Cade steeled himself. He took a slow, measured breath and willed the Unholy Memory to materialize.
Would it work? He wasn't completely sure.
But something had definitely changed. He knew it— the Keystone had... shifted somehow, after he formed his Monster Core.
On top of that, there was the fact that the Spell had... glitched.
Cade didn't know what else to call it. The Spell had tried to proclaim something but it was almost as if it had been choked out of words.
Shroudkeeper had no idea as to what the hell any of that meant. No idea how to find out, either.
Once the agonizing process had been completed, he hadn't noticed anything different about himself or his Abyssal Void. No strange sensations. No second Abyssal Core lurking in the depths of his Void.
Nothing.
He had searched. Scoured the Abyssal Void within himself. But the second Core was nowhere to be found.
Cade did recall seeing something especially weird. A living reflection of himself which had vanished almost immediately. But he'd been reeling from the harrowing pain back then. So, he didn't know whether he'd actually seen it or just imagined it.
There was only one significant and concrete difference. It was the Keystone.
The runes that had once been dull and lifeless were now radiant— glowing with an eerie, unnatural light. Just like the rest of his Memories.
And what did that mean?
No clue whatsoever...
Still, there was only one way to find out. And so, Cade focused.
He had never been able to summon the Arcane Keystone before— not as an Aspirant, not as a Sleeper. But now? Now, he had a feeling. Something deep in his gut told him that this time would be different.
As he reached for the Memory, willing it into existence as he had done in case of other Memories countless times before—
The world vanished.
A thick, suffocating darkness swallowed everything. Not mere shadow, not the absence of light— but something deeper. True Darkness; it was impenetrable, it was absolute.
For a breathless moment, Cade thought that he had been forcibly pulled into his Abyssal Void again, just like when he had completed the fragment counter.
But he quickly realized that that was not the case. He could feel the ground beneath him, the chill of the Echo's icy scales pressing against his back.
No. He was still here.
Cade looked around, his senses sharp, his mind racing. Was this just an illusion? A trick of his own exhaustion? Or was the Darkness truly there?
A moment passed. Then, another.
The answer became clear quickly enough. This was real.
The Echo's unease behind him was almost palpable. The great serpent, though bound to Maya, was wary of this True Darkness. Its coils tensed, the mist trailing from its maw came slow and measured— as if it, too, was waiting to see what would happen next.
Cade held his breath, his mind racing.
The hell is this...? he thought, glancing around.
However, the black abyss didn't last long.
As Cade observed the unnatural void enveloping him, he felt something shift once again. The abyssal Darkness around him was not merely shrouding his surroundings— no, it was responding to him.
So, without fully understanding why, as if following some deep-seated instinct— Cade raised a hand, palm up.
The Darkness rippled. And then, it moved.
It curled inward, thick tendrils of tangible black mist slithering through the air, coalescing toward him. The suffocating void shrunk, condensed, compressed— until at last, it gathered in his waiting hand.
The air settled and light returned to the world, illuminating his surroundings.
Cade calmed down and focused his gaze on the hand he'd held out.
Where once there had been only suffocating blackness, there was now something else.
It was a crystal.
A large, pitch-black shard rested in Cade's outstretched palm. The obsidian crystal had seven sides in total— each one smooth and gleaming. The unblemished surface of the crystal caught the surrounding light and swallowed it whole. It was deep and dark, like a black amethyst drenched in the abyss.
Cade stared at the Keystone, his breath catching in his throat. Slowly, almost reverently, he brought it closer to his eyes.
Not a single splinter marred its spotless black surface. No cracks, no imperfections— just pure, gleaming obsidian, smooth as glass yet solid as stone. It looked almost liquid, as though it could melt and reform at any moment.
And yet, as Cade continued to observe the crystal, he noticed that something about it was off.
As he turned the Keystone in his fingers, the shadows of distant, unseen shapes shimmered across its unnaturally smooth surface. Then— Cade's eyes narrowed.
There. One of the seven sides of the impeccable crystal was different from the rest. It was... less alive. Less special than the rest somehow. Cade could feel it. Even though the entirety of the crystal was abyssal black, that particular side looked out of place— as if it didn't belong there.
It was an anomaly. An imperfection. Cade frowned. Why?
The crystal was flawless. Perfect. But this one thing— this tiny, insignificant feeling of wrongness about that one surface— somehow felt wrong. It had no place on something so pristine, so... whole.
Cade ran one of his fingers over the wrong surface, expecting to feel unevenness, but the crystal remained perfectly smooth. The anomalous side wasn't something physically unwelcome. No, it was more like something connected to it had been snuffed out. Something that the other six sides still had.
He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. Maybe he was overthinking this. He was completely exhausted, after all.
Pushing aside the unease creeping into his mind, Cade rotated the crystal in front of his face, watching how it swallowed the dim light, how it pulsed with something ancient and unknowable.
It was... breathtaking.
Damn...
If he ever decided to sell this thing— an actual Unholy, or rather Divine Memory— he'd probably have enough money to last himself an entire lifetime.
Not that he was going to do any such thing, of course.
Because this wasn't just some priceless artifact. This crystal— whatever it truly was— could very well be the anchor between this world and the one he had left behind.
And if that was indeed the case… Who knew what would happen if he lost it? Or worse— if it was destroyed?
Cade tightened his grip slightly, taking care not to test the thing's endurance. This wasn't something he could afford to gamble with.
But still... as much as the Keystone radiated importance, there didn't seem to be anything immediately special about it. Yes, it was beautiful— unimaginably so— but he had no use for shiny, beautiful things.
He needed more than just an exquisite trinket. He wanted to know what it could do.
He quickly summoned his runes, and checked the ones representing the Arcane Keystone:
Memory: [Arcane Keystone.]
Memory Rank: Unholy.
Memory Type: -unknown-
Memory Description: [-not available-].
The runes were the same. But now, instead of being dim and lifeless, they burned with a brighter glow.
Weird. Cade frowned, turning the black crystal in his hand. I can summon it now, at least… I guess that's something.
He still had no idea what the Keystone was supposed to do. But he'd have time to unravel its mysteries later. For now, he dismissed the runes and willed the Memory to vanish as well— only to pause.
Something else had just caught his attention.
Maya.
Her fingers twitched slightly. Then, her eyelids fluttered weakly. A moment later, she let out a weak, rasping cough and slowly tried pushing herself upright, groaning.
"Ugh…"
Maya's eyes flickered open, her gaze unfocused at first as she struggled to take in her surroundings. She let out a quiet groan, her body shifting slightly before she coughed again and fully pushed herself into a sitting position.
Cade exhaled in relief, tension draining from his shoulders.
The icy girl blinked at him sluggishly, still disoriented. Then, as her gaze locked with his, she froze for a brief moment before managing a tired smile.
"I'm guessing we lived through that nightmare?" she asked. "Please don't tell me we're in a different world right now..."
Cade let out a breathless chuckle, his smile brighter than he realized.
Thank the Gods…
"Yeah, we lived," he said, voice light with relief. "And the one who attacked us is right over there. Dead as a doornail. And guess what? I even managed to deal the killing blow."
Maya's expression shifted, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten as her eyes widened in surprise.
"You did? Really? How?"
Cade shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. "It was already dying when the Dark Sea retreated at dawn. I just walked over and poked a hole in its eye right before it kicked the bucket. And the Spell decided to give me credit for the kill."
Maya blinked at him. "...You poked it?"
"Well, stabbed," he admitted. "But 'poked' makes it sound funnier."
She stared at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then, finally, she let out a breathy chuckle, shaking her head.
"... Unbelievable," she murmured, rubbing her temples.
Cade smirked, leaning back against the frozen scales of the Echo.
"Hey, ridiculous or not, we're alive, aren't we?!"
Maya exhaled, her tired smile lingering. "Yeah… we are."
She remained silent for a while, lost in thought. Finally, she continued, "... And judging by how giddy you are, I'm guessing you got a Memory out of it? The kill, I mean."
Cade's grin widened, nearly splitting his face.
"I did! And not just any Memory— a weapon! That bastard was a Corrupted Tyrant, which means the weapon is a Corrupted one of the Fifth Tier!"
Maya let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head in disbelief as she stared at the ground.
"Gods... we really are a crazy bunch, huh?"
"Can't deny that!" Cade said, entirely too pleased with himself.
Maya huffed, but amusement glinted in her tired eyes. Then, her gaze drifted to his hand. Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Anyway, what's that you're holding?" she asked. "Is that the weapon? Doesn't look like one..."
Cade glanced back at his hand. He was still holding the Keystone. He'd forgotten to dismiss it, distracted by the moment Maya had stirred awake.
"No, uh... this is the Keystone," he replied. "You know— the Arcane Keystone? I remember you telling me you had one too."
"Oh," Maya said, "I see."
Her gaze settled on the crystal, studying it.
Huh...? Cade thought, confused.
Her reaction was... underwhelming. Cade hadn't expected her to freak out at the sight of it, but he'd thought she'd show some sort of surprise. Instead, her expression remained neutral, almost indifferent.
It was strange. If anything, she seemed far more awestruck by the fact that he had received a Corrupted weapon than by the fact that he was holding a mysterious Unholy Memory in his hand.
"Uh, Maya? You good?" Cade asked, watching her closely.
She tore her gaze away from the Keystone, blinking as if shaking off a daze.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just tired is all." She exhaled softly, then gestured toward the crystal in his hand. "Anyway, why have you summoned it? The Keystone, I mean..."
Now, it was Cade's turn to stare.
Is she just pretending to be unfazed? No...
That wasn't it. There was no forced nonchalance in her voice, no attempt to mask awe or curiosity. If anything, she seemed genuinely confused as to why he was holding the Keystone.
A sudden realization hit him.
Come to think of it… I never actually asked if she could summon hers.
He had just assumed it was the same for both of them.
Don't tell me—
A strange unease settled over him. He hesitated for a moment, then, in a quieter tone, asked, "Maya… can you summon your Keystone? Into the material world, I mean?"
Maya frowned at his question. "Uh... yeah? It's a Memory. Of course, I can summon it."
Cade's breath caught at her admission. He stared at her, stunned, but she didn't seem to notice his reaction. Instead, she continued, "But I don't summon it often. I don't know what it does exactly, and every time I bring it out, it causes a snowstorm."
Cade's eyes widened. What?
Without a second thought, he dismissed his own Keystone. This time, it didn't drown the world in abyssal darkness— it simply dissolved into black mist, vanishing like any of his other Memories.
But his mind was racing.
He lunged forward, gripping Maya's shoulders, urgency bleeding into his voice. "How long have you been able to do this? Were you able to summon it in your First Nightmare? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Maya grimaced, her body swaying slightly. Only then did Cade remember— she was barely holding herself upright.
Guilt flashed through him. He let go immediately, retreating a step as he mumbled, "Sorry..."
Maya rolled her shoulders, massaging her triceps before giving Cade a pointed look.
"Geez, dude. Chill out..."
She paused before continuing. "Anyway, yeah. I've been able to materialize it ever since I completed my First Nightmare and became a Sleeper. Couldn't do it as an Aspirant, though. Why are you so surprised, anyway? You couldn't summon yours?"
Cade shook his head. "No. The runes representing it were always dim and lifeless, even after I became a Sleeper. I couldn't summon it at all. But when I became a Monster… something changed. Something happened to me. The runes came to life, and for the first time, I was able to bring it into the world."
Maya studied him, the realization settling in.
"Well, that's… weird," she muttered. "Why couldn't you materialize it?"
Cade exhaled sharply, shaking his head.
"Beats me. A better question would be— why could you?"
Maya thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"I don't remember anything weird happening during or after my First Nightmare. The only strange thing so far was the transformation. Apart from that, I'm a perfectly normal Sleeper."
"Yeah, me too," Cade said, though doubt lingered in his voice. "But something is clearly different between us, though. Otherwise, why could you summon the Unholy Memory while I couldn't?"
Maya hummed, considering his words.
"That much is undeniable…" she said. "Maybe because you have an Unholy Aspect and I don't?"
Cade frowned. He somehow doubted that that was the reason. "Yeah, maybe..."
She shrugged. "But who cares, anyway? Trust me— take it from someone who has been able to summon it for weeks. It doesn't do anything. At first, I summoned it every other day, trying to figure it out, but I got tired of it pretty fast. It's just… useless."
Cade shot her a sidelong glance. "You do know that's bullshit, right?"
Maya smiled, almost sheepishly. Rubbing the back of her neck, she admitted, "Yeah, I know. It has to do something… and something big, considering its Rank."
She hesitated, then exhaled. "In any case, we can't sit around pondering over mythical Memories. That won't save us if another horror finds us. We're in the middle of nowhere— let's get back to the Bone Ridge before we attract something worse."
Cade reluctantly nodded. He had been waiting for Maya to wake up anyway. Now that she was conscious, she could command the Echo to move. The mystery of the Keystone could wait.
But there was something else gnawing at Cade's mind.
He had just slain a Corrupted Tyrant. That meant that there were five Transcendent soul shards buried somewhere deep within that enormous mound of flesh.
Soul shards were of no direct use to him or Maya, but still... leaving a prize of that magnitude rotting inside a corpse seemed too much of a waste.
But there were complications as well. None of his or Maya's weapons would be able to tear through the flesh of a Nightmare Creature of that Rank. That is, unless Cade chose to summon his new weapon, the Severance. But he was reluctant to summon it, especially in Maya's presence. Not to mention he didn't even know what kind of a weapon it was. For all he knew, it could be a bow. How was he supposed to dig through a mountain of flesh with a bow?
He looked in the direction where the leviathan's corpse had been, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Noticing his contemplative expression, Maya cleared her throat.
"What're you thinking about so deeply all of a sudden?" she asked.
"Nothing," Cade replied, turning to look at her. "It's just that... there are five Transcendent shards inside that thing over there."
Maya tilted her head to the side, her brows furrowing. "What do we care about soul shards? They're useless for us."
"Still..." Cade insisted. "We could perhaps give them to Nephis, or maybe even sell them when we get back to the Waking World. That, right there, is a small fortune in and of itself. You do remember that we literally came with nothing to this world, right?"
Maya waved a hand dismissively. "That's no problem. Sunny had nothing as well, remember? He survived, didn't he? Honestly, he did way better than just survive."
That much was indeed true. Still... five Transcendent shards...
"You think Sunny would've let them go?" he asked after a while.
Maya smirked. "Not a chance."
After a pause, she added, "But good thing we're not Sunny. That little guy is one greedy bastard. We are not. So, we're leaving. Got it?"
Cade remained silent for a while, but then relented. He couldn't cut through the leviathan's skin, anyway. Not unless the Severance was a blade. Besides, Transcendent shards were quite big and bulky and they didn't have anyway rucksacks to carry them at the moment.
Apart from that, Cade couldn't really ask Maya to stay and help him dissect an ancient abomination. She was beyond exhausted and he wasn't in too good of a shape himself.
It looked like he would have to give up on those shards for now. That stung a little more than he would've cared to admit.
Damn it...
He stood up and offered her a hand. Maya smiled and took it, pulling herself to her feet with a quiet groan. Cade helped her onto the massive serpent before climbing up himself. As they settled in, he asked, "By the way, what's this guy's name?"
Maya patted one of the creature's jagged spines. "Oh, this son of a bitch? He's called Vorrakis the Mawshade." She said the name slowly, exaggerating each syllable.
Cade chuckled. "Well, that's a mouthful."
"It is, isn't it?" Maya mused, glancing down at the Mawshade's eerie, ice-bound form. "Still, in the last twenty-four hours, he's both tried to kill us and saved our lives. So, I figure he lives up to his weird name."
Cade nodded. "Fair enough. Though, I gotta ask— why does he look like this now? Not that I'm complaining. I much prefer this to the blood-drenched nightmare he was before."
Maya tilted her head, thoughtful. "I don't really know… Maybe because he's not made of soul essence? Since we don't have souls, my Memories manifest out of frost— so maybe he does too? He even has an Attribute called [Veil of Ashes' Mark]."
"Yeah, that tracks," Cade said, nodding. Then, gripping one of the creature's spines, he glanced at her with a smirk. "Well? What're you waiting for? Bon voyage, Veil of Ashes."
Maya smirked back and gave the command. Vorrakis the Mawshade slithered forward, carrying them towards the Bone Ridge.
__________________________________________
I kinda messed up. This one was supposed to be published before the long break. It's the final chapter of that last arc, so...
Still, better late than never, I guess. My exam is finally over. And now, I am free to write. It'll take me a while to get back on track but I'll try for daily updates from now on. Can't make any promises, though.
Anyway, anyone who's back, welcome back! Hope you liked this one and I'll try my best to update daily from now on. I have the plot in mind and writing comes to me naturally. But editing 3000 word long chapters takes up a lot of time. Still, I'm sure I'll manage. Somehow.
Until next time, people!!