Sunny's room was quiet in the way only places meant for temporary guests ever were.
The hum of the station bled faintly through the walls, a distant, constant reminder that the world outside had not slowed just because he had. He shut the door behind him and stood there for a moment, shoulders relaxing as the tension he had been carrying finally found somewhere to go.
Welt had excused himself shortly after they regrouped, saying he would see if there was a way to contact Jing Yuan and arrange for them to be present during Kafka's questioning. Given that Himeko was still being used as leverage, it made sense. Sunny had nodded along, contributed just enough to appear cooperative, and then peeled away the moment it was socially acceptable.
He had already gotten what he came for.
Two Memories.
Sunny glanced down at himself.
The Silent Mist clung to his body like a second skin, the armor settling naturally against his movements rather than resisting them. The sleeveless turtleneck fit snugly, its dark fabric absorbing light without sheen. Over it, the navy denim hoodie draped loosely, hood resting against his upper back. The faint cloud-like patterns along the sleeves and spine shifted subtly, as if reacting to his breathing rather than air currents. The black bandage-like wrappings beneath provided another layer of defense for his arms if his jacket somehow flew off, while the white harem pants and steel-toed boots grounded him, practical without sacrificing fluidity.
Sunny exhaled and moved toward the small desk by the window, shadows pooling naturally at his feet as he sat down. For all the chaos of the fight, the rewards had been cleanly delivered. Kafka had kept her word. Hail Sorrow rested nearby, its presence heavy even when inert, while the Silent Mist hummed faintly with restrained power around him.
He had agreed to help because of those Memories.
Anything else had been incidental.
'Let's see what these do…'
Memories: [Weaver's Mask], [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Vessel of Remembrance], [Midnight Shard], [Moonlight Shard], [Dusk Shard], [Mantle of the Underworld], [Extraordinary Rock], [Endless Spring], [Finality's Farewell], [Ghastly Hunger], [Covetous Coffer], [Morgan's Warbow], [Shadow Lantern], [Dying Wish], [Hail Sorrow], [Silent Mist].
Sunny's heart ached as he saw how much his list of Memories had been shortened, before being soothed knowing that he had two new Transcendent Memories to play around with. He had lost the Undying Chain, which had been a massive blow due to how durable it had been… but he now had armor three Tiers above it.
How convenient.
He decided to check the Silent Mist's enchantments first:
Memory: [Silent Mist].
Memory Rank: Transcendent.
Memory Tier: IV.
Memory Description: [They say the withered dragons first learned to die in the fog, where flowers bloomed without sun and butterflies drank from breath instead of nectar. What the mist touched, it softened. What it softened, it carried gently into solace, and never let return.]
…Sunny will pretend to completely understand what he read.
Memory Enchantments: [Enveloping Haze], [Silent No Longer], [Ink Over].
Thanks to Sunny's current understanding of Spellweave, he knew that if a Memory's Tier was higher than the number of enchantments placed on it, then those enchantments would draw more power from the extra nodes without a corresponding enchantment.
[Enveloping Haze] Enchantment Description: "You can manifest a dark cloud that will automatically defend against physical, mind, and soul attacks."
The first enchantment was active, which meant it required Essence for it to activate.
Figuring that he had to see it for himself, Sunny activated the enchantment with a trickle of Essence. Serpent, which was still in its [Soul Beast] form and coiled under his sleeve, attempted to bite him.
It's fangs were stopped by a black haze, which didn't budge no matter how much force the little Shadow put. However, the amount of Essence that was being drained from Sunny increased slightly.
'An automated defense system…'
Even if an attack somehow got through his shadow sense, he'd have some layer of protection in the form of the [Enveloping Haze]. It even extended to mind and soul attacks!
Although he wanted to see how far he could take it, he wasn't sure if he was monitored. Aspects were as varied as the people that held them, and he wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he could detect everything.
'Woah… I just said something really profound and poetic there!'
[Silent No Longer] Enchantment Description: "You are able to converse with those who do not speak a spoken human language."
'…Okay? Isn't this supposed to be armor? Not a nuanced tool?'
What was he going to do? Talk to Nightmare Creatures?
Sunny shook his head in both disappointment and amusement, before looking at the final enchantment.
[Ink Over] Enchantment Description: "The wearer of this armor can abandon all of its defensive properties in exchange for equivalent offensive power, which can be used for a single attack. This operates on a conceptual level, and is not a physical augmentation."
Sunny reread the enchantment a few times, before looking at the gloves that had the same words engraved on them.
Ink.
Over.
…At this point, Sunny was wholly convinced that the Silent Mist was actually meant to be a tool or charm, but the Nightmare Spell — or whoever created it — felt like it was important to send a statement to the fashion industry.
Either way, [Ink Over] was a high risk, high reward enchantment. Frankly, if he ever needed that much power just to fight on even terms with something, he'd rather have his defenses stay where they were.
He'd need to ensure he was completely safe before using it…
Shrugging, he turned to look at Hail Sorrow's runes:
Memory: [Hail Sorrow].
Memory Rank: Transcendent.
Memory Tier: V.
Memory Description: [I have nothing but my sorrow and I want nothing more. It has been, it still is, faithful to me.
Why should I begrudge it, since during the hours when my soul crushed the depths of my heart, it was seated there beside me?
O sorrow, I have ended, you see, by respecting you, because I am certain you will never leave me.
Ah! I realize it: your beauty lies in the force of your being. You are like those who never left the sad fireside corner of my poor black heart.
O my sorrow, you are better than a well-beloved: because I know that on the day of my final agony, you will be there, lying in my sheets, O sorrow, so that you might once again attempt to enter my heart.]
'Ugh…'
Kafka said that Blade was the one who created the Memory, right? Meaning that he had some kind of Aspect related to weapon creation, despite how the media assumes his Aspect was healing-based… or was it both?
Anyhow… did he really write this description? He technically hasn't met the man, but if he did write this, then he must have been having a depressive episode.
Granted, Sunny wasn't sure whether or not other enchanters could decide the descriptions, names, or even the enchantments of what they craft. Maybe they were playing roulette?
After all, Sunny must have been the only person capable of creating Memories the way the Nightmare Spell created them — although crudely and without any real substance… so far.
Memory Enchantments: [Heightened Emotion], [Shattered Ego], [Manifest Spirit],[Perpetuality of Violence], [Black Heart], [Are You There?].
'One, two, three, four, five… six?'
Six enchantments? But this was a Memory of the fifth Tier!
'Maybe I just don't get it all yet…'
[Heightened Emotion] Enchantment Description: "When driven by poweful emotions, the wielded of this blade will gain a drastic boost in power."
'Useful, but it's been a while since I've gotten really emotional…'
[Shattered Ego] Enchantment Description: "Those struck by this blade will be submerged in a pool of negative emotions."
'Probably good? How does that work for Nigbtmare Creatures?'
[Manifest Spirit] Enchantment Description: "This enchantment changes depending on the wielder's Source Element."
'The heck is a Source Element? Uh… would mine be shadows? Per chance?'
[Perpetuality of Violence] Enchantment Description: "Those damaged by this blade will be less likely to reconcile with the wielder, and more likely to seek vengeance."
'…Ain't this a bad thing?'
[Black Heart] Enchantment Description: "As this sword is used for greater periods of time, the wielder will be forced to recall moments of great sorrow. The effects of this enchantment will persist permanently."
'That's… not too bad? I'm a pretty jolly fellow, I think.'
Unaware that everything was written for a reason, Sunny confidently snickered, believing that he was completely immune to whatever may come.
What a poor fool.
…There was the last enchantment, which carried a peculiar name:
[Are you there?] Enchantment Description: "
Are you reading this?
You were born too late.
I am unsure what changed.
No matter.
I've already invested too much into you.
I don't feel like taking the effort to put myself back together.
I'll simply finish what I started.
You may have what I left behind for you, but know that we are all damned.
There is no God, Aeon, or Daemon that may save us.
Sweet dreams.
Or nightmare.
Good luck.
Not that it will change anything.
Damnation."
Sunny stared at the empty space beneath the final enchantment, long after the words had finished carving themselves into his thoughts. The room felt smaller than it had a moment ago, the quiet pressing in on him from all sides.
Sunny's first instinct was to blame the Stellaron Hunters. Kafka, Blade, maybe even someone else whose face he could not remember. They were the only people who knew what he used to be, and Blade had been the one to supposedly forge this weapon. Yet the thought failed to settle properly. His intuition rejected it almost immediately, the same way his body rejected poison. He could not explain why, but the certainty was there all the same. This was not them. Whatever this was, it came from somewhere else.
He exhaled slowly and rubbed a hand over his face.
More troubling still was the implication that someone expected him to read it at all. Sunny knew better than anyone that plenty of people could not even guess enchantments, much less read them line by line. Weaver's Lineage gave him that privilege, whether he wanted it or not. Perhaps those with crafting Aspects could do something similar, but even then, this message felt too deliberate to be left to chance. It was written for him, specifically.
His eyes drifted back to the name of the enchantment.
[Are you there?]
The memory struck him like a blade to the ribs.
[Where is my eye?]
Sunny straightened abruptly, his pulse quickening as the pieces aligned in his mind. Weaver's Mask had carried the same tone, the same sense of something unfinished and watching. Weaver had not simply been a craftsman or a liar or a God playing games. Weaver had seen something. Fate, perhaps, or something adjacent to it, and had laid plans accordingly. Plans that involved Sunny receiving his inheritance?
…Blood Weave and Bone Weave?
The message mentioned being born too late, of something changing, of plans going awry. If Weaver had intended Sunny to be born earlier, to arrive at some critical point in time, then what had he missed? What had happened in that gap? And what kind of future could possibly warrant the certainty that they were all damned, beyond saving by any God or Aeon?
Sunny swallowed, a chill settling into his chest.
And then there was the last two lines.
Not that it will change anything.
Damnation.
That bastard Weaver stole his catchphrase!
Sunny let out a breath he did not remember holding and shook his head. He did not have enough context. Speculation without information would only rot into paranoia, and he had enough of that already. If answers existed, then he would need a record to trace them.
He reached inward and summoned the Vessel of Remembrance.
A plain journal appeared in his hands, its cover warm, its pages already turning. As Sunny held it, ink flowed across the parchment on its own, recording every moment since his arrival on the Luofu with flawless precision. Every conversation, every movement, every realization, preserved without bias or omission.
Sunny watched the words form, expression unreadable.