Dark clouds started to gather in the night sky of the Chained Isles, sending those who stayed there a premonition of bad weather.
Sunny laid on his back, not sparing any attention towards the drooling Sparkle next to him. She had a derpy grin on her face, most likely dreaming about blowing things up or committing war crimes.
At least, she would. If only it was possible to dream in the Dream Realm.
Her rampage had went on for a while, but it seemed that she had finally tired herself out after staying in her elated state for so long.
Sunny checked his runes, looking at his catalog of Memories. After Saint had slain the Fallen Tyrant, he had recieved a new Ascended Memory. It would be stupid of him to not check what it was capable of, since it was very likely to be a powerful tool.
Memories: [Weaver's Mask], [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Vessel of Remembrance], [Midnight Shard], [Moonlight Shard], [Dusk Shard], [Prowling Thorn], [Mantle of the Underworld], [Ordinary Rock], [Autumn Leaf], [Blood Blossom], [Broken Oath], [Dark Wing], [Endless Spring], [Finality's Farewell], [Thief's Instinct], [Destroyer's Final Road], [Silk Shroud].
His newest Memory was the Silk Shroud. If Sunny was correct, then it would most likely be a garment or armor Memory based off the name.
When he had checked the runes associated to it, he was in for quite the surprise when he learned that it wasn't either of those.
Memory: [Silk Shroud].
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: V.
Memory Type: Charm.
Memory Description: [A spider's web cannot be escaped from. As such, it is naturally a very durable material, weaved to withstand the force of their prey.]
Instead of being either a garment or an armor, he had ended up gaining a charm. Sunny wasn't quite able to gleam what it was able to do from the description of the Memory, but fortunately, he had the ability to see a Memory's enchantments.
Enchantments: [Web Reinforcement], [Armor Stitches], [String Guide].
Having three enchantments on a single charm Memory was extremely lucky. Sunny could either give it to himself or Saint, and the enchantments of the Silk Shroud would be boosted by the [Underworld Armament].
[Web Reinforcement] Enchantment Description: [This charm reinforced the armor of the wearer with tenacious threads.]
[Armor Stitches] Enchantment Description: [The armor of the wearer would stitch itself back together after taking damage.]
[String Guide] Enchantment Description: [The wearer will be able to control their body as if it was a puppet.]
The first two enchantments were relatively straightforward, and would undoubtedly be a huge boon for Sunny. However, he didn't quite understand the third enchantment, which meant that he would have to test it himself.
As he was still wearing the Mantle of the Underworld, so all he had to do was summon the Silk Shroud. In a blinding flurry of sparks, the charm had appeared in his open palm.
The Silk Shround was a small, circular Memory with a hook on it's edge. It had a white symbol reminiscent of a spider.
Attaching the Memory to the Mantle, Sunny watched as translucent webs spread across the dark armor. It practically covered the entire thing, but one wouldn't be able to tell unless they were aware of the clear webs in the first place.
Poking the webs with his finger, Sunny applied a decent amount of force. However, the webs did not budge at all, displaying the tenacity of the strings. Sunny presumed that the only way to cut through the webs is to use a weapon Memory, which meant that it was practically unbreakable via mundane means.
He didn't bother testing the [Armor Stitches] enchantment, as that would require him to actually break through both the webs and the Mantle. Instead, Sunny decided to test the last enchantment, activating it by using his shadow essence.
Once he was sure the enchantment activated, he tried to think about moving his body. Despite the fact that he wasn't moving his body through conventional means, his arm raised up limply, as if it was pulled on an invisible string. Strangely enough, he was able to see into his own biological structure, which gave him a greater understanding of how to control himself.
'…How the hell is this supposed to be useful?'
Swinging his arm around using the enchantment, Sunny thought about the possible uses of this. He might be able to control his body even if he was drastically injured, and he might even be able to control his body to a higher degree in combat.
But would that really work? It might have been more optimal to just fight normally instead of controlling his body in two seperate ways. That type of fighting would put too much strain on his mind.
Standing up on his feet, Sunny decided to put it to the test. He summoned the Midnight Shard, taking a deep breath as he was about to perform the Shadow Dance. His mind was cleared of almost everything, only focused on the optimization of his movements and the circulation of essence throughout his body.
His mind became formless, and his body soon followed.
As he moved, his shadows followed this fluid dance, ever changing without a single solid form. The same went for Sunny, who danced without following a specific style. Each move was graceful and completely unrelated to the previous move, making Sunny truly seem like a malleable shadow.
Activating the enchantment, he was now puppeteering himself. Despite the change in controls, he only slightly stumbled. Somehow, his mind was able to look into his very biological structure, controlling his muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments with absolute clarity.
This sensation was very strange to Sunny, as he was controlling himself at an extremely precise scale. When an individual moved, their body functions as an automatic response to achieve the desired result. However, Sunny was manually controlling the smaller details of his body to initiate his movements.
Deactivating the enchantment, Sunny stopped performing the Shadow Dance. He stared at his hands for a moment after dismissing the Midnight Shard, coming to an epiphany.
He was able to understand how his body was able to do what it did at a much deeper level. He had never went to school before, so he wasn't quite well versed when it came to the human anatomy. However, he now was able to see what his body had to do to achieve a desired result.
Which allowed Sunny to control his body to a more precise degree.
If he was able to learn how to use this ability to it's fullest extent, he might be able to achieve it's functions without even using the Memory. He could completely change the way his mind thinks, essentially becoming reborn as he strayed from the limits of the human brain.
…At least, he would assume so.
Either way, this was certainly a path that Sunny had to explore. If he was able to master the ability to control his body on a smaller scale, he would become an even deadlier fighter; especially when combined with Shadow Dance and the augmentations of his shadows.
Laying back down on his back, Sunny realized that he would need to test this on actual opponents. Once he did, he would be able to figure out if this was a viable way to progress or not.
Summoning Saint, he commanded the statue to watch over Sparkle while she was asleep. Just in case, he left one of his shadows to both monitor the area and augment Saint if necessary. Stepping into the shadows, Sunny zoomed off in the form of a shadow as he searched for a Nightmare Creature to fight.
Sunny scowled as rain started to pour from the sky. He ordered Saint to cover Sparkle with her shield, as he didn't think being directly under rainfall would be very pleasant.
As he was thinking about what island he should go to, he recalled something that Sparkle had told him.
That coin he had found on the Iron Hand Island was supposedly useful. If that was the case, then shouldn't Sunny go and pick up the rest that he had left behind? Once he did, he could go out and look for a Nightmare Creature to test his Memory against.
With that in mind, Sunny changed his direction.
***
Soon, he arrived on the Iron Hand Island.
The severed arm of the unknown metal giant was still there, making Sunny wonder once again what force could have torn it off the creature's body. Judging by the size of that thing, the owner of the arm must have been of monstrous proportions itself.
The remains of the winged demon that had swallowed the mysterious coins were there, too.
However, they did not look the same.
By now, only the bones of the fearsome abomination remained, all its flesh long devoured by the gluttonous scavengers of the nightmare world. The grass around the carcass was now higher, too, and had changed its color from the usual green to bright red.
The grass looked… satiated.
Sunny grimaced.
Out here in the Dream Realm, no creature or plant was really what they seemed. Otherwise, the thick forest on the island where he had battled the pack of Fallen Wolves would have been long ago destroyed by the Crushing.
Even the most innocent things were twisted, corrupted, and predatory. Without sufficient caution, even a blade of grass could be deadly.
…But he wanted those coins.
Approaching the wide patch of bloodred grass, Sunny hesitated for a bit, and then took a step forward. He felt the ground moving slightly beneath him, the rustling of the raindrops changing tone as they fell on the grass.
With a deep frown, Sunny summoned the Moonlight Shard and circulated his essence, sending it flowing furiously through the coils of the Soul Serpent. He also collected both his shadows and wrapped them around his body.
The grass swayed slightly, and then grew still.
A subtle smile appeared on Sunny's lips.
Indeed, everything in the Dream Realm was dangerous and deadly… including humans. In fact, Awakened were perhaps one of the most fearsome tribes of creatures in this world, if not in terms of raw power, then at least due to their cunning, wickedness, and unpredictability.
For something as weak as a blade of grass, it was wise to avoid angering one of the Awakened, especially one as dreadful as Sunny.
'Ah. It feels nice to be feared.'
With nothing threatening him anymore, he walked over to the spot where he had seen the coins last and bent down, trying to find the alluring golden disks.
They were just where he had left them.
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.
Well, he did have a little Fool that could help him out with that, so he didn't think he had to worry about it too much.
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 Sparkle and Saint. He decided that testing his new Memory could wait.
'She's probably wondering where I dissapeared off to.'
***
'Ugh… what's that idiot doing?'
An impatient Sparkle was rapidly tapping her feet as she stood under Saint's shield; a comedic sight of Sunny had seen the way she shied away from the droplets of rain falling from the sky. It was dark, muddy, and the constant torrent of rainfall echoes all across the island.
Sparkle was not pleased. Not pleased at all.
She was completely unlike how she was earlier, having been faced with the inconvenience of being stuck in the dangerous corrupted wilderness within this heavy rain. However, there was another factor as to why she was like this.
She was in debt.
When Sparkle crossed the boundary between "annoying elation" and "insane elation", she would lose all her mental inhibitions as she only thought about having fun. Once it was over however, she would exhaust her flaw, being put at a point where she was only slightly cheerful.
Thanks to the rain, she ended up not being affected by her flaw at all due to the sheer annoyance it brought her.
This was the true personality of Sparkle, behind the unfunny jokes and gremlin-like behavior brought upon by her flaw.
Looking around, Sparkle sighed as she couldn't see anything clearly. Looking up towards Saint, the female statue looked back down towards her in turn.
"Sunny really has no idea how to treat a lady, huh?"
The shadow silently nodded, completely agreeing with Sparkle's statement.