Noctis lay on his bed, passing time with his communication device. The sun had already set, and darkness had filled the world. He had eaten dinner, chatted a bit with Nara and Gylani, then returned to his room to rest.
He was waiting for the silent hours of the night. Throughout the day, he had been thinking about how to kill a shadow. He could have talked to Nara and Gylani for ideas—but he chose not to.
When night finally fell, he planned to sneak into the training field and pass through the gate. However, the academy's security systems and certain protective reward artifacts could become a problem.
That was why he decided to move while wearing the black alabaster armor. He spent a few more hours in his room before quietly slipping out. He made sure not to appear on any of the security cameras.
With careful steps, he made his way through the corridor and descended the stairs.
He knew that someone might sense him because of the magic radiating from his core, so he kept his essence quiet and avoided using it.
Moving slowly and cautiously, he reached the training grounds. He could see everything clearly in the dark. His gaze locked onto the gate, and he examined the surroundings.
Since the gate was very close, there were no security devices installed in that area.
The magic emitted by the gate interfered with electronic systems, making them unreliable anyway.
Noctis stepped into a place untouched by the lights and summoned the black alabaster armor. Within a second, the armor enveloped his slender body. His faceless head and thin black figure merged perfectly with the darkness—making him look truly terrifying.
He moved swiftly toward the gate. Two white standing stones marked the entrance.
From what he knew, these open-and-close type gates worked through the transmission of essence.
Noctis placed his hand on the stone and slowly released his energy. The essence flowing from his core traveled past his heart, through his shoulder, and finally reached his hand.
The moment the dark essence touched the white stone, it reacted—spreading a strange energy, as if the rock felt tainted by his touch.
For some reason he didn't understand, Noctis felt a faint sense of guilt.
The standing stones slowly emitted a dark light. He couldn't fully comprehend what he was seeing, yet he could perceive the darkness. From between the stones, a rippling distortion in reality began to appear.
As the gate opened, Noctis quickly withdrew his essence, and the distortion started to shrink. Without hesitation, he stepped through the portal.
The stones dimmed, as if Noctis had never been there at all.
Noctis took a step forward—and the breathtaking scenery unfolded before him.
The enlarged sun cast crimson light across the horizon. Emerald-green grass and alabaster stones painted a serene yet haunting landscape.
Without wasting a second, Noctis moved away from the gate. The academy had structures even within the Realm of the Eternal Sunset. He observed them for a while. Seeing no trace of people, he felt relieved and set out to hunt for statues.
He headed toward the areas he already knew, hoping that no broken statue would spot him.
Minutes passed as he moved swiftly along the paths—until he saw one. It stood still, its back turned to the crimson sun.
'That makes three... Why are they all facing away from the sunset?'
Noctis wanted to use the Disgusting Shroud to approach unseen, but it couldn't be activated together with his armor. So he advanced quietly, step by step, toward the statue.
The statue noticed him and lunged forward in an instant. Noctis had already summoned his rusted chain, gripping it tightly with both hands. He had hunted enough of these statues to begin understanding their nature—how they moved, how they reacted, how they killed.
He stood his ground, waiting for the statue to strike first. When it charged, Noctis sidestepped at the last moment, leaving a cut across its back. White sand spilled from the wound as the creature turned and rushed him again.
A sharp clattering echoed through the air, and Noctis quickly shifted direction.
'Every time it makes that sound… it speeds up.'
The statue suddenly accelerated, cutting off his path, and slammed its heavy arm into his shoulder. Pain shot through him, but thanks to the armor, the damage was greatly reduced.
Noctis used the brief moment after the attack to his advantage. He lunged forward, grabbed the statue by the neck, and slammed it to the ground. The statue thrashed violently, striking his back several times, but Noctis tightened his grip with all his strength.
The stone-made throat began to crack under the pressure—until it finally shattered into pieces.
Noctis immediately moved to its shadow and pulled it from the ground. He dismissed his faceless helm and began devouring the shadow, taking huge bites with feral hunger.
With his armor on and his glowing eyes, he looked absolutely terrifying.
[ Shadow is being devoured ]
Within seconds, the shadow was gone.
He wasted no time and started running again, summoning the runic letters as he moved.
[ Minor Penalty: Blind Eyes ]
[ Blind Eyes – Description: Devour three shadows before sunrise. ]
[ Shadows devoured: 1/3 ]
'Good... I was afraid it would demand an independent shadow.'
Noctis continued swiftly until he reached another area. There, he spotted another statue—it too stood with its back turned toward the crimson horizon, walking aimlessly as if without purpose.
Just as Noctis prepared to move toward it, a warning echoed through his shadow sense.
He turned toward the feeling—and saw four more statues in the distance. They were far away, but with his awakened eyes, he could see them clearly. Their hands were positioned near their stomachs... as if they were carrying something.
He tracked their direction and dashed toward the solitary statue first. The moment it noticed him, it charged.
Noctis had learned enough about their movements to handle it without much struggle, yet he didn't underestimate their speed. He sent essence to his legs. It didn't work perfectly—but his speed increased.
He fought almost at the same pace as the statue. In just a short while, he caught its momentary hesitation and devoured its shadow. Without stopping, he began tracking the group of four.
[ 2/3 ]
Noctis sent his armor back into the vast emptiness of his soul and summoned the Disgusting Shroud. It wrapped around his body in seconds.
He still wasn't sure if shadows truly existed in this realm—but one thing he did know:
Monsters never touched the shadows.
He had pondered the reason many times, but no answer ever came. The four statues were heading toward a hill, and Noctis followed from several dozen meters behind. He slowed down slightly—getting too close could be dangerous.
By the time Noctis reached the hill, the statues seemed to have slightly changed their direction. They were now moving toward the sunset.
'These things always had their backs to the sun… so why are they walking toward it now?'
Minutes passed, and Noctis realized he had crossed beyond the boundary of the area he knew. It had been a few minutes since he'd gone past the limit, and he slowed his pace.
'What time is it now? I can't tell just by looking at the sun… but there should still be a few hours left.'
He kept following the statues.
More than where they were heading, he was curious about what they were carrying.
To get a better view, he decided to change his angle slightly. There was a small hill nearby—if he climbed it, he could probably see everything clearly.
Noctis moved quietly and quickly toward the hill. When he reached the top, he focused his eyes. The statues were holding stones—alabaster stones. Their arms were pressed against their stomachs as they carried the heavy rocks.
'What are they going to do with those?'
He thought about following them further, but his time was running out. He needed to devour one last shadow before sunrise. He looked at them with a strange expression, sighed, and began heading back the way he came.
'Who knows how long those things will keep walking.'
Noctis quickly started searching for another statue. He spent minutes scanning the area until, near another section of the known boundary, he sensed one through his shadow sense. But the moment he saw it, he wished he hadn't.
It was a broken creature. Standing atop a small hill, Noctis looked at the statue's cracked alabaster body. Thin fissures glowed with faint yellow light, and under the crimson rays of the sun, it looked almost beautiful. Even without a face—it was strangely mesmerizing.
Noctis wanted to run immediately, but he couldn't—not even if he tried. The moment he saw the statue, it saw him too. It started running—fast.
He still wore the Disgusting Shroud, but it was useless against high-tier monsters.
Noctis cursed under his breath and dismissed the shroud, summoning the black alabaster armor in its place. He wanted to run toward the gate area, but if the academy reopened access to the realm while a broken statue was nearby... it would be a massive threat.
Noctis might have been indifferent toward people,
but he would never risk their lives.
He dashed forward, running with everything he had. In less than a second, the armor wrapped tightly around his body. He sent a surge of essence into his legs.
He didn't dare look back—but he could feel the statue closing in. When he finally glanced over his shoulder, he saw it—closing the distance fast, only a few dozen meters behind.
He summoned the rusted chain and gripped it tightly. He already knew he couldn't escape.
Statues were known for their speed—and the broken ones were even faster.
Noctis gradually slowed down, battling the fear crawling through him. For a single awakened to kill even one of those things was rare— and he had already slain dozens.
He burned with the will to survive,
but he knew his limits. Even with his armor and the rusted chain's magic, a Tier 2 awakened had no chance against a broken creature.
The difference between each tier was immense—but below the Third Tier, it wasn't impossible.
He thought all of this in mere seconds.
Even if he didn't believe he could win,
he had no choice but to fight.
Noctis slowed his pace and faced the statue.
It stood a little over two meters tall, broad-shouldered, and as it drew near, a chill ran down his spine.
He activated the chain's enchantment,
trying to channel essence into it—
but only part of it reached. The rest spread through his body.
He took a deep breath. In the next instant, the statue lunged. Noctis barely managed to react; his stance wasn't perfect.
The statue suddenly accelerated and swung,
its stone hand slamming into his shoulder.
Noctis staggered but quickly regained balance and countered. He swung his blade from the side—but the statue bent backward and avoided it.
Before it could recover, Noctis shifted his footing, brought his sword upright, and stepped to its left. He struck its arm with full force— but the blow left only a shallow scratch.
The statue retaliated,
smashing a heavy strike into Noctis's chest.
He was thrown several meters back but managed to stay on his feet. The balance training he'd received from Asvar was paying off, at least a little.
He knew cutting it down was impossible—
but that wasn't his goal. He was waiting for an opening—to strike at its shadow.
The statue made a sharp clattering sound—
and before Noctis could even process it,
another blow crashed into his chest.
His breath caught; pain seared through him.
Gasping, he forced himself up again,
staring at the statue with a strange, unreadable expression— even though his face was hidden behind the faceless helm.
When it lunged again, Noctis dodged to the side. The statue followed instantly—
but Noctis changed direction once more, ducking low, and poured all his essence into his arms.
Then, with a violent motion,
he slashed at its leg with everything he had.
The cut was shallow, yet shimmering white sand spilled to the ground. Noctis felt something strange deep inside—but he ignored it, parrying the statue's next strike.
When the statue threw a punch, Noctis instinctively crossed his arms like a shield.
The pain in his forearms was indescribable—his defense had worked, but the agony was immense.
He seized the momentary pause in the statue's motion and lunged toward its shadow.
Thanks to the setting sun, the shadow stretched long across the ground.
Noctis fell onto it, grasping the moving darkness that seemed to flinch away—and pulled.
Just as he opened his mouth, a powerful kick struck his back, sending him tumbling several meters away. Yet even in that brief instant, he had torn a piece of the shadow free.
The piece belonged to the statue's arm.
The statue froze for a second and looked at its left side—then a harsh clattering sound echoed. Noctis's unseen face twisted in pain.
The statue moved again—charging toward the barely rising Noctis with explosive speed.
Its foot came down on his head with a deafening impact. Noctis couldn't move—couldn't even breathe. His vision went dark.
For less than a second, he thought he was dead. But instinct took over. Guided by his shadow sense, his hand reached out and grabbed the statue's foot's shadow—then pulled.
The statue was suddenly thrown backward—
but its shadow remained clutched in his hand.
It was longer than usual now, its inner connections faintly visible. Noctis summoned the rusted chain. The sound of metal echoed before it even fully formed— and with the few meters left between them, he stabbed the chain into the shadow's link and dragged it through the soil.
The shadow tore apart— and Noctis, like a starving beast, shoved it into his mouth.
Within a meter of him, the statue collapsed to the ground. Noctis stood up with shallow, ragged breaths. The statue thrashed violently,
as if it had lost a leg, trying again and again to rise—but failing each time.
Noctis tried to take a deep breath but felt the burning pain in his lungs. His enhanced eyes flickered between clarity and darkness. His body ached as if crushed beneath a boulder.
Stumbling forward, he approached the dying statue's shadow. It reached out weakly toward him—but couldn't move. Noctis knelt beside the long, stretched neck of the shadow,
grasped it tightly, and pulled.
With an animalistic motion, he sank his teeth into the ink-black throat and tore off a massive chunk.
At that moment, the statue stopped moving—
and shattered into countless fragments.
If the sound of the spell could have been heard through his ears, he wouldn't have heard it anyway. His hearing was consumed by a sharp, ringing noise.
Yet the sound of the magic echoed through his soul.
[ You have slain Suara's Statue ]
[ Shadow is being devoured ]
[ Your soul has strengthened ]
[ Your soul has strengthened ]
[ Your soul has strengthened ]
[ … ]
[ Your soul has made significant progress... It wishes to ascend... ]
[ You have devoured three shadows. The penalty has vanished. ]
Noctis couldn't get up. Even breathing was a struggle. If his armor hadn't reached the Second Tier, his skull would have been crushed to dust.
Minutes passed before he could finally draw a steady breath.