shard Memories

The pile of bones that represented the Lord of the Dead collapsed under the heat of the white flames. Nephis had used her Aspect to the fullest to burn and melt the Lord of the Dead. The Fallen Tyrant couldn't withstand the Saint's crushing blows and the searing of the purifying flame.

Nearby, Nephis collapsed unconscious from exhaustion and weakness. The strain of pushing her Aspect beyond its limits had pushed her body past what it could endure. Sunny rushed to her side, sat down next to her, lifted her head in his hands, poured water on her face, wiped away the soot and dust, and laid her down on his lap so she could rest.

Sunny ordered the Saint to search for the carrion leech and kill it. Then he turned his head, searching for the key he had obtained in his previous life when he came here. His eyes landed on a key glowing with golden light.

[You have slain a Fallen Beast: Carrion Eater]

[Your shadow grows stronger]

[You have received a Memory: Blood Arrow]

Far from him, the Saint had crushed the leech using the black mace. Next to her, Effie was looking at her strangely, then shot Sunny a suggestive look.

"Sunny, is it dead?!"

"Yeah, you can come down now. Nephis is unconscious—I hope you can carry her up the cliff… By the way, where's Caster? Why didn't he come down?!"

"He said he'd die from a single hit from the Fallen Tyrant. He wouldn't even have time to breathe."

"And was he being serious?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, I guess he's only getting scolded. Maybe just one punch."

"Sunny?"

Lying on his lap, Nephis opened her eyes and gazed at him with emotion. Sunny's mind went blank as he looked at her pale skin and the silver hair cascading over her right eye. Nephis's beauty was truly breathtaking—for Sunny, she was more than just beautiful.

"Sunny? Can you carry me? I don't think I can move."

"Ah, alright. Wait just a bit, I'll go grab something and come back."

Sunny stood and walked toward the key glowing with divine light and picked it up. The Saint came over, looked at the key, at him, then extended hand and gave him the mace, nodding her head.

"Thank you, Saint, for helping me."

The Saint didn't say anything—just looked at him. Sunny didn't know whether she was expressing admiration or loyalty, but he could tell there was affection in her eyes. He returned her to the dark sea of his soul, then walked back to the resting Nephis, picked her up, and handed her to Kai, pointing upward.

"Take her up the cliff after I go up."

Kai didn't ask any questions. He just nodded silently, sparing Sunny the need to explain why he wanted to go first. Sunny climbed the cliff quickly and reached the top. In front of him stood Cassie, a worried expression on her face. Caster was staring at him in shock and fear.

Caster had been waiting for Changing Star to ascend first. It wouldn't be hard to finish her off—he had seen the battle below. She had overexerted her Aspect and collapsed from exhaustion. Kai wouldn't be a problem if he used his Aspect and killed him quickly. He had planned to escape afterward.

But his plan crumbled when Sunny climbed up first. Behind Sunny, Kai climbed carrying the weakened Nephis. Sunny gave Caster a wide smile, ready to scold this fool.

"Ah, hey Caster, did you see me kill that bastard?"

"Y-y-yes."

"Do you want me to do the same to you? I mean, you're way smaller than the Lord of the Dead—but I can handle that too."

"No… but why would you want to do that? I mean, I didn't come down just because I feared for my life. Have you ever seen a Sleeper fight a Fallen Tyrant before?"

"No, I've never seen one kill a Fallen Tyrant—but you did, didn't you?"

"You bastards forgot about me!"

Everyone turned their heads toward the slope below. Beneath the piles of bones, Effie was lying down, injured and burned. Her wounds were severe enough that Sunny could see bone protruding from her leg.

"Oh, I did forget about her… how could you forget her, Kai? I mean, you didn't even have any distractions."

The group returned to the outer settlement to rest and recover from exhaustion and serious wounds. Of course, Sunny didn't go back immediately—he returned to the cathedral and retrieved the Weaver Mask.

The Dark Knight was no longer there, having been killed by the Saint so she could evolve into a demon. That gave Sunny the freedom to wander the cathedral without having to fight the Dark Knight.

After retrieving the Weaver's Mask, Sunny returned to the outer settlement—they had plans to make for their next journey.

They needed to recover the Dusk Shard and the Dawn Shard. The Starlight Shard had been acquired when they killed the Lord of the Dead. That left two Shard Memories of the seven total.

In the basement of the fortified cabin, Sunny met with the group: Nephis, Effie, Cassie, Kai, Jubei, and Caster. Nephis was still worn out from overusing her Aspect—but she looked better than yesterday. Cassie spoke on Nephis's behalf.

"We've gathered today to discuss our next mission… Caster, if you please."

Caster summoned a Memory of a flute that created a bubble of silence so the conversation wouldn't leak out.

"I'll get straight to the point without wasting time… the mission we joined Sunny on wasn't just about killing a Fallen Tyrant—it's a mission that holds the secret to invading the Crimson Spire."

The group's expressions shifted. Caster's was filled with cautious hope. As for Kai, he didn't look too shocked. Even Effie wore a mix of relief and slight disappointment. Jubei's expression was full of surprise and joy. Sunny didn't even need to pretend—Cassie and Nephis had already discussed this matter with him. Cassie continued after giving the others a moment to absorb the information.

"We'll set out on a hard and dangerous journey in four days. We'll fight horrifying monsters along the way, we'll be wounded—but the reward is great: escaping this hell… You can ask Kai if you don't believe me."

Caster, Jubei, and Effie turned to Kai. Kai flinched at the sudden attention, but nodded his head.

Sunny decided to step into the conversation at that point.

"Don't worry too much. Yes, the journey is dangerous—but not that dangerous. I guarantee that no one will die. Also, this journey won't be without perks. How about this? Everyone who comes gets an Ascended Memory."

"You serious, Dofus?"

"Yes. I'll even make sure the Memory suits you—it won't be some useless junk."

"I've got no problem with that. He's telling the truth."

Everyone agreed immediately once they realized the trouble wouldn't be for nothing—but would come with a very generous reward.