The acid stored in the demon's stomach had melted the grass, but now, new blades were already rising from the ground, taller than before. It took Sunny some time to find the coins between them… the rain did not help, either. But in the end, he discovered all three.
The coins were identical to the first one: they were cast from gold and heavy, a beautiful wooden ship with a tree growing around its mast depicted on one side and the face of the mysterious stranger on the other.
Hiding the coins in his pack, Sunny wiped the rainwater off his face and looked at the remains of the winged demon. In a flash of lightning, he saw the whole creature, red grass growing through its white bones, darkness nesting in the empty eye sockets, terrifying fangs crowding the massive, powerful jaws.
Even in death, the creature looked frightening.
'Where have you come from, ugly?'
With a sigh, Sunny looked at the sky, allowing rain to pelt him in the face for a while. Whatever little chance he had of tracking the flying abomination by following the trail of its blood was now gone. What else could he do?
Closing his eyes for a moment, Sunny walked a few steps and retrieved a piece of gnawed wood from the mud. Just as he had remembered, it resembled a broken corner of a chest, with a strip of metal reinforcing the seem. Both the strip of metal and the wood itself had been violently torn from the rest of the chest, it seemed, by the bite of the dead demon.
Which meant one thing… there had to be at least one chest full of mysterious coins somewhere out there, probably.
But how was Sunny supposed to find it? The Chained Isles was a vast land, full of numerous dangers and hidden places. All he knew about the creature was that it had been mortally wounded by the dwellers of the Dark Side and then succumbed to the Crushing.
Speaking of the Crushing… the rattling of chains thundered in the distance, announcing that the Iron Hand Island was entering the ascent phase. Sunny had to leave this place quickly. The next time he returned, the bones of the demon would most likely already be turned to dust.
Gritting his teeth, Sunny walked over to the skull of the abomination and dislodged one of its fangs with a powerful kick. Picking up the jagged bone dagger, he studied it for a few moments, and then put it in his pack.
If all else failed, he would try to find an Awakened with affinity to revelations and convince them to perform a divination upon the fang.
There was one person capable of something like that on the Chained Isles, at least. But… Sunny wasn't really willing to request help from that particular seer. Not unless there was no other choice at all.
'We're not there yet.'
Banishing the dark thoughts out of his mind, Sunny threw a last glance at the dead demon and the surrounding area, trying to see if he had missed a clue. However, there was nothing.
With a troubled look on his face, he dissipated into the shadows and hurried back to the Sanctuary.
***
By the time he returned to the Sanctuary, dawn was not that far away. Sunny snuck on the Altar Island and placed two of the three coins on the cold surface of the stone monolith, then waited for a bit.
Nothing happened.
'Huh.'
Disappointed, he waited patiently for the moon to appear from beneath the dark veil of clouds. After some time, the Sanctuary was finally illuminated by pale moonlight, and two coins on the altar immediately gleamed, reflecting it. Then, they shone with a soft light of their own.
The coin he held up in his hand, however, did not.
A moment later, the Spell whispered, its voice entwined with the rustle of the leaves and the murmur of flowing water:
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Sunny smiled.
'So, both the altar and the moon are needed.'
Hurriedly, he placed the third coin on the altar, and soon heard the Spell repeat itself for the third time:
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
'That… should bring me to two hundred and one.'
And also… was he seeing things, or had the obsidian dagger moved ever so slightly?
With a skeptical frown, Sunny tried to lift the damned knife, but just as before, nothing he did had any effect on it.
'Ugh, whatever!'
His recent discovery was enough of a reward in and of itself. He had received four shadow fragments — the equivalent of killing a Fallen Monster — without having to risk his life one bit. On its own, this amount was not that considerable… but what if he found a thousand, or even a few hundred of these miraculous coins?
What if he reached the treasury where the chest bitten into by the winged demon was hidden?
That… would change a lot.
The problem was, Sunny had no idea where to look.
Pacing back and forth, he thought for a while, and then said to himself:
"I should probably find an expert on all things Chained Isles."
Somebody who might know about this type of Nightmare Creature, their behavior, and usual haunts… somebody who had spent long years in this region of the Dream Realm and was friendly enough to talk to Sunny.
'Now who do I know who fits into all these criteria?'
Sunny stopped pacing, lingered for a few moments, and then turned his head to the ring of massive menhirs.
A strange expression appeared on his face.
***
In the early morning, a lone figure approached the hallway leading to the White Feather clan's residence.
Saint Tyris and her people occupied the northern part of the Sanctuary's interior. Sunny had no idea what went on there, since he had never been invited, but he knew that both entrances to their compound were usually guarded.
Today was not an exception.
Before Sunny could step foot inside the hallway, a young warrior in a cuirass decorated with etchings of hawk feathers appeared from an alcove and glanced at him with a vigilant expression.
"State your business, Awakened."
Sunny stared at the young man with an earnest expression, then smiled.
"Oh! I am here to see Master Roan. He once told me to come find him if I need anything. So… here I am. In need of something. Can you fetch him really quick?"
The guard blinked a couple of times, then frowned:
"What is this about, exactly?"
Sunny grinned, lingered for a few moments, and then said honestly:
"...Demon hunting."
Chapter 402: Chain worm
Sunny had no idea if Master Roan was currently in the Sanctuary, but judging by the fact that the guard did not immediately send him away, he probably was.
The young Awakened gave Sunny an evaluating look, then whistled softly and returned to his alcove. Nothing seemed to happen for a few minutes, but then, Sunny hear the sound of approaching footsteps.
A young woman wearing a simple white garment appeared from behind the curve of the corridor and glanced at him, then gestured for him to follow.
Sunny shifted slightly, then moved forward, walking behind the girl.
'What would you know? I am walking into the lair of a Legacy clan of my own free will. Never say never, I guess…'
He had really never expected himself to do something like this any time soon.
Instead of walking further into the compound, they entered a narrow staircase and ascended to the very top of the Sanctuary. There, massive stone monoliths lay flat on top of the menhirs, creating an almost uninterrupted surface.
There was a whole separate world above the Citadel, as it turned out. Grass and moss covered the expansive stone circle, which stretched far into the distance. Sunny could see guards standing at the outer edge of it, keeping watch on the neighboring islands. Here and there, siege weapons were placed at irregular intervals, aimed at the sky.
Right above the White Feather residence, a graceful structure was built on top of the ring of menhirs. With tall windows and beautiful ivy climbing its walls, it resembled a large stone chateau. The walls of the mansion were still wet from rain and shone softly in the light of the rising sun.
A path led from its door to an airy pavilion at the edge of the stone monolith, with a round table standing in its center.
The mighty griffin was laying near the pavilion, its head hidden under one of the eagle wings, while Master Roan himself seemed to be enjoying a hearty breakfast inside.
The young woman gestured for Sunny to go forward and walked toward the mansion, soon disappearing behind its door.
'...I guess this is how Saints live.'
For a moment, Sunny was full of envy. The chateau on top of the Sanctuary seemed so beautiful, simple, and peaceful… the complete opposite of the noisy, overcrowded, and poisoned world where humans came from.
Of course, that peace was a lie. The Dream Realm might have seemed like a paradise sometimes, but that paradise was dire and twisted, hiding all kinds of horrors that were ready to descend upon you at any moment.
'Whatever. My house is much better, anyway. It has all a man can need, and then some… I bet they don't even have designer lamps here…'
...Pitiful, really.
Entering the pavilion, Sunny greeted Master Roan with all respect he could muster. The older man smiled and invited Sunny to seat with a relaxed gesture.
"Good morning, Sunless. I must admit, I didn't expect you to seek me out so soon. Did something happen?"
Sunny sat down, smiled politely, then shook his head.
"Nothing that I would want to concern you with. You see… I am not here to talk about something that happened, but more about something that might happen."
Master Roan raised an eyebrow and laughed:
"Don't tell me… wait… are you here with a business proposal? Am I about to become a customer of Sunny's Brilliant Emporium?"
Sunny choked.
"Uh… no. What? Where did you hear about that?"
The handsome Master grinned.
"I hear things."
'What are those bastards saying behind my back?!'
Sunny forced out a smile, then shook his head.
"No, no. I am not here as a highly respected, rich, and famous entrepreneur. Nor am I here as a well-regarded member of the Wilderness Survival faculty of the Awakened Academy. I am actually here as an advanced scout of the Sanctuary of Noctis."
Master Roan grew serious.
"Oh. Continue."
Sunny nodded, then hesitated for a bit, and finally said:
"After we parted two days ago, I returned to the Sanctuary. On my way back, however, I rested for a while on the Iron Hand Island. And there… well, I found the remains of a Nightmare Creature there."
The older man frowned slightly.
"That's not unheard of. Iron Hand is usually safe, but you know how Chained Isles are. Nightmare Creatures migrate, sometimes naturally, sometimes to avoid the Crushing."
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"That's true. However, the abomination was a Fallen Demon. It is strange to see one that close to the Sanctuary, and especially so because I have never seen or even heard about that type of creature. It was rather scary."
Roan's frown deepened.
"A Fallen Demon on the Iron Hand Island? That is indeed strange. You've done well to bring me this information, Sunless. Did you get a good look at it, by any chance?"
Sunny sighed.
"Well, you see, it was in the depths of night."
Then, he smiled.
"...But, luckily, I can see perfectly in the dark! So, yes. I got a very good look. Let me describe it…"
He described the demon to the best of his ability, not sparing any detail. He even remembered every wound and injury on the abomination's body, hoping that their nature can shine a light on what exactly had killed the bastard.
The longer Sunny talked, the darker Master Roan's face became. Finishing his report, Sunny glanced at the older man and asked:
"So… what type of a demon was that, exactly? And why have I never encountered one before?"
Master Roan shook his head.
"You are lucky to have never met one of these fiends, kid. They are a very rare and vicious breed of Nightmare Creatures, known as Chain Worms. Luckily, it was already dead. Otherwise, I doubt that we would be having this conversation right now. Even I am reluctant to face a demon such as this alone. No offense, Sunless, but if that thing was alive, you would have ended up as its dinner."
Sunny hesitated for a bit, then asked cautiously:
"Chain Worms? Why are they called that?"
The older man sighed, then looked at the breathtaking vista of the Chained Isles in front of them.
After a while, he said:
"It is because these creatures feed on metal. Once one of the heavenly chains is weakened, they appear from the Dark Side to feast on it. Steel weapons are useless against these abominable things, so fighting one, let alone many, is almost an impossible task."
Master Roan stared into the distance with a bleak expression, and then added darkly:
"I've seen whole islands crumble into the Below because of their hunger…"
Chapter 403: Sky Tide
Master Roan grew silent for a few moments, then smiled after noticing Sunny's troubled expression:
"The heavenly chains near the Sanctuary are all fine, though. So you have nothing to worry about."
'That's not what I am worried about…'
Sunny had already received a piece of valuable information that could help him find the mysterious treasure. But he wanted to know more…
Before he could ask another question, however, a sudden shadow shrouded the pavilion, the stone chateau, and the expanse of weathered stone surrounding it — as though a cloud moved across the sun, hiding it.
The sleeping griffin stirred and raised its head, its vertical pupils narrowing.
Just a moment later, the shadow disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Simultaneously, a strange sound reached Sunny's ears — it was as though a thousand wings rustled as they cut the air.
Then, a woman was suddenly standing at the edge of the stone ring, her silhouette outlined against the rising sun by a bright halo.
It seemed as though she had always been there, but Sunny could swear that there was no one near them just a second ago.
'Oh…'
The woman was tall and slender, her posture straight like an arrow. She was wearing a light steel armor, its pauldrons and greaves decorated with white feathers. Her long blond hair was fluttering in the wind like a cascade of pale gold.
When she turned around, Sunny saw two piercing amber eyes staring at him, and shivered. Her face was cold and stunningly beautiful, more akin to that of a goddess than of a human being.
…The woman's pupils were narrow and vertical, exactly like those of the mighty griffin.
The ruler of the Sanctuary had returned home.
'Crap!'
With a shudder, Sunny forced himself to look away and hurriedly bowed.
This was his second time meeting Tyris of the White Feather clan, also known by her True Name, Sky Tide… one of the few Saints of the human race, the demigod in charge of the Chained Island.
Just by virtue of existing, the Saint exerted a strange influence on everything that surrounded her. It was not oppressive, like the dreadful aura of Gunlaug's golden armor, just… different. As if the world itself was reacting to her. The blades of grass seemed to bent slightly toward her, the winds sang subtly lower as she approached, and even sunlight appeared to become a bit brighter in her presence.
Master Roan shifted and rose from his seat.
"Good morning, sunshine!"
Sunny flinched.
'Uh… what?'
It took him a couple of seconds to realize that the fearless griffin rider was addressing his wife, and not him.
'Sunshine… sunshine?!'
Is that how he addressed a Saint?!
'Well, she is his wife, after all. I guess?'
Once he thought about it, everything made sense. But still, the idea of addressing a Transcendent as "sunshine" seemed very weird, for some reason.
Sunny cautiously looked up and saw a wide smile on Roan's face. Saint Tyris herself, however, was as cold as ever.
"Good morning, Ro."
Even her voice was cold and heavy, like the howl of an approaching storm.
Turning her head slightly, Saint Tyris looked at Sunny with a silent question.
…Countless poets would have been ruined if they saw the elegant curve of her eyebrow.
'Huh… wow... wait, what am I thinking about?'
Master Roan patted Sunny on the shoulder and said:
"Awakened Sunless visited to tell me about a demon he encountered on the Iron Hand Island. It was a Chain Worm… already dead, fortunately. Still, we should explore the nearby island. Don't you think?"
Saint Tyris lingered for a few moments, then shook her head.
"No need. The only failing chain on the Isles is far away from the Sanctuary, connecting Shipwreck Island to the Twisted Rock. This is where the Chain Worm came from. I just saw it myself."
She turned away, then sighed slightly.
"Of course, we will have to prepare. All islands are connected, after all. After the Twisted Rock falls, its demise will echo through the entire region. Many islands will shift, causing changes to the severity of the Crushing on others. The migrations patterns of the Nightmare Creatures will be affected, too."
'I should probably get going.'
Sunny cleared his throat, then said awkwardly:
'Uh… it's been an honor to meet you again, Lady Tyris. I… uh… shall take my leave, then.'
Sky Tide nodded indifferently, then said:
"Thank you for informing us of your finding, Awakened Sunless."
He nodded, then rose from his seat and cautiously took a few steps away.
When Sunny was almost out of the pavilion, however, the cold voice of the Saint stopped him:
"Wait."
He turned around and forced out a smile:
"Yes? How can I help you?"
Tyris looked at him for a few moments, then said in a calm, emotionless tone:
"You come from the Forgotten Shore, if I am not mistaken."
Sunny nodded.
"Yeah. What about it?"
The beautiful Saint lingered for a second, then asked:
"Song of the Fallen... do you know her?"
'Cassie? Why bring her up?'
Sunny smiled.
"Yes. We've met. Why?"
Saint Tyris looked at him for a few moments, then said:
"Good. Song of the Fallen will be visiting the Sanctuary soon. She will be glad to see a familiar face, I think."
With that, Sky Tide turned away, letting Sunny know that he was free to go.
He hesitated for a second, then walked away.
As soon as neither Master Roan nor Saint Tyris could see his face, a dark expression appeared on it.
'Coming to visit… what the hell is she coming here for?'
***
Indeed, just like Sunny, Cassie had chosen Chained Isles as the region to anchor herself to. Their reason was most likely also the same — the proximity of the Isles to the Hollow Mountains.
Luckily, she was not a resident of the Sanctuary. Sunny had no idea how the blind girl had managed it, but she somehow convinced clan Valor to let her and her cohort anchor themselves to the second human Citadel in the region, the Night Temple.
While Sanctuary was closer to the southern border of the region, Night Temple was situated far to the north, almost on the outskirts of the misty Death Zone.
For that reason, the two of them had been comfortably separated and had not seen each other even once in the past months.
But now, that was about to change.
Exiting the White Feather residence, Sunny grimaced.
'Glad to see a familiar face? Hell. I doubt it…'
Chapter 404: Soft Life
The Sanctuary was slowly waking up. Now that the sun had risen, groups of Awakened were preparing to venture outside, while those who had stuff to do in the Citadel itself were going about their business. A few of them greeted Sunny as he walked toward the Altar Island.
By now, he should have been able to return to the real world. After everything he had discovered during the night, there was a flame burning inside his chest that demanded action. His eyes gleamed when he thought about the mysterious treasure hidden somewhere out there, in the darkness.
But although Sunny was a very rapacious person, he knew how to keep his avarice in check… well, most of the time.
'Shipwreck Island…'
Sunny had never been that far away from the Sanctuary, but he had heard about that deadly place.
The Shipwreck Island was situated almost at the center of the Chained Isles, far removed from both human CItadels. The Nightmare Creatures there were especially ferocious, and the islands themselves were far more bizarre and dangerous than those closer to the edges of the region.
If one could somehow survive the Crushing and look upon the Chained Isles from above, they would see that there was a vast empty space at the very heart of this shattered land. Some people assumed that this was where the Ivory Tower had once been chained, before all seven of its anchors were broken. After that, the islands bordering the Tear slowly fell into the Sky Below one after another, making it grow wider and wider.
The hole at the heart of the Chained Isles was slowly expanding, and one day, thousands of years from now, it was probably going to devour the whole region.
…But Sunny had no interest in that remote future.
What concerned him right now was that the Shipwreck Island was on the very edge of the Tear, and as such, presented a lot of danger for a young Awakened like him. If Sunny wanted to venture out that far, he would have to study and thoroughly prepare for a long and perilous expedition.
And in the meantime, he had to hurry to the real world.
Even though he felt the call of treasure with every fiber of his being, desperate to reduce the gap between himself and Nephis, the things he had to do back in reality were… crucial.
'Calm down. It's nothing serious, really.'
Approaching the white altar, he glanced at the obsidian dagger suspiciously, then placed his hand on the cold marble.
'There's no reason to worry, so...'
***
The lid of the steel sarcophagus silently opened, letting out beams of light and clouds of cool mist. Sunny yawned and climbed out of the sleeping pod, then stretched with a satisfied smile on his lips.
His body felt refreshed and energized, as if he just had a long, perfectly comfortable sleep — not at all like what he had to endure in the past two months while using cheaper Academy pods.
'Now that… is what I call money well spent.'
Indeed, the luxurious machine might have been the best purchase he had ever made. Not counting the Mantle of the Underworld, of course…
Leaving the compact underground fortress of his basement, Sunny walked over to the kitchen, glanced at the broken remains of his fridge with a bit of shame, and retrieved a few ingredients to cook himself breakfast from the debris.
Out here in the real world, it was currently early morning. He sent the happy shadow outside to observe the surroundings, and then turned on the stove.
Real eggs, real lettuce and tomatoes, real bread, real bacon, real coffee, real juice… it took him just a few minutes to cook himself a breakfast that would have been considered the epitome of a lavish lifestyle by any inhabitant of the outskirts.
Walking to a dining table that was too large for one person, he placed his breakfast on its synthwood surface and activated his communicator.
There were no new messages, and he didn't really know what else to do with that thing. Usually, people of his age would have an active presence on the network and feeds breaking with all kinds of news, events, and videos, but Sunny had almost no digital presence whatsoever. Nor did he want to have one, really.
He knew how to access various resources and services, of course, and many of the things on the network had once been the stuff of his dreams: the unlimited amount of games, books, shows, and entertainment of all sorts was on the tip of his finger.
But, ironically, now that Sunny had free access to all these alluring things, he had no time to dive into any of them. Right now, he had too much to do, and his dreams were filled with only clangor of steel and nightmarish abominations.
'Maybe one day…'
Slowly consuming his food, Sunny used the communicator to quickly sketch and describe the coin he had found... keeping its true secrets to himself, of course.
Outside, his neighbors were preparing to face the new day. The sun was rising above the giant city, and crowds of people were on their way to work.
The shadow found a hidden spot on the porch of his new home and observed the quiet street from its shelter. It saw a few PTVs drive by, humming slowly as they rolled or levitated toward the exit from the terrace district. Several well-dressed adults walked by, heading for the public transport terminal.
Some time later, it was time for the students in school uniforms to follow them.
Sunny sipped coffee and observed these children through the shadow, trying to imagine himself having such a life.
Waking up in a safe home. Eating the delicious food a parent had prepared for you, not having to think about where your next meal would come from. Going to a place where an unlimited amount of knowledge and mentorship was available to you, completely free. Having no real worries and no real fears.
Just… living.
What a strange existence that would be…
He stared at the students with a complicated expression. They were so… soft. Their clothes were soft, their eyes were soft, and their lives, too, were soft.
How were these children going to survive the real world? The real world was hard, cruel, and unforgiving. Just like Sunny himself was. A person like him had a much better chance of surviving in such a world.
Not to mention the hellscapes of the Dream Realm.
Finally, the stream of students grew thin.
One of the last to walk past Sunny's house was a young girl of around fourteen years. She was about as tall as him, with pale skin and black hair. The girl seemed to be a bit uncomfortable in her own body, like all teenagers tended to be, and the school uniform did no favors to her slender physique.
Her dark eyes, however, were very sharp and clear.
…Luckily, unlike her brother, Rain seemed to have taken after their mother, who was a rather attractive young woman from what Sunny remembered. Even though she was still just a child, he could already see that one day, the teenage girl walking past his home was going to become a real beauty.
Finishing his coffee, Sunny placed the empty cup on the table and sighed.
'...Found you.'
Chapter 405: Going Back to School
Indeed, the awkward fourteen-year-old girl was his little sister, Rain.
And indeed, it wasn't a coincidence that Sunny had bought this exact house in this exact district of the city. While the terrace neighborhood was nice and charming, the real reason he had chosen this home, in particular, was because it stood next to the place where Rain lived.
It was on this street, a year and a few months ago, that he had watched from the shadows as she was having dinner with her adopted family, their warm and happy life displayed for him to see through the wide window of their brightly illuminated living room.
…Well, now Sunny had a living room and a wide window of his own, even though there was usually only darkness behind it.
Back then, he had become painfully aware that his fantasy of saving his little sister was empty and misguided. Rain didn't need to be saved, least of all by a troubled outskirt stray like him... a ghost of the past that she most likely did not even remember. If he had knocked on her door on that night, nothing in her life would have changed for the better.
Sunny wasn't the same penniless kid anymore. He was an Awakened, one marked as a special strategic asset by the government. He was considerably wealthy, connected… even powerful.
But, deep down, he still believed that the statement held true. His clothes and circumstances might have changed, but Sunny himself remained the same. Twisted and damaged, like anyone who had seen the truth of this world would be.
What's worse, now that he had risen above his previous pathetic self, he had a whole swarm of new, much more serious problems. Nephis, the Sovereigns, the legacy of mysterious Weaver… all of these things promised a future full of turmoil and danger. He was not exactly the kind of person who had good things to offer to anybody.
So, no. Sunny had not changed his mind about keeping himself out of Rain's life. He wasn't going to approach her, and had no desire to meet her face to face.
...There was, however, a problem.
Now that Sunny was an Awakened, statistically, Rain's chances of becoming infected by the Nightmare Spell herself had grown. But even if he forgot about that statistical correlation, there was still a possibility that she would end up in the First Nightmare, no matter how small.
By now, Sunny was eighteen, and Rain was fourteen. Almost every person infected by the Spell had fallen victim to it while being older than sixteen and younger than nineteen, which meant that there were about two years left before Rain would be in real danger, and about four before she would be out of it.
Even if they were more or less strangers and didn't owe anything to each other, Sunny felt... responsible for her. Perhaps Rain did not remember him due to how little she had been at the time of their separation, but he remembered everything. To him, she was the last memento of their long-lost home.
Now that he had the ability to pull some strings behind the scenes to ensure that her chances of surviving the First Nightmare were enhanced — be it through access to better battle instructors or something else — he couldn't just sit still and do nothing.
But to do that, he first needed to understand how well Rain was being prepared already.
Hence, he bought a house near the place where she lived and let his shadows loose to explore the neighborhood and spy on her and her family.
'Uh… when I put it that way, it sure sounds a bit creepy.'
Sunny stood up, yawned, and shrugged. He was an Awakened whose power lay in shadows, deceit, and bloodshed. Before that, he was a street rat willing to do anything in order to survive. Mundane humans had no idea about what he had gone through, what he had done, and what he was capable of as the result.
If they did, they would probably be horrified. So, a little hint of creepiness was only to be expected.
Putting on a warm hoody, he walked outside, hid his hands in his pockets, and headed toward the public transport terminal at a slow pace.
His shadow was a few hundred meters ahead, stealthily following Rain and keeping an eye on her. No one was the wiser to its presence.
Sunny sighed and looked at the cloudy sky.
'Time to go to school, I guess.'
***
Rain went to a rather elite school, as it turned out. Judging by the prices of the homes in the terrace district, Sunny knew that her adopted family was reasonably well-to-do, but it seemed that he had underestimated either their wealth or their connections.
The school was not the most prestigious out there, but it was close. Enough that only the kids of government officials and conglomerate heirs attended it… for the most part, of course. There were a few kids who seemed to be there because of their academic achievements, but not enough to make a difference.
The children of government servants arrived on public transport, like Rain; the chaebols came in expensive PTVs, which were controlled by personal drivers.
Sitting at a table in a cafe a kilometer or so away from the heavily guarded entrance to the school, Sunny suppressed the desire to whistle.
'That's… like something out of a drama. I wonder if I'll see someone's getting slapped in the face today…'
Suddenly remembering his first encounter with Master Jet, Sunny coughed and rubbed his cheek in embarrassment.
The happy shadow was still following Rain, stealthily moving from one shadowy patch to another. Then, it waited for a good opportunity and dove inside the shadow of one of the kids walking toward the same classroom as her.
Sunny got comfortable and ordered a few pastries and a pot of tea.
He couldn't quite believe that he was going to waste time attending school, of all things, even if it was in that very strange manner. He hadn't been to school in a dozen years already, not counting the month spent in the Academy.
'Well… this should be interesting.'
Chapter 406: Educated Guess
A couple of hours later, Sunny was ready to claw his eyes out.
Not because the lessons taught to Rain in school were boring, but because he had to watch a bunch of entitled kids exist in an enclosed space and make it as hard for everyone to learn anything as possible.
The elite school seemed like a place of learning, but in fact, it was more like a battlefield. The hidden politics among the students and the hierarchy of numerous cliques they formed were more complex than the ruthless strife between the factions in the Bright Castle, and judging by their behavior, just as dire.
…But it was not.
No one's life was at stake, no one was going to be exiled and starve to death if they did a wrong thing. All of this was simply about prestige, vanity, and standing.
It was utterly stupid!
However, once Sunny thought about it a bit more, he realized that it was not. Not to them, and maybe not at all.
These kids were put under immense pressure, assigned a numerical value, and forced to compete with each other. As the result, they inevitably developed a fierce sense of resentment toward their rivals, which was only made deeper by the deep sense of insecurity this system instilled in them.
No wonder they were at each other's throats.
The school was, in fact, not only meant to teach the kids the skills necessary to survive and thrive in the real world, but also to destroy the very same softness Sunny had pondered about a few hours earlier.
It wasn't hard to imagine that, at the end of it all, the best and most resilient students would become harsh and jaded, while the rest would simply be broken and discarded.
A wasteful system, and one of very questionable effectiveness.
Sipping tea in the quiet cafe, Sunny shook his head.
'Rich people…'
Luckily for him, Rain seemed to be unaffected by the vitriol her classmates seemed to be more interested in than the actual studying. She sat calmly at the back of the class, avoiding getting embroiled in any drama, and dutifully learned everything the teachers explained to the students.
…The lessons themselves, surprisingly, turned out to be very interesting. Sunny even found himself enjoying these hours very much. There had not been any combat lessons yet, but he did manage to catch this school's version of the Wilderness Survival course, as well as listen to a rather intriguing lecture about the early exploration of the Dream Realm. He also saw a lesson dedicated to various Nightmare Creatures, their biology, capabilities, and weaknesses.
If he had known that much during his first months on the Forgotten Shore… well, it would not have changed much, really. No matter how much a person knew about these things, no Sleeper was meant to face challenges of that magnitude.
And yet, he couldn't help but feel a bit wistful. He had been denied access to this treasury of knowledge as a kid. Who knew how his life would have turned out otherwise? It would have been a lot more interesting and enjoyable, at least.
By then, he had some idea of Rain's depth of knowledge and overall readiness for the Nightmare Spell, but he still did not know how well she was really being trained. He had to see her during a lesson in combat for that.
After a while, Sunny had become a little bit bored. Listening to a lecture about spelltech absentmindedly, he looked around the cafe.
At this hour, there weren't a lot of people there, but that was swiftly changing. The white-collar workers from the surrounding buildings were now on their lunch break, as were senior students of the school. Several noisy groups were occupying tables near him, so he couldn't help but catch bits and pieces of their conversations.
"No way! When is it coming out?"
"In a couple of months, I think."
"Who will play the female lead, then? No, wait! Let me guess…"
These guys were apparently discussing some upcoming film, excitedly wondering about the casting. Something about their conversation appeared strange to Sunny, but he didn't pay it too much attention.
"...none. That is the mindset of a true battle master!"
"No way he meant to say that. Who do you think Lord Mongrel is, a nobody? Of course not! He only said that because he considers social status and renown meaningless. In the eyes of a warrior, such things are not even worth mentioning. The only thing that matters is your strength! That's why he hides his noble upbringing."
Sunny stared at the couple of young men that were in the middle of a heated debate, then shook his head.
'That's hilarious. What are the chances?'
Apparently, there was somewhere else out there with a similar alias. And that guy, from what Sunny could hear, was not only a total buffoon, but also went around calling himself a Lord, pretending to be some wise philosopher and teaching people how to be a "true warrior".
'What an idiot… well, figures. Only an idiot would choose such an alias on purpose, after all. I wonder what this guy's problem is? He has to be horribly insecure about something, for sure…'
Then, however, he had to focus on Rain again, because she was finally heading for the school's dojo.
The combat lesson was about to begin.
The instructor, surprisingly, turned out to be an actual Awakened. It was a man in his late thirties, with a mighty build and cold eyes of an experienced fighter. Sunny couldn't tell what Aspect the man possessed, but he was obviously not a sheltered non-combatant.
Rain's instructor was the real deal. He had to have enough money to never be required to work a single day in the real world, so the fact that he was teaching a bunch of kids in a school meant that he was doing it either because of his principles or because of an obligation to one of their parents.
In any case, it was a good thing for Rain.
In the next hour or so, Sunny watched the students train and fight each other with various weapons. He expected them to use fake ones, but to his surprise, the Awakened instructor insisted that the kids both wore heavy protective gear and wielded real ones, even if the weapons were blunted to not pose a real danger.
'Good approach, I guess.'
Rain's level was… better than he had expected. Not comparable to someone like Caster or Nephis, of course, but miles better than anything he would have been able at her age. She was swift, nimble, and strategic, utilizing every opening the opponent presented to her full advantage.
She seemed to prefer using ranged combat, but could hold her own in a melee with the help of a wide range of weapons, from a long spear to a light saber. There were kids who were better than her, and those who were worse, but none who could compare to her in terms of wits.
And yet, a deep frown appeared on his face.
'There is one thing that is lacking.'
…Viciousness.
His sister was not nearly vicious enough.
Chapter 407: Dreamscape Qualifications
Judging that he had seen everything he needed to, Sunny rose and left the cafe, then headed home. The happy shadow left the premises of the school, unnoticed, and soon wrapped itself around his body... but not before showing how proud and satisfied it was with its flawless performance.
'Yeah, yeah. You did well.'
On his way back, Sunny was thinking over what he had learned about Rain. His sister seemed to be smart and well-adjusted, and receiving the kind of training most kids in this world could only dream about.
But was it enough?
He did not know. No one could know, really.
After he had returned from the Forgotten Shore, several people told him that they would have never survived in that hell. But their words rang hollow to Sunny, because how would they know? Until a person was thrown into a situation like that, there was no way to tell what would remain of their resolve once everything else had been stripped away.
Brave people broke, while cowardly ones found strength that they had not even known was inside them. Kind people became cruel, while cruel people became lost. Only by looking at a mirror of a nightmare could one truly see their real face.
Before Sunny entered the Forgotten Shore, he had thought himself to be strong. But once there, he had to learn the hard way that his strength was brittle and illusory, that it could shatter under the smallest amount of pressure. To survive, he had to build within himself a new kind of strength, one that could not be broken by anything, or anyone.
That was how he had survived.
How was he supposed to know how Rain would measure against the horrors of the Spell? And how was he supposed to make her chances of surviving its trials better?
Consumed by these thoughts, Sunny returned home and tried to put his mind at ease.
This was not something that he could decide in a hurry, anyway. For now, he had many other things to do.
Activating the Dreamscape pod, Sunny climbed inside and closed his eyes.
'Time to relax a little…'
At least out there in the Dreamscape, things were simple. He just had to fight, learn, and win.
…Granted, his previous visit to the Colosseum had turned out to be a fiasco. But Sunny had high hopes for more elite arenas. He just had to gain enough victories to enter them — about seventy more to gain access to the lower-ranked professional dreams.
Not that hard...
He had lost all interest in dueling with amateurs, and couldn't wait to meet better opponents who could teach him a variety of polished styles.
'Ah, better do it quickly.'
Appearing on the sand of the Colosseum, Sunny sighed behind the mask and willed the Soul Serpent to assume the form of the somber odachi.
'Huh… that's weird.'
For some reason, today, much more people wanted to challenge him. A literal crowd of Awakened assembled around Sunny in a span of a minute, staring at him with disturbing intensity. Also, the challengers seemed to be way more talkative…
'What's up with these fools?'
"Hey, Mongrel! What is your real name?"
Sunny stared at the young woman challenging him, then answered with slight irritation:
"Mongrel."
She smiled knowingly, as if struck by a mysterious epiphany, then asked:
"What style do you practice?"
Sunny frowned behind the mask.
"I practice no style."
The girl opened her mouth to say something else, but he interrupted her by stepping forward and activating the challenge.
Two seconds later, the girl's dead body was already turning into a rain of sparks.
'Why are they so chatty today? I don't have a lot of time. If I want to enter a professional arena next time, I have to be fast…'
Looking at the crowd of Awakened, Sunny sighed dejectedly and growled:
"Words are worthless, silence is gold. Don't waste my breath!"
The challengers looked at each other with weirdly enlightened expressions, then grew quiet.
'That's better! At least they're an understanding bunch.'
Now that people seemed to have lost their desire to chat uselessly before every damn duel, things went much faster. Sunny had no plans of copying the styles of these talented amateurs today, so he could be as efficient as possible.
It required him to really exert himself, though. They were all Awakened, after all… each and every one of them. Behind the black mask, Sunny was sweating an ocean and silently whispering curses.
But what could he do? He just had to get it done.
Because he took no breaks between the duels, his reserves of shadow essence grew dangerously low at some point. Sunny was forced to command the Soul Serpent to return to his body to accelerate the accumulation of essence and slow down its expenditure.
Noticing that he had dismissed his sword, the challengers assumed that he wasn't going to fight anymore and sighed with disappointment.
Glancing at them, Sunny gritted his teeth and hissed:
"Next!"
He was not that far from accomplishing his goal for today, and the Mantle of the Underworld was like a weapon itself. Especially if he manipulated its weight to make his blows carry the weight of a mountain… metaphorically speaking…
His aking muscles protested, but he endured the torment and continued.
'Just a few more…'
As the next challenger stepped forward, Sunny dashed toward him, deflected the glancing blow of a spiked mace with a vambrace, and struck the young man in the face with all the strength he could muster. The black onyx gauntlet grew terribly heavy as it flew through the air, connected solidly… and caused the young man's skull to explode, more or less.
Sunny secretly panted and cursed.
'That… uh… I can't keep this up much longer…'
Luckily, he only had a few more duels to win.
About an hour after he had entered the Colosseum, Sunny finally reached enough victories to qualify for a better arena. By then, he was so tired that he felt like throwing up.
'Goddammit… that was incredibly tough. All in day's work, I guess…'
Throwing one last glance at the crowd of silent Awakened, Sunny shook his head.
'What a bunch of weirdos…'
With that, he gave the Dreamscape the command and left the illusion, both exhausted and satisfied with his progress.
…Left alone on the sand of the Colosseum, the challengers remained quiet for a few minutes.
After a while, one of them said:
"He shook his head."
Another Awakened sighed heavily, then said in a solemn tone:
"Yes. We are not worthy enough…"
Chapter 408: Oh, No
Sunny crawled out of the simulation pod and lay on the cold floor for a while, breathing heavily.
'How come an illusory arena is so exhausting?'
The designers of the Dreamscape were really weird. The people who frequented the Colosseum were even weirder, though. Sunny couldn't even begin to understand the quirks of their behavior.
'That's how subcultures are, I guess?'
After a while, he stood up and went upstairs to make himself some food and replenish all the energy he had spent during this intense and taxing hour.
Sunny made himself a light dinner, devoured it with wolfish hunger, and then relaxed in a chair while drinking a cup of delicious tea.
As he rested, his communicator buzzed.
He took a sip of tea, then opened the message Effie had sent him.
"Hey doofus! Have you seen this? I think I found a new boyfriend for your girlfriend!"
The message ended with a winking emote and an attached video link.
Perplexed, Sunny clicked on the link… and spit out all of his tea.
Forgetting to wipe his chin, he stared at the holographic screen in front of him with wide eyes.
"What… what the hell is this?!"
The video was… of him.
Of his duel in the Dreamscape, to be precise.
***
Caught in stunning quality, the recording of his short duel against the young man in azure armor was playing on a loop, set to menacing and epic music. The caption read "Mongrel Victorious". Sunny stared at it for a while, then slowly lowered his gaze and looked at the view count beneath the video.
'S—seven… seven zeroes?!'
Was that Leo Striker guy someone famous?
Sunny only came to his senses because of the pressure of his Flaw. Gritting his teeth, he sent Effie a short message:
"I have not seen this."
'What the hell is happening?'
Feeling apprehensive, he went on the network and typed "Mongrel, Dreamscape" in the search bar. Immediately, thousands upon thousands of results showed, all featuring the fearsome image of Weaver's Mask.
Sunny gulped.
"Oh, no. Oh, no."
He opened the first link, and almost spat blood.
"Mongrel defeats Leo Striker, Daoist Saifer, and the Fool in three strikes!"
The short montage of a bunch of his duels played… this one had even more views.
'That doesn't even make sense. Were those two famous as well?! What three strikes, I hit the second guy twice…'
Feeling an approaching headache and a bit of panic, Sunny scrolled through the feed, growing paler and paler with each second.
There were countless videos, captions, and discussions. Thousands of people were fervently debating his duels, his identity, and the hidden meaning of his words. It seemed as if they had somehow become convinced that he was some sort of a profound sage, going around spouting words of enlightened wisdom.
There were whole discussion boards dedicated to interpreting his "teachings"!
"Oh, no…"
Sunny grabbed his head, realizing that the buffoon he had heard being discussed in the cafe… was him! Come to think of it, many of Rain's classmates had been talking about this stuff, too.
Had she seen this garbage as well?
He groaned.
…At least no one seemed to have any idea about who Mongrel was. His efforts to obfuscate his identity were working, as was Weaver's Mask.
But the worst was still to come…
As Sunny was studying the mess he had made, new notifications started appearing in the feed.
"Mongrel returns!"
"Mongrel decimates the Colosseum!"
"Seventy victories in sixty minutes: Lord Mongrel's shocking rampage!"
"Mongrel is Saint [REDACTED]'s bastard son: CONFIRMED!"
He closed his eyes.
'...Gods. What is this crap?'
Opening a random link, he read in horror:
Mongrel #1 Sympathiser: "I was there, guys! It was incredible! He was like a natural disaster! So awesome…"
Random Shoe: "Did you hear what he said?"
Mongrel #1 Sympathiser: "Words are worthless, silence is gold! So profound. My whole outlook on life changed."
Random Shoe: "Wow, my dad used to say me the same thing when I tried to talk to him after school."
Mongrel #1 Sympathiser: "Wait. Shoe… are you Mongrel's son?"
"User Random Shoe changed their name to Mongrel's Son"
Mongrel's Son: "Aren't we all Mongrel's children?"
Sunny closed the link and went to another page.
"Silence is Gold. One strike of a sword is worth more than a thousand words: an in-depth analysis of the postneonihilist philosophy of Mongrel."
'Postneo… what?'
Stupefied, he opened another link.
"Reacting to Mongrel's 70 wins! You gasp you lose!"
And another:
"Mongrel does not believe in styles. Styles only separate men..."
And another:
"I spent a night with Mongrel: a candid confession of a former idol trainee."
Deactivating the communicator, he sat quietly for a while, and then groaned again.
"Oh, no!"
***
The new recording of Mongrel's stunning performance in the Colosseum flew around the globe in no time at all. Starved for new information about the mysterious demonic fighter, people became glued to the screens of their communicators…
They were not disappointed by what they saw, to say the least.
Mongrel's already considerable renown — or infamy, depending on who you asked — became even more widespread.
Sunny had grown up in the outskirts, so he had never been really exposed both to the network culture and to the peculiar fanbase of the Dreamscape. That was why he had severely underestimated the effect his recent visit to the amateur arena would have on the people interested in these things.
He had only wanted to reach the number of victories required to access the professional duels as fast as possible, but failed to take into account how outstanding the feat of defeating seventy opponents in just one hour would look from the side.
…Especially considering the fact that he had killed the last half a dozen or so with his bare hands, not even bothering to use a weapon. These last few duels looked especially striking, impressive, and gruesome.
If before people called Mongrel a sword demon, now he had become just a demon in their eyes.
What's worse, even though it took all of his power and lots of effort for Sunny to achieve these victories, due to the fact that his face was always hidden behind the fearsome mask, he appeared to be completely calm and indifferent, as if defeating so many people in a row was nothing to him.
A walk in the park.
Added to the fact that he had dismissed his sword near the end of the hour and then left after shaking his head, it seemed as though Mongrel was not only a demon, but also held all the rest of the duelists in utter contempt.
Mongrel was disappointed in them…
That disappointment ignited a fire in the hearts of many duelists of the Dreamscape, pushing them to train harder, reach higher, become stronger.
Mongrel's status was always in front of them, reminding these young men and women what they were striving to achieve:
"Mongrel"
"Victories: 100"
Defeats: 0"
And of course, all of them continued to wonder about his true identity.
Very soon, someone made a logical connection: an incredibly talented young warrior appeared in the Dreamscape soon after the hundred survivors of the Forgotten Shore returned to the real world, putting every Awakened there to shame.
Obviously, Mongrel was one of these hundred heroes!
But which one?
It didn't take people a lot of time to solve the mystery.
On one of the discussion boards on the network, an anonymous user wrote:
"Guys, isn't it obvious? Who is among the best of the best of the Forgotten Shore warriors, and also has a big reason to keep his identity a secret?"
Another answered:
"Wait… wait. You're right! It was right in front of us the whole time!"
And then, the shocking piece of news spread through the network as wildfire:
"Mongrel's true identity is…"
Kai of Nightingale!
Chapter 409: Treasure Hunt
"Night&Gale representative agency publishes an official statement: popular idol and fashion icon, Night, is NOT the controversial Dreamscape sensation, nor has he ever participated in any scandalous activities under the alias Mongrel…"
Sunny read the latest news title on the screen of his communicator and covered his face with a hand.
'Oh, gods…'
How did poor Kai end up being involved in this mess? Had the world gone completely insane?!
He stared at the message icon at the bottom of the screen nervously, half-expecting to receive an angry message from his friend. Or was it up to Sunny to apologize in advance? Kai had seen him purchasing the Mantle of the Underworld, after all. Even though the onyx armor did not look the same as it had before being repaired and turning from pure stone to the strange stonelike metal, there was a possibility that he would recognize it…
'Ugh. Why is life so hard?'
Sunny shook his head resentfully and stared at the ceiling.
...And then there was the issue of Rain.
Sunny had watched her walk home through the eyes of the shadow, and was once again consumed by uncertainty. Did he need to intervene? What was the best way to help her? Did she even require his help?
There was no easy answer to any of these questions.
He turned off the communicator, sat in the darkness for a while, then stood up and went to the kitchen. Retrieving all the things that could spoil quickly from the ruined refrigerator, Sunny cooked himself a decadent dinner and ate in tense silence.
'...To hell with this. I'll deal with all these problems after returning from the Shipwreck Island… it shouldn't take me that long to reach it, investigate, and come back anyway. A week at most…'
Why waste time on all this nonsense when there was a treasure waiting for him in the Dream Realm?
Sunny had already retrieved all the pertinent information he could find from the Academy database. All Awakened had some level of access to the base of shared knowledge about the Dream Realm and the Nightmare Creatures, and due to his position as the research assistant assigned to the Wilderness Survival faculty, he had more than most.
It wasn't really enough to venture on such a dangerous expedition, but at least gave him a basic understanding of what to expect. The rest he was going to have to learn from the people in the Sanctuary who had actual experience of traversing those parts of the Chained Isles.
And then, there was also Cassie… she could help him even more.
With a dark grimace, Sunny washed the plates, spent a few moments admiring their design and craftsmanship, then went about preparing himself for a long stay in the Dream Realm.
Soon, he entered the basement, activated the maximum level of security measures, and climbed into the steel coffin of the sleeping pod.
As the lid of the sarcophagus closed, he sighed and thought:
'One week… I bet everyone will forget all about this Mongrel idiocy in a week…'
His gloomy shadow dejectedly shook its head.
***
It took Sunny a whole day to talk to everyone he needed to talk to and gather enough information about the Shipwreck Island and the routes he could take to reach it.
As it turned out, the journey promised to be even more perilous than he had expected. Awakened did not usually go that far into the wilderness of the Chained Isles alone, and even established cohorts were reluctant to venture this close to the Tear.
The Nightmare Creatures out there were ferocious and powerful, and the islands themselves presented more danger than here on the edges of the region.
...Those people did not have his Aspect, though. Sunny did not consider himself to be more powerful than a full cohort of experienced Awakened would be, but his powers were tailored perfectly for scouting, traversal, and escape. Even if he was going to find himself facing against an overwhelming foe, he was reasonably certain of his ability to at least run away.
Plus, he had Saint. The taciturn demon was worth half a cohort alone and by herself.
As the sun was crawling down from the heights of the Sky Above, he found himself in his room, studying the makeshift map of the Chained Isles. On it, Sunny had marked the potential routes to the Shipwreck Isles, as well as known dangers he would face on the way.
Of course, such a map was not completely reliable. Nightmare Creatures tended to migrate and travel between islands to escape the Crushing… but the really terrifying ones tended to stay put.
Even taking into account that some of the places he wanted to go through could turn out to be inaccessible due to entering the ascent phase, Sunny was more or less sure that he could reach the Shipwreck Island in three to four days while remaining comparatively safe.
…With one exception.
No matter how he looked at it, he was going to have to traverse an island known among the inhabitants of the Sanctuary as the Reckoning.
Not much was known about that place except for the fact that several cohorts lost members there, while others had not come back at all. Apparently, the creature that inhabited the island was especially twisted and deadly, and was capable of messing with a person's sight.
No one really knew what it was, however. All that Sunny was able to find out was that the creature was most likely not Corrupted. People were under the impression that it was of the Fallen rank, but had different opinions on what its Class was, exactly. It didn't seem to be a Tyrant, at least.
'I can fight perfectly well even if it plays tricks with my sight. And it's not like I have to defeat it… or even fight it, really. I can just slip past and be on my way…'
With a sigh, he rolled the map up and placed it in his pack. There was already a bit of food and a few supplies for a prolonged journey there. Sunny couldn't take too much with him, since there was a rather small limit on the weight of things he could pull with himself into the shadows.
He could also only do so with inanimate objects… at least for now. He had no idea if that was going to change in the future.
Finally, he opened his chest and took out the fang he had retrieved from the dead Chain Worm on the Iron Hand Island.
Sunny stared at the fang for a long time, a dark expression on his face.
Cassie was going to visit the Sanctuary soon… with this thing and her affinity to revelations, Sunny could make his expedition much safer, not to mention increase his chances of actually discovering the treasure.
…Or he could avoid having to ask her for help and take much more risk, with no guarantee of success.
After a while, Sunny threw the fang back into the chest and closed the lid.
'I'd rather die, honestly.'
With a grim smile, he locked the chest, picked up his pack, and headed to the exit.
As the sun rolled into the dark embrace of the Sky Below and disappeared, he left the safety of the Sanctuary behind, approached the edge of the island, and jumped toward one of the heavenly chains.
Chapter 410: Reckoning
Sunny traveled northwest, trying to cover as much distance during the night as he could. He rushed across gargantuan chains as a swift shadow, soared up onto the island, traversed them on foot, and dove into the darkness once he reached the other side.
He was moving across the Chained Isles with enviable speed… but still not as fast as someone capable of flight would. Using Shadow Step expended up a lot of shadow essence, so he had to replenish it often to continue riding the heavenly chains.
That, however, put him in a lot of danger. The islands were teeming with Nightmare Creatures of all kinds, as well as deadly natural… well, unnatural, really… threats. Sunny had to remain cautious at all times, keeping one shadow wrapped around his body while the other scouted ahead.
He hid in the shadows to avoid fighting with wandering abominations or, if there was no other choice, teleported away. These jumps, however, only served to devour more of his essence, forcing him to rest and circulate it through the coils of the Soul Serpent as he waited for his cores to fill up.
Most of the time, he didn't feel like there was a real threat to his life. Sunny's combination of Attributes and Abilities made him a very hard prey to hunt. No matter what kind of a horror tried, he always managed to slip away — for now, at least.
As long as he did not venture into the territory of the really terrifying Nightmare Creatures, like those Corrupted fiends that claimed some of the islands or the beings that dwelled on the dark side of them, he was going to be alright for as long as he managed his essence carefully. Against those powerful abominations, though, even being a shadow was not a guarantee of safety.
He still remembered the two ghostly torches in the dungeon beneath the ruined cathedral in the Dark City...
On his way, Sunny visited many islands that he had already explored before, and some that he never had a reason to visit. Each was lethal in its own way, and hid alluring mysteries… most of which were bound to turn out to be nothing but inescapable traps, of course. He suppressed his curiosity and moved past.
With two skies full of bright stars, the Chained Isles were stunning at night. Even while rushing forward and hiding from the abominations populating this breathtaking and terrible land, Sunny couldn't help but marvel at its dark beauty.
But beautiful things… beautiful things were the most dangerous. By now, he had learned that lesson all too well.
At dawn, Sunny finally reached the island that was supposed to be the first stop on his journey. It was a desolate place where nothing lived, with rocky ground and plenty of small impact craters that had been left behind by the debris on the neighboring island.
The chains holding that island in place had broken once, a long time ago. As the result, not restrained by anything, it soared high into the sky and eventually fell apart, ripped to pieces by the Crushing.
Its remaining neighbor was not of any particular to Sunny, but it was a good place to rest and catch his breath.
Hiding in one of the craters, Sunny ate a miserly breakfast and drank from the Endless Spring. Then, he looked at the rising sun, studied his map for a few minutes, and summoned Saint.
As the taciturn demon stepped out of his shadow — at enough of a distance to not subject him to the soul-eroding effect of the Broken Oath, of course — Sunny glanced at her, tiredly rubbed his face, and said:
"I am going to sleep. You stand watch, please."
The Shadow stared at him indifferently for a second, then nocked an arrow on the string of her bow and turned away.
Sunny sighed.
He could do without sleep for a couple more days, but it was wise to keep himself in the best possible shape. One never knew what could happen in the Dream Realm, after all.
Using his pack as a pillow, Sunny lay down and close his eyes.
'Just a few hours…'
***
A day later, he reached the Reckoning.
The ominous island that so many people in the Sanctuary dreaded was large, spanning no less than a dozen kilometers across. What's worse, it was supported by only two chains, which were situated almost exactly opposite of each other. Two get to the next one, Sunny had no choice but to travel the whole length of the island.
There was grass covering the ground, with a forest of tall evergreen trees visible in the distance. He could see a rocky hill far away, with a waterfall rushing from a weathered cliff. Just like everywhere on the Chained Isles, it was unclear where the water came from and where it went. Sunny was already used to the strangeness of this land to pay it any attention.
The Reckoning seemed like a beautiful and tranquil place. Idyllic, even.
However, looking at it through the eyes of the shadow, Sunny couldn't help but feel a deep sense of unease. Something… something was very wrong with this place.
It was very picturesque, however, he couldn't see or hear any living beings on the island. There was no sound other than the rustle of the wind, no movement other than the slow swaying of the trees. There were no beasts, no insects, no… anything.
Not a single Nightmare Creature could be seen wandering the expanse of the peaceful island.
What could be so terrible that even Nightmare Creatures did not dare to come to this place? Or had they been slaughtered by the owner of the island? If so, where were the bones? Or bone dust, at least.
'...I don't like this.'
Initially, Sunny thought of traversing the Reckoning in his usual manner, on foot. But now, he changed his mind. It was better to waste an additional amount of shadow essence than to risk meeting the ruler of this ominous place face to face.
If it had a face...
With a frown, Sunny used Shadow Step to leave the heavenly chain and appear on the surface of the island, near the shadow he had sent to take a look at it. Sunny did not assume physical form, preferring to remain incorporeal.
That way, he would be able to reach the other side of the Reckoning unseen.
'Where is that terrible creature, anyway?'
He couldn't see any hint of it anywhere.
Full of grim apprehension, he slowly moved through the deep shadows that were cast by the tall trees of the evergreen forest.
No matter how hard Sunny looked, he didn't notice any movement near him.
It was as though the Fallen abomination that gave the island its name, Reckoning, had simply disappeared.
'Maybe it can't be seen…'
Sunny cut off his vision and concentrated on the Shadow Sense.
His perception of shadows came into focus, reaching far and wide.
And there…
'What was that?!'
There was one shadow in particular that didn't belong to anything, approaching him with terrible speed.
'The... the bastard is invisible!'
Sunny froze, becoming absolutely still. In this state, he was not only one of the shadows, but also indistinguishable from the larger shadow he was hiding in. He didn't possess a physical body, so nothing was supposed to be able to hurt him in that state. At least physically...
The invisible creature continued to move in his direction, even faster than before.
'Wait… no, something doesn't make sense…'
Even if the abomination was invisible, why was there no sound? Why didn't grass bend beneath its feet?
It was almost as if the Nightmare Creature that dwelt on the Reckoning was… really…
A shadow.
Before Sunny could react, the owner of the Reckoning was upon him.
And then, he learned that...
Shadows, too, could feel pain.