Sunny had never discovered any solutions.
The puzzle of the Snow Demon stayed unresolved, and he suspected that he might never learn what that being had been and what it had done to him and his allies. Perhaps they would encounter each other again, soday, in the shadowy depths of the Shadow Realm.
But since Sunny did not even know what the strange Demon had appeared like — or if it had even appeared like anything at all — they would not identify each other. So, he could only comfort himself with the fact that the mysterious horror was dead.
Dejected, Sunny and Kai went back to the Shrine of Truth.
Slayer was still resting against the stone atop the angled pillar, apparently sleeping… Sunny had never witnessed a Shadow sleep before, so she must have been truly drained by what happened during the two lost days. He could call her back into the protective darkness of his soul, but that would an not being able to call her again until her injuries were completely healed.
And that was a luxury he could not afford right now.
After all, three more Snow figures were going to encircle the Shrine of Truth co dawn — most probably. Now, there were only five of them remaining on the board: two Beasts, two Devils, and the Tyrant itself.
So, at least one of the three figures was probably going to be a Devil.
Sunny shut his eyes, suddenly conscious of just how bruised and damaged his body was. He was lacking an arm, damn it…
Well, actually, he wasn't lacking it anymore. He had located his arm, it was just not connected to his body.
'...That's sowhat amusing.'
Clenching his teeth, Sunny banished the Jade Mantle and the replacent arm he had created from the shadows. Then, he pushed the cut arm to the torn stump and swore quietly, focusing on managing the flow of his blood.
Kai watched him with a curious expression.
"What are you attempting?"
Sunny glanced at him and grinned darkly. "Trying to regrow an arm."
In reality, even so Saints could regenerate missing parts of their bodies — it just required a lot of ti. Supres were even more resilient, but Sunny naturally did not have much knowledge into how long it would take a Sovereign to regrow a limb... there was simply no information on that matter.
He recovered a lot quicker than most due to the Blood Weave, but still, reattaching a severed arm was going to waste much less ti than growing an entirely new one. Plus… he was fond of his arms.
They had experienced a lot with him.
"I need both hands for cooking, you know? As well as for... other activities..."
His effort to brighten the mood failed.
After that, neither Sunny nor Kai talked for a while. Both felt discouraged.
They might have survived the fight, but it was not due to their ability or work. It was not even due to fortune… there was simply no reason for why they were still alive, which ant that they were only alive by chance.
Eventually, Kai breathed out.
"I don't know why I am shocked."
Sunny lifted an eyebrow. "What do you an?"
Kai paused for a while, then smiled weakly.
"I guess it is because of you and Nephis. The two of you have a tendency of making the impossible appear normal. You are strong beyond logic, and the way both of you think is beyond logic too.
So, sotis, it is simple to forget that the things you do are not logical. They are not normal at all."
He moved his head.
"It is not normal to defeat a god. In fact, it is completely unreasonable to even attempt fighting a god — especially an ancient, evil, corrupted one. And yet, that is what we have been doing ever since entering the weird realm, isn't it?
Not only that, but we've even managed to destroy several of those fallen deities. You appeared to take it in stride, so at so point, I found myself believing that that was how things were ant to be.
But, Sunny…"
Kai beca quiet for a few monts, then looked at him with a small frown.
"They're not. No matter how strong we are, these beings are still Cursed Ones. They are forr gods… they are actual beings of legends.
The frightening and disturbing kind of legends. So, I shouldn't have been shocked when sothing like that occurred. Actually, it is a wonder that sothing like that had not occurred sooner."
Sunny frowned, not entirely sure how to reply.
"Are you trying to say that I am careless?"
Kai moved his head. "No… not really.
Being careless ans that you have a choice between security and risk, and we weren't really given a choice, were we? It is not like the Cursed Ones would not have hunted for us if we stayed motionless, here in this damned place."
He breathed out.
"What I am trying to say is that, maybe, encountering that Snow Demon was a bit of fortune. It gave us a warning that beings like that are beyond our level… so much so that we cannot even comprehend them, let alone fight them.
Well, so of them, at least. Every foe we face can be our final. And what would you know?
We managed to receive that warning without perishing. That's a good thing."
Sunny examined him for a while, then agreed slowly.
Kai was correct. Sunny had done well facing Great Nightmare Creatures, so he assud that battling against Cursed Ones would not feel much different now that he was a Supre.
But really, every single one of them was an opponent he could not afford to undervalue.
In fact, he had been fortunate not to encounter any truly dangerous Great horrors, probably because most of the ones he had killed ca from the jungles of Godgrave. In the Dream Realm, they were on the younger side, and not as evil as those great terrors that had been roaming its awful reaches since the tis of the Doom War.
And Cursed Nightmare Creatures were on an entirely different level, as far as evil was concerned.
Kai breathed out.
"I also understood… that you were correct."
Sunny looked at him with a silent inquiry.
Kai stayed quiet for a mont, then spoke in a serious tone:
"Before all this began, you told that a couple of Supres would not be able to guard humanity, and that becoming Sacred was the only path for you and Nephis. You appear so incredibly powerful to , so out of reach... so, I did not take it seriously enough.
But now I see now that you were correct. The Cursed Ones are already this frightening, and I don't even want to picture what Unholy Nightmare Creatures are capable of.
I am not sure that I can. So, there is indeed only one path — forward. Whether we want it or not."
Sunny stared at him for a bit, his expression unreadable.
'A warning, huh?'
Then, he winced and swore loudly.
Kai jumped.
"Oh… I'm sorry. Was I too bold?"
Sunny clenched his teeth and shook his head.
"No, it's just… I think my nerves are reconnecting…"
He could suddenly sense his missing arm again…
And while being reunited with it felt amazing, it also hurt like hell.
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