"…and I will call it 'Sunny's Brilliant Emporium: Memories and Café'. You'll see, Saint—people will go crazy!"
Maybe he was imagining things, but Sunny could swear Saint had just offered him a small nod. Considering the usual behavior of the taciturn knight, it might as well have been an effusive cheer. Forget the Mountain King, the Cathedral Knight, even Caster—this, right here, was his greatest achievement.
Mind set, he nodded proudly to himself. Truly, he was the greatest Sleeper ever.
"So anyway, I need to start planning it all now. I'll get Kai to act as the waiter—the handsome bastard will bring in hordes of female customers on his own." Seeing no intention to intercede from Saint or from his shadows, he continued, "I'll be the cook, and Effie will be my assistant. Nobody knows food better than that thug. Actually, never mind—she'd eat all of it and I'd end up in ruin."
Sunny shook his fist at the imaginary scenario. When he got out and started his emporium, Effie wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the kitchen. Hell, he'd charge her just for the honor of entering his beloved store. The image of Effie begging on her knees to try his divine cooking brought a pale smile to his face.
A smile that didn't last.
"Hey, Saint… do you think they miss me? It's already been five months. They must be desperate for me to come back…"
Right? They were friends… right?
Someone out there must miss him. He had fought at their side, saved their lives more than a few times. They had to miss him at least a little…
Right?
Fortunately, he was saved from spiraling further by the sight in front of him. It had been a few days since he left the dying corals of the Forgotten Shore, and since then all he'd seen was an endless plain of dark stone.
Now, before him, lay a gargantuan straight line—a waterfall into the underworld itself. It was half as wide as the Red Spire and so deep he couldn't even guess where the bottom might be. It was also impossibly long; he couldn't see either end.
Curious, he sent Gloomy and Happy in opposite directions to scout for the line's limits. An hour later, both returned, gesturing that they'd found nothing. Sunny was astounded—and more than a little unnerved. What could have made such a line? It was too perfectly straight to be natural.
Beyond it, his hopes of finally seeing the sun after months of darkness were promptly crushed. A jagged expanse of weirdly smooth grey stone stretched out under massive black clouds that smothered the sky, letting through only the faintest rays of light. Worse, the clouds poured a downright absurd amount of rain, reducing visibility to nearly nothing for anyone but him.
Just his luck: he escaped the eternal darkness of the Forgotten Shore only to enter the wet, cold darkness of whatever lay beyond the line. Fortunately, Sleepers rarely became sick—a cold was the last thing he needed.
At least the water level wasn't high enough to hinder movement.
A more poetic soul—like his mother, perhaps—would have found the scene beautiful: a line dividing two worlds. On one side, the deadly allure of the Forgotten Shore, full of mysteries and dangers he itched to uncover. On the other, a land smothered by dark, mourning clouds.
Personally? He just wanted to go home… wherever that was.
He would have loved to explore more, to discover every mystery and dive into the line to uncover whatever secrets lay within—even if it was dangerous. But he just… didn't have the energy. Or the motivation.
During his hunt for the remaining creatures in the Dark City, he had explored ruins he wouldn't have dared enter before the death of the Sun. Though he found nothing groundbreaking, the discoveries added nuance to the city's history and its long-dead inhabitants.
It should have thrilled him. Teacher Julius had always insisted Sunny had the heart of an adventurer. A pang of melancholy hit him at the thought of the kindly old man. But instead of excitement… he felt numb. What was the point of discovering the past when his future was so precarious?
He would have loved to test the line's length, depth, or even send a shadow inside on a scouting mission. But motivation eluded him.
So instead, he empowered Saint with his shadows and ordered her to throw him into the air. At the peak of his ascent, he summoned the [Dark Wing] and glided over the line. He had to admit—he was slightly elated to finally leave the Forgotten Shore behind.
Contrary to expectations—his luck had been frighteningly bad for months—he wasn't immediately ambushed by some antediluvian horror upon landing. In fact, he detected no movement at all, and he could see quite far while gliding.
Silently grateful, he resummoned Saint and continued forward.
-------------------------------------------
Hours later, he already regretted choosing west as his direction. He was wet, cold, and utterly irritated by the noise his damp boots made with every step. The rain hadn't stopped even for a second; not even its intensity had changed.
The only reason the jagged plain wasn't submerged was the multitude of straight lines carved through it. None were as large as the first, but all were equally deep. The longest he'd found so far was slightly longer than his height—which was perfectly respectable, no matter what that streetlamp known as Effie thought.
"I think this might have been the battleground of two extremely powerful beings."
It made sense. The lines were too smooth and straight to be anything but cuts, and the fractured stone beneath his feet looked like it had been shattered by overwhelming force. Whoever did it, he didn't want to meet them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the nightmare creature that had stalked him for nearly an hour creeping closer, its hideous face contorted with malice. It might have been terrifying were it not for its utter inability to be stealthy; instead, it looked cute in a pathetic sort of way.
Pity he'd have to kill it.
As it approached, he finally got a good look: humanoid but moving on all fours, extremely thin, grey skin flaking like ill-fitting cloth, and a bulbous head resembling the unholy union between a mushroom and peach.
His musings on the origin of the beast's strange head were interrupted—rather rudely—by its attack; he almost blinked in surprise when he saw it.
It was just… slow. It bent its limbs and leapt with all its strength, yet moved so sluggishly Sunny felt he could take a nap before it reached him.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't react in time when he pointed his hand in it's direction and summoned the [Moonlight Shard], which instantly skewered its grotesque head. It had time only for a shriek before dying.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Brood of the Emotion Eater]
[Your shadow grows stronger]
Sunny did blink at the Spell's announcement. Almost two years since he became a Sleeper—and this was only his second time killing a dormant nightmare creature.
Then a smile erupted on his face.
"Well, well, well—looks like I'm finally living my fantasies of being the invincible hero," he said, shooting a haughty look at the Gloomy shadow.
Gloomy just stared at him like he was an idiot. Saint, of course, didn't react. At least Happy raised its hands in silent cheer.
Why couldn't all of his shadows be that supportive?
Movement flickered at the edge of his sight. Another creature approached—an even uglier version of the first. And it wasn't alone. Sunny recalled the beast's name, and deduced that he was dealing with the minions of a Tyrant.
Not wanting to face them without knowing their numbers or the Tyrant's strength, he chose to retreat. Happy empowered him, Gloomy empowered Saint, and Saint stayed behind to delay the enemy and gather shadow fragments.
[Shadow Fragments: 1801 / 2000]
He was very close to reaching the next milestone, and if his hopes were fulfilled, he would gain another shadow. His mouth almost watered at the thought of how much stronger it would make him; the increase in his essence reserve alone would be invaluable, as it would allow him to permanently switch to the [Underworld Mantle] as his battle armor. For now, he simply didn't have enough to risk using it in anything other than a brief skirmish.
But his escape was blocked by more enemies emerging ahead. The bastard controlling them was adept at flanking, that was for sure.
Fine. He'd make them regret attacking him.
He sprinted toward the nearest beast, summoning the [Midnight Shard]. The austere tachi finished forming a heartbeat before impact; his arm swung faster than the pathetic creatures could register.
[You have slain a Dormant Beast…]
[You have slain a…]
He didn't stop. His arm moved in a relentless rhythm, reaping lives like wheat.
It was almost sad, these dormant creatures were so far below him that they couldn't put up any kind of meaningful resistance, they might as well be target practices for him. His arrogant toughts were interrupted by the arrival of the bigger, uglier cousins of the creatures. They were awakened beasts at the very least.
"I just had to get arrogant, didn't I?" Sunny sighed sadly, it seemed like his fantasy wasn't going to last much.
Refocusing on escape, he finished the nearest monster and started running. Once he judged to be far enough from the first group, he dismissed Saint. Gloomy rejoined him seconds later, boosting his speed.
Thus began a dangerous game of tag. It reminded him of watching a dozen rats fight over a rotten scrap of food back in the outskirts.
Sadly, he was the food.
Sadly for them, that was. This piece of food could bite back, after all.
-------------------------------------------
Two hours later, he finally managed to escape the nightmare creatures. Even better, he also encountered the first change in terrain since arriving on the rainy plains. Before him lay a deep valley, covered with many trees and rivers, and he even spotted a small cave perfect for camping.
Feeling the burn of one of his wounds, he decided that he might as well stop for the day—or was it night? He was yet to see any difference in lighting since he arrived—so he cautiously approached the cave. The gloomy shadow separated from him and explored ahead, he would rather avoid another ambush.
Along the way he gathered branches and leaves to cover the cave entrance, though he felt strangely… dejected about it? What was the point? The worst that could happen if he was discovered, was death, and honestly? Not that big of a loss.
Blinking at the intrusive thought, he lifted his wounded arm and sniffed.
It smelled wrong.
A poison that made you depressed? Those nightmare creatures were real assholes.
Trying to keep his thoughts straight, he entered the cave after receiving Gloomy's signal, indicating that it was safe. It was small, barely spacious enough for two people, but dry thanks to the sloping entrance. After hours of relentless rain, dry ground felt like a luxury of the highest caliber.
He covered the entrance, summoned the [Safebox of Greed], and retrieved dried meat from inside. As expected, it had an expansion limit; the maximum size, according to his calculations, was similar to that of his room at the Awakened Academy. It wasn't that big, but it was still extremely useful for transporting supplies. And riches, of course.
He would never lift a finger again after returning to the waking world if he could avoid it.
A hysterical laugh slipped from him. Forget legacies—between his wealth and his emporium, he'd be the richest man alive. He would have the greatest house, the tastiest food.
Maybe he could build a legacy clan of his own? Yes, he would raise it to the top. And then everyone would have to cater to his every whim like he was a god!
"Yeah, right. With my luck, the world economy will have collapsed by the time I'm back, and I'll have to pay a hundred soul shards for a tube of synthpaste."
Oh well. At least he would have his friends—friends who surely missed him terribly. Where could they find a better friend than him? The poor guys must be devastated without him.
But what if they weren't?
No, they surely were.
But maybe they weren't. Or maybe they—
His mind froze.
"The poison…"
It didn't cause depression. It amplified emotions. Which explained the wild swings in mood.
If he was right… it was going to be a long night.
Especially because… in his heart of hearts, he knew the truth.
They didn't miss him.
In fact, they were probably better off without him.
Just like Rain was better off without her worthless older brother.
A long night indeed.