Sunny stood on the rocky surface of a dark island, facing a tall and magnificent pagoda. After a few days of travel, he had arrived at the Ebony Tower.
The journey here had been uneventful. In fact, it had even been a little relaxing. Sunny had felt a bit anxious after meeting Sky Tide, but having spent a couple days in silence, he had calmed down.
He had crossed the rift, hidden in the shadows on Shrike's back. In truth, his preparations for crossing the rift were quite ridiculous. He had slotted in the Heat Locket — the heat resistant charm he received from Song — into the Mantle, wrapped several shadows around himself, and also used the Shadow Lantern to create a sphere of shadows around himself, allowing him to remain incorporeal. He and Shrike had crossed the ocean of divine flames without a single burn. Even though Shrike was susceptible to heat, it was still a Supreme Devil. The sphere of darkness Sunny created also prevented the worst of the heat from reaching it.
Sunny approached the Obsidian Tower with measured steps.
Shifting his vision, he approached the part of the diamond weave that was the brightest, sending his shadow essence within it. The gates silently opened a second later.
Ignoring the gust of wind that came out, Sunny made his way in.
Despite the fact that there was almost certainly nothing here, Sunny still maintained vigilance, keeping his shadow sense spread outwards. He did not want to repeat the disaster that had just occurred.
Entering the central hall, Sunny smiled.
He walked towards a stand holding a smith's tools and implements, all masterfully crafted from black obsidian and silver, a look of avarice on his face.
'I'm not losing you this time…'
Last time, he had been tired out of his mind when he had arrived, and so all the incredible tools left behind in Nether's workshop had been destroyed. Not that he knew how to weave back then anyways.
But now, Sunny was prepared. Retrieving some spare soul shards and the many strings of essence he prepared, Sunny got to work immediately.
***
[You have received a Memory.]
[You have received a Memory.]
[You have received a Memory.]
Sunny looked at the hall around him sadly. Everything that he hadn't managed to turn into a Memory was quickly crumbling to dust.
'Damnation…'
He had thought he had prepared enough essence strings, though it was clear that he was wrong. He had tried to turn the strange and wondrous devices Nether had crafted into memories, but he had failed. Clearly, the inner workings of them were far, far more complicated than Sunny had imagined. It would've been easier to turn something like the Rhino into a Memory.
And so, he had only received three memories from Nether's workshop.
[Nether's Workbench], [Nether's Worktable], [Lavish Bed].
The first was the stand containing the perfectly crafted tools Nether had made. As the tools were simple tools rather than complex devices, Sunny had been able to turn the entire stand containing them into a Memory. This alone had taken most of his essence. The tools were a little strange to use for Sunny, as he was sure that they were actually made for someone with seven fingers, but that was nothing he couldn't solve with a bit of help from Shadow Manifestation.
The second was the worktable Nether had used for his crafting. Despite it being badly burned, as well as largely useless for someone like Sunny, it was still the worktable of a daemon! His options here were limited anyways, so he had picked the worktable. It may have a use for him in the future once his crafting and weaving improved to a certain degree.
And the last was… well, it was the bed Nether used. Sunny could not say much about it. It was perhaps the most comfortable bed he had ever slept on. He'd have to be a complete moron to leave it behind! It was far too big for him, sure, but so what?! Who cared if a bed was too big? The bigger the better!
Overall, it was still a good haul. When else would he get a chance like this?
'...Wait.'
He was about to enter a Nightmare… that took place in the Kingdom of Hope. Of course he was going to get a chance like this again! But at the same time, Sunny would rather not. After all, the vile corruption contained within the tower was bound to be far less starved during that time.
Sunny sighed, looking at the goblet of delicious wine that had crumbled to dust in his hands.
'Oh well.'
He slowly made his way through the pagoda, only giving the decrepit halls cursory glances.
Sunny stopped before the second level.
The last time he had been here, the rot left behind by Weaver swiftly died due to starvation. Unless Sunny was wrong about how time worked, that event was something that had happened about ten years from now. Although a mere ten years was likely nothing compared to the thousands of years the rot had starved, Sunny wasn't taking any chances. He was going to sit still and wait for it to die before he got anywhere near the hall.
Remaining vigilant, Sunny began to prepare the strings of essence he was going to use for Weaver's Needle.
***
A while later, Sunny sent a shadow to take a look.
'...As I thought.'
The silver brazier that had been burning with divine flame was gone, only a mangled patch of obsidian remaining in the center of the empty hall.
…Within the mangled patch of obsidian lay nothing. The severed arm of Weaver had completely disintegrated.
Sighing Sunny made his way around the outer wall of the hall, still unwilling to go anywhere near where the harrowing rot had been.
Moving past the second level of the tower, Sunny entered the third one, where he spent a while weaving.
[You have received a Memory.]
Sunny smiled in satisfaction, having re-obtained [Weaver's Needle].
Standing up and stretching, he tossed the pools of diamond string into the maw of the Covetous Coffer.
Entering the fourth level, Sunny stopped in the central hall.
The central hall of it was fashioned into a vast, somber shrine. At the center of it stood an altar cut from a single slab of black onyx, and behind it was an incredibly beautiful statue of a young woman dressed in a flowing tunic, her face obscured by a veil. The woman was holding a star in one hand, and a bolt of lightning in the other.
A statue of the Storm God.
Looking at the bolt of lightning within her hand, Sunny suddenly remembered something.
'Wait, can I use that here?'
Reaching into the Coffer, he pulled the bolt of lightning that he had borrowed from the Night Temple. Within it, the golden glow of divinity shone.
Holding it up the statue, Sunny felt… nothing. He then placed it on the altar, spilled his blood on it, sent his essence into, and prayed to it. Nothing happened.
'Is this thing useless or what?'
What was the point of containing divinity if it was going to do nothing? Should he really just break it open?
'Whatever…'
He would visit Nether's Tower in his Nightmare if possible. If he finished the Nightmare and still hadn't found a use for it, he'd break it open.
Scratching his head, Sunny continued forward, entering the fifth level. Taking a deep breath, he summoned Weaver's Mask and walked in.
Immediately, he felt a headache begin to assault his mind.
'This… isn't actually that bad.'
With his mind forever changed by the Sin of Solace, Sunny only felt mild pain when attempting to read the runes.
Looking at the walls covered with runes, Sunny smiled beneath the mask.
'I'd love to know what you all say…'
Sadly, he didn't have the time for it. He'd already delayed his Nightmare enough to obtain the tools of Nether's workshop.
What he did instead was take out manyl sheets of synthetic paper from the Covetous Coffer. He began scribbling down all the runes he saw, not bothering to translate them just yet. He had gotten much better at reading the runic languages of the Dream Realm over the years, but the strange script that Nether used would no doubt take him several weeks if not months to properly translate. He may have not even found anything of note on the walls, with them instead only containing random notes the daemon had left behind.
After a few hours, he was done. Arranging the papers neatly and in order, he put them in a protective case and tossed them into the Coffer, dusting off his hands.
'Now! Finally!'
Sunny entered the sixth level, standing before the arch that served as a gate between the Ebony and Ivory Towers.
Outside the Ebony Tower, Solvane stood atop Shrike's back, absentmindedly staring at the tower.
Receiving Sunny's command, the two Shadows began to move, flying up towards the rift. Nearing the ocean of divine flames, Solvane held out her hands as a small charm glowed on her chest. Beneath her skin, worm-like vines began crawling in discomfort from the heat.
…In the Ebony Tower, Sunny blinked.
'Right… The Wormvine was also weak to fire. Two… two out of my three Shadows are weak to fire? The hell?'
…Solvane and Shrike moved closer and closer to the ocean of divine flames. They did not go too close, though, instead maintaining a decent amount of distance.
In the blistering heat, they waited for a while, neither of the Shadows enjoying it.
'Just hang on!'
Eventually, what they were waiting for happened.
A small flare escaped from the conflagration of flames, shooting outwards into the rift. Immediately, Shrike flew towards it.
Solvane seemingly grabbed the flames as they extinguished, absorbing trace amounts of it into her hands.
Seeing as they had succeeded, Sunny dismissed both of them, resummoning Solvane to his location.
He was going to open the gate using Solvane's [Ruinous] ability.
The ability allowed Solvane to temporarily absorb an element and use it. Funnily enough, she rarely made use of it.
The reason being… it was sort of useless? Solvane was far more powerful when she just used her hands. There weren't many elements she could use that were worthwhile, and her fists remained her most lethal weapon.
Solvane stood before him, wisps of divine flame coming out of her hands.
"Shadow…"
Solvane seemed to stop and think for a moment.
"This… sucks…"
Sunny blinked.
Solvane… seemed to have picked up bits and pieces of the waking world's language. Most likely from him and Jet.
Sunny would have laughed if his Shadow wasn't glaring at him.
"Sorry! But… you're the only one I can rely on for this."
Solvane grumbled, moving towards the arch. A moment later, white flames erupted out of her hands, fueling it.
Sunny took one last look at Solvane. She was in her usual red tunic, but there were some major differences. Most noticeably, her skin was now the colour of ivory instead of obsidian, annoying Sunny ever-so-slightly. When he had first turned her into a Shadow her skin had been the same colour as it was from when she was alive, but as she killed more and more, her [Solace] attribute seemed to convert her body into a more shadow-like one.
Normally, Sunny would not have cared less about such a thing, but in the waking world such a sight would have been a little strange, so he had been forced to spend his precious credits in renting out a cosmetic Memory for Solvane. Luckily, for her eyes Sunny already had a Memory that could change that, so he restored her sclera to its former colour while changing her pupils to a light brown.
And on Solvane's wrist, an inconspicuous jade bracelet was present.
A minute later, Solvane lowered her hands. White light began pouring out of the arch as the rift formed.
Turning to Solvane, Sunny patted her shoulder.
"Thanks. I'll be seeing you later."
"Uh… huh…"
Shaking his head, Sunny dismissed her.
…And not long later, she appeared next to Nephis, causing her to yelp in surprise. Thrain, who had been teaching her combat, also jumped back with a yelp.
Sunny paid no attention to the sight however. Walking through the rift, he had already wrapped all six shadows around himself and extended his shadow sense fully.
Exiting the gate, Sunny could see the skies, but also the ground. A beautiful green meadow continued from where the obsidian floor ended, full of vibrancy and life. A shadow of a tall tree shaded the proximity of the portal, and there was a path of white stone leading from it toward the Ivory Tower.
Sunny sunk into the shadows.
…And not even a second later, a figure landed in front of where he had been standing.
Stumbling from the shadows with a gasp, Sunny grasped his neck to make sure it was still intact. A moment later, he dashed forward, entering the dark rift in reality situated in the center of the seven shattered chains.
The world around him dimmed.
…A moment later, he was gone.
Sunny found himself standing alone in complete darkness, surrounded by utter nothingness.
***
Looking down at his hand, the man Sunny had escaped from smiled.
"...How curious."
Before him, a hall of obsidian could be seen through a fabric in reality. Cold winds brushed by him as they entered the desolate hall.
Looking towards the tower, he felt the presence that had come out of it vanish into the Nightmare.
Laughing slightly, he entered the rift, descending into the Ebony Tower below.
***
Sunny took a moment to catch his breath.
'The… the hell?!'
Someone really had been at the Ivory Tower!
'No… not one.'
He had felt several shadows present. One of them radiated a familiar, calamitous power, while the other one was small and weak; Like that of a mundane human. There were others too, but they were lifeless. Most likely Echoes of some sort.
'No goddamn way!'
Sunny suspected that the powerful shadow was… Asterion. And if Asterion was here, then the weak shadow must have been Mordret.
'The hell… the hell is this?!'
Why was Asterion on the Chained Isles? And he really did just drag Mordret around the Dream Realm? What a maniac! That was a mundane human!
Why the hell did he keep running into that bastard? Could his luck really be any worse?!
'Wait… Wait… Is this… is this way he awakened at twelve?'
Sunny couldn't think of any other reason. Asterion… that monster had exposed a human child to the Call of the Nightmare, causing a Seed of Corruption to bloom in his soul.
Sunny gritted his teeth.
'Was… was that why Sky Tide was here?'
The only thing he knew about what she was doing was that… she was looking… looking for a…
'She was looking for an elusive beast.'
Sunny had no way of confirming his suspicions, but he had a strong feeling his guess was close.
'Then… Tyris was here tracking Asterion. And then… I appeared.'
Wasn't that totally suspicious? Why was his luck this terrible?!
'Aghhh! I should've just ascended naturally! The hell is this?!'
He pushed the thoughts of Asterion out of his mind a moment later.
After all… he was entering a Nightmare!
The voice of the Spell echoed in the darkness.
[Awakened! Prepare for your Second Trial…]
'I'll think about this shit later!'
[One, single brave one!]
Sunny was once more distracted from his thoughts though.
Because in the vast darkness, he could've sworn he heard a quiet, sinister laugh.
[...Welcome back.]
'Wha-'
***
Sunny dreamt of boundless blue skies.
Beneath him, a patchwork of islands floated in the air, laid on the backdrop of velvety darkness like a beautiful mosaic. Some islands were verdant and green, some were desolate and empty, and some were covered by ancient ruins, the weathered stones overgrown by moss.
All of them were bound by colossal iron chains that rattled loudly as the islands rose and fell, hovering above the abyss, a scattering of pale stars shining somewhere far, far below them. In the center of the mosaic, an ugly wound gaped, a vast tear in space where nothing but emptiness remained.
A lone island soared above that tear, seven torn chains hanging from its slopes, a beautiful white pagoda standing on its surface in a mantle of clouds.
Suddenly, the sun rolled backward, soon disappearing behind the eastern horizon. The skies darkened, and then were illuminated again as a radiant moon streaked across them, swift enough to turn into a blurry trail of light. A moment later, it was day again, and then, it was night once more.
The skies grew torn between light and darkness, time flowing in reverse with terrible speed. Sunny watched as the islands beneath him slowly changed their shapes, as ruins rose from the ground and assembled into unwavering structures, as the stars burning in the abyss grew brighter and brighter, new ones igniting each moment, until the whole void was suffused with a furious white light.
One after another, fallen islands rose from that annihilating light, the chains that had tethered them to the rest of the mosaic repairing themselves. Soon, the tear in its center was no more, and instead, a vast ashen wasteland of scorched isles appeared in its place. The Ivory Tower descended from high above, taking its place at the very heart of the wasteland.
An instant later, the ashes were no more, revealing a breathtaking aerial city that sprawled across dozens of islands, all of them connected to each other by arching bridges and overflowing aqueducts built out of pristine white stone, with vibrant flags fluttering in the wind and sparkling waterfalls flowing into the abyss below.
Slowly, Sunny's gaze was pulled northwest, toward the very edge of the Chained Isles. There, one of the Great Chains anchored them to the lands beyond, and a magnificent black fortress stood at the precipice.
The island… was covered in deep shadows. Sunny's eyes widened as he was thrown towards the darkness, crashing straight through the roof of cobblestone.
Slamming through the roof, Sunny crashed through several floors before coming to a stop.
'U-Urgh…'
Laying in a crater of splintered wood, Sunny slowly caught his breath.
Staring at the hole in the ceiling, he coughed slightly.
'What… the hell is this?'
The Nightmare had sent him into a different body this time. Although he doubted his eyes for a moment, Sunny was almost certain that he had been sent to the fortress where he had once fought Nightmare. The former residence of the Shadow Lord.
He had been expecting to be thrown into a body of water… but…
'Why am I here?'
Sunny looked at his hands, still too weak to stand up.
His hand was clad in an elegant glove of black silk. They were undoubtedly the hands of a human.
'No… no way?'
Opening his mouth, Sunny tried to speak.
"Ah… Ahhh."
Sounding out his own voice, Sunny realised he could speak.
"What… who am I?"
Looking down at his hands again, a memory flashed through his mind.
It was a dream. A dream where he had been a hero once, battling the remnants of the Corruption across the mortal realms. He had been cunning and fearless, valiant and unrelenting, full of faith and hope.
But he had lived a life far too long and had grown tired. Seeing his fellow Chain Lords begin to fight, he had chosen to instead take his own life.
It was a dream where he had lived as the Shadow Lord. One particular scene he remembered was one where he raised his hand, tracing his fingers across the intricate engravings along the wall.
The hand had been clad in black silk, just like the gloves on his hands right now.
"You… have got to be joking."
How?! He had incarnated into a Chain Lord? Wasn't he dead?
Finally recovering enough, Sunny stood up with a pained grunt. He looked around curiously at the well maintained fortress around him, sending his shadow sense o-
"Arghh!!"
Sunny fell to the floor once more, clutching his head in pain.
The moment he had tried to send his shadow sense outwards, it almost immediately encompassed the entire island! His mere Awakened mind was not ready for it, and it had overloaded right away.
Taking slow, deep breaths, Sunny waited for his mind to recover.
'Why..? Why on earth?'
Several thoughts ran through Sunny's mind.
He had incarnated into the body of a Transcendent… Was… was he a Saint now?
Clenching and unclenching his hand, Sunny surmised that he wasn't. He was far too weak! And no way a mere fall would manage to hurt him this damn much!
'What a travesty!'
He had been sent into the body of a Transcendent, and yet he only had the strength of an Awakened? How was that fair?!
'If I'm not a Transcendent, then what the hell was that?'
His shadow sense had immediately tried to encompass the entire island! Such a thing only happened on Wind Flower, when he… he used…
Sunny took a breath.
'Is this..? Is this a Fragment of the Shadow Realm?'
The island that the Shadow Lord resided on seemed to be covered in divine shadows taken directly from a god's realm.
'How is this possible?'
The Shadow Lord was dead! His fortress was supposed to be dilapidated and crumbling!
'No… no way, right?'
Sunny couldn't think of any other reason.
His Nightmare… wasn't the same Nightmare he and his cohort had once cleared at all.
Sunny belatedly realised that he couldn't feel the traces of Hope's Poison either. That could only mean one thing.
All of the Chains were intact. Hope's prison was complete.
Meaning… he had been sent to a time period even farther back. Before the Shadow Lord had taken his own life. Before Solvane had killed Aidre.
He had been sent back years… decades… perhaps even centuries earlier.
***
Within the Ivory City, a man sat quietly, contemplating something. The man was of medium height and noble bearing, lustrous golden hair crowned his head, and his deep amber eyes were staring at the city below.
"Brother?"
A voice called out to him from behind him. The voice belonged to his twin brother, and man who mostly looked like him, except for the fact he was quite a lot taller.
"Yes?"
The man turned to his brother — Sevras — with a smile.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
The man chuckled slightly.
"Ah, it's just… don't you feel like something strange just happened?"
"Like wh- Hm… Now that you mention it, I do feel something."
Before they could continue speaking, something happened.
Beneath the robes of the man, a flame erupted, accompanying the flame was a sound akin to cracking glass.
The twins stared in horror.
The man immediately reached into his robe, somehow grabbing the flame with his bare hands.
"This..!"
The two had a look of deep terror.
The flame… was the ember knife. A few seconds later, the flame burned itself out, only leaving behind smoking orange shards in the palm of the man.
His brother looked at him in panic.
"Semos… What have you done?!"
The man, Semos, shared his brother's shock.
"I-... I don't know, brother!"
Somehow, without the fate contained within the ember knife…
The Chain Lord of Shadow, Immortal Warden of Desire, Blessed of Shadow God…
Was dead.