Chapitre 44: Starting a Resistance
Sunny tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the rotting wooden table, his eyes darting between the crude map in front of him, Nephis, and Caster.
He exhaled slowly, knowing the weight of the decision he was about to make. "So, you want me and Pleiades to join your cohort?"
Nephis nodded in confirmation, while Caster, put on an almost imperceptible fake smile.
"While I've only become aware of your capabilities today, I can see why Lady Nephis would want you on our team" he said smoothly, though his words rang hollow in Sunny's ears.
Sunny couldn't help but inwardly scoff. 'Lady'? He's laying it on thick' he thought.
(Are you sure he won't try something fishy?) he asked, watching Caster carefully.
[No clue, probably] pleiades replied casually.
[But he will be plotting. He's manipulative and controlling. Don't let your guard down. He's always up to something.]
Sunny shifted his gaze toward the Han Li scion, watching as Caster threw a strange look at Regis, who was lazily lying next to Effie, enjoying the affectionate pats she gave him.
"I never knew there were echoes that could talk" Caster remarked, eyeing Regis curiously.
Then he turned to Sunny, trying to appear impressed. "It's remarkable that you've earned such a useful echo."
Sunny felt a pang of annoyance at the comment. Regis, basking in Effie's attention, didn't even bother acknowledging the legacy's words. But Sunny could feel the pressure in his head so he answered the legacys assumption.
"He's not an echo," he corrected flatly. "And he's not mine. Like you were told he is the summon of the other guy thats residing within me."
Caster's confusion deepened, but Sunny brushed it off, turning his attention back to Nephis.
"Why are you planning to visit every statue?" Sunny asked, his voice steady but curious. "Is there something important we need from them?"
Nephis paused before glancing at Cassie, who had been standing silently in the corner. "Cassie had a vision," Nephis said. "She also wanted Pleiades to confirm it."
Cassie stepped forward, her expression thoughtful but grave. "Yes, I saw the seven statues. Each had a light that was absorbed by a powerful Nightmare Creature. Then came a cohort of seven people, one for each statue, who defeated the abominations and received the light."
She paused, her brow furrowing as she recalled the details. "After they slayed the creatures, the lights they collected turned into seven keys when they were united. They then marched with an army hundreds strong and attacked the Spiral."
The room grew tense as Cassie continued, her voice more urgent now. "A person died every second in that battle. When the time came, they opened the door to the Spiral. But before they could enter, I heard a roar so powerful that it rippled through me. Then the Spiral itself shook, and the Dark City was swallowed by a violent canopy of destruction and a blinding light that descended upon a monstrous shadow."
As she finished, the silence that followed was thick with dread.
Regis, having stirred from his content purring under Effie's care, now looked dumbfounded. Nephis, frowning slightly, turned to Sunny. "Can Pleiades explain this?"
Sunny swallowed, caught off guard. (Can you?) he asked Pleiades silently.
Pleiades seemed stumped for a moment.
'Was this in the original?' he had a good amount of confidence in his memory, but that part... the roar, the destruction... What could it be?' Despite his uncertainty, Pleiades pieced together what he could.
[The lights are probably Shard Memories. I have one, and so does Effie. To open the Spiral, you'd need all the Shards. But to get the Shards, you have to make physical contact with the statue corresponding to the weapon the person would receive when they kill one of the guardians] Pleiades explained.
Sunny relayed the information quickly, and Nephis blinked once before asking, "And the rest?"
[The rest? The battle would obviously be deadly, but as for the roar and the destruction that came afterward… I don't know.]
Sunny delivered the message, his tone betraying a hint of uncertainty. Nephis looked momentarily surprised that Pleiades didn't know something, but she gave a thoughtful nod.
It was unclear whether Pleiades truly didn't know or was simply holding something back, but Sunny left it at that.
"He says the battle would be deadly, but the rest is unknown to him" Sunny said.
Nephis nodded in understanding, then turned back to Cassie. "Then we should prioritize the statues first" she said, her voice firm. She and Cassie spoke quietly for a few moments before Nephis approached Sunny again, her gaze intense.
"So then, Sunny," she said, her voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of expectation, "will you and Pleiades join us?"
Sunny weighed his options carefully. His eyes flicked to Caster, still wearing his practiced, charming smile, and then back to Nephis.
(Let me guess, we'll join them right)
[I get the feeling that you think my responses to you are predictable.] he faked a hurt tone and sunny forced himself not to sigh.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"We're in."
********
Taking a step back, I narrowly ducked out of the way as the abomination's massive, clawed hand swung toward me with furious force.
Its bellowing roar echoed through the air, shaking the ground. Predicting its next move, I sidestepped to the right, barely avoiding the blow.
Using the momentum, I delivered a left hook to its torso, activating [Load Amplifier] to enhance the strike.
My hand pierced through its grotesque flesh, leaving a gaping wound.
I yanked my hand back just in time to dodge one of its tail whips. Grabbing hold of the whip-like appendage, I held the creature in place and activated [Hachi], slashing through its body and causing it to bleed profusely.
Staggering backward, the abomination screamed in fury. From the shadows, Regis leaped toward it, his claws infused with destruction.
One touch was all it took—flames ignited and quickly spread across the creature's form, reducing it to ashes within seconds.
Two soul shards remained on the ground where the abomination once stood. Regis eyed them hungrily. I gave him a nod, and without hesitation, he licked his lips and consumed them.
We'd been hunting all day, and this was the twentieth abomination we'd slain. It was about time we headed back to the cathedral—today had been long enough.
As we made our way back, I mulled over everything that had transpired and the plan that had solidified in my mind.
I had agreed to join Nephis' cohort under two conditions.
First, I would be allowed to claim one shard memory during our journey, in exchange for my information and, begrudgingly, providing food.
I sighed. 'So much for not pampering these guys anymore' I thought, grumbling internally.
The second condition was non-negotiable: I would be the one to kill Gunlaug. Despite the objections, especially from Caster, I stood firm.
Nephis would fight him in a public spectacle, but I'd be the one to land the final blow, helping her from the shadows during the battle if needed.
Before we left, Cassie had pulled me aside for a private conversation. She'd revealed something peculiar—something that explained her initial reaction to Regis.
She could perceive his attributes, and as thanks for joining the cohort, she explained them to me.
The first attribute allowed Regis to gain a second soul core after fully saturating his first. His core's capacity was smaller than most Sleepers', meaning he could saturate it in half the time.
The second attribute, which intrigued me the most, limited his ability to ascend in rank—he could only rise if he caused chaos or killed many abominations. I immediately decided to let him join me in killing Nightmare Creatures more often.
And well the last time he helped me was when teleported stone saint to a isolated part of the city and had regis distract her, then i just weakened her by stealing her ability to move and allowed sunny to deal the finishing blow.
The third attribute, possibly the most practical, allowed him to lend his abilities to the one he was inhabiting.
That meant if he entered my core, I could use his powers, like destruction and merging with shadows. We'd have to test that soon.
The fourth attribute enabled him to create constructs out of his or my essence, infusing them with destruction. The fifth, though less obvious, granted him heightened intuition and immunity to madness and corruption—both very useful, especially in the tomb of Ariel.
As Regis finished devouring the shards, I noticed something strange about his core. It looked as if it was about to burst. Regis, clearly feeling the sensation, grinned widely.
"Look!" he exclaimed, hopping excitedly. "I think I'm gonna get a second core!" He circled around me in excitement.
I grimaced, remembering the painful process sunny had gone through back at the tree. "Right, but you do know what comes with another core, right?" I asked, and his face fell as realization hit him.
"Oh… Fuck" Regis muttered, his excitement turning to dread. Then, his body convulsed. He howled in agony as his flames roared to life, swirling uncontrollably around him.
I quickly backed away, scanning the area for any abominations that might be attracted by the commotion.
(As someone who's gone through that pain, I sympathize) Sunny commented with slight pity. But there was also a hint of enjoyment.
Regis had been relentless with his teasing, so Sunny was more than a little pleased to see him suffer for once.
The transformation took several agonizing minutes, and when it was finally over, Regis stood there, barely managing to stay upright.
His flames had settled, and his core had expanded—there was now a second one, small but unmistakable. His first core, though depleted, remained intact.
I waited for him to regain his senses. When he finally looked at me, still disoriented, I asked with a smirk, "You full?"
Regis growled in response. "Am I full? Of course, I'm full of fury! No one told me it would hurt that much. That sucked."
I chuckled, turning toward the cathedral. Regis shifted back into his incorporeal form and nestled into my core, clearly exhausted from the ordeal.
He had finally grown into a monster, but now I couldn't shake the strange feeling of being… behind.
Technically, according to the usual progression of Shadow Slaves, I was lower than these two—Sunny and Regis.
'Eh, whatever' I thought, shrugging off the notion. I could still take out a good Saint if I really tried.
With that thought in mind, I made my way back to the cathedral.
Next Chapter: Stone Legion
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