Chapter 34 Changes in Story

The cliff was close — so close it almost felt like salvation. Raizel's breathing was labored, his flight growing slower, heavier, more desperate. The storm above tore at them like rabid beasts.

Sunny clenched his jaw, every muscle in his body screaming for him to move faster, to do something — but there was nothing to be done except watch.

Watch... and pray.

Down below, the black sea was not still.

Shapes slithered and thrashed beneath the surface — titanic shadows stirring the waters into a frenzy. 

Something primal and monstrous moved in that dark water, something that did not belong to any natural order.

Then, Sunny saw it. 

And beside him, so did Nephis — and Raizel.

A fin, taller than a building, broke through the ocean surface. 

It carved through the storm-tossed waves like a blade through flesh.

A shark. 

But not any shark. 

A nightmare made flesh — the size of two skyscrapers stitched together with madness. 

It moved with terrifying, effortless power, churning the dark waters into a maelstrom in its wake.

'Isn't this the same one!!, ' Sunny eyes were widden as he realized, ' The one that chased me when i enter this cursed place.' Sunny felt his heart stop as he recognized the monster, he know it was the same type of nightmare creature, whose dead body was below the stone statue.

Nephis, usually calm even in the face of death, inhaled sharply — a sound so soft it was nearly drowned by the wind.

Raizel's purple eyes narrowed, cold and calculating.

Only Cassie remained still, unaware, cradled in Raizel's arms — trusting them, blind to the horror playing out below.

Sunny opened his mouth to speak — 

To warn the others — 

To scream — 

When it happened.

Something stirred in the abyss beneath the black sea.

A shadow darker than the darkest night.

From the depths rose tentacles, thick and glistening, grotesque and beautiful in their monstrosity.

One wrapped around the colossal shark—another around its body— another around its head—and before Sunny could even process what he was seeing, the nightmare shark was ripped downward, its massive form vanishing beneath the waves in a sickening, silent moment.

The shark was eaten whole.

Not a struggle. 

Not a chance. 

Just... gone.

The waters boiled red for a heartbeat—then black again—as if the creature, the death, the very violence had never occurred.

Nephis's face become deadly pale, her hands trembling slightly where she gripped Raizel's arm, Sunny could see fear and terror written all over her face. The fear of something so far beyond you that you don't even matter anymore.

Her gaze kept flickering downwards, then snapping away, as if the very sight of the ocean was trying to drag her soul into it.

And then... 

There was Raizel.

Hovering in the air, carrying Cassie effortlessly despite the exhaustion bleeding from his every pore. 

Lightning carved across the sky, bathing him in white light.

His face — beautiful in a strange, almost fragile way — remained utterly still. 

Emotionless. 

Like carved porcelain.

Those pale, girlish features — framed by his white, wet hair plastered against his cheeks — showed no fear. 

No awe. 

No disgust.

Nothing.

He blinked slowly, almost lazily, his purple eyes deep and fathomless like still water. 

Unmoving. 

Untouched.

It was unnatural. 

Unnerving.

Not bravery. 

Not stupidity. 

But a terrifying kind of indifference — as if even in the face of annihilation, Raizel simply refused to acknowledge that he could be devoured like the rest.

If anything... 

He looked bored.

A cold whisper crossed Sunny's mind:

'If Raizel were to fall into that ocean... he wouldn't scream. 

He would just sink without a word.'

Only Cassie, blind and trusting, sensed something through their silence.

"Raizel?" she asked quietly, when she got no answer. 

"...Sunny?" she asked again, small and uncertain. "Nephis?"

Her voice small against the storm. "What's happening?"

Sunny opened his mouth—but no words came out.

What could he say?

That they were nothing but insects clinging to life? 

That they had just witnessed a god devour a demon like it was nothing more than a snack?

He closed his mouth, swallowing the bitter taste of fear.

Above them, lightning shattered the sky. 

Below them, the black sea rose higher, hungry and endless.

They were running out of time.

Raizel's body faltered — a jolt passed through them as he almost dropped from the sky, only barely catching himself. 

His teeth were gritted, his eyes burning with grim determination.

They would make it to that cliff. 

Or they would be swallowed whole by the black ocean — 

forgotten.

Either way, no one was coming to save them.

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As soon as they reached the cliff, Raizel gently set Nephis and Sunny down on the cold ground. Cassie came next, her grip reluctant to release even as he lowered her to safety.

Finally, he collapsed beside them — not from weakness, but inevitability. The stone beneath him was cold and hard.

'We made it.' the thought drifted through his mind, dull and detached.

All four Sleepers lay sprawled on the jagged cliff, the storm howling around them. Rain lashed their faces. Lightning flashed overhead in epileptic bursts, briefly exposing the world before plunging it back into void.

"We survived," Nephis said quietly, her silver eyes fixed on Raizel — unblinking, unreadable.

"We… did. Indeed." His voice was slow, dragged out by exhaustion. His essence reserves were bone-dry, though the flow had started returning — faster than expected.

Nephis watched him. Her face softened slightly. A faint, beautiful smile touched her lips.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For saving us. Again."

Raizel answered with a low, noncommittal "Hmm."

No thanks necessary. He did what had to be done.

Nephis leaned against him, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

'His chest is soft.'

Cassie too followed along, curling into his side with a stubborn grip that suggested she didn't plan to let go anytime soon.

Raizel didn't move. He couldn't.

More importantly — he didn't care to.

'What a life,' he thought dryly. Pinned under two girls in the middle of a storm, soaked to the bone, and preparing to die again.

Time passed. Minutes? Hours? The dark blurred it all.

Then Cassie's voice cut through the stillness — soft and tense.

"…There's something wrong with this place."

Nephis and Sunny tensed instantly, hands moving ready to summon their Memories.

Raizel's eyes didn't even open, since he already know what Cassie felt.

"I felt it too," he said flatly. "Something's off. I'll investigate—"

He moved to rise, but Nephis and Cassie pressed him back down.

'What?' He blinked at Nephis. Her face was as unreadable as ever — but her eyes betrayed her. She was worried.

'How interesting..' he thought slightly amused.

"Raizel, rest," she said softly.

He stared at her, unimpressed, then he spoke his tone cold and icy.

"And who will investigate the thing preparing to kill us?"

Nephis didn't said anything.

Then Sunny stood up as he cracked his neck.

"I'll go." He summoned his blade with a flicker of light, then vanished into the gloom.

Raizel listened. He could hear the storm. The wind. The shifting of Sunny's steps on gravel. But nothing else.

After a while, Nephis looked at Sunny direction as she asked, "See anything?"

"…Not really," Sunny replied, voice uncertain, then suddenly a bolt of lightning split the sky — and Sunny froze. Raizel didn't need to see him to know it.

A beat of silence, broken by Nephis.

"Sunny?" Nephis asked.

Sunless voice returned — low and fearful, and also shaken up. 

"D-don't move. Don't speak. Just… stay where you are."

Nephis and Cassie obeyed without hesitation, but they still don't seems to understand.

Raizel looked toward Sunny's voice.

"How many?" he asked, his voice deadpan.

Cassie blinked. Nephis turned to him, confused.

Sunny eyes widden, but then he swallowed audibly. He met Raizel's dull, amethyst gaze — and hesitated, but it seems because of his flaw he needs to answer.

"…F-forty," he whispered slowly.

The air went still.

Nephis shot to her feet, blade in hand. Cassie clung to Raizel like a lifeline, her heartbeat hammering against his side. She was shaking — and soft. Painfully soft.

'sigh' Raizel sighed inwardly.

'In the book… there were only ten. Maybe fifteen. Now it's forty.' His gaze drifted toward Sunny. 

'My existence is changing the future.' He know that it was expected and unavoidable, but at the very least he was prepared for times like this.

He moved to stand. Cassie resisted with a panicked grip.

"Raizel—wait—"

He pulled away, rising to his feet. In his hand dark and white sparks taking a form of a long blade.

"I'll handle it." he spoke, but before he could step forward, a hand caught his shoulder.

His eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashes his eye, but nobody notice it.

'Why is everyone always touching me?' He turned — Nephis. She stood there, arms crossed, frowning.

"You should rest Raizel." 

"Are you crazy, Neph?!" Sunny snapped, his voice getting louder. "We need him! Forty scavengers, and you want him to rest?!"

Nephis didn't flinch at his outburst, she calmly replied.

"His body's was under huge strain. He carried us, he shielded us from the lightning, he needs to recover—"

"And how the hell do we fight them without him?!" Sunny barked, stepping closer. "We'll die without his help!"

"We'll fight on our own." 

Sunny stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Are you a fucking idiot?" he growled, as he massage his head.

Hearing this Nephis' face turned ice-cold. 

"…What did you just call me?"

"You heard me. Or are you deaf too?"

Nephis griped tighten around the sword as she moved towards Sunny.

Cassie sensing the tension stammered weakly, "G-Guys, please—"

But they weren't listening to the blind girl.

'These idiots.' Raizel had enough of their bickering, then with a flick of his fingers, a cyclone of sparks exploded beside him as his Echo manifested — its presence humming with silent violence.

Both Nephis and Sunny stepped back, startled by the sudden summon.

"Enough," Raizel said, voice cold and low. "You're bickering like children, while death is in front of us."

Their arguments died in their throats.

Both them lowered their heads, shame flickered in their expressions.

"Raizel, we—"

"Save it," he cut them off. "We don't have time."

They nodded — quiet now, deadly serious.

Raizel turned to Nephis.

"You're staying here with Cassie. Guard her."

"But—"

"No buts. You can't see in the dark. You'll only get in the way." his tone was colder than before — absolute.

Nephis flinched slightly, then nodded. "…Fine."

He turned to Sunny and nodded. Sunny returned the gesture, without another word, the two vanished into the night. 

Nephis stood still, her hand tightening around her blade.

'Please… be safe.' she thought staring at the place where Raizel and Sunny stood before.

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Raizel and Sunny crouched behind a massive boulder, the rain cascading down its slick surface. Just beyond it, scattered across the ravaged earth, lay the scavengers — nightmare creatures, curled like beasts in uneasy slumber.

Sunny leaned closer, whispering, "So, uh… what's the plan?"

Raizel didn't answer.

He just stared. Not at the monsters. Not at the terrain. At everything.

Sunny recognized that look. 

'He's cooking up something… and it's gonna be fucking crazy, isn't it?'

Raizel finally turned his head, his face unreadable as always.

"You said you have a loud bell, right?"

Sunny blinked, then nodded.

Without hesitation, Raizel spoke: "Here's the plan."

As Raizel explained, Sunny's face cycled through disbelief, horror, and finally reluctant awe. The silence that followed felt like a countdown.

Raizel's gaze fixed on Sunny. "You up for it?"

Sunny stared, mouth half-open. 

'Is he serious!? That's not a plan. That's a suicide!.'

But he'd already seen what happened before when he questioned Raizel.

So, he forced a grin and nodded. "Sure. Why not."

"Good," Raizel said, tone emotionless. Then he and his Echo melted into the darkness without a sound, like ghosts swallowed by the storm.

Sunny stood their for a couple of second before sighing dejectedly, he summoned his memory.

White spackles started appearing in his hand taking a shape of a sliver bell.

"Well let's just get over with it"

He look at shadow, who just shrugged in response.

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Raizel stood atop a distant cliff, sword in hand, watching Sunny take position across the gap on a similar ridge.

Sunny lifted the silver bell.

Ting… Ting…The melodic chime cut through the storm like a scream in a graveyard.

All across the field, the sleeping scavengers stirred. Dozens of grotesque heads turned, eyes glowing like burning coals.

Then they saw him — a lone human, baiting them openly.

Not even thinking what he was doing their, they just charged, howling, screaming like they got food.

From above, Raizel raised a hand and issued a silent command.

His Echo moved from the shadows.

Like death on four legs, it lunged from the shadows, slicing into the enemy from behind with blinding speed.

He kill the scavenger one by one, silently taking them out without other noticing.

Meanwhile, Raizel to was lifting scavengers that were at the back, with his telekinesis, then throwing them off the cliff like discarded trash.

His plan was beautifully simple:

Lure. Trap. Kill.

Sunny's job? Stand at the cliff's edge and ring the bell, drawing all attention to himself. The monsters had only one path to reach him — a narrow incline that acted like a funnel.

Once they were clustered, Raizel and his Echo would hit them from behind, turning the cliff into a killing field.

To Sunny, it still sounded like a suicidal mission filled with hope.

But hey — it was working.

For now.

Sunny looked down at the swarming scavengers clawing up the slope, he just stared at them blankly.

"I hate my life." he murmured in low voice.

He summoned his sword and began slashing at anything that got too close.

{You have slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.} 

{Your Shadow grows stronger.}

He didn't bother checking runes, since he was too busy fighting scavengers.

One beast lunged — Sunny severed its front legs, letting it fall back into the crowd, but the scavenger was ripped apart by it's kin, seeing this scene made Sunny urge to vomit, but he control himself.

Another one came — Sunny stabbed it straight through the eye, killing it instantly.

Lightning flashed.

He caught glimpses of scavengers falling from the cliff — courtesy of Raizel.

He grinned.

But then, something below caught his eye.

A creature — not scavenger. Bigger, sleeker and sharper.

Tearing through ten beasts at once like wet paper.

It was Raizel Echo, the one called Mr. Night by him.

"Of course even his Echo is stronger," Sunny muttered, stabbing another monster through the jaw.

{You have slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.} 

{Your Shadow grows stronger.}

He looked up again. His arms were tired. His legs burned.

This was getting ugly fast.

Then—

"Sunny. You alright?"

The voice came from behind.

"!!!"

Sunny jumped, spun, sword raised—

Raizel hovered calmly in the air, eyes glowing faintly with dull violet light.

Sunny nearly collapsed in relief. "Could you not sneak up on people like that?! I nearly got a heart attack."

Raizel said nothing. Just nodded calmly.

His gaze dropped to the battlefield. Most of the scavengers were dead or dying, it seems like they were now safe.

He then noticed a faint crack on his Echo's armor — then dismissed it with a thought, pulling the creature back into his soul sea.

Turning back to Sunny, he found him swaying slightly.

"You alright?"

"I am not like you, who can solo a horde of scavengers." Sunny shot back, panting, but it seems he was still full of energy.

Raizel didn't respond. Instead, he lifted Sunny with a wave of his hand — telekinesis wrapping around him like invisible chains.

Sunny flailed for a second, then gave up, to tired to fight back.

"Ugh. Fine. Carry me, mysterious princess-man. Just don't drop me."

"I'll try to resist the temptation," Raizel muttered, already thinking of dropping him.

And with that, they vanished into the storm — one floating, the other getting dragged—leaving behind only messed up corpses and blood in the rain.