Sunny squinted, looking carefully at the memory he had received from killing the Forsaken Knight in the ruined cathedral.
It was a ring, with ruinic carving along its unusually smooth surface, shining with dark lustre, calling for the black-haired boy to wear it.
Doing just that, Sunny wore it as the description on the ring appeared in front of him.
---
Name: Severed Hope.
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: IV.
Memory Type: Charm.
Memory Description: [It was his wish to forever look at his master, to forever admire them. Not for one second did he want to let go of their ethereal visage.
And so he asked his master to grant him this fickle wish of his.
They looked at him with surprise, as if not expecting him to say his innermost desire straight to their face.
But their surprise soon turned into amusement, becoming more fond of the knight whose face only they had seen.
And granted him his first and last wish forever connecting both in life and death, through suffering and sadness.
Though as time passed, this connection was eroded by corruption, turning the once-wished-to-forever-admire into a wish to be free from this connection.]
Memory Enchantments: [Forsaken connection], [Corrupted link]
[Forsaken connection]
Enchantment Description: The user can form an invisible connection to anyone they consider better or superior to them.
[Corrupted link]
Enchantment Description: Allows the user to alter any existing link or connection with the target, and in place of the altered link, substitute the newly formed one.
---
It was, at first sight, a useless memory, for one, its effects were pretty vague, not to mention its whole function banked on the fact that the user already had a tangible connection.
Which most people didn't possess.
Be awakened or mundane all people usually have with one another is an emotional connection that isn't a tangible link, which this memory required.
Thus, in turn, making this memory useless to everyone.. well, everyone except Sunny.
---
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Dreamer.
Shadow Core: Monster
Shadow Fragments: [726/2000]
Memories: [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Mantle of the Underworld], [Weaver's Mask].... [Severed Hope].
Shadows: [Marbel Saint] [Soul Serpent].
Attributes: [Fated], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Shadows], [Blood Weave]
Master: Changing Star.
---
"Master, huh?" Sunny couldn't help but mutter out loud. It was almost poetic how, in his first nightmare, he was a temple slave and through tireless effort managed to escape, only to once again become a slave one again.
One couldn't help but wonder if all these events were already predestined by the whims of some bored god.
Though for Sunny, he didn't have to wonder, he knew for a fact that every event in his life was predestined.
Why?
Because he had memories of another version of himself.
A Sunless who lived on the same planet as he did, but where the nightmare spell and corruption weren't a thing, and where he lived happily with his family.
And on that earth, a webnovel author had written a book named 'Shadow Slave'.
About the journey of an outskirts boy named Sunless and how he struggled after being affected by the nightmare spell.
Sound familiar?
At first, when he had somehow received these memories, Sunny didn't want to believe that they were true, but as time passed and the events of the last parts of the Forsaken Shore played out.
Slowly all of his doubts washed away as Sunny scrambled to find a way to prevent himself from becoming a slave and Nephis from being left behind.
Which was easier said than done, as the literal concept of fate was against him. Preventing him from changing anything.
And much like in the novel Sunny still became a slave after Nephis spoke his true name.
But..
"I won" Sunny laughed with elation as he lay back on the bed present in the ruined cathedral, which he loved dearly.
His plan had worked, well, half of it worked; he had prevented Changing Star from ordering him to leave through the crimson spire, instead using [Connected], Sunny had altered their connection of master and slave.
Even if for a second.
A second in which he had knocked her out and had thrown her like a sack of potatoes through the gateway, essentially changing, Changing Star's fate.
And making sure that she didn't have to struggle for two years alone inside the dream world, slowly losing her mind.
While doing so leaving himself all alone stranded on the forgotten shore...
'Yeah now that I think about it, it really wasn't a good'
That thought made Sunny rub his forehead, one week had passed since that day on the crimson spire.
In that one week's time, Sunny had slowly come to realise that maybe he wasn't the greatest decision maker.
Though he didn't regret his choice, he still felt a little.. sad? Lonely?
He couldn't quite put a finger on his emotions but the treacherous shadow did know one thing.
"My soul was finally recovered"
After 1 week of resting, the damage received from the artificial sun had finally recovered, even if not fully, but to a point where it wouldn't affect him.
Meaning that he wouldn't have to worry about anything internal, as he fought nightmare creatures and tried to escape from this forgotten hellscape.
Getting up from the soft bed Sunny yawned, scratching the back of his head. And looked around the dark room which was perfectly visible to him.
There lay the box in which he had previously kept soul shards, now filled with monster meat, which he had prepared beforehand.
Knowing that even if his plan worked his soul and body would be heavily damaged, making him incapable of fighting.
So, Sunny had done preparations making sure he didn't just starve to death. In case he could hunt nightmare creatures.
As for worrying about the meat going bad, that problem would solve itself after the artificial sun was destroyed.
Lowering the temperature of the forgotten shore and making it so that food didn't go bad too quickly.
Though the lowering of temperature created another problem.
The cold.
That could cause hypothermia if one didn't have constant heat to warm themselves.
For Nephis in the novel, this wasn't that big of a problem as her flames could solve the issue in a second, but for the black haired boy, this was one of his greatest obstacles.
That could mean survival or death, and while planning for his eventual stay on the forgotten shore this was the problem that had stumped him the most.
But eventually, a solution presented itself in the form of a memory he had bought.
---
Name: [Land of cold]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: IV.
Memory Type: Charm.
Memory Description: [...And when the sun disappeared, they shivered and faced the never-ending cold.]
Memory Enchantments: [Bitter Cold.]
Enchantment Description: [This charm provides the wearer with low to moderate resistance to cold.]
--
At first, Sunny had thought it wouldn't be that useful, and wanted to give it to Saint, because while it provided protection against the cold, it was only moderate resistance that would help much.
But getting the memories, he remembered one of the enchantments present on the Mantle of the Underworld.
---
[Underworld Armament]
Enchantment Description: This armour can accommodate a Charm Memory to inherit and enhance its enchantments.
---
Meaning after Sunny, with the help of Soul Serpent, which he got as a reward from his aspect legacy, Channelled shadow essence into the Mantle of the Underworld, it would be usable once again.
Attaching the [Land of Cold] enchantment to it, making the low to moderate resistance to cold into moderate to high resistance to cold, solving all of his issues.
Searching in his soul sea for the Mantle, Sunny summoned it directly, making the onyx armour appear in front of him in a broken state.
Crouching down and putting both his palms against the armour Sunny started to channel the little shadow essence Soul Serpent had collected into the onyx armour.
He had been doing this for the last 7 days, slowly feeding the Mantle of the Underworld, the collected essence to repair it, and finally, after all those sessions of feeding it shadow essence, Sunny's handwork bore fruit.
As the once broken armour started to mend and regain its lustre, slowly the cracks on its surface disappeared.
The onyx armour assumed its true form.
Sunny couldn't help but grin with childlike glee, seeing that his work wasn't in vain, and now he could survive against that damnable cold.
---
Name: Mantle of the Underworld.
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: VI.
Memory Type: Armour
Memory Description: [Vowing to never look upon the Goddess of the Black Skies again, the prideful demon retreated into the darkness beneath an unassailable mountain chain.
He wasn't the first to lead his army against the gods. However, he was the first to shed their blood, as well as learn the secrets of his own.]
Memory Enchantments: [Living Stone], [Feather of Truth], [Stalwart], [Underworld Armament], [Prince of the Underworld], [Soulbound Relic].
[Living Stone]
Enchantment Description: "This armour can repair itself while being worn."
[Feather of Truth]
Enchantment Description: "The weight of this armour can be changed at will."
[Stalwart]
Enchantment Description: "This armour provides extremely high protection against physical attacks, high protection against elemental attacks, and a moderate amount of protection against mind and soul attacks."
[Underworld Armament]
Enchantment Description: "This armour can accommodate a Charm Memory to inherit and enhance its enchantments."
[Prince of the Underworld]
Enchantment Description: "This armour grows stronger according to the amount of opponents its wielder defeats."
Vanquished Foes: [1213/6000].
---
Still grinning, lost from light dawned the living armament and Land of cold, stepping outside the ruined cathedral, gazing at the dark city and the many monsters that hide, survival, the soul attack from the artificial sun.
---
Shadow Fragments: [726/2000]
Master: Changing Star.
Soul Fragments: [2773/3000]
---
"It's about time I caught up", said the treacherous shadow, jumping down from the ruined cathedral and towards the nightmare creature.
---
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Thank you.