Day 1
It was rather simple. Aiko's worries were true. With the number of people they had right now, they would undoubtedly be wiped out—that was inevitable. Which was why all he had to do was find a way to take out a large number of nightmare creatures at once. He didn't have enough essence to launch a wave of shadows. Lifting up his tunic, he saw his liquid-golden stomach that he still had from Gunlaug's echo armor. Currently, he was sitting at the edge of the dark sea.
What he was doing was extremely dangerous—something that, with one wrong move, could end with him dead and even risk his death after what he needed to do was done. But that was fine with him.
Sunny jumped into the water, the golden liquid of his stomach opening up, waiting for something... anything... Slitting his own throat, he took the gills of an aquatic nightmare creature so he wouldn't have to worry about breathing.
His journey was to find something very specific—something that would not kill a great horde but rather gather them. And he wasn't going to capture it, no... that would risk humans also.
As true darkness overtook the sea, he saw a single dot of light. Using all his force, he swam toward it. He knew he saw it because he started to get thoughts of killing himself.
A nightmare creature that had a mind-based ability.
The light exploded, making the dark sea look like a normal ocean for a split second, with clear water. That second allowed him to see what the dot of light was attached to.
A gigantic nightmare creature that looked like a mix of udders and spikes—a grotesque creature that leaked foul liquid from every pore of its body. A disgusting monster whose face was human despite the rest of its enormous body being anything but.
And once he saw it, his mind broke.
Or that was what would have happened. He saw it reeling back as if surprised—his charge toward it didn't stop. Jets of liquid shot out of the udders toward him, all horribly acidic, burning his skin and causing his flesh to bubble and fester. Both of his arms turned into open wounds, the flesh completely gone. Shadows wrapped around his skinless arms before they stretched out, grabbing the antennae of the creature. Human-like shrieks came from its face—shrieks that sounded like thousands of humans—and its face changed rapidly. One of those faces he recognized as one of the hollows they were shown in class.
"So that's what you are... dirty face stealer."
Twisting the antennae, a shriek poured out once more. Sunny used it like a vine to swing toward the face and deliver a strike. It caused no reaction, but another jet of acid shot at him. He grit his teeth and sacrificed a leg—chunks of flesh went with it.
With his arm wrapped in shadow, he sent it toward his own face before ripping his left eye out. Without pause, he shot his hand out at the antennae—which was also the monster's true eye—before using his original aspect to plunge it.
His left eye now glowed a pure radiant light that could cause mind attacks if seen. Wrapping shadows around that side of his face, he watched as the creature drifted to the bottom of the ocean. With one swift wave of his arm, he sent a spike of shadow directly at its human faces, destroying them.
"Rest well... your nightmare is over."
---
Sunny climbed out of the ocean. The second he stepped out, flames shot at his arms and throat. Rather than jumping back, he let them hit and let those parts of himself heal.
Nephis, across from him, had a pissed-off look. Though he couldn't really blame her—after all, she had repeatedly tried to drill it into his head that she didn't want him willingly giving away parts of himself.
"And what do we have here?"
With a nervous smile, he slicked back his wet hair, allowing shadow to fully encase the area around his left eye. It looked like an opera mask of sorts, which added to his pale complexion.
"Well, you have your husband, don't you?"
He decided that it was time to get some payback—after all, he deserved a little reprieve from what she'd put him through. Sadly, though...
"Husband? You must have it confused... you're the wife."
He flinched back before sighing. He supposed there was no point in trying to go against her after all. Stretching his arms back, their eyes met.
For some reason, a wave of nostalgia came over him. He didn't know from where, and he didn't know why, but it came nonetheless.
The artificial sun was setting, the hues of yellow and gold hitting the water droplets on his skin. Droplets ran down his jaw, trailing to his chin before falling. Before he could talk, he felt a pressure on his lips—Nephis's thumb brushing away the moisture from them.
Despite the setting, it wasn't a romantic mood.
The look in her eyes was oh so sad.
---
Day 2
The final boss—it was unknown, but all they needed was a way to kill it. Once again, Sunny decided it was up to him. This plan was far, far, far more dangerous than the first one, too. Putting it in action, well...
Nephis grabbed his collar before a fist came charging at his face, rage twisting her expression. Sunny tried to get out of her grip, but every time he did, her long leg stretched to stomp on his foot, forcing her to close the distance again.
"You crazy bastard! I knew you were a mutt, but even I thought you had your limits!"
With a nervous smile, he dodged another blow. This time, he jumped back before her foot could land on his.
"I see you're quite angry... but don't worry—"
An arrow shot toward Sunny. It didn't hit him, but rather his tunic, pinning him against the wall. If he unsummoned the memory, he would be naked—and even he had shame! By the time he got the arrow out, a red-haired young man was approaching.
"I haven't known you for long... but even then, I consider you a friend."
Aiming his bow, Kai spoke.
"Which is why I cannot allow you to go through with that ludicrous plan."
Now he was dodging not only Nephis's fists but also arrows. Sadly for him, another contender joined the battle. A great black blade swung in front of Sunny, cutting off his path. On top of the creature that swung it was Cassie—the creature being the Cathedral Knight Echo. Her looking down at him with Weaver's Mask on was quite scary, in all honesty.
"I truly don't want to hurt you... but if you force our hand..."
Sunny sighed, raising his hands... before shadows shot out around the surroundings, just enough to throw them off guard. He rushed past the three of them but was met with a muscular leg swinging at him—Effie's leg.
Pauline walked out from the shadows the way he would imagine a villain would. Sadly, in this situation, she wasn't a villain but rather...
"You... you damn snitch!"
She was the one he had confided in about his grand plan for dealing with the final boss of the dark city. But she had gone and run her mouth for whatever reason.
"All of you, stop it."
Pauline's voice rang out, sadly for her...
Nobody listened.
The game of cat and mouse went on as Sunny tried to preserve his ability to walk. He could see Pauline's smile tremble as anger built up by the second.
That's why he slipped under Cassie once more and swooped Pauline up before racing off.
While she was being carried like a sack of potatoes by him, she spoke.
"A ludicrous plan indeed. To change your heart with one that belongs to a poisonous nightmare creature and then get partially eaten is truly only something a madman could come up with. It seems you aren't even trying to preserve your humanity anymore, are you, monster? Didn't you claim to be a hero or some bullshit like that?"
Sunny simply smiled carefreely, as if it were the simplest question in the world.
"If I became a monster, I wouldn't regret a thing. And if I became a hero, I would take no pride in the fact."
Sunny, from the very beginning, had no qualms about becoming a monster.