First Relic: Claimed
And a moment later, the Spell spoke softly into his ear:
[You have received an Aspect Legacy Relic.]
[You have received a Shadow: Soul Serpent.]
'Soul Serpent?' Sunny questioned. This was the first relic he had received from Shadow Dance.
'And it was a snake?'
Shrugging the thought away, he looked back at his runes. There was a new line.
Shadows: [Soul Serpent].
'A shadow?' The Soul Serpent was an Echo, or he thought it was, it was something even Sunny couldn't help but smile about. After all, getting an Echo was mostly up to luck.
But the main problem was that the Echo he had received was merely a Dormant Beast.
Sunny frowned in disappointment.
'Why?'
After all the effort he had spent trying to master Shadow Dance, he had been rewarded with a Dormant snake that was practically food for the abominations roaming this shore.
A scowl creased Sunny's lips before he finally let out a dejected sigh. An Echo was still an Echo.
Maybe the luxurious life had gotten to him. Soul Serpent was still an invaluable tool, one he would need if he wanted to survive this hell.
Shadow Attributes: [Shadow Guide], [Soul Weapon].
Sunny tilted his head. Serpent came with attributes, but before he could look further into the abilities his new shadow possessed, the description caught his eye.
Shadow Description: [When the end came, Shadow was the last of the gods to be destroyed. Many resented him for creating death, but in the end, death embraced all.]
'Shadow God?'
Sunny was surprised. Information about the God of Shadows and Death almost never appeared in the Dream Realm.
His mother had only managed to uncover a few scattered pieces of knowledge connected to Shadow.
After all, the Shadow God was known by another name as well.
The God of Mysteries.
Noting the connection between Soul Serpent and the Shadow God, Sunny turned to the attribute descriptions.
[Shadow Guide] Attribute Description: "Soul Serpent guides shadow essence as it flows through your body."
[Soul Weapon] Attribute Description: "Soul Serpent can assume the form of a weapon."
Sunny stared at the words "Shadow Guide."
'Allows shadow essence to flow through my body...'
He was perplexed. Could this mean he would finally be able to use essence?
'Never mind, Serpent! I love you!'
If Sunny had been alone, he would have been jumping around in excitement. Serpent had just opened an entirely new world of possibilities.
His gaze shifted to the shimmering runes of Soul Weapon.
Smiling, Sunny thought:
'I have a bow now. I just need arrows.'
⸻
Nephis glanced over at the smiling Sunny. He was practically vibrating with energy.
'Weird,' she thought.
They were still on the Bone Ridge.
The desolate landscape around them had eased some of the tension they carried, whether they realized it or not.
The two of them watched as the blind seer stumbled around, trying to walk without anyone's help. The rough terrain beneath her feet made it difficult, and she frequently tripped over scattered rocks.
Both Nephis and Sunny had tried helping the blind girl, but she had adamantly refused, shooing them away each time.
Nowadays, Nephis seemed surrounded by strange people.
First, there was a blind girl who was far too stubborn for her own good.
Then there was the only prince of the Song Domain, who seemed at least a little mentally ill.
She facepalmed, silently questioning how she had ended up in this situation.
⸻
Sunny turned to the white-haired girl after she suddenly slapped a hand against her forehead.
Raising an eyebrow, he crossed his arms.
'Weird...'
⸻
They continued walking.
It was still morning. The sun loomed overhead, but once it disappeared, the starless sky would reveal itself again, forcing them to find shelter for the night.
They had made a temporary camp at the Bone Ridge. It would suffice for now, but eventually they would need to find a way across the endless dead land and reach the castle Cassie had described.
Sunny watched an Awakened monster approach what they called the Ashen Barrow, on grotesque legs before lowering itself to the ground as though kneeling.
At first, he was confused. Then a faint glimmer caught his attention.
Soul shards.
A multitude of Ascended soul shards.
Sunny briefly considered attacking the abomination on the spot, but quickly decided against it, choosing instead to observe from afar.
Then his breath hitched.
Far in the distance, something shimmered faintly.
Moving through the ashen sand and piles of dead leaves, a massive creature descended the hill.
Sunny narrowed his eyes and turned toward the girls.
The creature was as large as a house, standing on eight segmented legs that resembled towering pillars. Its form was similar to the scavengers and centurions — a crab-like carapace with a protruding, vaguely humanoid torso.
But instead of chitin, the behemoth's shell appeared to be forged from polished metal. It looked as though the entire creature had once been submerged in molten steel before emerging encased in an impenetrable suit of shining armor.
Sunlight reflected off the chrome-like surface of its carapace, creating the bright glimmer Sunny had noticed earlier.
Whatever the creature was, its rank within the Carapace Legion was clearly far above that of a centurion — let alone a lowly scavenger.
That alone put Sunny on edge.
Grabbing Cassie's hand, he quickly ducked behind a large rock. Nephis followed immediately, not even questioning his actions as she hid beside them.
Sunny held his breath as his shadow slowly made it closer to investigate, hoping the abomination hadn't noticed the three of them.
Luckily, it didn't seem to have.
Holding perfectly still, Sunny watched as the Carapace Demon descended from the Ashen Barrow. Stopping in front of the ascended soul shards, it briefly glanced at the kneeling centurion.
Paying the lesser creature no attention, the Carapace Demon picked up the gleaming crystals and turned around.
Then, unhurriedly, it returned to the shade beneath the giant tree's branches.
A tree.
It had made its home a tree.