Wooden Sword

The dawn was approaching, which meant that they didn't have a lot of time left. Sunny and Elyas had to leave the cursed island of the Red Colosseum before the night ended and the crowds of War God worshippers arrived to spectate the sacrificial slaughter on the bloodsoaked arena.

Once they were elsewhere, pursuing them would become much harder — not only because the ancient magic of the Demon of Desire would remain far behind them, but also because the Warmongers would have to split their forces to search all the neighboring isles. The further the two of the escaped, the wider net their pursuers would have to throw.

By then, the zealots would have to deal with the Crushing, as well.

Sunny wasn't familiar with the western reaches of the Chained Isles, which belonged to the followers of War, since he had never traveled in this direction before. They could try to escape northeast, toward the Hollow Mountains and the Night Temple, but that region was unfamiliar to him, as well.

Directly to the east, a long distance away, lay the Ivory City where Elyas hailed from, and the prison of Hope. However, the eastern direction would be where the pursuers were most likely to concentrate their search, since running toward the domain of their enemies, the Sun God's people, would have been the safest choice.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Sunny pulled the young Awakened toward the southern edge of the Red Island. If they journey southeast, they would eventually reach the ruined fortress… well, it might not have been ruined yet… where he had once welcomed Effie and Kai. There, the influence of the War faction was bound to be severely diminished.

More importantly, that was the boundary to the part of Hope's shattered kingdom that Sunny knew and had explored before.

Before the start of the Nightmare, he and the other members of the cohort had agreed to travel to the Iron Hand island should they be separated. Sunny would be able to easily find his way there from the southern Great Chain that anchored the Isles to the mainland beneath.

Hidden in the darkness, Sunny and Elyas ran across the meadow, aiming to reach the edge of the island and one of the heavenly chains that rattled below from time to time, disturbed by the turbulent winds of the border between the two skies.

'Come on… come on…'

Once they were over the edge, Sunny could summon the Heavenly Burden and the Dark Wing to carry them to the chain, or even hide them in the darkness of the Sky Below for a while.

Their salvation was so close! It was already just a few meters away...

But then, his heart suddenly grew cold.

'No…'

...In the end, it wasn't close enough.

Just as they reached the edge, a quiet sigh resounded from the darkness, and suddenly, Sunny was laying on the ground, his vision blurred and his whole body numb.

There was no oxygen in his lungs, and no matter how hard he tried to inhale, it was of no use. His chest seemed to be on fire.

A few seconds of agony later, the shock of the terrifying impact that had cracked the breastplate of the Undying Chain and sent him flying to the ground began to fade, and Sunny was able to finally draw in a hoarse, desperate breath.

'C… curses…'

He moved his arm, reaching for the hilt of the red priest's cleaver that lay near, buried in the soft grass.

However, before his fingers closed around it, a delicate foot stepped on his wrist, and suddenly, it was as though the weight of a whole world descended upon him.

Sunny groaned, then gritted his teeth and looked up at the harrowing creature that had attacked them from beyond the edge of the island.

It was a graceful, breathtaking beauty wearing a simple red tunic, her face tender and solemn, her dazzling eyes shining like two silver stars.

Solvane looked down at him and smiled with sadness.

"I am afraid that this is as far as you go… ah, we meet again, child of shadows!"

***

Sunny stared at the beautiful Saint with grim resentment burning in his black, tenebrous eyes. He remained motionless, knowing that his worst fear had just come true…

The Transcendent Immortal herself had arrived to hunt them down.

He thought feverishly, trying to come up with some way to escape the Priestess of War… Soul Serpent and Saint were still hiding in his shadow, so he could command them to attack.

But what could an Awakened and an Ascended Demon do against a Transcendent? An undying one that was chosen by the gods and had lived for at least a thousand years, no less… no, sending them to fight that horror would be just sending them to their deaths.

In all of his travels, Sunny had never met a creature more frightening than Solvane. Of that, he was sure. Even the Corrupted leviathans of the Dark Sea had not instilled such caution in him. Maybe only the harrowing rot in the Ebony Tower had, but he hesitated to call it a living being.

Then… what? What he was supposed to do?!

'Damn you… damn you, fate! You never let go of your prey, do you?!'

Sunny gritted his teeth, then growled, and tried to strike at Solvane with the Cruel Sight. However, the beautiful woman simply swatted it away, breaking his fingers and sending the somber blade flying over the edge of the island.

She shook her head.

"No… not like that, little demon. You deserve a better end…"

Then, Sunny felt himself being lifted into the air, and then thrown to his knees. A moment later, a stifled scream announced that Elyas, too, had not escaped the immortal Transcendent. His gaunt figure fell near him, a pained grimace contorting the young man's young face.

Soon, the unassailable power that pressed Sunny into the ground disappeared, and he was able to breathe again.

Looking up, he saw Solvane standing in front of them, his silken skin caressed by the gentle starlight. She looked at them with an inexplicable expression, her long chestnut hair dancing softly in the wind.

'There has to be something I can do… think, think!'

The Transcendent priestess smiled, the world itself growing brighter from her mesmerizing smile.

"Ah… the Trials of Life are over! I congratulate you, champions. Although some of your foes were vanquished under the cover of darkness instead of in the bright light of day, under the gaze of the gods, you have defeated them nevertheless. You have even slain one of my blessed. Thank you! Thank you for giving that which I was unable to… you have my gratitude. Both of you..."

Sunny stared at the beautiful Saint, frozen in place. Despite all the hatred he harbored against the monstrous priestess, despite how much he wanted to pay her back a hundredfold for all the suffering she had caused him… he couldn't help but forget his anger, and be enchanted by her beauty.

Solvane was just too splendid, too lovely… her eyes were too lustrous, her smile too charming, her soft lips too alluring. This woman was created to be worshipped… for men to wage wars in hope of earning the right to stand by her side…

'Snap out of it, idiot! Have you not seen beautiful things before?! Beautiful things are always the deadliest!'

Sunny bit his lip, allowing his sharp fangs to pierce it. Pain sobered him up somewhat.

Beside him, Elyas was staring at Solvane with grim eyes… strangely, the young man did not seem to be affected by her transcendent beauty at all.

It was understandable. After all, his whole family had been slaughtered by the followers and on the orders of the dazzling priestess.

…Meanwhile, something appeared in Solvane's hands. It was a small object that made Sunny's eyes narrow suddenly, and his breathing become quicker.

The Saint sighed and stretched her hand forward, a simple knife carved out of a single piece of wood laying on her open palm.

"...The Trials of Life are over, and so, I offer you this gift, and the right to fight for your freedom. To struggle for your life, as life is an eternal struggle. Will you accept, champions? Will you take this wooden blade and wield it? It… it is all I can give you…"

Sunny's heart skipped a beat.

'I'll… be damned…'

The fairy tale about a wooden sword Elyas had once shared with him had actually, inexplicably, turned out to be true.

…And more than that, Sunny recognized the "sword" instantly.

He had already held that wooden knife once, a long time ago… far, far in the future.

This was the knife he had killed Solvane with.