Arthur remained seated on the floor, absorbed in the description of the Blood Armor. His head spun endlessly, caught in the meaning of the runes carved behind the altar.
Anyone else would have found the memory's rank fascinating. But Arthur didn't care. He knew that rank was false.
Not false in the sense of a deception, but because when he used it, the armor would match his own rank. That was how bindable memories worked.
Therefore, using it now would make no sense. It would level down to his Dormant rank, and he didn't need armor of that caliber. Furthermore, there must be a side effect, since Grey had advised him not to do it until he reached Master rank.
It was impossible to guess the reason, but if Arthur had to bet, he would say the armor affected the Aether in his core.
His Aspect Ability allowed him to obtain more fragments than normal. His theory was that as he rose in rank, he would be able to absorb Aether from the environment and integrate it into his core. It would make sense, then, for the armor to need Aether to sustain itself and draw it directly from his core.
In short: if he put on the armor now, all the fragments in his core would be absorbed by the memory, and he wouldn't be able to use Static Void or Realmheart.
There was also the possibility that the memory would break one of his cores to absorb the fragments, turning him into a Demon. Then he would descend to Monster, and finally end up as a Beast, without any fragments.
'Better if I don't bind the memory…'
Returning to the description… he now had the answer to who had been responsible for exterminating the Djinn.
"It was the followers of the War God…"
The information reached Arthur uncomfortably. It first reached his face, hardening his expression into a clear sign of confusion. Then it slowly descended through his body, making his skin prickle. Reaching his stomach, an unpleasant sensation formed, heavy and hard to ignore. Finally, that feeling settled in his heart… leaving a persistent discomfort he couldn't understand.
It wasn't what he expected at all.
Mainly because of one fact: he possessed the lineage of the War God. The lineage of the one who had exterminated the Djinn. His own race.
'Do the people of Valor know this?' he wondered, though he already believed he knew the answer.
No. They couldn't know. It was very difficult information to obtain. Maybe, as someone rose in rank and experienced more things, they might get lucky and find something related. But he doubted it. Especially since, for nearly two decades, the highest rank anyone had achieved was Saint.
Precisely Nephis's father and his Cohort had done so.
One question settled deep into his entire being: "Why do I have the War God's lineage?"
Remembering his appraisal after the nightmare, the first message from the spell had already seemed extremely strange:
[A divinity has acknowledged your existence.]
It said "acknowledged" referring to War God, but the Gods were supposed to be dead… how could she acknowledge his existence from beyond death?
Furthermore, she acknowledged him because he was a Djinn. And as if that wasn't enough, she decided to give him her Lineage…
"That's cruel," Arthur said through clenched teeth.
His followers exterminated that race, and then she gives her Lineage to the only living descendant.
But… maybe that wasn't the whole truth…
He was a reincarnated person. He was previously Gray. What if the War God didn't acknowledge him as Arthur, but as Gray?
That would be even worse, because it would mean Gray also had the War God's lineage. And depending on the era he lived in, there was a possibility he might have encountered her followers, who tried to kill him.
Imagining Gray using his powers as a Sacred sent a shiver down his spine.
What could be capable of killing someone with that power?
"Only a god could."
And, in fact… not even a god killed him. Gray had told him he succumbed to corruption, and there he became something else. He stopped being Gray.
There was also the description of his Lineage: [Life]
Description: [You have claimed the legacy of the War God.]
"Claimed"? How the hell could I claim a god's lineage?"
For this last point, he had no information to draw conclusions. Arthur couldn't imagine how a simple Aspirant could claim something like that.
Although, so far, the War God's lineage hadn't given him any notable advantage. The only thing it caused was that Seishan could "smell" the trace of Valor on him.
As soon as her name entered his thoughts, he stood up and shook his head to clear it.
"Now's not the time to think about that."
Taking one last look at the chamber he was in, Arthur walked directly towards the exit.
Meanwhile, he decided to stretch calmly and thought with a smile: 'Time to kill a tornado.'
The return was peaceful, without interruptions. As he approached the entrance, the constant sound of the wind became clearer, confirming the tornado was still waiting for him outside.
Leaving the cave, he saw it moving slowly in front of the entrance, maintaining its intact structure. It didn't seem to have lost any strength at all.
This time he didn't need to analyze too much. He already understood how the creature worked.
He advanced directly into the rotation, letting the wind's own flow pull him towards the center while maintaining his balance with his augmentations active. The pressure gradually increased, confirming the point where the structure remained cohesive.
At the right moment, he activated Static Void, stopping the rotation just long enough to create a clear opening.
He summoned and threw [Veiled Edge] as a distraction and, without wasting time, materialized Dawn's Ballad to execute the cut, guided by his Aether Sense.
He felt the resistance give way almost instantly. Without the core sustaining it, the tornado lost coherence and rapidly dispersed in all directions.
[You have slain a Fallen Demon: Obscured Tempest]
[Your aether grows stronger]
The Spell announced the creature's death, and the wind returned to normal in front of the cave.
But an uncomfortable feeling settled into his body.
"Fallen Demon?" he wondered, and with both eyebrows furrowed, he added, "The previous one had been a Fallen Devil…"
The information was confusing, but as time passed, an idea began to take shape. An idea he didn't like in the slightest.
"This creature split in two," he said with certainty. "One part was Devil class and the other Demon…" his eyes hardened. "Does that mean the creature was actually a Fallen Titan!?"
Arthur swallowed, and a sense of doom took control of his body, because he knew what it meant to encounter a Fallen Titan.
His father and nearly a dozen other Masters had barely survived an encounter with one a few years ago.
A simple Sleeper had no right to face a creature of such magnitude.
'I have to find Sunny before that bastard does something stupid!'
***
"Damnation."
Sunny stood completely still, watching the tornado form on the horizon. For a few seconds, he couldn't think clearly; his mind had gone blank. The pressure of the situation momentarily overwhelmed him.
Saint snapped him out of his shock by placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
Sunny blinked several times, as if just returning to reality.
"Thanks, Saint…" he said quietly, still processing the situation.
Then he frowned and added:
"What the hell do we do? We have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. We could go back to that building, but that would be a death sentence. We don't have food, and there's no guarantee they won't just wait for us outside."
Saint watched him for a few seconds without saying anything. Then she slowly turned her head towards the horizon.
Sunny raised an eyebrow, confused by her reaction. He was about to insist when Saint looked back at him and struck her shield twice.
Sunny's face immediately went blank.
"You seriously want to try to kill a damn tornado?"
Saint struck the shield again, with the same determination.
Sunny brought both hands to his face and lifted his head slightly as he exhaled.
"Why am I always surrounded by lunatics…?"
At that moment, Creepy stopped looking out the window. His reaction seemed to convey disbelief at his Master's comment.
Sunny noticed and immediately defended himself: "What? I never said I wasn't one too."
Happy made a gesture that clearly indicated disagreement, moving his head slightly. Gloomy, on the other hand, simply shrugged. Creepy turned back to the window, apparently satisfied with the answer.
Sunny let out another sigh.
"Now the question is… how do you kill a tornado?"
Saint, who had been watching him attentively, leaned down slightly and began to draw on the floor with the tip of her sword.
'That's new,' Sunny thought.
She drew a circle, representing the tornado, and then drew two simple figures. Sunny assumed one was her and the other was him. Next, she drew a line indicating movement: the figure representing Saint threw the other directly towards the center of the circle. Finally, she drew an X over the tornado.
Sunny was silent for a few seconds, trying to process the plan. His expression mixed confusion and surprise.
"That plan has only one small problem…" he said finally, raising an eyebrow. "Are you forgetting the part where the tornado completely crushes me?!"
He crossed his arms and looked away.
"I didn't know you hated me that much, Saint."
The shadow stared at him. Her expression conveyed silent, almost compassionate patience. Then, with her sword, she pointed at the armor.
"The armor?" repeated Sunny doubtfully.
Then an idea began to take shape in his mind.
The Mantle of the Underworld had already been repaired, but the enchantment that varied its weight required constant use of essence. For that reason, he couldn't use it constantly. However, with Serpent's help, he could control that enchantment for a few seconds.
If Saint threw him using the strength of an Ascended Demon, and Sunny activated the enchantment just before entering the tornado, the weight increase could give him enough stability to pierce the current and reach the center.
There was even another alternative. He didn't need to reach the creature himself. If he could position himself close enough to the tornado's core, he could summon Saint directly inside the current. Unlike him, she weighed much more, which might allow her to resist the wind's force.
Trying to have Saint walk in wasn't a viable option. The speed difference between her and the tornado was too great. Even with her weight, the wind's force was enough to lift and destroy entire structures. There would be no way for her to advance fast enough from the outside.
Sunny slowly nodded, accepting the plan.
"Thanks, Saint."
He turned towards the door, determined to prepare. However, before leaving, he stopped. He turned his head slightly to look at her again.
In a somewhat uncomfortable tone, he said:
"You know I wasn't serious about you hating me, right?"
The shadow held his gaze for a few moments and then nodded slightly.
Sunny smiled discreetly and continued walking towards the exit. Then he raised his arms and said: "Time to kill two tornadoes."
At that moment, he adhered his three shadows to his body and ran off towards the tornadoes.
Sunny moved at high speed with the plan already in mind. Usually, he would look for another way to face those creatures, but at the same time, he didn't have many options.
As he passed houses and buildings at high speed, he began to wonder where Arthur could be.
They had been in the area for nearly a week and a half and still hadn't found any clue as to where the portal out of here might be. Arthur had also warned him that time worked differently in the Relictombs. So once they managed to leave, it would be impossible to know how much time had actually passed there.
Shaking the thought as he turned a corner, he focused on the two tornadoes in the distance.
They hadn't reached the city yet, but they had definitely already crossed the limit that existed before. Sunny hadn't understood back then why the creatures didn't enter the city.
But now that they had, he could form a theory.
The only thing that had changed between yesterday and today was the fact that he had eaten Weaver's phalanx, the Daemon of Fate. The bastard who had controlled his entire life.
His theory was that, somehow, without really knowing the reason or how, Weaver's phalanx was what kept them away from the city, creating a kind of protective layer. Perhaps it was the very divinity of that figure that kept them away.
Anyway, since he got Bone Weave, Sunny felt much stronger.
He would even say he was stronger than an average Awakened right now, despite the difficulty in circulating essence. And if he decided to include Saint and Serpent, then he was definitely stronger.
Still, the creatures in front of him were much stronger than him. Everything would depend on whether his plan worked.
At that moment, he allowed himself to think again about Arthur and his stupid handsome face.
'Why is everyone so damn handsome?'
Anyway, he thought about what Arthur would have done in his position.
Stay hidden? Obviously not.
Fight them head-on like he was doing? Surely not either…
"Nah, who cares!" he said, but his voice was lost in the wind that was increasing more and more.
Sunny kept moving between houses and buildings until he stopped at a prudent distance. The wind was already blowing violently, dragging dust and debris through the air. Some houses hadn't survived the creatures' fury. He took a second to observe the surroundings, let out a light breath, and forced himself to stay calm.
"We have to do it. There's no other way…" he murmured, trying to convince himself, though deep down he knew the plan was far from safe.
Both tornadoes stretched towards the sky absurdly. Their width spanned meters and meters, sweeping away houses, buildings, and plazas alike.
A shiver ran through his body.
At that moment, he summoned Saint to his side. They both stood in silence, looking ahead as the destruction continued to advance. Sunny turned to her and, after a few seconds, asked:
"Are you ready, Saint?"
The shadow slowly turned and, after a brief pause, struck her shield twice.
Sunny smiled sincerely, without reservation.
"Yeah… let's try to survive this."
Saint turned her gaze forward. Three shadows covered her body, darkening her figure further and raising her strength until it brushed the Transcendental rank.
Sunny closed his eyes and dismissed Puppeteer's Shroud. Almost instantly, the Mantle of the Underworld took its place. Opening them again, he gave Saint a slight nod.
The shadow didn't hesitate. She carefully lifted him and positioned him on her shoulder. When one of the tornadoes was close enough, Sunny transmitted the order mentally.
Saint stepped back a few paces, took momentum, and threw him with all her strength directly towards the center of the tornado.
At the last instant, the three shadows that augmented Saint's strength separated from her and adhered to Sunny's body. At the same time, Serpent began to circulate essence, allowing him to activate the Mantle's enchantment for a brief period. Sunny dismissed Saint in the same motion.
Everything happened within the span of a second.
The wind roared around him, battering his body from all directions as he pierced the current at an absurd speed.
But the impact with the main current came an instant later. In that instant, he activated the [Feather of Truth] enchantment and made himself as heavy as possible.
The pressure hit him from all angles, trying to deflect and crush him simultaneously. The weight increase worked: his trajectory didn't change immediately, and he managed to penetrate deeper into the tornado's structure.
But the stability lasted less than expected, and his essence evaporated.
The turbulence within the flow was much more chaotic than he had anticipated. His body began to spin violently, the pressure pushing him upward while the current tried to expel him towards the edges. Maintaining orientation was nearly impossible.
Using his Shadow Sense, he searched for the tornado's center.
But he didn't find it… and the enchantment's time had run out.
The pressure spiked. His speed decreased abruptly as the current diverted his trajectory. The wind's force compressed his body from all angles, making even breathing difficult. His bones creaked under the pressure, and for a moment, he felt like he would lose control completely.
He wasn't going to make it.
At the last possible instant, Sunny forced his concentration and summoned Saint.
For a moment, he feared he had failed. The creature was invisible, making it impossible to choose an exact position with certainty. Even the shadows cast by debris were difficult to pinpoint precisely due to their erratic movements.
But he got lucky.
Saint appeared practically right next to the creature.
Inside the tornado, Sunny could barely distinguish anything. His body spun violently, the pressure crushing him from all directions as he was dragged uncontrollably by the current. Every attempt to stabilize was useless.
'I'm going to die!'
A second later, he perceived Saint's movement.
Another instant later, the creature's presence vanished.
The tornado lost cohesion almost immediately.
The pressure began to decrease as the wind structure collapsed upon itself.
The Spell's voice echoed in his mind, announcing the creature's death and something else, but Sunny could barely register the words. His body was still being dragged by the remnants of the current, unable to regain control.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something worse.
The second tornado had changed direction and was now heading directly for him.