The blue flowers shone beneath the stars.
There was little other light within the underground depths. Cold rain descended through the opening far above, falling across the flowers before joining the river that flowed through the darkness. Its currents could be heard from every part of the chamber, filling the buried ruins with a quiet murmur.
Until recently, this place had remained undisturbed.
The shadow and his phantasm were not the first to fall into it. Before their arrival, another person had suffered the same misfortune.
There was no means for her to determine where she had landed. The darkness surrounding the river was complete, and even if there had been light, her eyes would have been unable to perceive it.
At the time, discovering the nature of her surroundings had also been the least important of her concerns.
She had been close to death.
However, the buried chamber was calm. The air carried the pleasant scent of damp earth, while grass and flowers grew in abundance along the river. Even now, as the shadow and the phantasm slept beneath wings of silver, the flowing water maintained the tranquility of this forgotten place.
The chamber appeared to have once been a sanctum. Perhaps it had served as a sepulcher, or as the entrance to a sacred ground hidden deeper beneath the ruins.
It had been left untouched for a very long time.
That changed recently.
Soon, the shadow called Lost From Light would awaken. He had drowned within his Fables, yet still raised his blade when someone precious to him was threatened.
The phantasm called Saint would awaken as well. She had fought with the conviction that she had failed to protect the person she cared about most.
Upon awakening, they would discover that they were not alone.
Something had remained conscious within these depths for a long time, keeping watch beside a companion who continued to sleep. Now, a third person had joined them.
There could be no mistake concerning the danger hidden here.
Something capable of killing a Corrupted Devil inhabited the river's depths.
Furthermore, bloody footprints crossed the forgotten paths and disappeared farther into the dark.
Someone else was down there.
That person had spent far too long alone. She had been terrified, wounded, and in pain.
However, she was no longer alone.
Someone had saved her.
—
Sunny did not know how much time had passed.
It could not have been very long. The moment consciousness returned, pain surged through his entire body in waves.
"A-Argk…"
'At least my nerves were not frozen or burned away.'
For Sunny, that qualified as good news.
The fact that he could still think was a miracle in itself. He knew that he was conscious, but his senses had yet to return. His mind floated in darkness while hundreds of incompatible perspectives moved around it.
'I see. This is another consequence of my damaged Fables.'
Sunny quickly recalled what happened.
He had been flying beside Saint while using footholds created through Storm God's Divine Miracle. Then his Fables began intersecting.
Sunny possessed exceptional knowledge concerning Fables. Only Spirits and Gods were meant to understand their true nature, so there were few human beings who could be compared to him.
Saint was one of them.
He hoped that she was nearby.
More importantly, he hoped that she was alive. If she had died, Sunny did not know what would remain of his sanity.
The sequence of events following his fall was relatively clear.
Mind Weave allowed Sunny to divide his perception among several perspectives. Silver Weave amplified that faculty even further.
Therefore, he had remained conscious after falling from the sky, although the consciousness belonging to his body had become only one among hundreds.
He remembered Saint holding him and shouting into his face. Her fear had been obvious until she sensed the approaching Nightmare Creatures. Then her expression hardened.
Saint threw his body toward Silvershade Harrow, summoned her Soul Serpent as a weapon, and turned to meet the horde.
Sunny thought about smiling.
From his current perspective, he was still floating in a black void. He had been in a similar condition during the battle, forced to search among countless Fables for the perspective belonging to his physical body.
Eventually, he found it and joined the fight.
However, his mind was already unstable. He could move and attack, but there had been little reason governing either action.
He remembered seeing Saint covered in blood.
A black and golden Corrupted Devil stood before her, preparing to strike. One of its hands had transformed into a flowing blade of eerie darkness.
Sunny knew that his thoughts would not recover in time, so he placed himself between them.
The blade nearly divided his body. Immediately afterward, he invoked [Angel's Eyes] and awakened his Transformation, [Shadow of Parsimony].
That decision worsened everything.
'I did not expect [Lonesome Soul] to hurt that much. Even Nephis might fail to withstand it.'
The cold produced by his Flaw had entered his Soul rather than his flesh. As it spread, otherworldly whispers invaded his mind and pulled his thoughts toward madness.
The result possessed a certain logic, after all…
[Lonesome Soul] reflected [Pristine Soul], with Ariamis's power changing its torment into a terrible cold. However, [Angel's Eyes] also contained the power of Avarice.
Avarice was an Archangel originating outside the current Worldline.
As a result, Sunny's second Flaw carried two afflictions instead of one. It inflicted pain through the frozen state of his Soul while exposing his mind to Avarice's maddening influence.
The combined torment resembled something Sunny had only experienced several times before returning to this Worldline.
After that, he attacked… everything.
Saint's presence did not matter. Silvershade's position did not matter. Whether the target was a Fallen abomination, the black and golden Devil, or a piece of ruined stone, Sunny attempted to destroy it.
'Then, later…'
At some point, he regained a degree of control.
The location had changed by then. He was fighting near the enormous opening Saint had previously described.
Numerous Fallen creatures were already dead. Some had become frozen ash, while others had been reduced to battered masses of flesh.
Sunny remembered that part because of the condition of his body.
One leg had been crushed. His arms contained exposed bone, and portions of them were missing entirely. The Corrupted Devil had wrapped his intestines around its fingers, while its other hand passed through his chest.
Sunny laughed at that time, because the Devil believed it had killed him.
He was not literally immortal. However, his regenerative powers made the distinction difficult to appreciate during battle.
[Soul Flame] could restore his body. [Flesh Weave], strengthened by [Silver Weave], accelerated his natural recovery. [Blessing of Flesh] and [Living Stone], empowered through [True Purpose], provided further support.
Those powers were only part of his resilience. Numerous Attributes and Traits strengthened his defenses beyond those possessed by any Ascended human he knew.
The Devil relaxed its guard, and because of that, was momentarily turned into a frozen statue.
A moment later, Saint pushed both of them into the opening.
He did not know why she chose to do so. However, his condition must have appeared dire enough to convince her that remaining above would lead to his death.
During the fall, Sunny looked upward.
Saint was fighting the Corrupted Devil in the air through Storm God's Blessing. The creature could no longer fly because Sunny had frozen some of its wings and torn the others from its back.
Then he struck the ground.
A fall from that height could not kill him or render him unconscious. Nevertheless, his injuries prevented him from returning to the battle.
'What happened afterward? I must have disappeared into the Fables by then.'
His last clear memory was of Saint crying.
Sunny had been speaking to her, but the words he uttered possessed no meaning he could recall.
'Just what did I say to her?'
Darkness followed.
Now he was walking through another mental space.
Sunny could see his body moving through a black void. Gray fog covered the ground beneath his feet, but there were no other features visible in any direction.
"Is this place connected to the Library?"
His voice existed here. That detail might have revealed something if he had been given time to investigate it.
He was not.
White fractures appeared throughout the darkness.
A moment later, the entire place shattered.
Sunny awakened fully.
Sight returned first. Smell, touch, taste, and hearing followed gradually.
His eyes flickered open.
He was… lying against Silvershade Harrow's feathers. The Echo had folded its wings around them, creating a protected space within the underground chamber.
Sunny's head, though, rested between Saint's thighs and stomach.
His gaze moved upward.
Saint's arms surrounded him, preventing his body from shifting away. Her eyes were open, but there was no clarity within them. Her breathing remained regular, and the connection between their shadows confirmed that she was alive.
"Ah… thank…"
Sunny's voice failed.
His throat was dry and almost frozen. A cloud of pale vapor escaped his mouth with the few sounds he managed to produce.
He shifted inside Saint's arms and examined himself.
'Wow. I'm a sight for sore eyes.'
No really, he looked like shit, and that judgment was generous at best. His skin was even paler than usual. The flesh across his abdomen had closed, but the distorted marks revealed that something had passed completely through it.
Sunny suspected that his Traits and Attributes were responsible for restoring the wound.
Soul Flame had probably contributed very little.
He could feel the reason.
'Welp. I'm fresh out of essence.'
Sunny was suffering from essence depletion.
The discovery surprised him. His current reserves were at least five times greater than before, perhaps closer to ten. He had assumed that exhausting them while using Dormant Abilities would be impossible.
Allowing a Corrupted Devil to tear his body apart repeatedly had apparently proven otherwise.
'I fought the Devil and Fallen servants for quite some time. I suppose it makes sense.'
Sunny remained within Saint's embrace.
Silvershade's feathers covered them from above, providing warmth despite the residual cold left by [Lonesome Soul].
Then he examined their surroundings.
His eyes widened.
His physical sight captured the pale flowers and engraved walls. Shadow Sense revealed the spaces beyond them, while his shadows provided several additional perspectives.
'What was this place?'
A river flowed nearby and disappeared into a broad chamber supported by numerous columns. The pit through which they had fallen opened above the area where Silvershade rested.
Flowers surrounded them. Engravings covered the nearby walls, and several paths extended into unknown sections of the buried structure.
Light descended through the opening high above, transforming the ruins into a beautiful sight. For a moment, Sunny imagined that they were explorers who had discovered an untouched region beneath the Dark City.
Then his thoughts sharpened.
'Footprints? And that is dried blood.'
His current senses allowed him to distinguish the unfamiliar blood from his own and Saint's. He could not identify its owner because those senses had been far weaker before he left this Worldline.
Nevertheless, the conclusion was certain.
Someone had passed through this place recently. Perhaps days ago.
Sunny separated the Gloomy Shadow from himself. It moved through the flowers and examined the bloody prints leading east.
'This appears to be the entrance to an underground network. There are several possible routes.'
The shadow turned toward the corpse of the Corrupted Devil.
Idol of the Golden Fleece had been turned into a royal mess.
'What did that? It certainly was not us.'
A tremendous force had passed through the creature's torso, removing most of its chest. Its head had been twisted from its shoulders, while one severed arm remained embedded in a nearby ruin and continued twitching.
Something worse remained around the corpse.
Sunny sensed the traces left by its killer.
'A Great Nightmare Creature… perhaps even a Supreme?'
The Formula of the World had shifted near the body. Something imposed its Will upon the world during the attack.
Most Great creatures could not use Will with enough refinement for it to matter. Saints who barely comprehended Will could still kill many of them.
Therefore, the killer was probably a high-Class Great creature, somewhere between Tyrant and Titan.
A Supreme was the other possibility.
The first explanation was more probable, which did little to reassure Sunny.
He recalled the Gloomy Shadow immediately. If a being capable of tearing apart a Corrupted Devil and imposing its Will upon the World inhabited these depths, Sunny did not want one of his shadows attracting its attention.
There was another problem.
'I will remain incapable of fighting properly for at least two days. Overusing Soul Flame has damaged the pathways carrying my essence.'
The channels felt scorched.
Or perhaps frozen.
Until they recovered, Sunny could only rest beside Saint and hope that nothing attacked them.
Then he noticed something unusual.
'The concentration of Corruption is extremely low.'
As an Angel, Sunny could sense Corruption without examining a Soul directly. Any being carrying the Void registered through that ability.
The same perception applied to areas marked by Corruption.
Unfortunately, most of the Dream Realm was contaminated by it, making the sense useless under ordinary circumstances. Sunny usually suppressed it to avoid enduring the constant presence of the Void.
Here, the background contamination was nearly absent.
'Is Sorcery responsible? This can't be an independent Realm, can it? Nobody in this Worldline, aside from Abaddon and Lethe, is capable of preforming a Reality Marble.'
A Spell capable of excluding Corruption was possible, although creating one would exceed the skill of most mortals.
Another explanation seemed more plausible.
'Perhaps the Sorcery isolates this space. Containment would produce a similar result.'
Whatever the truth, Sunny could not investigate it immediately.
Flesh Weave and [Blessing of Flesh] were still repairing him. The effect did not qualify as instantaneous regeneration, but it approached the power of a dedicated Aspect Ability. [Silver Weave] had strengthened [The Weave] considerably.
Eventually, Sunny turned his attention to the other conscious mind beside him.
Saint was asleep with her eyes open. Her head tilted down toward him, creating a beautiful but disturbing image.
She looked dead, to say the least.
The sight evoked memories Sunny did not want to revisit. He had watched Amanises die, after all.
And Saint and Amanises… were the same person. One was a Saint who eventually reached Divine, and fell in love with the Sunless of that Worldline, while the woman holding him was still learning how to exist as a person.
Sunny raised his hand and brushed dirt from her cheek.
Saint sensed the touch.
Clarity slowly returned to her violet eyes. They trembled briefly before focusing upon him, and her hand rose to cover his own.
Sunny saw the reflection of his ruined body within those beautiful eyes.
"…Sunny?"
He chuckled weakly.
"Yes. Unfortunately, I am awake. Staying unconscious would have been far more pleasant, though."
Saint did not respond to the joke.
She studied his injuries before looking toward the destroyed Idol. Then she adjusted her arms and lifted him farther onto Silvershade's feathers, correcting the uncomfortable position of his body.
When she spoke, her voice was hoarse from prolonged screaming.
"Are you… are you yourself again?"
'I really did lose my identity. Damn it. I must've scared the crap out of her.'
Sunny nodded.
"I am. If I said or did anything terrible, I'm sorry."
Saint stared at him for several moments. Then she shook her head.
"No… no, have nothing to apologize for. You saved me when that creature was about to kill me. We did what was necessary to survive."
…Sunny knew Saint too well.
He also knew Amanises, the name she had chosen during the Last Worldline.
He had fought beside one version of her from the Forgotten Shore until Avarice descended. He had lived with another, loved her, and spent several brief years by her side before they confronted the Avatar of the Forgotten God.
That Avatar had also been Sunny.
The thought remained difficult to comprehend.
However, his knowledge of both women made Saint's concealment far too obvious. She was suppressing her emotions, perhaps because she did not know how to express them, and also to mimic her old, taciturn and strong self.
At that time, Saint never showed weakness. That was not something he wanted in this world — not at all.
Sunny's voice suddenly became stern.
"Saint. Stop."
She flinched.
For a while, Saint did not move. Then she turned her face away.
Her composure failed soon afterward. Her body began trembling, and she bit her lower lip in an attempt to restrain it.
When she spoke, anger and grief fractured her voice.
"You do not have the right to tell me that."
Sunny leaned his ruined body against her shoulder.
Saint reacted instinctively and caught him.
"I know. However, I would rather see you cry without dignity than watch you hide behind a ridiculous facade. You are not the Saint you once were, and I am not the Sunny I once was."
Her arms surrounded him again. She pulled both of them deeper into Silvershade's feathers, evidently intending to remain there.
Saint rested her chin against his bloodied hair.
"I do not understand how humans deal this. These emotions already feel impossible to bear. Is that… normal?"
Sunny wrapped his arms around her.
"Entirely normal. You are around eighteen years old now, aren't you? That is my estimate, at least."
Saint nodded.
'So I was right.'
"Then there is nothing unusual about it. It would be normal regardless of your age. Watching someone you care about die repeatedly is difficult. I spent years pretending I could endure it, and I never truly learned how."
Saint fell quiet.
Rain continued descending through the pit, while the nearby river filled the chamber with its current. The sounds gradually drew them toward sleep.
Both were exhausted, and both had approached death during the battle.
"I think I… understand? Perhaps I do not. I possess all these memories, but I have no idea what to do with them. I have been trying to preserve my image as a therapist, yet I suspect I require one now as well."
Saint laughed softly, and Sunny happily laughed with her.
The contact between them produced an unexpected warmth. It gradually overcame the cold remaining within Sunny's Soul.
For a moment, he wondered if Saint's presence was alleviating the effects of [Lonesome Soul]. Even the distant whispers diminished while he held her.
"We both require therapy, I think. Unfortunately, we won't have access to it for quite some time."
Sunny was silent for a few moments.
Then words left him before he considered whether they should.
"Despite everything, I am glad you are here. I do not know how long I would have survived without you."
Saint gave a quiet hum.
"Milord, that is hardly a question. You would already be dead without me."
Sunny smiled and pulled her closer.
Then he summoned [Iron Widow's Cradle].
White sparks gathered around them and became flowing silver silk. The material expanded into a large blanket before wrapping itself around the shadow and phantasm.
Saint shifted.
"Is this appropriate? I feel that we may be—"
"I am exhausted, injured, and too vulnerable to care."
Saint became still.
A moment later, laughter moved through her body.
"If you insist."
Her breathing became even almost immediately.
Saint relaxed after confirming that Sunny was conscious and capable of making jokes. His humor remained one of the methods he used to conceal the darker thoughts constantly passing through his mind.
Perhaps he had inherited the habit from Effie.
At present, it was one of his few defenses against falling into despair and surrendering his desire to live.
Sunny sensed those thoughts approaching and closed his eyes. He pressed closer to the curve of Saint's neck.
Then he fell asleep.
There was no one else with whom he would rather have been a ruined mess.
—
Their exhaustion kept them asleep for nearly two days.
Saint awakened once during that period.
She carefully escaped Sunny's arms, left the shelter formed by Silvershade's wings, and examined the chamber.
The corpse of Idol of the Golden Fleece remained where it had fallen.
Saint extracted four Transcendent Soul Shards and studied the ruined body in search of useful information. Unfortunately, its killer had been thorough.
The wounds revealed little beyond overwhelming power.
Saint spent the remaining hours using what materials she could to help Sunny recover faster. His essence was returning rapidly, and the depletion no longer threatened him.
He would not regain his full strength by the end of the second day.
More accurately, his natural powers would recover, while the Profane part of him remained weakened.
Saint could sense the difference.
Sunny's Divinity remained as potent as before. The darkness of the Void within him had diminished, as though the excessive use of Soul Flame temporarily consumed part of his Profanity.
Saint grimaced.
'Never again. I will never watch that happen without being able to stop it.'
By every reasonable definition, Sunny had died several times during the battle.
The experience taught Saint that Corrupted creatures had to be approached carefully. For a moment, she regarded her earlier victory over a Corrupted Beast as evidence of arrogance.
She could have won that battle without Sunny's four shadows, but their augmentation allowed her to end it quickly.
Each of Saint's shadows doubled her power. Sunny's shadows, strengthened through Shadow Weave, increased his power by half again for each one.
When all eight augmented Saint, her strength rose approximately elevenfold.
She paused.
'Then Sunny's full amplification…'
If Sunny used his shadows, Soul Flame, and Shadow of Parsimony simultaneously, the resulting increase approached twenty-seven times his ordinary strength.
And he was only a Devil.
The realization was frightening, but it also gave Saint hope. Sunny could already wound a Corrupted Devil as a Dormant human, despite remaining far from the height of his potential.
He was missing three Cores. And still, he hadn't even Awakened yet.
Saint returned to his side and examined him for abnormalities. Finding none, she remained there.
Eventually, her examination became admiration.
'Cute.'
Seeing Sunny helpless was strange. His sleeping expression was peaceful, and his shadow carried none of the sorrow that might follow him for the rest of his life.
Saint hesitated before returning to his embrace.
Sunny was asleep, although the arrangement had originally been his suggestion. Even that fact caused doubt. [Lonesome Soul] might have lowered his rational restraint and made him more receptive to intimacy than he would normally be.
Furthermore, Saint did not know whether accepting the invitation while he slept was appropriate.
In the end, she lay beside him again.
There might never be another opportunity.
Besides… Sunny had caused the problem by suggesting it!
Saint returned to his arms and closed her eyes. She smiled as sleep claimed her, content to remain beside the person she cared about most.
—
The second day eventually passed.
Sunny began to awaken.
His surroundings were unchanged, but something within him had returned to normal.
Before opening his eyes, his accelerated thoughts identified several details.
The whispers were gone. His mind was calm, confirming that invoking [Angel's Eyes] caused him to lose himself rapidly.
Using [Shadow of Parsimony] shortened that period further.
Based on the information Sunny gathered while drowning within his Fables, he could maintain the Transformation for less than sixty seconds and keep his mind together. Without it, [Angel's Eyes] could remain active for approximately two or three minutes before [Lonesome Soul] drove him mad and deprived him of control over most his actions.
There was another consequence.
Extensive use of his second Aspect appeared to remove most of his rational restraint.
Sunny remembered what he said to Saint two nights earlier.
His face became red before his eyes opened.
…Then he saw Saint herself.
'Oh, gods.'
Her face alone would not have caused such an extreme reaction.
The position of their bodies did.
Saint was sprawled across him. Her head rested beside his own, partly within the curve of his neck. Her lips brushed his skin each time she breathed, while the rest of her body pressed against his chest.
'Damnation!'
Sunny moved with such speed that the action resembled Shadow Step.
One moment, he was beneath Silvershade's wings.
The next, he stood beside the river and appeared intensely interested in its current.
'I must control what I do while [Lonesome Soul] is affecting me. Otherwise, this could become dangerous to my health!'
A treacherous part of him wondered if it might improve his health instead.
'Shut up!'
Saint awakened after losing the warmth of his body. She noticed his absence, sensed his shadow nearby, and stretched without concern.
By then, Sunny had constructed a convincing facade of normality.
He inspected Marble Shell.
'Completely restored. Nether really is too good in his craft.'
The Shell had returned to its preferred form.
A long, asymmetrical trench coat covered his body. Pale blue-white sigils decorated the dark silk, while black underlayers protected his torso. The hem divided into uneven strips, and broad lapels rested over a loose tunic.
His left arm bore an ordinary sleeve. Dark silk plating covered the right, ending in a fingerless gauntlet that concealed Silver Weave's constellation mark. Wide trousers disappeared into tall combat boots, while layered belts crossed his torso and waist.
His body had healed completely.
His Essence had also returned.
Sunny realized that his Demon and Devil Abilities could consume Essence when he attempted to push them beyond their ordinary limits. [Young Heart] was probably responsible.
'I see... [Young Heart] allows me to unleash a devastating attack without preparing it, but Essence is consumed to support the immediate amplification. As a result, even a Dormant Ability such as Soul Flame can drain my reserves.'
Fortunately, Sunny possessed both Soul Essence and Shadow Essence.
[Void Soul], Soul Weave, and his Angelic nature expanded those reserves considerably. [Incarnation of Divinity] and several other powers strengthened them further.
Saint approached while he adjusted his Mantle.
'Behave normally, Sunless. I swear by—'
His thoughts stopped when he saw her expression.
Saint looked happy.
Sunny forgot his embarrassment for a moment and felt grateful that she could still smile after everything that happened.
"Are you feeling better, Milord?"
His eye twitched at the title.
"Yes. My condition has stabilized. Though, invoking [Angel's Eyes] should remain prohibited until I learn how to control it."
Saint nodded.
'Good. I despise that damned power.'
She walked past him and patted his shoulder.
"You still have me."
Sunny recognized an opportunity to joke.
"Naturally! I can rely upon my guardian angel to carry me away from danger."
His expression soured after uttering the word angel, though. Sunny possessed very few pleasant memories associated with it.
Saint lifted her chin with playful pride.
"Hmph."
Then her expression changed. She indicated a nearby path.
"Have you noticed the bloody footprints leading farther along the river? Someone was here before us."
Sunny blinked.
'So that was not a hallucination.'
They approached the prints together.
The shoes that created them belonged to someone of short stature. That evidence alone was insufficient to identify the person's sex.
However, the traces made one fact clear. The person was an Awakened human.
'Did someone survive the catastrophe above and fall through the pit?'
Sunny recognized the residual crimson power around the location where the Bright Castle once stood.
Anyone who encountered the Corrupted flying abomination resembling a cloud of red lightning should have died. There was no reasonable exception.
A Sleeper confronting that creature would have their fate decided before the battle began. Sunny even doubted that his current self could defeat what that thing is.
Remembering its presence caused a shiver to pass through him.
Nevertheless, someone appeared to have survived.
If survival was the correct word.
Sunny and Saint looked upward.
They were deep beneath the earth, perhaps level with the Dark Sea. The underground river was surprising because of that fact.
Saint frowned.
"I doubt anyone else on the Forgotten Shores could survive that fall."
Sunny agreed.
"A suitable Memory might slow their descent. Even then, falling this far should flatten them."
Saint placed one hand beneath her chin and considered the problem.
Sunny examined the surrounding routes.
'This appears to be a temple, or perhaps the entrance to one. The paths may belong to a single greater structure. It could even lead into a buried city.'
Saint pointed toward the river.
"We know nothing about this place. It did not exist in the Worldline preserved within our memories, which makes everything here a new variable."
Saint looked toward the bloody footprints.
"Because of that, our previous knowledge will provide little help. However, we should still discover whether the person who left those traces survived. We know they survived long enough to walk away. We need to determine whether they are alive now."
Sunny considered her suggestion and reached the same conclusion.
'She's right. The remaining paths can be explored later. If someone from the Bright Castle survived the destruction, finding them takes priority.'
He nodded.
"Then we'll follow the blood."
Sunny and Saint approached the river.
Its current divided the stone floor before descending toward the deeper regions of the buried structure. They stopped at the bank and examined the opposite side, but the bloody prints did not cross the water. Instead, they continued along the descending path beside it.
The pair followed them.
Darkness soon swallowed the light from the chamber above. Neither Sunny nor Saint was troubled by it, since both could perceive their surroundings without relying upon light.
The previous traveler should not have possessed that advantage.
'How did they navigate this place?'
There was currently no answer.
Sunny continued walking.
Their footsteps echoed through the cavernous passage, mingling with the murmur of the river. Remnants of murals covered the walls along the route. They appeared to depict a continuous tale, but age had destroyed most of the carvings before Sunny could interpret them.
After some time, Saint extended one arm across his path.
She indicated a surviving section of the mural.
"Huh…"
The carving had been made upon a broad portion of the underground wall. Most of the surrounding images had eroded, leaving a single scene isolated from whatever preceded or followed it.
A knight stood at its center.
Two horns rose from the knight's helmet. Crude lines represented blood flowing down its armor, while its posture suggested that every step required tremendous effort.
Someone was being carried upon its back.
The second figure was depicted as pure darkness. Wisps rose from its body, and a crown rested upon its head.
Since murals often used symbolic imagery instead of literal representations, the darkness and crown could possess several meanings.
Saint studied the surviving scene.
'A crowned figure would indicate a ruler or another person of great status. The knight appears to be carrying them through these passages. Were they wounded? Perhaps already dead?'
There was too little context to reach a reliable conclusion.
Sunny's thoughts moved in a darker direction.
"Let's hope that the knight is no longer down here. Its corpse would also be inconvenient. If either remained for this long, Corruption would have transformed it into something unpleasant."
They resumed walking, but Sunny stopped after several steps.
The surrounding area contained very little Corruption. As a result, a creature inhabiting it might have resisted the usual fate of corpses left within the Dream Realm.
'I would still prefer the knight to have died somewhere else.'
Sunny could not dismiss the possibility that the horned knight or the crowned shadow had destroyed Idol of the Golden Fleece.
His intuition insisted otherwise.
He turned and found Saint staring at him with an unimpressed expression.
"You considered it, didn't you?"
Sunny gave her an apologetic smile and nodded.
Saint released a tired sigh. The memories within her made his habit of inviting terrible possibilities painfully familiar.
"We should prepare for the worst, then."
They continued beside the river.
Eventually, the bloody footprints ended.
Sunny and Saint stopped at the edge of a tremendous drop. The river poured over it and disappeared into the abyss, producing a continuous roar from somewhere below.
Saint allowed her voice to travel into the depths.
"Did the rest of the path collapse?"
Sunny examined the edge, then shook his head.
"It was designed to end here. Look at the surrounding floor."
Saint raised one eyebrow and studied the area more carefully.
The broad platform behind them did not resemble a damaged corridor. Its open shape and raised boundaries suggested that visitors were expected to depart from it by flying or diving into the water.
'He's right.'
Sunny crouched near the edge and brushed centuries of grime from the stone. At first, Saint could not determine what he was searching for.
Then faint carvings emerged.
Sunny sighed.
'Damnation.'
He traced one of the lines without touching it directly.
"This is Runic Sorcery. The Spell once created a warpgate to another location, using the river as both its path and its medium."
He followed the carvings with his eyes until they disappeared over the precipice.
"The array is almost completely destroyed. Soul Shards would provide enough energy to reactivate parts of it, but the runes continue down the entire shaft. There is no practical means for me to repair them."
Saint stared at him.
'He learned all of that from one glance?'
Sunny blinked.
'Right.'
He rose and turned toward her with an unusual expression.
"Saint, I forgot something important. Could you show me your hands?"
She extended them immediately, causing Sunny to pause.
Most Awakened would have demanded an explanation before obeying such a request. Even Nephis, Cassie, and the other members of the cohort would have questioned him.
Saint's willingness was… convenient.
It was also slightly unnerving.
'If only everyone were this cooperative.'
Sunny enclosed her hands within his.
Saint flinched.
Golden threads appeared around their joined fingers. They wound across her hands before piercing beneath the surface and descending into the deeper layers of her existence.
Her eyes widened.
"I…"
Blue threads emerged from her palms. Tiny motes of light moved through them, revealing a structure that had remained tightly bound inside her since her creation.
A powerful jolt passed through Saint.
It began in her palms, traveled along every part of her body, and reached from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.
Sunny released her hands and smiled.
"Congratulations, Saint. You may now call yourself a Sorceress!"
Saint understood what he had done.
During their previous lives, possessing this talent would have allowed her to confront far greater threats and protect Sunny more effectively.
Echoes and Shadows were ordinarily incapable of weaving. Sunny had never discovered the precise reason for that limitation.
However, one of Mirage's Phantasms were different.
The distinction came from Saint's nature. Phantasms had not existed until Mirage experimented alongside Sunny, Nether, and Lethe. Saint was therefore neither an ordinary Shadow nor a complete independent life.
Until now, that contradiction had kept part of her power dormant.
Sunny had released the Diamond Weave contained within her.
The first part of it resembled Weaver's complete Lineage, granting Saint something comparable to the seven fragments that made Sunny whole. The second part was Sorcery woven throughout her body.
Previously, that Sorcery only performed the functions assigned to it.
Now Saint could command it herself.
Sunny opened a path that allowed her to practice Primitive Spellweave, the Sorcery of Nether, Prince of the Underworld and Demon of Destiny.
Applying such a transformation to someone who was still Sunny's Shadow was not straightforward.
Saint swayed toward the abyss but was caught before she could fall. She pressed one hand to her head while tingling spread through her fingers and the rest of her body.
Then the Nightmare Spell whispered.
Sunny heard its voice as well, although the message belonged to Saint.
[Your dormant inheritance has opened its eyes.]
[One of your Attributes has evolved!]
[Diamond Weave has awakened.]
Saint required some time to adjust.
Sunny had always possessed the key to the Sorcery contained within her. He had finally used it to open the door, granting her the capacity to perform Spellweave.
He also possessed some understanding of how their Sorceries could be combined. Their foundations were closely related because Nether had copied Weaver's Sorcery before introducing his own alterations.
Sunny had witnessed Nether's art while they modified [Diamond Shell], back when he was Divine.
Unfortunately, only impressions of that period remained available to him.
He could view the corresponding Fable from a third-person perspective, but that distinction mattered. Experiencing a Fable through his original perspective immediately restored the skills contained within it. Observing from outside himself provided fragments of knowledge and required him to reread the Fable repeatedly.
Even so, fragments were better than ignorance.
Once Saint recovered, they considered their options.
Descending was the only reasonable choice.
The bloody footprints ended at the precipice, suggesting that their wounded owner had jumped. Sunny briefly wondered whether the warpgate had still functioned at the time.
That seemed impossible. The Runic Array had been ruined for centuries.
Whatever the truth, remaining above would reveal nothing.
Sunny gave Saint a thumbs-up.
"Ready?"
Saint examined the darkness below with a restrained expression.
"I am prepared. However, I suspect I will dislike whatever is waiting at the bottom."
Sunny smirked and stepped over the edge.
Saint followed while shaking her head in amusement.
Neither summoned the Silvershade Harrow. The shaft was wide enough to accommodate the Echo, but both possessed Storm God's Miracle, [Arweiniad y Tymestl]. Through it, they could regulate their descent without assistance.
However, mid way into the fall, space suddenly distorted and caused them to stop.
Sunny felt the Runic Array awaken beneath them.
'What? I thought it was destroyed—'
The shaft disappeared. Sunny and Saint entered a complete void.
Countless stars burned below, their light moving through the darkness without illuminating it. The pair continued falling toward them while warped space gathered around their bodies.
Both recognized what occurred.
The broken Array had activated.
Its incomplete structure violated the principles governing Runic Sorcery, yet somehow created a warpgate and allowed them to enter. The river had served as its path and material despite the absence of a functional destination.
There was no exit ahead.
The entrance remained somewhere above them, but gravity grew heavier with every moment. It dragged them toward the stars before either could invoke Storm God's Miracle.
Their voices disappeared as darkness swallowed their bodies.
The stars below whispered otherworldly laments. They resembled lost souls calling from the depths, each trying to force its grief into the minds of the two falling travelers.
…Then something seized their coats.
Sunny sensed a Will pressing against the World.
The distinction was important. A person had reached into the broken passage and taken hold of them.
Sunny and Saint's consciousness abruptly failed.
The final thing they saw was a white fracture opening across the darkness. Whoever held their collars dragged them through it, closing the warpgate behind them.
—
Sunny regained consciousness the instant he emerged on the other side.
There seemed to have been no interval between oblivion and awakening.
A polished temple floor appeared beneath him. Unlike the ruins surrounding the river, the structure was intact.
And the being… the being carrying them released their collars. Sunny and Saint caught themselves before striking the floor, then rose immediately. Yet, the moment Sunny tried to look at their rescuer, his eyes shivered and a tremor passed through his body.
'We interfered with the wrong Spell.'
Saint attempted to conceal her reaction, but failed as well.
They looked toward their rescuer and confirmed the source of their dread.
One word escaped Sunny.
"Supreme…"
The being before them was a Shadow.
Sunny could not perceive its appearance clearly, although its form was humanoid. It looked back at them for a brief moment, seemingly indifferent to their presence.
Then it dissolved into the ground.
The Shadow flowed across the polished floor and ascended a staircase leading toward what appeared to be a holy ground. It could have been a throne room, although Sunny lacked enough information to decide.
Saint turned and examined their surroundings, only to find that nothing was familiar anymore.
Even the shadows cast by the nearby objects carried no recognition, confirming that she had never entered this place in either her present memories or those inherited from another life.
Sunny forced himself to remain calm.
'We are alive. Start with that.'
He tugged Saint's sleeve. She nodded to show that she was unharmed, then spoke first.
"Do you think the warpgate brought us here?"
Sunny shook his head.
"The warpgate abandoned us inside that space. Whoever owns the Shadow saved us. Or… is the shadow himself?"
He looked toward the staircase.
"That also raises several questions. But, and I'm only guessing, it probably bears no immediate hostility. A Supreme Shadow could have killed us before we understood what was happening."
Saint considered the matter.
"Should we follow it? We could explore the area behind us instead. Regardless, returning through the same route is impossible."
They looked upward and grimaced. Only the temple's roof was visible. There was no opening, river, or indication of the place from which they had fallen.
They had been transported somewhere entirely unknown.
'Wonderful.'
Sunny reached a decision.
"We follow the Shadow. There is some risk, but that's all we got for now. Anyone capable of examining Souls may mistake me for a Corrupted creature. Abaddon's Attribute conceals my condition from most observers, but it is not absolutely effective."
'Hopefully [Idol of Shadows] prevents the first Supreme Shadow I meet from executing me.'
Oddly, Sunny felt calmer than the circumstances warranted.
His intuition provided no warning that the Supreme Shadow wished to harm him.
Furthermore, it had saved their lives. And for that he was thankful.
It was because while Sunny might have survived contact with the stars inside the broken gateway, Saint would most certainty be dead.
"There is no better option."
He began ascending the staircase with Saint following close behind. Before long, they reached a grand double door.
Sunny extended Shadow Sense and found nothing beyond it.
"I'm already hating this.The Runic Array here is blocking out my shadow sense. I can't see a damn thing behind this door."
'It's almost inviting me to open it.'
He flexed his fingers and prepared to force the doors apart.
Then he noticed the runes carved across their surface.
Sunny stopped before touching them. His expression darkened, and he turned toward Saint.
"Could you open this? The Array will respond poorly if I touch it."
Saint tilted her head before understanding.
'Corruption.'
The Enchantment was impressive. It appeared designed to attack any being carrying the Void within its Soul.
Unfortunately, Sunny carried an unreasonable amount.
The Void had been fused into his Soul, and an Archangel resided within the depths of his existence. Contact with the Array would probably produce the most catastrophic response imaginable.
Saint placed one hand against each door and pushed. Yet, the doors barely moved.
'Were these built for Transcendents?'
Their resistance exceeded her expectations.
Then, four of Sunny's shadows wrapped around her body. Saint had already summoned her own four, so both groups augmented her simultaneously.
Her strength rose elevenfold. She pushed with everything she had, forcing the grand doors to open as they produced a terrible noise.
A resonant impact traveled through the pristine temple as their immense mass came to rest. Saint wiped the sweat from her face and turned toward Sunny—
Only to freeze upon doing so. Horror had transformed his expression.
His eyes trembled, and his mouth moved without producing words. Whatever he saw beyond the door appeared to have reached into the deepest part of him.
"Milord—?"
Saint failed to complete the question.
Sunny launched himself through the doorway. The floor shattered beneath his feet. He crossed the chamber as a blur, moving with a speed that would have put Caster to shame.
Saint turned immediately.
She assumed that Sunny had perceived a threat and began forming her Soul Weapon…
Then, she too saw what was inside.
Her expression changed.
The chamber itself was hard to explain very quickly. It appeared to be a place of rest and recovery constructed for a magnificent creature.
Said magnificent creature was resting at the other end of the chamber. It appeared to be a flaming, giant bird.
Saint's thoughts briefly stopped.
'T-The hell? Is that a Noble Creature?!'
Calming herself rapidly, she examined its presence.
The bird belonged to the Transcendent Rank and the seventh Class. It was indeed a Titan. And yet, it was currently asleep and clearly unable to move as it wished at the moment.
As such, she too was running towards the pale body rested among the bird's softly flowing, sun-colored feathers. Saint desperately wished it were unfamiliar, but she wasn't a fool. There was only one person that could be.
The young woman breathed faintly. Numerous injuries covered her body, and only the warm waves of sunlight emanating from the Noble Titan appeared to be keeping her alive.
She possessed a delicate appearance. Blond hair surrounded her bloodless face, while cerulean eyes remained open without focusing upon anything. At first glance, she could have been mistaken for a corpse.
A plain tunic covered her body, as well. Sunny remembered that same tunic from the last time he saw her.
The leather sandals upon her feet had been almost completely destroyed. One leg was mangled, while small scorched wounds covered the rest of her body. The cloak once carrying the color of ocean waves remained around her shoulders in burned fragments.
There was no possibility of mistaking her identity.
Sunny cursed the world for placing her before him in that condition.
Before entering his Trials and receiving the memories of other lives, she had been the person he was beginning to love in this Worldline.
Even now, she occupied a place within his heart beside two others.
Her name tore itself from Sunny's throat.
His hair turned golden.
[Angel's Eyes] opened before he consciously chose to invoke it. Sunny burned and fractured his Shadow Cores, sacrificing portions of his seemingly immortal life to force [Soul Flame] into existence despite the damage left by his battle against Idol of the Golden Fleece.
Black fire erupted around him, turning the entire chamber into a blazing night.
"CASSIE!"
The cry echoed through the sacred chamber.
The wounded young woman resting among the golden feathers was indeed Cassie.
Against every reasonable expectation, she was still alive.