Quickly Sunny connected all the dots matching the presence of an unknown being with one of the nightmare creatures, that Cassie saw in her vision. Seems like they'll be forced to get faster on their way to the castle.
Both Sunny and Nephis remained silent for some time causing their blind companion to get anxious. Sighing Sunny decided to share his observations, hoping that he would be proven wrong in the future.
"I believe one of those nightmare creatures is tailing us. It must cause that strange feeling I've been experiencing recently. If I'm right, it's also getting closer."
Saying this, he was looking specifically at Nephis expecting to hear some from her some resemblance of a plan. Everybody on the statue remained very tense, previously their road promised to be complicated, but besides borders of day and night, there were no time limits.
Now that a presumably powerful creature was following them, they were forced to act quickly without knowing how far away they were from the destination. This would certainly cause a lot of complications for all of them.
'We'll be forced to sacrifice time used for scouting and rush without preparation to the next place where we can survive the night.'
Even if they tried to be faster, it would be simply impossible, so the only thing remaining was praying that the castle was close enough. The problem was that in vision they hadn't managed to get in time.
And another nightmare creature too, where would it appear from? Will it start following them too or they will simply find it on their way in the future? Their only clue was the storm and general outlook of the location.
'What happened with us in the vision after the bird escaped?'
If he were positive, Sunny would've just assumed that both nightmare creatures would leave them alone, after stealing the prey of another, the bird would be satiated and in the best case also killed by another monster.
Fortunately or not his paranoia told him that if satiating its hunger only thing the bird cared about, it would have done it long ago. Even if it's not able to hunt at night, during the day the labyrinth still contains a lot of other relatively weak creatures.
It didn't need to hunt specifically them so what's the reason behind its actions? Sunny wasn't an expert in nightmare creatures but it certainly didn't seem like some primitive reasons as getting food and surviving.
'Could this be a demon?'
Sunny shivered from the sheer idea of such a possibility, which made him feel dread. And he doesn't even know the rank of the creature, it could be just awakened or it might also be fallen. Finally, he heard Nephis after she finished gathering her thoughts.
"The journey will proceed just as we planned previously, but we'll have to increase pacing. Cassie you're going to be fine with this?"
Looking at Cassie, Sunny noticed that she appeared worried and hesitant, yet she was determined not to slow them down. Clenching her fist and facing them, Cassie reassured them that it wouldn't be a problem. Sunny felt uncertain but couldn't afford to be skeptical.
"I'm already getting used to walking like this; I think I can handle it."
Nephis then turned to Sunny, already knowing what she wanted to say. Anticipating her request, Sunny prepared his answer.
"Sunny, I need you to observe the nightmare creature following us. Let me know if you feel the same way or notice anything unusual."
"No problem. I'll be sure to tell you."
Their conversation died down and the whole group remained in silence trying to rest after finishing the first of many days of an exhausting journey. Lying on a familiar stone floor, Sunny from time to time checked their surroundings through shadow.
The corpse of the nightmare creature nearby was devoured with worrying speed, one or two more days and Carapace Scavengers would be left with completely no food. Reminded of the reality he's in, Sunny approaches Nephis, who is sitting closer to the edge.
"Neph, when do we start the fighting lessons?"
Throwing him a glance Nephis stood facing both him and Cassie. Observing her fight earlier, Sunny wondered what would she teach him, is this going to be the same stuff taught during basic combat training in the academy or perhaps it would be some secret legacy technique?
"We can start now. Cassie, you should listen too."
'Hey, I paid for this lesson, isn't it unfair?'
Internally complaining, Sunny didn't really mind this outcome. Even if their blind companion isn't able to fight like them, it doesn't mean that they shouldn't at least help her learn how to protect herself in case of emergency.
Both of them sat in front of Nephis while carefully listening to what she was saying.
"Mastery of combat is not just a knowledge of how to wield the sword properly. It consists of two main parts: mastery over your body and mastery over your mind. Without having both of them, you won't be able to fight."
Mastery over your mind was something Sunny was always familiar with. His sharpest instrument was never his body but his ability to come up with plans and make quick decisions. In the past, he was fine with keeping it the same, why do you need strength when you have intelligence? That might have been one of the few reasons why Sunny was able to survive in the slums, but the first nightmare quickly proved to him that Sunny was wrong.
'If I want to survive I'll need to master my body as well.'
Beside him, Sunny saw Cassie listening diligently with a concentrated expression. Looking at her, Sunny couldn't help but give a weak smile, when suddenly he heard Nephis talking to him directly.
"Sunny, don't get distracted."
'Damnation.'
Trying to keep a serious expression, Sunny coughed from awkwardness, screaming due to embarrassment inside. Believing in Nephis' lack of social skills, ironically he did not notice a strange look she was giving him and a blush on Cassie's face.
"Mastering your body is relatively easy, the key is repetition and practice. Practicing the same moves, you carve them into your body until they become the reflexes settled into your muscles. But that's just the beginning if you want to truly master something, you'll need real battle experience. One lesson learned from battle will be more impactful than a thousand hours of practice."
'Usually, people spend more time on practice than battles, but seems my situation is the opposite.'
'How lucky am I.'
Sunny wasn't sure whether he should thank [Fated] or curse it for placing him in such a situation. The best thing he could do was take everything out of all opportunities, he might have preferred having it easy, but such life had its benefits. No matter how small they are.
Besides obvious information, Nephis tried to convey to him and Cassie, Sunny managed to catch glimpses of something interesting about their quiet companion and how she was raised. Or perhaps it was about all legacies in general, Sunny couldn't say for sure, since he didn't know whether it was how she was taught or all of them.
But considering how unique their Nephis was compared to the small amount of legacies Sunny met, perhaps it isn't a common practice among smaller clans. The only one who could even approach her distantly when It came to direct battle was Caster.
"Gaining mastery over your mind is a much more grueling trial. No matter how much mastery you have in wielding a weapon, without proper control over your mind, all of it will be useless. In some situations, the outcome of the battle is decided after the first move. To gain mastery over your mind, one must grasp the essence of combat. However, very few manage to do it."
Under the expectant gaze from Nephis, Sunny digested all information trying to make sense of it. He had a strong desire to simplify all of these by simply saying that's a fancy way to call strategy. But understanding that there's something more to it prevented him from making a mistake.
"What do you think the essence is?"
'What a complicated question.'
Sunny already had an answer in his mind, but he felt as if he was both mistaken and right at the same time. Survival was his main goal for a long time of his life, no, it is still a main goal of his life. Whatever he had done so far in one way or another meant to guarantee his survival.
He saved Cassie to get a companion that could help him survive. Giving her a memory was also meant to prevent her from becoming a hindrance, acting nice and friendly was needed to build connections, get information, and prevent them from betraying him.
Isn't it the same during battles? You have to do everything you can that guarantee you'll survive. There's no reason for your enemy to be dead if you won't be alive to witness it. At the same time, it seemed like he was missing some integral part.
"The main goal is to be the one to survive."
"It is victory."
Soon enough, Sunny's answer was followed by a hesitant reply from Cassie. Hearing it Sunny wanted to snort from amusement, but at the same time didn't want to discourage his Cassie from participating in the lesson.
Just as Sunny expected, both of them were wrong. Met with a serious and much deeper look from Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie anticipated a correct answer. Sunny tried in this short time to guess what it was.
"The essence of combat is murder."
While Cassie seemed to be especially surprised, Sunny couldn't help but frown thinking about it. He had never killed before the first nightmare, but calling what he experienced before it a real battle would also be a mistake.
Whenever Sunny faced another human or a nightmare creature in the battle, his main goal was to kill them while staying alive. But thinking about it Sunny couldn't help but also feel confused, wouldn't he have an option to escape when he's having a losing battle?
'Can it even be called a battle if the goal isn't to defeat your enemy?'
"The true essence of battle is killing, it's either you or your enemy being the one who's killed. Everything besides it is just details that don't change the main part."
Looking at Cassie, it seemed like she wanted to disagree, prove that this world is not so far gone, and say that there's a place for such silly things as honor. But thinking logically, she understood what Nephis said was true.
"How you fight, where you fight, or who you're fighting, all of that is meaningless. Right or wrong, motives, principles, none of it matters. In the end, all that counts is who will kill and who will be killed. See it as anything else, and you'll be the one who dies."
Intently looking at them, Nephis waited some time so they could digest this information before continuing and finishing the lesson with the last sentence.
"If you truly understand this, you will have enough clarity to master your mind."
For a long time, Sunny remained restless, at least he wasn't the one faced with such a problem. While Nephis monitored possible dangers together with his shadow, Sunny and Cassie tried to fall asleep.
After some time of silence, he heard rustling, Sunny felt that his companion turned to him with her face. Doing the same Sunny could feel her gentle breathing on his face, they were very close, perhaps too close.
"Sunny, do you think killing is the only thing that matters in combat too?"
Almost as if afraid that Nephis would hear her, Cassie whispered to him. Her voice was quiet and timid, it seemed that this question was tormenting her for a long time. Sunny was quite shaken by this question too, but he quickly came to terms with reality.
"Yes, regardless of how you view it, battle is ultimately about two sides trying to kill one another. It's pure hypocrisy to make excuses like fighting for honor or noble causes. Both you and your opponent have your own motivations, families, and ambitions. In the end, you kill another person simply because it's convenient and because you want to survive."
"Maybe… no you're right… Sorry for bothering you, Sunny."
Receiving an answer she was expecting, Cassie was about to return to their previous arrangement. Scolding herself for such naivety, she regretted disturbing Sunny's sleep, what else could she even hear? That's reality and not some kind of fairy tale.
Suddenly before she managed to do what she planned, her shoulder was grabbed by Sunny. Visibly surprised, she tried not to show it way too much on her face remembering that he could see in the darkness.
'What is Sunny doing?!'
"Cassie, while the nature of battle remains unchanging, it's important to remember your goal. Your goal is to survive and escape this place. I believe you have enough sense not to sympathize with nightmare creatures. However, if your enemies are other humans, don't hesitate. You have things that are precious to you as well, so be sure to take care of yourself."
'Such hypocrisy. Or maybe it's my way of apologizing in advance?'
Sunny couldn't help but wonder why did he say all of it right now. He knew perfectly that if his life depended on it, he would abandon his companions without any troubles, so why had he prepared the whole speech for Cassie?
'Is it a simple pity?'
It was hard to tell as well, perhaps seeing such a powerless person as Cassie made him feel bad for her. Yet the description didn't really match what he felt right now, it was much more complicated than simple compassion.
"Sunny, may I hug you?"
For a moment his mind went blank, it took a few seconds to understand what Cassie said, right in front of him was Cassie's face, with a deep crimson blush her empty yet beautiful blue eyes seemed to stare right in his soul.
"Yes, if you want."
When he said that, Sunny swore that he heard some gasp followed by murmurs coming not so far behind him. Unfortunately deafened by the sound of his heartbeat Sunny didn't hear what it was. Why did he agree? His flaw doesn't let him lie, does that mean, that he actually wanted it?
Still unable to snap out of his thoughts, Sunny felt thin trembling hands wrapping around him and Cassie pulling him closer. Embracing the warmth he could only do one thing and hug her in return. It was an intoxicating pleasant feeling, he couldn't even remember when was the last time somebody besides his mom embraced him.
Yet, he couldn't enjoy it without a grain of salt in the form of lingering guilt somewhere in the back of his mind. It felt as if he was using Cassie right now, seeing her so vulnerable and giving her a false sense of protection, when he was ready to betray both her and Nephis any moment.
Yet Sunny simply couldn't break the hug; it was too nice, too warm. He tried to convince himself that there was absolutely nothing wrong with this; they were just keeping themselves warm at night…
'Seems like spell wasn't wrong with calling me treacherous.'
Slowly Sunny drifted asleep, for a moment he forgot about where he was, and what was expected of him and just enjoyed the feeling of warmth. Remaining in such a position, they both fell asleep leaving only Nephis and a gloomy shadow to watch for any danger.
What expected Sunny in the morning, was not a peaceful awakening but rather a soul-piercing scream coming from somewhere nearby. Slipping from his grasp when they were sleeping, Cassie was standing near the edge of the statue.
Without even comprehending the situation fully, Sunny dashed to her, with [Coast Splinter] in his hand, Sunny pulled Cassie away from the water and frantically observed their surroundings. This girl in his hand didn't seem to calm down, muttering something under her breath, she trembled while gasping for air.
Close to them, holding a sword ready to attack, Nephis was standing while looking in their direction. Right, he should probably explain the situation. After inspecting the area around them both with shadow sense and his eyes Sunny hasn't noticed any danger.
"There's no danger around us at the moment, besides being in a state of panic, Cassie seems unharmed."
Nephis nodded and approached them, meanwhile, he focused more on the blind girl who was currently in his embrace. She must have received a vision, but what could she see to leave her in such a state?
"No don't…that canno…'s gone…"
Sunny tried his best to understand what she was saying, yet the brief words that he heard didn't make any sense when they were put in the sentence together. Temporarily shrugging off his hypothesis of what Cassie saw, Sunny tried to console her and calm down.
"Cassie, you're safe. I'm here, and there's no danger."
Embracing her and holding her close, Sunny softly spoke to her trying to snap Cassie out of her state of panic. Still unable to utter a single coherent sentence, she embraced him in return, slowly helping her sit, both of them stayed on the ground. Met with a questioning look from Nephis, Sunny explained.
"I think Cassie had a vision."
After staying quiet for some time, he received another question.
"Has something like this happened before?"
"Not exactly. She's never had this kind of reaction,"
'When Cassie had her previous vision in the labyrinth, she was afraid, but not like this.'
Seeing her in such a position, horrified and unable to speak reminded him of the first time he met her, when both of them just appeared in this place. Contrary to his previous reaction, this time seeing her like this invoked previously unfamiliar feelings in him.
'I guess we'll stay like this for some time.'
Time passed, and while the whole group stayed on the statue, Sunny started getting increasingly worried. A bit later the expanses of water disappeared revealing the wet mud on the ground and countless Carapace Scavengers that steadily approached the corpse.
Soon enough It would be devoured, Sunny didn't know for sure how much time they had, but he was sure that tomorrow it would disappear and hungry nightmare creatures would return to their previous habitat making their journey to the castle much more complicated.
Another problem was the state in which Cassie remained, she was unresponsive and still clinging to Sunny, although she was no longer looking on the verge of a mental breakdown, Cassie was certainly not okay.
'We can't afford to take another day off, if Cassie stays like this…'
He didn't want to continue his thought, It was too early to make any major decisions. They'll wait a little bit more until the vast majority of scavengers gather around their meal, till then, Sunny has some time to make sure Cassie is ready to continue their way.
"Cassie, we'll have to get going soon, are you ready?"
In return, Sunny received a small nod and she let him go. Besides this, the whole group remained quite unwilling to talk about what happened at night. Sunny frowned, lack of knowledge regarding what Cassie saw was eating him alive from the inside.
Yet he couldn't just force a reply from Cassie, Sunny couldn't use the feeling of guilt Cassie had or the fact that he saved her life, to make her satisfy his curiosity. If possible, he wanted to keep a more or less friendly relationship with his companions.
No matter how much his paranoia tried to convince him otherwise, Sunny forced it to remain quiet, and wielding logic convinced himself that waiting until Cassie was ready to answer was an objectively better option.
Forcing Cassie to relieve such a traumatic experience so soon, just didn't seem right with him. Relatively easily picking this option, Sunny observed creatures around the statue waiting until an opportunity arrived.
Too worried about their current problems, Sunny couldn't predict what was coming soon. When a big part of the nightmare creature was devoured, it revealed two soul cores that were hidden deep inside the body of the nightmare creature.
That picture attracted not only his but also Nephis's attention. Observing them as close as only possible with the help of his shadow, Sunny remained in disbelief. It seemed that even despite his cautious nature and constant paranoia, Sunny managed to underestimate underestimate the danger of this place.
"Are those…?"
The reply came from Nephis, who stood close to the edge, just like Sunny, she was looking at soul cores with an inexplainable look. Despite her calm expression, he could hear something resembling worry in her voice.
"Yes, two transcended soul cores."
'The octopus that killed it must have been at the very least one or two classes higher than a corrupted monster.'
After this revelation, Sunny was forced to reevaluate how he managed to survive on that dreadful night when he just appeared in the sea. It was nothing short of a miracle, Sunny both thanked and cursed [Fated] for the situation he was in.
However, surprises didn't stop on this, soon out of the labyrinth came two more nightmare creatures. Although bearing resemblance with Carapace Scavenger those two were huge monsters with black chitin that looked like armor freshly painted with blood.
Out of thick carapace were growing numerous spikes, instead of pincers creatures had two gigantic scythes coming out of joints. Among those awakened beasts, they looked like two grim reapers ready to graze another soul.
As Sunny observed the events unfolding around him, he paled, and the chances of escaping this place seemed to diminish with each passing second. Their plan to advance today and continue their journey had vanished before his eyes.
Right now they were set between anvil and hammer, on one side there was a nightmare creature on their tail, following them and approaching with each day, on another side there was an army of Carapace Scavengers and two stronger nightmare creatures.
Sunny wasn't sure whether tomorrow would be safer to go, he wasn't even sure whether those newcomers would leave this place, but Sunny knew certainly that today they would be unable to leave this place without trouble.
They could potentially just wait and continue the journey the next day. Surely nightmare creatures will already spread across the labyrinth, but at the very least Sunny would be able to make sure the cohort avoids as many of them as possible.
The problem was that they didn't know how far another nightmare creature was, their only orienteer was the storm and rocks behind which they were hiding. It could happen a year later or it can be their next stop. A single wasted day may both insignificant or result to their early grave.
'I'm not alone in this, I don't have to struggle with solution by myself.'
"Neph, penny for thoughts?"
What happened next is something that Sunny would cherish his whole life, the look of sheer bewilderment he received from Nephis until it shifted back into a neutral expression when she started to speak.
"We are setting out tomorrow. After today's unexpected changes, we'll wait until everything settles down. If you notice anything, tell me immediately."
Sunny nodded and sat near the edge observing nightmare creatures both with his eyes and shadow. After consuming some shadow fragments the distance on which his shadow could go advanced allowing him to get a closer view.
When two bigger nightmare creatures approached the corpse, scavengers parted away letting them pass. With great interest, Sunny watched how one of them carefully took out soul cores, instead of crushing them to devour, the creature carried them away leaving into the depths of the coral labyrinth.
'How interesting, they seem to have some semblance of hierarchy.'
Sunny wasn't sure about his theory, but he decided to share it with the rest of the group. Perhaps it might help them in the future if his theory was proven to be correct. Although Sunny would have preferred if it just remained to be a theory.
"They seem to have a hierarchy-based system, I assume that those two nightmare creatures were either awakened monsters or demons. Do you think that there might be an awakened tyrant among them?"
Nephis took some time to contemplate this idea before answering with an assumption of her own. With a bigger amount of information about nightmare creatures in her arsenal, she might be a big help with figuring out the overall danger of their potential foe.
"If there was a tyrant among them, they would have acted much more coordinated, right now those are just wild beasts. Nevertheless, there might be an awakened demon that subdued some of them."
So those two nightmare creatures with scythes instead of pincers were awakened monsters. Of course, none of them could be sure that they were right, but a general idea is better than no information at all.
Sunny still had some deeper fear and hatred towards tyrant-rank nightmare creatures considering his first experience. For him, those became an example of dreadful foes that couldn't be defeated by strength alone.
Sunny's shadow followed the pair of monsters until they were completely out of the area where his gloomy companion could reach. He hasn't received much information from this besides them going in the same direction as the castle to which the cohort headed.
Sitting on the statue, Sunny inwardly complained about the bad start of the day. The corpse of a corrupted monster quickly disappeared in his eyes, Sunny wasn't even sure that something would be left tomorrow.
Deciding to do something productive Sunny looked on both of his companions, Nephis seeming as stoic as ever looked somewhere in afar while Cassie was still quiet after what happened in the morning. Addressing his stoic companion, Sunny started a conversation.
"Shall we start a combat lesson?"
"Yes."
After a short reply, Nephis took her sword and approached Sunny. Preparing for what expected him soon, Sunny summoned [Coast Splinter] and held a rusty sword in his hand. Grimacing a bit while looking at this disgraceful weapon, Sunny returned his gaze to Nephis.
She meticulously inspected his weapon for a few seconds before looking directly at him. She didn't show any reaction to the state of the weapon seemingly unaffected by its unkept appearance.
"Your weapon is a two-sided shortsword, it's mainly used for thrusting and slashing attacks. While holding it in one hand, you have some space for various maneuvers such as parrying, shielding, or using additional weapons."
The idea of using various tricks with his free hand while battling his enemy seemed interesting to Sunny but with nightmare creatures, this sword was the only way to damage them. While it certainly grants some benefits while fighting in the labyrinth, he preferred a weapon with longer reach.
"The state of your sword is not very favorable, so the best choice is to focus on agility together with precision. Parrying or defending a hit with a weapon would probably result in heavy damage, so do it only if the situation is desperate."
After explaining the main purposes of his type of weapon, Nephis gestured to her memory. Compared to his own, her blade was pristine almost radiating blinding light from its polished silver metal.
"Although my weapon is a longsword, some of the principles overlap, It's also can be used for thrusting and slashing attacks however in vastly different way."
Taking a stance, Nephis did one precise thrusting movement with her weapon, Sunny thought that have heard the air being cut with her rapid motion. He tried to repeat the attack she had shown while also adjusting small details due to him wielding a shortsword.
While doing this movement himself, Sunny immediately noticed a lack of some vital moments, he couldn't quite pinpoint. Luckily, he had a teacher who corrected his posture each time and gave tips when Sunny made a mistake.
While allowing Sunny to experiment, Nephis corrected him when he was in the completely wrong way and directed him in a different direction. After another thrust, she held his hand and explained what he did wrong one more time.
"You're thrusting too far, once you do this in battle, you'll be wide open for the upcoming attack."
Again and again, Sunny did the same movement until Nephis was satisfied with his performance. Hours passed and Sunny expected that this would be the end of their lessons, but he was very mistaken.
"Now repeat this a thousand times."
"What?"
"It's just beginning, so only a thousand times will suffice."
'Damnation, you dared to say only?'
Desperately trying to maintain a calm expression Sunny looked at Nephis trying to see whether she was joking. She's not good at socializing, so perhaps he just has not caught a joke, right? Sunny was wrong, standing in one place Nephis looked at him without saying a word.
'One thousand it is than…'
Again and again Sunny made the same move. Rotating his whole body, positioning his legs, and moving his hand from shoulder to wrist, Sunny meticulously performed thrust until he noticed that he was dozing off. Immediately Sunny corrected himself making sure that he hadn't made any mistakes.
When the finishing line was close, Sunny couldn't help but notice how different the technique he performed was compared to what he had seen Nephis doing. They wielded different weapons and Sunny himself was inexperienced so he just shrugged it off as something natural.
After finishing, it was already an evening, Nephis was sitting next to silent Cassie, who at the very least looked better than in the morning. Although a grim expression had not left her face, Cassie didn't look like she was about to faint.
Before it was too late, all of them hurried to have a meal, Sunny decided to take this opportunity and check the state of his companions. Just like usual Nephis remained calm despite the situation they were stuck in.
Cassie meanwhile was not very eagerly eating another piece of dried meat. The fact that she had not spoken even a single word since the morning bothered Sunny way too much than it was supposed to be his opinion, so Sunny decided to take the more direct approach.
"Cassie, how you're doing?"
'That was the most awkward way I have ever started a conversation.'
Sunny sighed, hearing him Cassie turned in his direction for a few seconds. Sunny knew that social skills were far from the best, but now he couldn't help but worry that he might be as bad as Nephis.
Expecting to receive complete silence in return, Sunny braced himself for the painful reminder of the reality of his lack of essential human skills. Somewhere from the corner, he could feel the mocking gaze of his own shadow.
'That bastard! It's not like you can speak either!'
Looking back at Cassie he saw a small smile on her beautiful face, stunned by this picture Sunny stared for a few seconds at her not even realizing that she started talking.
"-don't worry, I think I just had a bad dream."
'But you can't receive dreams inside the dream realm.'
"It must have been a vision, can you recall what it was about."
Unexpectedly the one who was the most surprised in this situation was not Cassie, who had been asked to tell the reason for her breakdown earlier but rather Sunny. With bewilderment, he looked between Nephis and Cassie both of which were relatively calm.
"You can take your time Cassie."
"No need, there's not many ways I can help you. It wouldn't be fair if I kept a secret something that could help us in the future."
Although Sunny was still skeptical that Cassie was ready to tell what she saw, he was also very relieved. The whole time, Sunny tried to distract himself with anything just not to think what that dreadful vision was about.
"I can't remember the full vision, a lot of details were forgotten and only some fragments remained in my memory."
"Don't worry, we can just piece all of them together. Perhaps we'll manage to make it clearer."
Cassie braced herself mentally preparing to remember everything she witnessed. Sunny could see her shivering before she managed to get hold of herself and start speaking.
"At first… I saw a boundless darkness that felt as though it was slowly consuming my sanity. Within this darkness existed something beyond human comprehension, that threatened to shatter my mind if I dared to catch even a glimpse of it. The only thing holding this darkness at bay were seven locks, which suddenly began to break one after another…"
Sunny grimaced listening to Cassie, her expression became grim when she described the last part. She looked hesitant and struggled to continue speaking, forcing Sunny to stay on edge with countless possible outcomes of what she saw next.
"After that… I'm not sure. My mind seemed to shatter on the thousands of fragments, each containing its picture."
With a pained expression, Cassie continued talking, her voice was trembling as she described one vision after another.
"I saw a castle once again, this time illuminated by a blinding bright star in the sky. Shadows slowly crept in from every corner of the city surrounding the castle until an eclipse appeared overhead, casting a dim red light over the entire structure. The castle itself seemed to be bleeding; crimson liquid flowed from every crack in its walls, flooding everything both inside and outside."
Yet again Sunny noticed the repetitive theme of some of Cassie's visions. Although uncertain about what the star meant, Sunny was sure that the part with shadows at the very least if not represented had some connection to him.
"Inside the castle, a corpse clad in golden armor sat upon the throne. My vision then shifted to a woman wielding a bronze spear, battling against overwhelming waves of monsters that surrounded her. There was also a magnificent archer, using his mighty bow in an attempt to pierce the falling sky."
Are those actual people they'll meet on their way or just metaphors meant to represent something, Sunny wasn't sure. He also didn't know if everything that happened was a description of their future struggles or just a meaningful message. Yet Sunny inscribed every word Cassie said inside his memory unable to ignore them.
"In the end… I saw a colossal crimson spire that seemed to reach the sky. Seven severed heads were guarding the darkness hidden beneath its base. At the top, I noticed a dying sun that appeared to fade at any moment."
'Severed head? Could this headless statue be related to those locks?'
"Not far from it, I spotted an angel, radiant in white, fighting against the hungry shadows rising from the depths of the earth. Witnessing this, I felt an unexplainable sorrow and a sense of powerlessness eating away at me from the inside. The angel and the shadows seemed reluctant to kill each other until the sun finally vanished, leaving only the angel to shine in the darkness."
Listening to this, Sunny felt an intense headache trying to digest all the information. This seemed too much for him to handle on his own. Weren't they simply heading to the citadel? Suddenly his mood became grim, could something happen in the citadel?
'It can be attacked by nightmare creatures when we arrive or perhaps they're only yet to conquer it.'
"When shadows disappeared merging with darkness I felt as if some big part of me was torn off leaving me unable to do anything about it… soon this agony became unbearable and darkness seemed to consume me as well."
Just like Cassie said, it was hard to make something out of those fragments, Sunny had some ideas but all of them were just baseless assumptions that only rely on how he understood the situation.
"Depending on whether it's past or future, the vision might be about how the citadel was conquered or how it will be attacked in the future. I'm not sure about the rest though."
Sunny hasn't lied, although he had several ideas, he preferred to keep them for himself. Sunny was pretty certain that shadows were connected somehow to him and the star might be the same as in one of previous visions.
"Thanks for sharing with us Cassie, knowing this we'll be sure to be more cautious in the future, especially in the castle."
Cassie nodded, still pale from reliving all of those memories, she wasn't very talkative. The same could be said for each of them, all members of the cohort had a lot on their mind. It was already night and Sunny's turn to take a watch.
Looking at the sky Sunny felt an irritating presence of the nightmare creature again. This time he couldn't see how far it was since the creature was hidden by the darkness of the sky. Bracing himself for the sleepless night Sunny sighed taking a comfortable position on the ground.
'I might as well just lie down the whole night.'
Closing his eyes Sunny focused on shadow sense, it might be more reliable in their situation when danger can come from the water. The shadows of his companions remained motionless until he noticed that Cassie started to move.
'Another vision?'
Sunny looked at her to see that she was still not sleeping. Cassie sat up and carefully listened to her surroundings before hesitantly starting to talk.
"Sunny, are you here?"
"Yes."
"Can I ask you something?"
He suddenly tensed, thoughts about the recent revelation surged up in his mind. If he managed to make a connection with him being related to shadows in Cassie's vision, then she surely would be able to make some connection as well.
"Yes…"
"May I… hold your hand?"
'Huh, not even a hug?'
Wait that's not it was supposed to be. Has she not noticed the connection or she knows more than him and keeping quiet? It pained Sunny to hold suspicions against Cassie but that's what allowed him to survive so long, he'll pay more attention to her words in the future.
Sunny shortly replied, with her hand, Cassie tried to find his until he helped her. With their arms intertwined lying on the ground, he managed to forget for a moment about that annoying feeling. Cassie provided him soothing feeling that made dealing with the distant presence of a nightmare creature much more bearable.
'Could this be part of her aspect ability?'
The feeling of peace that Cassie gave him felt way too unreal. Sunny couldn't help but wonder whether such a wondrous effect could be provided by one of her abilities or attributes. Still holding his hand, Cassie seemed to fall in peaceful sleep.
Hours passed and morning arrived, alone on the statue among the coral labyrinth cohort quickly prepared to enter the maze surrounding them. Their whole previous strategy disappeared together with a hoard of monsters surrounding the corpse, which now looked like a huge bone structure without a hint of something edible.
No traces of two nightmare creatures from yesterday remained, only leaving small groups of Carapace Scavengers walking around searching for food. After Sunny made sure that the area was clean, all of them managed to get down with the help of rope and group work.
Since right now the majority of Carapace Scavengers weren't focused on munching a corrupted monster, Sunny was focused on spending more time navigating through the labyrinth. Although his gloomy shadow gave them a huge advantage, they were still forced to fight time from to time.
Avoiding larger groups, Sunny deliberately chose safer passages with one or two beasts at most. Encounters became much more frequent than he would have liked but they were getting stronger as well.
The only thing Sunny worried about was time, several hours passed and he didn't know how close they were to the next safe place. They already encountered nine Carapace Scavengers so far, thanks to the equipment both he and Nephis managed to avoid injuries, but with each encounter, they also got more tired.
The only thing that brought Sunny joy in this situation was the increasing amount of Shadow Fragments he received, staring at the runes, he grinned seeing how much he progressed since the end of his first nightmare.
[Shadow Fragments: 34/1000].
After each encounter, Sunny was forced to put [Coast Splinter] back into his soul sea, afraid that it would break leaving him barehanded. During this time, he had to be especially cautious of surrounding dangers.
It was getting late and Sunny could catch a glimpse of something from afar. Perhaps an hour or two, if they moved without any unnecessary encounters, the cohort would manage to arrive in time. Sunny sent his shadow to inspect a little bit further and saw a small group of two Carapace Scavengers.
'We can deal with it, taking another road to avoid them would waste way too much time.'
"There's two nightmare creatures ahead, both of them are awakened beasts. We should go and deal with them to save time."
Nephis nodded and the whole group proceeded to repeat the procedure all of them managed to memorize perfectly.
While Sunny's shadow observed any changes in surroundings, he helped Cassie to hide not so far from the place where they would be fighting. During this, Nephis carefully stayed on guard in case anything escaped past the gloomy shadow.
When they finished, both he and Nephis carefully approached nightmare creatures. Bathed in shadows Sunny stealthily hid in the comfortable shade closer to two beasts. Ready to strike any moment, Sunny waited until Nephis started her assault first.
When she was close enough Carapace Scavengers immediately noticed the human, and the closer one rushed to her side. Its numerous sharp legs pierced the mud securing its balance while it quickly approached Nephis.
It attacked with a pincer aiming at the heart trying to kill Nephis with one powerful blow. Nephis easily avoided this attack by taking a few steps closer to the creature and diving just below its limb. Not wasting an opportunity, she directed her sword to the joint of the arm that aimed to take her life.
Nephis easily severed it almost cutting it off. With one limb barely functional it was forced to use its body to crush the human and throw off balance. By this time another scavenger was preparing to pierce Nephis.
Barely avoiding attacks from both sides Nephis retreated dashing forward. The first Carapce Scavenger collided with the second throwing it on the side. Sunny used this opportunity and attacked from behind the still-standing nightmare creature.
Leaving the shade with [Coast Spilnter] in his hand, Sunny precisely attacked the weak spot with thin plates on chitin. His sword slid effortlessly piercing the creature's brain. Blue blood gushed from the wound when Sunny retracted a sword.
[You have slain an awakened beast, Carapace Scavanger]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Suddenly the voice of vision was interrupted by yelling, Sunny quickly noticed Carapace Scavenger running in Cassie's direction with Nephis following it. Strangely it didn't try to fight charging ahead uncaring about his pursuers.
'Carapace Scavengers had not acted like this previously, what's happening.'
What Sunny saw a little bit further made his heart stop for a moment, without even noticing it, he already rushed in the direction of the nightmare creature. Not so far ahead was Cassie, she wasn't hiding but stumbling she ran in their direction.
'Damnation!'
"Storm is coming, run!"
'Fuck! Cassie can't dodge, I don't know if Nephis will manage to kill the beast fast enough.'
His body was already augmented with shadow, running with speed above what most dreamers were capable of, Sunny finally caught up to the blind girl. Carapace Scavenger was ready to get rid of obstacle on its way.
With nothing else to do, Sunny pushed Cassie while taking the direct hit himself. To minimize damage Sunny tried to deflect it with his sword quickly augmenting it with shadow. Although he managed to weaken the attack, his memory was the one that suffered.
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
'Damnation, I just got it recently!'
Carapace Scavenger was successfully slowed down, allowing Nephis to kill it. Unfortunately, they didn't have any time to celebrate or relax, feeling the drops of water landing on them, the whole cohort started running.
The sky turned black covered by dark clouds, using his shadow Sunny searched for the shortest way to their destination. The terrible sensation of an unknown presence suddenly appeared torturing his mind.
Dragging Cassie by hand with Nephis going in front, all of them advanced as fast as they only could. The level of water slowly started to rise, making their progression harder with each step. Several times Cassie tripped forcing Sunny to place her on his back.
She dismissed her armor making it much easier to carry her. Sunny would have been embarrassed but the situation didn't leave him any time for something that silly. They met several nightmare creatures on the way, but all of them were too busy trying to save their own life.
Sunny didn't have any hope when he heard the torrents of water rapidly approaching them. They had mere seconds left when the water was about to approach cliffs. Nephis was already on top throwing the rope down, and as usual Cassie was going before him.
"Cassie, give me your armor, I have no time to explain!"
Sunny hoped that his preparations were for nothing, but preferred to be more cautious, without any questions Cassie did as he asked and immediately he felt a jolt of electricity. By the time Cassie was on top, Sunny was already wearing [Proof of Life].
Just as Sunny expected, by the time he started climbing the rope water hit the cliff slamming him into the wall. With armor augmented by shadow, Sunny was holding the rope while trying not to fall off.
While asking Cassie to give him this armor, he hoped that it would be related to breathing underwater considering its description. Although It hasn't granted him the ability to do so, it certainly allowed him to stay without oxygen longer than usual.
Slowly Sunny managed to climb the rope, determined to survive, he could already see Cassie and Nephis who helped him to climb shortening the length of the rope. It was until Sunny suddenly noticed the silhouette of something huge approaching them and an expression of terror on the faces of his companions.
Sunny heard the sound of something crashing against the cliffs and immediately he felt weightless, there was no longer rope in his hands and Sunny was falling into the black sea. The nagging feeling in his head disappeared and Sunny heard loud mocking croaking before he was engulfed by water.