In the passing weeks, Sunless and Seishan went on various hunts with the cohort to work on their teamwork.
Effie was especially excited, she could make use of Sunny's status after all.
"Doofus! Please! Use your royalty to give me a decent spear!"
"No! I'm not your pocked money. Get your own weapon."
"Then at least give me that one you have!"
"Didn't you hear me giant? Get your own weapon! And I'm not giving you my Transcendent lance!"
In other news, Seishan and Kai had their date. Sunny stalked, with Silent, of course.
"How the hell did Shan fall to this guy again?"
Caera stared at him humorlessly.
"What? She is literally leaning on him and he hasn't made a move yet!"
In the end, they went to a park, Shan used a casual outfit instead of a dress for once in her life. But even spending five hours talking together, nothing really happened, still, they seemed to have enjoyed themselves despite the prying eyes.
Either way, the flying ship was rebuilt, and they were ready to face the Second Nightmare, a little sooner than expected, but just enough time for Sunny to become a Terror.
Nephis had already become a Terror, they were together on an island when it happened, and while she was in the process, he noted how her evolution was different, as all her evolutions were the same. Same pain, same change, only gaining a new attribute.
Sunny's had changes, from having more of a shadow-like body from becoming a Devil, or enhancing his mind by becoming a Tyrant. Nephis only gained more strength and essence.
Sunny was with the Shadow Watchers, it was the day they would go to their own Nightmare, and he might as well bid them good luck as they went into their sleeping pods.
"You guys better not die."
Kira chuckled.
"It's merely a Second Nightmare Lord Sunless, it can't be worse than the Forgotten Shore."
"You got that right!"
"Good luck in your Nightmare too."
"See you later."
As they all entered the Dream Realm, Sunny breathed in and left the room, he had his own Nightmare tomorrow, and he was about to receive a great deal of pain.
Shadow Fragments: [5000/5000]
'Alright, here we go.'
[Your shadow is overflowing with power]
[Your shadow is taking shape.]
He gripped his chest as his sixth core began forming, his whole body burned with a sensation he could barely describe.
But just like when he became a Tyrant, something was different, something fundamental was changing inside of him.
His essence, his soul cores and even his shadows were changing, transforming, evolving.
If becoming a Devil changed his body, and becoming a Tyrant changed his mind, then becoming a Terror was changing his very soul.
He could feel his soul sea tremble as his sixth core was being established, the normally calm waters were now rippling, waves being formed as dark water began rising to the sky.
The flowing water then reached each core, enveloping the dark suns.
Even his Shadows seemed affected, twitching, rippling, the shadows of the sea consuming them.
It was horrible, like he was breaking apart, and rebuilding himself again and again.
He was close to passing out, but he stood.
Eventually, after minutes of his soul being slowly reconstructed into a stronger being, the pain stopped, and he could breathe normally again. Even though he was splattered on the floor.
[Your shadow is complete.]
[You have acquired more rights from your Lineage.]
[You have acquired a new attribute.]
He sighed, now, he was a Terror, and a new shadow appeared on his side.
Looking like a maniac with a static expression that never left his demeanor.
"Alright, you're Crazy."
He stayed laying down on the floor, not wanting to move an inch.
The pain he had just passed through was harrowing, agonizing, so much so he was still feeling the aftermath.
He stood there for so long a sweet voice pierced through his ears.
"My dear son, are you alright? Perhaps slaking off?"
"Hey mom, I'm fine, thanks for asking, I'm just enjoying the floor. It's surprisingly comfortable after having your soul rearranged by the Lineage of a Dead God."
She chuckled loudly.
"You became a Terror and it changed your soul… Is that why your Shadow disappeared from the caves?"
Sunny paused for a moment, absorbing what Ki Song had said, finally, he delved into his soul sea to see Wraith standing there, looking at him like a pleading dog.
Wraith jumped at Sunny, liking his face like they hadn't seen each other in ages.
"I… I have no idea. Actually…"
Now that he looked closely something changed in his Shadows. He looked around at all of them closely.
Igris had already finished his evolution, as such, he was now a [Marble Saint], Sunny thought he would have a different armor than Saint since he had an evolution in a different path from the female Shadow, but it looks like he was wrong, he still looked like a male version of Saint. Maybe the real changes only came when they became Devils.
Remnant was also still in his process of evolving after consuming the Echo of Shadow Blade Kurt, and Sunny still had no idea what would happen after he was finished.
But aside from that, all his Shadows seemed different in some way after he became a Terror, Sunny couldn't quite say what, but it was there. If he could point at something, they seemed… Stronger? More alive maybe.
The Soul-Devouring Tree seemed to have more roots and branches. Dreadwing's armor seemed stronger, and there were more lightning marks on it. The mist enveloping Wraith seemed denser, while the two Marble Saints had a stronger gaze in their ruby eyes.
Back in reality, he finished his train of thought.
"I think he was forcibly dismissed, something changed in my Shadows now that I am a Terror."
His mother hummed, and made the question everyone asked after Sunny evolved.
"What did you gain?"
Looking at his runes, a new attribute appeared on his list.
[Vessel of Mystery]:
[As the Heir of Shadow, a mysterious power rests within you, born from the hidden truths of Death and Shadow, your very presence brings a vision of the end.
Even if they won't know who, or what brought that vision into reality.]
"... I have no idea."
Reciting the description letter for letter, Sunny had to deal with a couple silent seconds as his mother absorbed the information, only for him to eventually hear:
"I see. I think that attribute will only reveal its true power once you scale the Path of Ascension."
Sunny felt his body sink into the floor as a weak smile invaded his lips.
"Great… So much pain… And I can't use the freaking attribute… Gods, I feel pathetic."
He could practically feel his mother's gentle sounding laughter, that was anything but gentle.
"At least you can have your little snake transform into Terrors now, there were a few I was able to capture, I remember one that was an ethereal being that was quite tricky to get."
"Speaking of, how did you even get Fallen Terrors? Or even Titans for that matter? Wait, now that I think about it, there were some Corrupted Tyrants in the mist too!"
"Sovereign secret."
Her voice was filled with playfulness.
"Really?"
"Hmhm. No matter, since you will go to the Nightmare tomorrow, and that you are already a Terror, I see no reason for you to return to Ravenheart just to get a few more fragments. Once you return, I should have captured enough for you to become a Titan."
Sunny smiled.
"Thanks mom."
"Anytime Sunny, but I would get up If I were you, I wouldn't want your sisters to see you like this."
"Wait… What-?"
He felt his connection with his mother cut as the door of the house opened.
Sunny tried his best to get up, but it was useless, his body still hurt so damn much. He just waited for the eventual mocking.
What was it with him evolving in the worst situations?! Every damn time there were so many people around him. The first time it was fine, understandable even, the second time he almost splurted out that he had a Divine Aspect if it wasn't for Nephis. The third time it was in the middle of the most important battle, the fourth was right in front of Rain! And now…
He felt three shadows entering, identifying each one.
"Kid, the floor is no place to sleep."
'Teacher Blade? Give me a break…'
He heard an enchanting sigh that could bewitch any man.
'Bin, don't even think about it.'
"DEAR BROTHER, ARE YOU PERHAPS DEAD?!"
'Oh… Great.'
"No Hel, I'm not."
Hel jogged happily and popped her head in Sunny's vision, a wide smile on her face, if Sunny didn't know any better, he would say she was enjoying his suffering.
"So! Why are you enjoying the ground?!"
"Because I evolved into a Terror."
"AH! I SEE! Must have hurt a lot!"
"It did… My soul was mangled then reformed a couple of times…"
Undying Blade sighed as he walked towards Sunny, his voice carrying an unusual tiredness.
"Just make sure you don't become a Titan in the middle of a battle, I can't even fathom what will happen to you at that point."
Eunbin also approached, from her voice, Sunny could tell something was bothering her as she looked around.
"They are already gone? You could have waited for me before bidding them farewell, you know?"
Sunny sighed.
"You talk as if you are close to them, what? Are you dating Kira now?"
His tone was obviously sarcastic, he wasn't expecting any reaction, after all, Eunbin is…
"Bin, why are you blushing?"
Her face was getting red, yet her face showed a knowing, lustful smile, like she was interested in Kira. It came to the point she was biting her lip.
"Bin, you don't even know what he looks like."
"And that makes him even more attractive, plus, he can resist my powers, when he becomes a Saint… Maybe I'll finally have a proper boyfriend."
She felt the scrutinizing gaze from Blade dawn on her, turning to him, she saw how little Undying Blade cared for her fantasies right now.
"Enough talk, Sunless, get up. I need to talk to you."
But a loud laughter made the three look at Hel, who seemed to be enjoying herself very much with a crazed smile… That had a hint of sadness somehow.
"SO MUCH FOR KEEPING HER SAFE! HAHAHA!"
They all stared at her, completely confused.
Until her laughter slowly died down, until her crazed smile died, and a simple, even sad one took its place.
"Don't worry brother, it won't change much, as for the future, that stupid girl is as dramatic as they come. Good luck on your Nightmare, not that you need it."
The Death Singer turned around and headed out of the house, the true meaning around her words unknown.
"She had a vision."
Sunny found the strength to slowly get up as Eunbin helped him.
"True, but who was she talking about?"
"'Keeping her safe'... The only one we are protecting is…"
Beastmaster stopped his train of thought.
"Rain must be returning to her house right now, I'll follow her, keep her safe. Remember, Hel is vague in her descriptions on purpose, we don't even know if she is really talking about her, it could be Seishan or Nephis."
Sunny breathed in, and out.
"Alright, I'll focus on the Nightmare."
"That's what you should do."
Blade approached and touched on Sunny's shoulder.
"Eunbin, please, let me talk to him, alone."
The elder daughter of Song nodded as she let go of her brother and walked outside, going to escort Rain to her home.
As soon as she left, Blade sat down on the couch, signaling Sunny to do the same.
After doing as he instructed, Sunny couldn't help himself, and got straight to the point.
"What is it, teacher?"
Blade stared at him for a couple of seconds, the eyes of the Saint filled with a certain emotion Sunny couldn't quite identify.
Eventually, he could finally say it.
"Do you remember why I left Valor Sunless?"
The question got Sunny by surprise, Blade wasn't one to talk about his past, quite the contrary, he was someone that made sure that people only knew the necessary, nothing else. But Sunny was one of the exceptions.
"Yes, it was because Anvil sent… Your friend to her death, no?"
The Saint sighed, and shook his head.
"Ivy's death was one of the reasons, yes… But not the only one…"
Sunny widened his eyes in disbelief, he was about to know something very few people were aware of. From what he knew, when Blade was of Valor, he was very close to a beautiful woman named Ivy that he was friends with since childhood. She was a prominent member of the Clan, but after she began meeting too much with a few members from the Song Clan, Anvil suspected she might be conspiring against him, that Ivy was a traitor.
The suspicion wasn't unfounded, he had proof, circumstantial as it was, but in truth, Ivy only wanted to help Anvil, trying to find common ground with her friends from Song… But that led to her death after he sent her on an impossible mission. After all, unbeknownst to her, the King of Swords had no intention of having peace with the Raven Queen.
Blade left Valor soon after, joining Song with the assistance of the very friends Ivy was close to.
"There's another reason?"
"Yes… Not long after I lost Ivy, before I really understood what had happened, I lost my student, he was… A boy related to Anvil, I was put in charge of his training for the first couple of years he stayed in the Clan, it wasn't much time… But he was still my student. He had abandoned not long after, forced to be raised by… The Dreamspawn, as a way for him settle a deal with the King of Swords."
Sunny widened his eyes, surprised by the mention of that Thing, but continued to listen as Blade paused to take a breath, continuing right after.
"He returned to the Clan right after finishing the First Nightmare, after the Dreamspawn was done with him, he soon went to the Dream Realm and returned, after surviving a harrowing journey and Awakening, after everything… He was welcomed with only hostility."
Blade gripped his hands, anger rose inside his soul.
"By that time I was already training you, I bore too much animosity with Valor to help him. And they only saw the boy as an abomination needing to be tempered and reforged. Thinking the Dreamspawn turned him into a monster, or that he was already a monster to begin with. They estranged him, treading him like a nightmare creature without bothering to learn why he ended up like he did, even denying him Ascension. Making sure he got nothing that was promised to him."
Sunny did not speak a word, letting his teacher finish.
"And in the end… They imprisoned him, only because he seemed like a monster. And I didn't do anything… I could only watch from afar as they destroyed his life… Not even being able to know what made him change…"
Silence took over the room as Sunny absorbed everything.
"Were… You able to save him?"
Blade sighed, but answered.
"No. He is still there… Probably still consumed by rage, still untrustworthy, maybe he's more of a nightmare creature than ever…"
"... Teacher, why are you telling me this?"
Blade looked over at his student, staring at his eyes, until he let his voice out, filled with contained emotion.
"I can't help him anymore, he probably blames me for what happened as well, but you can."
Sunny looked at Charon with his hollow eyes, they soon sharpened, determination flaring in them.
"What is his name?"
Blade hesitated for some seconds, but answered evenly.
"Mordret. The son of Anvil."
— —
Sunny got onto his sleeping pod and entered the Dream Realm.
He woke up in the Chained Isles and wasted little time, already using Shadow Step as soon as he got out of the Sanctuary of Noctis to get on a further island to summon Dreadwing and fly to the Firekeeper's base.
Because of his evolution into a Terror and the talk with Blade, he was late, but that mattered little to him. He was glad to know about his teacher's past… Even more than he already knew.
Reaching the base, the Firekeepers welcomed him once again.
Quickly dismissing Dreadwing, Sunny almost ran to the main tent, not caring about anything else.
Until he felt a shadow right beside the entrence of the inside of the tent. Immediately understanding who it was, he activated Shadow Step and appeared behind said person.
Aside from her, the rest of the cohort was there, including Nephis, Kai, Cassie and Seishan, who was a little too close to the archer, but who cares… Right?
Either way, as soon as everyone, save from Cassie, saw Sunny appear behind the tall individual, a multitude of sighs were heard.
"Effie, he already knows you are there."
The tall girl scoffed.
"No way! Doofus wouldn't use his whatever sense in the middle of–"
"He would, he did."
Effie froze as she slowly turned to her side, were Sunny was staring at her emotionessly.
Effie, Raised by Wolves couldonlylaughhumorlessly.
"Hey… Doofus…"
"You should really learn to look at your surroundings, unless you want to become my family's traditional scare target."
"Agh! Shudup!"
Nephis sighed as she started to speak, getting attention of the two.
"Enough, now that Sunny is finally here, we can, we can begin."
They all turned to Nephis.
"As we decided, we are going to the Night Temple today, while me and Cassie enter with Sunny in my shadow, you will all stay close in case any emergency happens. They shouldn't detect the ship if you stay at a safe distance."
Kai looked over her with some worry.
"What will you do that could warrent our help?"
"Something big, don't worry, we shouldn't take long, a few hours, maybe a day."
Cassie interjected, but Kai turned to her with the same expression of worry.
"A day? And why are we talking like you are going to fight them?"
Sunny was the one to speak this time, shrugging as a non-chalant face creeped into him.
"If we do, the Saint is out, and there are only two Masters and a hundred Awakened, me and Neph can deal with them."
His statement made the whole room grow quiet.
Until Effie bursted out laughing.
"HAHAHA DOOFUS YOU'RE HILARIOUS!"
However, everyone else did not share her humor. She slowly stopped whe she realised what was going on.
"Wait… You mean…"
Kai put on a thinking face, but eventually nodded.
"The one hundred Awakened may be difficult if they pile on, but knowing what he can do, Sunny could just pick them off one by one without them even knowing."
Seishan agreed.
"True, in fact, I dare say he wouldn't need all his Shadows to do so, especially considering how strong he just got."
Cassie nodded, having complete faith in the abilities of her companions.
Nephis ended by stating what she considered obvious.
"If its me and Sunny, simple Masters won't stand a chance."
Effie couldn't help but laugh.
"You guys are crazy!"
With this, they sat sail in the newly rebuilt flying ship.
With the crew being made up of the cohort and some Firekeepers, they quickly made their way towards the Night Temple.
Without knowing of two Saints following them.
Sky Tide looked upon the ship with her usual posture.
"This is as far as I go. Consider my debt payed."
Undying blade nodded.
"Thank you Tyris."
The White Feather Clan's Leader turned around, ready to go away, but stopped, she still had to say something.
"You aren't the only one that feels responsible."
Blade sighed.
"I know. But I am the one who abandoned him."
"You couldn't have done anything that day. I doubt even the Raven Queen could have."
"She could. I only needed to ask, and give my life as the price."
Tyris sighed.
"Don't you see? You already have."
She flew away, in the direction of the Sanctuary of Noctis, trying to cut the times between her and her old companion.
Blade didn't turn to her, eyes still glaring at the flying ship as his mind went back to the past…
He jumped forward.
— —
In the waking world, in a relatively affluent neighborhood, a black PTV closed in on the house belonging to Rain's adopted parents.
As it stopped, the small girl left the vehicle, stretching her arms after a long day of training.
"See big sis, no problems!"
A blond woman walked out of the other side, using sunglasses and looking like a Government agent.
"Rain! Keep your voice down!"
The little girl shivered, remembering what Eunbin told her about not getting attention, immediately lowering her tone of voice.
"Sorry!"
Beastmaster, who was currently using multiple cosmetic Memories to disguise herself, sighed.
The background for how Rain, a simple girl from a not so special family, could get to the Song manor was pretty simple: By using a special academy controlled by the Government.
Using it as a checkpoint, the family's driver, Marcus, could get Rain calling too much attention.
People, most importantly Valor, would think Rain's family was able to get her daughter into the prestigious academy for her to get a better education, then, since there were some instructors belonging to both Great Clans, it wasn't odd for the Clan's PTV's to transverse around the place, meaning Rain could go to the Song manor without many problems.
Shin helped a lot to keep the process smooth and mostly under wraps.
But there were always unknowns…
Eunbin thanked the driver, now being Marcus, asking him to stay for a while. She had a feeling something would happen.
So the two began walking to Rain's home. While doing so, Beastmaster decided to start a conversation, figuring the two haven't spoken in a while, even if she could hear a weird noise coming from somewhere.
"So Rain, how is training going?"
All the energy in the girl immediately drained upon even earing the word 'training'.
"What else? Its hell! Frostblade breaks my body until it twists! At least Lunae's lessons are great… Sunny wasn't wrong when he said he was the best."
Her eyes regained the sparks as she continued.
"And teacher Jin is also cool! I still can't believe he made me like chess of all things, and Undying Blade too! Although he doesn't really have the time…"
Eunbin chuckled, then frowned, cauthing a strange smell in her nose, but she ignored it and continued to questioning Rain.
"And your parents? I understand you reconciled?"
"Not really, they said they explained why they didn't adopt Sunny, saying they only got knowledge of him when he was already adopted, but I don't know…"
She sighed, deciding to add more.
"... Even then, they are good people, and they treated me well, I don't have a reason to cut them off from my life… Plus, I got another brother! Isn't that…"
As Rain turned to Eunbin, she saw a worried, surprised expression coming from the Saint.
"Big sis…?"
Beastmaster took off her sunglasses as she understood Hel's reaction to her vision.
Because she was smelling blood.
Hearing the cries of a baby.
And feeling four Awakened presences.
All coming from Rain's house.
Not a single trace of the presence of her parents…
Only the baby, crying.