Sunless walked slowly, he looked at his runes.
The question of how he had not bled out was tearing at his curiosity.
And the answer was right at him, the attribute [The Blood].
[Child of Shadows] allowed him to see in the dark, sense people's shadows, their locations, and blend in shadows. That explained why he could not be sensed by the Nightmare creature.
But the reason he didn't bleed out was because Beast God was the goddess of the Moon, hunting, carnal desire, beauty, the cycle of birth and death… But also Blood. And he inherited that part of Beast God.
[The Blood] must have made his wound heal quicker… Which made it lose his scent.
'If I did not have this, Mountain King would have found me, and killed me…'
He reached towards the runes.
"Thank you, Mom…
If it weren't for you, I would have died here…"
He walked towards the direction that the slave caravan was going, heading to the top of the Mountain.
It was still hard to believe that he had killed an Awakened Tyrant… He had already killed a couple of Nightmare Creatures as part of his training, but they were all Dormant, and didn't pass the Demon class.
"HEY, YOU!!"
Sunless ignored the shouts of the soldier.
"I REMEMBER YOU, DAMN SLAVE!"
The guard approached the Slave with angry steps.
Sunless did not stop.
"STOP AND TURN AROUND!!"
The arrogant slaver touched Sunless' shoulder.
"I SAID-"
The soldier lost his arm as the slave turned.
"AHHH-"
He lost his head afterwards…
[You have slain a Dormant Human]
'Hm, weak.'
Compared to the Awakened Tyrant, all of them were weak…
Weak people thinking they could control others…
So weak.
Sunless looked beyond the dead soldier, five soldiers were left, four were surprised, the one in the back was interested.
Before they could shrug off the shock, the slave moved fast, slashing the neck of another.
Finally one of them put his guard up and parryed Sunless' strike of his sword, but couldn't react to the knife that was launched to his eye.
[You have slain a Dormant Human]
[You have slain a Dormant Human]
Sunless was calm, way too calm, there were three left, two were on guard, ready to attack, the last one was… Smiling?
The two on guard advanced, one going head on, the other moved to flank.
'That won't work.'
Sunless met the advancing soldier, pretending to ignore the flanking one.
The slave and slaver exchanged sword strikes, but the skill gap was noticeable.
The heir of Song moved with grace and excellence, no unnecessary movements or force. The soldier's swordsmanship on the other hand was clumsy, unrefined. It was obvious that one could kill the other easily.
But Sunless had a plan.
He parried a strong strike that made the soldier lean to the side, then used the soldier's body as a springboard to attack the other soldier that tried to flank him, putting them in a sword bind.
Through Shadow sense, Sunless could feel the other soldier getting up and going to strike him.
'Fools'
He kicked the leg of the soldier he had in a bind, making him knell, exposing his head. That allowed Sunless to slash the neck of the soldier, decapitating him.
And the slash didn't stop, the angle made it sure the other soldier's neck was on the arc of the slash.
Two corpses fell on the ground.
The Spell announced.
[You have slain a Dormant Human]
[You have slain a Dormant Human]
'One left.'
He pointed his sword to the last one. But instead of attacking, the soldier was standing, arms raised as if he was surrendering.
"i am not your enemy."
He was tall, handsome, red auburn hair danced in the cold wind.
"You made that look easy boy, are you sure that you follow the God of Peace?"
Sunless was confused, but he didn't let it show to the man.
"Don't you hate me for killing your comrades?"
The man became disgusted.
"I was merely a sword for hire, please, don't lump me with… them."
He got closer and stretched a hand.
"My name is Auro, let's get out of here together."
"Hm… Fine."
Sunless turned around and began walking to the direction he was before.
Auro smiled and joined.
Sunless' instincts were telling him not to trust the man, but he could tell, Auro could kill him if he wished.
—-----
A few more hours passed, both made camp to rest, there was silence between the two.
Until Auro asked.
"What's your name?"
A few moments passed.
"Jin."
Sunless didn't want to give his real name, even if the man was not a threat, he didn't want to get close to someone who was a simple phantom of the Spell.
"Jin… An unusual name."
A few more moments passed.
"Hey… Did anyone else in the caravan survive?"
Sunless asked.
"Hm? Well… I don't think so… If they survived the Tyrant, either the Larva or the weather killed them… The slaves definitely did."
Auro answered with a solemn expression.
"Hm… thanks…"
The rest of the journey was quiet.
Until they reached the top of the Mountain, where a temple was standing, paying no mind to the intense weather.
"So, I guess this is where we-"
Auro couldn't finish, the slave didn't let him.
A dagger in the neck, a sword straight through the vulnerability of the armor.
"If you thought I was going to let you live after aiding those people… You are a fool."
Auro's eyes schunk in surprise, but when their eyes met…
There was no hatred, no animosity, just comprehension.
Auro's body fell on the ground.
[You have slain an Awakened Human, Auro of the Nine]
[You have received a Memory: Nine's Regret]
Memory: [Nine's Regret]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Charm
Memory Tier: I
Memory Description: [A Hero, once noble and kind, joined those he hated out of a promise of salvation, which led to his ruin at the hands of a Hollow Shadow.]
'Hm, so you weren't with them after all'
Sunless continued to walk to the temple, he was certain now, that was his objective.
He got close to the gate, where a guardian was there, a giant knight made of obsidian looked at him with a gaze. As if judging him.
An ember of divinity… The knight let him pass.
The temple was big, ornate, but old and destroyed. He passed through until he found what was pulling him towards it.
An altar… For sacrifice. Carved from black marble. It was untouched by snow, pristine amidst decay. A magical circle surrounding it.
So he finally understood this Nightmare, what he needed to do.
Slaves were mere sacrifices to the Gods after all.
He cutted himself on the wrist and let the blood fall on the altar.
The Spell almost screamed as he did.
[You have offered yourself as a sacrifice to the gods.]
[The gods are dead, and cannot hear you.]
[Your soul bears the Ember of Divinity.]
[You are a temple slave.]
[Shadow God stirs in his eternal slumber.]
[He sends a blessing from beyond the grave.]
[You bear the Blessing of Beast God]
[Beast God stirs in her eternal slumber]
[Death and Blood struggle inside you]
[In the end, Death consumes all]
[Beast God accepts Shadow God]
[You have received the blessing of two Gods]
[Child of Shadows, receive your blessing!]
'What the..?'
[Wake up, Sunless! Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]