Strolling across the Nightmare Desert, Sunny hummed a quiet, serene tune. The melody, light as the shifting sands, drifted across the vast expanse until it faded into the blackness of the horizon. Leaving the Inner-Dream of Imagination, he found himself back in his natural domain, drawn once more to the desert.
The Shadow God's Realm still dominated it after all. It had been summoned during the battle against Entropy, and it remained in full glory, drowning the desert with an absolute authority. As a Spirit attuned to his own domain, Sunny felt no strain; his essence reserves flowed without limit, vast and endlessly sustained.
His essence felt like an endless ocean, feeding him with constant abundance. Any Cursed-Titan daring to challenge this Sacred-Titan within such a domain would be crushed beneath an overwhelming disparity, their chances reduced to something pitiful.
Drawing a breath, Sunny examined his runes. Several changes were immediately apparent, the result of his Shell being restructured and nearly perfected by Nether. The alteration was far more than mere refinement; it carried a presence that spoke of something far more complete than before.
Attributes: [Fated], [Star of Divinity], [Spirit of Shadows], [Mythril Shell], [Echo of the Stars], [Blood Weave], [Bone Weave], [Soul Weave], [Flesh Weave], [Mind Weave], [Spirit Weave], [Curse], [Silver-Sky Weave], [Dreamwalker], [Pure Soul], [Ravenous], [Vessel of Nothing], [Vessel of Darkness], [Vessel of Light], [The Shadow], [Blessing of Peace], [Blessing of Destruction], [Blessing of Truth], [Blessing of Desire], [Regressor <1863rd Turn> (???)], [???]
Attribute: [Mythril Shell].
Attribute Description: [In the deep darkness of the underworld, the Demon of Destiny once forged seven suits of splendid armor for those he deemed worthy of his regard. The intricate shells were both a boon and a test, as only those worthy could unlock their true potential and bear their weight. And now, after meeting the one known as Lost from Light, it has been personally altered and amplified beyond the others. It holds more than purpose, and endures as such.]
Attribute Traits: [Living Stone], [Feather of Truth], [Godforged Stalwart], [Underworld Armament], [Mantle and Shell], [Bound], [Blessing of Choice].
[Living Stone]: [This armor rapidly repairs itself while being worn. Its restoration extends through all protective layers upon the bearer, reinforcing them in tandem.]
[Feather of Truth]: [The weight of this armor may be altered at will, from the burden that bends even gods to the lightness of a drifting feather. ] (
[Godforged Stalwart]: [You possess the resilience of a Demon and are fully immune to mind and soul attacks.]
[Underworld Armament]: [This armor can accommodate a Charm Memory. Its enchantments are enhanced in accordance with the divinity of the bearer.]
[Mantle and Shell]: [This armor exists as an extension of your body and may fully manifest as a complete armament. It grants constant protection, hardening beyond its former limits when met with force. When invoked, all enchantments are elevated, revealing greater strength in accordance with its form.]
[Bound]: [This armor's Rank and Class are equal to your own.]
[Blessing of Choice]: [The Demon of Destiny has blessed you. Having gained a friend beyond life and death, he has altered your nature through his hands, a Divine Smith and Divine Weaver. Are you a blade or a shield? A defender or an attacker? This path is your choice, a choice granted by the Demon of Choice.]
The modifications were, indeed, profound. Sunny had tested each one, revealing its full function with clarity. The results were immediate:
[Living Stone] was no longer simple restoration. It now resonated throughout his entire body, intertwining with his flesh and synchronizing with [Flesh Weave], accelerating recovery across every layer. The liquid darkness within him responded in kind, moving in tandem with the enhancement.
[Feather of Truth] displayed a broader spectrum of control. With a body shaped by divinity, the manipulation of weight followed his will with greater precision, allowing him to effortlessly shift between crushing force and light, drifting motion. His nature had long since transcended humanity, sculpted instead by Daemon's weave, divine lineage, and his accumulated blessings.
Of course, this simplicity wouldn't last once he concluded this Nightmare. Upon returning from this Nightmare, he would once again be a Dormant-Beast, yet the foundation of his spirit would remain intact.
[Godforged Stalwart] had been completely remade. Its resilience now stood equal to a Saint's, and when aligned with his Star of Divinity, it surpassed even that, reinforcing both mind and soul with overwhelming intensity.
[Underworld Armament] pushed its limits further. The enhancement granted to charms reached an unreasonable level, elevating their effects to a degree that could very well bypass the Charm rank's fixed limitations.
[Mantle and Shell] now existed as a unified trait. What had once been separate traits had been woven together, their purposes layered into a single, cohesive whole. The concept had, in fact, existed in Sunny's mind before, yet Nether had anticipated him.
[Bound] remained unchanged. However, even after completing the Nightmare, the Shell would retain its Ascended Rank, Seventh Tier, regardless of his own lowered Class and Rank.
Sunny's body would endure it.
And finally—
[Blessing of Choice] was perhaps the most important trait of all; It was Nether's blessing. A fragment of a Daemon's power, its power transcended ordinary enchantments, its influence woven directly into his very nature.
It allowed him to effortlessly shift between offense and defense. When he attacked, his body directed everything into raw power, sharpening each motion with overwhelming force. When he defended, that same energy reinforced him, allowing him to withstand impacts that would have torn him apart before.
The transition occurred instinctively, guided by his actions rather than conscious intent. During his trials against a Great-Devil, the shift followed his movements without delay, adapting in perfect alignment.
A potent boon, refined to a dangerous degree.
And yet…
That was far from everything Sunny had begun to uncover.
—-
Throughout this odious Nightmare, Sunny had accumulated an astonishing array of boons. Indeed, he was an anomalous existence in this world, or any other for that matter.
He possessed the Blessings of two Gods and three Daemons. While only the Blessing of Choice was directly applicable in combat scenarios, both the Blessing of Truth and the Blessing of Desire were more suited for utility or mental applications, rather than offensive or defensive engagement.
The [Blessing of Truth] appeared to shield him from all forms of madness. Although certain manifestations of 'madness' might categorize as Mental Attacks, effectively negated by his newly refined Shell, other types of mental disorientation persisted. Madness, in its myriad forms, was a pervasive threat, and not everyone possessed the fortitude to resist every permutation.
Ariel's Blessing, however, rendered Sunny impervious to any truths Ariel himself was cognizant of. Thus, unless Sunny encountered some entirely novel, heretofore unseen entity within the Dream Realm, the insidious tendrils of madness would never seize him.
Furthermore, [Blessing of Truth] bestowed upon Sunny an ability reminiscent to the late Kai's flaw. This knowledge, of course, derived solely from his reading the typically vague descriptions that all Blessing's had. Yet, this singular aspect of the blessing would prove formidable after the conclusion of this Nightmare.
The ability to discern truth from falsehood alone was astonishing. Even so, it was a Daemon's Blessing; consequently, its true depths extended far beyond a mere discernment.
The most dreadful facet of this Blessing was its power to perceive the 'truth.' More precisely, it revealed unuttered secret details an Awakened human of Nightmare Creature meticulously kept hidden.
This constituted the true boon, simply because this ability empowered him to decipher the runes of a Nightmare Creature. Upon his return, he could also comprehend the runes of an Awakened, provided their rank approximated his own. Consequently, once relegated to the status of a Dreamer, he would be unable to read a Saint's runes, though he would readily interpret those of a Master.
Regardless, this Blessing of Truth stood as a formidable endowment.
Compared to its profound efficacy, the [Blessing of Desire] might have seemed insignificant, yet it was anything but. This blessing guaranteed that Sunny's desires could neither be lost nor manipulated. And 'desire,' naturally, encompassed one's very thoughts.
Even an Supreme as dreadful as the Dreamspawn, Asterion, would find himself utterly incapable of manipulating Sunny's thoughts. Every single one of Asterion's abilities would prove futile against Sunny. However, Sunny remained almost certain that [Blessing of Truth] also possessed safeguards against that odious Dreamspawn.
Beyond this, [Blessing of Desire] was also capable of spreading a peculiar form of infection, if one could label it as such. Much like Hope herself, anyone who met Sunny's gaze would feel their spirits uplifted. Their fears and despair might dissipate under the luminance of Sunny's Desire. Or even… crumble.
Should Sunny so choose, he possessed the frightening ability to drive others to madness with Desire, much as the Chain Lords of the Kingdom of Hope had once succumbed.
Sunny, however, cherished the [Blessing of Desire] primarily because, without it, completing this Nightmare would have been a near impossibility. Had it not been for Hope, Sunny's spirit would already have fragmented, and he would've died soon after.
Or, a hollowing of his very being. To Sunny, the latter prospect was far more terrifying than the former.
Yet, even these two Blessings could not rival the offensive capabilities of the Blessings bestowed by Surya and Izanami, the Shadow God and Sun God, respectively.
Moreover, the qualitative distinction between a God's Blessing and a Daemon's Blessing was not heaven and earth, but rather a significant differential. Daemon Blessings, including Nether's, necessitated an observer; they were primarily internal augmentations.
Conversely, the Blessings of Surya and Izanami possessed the power to exert tangible effects upon the world itself.
The simpler of the two was Surya's. His Blessing embodied destruction. This particular endowment, unlike the other four — those of Nether, Hope, Ariel, and Izanami — possessed but a single, potent effect.
Almost akin to a Memory or Augmentation, this singular effect magnified its potency immeasurably.
Its function, for want of a more precise descriptor, was to manifest 'Destruction'.
Destruction, after all, signified the act of so severely damaging something that it was rendered irreparable.
If Sunny were to describe it, Surya's blessing was not an amplification of power, but rather an augmentation of outcome. It amplified the damage inflicted by Sunny's attacks. A mere cut on one's cheek could transmute into the complete obliteration of their entire facial structure. The initial incision would propagate, expanding relentlessly until it erupted with the unbridled force of Destruction.
Sunny had used this ability against Entropy, mirroring his use of Izanami's Blessing. Yet, it took him multiple battles against the remaining Cursed Nightmare Creatures of this Nightmare to fully comprehend and appreciate its horrific potential.
Surya, much like his divine siblings, was undeniably a terrifying God. Sunny could easily envision its application as a Sleeper. Utilizing Surya's blessing would enable him to swiftly overcome the Awakened abominations infesting the Forgotten Shores. If a minor laceration could turn into a catastrophic rupture, what devastation could a mighty strike, augmented by shadows or perhaps an ascended or transcendent weapon, unleash?
Furthermore, if he were to wield a Bow and Arrows, his projectiles would be imbued with such dread that they could be likened to fully realized bursts of destructive energy.
[Blessing of Destruction] truly fulfilled its name. It simply wrought destruction, and nothing less.
But Izanami's [Blessing of Peace], in Sunny's head, remained the most unique.
For Sunny, it was almost akin to embodying the Shadow Realm itself. Not in the sense that all shadows would congregate there upon demise, but rather in what transpired thereafter.
What became of Shadows when the Shadow Realm claimed them? They transformed into torrents of essence.
And [Blessing of Peace] accomplished precisely that, or something analogous. Instead, it possessed the capacity to 'purify.'
Anything Sunny's shadows enveloped or pierced caused essence to flood out. Thus, this not only drained a subject's essence like a vampire, but also progressively made them feeble.
Furthermore, under normal conditions, Sunny would have been prevented from utilizing Soul Essence. That constraint, however, had been nullified. Possessing [Silver Weave], a creation of an Outer God — specifically, the Original Sunless of the 0th Turn — he could now freely access and employ Soul Essence.
The Soul Essence expelled from an Awakened Human or Nightmare Creature could be assimilated by himself. Within his Soul Sea now raged a storm of raw essence.
This essence did not augment his Shadow Fragments; therefore, upon his return, he would not accrue increased strength or forge new cores by absorbing Soul Essence. His pace of class progression would remain unaltered.
However, the sheer volume of essence he could accumulate and then unleash, either as a singular, devastating attack or a volley of potent assaults, was truly harrowing. In stark contrast to his Shadow Essence, which facilitated his innate growth, his Soul Essence functioned solely as a weapon, deployable at his discretion.
Naturally, in the event of an exhaustion of Shadow Essence, he possessed the recourse of replenishing himself with Soul Essence. The sole distinction would be his temporary inability to use any Shadow-based abilities. Yet, he now commanded Nothingness, True Darkness, and Light as well.
Considering all factors, the probability of Sunny ever again facing an essence deficit would be negligible once he dedicated time to hunting Nightmare Creatures and storing their essence within his Soul.
And on the Forgotten Shores, that would constitute his singular objective: the relentless extermination of Awakened creatures with his newfound abilities to amass as many Soul Shards as possible, and equally, to collect an abundance of Shadow Fragments. He remained uncertain if he could transport his shadows across the Labyrinth of Worldlines, thus precluding any gratuitous Shadow Cores upon his return.
Regardless, he would embark on the hunt. He needed to amplify his power; more crucially, he needed to forge his own memories once he was back. The Siege of the Crimson Spire — assuming its occurrence, given how Weaver's Mask and the call of Divinity had irrevocably altered the original 0th round's events — would proceed with far greater efficiency if more Sleepers possessed custom memories.
Moreover, elevating Saint to that of an Ascended would be paramount. And following that, if feasible, Sunny intended to weave enough memories to propel her toward Transcendent, or at the very least, commence her progression toward it.
Finally, the second usage of the [Blessing of Peace] remained unknown, yet its affect was quite noticeable once Sunny dispatched a Cursed Nightmare Creature.
This particular aspect was Sunny's personal favorite. To state it plainly, being a Blessing from the Shadow God, and Sunny himself being a Shadow, it appeared as an additional, albeit unintended, beneficence. It was something imperceptible within the runes, simply because its presence was not intended.
As a Divine Shadow, with Shadow God's blood in his veins, his connection to the shadows was inherently deepened, as he was now one not only in corporeal form and spiritual essence but also in lineage.
And a Blessing, in the context of all he had acquired within this Nightmare, represented a fragmented emanation of the gods themselves. They were a mere fragment or a defining trait of their overwhelming power.
And so…
Each time Sunny dispatched and purified a being, all that remained, naturally, were their shadows. Yet, empowered by this blessing and his divine lineage, Sunny discovered he now possessed the ability to absorb those very shadows.
Not merely their fragments, but instead, if not comprehensively, then a far greater proportion of the shadow itself. The singular detriment to this process was that consuming them in this manner expunged them from his Soul Sea.
More simply, Sunny could devour the shadows harvested from Nightmare Creatures before their transmutation into Shades. This allowed him to accrue a greater quantity of Shadow Fragments at the expense of acquiring their shades. This action had to be executed instantaneously with the moment of demise, without a second's delay.
This Blessing, however, was one Sunny particularly favored due to the accelerated rate of Shadow Fragment acquisition, though the increase was not absurd. Realistically, his progression rate would not even double. Nevertheless, it would be augmented. Creating new cores upon his eventual return would be a significantly streamlined undertaking.
If Sunny were to make a prediction, then, considering he was merely a Beast in his own world, he could quite plausibly ascend to the status of a Devil or Tyrant if he embarked upon a relentless extermination before the Siege of the Crimson Spire.
Ultimately, these four Blessings were all equally harrowing and resplendent in their own rights. Each was akin to wielding an Aspect Ability in itself.
Yet, none of them — not a single one — could compare to what Sunny had received simply by assuming his designated role.
For if these Blessings were boons acquired from Gods and Daemons, then the inherent attributes he possessed merely by entering this nightmare could unequivocally be termed the Blessings of an Outer God.
For [Echo of the Stars] was, in itself, an unreasonable attribute. Sunny had attempted to look at its weave, only to conclude its utter futility. Why?
The explanation was quite straightforward. [Echo of the Stars], if Sunny were to surmise — as he harbored no intention of invoking his 0th Round, primarily because that existence was uncallable due to the fact that, having reached the existence of an Outer-God, that Sunless's present state transcended both the Divine and the Unholy.
And secondly, the ability was quite literally capable of directly connecting with the Nightmare Spell. He had invoked Izanami, Surya, and even his past conceptual self. To be honest, there was likely no damned existence that [Echo of the Stars] could not summon forth.
It was these two factors that led Sunny to the inescapable conclusion that the Original Sunless of the 0th Turn must have Weaved it upon his apotheosis to an Outer-God. The only conceivable idea for its function was if that Outer God managed not only to perceive the Nightmare Spell but to physically reach it.
Much more, he must have manipulated it in some profound manner.
Indeed, if Sunny's belief held true, then that Sunless must have succeeded in altering, appropriating, or replicating a foundational strand of the Nightmare Spell's weave, thereby forging an intricate nexus between the two. For [Echo of the Stars] could not conceivably invoke the souls residing within the Nightmare Spell without an intrinsic weave of that very Spell interwoven into its nexus.
The mere contemplation of this feat sent a profound shiver through Sunny's godly form and spirit. Each time he pondered the incomprehensible achievements of his originating self, they seemed impossibly vast and utterly surreal. Truly, that 0th round defied all logical reason.
The established facts were simply too overwhelming. The Original Sunless had not only endured the initial cataclysmic clash with Entropy but had also furnished the current Sunny with the very means to obliterate it from the Nightmare Spell upon the latter's demise.
That singular Sunless had then persevered in absolute solitude for thousands of years, eventually achieving Apotheosis through his own relentless efforts and becoming a Spirit. Later, through some unfathomable process, that iteration of Sunny must have either discovered the inherent pathway to genuine Divinity or challenged the Sixth Nightmare upon the Moon, thereby transcending to Divine.
And even after these monumental feats, that utterly mad man did not cease his endeavors. No, he pressed onward, and at some time, either before or after challenging the Seventh Nightmare, he reached the Nightmare Spell itself, either replicating or extracting a foundational weave from its intricate tapestry.
That Sunless had the opportunity to dismantle the Nightmare Spell entirely. Yet, Sunny could comprehend the rationale for why he did not.
…That Sunless was utterly alone. His entire world lay annihilated and barren. What, then, would have been the ultimate justification?
There would have been no rationale whatsoever. And so, he refrained. But neither did he leave the Nightmare Spell undisturbed. Through the creation of [Echo of the Stars], that God Weaved a way to pilfer power from the Nightmare Spell, a capability he then bestowed to this Sunny, the challenger of this '???' Nightmare.
Sunny remained uncertain of the precise method, but somehow, that Sunless had ascended to the status of an Outer God. From that point, the scope of that individual's subsequent inventions or pursuits became utterly inscrutable.
Regardless, the cascading consequences of that God's actions culminated in the present Sunny's existence here. It led to his own world, external to this Nightmare, being granted the opportunity not merely to persist, but for Sunny to reclaim his fragmented memories and journey back to his world, thereby affording himself a chance at its salvation.
Sunny smiled. Words simply failed to convey the profound gratitude he felt towards his progenitor. Even in his erstwhile state of despair and desolation, that man had elected to become a spirit, thence a god, ensuring that if not his own world, then at the very least, another would receive a precious chance at redemption.
He meticulously curated this Nightmare, Weaved three impossible attributes that by no conceivable measure should exist, and then challenged the Forgotten God.
And now, finally, [Silver Weave], the attribute empowering Sunny to channel, employ, expel, and store Soul Essence, revealed a momentous truth: although the Original had definitely not triumphed in his confrontation with the God of Corruption, he had assuredly inflicted a grievous wound upon that malevolent being.
Attribute: [Silver Weave].
Attribute Description: [An Unknown Spell, imbued with the essence of both Silver and Shadow. You possess the ability to channel both Soul Essence and Shadow Essence level. You are an embodiment of the confluence, capable of channeling both in abundance and repose.
Standing before the Void, the Outer God proclaimed that one day, another would arrive to fell the -unknown-. ["Hear me, all ye who slumber in chaos: Your reign is finite; a new shadow will rise to sever your endless dream. Even as I fail today, know that my actions will bring your end."] So it was. The -unknown- took his message to heart, and was wounded.]
The proof was enshrined within the attribute description, etched into existence by the Nightmare Spell itself. It was beyond question and doubt.
The Original Sunless was, without reservation, the most impressive being, standing in peerless equivalence with the seven Gods and Daemons. Though he refrained from the act of creation, he nonetheless attained the identical state of existence shared by the Gods.
And for Sunny personally, he had definitively resolved the constraint of being confined solely to Shadow Essence.
In summary, Sunny now possessed the Blessings of three Daemons, two Gods, and three Attributes deriving from an Outer God. Naturally, the third attribute was, of course, [Regressor].
Yet, despite Sunny's diligent attempts at comprehending it, the nature of regression remained an impossible paradox to scrutinize, much less to fully grasp. For with each regression, he traversed outside the Labyrinth of Worldlines, entering a realm — whether its existence was material or conceptual, he was unsure — where he invariably found himself recommencing at the identical point in time within that accursed desert, confronting Entropy.
And that very Attribute, [Regressor], was also the progenitor of the world — not this Nightmare — where he and his companions now dwelled. Where they were all, once again, ensnared upon the Forgotten Shores.
A solitary attribute had spawned the very genesis of an entire world, and Sunny himself had been transported to that nascent reality. After all, his initial appraisal had declared his achievement of the impossible, reaching his destined conclusion. Both of these phenomena were accounted for by the Spell long before his First Nightmare.
However, having experientially assimilated and comprehended all of these details, there remained one crucial element Sunny could not help but realize he lacked.
From the fragmented memories he could retrieve, the Original had encountered Hope, the Daemon of Desire; Ariel, the Daemon of Dread; Abaddon, The Lord of the Abyss; and most conspicuously, Weaver, the Daemon of Fate.
But also…
He had encountered, and consequently created [Silver Weave] in partnership with, Nokstella, Storm God, The Black Skies. Sunny had glimpsed the creation of [Silver Weave] prior to this Nightmare; consequently, now endowed with the memories of his Supreme self, he recognized that the Realm in which it was forged was indubitably the True Black Skies.
Having been brought into existence within the vacuous expanse of space, Sunny could speculate that the Outer God's unleashed power knew no bounds. Apart from that, it remained the solitary realm capable of harboring countless Stars, a distinctive property Sunny had come to discern. And so…
If Sunny aspired to achieve mastery over his [Silver Weave] — for truly, he was not even adept at its raw power, having wantonly discharged bursts of Soul Essence during his battle against the profaned God — should he not then seek out Nokstella?
These considerations rendered the idea logical. There was, furthermore, the salient fact that Nokstella had lent her aid in the culminating confrontation, bolstering Sunny's Flame of Desire. At the time, he had been oblivious to her motivations; however, if the Storm God was somehow aware of his identity, and if, in some inkling, the original iteration of the two of them had previously met, then her actions made sense.
The Outer God had met with the Storm God personally. She was the only god he chose to find within the Nightmare Spell, and not any other.
Sunny lingered for a moment, then drew a breath.
Following his instincts, if he wished to master the applications of his own Weave, then his only path forward was to head to the Black Skies before his confrontation with Repose.
After all, that was the point of all these experiments. He had been warned by more than one Daemon that he would encounter trouble with Repose. And so, being faced with a Divine Beast at the minimum, Sunny wanted to prepare as much as possible.
Having mastered his own affinities, the only things left to master — or at least become adept at — were Soul Essence control and his own Divine Miracles.
Though the latter was such a vast topic and challenge that he wasn't even sure if he could become mediocre at it, even if he attempted it for a thousand extra years.
But alas, Nokstella was a God, and thus she knew how to use Divine Miracles.
And so, that was his path.
Nightgarden was also in the Storm Sea, so really, both his next two goals were in the same realm.
It seemed that the Storm Sea would prove to be fruitful…
And yet the most harrowing Realm he had visited yet.
In the next moment, Sunny conjured two massive black wings and took off. He had the ability to simply open a Dream Gate from one point in the Dream Realm to another, as he was a Spirit, and thus a lesser god.
But, why leave the numerous Great Nightmare Creatures roaming about alive?
There were also bound to be a Cursed Being or two he could find on the way there.
Gritting his teeth, Sunny smiled.
And so, before he completely left, he finally managed to unsummon Shadow God's Realm. It was something he had been attempting for the numerous days he spent in the Desert while weaving and experimenting with Sacred Soul Shards.
Being faced with a Divine Beast, he naturally wanted to be able to summon Shadow God's Realm at will.
In this way, when Nightgarden eventually invoked its harrowing Will, Sunny would be able to at least drag it to a domain where he held the advantage. Even if its Will was more tyrannical than his, imposing one's Will while the world itself was fighting against you would be difficult.
And since a Divine Beast couldn't compare to the most harrowing Unholy Titan, it wouldn't be able to overwhelm Shadow God's Realm…
And in connection, Shadow God's body.
That was the only advantage Sunny could currently think of in the possible coming battle.
His pupils narrowed into two vertical slits of pure darkness.
'Just one Divine Beast… what is there to fear?'
A muffled, mad laugh suddenly escaped from his lips.
Then, he dove down, his black wings cutting through the air, and disappeared into the darkness of the desert below.
—
Having traveled for mere days, Sunny had crossed the Dream Realm and reached it.
This beautiful world of storms, winds, and stars.
A vast expanse of rolling water glistened under the starlit sky. Black clouds flowed like tattered banners, torn apart by violent winds. Colossal waves rose and fell, each taller than a fortress wall. Countless bolts of lightning flashed, branching as they struck the restless surface of the water.
In the distance, he could already see Nightgarden, though of course, he made damn sure not to attempt entering the Inner Dream of Repose.
Not yet, at least.
Once Sunny thought about it, after this meeting with Nokstella — though he wasn't sure if he even could meet her — the path to ending this Nightmare would speed up considerably.
Repose held the key to changing the nature of his stories.
And Oblivion... though it took him a while to decipher what Ariel meant by that one word, he would have to visit her to obtain a way to travel through the Labyrinth of Worldlines while being completely forgotten.
For you see, even if his fables could change and travel across the Labyrinth and reach his world, a story could not exist if there was not one to tell it.
And in that Etheric Sea, that Labyrinth, he would be the only one who could.
…Except he couldn't, since he wouldn't have a mouth, much less a spirit or soul.
Aside from that, Sunny wanted one more thing from Oblivion. Though, he would ask that when he got there.
And lastly, Weaver. It was obvious that he would need Weaver's help in re-weaving his own attribute, [Regressor], into its original purpose. So far, [Regressor] had only been resetting him to a certain point in time within this Nightmare. Now, Sunny needed it to regress him the same way it did the Original.
Since the Original had already done so, and gotten him to regress — here Sunny was now, challenging this Nightmare — all he needed to do was replicate this and complete the process so he retained everything he'd achieved here.
And so, he would need to re-weave Regressor to ensure it allowed him to stay in the Etheric Sea and not fade away. Instead of resetting him back to the point of battling Entropy in this Nightmare, it would reset him to his real world.
And thus, the Nightmare would forcefully conclude itself, as to avoid errors.
Sunny drew in a breath.
Stopping for a moment, he looked around. There was nothing but the sea and the beautiful starlit sky. He had flown away from Nightgarden and traveled far until he was completely alone.
But more importantly, completely and utterly lost.
Slowly, he lowered himself to the sea, before finally sinking into the water. His black hair floated about, and soon enough, Sunny was deeper in the Storm Sea.
…
…
And yet…
He sensed nothing.
He attempted to use [Dreamwalker], but use it where?
Each of the Daemons had a specific point where he could feel the thread of their dreams strongest. But now, he was trying to find a God.
This was Storm God's Realm, and thus also her body. And yet, he sensed nothing.
Or rather, perhaps, there was too much to sense. But even that was impossible. He was more than capable of encompassing his senses across an entire Realm, as he'd already pulled out Shadow God's, and could summon it at will.
So where could she be...?
"Nokstella, God of the Depths."
...
A profound silence persisted. Nothing, not even the merest tremor, responded to his call of her name.
Within a mere few minutes, Sunny began to absentmindedly scratch his head, a gesture of growing nervousness and confusion. Truly, he harbored no desire to confront Repose without first achieving proficiency in the application of his Soul Essence. After all, the deployment of devastating attacks would be immeasurably simpler if he possessed the aptitude to wield his Silver Weave effectively.
At this rate, however, such a development appeared increasingly improbable.
"Storm God...?"
Perhaps his 'True Voice' was simply insufficient?
Or rather, as a Spirit, he lacked the ability to use it appropriately?
For a considerable duration of time, Sunny drifted through the Storm Sea's Depths, a profound sense of bewilderment his sole companion.
'Well. If Storm God isn't going to respond. The best I can do is head back and weave my new memory.'
Sunny summoned the shadows, coercing them into a ripple that propelled him upward. In mere moments, he surfaced above the tumultuous Sea.
—
Somewhere within a boundless expanse of vacuous darkness, an God began to perceive.
No, its eyes were already open. They had been open for a long while now. And yet, simultaneously, they were not.
For it was naught but a dream.
And yet…
Why? Why could she perceive something calling out to her across the infinite void?
Rising languidly from the turbulent waters, she slowly elevated her head and gazed into the boundless abyss, where countless stars burned with an ethereal light. It was a resplendent Silver Light, illuminating the inherent vacuum of space.
This Inner-Dream was...
It was a dream echoing the True Realm. This Dream was an envisioning of the Black Skies, an infinite, silent expanse of profound darkness.
Nokstella's eyes opened fully, a flicker of muted confusion and dawning wonder reflected within them as she peered outward.
["...Have you come Again?"]
There was no discernible response. And yet, Nokstella felt an almost irrefutable conviction that something had indeed called out to her.
She sighed, a sound that resonated deeply within the silent void, and recommenced her languid drift through the water. All she could do for the moment was to await, to discern if, perhaps…
That voice would once again pierce the silence. She could not comprehend why she found it unrecognisable.
Somewhere... in some other time. She had heard that voice before.
It was the voice that had addressed her as 'Nokstella,' a name she had not heard pronounced in untold years.
["'Demon of Possibility'? Is it you that calls out to me?"]
—
Having conjured a floating tableau of Darkness and Shadows, Sunny assumed a cross-legged position, his gaze fixed upon the weave before him.
Throughout his tenure in this Nightmare, he had relentlessly pursued and vanquished a myriad of Cursed Abominations. His primary goal was to accumulate the maximum possible quantity of Sacred Soul Shards. This pursuit was driven by two distinct reasons.
The first was readily apparent: to possess a reserve of special Sacred Memories in the event of encountering an abomination beyond his immediate power. After all, he possessed no foreknowledge whether Entropy was the sole Unholy being traversing this Nightmare. So having such a set of memories would significantly augment his prospects of confronting an Unholy-Beast or Monster.
The second reason, however, was considerably more intricate.
On the path to Nether's Dream, Sunny had been contemplating methods for reconstituting his personal Shadowbound Relic, [Curse]. Now having four affinities, certain nexus points on the Shadowbound Relic proved nearly useless.
Primarily, the enchantments [Absence of Light] and [Shadow Flame] needed a reevaluation.
[Absence of Light] necessitated an exhaustive overhaul. Now that Sunny wielded both True Darkness and Light, the potential for empowerment across virtually any area had immensely increased. Sunny currently possessed the ability to summon a manifestation of True Darkness at will; however, as a Spirit devoid of specific runes to read these abilities, he remained unable to ascertain whether this was an Awakened or an Ascended ability.
Nevertheless, [Absence of Light] was destined to become a important element upon his return to the Forgotten Shores. Should his belief prove accurate — that his ability to invoke True Darkness was an Awakened one — he would be able to deploy it with haste. Natural Awakening, for him, would be a far more easier process than it would for any other individual.
[Shadow Flame], on the other hand, had become excessively simplistic. The existence of [Soul Flame] supported this fact. Now that he possessed [Soul Flame], and it was very clear that it's application would be the same as a Dormant Ability, he would be capable of enhancing his legion when the opportune moment arose. Consequently, allocating a nexus to [Shadow Flame] when an alternative enchantment could be woven in its stead struck him as redundant.
He held [Soul Flame], and thus, a singular reservoir of potent flame. This consideration did not even account for his seven Shadows. In essence, beyond the capacity for self-augmentation, he could effortlessly empower his legion.
Therefore, he now harbored a wish to weave an entirely new enchantment for [Curse]. The question remained: what, precisely?
[Chain] would eventually undergo revisions. He had no choice but to alter it with the comprehensive knowledge gained from the Daemons. Specifically, he would have to incorporate 'Oblivion' from the Demon of Oblivion and 'Restriction' from the Demon of Repose.
Thus, apart from the two nexus points requiring modifications, he entertained several concepts for another entirely new enchantment.
Drawing inspiration from the late Nephis's [Blessing], a similitude to [Flame Conduit] could prove exceedingly beneficial, considering Sunny now possessed [Soul Flame] for himself. Though, undeniably, he lacked [The Fire], and consequently, his innate affinity for flame was significantly weaker. He used [Soul Flame] for the augmentation of himself and his shadows, rather than for the tangible production of actual flames.
But this did not imply his incapacity to unleash fire. Far from it. Indeed, he had executed such feats during his experimental skirmishes against Great abominations. Unfortunately, having meticulously tested his affinity for Fire, he concluded that replicating [Flame Conduit] would be an inefficient.. The same could be said for [Purifying Light], as he had lost [Longing], the very essence that rendered Nephis's flames so potently corrosive against corruption. Even as he embodied both the Divine and the Profane, he was not a direct or quintessential weapon against either.
And truly, the remaining enchantments embedded within [Blessing] were simply not comparable with the value of a Nexus.
He was, therefore, left to his own ingenuity. He had to devise a completely new enchantment himself. It invariably needed to be something he could not simply achieve through his existing affinities, or any synergistic combination thereof. After all, he possessed four distinct affinities, rendering the possibilities for what he could yield from his First and Second Aspects functionally inexhaustible.
Furthermore, he existed in a perpetual state of combating Corruption. One could even say that he was perpetually Corrupted. Until the day of his eventual death, if that day ever came, Sunny would forever maintain one foot submerged in the abyssal pool of the void.
He was a Spirit, yet a tainted one.
And so, he reached a conclusion.
The next enchantment he would fabricate upon the seventh Nexus of [Curse] would be the capacity to accrue strength as the Corruption and Flame within him waged their internecine war.
It was an unique proposition, indeed, but for Sunny, it possessed an undeniable logic.
He had gazed into his own Soul and perceived its inherent shape. His Flame of Desire blazed with an unrelenting intensity, perpetually striving against the encroaching Darkness of Corruption. In reciprocal fashion, the Darkness of Corruption sought to subsume that Flame, to extinguish its brilliance, simultaneously deepening its own tenebrous depths. It was a perpetual confrontation. A vicious cycle, an eternal recurrence of Purity and Corruption.
Though, ultimately, the intrinsic darkness within him was finite and limited unless he invoked his Second Aspect. So, Sunny faced no immediate threat of succumbing to mental fragmentation when confronted with Corruption, at least so long as he utilized only his innate powers, that being of his First Aspect.
He was not, however, inclined to abruptly cease the utilization of his Second Aspect upon reverting to a Sleeper. He was aware of how its dynamics would function once he returned.
As a Sacred, he experienced no discernible mental erosion unless engaged in a truly long battle. He was a Spirit, merely one rank below that of a Divine. His inherent resistance to Corruption was substantial; it appeared that possessing multiple affinities served only to further augment this resilience.
As a Dormant-Beast, however, he surmised that within a mere minute, at most, his faculties would entirely dissipate. It was solely owing to [Pure Soul] that he knew he would not degenerate into an animalistic state should he ever lose control. And it was also due to that same attribute that he understood he could indeed retrieve himself from such a descent.
He also possessed the Blessing of Desire. And so, even when Corrupted, he would never relinquish sight of his primary objective. He would merely lose the distinction between those he considered allies and those he identified as adversaries. Truly, it was an odious Aspect to possess if one valued the concept of camaraderie.
It was a power intrinsically fashioned for solitude. For an existence truly alone.
Therefore, if he was precluded from crafting an enchantment to resist the inexorable Call of Corruption — for that was simply an impossibility, even for him — then he would Weave an enchantment that magnified his power predicated upon his intrinsic Flame of Desire and the encompassing Pool of Void.
Weaving the functionality for such an enchantment and imprinting it upon a Nexus, however, would ordinarily be deemed an impossible feat. Throughout the entirety of the Dream Realm, creations capable of genuinely harnessing one's Flame of Desire were exceedingly rare, if they even existed at all.
However…
Sunny possessed the capacity to perform Divine Miracles. Though, it was not a feat that could be compared with an God like Surya, who inscribed the fates of the chain lords upon knives, yet the mere ability to manifest a Divine Miracle was undeniably impressive.
And that represented his sole pathway forward, as the utilization of the Flame of Desire and the insidious infection of Corruption would be nothing short of a true miracle. This was an undertaking that Weaving alone could not accomplish.
But alas, he commenced.
'This… this is going to hurt.'
That was a gross understatement.
What Sunny was about to attempt was the forceful extraction of his Shadowbound Relic from the very depths of his Soul.
Sunny extended his shadow-woven hands towards his chest, where the seven rings of [Curse] resided, and plunged them into the depths of his being.
A sudden, jarring sensation caused his eyes to widen involuntarily.
"Come on… damned thing…!"
He had to meticulously extract all seven rings and disentangle the bound Relic without causing irreparable damage.
The process felt akin to having his very Soul torn asunder, yet within mere moments, he completed the arduous task.
The Spell's voice resonated in his awareness: [The Relic has been unbinded]
Sunny swayed, dropping to one knee, catching himself with a hand. He gazed at the seven liberated rings in his other, ethereal hand.
He chuckled, a dry, faint sound. It had been, he conceded, far simpler than his initial alarm had suggested.
But now…
Sunny's focus shifted to the Sacred Soul Shards he had carefully preserved within his Soul Sea.
More significantly, his attention turned to the Seven Divine Soul Shards he had mysteriously 'found' in his Soul Sea following the battle against Entropy.
Sunny entertained only two plausible theories as to their origin, as he certainly had not collected them himself.
One suggested the Nightmare Spell had somehow gratuitously transferred them. But Sunny was not that naive. The Nightmare Spell, while under its peculiar rubric of 'fairness,' would never extend such an unearned gift.
Therefore, the only remaining possibility was…
Abaddon was the one responsibility. That particular Nephilim must have executed this transfer prior to Sunny's demise and subsequent regression. He truly owed that man a debt of gratitude.
For, the endeavor he was on the cusp of undertaking would have been utterly impossible without the full complement of Seven. The intricate manipulation of the Flame of Desire, with the insidious nature of Corruption, could only be described as an act of the divine.
And so, divine intervention was precisely what he required.
Extracting all seven from his soul, each upheld by a manifesting shadow-hand, he contemplated their all-encompassing luminosity. They pulsed with the effulgence of miniature suns.
He necessitated all seven for the singular reason that if he attempted to dedicate a single Divine Soul Shard to a nexus, the remaining six would inevitably collapse under the sheer burden. And so, each of his seven nexus points demanded a Divine Soul Shard.
And truly, it would suffice. After all, Seven Divine Soul Shards had collectively transmuted into Seven Suns within the Tomb of Ariel. There were few feats one could not accomplish with a Divine Soul Shard at their disposal.
A faint pang of regret accompanied the thought, considering Sunny possessed seven of them. He would have gladly used them for other purposes, yet he was quite certain he would be unable to transform objects into a Fable using them.
After his meeting with Repose, he intended to transmute his attributes, Memories, and even his Aspect into a Fable. However, Divine Soul Shards were not memories.
And thus, they would prove incapable of traversing the Etheric Sea. He had to exhaust every Soul Shard he obtained within this Nightmare, strictly within the Nightmare itself.
He had already woven a Sacred Memory of the Seventh Tier for his battle with the Nightgarden. Yet, a few Sacred Soul Shards still remained. These, however, were earmarked for another experimental project. He still had to deliberate on what he would craft for Cassie, as he desired for her to possess a Shadowbound Relic as well.
But alas, no time remained for hesitation. Sunny drew a deep breath—
And commenced. He began to manifest his will with the authority of a deity.
To meticulously describe his actions would be utterly futile. While Sunny had begun alterations to his two existing enchantments, the Divine Miracle he was now performing was… indescribable.
Divine Miracles were, in essence, the Sorcery of the Deities. They represented the conjurations of the Daemons and Gods. In simpler terms, they were an imposition of their will upon the world, scaled to such a magnitude that it manifested into reality.
Sunny was replicating this very process, albeit on a diminished scale. This capability was solely attributable to his newly acquired comprehension of Divine Miracles, gleaned from sharing Izanami's and Surya's Fables.
For… if the knives wielded by the chain lords held a blinding radiance instead of an inherent Weave, then Sunny's Seven Nexus points now contained a limitless shadow within.
Though a Weave still existed, it was utterly obscured by the unfathomable shadow that constituted Sunny's Divine Miracle. As this was no longer a mere Weave, Sunny's Shadowbound Relic, [Curse], transcended the conventional limits of what Memories could achieve.
That established rule was utterly abolished. Extinguished. For this was no longer a mere memory, but a genuine miracle.
It was a phenomenon that the entirety of humanity would never fathom. But mercifully, Sunny was presently a god, not a mere human.
The process extended beyond a single day. In truth, it consumed seven full days, an entire week elapsed as Sunny strove to ensoul his Divine Miracle within the Memory.
But at its end…
Having expended nearly all of his Essence — a feat in itself, considering he was currently a Sacred —Sunny drifted languidly upon the Storm Sea's waters.
In his uplifted hand, seven rings glinted. However, these rings were now as profoundly black as the night sky itself, with countless minuscule stars intricately engraved within their surfaces.
His rings had undergone a transformation of appearance. No, they had fundamentally altered their very nature.
They were no longer mere memories.
Because on this day, within this Nightmare—
Sunny had conceived his first Miracle.
[Bind the Miracle?]
Sunny smiled with glee.
"Of course."
The Spell's voice resonated sweetly in his mind, as if sharing in his profound achievement:
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
[You have received an Attribute!]
The very next moment…
Sunny succumbed to slumber.
Having utterly depleted his essence, sapped his stamina, and exhausted his will to remain conscious, he promptly collapsed backward onto the Sea, drifting serenely. Although such an action would typically be ill-advised, Sunny had already ascertained the absence of any lurking threats.
It appeared Entropy's will had swept across the Storm Sea as well, swiftly eradicating any abomination. This was truly harrowing, considering the cataclysmic confrontation with that Profaned God had transpired within the Nightmare Desert.
Yet…
While unconscious, adrift upon the water, Sunny dreamt.
He dreamt of an infinite, vacuous darkness, utterly devoid of life. He spiraled into a dream that held only the lethal emanations of cosmic radiation and the invisible blossoms of gravitational fields.
He slumbered, continuing his descent into a dream of boundless void, where countless stars burned with an exquisite silver light.
He dreamt the dream of the Black Skies.
He dreamt the dream of Nokstella.
[The Attribute 'Dreamwalker' has activated.]
—
After a considerable duration, Sunny slowly began to recuperate a fraction of his essence.
However—
The first sensation he registered was an encompassing darkness. He was still floating upon the Storm Sea, yet the very essence of the place felt fundamentally altered.
"Gods…. where have I ended up?"
Slowly, Sunny rose and stood upon the water's surface. The horizon was as limitless as before, yet Sunny perceived a distinct transformation.
It took him only a moment to realize he was dreaming. It took him but another to comprehend he was utilizing 'Dreamwalker.'
Before he could articulate further, an overwhelmingly dulcet voice, yet simultaneously charged with indomitable authority, emanated from behind him.
["So you were the one who called out to me. But… you are not him?"]
Sunny's entire soul trembled. He felt an oppressive sensation, as if an entire mountain had descended upon his being.
The presence behind him transcended that of the Daemons by a vast margin. It felt like a raging, relentless tide, perpetually threatening to engulf him.
It was—
He swiveled, uttering, his True Voice quivering with both profound delight and an undercurrent of nervousness.
"S-Storm God… Nokstella."
Turning, he observed Nokstella's striking appearance. She possessed the bearing of a goddess. An exceedingly exquisite and captivating young woman, with a beautiful yet disconcertingly pallid visage. Her hair, dark and exceptionally long, floated and curled as if utterly weightless. Her eyes were multicolored, yet oddly washed out, as though the empty expanse of vacuous darkness had leached away her very vitality.
Sunny's breath hitched. He recalled her from the fragmented impression in his own dream.
Nokstella scrutinized Sunny for a moment, seemingly discerning something he could not perceive. Then, she spoke in a placid voice.
["Though… you seem to know my name. Tell me, are you that 'one' or not?"]
Sunny immediately grasped her question.
'She thinks I'm the same Sunless who visited her before…'
And, admittedly, he was, yet simultaneously, he was not. That Sunless had transcended to the status of an Outer God. The established strictures of virtually all existence simply ceased to apply to that individual.
So, even if that Sunless had regressed and transmuted into the current one, who could definitively state that his original existence had truly ceased?
His sole question to her, however, was—
"Yes, I am that 'one.' Although, I don't quite recall meeting you before. This is the first time for me."
["...I see."]
Following this exchange, a brief silence settled. It seemed the Storm God harbored little else to say.
Sunny's mind, however, was currently reeling.
'Why did I only reach her dream now?!'
He had attempted this very feat earlier but had been unsuccessful. He surmised that invoking, and subsequently entering, the dream of a God was an immeasurably more arduous undertaking compared to that of a Daemon. And it seemed his hypothesis had been correct.
Though, he genuinely wished he had accessed Nokstella's Dream… after a more complete recovery. Truly, performing a Divine Miracle was no trivial achievement. Even as a Spirit, it had consumed practically all his energy. His entire will had been poured into seven precise points—the seven rings of [Curse]. While he had substantially altered two of the seven enchantments, each and every enchantment appeared to have, somehow, altered… itself.
This phenomenon had to be attributed to his possession of multiple affinities, as well as the crucial fact that Divine Soul Shards had been used in their alteration.
But now, Sunny was truly speechless. How was he to initiate a dialogue he was entirely unprepared for?!
Nokstella had completely ambushed him. Moreover, he was far from fully recovered, and his thoughts remained a chaotic maelstrom.
His internal turmoil must have been legible on his face, for a moment later, Nokstella stood directly before him, her gaze penetrating his eyes.
Sunny shuddered but refrained from recoiling. She was a God; resistance was, quite simply, pointless.
Nokstella observed him for a moment before surprising him with her next inquiry.
["Your here to understand the Miracle given to you by 'him'?"]
"Ah—"
'Is she reading my mind as well?!'
Sunny could not ascertain whether Nokstella possessed this ability, yet she remained an undeniably terrifying individual. Even when compared with the Daemons, Sunny had never felt such a profound sense of… trepidation.
"I… am. But, how did you know that—"
Before Sunny could complete his sentence, Nokstella's finger came to rest gently upon his temple.
The next moment, Sunny's entire soul convulsed as something coursed into him.
It was…
An overwhelming, relentless torrent of Essence.
"Argh—!"
Sunny stumbled backward, splashing the dream's water as he clutched his temple. The Storm God regarded him with an inscrutable expression.
["For a Spirit, I find it surprising that you are completely exhausted. That won't do, for what you want to accomplish."]
She then turned away, her gaze seemingly fixed upon the distant Stars.
Sunny shook his head vigorously, then looked up at her.
Still, he found himself without words.
"I… uh…"
Nokstella turned back, her exquisite face captivating his entire focus. Once again, his concentration faltered.
'Sunny! Focus!'
Sunny slapped his own face, finally regaining his composure.
"Nokstella. I have need of—"
Nokstella interrupted him with a subtly sinister smile.
["—of my Calamity?"]
Sunny froze.
'Crap.'
Nokstella observed him for a moment longer, then released a soft sigh.
["Then…? What? Are you waiting for my permission. I brought you here, did I not?"]
"What…?"
Nokstella made a dismissing gesture with her hand.
["Do as you please, Lost from Light."]
Sunny was utterly dumbfounded.
"You aren't going to…"
He cut himself off, fearing he might jinx the situation. However, Nokstella spoke again.
["Stop you? For what? You already have the means to use my Starlight. All you are missing is the understanding."]
["It is natural. After all, you are not that one. I never did expect to see your wonderful face again. But, as I have said, do as you please. I have no desires to stop what you wish to do. In the end, we have the same goal."]
Sunny tilted his head inquisitively.
"And that would be…?"
Nokstella regarded him with profound tranquility, then spoke, ["You are here to find a means to return to your beginning. As you are here in front of me, again, you must have succeeded. And yet, you do not remember me."]
["In the end, everything you do here will alter your conclusion. You wish to face the…"]
Nokstella's gaze drifted, as if contemplating an abstruse concept for a fleeting moment. She stopped her speech before uttering the Forgotten God's Name, lest she instantaneously corrupt Sunny.
Even given Sunny's perpetually Corrupted state, merely hearing the appellation of the Forgotten God, and by direct extension, the God of Corruption, would prove utterly detrimental.
Corrupted or not, it would shatter his mind.
["...The God of Corruption. Having reached your conclusion, you now desire a different outcome. I am the same."] ["I want you to find another way. And so, I hold nothing against you."]
["And thus, we both want the same thing."]
Sunny was momentarily unable to formulate a response.
He possessed a general awareness of this situation. The Gods, after all, had sealed away their sibling, who had succumbed to the Void and subsequently become the source of all corruption.
Yet, to hear this truth directly from the Storm God's own lips was… a vastly different experience.
She spoke once more.
["I need not teach you how to channel 'Disaster.' You are already capable of doing so. All you need do is manipulate my essence within this Dream. In time, you will come to master that Miracle, created by 'him.'"]
At that, Nokstella ceased speaking entirely. She turned away once more, resuming her silent contemplation of the Stars, leaving Sunny to his own devices.
Sunny found himself unable to avert his gaze from her back. Her form remained breathtaking, perpetually drawing his attention. He could not discern whether this was due to her inherent beauty or her divine status. Regardless, he assumed the latter.
And yet…
'Lonely. Why do you look so lonely.'
Nokstella emanated a pervasive sensation that impelled Sunny towards this conclusion. The Storm God was utterly isolated, as, he assumed, were all the other Gods within their respective dreams.
After all, each of the Daemons also existed in their own forms of solitude, albeit in distinct ways. Apart from Mirage, who could conjure any world she desired within her Dream, now fully restored by a thousand worlds through Sunny's intervention.
Hope, who dreamt of the Kingdom of Hope, possessed countless individuals with whom she could converse at will. Although, these entities were not 'real' in the same manner a Nightmare's inhabitants were unreal.
And finally, Nether, who had ingeniously re-created a Stone Saint after profoundly re-sculpting Sunny's own Mythril Shell.
Yet… in this dream, there was nothing but an endless sea.
The Black Skies swayed in utter solitude. She was a god, and thus she was her entire realm. Her Dream encompassed nothing beyond herself. While the Daemons dreamt of creations they had built or phenomena of profound significance, the Gods must have dreamt solely of their own realms.
Having neglected those who once inhabited their realms, their memories of them were scant. They were…
Unable to dream of anything else while inextricably bound within the confines of the Nightmare Spell.
It was presumably for this precise reason that Nokstella possessed the uncanny ability to distinguish between the current Sunless of the 1863rd Conceptual Round and the Original Sunless of the True 0th Round.
He was her only visitor.
And thus, the only face she could still recall.
Sunny turned away, channeling [Silver Weave] as the surrounding essence of the dream began to coil around his arms. Both the Darkness and the Starlight obeyed his will, precisely as they had during his confrontation with the Profaned God.
He offered a bitter, self-deprecating smile as he cast a glance at Nokstella's retreating figure. She seemed to briefly glance back, her expression impassive.
Sure, he had cursed both the Gods and Daemons at some point in time. And yet—
"...What a terrible existence."
He couldn't help but feel bad for Nokstella.