"This place sucks!"
<
"What a headache!"
Sunny and Cassie navigated the intricate, swampy crimson coral labyrinth of the Forgotten Shore, treading carefully into the unknown. Their pace was measured and cautious, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for even the slightest shadow shifting around the jagged corners.
Just as they had planned, Myriad Shade took the vanguard while the two of them followed closely behind, weapons drawn and ready to strike at a moment's notice. Meanwhile, his shadow, Gloomy, was sent ahead to scout just far enough to warn them of any lurking creatures, granting them precious time to formulate a tactical response.
Along the way, Sunny and Cassie employed a variety of strategies. For instance, he would hand the [Silver Bell] to Thene, having her temporarily [Shadow Step] away to ring it, effectively luring hordes of Nightmare Creatures in the opposite direction. Alternatively, they used her user-controlled lengthening rope—[Evertwine]—to lay tripwire ambushes for smaller groups of Carapace Scavengers, executing them the moment they hit the mud. In short, direct confrontation was not their only option.
Of course, there were times when they had no choice but to hide or attack head-on. Myriad Shade easily handled the most lethal threats; as an Ascended Shadow, she could single-handedly decimate a large pack of Awakened Beasts or higher in mere minutes. However, Sunny and Cassie saw their fair share of combat, too.
Sunny quickly realized he favored polearms and long-reach weapons—like halberds, spears, and longswords—against these specific monsters. It was much easier to outmaneuver them, sever their limbs, and deliver the killing blow from a safe distance. Furthermore, he discovered a fascinating detail about his [Child of War] Attribute. Whenever he fought, his mind automatically entered a state of absolute clarity, as if a myriad of battles were etched into his very soul.
However, this didn't mean he was a flawless master with no backlash. While the Attribute kept his mind perfectly tranquil and fed him optimal tactical patterns, his body still lacked the muscle memory to execute them effortlessly. Interestingly, this tactical knowledge didn't feel entirely alien. In his past life, he had absorbed countless notions of martial arts, strategies, and battle formations through books, media, and webnovels. Now, [Child of War] seemed to bridge the gap, weaponizing his pre-existing knowledge and connecting dots he previously couldn't even see.
Regarding his Innate Ability, Sunny opted out of absorbing the defeated shades into his Soul Sea for the time being. It wasn't because he didn't want them; rather, the yield in Shadow Fragments wasn't any higher than what he naturally received from simply killing the Nightmare Creatures. Deep down, a gut feeling warned him that he was wasting valuable shadow essence and not utilizing the shades correctly. He felt a lingering sense of lack—something he couldn't quite define. It was a primal part of his soul that constantly yearned for absolution. He felt... incomplete.
Then, there was Cassie. Unfortunately, Sunny couldn't always find a safe hiding spot for her before a battle broke out. However, the blind girl proved incredibly adaptable. Thanks to her [Crystal Monocle]—whose lens occasionally caught the eerie reflection of a tall, slender young man dressed elegantly in green, smiling at him—her spatial perception had drastically improved, heavily compensating for her lack of sight.
Cassie no longer just hid. Armed with the [Azure Blade] Sunny had lent her, she faced their enemies head-on. Her combat style was unrefined but lethal; she knew exactly how to move and where to strike at the perfect moment. Moreover, their synergy was uncanny. Whenever Sunny needed someone to cover his blind spot, Cassie was already there, moving fluidly in sync with him without a single word spoken, as if she could hear the very rhythm of his intentions.
"Sunny, where are we heading today?" Cassie asked softly the next morning. She had just woken up, her face pressed affectionately against his chest.
During these freezing nights, the two of them always slept wrapped tightly in each other's arms. They would huddle together in the darkness of the dusk to share body heat, eventually waking up comfortably within that same warm embrace, simply because Sunny only had one sleeping bag in his [Travel Bag].
"We're heading East," Sunny replied, looking in the opposite direction. "My shadow found a fresh monster corpse to the West last night. The local abominations are probably going to tear each other apart fighting over the meat. It's best we avoid that bloodbath entirely."
With that, they resumed their march.
However, a massive, glaring issue hovered over their current situation: the absence of their third party member. The girl whose flames could heal any wound and incinerate any foe.
Nephis.
As a former reader, Sunny knew perfectly well that the Dark City actually lay to the West. Yet, he didn't utter a word about it. He kept this knowledge to himself for two reasons. First, he wanted to wait for the blind seer to find the correct path herself through her visions, allowing her to build even more genuine self-confidence. Second, and more importantly, he absolutely refused to risk leaving Changing Star behind.
Nephis's presence in the group was vital. It wasn't just about her healing abilities, her role as a secondary vanguard alongside Myriad Shade, or her exceptional combat prowess. She was a fundamental linchpin for the years to come and the overarching fate of this world. Besides, his Flaw—the ever-talkative, scholarly Jiminy Cricket—constantly hammered into his brain that he shouldn't leave anyone behind, preventing him from making ruthless choices he would later regret.
So, rather than abandoning her, assuming she was dead, or hoping she had already found her way to the Bright Castle alone, Sunny actively chose to waste a few extra days searching for her.
His search method wasn't half bad, either. Fire in the Forgotten Shore attracted Nightmare Creatures like moths to a flame. Sunny and Cassie would intentionally set isolated bonfires to draw massive, dense swarms of Scavengers away from their path, allowing them to slip by unnoticed. Simultaneously, the thick pillars of smoke rising from these fires served as a daytime signal beacon. He fervently hoped that wherever Nephis had ended up, she would see the smoke and follow it.
And so... days passed. Soon, they bled into weeks. But of Changing Star, there was still no trace.
***
'Come on, Neph! It's been two full weeks, where the hell are you?!'
The two of them were heading west. Cassie had recently had her vision regarding the Bright Castle—only this time, she had seen him, herself, and Nephis entering it.
Sunny sat cross-legged on an elevated rock platform rising above the dark sea of the Forgotten Shore, his back straight and hands resting in a lotus position before his stomach. His breathing strictly followed the quiet rhythm of the waves crashing against the sharp edges of the reef below.
Beneath the dark gray fabric of his Memory armor, the [Puppeteer's Shroud], a black snake tattoo with scales dark as pitch and eyes like twin abyssal pools slithered across his skin in smooth, repetitive loops. Soul Serpent was utilizing its [Shadow Guide] to circulate his essence, aiding Sunny in his process for natural awakening.
After a while, Sunny opened his eyes to the bleak darkness of the night.
'I still have a long way to go,' he sighed mentally.
He raised his right hand, opening and clenching his fist a few times. Even with Soul Serpent assisting him, awakening naturally was anything but simple.
'How did that saying go again? The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but the one leading to heaven is entirely uphill?'
He turned his gaze toward the Jiminy Cricket standing on his right shoulder for confirmation.
The imaginary creature glanced back and shrugged humbly. <
Sunny was attempting to walk the path of natural ascension without relying heavily on the Nightmare Spell. Unfortunately, he had been somewhat naive, failing to anticipate the hidden complexities and unforeseen hurdles along the way.
For one, having Serpent on his side didn't mean he could achieve the Awakened Rank in a mere fortnight. At his current rate, natural awakening would take at least a month. Furthermore, essence circulation was brutally difficult. When he first forced his essence to flow with [Shadow Guide], it felt as stiff and unyielding as reinforced concrete—a heavy boulder he had to nudge millimeter by millimeter, becoming only slightly lighter each passing day. Consistency was non-negotiable.
Moreover, setting aside the exhausting hours spent navigating the treacherous coral labyrinth of the Forgotten Shore, Sunny couldn't maintain the circulation for too long; forcing it onto an unaccustomed body would inevitably trigger a painful backlash.
Taking all of this into account, natural ascension was a nightmare in itself.
'What a headache,' Sunny sighed again. 'Nothing is ever easy.'
Prrr...
Sunny glanced to his left, where he thought he had heard the soft purring of a little kitten. Cassie was fast asleep inside the single sleeping bag. Her sleeping expression was peaceful, completely relaxed despite their grim situation, knowing he was right beside her.
Beneath the blanket, she was wearing the [Starlight Legion Armor], a pristine white armor over a black bodysuit—a Memory he had obtained after slaying a Carapace Centurion, which he had originally intended for Changing Star. The [Crimson Cloak], meanwhile, had been dismissed back into his Soul Sea.
Sunny smiled softly. Leaning over slightly, he gently stroked her golden hair, taking care not to wake her.
"Everything's going to be alright, Cas. I'll get you back home, I promise," he whispered softly, his voice barely audible to the wind.
The blind seer subconsciously nuzzled her head against his warm palm in her sleep. Feeling a heavy weight lift from his chest, Sunny smiled.
Meanwhile, Thene stood a few paces to their left, scanning the dark horizon for potential threats, ready to welcome any uninvited guests.
Sunny turned his gaze toward his Shadow. A surge of profound gratitude filled his heart.
'I'm truly grateful to you, Thene. You have no idea. Without you, I don't know how I could've protected her—or even survived in this godforsaken place.'
Sensing his gaze, Myriad Shade turned to look at him, returning his smile. Her obsidian eyes shimmered in the nocturnal gloom, her long, silky black hair fluttering softly in the sea breeze like a cascade of dark ink. She was truly a breathtaking sight.
"Come on, Neph! Where the fuck are you?!" Sunny finally blurted out loud, lowering his head, unable to keep his frustration bottled up any longer. "I can't keep carrying this team without you!"
The exact moment those words left his lips, a blinding flash of light caught his eye along the far horizon.
Sunny's jaw dropped, practically unhinging, tumbling down the cliffside and plunging straight into the dark sea below.
<
Sunny didn't even have the breath to reply, completely mesmerized by the sight before him. He couldn't really believe his eyes.
Out there in the vast distance, a brilliant pillar of silver-white flame towered above the sea, dominating the dark horizon right over the pitch-black water.
"Of course," Sunny muttered, a hysterical chuckle bubbling up in his chest. "Of course! Who else but Changing Star would try to set the fucking sea ablaze in a stroke of pure, unadulterated autism?"
It seemed he had finally found Nephis.