Third POV:
Sometime later, Sunny found the time to dove into the Soul Sea and take a look at the new Memory he had gotten.
It was a heavy round shield forged from dull, lusterless, dark steel. Inside of it, visible only to him, a complex weave of ethereal strings shone with stark radiance.
Memory: [Dusk Shard].
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: II.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [Forged from a shard of a fallen star, this shield contains the weight of the heavens. Depending on the heart of its wielder, it can be light as a feather or heavy as regret.]
Memory Enchantments: [Indomitable].
Enchantment Description: [Following the will of its master, the Dusk Shard can change its weight.]
This enchantment... at first glance, it seemed very unassuming. People usually thought about the weight of their weapons only when they considered how much endurance they would need to wield them. In that regard, the lighter the weapon was, the better — a light weapon could allow a person to fight longer without growing tired, which often meant the difference between victory and defeat.
However, things changed when it came to the Awakened, who often possessed inhuman strength and endurance. Light weapons had their role to play, but more often than not, what you really needed was force. And the more mass something had, the more force it could produce.
In the past, Sunny had only considered shields as a defensive tool. But after watching Effie and Stone Saint use them in battle, he realized that in the hands of a trained warrior, a shield could be as destructive and deadly as a sword. Sometimes much more so.
Just remembering Effie bashing an abomination with a shield that weighed a few hundred kilograms sent shivers running down his spine. Not to mention that the weight could be changed on the fly, making it light to maneuver faster, then turning it into an improvised siege ram at the right moment.
But even in terms of pure defense, a shield that could be turned into a literal wall was priceless. He could see a monster such as the Spire Messenger colliding with it... and simply bouncing off in the chorus of shattering bones.
With a slight smile, Sunny summoned the Dusk Shard. The sparks of light appeared in a whirlwind around his arm. A few long seconds later, the silhouette of a large round shield weaved itself into reality. After a few more seconds, and the Memory was fully formed.
'Hmph!'
The dull iron shield rested in his hand. The thing was still as heavy as he remembered. Most Sleepers —with the exception of the likes of Effie—won't even be able to lift the shield.
Luckily Sunny was Now an Awakened so he didn't fall under that rule, and he also didn't have to be lifted up by the giant Huntress like a sack of potatoes.
One time was more than enough.
Pouring his essence on the enchantment Sunny was able to reduce the weight of the shield to an acceptable level.
Although the enchantment was quite useful, it wasn't as efficient and versatile as his own Feather of Truth enchantment.
Yet it was sufficiently useful considering where they were in the Dream realm.
Noticing the Shard Memory in his hand, The members of the cohort glanced at Sunny, with perplexed expressions.
Effie approached him with a groggy expression.
"That's it, then? The Memory you got from the pale bastard?"
Effie asked him. Rubbing her shoulder, she wore a frustrated expression. Having her arm completely shattered was in no way a pleasant thing to feel.
"It's indeed."
Sunny was contemplating a lot of things currently.
Between him and Effie, he was the better choice for who should wield the Dusk Shard at the moment. He was skilled enough to wield it, strong enough to lift it, and he was the only Awakened who was able to use the enchantment more efficiently.
But that was it.
On the other hand, keeping the memory would drastically reduce Effie's survival chances later on against the hoard of Nightmare Creatures, in their siege toward the Crimson Spire.
And Possessing the Dusk Shard would most likely force him to take the frontline with or without Effie in order to break the Nightmare Creatures's momentum. Which didn't align well with his goals.
And a huge part of Effie's public image came from her stance against the Nightmare Creatures as Athena.
Leading the frontline against that hoard of abominations had played a major role in inspiring and motivating the Sleepers while also raising their morales, as well as her own public value and reputation later on in the waking world.
It sure was a good thing to be able to keep an eye on her but Sunny also had a different role to play, so he couldn't join Effie on the frontline.
So leaving Effie without the Memory was a bug no.
And it contained a huge risk of losing Effie.
Which would directly clash with his goals.
Not to mention the potential variables that would arise if Effie couldn't break through the hoard and break their momentum.
Sunny was planning to fully rejoin the Cohort after this expedition since he had a lot of things on his plate he wanted to accomplish.
Sunny could share the weaknesses that he knows with the others. It wasn't like he couldn't lead the sleeper army even if he somehow ended up being pushed to the frontlines. After all, Sunny has the experience of leading a company of awakened soldiers since he participated in several battles in Antarctica. He also can help organize the sleeper army and make sure they are better equipped to handle the attack on the Spire.
Sunny could do more than just saving his friends. He can get even more of the sleeper army home. When the sleepers of the Forgotten Shore awakened, they were each worth at least two to three normal awakened. If Sunny could just save a hundred more, then it would make a huge difference. Hundreds died in and before the attack on the Spire. How many of them died for no reason or could have been saved if they just prepared a little bit more?
So much potential was wasted in the clash between the Generals of the Bright Castle and Changing Star's Cohort.
"Doofus"
Sunny was jolted awake from his reverie with a flick on his forehead by the huntress. Sunny let out a stifled groan as he stroked his forehead.
"What?"
Effie just stared at him with a smug expression on her face. then replied.
"Well, I was talking to you and then you zoned out while staring at me with a weird look on your face. Not that I mind being stared at, knowing people can't resist my charm, but I have more pressing matters in my hands right now."
Finally Noticing the still Round shield in his hand, Sunny dismissed the Memory and looked back up at Effie. Rolling his eyes Sunny asked.
"What is it?"
"You know that we are friends aren't we Sunny?"
"Yeah and?"
"So I was just wondering, you know that big, strong, and deliciously beautiful horse tha—"
Her sentence was interrupted.
By the growling sound of her stomach.
A sudden thought crossed Sunny's mind and it sent shivers down his spine.
At that Sunny hurriedly took several steps back with a horrified expression on his face.
"Wait, Sun-"
"No! Absolutely Not!"
This time, it was Sunny who cut her off.
"My beloved Stallion is not for you to eat, you gluttonous woman! You have a whole fallen Monster right there, you can have it all for yourself! For all I care."
With that, the Cohort including Effie had weird expressions on their faces. Soon Kai's melodic laughter echoed throughout the cavern. Even Nephis was holding her stomach trying to suppress a laugh.
As for Sunny...
'She has already eaten me and my stallion a couple of times, no wonder she has a liking for horses.'
...his traumatic experience has long clouded his judgment.
His experience coupled with the growling sound of Effie's stomach, and her choice of words while talking about his Stallion has created the perfect misunderstanding of the situation in Sunny's mind.
Completely forgetting that Effie was merely a sleeper at the moment and not a Corrupted beast.
While Sunny was looking all too serious The cohort had gotten into a frenzy of laughter. As soon as everything settled down, Effie cleared her throat.
"...Ha...Ha...I should thank you, Sunny.. that was truly a great laugh."
Effie straightened herself up and added. A mischievous smile on her face:
"I was just about to ask you how you got it but to think that you would assume I would eat it instead was sure unexpected. No wonder that small head of yours is full of unexpected and inappropriate thoughts."
Finally getting the hang of the situation, Sunny's face crumpled and reddened with embarrassment. Fortunately for him, the cavern was dimly lit.
Covering his face with his hands, Sunny's head tilted back and faced the ceiling of the cavern.
'Damn this [Fated] attribute of mine!'
'Why does it always want to embarrass me like this?!'
In the First Round, he was lifted off the ground like a sack of potatoes alongside the heavy Shield. And Now that he was an awakened and strong enough to handle the shield, his [Fated] attribute has still found a way to embarrass him even more.
Sunny could still hear Kai's laugh echoing in the background.
'Damn you!'
He wanted to dig a hole and bury himself out of embarrassment.
Finally, Sunny took a deep breath and opened his eyes looking at the huntress.
Noticing his look Effie cleared her throat again and asked.
"So what are you planning to do with that Shield? I didn't take you for someone who would wield a one."
Sunny stared at her for a couple of moments.
There was no actual reason for him to keep the shield in his possession.
But..
There was a thing that kept gnawing on his mind for quite some time.
Sunny summoned back the heavy shield, he stared at her for a long time, this time his expression unreadable. Then, he suddenly smiled:
"Yes. By the way, Effie. We're friends, aren't we? See, I couldn't help but notice that your shield Memory was destroyed in that last fight. How about..."
She rolled her eyes.
"Wait, don't tell me... Sunny's Shady Emporium is open for business again?"
He blinked a couple of times, then grinned:
"Why yes! How did you know?"
The huntress glanced down at the heavy shield, squinted, and said in a cautious tone:
"Well... what do you want in exchange?"
In the previous round, Sunny managed to exchange the shield for the Moonlight Shard, which was currently in his possession.
Sunny wanted to test out how would his regression would alter the current timeline.
What did they find at the statue to the north of the dark city?
What did Neph mean earlier?
"That bottomless bag of yours. And two other Awakened Memories."
Sunny replied taking a glance at Nephis.
To his surprise, Nephis just stood there seemingly busy with cleaning her sword.
Wasn't she supposed to come forward and offer him the moonlight shard in exchange for giving Effie the Dusk Shard?
But apparently Since he was already in possession of the Moonlight Shard Nephis didn't make a move.
Sunny glanced back at Effie, she stood there with her arms crossed, her eyebrows knotted in deep thought.
Before Effie could come to a decision, though, Sunny interrupted.
"After another thought…Considering our precious friendship I decided to give it to you for free, but under one condition....do you want to hear it?"
Sunny directed the last question to Nephis.
Dismissing her sword Nephis walked up to them. Coming closer, she glanced at the huntress first, then at Sunny, and finally at the shield.
"Sure. let's hear it."
Sunny nodded at her.
"You should just answer a simple question...The Statute to the North....have you visited it yet?"
*******
In the end, they had to spend a couple of days in the vast underground cavern. Nephis had to recover from her ghastly wound and the strain of healing the rest of the cohort, while all of them had not liked the idea of venturing back into the mist with their Memories damaged.
Eventually, though, they were ready to head back.
He knew that there was nothing but bloodshed ahead of them. First, they would have to fight their way through the untold horrors of the Labyrinth. And once they reached the Dark City…
The last act of this play would begin.
'But before that, I would have to give that statue a visit.'
As it turned out, Nephis and her cohort hadn't visited that statue to the North yet….for whatever reason.
Sunny guessed that it had something to do with his regression and his [Fated] attribute.
As Sunny was lost in his thoughts, So many memories resurfaced in his mind.
When Sunny first arrived on the Forgotten Shore, he was weak and inexperienced.
His first fight against a single carapace scavenger almost cost him his life.
From barely killing a single carapace scavenger to almost losing his life in a fight against a carapace centurion, to summoning a horror of the depths and finishing off the Carapace Demon.
From entering the Dark City not knowing anything about it to hunting down dozens of Nightmare Creatures on its cursed streets, to fighting against a horde of undead monsters in the catacombs beneath it.
From venturing back into the Labyrinth of his own free will and waging war against the tribe of monstrous spiders to riding on the shoulder of an ancient giant and battling Fallen abominations and hordes of Awakened creatures.
From finding a nameless grave in the foothills of the Hollow Mountains to witnessing the last resting place of the First Lord in their depths.
From travelling back to the Bright Castle to surviving against Harus, the Bright Lord's executioner. From surviving the bloodbath in the Bright Castle's halls to setting a siege towards the Crimson Spire.
From surviving the siege to fighting his way through the gateway….and leaving Neph behind.
'Even if it wasn't with my own free will.'
From finding his way back to the waking world to challenging his second nightmare to surviving in Antarctica, to surviving through his third nightmare...to surviving the category six gate break, and witnessing his cohort's death.
He had lived through so much, endured so much, and accomplished so much.
He had experienced pain, sorrow, and despair.
And here he was.
Going through it for the second time all over again.
He sure was determined to go through it once more.
He wanted to accomplish his happy ending along with his beloved ones.
He was going to win. He was going to make sure his loved ones survived.
He wasn't going to see them die hopelessly again.
He would make them survive.
He would make them stronger.
No matter what he had to do.
…Even if doing it would break him.