Leon opened his eyes.
Before he could process what he was seeing, his mind fractured. His thoughts slowed, and his body locked in place.
The creature was an amalgamation of flesh. A dense halo of fog clung to its form, like a sunset burning along the edge of a mountain. Countless eyes covered its body, each with a different-colored pupil. Heads peeked from the writhing mass of flesh, twisted in every direction. None of them had eyes.
The eyeless heads and scattered eyeballs studded the grotesque mass like stars in a night sky.
But one of the heads was different.
One of them still had an eye attached to its face. That head hovered inches from Leon's own. Its black hair was soaked, hanging in wet strands. A single crimson eye stared at him, a crooked smirk stretching across its lips.
"Dreamspawn," the head said in an ancient voice.
Leon felt his thoughts slowly draining away. His leg was being crushed beneath the creature in the fog. His mouth opened, desperate to scream from the unbearable pain, but no sound came out.
Countless engravings spread across the creature's body. Each marking was gold, as though it had been branded into the flesh. They glowed faintly against the writhing mass.
Leon's mind struggled to comprehend the creature before him. At the same time, he felt something forcing its way into his thoughts. His vision blurred as he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness. Him using his aspect to subconsciously analyze the runes on the creature just made it worse.
Pain and disbelief consumed him. His arrogance was finally exacting its price.
Was this how he was going to die?
'No...This is not...How I die!'
Leon tried to hold onto a singular thought amidst the chaos of information flooding his brain.
The blade in his hand responded. Unbeknownst to him, the blade had heard his wish.
Memory Enchantment: [Unbroken]
Memory Description: [This blade refuses to be broken, and thus is durable beyond reason. It will greatly enhance the power of its wielder when they are close to death, however only if the wielder is unwilling to surrender.]
Responding to his unyielding will, the ancient blade in his palm opened up a well of power hiding somewhere deep within his soul. Instantly, a torrent of energy filled his body with bright resolve.
Gritting his teeth, he shakily leaned his head forward. The crown flared. He had to escape the monster's grip.
Blinding pain tore through him as the explosion ripped his leg apart. He nearly lost consciousness again, but somehow managed to activate the crown once more.
Ember Charge: [202/1000]
Ember Charge: [2/1000]
He had regained a large portion of charge by killing the demon, so he used most of it to regenerate his leg.
Flames enveloped his leg as new flesh began to grow. Before it had completely healed, Leon gripped the egg and hurled it at the creature's face. His strength was nowhere near enough to reach it.
But before the egg could fall, Leon lodged the Midnight Shard into it. With the well of power unleashed from within his soul, the blade pierced the egg, burst through the other side, and drove straight into the ancient head with the crimson eye.
The blade dug deep into the creature's skull. Its head jerked backward.
[You have slain a Great Devil, Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn.]
[A new pattern has been completed.]
[Resonance Fragment acquired.]
[You have received a Memory.]
[You received an Echo.]
Hearing that he had received an Echo and a Memory, Leon felt relief wash over him. Not wanting the egg to hatch, he had tried to kill both creatures in one fell swoop.
For a moment, there was silence. Leon noticed the sun beginning to rise ahead.
'It's...over.'
But he soon realized something.
Why had the Spell not mentioned killing the fog creature?
The head let out a light chuckle.
Leon's eyes widened. He realized the Memory and the Echo had come from the egg, and that he had not managed to kill the fog creature yet.
The head jolted forward.
"You will make a fine host."
A portion of flesh suddenly shot toward Leon's face. He tried to grab the Midnight Shard, but it was still lodged in the creature's head. Before he could react, his eye was pierced.
"Aghhhh!"
Unbearable pain exploded in his right eye. The head that talked to him dissolved into a puddle of flesh. The creature's entire body dissolved. It got sucked into the ground, along with the countless eyes and heads.
Nearby, the tree whose bark had been burned by the previous fire suddenly regained its vitality. The charred black wood slowly turned to its original color.
Leon continued screaming in agony. His vision faltered.
This situation was his own fault. His recklessness and overconfidence had led him here.
He couldn't think.
He couldn't hear.
His entire body was in agony.
How long had he been screaming? Did the creature die?
Suddenly, Sunny appeared in front of him.
Leon raised his hands, gritting his teeth.
Sunny grabbed his hand as Leon performed one final act with the last fragments of his unfractured mind. Leon knew he was going to lose consciousness soon — perhaps even die.
He soon collapsed into unconsciousness.
***
As soon as the sea vanished, Sunny dashed forward. His speed was immense thanks to shadow wrap. He crossed the Ashen Plains as the tall hill loomed ahead.
Sunny felt a flicker of fear as he remembered the towering menace — the Carapace Demon. But he pushed the thought aside. His friend would be there, fighting that thing.
Or possibly dead.
'No. He won't die.'
Sunny scaled the hill as the summit finally came into view.
What he saw shook him.
The so called menace lay sprawled across the ground. Its massive body had been torn apart. Chunks of armored shell and shredded flesh were scattered across the island, as if something had violently ripped the creature to pieces.
Sunny shivered, imagining the demon fighting the terrible abomination from the dark sea. He quickly forced the thought aside and scanned the rest of the island.
Then he found Leon.
Sunny froze.
Leon lay near the edge of the island. One of his legs looked mangled, raw flesh still knitting together as if it had only just regenerated. His entire body was covered in wounds.
His right eye was bloodied, dark blood pouring down his face.
Sunny frowned and rushed toward him.
He saw Leon open his eyes.
The usually cheerful and reckless Leon — who had never shown his pain in front of others — was now writhing in agony.
Sunny froze, unsure what to do.
Leon seemed to notice Sunny and groggily lifted his hand.
Sunny grabbed it, opening his mouth to say something. But he suddenly felt a spark of electricity pass through his hand.
[You have received a Memory.]
[You have received a Memory.]
His eyes widened as Leon's body went limp again. Sunny panicked and quickly checked Leon's pulse.
His shoulders relaxed.
'Still alive...'
Sunny summoned the runes as he looked at the memory Leon gave him.
[Crown of Ember]
Memory Rank: Awakened (Dormant)
Memory Type: Relic
Memory Description: [A faint fragment of divine flame once burned in the heart of a young maiden who longed for a family.
She was raised an outsider, but still protected her people, she never kneeled, not even to the will of gods.
She was fated to become a beacon of humanity. Her flame was extinguished by a cunning will unworthy of it.]
Enemies Slain [124/500]
He gritted his teeth as he summoned the crown and gripped it tightly in his hand.
Activating the crown, he instantly used all its remaining energy to heal Leon's body. However, he could feel how empty its reserves were. Only a few weak trickles of flame brushed against Leon's eye, achieving nothing.
Sunny frowned.
'Come on...'
Then, a white flame suddenly covered Leon's body.
Sunny turned his head sharply and saw Nephis using her Aspect to heal Leon.
But it wasn't enough. Leon's body refused to heal — his leg remained mangled, his eye still missing.
After frantically checking on him for a while, they came to a grim conclusion. Their friend was alive, but possibly lost to the depths. He was likely in some kind of coma, or worse, dying.
Sunny stood up, his mind filled with guilt and anger.
Cassie soon joined them, riding his Echo. She rushed toward Sunny and Nephis and knelt beside Leon. Slowly and carefully, she moved her hands across his body.
"Leon? Le—"
Her fingers touched his face and traced the empty socket where his eye had been. Cassie jerked her hand back, covering her mouth as she gasped.
Sunny sent his shadow across the island to scout for threats, but found nothing. When he glanced back, he saw Nephis still trying to heal Leon — her face contorted with pain and sorrow, yet nothing changed.
Leon's wounds remained, and he was still unconscious.
Sunny's shadow sensed something, prompting him to walk toward the western edge of the small island. What he saw made him fall to his knees.
On that side, the slope was far steeper. Where the familiar flat wasteland should have been, there was nothing. Instead, the ground continued to slope downward at a less drastic, but still considerably sharp angle.
It was a giant crater.
The crater's diameter could only be calculated in hundreds of kilometers. The roots of the giant tree, which could be seen protruding from the soil far below, seemed like tiny blades of grass in comparison to the sheer size of the abyssal chasm's wall.
Sunny looked down from the top of the hill as the sun hung overhead. The journey to the west had ended. He could see no path beyond the island they stood on.
'You're kidding me...'
Nephis joined him and stared into the giant crater. Her face was expressionless, as always.
The two remained silent, before heading back to the center of the small island.
***
The Ashen Barrows were plain and desolate, so they would have seen any Nightmare Creature approaching them.
The crater... was not something they could explore yet. The island itself was small enough to search within an hour. Although Sunny wanted to explore the tree, he saw little reason to.
Sunny gritted his teeth and walked toward the corpse of the Carapace Demon.
Although most of it had been destroyed, a large chunk remained intact. Nearby lay the remains of a giant gray egg. Sunny stayed silent as his gaze fixed on the demon's corpse.
'It is all his fault...he was the reckless one...'
Checking his runes, Sunny found the other Memory Leon had transferred to him.
Memory: [Midnight Shard]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [Forged from the shard of a fallen star, this stalwart blade is firm and unyielding. It favors those who are willing to fight to the last drop of blood and knows no surrender.]
Sunny froze as he summoned the black tachi into his palm. Staring at the blade, only one thought filled his mind.
Leon had kept his promise.
Although their fearless friend had undoubtedly risked his life by facing the demon alone, he had done it for a reason. Leon had always been reckless, charging headfirst into danger without hesitation, but this time it was different.
He had taken the burden upon himself so that Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie would not have to.
Even now, the battlefield told the story. The demon was dead. The island was safe.
And Leon was the one who had paid the price.
***
The sun set, as the four of them remained on the island.
Leon had not woken up, and his body still looked in bad shape. Nephis had reached her limit trying to heal him. Although his wounds had not closed, the bleeding had stopped, and his breathing had steadied.
Sunny realized he needed to use the crown, but it required more charge. Remembering how Leon had mentioned that the crown gained power by killing creatures nearby, Sunny knew this might be their only chance to save his friend.
Sunny's thoughts raced. But he soon realized there was but one option. Leave the Ashen plains, and kill Nightmare Creatures.
He approached Nephis and Cassie.
Cassie had fallen asleep, leaning against Nephis's shoulder. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Nephis looked up at Sunny and gave him a faint, sad smile.
"Listen, Neph."
Sunny briefly explained how the crown worked and how it could be charged by killing Nightmare Creatures nearby.
"Which is why I need you to stay here," he said quietly. "I promise I'll be back in a few days."
"Sunny."
Nephis asked as she grabbed his hand.
Sunny paused as he lowered his head.
"Don't worry, I'm just going to charge the crown. I should be back soon."
Nephis frowned. "Let me help."
"No need. You stay here and—"
"No," Nephis said in a stubborn tone.
"Nephis," he said in a soft tone. "We can't carry him around. Plus, Cassie can't defend him alone, can she?"
Nephis opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She looked back at Leon and frowned.
"But I'm the stronger one. I can heal—"
Sunny interrupted her. "Which is exactly why I need you here."
Still holding his hand, Nephis slowly handed him the Endless Spring, which Cassie had already summoned before she fell asleep. Sunny smiled as he greedily drank from the bottle.
Gently pulling her hand away, he gave her a small smile and left. Sunny descended the Ashen Barrow at great speed, heading toward the Bone Ridge.
Even though he had never completely trusted Leon, he still considered him a friend. Memories of their time together at the academy resurfaced.
His witty remarks, his overconfident attitude. His complete lack of fear, the way he always moved forward when everything felt dark. The way he stared directly into despair.
"I don't feel fear."
Sunny remembered Leon saying that in the cafeteria, speaking about his flaw as if it were something trivial.
Sunny felt anger. He felt sorrow.
He felt helpless and weak.
If only he were stronger, he could have avoided this. If only he were stronger, Leon wouldn't have had to fight the Carapace Demon alone.
He could've rushed in the moment he noticed the demon.
***
He hunted monsters for three days, staying at the Bone Ridge. During that time, Sunny barely slept. Whenever exhaustion forced him to collapse, he used a small amount of the crown's charge to heal himself.
But the crown never healed the strain on his mind.
Strangely, whenever Sunny used it, the crown seemed to reject him. Explosions were erratic, and ember consumption felt random. It never healed him completely, only enough to keep him moving. No matter how much he tried, it was as though the crown rejected him.
The only time Sunny felt the crown had not resisted him was when he had healed Leon. It was as though the crown had a mind of its own. Eventually, he stopped using it to heal or attack altogether.
By then, he was exhausted. Every time he tried to sleep, the haunting memory of Leon's broken body invaded his mind.
For food, Sunny relied on the Nightmare Creatures he hunted. After killing them, he carved strips of meat from their bodies and roasted them over small fires made from dry bones and scraps of wood scattered across the Bone Ridge. The taste was foul and metallic, but it was always better than a tube of synthpaste.
As for water, he had brought several clay bottles with him. Each had been filled before he left, courtesy of Cassie's Endless Spring. The cool, clear water was the only thing that reminded him of something normal in that bleak wasteland.
At first, Sunny had been careful not to wander too far from the Ashen Barrows. But when he noticed that not a single Nightmare Creature dared approach the area, he slowly began expanding the radius of his hunts.
As more days passed, Sunny gradually became increasingly aware of the counter on the Memory.
[Crown of Ember]
Memory Rank: Awakened (Dormant)
Memory Type: Relic
Memory Description: [A faint fragment of divine flame once burned in the heart of a young maiden who longed for a family.
She was raised an outsider, but still protected her people, she never kneeled, not even to the will of gods.
She was fated to become a beacon of humanity. Her flame was extinguished by a cunning will unworthy of it.]
Enemies Slain: [173/500]
Reading the description, Sunny felt a strange sense of respect for the person mentioned on the crown. As someone who lived to spite the world himself, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of a woman who had never knelt — not even to the will of the gods.
He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to fill that counter. Still, it would take weeks, if not months. Slaying five hundred enemies was no easy task.
But as fate would have it, he was about to get lucky today.
Sunny explored the regions they had missed during their journey west. No matter where he went, the land continued to slope downward, as though the entire Ashen Barrows had once collapsed into a vast basin.
Eventually, he returned to the Bone Ridge.
Up close, the ridge no longer looked like a random pile of bones. It was the massive, decaying skeleton of some ancient leviathan — a creature so large that its spine stretched across the wasteland like a pale mountain range.
While moving along the enormous vertebrae, Sunny noticed a dark opening beneath one of the colossal bones.
A cave.
Using his shadow to scout ahead, Sunny quickly discovered that the cave held no Nightmare Creatures. But it was not empty.
All along the interior walls, something clung to the pale bone.
Finally noticing the strange shapes lining the cave wall, Sunny frowned.
'Eggs?'
Thousands of them clung to every surface like pale barnacles, layered so densely that the rock beneath them was almost completely hidden. Each pod was small — no larger than a grape or a marble — and faintly translucent. Their thin membranes stretched over something dark and writhing within.
They pulsed slowly. Soft veins threaded across their surfaces, faintly glowing.
Crack.
Sunny froze.
He slowly looked down and lifted his foot. He had just crushed one of the eggs.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast. Broodmother's Spawn.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Sunny's eyes widened. He immediately checked his runes and saw that he had gained an extra Shadow Fragment.
He let out a low chuckle.
"Damnation."
Looking back at the cave walls, he saw hundreds, perhaps thousands of eggs clinging to the bone.
Sunny grinned madly. Wrapping his shadow around himself, he began crushing every egg he could find.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast. Broodmother's Spawn.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[You have slain a Dormant Beast. Broodmother's Spawn.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[You have slain a Dormant Beast. Broodmother's Spawn.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[You have slain a Dormant Bea—
Sunny could feel every fiber of his body growing stronger, his vision growing sharper. His shadow grew deeper and darker.
The Spell's kill announcements rang in his ears like a choir. Five...maybe ten tiny lives ended beneath a single step.
Shadow Fragments: [547/1000]
He laughed madly, staring at the Shadow Fragments. Sunny could feel the immense strength surging through him. Checking the crown, his smile widened even further.
Enemies Slain: [499/500]
Searching the cave again, Sunny finally spotted one more egg nearby. He lifted his foot and crushed it without hesitation.
Enemies Slain: [500/500]
The Crown glowed brighter, its crimson light filling the dark cave. Sunny's gaze fixed on it, anticipating what would happen next. But then...
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
His breath hitched. Sunny felt as though his heart might burst from his chest. But the Spell rang out again.
[You have received a Memory.]
Immediately checking his Memories, Sunny's gaze softened.
[Crown of Ember]
Memory Rank: Ascended (Dormant)
Memory Type: Relic
Memory Description: [A faint fragment of divine flame once burned in the heart of a young maiden who longed for a family. She was raised an outsider, yet she continued to protect her people. She never kneeled, not even to the will of gods. She was fated to become a beacon of humanity. Yet her flame was extinguished by a cunning will unworthy of it.
Yet the ember of her will refused to yield. Even now, it continues to burn.]
Enemies Slain [0/1000]
Sunny's eyes widened as he saw the new rank of the memory.
'Ascended...'
But when he read the description again, the final line left him confused. His confusion did not last long, however, because his shadow sensed that something was approaching the cave.
Sunny immediately gripped his tachi and looked ahead.
'Damn Spell...I kill nearly 500 dormant beasts, and not a single Memory?'
The approaching creature could very well have been the mother of the lives he had just taken. Licking his lips, Sunny watched as it finally emerged from the darkness.
A massive silhouette blocked the pale light spilling from outside, its outline warped and unnatural. For a moment, Sunny couldn't even tell where the creature's body began or ended.
Then it stepped forward.
The thing that entered the cave looked less like a beast and more like a grotesque walking nest.
Its body was enormous — a bloated mass of pale, semi-translucent flesh stretched tightly over thick layers of chitin. Curved plates arched outward from its sides like the ribs of some monstrous carcass, leaving hollow cavities between them.
The Broodmother moved slowly, dragging its immense weight across the cavern floor. Its limbs were thick and uneven — six massive legs ending in blunt claws that crushed stone with every step.
Yet its head was strangely small.
Where a face should have been, there was instead a cluster of narrow, hollow openings. The openings flexed as the creature inhaled.
Sunny's eyes narrowed. Broken shells covered the floor like scattered gravel. Pale fluid stained the stone where hundreds of tiny lives had been crushed beneath careless steps and desperate movements.
The nursery was in ruins.
The Broodmother remained still.
'Right. I just killed all her children.'
For the first time since entering the cavern, the creature lifted itself fully from the ground. Its heavy limbs slammed against the stone with enough force to send shards skittering across the floor.
Another pulse of sound tore through the cave.
Sunny tensed. Gripping the Midnight Shard in his hand, he wrapped his shadow around himself, preparing to fight. But before he could act, several creatures crawled out from the cavities of the Broodmother.
They looked almost identical to her, only much smaller.
Although they were smaller, their numbers were enormous. Dozens of the creatures rushed toward Sunny as the Broodmother herself began to move.
Gritting his teeth, Sunny almost swung his blade. But before he could, something began to glow.
The crown in his hand shone with a bright crimson light. Even before Sunny could command it, enormous spirals of flame erupted through the cave.
Within moments, the entire cavern was engulfed in fire, as the flames swallowed the Broodmother and her hatchlings.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast. Broodmother's Spawn.]
[You have slain a Dormant Beast. Broodmother's Spawn.]
Not bothering to listen to the Spell, Sunny dashed forward through the scattered flames. All the remains of the eggs he had crushed had vanished, leaving only the hulking figure blocking his path.
The Broodmother looked charred. The flesh covering it had been roasted away. Before it could lift its head again, Sunny drove the Midnight Shard deep into the creature.
The creature screeched, but Sunny's strength was already overwhelming. The Crown flared once more, and flames engulfed the Broodmother again. Its scream drowned in the roar of the fire.
[You have slain an Awakened Tyrant. Broodmother of the Hollow Choir.]
[You have received a Memory.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Taking a step back, he watched as the Broodmother's corpse continued to burn. The countless eggs inside her cavities had all been reduced to a disgusting slurry of flesh and blood.
Exiting the cave, Sunny remembered the first Awakened Tyrant he had encountered — the Mountain King.
Looking down at his shadow, he smiled. "We've come a long way, haven't we buddy?"
The shadow remained silent for a while, before slowly nodding.
Sunny sighed as he checked the sun. It was almost setting, so he decided to retreat.
***
Sitting atop one of the corals, Sunny decided to return to the Ashen Plains. It had nearly been a week since he had left. Nephis and Cassie must be worried. He still needed to return and heal Leon as soon as possible.
Lying down, he commanded Gloomy to keep watch and soon entered his Soul Sea.
In the dark expanse, Sunny looked up at his Shadow Core and smiled. It was already half-filled, and he was only five hundred fragments away from saturating it.
'I wonder what happens when I fill it up.'
Sunny then looked at the new Memory he had received.
Memory: Broodmother's Chorus
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Relic
Memory Description:
[Once, the cavern trembled beneath the song of a tireless mother. Countless small lives answered her call, born only to hunt, defend, and perish in the darkness. Though the brood has long since fallen silent, the echo of that command still lingers.]
Sunny read the description and let out a small sigh. Summoning the new Memory, he looked at the short flute that materialized in his hand.
The flute was short, carved from pale, hollow bone. Its surface was smooth, with faint ridges spiraling along its length. Thin slits shaped like tiny eggs ran along the body.
Narrowing his eyes at the flute, Sunny thought about how he might use it, when he suddenly heard a voice.
"Do you play?"
Sunny chuckled. "Of course not! You think they give free flute lessons in the outskirts—"
He froze.
'Who....Who was that?'
Sunny panicked. His entire body tensed as he scanned his Soul Sea. A faint silhouette formed nearby. Sunny summoned the Midnight Shard, ready for battle.
A young maiden soon approached him with slow, careful steps. Her long black hair flowed gently behind her, as if drifting through water. Strands of it shimmered with faint hints of red. Her eyes were a deep, vivid green — like emeralds catching the glow of a dying sun.
She looked around the vast expanse of Sunny's Soul Sea with quiet curiosity.
For a moment, she simply stood there, her bare feet resting lightly upon the dark surface as if it were solid ground. Then, her gaze slowly turned toward Sunny.
There was no hostility in those green eyes. Only calm, steady awareness, touched with a hint of amusement.
Sunny gritted his teeth. Gripping the Midnight Shard, he carefully observed the maiden's movements.
"So you're the one wearing my crown." Her voice was soft, but carried easily across the Soul Sea.
Sunny narrowed his eyes.
'Crown? Does she mean the Crown of Ember?'
She placed two fingers lightly on her dress, lifting it just slightly in a graceful motion, the way a princess might greet a guest in her court. Then she tilted her head toward Sunny, a faint smile touching her lips.
"I am Aurelia, princess of the Divine Sun Kingdom."
Sunny slowly lowered his blade.
"Sunless. But my friends call me Sunny."
Aurelia nodded gently.
"Thank you for awakening me, Sunless." she said with a bright smile.
His eyes twitched.
"S-sure."
Her eyes drifted past him, studying the shadows lingering in the distance — the silent remnants of the creatures Sunny had slain. For a brief moment, admiration flickered across her face.
"You've gathered quite the collection," she said softly. "Impressive."
Sunny gritted his teeth. Gripping the Midnight Shard, he carefully observed the maiden's movements.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Aurelia crossed her arms and looked up at his Shadow Core. "Your core is really beautiful, Sunless"
Sunny sighed, scratching the back of his head. "So you...you are alive now?"
She gave him a polite smile. "Well, even I'm not sure how, but it seems my will has remained in the crown."
Her eyes darkened.
"Though I think it's time we left now, Sunless. There isn't much time to save him."
Sunny's expression grew serious. He slowly nodded. For a moment, he hesitated.
A stranger standing inside his Soul Sea should have been impossible. Normally, he would have attacked first and asked questions later.
But somehow, the presence of the strange princess did not feel hostile.
Sunny still didn't trust her, not even close. Yet...he didn't feel the urge to drive the Midnight Shard through her heart either.
That alone was strange enough.
With a quiet sigh, Sunny left his Soul Sea.
***
Sunny began making his way back to the hill. He had no way of knowing how much charge he had accumulated, but he could feel that the crown was brimming with energy.
Soon, he entered the territory of the Ashen Barrows and crossed the desolate field. As always, there wasn't a single Nightmare Creature in sight.
Sunny climbed the hill until Nephis and Cassie came into view. A faint smile appeared on his face as he approached them to greet them.
But for some reason, something felt off. Even his shadow seemed to tremble as he approached the giant tree.
His eyes widened.
The two girls were holding something in their hands, their lips stained red.
They were eating the fruits of the great tree.
"What..."
Nephis saw him and smiled.
"Sunny? Where were you all this time?"
She stood up and walked up to Sunny, placing her palm on his cheek. White flames danced around him, washing away his fatigue.
"Here, have some fruit, it's really tasty."
Sunny narrowed his eyes. Nephis felt strange, too strange. He wanted to figure out what was wrong, but he was already hungry and thirsty from his long journey.
Sunny eventually gave in and took the fruit Nephis offered.
He took a bite.
Instantly, his mouth filled with cool sweetness. The fruit was juicy and succulent, and he felt as though it was the tastiest thing he had ever eaten.
'Tasty...'
Sunny noticed that Gloomy was reluctant to touch the fruit, and it stopped copying his movements.
'What's up with him?'
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
His eyes widened.
'What?'
Sunny looked up at Nephis.
Nephis nodded. "I received a soul fragment."
Cassie was also devouring the fruit, red juice dripping from her mouth. She looked up and smiled.
"Me too. Welcome back, Sunny. Where were you anyway?"
Sunny rubbed his temples. Lowering the fruit, he looked at the girls.
"What do you mean, where was I? I told you, remember?"
Taking another bite from the fruit, he continued.
"Anyway, where's Leon?"
Both Nephis and Cassie stared at him for a moment, their faces filled with confusion.
"Who are you talking about, Sunny?" Nephis asked.
Sunny froze. He looked at Nephis with a frown.
"Leon. Who else would I be talking about?" Sunny said in a nervous tone.
"Who's Leon?" Cassie's voice spoke up.
Sunny dropped the fruit he held in his hand.
"This isn't funny guys."
Nephis frowned.
"Leon...Leon? Is that your friend, Sunny?"
Sunny laughed. Approaching Cassie, he asked for Endless Spring. After taking a long drink from the bottle, he poured water over his head.
While he did so, Sunny's shadow was already searching the entire island. His face slowly became expressionless.
Leon was nowhere to be found.
Sunny turned back to Nephis and Cassie.
"You two. What happened? Where is he?"
Cassie frowned, tilting her head.
"Sunny, are you alright? Who are you even talking about?"
Nephis sighed. "Wait...what were we talking about?"
Sunny's mouth fell open.
Neither of them were joking. They were completely serious.
They did not know who Leon was.