Sunny had regained his fate and was rembered by the world.
Ironically enough, on the sa day, the mories of most humans in the world were wiped clean of the events that had transpired in the last few years.
So rembered more, while so rembered less — but almost no one rembered it all.
Needless to say, it was a ss.
In fact, it was a disaster. The entire world was thrust into a state of disorder and confusion, and the only thing that prevented it from sliding into a devastating panic was the fact that people who lived in the Age of the Nightmare Spell had developed a strong tolerance to peculiar calamities.
So discovered themselves in new and unfamiliar places, having moved or resettled during the ti that was missing from their mories. So found out that their loved ones had passed. So discovered that their children had grown, or that they were awaiting the birth of a new one.
So people suddenly found themselves wielding Awakened powers, while others discovered that they had advanced to a new Rank, even if they could not rember having conquered a Nightmare.
It was a global crisis on an unimaginable scale, comparable only to the descent of the Nightmare Spell.
Humanity had learned how to better handle such a crisis, though.
Needless to say, every person who knew what had happened instantly beca terribly busy in the imdiate aftermath of the disaster.
In NQSC, Jet was barking orders in the conference hall of the governnt headquarters, pushing her dazed and disoriented subordinates to move.
Wake of Ruin was dead, but luckily, most of the high-ranking administrative personnel had survived the plague — so even if they did not know the details, they were able to begin working at mitigating the damage with a bit of guidance from Soul Reaper.
The governnt was the most important part of the solution, because it controlled the information channels and military forces of the waking world. However, even the great depths of its vast logistical network were not enough to deal with the consequences of the plague... or rather, of its cure.
In Ravenheart, Kai was trying to handle the situation despite having just experienced a traumatic encounter with a Cursed Devil... as well as the worst several months of his life.
In Bastion, Effie was commanding the escaped prisoners to take command of the people whom they had been fighting only hours earlier and pacify the reeling city together.
And on the Chained Isles, Nephis herself was taking charge of the great army of humanity.
Sunny was hiding in her shadow. Mordret whisked the white mist his predecessor had unleashed back into the eerie reaches of the Hollow Mountains and disappeared without a trace... from the looks of it, he wasn't keen on spending ti with the other Supres — or with any other human, really.
The Hollow Mountains welcod him with boundless silence.
And Cassie...
Cassie was still asleep, having been utterly drained by the impossible undertaking of encompassing all of humanity in the invisible web of her Aspect.
It was unclear how long she would spend in the embrace of deep, rejuvenating slumber.
However, her life did not seem to be in danger, so all they could do was wait for her to wake up.
Sunny was busy, as well.
He had to retrieve Revel, Aiko, and the Shadow Clan from wherever it was that they had hidden themselves.
There was a disaster brewing on the Forgotten Shore, as well — from the looks of it, the ring of ancient barrows that surrounded the Burned Forest had begun to emanate so sort of ominous aura in his absence, and several hunting parties of the barrow wraiths appeared out of nowhere, ambushing for the Mimic.
That was a problem he would have to explore later, as well.
For now, though, in this ti of turmoil and uncertainty, the agents of the Shadow Clan had a job to do. Their presence was desperately needed, so Sunny wanted to bring them back as soon as he could.
Everyone was terribly busy, and everyone had to do far more than what was humanly possible. The first twenty-four hours after the final confrontation against the Dreamspawn were especially chaotic, but on the other side of that day... a semblance of order started to reveal itself from the carnage.
People were still confused and disturbed, so mourning the loss of what they had forgotten, so having forgotten what they had lost. Others were coming to terms with suddenly discovering happiness they did not rember finding, instead...
But life went on.
Even if the soldiers stationed in NQSC did not rember how they had gotten to their posts that day, soone still had to man the walls of the quarantine zones established around the active Nightmare Gates, patrol the wasteland around the city, and watch over Sleepers undergoing their First Nightmares.
Even if doctors working in crowded hospitals did not rember the nas of their patients, they still had to treat them. People had to feed their children, care for their elderly, and maintain the cities they lived in. Humanity had to continue moving forward... it had to recover and get back to work.
So, it did.
It began to recover, at least.
That was why, soon after the Dreamspawn was defeated, the mbers of the cohort arranged to et in person at the Immortal Fla manor in NQSC. Their informal eting was going to be followed by an ergency assembly of all the key figures of the Human Domain, but for now, the cohort was gathering in private.
Sunny arrived with a special guest, as well.
“Uncle Sunny..."
Little Ling was holding his hand as they erged from the shadows in one of the corridors of Neph's manor. Sunny spared him a look.
"What?"
The little boy grinned.
“Can I have a nightmare horse, too? Please? Pretty please?"
Sunny chuckled.
“A fan of Nightmare, are you? Well, sorry to disappoint you. There's no horse like Nightmare anywhere in the world.”
In fact...
Were there even horses left in the world? Sunny was not sure.
They approached a private lounge hidden in the depths of the manor. Little Ling could not hear the voices yet, but Sunny could. A hesitant smile appeared on his lips.
Inside, Effie was speaking:
"What do you an, his fate was stolen by a vile bird? What kind of... how does that even work? Ah, never mind!"
She fell silent...
But not for long.
"So he left us at Verge to go have a fight with a bird, then ca back four years later... to open a shop in Bastion?"
She paused for a mont before mumbling:
“Actually, he always wanted to run a mory shop. I guess dreams do co true... good for you, doofus."
Then, she suddenly yelled:
“But wait! There's more! He also seduced our poor, naive Nephis! The scoundrel!"
Sunny almost stumbled.
Neph's even voice resounded from behind the closed door.
"Who says that it wasn't who seduced him?"
Effie seed to have given her a look of pity.
"Oh, please..."
Nephis responded in the sa reserved tone.
"But wasn't it you who suggested that I should... hmm... how exactly did you put it? Oh, yes..."
Effie's voice suddenly rose an octave.
"I did not! I absolutely did not! Your mory is ssed up... because of Cassie. That's why you think that I said all those things about Sunny. You know, about how he is... he is..."
She fell silent and then said in a shaky tone:
"..He's standing right behind , isn't he?"
Sunny, who had opened the door a mont earlier, smiled.
"He is."
Then, a deafening shout made him wince.
"Mommy!"
Little Ling dashed forward and slamd into Effie with all his Transcendent strength. Any other mother would have probably been sent crashing through the wall by the unbridled enthusiasm of his embrace, but she just swayed faintly, glanced down, and wrapped her hands around the boy.
“Dumpling!”
Sunny watched them with a dubious smile. The scene was so overly sweet that his teeth hurt. It was a good thing that the little nace had only asked him for an infernal horse...
In the next mont, however, soone slamd into him, as well.
"Sunny!"
Sunny was dazed for a mont.
‘What is happening?’
Who was hugging him tightly enough to make him feel like he was suffocating?
‘Oh, right... it's that fool.'
Of course, it was Kai.
"Yeah... good to see you too, buddy. Now, can you let go of ?"
Instead of answering, Kai just hugged him tighter.
Sunny let out a heavy sigh and glanced at Jet, who was sitting on a chair so distance away.
His eyes were saying:
"Please, help!"
Jet studied him for a few seconds, then raised an eyebrow.
“What? You want to join the hug, Sunny?"
He considered it for a mont, looked at Nephis, then shook his head.
Jet chuckled.
Then, a smile appeared on her lips — a rare soft smile that he had not seen grace her face before, and that suited her too well.
Jet sighed.
“It is good to have you back, Sunny. It's really... really good to have you back."
Sunny remained silent for a short while. Eventually, he exhaled slowly.
"It's good to be back, everyone."
Nephis, Cassie, Effie, Kai, Jet...
Seeing them, he finally felt... at ho. There were a lot of things he had to do. The world was able to rember him once more — but for most people who had known him, that simply ant that they considered him dead, buried under snow sowhere in Antarctica. Only those who had t the Lord of Shadows or Master Sunless face-to-face would know the truth, and out of them, most believed that the Lord of Shadows was gone.
That ant two things. First, that there was no threat of the Forgotten God waking up because of him. And second... that he had a lot of explaining to do.
In the near future, Sunny would have to visit a few people. Teacher Julius, Saint Tyris... Naeve was probably very confused at the mont. Sunny would finally be able to congratulate Quentin on surviving the Second Nightmare in a aningful way, and give Kim and Luster his official blessing. There were others, as well.
And, of course... there was Rain.
But for now, Sunny simply wanted to enjoy the company of his friends.
He wanted to ask for their forgiveness, too, even if they did not seem to hold his decision against him... even if he knew that he would make the sa decision again. He had waited for his friends to greet him, knowing who he was, for so long...
Sunny let out a heavy sigh.
Then, he said:
“Alright. Get in here, fool..."
With that, he wrapped his hands around Kai and hugged him back.
"This is a one-ti thing, okay? Don't get any ideas!"
Despite the dire state of the world, here and now, it suddenly felt... like things were going to be alright.
Like their future was bright, and there was hope for them, still.
***
So ti later, when the rest of the cohort left to attend the ergency assembly, Sunny stayed behind and slowly made his way to the upper floor of the manor. There, he knocked on a door and waited patiently for an answer.
Eventually, the voice of a young woman resounded from the room inside:
"It's open!"
He hesitated for a mont, then opened the door and walked inside.
The room was spacious and brightly lit. There, Rain was sitting behind a desk, writing sothing down on a piece of synthetic paper.
Hearing his footsteps, she glanced up and smiled.
"Hey."
Sunny lingered a bit, then closed the door behind him.
“Hey, Rain. Oh... Ascended Rain, I an. Congratulations."
She grimaced.
“I don't even rember becoming a Master, so... it's a bit peculiar. But thank you."
Rain glanced away.
“Anyway, I've been told to rest and recuperate. The world seems to be going crazy outside, but it's all peace and quiet here on the upper floor. I think Neph's mom is in the next room over... Cassie was sleeping in a room across the hall, but since she's awake now, it's just ."
Sunny nodded slowly.
"Rain..."
She drew a shaky breath and then glanced at him, her lips trembling a little.
After a long while, she said quietly:
“You've been watching over this whole ti. Long before we t in that convenience store... long before you told who you are. That you and I are family."
Sunny nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Her smile faltered for a mont.
“But why? Why didn't you tell sooner?"
Sunny remained silent for a long while, rembering his younger self.
In the end, he said simply:
"Because you didn't need ."
Rain turned away.
Sunny hesitated a little, then walked over and put his hand on her shoulder.
“But, for what it's worth... thank you."
He smiled.
“You might not have needed ... but looking back, I needed you very much, Rain. So, thank you for storming up to that day, years ago, and calling a brat. I don't think I would have ever gathered the courage to talk to you otherwise. Thank you for being alive, Rain, and for being who you are."
He glanced away, his smile turning softer.
"Look how far we've co, Rain. Not too bad for two orphans from the outskirts, isn't it?"
She glanced up at him, intense emotions burning in her eyes.
Eventually, she took a deep breath and said:
"You... do you rember what you told before going to Antarctica? You told that you'd be staying in the waking world this ti, and that I could ssage you whenever. You told not to be a stranger... that was seven years ago, Sunny! What the hell? Weren't you supposed to be the most honest person in the world, brother?"
Sunny grinned.
"Two worlds, actually."
Rain laughed, tears glistening in her eyes.
“Right...”
She paused for a mont, as if rembering sothing, and then said in a stunned voice:
"Wait, you're my brother... but you still charged a fee for our lessons? At premium rate, mind you!"
Sunny cleared his throat.
“Why wouldn't it be premium? You brother is quite an aweso teacher, you know."
Rain's gaze turned perilous.
"Oh, don't I know it! Don't I know it well!"
Sounds of laughter resounded in the corridors of the old manor, dispelling the silence.
Sunny had missed this laughter. But now, he didn't have to miss anything, ever again.
***
Days later, far away, two figures erged from the shadows of the Forgotten Shore. One of them was Sunny, and the other was Asterion — bound, drained of essence, and barely able to walk.
He had spent the last few days sealed in the sorcerous circle on the underground floor of the Naless Temple, in the company of Sunny's new Shadow. That kept the Dreamspawn contained for a while... but it wasn't going to contain him for long.
So, Sunny had co up with a different solution.
He pulled on the black chain, forcing Asterion to follow him up a tall mountain of rubble.
They were climbing the remains of the Crimson Spire, while the battlefield where the Drear Army had made its last stand lood in the distance behind them.
"What a... charming place."
Asterion's voice was hoarse, but he still maintained his composure.
Sunny did not answer.
Instead, he continued forward until they finally reached their destination.
At the heart of the towering ruin, a deep well brimd with darkness.
Far below, on the bottom of the well, there was a circle of black water, its surface flawlessly smooth... like a dark mirror. Asterion glanced down, a grim expression settling on his face.
Eventually, he turned to face Sunny and smiled.
"So, this is it, then?"
A hint of malevolent amusent ignited in his golden eyes.
“This is where you intend to seal ? What a lovely choice! Ah, but you must know that I will escape this seal, too — just like I escaped the Moon. One day, I will break free."
Sunny studied him for a while, his eyes full of somber consideration.
Then, he smiled faintly.
"Sure. I know you will."
Sunny took a deep breath and glanced around.
"But it will take you a long ti. And by the ti you escape... we will either be gods, or there won't be anyone left for you to devour."
Sunny faced Asterion.
"Do you see, Dreamspawn? Yes, I might not be able to destroy an idea..."
He raised his hand slowly.
“But I can make it obsolete."
With that, Sunny smiled and pushed Asterion into the well.
Into the cold embrace of the Dark Sea.
The Dreamspawn disappeared into the black water with a scream, and it swallowed him whole, suffocating the dark malice of his voice.
The water rippled a few tis...
And grew still.
Soon, there was no trace of disturbance left on his surface, and no trace of him left under the lightless sky of the Forgotten Shore.
The story of the Dreamspawn was over, and new stories were about to begin in his wake.
***
Far away, at the estuary of the River of Tears, Ananke disembarked from a ship and jumped onto the soil of the Dream Realm. Her escorts stayed back, giving her space. She glanced down with an uncertain expression, unfamiliar with the feeling of a boundless expanse of solid ground under her feet. It was all so bizarre that she felt like her days were spent wandering the peculiar new world in a daze.
There were no impenetrable walls of black stone behind the azure sky. There was only a single sun traversing its vast expanse. People aged with the passage of ti and died of old age while remaining in place.
It was all strange and unfamiliar... but not unwelco.
Because this world was alive.
It was full of life.
And she was going to give her people a new life in this vast, vibrant world.
Ananke remained motionless for a long while, then pulled the seven bone amulets from beneath her mantle.
Her lodious voice resounded on the misty shores of the Stormsea, whispering the Nas of Return and Liberation.
And then...
Countless figures slowly began to appear around her, hazy at first, then more and more solid.
She welcod them with a smile.
She bowed.
“Ananke of Weave... greets the River People!"
***
On the other side of the Dream Realm, in the fractured halls of the Ebony Tower, Cassie inhaled deeply.
She was standing in the middle of a dimly lit chamber. Nothing adorned the black stone, and no one was keeping her company.
She was alone in the darkness.
Cassie had co here to call upon the power of her Aspect.
It was as Asterion had said — she could only manifest one Supre being, and she was
already manifesting herself. Things were a bit better if she wanted to manifest a Transcendent, though. She could manifest a Transcendent Titan or seven Transcendent Beasts. She could also manifest mories of that Rank... but manifesting beings or items of that Rank drained her essence. Maintaining the summoning permanently would present a problem.
However, doing so with mories of lesser Ranks was quite possible. She could sustain thousands of Dormant mories in existence indefinitely, for example, if she so wished to.
Of course, Cassie had no need for a thousand Dormant mories.
But she had sothing else in mind.
A cold wind seed to blow across the dark chamber, and suddenly, there was a man of around her age kneeling on the stones in front of her.
The man seed dazed and disoriented, gasping for breath. He was also entirely naked, so she picked up a folded blanket from a pile of them and wrapped it around his shoulders.
The man flinched and glanced at her, his eyes fresh with a mory of terrible pain. For a mont, he seed stunned by her subli beauty.
But then, a hint of recognition slowly appeared on his face.
The man groaned, then asked in a hoarse voice:
"You are... Cassia? Aren't you?"
Cassie nodded.
“I am. You must be confused... allow to explain. Many years have passed since we saw each other last, and many things have happened in those years. I have brought you back from beyond the grave because despite all our differences... I believe that the world needs your potential."
She straightened and glanced at the kneeling man with a solemn expression. Then, she said:
“Sleeper Gunlaug! Welco back to the world of the living.”
And soon, she repeated these words once more.
“Sleeper Kido! Welco back to the world of the living..."
"Sleeper Gemma..."
“Sleeper Park...”
"Sleeper Stev..."
“Sleeper Jubei..."
She called their nas one after another, until her voice grew hoarse and her head grew heavy.
On that day, the Drears of the Dark City finally returned from the crimson labyrinth of the Forgotten Shore.
And she wasn't alone in the darkness anymore.
[End of volu eleven: The Song of Ariadne.]
User Comments
0 comments from readers