As Sunny became an incorporeal shadow, he thought back to what Sparkle had said, finding something suspicious within her words.
'She called me a shadow…'
It would have been reasonable for her to know that he had an affinity for shadows, if they knew each other as long as they did. However, she explicitly called him a shadow, which is something one would only know through his Aspect description.
Sunny wasn't sure whether it was a simple coincidence, or if she truly knew the nature of his Aspect. He didn't know if his past self had told her for whatever reason, or if she simply had the means to figure it out.
If it was the latter, he wouldn't be surprised.
However, the most worrying part was the possibility that she was aware of Shadow Bond.
Although Sunny currently already had a master, and therefore couldn't be controlled by another, the mere threat of somebody being aware of his biggest weakness was not something to brush off. If something happened to AR-26710, then he would once more be vulnerable to anyone else who knew his secret.
Sunny decided to be cautious around Sparkle, as to try and figure out what she did, or didn't know.
Once Sunny reached the edge of the island, he used the chain to travel to the next with ease.
Here in the Sky Below, he was in his natural element, after all.
Sunny couldn't travel through the empty darkness itself, but the chains were covered by an impenetrable veil of shadows. He could swim through them for as long as he had essence to spare, safe from the terrible creatures that lived on the dark side of the Chained Isles.
Rushing forward with terrible speed, Sunny slid over the surface of the chain and flew through the darkness like a ghost. He went faster and then faster still, circling around the chain several times and leaving the Forest Island far behind.
Covering the distance to the next isle in mere minutes, he escaped from the shadows the moment the sunlight touched the iron chain once again and shot upward in a spin. The Dark Wing turned into a blur, pushing him even further up.
Interestingly enough, the memory looked to be the exact same as Sparkle's.
Sunny soared above the floating island and then glided smoothly to its surface, landing on solid ground with a light step.
This one was much different from the one where he had fought the monstrous wolves. Instead of a forest of twisted trees, the isle was covered by jagged rocks, with an ancient ruin standing lonesomely in its center. Sunny had explored the massive structure already, and wasn't interested in visiting it again.
Jumping from one shadow to another, he avoided the Nightmare Creatures populating the island and soon approached its other edge.
Technically, from here, he only needed to cross two more isles to reach the Sanctuary. However, one of those isles was home to a dreadful and utterly terrifying Corrupted Monster, so he was going to have to make a big detour.
Sunny looked at the sun, and then jumped off the edge once again.
Just like that, he traveled from one island to another for a few hours. When possible, Sunny turned into a shadow and rushed along the lengths of heavenly chains, then emerged from the darkness and traversed the islands themselves on foot.
Each island was different from another. Some were desolate and bleak, some covered by grass and vegetation. One was full of beautiful white flowers, while another hid a clear, tranquil lake. A few were covered by ash and flames, while several were covered by the ruins that some ancient civilization had left behind.
If there was one thing that united all of them, it was that each was dangerous in its own way.
The desolate islands were home to swarms of monstrous, gluttonous ants. The grass covered the maws of giant abominations that hid beneath, waiting for prey to step into their trap. The vegetation was predatory and deadly if one wasn't careful to not get too close. The beautiful white flowers could put a person to sleep from which they would never wake up. The tranquil lake was home to a creature so terrifying that Sunny did not even dare to approach its clear waters.
And these ones were on the safer side, as far as the Chained Isles went. Due to their proximity to the Sanctuary, they were well explored, and anything dangerous enough to pose threat to the Citadel had long been destroyed by Saint Tyris herself. Sunny had been to these islands already, too, so he knew his way around them.
Each was either descending or ascending. The former were easier to cross, while the latter forced him to walk while suffering from the early stages of the Crushing. If an island he wanted to use was to high, Sunny had to change his plan and seek out another way.
After a while, his reserve of shadow essence became dangerously low. Knowing that he will have to make a stop, Sunny chose a relatively safe island and headed toward it.
Gliding to the surface, Sunny tiredly dismissed the Dark Wing and looked around.
The island he was currently standing on was rather close to the Sanctuary, and usually empty of any Nightmare Creatures. However, it was wise to make sure.
Sending his shadows in different directions to scout for potential danger, Sunny sat on the ground and summoned the Endless Spring. When his thirst was satiated, he crossed his legs, put his hands on his knees, and closed his eyes, concentrating on the coils of the Soul Serpent.
With a part of his mind observing the world through the shadows and another concentrated on hastening the accumulation of shadow essence, he meditated for a while, and then suddenly opened his eyes.
One of the shadows had noticed something interesting.
At the same time Sparkle, landed next to him, dismissing her own Dark Wing as she sat down next to him.
It seemed that she had also started to run low on essence. Sunny sighed, standing up.
"I'll be back. Probably."
Sparkle waved him off, before extending out her hand expectantly. Sunny wasn't sure what she wanted for a moment, before realizing that she must have been thirsty as well.
Although he didn't want to give such a useful memory away, he also didn't want to expose his act.
Sunny summoned the Endless Spring, handing it over to the girl. Without a word of thanks, she immediately started to down the water.
Sunny rolled his eyes, refocusing on the matter that had caught his attention.
The island Sunny was resting on was a strange one. It was rather large and covered in soft grass, with ancient stone columns protruding from the ground here and there. Most of them had long toppled and been shattered to pieces by some unknown disaster. The ground itself was full of depressions and generally uneven, as if it had served as a battlefield for giants once.
The reason why Sunny had come up with such a metaphor was not coincidental. The main feature of the island was situated at its center, and appeared to be a giant, rusty metal hand. Hence, the isle was unimaginatively called the Iron Hand Island.
It was well known to the Awakened anchored in the Sanctuary because very few Nightmare Creatures ever came here, and thus, many humans used it to rest during their journeys.
However, today, Sunny wasn't the only visitor to the peaceful island.
A rather ugly monstrosity lay dead in the shadow of the giant iron hand, its blood forming a large pool. It had a body like that of a snake, two powerful hands protruding from a human-like torso, a head with a long and toothy muzzle, and two leathery wings.
From the looks of it, the creature had landed on the island due to heavy injuries, and then succumbed to the most recent Crushing. Its body seemed broken and flattened, with sharp bone splinters protruding from the torn scales.
Sunny's interest was naturally piqued, because it wasn't every day that he stumbled on free soul shards. Additionally, and more intriguing, the shadow had noticed something glinting on the ground near one of the abomination's hands.
'Huh…'
Standing up, Sunny looked around, and then headed to the center of the island.
Soon, he reached the rusty metal arm and dove into the shadows, emerging on top of it. Standing a good ten meters above the ground, he stared at the carcass of the dead Nightmare Creature to make sure that the shadow didn't miss anything.
…Everything seemed to be fine.
With a shrug, Sunny jumped down and landed softly on the grass near the massive monster. Walking around it, he approached the spot where the abomination's hand lay on the ground, its five long fingers ending in terrifying claws.
"Gee. You were a scary one, weren't you?"
He didn't need to wonder about who had done the monster in. On the Chained Isles, Nightmare Creatures constantly fought each other. Winged ones like this one were often caught by the inhabitants of the dark side, torn to pieces, and devoured.
This one had been relatively lucky, all things considered.
Bending down, Sunny picked up the small object that seemed to have fallen out of the creature's hand and stared at it with a dubious expression.
"...A coin?"
Indeed, he was holding a heavy golden coin. Which didn't make any sense.
Nightmare Creatures were not exactly known for participating in commerce, and humans did not use coins. If they needed to trade, they either bartered with suitable items or used credits — the universal currency of modern civilization. Of course, credits didn't exist in the Dream Realm, but the transaction would be honored when both parties returned to the real world.
So where could a gold coin come from?
Sunny stared at the coin for a while, then turned it around. There was a depiction of an archaic ship on one of its sides, with a tall mast that had an actual tree growing around it. A beautiful human face stared at him from the other side, a carefree smile on its lips.
The person had high cheekbones, long hair, and exquisite features. Sunny couldn't say if they were a man or a woman, just that they seem rather charming. There was a crescent moon drawn on their forehead, and… well, that was about it.
Sunny studied the coin some more, and then thought despondently:
'That thing is definitely cursed, right?'
It just had to be. What else was he supposed to think after finding a mysterious coin near the corpse of a monster that had died a violent death?
…But it didn't seem to be cursed.
Sunny had a rather good intuition about these things. He also had the sight of a person who had inherited a part of Weaver's forbidden lineage.
Looking under the surface of the coin, Sunny expected to see a malevolent spellweave, or at least something strange, but there was nothing.
From the looks of it, the coin… was just a coin.
The only strangeness about it was that it seemed a little bit warm to the touch.
"Huh…"
With a shrug, Sunny shoved the coin into his pack and turned to the dead monster.
"Let's see how many shards you're hiding, ugly lizard…"
He summoned the Moonlight Shard — a dagger that could be summoned instantaneously — enhanced it with two shadows, and cut into the tough hide of the Nightmare Creature. For a while, luck was on his side. He quickly retrieved two bright soul shards… so quickly, in fact, that Sunny grew sure that there had to be a third one inside the carcass.
"A demon, huh?"
That was where his luck ended. The body of the demon was too heavily damaged, so when he tried to fish out the third crystal, its stomach burst open and spilled its contents all over the ground.
"Argh! Curses!"
Sunny was so disgusted by the idea of being doused in the putrid slimy mass that he instinctively teleported a few meters away.
Then, he tilted his head and stared down.
Covered in repulsive, acidic liquid, three more coins — as well as something that resembled a piece of a wooden chest — lay in the quickly melting grass.
'Did this guy… try to eat a treasure chest?'
Sunny shook his head, walked around the disgusting mess, and quickly retrieved the last soul shard.
Since golden coins were rather useless to him and he already had one to sketch, he had no intention of retrieving the rest.
'No thank you…'
By that time, he had recovered enough shadow essence to return to the Sanctuary, so nothing was holding him on the island anymore.
'Oh, right.'
Sunny used Shadow Step to get back to where he had left Sparkle. The girl was laying on her side, propping up her head with her hand.
"You find anything?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Nothing important. Just a coin…"
Sparkle tilted her head in contemplation. She then summoned her storage memory, reaching into it as she pulled out a topaz pendulum. She held it in her left hand, closing her eyes for a few seconds.
Sunny blinked, watching in curiosity. Due to the complexity of her Aspect, something that seemed completely innocuous such as holding a mundane pendulum could allow her to perform some sort of ritual…
Once her eyes opened, the pendulum turned slightly to Sunny's right. From where he was standing, it would be Sparkle's left. The girl in question smirked, before putting the pendulum away in her storage memory.
"The coin is actually pretty special. Not that I know what it does, but you should hold onto it."
It seemed that the ritual had the strange ability to… confirm things? Sunny wasn't too sure about the nature, as Sparkle didn't bother explaining it.
Sunny sighed.
"I'll go back to get the rest. I have enough essence to go back to the Sanctuary, so we should get going."
With a thumbs up, Sparkle walked off to the direction of the island's edge. Sunny used shadow step once more, arriving back at where the dead Nightmare Creature was. He grimaced as he picked up the other coins, using the Endless Spring to wash them off.
'Gross…'
Throwing one last look at the giant metal hand and wondering what terrible strike could have separated it from the rest of the theoretical giant, he turned away and walked toward the edge of the island. Figuring that Sparkle must have already left, Sunny made his way towards the Sanctuary.
Soon, Sunny was walking on the last chain he had to traverse as he approached the Sanctuary of Noctis.
By then, it was already night. Up above, the pale disk of the crescent moon shone softly, its light reflecting off the white walls of the Ivory Tower. Countless stars shimmered on the dark velvet tapestry of the night sky. Without the light pollution that the giant city where Sunny had grown up produced, they were beautiful and bright.
Now that it was night, the border between the Sky Above and the Sky Below was almost invisible. The empty void beneath the Isles had stars of its own, so it seemed like the reflection of the real sky during these hours. The only difference between them was that it lacked both the moon and the ethereal silhouette of a graceful white tower floating through the clouds.
The chain swayed lightly as Sunny walked. He felt reluctant to use Shadow Step this close to the Sanctuary and enjoyed the sight of the night sky, the smell of clean air, and the cool embrace of the wind. So he tended to complete this last part of the return journey on foot.
…Even hell could be beautiful, sometimes.
A few minutes later, Sunny heard the murmur of flowing water and knew that the Sanctuary was already close.
It was the murmur of these waterfalls that Sunny had heard as he approached the Citadel.
Using the Dark Wing to glide upward and land on the soft grass of the island, he walked over to a stone post that stood nearby and rang the bronze bell that hung on it. This was to let the watchmen know that he was a human and not a Nightmare Creature that needed to be destroyed.
Soon, a whistle came out of the darkness, and Sunny walked forward on a path that led to the towering menhirs.
A few minutes later, he had walked between two massive stones and entered the Sanctuary of Noctis.
No one really knew who Noctis was, and why this place was called in their honor… if that name even belonged to a living creature. It was just what the Spell called this place, so humans followed suit.
In any case, the space between the two rings of menhirs had been made into a place for the Awakened to rest and recuperate between their ventures into the wild expanse of the Chained Isles. The White Feather clan had built walls to close the spaces between the standing stones, and recruited several people with useful utility Aspects to make living conditions better for those who chose to come here or were sent to this region by the Spell.
Currently, there were about two hundred Awakened populating the Sanctuary, which was enough to keep it functioning and safe.
Like everybody else here, he was assigned a small room after becoming anchored to the Sanctuary. It was situated near one of two entrances, so he didn't have to walk for a long time.
Entering the room, Sunny quickly took off his pack and placed his trophies — a scattering of soul shards, a few weird-looking fruits, and the golden coins — into a chest standing near the bed. Then he threw the pack on the floor, lingered for a few moments, and left.
As he exited the room, he once again almost walked into Sparkle. She must have used that "trick" of her's again…
'What a drag…'
Sunny tiredly looked at the girl, who was wearing a perpetually smug expression on her face.
"What do you want?"
"Hm? Well, I simply stopped by to give you a reward~"
Sunny blinked, recalling that she had indeed said something similar earlier. It was when he was dealing with the Crushing, and she was messing with him…
'Now that I think about it, I still need to get my revenge…'
Sunny crossed his arms, pondering about the possible acts he could perform…
…Sparkle pinched his cheek, bringing him back to reality. He glared at her, before asking:
"So? What is it?"
Sparkle leaned forward, eyes glancing left and right. She stood on the tips of her toes in order to barely reach Sunny's unimpressive height.
She whispered…
"…After being helped by the mirror, don't blindly trust it. Come to me the first chance you get afterwards."
Sunny blinked.
'A revelation? Was she able to do even that?'
Sunny didn't know what exactly she referred to, but hoped that he would be able to deduce it once it happened. Sparkle stepped away from him.
"Anyways, I need to make my potion in the real world. I know you'll miss me, but keep all thoughts about the amazing Sparkle kid-friendly, okay?"
With a skip in her step, Sparkle left Sunny staring at her in confusion.
'What a pain in the ass…'
***
Entering the park, Sunny approached the deep pool of clear water and stepped onto the first stone of the path that led to the Altar Island.
Soon, he was standing in front of the white altar, surrounded by the tranquil sound of rustling leaves and running water. Glancing at the obsidian dagger, Sunny resisted the urge to try and lift it. He had already done so many times before, all with no result whatsoever.
'...Maybe one day.'
With a sigh, he took a step forward and placed his hand on the altar.
The marble felt cool to the touch.
In the next moment, the darkness of the night was momentarily illuminated by a flash of ethereal blue light. When it dissipated, there was no one standing under the branches of the ancient tree.
Sunny had left the Dream Realm and returned to the real world.
***
"Ah! Miss Himeko, Sunny's awake!"
Sunny's eyes cracked open as he found himself in the Herta Space Station once more. Without delay, he sprung up to his feet, realizing that he was laying on a cushioned bench.
He immediately sent out his shadows to scout the area, looking around to find a startled set of trailblazers.
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"What? Is something wrong?"
Dan Heng coughed.
"It's a good thing that you're awake now. In the past few hours, the situation on the Space Station has… escalated."
Sunny could figure that out. Using his shadows, he found plenty of researchers panicking, and had even heard word of something called a Doomsday Beast.
Sunny turned towards the three trailblazers. Himeko was looking towards him, a calculating glint in her eyes. March seemed slightly worried about something, but not to an extreme degree. Dan Heng was frowning, deep in contemplation.
Sunny sighed — he had been doing that a lot lately.
"Alright, spit it out. How strong is this… Doomsday Beast?"
Himeko's eyes widened.
"How did you…"
Sunny smirked, shrugging.
"I just listened to my surroundings. Everybody does that, right?"
In disbelief, Himeko shook her head.
"A Doomsday Beast is much more powerful than the other monsters you three have fought. It has the ability to destroy planets while still only being an Ascended Titan."
'Ascended.'
Although the fact that it was a whole rank and five classes above him was worrying, Sunny was quite intrigued by the fact that she had said Ascended, and not Fallen.
Did this imply that the servants of an Aeon weren't prone to the corruption that plagues Nightmare Creatures?
Filing this piece of information away, Sunny found that they were still in the master control zone. He noticed a girl with pink hair approaching them, although with a darker shade than March.
Once she noticed that Sunny was awake, she immediately greeted him.
"Hello, I'm Lead Researcher Asta. I saw you with the Astral Express, but I haven't caught your name…"
Sunny didn't think that they had time for introductions, but he might have been able to get some information from the Lead Researcher…
"My name is Sunless. By any chance, could I go see this Herta person I've heard so much about? I mean, in a crisis like this, I'd assume she would be pretty active…"
At the mention of his name, Asta's eyes widened in recognition. She shook her head.
"N-no, she doesn't care much about the Space Station. This… is one of her abandoned projects, Sir Prince of Shadows."
Sunny blinked.
March blinked.
Dan Heng blinked.
Himeko… did not blink. Rather, she sighed.
"I thought that was the case."
Out of the corner of his eye, Sunny saw March pull out her phone, frantically typing something. She then started to rapidly glance between it and Sunny, eyes widening in horror.
'Well, this is going to be a hassle.'
***
After a time-consuming interrogation by March, the Sunny and the members of the Astral Express were leaving the master control zone.
Sunny glanced at Himeko, wanting to get his questions answered.
"Miss Himeko, uh… where exactly are we going?"
"To fight the Doomsday Beast, of course."
Sunny's face froze, before narrowing his eyes.
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that? There are only three Awakened among us, and I could tell that you aren't one of them. Going against an Ascended Titan like this is the equivalent of suicide!"
Himeko had a confused expression on her face.
"I've heard that you've killed a Fallen Terror as a Sleeper. I'm sure that this will be much easier than that."
Sunny's face scrunched up in horror.
'A Terror… a Fallen Terror! What type of monster would do something like that?!'
Sunny sighed in resignation.
"Fine, but we're going to do this my way…"
Sunny looked at March and Dan Heng, the former flinching at his gaze, while the latter seemed as unfazed as always.
"…You two. Tell me what your Aspect and Attributes do. Oh, and any useful memories too… I'll go first."
The best way to get people to trust you, is to show them a few of your cards. However, revealing too much would be detrimental.
Seeing that he had everyone's attention, he began to disclose his capabilities.
"When it comes to my Attributes, I have a high affinity for Divinity, shadows, and war. I also have one that causes unlikely things to happen around me…"
"…My Aspect lets me use my shadow as a scout, and become incorporeal."
Sunny left out quite a bit. He didn't say anything about [Blood Weave] or [Breach of Styx], keeping the fact that he had multiple lineages to himself. He didn't refer to his affinity for war as a lineage either, so they wouldn't assume that it was anything special.
He also didn't disclose the exact details of his Aspect abilities. They were not informed that he could augment himself, nor that he had multiple shadows. He didn't say anything about being able to basically teleport either…
Sunny decided to not say anything about his Memories, as most of them were only useful for utility. He decided to let them assume that he mainly relied on his Midnight Shard and Pupeteer's Shroud.
He wasn't wearing the latter currently, not that he needed to.
Speaking of Memories, didn't he get a new one after killing that Trampler?
Memory: [Thief's Instinct].
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: IV.
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [To destroy is to take. And THEY shall take it all.]
It was an ominous description, but Sunny looked at the enchantments. There was only a single one, unfortunately.
Memory Enchantments: [Piece of You].
[Piece of You]
Enchantment Description: [After defeating a human who is equal to, or less than the rank of this memory, you can steal a basic Attribute to graft upon yourself. Once used, the this Memory is destroyed.]
'That's… really strong.'
The only issue is knowing about the Attributes of another person… but that wasn't something that Sunny was worried about right now. He wasn't going to face a human, but a Doomsday Beast after all.
Once he had shared his abilities, March was the second to share.
"One of my Attributes give me a photographic memory. The other gives me an affinity to ice and cold, I think. The description is kind of confusing…"
"My Dormant ability let's me get stronger in the cold, and my Awakened ability let's me create six-phased ice. It costs a lot of essence though…"
Sunny deadpanned. She seemed to have quite a lot of complaints about her Aspect.
"Let's see… my flaw gives me amnesia, most of my better memories have gotten destroyed…"
Dan Heng palmed his face and groaned.
"March…"
Sunny on the other hand was quite delighted. He had just learned of her flaw, which she let slip carelessly. It didn't seem like much of a weakness, but at least he didn't have to try and figure it out if necessary.
However, he didn't exclude the possibility that she was lying about her flaw.
"Oh! My bow is my Aspect Legacy! It actually shares all my Aspect abilities, and let's me use any elements from monsters I've beat with it."
'An Aspect Legacy…'
Normally, they would take the form of Memories and Echoes. Sunny just happened to be the exception, as Shadow Dance was a fighting style that came with relics as his mastery increased.
The ability to use different elements was extremely useful. Not only that, but if her bow shares her Aspect Abilities, wouldn't it also become stronger in the cold?
Sunny then turned towards Dan Heng, who also shared his capabilities.
"My attributes give me an affinity for Permanance and decay. I also have an affinity for weather. My Dormant ability let's me inflict a weak point on an enemy, while my Awakened ability let's me control the weather a little. It wouldn't be too useful on the Space Station…"
Sunny had seen the first ability, so only the second one was news to him. Obviously, there wasn't any weather patterns on the Space Station, so any effect it might have would be minor.
"My spear has an enchantment that increases my movement speed every time I land an attack."
Nodding, Sunny was already concocting a plan in his head. Taking into account the abilities of the other two, he thought of ways in which their talents could be used best. He also had to consider that their enemy would be quite large, as it was of the Titan class.
Now that he thought about it…
"Miss Himeko, do you know anything about the Doomsday Beast's abilities?"
The woman in question raised a finger to her chin, lost in thought.
"…Well, I know some tidbits thanks to Welt. It uses antimatter as it's power source, just like the rest of the Antimatter Legion. Since it's a Titan, you could expect it to be quite intelligent. Ah, it also has a weak point if I recall correctly…"
***
According to Himeko, they were to first meet up with a man named Welt. Supposedly, he was quite the powerful individual. Once they met up, the Doomsday Beast would be their next target.
'Ah… this is insanity.'
Sunny wondered why he should go along with this. He didn't have any stakes in this fight, nor did he care much about the people inhabiting the Space Station. There was nothing to lose for him…
…But maybe there was something to gain?
If he were to defeat the Doomsday Beast — the Titan that attacked the Space Station with it's minions — wouldn't he have this place in his debt? Maybe he could even get something out of that Herta person…
Sunny's eyes shone with greed, imagining the unreasonable demands he could make once this was over.
It wouldn't be too unreasonable after killing a Ascended Titan, after all.
'Hm, I'd have to make sure most of the credit goes to myself.'
They approached the railway platform, meaning that they were getting closer to where Welt would be.
Suddenly, Sunny felt a feeling of unease. He stopped walking, sending his shadows out to scout around. Dan Heng noticed his strange behavior.
"What's wrong?"
Sunny swallowed.
"There's a massive shadow… and it's heading this way."
Everyone — excluding Sunny — blinked.
He growled.
"That means that something huge is coming towards us!"
Now they were alarmed. March and Dan Heng summoned their weapons, while Himeko ran back in the direction they came. She wasn't an Awakened, so things would be extremely dangerous for her if she stayed.
However, she left behind her drone. It wasn't a memory, but it was made using spelltech — technology that has been enhanced by Aspect Abilities.
It was strong enough to damage an Awakened or Fallen Nightmare Creature, but was mostly useless against Corrupted and above.
Since they were fighting a Ascended Titan, it wouldn't be able to do much. It could still serve some purposes though…
Through his shadows, Sunny saw the large shape blur as it moved at breakneck speeds. In only a couple of seconds, it was upon them, locating them by tracking their Awakened souls.
'What… the hell is this!'
The Doomsday Beast was a draconic-like creature, having a similar design to the Reavers and other parts of the Antimatter Legion. It had two large floating hands, and two smaller ones cradling a core to it's chest.
Sunny stared at the core, knowing that it was his target. The core contained the Doomsday Beast's soul, so destroying it was crucial.
However, he needed to be able to actually hit the core first…
Immediately, the three of them went into motion. March started to freeze the area around her, boosting the power of both herself and her bow. Dan Heng rushed forward, spear at the ready as he attempted to close the distance. Sunny, on the other hand…
Was hiding within Dan Heng's shadow, ready to make his move.
Since he was hiding in a naturally moving shadow, he didn't expend any essence. He needed to make sure he had as much as possible.
They were not the only ones who moved, as the Doomsday Beast raised it's floating right hand. It fell, aiming to crush Dan Heng under it.
He rolled out of the way, flicking his spear towards the hand that slammed down next to him. It didn't do much damage, but the hit both triggered his Dormant Ability, and the spear's enchantment.
The hand was now a weak point.
As Dan Heng moved away, slightly faster than he was before, March created an arrow of six-phased ice, which streaked straight towards where Dan Heng attacked the Doomsday Beast. Ice started to form around the hand, cracks appearing, as it slowly crumbled.
Despite the seeming effectiveness of their attacks, the hands were not attached to the main body. Even if they destroyed the both of them, the Doomsday Beast would only lose it's main way of attacking.
Of course, that was a viable strategy as well.
While Sunny was hiding within Dan Heng's shadow, he noticed that his perception of the battle was very clear. His mind comprehended the battle in front of him with frightening speeds, creating countless predictions and strategies.
It seemed that [The War] also gave him the ability to understand battle beyond a personal level. It gave him the insight of a seasoned commander!
…As Sunny watched the battle, he realized something.
Was it just him, or was the Doomsday Beast getting slower?
***
Dan Heng ducked under a sweep of the Ascended Titan's hand, barely avoiding it. A single misstep would be fatal, considering the difference in power between him and his enemy.
His mind was completely focused, surviving thanks to what felt like a millennia of experience. Despite the size of the Doomsday Beast, it's attacks were extremely fast.
According to Sunless, Dan Heng and March were meant to distract it — destroying as many methods of attack as possible was their goal. As they did so, Sunless was to finish it off with as strong of an attack as he could muster…
Dan Heng wasn't sure how he would succeed in doing so, but he didn't think he needed to ask. Sunless was the equivalent of a celebrity in Awakened society, so he was sure that the strange boy knew what he was doing. If he didn't…
…Well, they would end up dead.
Sidestepping another attack, he retaliated with a light prick against the Titan's palm. March used that chance to fire another arrow, slowing down the speed of the Doomsday Beast's attacks.
At the same time, Dan Heng moved even faster.
Although his Awakened Ability wasn't very effective inside this cloudless space station, he was able to manipulate the wind to decrease air resistance around him. The effect wasn't drastic, but combined with the enchantment of his spear, his speed was starting to ramp up.
The exchange between Dan Heng and the Doomsday Beast repeated itself, with the Ascended Titan attempting to demolish him with a single blow as his speed kept increasing.
Currently, he was moving at dreadful speeds, even among Awakened. He might even be moving faster than the average Ascended!
Dan Heng's eyes flickered between the two great hands of the Doomsday Beast, hyperaware despite the fact that everything around him should be blurry. As one's soul core grew stronger, their perception increases to match their physical capabilities.
However, Dan Heng was moving at a speed much higher than his rank would seem possible; at least, without an Aspect that enhances one's movement capabilities.
The reason he was able to do so, was thanks to the jade pauldron on his left shoulder.
Despite it's appearance, it was not an armor-type Memory. In actuality, it was a charm — a Memory that that had no practical value, but provided extremely useful enchantments. These types of memories were the foundation of an Awakened's arsenal, giving them effects that could decide whether they lived or died.
Charms were chosen based on how well they synchronized with an Awakened's Aspect or fighting style, which was exactly why this particular one was so useful for Dan Heng.
The jade pauldron was an Ascended Memory of the second tier, and granted him two enchantments. The first was an enhancement to all senses, which was the reason why he was able to keep up with the fight despite the extreme speeds he was moving at.
The second enchantment allowed him to inflict a mental attack. As long as a weapon wielded by him hit it's target, their mind will start to perceive things slower. It could get to the point where they die on the spot, as their mind wouldn't be able to keep up with their body…
…Of course, the movement of the body would get slower in response to the mind.
It was quite the insidious ability, and was doubly so when taking into account that Dan Heng was only getting faster as time went on. He hadn't even spent that much essence just yet!
'…It won't be enough.'
No matter how much they manage to slow down the Doomsday Beast, neither him nor March have the means to destroy it.
Which was why they were betting everything on the one who was hiding within the shadows…
***
Sunny observed the battle from his hiding spot within Dan Heng's shadow. While doing so, he had managed to grasp the spear wielder's fighting style, understanding the very principles behind it.
'Shadow Dance is really useful…'
The ability to speed up yourself while slowing down your enemy was extremely useful. Sunny stared at the shoulder guard that Dan Heng was wearing, studying the weave of the Memory. Not that he could gleam much from it, but it was good to know what was a Memory and what wasn't.
With a crack, one of the fingers of the Doomsday Beast hung limply from it's hands. The combined effect of the decaying and freezing applied by Dan Heng and March was starting to actually damage it.
Not that it mattered much, since the destruction of it's hands wouldn't kill it…
Sunny controlled the Haughty shadow, sending it away from where he was hiding up to the ceiling.
He was going to do a little bit of a repeat performance…
Meanwhile, the Doomsday Beast seemed to be trying something a little different.
Within it's core, energy started to circulate like a raging current. At the same time, the Titan rose both of it's hands towards the core, each of them starting to glow with a gold and blue light.
A moment later, the Doomsday Beast rose it's blue hand, slamming it down on the railway platform with devastating force. Sunny could have sworn that the entire Space Station shook from the impact.
Fortunately, the Herta Space Station was specially designed to be able to handle even the most destructive of experiments. Considering how dangerous such endeavors could become, the railway platform barely held.
Of course, if the foe infront of them was even a single rank higher, the entire Space Station may as well have been scrapped in a junkyard.
The energy of the blow let out a shockwave, blowing back both Dan Heng and March. Sunny would have been dragged along with the former, if he was still hiding within his shadow…
…However, he was hiding within the shadows no longer. In fact, he may as well have been the one that the spotlight of conflict shown upon.
If the two Trailblazers looked up, they would have noticed two figures falling from the enclosed ceiling, something that should be impossible. One was a stone statue with feminine qualities, and the other was a shadow that played human.
At the same time, a drone was buzzing around the gigantic beast of antimatter, pulling along with it a voice that echoed across the supply zone…
"Look over here, you wretch!"
Normally, one would assume that the voice came from the treacherous Lost From Light. However, it instead came from the direction of the drone…
Clutched within it's claws it was holding a rock. A completely Ordinary Rock, in fact. That rock was the source of the sound, distracting the Doomsday Beast, as it tried to swipe at what it deemed to be a strange contraption.
Due to this, it didn't notice the knight of stone that fell from above. Reinforced by both of Sunny's shadows, Saint reared her shield back, going straight for the Antimatter Core.
At the same time, Sunny threw a glistening gem made out of polished coral straight towards Saint. Using her free hand, she caught the gem as she fell towards the Doomsday Beast.
And with that, the plan was complete.
Using Shadow Step, Sunny traveled to the ceiling of the Supply Zone, summoning Saint at the same time. The gem he had passed her was a Memory called Broken Oath, and had an enchantment that eroded the souls of all who approached it.
Fortunately, Saint was immune to soul attacks, and was therefore able to hold onto the Charm with no repercussions. This allowed Sunny to inflict both physical and soul damage to the Doomsday Beast!
In a feat of precision, Saint launched her shield arm forward, bashing it into the core of the Doomsday Beast. Augmented by two shadows, the blow was bound to be devestating…
…And it was.
Cracks spread across the Antimatter Core, branching as the Doomsday Beast shuddered. Thinking that the battle was now over, Dan Heng and March dismissed their memories…
…But the Doomsday Beast wasn't yet finished with them.
As a last stand, the Doomsday Beast released every last drop of energy it had left, creating multiple orbs of energy around it. The energy swirled, condensed, and was released countless streams of light.
March, who was still on the floor from when the railway platform, watched as one of the beams was headed straight towards her. Her eyes widened as she tried to move out of the way…
Dan Heng saw what was happening, and rushed in her direction. When he dismissed his spear, his accumulated speed was all lost. If he hadn't dismissed it, he might have reached her in time…
…Sunny, on the other hand, was starting to think that the world hated him.
'I'm literally in free fall! What are the odds of this hitting me?!'
It must have been due to his [Fated] attribute, because it was completely unreasonable and improbable for such a precise attack that was shot at random to hit an object that was moving within three-dimensions.
Not that Sunny knew what a third-dimension was. He didn't go to school.
At that thought, the beam hit him, causing him to scream out in agony. He was somehow suspended in the air; the beam being the only thing that connected him to any other point.
Strangely enough, he didn't simply get vaporized upon contact with the beam of energy. In fact, the source of his pain wasn't the beam itself, but the energy within him that was repelling it.
'That… feeling from before!'
It was the destructive force he had felt flow through his body earlier, but it was now much more pronounced. Sunny tried to grasp the energy, since it seemed to be the one thing that protected him from the Doomsday Beast's final attack.
Similar to two negative charges, the energy within Sunny repelled the beam coming from the Doomsday Beast, barely keeping him alive. The pain was starting to drive him insane, reminding him of a time where he had almost been gutted…
…His grasp of the energy loosened.
***
Sunny opened his eyes, finding himself in a pitch black void. There was nothing, nor will there be anything.
'…I guess my luck ran out, huh?'
The cynical thought brought a strange sense of amusement to him. He didn't think he would live past his First Nightmare, but he did. The next thing he knew, he got done in by some crappy luck.
'Well, it doesn't matter much. I didn't have a chance in this world anyways…'
"…You know, I can see why people can't stand me when I look from an outside perspective."
Sunny's eyes widened. Despite the fact that the voice sounded exactly like him, he could tell that he wasn't hearing his own thoughts.
'A mind attack?!'
"Of course not! I'm not actually that paranoid, right?"
Sunny narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Oh, me? Well that's obvious…"
Sunny blinked. Suddenly, a person appeared in front of him, bearing the exact same features of himself. The only difference was that the doppelgänger had his original black hair and eyes…
"…I'm you."
Sunny scowled. This was ridiculous!
"That doesn't make sense. I'm me!"
The doppleganger shrugged, a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Well, I'm not lying. I can't, you know?"
Sunny… didn't feel the compulsion to answer that last question. That meant he was either hallucinating…
…Or he was indeed talking to himself.
The doppelgänger smirked.
"It would be pretty sad if a hallucination of yourself had more friends than you, so just accept that I'm you. For your sake. Or would it be my sake?"
As the doppelgänger contemplated the logic behind this strange situation, Sunny latched on to something completely different.
"…What do you mean you have more friends than me?"
Snapping out of his dilemma, the doppelgänger shrugged.
"I mean, I've met quite a bit of people in the last four years. It would be weird if I didn't have any."
Despite the fact that Sunny might have been dead, he was much too confused by his doppelgänger's casual admittance to having… friends.
Noting that he was most likely seventeen now, Sunny narrowed his eyes.
"In that case, there's no way you're me. By my definition, a friend would be someone you trust…"
Getting ready to summon the Midnight Shard, he got into a battle stance.
"…And there isn't a single soul in this blasted universe that I trust."
Instead of denying anything he said, the doppelgänger just… sighed.
"Yeah, I get it. Honestly, I don't even fully trust the few people I care about. One of which even has my greatest weakness…"
Sunny grimaced, knowing that he was referring to their master.
"…Still, don't you want to try it? Even when we were kids, we were always alone. If there is really no meaning to your life, then I think you should at least understand what it's like to have a friend."
The doppelgänger had a soft smile on his face.
"In my opinion, I think it's pretty nice when someone need you..."
Sunny wasn't one to get moved by another person's ideals. Yet, he could tell that something within him resonated with the doppelgänger's words. It was as if it was coming straight from his own mouth.
"…Especially when they can't live without you to such a degree that they are willing to do literally anything for you. From school uniforms to bunny girl outfits… anything is possible with the power of friendship!"
Sunny stared at the doppelgänger. He wasn't confused, in disbelief, nor was he befuddled. He nodded in understanding, grinning as he finally grasped the true message behind this long-winded speech.
"So that was what you were trying to tell me all along! It doesn't matter if I consider them a friend or not! As long as I could use them for my sexual and non-sexual desires, then it's a worthwhile investment!"
Nodding sagely, the doppelgänger bowed in a way similar to what you would see at a play.
"Yep, you've got it righ- Wait! That wasn't the point at all! I'm telling you to find people that you care about, so that you don't lose it, you idiot! Not more than you already have, at least!"
Sunny blinked.
"Huh? Oh… yeah, I knew that. I just… didn't want to sound sappy."
The doppelgänger obviously didn't believe him, as it could read his mind. Sighing, the doppelgänger pointed up.
Golden lights started to appear around the two of them. Sunny decided to see what the doppelgänger was pointing at…
…He gasped as he felt his mind strain itself to comprehend what he was looking at. It took a few moments, but he was now able to view the… entity with the image crafted by his mind. He wouldn't be able to understand what he was looking at any other way.
"I must leave now."
Despite hearing the voice of his doppelgänger, Sunny was too distracted by the colossal figure before him. It was a man with long, ashen hair, and dark skin that oozed what seemed to be a golden liquid? The man had golden eyes, and his arms were floating starting from the elbows.
Sunny wondered if what he was looking at was truly a man…
…THEIR gaze was rested upon Sunny, causing him to sweat as he felt madness encroach upon his mind.
"Reach the end of the story in your own way."
The doppelgänger kept speaking, not allowing himself to be stopped by the alien entity. With a grin that promised nothing good, he looked up at the god-like figure.
"THEY have already noticed you."
***
Sunny screamed as energy escaped his body, overflowing as it spread across the Supply Zone. The Doomsday Beast had fallen, completely out of energy.
[You have defeated an Ascended Titan, Doomsday Beast.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[You have recieved a Memory.]
[You have been truly gazed upon by an Aeon.]
Sunny didn't even notice the announcement from the Spell, as he was being consumed by the energy. In a moment of clarity, he dismissed Saint, just in case he somehow lived through this. He didn't want to damage his most valuable possession.
In a complete flash, faster than Sunny could possibly comprehend, a man had appeared in front of him. He had brown hair with a streak of white, and wore a set of glasses. In a split second, the man raised a strange cane, and tapped him on the forehead.
For Sunny, everything went black.
***
Sunny jolted as he found himself back on a familiar island. He almost tripped due to the drastic difference between being in constant agony, and suddenly feeling a cool breeze…
…And he was back in the Chained Isles.
With an empty expression on his face, Sunny sighed as he walked away from the gateway. So much was happening in such a short amount of time, so he was mentally exhausted.
It's not like things could get worse, right?
Not feeling like hunting Nightmare Creatures currently, he decided to check his shadow fragments.
Shadow Fragments: [1968/2000]
He was getting close to fully saturating his core. Not only that, but according to the Vessel of Remembrance, he would gain a new one once he finally filled it. Gaining another shadow would be a massive boon!
The next thing Sunny did was check his memories. He barely remembered gaining one after defeating the Doomsday Beast, so he wondered how powerful it might be.
Memory: [Destroyer's Final Road]
Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Tier: VII
Memory Type: Tool
Memory Description: [The Leviathan's heart has stopped beating, but its mind lives on despite being trapped in a case. As long as the lid is closed, its mind is simultaneously both alive and dead, driving the engine of destruction.
"Doomsday Beast, a blight made in the Warforge using what's left of a Leviathan and the weeping bones of thousands of the dead. It longs for the destruction of the universe and itself."]
As Sunny read the description, he gleamed something new about the existence of the Doomsday Beast; and by extension, the Antimatter Legion.
They were not creatures that decided to follow an Aeon, but were instead created by one.
At least, that was how Sunny understood it. Rather than dwell on it, he decided to check the enchantments with a hint of excitement. This was technically his most powerful Memory, as it was Ascended and of the seventh tier!
Memory Enchantments: [Will of Destruction].
Sunny blinked.
'…That's it?'
Considering the tier of the Memory, he would have expected more than a single enchantment. With a sigh, he decided to at least figure out what it did.
Enchantment Description: [By slaying enemies, this Memory will accumulate a charge. Once the charge is full, it can be released to inflict devestating damage. However, this Memory will be destroyed immediately after using.]
'…A secret trump card!'
Indeed, the Memory served no purpose besides being a last resort. Considering the rank and the tier of the Memory, Sunny suspected that he may be able to defeat a Nightmare Creature of the Corrupted rank if he accumulated enough charge.
…Not that he was planning on fighting any.
Anyways, Sunny decided that it was about time he checked AR-26710's runes. At this point, he had no idea whether they were an enemy or an ally, but he might as well be prepared.
Unfortunately, the world had other plans.
As he was walking over to his room, he stopped. He felt a mass of moving shadows near where his room should be. Out of curiosity, he decided to keep going. Turning a corner, he saw a group of Awakened lined up against the sides of the halls. One of them noticed him…
…Before grinning as he nudged the person besides him, who also repeated the action once he caught sight of Sunny. With a hint of caution confusion, Sunny stepped towards them. Then, the first person who had saw him addressed him.
"Hey Boss. We thought you were out with the Devil, so we waited over here to tell you the news…"
'The Devil… and Boss?'
Sunny had no time to waste dwelling on the nicknames, as he had to quickly keep up his act. With a nod of his head and a casual wave, he allowed the Awakened to continue.
While doing so, he made a few guesses on the situation. The first one would be that he somehow was leading a group of people. It was doubtful, but it was the most likely scenario.
The second was that they were playing a prank on him by appealing to his desire of wanting to be in a higher position than others…
…The last one would be that he was hallucinating. It was not impossible, considering the things that occurred merely a few minutes ago in the real world.
One of the Awakened stepped forward. He didn't seem particularly powerful, but that was most likely due to not having a combat Aspect. Sunny made sure to listen as he spoke, taking in as much information as possible.
"The guys over in Bastion sent me a message thanks to my Aspect. Supposedly, Valor was trying to keep this information a secret…"
Sunny nodded, urging him to continue. He realized he didn't know any of these guy's names.
"…One of their strongholds in the real world was attacked. It was completely incinerated, actually. Word has it that it was one of those Stellaron Hunters."
It was that word again… Stellaron. It sounded very familiar, even more so when it was attached to the word hunters. Acting as if he was familiar with who they were, he decided to ask:
"Which one?"
The Awakened who seemed to have the power of telepathy shuddered, causing Sunny to believe that he was just being theatrical.
"It was the most destructive of them all… You've told us that you've fought him, actually. It's…"
Toning his voice down to a whisper, he continued with six words.
"…Stellaron Hunter Sam, the Molten Knight."
That… also sounded familiar. With a nod, he politely told them to get the hell away from his room.
Sunny sat down on the bed. The information he had been told didn't mean much to him currently, as he had no context to attach it to. Instead, he decided to just check AR-26710's runes…
***
Name: AR-26710.
True Name: Fading Fyrefly.
Rank: Ascended.
Class: Terror.
Soul Cores: [6/7].
Soul Shards: [2736/6000].
***
Sunny was… astonished.
Not only was his master, well… a Master. They also had a True Name. However, the most surprising part was that they had multiple soul cores…
What was the common factor that made the two of them so special in this regard?
Sunny didn't know, so he decided to check the rest of their runes to figure it out. Skipping over the Memories and the empty Echo runes for now, he went straight to the Attributes…