Monster Core

At sunrise, Sunny was the first to wake up and began preparing the meat he had acquired from the shark as their breakfast. Nephis awoke to the smell, but it wasn't the food that drew her attention—it was Sunny himself.

This boy was ridiculously strong, even by Nephis's standards. She had never considered herself his equal, and even when she measured her chances against him using her Aspect, they were slim.

But what truly made her admire him, beyond his swordsmanship and insight, was the kindness he showed to her and Cassie. She felt warmth in his presence for some inexplicable reason, as if she could only express herself properly when speaking to him.

"Do you want some meat?" Sunny offered her food while drinking water from a leather canteen.

"Yes, thank you, Sunny."

They sat chewing the meat while watching the scavengers move in groups, searching for food. Cassie suddenly sat up, both tense and excited. The sudden motion made Nephis summon her weapon and turn to Cassie, while Sunny merely turned his head to look at her.

"…A vision! I had a vision."

"What did you see?" Nephis asked nervously.

"A fortress! A fortress full of people… and a city! A black city crawling with terrifying shapes walking in the streets but then a Gaint shadow swallowed them" Cassie trembled with excitement and pointed westward.

"There… I'm sure the city is there, and the fortress too!"

Sunny was puzzled by the slight change in the vision, but quickly realized the giant shadow might be a reference to him.

"Calm down and finish your meal. We'll leave once you're done. We'll head west to the city. Any objections? Also, tell us more about the city and the fortress."

"I have no objections," Nephis gave her approval. This surprised Sunny. The Nephis he knew had a commanding personality, but this one acknowledged him as the leader—which truly put him at ease. It meant she didn't distrust him.

"Go on, Cassie, what were you about to say?"

"I dreamed of a vast ruined city built from living stone. Its walls were tall and impregnable, and monsters of all kinds wandered its streets… until the giant shadow came and devoured them. In the center of the city stood a hill, and on it, a magnificent fortress full of people! And you and Nephis… you were leading me through the gates."

After gathering their belongings, they moved west through the labyrinth. They didn't avoid the scavengers, since Sunny needed shadow fragments and they had an Echo to protect Cassie. Sunny's shadow scouted ahead for them. By the end of the day, they arrived at the statue of the headless knight. Sunny carried Cassie on his back while climbing the cliff, with Nephis following behind and the crab carrying their supplies.

"Did you extract the soul shards from it?" Nephis was referring to the

Corrupted shark corpse.

"No, I didn't. What do you take me for? I barely skinned the bastard. I was waiting for the meat to rot before I started carving… but I guess I'll have to do it now." Sunny began cutting into the shark's corpse using the shadow-enhanced serpent, while the crab ate the meat for some reason.

Sunny extracted four giant soul shards, each half his size.

"Here, absorb these." Sunny offered two Transcendent soul shards to Nephis, which made her blink in surprise before she asked,

"And what about the other two?" She gestured at the ones beside the crab.

"Don't worry. I'll need them later." Nephis nodded and didn't ask again, which relieved Sunny. He wouldn't have answered her if she did.

"The fabric… I'll craft Memories!"

"You can craft Memories?!"

"Not now… but later. After I kill a great Devil!"

That would have been a very awkward moment.

After darkness fell, Nephis and Cassie went to sleep while Sunny remained on watch. After some time, he got up and began training out of boredom. When he finished, he lay down and instructed his shadow to wake him if anything happened.

Sunny woke up to a scream—he knew exactly what it was. He sprang up and caught Cassie just before she fell from the platform. Nephis was right behind him.

"I've got her. She's unharmed." Sunny held Cassie and tried to calm her down. After a while, she sat curled up, a blank look on her face. Sunny waited for her to collect herself and tell them what she had seen. After a few hours, he approached her.

"Cassie, can I have some water?"

"Oh… yes, of course." She summoned the Infinite Spring and handed it to him. After drinking, Sunny passed the flask back to her.

"Drink and eat something. You haven't had a bite or a sip since you woke up."

After eating, some life returned to Cassie's eyes, and she began describing what she had seen.

"I had another vision… I don't know if it was real or what it was—it came in pieces.

"At first, I saw boundless darkness imprisoned behind seven seals. Something vast lay beyond them. I felt like if I saw it, I would lose my mind. As I watched in horror, the seals broke one by one until only one remained… then that one shattered, too."

She trembled slightly, then continued:

"After that… I don't know. It was like my mind shattered into a thousand fragments. Each shard reflected its image. Most of them were dark and terrifying… I've already forgotten some of the rest."

"I saw the human fortress again—this time at night. A star burned in the black sky, surrounded by shadows. And under its light, the shadows stretched out and drowned the fortress in darkness. Blood flowed through its halls. I saw a corpse in golden armor seated on a throne…

A giant dark serpent leads humans among the monsters.

And an archer trying to pierce the fallen sky with his arrows."

She turned her head toward Sunny, tears in her eyes.

"In the end, I saw a massive, terrifying crimson tower. At its base were seven severed heads, each bearing a lock And at its peak, shadows wrapped around a dying angel… entwined with something I dared not look at.

When I felt the darkness and cold of those shadows Dispersing, I suddenly felt as though something precious had been stolen from me."

Her sorrow only deepened, and Sunny's frown grew darker.

"Then I felt sorrow and pain and rage so deep it was like what remained of my sanity was slipping away…

I think that's when I woke up."

"Calm down, Cassie. Maybe this was just a nightmare brought on by the stress you've been under." Sunny tried to comfort her while silently enduring the ache from his flaw.

But what truly bothered him was that the vision had changed—it wasn't like the past life he remembered. It felt like something was going to happen to him, maybe even kill him…

But he didn't let that thought linger. How many times had Sunny died already? Too many to count.

After spending a day at the statue, they gathered at the western edge, loading everything onto the crab. Its appearance was now ridiculous, with leather bags hanging off most of its body—some filled with bones and fangs Sunny had harvested from the shark, others with dried meat and water skins.

Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie—carried by the crab—moved forward. Sunny sent his shadow ahead to scout, and when it found scavenger groups, he either dispatched the serpent or dealt with them alongside Nephis. After four days of travel, his core neared saturation:

[989/1000]

That was the number of shadow fragments Sunny possessed after slaughtering scavengers and enduring serious injuries. He believed Nephis had a similar number.

He stopped and looked at Nephis, who had raised her head to the sky.

"There's a storm coming!." A drop of rain fell on her face.

"There are cliffs ahead. My shadow found them."

Sunny and Nephis ran, with the crab carrying Cassie swiftly ahead. Sunny lifted Cassie onto his back while Nephis tied her to him with a rope to ensure she held on tight. The water had reached Sunny's knees.

He began climbing quickly, enhanced by his shadow and innate ability. He scaled the cliff, Cassie clinging tightly to him.

"Hold on tight, Cassie!" Sunny hurled himself onto the ledge to secure their footing. He knew a carapace Centurion was somewhere nearby, possibly among the scavenger group—alive or not.

Sunny placed Cassie down and summoned the crab to guard her. Then he returned to the cliff and extended his hand to Nephis, who was carrying their supplies and pulled her onto the small island.

"Neph… there are scavengers here. And even an Awakened monster ." Sunny warned in a low voice.

"I'll send my shadow to kill the scavengers. Come with me—we'll kill the Monster."

"Alright… but where is it?"

"There are hills back there. He's located among them."

[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Carapace Scavenger.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

[You have slain…]

The spell whispered in Sunny's ear as he and the serpent swiftly eliminated the scavengers—he killed five, while Nephis took down three.

Only the Awakened monster remained, drawn by the noise. The Centurion charged at Sunny, eyes blazing with madness. Sunny met him with a black blade enhanced by his shadow and an even crazier stare.

The creature swung its scythe at Sunny, who dodged by a hair's breadth and countered with a deep slash. Behind the Centurion, Nephis surged forward like a thunderbolt, her Dreamblade flashing and driving deep beneath the creature's trunk. It didn't kill him but dealt a deadly wound.

The monster tried to turn and retaliate against his attacker, only to be slammed by the crab, which knocked him to the ground. Sunny seized the chance and sliced through both of the creature's back legs.

Then he let his blade turn into a four-meter-long serpent. The serpent lunged forward, whipping its tail into the scavenger's head and cracking the chitin.

Sunny dashed in and drove the azure blade deep into the Centurion's skull, piercing its brain.

He braced himself for what was to come.

"Cover me—now!" Sunny yelled at Nephis as the voice of the spell rang in his ears:

[You have slain an Awakened monster: Carapace Centurion .]

[You have received a Memory.]

[Your shadow overflows with power.]

[Your shadow is taking shape.]

Sunny felt a burning heat in his soul just before a searing pain struck—his second core was forming. The pain was immense, drowning him in indescribable agony. It went on for minutes as Sunny clutched the ground, pounding it with his fists.

He gritted his teeth and endured… until the voice of the spell spoke again:

[Your shadow is complete.]