Persistent Threat
In the end, the cohort eradicated the swarm of the eyeless Nightmare Creatures. It was not easy, and there were moments when each of them brushed with death. But eventually, the seven humans observed the vast killing field with tired expressions — exhausted, but alive.
Hundreds of cut, crushed, and torn bodies littered the broken asphalt of the mountain road. Blood flowed down the hill, pooling into crimson puddles at its base. The carcasses of the Fallen abominations towered above the corpses of their lesser ilk like mounds of rotten meat.
Looking at the ghastly sight, Sunny felt very happy that the army supplied them with actual food. Right now, he was very reluctant to go back to the familiar diet of only eating monster meat.
With a sigh, he turned away and glanced at his ragged band of soldiers. Despite the fact that their battle was over, time was still of the essence.
"Luster, go inform the Army Command that the road is secured, then bring the Rhino to the crest and park it on the slope. The rest of you, rest while you can. Oh… and also, good work."
The members of the cohort looked at each other, lively smiles appearing on their tired faces.
"We did do alright, didn't we?"
With that, they walked away from the mass of mangled bodies and sprawled on the ground, steam rising from their blood-covered armors into the cold air. Soon, the Rhino arrived, its headlights painting a much more morbid picture of the recent battleground. The soldiers rested and recovered their essence. Since no one was seriously injured, Quentin was in no hurry to tend to the wounded.
No one stood guard, as well, since Sunny's shadows could fulfill that role better than any human.
Everything seemed to be peaceful and safe… however, he was not fooled.
Down in the valley, the ugly rift in the fabric of reality was still pulsing with eerie darkness, silently calling to Sunny. The Gate was still open. Although they had defeated the initial wave of Nightmare Creatures that had emerged from it, more could arrive at any moment.
The first wave was usually the most dangerous, but not always. It ordinarily consisted of the abominations that had been close to the Seed of Nightmare when it bloomed, but as long as the Gate remained open, more monsters could wander through it into the real world.
In fact, Sunny suspected that Nightmare Creatures experienced a Call that was very similar to the one that Awakened felt. It drew them from the reaches of the Dream Realm toward the blooming Seed. Those that had been near it arrived first, but many more could eventually come.
That was why if a Gate could not be closed, it had to be contained and constantly monitored by the government forces… at least near or within the population centers. With time, the number of such containment zones grew, stretching the ability of the government to secure them.
So, the cohort was not entirely safe.
…He stared at the eerie rift for some time, feeling the Call slowly eating away at his sanity. Then, Sunny shook his head, walked over to the Rhino and sat down in its shadow.
He was tired, as well.
It was time to sort out the results of the battle.
Summoning the runes, he thoughtfully studied them.
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Ascended.
Class: Devil.
Shadow Cores: [4/7].
Shadow Fragments: [1246/4000].
'Curses…'
Despite the scope and ferocity of the recent battle, he had only received thirty or so shadow fragments from it — four for killing the Gate Guardian, the rest for slaying the Fallen abominations. Since Sunny was Ascended now, he gained nothing from slaying Nightmare Creatures of the Dormant and Awakened Ranks.
Becoming a Tyrant… was not going to be easy.
'Whatever.'
He continued to read the runes with a sour expression.
Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Midnight Shard], [Extraordinary Rock], [Prowling Thorn], [Endless Spring], [Dark Wing], [Moonlight Shard], [Mantle of the Underworld], [Weaver's Mask], [Broken Oath], [Autumn Leaf], [Cruel Sight], [Covetous Coffer], [Undying Chain], [Heavenly Burden], [Memory of Fire], [Memory of Ice], [Strike of Thunder], [Morgan's Warbow], [Shadow Lantern], [Bone Singer], [Shadow Chair], [Overpriced Saddle], [Dying Wish], [Evil Eye]...
Sunny had learned to weave names into the Memories he created after coming back from the Nightmare. [Shadow Chair] was the exquisite wooden chair he had borrowed from Noctis… sadly, no other item Sunny had tried to bring back to the real world survived. Everything had simply ceased to exist once he returned, to his bitter disappointment. However, the artificial Memory remained.
The [Overpriced Saddle] was the stupidly expensive saddle he had commissioned for Nightmare. The [Evil Eye] was the new Memory he had just received for killing the Devil named Defiled Witness. There were also a few Awakened Memories he had gained, but they seemed only good enough to be fed to his Shadows.
'I'll deal with them later.'
He turned his attention back to the runes:
Echoes: —
Shadows: [Marble Saint], [Nightmare], [Soul Serpent].
Attributes: [Fated], [Flame of Divinity], [Master of Shadows], [Blood Weave], [Bone Weave].
Aspect: [Shadow Slave].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control], [Shadow Step], [Shadow Manifestation].
Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance].
Flaw: [Clear Conscience].
Dream Anchor: Tower of Hope.
The name of the Soul Serpent was dim and lifeless. Sunny could not dismiss or summon the Shadow back after gifting it to Rain, at least not from a distance. He still felt a subtle connection to it, though. He knew that Serpent was alive and well.
'That's something, at least. They are both alright.'
With a sight, Sunny concentrated on his new Memory, the [Evil Eye]. After reading the description, he learned that it was capable of enhancing one's vision, making a person capable of discerning more details, and seeing things clearly from a greater distance. The effect had to be rather powerful since it came from a Fallen Devil, but he had to decide what to do with it.
Sunny could either use it himself, feed it to one of his Shadows, or give it to one of his soldiers.
Samara and Kim were the best candidates. The Awakened sharpshooter would be able to pick off targets from much further away, which was an obvious benefit. The timid seer, however… Sunny was very curious to find out how the augmentation of the Evil Eye would affect her Ability to see the vulnerabilities of his enemies.
After thinking about it for a bit, he turned his head and said:
"Hey, Kimmy... come here for a second…"
