A heavy pressure settled in the room while everyone present stared pietrified at the wall of shadow—fearing what might emerge.
Some of the children in the front row were even in the verge of collapsing. Sunny wasn't fairing any better himself, if not for that invisible force that kept him grounded.
However, even his mysterious supporter was beginning to buckle under the sheer weight of the pressure.
The caretakers behind them, instead, seemed untouched, as if the crushing weight were pointedly bypassing them.
'A soul attack?' Sunny thought as he tried not to falter.
Then, in a snap, the pressure vanished.
From the wall of shadows, a figure finally stepped forth. Its presence shrouded in darkness—as if the shadows were shaping it right there, at that exact moment.
When it finally came to a halt before them, Sunny was finally able to see her clearly.
'She's... beautiful.' He thought, speechless at her beauty.
Before them stood now a young woman with a thin and slender body of an exquisite, ethereal beauty. Her hair fell like a waterfall of ink, reminiscent of a starless night sky. Her eyes, sharp and piercing, were like twin onix-gems, set against skin as pale and delicate as silk. She wore a ground-length toga of fine black fabric, embroidered with threads of dark gold. Unlike the caretakers, her dress was backless and sleeveless, leaving her shoulders and neckline bare to proudly display her Mark of Shadow.
"Greetings to you, young shadows." She announced. Her voice was kind and pleasant to the ears. "I am Thene, the Priestess of Shadows."
As she spoke, Thene's gaze swept across the front row. When her eyes met Sunny's, they lingered. For a second, her beautiful black eyes softened with a blend of fleeting emotions—melancholy, regret, and...
'Affection~ Does Thene happen to know me? Or rather, did she know the boy whose body I've hijacked for the trial?' Sunny wondered, feeling penetrated by her gaze.
Thene continued. Her posture rigid and perfectly composed. "Today, it is my immense joy and honor to lead you, candidates, to the place of your testing. There, it shall be determined which of you is worthy of becoming a receptacle."
She gestured toward the wall of shadows at the bottom of the stairs.
"Come, young shadows. Let the trial begin. I'll show you the way."
Having said that, the caretakers left them alone.
While the others stood paralyzed by fear, Sunny steeled his nerves and took the first step. At the threshold of the shadows, he glanced back; seeing him move, the other youths found the courage to follow.
Thene already waited for them on the other side.
Taking a deep breath, Sunny plunged his foot into the darkness. What he felt next... It wasn't unpleasant, actually.
As he passed through the wall of shadows, it felt as though they were reaching out to welcome him, to embrace him. It felt... right.
Once the last of them had crossed, Thene offered a small smile. "Follow me." she said.
Not a command. An invitation.
The group set off.
The corridors were smooth and featureless, a lightless labyrinth that stretched endlessly soaked in shadows.
When they reached the first fork, Thene turned right. Sunny noticed a few children veering toward the left in their confusion and quickly nudged them back onto the path.
'I'm probably the oldest one here, aren't I? They all look twelve at most.' Sunny noticed. Judging by his height, his current body was around fifteen.
His lips curved into a satisfied smile.
There was a strange sense of pride in being the "big brother" of the pack, the one responsible for them.
They reached another junction, this one branching three ways. Without looking back, Thene chose the leftmost path. Again, Sunny had to play the shepherd, pulling a stray companion back before they vanished into the dark.
Minutes turned into an hour.
They wound through corridor after corridor. The place was a vast, dizzying maze.
Sunny even began to suspect that Thene was taking the long way on purpose, because she often doubled back or circled through the same halls they had passed moments ago.
She never checked on them. She didn't speak. Despite her initial warmth, Thene now seemed utterly indifferent to their presence.
Sunny, meanwhile, had become a full-time nanny. He was constantly stepping back to retrieve children who had lost their way at the various junctions.
He soon realized that, besides the Priestess, he was the only one who could see in the dark.
Eventually, the six children formed a single file line, gripping each other's hands with Sunny at the head. He was their lighthouse in this lightless abyss.
Nevertheless, Sunny felt wonderful.
Here, wrapped in the cold embrace of the Shadow maze, he felt at peace. The shadows coiled around him like a blessing.
Since the path seemed safe for now, Sunny decided to call upon his runes once more. Taking advantage of the situation to see what he was working with.
'My Aspect still defines me as a useless wretch. This hasn't changed.'
His gaze shifted on his Attributes.
'But now I wonder; what do my Attributes say?'
---
Attribute: [???]
"REDACTED."
Attribute: [Shadow Weave]
"You have inherited a part of Weaver's forbidden lineage. Your shadow is deeper and darker than the others."
Attribute: [spark of Divinity]
"Every fire starts from a spark. Somewhere deep within your soul, a radiant spark shines with divine light."
Attribute: [Shadowspawn]
"You were born from the shadows. The shadows recognize you as one of their own."
Attribute: [the Heart]
"You have received the lineage of the Heart God."
---
Sunny exhaled slowly.
'What a headache!'
It wasn't that he hadn't seen them yet; it was simply that, perplexed by the sheer scale of the deviations in this First Nightmare, he hadn't fully processed them.
'This... None of this makes sense.' He thought, his mind racing. 'First of all, why do I have [Shadow Weave]? That should be in the Underworld, buried with Broken Sword.'
According to his memories of the novel, Broken Sword had been hunted down because he had claimed a piece of the forbidden lineage. Why Sunny was currently in possession of it was a question that offered no answers, unfortunately.
'Then again, if it's here, maybe that explains why he's still alive. Secondly, there's [Shadowspawn]. Judging by the description, it's not that different from [Child of Shadows], but still...'
His internal monologue was cut short when one of the children began drifting toward a dark alcove. Sunny sighed and reached out, pulling the boy back into line before he could vanish into the labyrinth.
Returning to the runes, Sunny shook his head. [Shadowspawn] wasn't his primary concern.
What truly tilted the scales were [the Heart] and, mostly, that first cryptic, unreadable Attribute.
Attribute: [???]
It sat there like an ill omen—a double-edged blade hidden in a shroud of static.
'Where is [Fated]? Where is it?!' Sunny repeated the question mentally, as if demanding the Spell provide an answer.
[Fated] wasn't just an attribute; it was a compass. It was the very trait that defined the essence of Sunless.
Its absence—and whatever those question marks were hiding—sent a chill down his spine.
'And why do I have the Heart lineage to begin with?' he wondered. 'The only dude I know who possesses that is literally on the moon right now. Wait! Does this mean I can have multiple lineages at once?'
The thrilling prospect made him momentarily forget everything else, until~
THUMP.
His head collided with something firm yet soft.
Looking up, Sunny realized they had stopped. Thene was standing perfectly still. Before them, the long path ended at a heavy wooden door.
She turned to face him, her eyes narrowed and a wide, peculiar smile stretching across her face. There was a subtle hint of irritation in her posture as she leaned down, her face inches from his.
"Young shadow." she whispered, her voice echoing in the narrow hall. "Why did you go to such lengths to help them? You could have won this trial simply by letting the others wander until they were lost to the maze."
Sunny's eyes widened. The realization hit him like a physical blow.
Thene hadn't been wandering aimlessly; the Shadow maze was the test.
By shepherding the others, he hadn't just been helping them—he had been inadvertently dragging out the trial.
He looked back at the line of children holding hands. He felt a flush of embarrassment creep up his neck, but he couldn't simply tell her he did it just for the sake of it. He needed to stand his ground.
Sunny met Thene's onyx gaze. "Because I wanted to."
"Meaning?" The Priestess tilted her head, curious.
Sunny took a slow, steady breath. "I had no ulterior motives. I helped them because it felt like the right thing to do... That's all."
Thene went silent, her expression unreadable. Then, her smile changed. It became softer, as if she recognized a ghost of someone else in his words.
Without another word, she took his hand. Ignoring the other children, she led him toward the door.
Explanations were unnecessary. It was obvious to everyone who the true winner of the trial was.