The last light of dawn bled across the horizon, staining the sky in fading hues of crimson and gold. In the distance, the steady rumble of the sea echoed like a whisper of unseen dangers.
As Sunny stepped over the edge of the cliff, the world around them was swallowed by darkness.
"We're finally here," he muttered, bending down to extend a hand.
Nephis took it, landing lightly beside him with Cassie still tied to her back.
Sunny exhaled, scanning the surroundings before sending his shadow sense rippling outward. The cold, familiar sensation washed over him as he counted the faint presences lurking nearby.
"One... two... five," he murmured, untying Cassie from Nephis and carefully lowering her onto the dirt-covered ground. "Five Scavengers sleeping around us. Wait here, I'll take care of them."
Nephis glanced at the motionless girl beside her, then back at Sunny. She hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Be careful."
Sunny simply nodded. He didn't need the reminder. The memory of facing the accursed Centurion in this very place was still burned into his mind.
White sparks danced across his fingers, coalescing into the cold steel of Azure Blade and Abyssfang. Then, without another word, he stepped into the shadows and vanished.
Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash.
A series of muted, efficient cuts.
The quiet, surgical sound of a blade cutting through flesh and chitin barely disturbed the night. One by one, Sunny slipped behind the sleeping creatures, driving his blade into the weak spots behind their skulls. None of them had a chance to react.
A few heartbeats later, it was done.
As the last Scavenger fell, he exhaled and sent his shadow slithering across the island, scanning every crevice, every hiding place.
Ten minutes later, he returned with a small sigh of relief.
'No Centurions.'
That made sense. The last time they'd reached this place, it had been during a raging storm, likely forcing the creature to seek refuge here. But this time, they had arrived one day before the storm.
'Which means... there will be a storm tomorrow.'
Sunny frowned. That was troubling.
Even if the changes he had made in this timeline had altered many things, it was hard to believe he had somehow affected the weather. Which meant that if they ventured out tomorrow and the storm hit, they'd be trapped in the open.
And Cassie...
They still had no idea what was wrong with her. If she didn't wake up, retreating while carrying her before the storm hit would be nearly impossible. Especially since, unlike last time, he didn't have the Scavenger Echo to help them.
Sunny clicked his tongue in frustration.
He had killed so many scavengers this time—far more than in his previous life. And yet, the Spell stubbornly refused to grant him an Echo. Not even slaughtering the monstrous abominations in the dark sea all night had given him a single memory or an echo.
'What a scam.'
Suppressing his irritation, he turned back toward Nephis.
"This place is safe for tonight," he said, lifting Cassie into his arms. "We can't make a fire, but there's enough Scavenger meat to last us..." He trailed off, then sighed. "Not that I have an appetite. You can eat without me."
Nephis followed his gaze toward the slain abominations littering the ground and sighed.
"I am not hungry either..."
Raw scavenger meat was far from appealing, and even if they could cook it, neither of them would have eaten it still. There was just no place for an appetite in this grim situation.
Silence stretched between them like an invisible abyss, deep and oppressive.
They sat across from each other, the blind girl resting motionlessly between them. Their gazes would drift—first to Cassie's pale face, then to the dark horizon, then inevitably back to each other. But no words came.
The wind rustled tensely against the ruined stone. The sea murmured heavily in the distance. The night sky, devoid of stars, loomed like an endless void.
It was as if the very world was swallowing their voices, draining their will to speak.
Because, in truth, neither of them knew how to address the situation.
After what felt like an eternity of empty staring, Sunny finally broke the silence.
"You should sleep first. I'll keep watch over her."
Nephis didn't respond right away. Her silver eyes remained fixed on Cassie's still form, her expression unreadable.
Then, finally, she spoke.
"Will she be alright?"
Sunny frowned.
That was a question he didn't want her to ask.
He hesitated, delaying the answer for as long as possible. But eventually, the words were forced out of him, bitter and heavy.
"I... don't know."
Because, in all honesty, he didn't.
Cassie had been asleep for over half a day. In all that time, she hadn't stirred. Hadn't made a single sound.
If not for the slow rise and fall of her chest, the faint rhythm of her heartbeat, there would be no way to tell if she was even alive.
There was no light in her blind eyes. No color in her face.
It was as if something vital had been stripped away, leaving behind only a hollow shell.
At his words, Nephis's expression darkened. She frowned slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line.
Maybe she had expected reassurance. Maybe she had hoped he would lie, tell her that Cassie would be fine, offer some fragile comfort.
But Sunny had no comforting lies to offer. His cruel flaw would not allow it.
Silence returned. Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke. Both of them wanted to delay the inevitable conversation for as long as possible.
Maybe they could avoid it tonight. Maybe even tomorrow. But sooner or later, a decision would have to be made. If Cassie didn't wake up... then what?
Sunny scowled, forcing the thought away.
'Let's not think about that yet.'
His mind raced, searching desperately for a solution. For anything that could help.
So far, nothing they had tried had worked.
Reluctantly, he summoned his runes and scrolled through them one more time, hoping to find some kind of clue.
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Dreamer.
Shadow Core: Dormant.
Shadow Fragments: [392/1000].
Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Epitaph of Silent Rebirth], [Chrysalis of Eternal Eclipse], [???], [Abyssfang], [Azure Blade], [Mandiblade], [Mistcloak].
One by one, he reviewed the descriptions of each Memory.
The last two were new—the spoils of his relentless slaughter over the past two days. A jagged blade lined with serrated teeth. A cloak that drifted like mist.
Neither was particularly impressive. The Mandiblade was weaker than Azure Blade. The Mistcloak paled in comparison to Puppeteer's Shroud.
And more importantly... none of them held the answer he needed. No clue. No insight. No hidden ability to wake someone from an unnatural slumber.
And he was sure Nephis didn't have anything useful either. Which meant they were exactly where they started.
Lost. Completely blind to Cassie's condition. With no way to change it.
Sunny gritted his teeth.
It was impossible to care for an unconscious person in this forsaken hellscape.
Not to mention... they now had even more problems to deal with.
With the Endless Spring out of reach, they would be forced to waste precious time searching for water every single day. And every time they had to fight together, they would first have to find a safe place to hide Cassie—something that would only get harder as the days went by.
Even if they were strong enough to handle the Scavengers and avoid the Centurions, what would happen when they reached the Ashen Barrow?
Without the Scavenger Echo, they had no way to lure the Demon out. They wouldn't be able to secure Cassie in the high branches while they fought.
That meant they would have to face it head-on... while hoping a stray Scavenger or Centurion didn't wander in and make a meal out of her in the meantime.
The odds were as close to a death sentence as they could get.
But leaving Cassie behind? That wasn't an option. Nephis wouldn't agree to it. And neither would he.
Sunny clicked his tongue, seething.
A slow, simmering rage built up inside him, tightening in his chest like a coiled serpent.
After everything he had done...
After he had painstakingly learned every possible trick in the Academy, meticulously orchestrated the destruction of that accursed Shark Devil to obtain a Transcendent Memory, spent an entire night struggling, suffering, clawing for survival in the Dark Sea, after doing everything to strengthen himself and Nephis—after he had finally reached a point where he believed he was strong enough to change things...
Fate had thrown an impossible obstacle at him. Again. Like it was some kind of sick joke.
Sunny's hands clenched into fists.
"Damn it all!"
With sudden fury, he lashed out—kicking a nearby rock with enough force to send it skidding across the ground.
Nephis flinched slightly at his outburst didn't react beyond that. She understood his frustration. Maybe she felt it too.
Just as Sunny was about to lash out again, something changed.
A sound. Subtle. Barely there.
A faint, almost imperceptible drip—a single droplet of water falling onto stone.
Both of them instantly turned toward Cassie. Their eyes widened.
Dark streaks ran down her pale cheeks. Thick, inky liquid seeped from beneath her closed eyelids, sliding down her face like slow, viscous tears.
Sunny felt his stomach twist.
It wasn't just the color that unsettled him. There was something deeply, fundamentally wrong. Looking at those tears made him feel utterly blind.
'What in the world...'
He took a cautious step closer.
More drops formed, spilling down like silent weeping. Yet Cassie remained still, her face devoid of expression, her body completely unmoving.
Sunny swallowed and cast a quick glance at Nephis. She met his gaze with a mix of anticipation and quiet dread.
His jaw tightened. Then, carefully, he bent down and pulled one of Cassie's eyelids up.
His breath hitched.
The whites of her eyes were gone.
They had been drowned in the same black liquid, covering everything in a smooth, reflective darkness. Her pupils had constricted to almost nothing, leaving her irises a monotone abyss.
And yet, Sunny couldn't tell— Was she crying? Or was she bleeding?
A cold sense of unease settled deep in his bones.
Just what in the hell was happening inside her vision?
After a long, tense moment, he exhaled and muttered, "She might wake up soon."
Nephis remained silent, watching Cassie's face with an unreadable expression.
Sunny rubbed his temple and added, "Whatever is happening to her... it looks like it's about to reach its conclusion."
Nephis nodded slowly, though it was unclear whether that was a relief or just another cause for concern.
Then, after a pause, she asked, "What is this... strange liquid?"
Sunny remained quiet for a moment. Then, finally, he sighed.
"It's made of true darkness," he said, voice grim. He frowned deeply. "I can't see through it even with my shadow sense."
Nephis blinked.
Slowly, she raised a hand, letting one of the black tears fall onto her fingertip.
For a brief moment, the drop of darkness clung to her skin—dense, heavy, unnatural. Then, in the next instant, it was gone. The inky blackness dissolved into a simple, ordinary bead of water.
Nephis frowned.
At first, she was surprised that Sunny had recognized true darkness for what it was so easily. But then her thoughts settled on the true gravity of the situation.
There were too many questions. But one look at Sunny's grim expression told her he didn't have any answers.
A subtle dread settled over them as they watched the black tears continue rolling down Cassie's cheeks, dissolving into mere water the moment they touched the ground.
Sunny pinched himself.
Nothing about this made sense.
Cassie had never mentioned anything in her visions affecting her real body.
Her visions were just that—an unclear window into what had happened, or what would happen. The things she saw weren't real. The creatures she watched were like fictional characters trapped behind the glass of a screen, their existence limited to a world she alone could perceive.
They couldn't touch her. They couldn't hurt her.
So then... how?
How could something from her vision have any influence on reality?
Unless...
Unless...
A sudden sound broke the silence. A faint, sharp noise, like a stone ricocheting off the edge of a cliff.
Their heads snapped toward the noise. At the same time, Moody slithered toward the disturbance.
A dark silhouette rose over the cliff's edge. A jagged pincer stabbed into the rock, hauling up the bulk of a large, armored body.
Sunny's expression darkened.
"It's a Scavenger," he murmured. "Must've gotten stuck while climbing."
Nephis nodded once, then, without hesitation, summoned her sword.
"I'll handle it."
Before Sunny could protest, she was already moving, her figure cutting through the darkness like a silver flame.
He sighed. Turning back to Cassie, he watched as more black tears continued to streak down her face.
A moment later—
Shhkk!
The clean, precise sound of a blade slicing through flesh. Then, a loud splash as something heavy hit the ocean below.
'That was quick.'
Sunny glanced toward the cliffside, where Nephis stood motionless, watching the sinking corpse disappear beneath the waves.
Then he turned back—
And froze.
Two black eyes stared at him. Cassie sat upright, like a lifeless doll propped into place. Her face was pale, expressionless.
Her eyes... The inky blackness that filled them seemed to swallow everything. The darkness was deep. Vast. Bottomless.
Sunny's breath caught in his throat.
Then, without warning, a shrill, piercing scream tore from her lips.
A raw, primal fear surged up inside him for a moment. He staggered back, his balance slipped, and he fell.
Author's Note: Hmm... my motivation to write has been dwindling as of late, I might have to go on a hiatus. But fear not! There's something y'all can do to avoid that! Next chapter will be released when we get 7 new reviews on this fic :)
Do share your thoughts in the comments. Hope you liked this chapter.