The wind was roaming around through a vast land. It was a land stripped from the right to have its own sun, and therefore drowned in eternal darkness. The land was almost all barren, deprived of the right to see the sun again, There was no genuine plant that could thrive on the black soil, and even if there was, there was nearly no way for them to survive the alcaic properties of all-present ash.
The idea alone that an entity, being that wasn't even a Saint, could ever cover a land bigger than a big continent, was ridiculous in, and of itself.
And yet the Starlight Legion created such a thing with the power of their sorcery, Crimson Terror.
'And to think that Nephis ever defeated her.'
The more he thought about the achievement, the more it appeared like Crimson Terror had to be extremely restricted just so she could defeat it.
Sunny massaged his temples. He thought about all those Sleepers that waited years till someone was brave enough to face the Crimson Spire. Yet Crimson Terror herself wielded powers so deadly that probably only Nephis' could hope to face it. If it was anyone else, he would be burned to ash with the light produced by the Crimson Terror. This was fate, a really cruel, unfair thing.
So ironically despite how he shared the disgust for Gunlaug, the Bright Lord, who ruled the Bright Castle, and how she judged him for stopping trying, Gunlaug did some undeniable good. He kept many Dreamers alive till someone like Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie, and the rest could attempt to make the way out.
He stared grimly at the remains of his fellow victims to the horrors of the Forgotten Shore, arranged into a little cemetery made of found stones. He wasn't dead, but in a way he still was one of them.
It was a busy day. Sunny felt nice to have such a place to return to after so busy day. Even more when he had already four homes. The first one was his home in the cathedral on the Forgotten Shore. The second was his home in NQSC. The third was located in the belly of his Mimic, and therefore he could carry it with inhis Soul Sea. And now the fourth is citadel, yes, a citadel.
During those few months he wasn't idling. All his incarnations were working themselves to advance his goals. Some were developing his fighting style, and exploring the world, others were advancing his understanding of weaving. For some time there was one incarnation in charge of analyzing the mysteries of Daemons.
On the way to the Godgrave, a mayor Death Zone lying outright between the territories of Song, and Valor, practically begging to be a witness to the final conflict of those two, he found something no less staggering. He found the mountains from his First Nightmare, and in the mountain range there was the same Nameless Temple, where he had spat at the altar, and thus he had 'sacrificed' himself to the Gods.
The Temple turned out to be a citadel. He claimed it, and researched. While examining the Temple, he learned that the citadel has an overpowered feature to it. Inside there's a magic circle that, filled with the essence, can literally teleport the whole structure where the user wants.
At first he wanted to teleport the citadel to the Godgrave, and start preparing the place for the war. But luckily he developed an unusual habit of consulting his plans with Aiko. So he told her his plan, she called him stupid with a deadpan expression, and advised him to put the Temple somewhere else, somewhere, where no one is going to look for it.
And that's how his citadel was safely teleported to the Forgotten Shore.
And thank the dead Gods, he did that! If he didn't do that, there was a huge chance he would waste a lot of time scaling the Hollow Mountains, barely come out of it alive, probably several times at that, and make a year long arc of exile… He imagined how stupid that would be. Instead he only entered the Hollow Mountains for a few brief moments testing, if could try to cross that Death Zone on foot.
He could. Checked. Though it required from him a serious strain of his willpower. There's really no need to be so extreme in being an overachiever, and do it the hardest way. There are more important things to do in life, at least more important than wondering how to preserve meat in the mist of the Hollow Mountains, which is trying to deny the creatures he killed there from existence.
For example, wondering how many mind-enchancing enchantments he could put on his avatars to potentially maximize the effects, and adapt to the strain of having seven bodies faster. After killing some more Great Beasts he realized he's accumulating many powerful soul shards, and weaving, and reweaving many items, but he's not improving what matters the most, his potential.
Finally he decided it's scandalous. Well, not on his own. It was Nephis, who enlightened him, saying she's a bit envious that he can make permanent enchantments that can add to his power, while she has to depend mostly on the things provided by the Spell, and short-lasting effects of shaping.
Therefore he finally dropped the act of stubbornly delaying the realization of the idea. After some weeks of borrowing Memories from different people just to have a lot of reference he felt he's ready enough. He made three garments similar to his white brigandine, but instead of making a transcendent memory of Seventh Tier, he made supreme Memories of the Seventh Tier, all filled with enchantments aiding mental recovery, because… well, why not?
The jump in effectiveness was massive. If before he had to deactivate his avatars due to accumulating mental fatigue, now that problem is not as serious as before. While he's still getting exhausted, mental exhaustion is being recovered extremely fast so it doesn't accumulate as easily. And if he wants to sleep from time to time, that's even better, because [Blessing of Spirit], the enchantment that served as the base for the brigandine, works the best when the user is asleep. To not get confused with all those similar Memories he named them [Many Steps At Once v2.1], [Many Steps At Once v2.2], [Many Steps At Once v2.3].
Aiko told him it's way too bizarre, but even with all her valuable expertise he blatantly refused her every single time. He has some principles to uphold after all.
He didn't stop there. He developed many little things meant to raise the standard of living in his Marvelous Mimic. There were storages, living room, bedroom, where he placed some pieces of furniture from Dark City. There was a soldier room, the place to keep his awakened army while transporting them, because he didn't want his guest to have access to everything inside. There were also his different workshops, a forge, and even a quasi-laboratory to conduct experiments. There were also air-makers similar to the conch shell he made for Marut.
Actually, seeing that strange little lamp crafted by him, and his sibling, he got another nice idea to consume more of his soul shards.
That time wasn't just be all about gains. There were also many things that promised troubles. He returned to the Ebony Tower, and deciphered some of the writings regarding the nature of life, the essence of the Hollow Mountains, and also figured out the locations of the remaining fragments of Weaver's lineage, all of them are currently impossible to access.
Here on the Forgotten Shore he discovered some of Weaver's writings regarding the war between the Gods, and the Daemons, reigniting his dread of the knowledge, because it seems that something happened to whatever cage was built around the Void. That matter probably threatens to end all existence. Needless to say there's no other existence to move to, and he needs existence to live his life the way he wants.
The only saving grace is that, if all existence is finished, the Spell is destroyed as well, and therefore maybe… just maybe Nephis could finally stop for once. That was indeed a great question. What would life be after ending the whole existence? Would there be actually nothing, or maybe everything would be twisted before any recognition? Everlasting, and everchanging till another spark of finity will wage a war for everything.
What else? He discovered his Shadow Lantern is actually a portal to Shadow Realm. Not that he went there. The land of death ain't no hospitable place. It promised great rewards for a shadow creature like him, but also it was suited with measures against his power, and existence. He decided to not come there anytime soon. He still wants to live.
So yeah, that's where he stands. A bit closer to his goals, with more resources in his hand, and many more mouths to feed, and many promises to keep. The time to keep one was coming close.
On the Forgotten Shore there weren't many living things. Most were destroyed by Crimson Terror, right after sealing the Dark Sea. The rest either killed each other, or were killed by Nephis. Speaking of the former…
Soul Tree was still there, somehow survived, and gathered a new pack of thralls. The tree even managed to grind his way, and become a Fallen Terror, and seemed to be waiting for him to keep his word. Sunny had to admit he's really impressed. How glad would he be to just go, and turn everything it worked for into ash? Nope, he had a different idea.
Following paying a visit to his private cemetery he used his Shadow Step to go after the tree. With the incredible size of the region, travelling it on foot wasn't a smart idea. He could spend days walking, or a little more than an hour of running, or he could just use his awakened ability. The choice was obvious.
Soon he arrived near the tree, and put the plan into action.
In a flash he went even closer to the tree. Then Sunny summoned Marvelous Mimic. Things happened really fast as he really didn't want to do things longer than necessary. He quickly opened the doors that transformed into big gates, and ordered his Shadow to throw out a big pile.
Upon closer inspection Nightmare Creatures, each being either Fallen or at least Awakened Demon he meticulously gathered, all forced to sleep by the Dream Curse of his nightmarish steed. The tree was enormous, big as a mountain. If Sunny didn't know it's tainted by corruption he could even consider it to be a close emanation of divinity. The silver bark has become even more shiny, while leaves were even more vibrant red than before. Feeding it required a comparably big mountain of bodies, he had no doubts of that. So he took as many of creatures as possible from Antarctica, and from every place he went for a hunt with his hunting group.
That mountain of monsters could fill a lake, but because they were all of the lower Rank he could not gain even a fragment. But what about the tree? He didn't know. He never experimented with making Corrupted Terror or actually advancing a creature of any kind. It was always either depending on the knowledge provided by the Spell or a lucky encounter. But it doesn't mean he couldn't do such a thing.
He hastily ripped some fruits, and left before the thralls could have time to react. The tree was probably dumbfounded now, confused as a thing programmed by nature for malice can be. However, there were still nuances of its personality Sunny could get the wind of.
Soul Devouring Tree played the role of a benevolent guardian. It produced very nourishing, and tasty fruits. The alluring fruits granted soul fragments, and in his case even shadow fragments. Sunny couldn't deny they were very precious. Practically anyone could use them to gain fragments, and increase his base as long as the tree continued to produce more fruits. Maybe he could too?
Still, that's all a facade. You don't find such benevolent creatures in the world, unless they're your family or really good friends. In truth, the tree just wants to devour everything. It lures creatures with the fruits, and then subjects them to a curse, mind hex that slowly deprives them of their previous worlds, breaks their minds, and turns into slaves obsessed with feeding the tree. It only wanted to eat, nothing else.
So what would happen if out of nowhere a pile of fresh fallen abominations appeared in its face? Or bark? Leaves? Whatever. First it nervously inspected the sleeping creatures awaiting the moment they'll wake up. Not that they would. Sunny knew the Dream Curse all too well. Once it falls on you there's no easy escape. Then it tried to plant some ideas into their minds, but it was all useless, when they're unconscious. That left only one solution.
The tree ordered the thralls to feed everything to the tree by making them believe they'll get tastier fruits this way.
At least that's what Sunny imagined when observing the tree from a huge distance through his Shadow Sense, and continued his internal narration, entertaining himself with his pseudo-wasteland documentary.
'Eat, enjoy the meal! Hope, it tastes good, you bastard.'
Sunny's expression curved into a dark smile.
He sat in comfort on his Shadow Chair, and reached for one of the fruits he had stolen. He hasn't tasted them since many years ago. Not that he really missed them. With a bit of hesitation he took a bite. The sweet, juicy taste filled his mouth. It was certainly better than he remembered it.
He ate with some care. He didn't want to walk around with his face smeared with a red pulp. That would be unsightly, it doesn't matter if the surroundings are pitch dark due to lack of any light source. But a little inconvenience shouldn't keep him from keeping some manners. He cleaned his lips with a piece of cloth, and looked at the runes flying before him, and scoffed at the sight.
[Shadow Fragments: 227/6000]
'Not even a fragment? What a shame...'