Leon frowned.
His body was in no shape to fight even a single scavenger. His muscles still ached from holding them back. Now he saw two new monsters, that looked far deadlier than the rest.
"Awakened Monsters, Carapace Centurions. Don't even think about it." Noah sounded.
He thought about simply nuking the two monsters, but they were too far — and he wasn't sure if it would be enough either.
Leon observed further as the centurions slaughtered every scavenger in their way, reaching toward what looked like two glowing orbs.
"Transcendent..." Leon murmured.
He then looked at Sunny, who had paled.
"Sunny," Leon said, gripping his shoulder.
Sunny met his eyes. "No. Absolutely not. It is not worth the risk."
Leon smiled. "But I have a plan."
Sunny raised an eyebrow as Leon leaned in closer and began explaining his plan.
Sunny's breath paused as he began thinking.
"That...That could work. But it can go wrong."
"Just trust me Sunny."
He remained silent for a while. Though Sunny was cautious in nature, he was still just as greedy as Leon.
Leon wore his crown as bright orange flames covered his body.
He and Sunny clasped their hands. A spark of electricity travelled through their arms.
[You have received a Memory.]
"Go."
Sunny let out a shallow breath. "Don't make me regret this."
"What are you two talking about?"
Leon glanced at Nephis who had a puzzled look.
"Can you fight?" he asked in a calm tone.
Nephis stared at him for a while before slowly nodding.
"Good. Then stay here and protect Cassie."
Nephis seemed to be taken aback but before she could speak up, Sunny jumped down from the statue. He began descending rapidly as Leon stood on the neck of the knight, looking down at the centurions — who had nearly finished slaughtering all nearby scavengers.
Leon's lip curled upward. "Let's get us some soul shards."
***
Sunny was nearing the centurions. His breathing seemed uneven while his body shuddered.
'Damn Leon. This better work.'
Leon continued studying the centurions as he stood at the edge of the Broken Knight's neck. The two centurions stood amidst a horde of shattered scavengers.
He knelt slowly. Along the way, he and Sunny had discovered the weak point of the Carapace Scavengers. On their back, approximately at their eye level, there was a slight cavity in their armor. It is where several of their plates are connected — piercing through it will destroy the brain directly.
[Gaze of Unmaking] stirred.
Though it was hard to look at the centurions from so high up, he still used his aspect to its fullest, trying to find an opening.
The centurions finished killing the nearby scavengers as they began walking toward the two soul shards embedded within the shark corpse.
The Awakened Monsters were larger, heavier and more layered. A tiny drop of blood flowed from his eye as he focused further. Their plates shifted as they moved — he tracked the joints of overlap at the neck.
"I swear" he murmured under his breath, "that Sunny will not die today, fighting the Centurions."
A sharp, hollow sensation replaced something inside him. His sense of balance dulled, as though the world tilted half a degree off center — like a price had been paid.
[Oathbound] stirred.
He had realized that forming an oath required a similar price, but he had simply not noticed what it had cost back in the First Nightmare.
Down below, Sunny suddenly felt faster. As though his entire body had become lighter, more agile. He took a sharp breath and prepared himself to intercept the centurions.
The centurions noticed him, and lunged. Sunny slipped beneath its scythe by a margin that should have been impossible. He grabbed both shards and bolted.
The monsters roared and began chasing him down.
Leon smiled. He rose to his feet, and summoned the Azure Blade. A straight, single-edged blade materialized in his palm as he drew his arm back.
Sunny kept running, as he quickly stashed the shards into his bag made of seaweed, summoning a scythe in his hand. The centurions quickly reached the statue's shadow as they kept trying to catch up to Sunny, but he was faster.
'Now.'
Leon stressed all the muscles in his arm as he threw the blade right at the direction of the centurion. The crown on his head shined in a crimson glow.
Flames ignited around the blade he threw.
Ember Charge: [267/1000]
Ember Charge: [247/1000]
A focused burst detonated at the blade's spine, launching it forward.
Ember Charge: [247/1000]
Ember Charge: [227/1000]
The weapon flew downward, propelled by fire and gravity. A straight line.
One of the monsters suddenly slowed down, as it tilted its head upward. Something was coming right towards it, whistling through the wind. Sunny had also noticed, as he skidded to a halt.
The blade struck.
Metal shrieked.
Its armor around the neck exploded outward, while the blade struck...
The ground...
For a second, everything stopped. It was as if even time itself was stunned by Leon's performance.
The monsters slowly looked up, observing Leon at the top of the statue, who had a blank expression on his face.
Sunny's mouth gaped open as he stared at the hole in the ground, while the memory cracked, and fell apart.
[Your Memory has been Destroyed.]
Leon looked down, trying to understand what had just happened.
The blade had deviated — just a fraction. A jagged cavity gaped at the centurion's neck, but the inner plating remained intact.
Nephis, who was standing right beside him, stared down at the two centurions.
"You...missed."
His eyes twitched.
'No shit.'
Down below, Sunny slowly looked up at the two monsters.
"Ah...Damn...nation."
The monsters screamed.
Sunny ran again. This time, it was not strategic or clever. He was prey, running from two predators. Mud exploded beneath his feet as both monsters lunged at him.
His shadow still wrapped around his limbs, as he barely avoided the scythes. His seaweed bag tore — a soul shard dropped out, but none of the two centurions seemed to notice.
Leon moved.
He moved toward Nephis, who still looked down with a tense expression, gripping her longsword. He immediately snatched her longsword and stepped off the statue.
Wind roared in his ears. The world kept narrowing to the two moving targets. He used explosions to go faster.
One of the monsters noticed him. Its head snapped upward. Tilting its head — exposing the flesh from earlier, its scythe went up in a clean arc, nearly intercepting Leon. But at the last moment, he triggered the crown once more.
A compressed blast detonated near the scythe. Its impact shoved the scythe aside — just an inch. The scythe had passed an inch from his face, then he struck.
Nephis's blade drove straight into the exposed piece of flesh he had achieved earlier. The sword dug deep as the body of the monster convulsed.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.]
The recoil snapped up his arms like lightning. The force traveled through the blade, through flesh and bone. His shoulders wrenched backward.
Losing his grip, the sword ripped free from his grasp as he hit the ground. The impact drove air out of his lungs in a violent cough. He could hear his collarbones snap, as his ribs screamed in pain. Mud swallowed him as he tumbled, skidding across the mud.
[A new pattern has been completed.]
[Resonance Fragment acquired.]
[You have received a Memory: Starlight Legion Armor.]
He tried to inhale, but couldn't.
Somewhere nearby, the second centurion screamed. Leon forced air into his lungs and tasted blood. His left arm didn't respond, his right leg refused to straighten.
He rolled just as the scythe of the second monster slammed down where his head had been. The ground splattered.
He nearly fell unconscious due to the pain, but forced himself to retain some clarity. Activating the crown, flames wrapped around his torso, burning through his muscles.
Sunny managed to parry one of the scythe attacks before it hit Leon, but was thrown away by the impact.
Leon's bones creaked back into place — not fully, but enough to move. Every single movement caused him unbearable pain. He still pushed himself up with one arm.
'It hurts...'
The centurion advanced.
Leon spat some blood and grinned.
"Come on."
Behind it, Sunny reappeared from the shadows, with ragged breaths.
Ember Charge: [96/1000]
Ember Charge: [76/1000]
Ember Charge: [50/1000]
Flames constantly enveloped Leon as it tried to heal his body but it was too slow.
The scythe came down. He rolled, but was too slow. The blade clipped his thigh and gouged out flesh.
Sunny hacked into the centurion's leg joint. The strike rang against its chitin, but didn't pierce it at all. The monster pivoted with terrifying speed and backhanded Sunny with its scythe. He had barely managed to block the strike with his azure scythe, but was thrown back.
Sunny skid through the mud. Leon pushed himself up again. Another bony scythe slashed toward him, as he barely managed to dodge.
He gritted his teeth, as he raised his arm. Concentrating the last bits of charge, he used another explosion at the centurion. Right at the centurion's eye, flames erupted violently. The centurion flared in anger as it thrashed its scythes around mindlessly.
The centurion shrieked as it slammed its body down. Sunny gritted his teeth as he barely slipped out of the deadly crush.
Leon's vision flickered. His healing had completely stopped, the charge reservoirs were emptied after that last explosion.
The monster's one eye was completely burnt. Its remaining eye glared at Leon. It soon shot up, throwing another attack right at him. He tried to roll away, but his muscles spasmed. He grimaced while his legs refused to move. Leon knew if the scythe hit, he would be squashed by the impact.
But right before it did—
Sunny moved.
He reached into his seaweed bag, pulling out the last transcended soul shard and threw it in the air.
The centurion's motion faltered. The shard spun in the air, glowing. Its head snapped toward the soul shard instantly, and leapt at it.
Without wasting time, Sunny rushed toward Leon, grabbing his arm, and dragging him backward.
"Move, you psycho—!"
Leon coughed blood as he forced himself up and began running. Behind them, the centurion caught the shard mid-air. It looked back at the two running away but right then—
The ground rumbled. The centurion turned toward the horizon as black water surged. The shard clenched in its mouth. It began retreating toward higher coral, as if it wanted to avoid the statue.
Sunny didn't slow down, as he reached the base of the statue and started climbing one-handed, dragging Leon upward. Leon's body barely cooperated. His foot slipped, nearly causing him to fall.
A rope dropped past his face. Sunny grabbed it without a word. The sea nearly reached their feet but Nephis used all her strength and pulled on the rope. They eventually reached the top of the neck.
They rolled onto the statue's neck. Leon lay flat on his back, chest rising and falling continuously. His body was still bleeding from the encounter they just had.
Sunny collapsed beside him. He slowly turned his head toward Leon.
"You are never...making plans again." He said while taking deep breaths.
Leon coughed up some blood as he laughed weakly. White sparks materialized around him, he was soon clad in a silver armor.
"Worth it."
Sunny soon lifted his hand, revealing a transcendent soul shard. The one he had dropped initially, and then grabbed again during the battle. Gripping it in his hand, he laughed.
"You're not getting this one."
Nephis simply stared at the two with an expression of disbelief.
Two sleepers... killing an Awakened Monster, and getting out alive was unbelievable.
'Weren't these two the lowest ranking students in the academy?'
Leon groaned in pain as he slowly sat up. He summoned his runes.
Name: Leonar
True Name: -
Rank: Dreamer
Resonance Core: Dormant
Resonance Fragments: [3/1000]
He had gotten another resonance fragment after killing the Carapace Centurion.
Leon continued to stare forward. He had killed a Carapace Scavenger, and the very first kill had given him one fragment. If he considered Aurelia as the first one, then the centurion had given him one more.
'Don't tell me...'
He gained a fragment every time he killed a new enemy. Which meant he could not kill the same type of monster again and again to collect fragments.
His eyes twitched as the runes disappeared. He stood up slowly, staring at the night sky. He tried healing himself again but soon noticed—
Ember Charge: [0/1000]
The injuries he had sustained after dropping down were too severe. But then, white flames enveloped his body as Changing Star's cool hand touched his forehead.
He looked at her. "Changing Star. Fancy meeting you here."
She nodded slowly. "You too. Leonar."
His wounds healed further, but not completely. It was enough for him to move around. Nephis then moved toward Sunny who thanked her for the healing.
"So your aspect can heal? That's rare." Leon added, as he studied his new armor Memory. But as soon as he said that, his vision blurred. His body lost its strength as he fell down.
All the adrenaline had drained from his body as Leon fell asleep due to the exhaustion.
***
Leon stirred awake. His head hurt quite bad. He tried to move his body but couldn't. He opened his eyes, as he sat up. It was bright — the sun was rising above the Forgotten Shore.
The sun rose like it had something to prove, burning the sea back into submission. Leon watched the sun for a moment before lying back down on the cold stone.
He looked around to find Sunny sleeping beside Cassie and Nephis standing near the edge of the knight's severed head, looking forward.
She then turned back to Leon, noticing him. Her silver hair swayed in the wind as her gray eyes stared at Leon.
Leon tried getting up but he couldn't put any strength into his legs. He sighed and looked back at her.
"How long has it been?" He asked.
Nephis stared at him silently for a moment.
"A few hours." Nephis observed him silently as she clenched her fist.
Sunny soon woke up. He groggily sat up, ruffling his black hair.
"Thank you for saving us." She said in a low voice.
Sunny looked at her indifferently, staying silent for a moment.
"No problem. You had saved our friend first."
Sunny said looking at Cassie.
She was sleeping soundly. Her blond hair ruffled and messy, but her face still looked beautiful as she slept peacefully.
Nephis nodded.
Leon spoke up. "It wasn't free of course. We will be expecting payment."
Sunny looked at Leon and sighed.
"This guy..."
Nephis stared at Leon and frowned slightly. "No..."
'You little...'
"Problem.." She said with a pause.
Leon stared at her with his mouth open. "Was the pause really—"
He was cut off by Cassie though, as she shot up. She looked around frantically, trying to sense everything around her.
"Morning Cas." She heard a voice say.
Cassie's head jolted up.
"L-Leon?"
She said with a shaky voice.
"The one and only."
Cassie rushed toward his voice and hugged him tightly.
"Thank god...I thought...I thought you had died."
Cassie said as she began sobbing.
"I'm too hard to kill you know. Already forgot our promise?" Leon said as he began patting her head.
Cassie nodded. "I know."
She then looked around again.
"Sunny?"
Sunny was nearby checking his runes.
"Hey. Glad to see you ok Cassie."
She approached him and hugged him too. "I'm glad too."
Sunny hesitated for a while before hugging her back.
Leon stretched his arms as he checked his new memory.
[Starlight Legion Armor]
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Armor
Memory Description: [Born in the all-consuming darkness, seven valiant heroes made an oath to return light to the cursed land. Time has erased their names and their faces, but the memory of the defiant oath still remains.]
Enchantments:
[Radiant Kinetic Diffusion]: Disperses blunt force and shockwaves across the armor, reducing impact damage. Also partially absorbs light-based attacks and weakens kinetic strikes by redistributing their force.
[Celestial Bastion]: Provides partial protection against soul-based attacks and true darkness by forming a stabilizing barrier around the wearer's essence.
He immediately dismissed the runes as he stared at the armor. A pristine white plate armor over a black bodysuit. The armor looked light and elegant. The breastplate was engraved with seven shining stars that appeared to protect the torso.
Leon's eyes twitched as he stared at the armor.
'This color... is so...'
Just then, Noah spoke up.
"It's better the armor ends up with Nephis."
His eyes twitched.
Noah only spoke when something mattered — or when he was unbearably bored. If he said the armor must end up with Nephis, then there was a reason.
Leon didn't like future reasons.
"For what?" he asked inwardly.
Noah only smiled faintly.
Leon clicked his tongue and looked at Nephis. She was still dressed in crude seaweed clothing — the same makeshift crap he had been wearing a while ago.
He thought for a while, and then came to a decision. If the armor was important in the future, then handing it over now would be foolish. The Forgotten Shore did not reward generosity, it rewarded survival.
If Nephis needed the armor, she could earn it.
'Perhaps when I get another armor Memory...'
He smiled softly.
'I'll let her bargain for it.'
Leon turned toward Sunny with a sheepish look.
"Hey um...Sunny?"
Sunny turned back. "What?"
"I may have....destroyed the blade?"
Sunny simply stared at him. He sighed in frustration.
"Whatever, the next blade you get is mine."
"Of course. Except I am now weaponless."
Sunny shrugged. "I need the scythe. You deal with it."
Leon frowned.
'Great...'
"So, what next?" Leon asked.
Everyone turned toward Leon.
"Continue east?" Sunny asked.
"No." Nephis spoke up.
Leon turned toward Nephis. "Why?"
Before Nephis could speak, Cassie began speaking.
"I actually had a dream. Remember I can have prophecies? One of them told me that there is a castle in that direction."
Cassie pointed west.
"It is full of people. I saw Sunny leading me into the castle gates."
'A castle? Interesting.'
Sunny nodded. "West it is then. We should leave tomorrow."
Leon exhaled slowly.
"I think it's best we introduce our strengths to each other."
Sunny nodded.
Cassie nodded.
Nephis simply stood there, staring at him.
'Why does she have to be so weird?'