The next day, in the mourning, Sunny stood in his room, anxiously waiting for the pain to come.
[3980/4000]
'How did it go up so fast overnight? Was Wraith hungry or something? And how come I barely got any Memories or Echoes?!'
The best he got after Dreadwing was a Transcendent lance, the rest was useless. Not that he was complaining, the Transcendent weapon was really good… A sword would be better. Well, he was still getting plenty of forms for Serpent to transform.
Either way, in the next few seconds, he would become a Tyrant, and the damn pain would come, probably worse than last time too, seeing how becoming a Devil changed his body much more than the others.
It probably had something to do with his Lineage, from what his mother told him, the Ichor of Shadow God had much higher concentration than the other Lineages. The only one that came close was Sun God's, given that she noted how Smile of Heaven had more abilities given by her Lineage compared to herself and Anvil.
She knew that after absorbing a bit of Smile of Heaven's blood to heal her.
'But even then, mother noted that Shadow's Ichor was much more refined, it had quality, as if architected, while Sun God's was just a big mass of the God's blood. As if Shadow planned his Lineage, while Sun's was just happenstance.'
He wondered if that would influence their path of progression. Their Devil attributes were already really different, Sunny's let him affect shadows, 'kill' them, while Nephis's just let her see souls, sure, she gained a lot with that, but it was still simple compared to his.
And her Tyrant attribute only gave her another simple boost. After she experimented with it, every person that she imbued a part of her essence into acquired a [Follower of Fire] attribute, letting them use essence more efficiently, also giving them some sort of bond with each other. In turn, Nephis received a boost as well, but whatever it was, it was currently too weak to be noticeable, even with quite a few followers, probably because of her current Rank, she was limited on how many followers she could make after all.
It was like a minor Domain, but on a much minor scale, maybe with the idea of making a few, stronger lieutenants.
"Well, I hope my version is stronger."
[3996/4000]
'Almost…'
As the counter was about to complete, the door of his room opened, a small girl dashed forward, her dark hair and eyes dashed into the room with no regards to the owner's privacy.
Sunny perked up to see Rain jump on his bed right next to him, gripping onto the mattress with desperation.
"R-Rain?!"
His little sister snapped her towards her brother, her eyes displaying horror.
"Sunny! Help me!"
Confusion consumed Sunny's mind, until his eyes widened upon feeling extreme cold invade his room.
A chill ran down his spine as he slowly turned his head towards the door, ice began appearing on the floor of the corridor as a beautiful woman wearing a white tunic revealed herself.
Frostblade's red cold eyes glared at Rain, her voice pierced the air.
"Rain. It is for your own good."
The little girl shuttered and screamed. Sunny was about to rise to protect her, until…
"No! You want me to die, you crazy old grandma!!"
Sunny paused, realizing that Rain just signed her death warrant. He felt his body get weak, he really didn't want to lose his little sister… But, oh well.
Frostblade's eyes widened in astonishment for a moment, impressed at the audacity of the girl, before she sharpened them in rage.
"How. Dare. You."
Rain felt a deadly cold aura consuming her field of vision, the bright red eyes of the Saint revealed how much hatred she felt from being called an old woman.
She couldn't understand, Big Sis Bin and the others said how teacher Frostblade was way older than she looked, even Sis Howl said she was just an old grandma!
Seemingly reading her mind, Sunny answered non-chalantly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"She hates being called an old woman, Bin and Rev faced a whole month of exhausting training after they called her that. Howl is just a rebellious wolf that doesn't know the meaning of 'self-preservation'."
Dread consumed Rain's whole being.
'A. Whole. Month?!'
She could barely handle a week of training… She would die.
Suddenly, something grabbed one of her legs. Immediately, she felt an intense cold drip through her whole body, her teeth gritted due the frost, she turned to look at what caught her leg.
Obviously, it was Frostblade, glaring at the poor girl. Her voice was still seemingly calm and composed, however it was obvious she was burning in anger.
"Come Rain, this time, you won't train with Tamar…"
"T-Then with w-who?"
The Saint didn't answer, but a twisted smile grew in her mouth.
Rain shrinked, turning to her brother and screaming for help, reaching for him in desperation.
"S-Sunny!! Help–!"
But something was wrong. Sunny suddenly started grasping his chest, breathing heavily and with a painful expression, he clumsily fell from the bed.
"Brother…?"
Frostblade immediately dismissed her Aspect, her demeanor changed as she released Rain's leg and reached for her older student's shoulder.
"Sunless… You completed it?"
He struggled, grasping his head in great discomfort, still managing to respond despite looking like he was going through intense pain.
"Yes, but it's different than before! It's like my mind is…"
He cursed quietly, leaning on the bed as he grunted loudly.
The Saint didn't waste any time, looking him dead in his eyes, she began to make questions with precision, attempting to gather information.
"Your mind? Headaches? Your mind along with a core?"
Sunless nodded, still struggling.
Rain stood in the bed, terrified as Sunless struggled on the floor. 'From before'? Has he already faced this type of pain? And why are they acting like it was expected?
"Teacher… What is–"
Frostblade interrupted her.
"Rain, get Lunae, he should have just returned from the Dream Realm. He'll be in the library."
Rain hesitated, still in shock, looking at her brother. Frostblade's unusual scream took her out of it.
"Now Rain!"
The girl woke up from her daze and quickly got out of the room, a dozen questions in her head, leaving Sunless and Frostblade alone.
Sunny looked at his old teacher, still in pain.
"You… Didn't need to do… That… It will end in a minute or two…"
The Saint, on the other hand, looked at him with a serious stare, yet it was full of worry.
"You mentioned that becoming a Devil changed your body much more thoroughly, and that it took longer. Becoming a Tyrant will likely demand much more from your body, and your mind, apparently. I won't take any chances."
She hesitated, then added.
"And I think your little sister wouldn't like to see you like this."
Sunless couldn't help but laugh.
"In the end… You're a softy, you know that?"
His teacher chuckled slightly, a rare sight indeed.
"Keep telling yourself that…"
She said something else, but Sunless couldn't hear her anymore, he fell unconscious right after.
— —
[Your shadow is complete.]
[You have acquired more rights from your Lineage.]
[You have acquired a new attribute.]
With a jolt, Sunny woke up, still in the middle of his room, all the pain was gone, on the contrary, his body was healed and his head felt better than ever, like he could absorb any information. But this time, surrounded by familiar faces.
Frostblade was still there, on his side, on the other side, Lunae was putting his hand over Sunny's head, probably using one of his Abilities to check on him.
Seishan and Rain were also there, on the door, watching him. Relief Washed over them as he woke up.
"Sunny-!"
Seishan held Rain as she tried to rush over to Sunless, as if signaling to wait for a moment.
Lunae finally moved his hand away from his head. His demeanor not showing any humor.
"Are you alright?"
Sunless held his fingers against his head and nodded.
"Hmhm. Better than alright, seems like evolving did more than just boosting my body."
Frostblade and Lunae looked at each other, seemingly having a conversation between them with a mere glance. Then they looked at Seishan and Rain… Lunae spoke with as much calm as he could muster at the moment.
"He's fine, we expected something like this…"
He got up along with Frostblade, holding up a hand out for Sunless, who accepted, folding his leg to get up.
Rain looked up at Seishan, who despite her furrowed brows, nodded along and let the little girl go.
She dashed to hug her brother tightly.
He let her, Sunny held Rain, caressing her head.
"I'm fine Rain… I'm being honest."
She didn't say anything, merely hugged her dear brother.
After a few seconds, Frostblade touched Rain's back.
"Come, let him rest."
Without saying anything, Rain leaves the room, being led by Frostblade's cold, yet comforting hand.
With Rain out of the room, the three left could talk about the event freely, Lunae turned to Sunless.
"Now, what did you gain?"
Sunny looked at his runes.
"Attribute: [Monarch of the Shadow]. Makes sense, I did become a Tyrant."
Seishan approached.
"If you follow the logic of nightmare creatures, you would gain something to do with thralls, or in your case, followers."
"Let 's see."
Focusing on the attribute, the Description appeared.
[Monarch of The Shadow]
Description: [As the ruler of Shadows, the blessing of shadow is yours to give. You may share this blessing to those who worship you the most.]
[0/10]
Sunless hummed, understanding the basics. It was really like Nephis's, the last part and the counter showed that it was a limited blessing only given to those who he saw as extremely loyal. Lieutenants, if you will.
Sunny explained the Attribute and the possible use for it.
Lunae widened his eyes a little.
"An attribute that has a limit? Strange, but considering we are talking about a Divine Lineage, I guess strange things are bound to happen."
Sunny shook his head.
"I don't think it's necessarily a 'limit', maybe it's just how many my soul permits, my 'shadow' permits. Just like my Innate Ability, maybe it is limited by how many cores I have. The Attribute itself isn't limited, but I am."
Seishan nodded, moving his fingers to his chin.
"If that's the case, your upper limit is 14, since it looks like it is double your current Soul Cores. Since you have five cores, it is 10."
She then smiled.
"So, who are going to test it on? I'm sure your Shadow Watchers would love to have your blessing."
Sunny chuckled, smiling at the comment, but soon, his brows furrowed, remembering that one of his subordinates couldn't be trusted at the moment.
"I'll give the blessing to them… Except for one."
The other two raised their brows, Lunae couldn't help but ask.
"Why? Who are you not giving it to?"
"Lycon… I can't trust him right now."
Sunny explained the reason for his decision, including the flaw of the son of Pillaris. Lunae nodded, agreeing with the decision.
"From what I know, Pillaris are a tight family that keeps their secrets close to their chest, the death of the past primarch, Valerius Pillaris, was kept under wraps. Not even Valor knows exactly what happened, but I do know that the remaining members are loyal, very loyal, to each other, even more than to Valor."
Sunny raised his brow at that.
"Then why was Valerius and Lycon an exception?"
The Saint sighed.
"That I can't say, but remember, this boy, Lycon, is not a credible source, if he is reckless enough to waste his memories on a simple experiment, he may just have forgotten just about everything after years of using his Aspect on the Forgotten Shore."
Seishan was deep in thought, until she widened her eyes in realization.
"Why didn't they make a way to help him?"
Sunny turned to her confused.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Even the lesser Clans make all sorts of Memories to alleviate the flaws of their scions. Why didn't they make one for Lycon? Like a recording Memory or a diary for the Forgotten Shore?"
Sunny crossed his arms.
"Because they hated him, no?"
Seishan shook his head.
"From what Lycon said, the hate is one-sided, never once did he say his family hated him in return, only that they didn't like when he spoke of his father.
In no way did he mention that he was abused or treated differently."
Sunny widened his eyes as well, understanding, remembering a very important detail of Lycon.
"He never asked for any weapons or armor. Nix mentioned he always had Memories for combat and protection, ever since he arrived at the Dark City, and they weren't of low quality either."
Seishan nodded.
"Compare this to Mei, who had received the wrath of her Clan for indirectly killing her father. She gained almost nothing."
She continued while sighing.
"He is a perfect spy, has the motivation, the skill, the powerful Aspect, and a way to bypass lie detectors, even if it is random. Maybe it would explain why he overused his Aspect and why Pillaris didn't try to get him once he Awakened."
Sunny scoffed.
"A spy that doesn't even know he is a spy…"
But Lunae presented the problem with all of that.
"Then how would they activate this spy?"
The siblings paused, listening to their teacher as he continued.
"A flaw is not something that can just be resolved easily like this. They would gain nothing if their spy just forgot about everything."
Seishan hesitated.
"Hmm… Maybe they would just show him he is a Pillaris, hoping he would choose his blood over Song."
Lunae nodded.
"Maybe, but that's not enough evidence. For now, let me see into it, complete the Second Nightmare, then we'll see."
Sunny sighed.
"Alright, let me talk to Rain, she must be nervous."
Seishan touched his arm, a sympathetic look on her face.
"Alright, I'll wait for you in the entrance, soon it will be time to go to the Chained Isles."
Sunny nodded, and left the room in search of his little sister.
— —
Rain was sitting on the seats on the corners on the training dojo, looking down on the ground in worry.
Beside her, her Training instructor, Frostblade was right beside her, touching her shoulder in a side hug.
On the other side of the dojo, two other people were there, a small girl, similar age to Rain, with tan skin and gray hair, she was sitting on the other benches while watching Rain with something akin to curiosity and worry. Beside her, a tall man with the same hair and skin, wearing grey armor, stood in waiting, not looking at anything in particular.
"Rain, you want to talk?"
Frostblade's voice was different from normal, it was full of worry and tenderness. Rain shrank even more, hugging herself.
"No…"
The Saint sighed.
"You are worried about him."
The little girl unexpectedly snapped.
"Of course I am!! You saw what happened, he was in pain! And now you are saying he is fine?"
Frostblade didn't flinch, understanding the girl's anger as she continued her outburst.
"First he goes to a Death Zone, then he wants to do the Second Nightmare, now he… He… I don't even know what happened to him!"
As she finished, Rain looked down and hugged herself once more.
"I just wanted to understand…"
Frostblade heard everything, letting Rain calm down.
After she did, the Saint spoke.
"You can't."
Rain gripped her fists, her voice full of spite.
"Why?"
Frostblade ignored the disrespectful tone of the girl, and explained.
"Because you are not ready, because you are not safe."
"Not… Safe?"
The Saint sighed.
"The Great Clans are not as untouchable as you think Rain, you just being here is already a danger, there is a reason I insisted to bring you to the Dream Realm. The less you know, the better."
Rain squinted her eyes.
"But… I'm not even a Song!"
Frostblade shook her head.
"They won't care, if they know you are connected to Sunless… They will use you."
Rain looked down, desolated for not being able to understand anything her brother is going through…
Frostblade observed the little girl, until she felt a presence enter the dojo, it was subtle, but she noticed it. Looking to the entrance, she saw the only son of Song, Sunless, walking towards them.
She immediately understood that he wanted to talk to Rain, alone, so she got up. Signaling for the two other people in the dojo to leave.
The tall man nodded, guiding the little girl beside him to get up, letting her mind wonder.
Now that they were alone, Sunny approached Rain, sitting beside her while looking ahead.
They stood silent for a few seconds, until Rain asked something that was in her head ever since Sunny came back from the Forgotten Shore.
"Why do you have to go?"
Sunny turned to her.
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you have to become a Saint? Why do you constantly fight? Why do you have to be a Song?!"
Sunny stared at Rain for a couple of moments, the question permeated in his head.
'Why do I fight…'
If she had asked this question before he entered the Forgotten Shore, he wouldn't have an answer, the truth was, he never really had a goal in his life, becoming a Saint was just something natural, he is the son of a Sovereign after all.
But now he had, now he knew exactly how to answer.
"Because I have to make sure none of them die a meaningless death."
Rain looked at him confused.
"Because I can't let them suffer for nothing. I have to fight because I am blessed, because I am strong."
He turned to look at Rain's eyes directly.
"I'm a Song because my mother saved me, I have to repay her, and stand by her side. And make sure no one dies for nothing."
Rain stared at him, emotion brimming in her eyes.
"Why does it have to be you?"
He smiled, and touched her shoulder.
"Because I'm the Heir of Peace Rain… It's my responsibility."
— —
Sunny left Rain at the dojo, leaving her alone to think.
Frostblade was waiting.
"How is she?"
Her voice was steady, but it did show care and worry.
"She's fine, just needs to think."
Frostblade nodded, sighing, she closed her eyes for a moment to breathe. When she opened them, her usual cold demeanor returned.
"You should go, Seishan and Moon must be waiting."
Sunny nodded, turning to leave.
"Sunless, one more thing…"
He stopped and listened.
"... Eventually, her adopted parents won't be able to keep up with her, regardless of what we or she thinks of them, they are the ones who raised her, they are the only thing anchoring her to any sense of normalcy."
She turned to look at him.
"When they are gone, you'll have to be that anchor."
Sunless stared for a moment, and nodded.
He turned away, walking towards the entrance of the manor.
— —
Reaching the entrance, as Frostblade said, Seishan and Moon were already there waiting for him.
Moon welcomed him with a smile.
"Well? Are you ready?"
Both Awakened nodded in anticipation.
"Good! Because I'm not."
Sunny paused, completely baffled.
"Huh?! What do you mean you're not?!"
Moonveil laughed at Sunny's reaction.
"Did you forget Sunny? I'm only able to get one person to the Dream Realm, I've only been a Saint for two years. Plus, Valor only allowed one Saint from Song to go to the Chained Isles, those guys are really paranoid…"
Seishan looked at her sister while looking dead-panned.
"Then how do we go? One at a time?"
Moon snickered.
"Of course not, Sky Tide will help."
Sunless and Seishan widened their eyes in genuine surprise, for a Saint of Valor to help a Saint of Song…
As they absorbed the information, they felt a presence dawn on them, the air suddenly seemed more intense, as if electricity flourished into it.
They turned to the gates, where a woman wearing white armor approached the siblings, her blond hair cascading like a river of gold. Posture straight as an arrow and a serious face to complement.
Saint Tyris, Sky Tide.
Sunless immediately tensed, the idea of a Saint from Valor approaching the Song manor was preposterous, baffling, like a fairy tail from a children's book. Yet there it was. The head of the White Feather Clan, Saint Tyris walked like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Moon however, was completely calm, she even turned to Sunny and chuckled.
"Brother, you know we wouldn't let her come in like that…"
He raised his brow. Only for his face to turn dead-pan the next second, of course they wouldn't, and after expanding his Shadow sense, it was obvious Sky Tide wasn't just 'walking in'.
There were a dozen elite Masters from the Clan who were currently observing the Saint from Valor, along with two Saints, Moon herself and one whose shadow Sunny recognized, the Saint of Sorrow.
Safe to say, Tyris couldn't do anything even if she wanted to.
Sky Tide finally reached the siblings and turned to Moonveil.
"Princess Moonveil, I presume you will be the one to accompany us?"
The white-haired daughter of Song smiled, but the smile was a little too forced.
"Of course I will, I have to make sure you don't do anything you'll regret…"
Tyris nodded, and proceeded to grab Sunless' shoulder. He sharpened his eyes at her, Undying Blade mentioned that Sky Tide wasn't exactly loyal to Valor, but that didn't mean they were allies.
"We'll be brief then."
Moonveil, in turn, grabbed Seishan's arm.
"Of course."
The Saints pulled on their tethers.
----- -----
The Chained Isles was a Zone that bordered the Hollow Mountains, at the very north of the territories claimed by Clan Valor. It was a Zone mostly unexplored by humanity due to how hard it was to travel in and the abundance of Nightmare Creatures of all kinds. The whole region consisted of numerous islands that somehow floated in the air, connected to each other by gargantuan iron chains.
Sunny suddenly appeared on the main Citadel of the Chained Isles, the Sanctuary of Noctis. It was ruled by Saint Tyris and controlled by her Clan, the White Feather.
Upon arriving, Sky Tide immediately let go of his shoulder and turned away.
"I must return to my duties, there's already a guide for you, just need to wait."
With this, she left.
Sunny crossed his arms and sighed, more waiting.
Seishan and Moon had just arrived too.
"Hmhm. Alright, now you just need to set your anchors and watch your back for the whole time you are here."
Seishan hummed in accordance.
"Yes, I can already tell there are multiple eyes watching us…"
Sunny sighed, he could feel it too, the various shadows stalking them.
Moon took a look around and noticed her time was up.
"Time for me to leave, good luck!"
Moon disappeared the next second, pulling on her tether.
Sunny felt the stalking shadows moving more now that his Saint sister got out.
'I swear, I hope this guide is–'
He felt a familiar shadow approaching them from the sky.
Sunny smirked and looked at his elder sister.
"I think you'll like this guide of ours."
Seishan raised her brow in a questioning manner. But soon understood as a figure fell down from the sky and landed on the ground, raising dust.
A certain archer revealed his charming smile. Seishan glared at Sunny as a light blush invaded her face.
Kai, the Nightingale.
"Hey guys! Welcome to the Chained Isles!"