Dark clouds loomed over the horizon, swallowing the sky in their stormy embrace.
The first drops of rain fell, light and sparse—then quickly turned into a relentless downpour.
In the distance, the black sea churned.
Waves, vast and monstrous, surged upward, rising like obsidian titans before crashing down with earth-shaking force. The labyrinth trembled under the weight of the coming storm.
Deep within the labyrinth, its twisted denizens reacted to the shifting world with instinctive panic.
Hordes of abominations erupted into motion, abandoning their grotesque feasts. They scrambled toward the highest ground, desperate to escape the rising flood. Anything that stood in their path was ruthlessly torn apart.
One such group—a pack of monstrous Carapace Centurions—moved with terrifying efficiency.
Their razor-sharp pincers carved into the stone as they scaled the side of a jagged cliff, climbing like armored ghosts. Their hard chitin gleamed under the flashes of lightning as they clambered upward, their movements eerily synchronized.
One by one, they reached the summit. Seven of them.
A staggering seven Centurions huddled near the cliffside, their bodies shifting uneasily as they settled into a restless slumber.
They had no idea they were being watched.
From a raised platform in the distance, Sunny observed them in silence, his expression cold, calculating.
"Seven Centurions..." he muttered under his breath. "More than I expected."
Crouching behind him, Nephis narrowed her eyes.
"Should we adjust the plan?"
Sunny didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached out and briefly grasped her hand, letting a familiar warmth travel from his soul to hers.
"No," he said simply. "We proceed as planned."
The moment his grip loosened, Nephis was already moving.
White flames ignited around her body, and with a single step, she shot forward like a streak of blinding light, her speed doubling in an instant.
Sunny remained still, his eyes fixed beyond the sleeping Centurions, past the edge of the cliff, toward the surging ocean beyond.
It churned violently beneath the storm, its dark depths teeming with monstrosities so harrowing that even the vicious creatures of the labyrinth dared not challenge them.
Sunny knew that better than anyone.
After all... he was the only living thing that had survived them.
And because of that, he understood one undeniable truth— The sea was not necessarily an enemy.
It was more like a force of nature. It didn't care whether it swallowed humans or monsters. It did not discriminate, did not hesitate. It was a weapon, a merciless, all-consuming blade.
And today, they were going to wield that blade. That's because they had the perfect tool for utilizing the sea's potential.
He cast a quick glance toward Cassie, who lay in wait behind a distant rock at the opposite end of the cliff, clutching the golden rope. Her blind eyes were focused, her body tense.
She was waiting for the signal.
Sunny turned his attention to the corpses strewn beside him. Five lifeless scavengers, their bodies mostly intact.
Everything was set. Now, he just needed the perfect opportunity.
The blazing figure of Nephis shot forward, closing the distance between herself and the slumbering Centurions in an instant.
A streak of white fire carved through the darkness, and before the unsuspecting Centurions could react, she was already upon them—sword in hand.
Her raging footsteps sent a shockwave through the air. The abominations jolted awake.
A shrill screech tore through the air as the massive creatures stirred, their grotesque bodies shifting, their jagged limbs rising in alarm.
The first scythe lashed out, slicing toward her heart.
Nephis met it with cold precision.
Steel clashed against chitin, sparks flying as she deflected the deadly blow. Without hesitation, she pushed forward—driving deeper into the cluster of waking monstrosities.
Three more scythes lashed at her from different angles. The Centurions were rising to their feet, their hunger turning to murderous intent.
Nephis didn't hesitate.
Her sword wove through the oncoming attacks like a blur of silver cutting through the rain. She flowed between the blows like fire bending in the wind—burning, shifting, unstoppable.
And in that moment, she realized just how much she had improved.
It almost made her flinch.
For as long as she could remember, she had trained relentlessly, refining the sword style of her clan. And yet, the progress she had made ever since that duel with Sunny was staggering.
It was astounding. Unbelievable.
Her movements were sharper. Smoother. Faster.
At first, when she had realized that Sunny not only understood her own sword style better than she did, but also wielded countless others with mastery, she had felt a brief sting of jealousy.
But the feeling hadn't lasted. It had been replaced by something far more potent. A burning desire. To improve. To surpass. To push beyond her limits.
She knew she wasn't a match for Sunny in overall combat. Not yet. But at the very least... she had to surpass him in her own art.
She would work harder. Push further. She would go to any lengths for it.
Nephis exhaled sharply, pushing those thoughts aside. Now was not the time.
Nephis was strong, but she wasn't a fool. She didn't for a second believe that she could take on a Centurion in direct combat—let alone seven.
But that wasn't the plan. She didn't need to kill them. She only needed to lead them, to give Sunny the perfect opportunity to strike.
She hadn't needed to get this close at all. But the temptation to test her newfound strength had been too strong.
It was a small risk, one she wouldn't take again. She knew better than to let her emotions dictate her actions.
Before the abominations could fully rise, Nephis had already slipped past them—dashing toward the cliff's edge.
Behind her, the Centurions erupted into motion.
One by one, they lunged forward, eyes gleaming with insatiable hunger. Rocks shattered beneath their weight. The ground trembled.
They were fast. Far faster than any human could hope to be. And they were closing in. Soon, they would be upon her.
But it didn't matter. Nephis had already reached her destination.
She came to an abrupt stop—just a step away from the churning abyss. The raging sea loomed beneath her, waves rising like the gaping maw of some unfathomable beast.
She turned to face the oncoming abominations.
The Centurions surged toward her, scythes raised, their monstrous faces twisted in murderous rage.
She inhaled. Then glanced at the abyss below.
Not yet.
The scythes came closer. And closer.
Her instincts screamed—move! Dodge! Fight!
But she stood still. Unmoving. Until the blades were mere inches from her throat.
A thunderous splash cut through the roar of the storm.
The Centurions loomed over the cliff's edge, their maddened eyes fixed on the churning abyss below. Their prey had vanished beneath the waves, swallowed whole by the dark sea.
For a moment, they hesitated.
Some twitched with restless hunger, torn between abandoning the hunt and plunging into the depths to claim their meal. Others remained frozen, as if waiting for an unseen command.
The decision, however, was made for them.
THUD. THUD. SPLASH.
Something struck the first Centurion with brutal force.
The creature shrieked as it lost its footing, its grotesque form tumbling over the edge—swallowed by the abyss in an instant.
The remaining Centurions snapped their heads around, their primal rage turning toward the sudden threat.
A pair of dark, piercing eyes stared back at them.
Standing atop a raised platform, silhouetted against the raging storm, was a lone figure.
It was a human. And yet, the look in his eyes burned with a madness different from their own.
In his hands, he held something massive—raised high above his head. A corpse. The twisted, armored body of a Carapace Scavenger.
The monstrous husk was heavy—far too heavy for any normal Sleeper to lift, let alone wield as a weapon. And yet, the human before them did just that.
The weight of it strained his arms, the veins on his hands bulging with effort. But before the Centurions could react, the corpse flew through the air, propelled with staggering force.
CRASH.
Another Centurion tumbled backward. Its limbs flailed wildly before vanishing beneath the waves.
SPLASH.
A shrill, piercing sound followed—like a blade slicing clean through an armored, chitinous giant. But the Centurions were too frenzied to register it.
With guttural growls, the remaining five lunged at the lone figure, their massive limbs tearing into the rock as they charged.
Sunny had already turned to run.
"Two down. Five more to go."
His voice was calm. Steady.
As he sprinted across the platform, his gaze flickered toward the remaining Scavenger corpses.
Lifting a single Scavenger was no trivial feat—especially for someone without an absurd physical reinforcement Aspect like Effie. But with the strength of three hundred and ninety-two shadow fragments... with the aid of his Shadow... and with the minuscule amount of essence he could control through the Soul Serpent...
He could manage.
At least, for a brief moment. It was enough.
Ideally, he would have switched roles with Nephis—let her toss the abominations into the sea while he reaped the rewards of killing them.
But reality wasn't so kind. Nephis wasn't strong enough yet to lift the Scavenger corpses. So he had to let those fragments go.
Two Awakened Monsters. That would have been eight shadow fragments.
'No matter.'
Just eight fragments. Just enough to push his total to four hundred.
His jaw tightened. He exhaled sharply, forcing the thought away. There was no time to be greedy. Staying alive mattered more.
The Centurions surged after him, trampling over the platform in their blind pursuit. Their pointed limbs crashed down, shattering the lifeless husks of the fallen Scavengers beneath their weight.
...
Far away, at the very edge of the cliff, hidden behind a jagged rock, Cassie felt a sharp tug on the golden rope she was holding.
That was the signal. Nephis had completed her task and circled around.
White sparks flickered around Cassie's hands, coalescing into a glowing silver bell.
She grasped it tightly, then rang it with a gently precision. Drowned out by the raging storm, the sound was barely enough to reach Sunny's ears, alerting him to the success of part one of their plan.
As it did, Nephis emerged from beneath the waves, holding the golden rope. White flames clung to her figure as she stepped onto solid ground.
"Are you alright?" Cassie asked, gripping Nephis' shoulders, concern written across her face.
Nephis shook her head. "I'm fine."
Her voice, however, carried a hint of regret.
Cassie frowned. "Why do you sound unhappy about it?"
Nephis exhaled, her gaze drifting into the distance. "Sunny's Memory is too strong. It was over before I knew it."
Cassie hesitated. Then, in a quiet, almost pained voice, she muttered, "That's... good to know."
Without another word, she handed the golden rope over to Nephis and retreated behind the rock, her expression dimming as she pulled into herself.
Nephis watched her for a moment.
Cassie sat with her back to the stone, arms wrapped around her knees, the weight of unspoken thoughts pressing down on her small frame.
Nephis sighed.
Cassie still hadn't truly talked to them since waking up. Was she still burdened by guilt—by the fact that she hadn't been able to contribute anything? Or was it the lingering echoes of her vision... the terror of what had taken hold of her the previous day?
Nephis didn't know.
And the fact that she couldn't do anything to help her pinched at her deeply.
But there was no time to dwell on it. The moment of respite was already over.
In the distance, Sunny was closing in on the massive pit he had been digging. Now, it was filled to the brim with water. Or rather, it had already been filled long before the storm arrived, thanks to the [Endless Spring].
What had once been a gaping hole in the ground now lay hidden beneath a deceptively fragile layer of coral, wood, and leaves, blanketed with dirt to complete the illusion. They hadn't had the time to disguise it perfectly, but that didn't matter.
A human would have noticed the difference immediately. The Centurions, however, weren't human.
A small smile curled Nephis' lips as she took off, timing her movement to reach the pit just ahead of Sunny.
The pit was wide enough to swallow at least three Centurions. With any luck, a fourth would tumble in as well. And once they were submerged...
Their nightmare would begin.
Beneath the water, the quality that made Sunny's Transcendent Memory so deadly would activate in full force, turning the monsters into nothing more than flailing, dying prey.
That weapon dealt unbelievable damage, boosted its wielder's speed and strength, and healed them with every strike.
Abyssfang was absurd, but so was the battle Sunny had fought to claim it. He deserved it.
Nephis was just grateful she got to wield something so powerful despite still being a Sleeper.
...
The moment came.
Nephis stood one step away from the trap as Sunny sprinted toward it from the opposite side, the five remaining Centurions in relentless pursuit.
Just as he was about to step onto the concealed pit, he twisted sharply, veering away at the last second.
The Centurions had no time to react.
Three of them tumbled forward, their immense weight breaking through the flimsy cover, plunging into the water below. The remaining two skidded to a stop, their sharp limbs scraping against the ground before resuming their chase after Sunny.
Nephis didn't waste a second.
She leaped into the pit, summoning Abyssfang.
The moment her feet touched the water, devastation followed.
She carved through the submerged abominations with ruthless efficiency. Her blade moved like a whisper of death, slicing through the armored carapace as easily as a knife through butter.
A familiar voice echoed in her mind.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.]
Nephis smirked.
Sunny's plan had been simple.
Use everything at their disposal. Exploit every advantage they had. Make full use of that absurd Memory.
And it had worked flawlessly. Almost too flawlessly.
For the briefest moment, a nagging unease crept into her mind, an itching sense that something would go wrong.
But she pushed the feeling away.
They had everything under control.
Now, all that remained was cornering the last two Centurions and cutting them down one by one.
At this point, for something to go wrong, it would take a miracle or a divine intervention. She didn't believe it was possible. That was why, when she raised her head from the pit, her eyes widened in shock and her breath hitched.
Sunny was nearing the cliff's edge, the two Centurions right behind him—
And just beyond the edge... something rose. A monstrous silhouette loomed over the precipice, its grotesque body framed by the raging storm.
Nephis froze.
It was massive.
A writhing, tentacled abomination, its glistening appendages slithering up the rock face, anchoring its bulk as it pulled itself from the depths.
Its face—if it could even be called that—was a horror of jagged, gnarled flesh, marred by something unnatural. Something insidious.
It was not simply a mere awakened creature. It was something worse.
A Fallen. Or perhaps... even a Corrupted.
A jolt of adrenaline surged through Nephis' veins as she saw Sunny's figure vanish beneath one of the creature's enormous tentacles.
'No.'
She moved.
White flames surged through her body as she exploded forward, pushing her speed to the limit.
Sunny was strong. He had to be okay. He had survived too many nightmares to die like this.
But if that thing fully dragged itself onto solid ground, if it truly emerged from the abyss... Then their chances of escape—of victory—would cease to exist.
She had to stop it.
She had to drag it back to the abyss.
Before it was too late.
AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)
I am not putting a goal rn and the next chapter will be released in a couple days, but do aim for 15 reviews if yall are really liking this fic. And do share your thoughts in the comments. It raises my motivation to write faster :)