Chapter 77: —Run for your life!

Chapter 77: Chapter 73—Run for your life!

Blood and shadows surged forward within a single vessel, rushing through the channels of his veins and the labyrinth of his soul, eager to conquer him.

Halfway through, the two forces met.

Both lineages ground to a halt, eyeing one another, neither daring to make the first move—until, with a metaphysical bow of respect, they acknowledged an ancient pact forged since the dawn of time.

Then, simultaneously, both turned in the same direction.

There was an intruder present—an unwelcome third party that had no place in their ancient agreement.

Together, blood and shadow advanced, devouring the third lineage before finally settling into the flesh and spirit of the boy destined to inherit their will.

***

Sunny felt good. In fact, saying he felt “good” was a massive understatement compared to his current condition.

This wasn’t just because he was currently sitting cross-legged on one of the colossal obsidian branches of the Soul-Devouring Tree, with Thene holding him tenderly from behind, her generous chest pressed against his back in a warm, soft embrace. Rather, it was because of the profound duality blooming within his very existence.

”I still don’t quite get what just happened…” Sunny muttered under his breath, staring at his hands with wide, thoroughly bewildered eyes. He turned his hands over and back again, tracing his gaze from his palms to the backs of his hands, down to his wrists, and starting all over again.

His mind was furiously processing hundreds of new instincts granted by the assimilation of the Shadow lineage, alongside the heightened capabilities of his blood refined by [Blood Weave].

”Dead Gods… is this what hyperopia feels like?” he muttered, blinking repeatedly. For a split second, manually dilating his pupils made far-off details razor-sharp while rendering everything close up a blur, giving him a fleeting headache.

Still, seeing the world on a deeper, fundamental level certainly had its perks.

Then came his newfound understanding of what it truly meant to be a Divine Shadow.

First and most importantly: the consumption of the shades resting within his dark Soul Sea. Sunny had always sensed that he was performing the process incorrectly—which was why he had halted his earlier attempts. He had been “sacrificing” them by essentially killing them a second time, when what he was actually supposed to do was devour them.

The distinction was subtle, virtually imperceptible to anyone else, but as a True Shadow, he understood it instinctively now.

Another misconception corrected was his belief that he could only harbor up to seven shadow creatures, excluding Myriad Shade. In truth, as long as Sunny possessed enough shadow fragments and shades, he could create as many as he wished without limit. The real restriction lay in nurturing their strength—and the fact that he could only summon up to seven into the real world at any given time, corresponding to the maximum number of Shadow Cores he could possess.

’Why is a part of me suddenly tempted to forge a Shadow Goliath?’ he mused mentally, scratching his head.

Maybe another time.

There were countless other revelations regarding his true nature—such as converting shadow essence into virtually any known or unknown form of energy, shaping and molding individual shades in his Soul Sea, and raising their ranks independently. But now was not the time to indulge in them.

They still had to escape the Awakened Terror whose branches they were currently lounging on: the Soul-Devouring Tree.

”I guess the party’s over,” Sunny said softly. Hearing him, Thene lifted her head slightly from behind him. Sunny looked up, taking in the shimmering canopy of crimson leaves surrounding them and the vast obsidian branch beneath them stretching toward the horizon. “Let’s check my runes one last time, just to be safe.”

He summoned the shimmering text.

—

Name: Sunless.

True Name: Everlasting Gloom.

Rank: Awakened.

Class: Beast.

Shadow Cores: [1/7].

Shadow Fragments: [618/1000].

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Deplorable Dagger], [Puppeteer’s Shroud], [Crimson Cloak], [Hero’s Solace], [Travel Bag], [Flask of Greed], [Tear of Thunder], [Gruesome Grudge], [Midnight Shard]…

Echoes: —

Shadows: [Myriad Shade], [Soul Serpent], [Carapace Centurion].

Attributes: [Stateless Fate], [Child of War], [Pyre of Divinity], [Divine Vessel], [True Shadowspawn], [Lesser Weave], [Flesh of Shadows].

[Stateless Fate] Attribute Description: [Fate does not rest upon a void; it creates its own pillars. The strings of fate wrap tightly around you; as one of its pillars, its weaves are more malleable in your presence.

You, however, have managed to defile those strings. Be warned, treacherous Everlasting Gloom! Fate is notorious for settling its debts.]

[Child of War] Attribute Description: [War recognizes you as one of its own.]

[Pyre of Divinity] Attribute Description: [A blazing pyre rages within you, burning with the ethereal essence of the dead deities that came before you and gave you birth.]

[Divine Vessel] Attribute Description: [Your flesh, bones, and blood are consecrated to the divine, crafted specifically to host it within yourself.]

[True Shadowspawn] Attribute Description: [Shadows recognize you as the rightful heir of their God. You were born and forged among the shadows. Shadow creatures were rather treacherous beings, bearing the likeness of the divine yet possessing the traits of the profane.]

[Lesser Weave] Attribute Description: [You have inherited a part of the forbidden lineage of Weaver, the Daemon of Fate. It senses, hunts, and seeks out its other fragments—a compass yearning for its greater self.]

Attribute Traits: [Blood Weave], [Shadow Weave].

[Flesh of Shadows] Attribute Description: [Shadows wrap around your body like a second skin, granting a slight boost to your physical capabilities, stealth, and minor regeneration.]

Aspect: [Shadow Chalice].

Aspect Rank: Divine.

Aspect Description: [You are a miraculous shadow left behind by a dead God. As a divine shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. However, your existence is empty and lonesome; no being can cast your existence. The Chalice you bear is your only master.]

Innate Ability: [Shade Lord].

[Shade Lord] Ability Description: [A Lord has the right of life and death over their subjects. A Shade Lord commands only death. You can sacrifice the shades resting within you to acquire additional shadow fragments.]

Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control], [Shadow Step].

Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance].

Aspect Legacy mastery level: [2/7].

First Relic: claimed.

Second Relic: claimed.

Third Relic: unearned.

…

Flaw: [Jiminy Cricket].

Flaw Description: [A voice within you will constantly drive you to give your best, to aim higher, and will never allow you to utter a lie.]

—

Sunny clicked his tongue. “Nope. That [Stateless Fate] attribute doesn’t look promising at all. And what on the Spell does ‘defiled those strings’ even mean?!” He threw his hands up toward the sky. “Damn it! I don’t even know how I did it!”

Waking up to find the Heart lineage completely gone had honestly left him quite shaken, even if what he received in exchange wasn’t bad at all.

As for the eerie descriptions of [Divine Vessel] and [True Shadowspawn], Sunny didn’t have the faintest clue. The latter seemed to imply that he could follow a path similar to Nightmare Creatures, acquiring various abilities as his Class increased—which explained why he now possessed [Flesh of Shadows].

”Whatever. I’ll analyze it properly once we reach the Dark City,” he grumbled, dismissing the runes.

Reaching out, he summoned [Flask of Greed] to take a drink.

’I kind of feel bad that the Memory Jet gave me is now redundant and practically useless by comparison,’ Sunny thought, swallowing a long gulp of fresh, cold water. ‘Then again, I didn’t ask for it, and she gave it to me with the best intentions. How could she have known one of us would carry a literal, virtually bottomless source of fresh drinking water?’

Lowering the flask and letting it dissolve into a shower of sparks, Sunny wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shroud. Shifting his vision to his shadow assigned to keep an eye on Jayden, he saw the ghoul-like Sleeper bound in chains of shadow against a smaller, vertical black branch.

Most likely, while he was unconscious, Thene had tied him up after catching him attempting something despicable toward them.

’I knew that bastard would try something.’

He then turned his gaze down to the base of the tree, expecting to find Cassie and Nephis waiting patiently.

’What the—those airheads didn’t listen to a single word I said!’ Sunny cursed, clutching his hair in frustration.

Down below, the two girls were sitting peacefully at the foot of the tree, happily devouring its juicy, plump fruits. Judging by the pile of peels and pits scattered around their feet, they had eaten quite a few over the days he had been out cold.

Meanwhile, Soul Serpent, who was supposed to be guarding the blind seer, was fast asleep nearby, completely unbothered. Lazy bastard.

’I warned them! I explicitly warned them, didn’t I?’ he asked the Jiminy Cricket perched on his shoulder, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation.

<> the tiny creature replied, nodding emphatically.

Sunny stood up and turned to Thene beside him.

”You grab the Sleeper you bound. I’ll go down to retrieve those two idiots. We need to get out of here, fast,” he instructed, pointing a firm finger before melting into the shadows to step down.

Myriad Shade nodded solemnly, rising immediately to carry out his order.

The Awakened Terror hadn’t noticed them yet. As pure shadow beings, Sunny and his Shadows seemed to bypass its perception, avoiding its enthrallment. But for how much longer?

He certainly wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

***

Sunny re-emerged a few seconds later from the vast shadow cast by the Soul-Devouring Tree, which sliced across the Ashen Barrow like a dark radial line.

Looking back at the towering obsidian trunk, a fleeting thought crossed his mind to simply chop it down and burn the whole thing to the ground—he could even delegate the heavy lifting to Thene if needed.

However, time was against them. He needed to build a makeshift boat out of the Carapace Demon’s giant husk before the tree’s lingering enthrallment completely overwhelmed Cassie and Nephis. Besides, he didn’t trust Jayden to stay put, and Myriad Shade wasn’t exactly built for multitasking.

‘Yep! We’re coming back when we’re stronger to throw one hell of a bonfire,’ he decided with a firm nod, turning his back on the tree to get to work.

The lingering trauma of mental control left over from his encounter with Goliath still gave him cold sweats.

‘What a headache! I hate enemies that grope your mind without consent!’

Accelerating his pace, he moved to complete the task.

***

At the base of the Soul-Devouring Tree, Nephis and Cassie sat in eerie serenity, blissfully ignorant of the insidious threat taking hold of their minds. The tree’s cognitive lure was steadily sapping their willpower.

They looked far too relaxed—a quiet, empty calm.

It was as if nothing in the world could disturb them.

Tranquil smiles painted their faces as they stared blankly into the sky, their bare feet buried in the dark sand. Peels of sweet fruit littered the ground around them, juices staining their lips and clothes. It was a deeply unsettling sight, especially given the true danger lurking above them.

They hadn’t even noticed Sunny returning earlier to fetch Soul Serpent, nor had they registered him converting the demon’s shell into a sea-worthy vessel nearby. That was how deep their hypnotic trance ran.

The sound of approaching footsteps finally broke their haze. Both Nephis and Cassie turned toward the noise.

“Sunny!” the blind seer gasped in pure delight. Recognizing the familiar rhythm of his stride, she pushed herself up and threw her arms around him the moment he stepped closer.

“Whoa!”

Caught off guard as she launched herself at him, Sunny barely managed to catch her, stumbling back a step before regaining his balance.

“I missed you,” she murmured sweetly, resting her head against his chest to soak in his familiar warmth.

“Where did you disappear to?” Nephis asked, her brow furrowing with a mixture of concern and growing suspicion as she stepped forward.

Looking over at her, Sunny realized for the first time that she was still wearing that improvised seaweed bikini. Worse, the dried fronds had begun to crumble, rendering the outfit even more precarious and revealing than before.

‘Okay, this is awkward. How are we supposed to get her into the Dark City dressed like this?’

Sunny thought, immediately snapping his eyes away before she caught him staring where he shouldn’t be.

Thanks to his Flaw, he was forced to give an unfiltered answer: “Nowhere, really, Neph. I just went up to retrieve an inheritance left for me by an old acquaintance at the top of the tree. Then, one thing led to another, and I ended up out cold for a whole week.”

His blunt, hurried explanation only made her brows furrow deeper.

“And the real reason?” Changing Star demanded, pressing him.

Sunny blinked. “Well… that is the real reason, Neph.”

Before Nephis could press any further, Cassie’s tearful voice cut through the air.

“You’re mean, Sunny. You left us here all alone,” the blind seer whispered, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

Sunny looked down, meeting her blind gaze softly. He reached out, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I never left you, Cas,” he said softly. “I was just making preparations to get us out of here.”

“Out? Where?” Cassie asked, placing her hands over the chest plate of her [Starlight Legion Armor], right over her heart.

“Away from this place, Cas. Toward the future.”

“And will we stay together there?”

“Always,” Sunny replied firmly.

Suddenly, Nephis snapped. “Leave this place?! Have you lost your mind, Sunless?!”

Her voice lashed out, infected by the tree’s mind control clawing at her psyche.

During his week-long slumber, the Soul-Devouring Tree’s enthrallment had strangely eradicated the Seed of Doubt Jayden had planted in her mind—only to replace it with a far more insidious, narcotic hypnotic state.

“Why would we ever leave? The tree protects us! It’s gentle, it feeds us, it keeps us safe!” Changing Star insisted passionately, the rational light in her gray eyes rapidly dimming.

“Neph, we can’t stay here! It’s dangerous—we need to leave right now!” Sunny raised his voice, standing tall while keeping a protective arm around Cassie.

For a split second, Nephis completely lost her grip on reality. Seeing his hand resting on her shoulder triggered a buried, traumatic memory: the lifeless body of Luna, the blue-haired girl she had failed to save.

Her broken promise.

CLANG!

In a burst of blinding white sparks, Nephis summoned the [Dream Blade] and brought it down in a vicious vertical strike aimed straight at Sunless.

Reacting purely on instinct, Sunny shoved Cassie behind his back and thrust his forearm forward, summoning Soul Serpent into a wide, pitch-black round shield to catch the heavy blow.

Sparks flew as the radiant edge bit into the shadow shield.

‘This woman is crazy!’ Sunny gritted his teeth, locking his knees to absorb the crushing force of her attack.

Surprisingly, he was doing very well.

“Neph, what the hell?!” he yelled from behind the shadow shield.

“Grrr!” Changing Star snarled, completely blinded by rage as she pressed her weight into the blade, trying to break through his guard.

The situation was dire. Sunny couldn’t rely on the strategy from the original Novel—shouting the names of the Sovereigns like Aster, Song, and Vale wouldn’t snap her out of it here, given the completely altered nature of her relationship with them in this reality.

He needed a different trigger. A stronger one.

“Neph, use your head, damn it!” Sunny roared over the clashing metal. “We can’t stay here! If we do… who’s going to destroy the Nightmare Spell?!”

“The… Spell?”

The words hit her like a bucket of ice water. Nephis’s grip on her silver longsword faltered slightly, her shoulders relaxing just enough to give him room to breathe.

“Yes!” Sunny pressed on, nodding intensely. “The Spell, Nephis! You swore to destroy it—to burn it to ash! Are you still going to do that, or was your determination just talk?!”

At his words, the white fire in Nephis’s eyes blazed back to life. An aura of pure, incandescent white light erupted from her skin, washing over her body and burning away the tree’s lingering enthrallment.

It was only a temporary reprieve, but it was all they needed.

Dismissing their weapons, Sunny, Cassie, and Nephis moved quickly toward the makeshift vessel he had fashioned from the Carapace Demon’s husk. Together, they prepared to leave the cursed shores of Ashen Barrow behind.

Toward the Dark City.

Toward their freedom.

Toward tomorrow.

—–

The problem with writing chapters in advance is that, by the time you reach the “author’s thoughts” section, you’ve forgotten what you originally intended to say before publication.

“Well, why not write it down beforehand?” you might ask… and, honestly, you’re right.

If there are any typos or alike, please let me know.

Thanks for reading, see you next chapter!

Read also:

–Shadow Slave: No Rest for the Wicked;

–Shadow Slave: Corrupted files.