Awaiting the Signal

Sitting on the hard surface of the statue's head, Sunny kept looking at the three transcendent soul shards within the nearly gone corpse of the corrupted demon.

The longing in his eyes was evident.

Even though he couldn't absorb them, he still wanted them. With the storage memory Pleiades had, it wouldn't be a problem, but it was too dangerous to go down there with that many scavengers.

(So what's the plan?)

Sunny asked and awaited Pleiades' response.

It took a bit for him to respond, but it only lasted about thirty seconds as Pleiades exited his soul sea.

Making an ability didn't need him to enter it, but he felt much more at peace within there.

[Simple, you give me control of your body. And after that, I take the soul shards.]

'Is he still joking? I really can't tell.'

Sunny sighed and shook his head.

(And then get mauled by those things down there, good idea.)

Undeterred by Sunny's teasing, Pleiades continued. His voice was a little more ominous, far from the usually cheerful and humorous one he always had.

[Sunny, I have a way for those soul shards to be 'ours.' Do you truly want to ignore this safe opportunity?]

Even though he trusted the mystery man a little, he still wasn't sure. Should he trust him, or should he stick to his instincts?

But recently, those instincts he had honed became a little duller when Pleiades appeared.

(You better not do anything stupid. If you do, I'm taking back control.)

Affirming Sunny, Pleiades took over and looked over at the abominations corpse. He then summoned the [Covetous Luggage] and opened its trunk.

Taking an MRE Sunny had been given by Teacher Julius, he opened it up and saw already prepared dried meat.

Eating the whole bag in minutes, he tore the pack into three parts and laid them down in the center of the statue's head.

He then began to perform a dance, much to Sunny's confusion. While he danced around, he began to speak.

"By the ancient bonds of space and time, through realms of order and chaotic rhyme, I call upon the powers unseen, to weave the fabric of the in-between. Let these objects translocate, their positions now to alternate. By my will and might."

'Incantations?'

Immediately after he finished the incantation, the three pieces of plastic disappeared and were replaced by the shimmering light of three Transcendent Soul shards.

"… Well, that works."

Pleiades said with a flat tone and then looked back at the shimmering soul shards.

(What the hell do you mean by 'That works'!?)

Slightly stunned by Sunny's abrupt change in mood, Pleiades took a step back and almost stumbled down the edge.

"What? It works. You can't be complaining, right?"

(You can't just take that as if it's nothing.)

His face fell, and he covered his mouth in horror.

"Y-you! What have you done with my Sunny! Give him back, you mongrel."

(Be serious! And who are you calling a mongrel?)

He stifled a laugh and took a tentative step forward, examining the soul shards. He giddily took them and put them into the trunk of his memory.

There wasn't enough space, so he took out MREs and began to eat them.

(You're just having a meal after that? Are you seriously this carefree?)

"What's the problem? Should I just hug my knees and cry in some corner?"

Sunny remained quiet and didn't answer. Pleiades wanted to continue, but he first needed to drink something. He was incredibly thirsty.

He summoned the [Bottomless Spring], and the red glass bottle weaved itself into existence right into his hand.

Taking a sip, he felt incredibly refreshed and even felt a little stronger. This was likely due to the [Blessing of Flesh] enchantment.

Sunny remained quiet, even though his curiosity was sensible to him.

"Neat, right? It's a memory that can provide an unlimited amount of water. This water does wonders for the body as well."

(… Yeah, it is very neat.)

Pleiades finished his meal quickly and dismissed the memory.

(So what are you gonna do with the soul shards? Are you gonna use them later or use them for some sorcery?)

"No, I will absorb them, but I need to kill something that takes the soul essence of anyone that approaches it. Even saints would probably have trouble dealing with it. So I'll be on a soul shard diet for a little while."

Sunny then hesitantly asked:

(Just how powerful is it?)

"Good question, but don't worry. It's just a Great Devil, but it's slumbering right now, so it's safe for us. And don't worry, it doesn't take shadow fragments."

Sunny was no longer surprised by just how much he knew, so it figured. Sunny had also come to a couple of realizations.

One of which was that he probably had a [Divine Aspect].

(Okay, so what do you plan to do now? We are kind of stuck here with the scavengers down there.)

"We just wait for the signal."

(What signal?)

Smiling to himself, Pleiades pointed toward the north. Sunny followed expectantly, even using his gloomy shadow to look further.

(Where? I don't see it.)

"Are you blind or something?"

The now focused Sunny looked as hard as he could but saw no signal.

"Pffft… Sunny, the signal isn't there at all."

(…)

"Hahaha, you gotta admit… I got you go-"

His words stopped as he no longer felt the muscles in his body.

'What the he-'

[Hey… you can't just take the body like that.]

"I can, and I did."

He grumbled and circled the head of the statue, looking for a way of escape.

[Haaa…. There really will be a signal, just wait a bit.]

"How long is this 'bit'?"

[Jeez, don't be so grumpy. It'll appear in a day or two. We already have enough supplies to last us a week or two.]

Looking over at the scavengers devouring the corpse, knowing that his chance of escape was scarce, he sat down and closed his eyes.

[Can you give me the body? I wanna test something.]

Opening his eyes questioningly, Sunny sighed and looked down. He locked eyes with the gloomy shadow, and the shadow looked at him for a second and then looked away from him, annoyed by his owner's gaze.

He truly was insufferable. Sunny huffed and allowed Pleiades to take control.

"Alrighty, let's see if this'll work. Hey, Sunny."

(What?)

He smiled and got into a stance, a little away from the edge, looking down at the scavengers enjoying their feast.

"Watch me."

As he said so, he pointed his middle and pointer fingers, connecting them.

"Twin moons circle the serpent's scales, twin meteors cascade upon the forgotten millennium. Upon the blood scales of the king, a rope hangs. The first rope mends and locks away the king's will. At the dawn of twilight, a beast emerges… World Slash."

The last part was said quietly, and after he was finished, Sunny was confused.

'Nothing happened… huh.'

Just as Sunny started to think nothing had happened, a faint hum began to resonate in the air around him.

The world seemed to hold its breath, the very fabric of reality rippling slightly.

The scavengers below, oblivious to the impending danger, continued their feast.

Then, with a sudden surge of energy, a brilliant arc of light cleaved through the air, emanating from Pleiades' outstretched fingers.

The arc expanded rapidly, slicing through the space around it with an ethereal precision. It was as if the very world itself had been split open by an invisible blade.

The scavengers, sensing the change, looked up in alarm, but it was too late.

The arc of light descended upon them, splitting the ground and sending shockwaves through the area.

The abominations scattered, their feast interrupted by the sheer force of the attack.

The ground below was scorched, a deep fissure running through the spot where the scavengers had been.

The air crackled with residual energy, the sheer power of the ability leaving a lasting impression.

Sunny awaited for the perpetrator of the attack to say something snarky, but to his surprise, something even more baffling occurred.

He still pointed his fingers where they were but just stood there, for what felt like forever, until he eventually spoke in an uncharacteristically shaky voice.

"Wha-what the…"