7: Journey

As Nephis was complicating what truly is wrong with her, the screen lit up again causing groans and grumbles upon the audience.

The screen dumped too much of informations in their heads that they knew that they can't keep up from the absurdities this Sunless is doing.

After all it is.

A man who broke fate, a supposedly member of Changing Star's cohort and someone connected to a forbidden lineage. Even one of those things could make someone so popular and powerful but this guy is forgotten by the world so who would even known that such someone have experienced that.

The great mountain chain pierced the sky like the fangs of a giant dragon... at least that was how Sunny always perceived it before.

"For fuck's sake... "

"I told you! Insanity!"

"What the hell is this guy made of...?"

Infront of them, screen showed a deathzone. One that even the Sovereigns refuse to go. Jagged tall mountains hiding beneath the mysterious fog. The Hollow Mountains.

Having beheld the draconian peaks, Sunny lowered his gaze and looked down.

The Northern Island had been destroyed in the battle between Sky Tide and Saint Cormac, so the chasm separating the Chained Isles from the Hollow Mountains was wider than before. Across the dark abyss of the Sky Below, the mountains rose steeply into the distant sky, white mist rolling down their slopes.

"There's a battle between Saints? Why haven't I heard of it"

"Didn't Saint Cormac died in the Hollow Mountains?"

Effie sighed in the middle of the crowd.

"Since when did the media even told the truth? All of you should've learned. "

Her loud voice and the influence she emitted drowned the crowd as the realization hit. They knew that all the news produced were all tampered for the ears of civilians but they didn't expect that even awakened could be a victim of such thing.

It flowed into the abyss like a wall of clouds, disappearing into the darkness.

Sunny exhaled slowly.

He was standing on the edge of an island, with the broken chain that had once connected it to the Northern Island rattling quietly far below, Far away, on the other side of the chasm, the great anchor chain that had once connected the Chained Isles to the Hollow Mountains was hidden by mist.

Nephis who was silent for a while frowned.

'What is he doing? He couldn't be planning to head there right?'

Even for Saints, going deep to the Hollow Mountains is suicide.

He was not alone.

Saint, Serpent, Nightmare, and Fiend were standing around him. Gloomy, creepy, haughty, naughty, and crazy shadows lay on the ground, as well. Only the happy shadow was missing, busy with its own mission.

Curious whispers rose from the crowds as a question appeared on their minds.

'What are these names?'

It could be comrades, memories or echoes that he named. But one thing is for sure in their minds. Sunny is a hit or miss name giver.

Sunny exhaled slowly, then looked at his retinue.

He remained silent for a while, then said with a pale smile:

"The smart way of doing this would be to send one of you into the mist first. To see how it goes."

The people of the theater gasped with what he said.

He truly is planning to go in the Hollow Mountains.

The crowd was in silence. Some were inhaling a large breath after hearing Sunny's words. Some adjusted their seating position, some held their breathe and some leaned forward just to watch this insane man and his journey.

None of them showed any reaction... except for Fiend, who tried to hide behind Saint without drawing attention. Sadly, with his current size, hiding behind Saint was not as effective as it had been before.

"These are... echoes?"

Saint Rivalen said... or asked. He also was not sure about his own statement. The suppossed echoes acts like one but also quite odd.

Sunny grinned.

"...Luckily for you, no one has ever accused me of being smart."

Some women in the crowd were flustered by the Saint's hidden side. Few of these women have only seen Sunny serving in his cafe, while some only saw his pain and seriousness on the screen. They have ever seen his crazy side like the ones they are currently looking at.

He had been complimented on his wit from time to time, but never in an accusatory tone. So, the statement was technically true.

Shaking his head, Sunny commanded the shadows to wrap themselves around his body. Then, he dismissed the Shadows and faced the abyssal chasm once more,

'What a bother...'

He had already tried to extend his shadow sense into the mist to breach the chasm with Shadow Step, but couldn't sense a single shadow on the other side. In fact, he couldn't sense anything. It was as if... nothing existed beyond the veil of mist.

"Ughh... another reason not to go there?"

Jet said as she also looked anxious. The rumors and information about the Hollow Mountains is enough to terrify even a vicious Saint like her.

"If his head's at least as hard as the princess' then he'll definitely go there."

Sighing, Effie said as she added while shaking her head:

"I'm surrounded by crazy people."

Perhaps quite literally.

'Here we go.'

Everyone in the theater couldn't believe what they're seeing, even after all they saw already. Sunny, this man really is entering a death zone even the Sovereigns didn't set foot onto.

Sunny dissolved into the shadows, then emerged from them in the form of a crow. Flapping his wings, he cawed loudly and flew toward the Hollow Mountains.

After some time, people finally saw a new information.

"A transformation ability?"

"No, I don't think it is."

Beastmaster answered the random awakened.

"I would say that his transformation ability is him being able to turn into a shadow and transform into any form he wants. "

That would make more sense. There is no way in hell that a transcendent will have a small crow as a transformation ability.

He left the rattling of chains behind and glided on the winds above the bottomless abyss of the Sky Below. The white wall of flowing mist drew closer and closer, and as it did, Sunny's heart beat faster and faster.

'What if I really just... disappear?'

Would it be that bad? After all, he was all but erased from existence, already. Ending up being swallowed by nothing only seemed fitting.

"Poor guy, it seems like he's still rattled by what happened."

"When is this anyway? How long have passed since his meeting with Lady Nephis?"

"Yeah, this is getting more confusing without the knowledge of the time these events happened. "

'What the hell... of course, it's bad!'

Sunny was not going to disappear. He still wanted to live... in fact, he wanted to live more than ever before.

"HAHAHA that's the mindset! You young ones better learn from him! "

Saint Jest laughed in amusement seeing this young man have a wisdom full of common sense unlike the modern generation.

That was a strange quirk of his personality. The less reason there was for him to live, the more he wanted to survive, out of nothing but pure spite. Now that the world had truly and utterly rejected him, Sunny had to stay alive, no matter the cost.

Letting out another caw, Sunny plunged into the white mist.

Immediately, he felt ... strange.

'Ah...'

What... what was that feeling?

Sunny couldn't quite describe it. However, it was debilitating enough to make him fall from the sky.

He crashed into the cold rock, rolling down the slope in a mess of limbs. The Crow Shell had collapsed, and he was back to his human body. The rocks bit into his skin painfully, but Sunny did not, and could not, pay it any attention.

"Weird! the Hollow Mountains is weird!"

"What the hell is happening?"

Everyone thought of the same question. What truly is happening? Could this be finally answer the mysteries of the Hollow Mountains? Why no one has ever returned from this place?

'What... the hell... is this...'

It was... it was.... It was like a mind attack, but also completely different. At the same time, it was like a soul attack, but did not bring him any pain. It was also like a physical attack, but ir did not harm his body.

"Not gonna lie I haven't even experience anything besides physical pain. Can't imagine what's he's going through right now."

A lot agreed with that awakened. Although they were people used in fighting abominations, mind and soul attacks were rarer than any damages out there.

The best way Sunny could describe it was that, suddenly, he felt as if he was dreaming. Or rather, had been dreaming all along.

As if he was nothing but a fleeting dream, and all his life had been one long, meaningless nightmare. And, therefore...

That none of it was real, and none of him was real either.

"He's like... slowly falling asleep? Dreaming?"

It was an innocent statement. Yet it sent shivera down to everyone's spine.

Dreaming in the Dream Realm is impossible. Having something similar to it brings disasters and bad premonition.

The poor awakened didn't even realize what he did. He awkwardly laughed it off and looked back at the screen, hoping that it would play the next scene soon.

His sense of self was slowly dissolving under the numb indifference of that obvious realization, as if he was being pulled into a state of senselessness.

Sunny had never existed, and would never exist.

He...

He...

He did not exist.

As soon as he acknowledged that fact, his soul started to dim.

All the audiences' face were also dim. They have realized the scary truth about the Hollow Mountains, and why no one escapes from it.

The fog of the mountain... deletes the existence of those who enters it.

Now, the question in their minds is... Will Sunless survive something that even the strongest nightmare creatures can't?

His body started to lose strength, as well.

His thoughts turned slower.

'That is right.'

Sunny smiled faintly.

'Come from nothing. Return to nothing.'

"Hah! this young one is wise. I told you people, listen to him!"

Jest laughed again, making the atmosphere litghter.

Whilr Effie looked at Nephis slowly.

"Princess, do you perhaps like your man smart or not?"

Nephis seeing tons of rights to refuse her question still answered.

"As long as they can think for themselves."

Effie nodded approvingly with a smile on her face.

"Very well... good choice"

He could sense the mist flowing around him.

Through him.

Was his body turning transparent? If so... that was alright. That was how it should be.

Only...

'If I don't exist, if there is no me... then why does it hurt to have never existed so much?'

He had experienced being erased from existence once, already. That pain would have been meaningless if he had never existed, in the first place... so, the mere fact that it had hurt him so badly was a contraction.

"Poor guy... But he isn't that bad... maybe. "

Beastmaster mumbled as if checking out Sunny's stats.

Effie who was far from her sensed something bad and glared on the Song's seats.

'snakes'

If he was nobody, then he would have felt nothing. But he felt something, and therefore, he had to be somebody.

Pain bloomed in his heart like a flower.

And with it, his Transcendent soul ignited with the beautiful radiance of divine flame.

Tenacious blood ran through his body, filling it with strength.

His mind was aflame with desire.

Desire to exist.

"Fuck yeah! "

"Don't you dare give up! You're suspicious but we can't afford losing a saint! "

"Live!"

Cheers emenated from the crowd as even though they knew Sunny wouldn't be able to hear them, they still shouted their souls for him to survive.

'I hurt, therefore I am... wait, what? What kind of nonsense am I spouting?!'

Sunny groaned and concentrated all of his formidable mind on a single thought:

"I am!"

He was not nothing.

He was not nobody.

"What did he do?"

No one answered the awakened's answer for a bit but a voice then came from the far left of the theater.

"He was trying to remember who he was."

Everybody looked at the owner of the voice. As Noctis basked himself with the attention of everyone, he started to continue his explanation.

"By reminding yourself of who you are, your soul and existence will grow stronger. You can use your precious memories if your life or even your true name to do this."

Now, everyone understood what Sunny was doing. He was trying to remind himself... to remind on who he was.

He was Sunless, formerly known or rather, unknown as Lost from Light. He was the Devil of Antarctica. He had been the Mad Prince once, but he was not anymore. He was even Lord Mongrel, even if he wished otherwise.

"Lost from Light? Is that his true name?"

"Damn... gotta be one of the best true names out there."

"Did his true name also become lost when he destroyed fate? "

While everyone was praising, discussing and flaunting about Sunny's true name, Nephis focused on a different phrase.

'L-Lord Mongrel....? He's that Mongrel?'

Nephis was... one of Lord Mongrel's fan after all. She have thought that Lord Mongrel was a woman but now it was confirmed that he's a man. Noticing a bad premonition, she slowly turned her head towards Effie.

Effie on the other hand was grinning madly. She had long known that Nephis was a fan of Mongrel. Seizing the opportunity granted by the holy screen in front of them, she celebrated as her ship was getting closer and closer on sailing.

"Hey princess! Aren't you a f-

"Shut your mouth. Saint Athena. "

Neph's eyes are wide and her cheeks were flushed red. Yet her smile was unfaltering, it was a small and dangerous smike that Effie did not want to see.

Raising both of her handa as a sign of surrender, Effie sighed.

"Okay okay, I'll stop. "

While on the other side, a woman and two men were petrified.

"Did he just say...?"

"Is he the... captain?"

Quentin and Luster exchanged their words about the matter. While Kimmy cried. She covered her mouth with her hand as she couldn't help but cry upon hearing their captain's words.

'W-we forgot. How come... '

Luster couldn't help but comfort her as they have always thought that their devil of a captain sacrificed himself in Antarctica. The three survivors were glad that their captain was alive, but couldn't hell but be saddened by the fact that they too forgot about him.

He was... Sunny.

It took all his focus to keep that thought from dissolving into the mist.

Once he managed to prove his own existence, the pressure of nothingness did not disappear, and the pull of non-existence did not lessen. Sunny had to keep concentrating on the fact that he had been, was, and would be without reprieve. If he let go of that fervent thought even for a few moments, both his soul and body would probably turn into flowing mist.

"Dam... damnation..."

"A torture of your existence... "

Seishan mumbled under her breath.

"Sister, do you think I will survive in the Hollow Mountains?"

Hel asked her.

Hearing the question, Seishan smiled and replied:

"Don't worry dear sister. With your constant paranoia... It will be an instant death. You won't suffer. "

Grimacing, he slowly rose from the cold stone and stared into the white nothingness that surrounded him with a grim expression.

'Ah. How insidious.'

This... was not going to be easy.

Mumbling quiet curses, Sunny dusted himself off and looked around.

He could not see anything, and the mist was dampening his senses. So, he didn't even know which direction he was supposed to go.

However, it wasn't hard to determine where the north was.

All he had to do was pay attention to the ground.

The ground under his feet was sloping in a certain direction... going down meant returning to the Chained Isles, going up meant venturing deeper into the Hollow Mountains.

He rubbed his face, sighed, and started climbing the slope.

"What the fuck happened that pushed this guy into going there? "

"The shock of everyone forgetting your existence? For me that would be enough to hang on a rope, if you ask me."

His journey through the Hollow Mountains was still exhausting and harrowing, but at least it had become a little more comfortable.

....In the end, it took him around a year and a half to escape that misty hell.

"Are you serious!? A year and a half of that thing? "

It was incredible.

Seeing someone capable of doing such impossible thing. And that to survive in a long time in that death zone. Everyone was impressed by Sunny. Yet they still could help but worry about him breaking his mind.

He might survive, but will his mind be the same?

One day, Sunny was limping down a slope one of the hundreds, or maybe even thousands of the slopes he had climbed - with an emotionless expression on his pale face. Of course, no one could see his face, because it was covered by Weaver's Mask.

"What a hideous mask."

"Is it a memory?"

"But didn't the spell forgot about him? Did his memories remained? or were they lost? "

Nephis was once again shocked. That mask is similar to Ananke's. The relationship between him and Nephis were getting showed more and more, making Changing Star more curious for answers.

Hidden from view, his eyes were bleak and lifeless. His hair had grown longer than it had ever been, and was tied roughly by a piece of string. The Puppeteer's Shroud was torn, tattered, and stained with blood he had just escaped from a terrible fight, and had no time to dismiss the armor yet, giving it a chance to repair itself.

"Well... he is still handsome. "

"Truly an eye candy"

"D-do you think he have a girlfriend?"

The last comment didn't go unnoticed. Everyone heard it, making the master who said it very awkward.

Although everyone went back on what they're doing, the question lingered on their minds.

Four of his shadows were exploring the mist, surrounding him from all sides - far enough to serve as scouts, but close enough to escape back to him at the first hint of danger. Only gloomy remained glued to his feet.

Sunny was talking to it in a flat voice:

"Well... anyway... that might be true, but mind your manners. I am a Saint, you know. Saint Sunless. Would it kill you to flatter me once in a while?"

"Who is he talking to? Have he lost his mind?"

"I don't think so."

Sir Gilead answered.

"Someone who survived such thing will lose his mind so easily is highly unlikely."

The shadow stared at him sarcastically, then suddenly rose from the ground, turning into an avatar. The avatar, unlike the original body, was clad in the Onyx Mantle.

"What the hell!? "

"There's two of him?"

Morgan looked at Beastmaster who was seats away from her.

"The shadow being his transformation ability is wrong. "

Beastmaster smiled, a fake smile.

"It seems that I am. "

The avatar said:

"So what? I am Saint Sunless, too. I never lie!"

Sunny stared at the avatar darkly.

"What a hateful face. Stop staring at me, bastard."

Sir Gilead watched the scene with amusement.

"It seems that I'm wrong. He really is talking to himself."

Saint Cor also joined his amusement

"A transformation ability that clones himself. How peculiar. I wonder what rank his aspect is. "

He said as he looked at Changing Star.

He doubted himself but to him, it's also seems pretty likely that Sunny is also a Divine Aspect user.

The avatar scowled.

"Who are you calling a bastard, you bastard? Don't you have any respect for our mother?!"

Sunny hissed through gritted teeth:

"Be a bit louder, why won't you?! Do you want some Cursed creature to hear you? "

"At the same time, why is he even talking yo himself if he knows that there are cursed creature around?"

"He probably felt alone."

"Or insane"

"Or just bored? "

The avatar stared at him gloomily for a while, then looked away.

They walked side by side for some time, keeping quiet.

Eventually, Sunny spat angrily:

"Waste of essence."

The avatar grinned.

"I might be a waste of essence, but you're the one wasting essence to have a conversation with yourself. Fool."

"HAHAHHAHAHA I like this young man! Unlike you people, he actually have a sense of humor. "

Sainy Jest laughed his ass off, enjoying the banter of two Sunnys.

'Yeah he's humor is better that you. '

Thought everyone.

Sunny widened his eyes.

"What conversation? It's a quarrel. A quarrel with myself! Get your facts straight. Idiot."

The avatar did not answer immediately, instead turning his head this way and that.

Eventually, he asked:

"Say... don't you think that the mist has been strangely thin recently? I can almost see the next mountain."

Sunny scoffed.

"That's just how it is..."

But then, he fell silent.

Everyone's eyes widened. Here, they can easily see that the mist of the Hollow Mountains was thinner than usual.

Getting out of the daze, a blood sister slowly said:

"Did he just... reach the end of the Hollow Mountains?"

Because at that moment, Sunny fully realized that he was right.

The mist was, indeed, too thin. It was thinner than ever before, even.

He lingered for a moment, then dismissed the avatar, wrapped the shadow around his body, and hurried his steps.

He recalled the scouting shadows, too, augmenting his body further.

'Can it be? No, really... can it?'

The world was slowly turning darker.

'It can!'

Sunny forced himself to remain calm and alert, moving forward as fast as he could while remaining cautious.

Half a day later, he climbed a tall peak and looked ahead, staggering slightly at the sight.

He did not even register at first what he was looking at. The only thing he cared about was that he could see anything, at all.

Out there in front of him, there was no mist.

"What is this land? A new deathzone? "

"An undiscovered place in the Dream Realm?

"It's just full of darkness."

Instead, there was a vast and desolate expanse of flat land. A land shrouded in eternal darkness, with a starless void looming above it as a black sky.

No one knew what this was except one person.

Nephis.

Nephis knew this place very much, as well as a lot of people in the theater. They just couldn't recognized what is it in its current state. But it is ultimately where this new age of the spell began.

It is a death zone, an accursed place. The place where it all began.

Sunny inhaled deeply.

"No way..."

After all these years, he had returned to the Forgotten Shore.

****

Read the godamn author's thoughts. Do someone even read those? Anyway the fight with the winter beast will not be released instantly. That thing spans over tons of chapter and wouldn't fit on a single chapter. So I won't be writing with it in the mean time.