Chapter 640: Third Eye

The sun struck Sunny’s eyes like a flashbang.

As he followed behind Morana, he quietly wondered how this Chernobog fellow was alive.

Everywhere — everywhere — he walked, eyes followed. Sunny couldn’t say that he was completely unused to it, the amount of lustful gazes he’d receive from both men and women being a fair indicator of his own situation, but this was getting ridiculous!

They weren’t just lustful, no, no, no. It was far worse than that.

They were hungry.

Addicted.

And it was all because good ol’ Cherny gave them the drug.

His dick!

Morana was right, this kid really was a lecherous bastard!

They had went through the scripture hall. Thousands of scrolls were lined up, divided by rows of massive shelves. It was a majestic sight, with marble pillars, ancient poems, and plenty of disciples. The exact, uh, motives of said disciples were questionable, since a very small amount of them were actually reading.

The rest were napping. Or talking. Or doing very unscholarly things.

The first thing Sunny noticed was that they were all women.

The second thing he noticed was that outside of the elderly and the rare child, they were all looking at him.

Salacious glances, batting eyelashes, biting their lips and smiling at him...

’WHY ARE THEY ALL SO HORNY?!’

That was what Sunny had thought when they walked in. He had to endure the disapproving stare of another man’s mother all while feeling his ass get squeezed by a random temple slave they had passed.

He had to fight the urge to decapitate the pervert.

Thankfully, perhaps because the scripture hall was considered a Sacred place, he didn’t need to endure the squeals of fangirls or anything of the sort. Not that it meant much, since apparently molestation was still on the table.

After that, Sunny and Morana were out, which leads to the present. Now that he was outside, he was able to visually take in the surroundings despite having mapped them out with his shadow sense.

They were in a mountain range of some kind. He couldn’t quite figure out any defining features, but he could tell that the particular mountain they were on wasn’t that large at all. In fact, if it was alone, it could have been mistaken for a hill.

The temple was built entirely of white marble, its walls and pillars polished to a smooth finish that reflected the light entering through the tall, open windows. Rows of towering columns supported the main building, which was the center of the structure. Moreover, that was where the scripture hall was.

Two wings extended from either side of the scripture hall, forming the broader body of the temple. One wing was clearly the living quarters of the women in the temple. The other wing, however, was mostly empty, and was positioned quite far from the scripture hall.

Of course, this was where Chernobog live, separate from the rest.

The fact that he wasn’t holed up in the ladies’ living quarters probably meant that Morana wasn’t having any of it.

Beneath the scripture hall, interestingly, was a basement. It was large and deep, consisting of over ten floors of wide free space. Unlike the upper levels, however, the basement received no natural light. The floors, made exclusively of marble, were each supported by pillars of the same make, while the walls disappeared into the dimness beyond the reach of the lamps. The air was cooler there, and the silence made every footstep echo throughout the chamber.

At first, he found the layout very odd. Why was the scripture hall taking up most of the main building? Why were there a bunch of basement floors?

In retrospect, it was quite obvious.

The temple slaves worshipped Shadow God, so their worship must transpire in the shadows!

The basements recieved no natural light, and Sunny could feel the faint presence of various mystical items. It could be said that most of the main facilities of the temple belonged underground, while the scripture hall itself was only bathed in light so that the disciples could read properly.

’Uh... poems... and ’How To Seduce The Corrupted Deliverer Of The Sun Despite Being A Treacherous Villainess Of Shadows.’’

...He was being completely serious. It was an entire step-by-step guide!

...And yes, Sunny memorized the scroll the first chance he got. Who knows if he’ll need it?

In any case, their business was clearly not in the temple itself. As Sunny followed Morana along a manmade path carved into the side of the mountain, he looked out into the wilderness.

No sign of human life for over twenty kilometers.

Sunny was very, very confused.

Where did the temple slaves get their food from? Where did they even eat? He couldn’t find anything resembling a kitchen or a dining hall in the temple. Not even a store of food.

He saw children running around, which meant that reproduction happens in the temple? Where were the men, then?

Was Clara right? Was Shadow God really a sexist?

Sunny’s attention was pulled away from the logistical madness behind the temple, focusing on Morana as she deliberately brushed her hand along the mountain face as she led him down some stairs. Caution resounded in Sunny’s mind, taking hold over him without truly controlling him.

The value of life in the Dream Realm’s ancient history was extremely low. Combine that with zealous cults, and it wasn’t uncommon for parents to sacrifice their children in the name of worship and devotion.

So... was he about to get sacrificed?

...Meh, he’ll be fine.

Suddenly, halfway down the stairway, Morana gently pushed against the wall. As she did, a section of it pushed in like a button, and a moment later, the walls started to shift around. Sunny blinked as his shadow sense began to detect a space that certainly hadn’t been there before.

’A secret...?’

A gap in the mountain face opened just wide enough for a person to walk through. Morana walked in without bothering to so much as look at Sunny. He shrugged, following after her.

The deeper they traveled through the secret corridor, the darker it became. The shadows grew deep and ever-present, and Sunny found himself slightly surprised that Morana was able to see just fine.

He wondered if this was a common trait of the temple slaves.

The corridor, which seemed naturally-formed at first, slowly began to transition into smooth and cut marble. A few moments later...

They reached an open space. The marble walls here were black, now, rather than a pristine white. Sunny and Morana stood in the vast hall, shrouded in darkness.

In the center of the hall, seven tall braziers were burning with strange, pale flames. The shadows parted in the face of their light.

’Huh...’

This felt familiar.

Morana sighed. She slowly walked into the circle of light. Her movements were elegant, flowing, and graceful.

"Do you remember? When you were younger, I had to beg the Priestesses at the time to let you see my dance. I’m quite proud of it."

Sunny lingered for a moment.

"No, I don’t remember."

Morana was unperturbed... or at least, she seemed to be.

Because a moment later, something alien was reflected in her eyes.

"I remember you teaching me this dance, as well, when I was a child. I wonder... was I the second?"

Sunny’s brow knitted as her lips turned upwards, only the side of her face visible to him. What was she talking about? How would Chernobog have known his own mother as a child? Was Sunny misunderstanding something?

"Second... what, exactly?"

’What is...’

When Morana turned towards him, Sunny took a step back with wide eyes, shock coloring his expression.

A third eye...

There was a third eye resting on her forehead.

The opening in the mountain face that they had used to enter the corridor was shut, too, cutting off Sunny’s shadow sense from the outside world.

The flames were snuffed, leaving the hall in complete and utter darkness.

Sunny was in his naturral habitat, and yet...

He felt like he was exactly where Morana wanted him to be.

’Shit!’

He couldn’t have expected this, but he should have!

A moment later, Morana’s body convulsed—

Then, it exploded, revealing some...

Something—

IT WAS SOMETHING—

***

’This is... unexpected.’

Ruan Mei stared at the console with a look of curiosity, one that carried hints of annoyance. The Simulated Universe was designed to power itself. The exact mechanics were beyond her, and lied more in Herta’s field as she was the one who understood energy-based mechanics at a far greater level.

What Ruan Mei did know was that the Simulated Universe could not deactivate. Not unless it was destroyed.

That had some very inconvenient implications. It looked like she’d need to call Screwllum about this unseen possibility...

The Simulated Universe had shut down.