A young man got off the boat and stepped on solid ground for the first time in many days. He turned around to help a stunning young woman out of the boat
They made a few steps away from the boat before a skeleton called out to one of them
"Don't forget your promise!"
The young man turned around with a small grin and nodded
"I'm the most honest person in the world, two worlds actually!" Sunny turned back to where they were headed
Eurys laughed before rowing off the somewhere Sunny had no idea where, and didn't bother to ask
Sunny and Nephis walked side by side, and their shoulders brushed once in a awhile. Saint was standing behind them, since Sunny realised that Saint seemed more stronger in True Darkness
Since Sunny couldn't pierce through True Darkness, he relied on his other sense, not including shadow sense since there were no shadows to sense
They walked for awhile before Sunny noticed Saint stopping abruptly. Confused, Sunny turned around to look at Saint
She was standing, gazing through the darkness, she was looking left, seeming interested at something
Sunny looked at where she was looking, to only see darkness
'... What did I expect?' Sunny sighed in his mind before asking Saint
"Something there caught your fancy?" Sunny raised an eyebrow
Nephis tighten her hold on Sunny's hand, wait, when did she held his hand? Was she still holding after he helped her off the boat? How had he not realised this?
Saint didn't move a single inch, because she nodded that moved by mere centimetres. Sunny sighed and pulled on the hand Nephis was holding, signalling to her that they were checking it out
They walked for a bit, showing how far Saint could see. And soon, they found something
Absolutely nothing...
Nephis summoned an luminous Memory, she then used her Dormant ability to empower it
Finally they could see, however, very little, but it was good enough to see what Saint saw
A skeleton, however, this one was not alive because it seemed very dead, and not the talkative sorts
Sunny tilted his head before kneeling down the take a better look at the skeleton
And something changed, it was so imperceptible, so terrifying, so vast, so full of malice, so full of sorrow, so full of hope
Sunny felt, or rather, sensed, a foot on his back
Then a strange, hoarse voice spoke
"Identify yourselfs"
Sunny was afraid to speak to whoever the strange crea-wait, it was speaking human language? Was it perhaps a human? No. No human should ever be able to survive down here
But the pain of his Flaw tore at his mind, so he spoke with an even tone
"My name is Sunless. And could you get your foot off of my back? It would be easier for me to speak with you if you do"
Sunny sensed the foot coming off his back. He slowly stood up with his hand up in the air, he then turned around slowly to see who the mysterious thing was
The thing did not have any features, no particular thing to note, only the outlines of its body could be seen, including its hair. Guessing off it's build, it should be a young man
And he could also see the man holding Saint in a strangle hold, while keeping a sword near Nephis neck
Sunny felt furious at the sight, but he knew fighting whatever he was, would be a death sentence, and he was quite fond at living
Now it was Nephis turn to speak
"My name is Changing Star of the Immortal Flame Clan"
Suddenly, the sword in the strange man hands dropped to the floor. It, he stared at her before staggering backwards
"... I-Immortal Flame? If.... when I find out that you're lying, I will grant you a fate much worse than death" He picked up the sword with such speed that even Sunny couldn't see him move
Saint was still struggling at the strange man's hold, and Sunny could see cracks slowly start to form at her neck
Nephis moved backwards to stand side by side with Sunny, she then spoke with an even tone
"My name is Nephis from the Immortal Flame Clan, my father is Broken Sword, my mother is Smile of Heaven"
The thing, Sunny still had no way of describing the strange apparition, stared at her some more before dropping Saint on the ground
He disappeared and then reappeared right in front of Nephis, caressing her face
"Nephis? Is that really you? Why is your hair silver?" the thing looked at Nephis face before Nephis hit the things arm away... Or tried to, his arm did not even budge
Moving back slightly, Nephis frowned before asking
"Who are you? Why are you saying my name like you know me?"
The man lowered his arm and stared at Nephis before saying
"I'm Broken Sword"
Nephis stared at 'Broken Sword' with doubt in her eyes. Sunny lifted his arm to shield Nephis from whatever he is
He then spoke
"If you are 'Broken Sword', why did you immediately tried to kill us?" Sunny dismissed Saint
'Broken Sword' didn't move at all before a sigh? Came out of his mouth? He then spoke
"You're the first thing I saw in awhile, and last I remember, my daughter doesn't have black hair"
Nephis eyes seemed to have lost a bit of her doubt, but still plenty of it remains
"If you really are my father, then prove it"
"Alright, you don't really have a favourite food because you enjoy every food I cook for you when I come home, you enjoy being patted on the hea-" He was cut off by Nephis
"Okay, that's enough" If Sunny saw Nephis face, he would have seen a small blush on her face
Sunny turned around after the blush disappeared, and asked
"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure he's dead"
Nephis nodded which eased Sunny a little bit
"I am dead, my skeleton is right there" Broken Sword pointed his sword at the skeleton behind their feets
Sunny looked at it for a split second because Broken Sword addressed him
"Anyway, who might you be?"
Sunny frowned at the question
"My name is Sunless, call me Sunny, Nephis is my friend" he isn't saying that he's Nephis friend to save his own skin, gods no!
Broken Sword slowly nodded before asking
"How long had it been? What had Anvil, KI Song and the third one done? Is the Immortal Flame Clan okay?"
Nephis filled Broken Sword with everything that had happened. Sunny would have assumed he was surprised, but he currently did not have a face
Broken Sword sighed and nodded
"Damnnit, I should have stayed. I knew searching for my wife was fruitless, but I still did, and the cost was her whole clan, her grandmother, and all the loyal servants of the family, damn it all to hell"
Nephis was also sullen at the mood, Sunny meanwhile, was extremely awkward, he felt like he had barged into a very personal family discussion
Broken Sword coughed then asked
"Why are you here? And as Sleepers no less, please don't tell that this is your first time in the Dream Realm"
Sunny and Nephis coughed awkwardly before Sunny said
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that is exactly what happened"
Broken Sword stared at them before sighing loudly
"And there was no Gateway? Are you both looking for a Seed to challenge the Second Nightmare as Sleepers?"
Nephis nodded
"There was a Gateway, but it was destroyed. So now we are looking for a Second Nightmare Seed"
Broken Sword rubbed his face before sighing
"There is one nearby, if you didn't come here, I probably would have never found you both, you're pretty lucky"
Sunny and Nephis was a bit relieved that there was still a small chance to go back, but Sunny crushed that hope instantly
'... Hope is a poison'
Broken Sword was about the show them where to head to, but Sunny stopped him
"I have a question"
Broken Saord turned back to look at Sunny, which made Sunny involuntarily shiver
"Sure" Broken Sword shrugged
Sunny exhaled to calm himself before asking
"What are you? You are not human, and you're not a ghost. And you're the only thing I can sense, so you're technically a shadow"
Broken Sword seemed surprised to hear that, judging from his body movements alone though since he had no face
"Do you have the Shadow God's lineage?"
Sunny gulped under the pressure coming off Broken Sword and said
"No, I don't have the Shadow God's lineage. I have something called a forbidden lineage from a Demon, specifically the Demon of Fate"
Broken Sword seemed even more surprised, he ruffled his hair a little before sighing
"Ok, let me tell you something kid" Broken Sword instantly appeared in front of Sunny and held his shoulders
"I also have Weaver's lineage, however, I currently am unable to fully utilise it" Broken Sword shrugged before saying
"Whatever, my main priorities is keeping my daughter alive, and since you're her 'friend', you are also a priority" Broken Sword pronunced the word 'friend' strangely, but Sunny didn't care, because who is a better guide than Broken Sword himself?!
Broken Sword picked both of them up and ran. Sunny could barely survive the pace Broken Sword was running at, so he was holding onto Broken Sword desperately
After that very fun roller-coaster was finished, Broken Sword dropped Sunny on the ground, while gently putting Nephis down on her feet
"Here's the Seed I was talking about" Broken Sword pointed at a strange thing (I genuinely have no idea what a Seed looks like, and don't really care so uh)
Sunny muttered a small curse before pushing himself off the ground. He finally stood up and massaged his shoulders
"Remind me to never ask a Supreme for a ride" Sunny sighed
Broken Sword laughed while Nephis chuckled lightly
Nephis approached Sunny and gently pulled him towards the Seed
But before they could enter, Broken Sword called out to them
"Hey!" both of them turned around
Broken Sword first gave Nephis a tight hug and said
"Stay safe, I love you" He planted a small kiss on her crown
He let go of her and turned to Sunny
"Could you summon a weapon for a bit?"
Sunny was confused but he obliged anyway. Soul Serpent assumed the Soul Weapon form and a black odachi was in Sunny's hand
Broken Sword exhaled loudly before turning his to Nephis
"I would need the both of you to trust me"
Both of them was confused but nodded anyway. Broken Sword smiled, or at least Sunny thought he did
Broken Sword, in a instant, grabbed Sunny's sword and pierced the weapon through his own chest
Sunny eyes widen in shock before trying to pull out the odachi, but how could he resist against a Supreme's strength as a Sleeper no less?
Nephis gasped and immediately tried to heal Broken Sword. Broken Sword jumped back with the odachi still in his chest
"This is the only way for me to be able to transfer the lineage, so yeah, sorry to surprise you both like this" Broken Sowrd shrugged with indifference
Sunny and Nephis stared at each other before looking back at Broken Sword with wide eyes
Broken Sword was looking down at the odachi before a sigh left his lips?
"This is taking longer than expected"
Broken Sword tapped his foot impatiently while Sunny and Nephis stared at him with shock evident on their faces
Nephis tried to dash at Broken Sword to pull the sword out and heal him, but he dodged everytime she tried
Soon, Nephis got Sunny to help, which made Broken Sword have a bit more fun. He kept making them fall into each other while laughing
"Come on! I have a sword in my chest, and you both still can't even touch me? You gotta try harder than that!"
They kept trying until Sunny and Nephis got tired. Sunny sat down on the ground with a loud sigh, Nephis sat down next to him, leaning on him slightly
All three of them waited until Broken Sword finally died, much to Nephis dismay
[You have killed a Supreme Beast, Broken Sword]
[Your Shadow grows stronger!]
[You have received a new Memory]
They watched as Broken Sword form slowly crumble in front of them. Sunny also heard a few noises coming from Nephis
He turned to see Nephis sobbing slightly. He tenderly wrapped his arms around Nephis, Nephis glady embraced Sunny as well, she snuggled into his chest until she finished sobbing
After Nephis finished sobbing and Sunny finished checking on her mental state, he decided to go take a look at Broken Sword shadow in his Soul Sea
He dove into his Soul Sea, the familiar black lake with four black sun's, looming over the lake like a omen of death
Sunny scanned for Broken Sword and quickly found him. He approached him and said quietly
"May you find peace within me" with that, Sunny turned around
"'Fine peace within you'? Are you sure you don't have Shadow God's blood in your veins?" a familiar voice came from behind him
Sunny quickly turned around to see Broken Sword shadow looking at the other lifeless shadow's with curiosity in his lightless eyes
" Just before you say anything, I have no idea how this happened myself, but I don't mind" Broken Sword shrugged
Sunny gulped and nodded. He exited his Soul Sea to tell Nephis about the whole thing. And when he did, she was quite shock
"So, to sum it all up, my father is in your Soul Sea?" Nephis rubbed her temples
Sunny nodded before summoning the [Drop of Ichor] to consume it
'This is going to be unpleasant' Sunny sighed inwardly
[Do you wish to consume this Memory?]
[Y/N]
'... Yes'
The glowing golden ichor in his hand slowly moved towards him, and went right through his chest and exited from his back. It went a bit more before going straight down and entering his shadow
And there, Sunny felt the pain again
He sparlwed onto the ground in unbearable pain. And to him, it felt like eternity has happened, in reality, it had only been 5 minutes at most
Sunny gasped for some air before Nephis pressed [Endless Spring] cool exterior next to Sunny's cheek
".. Thanks" Sunny's hoarse voice came through as he gladly took a mouthful of sips from [Endless Spring]
He looked at the runes for his attribute and grinned when he saw the new set of runes
[Shadow Weave]
[Shadow Weave Description:
It improves your connection to your shadow to a divine level, and making your shadow much more malleable and stronger] (idk what to give it so this I guess (^o^))
Sunny have a brief summary of everything before they decided to enter the Seed