstretched hands and cushioning the blow. ]
[ As his arms screamed in pain, Sunny used the force of the blow and allowed his body to be sent flying through the air. This way, at least, he would get out of the pincer's range. ]
[ He might not have been taught how to fight, but one thing he knew very well was how to fall! ]
"Oh?"
"Would you look at that? Isn't he quite resourceful?" Effie commented cheerfully.
"Yeah, wasn't expecting him to react so quickly." Aiko commented.
"I'm not sure why you are surprised, we have seen how quickly formulated plans in his first nightmare." Beastmaster pointed out.
"O-oh, that's right." Aiko responded, slightly awkward from being addressed by a Song princess.
[ Instead of breaking his neck or having the breath beaten out of him by the landing, he braced his body and nimbly rolled before stopping some distance away from the ambushing monster. ]
[ 'I take it back!' Sunny though, remembering his sarcastic critique of Hero's battle rolls. 'Rolling is an integral part of any respectable monster-fighting technique!' ]
"That is quite doubtful, but they are not useless, for someone constantly evading." Morgan pointed out.
[ In front of him, the attacker had finally shown itself. It burrowed from under the mud, casting a vast shadow over kneeling Sunny. Its tiny eyes were full of rage, hunger, and malice. ]
[ It was one of the pincer monsters he had spent so much time observing. Towering over him at almost three meters in height, the bulky creature moved its mandibles and produced a jarring, piercing screech. ]
[ 'Why aren't you devouring the giant carcass with the rest of your buddies, you crab bastard?!' ]
"Don't be mean, Doofus. It might've been social anxiety!" Effie joked, causing a few to laugh.
[ However, the answer to Sunny's indignant plea was rather obvious. ]
[The monster seemed to be in a rather bad shape: half of its eight scythe-like legs were broken, and there were cracks in its thick carapace, each oozing with viscous azure blood. Additionally, he was missing one of its two pincer arms, which seemed to had been torn off entirely at the shoulder.]
"A-ah, that too, I guess." Effie said, feeling awkward.
[ If not for this pathetic state, the creature would have had no need to hide in the mud, hoping to catch easy prey. It could have just followed the other monsters and joined on the feast. Sunny was just unlucky to stumble directly upon its ambush. ]
[ He had relied too much on the scouting abilities of his shadow, forgetting that it wasn't much more observant than an awakened human. It was also weightless and inaudible—that's why the monster did not react when the shadow had passed over its trap a minute earlier. ]
[ On the other hand, Sunny could also consider himself lucky—by the same logic, he would not have been able to dodge the creature's sudden attack if not for its crippled, slowed state. ]
"I guess you have to keep thinking of the positives, huh?" Luster said.
[ 'Get back here!' he ordered the shadow and jumped to the side. ]
[ In the next second, the space he occupied a moment before was torn apart by the attacking monster. Its heavy pincer crashed into the side of a coral pillar, sending crimson shards flying in every direction. ]
[ Sunny caught his balance and continued moving. He was hoping that the bulky, heavily armored, wounded creature would not be able to match his speed, but unfortunately, it turned out to be surprisingly agile. Its scythe-like legs pierced the mud behind him, and the pincer was already flying through the air again, threatening to decapitate the young man at any second. ]
[ Sunny ducked, dodging the pincer, and finally caught a second of reprieve. His eyes darted around, desperately searching for something to use as a weapon. Almost instantly, he noticed a long, smooth, sharp bone left behind by some unknown creature sticking from the mud. Without slowing down, he bent down and grabbed the bone, pulling it out with one forceful tug. ]
[ The bone was almost one and a half meters long, ending in a narrow, sharp tip. It was almost like a spear. The problem was, even with the added length of this makeshift spear, Sunny's range of attack was still shorter than the monster's. He also doubted that it was capable of piercing the hard carapace. ]
[ In short, he had to get close and aim for one of the cracks in the creature's armor. However, he didn't dare to. At that short of a distance, the monster could easily crush him into a paste by using just its weight and hulking frame. ]
"Hm... He's actually quite talented. He is able to grasp one of the main components of combat so quickly without any form of talent."
[ A crazy idea entered Sunny's mind. ]
[ A bit shocked, he momentarily couldn't decide whether it was the product of audacity or foolishness. Either way, he wasn't insane enough to actually consider it. ]
[ At that moment, the pincer lashed out again. This time, Sunny was a little late to evade, and as a result, a sharp pain pierced his left leg. It was grazed by the edge of the pincer. The Puppeteer's Shroud held, not allowing the monster to draw blood, but the force of the impact was enough to throw Sunny tumbling to the ground. ]
[ There was no time to recover. ]
"That's bad!" Luster exclaimed.
"No, shit!" Kim cursed, hitting her lover in the back of the head.
They watched, the weird feeling of tension mixed with certainty. After all, the situation was dire but they were sure he was going to survive.
[ As his eyes opened wide, Sunny understood that it was time to act crazy. So, instead of trying to dodge, he stopped moving and allowed the monster to grab him across his torso with the pincer. ]
[ Immediately, a terrible pressure descended on his ribs. Sunny felt as though he were going to be split apart, but his armor, received from defeating an awakened tyrant, resisted the crushing bite of the monster's pincer. Every muscle in his body tensed, delaying the moment when his insides would be turned into mush. ]
"Is princess going to save him? Is that how they met?" Effie asked, slightly worried.
"Why are you certain that Lady Nephis saved Sunny?"
"I mean... How is he supposed to get out of this one? I mean, if it was the current Sunny, even if it was a Great Devil, I think he would manage, but this one is too weak!"
[ In the next second, Sunny's shadow fell from above, wrapping itself around the Puppeteer's Shroud. With the protective properties of the armor enhanced, he was able to better resist the pincer's pulverizing embrace. ]
"Oh... I forgot about that." Effie admitted.
[ Sunny and the monster appeared to be at an impasse. The young man couldn't free himself from the monster's grip, while the monster could not kill the prey by cutting it in halves with its pincer. ]
[ They stared at each other. Then, an insane fire ignited in the creature's eyes. It clicked its mandibles and raised Sunny in the air, bringing him closer to its mouth, obviously intent on biting his head off. ]
[ 'Why is everyone trying to eat me?! Am I that tasty?!' ]
At that moment, Rain caught at the edge of her vision, Slayer seemingly mimicking the act of holding her laughter.
'Why is she acting like that? Does she know if he is tasty or not? Wait, how would she even know?'
A blush crossed her face as certain thoughts crossed her mind.
[ Sunny didn't struggle as the monster brought him close to its mandibles. He knew he only had one chance to live. ]
[ In the last moment, Sunny allowed the shadow to flow from Puppeteer's Shroud onto the sharp bone he was still clenching in his hand. Then, he gathered all his strength, leaned forward and thrust the bone forward with as much power as he could. ]
[ Guided by his hand, the dark bone spear shot forward and pierced through the creature's tiny eye, sinking in deep. The other eye of the monster narrowed. ]
"This should've done it. I have to say, he performed better than most with years of training." Seishan admitted.
"Right?!" Hel agreed excitedly.
[ Gritting his teeth from the unbearable pain in his ribs, Sunny twisted the bone, trying to do as much damage to the creature's brain as possible. ]
[ For a couple of seconds, nothing happened. Then, he felt the pressure on his body diminishing. ]
"There you go, it's dead. Time to eat." Effie said.
"Dear, I think he needs to get to high ground before the dark sea arrives, food is the least of his worries." Her husband noted.
"Right. Perhaps I'm just hungry myself."
"I will see what I can cook up in the kitchen that was provided."
[ The pincer opened, letting Sunny fall down. As he hit the mud, the hulking monster crashed to the ground, too. The bone spear was still sticking from its head, bathed in the streams of azure liquid. ]
[ Sunny moaned and drew in a raspy, painful breath. ]
[ [You have slain an awakened beast, Carapace Scavenger.] ]
[ [You have received a Memory: Azure Blade.] ]
[ [... Your shadow grows stronger.] ]
"'Your shadow grows stronger'. Is this some kind of Divine Aspect-only thing again?" Jet asked.
"Yes, it is unique to each of us, but it is normally referring to our soul fragments."
"You mean, that he absorbed shadow fragments, as he calls it?" Morgan asked.
"Considering how his domain works, yes, he did."
[ Sunny was sprawled in the mud, trying to catch his breath. The subtle voice of the Spell echoed in his ears. ]
[ Immediately, he felt a slight change. His body grew a little bit stronger, his vision a little sharper, his skin a little smoother. The change was minimal, but apparent. ]
[ 'What was that?' ]
[ [Shadow Fragments: 14/1000] ]
Mordret stared at the fragments and thought silently.
It seemed that from the three Divine Aspect users, Sunny was the one with the hardest path to the Titan Core.
"That explains why he can't, or won't, use his cores like Changing Star and I do."
This was valuable information.
[ Previously, he only had twelve of the mysterious shadow fragments, with no knowledge on how to acquire more. Now it seemed that the process was automatic: he only had to kill an enemy to absorb a part of their shadow and enhance his own core. ]
[ More than that, the number of fragments he was able to receive wasn't directly correlated to the number of slain enemies. After a bit of thinking, Sunny came to a preliminary conclusion: dormant soul cores gave him one fragment, while awakened ones gave two. However, only enemies he defeated directly—more or less—counted. ]
"Most likely, the number of fragments is halved as he ranks up, correct?" Seishan asked
"That I'm not sure. Sunny became a Titan as a Saint, and so he didn't track any influx of shadow fragments once he became Supreme." Nephis answered.
[ Killing the Mountain King's Larva, a dormant beast, had given him one shadow fragment. Finishing off the veteran slaver, a dormant human—another. Mountain King itself was an awakened tyrant, which meant that it had five awakened cores. With each giving Sunny two shadow fragments, he ended up with a total of twelve. And now, after killing the Carapace Scavenger, he had fourteen. ]
[ Interestingly, he didn't receive any fragments from the deaths of Shifty, Scholar and Hero, even though they perished as a result of his machinations. It seems he had to finish an enemy off with his own two hands to absorb a part of their shadow. ]
"Shifty died from falling." Effie noted.
"Points for gravity." Luster joked.
"Scholar was killed by Auro." Rain continued.
"Points for Hero." Effie continued the joke.
"And Auro was killed by the Mountain King." Morgan finished.
"But it was Shadow God who killed the Mountain King, so why did Sunny have the fragments for it?" Kai asked.
"Maybe it's because it was part of the blessing?" Rain proposed.
"Might be..." Effie concluded.
[ Well, or at least by summoning an ancient dead god. ]
[ The process was quite similar to how normal Awakened increased their power, with the only difference being that the steps of extracting and consuming the corresponding material, soul shards, were skipped in favor of instant absorption. That meant that shadow fragments could not be stored, and subsequently could not be bought or traded. ]
[ He won't have an opportunity to receive them as a reward for completing missions, providing services or selling various spoils. If Sunny wanted to grow stronger, his only option was to fight and kill. ]
[ 'No peaceful life for me, I guess.' ]
"With [ Fated ], was there ever a hope like that for us?" Lost Sunny asked tiredly to his counterparts.
"Afraid not." Sunny answered.
"Unlikely." Detective Sunless agreed.
"I wouldn't trust on it." Sunless answered.
"Yeah, not at all." the Mad Prince also answered.
""Shut up!!"" They all screamed at him.
[ Previously, Sunny thought that he at least had the choice to choose a relatively safe path. Many Awakened never left the confines of human Citadels and never faced Nightmare Creatures, choosing instead to perform various jobs in the Dream Realm just as they would in the real world. ]
[ They received payments in the form of soul shards, which were simultaneously the fuel of one's progression and the universal currency inside the Citadels. Sunny was never set on pursuing such a life, but not even having a choice was sort of irritating. ]
Cassie looked downwards, fiddled with her hands for a few seconds, breathed in and out, and looked towards the screen again.
[ Luckily, there was a bright side, too. Without the need to use soul shards to strengthen his core, he would be able to spend everything he earns freely and without concern. After all, after he kills an enemy and absorbs the shadow fragments, the soul shard would still be there, ready to be collected and exchanged for something Sunny might need in the future. ]
[ That would effectively make him twice as efficient in terms of earning and spending, which was not a small advantage. ]
Aiko chuckled.
This was the Boss she liked to see. A person of the same mind as herself. Truly, the perfect partner in crime.
She looked at Kai and humphed.
[ Additionally, there was the matter of the Shadow Core… ]
[ Since both Sunny and his shadow were tied to it, strengthening the core would not only increase Sunny's power, but also enhance the shadow. So, if he were to use it to further empower himself, the actual effect would be stacked, producing a twofold enhancement. So, for each shadow fragment he collected, Sunny would actually be able to rip twice as much benefit as an Awakened would from a soul shard. ]
[ 'Not bad. Not bad at all!' ]
"Ah, is this what makes it Divine? I'm starting to see the buds for how broken the three of you are." Effie whined.
[ Ah, the future was bright. Provided he survives and gets the opportunity to even have a future, of course. ]
[ Sitting up, Sunny moved his eyes and found the cluster of runes describing his Memories. Azure Blade… had he finally gotten a weapon? ]
[
Memory: [Azure Blade].
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [On this forgotten shore, only steel remembers.]
]
"Huh... accurate, I would say." Effie said.
[ 'Huh. Interesting.' ]
[ Not very informative, but interesting. ]
"I have to agree with you there, Sunless." Professor Julius agreed, sad that there wasn't much more information about it.
[ He summoned the shadow and made it wrap itself around the Azure Blade. Immediately, the steel became bluish-black, with a scattering of white sparks. It looked like a starlit night sky. ]
[ 'Well, now I finally look like a real Awakened.' ]
[ After that, he cast a gaze at the corpse of the carapace scavenger and grimaced. Eh, this part was not going to be pleasant. ]
[ After some time, he managed to break open the cracked carapace and cut away a few strips of tender, pink meat. He also did not forget to extract the radiant crystal from the beast's chest — the soul shard. ]
[ Without much hope, he tried to absorb the shard, remembering how it was supposed to be done — just as he expected, nothing happened. ]
[ 'They're really of no direct use to me.' ]
[ With a shrug, Sunny places the shard and the meat in a makeshift rucksack he weaved from black seaweed and looked at the sun. ]
[ The day was still young. He still had a good chance of making it to the distant hill before the sea came back. However, his left leg was banged up in the fight with the scavenger beast, so walking wasn't as easy as it was before. He gritted his teeth and began limping. ]
[ Hours passed. Due to his bruises and increased vigilance, Sunny's progress slowed down considerably. He was sweating and grinding his teeth, feeling pain with each step. What's worse, the further he reached into the labyrinth, the more confusing and entangled the paths became. Even with the shadow's help, he constantly had to backtrack and struggled to move in the right direction. ]
[ 'Crap, crap, crap…' ]
"He is starting to panic, that will only make it worse." Jet worriedly said.
"Calm down, I'm sure Sunny will make it through. Without much trouble." Kai reassured.
[ If nothing changed, Sunny would not reach his goal. Which meant that he'll be crushed to death by the returning sea. ]
[ Not allowing himself to think about dying, Sunny tried to walk faster. However, he couldn't be too hasty: making a wrong turn would have taken precious minutes away from him, so he had to choose the way carefully. Additionally, missing to notice another ambush could end his life directly. ]
[ 'Curses!' ]
[ Just when he was beginning to feel desperate, his shadow suddenly saw something that momentarily sent Sunny into a stupor. ]
"Huh? What did he see?" Rain asked as the perspective of the shadow was revealed to them.
[ Some distance further down the path, beyond a few turns, the corals widened, creating a small clearing. And in the middle of that clearing, someone was walking across the mud. ]
[ The first thing Sunny saw was fair skin… a lot of skin. The tall, lithe girl was only dressed in a makeshift skirt and a crude brassiere, both made out of seaweed. However, it didn't seem to bother her. With a calm expression, she stopped and looked back. The wind was playing with her short silver hair. ]
[ It was Nephis, the Changing Star. ]
"Princess! You guys are about to meet!" Effie said excitedly.
Nephis stared at her seaweed-covered self and felt her heartbeat speed up to its maximum.
It was time, she and Sunny would finally be together. Working together like they did now, maybe they clicked immediately. She would like to think they always had the synchronization she was proud of having in a comrade of his caliber, and was, perhaps childishly, convinced was due to their compatibility as partners and lovers.
But there was something that was bothering her.
'Am... Am I really going to meet him looking like that?!'
All she could do was keep her expression frozen in time.
[ In one hand, she was holding the end of a strange golden rope. ]
[ And on the other end of the rope, Cassia, the blind girl, was carefully following behind. ]
Cassie stared at her younger self and was hit with a wave of self-hatred.
'Just look at you...'
She couldn't stand it. This girl that was hesitantly walking forwards while being guided by the rope. She seemed so innocent and pure, and yet Cassie knew just how evil and putrid she could really be.
She knew how low that girl would drag down the people she had just met and was about to meet.
And most of all, she hated seeing that younger shell.
So fragile.
So...
'...useless.'
* ******* * ******* * *******
A/N: Another chapter! Phew, this one took awhile and the viewing isn't even over yet! I think this viewing should be wrapped up in the next chapter, I believe.
Check Out my other Fanfics:
Cursed Shadow (JJK/JJK Modulo x Shadow Slave Fic)
Trailblazing Shadow (HSR x Shadow Slave Fic)