Days blended into weeks, weeks into months as time passed, witness of the great change that was taking place in the Forgotten Shore. It was not instantaneous, but rather like the constant erosion of the water slowly dripping on the rock, eventually breaking it. The effects of the arrival of Changing Star, Lost From Light and yet-to-become- Song of the Fallen weren't immediately noticeable, but they were there.
Ever since the first day, the cohort had been building their reputation within the outskirts. Gunlaug based his power on resources and strength. He had acquired the most useful Echoes and Memories, and the warriors who could successfully hunt the dreadful creatures of the Forgotten Shore had all pleaded their loyalty to him. Those who stood up against him were snuffed out with an iron fist.
He was the only one who could provide food and protection. Those who could not afford to pay the taxes where deemed useless and discarded like a broken bottle, and lived in the misery of the slums, dying of starvation. They had lost hope, and cared only about surviving. However, the abominations inhabiting the Dark City and the Labyrinth were far more imposing than an ordinary Sleeper.
Nephis had destroyed that cycle. The cohort had given food for free, organised the outskirts. The barely standing huts were now solid buildings. The infrastructure was unrecognizable, with small towers and barriers to defend themselves form the monsters that occasionally ventured there. Water and food were available at all times. People were healthier and less thin. Jokes and smiles were not the unusual anymore. Eyes shone with hope and happiness.
The outskirts were thriving, at least as much as someone could thrive in the hell that was the Forgotten Shore.
Those responsible were loved and respected by everyone in the outskirts. Their names hadn't taken much longer to reach the ears of the Bright Castle's inhabitants.
Changing Star of the Immortal Flame, Caster of the Han Li Clan, Cassie, the lovely oracle, Effie, the already well known huntress. Sunny, that little scrawny kid who would slit your throat if not taken seriously. And an inescapable teacher.
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It had been about a month since they had reached the Dark City.
"Wake up, Sunless! Your Nightmare is over. Wake up, Sunless! Your Nightmare is -- "
Sunny slammed the rock to the ground. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, the dismissed the Rock, which was mightier that the word. He basked in the embrace of his Shadow Bed for a second more before standing up. He was not in the priestess's quarters, but in the room he had taken in the outskirts. It was a curious coincidence that his room was next to Nephis', who was no longer living in the headquarters. In fact, if one looked closely enough, he would be able to notice a little passage through which a small person. Even more interesting was that Sunny was by all standards but one-two, if one considered his mental age- little.
He prepared himself for the day, washing himself and putting something on.
As he finished, the Spell whispered in his ear.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Crifret Binder]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
The voice announced his kills for a few seconds, making a smile appear on his face.
Sunny switched his sight to that of his shadow.
In one of the destroyed streets of the forsaken city laid seven corpses. They were thoroughly destroyed, some missing limbs. Shards of bone littered the ground, and blood had already started to pool around their corpses. The imposing figure of a black serpent was ravaging the corpses, their already destroyed forms being dissected until the creature found the glowing shards inside their bodies. Then, the snake swallowed them whole.
The serpent retrieved all the shards and retreated to a place where he wouldn't be disturbed.
Sunny had sent Gloomy and Serpent in the Dark City to kill creatures. Serpent was an Ascended Monster created by Shadow God, at the top of the food chain. Gloomy observed and deemed when the moment to retreat arrived.
A steady flow of shadow fragments entered his soul since then.
He had taught Serpent how to take shards and bring them back to him, so he didn't even have to go there after every kill. He did so only when he deemed the corpse useful and took momentarily Effie's storage Memory.
Of course, Serpent couldn't move unseen in the City as effortlessly as Sunny, so he took refuge in preestablished secure areas. That was also the reason Sunny visited him from time to get the shards he conserved in his body. After each visit, he would rest and be repaired in his Soul Sea.
A knock on the door resounded in the room as a voice did the same in his mind.
Are you up?
Yeah. Come in.
Nephis opened the door, letting some rays enter his bedroom.
She closed the door behind her. Darkness regained possession of the space once again.
Her hair was longer, reaching her shoulders. She smiled as she felt Sunny caress her cheek and pull her in for a kiss.
Good morning, Neph.
Good morning, Sunny.
They still kept their relationship a secret. It was Sunny's will, and Nephis did only what he liked more. Sunny wanted it to be something only they knew of, a shared secret. Only Cassie knew and teased them, but she wasn't a problem for Sunny.
Effie watched the casual touches between them, narrowing her eyes before looking down and sighing. Sunny worried for her mental health.
Happy did his patrolling job perfectly. Nobody had ever caught them off-guard.
It seemed the threat had worked.
Sunny had witnessed the horror that was Skibidi Toilet on Nephis' communicator, when she'd been living inn his house. He was scrolling through a myriad of short videos, trying to find out what kept Nephis attached to the screen. It was a video about the ages before the descent of the Nightmare Spell, the Dark Times, and the memes of that period. It had left Sunny deeply traumatised, and he had understood why that age had come to an end, and why the Nightmare Spell, which fed on despair, had found the perfect world to thrive in.
Nephis smiled against his lips.
Want to spar?
You are a battle crazy maniac.
He waited a few seconds.
Yes.
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Sunny and Nephis stood in the middle of the clearing, swords in hand. It was a space in the centre of the outskirts, occupied by nothing.
Sunny wielded the Midnight Shard, Nephis her usual longsword.
Nephis smiled at him as she took her father's stance. Sunny imitated Saint's grounded style.
Changing Star moved forward without warning, slashing at his head. Sunny went down and stepped in her range, thrusting at her shoulder. She dodged by a hair's breadth and answered in kind.
They exchanged blow after blow, neither able to prevail against the other. It seemed as if they were dancing, moving with ruthless efficiency, elegantly evading blows that would've reduced any other Sleeper on their knees in a moment.
Their skin began to glow when the sun it them, that was just how much they were covered in sweat.
How about we stop for a moment, Sunny? We can't stay here all day.
Fine.
They ceased any hostile motion simultaneously, dismissing their swords.
Claps resounded around him. Sunny raised his head, surprised. A crowd had gathered as they sparred. Sunny was so immersed in their fight he hadn't even noticed.
"That was so good!"
"We didn't know you could fight like that, Sunny!"
Sunny smiled.
He summoned the Endless Spring, drank some water and handed it to Nephis.
Nephis, we will have to finish our spar some other time. I have an idea.
Ok.
He had been considering a certain idea for a while, and this was the perfect occasion to implement it. He scanned the crowd, until his eyes landed on a young man. He had brown, short hair, and eyes of the same colour.
He was also more than a bit taller than Sunny, but that had nothing to do with his decision. He pointed at him.
"You."
The man blinked and pointed a himself.
"Me?"
Sunny nodded.
"Yes. Come here."
The man waited for a second before hesitantly obliging.
"Do you have a weapon?"
The man summoned a sword. Sunny peered into its weave.
It was a mere Memory of the II Tier.
"Ok. Now, attack me."
The man stared at him.
"You haven't summoned your Memory yet."
Sunny narrowed his eyes.
"I don't need any Memory. Now, attack."
The man sprinted forward, slashing high. Sunny stepped in, grabbed his wrist and kicked his leg. Then, he slammed him into the ground.
"You should move your centre of gravity lower, widen your stance. Your movements are too large and you waste too much energy. Next one."
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Nephis had walked up Effie, who had also been observing their spar.
"Hey Princess, you and Sunny put up a real spectacle. The other Dreamers were all watching with their jaws wide open! By the way, wasn't Sunny from the outskirts?"
Nephis looked at her, her confusion hidden.
"Yes."
Effie rubbed her temples.
"Who taught him, then?"
The monster inside Nephis smiled deviously.
"I taught him a bit during our journey. I think he had never wielded a sword before he entered the Dream Realm."
The huntress sighed.
'Monster, these two are monsters.'
She didn't know how right she was.
The two women watched with amusement as Sunny beat the Sleepers he dragged in his lesson up.