promise of solace

The cohort woke up in a panic from the sounds of battle. They could hear crashes, roars, and even a cry of despair—one of the warring monsters seemed to be dying. But the worst part was that the sound was very close. When the noise finally died down, Caster spoke upon noticing Sunny's absence.

"Where is Sunless? Wasn't he supposed to be keeping watch and waking us if there was danger?!… He didn't slack off and lounge around while horrors fought right next to us."

The cohort stayed silent from the tension, not responding to Caster's accusations—they genuinely didn't know where Sunny was. But Cassie couldn't bear to hear him talk about Sunny like that.

"Don't accuse Sunny of slacking off or running away. Maybe he's the one who killed that terrifying monster."

"Oh really? And what proof do you have that he didn't flee?"

Nephis interrupted them sharply.

"Silence. There's a monster nearby and you're bickering like children. And you, Caster—save your accusations for later."

The cohort waited, anxious and frightened, until they spotted a distant figure slowly approaching them. It was a creature the size of a house, carrying on its back a person lying down—or perhaps unconscious.

"Is that Sunny's shadow? I mean… it looks just like him."

The person lifted their head and motioned for the group to come quickly. The cohort hesitated at first, but Nephis moved forward swiftly. As she approached the shadow, she spoke.

"Sunny?!"

"Ah… ugh… it hurts… yes, it's me. Did you come to help me?"

"What happened to you? Your armor is dented, full of holes and scratches—and you're drenched in blood!"

"No need to worry, Neph. I just killed a Corrupted beast, that's all. That's how I got these injuries."

Nephis went pale, and Kai's face turned ashen. When Kai went pale, the cohort realized Sunny was telling the truth.

"Let me heal you. We'll talk about this later."

Nephis laid Sunny down and began treating his wounds. Sunny looked at her biting her lip until it bled. It pained him to know how much she was enduring just to heal him.

"I promise… I won't get hurt again."

"It's alright. I can always heal you when you do, so don't worry."

"Do you know how much I hate weakness? But even more than that, I hate seeing someone I care about suffer because of me."

Sunny looked into Nephis's eyes, where tongues of white flame flickered. Then he gestured for the cohort to give them space and continued speaking.

"This flaw… it burns away your emotions and your humanity. You have to anchor yourself—don't let yourself be lost in the pain of it."

"How… how did you know?"

"Every time you use your Aspect, your face shows a cold, merciless expression. Your eyes go icy. You have to ground yourself through human connections. Don't try to distance yourself from everything human. Instead, find humanity in every small thing you do. It'll help you."

Nephis nodded, then wiped the blood from her mouth. A genuine—almost tender—smile spread across her face, and a blush colored her cheeks. Finally, she spoke.

"Thank you… Truly, Sunny. I'll keep that in mind and follow your advice."

The cohort waited for morning. Some returned to sleep, while others remained on edge, watching nervously. The thought that a Corrupted creature had been that close was terrifying—none of them could sleep easily. Meanwhile, Sunny was examining his new Memory. He didn't understand why he hadn't received the Shadow spawn As Shadow. a shadow like that would've been an invaluable ally… but fate hadn't been that generous.

Memory: [Promise of Solace]

Rank: Transcendent

Class: I

Memory Description:

[A catastrophe befell the On the Betrayer Lost from Light. He lost his friends, his beloved, and all those he cherished. The people who once relied on him fell, and the civilization he had fought to protect crumbled. Drowning in despair and mourning everything that had anchored him to existence, the Betrayer Lost From Light dared to defy fate in a fit of madness. His mind raced through thousands of possibilities until it found the solution. To ensure its success, he forged and scattered the Weapons on the vast weave of fate, so they would find him upon his triumph. And so it was. Fate suffered a blow. The Betrayer Lost From Light perished… but his memory lived on. And so did his chosen one.]

"This… this feels so familiar. But I can't quite place why…"

Sunny summoned the Memory. A long Black sword formed in his hand—its weight perfect, as if designed just for him. When he looked deeper into the memory, he saw only one ember burning, with six others cold and lifeless beside it. Then a new line of runes appeared:

Kill Count: [0/1000]

"Oh… so this Memory is tied to the soul? Like the Mantel of the Underworld?… This is just incredible!"

Below that, he read the rest of the runes:

Memory Enchantments: [Slaying Blade] [Deeper] [Armed] [Formless]

[Slaughter Blade]

Description:[ This weapon represents the death aspect of the Lesser God of Shadow and can ignore the will of greater beings.]

[Deeper]

Description: [The wounds caused by this weapon are more grievous and dangerous than they appear.]

[Armed]

Description: [This weapon can absorb Amulets and benefit from their full enchantments.]

[Formless]

Description: [This weapon can take the shape of any weapon.]

All the enchantments were great—except the first one. Sunny knew that the first enchantment was the most complex and had required being bound to multiple Transcendent soul shards. And he had a strange feeling that it was the most powerful of them all.

"Is this a Memory you got from the monster you killed?"

Sunny raised his head to find Kai looking at him and asking.

"Yeah. The bastard was stronger than he looked… but I told him to stop a few times. He was surprisingly obedient. This Memory fits me perfectly. The bastard deserved every wound he gave me!"

Kai hesitated before asking again.

"You ordered a Corrupted creature… and it obeyed you?"

"Yeah, it obeyed me. Then it disobeyed me a second later! Really mischievous… that's why I killed it."

Kai said nothing, just turned and walked away, muttering something about madness and honesty. Sunny went to get some sleep before sunrise and the beginning of their journey.

The sun rose, and Cassie woke Sunny to prepare for the journey. As he drank from [Drinking Horn], he saw Nephis frowning while staring at the fog-covered peaks. Her frown deepened into a dark expression, and she raised her voice to the group preparing to depart.

"I think I know where we are in the Dream Realm."

Everyone's expression changed. Sunny pretended not to know as he watched the others show shock and confusion. Effie asked nervously:

"Are you doing this, Princess?"

"Yes. We're north of the Hollow Mountains. If you don't know what that is—it's a mountain range that stretches for thousands of kilometers, from Bastion to RavenHart… and beyond."

Nephis sounded confident as she delivered this information. The cohort's expressions turned to a mix of hope and contemplation… except for Caster, whose face was pale. Sunny spoke up so their hopes wouldn't rise too high.

"This is a death zone. Where Great and Cursed beasts dwell—perhaps even the Unholy. Crossing it is simply out of the question. Invading the Crimson Spire would be easier than attempting to pass through these mountains."

"You're a gloomy pessimist, aren't you, Doofus?"

"Probably. But would you rather have false hope or the truth?"

The cohort was brought back to reality by his words, which rang in their ears like an alarm. Sunny nodded and gestured for Nephis to lead their expedition.

They set out into the hills, moving cautiously, measuring every step. The cohort had little information, so they stayed close together and didn't send Kai to scout from above.

The area felt dead—eerily devoid of creatures, and even the sound of their boots on stone echoed in the silence. The rocks began to rise, forming a slope that grew steeper the farther they went. At one point, while climbing, Sunny looked back. The crimson maze lay far below, looking like a vast red sea. It would've been a beautiful sight if he didn't know where they were.

They moved swiftly and stopped at a wide pit in a valley, where the hills became mountains. Sunny stood at the edge of the massive pit—a quarry made by humans. A wide road had been carved into the slope, big enough for several carriages to travel side-by-side. Effie pointed toward something, her face tense.

"There. Look!"

The cohort followed her finger and saw a nightmare creature—a bizarre hybrid of a rhinoceros beetle and a mantis. Its body matched the stone-gray color of the quarry. Sunny spoke to reassure her.

"It's dead. Don't worry. Looks like it was killed by humans."

The cohort descended along the carved road, taking half an hour to reach the bottom. When they reached the shattered corpse of the nightmare creature, they hesitated, but Sunny approached first, studying the beast. The rest followed and examined it with him for several minutes. Then Nephis moved away from the group and shouted.

The cohort rushed to her side. She pointed at an oval rock that looked different from the others, her expression stern. The stone was neat and symmetrical—upon closer inspection, one could tell it was a grave. Kai spoke in a somber tone.

"It's a grave… looks like one of the First Lord's cohort."

"Her nightmare has ended."

Those were the words carved on the grave—and spoken aloud by Sunny. The cohort repeated them gloomily.

Sunny sighed as he looked at the grave. A flood of emotions weighed on him, along with a heavy responsibility. He didn't want the Sleepers in the Dark City to meet such a fate. He wanted to send them home, if they had families—or at least bring them back alive. He didn't want them to die… even if it was the right path to create veterans who'd survived the horrors of the Dream Realm and grown into humanity's strongest warriors.

But people weren't steel to be reforged. Each had their own goals, personality, and feelings. Most of all, they had the freedom to choose what to do. Sunny didn't want to take away the Sleepers' right to live. If he had to carry humanity on his back and protect them from the shadows, he would.

Caster broke the somber silence.

"If that's a grave, then this must be where the First Lord and his cohort passed through."

Nephis turned her head from the grave and spoke.

"There should be an entrance to an old mine nearby. From what Cassie saw, this is where they went."

Sunny looked at Cassie, who was staring at the fog rolling down from the mountains. Then he remembered how dangerous that fog was. He ran to Cassie, lifted her onto his shoulder, and spoke when the others looked shocked.

"The fog! It's extremely dangerous! We have to run before it touches us!"

Following his memory, Sunny led the way without hesitation. The cohort followed until they reached a long arched wall carved directly into the mountainside, with false columns sculpted into the rock around it. The mouth of the tunnel was dark and ominous, but Sunny entered it—and the cohort followed.

Sunny stepped into a hidden gap between the stone steps. They entered the secret path and soon reached a wide tunnel. He didn't even look back at the approaching fog—he just entered the tunnel, leaving the outside world to be swallowed by the mist.

Inside the tunnel, the cohort summoned luminous memories and began moving cautiously. The passage to the mine was in excellent condition despite the ages. Once inside, they found more tunnels branching off from the main one. The cohort had to change direction several times to descend deeper into the earth.

They came across numerous carvings depicting the history of the Dark City and the curse of the Dark Sea, brought about by killing the creature that birthed the darkness. These memories were etched in Sunny's mind like an unforgettable imprint—preserved better than books, as though printed there.

When they reached the image of a being with three eyes, Nephis turned her head to look at it for a few moments before continuing. One word echoed in Sunny's thoughts:

"Nephilim."

After a while, they reached a wide, circular chamber with a dark chasm at its center—so deep the bottom couldn't be seen. Nephis didn't speak. She simply summoned the golden rope and began to descend with Effie and Caster. Sunny, meanwhile, jumped straight down.

"Is he insane or what?! If he wanted to die, he could've at least given us his Memories first!"

Sunny enhanced himself with four shadows, gripped [Promise of Solace], and waited until he neared the chamber's bottom. Then he transformed the sword into a long spear, drove it into the chasm wall to anchor himself, and leapt.

He landed safely and waited for the cohort to follow.

When Sunny looked around, he saw the skeleton of a massive creature—serpent-like, with hundreds of claws protruding from its belly. The horror had been colossal. Thank the gods it was dead. Sunny had no desire to fight such an abomination—especially while the Saint and the serpent were still recovering in his Soul Sea. Only the crab remained to aid him, and even it might not last long against this monstrosity.

Light spilled down from the deep chasm, revealing the rest of the cohort. Kai descended first, followed by Cassie, then Nephis, Caster, and Effie. They turned their heads toward the worm's skeleton. Sunny spoke first.

"It's dead. Don't worry—it won't wake up to greet us."

"Fighting that thing must've been tough for the First Lord's cohort."

They moved through the darkness, and not far from the worm's corpse, they found signs of a nearby camp. A temporary fire pit had been built, surrounded by five stones, and not far from it, a low wall had been raised to ward off unwelcome guests.

—

The next day, after resting at the First Lord's camp, the cohort ventured deeper into the ancient mine. Everyone felt uneasy at the thought of the tunnel collapsing above them. After hours of walking, a soft breeze began to brush against Sunny's skin. Minutes later, he heard a faint rustling.

The rustling grew into the sound of flowing water. The cohort moved forward, and Sunny caught sight of water. It was black—not like the Dark Sea—and there was no salty scent in the air. Above the black surface, fog hovered silently in the dark.

Up ahead was a stone pillar built on the shore, with a rope tied to it—leading to a boat.