The time had finally come.
Sunless expected the invaders to arrive at any moment, but he hadn't been able to formulate a plan to stop the invaders and simultaneously complete his nightmare.
If he wanted to get out of here, he had to reach the temple on the black mountain.
The vision in the time reverse at the beginning wasn't an option.
Almost a month had passed since the trial had began, he can't stay here any longer, his true body was still out there asleep.
Why did the spell take him further back in time than he should have been?
Perhaps because the original Sunless was more malnourished, and to make up for it, the spell took him further back so this body could mirrored his current physique?
Probably! but that was just a theory.
But what about his aspect?
"I just can't get over it!" Sunny said in defeat.
Sunny was about to leave his bedroom to start his daily training when a loud knock came on his door.
A feeling of dread run along his back.
'It's finally start.'
Immediately opening the door, Sunny saw Thene with a wound running across his entire right arm, a bloody sword in her left hand.
Before he could think, Thene grabbed Sunny by the arm and as she led him away.
"Sunless! We're under attack. The elder is with the temple guardians fighting the invaders. We must escape, now!"
'They surely are fast, how did i not hear them?' Thought scared Sunless while ask to her:"Who is attacking us?"
"The War fanatics. They have already destroyed all our other temples, only this one remains."
The War's fanatics were how they called the followers of War.
As they walked, Sunless couldn't help but notice the brutally mutilated bodies of their enemies strewn across the path.
There were at least fifty bodies of fanatics dead and many of them looked like true tank and were fully armored.
No one of them seemed an awakened.
'Did you take down all this alone sister!? DAMN!!! You are the true MVP.'
Sunless expected nothing less from an ascendant.
Thene continued:"The other non-combatants are running away from a secret passage under the altar room, we will join them."
A few minutes later, the two of them arrived in front of the altar, all the lights in the room were turned off.
The altar was open, a stone staircase appeared at its base revealing a path that had not been there before.
Sunny was about to go there when suddenly he felt a tug on the arm holding Thene's hand.
Turning toward her, he saw her face darken.
"Who are you? Why can't i sense you in the shadows!?" Shouted Thene.
There was a moment of silence, then laughter echoed through the hall. The rows of torches lit up one by one, restoring the light the temple had long forgotten. A human figure revealed itself before the stairs beneath the altar.
The man was in his forties, tall and muscular, like a warrior who had fought a thousand battles. His chestnuts-hairs were long and tied in a ponytail at the back of his head, his beard was unkempt, his eyes were red as blood and a scar ran across his right eye and the entire right side of his face.
In his right hand a blood encrusted greatsword rested on his shoulder. He wore golden armor with red cloths. Every detail of the man exuded danger and bloodlust.
"A-an ascendant." Sunny said in a low voice, trembling at the sight of the man.
"Why can't i sense you in the shadows!?" Shouted Thene in a louder voice to the man.
"You see..." the man replied. "You of Shadow have this annoying habit of hiding in the shadows like cockroaches, think of yourself invincible. Invisible. Untouchable."
The man pointed his greatsword downward, the still fresh blood dripping onto the floor.
"Isn't it natural to take countermeasures?"
"Where are the others!?"
"Alive, if they were smart enough to surrender." Grinned the man.
Thene advanced toward the man, but Sunny held her arm.
"Thene, no!" Cried Sunny, pietrified with fear for the man before them.
Thene turned to him with a warm smile, whispering softly: "We'll always be together."
Thene kissed him on the forehead, wiping away the tears from his eyes.
Before Sunless could do anything, Thene turned to the man in front of her. The war champion, who had been waiting for his opponent to prepare, smiled broadly.
With a single step, Thene raised his sword and swung at the champion, an upward slash, light yet incredibly lethal. The champion deflected the attack nonchalantly and immediately went on the offensive.
He swung his greatsword at Thene, but she dodged gracefully.
The clash of their blades echoed throughout the room. Sunny, still terrified, watched it all, struggling to follow their moves.
Thene fought with grace and agility, her movements like a flawless dance.
The War champion, with his aggression and brute strength, seemed an immovable mountain.
Their strikes were precise, lethal, a sign of years of experience in numerous battles. Their swords continued to exchange blow after blow, the environment around them shaking with their clash.
Thene seemed to be getting the worst of it. The champion was forcing her to retreat into a defensive position. In reality, Thene was trying to move her opponent, keeping him as far away from Sunny as possible, making him think she was in trouble.
She knew the boy was petrified with fear, so telling him to run away made no sense.
At the same time, she was paying attention to both the boy and her opponent.
But she was tired now; she had defeated fifty enemies alone, even if no one of them were awakened, she had almost exhausted all her essence. But she could say the same about her enemy.
Even if he didn't show it, the War Champion had to face the temple's guardians and priestesses alone, and while he emerged unscathed, he was almost exhausted.
The battle continued like this.
Sunny was still terrified at the sight of the Champion. He was praying to the Gods of this world that Thene would win the fight. He had never been a believer, neither in this life nor the previous one, but in this moment he was truly praying.
At one point, the champion stumbled, even while standing, losing his balance, his guard slipping.
Seeing this, Thene lunged for his heart, but she knew full well that this was just a feint. In reality, the champion wanted to deliver the decisive blow, taking advantage of the opening he had deliberately given his opponent.
The shadow dance is not fooled by this simple tricks.
Instead, at the last moment, Thene changed the direction of her sword and with a horizontal slash severed the champion's hand holding the sword.
Seeing this, Sunny rejoiced. With her opponent unarmed, Thene had practically won the fight.
The champion staggered to the ground, holding his severed arm. Thene, without hesitation, raised her sword again, ready to deliver the final blow to her enemy.
Thene swung straight at her enemy's head, her sword moving as fast as sound.
But when the blade touched his throat, Thene suddenly stopped.
"THENE!!!" Sunny shouted.
An arrow had pierced her heart.
Sunny immediately turned toward the entrance and saw one of the soldiers defeated by Thene, still alive, standing in the doorway.
The soldier had played dead to strike the enemy at the most opportune moment.
He was holding onto the door with one shoulder, and with the other, he held the crossbow with which he had fired the arrow. A satisfied smile appeared on his face at having avenged his comrades, fallen at the hands of the priestess.
Thene staggered to the ground. Sunny, forgetting his fear, immediately ran toward her.
"Thene! Thene! No. How can you die? Sob... Sob... yo-you said you were the strongest! You promised you'd never leave me... Sob... Thene..."
Sunny cried, his tears flowing in rivers, but no matter how much he hoped, Thene didn't move. Her open eyes were lifeless. Thene was dead.
Sunny hugged her body tightly, hoping it was all fake, that all this was just a nightmare.
And indeed, it was, but he still couldn't wake up.
The War Champion slowly stood up, his pride wounded. This wasn't the outcome his fight should have had. Only one of them could live, but the other should die only at the hands of the victor.
This was his moral.
His glory.
With anger rising in his chest, he picked up his greatsword with his only remaining hand and walked over to the soldier leaning against the door, who had just humiliated his honor and his glorious battle.
The soldier proudly turned to his general and said: "See, boss? I did it! I killed the bi..."
But before he could finish, the champion cut the soldier in half with a clean blow.
Bitter at the outcome, he turned to the corpse of his enemy and the boy holding her hoping she would still speak to him, still smile at him.
The champion approached the boy and asked in a neutral voice, "Do you wish to avenge her?"
Sunny froze, the fear that had vanished a moment before immediately returning to flow through him.
Terrified and with tears in his eyes, he turned to the champion. Their eyes met.
Sunny tried to speak, to move, but fear got the better of him. His arms wouldn't let go of Thene's body.
The champion, seeing this, sighed in disappointment and struck Sunny in the head, knocking him out.
The light disappeared, and Sunny found himself in complete darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunny woke up inside a caravan, his hands and feet shackled.
A headache struck him as soon as he awoke. Outside, he could hear the rumble of wheels and galloping horses mingling with the sound of the wind and the chatter of War fanatics.
As he regained consciousness, a series of emotions overtook him.
"Thene..." Sunny said softly so as not to wake the other slaves with him, the tears starting to flow again.
'Why didn't i help her? Why didn't i do anything? Four hands are better than two...
But that was an ascendant! What could i have done?'
Sunny buried his head between his legs to suppress his sobs.
"Da... Dam... Damnation." he whispered again.
'This is just the first nightmare. How will i cope with everything that will come if i'm paralyzed by a measly ascendant?'
His mind flashed back to what he'd read:
the Forgotten Shore, Antarctica, LO49, the other nightmares and so on.
Despair overtook him.
Sunless raised his head slightly and looked at his hands; they were shaking.
Seeing this, an inhuman rage ignited within him, his teeth clenched almost to the point of breaking, his hands clenched into fists as if strangling something nonexistent.
'I was naive... really naive.
I thought i was ready. That i had everything under control. All my plans. Countermeasures. Organizations. Gone like dust in the wind. In the end, i was superficial like in my past life.'
His hands clenched even more violently.
"I...
I...
I could have done better!"
His thoughts were interrupted by one of the slavers who had entered the caravan to let the prisoners off.
They needed space for the rations.
Untied by the soldier, Sunny dismounted from the caravan, the cold and snow welcoming him.
Looking up with a dull expression, he finally saw the black mountain.
He already went through this scenario countless time in his mind and create different plans to won over it, maybe... just maybe...
Not everything was lost.
This is where it would all begin.