It was a long time since Sunny didn't have this feeling... It was one of the strange kinds. The last time when he felt it was it back in the Immortal City?
Or even earlier during Ariel's Game?
Was it even before that, maybe?
When he challenged Anvil to a fight, perhaps?
But no.
It was back in the Tomb of Ariel, near Oblivion's resting place; he felt the same way the moment he saw the Vile Thieving Bird. This feeling was fear, but not the normal kind; Sunny had grown accustomed to it a long time ago, after everything he went through when he was [Fated] it would be normal. Wouldn't it be? Who am I kidding? When was the last time Sunny did something normal? It was hard for him to even recall such a moment, but what Sunny was experiencing now could only be described as absolute fear, the kind that makes your heart stop and transforms you into a stone statue, the one that makes you unable to produce even the slightest sound to the point you feel that something has ripped out your vocal cords from your neck.
The silence was dreadful and seemed to last for hours, but in reality just a few seconds had passed since Sunny locked eyes on the Great Titan. The night on the Great River was absolute, the same as the darkness that followed it, but not for the Sovereign of Death. Unfortunately, it meant that he could see the Nightmare Creature in all its dreadful might. It wasn't big, or at least it didn't seem to be. The world around it distorted and emanated wrongness; it was as if the being was immense and minuscule at the same time, perfect yet unnatural, a being that bent reality to its own will the same way Sunny did—a supreme being.
The Titan was a winged beast, a strange mix between a cat-like creature and a crow or a raven. It was a quadrupedal animal, covered in black feathers between which a strange blackish, slimy liquid seemed to reside. Two enormous wings were attached to its back that were resting at the moment. The strangest thing about the creature was its visage, or face, as the creature at the end of its long neck didn't have a beak or a mouth; instead, there was a mask made of a material akin to porcelain with two holes in its front where deep darkness resided. The creature was truly harrowing.
Sunny looked at it for a while in silence. He didn't know what to do; he thought the chances of defeating it were slim, and he couldn't even summon his Shadow Legion. He thought about ditching the ketch and escaping into the river, but in that moment something cracked like bones being broken, and a small black line appeared on the creature's mask from which a terrifying maw could be seen with rows of teeth stretching to the creature's neck. Then something astounding happened.
"What a strange creature you are."
A voice resounded, but it wasn't normal; it was wrong, but not just wrong, it was otherworldly, as something that shouldn't exist but existed just to spite existence itself. A harrowing voice that could make lesser creatures go mad with just a sound.
Sunny's face became pale.
Did that nightmare creature talk?
It was rare, nearly impossible, but it happened to him once already. During Ariel's Game, he had talked with the Puppeteer, a Cursed Tyrant. Having swallowed his saliva after the initial shock, he asked.
"It's you that are talking."
The creature immediately responded.
"Yes, me.
Are there others here apart from us and the hundreds of dead creatures in your soul?"
The thing could sense Sunny's Shadow Legion deep in his Soul Sea. Sunny now was truly shocked; he knew that some nightmare creatures were strange, but this one was truly peculiar.
"Did I startle you, little shadow?"
A few minutes had passed since the creature spoke, and so many thoughts were racing in Sunny's mind that he lost track of time and didn't realize that he was looking at the thing for a while now, frozen in place without producing any sound. The remark made Sunny come back to reality as the pain of his flaw started to accumulate.
"Yes, I didn't know you could sense them."
Sunny instantly bit his tongue to stop himself before blurting something that he shouldn't. To his surprise, the creature didn't attack already; instead, it moved a bit and positioned itself in a way akin to a cat sitting in place. It was a strange sight as a big feline tried to awkwardly sit in a place without causing much damage, but instead of being a cute little furball, the creature was a great titan and a pretty ugly one on top.
"You see, Shadow,
I can sense many things; it was always my strong side, not to boast about myself.
It isn't your first time meeting a Corrupted creature talking,
am I right?"
Sunny didn't want to respond, but his flaw was a cruel one that didn't allow such an option.
"You are right, you aren't the first one; I met a Cursed Tyrant who spoke to me once."
There was a bit of silence before a strange sound escaped the creature, something akin to a sigh.
"I assume it's the Puppeteer whose shadow resides in your soul; am I right?"
"You are correct."
It was strange; Sunny was expecting the Great Titan to attack him already, but instead it moved and positioned itself in a way similar to a cat sitting. It was a strange sight as an overgrown cat tried to sit on his pillow without making a mess or destroying anything, but instead of being a cute furball, the thing that tried to sit was a creature that seemed to have crawled back from the vilest corners of the Dream Realm. After repositioning itself, the creature spoke again.
"It's good to hear that that overgrown monster finally found solace from corruption even if it was born from it. Being corrupted is a harrowing experience, especially for beings born from the Flame of Desire...It makes you mad; it is as if a voice in the back of your mind constantly screams at you, ordering you to destroy every soul you stumble upon... Such a dreadful fate, is it"
"You are a creature born of desire?"
Sunny asked, intrigued, as the Great Titan was also speaking of the Flame, the same one the Puppeteer mentioned. A few seconds passed since Sunny posed his question, but what met him was impossible to predict; it was a laugh. The nightmare creature was laughing.
"Creature? Born of Desire? Oh, thank you, Shadow. I didn't have such a good laugh in eons now...
,but to answer your question.
I was human once... and not an ordinary one belonging to one of the many mortal realms; I was one of the first ones to be born. I was a human who belonged to an age where the gods were still close to us; I was born during the Dusk of the Heros Age."
This revelation shocked Sunny to his core; the entity that was sitting on the opposite side of the ketch was as old as the world. It was strange to be in the vicinity of something that witnessed the whole story of existence. What myriads of secrets could that being hold? Sunny was a greedy person, especially when it came to knowledge; he indeed was curious about the world and wouldn't let an occasion like this slip up easily. He asked quickly.
"What is your name?"
The Great Titan chuckled; at least he tried to do something similar.
"I had many names across the years; some used to call me by my True Name back when I was still human, some used to call me Captain and General when I was leading an army, and some called me vile slurs when I killed their close ones. I was called a monster on many occasions, but you can call me Witness...
And what may I call you, little shadow?"
"Sunless, that's my name..."
The beast responded.
"Such a poetic name, I have to say, but Sunless, I can feel you want to ask me many questions, and I will answer them if you want, but tell me something first."
Sunny frowned; he wasn't expecting the Witness to catch up to him so quickly, but he wasn't complaining as he offered to answer his questions willingly.
"That is?"
The creature frowned.
"Why does a servant of Shadow God reek of Weaver?"
Sunny didn't want to reveal that he possessed Weaver's forbidden lineage, so he thought of a way to come around his flaw.
"I used to be a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."
The Witness chuckled.
"Oh, my little Sunless, such a strange existence you are. I can't wait to ask you more things, but why are you lying to me?
I know of Weaver's little creation,
but that's not the scent you give off.
So let me phrase it in another way...
Why does Weaver's blood course through your veins?..."