The battle was over, but the adrenaline still pulsed through his veins like a slow poison. Sunny sat heavily against the damp, mossy wall of a shallow cave they had found nestled among the colossal roots of the floating island. Outside, the dense forest remained perfectly quiet.
A few paces away, Cielle sat with her knees drawn to her chest, her white wings folded tightly against her back. She was staring into the gloom of the trees, lost in her own silent world.
Sunny did not disturb her. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cold stone. The physical wounds he had sustained were already scabbing over, but the burning pain in his side remained. It was a lingering ache that sank deep into his core, a terrifying reminder of the soul damage the mimic had inflicted.
As he focused on his breathing, the cold voice of the Nightmare Spell echoed in his memory.
[You have slain an Ascended Reflection.]
Sunny opened his eyes, a deep frown forming on his pale face. The words repeated in his mind, gnawing at his impeccable understanding of the Dream Realm. Why did the Spell call that thing an Ascended Reflection? What was a Reflection? And why was it Ascended instead of Fallen?
How could a Nightmare Creature be Ascended?
He frowned deeper, the pain in his side momentarily forgotten.
'Was it not a Nightmare Creature? How is that possible?' he thought.
The rigid classification system of the Nightmare Spell was something he had studied with the utmost dedication. Abominations were classified as Dormant, Awakened, Fallen, Corrupted, Great, Cursed, and Unholy. Only humans, the infected carriers of the Nightmare Spell, possessed the titles of Sleeper, Awakened, Ascended, Transcendent, Supreme, Sacred, and Divine. The apparition was definitely not a human, so what else could it be if not one of the Dream Realm's abominations?
And there was one more thing.
The Spell did not say that his shadow had grown stronger, did it?
A sudden spike of anxiety pierced his exhaustion. To make sure, Sunny summoned his runes and checked the number of his shadow fragments. Just as he had suspected, the number remained completely unchanged. He did not gain a single fragment from the grueling, near fatal battle.
He closed his eyes again and dove directly into his Soul Sea. Standing upon the glassy, perfectly still surface of the dark water, looking up at the silent, towering shadows of the creatures he had slain. The massive carapace of the scavenger from the Dark City was there. The horrifying silhouette of the spire messenger was there. But as he walked past the rows of shadowy figures, he found nothing new. There was no shadow of the mimic.
'This is very, very strange,' Sunny thought, opening his eyes and returning to the damp reality of the cave.
What the hell had he just killed?
With a deep frown on his face, Sunny reached into his pocket and pulled out the jagged mirror shard he had retrieved from the creature's dissolving remains. He held it up to the pale light of the glowing moss. No matter how he looked at it, the shard resembled a perfectly mundane piece of glass, with a thin layer of silver painted over its reverse side.
The only strange thing about it was that no matter how Sunny turned the shard, it refused to reflect anything except for an impenetrable veil of darkness. He could not see his own face, nor the glowing moss, nor the rocky ceiling of the cave. It simply stared back with a bottomless, empty void.
He turned the shard over. There was an inscription on its reverse.
Sunny's frown deepened when he realized that the inscription was not made with the ancient runes of the Dream Realm. Instead, what he saw were the familiar letters of the human alphabet. They were clumsy and awkward, as if written by a child's hand with a crude tool.
There was only one word written on the mirror shard: Beastie.
'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' Sunny thought, his paranoia flaring up.
The mystery of the Mirror Beast was so strange that for a time, Sunny even forgot about the burning pain in his side. He ran his thumb over the crude letters, feeling a chill run down his spine. He carefully wrapped the glass in a piece of cloth and placed it securely into his pack for later thought. He did not want to look at it anymore today.
Eventually, he whispered to the quiet cave.
"An Echo?"
Echoes did not possess souls, so he expected that slaying one would not reward him with any shadow fragments, just like what had happened after the Mirror Beast's death.
The apparition, however, was obviously not a standard Echo. It was too independent, sentient, and had too much individuality to be a simple copy of a dead Nightmare Creature. Not to mention that it had been roaming the Chained Isles in a feral state, hunting prey and establishing its own territory with no human master in sight.
There was, however, a type of being that it closely resembled.
Sunny threw a dark look toward his own shadow pooled upon the rocky floor. In many ways, the strange Reflection resembled a Shadow. It was capable of independent thought, it possessed an intricate core, and it somehow gave off a strange feeling to him.
Was the Mirror Beast a type of Echo created by someone's Aspect? Its creator must have been incredibly powerful, then. If so, where were they? What had happened to them, and why was their Reflection wandering the Chained Isles in such a feral, unrestricted state?
There were no answers.
It was just a theory, anyway. Sunny had no proof whatsoever to substantiate it. The Chained Isles were a prison, and perhaps this creature was simply another twisted inmate left behind by whatever ancient calamity had shattered this land.
Maybe his new memory would give him some answers.
Sunny summoned the runes again and stared at the shimmering text, excitement rapidly rising in his heart and washing away the cold dread of his theories. This was what he had been waiting for.
Memory: [Cruel Sight].
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: IV.
Memory Type: Weapon.
'A weapon,' Sunny thought, a greedy smile touching his lips.
Sunny had been searching for a new weapon for a long time. He was very fond of the Midnight Shard, since that was the sword he had carried through the darkest time of his life, and with which he had fought his way out of the absolute hell of the Forgotten Shore. It was a very powerful Memory, too, one whose enchantment had saved his life on several desperate occasions.
However, Sunny felt that he had outgrown the austere tachi. Or rather, the obstacles he was facing these days had outgrown it.
Many of the Nightmare Creatures on the Chained Isles were of the Fallen rank, and their tough, armored hides presented a lot of resistance to the sharp blade of an Awakened sword. He had to rely heavily on momentum, weak points, and his shadows just to make a dent. Not to mention those Corrupted horrors that Sunny avoided to the best of his ability, for now, but was inevitably bound to encounter one day.
The other reason he wanted to procure a new weapon was the fact that the [Unbroken] enchantment, while extremely potent and useful, could only be accessed in very rare circumstances. Namely, when Sunny was nearing death. This meant that the most powerful trait of the Midnight Shard could only help Sunny if he made a terrible mistake.
If Sunny fought with skill and foresight, however, thus keeping himself from being mortally wounded, the powerful enchantment remained inactive, as it had for the past several months. Paradoxically, the better Sunny performed on the battlefield, the less useful the Midnight Shard was to him.
Hopefully, this was one such weapon. It was an Ascended Memory of the fourth tier, equivalent to a Memory he would have received from slaying a formidable Fallen Devil. That was already a tremendous start. His most powerful weapon right now, the Moonlight Shard, had come from a mere Fallen Beast.
Trying to control his expectations, Sunny trembled in anticipation and read further.
Memory Description: [Full of pride, the noble knight made a deal with the Dreamspawn. Years later, the knight had defeated all his enemies and became a mighty king. On the day that his son uttered the first word, the Dreamspawn came to the king and demanded his pay. He left the kingdom with the child and disappeared, never to be seen again. Much later, the young prince returned and stood beneath his father's throne. He expected to be met with joy and warmth, but was met with fear and suspicion instead. A cruel fate much like its kin, sharing no place in the hearts of a stone heart.]
Sunny frowned at the glowing text.
'Huh, what the hell does that mean?'
The description mentioned a Dreamspawn, or rather, the Dreamspawn. That was the name of an Attribute Nephis had, which she possessed because of being born from a Hollow mother. Were there other people with the same Attribute among the human race? There had to be. And, judging by this strange tale, they had been feared even here, in the ancient history of the Dream Realm?
No, that didn't make any sense. Nephis was described as being born of two worlds, so how could a native of the Dream Realm possess the exact same Attribute?
'Very strange, maybe the name is just a coincidence,' Sunny thought.
He shrugged off the morbid lore. The Nightmare Spell loved its cryptic tragedies, but Sunny only cared about the practical applications. He concentrated his dark eyes on the next set of runes.
'Tell me what you can do.'
Memory Enchantments: [Shapeshifter], [Light Eater], [Ghost Blade], [Dark Mirror].
'Four of them!' Sunny thought, his eyes gleaming with unrestrained joy.
He quickly read the first description.
[Shapeshifter] Enchantment Description: This weapon can shift form between a sword and a spear.
Sunny hesitated for a moment, then turned away from the glowing runes and looked at his empty hand. He just had to see this for himself.
A tenebrous, silvery mist shrouded his palm. An elegant sword materialized from the swirling sparks. It was much shorter than the Midnight Shard, featuring a beautiful leaf-shaped blade that measured roughly the distance between his elbow and the tip of his middle finger. The metal seemed to be forged out of polished silver and served as a perfectly clear mirror. Looking into it, Sunny could see the reflection of his pale face and his dark eyes.
Across the small cave, Cielle's head perked up. She looked at the silver weapon reflecting the surroundings with unblinking eyes.
"Its very shiny," she noted, her voice completely flat. "You are going to blind yourself if the sun ever comes out."
Sunny ignored her unsolicited critique. The hilt of the short sword was made out of polished black wood encased in intricately engraved silver. It was incredibly light and swift. He slashed the air several times and smiled, appreciating the double-edged design that gave him far more freedom in how to swing and recover his momentum.
Then he sent a simple mental command to the Memory.
The black wood of the hilt suddenly began to extend. It shifted and stretched, growing thicker and sturdier. A second later, Sunny was holding a long, graceful spear. The black shaft contrasted beautifully against the silver blade, creating a somber and elegant aesthetic.
Cielle stared at the black shaft and the silver blade. She looked at Sunny, then at the spear, then back at Sunny.
"You do not know how to use a spear," she stated.
"I am an exceptionally fast learner," he argued, giving the weapon a tentative spin.
"You are going to stab your own calf," Cielle concluded. She turned her attention back to not paying anything attention "Tell me before you swing it so I can stand somewhere else."
Sunny grumbled internally. He would show her. Having a weapon that perfectly combined the mobility of a shortsword with the crushing reach of a polearm was a massive upgrade. He turned his attention back to the floating runes to see what else his new prize could do.
[Light Eater] Enchantment Description: The blade of this weapon can reflect, absorb, and expel light.
That would be incredibly useful. As someone who relied heavily on his Child of Shadows attribute, having a weapon that passively darkened the environment around him was an absolute blessing. He could blind his opponents in the middle of a strike while simultaneously empowering his own stealth.
[Ghost Blade] Enchantment Description: This weapon can strike at incorporeal targets.
An incredible ability that would finally give Sunny the power to fight back against the most frustrating creatures in the Dream Realm. He had suffered through terrifying encounters with formless wraiths that were completely immune to physical damage. Now he could cut through ethereal flesh just as easily as he cut through bone.
[Dark Mirror] Enchantment Description: Each attack of this weapon can be augmented with elemental damage. It can store up to two charges of any element the wielder has been damaged by. Current Charges: None.
Sunny gasped quietly. He could not wait. He had to test the Dark Mirror right now.
Sunny stood up and reached into his soul sea, grasping the cold connection that bound him to his greatest ally.
"Saint," he whispered.
The shadows at his feet rippled and rose. The towering, magnificent silhouette of Stone Saint materialized from his shadow. The knight stood silently in the gloom, her ruby eyes glowing softly from behind her dark visor.
Sunny looked at the small charm secured to the dark stone of Saint's chest plate. The Autumn Leaf. Saint was a creature of stone and shadow, making her completely immune to its vile effects so sunny had deemed it perfect for her.
"Saint," Sunny commanded softly, holding out his left hand while keeping his right hand tightly wrapped around the shaft of the Cruel Sight. "Take the charm. Press it against my palm. Just for a second."
The taciturn knight did not question the bizarre order. She reached up, plucked the crisp orange leaf from her chest, and stepped forward.
Cielle watched this exchange with a completely blank expression. "Are you punishing yourself for something," she asked mildly.
Sunny braced himself. Saint pressed the Autumn Leaf against his bare skin.
The reaction was instantaneous. A freezing, agonizing jolt of soul damage shot up his arm, biting into his essence with a sharp pain. It was a sickening, violating cold that made his breath catch in his throat. Sunny violently ground his teeth together, suppressing a groan of sheer agony.
He quickly brought the silver blade of the spear down to touch his own hand and activated the first charge of the Dark Mirror enchantment.
The silver blade eagerly drank the elemental damage. The freezing pain in his hand vanished instantly, pulled entirely into the Ascended weapon. The spear hummed with a sudden, violent vibration.
Then the blade ignited.
It was an ethereal gray flame that clung to the edges of the silver metal. The fire cast absolutely no heat, but it illuminated the dark cave with a blinding, ghostly brilliance. The Light Eater enchantment fought against the sudden illumination, creating a swirling vortex of deep shadows and pure white light around the weapon.
Sunny stared at the burning spear, his pale face bathed in the ghostly glow. He could feel the lethality radiating from the flames. Any creature struck by this weapon would not just suffer a physical wound, their very spirit would be incinerated from the inside out.
He let out a slow, breathless laugh of triumph.
Cielle looked at the blinding fire and then she looked at Sunny, who was still wincing slightly from the pain echoing through his soul cores.
"You set a mirror on fire from the inside," she observed. She did not sound particularly impressed. "That seems dangerous."
"It is glorious," Sunny corrected her. He looked at the glowing runes again. There was still one empty slot in the Dark Mirror.A sudden, terrible idea formed in his mind.
"Cielle," Sunny said, his voice completely serious. "Hit me."
She blinked. "With the spear?"
"No," Sunny said, stepping away from Saint and moving closer to the center of the cave. "With your domain. Just a fraction of it. Press the space against me."
Cielle tilted her head, studying him like he was a particularly confusing puzzle. "You want me to crush you?"
"Just a little bit," Sunny insisted, holding the burning spear ready.
She did not argue. Sunny had shown to be… kinky. Cielle simply nodded once. The air around her shifted, and Sunny instantly felt the sickening, oppressive weight of the Seraphic Domain settle over him. The space around his chest violently compressed, twisting his balance and making his ribs groan under the invisible, unnatural pressure. It felt like the air itself was trying to fold him in half.
Sunny gritted his teeth against the crushing sensation and pressed the flat of the silver blade against his own chest.
He activated the second charge of the Dark Mirror.
The spear hummed with a completely different frequency. The invisible weight pressing against his ribs vanished as the Ascended weapon absorbed the distortion. The ethereal gray flames on the blade did not go out, but they suddenly began to flicker and warp, bending in impossible, non-Euclidean angles. The air around the spear head rippled like heat off a desert road.
He had to see how it moved. Sunny turned toward the empty back wall of the cave, took a proper stance, and executed a full-force thrust.
The effect was absolutely mind-bending. The distance between the spear tip and the cave wall was at least ten feet. But as Sunny thrust the weapon forward, the spatial augmentation activated automatically. The trajectory of the spear warped. It visually appeared to be a standard strike, but the weapon violently closed the gap in a fraction of a second, completely ignoring the physical space between him and his target.
The silver blade struck the solid stone wall with a deafening crack.
Sunny stumbled forward, entirely unprepared for the sudden acceleration of his own weapon. The stone wall hissed as the fire melted the rock, leaving a deep, smoldering crater.
Sunny pulled the spear back, his heart pounding wildly against his ribs. This was crazy, no to be clear, this was beyond that..
"I did not stab my calf," Sunny pointed out, looking back at Cielle with a wide, slightly manic grin.
Cielle looked at the smoking crater in the solid rock wall. She stared at his stupid, slightly crazy grin and then deactivated her domain.
"You missed your calf by exactly two inches," Cielle replied evenly."But the wall looks very dead. Good job."
Sunny dismissed the augmentations, returning the spear to its quiet state before banishing Cruel Sight back into his soul. He thanked Saint and dismissed her as well. His body was bruised and his soul still ached, but as Sunny leaned back against the cold stone of the cave, a terrifying smile stretched across his face.
Looking at his smile, Cielle silently pondered if Sunny was one of those people Lady Tyris told her about. It was pretty common among the awakened since the dream realm was a different kind of hell, yet the more she thought about it… the more some things seemed to make sense.
'A masochist?'