Constant Feeling

Not much time passed after Cassie's last vision, if he had not included their plans, Sunny thought they had a delightful morning with delicious breakfast. Who could have thought that the meat of nightmare creatures could taste so good?

'Can this be considered a fancy meal with crab as a main dish?'

As horrifying as those creatures were, it was hard to deny their obvious resemblance to those aquatic animals in the human world. After the oceans flooded with countless nightmare gates, seafood became something extravagant that only the richest could afford.

And now somebody like Sunny, who his whole life ate only synthpaste had an opportunity to do something, that people from the outskirts could only imagine in their wildest dreams. Of course, he was not sure that it tasted exactly like the real crabs, but he assumed that the difference was not that big.

"Hey Neph, when we're hitting the road?"

The conversation that happened that night hasn't changed much in relationships between members of the cohort. Sunny and Cassie mostly spent time together, while Nephis stood not so far away. Frequently Cassie tried to initiate a conversation with Nephis but besides a few words, their cliff-faced companion hadn't said much. 

At times, Sunny believed that Nephis was quiet because she was suspicious of them. However, as he continued to talk with her, he began to realize that she was simply extremely awkward. Sunny noticed a lot of signs pointing to this. 

Not knowing how to uphold the conversation, she replied with few words, but always sincerely answered whenever one of them asked her something. If it was not about survival or business matters, Nephis didn't know how to start a dialogue.

That's why the rare sentences they heard from her, almost always sounded odd and coming out of nowhere. Sunny started picking up her expression when she was interested in something and delved into details.

"Tomorrow."

"We have some more fresh meet. We won't manage to prepare it for the journey so how about cooking it this evening? We shall rest well when we still have time."

For a few seconds, Nephis seemed to contemplate this idea before nodding. 

"Sure, let's do it."

Seems like they're having a feast of their own tonight. Now that they had some time before tomorrow, Sunny tried to decide what should he do with soul core that he got from Carapace Scavenger. 

He already tried to consume it hoping, that he would get additional shadow fragments but unfortunately, it was too good to work. Now Sunny knew, that he was following a totally different path, with the only way known to him was killing nightmare creatures to saturate his core. 

A dream of a peaceful life seemed to shatter right in front of his eyes. If he wanted in the future to become stronger, the only way for him was to fight in the dream realm. Of course, if he hadn't decided to stay forever as awakened. 

A lot of people managed to live a normal life despite being forced to enter a dream realm every time they fell asleep. The majority of them just had a mundane job in citadels that helped them support its infrastructure. 

While it was okay with some, Sunny considered becoming a master so he could never enter this damn world again. What's the matter with him nowadays, Sunny never really thought about the future that much. He often mocked those who planned something years ahead. 

After all his main priority was always to survive. Thinking about something like becoming ascended seemed so foolish, how could he become one if he didn't even manage to survive today?

'Thinking about something so childish, I must have relaxed after Cassie told her vision.'

Since he was unable to use the soul core, he did not need to keep it. It would have been much better to give it either to Cassie or Nephis. It was impossible to guarantee that Cassie's visions would become more frequent or informative if she became stronger. 

The same thing couldn't be said about Nephis. He was still unsure about another part of her aspect but with saturating her core, Nephis would be an even more fearsome fighter and powerful healer. 

Nevertheless, Sunny was a bit too reluctant to hand it to Nephis like this. You may call him sentimental but it was the first nightmare creature he killed with his hands. He would have preferred trading it for something, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could ask for. 

Giving it in exchange for Nephis owing him a favor also seemed way too far-fetched. The value of the soul core from the awakened beast was way too low to accept such offer. The only option left to Sunny was to keep it for some time until he eventually came up with an idea in the future.

"Sunny, are you worried?"

Pulled out of his thoughts, Sunny looked at Cassie, anxiously fidgeting her fingers, she kept a trembling smile on her face. Until now everything was relatively calm, besides a few moments, he and Cassie were in a safe place. 

But now that they're planning to go on their way to the castle, Cassie seemed very anxious. Even for a regular person, this will be an exhausting test of their endurance and mental fortitude. He was terrified of being in Cassie's place in such situation.

An encouragement was usually something appropriate in this situation, but his flaw wouldn't let him hide his worry either. 

"Yes, who wouldn't be? We're stuck in a completely unknown part or dream realm. But I have zero intentions to die, so we'll have to leave this place alive."

"Being afraid is not something shameful, but we shouldn't let it control us. All of us will make it no matter what stands in our way because that's what I want."

Sunny looked at Nephis surprised by her suddenly joining their conversation. She looks confident in what she's saying, or is it arrogance of legacy flaring up? It doesn't matter because that's what they already were going to do.

Less tense than previously, Cassie had this time a sincere smile on her face. 

"Thank you Nephis, I needed to hear it."

"I was only stating the obvious."

Shaking his head Sunny looked at the sky. The atmosphere was no longer depressing, everybody including Sunny was determined to do their best to leave this god forbidden place. Although he didn't fully get rid of worry, Sunny didn't need to do it.

While his gloomy shadow did the work, something caught Sunny's attention. He could have sworn, that he noticed a black dot somewhere in the sky. Barely catching it with his side vision, Sunny was inclined to shrug it off as a mere illusion conjured by his exhausted mind.

But his suspicious nature didn't allow him to do it. For some time Sunny tried to find this dot again, but the results were fruitless. Whenever he shifted his attention to something else, this dot appeared again. 

This slowly started to get on his nerves, never leaving his mind and crawling somewhere in the back of his consciousness. Sunny started worrying that he might have lost it after all this time, but it seemed way too real.

That thing was simply mocking him. Slowly but surely, annoyance started to build up turning into burning hatred towards this thing. The worst part is that Sunny couldn't even tell what exactly it was. It was noticeable enough to make him unable to forget its presence but he was unable to see any details.

"Sunny, is there something in the sky?"

Startled by Nephis he jerked his head in her direction to see her holding her hand on the handle of the sword. Looking beside her, he saw that Cassie was worried as well. 

'Wait, Cassie might have noticed it too! Even though she can't see, perhaps she could have received some kind of vision.'

"I think there might be a nightmare creature, I can't see it directly but it's blinking in my side vision constantly."

"Cassie, have you noticed something?"

Thinking about Sunny's question, she furrowed her eyebrows but second later replied with a shake of her head. Contrary to what Sunny expected, both of them seemed to believe what Sunny was saying.

"We'll have to be more careful than. Tell us if there's anything else."

Since the conversation Sunny was especially vigilant, his shadow was diligently observing the ground area around the corals while he was observing the sky trying to find the same dot, that seemed to disappear miraculously without any traces left. 

The night was slowly approaching and the sun got closer to the horizon. Before it was too late, they started a campfire and prepared the meat. Without spices or anything else to make the food taste better, the only thing they could do was roast it. 

The one who took the role of the chef was Nephis, producing a small fire in her hand she lit up the flammable materials they managed to gather. Looking at her while she did the job, Sunny noticed her flinch the moment fire appeared and her expression twitching from pain.

'She got burnt? Isn't one of her attributes supposed to give her at least resistance to fire?'

Perhaps it's related to her flaw, It could be the reason why she never used her attribute. Does Nephis' aspect damage her, he wasn't sure but pain certainly didn't come out of nowhere. Temporary until further issues, Sunny planned to ignore this. 

'If I discover her flaw, there's a solid chance that she asks mine in return.'

Sunny was sure of his ability to cover the details but it might cause another question that could potentially expose [Shadow Bond]. If this happens, he'll have to get rid of both of them. She can keep her secrets as long as he keeps his. 

When the meat was ready, Sunny could say that it was one of the most delicious things he had ever eaten in his life. The only thing that could be compared to this were the meals in academia made with organic products.

All of them were savoring their dinner, the fire was long gone before the last rays of the sun disappeared. Sunny was afraid that the smell of meat might attract nightmare creatures from the sea but his worries were proven wrong. 

"Nephis, your cooking is amazing! How did you learn to cook like this?"

"It is part of the legacy training."

Listening to their conversation Sunny almost choked on a piece of meat. Coughing he looked at surprised Nephis, who didn't expect such a violent reaction coming from him. Sunny understood how valuable those skills were but imagining some snobby brats diligently studying to cook left him in disbelief.

"Are you okay Sunny?"

After taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with oxygen again, Sunny replied to the question. Cassie moved her hand trying to rub his back but directed it a bit too low earning a surprised yelp from Sunny.

"I'm... fine. Don't worry."

Finishing the feast all of them prepared to sleep. This time it was Sunny's turn to stay on the watch. Of course, he could have just ordered the shadow to do it while he was sleeping, but he decided to be extra careful.

Looking afar Sunny suddenly felt a familiar feeling. This time he couldn't see anything, on this night even with his enchanted vision, Sunny couldn't differentiate a small dot from a starless sky. But he knew that it was somewhere mockingly showing that it hadn't disappeared anywhere.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sunny braced himself to endure the nagging feeling of its presence and continued observing his surroundings. At some point, Sunny considered going to sleep but his paranoia didn't allow him to relax until he felt the distant presence disappear. 

Morning arrived and Sunny felt utterly exhausted. He wasn't physically tired but rather his mind felt as if it was assaulted by a mental attack. Both of his companions seemed quick to notice his state judging by the look Nephis was giving him and Casie's worry. 

"Sunny, has something happened at night?"

"No, it's just that the strange feeling returned. It's already disappeared by the time morning arrived."

"Sunny, are you sure that you're in the right state for today?"

"I'm not certain, but we have to do it as soon as possible. We don't have much time before scavengers will run out of food."

Nephis nodded and all of them started preparing. They left everything that could slow them down and took only necessities such as a small amount of food they had. Tying the rope Nephis prepared to climb down first waiting for Sunny's signal.

"Everything is clear, my shadow hasn't noticed anything suspicious."

After a short nod, she disappeared from his vision and he prepared to climb down with Cassie. Holding her on his back, Sunny held the rope and started going down. Feeling her breath on his neck, for a second Sunny trembled. 

"Does carrying me cause you discomfort?"

Sunny gripped the rope tighter being afraid that it would accidentally slip out of his arms. Perhaps it was the work of his exhausted brain trying to distract itself from stress, but Sunny had never before felt Cassie's arm around him so clearly. 

'Snap out of it, dammit. Have you forgotten where you are?'

"No, that's not what is bothering me."

Immediately he understood a mistake he just made. Giving such an answer it was guaranteed that the question was following. Cassie might have gotten worried that something happened with Nephis or that a nightmare creature appeared. The problem was that it was Sunny simply trying to hide his embarrassing thoughts being revealed by his flaw. 

"Sunny…what is bothering you? Has the recent feeling returned?"

"It's just… I'm not used to being so.. close with somebody."

Doing his best to ignore the embarrassment Sunny continued climbing down. Both of them remained silent but if Sunny could turn his head back, he would have seen Cassie who had a deep blush on her face.

Stepping onto the ground, Sunny helped her to stand safely and both of them approached Nephis. Seemingly unaware of the tension between two of her companions, they started their journey. 

Sending his shadow ahead, Sunny carefully led Cassie through the labyrinth while staying watchful towards dangers that could approach them from behind. Going in front of them, Nephis was prepared to fight any minute. 

With considerable speed, they advanced through the labyrinth. Familiar with this territory, Sunny helped them avoid dead ends on their way. The closer they got to the hoard of Carapace Scavengers, the more cautious the group became.

"How much do you know about the nightmare creature that you faced?"

Taking some time before answering Sunny recalled what he managed to discover from the Spell and Cassie. It wasn't that much but adding his personal experience, he had a general idea of their strength and capabilities.

"They are awakened beasts with sturdy armor made of chitin. Capable of delivering strong blows, they are also pretty fast. Both their pincers and legs can be used to attack, although their intelligence is lacking, they can bury themselves in mud to hunt the pray."

"While fighting I noticed that there was a place with a relatively thin layer of protection on their back, but I didn't have a chance to check whether targeting it would cause major damage."

Satisfied with answers Nephis nodded before saying her own observations. 

"When I dissected its corpse I found a few more weak points. The one that you mentioned on the back leads directly to their brain, so piercing this area would cause immediate death. You could also lower their mobility by targeting joints."

"The last spot is where their torso and body connect. If you manage to cut their spine, it would kill them but even failing to do so, would cause heavy damage to them."

Sunny quickly absorbed all the information, he remembered that Professor Julius told him about inspecting corpses to find weaknesses. If he hadn't done it previously, now that he heard how much information Nephis gained, he wouldn't forget to do it in the future. 

Walking for some time Sunny's shadow noticed a few nightmare creatures ahead. Walking through the different passages of the labyrinth there were Carapace Scavengers that looked for the food. 

"Stop!"

Trying not to be too loud, he attracted the attention of his companions. Cassie took a step closer to him while Nephis glanced back showing that she was listening. Looking for more details Sunny explained the situation.

"There are about five nightmare creatures ahead. We have two options for our path. The first path leads to an open area, there is only one creature, but two more are nearby. If we take too long or make too much noise during the fight, they might discover us. The second path has only two monsters, one of which is injured, but the passage is too narrow to fight comfortably."

Seconds passed and Sunny didn't stop monitoring the movement of creatures even for a second. He hoped that some of them would decide to go away clearing the path, but the situation hadn't changed much.

"Are there any other differences between those passages?"

"The second one is shorter than another, me and Cassie came from that direction when we found you."

All of them contemplated the options before Cassie spoke up. Sunny and Nephis attentively listened to her, even if it was not the vision she received, they decided to hear Cassie's opinion before choosing either of the options. 

"I think we should take the first road. I think we'll manage to escape before two other nightmare creatures arrive."

"Should I lead then?"

Receiving a nod, Sunny followed where his shadow pointed and soon group approached the clearing. Still hidden in the coral labyrinth, Sunny observed the surroundings once more looking if anything changed. 

Leading Cassie to the secure hiding spot Sunny waited for a few seconds before going back to Nephis. When he was about to leave, Cassie grabbed his hand. Turning his head Sunny was worried that Cassie had a vision.

"Stay alive Sunny. I'll be waiting for you and Nephis to return."

"I'll do my best."

Giving a signal to Nephis that nothing changed, they proceeded with the plan. Sunny slowly moved toward shadow and stood in them, planning to use the element of surprise. Adjusting the grip on her sword, Nephis glanced in his direction.

"Don't die."

'What's the matter with them? I was less worried before they started treating this battle as our last stand.'

Finally, Nephis rushed towards the Carapace Scavenger. When she was a few meters away from it, the creature noticed her presence and one of its pincers shot into Nephis' direction. Stepping aside she managed to avoid it and shortened distance towards the walls of the labyrinth. 

Moving backward Nephis forced the creature to follow her lead. She with mastered precision managed to avoid the hits. When the time between attacks was too small, ducking under another shot of giant pincer she was forced to shift her position to the side of the beast. 

Sometimes when she saw an opening, Nephis delivered a slash of her own, usually pointed in one of the joints. Staying in the shadow Sunny gripped the sharp bone that served him as a make-shift spear. 

Carefully observing the battle Sunny tried to find an opportunity to deliver a strike of his own. According to the plan, while Nephis took the nightmare creature's attention on herself, Sunny was supposed to deliver a fatal attack upon opportunity. 

Waiting for the suitable moment, suddenly Sunny felt an already familiar feeling. Even with limited vision of the sky due to it being covered by high walls of corrals, Sunny felt the presence of something somewhere afar.

Too distracted by its sudden appearance, he didn't notice when the battle had already approached the place where Sunny was hidden. Checking in hurry the state of the fight, he noticed the unfavorable position Nephis was in.

With no delay, Sunny jumped on the Carapace Scavenger and climbing its back tried to hit a weak spot. Unfortunately unable to secure his position on its back Sunny barely managed to scratch the plates. 

Thrown off its back Sunny augmented his body with shadow and rolled on the ground making some distance between him and the nightmare creature. The furious beast shifted its attention to Sunny and directed its pincer trying to snap his body in half. 

Sunny managed to dodge a few of its attacks but was caught by one of its limbs. Sunny found himself in a crushing grip, his armor now augmented with a single shadow was the only thing preventing his body from being cut in half. Unfortunately, its protection hadn't reached his bones and Sunny felt as if they were going to crack. 

Trying desperately to escape this situation and survive, Sunny attempted to stab the nightmare creature in the eye or one of its weak points. But he was way too close to the body of the beast, and with limited movement and lack of space, he was unable to stab it with the spear properly.

'I won't be dying, especially not with this nagging feeling!'

Considering shifting the shadow from augmenting [Puppeter's Shroud] to augmenting his body, Sunny noticed Nephis not so far. From the moment Sunny fell from nightmare creatures to him being captured passed no more than five seconds, but for Sunny, it seemed like an hour.

The grip on his body suddenly relaxed, the pressure threatening to break his body disappeared and he was on the ground gasping for air. Carapace Scavenger was dead and Nephis with a bloodied sword stood in front of him. 

"How severe are the injuries?"

Ignoring the presence of something afar, Sunny focused on his injuries. Thanks to the protection of his memory, Sunny escaped relatively unscathed. His torso felt like one huge painful bruise but bones seemed to be intact.

"Nothing life-threatening, I can move."

Not bothering to collect soul core or the meat of the awakened beast, Sunny and Nephis hurried to the place where Cassie was hidden. Sunny sent his shadow to check on the nearby nightmare creatures, they had noticed the noise but were still far enough for them to escape. 

The shadow was already on its way from nightmare creatures to Cassie. But it seemed that they would arrive faster than his gloomy companion. Lack of knowledge about Cassie's safety combined with a lingering feeling of suspicious presence caused Sunny's anxiety to flare up. 

When they passed another turn on their way to the Cassie, they could finally see her. Crammed in the corner and holding a staff, with an expression of fear plastered on her face, Cassie was shivering. 

Immediately Sunny sent shadow to scout the territory and sighed in relief when he didn't notice anything. Slowly approaching her, Sunny announced his presence to not startle her too much. Quickly she turned her head with a relieved expression. Although it didn't hold for long quickly changing to stiff and worried. 

"Cassie, we returned. Nightmare creatures are still far but they had already noticed the noise. We should hurry."

Cassie gave a nod and grabbed his hand, after the group passed the considerable distance and made sure there was no immediate danger, they started conversations. The first one to talk was Nephis. 

"You were distracted, what happened?"

"The same feeling appeared again, I was just surprised so it won't be a problem in the future."

"I understand… Do you need me to heal your injuries?"

"No, not yet. We shouldn't waste our energy until we are close enough to statue."

Hearing their conversation, Cassie became worried and tightened her grip on his hand.

"Sunny you're injured?"

"Yes, but my armor protected me from the worst."

Sunny looked at his runes with disappointment. The amount of shadow fragments remained the same. The only way to survive in this place was to become stronger, but it meant that he had to endanger himself by fighting nightmare creatures. 

'Why can't it be easier?'

"Sunny give me your hand."

Stumbling for a moment Sunny lost track of his thoughts. Looking at Nephis with bewilderment Sunny tried to make sense of what he just heard. Looking at Cassie, he saw that she was equally confused as he.

The shameless culprit of this situation hasn't changed her expression even for a bit. Still looking at Sunny, she stopped and waited for them to follow her. 

"..Why?"

"I received a memory. I have a better weapon, so I'll give it to you."

Immediately Sunny grew suspicious and all previous awkwardness disappeared giving its place to a tense atmosphere. At the very least, it was Sunny who perceived it like this. Nothing comes for free and he knew it perfectly.

"In exchange for what?"

Blinking while looking at him, Nephis seemed to be caught in surprise by his question. After a short moment of silence, she replied to Sunny. Seeing his hesitance to take it for free, Nephis set a considerably low price.

"I'll take the soul cores of the next five Carapace Scavengers you kill." 

Sunny nodded and held out his hand, when Nephis grabbed it, Sunny felt a jolt of electricity and something entering his soul sea. During this deal, Sunny felt as if he was scamming Nephis considering he didn't need them to saturate his core. But soul cores still had a price so it was relatively fair. 

Sunny looked at his cores checking for new additions. Not very much changed besides the amount of shadow fragments and a single memory.

[Shadow Fragments: 14/1000].

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Coast Splinter].

At the end of his short list of memories, Sunny saw a new memory. Looking at his soul sea he called this memory and finally got a proper look at it and immediately was met with disappointment.

In front of him was a seemingly rusted shortsword, its hilt was covered by worn-out leather, and the blade seemed to be suffering from rust, nevertheless it strangely remained dangerously sharp. It was at first glance seemingly unassuming yet deadly weapon. 

Memory Rank: Awakened

Memory Type: Weapon

Memory Description: [Lost in the shallow sea, buried in mud, this blade was both sharpened and dulled by waters.] 

'This is better than bones, but I'll have to be very careful not to break it.'

After this journey continued, they encountered Carapace Scavengers a few more times but managed to deal with them relatively easily. Halfway to the statue, an annoying feeling disappeared leaving him exhausted again.

Much to Sunny's relief majority of previous battles were much faster and easier than the first one. Now that Sunny wasn't distracted, when Nephis took the nightmare creature's attention on herself, he managed to finish enemies with one swift attack. 

Of course, it hasn't always worked as they planned and Sunny was forced to indulge in direct combat too. During this occasion, Nephis was the one who took care of landing a finishing blow on the enemy when Sunny tried to avoid getting killed.

Moving through the labyrinth in this way, they managed to kill six more Carapace Scavengers. Four of them were dealt with by Sunny and the remaining two were slain by Nephis, shortly after receiving his new memory, Sunny managed to pay his debt to Nephis. 

After slaying the last nightmare creature, they were very close to the point of their destination. One of the biggest troubles so far was getting Cassie on the statue. Taking breaks while climbing and changing roles, Sunny and Nephis managed to get her on top.

Lying on the platform with his both body and mind aching from exhaustion and pain. Sunny checked the runes with a satisfied grin. Just in one day, he managed to get eight more shadow fragments. Although changes in his body were not that noticeable, Sunny was stronger than previously.

[Shadow Fragments: 22/1000].

'Not bad, if we continue like this, perhaps when we arrive at the castle I'll have a hundred of them.'

Sitting up Sunny took his improvised bag and looked at the content inside it. In summary, there are seven soul cores, five of them were from monsters slain by Sunny including the one that gave Cassie's memory and two belonged to Nephis.

"Hey Neph, just like we agreed, here is the payment and two soul cores that already belonged to you."

Nodding she looked inside and gave two soul cores to Cassie. Taking out two more she offered two of them to Sunny earning his confused expression.

'What is she trying to do? Those soul cores belong to her.'

"Neph, don't get me wrong and ungrateful but those belong to you. If you return them to me, it defies the whole point of payment for memory."

Shaking her head Nephis still insisted on giving them to Sunny.

"Strengthening the whole cohort is vital if we want to survive."

'I can't just tell that those are useless to me because I saturate core differently, what shall I do?'

"I still think that focusing on getting you stronger is more important, but if you insist then I'd like you to teach me how to fight instead."

"Sure."

After a short reply from Nephis, she gave one more core to Cassie and took the remaining one. Sunny was certain that those actions made Nephis suspicious of him, but as long as no questions were raised, he could be relaxed. 

Changing his attention from internal struggles back to his companions, Sunny looked at Cassie. Quiter than usual she tried to do the same as Sunny but miserably failed. Time passed and the sun was already touching the horizon while nightmare creatures hid.

"Sunny… today I had another vision while hiding in the labyrinth."

Listening to her speaking so hesitantly and quietly, Sunny had already built up several ideas of what her vision could be about. Perhaps she finally saw the reason why only he and her entered the castle or she could see it being destroyed.

"It was a night with a powerful storm, while we were hiding behind rocks, two powerful nightmare beasts were fighting in the sky. One of them was a nightmare creature with black feathers, a pale body, and numerous limbs. Another one was a bird that looked more like a carcass of bones covered with skin, with a crooked broken beak and yellow eyes full of hatred, it stole prey of another creature and with a loud nasty croak hid in the distance."

When she finished speaking very familiar feeling returned, this time being much stronger on the periphery of his vision Sunny noticed a black dot. Despite being much closer than previously, it was as elusive as always.