An ebony ketch was drifting on the surface of the water. From afar it looked like just any normal vessel made out of a pitch-black material, but in reality it was something otherworldly. A construction of different kinds of shadows, some with the consistency of wood, others of metal. It seemed like a black hole in the middle of the sea that formed from nothing. The only thing that someone who saw the boat for the first time could be sure of was that its creator was eccentric, to say the least. Perhaps he might have had a poetic soul as well, because on the side of it were embodied a few runes that could be translated into "Shadow Ketch." Such a poetic name, after all.
It was a peculiar sight, some might say, a Vantablack point in the monotonous scenery of the river. If someone would have been dropped there, wherever he looked there would be water, in front of him and behind him. The vast expanse of blue was truly sickening; the only thing that wasn't static and repetitive was the seven suns that illuminated this strange place, and those were the focus of the man who was the sole passenger of the ketch.
...
Sunny was lying on his back, looking at the soul cores of the dead titan whose remains were used by Ariel to build this tomb, where the endless river of time was flowing from future to past. He knew the accursed creation of the demon of Dread well; after all, it wasn't his first time here. He had already braved these waters full of dangers once during his third nightmare. It was a hazardous journey that he was forced to endure due to the chain of nightmares back in Antarctica. He fought against demigods and creatures that no awakened should face, while he himself was just ascended. A death wish for normal people, but to Sunny that was nothing but ordinary; it was mundane everyday crap at this point. Anyway, the journey was a deep blow for his psyche, and the scars that were left on his mind remain to this day. Such challenges would be impossible to surpass on his own, but fortunately he wasn't alone back then; his cohort was with him, his closest friends, and Mordret—such a hideous existence. This time, however, he didn't have anyone by his side, as he had a score to settle with a certain bird who stole his fate from him.
It was a strange situation Sunny had ended up in. It was the first time in a long time where all his incarnations were in one place, and his mind was focused on just one point of view instead of being scattered across multiple lives. The outside world was crumbling, the need to become sacred was imminent, and the threat of the Dreamspawn could arrive anytime, but right now it was a rare occasion where Sunny was alone with his thoughts, and in his head was a turmoil.
"I wonder if this will work out in the end..."
thought Sunny as he sighed. In the meantime, he was analyzing his next steps. Everyone in the world forgot about him 7 years ago when he lost his true name and was erased from the world—7 long years since he and Cassie had done the impossible: broken fate. He was wary of how the events would unfold.
"What will Nephis think...
...How should I talk with her
Hey Neph, you see, a certain cursed terror stole my identity, and everyone forgot about me, and I killed him... That's why you suddenly remembered
Who am I kidding? It sounds like trash."
His anxiety wasn't unreasonable; he loved her. He was more scared of the possibility of losing her than dying. He had already died once and survived it, but losing Nephis was something that would destroy him completely. He had known her for almost half of his life, even though the thought of making her his master once more and stripping himself of free will didn't have a nice ring to it. He knew he had to do it, as Effie said to him during their time in Mirage City, that marriage wasn't so different from shadowbond, even though she didn't know the details.
These thoughts were already racing in his mind since he entered Ariel's tomb. He was scared of what would happen if people would come to remember him, as that would hasten the awakening of the Forgotten God. He and Nephis were far from ready before the last fight for humanity's survival. It was comical; just 13 years ago he only cared about his own survival in the outskirts, where each decision he took could be his last, a time when he was all alone and no one even had the pity to look him in the eyes as he was searching for food in dumpsters. That was life in the outskirts—the result of overpopulation in NQSC, where everyone fought for their survival with their teeth and nails, where friends were only companions till they were beneficial to oneself and later abandoned or betrayed. It was funny that today the lives of all of humanity were on the shoulders of a man that was once a scrawny kid who used to scavenge with rats for a piece of spoiled bread.
Sunny didn't know how much time he had already spent in the tomb; he didn't truly care, because the moment he got out would be the same one as when he got in. The tomb was like a spatial chamber where time flowed differently. He could spend years here, and yet in the outside world not even a few minutes would have passed. That's why he took it easy and rested till he could. It was a rare moment for him, quiet and peaceful. Occasionally nightmare creatures would try to disturb him, but by using his will, he was able to kill the majority of them. He had already shot down a few giant butterflies who were great monsters from the distance; the lessons Kai gave him in archery were useful after all. He spent many days like this, or even weeks, till this day. As he was lying on the front of the ketch, a black pitch point started to appear in the sky...