Aargh!'
Sunny staggered, his mind reeling from the profane triumvirate of terror, pain, and the Call.
The oars of the Chain Breaker almost got away from him, but he managed to grasp them tightly at the last moment and steer the ship away from the falling corpse of a Nightmare Butterfly.
A moment later, something dark and bloody struck one of the masts, shattering it, and was sent crashing into the deck. The thing rolled, leaving a bloody trail behind it, and came to a stop with a pained groan.
That thing was Sunny, as well — one of his two winged incarnations that had been protecting the ship in the air.
The blood left on the splintered wood moved like a living being, flowing back into his broken body. But it was of little use, since he had been hurt too severely. His wings had been destroyed, and his body was torn and mangled under the crumbling jade armor.
He strained to stand up, but then toppled back to the deck with a stifled hiss. At least one of his arms seemed to be viciously broken, splinters of white bone protruding through torn skin, so leaning on it had been a mistake.
Raising his bloodied face to give the incarnations piloting the Chain Breaker a grim look, Sunny allowed his battered avatar to collapse into a shadow and moved to wrap Saint into his dark embrace.
'That's... two down, five to go.'
Things were not looking good for Sunny and Nephis.
The Chain Breaker must have already climbed very far up the endless flat expanse of the great pyramid's slope — far enough for him not to sense the echoes of the ferocious battle between Azarax and the Ash Tyrant, at least.
But he could not sense the entrance to the interior of the Tomb of Ariel, still.
And he was not sure that they would continue fighting their way through the dreadful swarm of Nightmare Butterflies for much longer.
Far away, deep in the dark stormfront of Great abominations, the Puppeteer was on the verge of being vanquished. The great moth's wings were so torn that it could barely keep itself in the air, and its movements were turning sluggish.
It tried to keep the Nightmare Butterflies from coming close, but it was of no use — more and more of them were landing on the Puppeteer's titanic body, covering it like a ghastly, undulating carpet.
The abominations were sinking their scythe-like legs into the Sacred shade, rending it apart bit by bit. Two of its legs had already been torn off, and now, one of the Nightmare Butterflies landed on its enormous compound eye, piercing the glittering onyx surface with a monstrous proboscis.
The strings of black silk were dancing chaotically, unable to catch their prey anymore.
In the distance, Slayer was in a similar condition. Her missing eye and shattered fangs only made her look more furious, but even if her murderous rage and chillingly cold killing intent had not abated one bit, only growing fiercer as time went by, she was slowly beginning to succumb to her wounds.
Even as dozens of Nightmare Butterflies continued to fall prey to the stunning, malevolent obsidian dragon, the dragon was losing a piece of herself with each adversary she killed.
Far above, Neph's blinding radiance was now completely obscured by the rustling mass of winged horrors, as if she had been swallowed by the swarm. Only a rare ray of radiant white light managed to through the impenetrable wall of monstrous butterflies, showing Sunny that she was still alive and fighting to clear a path for them.
As for Sunny himself...
He was not doing that great, either.
In fact, he felt like he was ready to collapse.
"Serpent! Protect that tree!"
The golden fruits of the sacred tree were already rolling on the deck. The Chain Breaker was climbing at a steep incline, so they all ended up near where Sunny was controlling the ship, feeling the air with a mouth-watering aroma.
All he could taste on his tongue was blood, though — not because he was bleeding, but because his vanquished incarnations had been drowning in blood seconds before turning into intangible shadows.
The Chain Breaker had already sustained damage, as well. Sunny had been using manifested shadows to operate the mighty siege engines installed on its deck, but most of those were gone now — torn from the deck and tossed overboard or utterly broken by the very Nightmare Butterflies they were meant to bring down.
The hull was not breached yet, but it was already covered in scars. Several sections of the deck were damaged severely enough to be on the verge of crumbling. One of the masts was broken now, and the rest... Sunny did not know how much longer they would last.
He struggled against the overwhelming desire to tear the blindfold off his eyes and look ahead...
But he knew that he couldn't.
The bestial panic that had usurped his heart was telling him not to.
'Damn it!'𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
They were so close.
They were almost there...
But also infinitely far away.
So far away that there seemed to be no hope of ever making it to their goal.
'This can't...'
Before Sunny could finish the thought, an ominous sensation briefly overwhelmed him. It was the familiar sensation of a shade being drawn back into the dark abyss of his soul — of a shade that was not supposed to fall so soon.
'No, not yet!'
But there was no point in denying the inevitable.
Far away, the Puppeteer finally succumbed to its wounds. One of its wings was damaged too severely, so it broke, failing to support the great weight of the Sacred shade in the devastating maelstrom of hurricane winds. Then, it was torn off completely, disappearing into the mass of Nightmare Butterflies.
Having lost a wing, the Puppeteer could not control its flight anymore, so it could not defend itself against the abominations, either. In a matter of seconds, its body was riddled with innumerable wounds and torn open, releasing a vast, billowing cloud of ghostly grey smoke into the lightless sky. Then, its silhouette grew indistinct, and it burst into a flood of darkness that washed over the heavens, flowing back into the vast and harrowing night.
With the fall of the Puppeteer, their defenses collapsed.
A pillar of roaring white flame broke through the rustling mass of the Nightmare Swarm, preventing the abominations that the Sacred shade had been holding back from descending upon the Chain Breaker immediately. Nephis moved closer to the ship, attempting to challenge twice as many enemies as she had been before — but it was of little use.
She couldn't contain them all.
'This is bad...'
Sunny and his Shadow Butterflies were suddenly faced with many times more Great abominations than they had already been struggling to keep away. The shades were being eviscerated at a frightening pace now — far faster than new shades were flowing into his soul.
The two incarnations of Sunny who had been firing arrows from the deck of the flying ship took to the sky, as well, but even their presence was not enough to change the outcome.
The defensive barrier around the Chain Breaker was dwindling and growing weaker with each moment. More and more Great abominations made it to the flying ship, and even if Saint and Serpent slaughtered them promptly, the damage dealt to the graceful vessel slowly mounted.
In the distance, Slayer was on the verge of being destroyed. Her obsidian scales were broken, and a torrent of ghostly smoke flowed out of her lethal maw instead of the merciless black flame — that was because her throat was torn wide open, more smoke spilling from the horrid wound.
She was still full of bloodlust and malice, ready and willing to continue the slaughter...
But Sunny did not want to see her destroyed. So, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and dismiss the malevolent Shadow, sending her into the nurturing dark flames of his soul to be mended and restored.
'Rest well, Slayer...'
That left the avatars who had been augmenting Slayer alone in the depths of the Nightmare Swarm. Sunny attempted to make it back to the Chain Breaker by fusing the two incarnations into one... but in the end, he was a mangled wreck by the time he fell onto the fractured deck, shattered and broken so thoroughly that it seemed unnatural for him to still be alive.
The agony of it all made the other incarnations tremble.
These avatars, too, had to return to their natural state — the form of shadows.
With both Slayer and Puppeteer gone, and the number of Sunny's incarnations still in the fight reduced to four, the fate of the Chain Breaker was all but sealed. Even Nephis couldn't contain the harrowing swarm alone, and so...
It wasn't long before she crashed into the deck and fell to her knees, her radiant wings shrouding her graceful figure like a tattered white cloak.
The brilliant radiance of her skin was now weak and dim, and Sunny could see awful wounds that littered her body closing slowly as she drew in a shaking breath and turned her gaze to him — much slower than they usually would.
Her essence was all but exhausted.
He tried to compose himself for a moment, pushed the pain that consumed his whole being down, and then rolled one of the golden fruits toward her.
Sunny forced out a pale smile.
"Not that satisfying, as far as last meals go, but... I hear these things are delicious."
Nephis studied him for a moment, then nodded, picked up the fruit, and bit into it. By the time she stood up, her wounds were noticeably smaller, and a white tunic had already formed around her body from the sparks of light.
Above them, three incarnations of Sunny and the remaining shades were making their last stand. Serpent and Saint were still defending the deck, which was now littered with the towering, severed corpses of the Nightmare Butterflies.
The sail that had been connected to the shattered mast was fluttering in the wind, torn and tattered.
Nephis turned to the bow of the ship and leaned forward to keep balance on the inclined deck, resting one hand on the slick wood.
She remained silent for a short moment, and then said in a hoarse, emotionless voice:
"I see the breach."
Chapter 2916
Sunny barely prevented himself from swaying, a feeble flame of hope igniting in his heart. His mind was screaming at him to let out a sigh of relief, but he knew better than to make that mistake. It was too early to feel relief, to allow himself a moment of respite from the draining burden of being ready for the worst.
The treacherous relief people surrendered themselves to just before reaching safety had reaped countless lives.
"Did you really find it? The breach?"
Nephis nodded.
"Yes... we are close."
She finished the golden fruit and reached for another.
"I saw where the Nightmare Butterflies are spilling from. It's the second claw mark from the top... if they can leave the Tomb from there, it means that we can enter."
Sunny inhaled deeply.
'So we found the entrance, after all.'
His thoughts were interrupted by Neph's even, impassive voice:
"They are still pouring out of the breach like a flood. And there would be far more of them inside the pyramid than there are outside. Do you understand what that means?"
Holding the oars, Sunny nodded.
"I do."
It meant that the density of the Nightmare Swarm would be incomparably greater as they neared the breach, and that the last push would be the most perilous.
Nephis exhaled slowly through gritted teeth.
"Bring us to the breach. I will clear the way."
Instead of answering, Sunny shuddered. Somewhere above them, another of his incarnations had become a shapeless mass of bleeding flesh. His right arm was torn off, and his right leg was severed below the knee... his armor was shattered, so the rest of his body was a gruesome sight to behold, as well.
The pain, the pain...
He did not even feel that much of the pain anymore, because he had lost most of his mind to the Call. Pain was meaningless in the face of the alluring, irresistible pull of the Nightmare.
And there was terror, as well.
"You'll need to guide me."
Nephis nodded and raised her hand slowly, calling upon the Blessing once more.
"I will."
Sunny raised his head, as if wanting to see himself being torn apart. Now, only three of his incarnations remained whole — one steering the Chain Breaker, two leading the dwindling number of Shadow Butterflies in the defense of the flying ship.
He just needed to hold on a little bit longer...
But he couldn't. His own power was simply not enough to resist the harrowing, endless sea of Great abominations. The most effective tool for dealing with large amounts of enemies at his disposal was the Curse, but even if he channeled his killing intent through it to poison the Nightmare Butterflies with his Death Will, they would not succumb to it quickly, or even at all. They were of equal Rank to him, after all, and possessed their own Will. In fact, the collective Will of the Nightmare Swarm — its spirit — was far greater than his.
Sunny could recall the Shadows he had left behind to defend those people who were precious to him... Nightmare, Fiend. But even if he made that sacrifice, their powers were ill-suited for this aerial battle, and so, they would fail to turn the tide.
So... a different kind of sacrifice was needed.
Sunny remained silent for a while, following Neph's instruction to steer the Chain Breaker toward one of the four titanic claw marks that marred the surface of the Tomb of Ariel, then said quietly:
"Serpent."
Saint was powerful, but her strength could not be expressed fully without solid ground beneath her feet. Serpent, meanwhile, excelled at adaptability and versatility. Serpent was versatility itself, really. Granted, Sunny did not command that many powerful shades that were adept at aerial combat. The best of them were the shades of the Nightmare Butterflies themselves, the Obsidian Wasps, the Corrupted Titan — Defiled Seeker of Truth...
And the Winter Beast.
The Winter Beast, who commanded winds and could turn an entire realm into a frigid hell.
A Titan who possessed incredible power, but was weak and fragile behind the terrifying shield of its lethal blizzard.
"Slow them down, Serpent."
As soon as he said those words, a cold wind blew across the deck of the Chain Breaker, and snowflakes glistened in the dark.
An inconceivable, ghastly, eerily beautiful creature forged from black ice briefly revealed itself above the deck of the flying ship, its vast expanse blooming with myriad azure flowers. A moment later, it was hidden from view by a whirlwind of snow, rising slowly into the dark sky.
Sunny bit his lip as he watched Serpent soar into the tenebrous depths of the Nightmare Swarm. The temperature dropped rapidly, and the howling of the winds changed its tone, turning far more chilling and vicious. The frigid winds assaulted the abominable butterflies, encasing their wings in a thin layer of ice. Near the heart of the unnatural blizzard, the temperature dropped to zero — the absolute zero, not the arbitrary state humans had assigned that number for the sake of convenience.
Serpent moved away from Sunny and the Shadow Butterflies, unleashing the full fury of the Winter Beast's profane powers upon the terrifying swarm. Almost instantly, the pressure on the defenders of the flying ship diminished.
Back in Antarctica, during the final battle of the siege of Falcon Scott, Sunny had failed to get anywhere near the heart of the blizzard, and therefore to the Winter Beast. But he had been merely Ascended now... the Nightmare Butterflies were all Great Nightmare Creatures, and could wield the Will more effectively than the Winter Beast could.
A Corrupted Titan could be considered a more powerful creature when compared to a Great Beast, or even a Monster — but when there were so many Beasts and Monsters around, it would inevitably be torn apart.
Sunny just hoped that Serpent would remain whole long enough to allow the Chain Breaker to enter the breach, and that he would be able to dismiss his loyal Shadow before it was entirely destroyed.
Hopefully, he would not be late...
His heart was cold and heavy, but Sunny forbade himself from thinking about what would happen if he were.
He was not afforded the luxury of second-guessing his decisions, and there was no time to look back.
"We are almost there."
In the stark coldness of the frigid winds, Neph's voice rang like clear crystal.
"Get ready!"
Behind them, Serpent and its murderous blizzard were being assaulted by the Nightmare Swarm. The abominations there were weakened and debilitated, so only a few of them could still pursue the Chain Breaker.
In front of them, however...
Now, Sunny could sense the flawlessly flat surface of the Tomb of Ariel, torn and ravaged. There were four gargantuan, deep canyons marring the vast expanse of black stone — his goal was the depths of the third one, from where the endless tide of Nightmare Butterflies was pouring into the world.
And these Butterflies were not only countless, but also untouched by the blizzard, as terrifying and strong as could be.
"Hold tight!"
Sunny sent a torrent of essence into the runic circle of the Chain Breaker and grabbed the oars tightly, prepared to make the last push.
Above him, his two incarnations readied themselves to dive into the densest, most impenetrable part of the Nightmare Swarm.
...When they delved into the obliterating flood of Great abominations, it was unlike anything Sunny had experienced before. He had known that it would be bad, but still underestimated the sheer vicious impossibility of the task.
The Shadow Butterflies were wiped out almost in an instant. His incarnations held fast a little longer, but in a matter of moments, they were gruesomely savaged, as well — one barely escaped back to the deck of the Chain Breaker, the other was so severely damaged that it could not even retreat.
Abandoning her bow, Saint leaped into the air and grabbed the mangled remains of Sunny's avatar. He dismissed his corporeal form and wrapped his tattered shadow around her, dazed and blinded by the pain. Saint was left open in the air, and a moment later, she already received a terrifying blow. A cloud of ruby dust spread around her and was instantly carried away by the winds. As Saint's wounded form plummeted back toward the flying ship, Sunny dismissed her and drew all of his shadows to his last remaining avatar — the one holding the oars.
Somewhere far behind, a Nightmare Butterfly finally pierced the lethal blizzard and descended upon the icy figure of Serpent, shattering the black ice with its scythe-like legs.
More followed.
But by then, the Chain Breaker had finally reached the third of the titanic claw marks and careened, plummeting into the depths of the canyon.
Toward the spot where the Nightmare Butterflies were the densest, and therefore where the breach that led to the interior of the Tomb of Ariel lay.
"Nephis, now!"
Throwing away the stem of a golden fruit, she lunged forward and reached the bow of the flying ship in the blink of an eye.
There, Nephis placed one foot on the railing to keep herself balanced, inhaled deeply... and then raised the Blessing, grasping its hilt with both hands.
In the next moment, the world was drowned in blinding light.
The world was shattered by the roaring flame.
Sunny's eyes were burned even through the blindfold, and his ears were momentarily deafened.
The cold air was suddenly scorching hot and searing, and smelled faintly of ash.
And the path in front of the Chain Breaker was suddenly clear.
Sensing Nephis sway and toppling to the deck, Sunny threw the flying ship into the breach... into the rough tunnel formed by shattered, glowing, incandescent black stone.
That stone had been the flesh of an Unholy Titan once, so Sunny did not even want to think what could have shattered it.
He dismissed the Serpent, knowing that his Shadow was severely damaged — but, hopefully, not irrevocably so.
'Come on, come on...'
The Chain Breaker plummeted into the darkness, the walls of the tunnel growing closer and closer around it.
And then, in the darkness...
Sunny sensed a vast, endless expanse.
And myriad shadows of the Nightmare Butterflies rising to tear them apart.
"No!"
Gritting his teeth, he called upon the shadows and manifested a dark shield in front of the flying ship — a shield that was really a ram.
Just a heartbeat later, the Chain Breaker collided with the rising tide of Nightmare Butterflies, groaning under pressure as its shield fractured and fell apart.
The flying ship finally escaped into the vast darkness of the Tomb of Ariel, where millions of Nightmare Butterflies rest on the endless expanse of black stone.
A myriad of them rose to destroy the flying ship, but Sunny aimed it down — toward the heart of the vast darkness, where the Great River was supposed to flow endlessly, illuminated by seven radiant suns.
It was strange, though...
He could not see the suns. He could not see anything, really.
'Where is it?'
The Chain Breaker rushed away from the breach and from the walls of the Tomb of Ariel, pursued by a dreadful trail of Nightmare Butterflies. It was as if a colossal tentacle of seething darkness separated itself from the interior walls of the great pyramid and stretched toward the fleeing ship, aiming to catch and destroy it before it got too far.
Now, it all depended on which was faster — the Chain Breaker or the pursuing mass of Great abominations.
On the bow of the ship, Nephis moved weakly and rose to her knees, using the Blessing to support herself.
On its stern, Sunny gripped the oars so tightly that their handles cracked.
He was overcome by pain and exhaustion... But, magically enough, his mind was at peace.
That was because as soon as they entered the interior of the Tomb of Ariel, the Call had gone silent. The unbearable terror of being close to the Seventh Seed abated, as well.
Sunny was full of a blissful, soothing feeling of relief.
'Aaahh...'
He could not have even imagined that kind of bliss before.
"Nephis! Get..."
He did not get to finish the sentence.
Just then, a Nightmare Butterfly crashed into the side of the Chain Breaker, and another one rammed its bottom.
Another one climbed onto its deck and thrust a scythe-like leg at Sunny.
The flying ship spun out of control, throwing him into the air.
That was where the terrible blow caught him, assaulting him with horrid pain.
His consciousness was briefly extinguished. When Sunny came back to his senses, he was falling through the darkness, spinning, dazed and completely disoriented.
He could not sense anything around him, and neither could he see anything.
Right... that was because he was still wearing the blindfold.
'I should probably take it off, now?'
It was then that a familiar, ominous feeling suddenly overwhelmed him.
Sunny opened his eyes wide.
'No. No way...'
That was when he hit the water, sending a towering geyser of it rising hundreds of meters into the air, and was pulled into its cold, dark depths.
'...Goddamnit it! Not again!'
He had finally made it back to the Great River.