Titans

Sunny stood as he stared at the Nightmare Creature that looked like a jellyfish and a moray eel. This Fallen monster was hanging on the chest of the giant. The monster was the size of a train, and long tentacles extended from it. Sunny didn't hesitate or tremble like before. What he did was simple, which was making the serpent spin the Shadow essence while summoning [Shadow Bow].

The cohort turned their heads toward him, expressions of questioning on their faces. Sunny gestured for them not to make a sound, then summoned a black arrow from the Shadow essence and reinforced his bow with two shadows. He didn't want to provoke the moving giant by hitting it, so he didn't try to strike the creature with all his strength.

He drew the bowstring, then aimed at what looked like the skeleton of this abomination. Then he fired. The dark ray, carrying the breath of death itself, flew and struck the creature. The tentacles tried to bat the arrow away, but they failed. The arrow sank into its flesh, then exploded inside it with force, turning its insides into liquids and pulp.

Tentacles and pieces of the abomination flew off and fell into the Dark Sea. The Spell whispered in Sunny's ear:

[You have slain a Fallen Demon: Remains Eater]

[Your Shadow grows stronger]

The cohort turned their heads to look at Sunny in disbelief. Kai spoke on their behalf.

"Sunny, what was that abomination? I mean, starting from the giant, was it Fallen?"

"Yes, it was a Fallen Demon."

Caster asked worriedly:

"Did you get a Memory? I mean, if you had a Memory from this abomination, it would be extremely useful."

"No, I didn't get any Memory. Maybe not since the last hundred monsters I killed? Anyway, it doesn't matter whether I get a Memory or not."

The cohort went to sleep since they were tired. Sunny left the Saint and the serpent to guard them, along with his shadows, to wake him up if anything happened. The moving statue continued walking south, holding its hammer, promising any enemy death by being crushed under its weight. The sun rose, and the Dark Sea receded quickly, but the giant didn't care, continuing to walk.

Sunny woke up to the sound of noise and shouting. The cohort was working tirelessly to build the camp while he lazed around, which was quite comfortable since no one asked him to work. Spears were made from steel plates extracted from the spiders. There were about twenty spears, and walls were also built to block the wind or rain.

"They're working so hard. That's extremely comfortable! I can just lie down and do nothing until we arrive."

Below, the giant was crushing the walls of the Crimson Labyrinth as if smashing an anthill. The Crimson Labyrinth stretched in every direction, making the ground look crimson. Sunny sighed at this sight, then started working on something they would need soon.

A storm was coming, so he had to build a good shelter for them, and he had an idea of how he would do that. Sunny summoned a storage Memory and took out a set of long, thick bones. He wasted no time and quickly began carving the bones into stakes.

He wanted to create shelter from the storm, so he was going to build a screen against the wind and rain. He chose these bones because they were the bones of the Corrupt Demon that resembled a shark. Sunny had killed it… Well, he hadn't killed it but rather skinned it on his first night on the Forgotten Shore.

Effie's voice interrupted Sunny's thoughts:

"What are you doing? Is this one of your crazy episodes?"

"Ah, no. As you see, I'm building a shelter. I mean, what if a storm comes suddenly? I don't want to hang onto cracks for hours. That would be kind of boring… and difficult too."

"I see. So, Dofus, aren't you a killer?… Have you ever seen a killer building a house? Because that's what you're doing now."

"No, I haven't. Have you?"

"I'm watching one right now."

Sunny continued building the shelter using the steel plates, the Corrupt Demon's bones, and thick hides. Building a shelter big enough for them was hard work for a normal human or even a Sleeper, but Sunny was used to designing or modifying things to suit his needs and was more than an expert in this field.

Sunny finished building the shelter. It looked like a primitive hut, except it was made of bone, iron, and hide. And it was something that would be good for what was coming.

Behind Sunny, Cassie moved, lifting her head to the sky and frowning. Then she whispered:

"I feel there's a storm coming."

The cohort turned their heads after Cassie repeated what she said but in a louder voice. The news made the cohort frown. Nephis spoke:

"Cassie, is the storm far or close?"

"I don't know, but I feel something else."

"Have you stopped being mysterious? I mean, Cassie, Dofus seems better than you at talking… I mean, is it a threat or what?"

"Yes, it's a threat! Look over there."

Sunny pointed to a black cloud. When the cohort followed his finger, they turned pale and hurriedly began summoning their Memories. Sunny was already holding [Shadow Bow] and had been spinning the Shadow essence for some time. He summoned the Saint and threw her a long black sword. The Saint caught the black blade, then nodded her head, announcing her readiness.

On the other side, Kai summoned his bow and began aiming and shooting at the black cloud. As for Effie, she picked up one of the spears they'd made and threw it, hitting one of the black points in the cloud. When the cloud got closer and was about to disperse, Sunny drew his bowstring and fired the black arrow, reinforcing the bow with four shadows. He would probably kill dozens of monsters, but it wouldn't be enough.

The first of the creatures collided with the platform. Its limbs were made of chitin, while it had thin wings and a body resembling a crawfish. These creatures were the size of an adult human, meaning they were at least Awakened beasts. The Spell's voice rang in his head:

[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Flesh Snatcher]

[Your Shadow grows stronger]

[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Flesh Snatcher]

[You have slain…]

Dozens of monsters exploded into pieces, while the rest scattered and began colliding with the moving statue. Chitin and thin wings flew around and fell onto the Crimson Labyrinth. Sunny knew what would emerge from the labyrinth, so he ordered the Saint to descend and sent one shadow with her to reinforce her.

The locusts tried to collide with the cohort and snatch their heads, but the cohort was experienced from the life-and-death battles they had been through. The Midnight Shard flashed, tearing apart a locust that tried to crash into Sunny with ease. Sunny crushed the spirits of the monsters, leaping from the platform to the giant's shoulders, cutting down any monster approaching him.

And below, at the feet of the giant, the ground trembled before hundreds of creatures burst out, fighting over the few scraps of flesh that had fallen from the dead swarm. They tore each other apart, then when the flesh and corpses ran out, they turned their heads toward where the noise and blood were flowing.

The monsters resembled giant apes with muscular bodies and dirty gray fur. Two sharp fangs protruded from their jaws. Crimson flowers also grew from their eye sockets. What faced the monsters was not anyone from the cohort or a human, but one person.

A tall knight stood wearing armor made of onyx, holding a shield and a long sword, tilting her head as she looked at the hundreds of monsters with obvious disdain. The monsters went mad and charged, wanting to crush this knight, but the knight soon disappeared from before them and appeared in front of one of the groups, creating an explosion of flesh and bones.

[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Blood Flower]

[Your Shadow grows stronger]

[You have slain…]

The Saint was immune to the intrusion represented by the crimson flowers because she had no blood at all and was made of stone. Moreover, she would give the monsters no chance. The Saint became a symbol of slaughter and destruction wherever she went. She cut with her sword, cleaving dozens of monsters, and struck with her shield to crush bones.

[You have slain…]

[Your Shadow grows stronger]

And above, the cohort finished killing the last of the locusts and began looking at the massacre happening below. The ground was already crimson, but what the Saint did stained it with a bloody tint. Dozens of corpses were spread out, and more than a hundred limbs. Kai spoke in a trembling voice:

"Gods! What kind of monsters are these?!… Sunny, has that thing you call your Shadow always been this powerful?!"

"I think so, yes. She's always been strong, but my Aspect allows her to grow stronger, so she seems fiercer than usual."

Caster asked with disbelief in his voice:

"I thought your Aspect was purely utility?"

"Let's just say my Aspect is versatile."

"Why are you so—"

Sunny interrupted Caster, who was about to question him.

"Enough questions. I think there are better things for us to do. For example, cleaning the platform before the storm comes… or do you want us to live with this filth?"

Caster grumbled as he stepped back to throw the locust corpses off the statue, while Sunny and Nephis continued staring at the Saint, who had killed more than a hundred monsters so far. Sunny didn't want to wait, so three shadows slid out of him and headed toward the Saint.

"Is she Ascended?!"

"Yes, she is."

"How? I remember she was just an Awakened creature, but she seems so different now."

"Well, let's just say it's something related to my Aspect that allows me to turn Echoes into living creatures that can ascend on the path of Ascension like us."

Nephis seemed speechless. She didn't know why Sunny's Aspect seemed so all-encompassing, and in fact, her own Aspect started to seem weak in comparison in terms of versatility.

"They say the Spell is fair, but I don't see any fairness in the diversity of our Aspects."

"The Spell has nothing to do with our Aspects. It's something destined for us from birth. I believe both your Aspect and mine have similar potential, but the difference is in the time it takes for that potential to be revealed."

"Do you believe that?"

"I don't just believe it. I'm completely sure of it."

Nephis pondered his words, then a faint smile appeared on her face. But Sunny remained grim as he stared south where the giant statue was walking. Where he was looking, there was a wall of raging darkness in which lightning flashed from time to time. And that wall was approaching them rapidly.

"To the shelter, all of you! The storm is very close!"

Kai carried Cassie, who was protected by the Crab, and headed toward the shelter, entering through the entrance, followed by Sunny, Nephis, Effie, and Caster. Outside, Sunny stationed the Saint, reinforced with his shadows, standing there holding a Wedge made of bone.

Inside, the cohort clung to the bone Wedges embedded deeply into the giant statue's body. They heard the sound of the wind entering through the small gaps in the shelter and the sound of falling rain pounding the steel covered in hide. Sunny wasn't focusing on that, but rather was looking through his Shadow at the Saint.

The stone giant moved into the wall of darkness and pierced through it, as lightning began striking all around them. Luckily, Sunny had covered the steel with hide; otherwise, the cohort would have been turned into charred flesh. Outside, the howling wind was extremely strong, and the raindrops were huge, but what Sunny was looking for was none of this.

Sunny waited for the Dark Sea to rise to know how high it would reach. He tried to be careful and not look at something he shouldn't see. The Dark Sea surged rapidly, covering the giant's shoulder, then waves crashed against its neck, spraying water onto the platform. At that moment, he felt it.

A giant, deep shadow was rising from the Dark Sea to battle the stone giant. Lightning illuminated the dark sky, and Sunny saw a massive, long black tentacle rising from the depths, looming on the horizon in front of the giant. The tentacle moved downward with great force, crashing into the giant's neck and wrapping itself around it.

"Hold on tight! There's going to be a fight between the giant and one of the horrors of the depths!"

"What?!"

The group wasn't given a chance to speak as the platform shook, causing them to stagger. They gripped the Wedges tightly and said nothing. Outside, an enormous hand rose from the depths, reaching toward the stone giant's neck and grabbing the tentacle, then tearing it apart easily. The giant continued its relentless march, but the horror of the depths wouldn't let it escape so easily.

The surface of the Dark Sea roiled, then exploded into the sky, and from the explosion emerged six black tentacles like the previous one. The tentacles waved in front of the moving statue. The tentacles collapsed onto the giant at a speed that seemed slow but was incredibly fast. Four tentacles dove into the Dark Sea to bind the giant's legs and torso, while two lunged toward the giant statue's arm.

The giant continued southward, unconcerned with the raging dweller of the depths. It struck one of the tentacles away and allowed the other to wrap around its arm. The cohort held on tightly, and the Saint braced herself on the platform.

The giant staggered as the tentacle wrapped around its arm pulled it downward, causing it to veer off its path. A series of cracks appeared around the giant's arm, but the statue was unfazed. It grabbed the tentacle in the palm of its hand and began squeezing it with tremendous force.

The stone fingers dug deep into the black tentacle, sending rivers of dark blood flowing into the Dark Sea. The tentacle tore apart, and the giant threw it back into the sea. The giant staggered again due to the pull of the remaining five tentacles, then stopped. Small vibrations spread through the platform, and the ancient stone seemed as though the giant was straining to move, but to no avail. Then the giant turned its body and began to bend down.

"We're going underwater! Hold your breath!"

The Saint bent to her knees and clung to the cracks, as did the cohort to the Wedges. In the next second, the giant plunged into the Dark Sea. Cold and pressure rushed at Sunny, but he didn't care. He tried to see but couldn't, though he could feel two deep, gigantic shadows grappling. The giant's body swayed, and it began to move.

They were met by the howling wind and the furious sound of the storm. Sunny looked through his Shadow's eyes at what the giant statue was carrying in its hand. In the giant's hand was a huge skull resembling that of a human, but it had three eye sockets. And from the missing lower jaw of the skull protruded seven tentacles. Sunny didn't look at the skull itself but focused his gaze on the tentacles.

With the flash of lightning, the tentacles moved and wrapped around the giant statue's arm. The giant didn't seem concerned, but Sunny knew it better. The Dark Sea rose and parted, revealing the giant's other arm, which was holding the hammer. The stone hammer became covered with a ghostly blue glow—or rather, it was currents of electricity. The giant raised its hammer to the sky, and at the same time, dozens of lightning bolts struck the stone hammer in a terrifying sequence.

The hammer shone with an angry orange glow, and without any hesitation, the stone giant brought its glowing hammer down on the skull, shattering the ancient bones easily and driving it deep into the creature's flesh. Sunny didn't look at the creature anymore or wait for it to scream; he ordered the Saint to throw the giant bone Wedge at the creature.

Reinforced by four shadows, the Saint grabbed the bone Wedge and aimed it at the creature from whose body darkness was emanating. Then she threw it, but before the Wedge slipped from her hand, four shadows flowed into the white bone, turning it dark and black, radiating death.

A torrent of pure darkness surged from the creature's body, heading toward the cohort, promising a harbinger of horrific death. The Saint gave no chance for terror, as the Wedge pierced into the same spot wounded by the giant and plunged into its flesh, colliding with the bones beneath. The darkness pouring from the creature's body dispersed, and Sunny heard the Spell's voice whispering to him:

[You have slain a Corrupted Tyrant: Dark Seeker]

[Your Shadow grows stronger]

Sunny waited a moment, but the Spell did not announce that he had received any Memory.

"You stingy Spell!"