บท 3: Chained Isles
The next moment Sunny opened his eyes, he was… within a Citadel? That's what he assumed it was, at least.
He started to recall some shallow information about this place.
'The Sanctuary of Noctis…'
The Citadel that served most Awakened of the Chained Isles as the home was situated on a tiny island of its own. That island, however, was rather anomalous: unlike all others, it never rose and never fell, always remaining at a stable height, away from the torturous pressure of the Crushing — a phenomenon that occurred in this region of the Dream Realm, causing an increase in pressure the higher an island went..
There was a grass field, and in its center, massive menhirs stood in a perfect circle, which encompassed another, smaller one. This larger circle formed the outer wall of the Citadel, while the smaller one formed the inner.
Inside the circle, there was a tranquil park with a pool of clear water in its middle. A path of stones led to a small island at the center of the pool, where, in the shade of an ancient tree, an altar cut from a solid piece of white marble stood.
The altar had three special things about it.
The first one was an obsidian knife that lay on its surface. The knife did not seem very special, with the exception of the fact that no one — not even Saints — was able to lift it even by a centimeter from the altar's surface.
The second special thing about the altar was that it appeared to be, itself, the Gateway. One simply had to touch it to be transported back to the real world. Once anchored to it, the Awakened would appear near the altar when they fell asleep in reality.
The third thing was that a seemingly endless stream of water flowed from the altar, feeding the pool that surrounded it. No one knew where the water came from or why the altar produced it, just that it was cold, sweet, and safe to drink.
Seven streams flowed out of the pool and eventually fell over the edges of the small island, turning into water dust in the wind. On a bright day, the whole Sanctuary was surrounded by rainbows.
'That was… weird.'
It was as if a specific set of memories just revealed themselves to him.
In any case, the space between the two rings of menhirs had been made into a place for the Awakened to rest and recuperate between their ventures into the wild expanse of the Chained Isles. The White Feather clan had built walls to close the spaces between the standing stones, and recruited several people with useful utility Aspects to make living conditions better for those who chose to come here or were sent to this region by the Spell.
Currently, there were about two hundred Awakened populating the Sanctuary, which was enough to keep it functioning and safe.
'Well, I guess this is convenient.'
Wasn't there something he had to check the moment he was alone?
Sunny shook his head, walking away from the gateway of the Sanctuary. No one really knew who Noctis was, and why this place was called in their honor… if that name even belonged to a living creature. It was just what the Spell called this place, so humans followed suit.
Using one of his shadows, he scouted out the area. There weren't many people around, but Sunny made sure to avoid those who were. He wasn't sure what the time currently was — not that it mattered much, as it was different across the Universe — but he could guess that most people weren't up at this time. In the Dream Realm at least.
He couldn't go back to the real world right away, as there was a time limit between when an Awakened could exit the Dream Realm after entering it. It was around eight hours, so if anything bad happened in the real world…
Sunny decided to forget about that for now. There wasn't much he could do about it. Worst case scenario, he have to attempt the Second Nightmare, and without help as well.
He sighed as he exited the Sanctuary. He had a room that he could go to, if his memory served him right. However, there wasn't much he could do there right now. He needed a productive way to pass the time…
"Listen, once you wake up, check the Vessel of Remembrance the moment you are alone."
Sunny did a one-eighty degree turn, and walked right back into the sanctuary. He used shadow step, and ended up in his room.
'Wha- why did I just-'
He automatically held his hand out, summoning a memory out of white sparks. However, it wasn't a weapon this time. Instead, a small journal appeared within his hands, with a leather cover and a diamond patter across the front.
'This is… the Vessel of Remembrance?'
Sunny blinked as he automatically opened the journal, flipping over countless pages containing sketches of horrific Nightmare Creatures, maps, Aspects, and other miscellaneous things.
'Did I do all this?'
Suddenly, the turning stopped, landing him right in the middle of the journal. Strangely enough, the journal never seemed to run out of content as he flipped through it. Sunny guessed that it must have been an enchantment that allowed for endless pages.
The strange compulsion controlling him released him, allowing him to move of his own accord. He would normally be quite alarmed at losing his ability to control his body, but he was strangely calm, almost like he was expecting this.
Sunny looked down at the page that was opened up to him. Unlike the previous pages that contained information that would help within the Dream Realm, he instead was looking at a… letter?
Thinking that it couldn't hurt to read it, Sunny began:
Dear future Sunny,
Hey there! You're probably wondering who I am… and the answer is… you! Yep, you heard that right. I've reached the point of insanity where talking to myself is the norm. Don't believe me? Of course you should! I'm the most honest man in the world after all. Two worlds actually.
'Who is this guy, and why is he so annoying?!'
Sunny decidedly ignored that this person could very well be himself, if their words can be taken seriously.
Anyways, I don't got a lot of time before my memories get wiped, so I'll tell you the basics. First off, not every single one of your memories will be gone. Basic information about the world around you will still somewhat exist, but you'll need to be put in a situation where it becomes relevant to truly recall it. Honestly, I don't get how most of this works.
Second, once you get to the Chained Isles, ALOT of people are going to recognize you. You're actually something of a celebrity in the Dream Realm, so act natural whenever somebody approaches you.
'Wait a second…'
Recognition. Recognition leads to fame. Fame creates a reputation. A positive reputation means…
Sunny's eyes sparkled in greed.
'Money!'
He would be able to set up business opportunities with powerful people, giving him the ability to make piles of money!
'Thank you, past me!'
Make sure to milk people dry, alright? Ah, who am I kidding, of course you will!
Sunny was almost one hundred percent sure that he was actually reading an authentic letter from himself.
The last thing I have to say, is to not worry too much about Shadow Bond.
Sunny's face fell as he was reminded of those runes.
It's caused me some trouble in the past, making me do some things that I regret. Even so, on the off chance you meet your master, be patient. You wouldn't believe me without seeing it yourself, but AR-26710 is the last person who would use the bond against you. Hell, she wouldn't use it even if her life were at stake.
'…What?'
Sunny… couldn't believe what he was hearing.
In his whole life, he couldn't bring himself to trust anyone, and yet…
He was being told that he had trusted a person enough to allow them to live even after they used his True Name?
'Bullshit!'
He must have been ordered to write this! Someone like him, who fed off of the lies he told others couldn't possibly trust someone else to such a degree!
It was ridiculous! It went against everything he had to do to get to this point.
He grit his teeth, resisting the urge to destroy the journal as he read through the rest of the letter.
Besides that, be nice to the little gremlin. Well, not too nice… but don't ignore her! She might cast a ritual to burn your pants…
'…Seriously?'
Also, make sure to look in the mirror the first chance you get. You'd probably be surprised.
Good luck, but don't rely on it. You'd probably still need it though…
Sunny turned the page, seeing that there was nothing more to read. He sat down on the bed of his room, staring at the wall across from him.
Sunny glanced at the chest next to his bed, and decided to check what was in it.
'No… fucking… way…'
Sunny closed the chest, stood up, and silently pumped his fists in the air. He didn't want to wake anyone up, after all.
'I'm rich!'
Sunny continued to thank his past self for putting him in such a good position. His chest was full of soul shards, which although Sunny couldn't use them, they were the main form of currency for Awakened.
Sunny flopped back down on his bed.
'Hm… I've had comfier.'
Sunny raised up the Vessel of Remembrance, flipping back to it's front page. He had quite a bit of time to spare, so he may as well learn as much as he can. Well, relearn, that is.
***
Sunny dismissed the Vessel of Remembrance, having gained pools of knowledge from his past self. He was able to figure out what some of his attributes did.
[The War], an attribute that described itself as the lineage of the War God, mainly effected his mind. It gave him the ability to think with absolute clarity in battle. [Essence of Divinity] simply increased the potency of his essence, which was very useful for any Awakened.
However, it was the last two attributes that really stood out.
[Blood Weave] seemed to have another effect outside of making his blood more tenacious. It was what allowed him to see a memory's true structure. The attribute gave him the ability to see the nodes of light within a memory.
The last attribute he had obtained in his First Nightmare also seemed to have an extremely important effect for Sunny.
[Breach of Styx]: As you are blessed by multiple gods, you stand as the symbol of the broken, everlasting promise made in ancient times.
Based on what he read within the journal, two lineages could not coexist. However, [Breach of Styx] allowed it to happen, which meant he was probably the only person to carry multiple lineages.
'Well, maybe that's going a bit too far.'
Anyways, he had also learned something else about [The War]. The lineage was already granted to another clan. A rather powerful one at that, known as Valor.
'Ican't have that information going out.'
This must have been why the Spell had stated that he had stolen the lineage, rather than gaining it through normal means.
Sunny closed his eyes, trying to look deep within himself.
That was when he saw it.
Two black suns hung in the sky, reminding him of the solar eclipse. They radiated dark, wispy flames, while exuding a sinister light of divinity. The shadow cores were orbited by multiple, smaller orbs, which represented the memories he had collected.
The most prominent thing however…
'This… is insane.'
There were too many of them.
Ragged beings infected with worms, crustacean horrors, ghouls with elongated limbs, giant maneater's with unhinged jaws, wolves with their guts out, corpses that sprouted flowers, centipedes with large sacs, and many other abominations.
Oh, and there were humans too.
Many, many humans.
He barely remembered the last time he had come here, right after completing his First Nightmare. Everything after was a blur, but he was sure he didn't have this many shadows within his soul sea. It seemed that he was quite active before.
'Was I just going on a murder frenzy or something?'
Sunny was astonished at the harrowing sight, but this time, he wasn't afraid of the still horrors. Rather, he was amazed by the sight, wondering what type of lives they had all lived before dying to his blade. His soul sea was almost like a compilation of the history and lives of the fallen.
Sunny walked up to one of the shadows, recognizing it as the Mountain King from the Nightmare. Interestingly enough, there was not a hint of madness in the Awakened Tyrant's eyes. Rather, there was a hint of calmness as it stared back at Sunny.
It was almost like it was at peace, devoid of corrupting madness.
As Sunny exited his soul sea, he could instinctively feel that not enough time had passed to allow for him to return to the real world. He got up from his bed, getting ready to head out into the wilderness.
Sunny opened the door, just to freeze as he almost bumped into someone.
Someone who was staring right at him with a cheshire grin on her face.
'I couldn't sense her!'
He checked through the eyes of his shadow, and realized that he could still see her through other means. It seemed like only his shadow sense didn't work on her.
"Were you surprised, shadow boy? I used a little trick that lets me escape those pesky sixth senses people like you have…"
'An assassination attempt?!'
Sunny stepped back, ready to duck into the shadows if necessary…
"…I mean, it's impossible for me to give you a little shock when you already know I'm coming!"
He blinked. He… really wasn't expecting that.
"…Do I know you?"
Now that he actually looked at her, she did seem familiar. In fact, he could have sworn he had just saw her an hour or two ago.
But that wouldn't make sense! He was in here, trying to learn as much as he can from the jour-
'…Oh.'
The girl in front of him clutched her chest in mock offense, pretending to be extremely hurt by his words.
"How could you, shadow boy? Forgetting about your favorite Fool is a crime, you know? Ah, I wonder how I should punish you…"
While reading the journal, he had found an entire section that was… dedicated to this girl in front of him.
"Uh… can't you greet me normally, Sparkle?"
Yes, Sparkle. That wasn't her real name, but it seemed that she didn't have a habit of telling people what it was. Actually, his past self made it sound like he knew what it was, but it seemed like he hadn't wrote it down.
Either way, he didn't know what her real name was currently, but as long as she didn't ask that in particular, he shouldn't end up exposing the problem with his memories.
The contents describing her were… very extensive. They ranged from complaints, rants about things she had done, a list of pranks she had pulled on him, her likes and dislikes(why would he ever need those?), multiple well-drawn sketches(more than he needed for a single person), long paragraphs that consisted of what Sunny could only describe as scrapped childish love letters he could only expect out of a middle schooler, and much more.
'What type of lunatic was I?!'
However, what had truly caught his attention was the fact that her Aspect, attributes, some key memories, and some other miscellaneous details were listed. Even a comprehensive explanation of her fighting style!
Most importantly, he had her flaw.
"Are you seriously thinking about how to kill me?"
Sparkle's voice caused Sunny to snap out of it, feeling like he had been caught red-handed. The girl was pouting at him while jabbing her finger into his chest, causing him to realize that although he was taller than her… he was still short.
'It's not like I was going to actually try to kill you! It's… just a precaution!'
"I, uh… guess I was."
'Damn flaw!'
Instead of becoming outraged or sad, she simply started to giggle at his response — it was as if she had expected him to say something like that.
Sparkle was a short, pale girl with eastern features. She had dark brown hair that faded to red at the tips — tied into long twintails. She wore an ornate, red kimono that Sunny immediately recognized as a garment memory. She had red painted nails, and a red flower-shaped tattoo near her right shoulder.
Although it seemed normal, he instinctively knew that the tattoo was similar to his own Serpent.
There were two red dots on her face, each of them set right under her eyes. She had red eyeshadow that accentuated her exotic eyes — which matched her shoulder tattoo.
'Can you even bring makeup with you to the Dream Realm?'
The answer was… sometimes. It would depend on if a Master or Saint brought some with them, or if you had a storage memory. Of course, mundane tattoos wouldn't carry over to the Dream Realm, so it was obviously some sort of attribute.
However, Sunny knew that she hadn't worn some for the sole purpose of her appearance. In fact, it was something she used to get closer with the core of her Aspect, according to his journal.
'Closer to the concept of a Fool, whatever that meant.'
"What happened to your hair? And your eyes?"
Sunny tilted his head, wondering what she could have meant. He hadn't really paid much attention to his appearance, considering that he was more worried about the strange situation he was in. The journal did tell him to look in the mirror though…
Rolling his eyes up, Sunny noticed something strange. Just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he pulled down a bundle of hair, twisting around to get better lighting.
'Huh?'
Sunny let go of his hair, face completely emotionless.
"…What do my eyes look like right now?"
Sparkle leaned forward some, squinting her eyes to get a better look.
"…They're gold. Didn't think you of all people would go for a crazy makeover."
Sunny fell to the floor, startling the petite girl. He kneeled on the floor, looking at the floorboards in despair.
'Damnation! My sweet, black set of hair and eyes that I had gotten from my mother… stolen from me in exchange for some ridiculous color scheme! Who even has grey hair and gold eyes?!'
Sparkle stared at him in confusion, wondering if she should do anything. She raised her hand before hesitantly patting his head.
"…If it makes you feel better, I think it suits you! Makes you more… unique!"
"It's not unique if everyone has bright color schemes! My whole thing was shadows, so a darker theme would be way better! Also, please stop touching me."
"Well, I guess I can't argue with that…"
She pulled her hand away, allowing the boy to stand up. He walked right past her as he tried to leave the building.
"Wait, wait, wait! You can't leave me just yet!"
Sunny shot her a tired glance.
"…I probably could."
"I'm being serious!"
"…Is that even possible?"
Sparkle had the audacity to look sheepish.
"Well, that's a lie. But still!"
Sunny realized that he probably couldn't get away easily unless he humored her. He sighed.
"So? What do you want?"
Sparkle pouted at his agitated state, before grinning as she latched onto his arm. She dragged him with her outside the building.
"What do you say we go on a little date, just the two of us?"
"I'd wonder if you hit your head as a baby. No way in hell do I want to go on a date with you!"
"Oh? Are you saying I'm not cute, shadow boy?"
Sunny scowled.
"I didn't say that. I'm just saying that I prefer girls with a more gentle, feminine demeanor, over whatever you would be classified as."
"And THAT is why girls don't like you."
"How did you know girls don't like me?!"
***
Sunny strained all the muscles in his body as he tried to stop the massive jaws from biting into his flesh.
"Is this your idea of a date?!"
Sunny shouted out while fighting for his survival; the girl who had put him in this situation stood a couple dozen meters away, drawing something on the floor.
"Hm? Why do you seem so surprised? We've done things way more exciting than this, like fighting an awakened demon right after calling horrors from the depths, leading an army of sleepers against a fallen terror, exploring an uncharted portion of the Dream Realm… fun stuff! Oh, the trap is done now, by the way."
"I'm surprised because your idea of a date and mine are completely different!"
Sunny had thrown the jaws of the wolf-like creature to the side, instantly using shadow step to travel to Sparkle's side. They stared down the wolf, that of which seemed confused by Sunny's disappearance. Once it had located him though, it rushed forward, moving all four of it's legs with powerful strides.
However, it did not notice the intricate pattern that formed a circle in front of it.
Once the wolf stepped on the circle, it staggered, tumbling over itself as it rolled over to Sunny and Sparkle. The circle that Sparkle had drawn on the floor disrupted the functions of the soul, and caused the wolf to be completely discombobulated. It wasn't true soul damage, but it was extremely useful for disabling an enemy.
Sunny stabbed through the wolf's neck, killing it for good.
[You have defeated a Fallen Monster, Dread Wolf.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Shadow fragments could only be gained by directly killing an enemy that is equal to Sunny's own rank or higher. The amount he would get doubles with each rank, and is multiplied by the class.
For example, if Sunny killed an Awakened Tyrant, such as the Mountain King, he would only gain a single shadow fragment as they are the same rank. However, he would instead gain five, as a tyrant has five cores.
Just now, Sunny killed a Fallen Monster, which would mean he would gain four shadow fragments — two for each core, as it was one rank above him.
His progression path was much more difficult than the average Awakened, but it also displayed much more promise.
Speaking of progression…
Sunny watched as Sparkle removed a tooth from the Dread Wolf, before summoning a small storage memory that looked like a bag. She placed it inside before dismissing the memory.
This would normally seem strange, as their was no use for Nightmare Creature teeth outside of those who use them for crafting Aspects, but based on the notes from his journal, Sparkle had a… very complicated Aspect.
He would go as far to say that her Aspect was something he didn't want to fight against no matter what.
As a mere Aspirant, Sparkle was granted attributes that gave her an astounding talent in mysticism, ritual, and other supernatural phenomenon, while also having a perfect memory. According to the Vessel of Rememberance, she had spent over seven months within her First Nightmare, attempting to learn as many tricks as she could.
Once she had completed her First Nightmare — obtaining a True Name in the process — the Winter Solstice was only two weeks away. However, the time she had spent gave her more than enough tools to survive.
Strangely, her Aspect didn't give her any new Aspect abilities, but instead told her the means to become stronger with each rank.
Sparkle needed potions.
Based on what he knew, when she had become a Sleeper, she was given the knowledge necessary to make the potions she needed. The same thing occurred again when she Awakened.
The potions were separated by Sequence, going in descending order. As an Aspirant, she was at Sequence 9: Seer. She didn't need to consume a potion to become one, as her attributes had turned her into one.
Once she became a Sleeper, she had gained the knowledge of the Sequence 8 potion: Clown. However, she never got the chance to create it when she got sent the Dream Realm, as the materials she needed weren't in that location. It was also where Sunny assumed they had met, based on the contents of the Vessel of Remembrance.
Interestingly enough, Sparkle seemed to have an innate intuition that told her where she could find some of the materials to her potion. It must have been an extension of her Aspect, or perhaps assistance from the Nightmare Spell.
Either way, she was currently at Sequence 8, and had roped him in to helping her gather materials for Sequence 7: Magician.
In truth, the potential of her Aspect was extremely horrifying.
"You can't call a lady horrifying! That's suuuuuper rude, you know?"
Even more horrifying was her obnoxious personality.
'Did I say that aloud?'
"I wasn't talking about you. I was referring to your Aspect, idiot. It's really ridiculous that you get something so versatile…"
Sparkle crossed her arms before letting out a "hmph" sound, smugness apparent on her features.
"How many times do I have to tell you? The great Aha bestowed the power of his path to me, so of course I'm so great. I even got a Sacred Aspect!"
…Considering that he had obtained a Divine Aspect due to being blessed by two gods, he wouldn't be surprised that an Aeon could grant her something similar.
Suddenly, with great dexterity, she had hopped onto Sunny's shoulders, causing him to yelp in surprise.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Sparkle leaned forward, allowing Sunny to see her face, although upside down. She seemed quite confused herself, but Sunny couldn't tell if she really was or not.
One thing that the Clown potion gave her the ability to do, was to be able to control her facial expressions perfectly, giving her the ultimate poker face.
"…What do you mean?"
"I'm not your ride. I'm sure you can walk on your own."
Sparkle blinked, before a grin split across her face. Sunny suddenly felt two soft cushions squeezing against the sides of his head.
He reddened.
'Th-thighs!'
"Wha- stop that!"
"What's wrong, shadow boy? Does it remind you of the time that I was pressed up against you when we were hiding from the Carapace Demon?"
"Everything's wrong, and it doesn't remind me of anything!"
Sunny's voice echoed throughout the island, but the place was mostly peaceful. At least, it should have been, according to his shadow sense.
Sparkle cackled as she went back to her previous position. As Sunny fumed however, her face reverted to a neutral position, eyes narrowing as she contemplated something.
***
"Did you get everything?"
Sunny's voice sounded out on an island riddled with the corpses of horrid abominations, most being of the Fallen rank. There was even a Devil, which would have been extremely difficult for Sunny to beat without Saint.
With the assistance of Sparkle however, they had been able to clear the area out. After searching for the correct Nightmare Creature, Sparkle took out a knife and gouged out the eyeball.
'What am I, her bodyguard?'
Once she had obtained the eyeball, she dropped it in her bag nonchalantly, before turning to Sunny with that same obnoxious grin.
"Yep! All done now."
She skipped over to where Sunny was, looking up at him expectantly. Not knowing what she wanted, he just walked away, about to gut open the Nightmare Creatures for soul shards.
Neither him nor his shadows noticed the empty gaze piercing his back…
A low, eerie sound of giant iron links scraping against each other interrupted his thoughts. The island Sunny was currently on seemed to have entered the ascending phase, so his time here was running short.
He didn't have much time, so harvesting would have to be quick.
The Chained Isles… the Chained Isles were a strange place.
Situated at the very north of the territories claimed by humans, they bordered the Hollow Mountains — a death zone that not even Saints could cross. The known Dream Realm was separated by the eerie mountains, the northern part having few humans.
The whole region consisted of numerous islands that somehow floated in the air, connected to each other by gargantuan iron chains. It was mostly unexplored, and the Awakened population here was not very large. Notably, there were not a lot of Masters and Saints here, especially those associated with the Legacy clans... be it great or lesser.
What the Chained Island had in abundance, instead, were the Nightmare Creatures of all kinds, from Dormant ones, to Awakened, Fallen, and terrifying Corrupted abominations. Each island had its own menagerie of horrors, and the level of threat differed from one to another. Most were utterly deadly, though. Much more deadly than an average Awakened was supposed to be able to handle.
But Sunny was not an average Awakened. To him, this was a perfect hunting ground, a place where he could sharpen his blade against foes he shouldn't even be thinking of going against. Or at least he had thought that way, at the start… right now, he was starting to suspect that it was more of a place where he could die terribly without being seen by anyone who would have been able to help.
Truly, the Chained Isles were a hellish land.
And not only because of the Nightmare Creatures. The place itself was capable of killing a person… or, rather, its sky could.
High above the floating island, there was the usual sky with the sun, the moon, and beautiful stars that shined brightly at night.
However, there was another sky in this strange land, the one that was below the islands. It was always dark, and the ethereal lights burning at an unimaginable distance in its vast expanse only looked like the stars. No one really knew what they were.
The only thing that humans knew was that the Sky Below was seemingly endless.
Descending into the Below was not immediately dangerous, but there was nothing there. According to his journal, some crazy daredevil had once fought his way through the hunting grounds of Nightmare Creatures that dwelled beneath the islands and spent a whole week flying straight down. He had to turn back, eventually, because out there in the boundless darkness, his mind began to show signs of breaking apart. Even the winged Echo he used to descend into the Below had almost gone insane.
But other than being absolutely empty, the Sky Below did not seem to pose a threat.
…Flying above the Chained Isles, however, was rather deadly. The higher one went, the more crushing their weight would become, until they would either fall down, or their body would simply implode.
That was why every human on the Chained Isles knew to pay attention to the sound of rattling chains. Every island in the region went through cycles of ascending and descending, and as they rose too high, the pressure on their surface grew tremendously, to the point where it was impossible to move... or breathe.
Ideally, Sunny had to get off the ascending island before that happened.
He should not have been lingering to retrieve the soul shards from the corpses of the monstrous wolves he and Saint had killed, really. But…
His eyes glistened with avarice.
Soul shards meant money, and if there was one thing Sunny really enjoyed, it was making money. No amount was ever enough.
An independent Awakened like him had a lot of expenses…
'Fine. It's fine. I'll be off this thing in no time…'
He quickly cut the dead beasts apart and fished out the soul shards from inside their bodies. Hiding the beautiful crystals in his pack, Sunny hesitated for a little, then sent his essence flowing and tossed the first corpse off the edge of the island.
Sparkle watched in curiosity.
"What are you doing?"
Sunny glanced at her for a second, continuing the act of removing the corpses.
"If I decide to come back to this island, I don't want to leave too much meat around for Nightmare Creatures to sniff for."
He was planning to come back here soon, and leaving so much meat lying around could make the future visit rather problematic.
...Sunny only had one more carcass to dispose of when he suddenly noticed a swift silhouette descending from the skies.
Locking eyes with Sparkle, he gripped the Midnight Shard tersely as he waited for it's approach.
'...What the hell?'
Surrounded by a halo of sunlight, a majestic griffin was quickly approaching the island. At first, Sunny assumed that it was a Nightmare Creature, but then noticed a human figure on the monster's back.
A human rider meant that the magnificent griffin was an Echo.
Sunny's face grew dim.
Very few people could have such an Echo on the Chained Isles. And out of those...
He was pretty sure that he knew the identity of the unwelcomed visitor. His past self had… quite a bit of renown(although he didn't know what for), so he was bound to meet some people in high places.
Whether due to his affinity for fate, or more mundane reasons.
Sparkle walked over to him, probably having similar thoughts as she observed the Griffin. She tapped her glabella twice, activating one of the abilities she had gained in her First Nightmare: Spirit Vision.
Sunny didn't know the specifics, but it seemed to have allowed her to understand more about a person's mood or health.
The griffin folded its white wings and dove down, then opened them up near the ground to slow its fall. Sunny raised his hand to cover his eyes from the dust that was sent into the air by the powerful gust of wind.
'...Strong.'
The mighty beast shone with ethereal light and disintegrated into a rain of sparks, letting the rider land nimbly on the ground. He regained his balance swiftly and straightened, then turned to the pair of Awakened.
The man in front of him was tall and had broad, powerful shoulders. He was wearing a light armor crafted from the adamantine scales of an unknown monster, with a blue scarf wrapped carelessly around his neck. His hair was the color of straw, as was his manly beard.
The stranger's eyes were bright blue, and dangerously attentive.
Sunny and Sparkle stared at the man for a moment, the former bowing as the latter performed a crude curtsy. Sunny addressed the man:
"Master Roan."
Indeed, the man in front of him was none other than Ascended Roan of the White Feather clan — one of the only three Masters on the Chained Isles.
Well… there were probably only three.
Unlike the Forgotten Shore, this region of the Dream Realm had several Gateways. Two were found, conquered, and turned into Citadels by humans. Both Sunny and Master Roan — as well as pretty much everyone else on the Chained Isles — belonged to one of them, the Sanctuary of Noctis. That Citadel was ruled by the White Feather clan, which was one of the vassal clans to the great clan Valor.
The second Citadel was rather mysterious. It was situated at the very edge of the region, near the dreaded Hollow Mountains, and belonged to Valor itself. Only those in direct service to the great clan were anchored at its Gateway, so Sunny had no idea what went on there, and how powerful the Awakened stationed at the Citadel were.
He did, however, know a bit about Master Roan. Similar to his knowledge of the Chained Isles when he had entered the Dream Realm, he was able to recall general information about people of importance.
'Can I only remember stuff that I wasn't personally familiar with?'
He must have only recalled information that the general public was aware of; for convenience, most likely.
One such piece of information was that the man in front of him was married to the only Saint on the Chained Isles.
…Roan looked between the two, eyes flashing in recognition as he gave the two a friendly smile.
"…Ah. You two must be the Prince of Shadows and Red Herring, right? Hm… I thought your hair was black…"
'…The what?'
Sunny was aware that his reputation was something he needed to pay attention to, as he didn't know what exactly he had done in the past. However, if a Master had recognized him on sight, and had even referred to him with an epithet…
'Am I… actually a big deal?!'
Was this the beginning of Sunny's popular phase?
The other name, Sunny had recognized. Red Herring was the True Name that Sparkle had recieved in her First Nightmare, making her one of the few who had not only recieved one, but had done so at such an early point.
Unfortunately, Sunny was one of those few.
'A prince, huh?'
It was technically true, as he seemed to be the heir to Shadow God. However, it made it difficult to seem unassuming…
Sunny decided that he had to figure out what he had done to gain such fame!
Sparkle was acting… quite dignified. In fact, Sunny was somewhat pissed that her gremlin-like behavior completely disappeared the moment anyone who is in a higher position than her arrives.
'Where is my respect, huh?!'
She replied to Master Roan with an affirmative, using the bodily control she had gained from the Sequence 8 potion to keep her facial expressions and body language accounted for. To anyone who had not seen her usual personality, they would think that she was a pleasant woman to be around.
Master Roan stared at the last carcass, seemingly impressed by the fact that two mere Awakened defeated a Fallen Nightmare Creature.
"I have heard about what the survivors of the Forgotten Shore were capable of, but seeing it myself is something else…"
'Ah.'
He must have seen the Nightmare Creatures falling over the edge of the island. Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I can be very lucky, on occasion."
It was technically the truth, as Fated made impossible things happen around him. Both positive and negative.
Master Roan shook his head, brushing aside Sunny's words with the belief that he was just being humble.
"Nonsense. I don't think a little luck would give someone the ability to lead an army of Sleepers in what is basically a Death Zone. With minimal casualties as well, considering he situation."
'I… uh… what?'
Sunny almost believed that Master Roan had lost his mind!
'A Death Zone. An… actual Death Zone…'
Death Zones were areas in the Dream Realm where not even Saints could survive. Whether it was due to the appearance of Nightmare Creatures or at least the Great Rank, or because of the extreme factors of the environment, humanity was not powerful enough to exist there.
If Saints couldn't survive, than how could a Sleeper do so? Sunny knew he wasn't capable of surviving in one as he was now, and he was a whole rank lower when he had performed such a feat!
Master Roan shifted to a different topic, completely oblivious to the scrambled mess in Sunny's mind.
"You two should know that it is dangerous to remain on an ascending island, right? Why are you still here?"
Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then shrugged. He could worry about everything else later.
"We were just about the leave and escape to the next one over when you appeared… sir."
The tall man sighed.
"Yeah, that's what I figured. You've spent all your luck on that beast, though, it seems. All three of the island connected to this one are also ascending. You two wouldn't have been able to escape even if you left on time."
Sunny stared at him for a while, a sour expression appearing on his face.
'...Damn it.'
"Uh… what about that beautiful griffin of yours, sir? Surely, it can bring the three of us away to safety?"
Sunny glance at Sparkle, who seemed to be rather silent currently. However, he did not miss that mischievous glint in her eyes. It was as if he had spent years learning how to detect it.
…It must have been a defense mechanism.
Roan grinned.
"He is rather beautiful, ain't he? Well, not that it matters. In theory, we can dive below the islands and escape through the Sky Below, but believe me, you wouldn't want to meet the things that dwell on the dark side of the Isles. Even I prefer to avoid those things."
Sunny blinked.
"Then what do we do?"
The tall man laughed.
"I guess you're about to experience your first Crushing, Sunless. Don't worry, though! The chains of this island are on the shorter side, so it won't ascend too high… well, most likely. And I'll be here to bring you back to the Citadel if you pass out. Provided that we survive, of course."
Sunny shivered, feeling as if some repressed trauma was stirring within him.
'I must have been through this before.'
Sunny glanced to his right, where Sparkle stood…
…Just to find her drawing an intricate array around herself. He looked towards Master Roan, who was just as confused as he was.
She couldn't have had something for this exact situation…
'Right?'
Once she had completed the complex circle, she closed her eyes, absorbed in whatever she was doing, before opening them once more. With a polite smile on her face, she turned to Master Roan.
"This circle causes a seperation from any supernatural phenomena. As long as I stand within it, I would be completely unaffected by the Crushing, so…"
Sparkle glanced at Sunny, who had a surprised expression on his face. The versatility of her Aspect was truly astounding…
"…I'll just be sitting here. Unfortunately, I can't make a circle big enough for multiple people. I'm only an Awakened after all…"
'Bullshit!'
Sunny had no doubt in his mind that she could have shared with him and Master Roan. At the very least, she should have allowed him to stay in it with her!
So what if they would have ended up pressed up against each other, having to feel the other's body for hours on end? Anything was better than dealing with the Crushing.
'I'll definitely get back at you…'
With a sigh, he dismissed Saint, who had been hiding in the shadows all along, and took off his pack. Then Sunny found a soft-looking patch of grass and placed it on the ground. Behind him, Master Roan dismissed his scale armor and unwrapped his scarf, then tied it around his waist.
The less weight was on the human body during the Crushing, the easier it was to endure, and the more chances of survival there were. However, the Puppeteer's Shroud and Finality's Farewell were made mostly out of soft fabric, so Sunny left them on. He also wanted to neither reveal nor dismiss the Soul Serpent.
As the giant chains groaned and rang thunderously, and the island rose higher and higher, the two of them lay on the grass and prepared to be crushed. Meanwhile, Sparkle sat on the floor, staring directly at Sunny with that same polite smile on her face. It was obvious she was mocking him, but he didn't think he had done anything to deserve such treatment.
She certainly seemed like she was getting her revenge…
Master Roan stared at Sunny's slender physique, then at his own mighty muscles, and sighed with envy.
The Chained Isles was one of the very few places in the Dream Realm where being small and light was an advantage.
"...If you feel like passing out, turn your head to the side. Wouldn't want to suffocate on your own spit or vomit, right? Uh… sorry for being crass, kid."
Sunny grimaced and thanked the older man in a suppressed voice.
He was already feeling an invisible force pushing him into the ground.
'This... is going to suck.'
As if answering his thoughts, the invisible force suddenly grew stronger, crashing into him like a giant hammer.
Laying on the soft grass, Sunny felt his body grow heavier, and heavier still. The island continued to rise into the sunlit sky, and with each minute, the crushing pressure became slightly more unbearable.
The ancient forest covering its surface bent, a rain of leaves falling to the ground. The mighty trees lowered their branches, almost as if trying to touch the ground. With a loud crack, a few weaker ones broke and plunged down, showering everything around with sharp splinters.
Sunny grimaced, feeling his whole body struggle under the strain. He could still move and breathe without too much trouble, at least… for now. Soon, the island would rise high enough to make any kind of movement almost impossible.
…And if he was especially unlucky, it would continue to ascend, eventually making it hard to even inhale. Hopefully, the chains would draw taut long before that.
Sunny glanced at Sparkle, who seemed to take great pleasure in his suffering. Without a hint of shame, she reached out and started to play with his hair. He lashed out, attempting to bite her hand in retaliation.
He wouldn't be able to stop her once they went a bit higher, so he may as well get his anger out now.
The skies above the Chained Isles were beautiful, but also forbidden. Nothing could survive their crushing embrace — neither humans, nor Nightmare Creatures. Nor anything else…
Well, except for one thing.
Shifting his gaze, Sunny looked straight up and found the shape of the Ivory Tower drifting high above the world, wrapped in a veil of clouds.
The Ivory Tower was the only thing that seemed to be capable of withstanding the deadly pressure of the forbidden sky. It was a tall, magnificent pagoda built out of flawlessly white material that was neither stone nor wood. The island on which it stood was very small, barely wider than the base of the tower itself, and surrounded by drifting slabs of shattered marble.
Seven broken chains hung from the soil of the island, swaying as it moved.
The Ivory Tower was visible in the sky both during the day, bathed in sunlight, and at night, glowing beautifully with the reflected radiance of the moon. No one knew what the mysterious structure was and why it remained untouched by the obliterating force that destroyed everything else that dared to rise above the Chained Isles, since no one had ever managed to withstand the ever growing Crushing to get anywhere near it.
Many even believed it to be a mirage.
'Crap…'
The island on which Sunny had the misfortune of getting stuck had finally reached the highest point of its ascent and shook violently as the chains connecting it to other isles drew taut. The pressure at this height was torturous… but not deadly.
His bones were not breaking under the assault of the Crushing, and he could still breathe, even if with great effort.
It would have been better if Sunny could wrap the second shadow around his body, but he didn't want to appear too strong in front of Master Roan.
Speaking of the devil…
The mighty rider chose that exact moment to speak. His voice sounded a little strained:
"Hey, Sunless. Can you breathe alright?"
Sunny gritted his teeth and struggled to speak. In the end, all he could manage was an affirmative grunt.
"Good, good. This is actually not that rough, as far as Crushing goes. If we rose by another hundred meters, though, even I would be having a bad time."
'...Good to know.'
At this point, Sunny was regretting that they had not climbed on the griffin and dove into the Sky Below.
The Chained Isles was a dangerous place, and the Nightmare Creatures living on them were fearsome and powerful beyond belief.
However, the creatures living under the islands were much, much worse. Sunny had seen them from afar a couple of times in the last couple hours, and the mere memory of those horrors was enough to send a shudder running through his entire body.
Still, they could have fought their way through… probably…
It would have been better than this diabolical torture, for sure.
'Argh…'
But there was nothing he could do now except grit his teeth and endure. Minute after minute, hour after hour. Sunny couldn't even think properly because of how terrible the pressure of the boundless skies was. All he could do was suffer silently and stare at the Ivory Tower.
There was also the the fact that Sparkle was constantly messing with him as time went on. Poking his face, messing with his hair, whispering sensually in his ear…
"C'mon, I'm sure you can take it… I might give you a reward later~"
'What am I, your pet?'
Sunny was not enjoying himself.
His shadow, on the other hand, was having a great time. It didn't move, reluctant to get noticed by Master Roan, but he could feel it stare at him gloatingly.
'Bastard… I'm going to wrap you around the Ordinary Rock and make it scream without rest for twenty-four hours straight… let's see who's going to be gloating then…'
The [Ordinary Rock] was a memory that could be used to record voices.
The shadow hesitated for a bit, then awkwardly pretended to be interested in something else and looked away.
'Yeah, that's right...'
Somewhere in the forest, another tree exploded with a loud crack. Sunny tried to turn his head to look in that direction, but it demanded too much effort. He didn't have to worry about being attacked by Nightmare Creatures in this helpless state, anyway. They were currently hiding in their lairs, enduring the Crushing the same way he was.
Who could fight under this hellish pressure?
Sunny felt as if there was a mountain on his chest. Every breath demanded his utmost effort to make. His whole being ached, and his vision had become blurry. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and circulated the shadow essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent to keep his slowly breaking body going.
'Damn it… isn't that space station under an invasion? What if something happens to my body?'
He was starting to feel really hurt when the blessed sound of rattling chains finally reached his ears once again.
'Oh, thank gods…'
After about four hours, the island had finally begun to move again, entering its descent phase. Little by little, the crushing pressure began to grow weaker.
Master Roan sighed with relief by his side.
"The worst part is over. Just wait a little bit more, kid. You're almost there."
Sunny sighed. He wasn't sure if he was a kid or not anymore, considering he had forgot a few years of his life. He was thirteen when he was infected by the Nightmare Spell, and the next second, he was an Awakened.
Most importantly though, he was taller.
A dozen long and torturous minutes later, the island descended enough for them to move, and then slowly stand up.
The Crushing was over.
Sunny slowly rolled on his stomach, then rose to his knees. He was breathing heavily, and his whole body felt as if it had just gone through a meat grinder. Master Roan, on the other hand, looked almost unperturbed.
Sparkle meanwhile, just winked at him mockingly.
'…You better watch your back.'
The rider was already on his feet, tying the blue scarf around his neck with a relaxed expression on his face.
The forest around them let out an almost human sigh of relief. The ancient trees creaked and cracked, rising their brancher back toward the sun. Those that had broken remained on the ground, adding to the nearly impenetrable layer of deadfall.
Sunny glanced at the older man with a bit of envy, then stood up and tried to shake off his exhaustion. After spending a few minutes resting and drinking greedily from the Endless Spring — a memory that produces endless water —, he almost felt alive again. Glancing at the tall man, he asked:
"How are you able to fly up there on your griffin? I mean… no offense, but that seems like something only a crazy person would do."
Roan laughed.
"I don't rise too high unless I really have to. Usually, you can fly above the descending islands without experiencing too much pressure. After a while, you develop a sense of how much your body can handle, and for how long."
He massaged his broad shoulders and added, a note of pride in his voice:
"Plus, I am a Master, after all. I can withstand much more than an Awakened would. You did exceptionally well, however. To be honest, I was pretty sure that I would have to abandon my patrol to bring your bleeding body back to the Sanctuary at full speed, then throw it into the Gateway. I guess it's true what they say about you Forgotten Shore kids."
Sunny blinked a couple of times and asked cautiously:
"...What do they say?"
The older man smiled.
"Tough as nails, disturbingly indifferent to pain and fear, strong… almost scary. Scary children, that was the exact phrase I heard."
Sunny lingered for a few moments, then scoffed.
"Indifferent to pain and fear? What nonsense. I pride myself on being a coward — as one should. What's wrong with being a coward? Fear keeps people alive, while bravery gets them killed. As for pain, no thank you. I have been beaten, burned, crushed, drowned, cut, stabbed, pierced, bitten, chewed, and gutted enough times for several lifetimes already."
As Master Roan gave him a strange look, Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Uh… what?"
The tall man shook his head, then scratched his chin and said in a wondering tone:
"No, nothing. It's just... if that is true, Sunless… then what are you doing here on the Chaines Isles? Shouldn't you be having a nice time in a safe place like Bastion?"
Sunny looked away in embarrassment, then coughed. He glanced at Sparkle, who was also quite curious.
He wasn't sure what the original reason was, but…
Master: AR-26710
"That… uh… there are several reasons for that, actually. Not the least of which is that…"
He looked side to side, then lowered his voice and said in a gravely serious tone:
"…The thing is, the Chained Isles has an abundance of Nightmare Creatures. I don't really like risking my hide, but every time I see a soul shard, something calls out to me. It tells me: 'You see those soul shards Sunny? One day, you might be able to buy the ultimate trash can.' And like a drug addict from the outskirts, I was hooked!"
He grinned and watched as Master Roan stared at him with an incredulous expression. After a while, the older man said:
"You are a strange fellow, you know that?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Huh? Everyone knows that, I think. Anyway… don't tell anyone about what I've just said. I don't want the competition."
Sparkle was turned away, obviously resisting the urge to laugh. Sunny could imagine that she would have been cackling if she couldn't control her facial muscles.
The tall man blinked a couple of times, then smiled:
"No problem. Do the two of you need me to take you back to the Sanctuary? Or will you both be fine returning on your own?"
Sunny thought for a bit, then said:
"We'll be fine. It's not that far, anyway. The two of us will be… able to get there pretty quickly."
Master Roan nodded and patted Sunny on the shoulder.
"Alright. Then I'll be on my way. It's been nice meeting you, Sunless. Ah, you as well Red Herring. If you need anything in the future, don't hesitate to find me in the Sanctuary."
With that, he summoned his Echo. A sea of white sparks appeared out of thin air and swirled, slowly turning into the figure of the mighty griffin. The winged beast towered above Sunny like a gargantuan mix between a lion, an eagle, and a pure nightmare. Slowly, it lowered its head, staring at him with two beautiful, inhuman eyes.
Its beak looked about as fearsome and terrifying as that of a Spire Messenger.
Sunny tensed a little and took a couple of steps back, prepared to dissipate into the shadows at any moment.
He didn't really think that Master Roan would suddenly attack him, but being paranoid was better than being dead.
The tall man summoned his armor, then easily jumped on the griffin's back and raised a fist to bid Sunny farewell. In the next moment, the Echo stretched its wings and pushed itself off the ground, sending a squall of hurricane wind in all directions.
Sunny struggled to remain on his feet, and then looked as the griffin flew into the distance. Slowly, a friendly expression disappeared from his face.
'Well, what do you know…'
The famed Master had turned out to be a rather pleasant person. Granted, he was a Legacy by marriage, and not by birth… still, Sunny had expected to be treated with a lot more disdain and contempt, at best hidden behind a mask of false courtesy.
With a sigh, he walked over to the carcass of the monstrous wolf and sent it flying over the edge of the island with a frustrated push.
The corpse of the abominable beast plummeted down and soon disappeared into the darkness of the Sky Below.
Making sure that nothing appeared from beneath the island to snatch it, Sunny lingered on the edge for a couple of minutes, then sighed…
"Well that went pretty nice, if I do say so myself."
Sunny turned his gaze towards the girl besides him, who was rubbing her head as if she had exerted herself.
"…What the hell was that about?! I know for a fact that you could have fit me into that circle."
Sparkle fluttered her eyelashes, drawing attention to her exotic eyes.
"Are you accusing me of being a liar?"
"Yes!"
She shrugged.
"Honestly, you should be thanking me. By making sure that the two of you had a little bit of a… manly bonding moment, you now have a connection to a Master here."
Sunny blinked, before widening his eyes in realization. Everything she had done once Master Roan showed up allowed her to remove herself from the picture. The distant politeness, only using the ritualistic circle on herself, and the "reward" for staying awake.
…Well, he didn't think he needed that last one, but his point still stands.
However…
"Wait, why didn't you just attract his attention to yourself? Wouldn't that have been more convenient?"
Sparkle looked at him strangely, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You're the protagonist here, not me. Instead of a shadow following the Fool, it is the Fool following the shadow."
'Protagonist? Me?'
Sunny almost scoffed.
Red Herring grinned, poking Sunny right in the center of his forehead.
"Besides, you can't make any friends without my help!"
With a skip in her step, she dropped down…
…Into the bottomless abyss.
Sunny looked down incredulously, watching as she plummeted down, summoning some sort of memory on her back. From where he was, they seemed to be insect wings…
'What do you mean I can't make friends?! Of course I can, I just don't have any reason to…'
With a sigh, Sunny dissolved from the world of light…
…And found himself in one filled with shadows.
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Type_Sword
Type_Sword I’m sure some of you have noticed, but Sparkle’s Aspect is literally just the Fool Pathway from LOTM. Some might think this is busted, and it is. The thing is though, I’m using HSR as a reference for scaling, not Shadow Slave.
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