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The battle against the Vile Theaving Bird was proving to be an agonizing one. The damned bird refused to die. It refused to even allow a truly devastating blow to harm in. The adamantine black feathers that coated its body blocked Sunny's cuts, and Neph's flames. The prospect of claiming back his fate was seeming to grow fainter with each second that passed.
The Cursed Terror wasn't invincible though. It too had its limits, no matter how inexhaustible they may seem. The combined might of two Supreme Titans was enough to slowly whittle it down over time. With each stab of Sunny's odachi and each cut of Nephis's sword, They were beginning to make some headway.
The three of them crashed through yet another rift. A distant past looming below in the waters of Ariel's Tomb. Sunny had lost count of how many they had gone through already. The violence of the battle made it hard to track. They were far from their own time though. The probability of returning grew dimmer and darker.
Pushing the thoughts aside, Sunny opened the [Shadow Lantern] and formed a net of chains to bind the Bird. They shot towards the Vile terror, attempting to gain any purchase they could. Few we able to. Yet, the sheer number Sunny constructed allowed some to get hold.
They wrapped around its legs, halting the horrid talons. Nephis shot from the side, the Blessing burning with the length of near a hundred meters. She sent the brutal cleave towards one of the colossal wing joints.
The blade bit into the Vile Bird, managing to cut past its black feathers. For a moment, it seemed like she may manage to cut its wing off.
The overwhelming Will and vitality of the Cursed being proved otherwise. An intense wave of pressure burst forth from its very center. In an instant, her blade halted and dimmed. Blessing had barely made it into the Bird's flesh.
Sunny's shadow chains shattered with little resistance as the Vile thing flexed its talons. The sharp daggers quickly shot out towards the recovering form of Changing Star. She barely managed to twist out the way of death. Still, the black talons managed to gouge a long score of flesh from her collarbone.
Such a wound would have done many in. Viscous red blood poured out from her flesh, and bits of skin hung loosely around the cut. It was a sight Sunny hated seeing.
Nephis's flames did not falter. The pain of the wound was little compared to her ever present flaw. Her skin rippled and stitched itself back together. The muscles below returning to form underneath the potency of her divine flames.
Fighting Changing Star was an eternally uphill battle. It did not matter how many time you wounded her. She could simply heal them. You might gouge her flesh, burn her organs, or cut off her limbs. It mattered little in the face of her overwhelming vitality.
Not wasting the moment, Sunny formed a colossal war bow from the shadows. Using his titanic Supreme strength, he drew it back as far as his anatomy would allow. A javelin-like arrow poured from the string of the bow, setting against his hand.
With a quick moment to aim, Sunny sent the javelin towards the small wound on the base of the Vile Bird's wing.
A powerful crack filled the air as the arrow shattered the sound barrier. Barely a millisecond passed before it slammed into the Vile Theaving Bird. Sunny doubted whether it would truly incapacitate the creature. It didn't matter much. A massive arrow combined with a ghastly wound, would undoubtedly inhibit its flight.
Announcing its displeasure with a vile screech, the Terror spread its wing and snapped the arrow. Blood poured from the wound, soaking its feathers. Unfortunately, the arrow would no longer block its wing.
'Not that I expected it to.'
Believing his manifested shadows could survive the might of a Cursed Terror would be folly. He would just have to take what he could get.
Several more arrows shot from Sunny's bow. Perhaps sheer numbers would allow one to pierce through.
The Vile Bird let out a hateful shriek, and spread its wings wide. Each arrow shattered against the shock that spread out from that simple movement. Abandoning the bow, Sunny manifested Serpent into an odachi again. Using his wings, he surged towards his for. Hate and killing intent radiated from his dark being.
Nephis followed suit. In another flare of agony, she set two of her cores ablaze. Pure heat radiated off of her, contrasting the cold of Sunny's darkness.
Beset from both sides, the Vile Bird shot upwards. Its massive wings seemed to blot out the seven suns. Yet, it was not fast enough. The large wound on its wing was enough to delay its ascent by mere seconds. For a battle of this caliber, that was an eternity.
Each Supreme drove their weapons in the beast's flesh. Sunny's odachi exuded the Will of Death, and managed to pierce through the feathers and a foot into flesh. Neph's diving flames singed and scarred the Bird's outer skin. Neither wounds were fatal, but each cut they landed would weaken it. Each stab would hinder its murderous rampage. It should be enough. It would be enough. It had to be.
Fate seemed to have other plans. In a blinding flash, The Vile Thieving Bird stabbed its beak towards Nephis. Blessing was still stuck in its body, and was unable to stop the piercing blow.
'NO!'
He arm was effortlessly torn off. The loathsome bird's beak had pierced her shoulder and ripped it off her torso. Torrents of blood poured out the stump. The horrid scream of pain Nephis let out was enough to rattle Sunny.
That small moment was enough.
From his periphery, he barely managed to spot the talons carving a path towards his chest.
'Shit!'
Yet again, he avoid instant death.. However, he too could not avoid the blow fully. The talons carved a deep gash from his hip up to his shoulder. An absolute and brutal slash, delivered by the talons of a lesser god.
Blood spilled from his lips, and ran down his neck. The internal damage dealt by the wound immediately made itself known. His organs were a wreck, many cleaved apart by the Vile Bird. Blood Weave was failing to keep his blood where it should be. A lesser god was still exactly that, a god. Sunny was lucky his body didn't empty itself of every drop of blood instantly.
Both Supreme's were left in a dire state. The might of a Cursed Terror was already dreadful enough. This was no common Cursed being though. A creature reviled by the Gods and void alike.
'Was I foolish to believe this was even attainable?'
Sunny watched as Nephis's flames licked at her arm, slowly closing the wound. She could force a new limb to grow, but it would take a bit of time. More than could be spared in a battle such as this. Healing Sunny would be near impossible. Reaching each other would be difficult with the Terror in their way.
But it did not matter to Sunny.
'No! I care not how foolish it may be. It is attainable. I will make it so!'
He pushed through the pain, letting shadows consume him. In perhaps a foolish move he swarmed himself around the Vile Theaving Bird. The elusive form he took dragged the hateful creature downwards. Spikes and swords manifested from his shadowy body, stabbing at whatever gap they could find in the feathers. Few managed to pierce through, fewer still into its skin.
But each little wound fueled Sunny's hateful spirit.
'You'll die bastard. For what you took from me, I will rend your flesh myself! Even if I die too.'
The loathsome terror did not stay idle though. Each beat of its wing, twist of her claws, and crushing pulse of Will ravaged Sunny's soul.
The hateful pair careened away. With a violent crack, another rift of time appeared in their path. Yet even that collapsed under their might. Instead of sending them further into the past, they were thrown into a dark void of eternal space. It felt as if they entered the very current of time itself.
'What…is this place?'
Even movement itself was difficult. Sunny's gruesome battle had halted almost immediately. The air felt like a viscous sludge. Parting through it took great effort on his part. Even the Vile Bird slowed to a crawl. Whatever place they had crashed into was not meant for the living. Even the dead would be unwelcome here.
'Move dammit. I need to get out of here.'
Anything. Anything! He had to find away. Nephis was still out there. She hadn't made it in here with them. Sunny supposed that had to be a good thing given the nature of this place.
The Vile Bird twitched behind him. Slowly it began to move..No.
'What the hell? It's being pulled away.'
It may have been moving, but it was not of its own volition. It was as if some external force was exerting a pull on it.
With a startled gasp, Sunny began to feel to the same sensation on his own body.
'No! What's going on.'
He struggled futilely. His own Will exerted no dominion against the rules of this place.
'My fate! It's slipping away. What the hell am I supposed to do here.'
Sunny wracked every portion of his exhausted brain. In the end, only one thing came to mind. It was an unpleasant idea, but he had little choice right now. Summoning [Weaver's Mask], he poured his essence into the dreaded [Where is my Eye?]
In an instant a subtle pressure descended upon his mind. It was…fairly tolerable. But why? The last time he used it, his mind was intensely burdened by the weight of the tapestry. He soon realized the truth.
A few meters away from him the world illuminated. Pouring from the Vile Theaving Bird were countless vibrant strings of Fate. The scene looked as if a god had strung it up on thousands of golden strings. They stretched endlessly from every inch of the creature. If it could see them, the strings would undoubtedly obscure its vision entirely.
'Fated. That's…THAT'S MINE'
In a desperate surge, he used every ounce of his strength and will to reach towards the Vile Bird. The authority of this realm battled against his push, but Sunny made ground. Before being yanked back, he wrapped his hand around a large bundle of the strings. In one violent sound, they snapped away. Sunny watched them drift aimlessly before suddenly coming alive and connecting themself to his soul.
In one blissful moment, Sunny was able to regain part of himself. The act of reclaiming a piece of himself filled him with relief and jubilation.
Unfortunately, these emotions were cut short by the ringing of a familiar voice. It may have been distorted and garbled, but it was one Sunny could never forget.
[Wel-NJLD B—- LOst FLDJF LiLlfdSJF]
'The spell!'
Had he managed to rip the spell back into his soul?
The insane revelation was put on hold though. Sunny was forcefully dragged backwards. The distance from the Vile Bird increased exponentially as Sunny hurtled through the eerie darkness of this realm. It seemed endless, eternal, and all powerful. Whatever this place was, existed far beyond the realm of mortals.
He wondered if he would ever escape it. Soon though, his eyes caught something. A small fleck of light far in the distance. A tiny, tantalizing hope that he would return to the Tomb of Ariel. He would have to find Nephis and locate wherever the Vile Theaving Bird had been sent to.
'This damned battle isn't over ye—'
He suddenly blacked out. The feeling was odd. It wasn't the short sensation of oblivion that sleep normally brought. It was drawn out and cold. A sensation of light seemed to pass over him, but it was impossible to pinpoint.
'Is this death? Dammit no! I refuse to die.'
Sunny almost began to protest his situation, but that voice rang out in his head again. This time though, it was clear and resolute. There was no mistaking what it spoke.
[Wake up !?!?!! Your nightmare is over!]
'What!'
Blinding light suddenly poured into his eyes. A gray concrete ceiling filled his vision. A hairline crack ran across it, water slowly dripping out the corners. It looked familiar. And what the hell! The Spell! It was back. But… Nightmare? That wasn't right.
'Where am I?'
Another sensation overwhelmed him. It was a strange feeling, one he never expected to deal with again.
'My shadow sense is… so small. I can barely sense half a kilometer.'
He was used to his senses spanning large swathes of the dream realm. The sudden emptiness of his mind was disorienting in its own right. Where was once an endless stream of information, was merely an empty void of thought. He would have swayed off the metal bed had he not been chained to it.
'Metal bed! What?'
He violently tried to sit up, but the mundane metal firmly held his body in place. But how? He should be able to shred such material like it was nothing. Yet here he was, his body refused to break free of his binds.
"Calm down young man, it's alright. Congratulations on passing your first nightmare."
Sunny froze.
'First nightmare? But…how? Surely not.'
But the words seemed to put things into clarification. The metal bed, the familiar gray stone ceiling. It was all extremely similar to that fateful moment he had stepped into the realm of awakened. That meant—
'Jet!'
He quickly craned his head. This unfamiliar situation would be greatly mitigated if he had someone he could trust. If he had truly been sent back to the time of his first nightmare, a powerful Master like Jet would be invaluable.
In an instant, his excitement shattered. Sitting in front of him was not the older sister like figure he had grown a deep fondness for. She possessed brown eyes instead of icy blue, and her hair was a long blonde that fell past her shoulders.
"Hello Sleeper…..Well, we aren't exactly sure of your name."
The awakened gave his a sharp look, clearly reprimanding him.
"Refusing to submit yourself to the nearest station was a foolish move. You're lucky you passed your nightmare, otherwise you would have wrecked havoc. You're lucky you aren't being put behind bars immediately, but the government can't afford the throw away any awakened."
She slowly put on a small smile.
"So once again, congratulations are in order. You're a sleeper now."
The stream of words flowed over Sunny. A deep sense of dread pooled deep in his gut. Who was this woman? Where was Jet? They didn't even know his name, nor had he submitted himself to the police?
'What the hell is going on? Where am I? I'm definitely in the past, and why am I so weak?'
He quickly tried summoning his runes. If the spell was speaking to him again, then maybe he had proper access to it again. His attempt was swiftly met with success. The result though, made his body shiver.
Name: ——-
True Name:——-
Aspect: [Shadow Slave]
Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond]
Rank: [Dreamer]
Class: [Beast]
'Dreamer.'
That pool of dread fully settled in his gut. He should have expected it. If he had woken up from the first nightmare, such a development was only reasonable. But still. The feeling was gutting. He had spent so long fighting tooth and nail to reach the pinnacle of humanity. To become the Supreme Heir of Death. Had it truly all been ripped from him because of the battle with the Vile Theaving Bird? Had that damned thing taken everything from him again. Had it sent him to the wrong point in time?
'No…No definitely not. I must have just been sent to a different police station. There were countless of the scattered across NQSC.'
This unfamiliar woman would be one of the hundreds of thousands Awakened on earth.
'But… she said the government couldn't afford to get rid of any awakened. They may have been scrambling for talent, but there's no way they would have overlooked me ignoring the Third Directive.'
That pool of dread grew even denser. To many things weren't connecting in his mind. He barely even registered when the woman stood up and unclasped his shackles. The words she spoke to him passed through his ears without comprehension. The gentle hand on his shoulder barely registered in his brain. The rising levels of distress forced all clarity from his mind for those moments.
'When….am I?'
That singular thought permeated his mind. Something was deeply wrong. He shouldn't be here. What had that tomb done to him? Where had that strange place poured him out?
Panic boiled over inside of him. The natural urge to run overwhelmed him, and he bolted off of the metal bed and shot towards the door. The distressed voice of the woman shouting after him.
'I have to get away. Somewhere. Anywhere. I need to find out where I am.'
He slammed the heavy metal door behind him, locking the woman inside. Quickly turning on his heels, he bolted through the complex web of the police station. Hallways and corridors were a blur. The mundane officers he passed cried out in shock as he bolted past them. He didn't even register the panicked words they spoke into their radios.
The shadows were strange too. He finally focused on what he was sensing outside the police station. The building were odd and unfamiliar. He barely recognized the layout, but it was certainly the same police station from so long ago. It was just so different. Far more underdeveloped than from the time he new. Buildings were either missing, or partially constructed.
Bursting through the last set of door, he took in the open sky. The evening sun lit up the sky in a splash of orange and red. The sheer beauty of it made him pause for a moment. Quickly, he began to take another step forward, leaving behind the police station.
"Stop."
His movement arrested entirely. The sensation sent prickles down his spine. He felt it. The powerful souls of two Ascended directly behind him, likely with their weapons out.
'Shit!'
The muscles in his body remained locked. There was no chance of him outpacing a Master as a Sleeper.
"Turn around. Do you know how foolish it is to try and bolt out of a police station? As a fresh sleeper no less. You're putting lives in danger with your recklessness."
The mans stern voice admonished him, ready to force him into compliance. A softer yet still firm voice rang out too.
"Calm down Viktor. He's likely in a state of panic after the First Nightmare. To say he would be to first to act irrationally would be a lie."
Sunny slowly turned to face the pair of Ascended warriors. His eyes drifted up the form of the calm woman. A feeling stirred with in him. She was undoubtedly familiar. A regal presence, combined with long raven black hair flowing down her back. Her striking brown eyes started in his own.
She was so familiar. It was probing Sunny's mind, yet it hadn't made the connection yet.
"Even still," the man spoke. "It would be better for you to calm down, and return to the station with us.
At the words, Sunny's eyes turned to the man. That simple acting nearly shattered his moment of calm. A tall striking man stood before him. Short black hair, dark eyes, and a presence that drew absolute attention. There was only one problem. One horrible problem.
Sunny recognized him. Of course he did. There wasn't a single person from his generation who wouldn't know that face. A peerless warrior of the Second Generation. A face that bore many traits of the woman he loved.
He slowly opened his mouth, his lips quivering as he forced the words out. His body nearly swayed to the ground as he did.
"Broken Sword?*