Sunnys journey back was pretty much the same. Though admittedly there was significantly less nightmare creatures on land as there were previously and any Spire Messengers that attacked were dealt with in the air by a blood arrow and then stripped of their shards
Sunny even got an echo of one though he couldn't help but hate the horrid things appearance - He would definitely get rid of it, maybe a gift for someone?
Like the journey towards the Hollow Mountains the same pit stops were made on the way back - First the statue that Nephis, Him and Cassie went to, Then the statue he landed at, Then the Dead soul devouring tree even though now it wasn't that much of a tree anymore
A few hours before Nightfall Sunny was laying on the branch of a dead tree waiting for night to start moving again since he wanted to enjoy the waters for a little bit before having to deal with the shitty streets of the Dark City
It was not something necessary, but he was tired of hunting constantly and he wanted to enjoy the water - he quite disliked the stuff in fact. He just got used to hunting in the sea alone and this would be one of the last few days of being alone
So, sitting on Serpents head they made their way through the waters at a leisurely pace, Sunny knew that attacking him and his Shadow's would be as effective as a gazelle walking into a lion's den and expecting to not be eaten
Afterall Sunny was traveling with an Ascended titan that was the living embodiment of death - naturally that was Sunny, and a Transcendent titan that was so colossal that if sunny were to summon him Shelly would rise Above the waters to the same size as one of the statue's
"Becoming a Titan really is a turning point for Nightmare creatures huh"
It was quite unfortunate that Saint was now but a monster - A transcendent monster. unfortunately, his corrupted sovereign remained at the rank and class of a Great Tyrant though his size had definitely increased exponentially - Sunny could only assume that it was an effect of devouring all the Nightmare Creatures, but Sunny was proud of his Shadow's growth
Though maybe Sunny was being biased as he did technically raise Birdy from an egg - and had then watched as the Great being grew
The little Bird that once only reached Sunny's waist by a few inches now towered over him, Saint and Knighty - wherever the bastard was - at a towering height of 3 meter's
Taking count of all the shadows in Sunny's arsenal aside from the Titans - Birdy was the largest and also from them all - He was the most powerful in terms of abilities and raw power
Knighty though gone had been growing at a very fast pace - so much so that he had already became a terror and titan hood was not very far off either - perhaps he was killing myriads of creatures or maybe
"Does Knighty's count work more like my past life counter? ... wait then how would the guy rank up?"
That was a question with no answer for now
His echoes would remain as they are as turning them into Shadows would be a waste of fragments - though it could be a possibility for the future but for now it won't be of much use
Sunny to as an individual had become very powerful - he was now a dormant titan, though that final core has a little bit of fragments needed to reach full saturation. Above that Sunny had all 7 of his 'buddies' back - Gloomy, Happy, Haughty, Creepy, Naughty, Crazy, and Lazy
Having all 7 of his shadows already put his insane power to a monstrous degree. The fact that he could either wrap all 7 around his body or even better equally distribute them across all his memories
Aside from just the physical strength boosts that he acquired the amount of essence that Sunny had, had increased to an impossible degree. For Nephis the essence boost brought by additional cores was next to useless since she was just a sleeper who couldn't use essence - but for Sunny who had Serpents ability to channel and use essence it was beyond a great help - especially on his Forgotten shore
Sunny had hopped
Sunny was taking note of his gains on his journey and the filling course of actions.
Sunny asked Birdy to follow above him as he entered the water and dove under with the help of hid Aquatic armor, simultaneously accompanied by all his echoes and shadows that could work fast in the cold waters - which unfortunately was now limited to Serpent and the Screech
...
The group had been hunting all sorts of horrors that lurked in the area - killing them, taking their shards and any valuable and or dangerous body parts - a few were even harvested for their meat, provided they were not entirely disgusting looking that little routine however had to be put on hold
Sunny could feel the presence of something colossal entering the range of his shadow sense - and it was closing in way too fast for the size Sunny was appropriating it to - Serpent to felt it coming with her sense and turned her head to gauge the enemy .
As she turned her head Sunny who was on it turned saw it to - and what he saw shocked him. Seven pulsing orbs of corruption were churning in the creature's colossal body just had he laid eyes on it the Titan looked directly at him and clearly it decided Sunny would be its prey
Its body was Humongous; it seemed to have a more humanoid torso with 2 muscular arms with claws coated - across its body there were hard bone patches everywhere
its lower half was squid like - composed of tentacles each equipped with suckers and tipped off with a steel like blade's
However, the most horrifying thing was its head
The head alone is enormous, dwarfing ships and houses, as if emphasizing its godlike destructive power. Its facial structure - broad and angular, with bone-like ridges and protrusions that give it a skeletal, almost demonic appearance which was only increased by its eyes, multiple glowing eyes all a deep crimson, set deep into sockets, radiating menace and an unnatural hunger. Perhaps that was why its cavernous maw was filled with jagged, uneven teeth, tusk-like fangs, and rows of serrated edges designed to shreds while it was permanently twisted in a snarl
The natural reaction of any sleeper seeing a fallen titan would be between trying to run and hide or to simply accept their fate, especially this one as its thick, scaly hide looked ancient and battle worn
But not Sunny - on the contrary Sunny was smiling - smiling like a fool
Why?
Because he knew this particular titan - It was the same one that tried to kill him on his first landing in the dark sea, the one responsible for killing the shark devil - It was the same one that toppled their boat in this life and the last - and now it set its sights on him again.
Sunny minimized his weight allowed by the mantle of the underworld propelling himself out of the water launching himself into the air simultaneously forming wings on his back and soaring into the air
The titan followed suit - it rose slowly from the water. The water that fell of its body seemed to be more like large waves - it shot a tentacle towards Sunny as if it thought its prey was going to escape - but he was not planning an escape - rather it was the complete opposite
This horrendous titan set its sights on him to many times and too many times did Sunny let it leave after attacking him
Sunny weaved to the left dodging the sharp tipped tentacle and rose higher into the air soaring higher and higher and an evil smile showing on his face. Sunny looked down and saw through the titans' eyes
He hovered in the air - "I'm a bit tired of you - shithead" - Sunny summoned Shelly from his soul sea - One of his own titans against the enemy
From behind Sunny high up in the air Shelly was summoned - under his weight and the influence of gravity Shelly descended from the sky plummeting into the water
It may have seemed the journey was fast, but it was not so everything took time - his stay at the tree, his stay on the statues and even the stay at the hollow mountains and during that time Sunny made a horror of his own
From the sky right behind Sunny, Shelly crashed down - his lower half in the depths of the dark sea, a colossal abomination - a fusion of nightmare, demon, and crustacean, forged through the deaths and destruction of memories and other horrors. Towering above the waves, its eight segmented legs, each ending in scythe-like blades, piercing the seabed like obsidian pillars. These limbs move with eerie speed, slicing through rock and surf as if the earth itself feared its touch.
Its lower body, a massive crab-like carapace, gleams with polished black, not chitin. The surface is jagged and cruel, covered in razor-sharp spikes that jut outward like the defenses of a cursed fortress.
From this armored shell protrudes a humanoid torso, grotesquely muscular and clad in thick, chitinous plating pulsing with unnatural strength. Four arms extend from its sides - two ending in titanic pincers, capable of crushing mountains, and two wielding elongated scythes, each blade whispering death with every movement.
Its head sits directly atop the torso, neckless and imposing. The face, the structure of a human made crab, a metallic visage, sculpted like a knight's helm but warped by madness. Several tall, jagged horns crown its skull, forming a spiked halo of dread. Two narrow eye slits blaze with molten brown light, glowing like embers in a dying forge. Beneath them, a viscous mouth writhes with slimy mandibles, twitching and dripping with some black saliva
Shelly had become a transcendent titan a shadow of the earth
The enemy titan sensed the strength emanating from Shelly but knew that escape was a dream - so, it charged
The creature moved and slashed its muscular arm at Shelly who raised his pincer in defense - the attack bouncing off uselessly - the armored claws scraping off Shelly's stone body .
continuing with its momentum it moved to Shelly using its tentacles to hold Shelly's pincers and scythes from moving and using its free tentacles to push in an attempt to push Shelly off balance and strike
2 of Shelly's scythe like legs dug into the ground stopping all movement as he opened his pincers - tearing the tentacles holding it shut apart sending flesh and blood into the air
The Fallen gave into that feeling of fear and pain and attempted to flea - just as it shifted its body from vertical to horizontal attempting to use its amphibious nature to run - Shelly's eyes glowed slightly as it raised its pincer
In sync with the pincer a pillar from beneath the fleeing titan rose stabbing into its stomach raising into the air - Smiling, or at least that's what Sunny thought Shelly was doing - slammed 4 of its lower limbs into the ground using the others to stay balanced - that action created multiple earth spike's from the ground as some hovered behind him in a circular motion
Dropping his raised hand and pointing it forward all the spears stabbed into the dying titan that still clung to life
Sunny looked down - "you chose the wrong human you fool"
Sunny willed as a magnificent spear formed besides him. It's point deadly and sharp and titanic in size
Raising his hand then dropping it. The spear flew down a whistling sound could be heard followed by a squelch
[You have slain a Fallen Titan: Vassal of Tide's]
[You have received an echo]