To the Dark City

Sunny woke up and found himself lying down with a warm piece of hide covering him. In front of him was a crackling fire, and nearby, Nephis and Cassie were asleep, leaning against each other. The sound of their steady breathing and the way the firelight danced on their faces filled Sunny's chest with warmth.

"What a beautiful sight… reminds me I have to protect them no matter what."

He lifted the piece of hide off himself, then gently placed it over Nephis and Cassie before stepping out into the night sky. Despite the exhaustion that had put him to sleep for so long, Sunny wanted to create more Memories. He didn't need many more to reach the Dark City. What he truly wanted was to feed Crab and make him ascend to an Ascended Demon. And the Memories he already had were enough.

In the darkness of his soul sea, two black suns glowed, surrounded by hundreds of shadowy figures of Nightmare Creatures—Scavengers, Centipede Legs, Mountain King, the Soul Devouring Tree, and somewhere, the Temple Guardian and the Corrupted Shark. Sunny paid them no mind, but the shadows were not like him—they looked at him with respect. Sunny found it strange, but he had gotten used to it.

From the shadows, the Shell Demon—Crab—took form. It was the size of a house, its eyes cloaked in deep shadows. Crab looked at him with joy and affection at seeing his master.

"Hello, Crab. Hungry? I've got plenty of food for you, as you can see."

Sunny summoned the Memories he had obtained from his hunts in the labyrinth, along with the useless ones he possessed. Dozens of shapes made of light appeared—some weapons, armor, cloaks, necklaces, shells, even ropes.

Sunny offered one Memory to Crab. He took it with a claw and crushed it. Sunny focused on Crab's Shadow Fragment count:

[88/200]

The Memory gave him a single fragment, just as Sunny had expected. He fed him the rest of the Memories.

[182/200]

"Ah, what a disappointment, Crab. Why haven't you evolved yet? Well… It's not your fault. It's mine—I slacked off on killing. But don't worry, I'll make you earn your meals."

Crab waggled his scythes and pincers in both excitement and nervousness, letting out a sad sound that made Sunny smile at the response. Crab was very strong now, which would help in the Dark City while hunting Fallen and Awakened beasts.

Sunny exited his soul sea and began weaving low-quality Memories. He didn't care about usefulness—only quantity. Weaving Memories with simple or useless enchantments was easy for Sunny. More importantly, he didn't need ones with multiple enchantments. One powerful enchantment was enough, as long as it was manageable by soul shards.

Two hours later, Sunny completed his first Memory—a wooden stick that did nothing but point west. Then he made another one, this time pointing north. He would've kept weaving if not for the sound of footsteps approaching from behind.

"Hey, Sunny… do you mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all. Go ahead, you can sit there." Sunny gestured for Nephis to sit near him, but not too close.

She sat beside him, looking at the wooden stick in his hand and the bone needle in the other.

"Did you pass out from exhaustion yesterday because of this?"

"Yes. I was making a powerful bow Memory and collapsed from exhaustion after finishing it."

Nephis's jaw dropped. This boy, Sunny, always surprised her—she'd even learned humility from him!

"You're lying, aren't you?"

"Nope. I haven't lied since I met you. Do you know what my flaw is?"

"I think I've guessed it… You have to answer every question you're asked, right?"

"Close, but no. My flaw is… I can't lie." He said it with a wide smile.

"That… that means everything you've ever told me was true?!"

"Yes."

"You talked to a god?! Wait, what about the Awakened Tyrant you killed by spitting on the ground?!"

"Oh yeah, I talked to a god—specifically the God of Shadows. We discussed slavery, freedom, and such… he even acknowledged me as one of his distant cousins. As for the Awakened Tyrant, I didn't lie—I spat on the altar, then the Shadow God came and killed him."

Nephis's jaw hit the floor. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Sunny's wild adventures. She certainly felt inferior now—maybe she needed to go talk to a god and get acknowledged as a cousin too.

"Ah, don't feel too bad. The Shadow God had to respond… after all, I offered him a sacrifice. I killed someone who was fated to cause him serious trouble."

Nephis's expression dimmed, and she stood up from where she sat.

"I think you've got work to do. I won't disturb you. Carry on."

The sun rose, and the dark sea receded, revealing the Ash Sea. Nephis was dismantling the Shell demon corpse. Sunny sent Crab to help her load the supplies and assist her. Cassie stayed put, but was given the task of cooking and making sure they had everything they needed. Sunny continued weaving the Memories he would feed to Crab. He had already made three and decided to stop there—he was too exhausted, with several deep cuts on his fingers, but hadn't lost a single one. He considered himself lucky.

Sunny stood from his spot where he'd been watching the Ash Sea and walked over to where Cassie was sitting. He sat beside her.

"Cass, can you give me that Memory I gave you? The one that enhances senses?"

Cassie hesitated for a moment, but answered:

"Of course."

"Don't worry—I'll return it to you, and it'll be much better."

Sunny rested, and his wounds were healed by blood Weave. He closed his eyes and took a short nap. Once he woke up, he began working again.

He returned to his spot facing the Ash Sea and began improving Cassie's Memory: [Blessing Enhancer]. It was already good for a Dormant Memory, but not good enough for Cassie. Sunny wanted to improve its enchantment and add a new one that would allow her to perceive her surroundings—even if only slightly. Better than total blindness.

He had only three Awakened Soul Shards left, and he would use them all on [Blessing Enhancer]. He started by removing some threads, then expanded the Memory to accommodate two Soul Shards, weaving them together until the first enchantment was completed. The process wasn't easy—it took hours to expand the original enchantment—but the final one didn't require as much effort.

The final enchantment was like Sunny's Shadow Sense, but a simplified version and far less effective. He couldn't give someone Shadow Sense unless through the Serpent. After hours of weaving and more finger injuries, Sunny completed the second enchantment and finished the Memory.

[Your Memory has been destroyed]

[You have obtained a Memory…]

"Phew… I'm pushing myself too hard… Ah, well, that's not wrong."

Sunny lay on the ground, looking up at the withered branches of the Soul Devouring Tree. It was a beautiful scene—to kill your enemy and then sleep beneath its corpse. That beautiful scene was soon replaced by an even more beautiful one—Nephis stood above him, glaring, but even her anger looked beautiful.

"Sunny! Did you take Cassie's Memory that enhances her senses?!"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Why?!"

"To improve it. I said I could create Memories, but I forgot to mention that I can also enhance them—raise them entire ranks."

"Oh… so that's it…" Nephis turned her head away, embarrassed.

"You came without even talking to Cassie, didn't you?"

"…Yes."

"Well, nothing to be done. Your sense of justice is strong. So, what about the boat? Is it finished, or do you need more time?"

"It'll be ready tonight. When do we leave?"

"Of course, tonight. We need to head to the Citadel."

Nephis didn't argue—she wanted to go to the human Citadel and return to the waking world. Though she was starting to doubt if there even was a gate. Their boat had a strong frame and build—Nephis hadn't made it in a rush. They had all the materials they needed, and most importantly, time. She had time to improve the boat and make it faster. Shortly after sunset, the boat was completed. All their belongings were loaded onto it, and the sail was raised—it was larger than Sunny's former life.

"Cassie, give me your hand."

Cassie followed Sunny's voice and took his hand. A spark passed from his hand to hers… and from hers, back to his. Sunny summoned the wooden staff, empowered it with his shadows, and ordered Crab to push the boat into the water. The boat splashed into the sea.

Then Sunny summoned the wind with the staff, sending the boat westward—toward the Dark City.