The smile froze on Hero's face. He lowered his head, as though in shame. After a minute or so passed, shrouded in heavy silence, he finally answered. "Yes. I thought that if I do it when you sleep, you won't have to suffer." Unseen to him, a bitter grin appeared on Sunny's face. A long sigh escaped from the young soldier's lips. He rested his back against the cave's wall, still not looking up. "I don't expect you to forgive me. This sin, too, will be mine to bear. But, please, if you can... find it in your heart to understand. If things were different, I would have gladly faced that monster to let you escape. But my life... does not belong to me alone. There is an unencompassable duty I am sworn to fulfill. Until it's done, I cannot allow myself to die."

Sunny laughed.

"You people... Look at you! Planning to kill me and still insisting on having a good excuse. How very convenient! I really hate hypocrites like you the most. Why don't you be honest for once? Don't give me that crap... just say it! I'm going to kill you because it's easy. I'm going to kill you because I want to survive." Hero closed his eyes, his face full of sadness. "I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't be able to understand." "What's there to understand?" Sunny leaned forward, anger coursing through his veins. "Tell me. Why do I have to die?" The young soldier finally looked up. Even though he couldn't see in the dark, he turned his face in the direction of Sunny's voice. "That man was a villain... but he was also right. The scent of blood is too heavy on you. It will attract the beast." "You can just let me go, you know. We'll part ways. After that whether or not the monster finds me won't be your problem."

Hero shook his head.

"Dying in that creature's maw... is too cruel a fate. It's better if I do it myself. You are my responsibility, after all." "How noble of you." Sunny leaned back, dejected. After a short while, he quietly said: "You know... when I just came here, I was ready to die. After all, in this whole world two worlds, actually - there's not a single soul who cares whether I live or die. When I'm gone, no one will be sad. No one will even remember that I existed." There was a forlorn look on his face. A moment later, however, it was gone, replaced by mirth. "But then I changed my mind. Somewhere along the way, I decided to survive. I must survive, no matter what." Hero gave him a thoughtful look. "To live a life worth remembering?" Sunny grinned. A dark gleam appeared in his eyes.

"No.To spite you all."  The young soldier was silent for a few moments, then nodded, accepting this answer. He rose to his feet. "Don't worry. I'll make it quick." "Aren't you overly confident? What makes you think you'll be able to kill me? Maybe I'll kill you instead." Hero shook his head. "I doubt that." ... But in the next second, he staggered and fell on one knee. The young man's face turned deathly pale, and with a pained groan, he suddenly vomited blood. A satisfied smile appeared on Sunny's face. "Finally." *** "Finally." Hero was standing on his knees, the lower part of his face covered in blood. Astonished, he was staring at his hands, trying to understand what had happened to him.  

"What.... What magic is this?"

With wide eyes and a pale face, he turned to Sunny. "Was... was that thief right? Did you put the curse of the Shadow God on us?" Sunny sighed. "I wish that I had the ability to throw divine curses around, but no. To tell you the truth, I don't have any abilities at all." "Then.. how?" The young slave shrugged. "That's why I poisoned you all." Hero flinched, trying to comprehend his words. "What?" "After the tyrant first attacked, you send me to search for water. While gathering flagons from the dead soldiers, I squeezed Bloodbane juice into each one except my own, of course. Not enough to taste it, but enough to slowly kill anyone who would drink from them." The soldier gritted his teeth, struggling through pain. A sudden realization appeared on his face. "So that's why... the other two were in such bad shape." Sunny nodded. "Shifty drank the most, so his condition worsened the fastest. Scholar was also not long for this world, but you finished him off before the poison could. Yourself, however... it was as though Bloodbane had no effect on you at all. I was really starting to get worried." Hero's face darkened. "I see... I understand." He thought about something, then looked at Sunny with surprise. "But... but back then you didn't know... that we will turn on you." Sunny just laughed. "Oh, please. It was obvious. Shifty was the kind of man who would kill for a pair of boots. Scholar was like a wolf in sheep's clothing. People are selfish and cruel in the best of situations was I supposed to believe that those two weren't going to do something terrible to me when faced with certain death?" Hero spat more blood. "Then... what about me?" "You?" A disdainful expression appeared on Sunny's face. "You are the worst of them." "Why?" Sunny looked at him and leaned forward. "I might have not learned much in my short life, but I do know one thing," he said, all traces of humor gone from his voice. Now there was only cold, callous contempt. Sunny's face hardened as he spat: "There is nothing more pathetic than a slave who begins to trust his slaver." Hearing these words, Hero lowered his head. "I see." Then, suddenly, he laughed.

"You... you are a wicked little shit, aren't you?" Sunny rolled his eyes. "There's no need to be rude." But Hero wasn't listening to him. "Good. This is good. My conscience will be clearer." The young slave sighed in irritation. "What are you mumbling about? Just die already." Hero chuckled and suddenly pierced him with a stare. Somehow, he didn't look so sick anymore. "You see, that plan would have worked if I was a normal human. But, alas, my Soul Core has Awakened long ago. I've slain countless enemies and absorbed their power. Bloodbane poison, unpleasant as it might be, can never kill me." 'Crap!' Sunny turned around and tried to run away, but it was already too late. Something hit him in the back, sending his body crashing into the rock wall. With a scream, he felt a sharp pain piercing his left side. Rolling out of the cave, Sunny clutched his chest, scrambled back onto his feet and ran, trying to escape the narrow crevice. He managed to reach the old path, finally being able to see the stars and the pale moon shining brightly in the night sky. But it was as far as he was able to get. "Stop." As the cold voice sounded behind him, Sunny froze. If Hero really had an Awakened Soul Core, he had no chances of getting away from him. In a fight, he had no chances at all. "Turn around." The young slave obediently turned, holding his hands up. He looked at Hero, who was wiping the blood off his face with a displeased look in his eyes. The two of them stared at each other, shivering in the murderous cold. "Was it worth it? No matter. Despite it all, I will be true to my promise. I'll make it quick."

 The soldier unsheathed his sword. "Do you have any last words?" Sunny did not answer. However, a small silver bell suddenly appeared in his hand. Hero frowned. "Where were you hiding that thing?" Sunny shook the bell. A beautiful, clear ringing sound flowed over the mountain, filling the night with an enchanting melody. "What are you doing?! Stop!" The young slave dutifully stopped. "What was..." Right under Hero's bewildered eyes, the silver bell disappeared into thin air. He looked at Sunny, stumped and suspicious. "Tell me! What did you just do?" But Sunny didn't answer. In fact, he hadn't said a single word ever since escaping the cave. Right now, he wasn't even breathing.

 Hero, on the other hand, continued to speak. "Tell me right now or you will regret it." He scowled. "Why are you not saying anything?" The shivering boy just stared at him, completely silent. No... he was staring into the darkness behind him. Hero's eyes widened. "What..."  

Sunny had no choice but to resort to one last, desperate gamble. He had no chance against the enemy in a direct confrontation, at least not without an advantage. Bloodbane poison was supposed to be his hidden card, but turned out to be nearly useless. Being able to see in the dark did not help that much, too: somehow, Hero was able to perceive their surroundings even without any light. Whether he was using his sense of hearing or some magical ability, Sunny did not know not that it mattered now that they had left the cave and were standing under the moonlit sky. Now he had only one advantage left. The fact that he knew that the tyrant was blind, and Hero did not. Acting on that knowledge, however, was easier said than done. But what else could he do? That's why he tried to stay as quiet as possible and rang the silver bell. If the description did not lie, its ringing could be heard from miles away. Surely, the tyrant was going to hear it, too.

Now Sunny only had to stay silent, stall for time and hope that the monster would come. As he did so, Hero's bewilderment slowly turned into anger. "Tell me right now or you will regret it." His voice was quite threatening, but still, the young slave did not answer. He just shivered in the cold and tried not to groan despite the pulsing pain in his chest. "Why are you not answering?" But Sunny did not dare to answer. He held his breath and watched, horrified, as the familiar colossal figure appeared behind Hero. His lungs were on fire, and his heart was beating like crazy. It was beating so loud that he was even afraid that the blind tyrant would hear it. But, of course, it couldn't be louder than Hero's voice, who was still talking, turning himself into the only source of noise on this mountain. At the last second, a hint of understanding appeared in the young soldier's eyes. He began to turn around, his sword rising with lightening speed.

But it was too late.

A massive hand appeared from the darkness and caught him into an iron grip. The bone claws scraped against the armor, pulling it apart. Mountain King dragged Hero back, paying little attention to the sword biting into its wrist. Viscous saliva was streaming from its opened maw. Petrified by fear, Sunny slowly turned his back to them and took a couple of steps up the old, winding path. Then he darted away, running as fast as he could. Behind him, a desperate scream tore apart the silent night. Then a hungry roar followed. It seemed that Hero wasn't going down without a fight, even though his fate was already sealed. But Sunny didn't care. He was running away, climbing higher and higher. "I'm sorry, Hero," he thought. "I did say that I will watch you die... but, as you know, I am a liar. So go and die on your own..."

****

A lonesome dark mountain stood tall against the raging winds. Jagged and proud, it dwarfed other peaks of the mountain chain, cutting the night sky with its sharp edges. A radiant moon bathed its slopes in the ghostly light. Under that light, a young man with pale skin and black hair reached the peak of the mountain. However, his looks didn't match the magnificence of the scene: wounded and staggering, he looked pathetic and weak. The young man looked like a walking corpse. His coarse tunic and cloak were torn and smeared with blood. His sunken eyes were cloudy and lifeless. His body was bruised, beaten and cut. There were specks of bloody foam on his lips. He was hunched over, cradling the left side of his chest. Each step caused him to moan, ragged breath barely escaping through gritted teeth. Sunny was hurting all over. But most of all, he was cold.

So, so cold.

He just wanted to lie down in the snow and fall asleep. But instead, he continued walking. Because he believed that the Nightmare will be over once he reaches the peak. Step. Step. Another step. Finally, he had made it. At the highest point of the mountain, a vast expanse of flat rock was covered with snow. In the center of it, illuminated by moonlight, stood a magnificent temple. Its colossal columns and walls were cut from black marble, with exquisite reliefs decorating the stygian pediment and broad frieze. Beautiful and awesome, it looked like a palace of a dark god. At least it did once. Now, the temple was in ruins: fractures and cracks marred the black stones, parts of the roof had collapsed, letting in ice and snow. Its tall gates were broken, as if smashed into pieces by a hand of a giant.

Still, sunny was satisfied

"Found you," he said in a hoarse voice. Gathering the last of his strength, the young slave slowly limped in the direction of the ruined temple. His thoughts were muddled and confused. 'See this, Hero?' he thought, forgetting for a second that Hero was already dead. 'I've made it. You were strong and ruthless, and I was weak and timid. Yet now you are a corpse, and I am still alive. Isn't it funny?' He stumbled and groaned, feeling the edges of his broken ribs cutting deeper into his lungs. Blood was dripping from his mouth. Dead or not, Hero had gotten him good with that single strike. 'Actually, it's not. What do any of you even know about being ruthless? Poor fools. In the world where I come from, people had thousands of years to turn cruelty into an art. And as someone on the receiving end of all that cruelty... don't you think I would know more about being vicious than you ever could?' He was getting closer to the temple.  

'Truth be told, you never stood a chance... wait. What was I thinking about?' A moment later, he had already forgotten. There was only pain, the dark temple, and the overpowering desire to sleep. 'Don't fall for it. It's just hypothermia. If you fall asleep, you'll die.' Finally, Sunny reached the steps of the black temple. He started to climb them, not noticing thousands of bones that were scattered around. These bones once belonged to humans and monsters both. All of them were killed by the invisible guardians still lingering around the temple. As Sunny was climbing the steps, one of the shapeless guardians approached him. It was ready to snuff out the spark of life that was burning weakly in the defiler's chest, but then stopped, sensing a faint, strangely familiar scent coming from his soul. The scent of divinity. Sorrowful and lonesome, the guardian moved aside, letting Sunny pass. Oblivious, he entered the temple.

 Sunny found himself in a grandiose hall. Cascades of moonlight were falling through the holes in the partially collapsed roof. Deep shadows were surrounding these circles of silver light, not daring to touch them. The floor was covered in snow and ice. At the far end of the hall, a large altar was cut from a single piece of black marble. It was the only thing inside the temple untouched by snow. Forgetting why he came here, Sunny headed for the altar. He just wanted to sleep. The altar was dry, clean, and as wide as a bed. Sunny climbed on it and lay down. It seemed like he was going to die. He was okay with it. Sunny tried to close his eyes, but was stopped by a sudden noise coming from the direction of the temple's entrance. He turned his head to look, not even a little bit curious. What he saw would have sent chills running down his spine if he wasn't so cold, tired and indifferent.

Mountain King was standing there, looking at him with its five blind eyes. He was still massive, terrifying and revolting. Worm-like shapes were still moving frantically under its skin. It was sniffing the air, salivating. Then it opened its maw and moved forward, slowly approaching the altar. 'What an ugly bastard, Sunny thought and suddenly clutched his chest, convulsing in a fit of torturous coughing. Bloody foam flew from his mouth and fell on the altar. However, the black marble soon absorbed it. A second later, it was as pristine as it was before. The tyrant was just about to reach Sunny. It was already stretching its hands to grab him. 'I guess this is the end, he thought, resigned to his fate. But at the last second, suddenly, the voice of the Spell resounded in the dark temple.

 [You have offered yourself as a sacrifice to the gods.]

 [The gods are dead, and can not hear you.]

 [Your soul bears the mark of divinity.]

 [You are a temple slave.]

 [Shadow God stirs in his eternal slumber.]

 [He sends a blessing from beyond the grave.]

[Child of Shadows, receive your blessing!] Under Sunny's astonished eyes, the shadows crowding the great hall suddenly moved, as though coming alive. Tentacles of darkness surged forward, entangling Mountain King's arms and legs. The mighty tyrant struggled, trying to get free. But how could it resist the power of a god? The shadows dragged Mountain King back, pulling in different directions. The tyrant opened its maw, and a furious howl escaped it. The next second, its body ruptured, torn apart into pieces. Blood, viscera and severed limbs fell on the floor in a crimson torrent. Just like that, the horrible creature was dead. Sunny blinked. Once again, he was alone in the ruined temple. The great hall was dark and silent. And then the Spell whispered: [You have slain an awakened tyrant, Mountain King.]  

[Wake up, Sunless! Your nightmare is over][Prepare for appraisal...]

[Prepare for appraisal....]

Sunny found himself in a space between dream and reality. It was an endless black void illuminated by a myriad of stars. Between those stars, countless strings of silver light were woven into a beautiful and inconceivably complex net, forming various nexuses and constellations. It was truly breathtaking. Somehow, Sunny understood that he was seeing the inner workings of the Nightmare Spell. He also couldn't help but think that it looked a lot like the celestial equivalent of a neural network. If so... was the Spell alive? This was a question that countless people had been asking themselves for the past few decades. The best answer they had come up with was that there was no way to know. The Spell was neither alive nor dead; neither sentient nor mindless. It was more of a function than a creature. But Sunny was in no mood to ponder philosophical questions. He was eagerly awaiting his boon. The Spell was still appraising his performance. However, the first reward had nothing to do with it. [You have received a Memory: Puppeteer's Shroud]

'Yes!'

Sunny felt incredibly elated. He was almost ready to do a happy dance. That Memory belonged to Mountain King, who was an awakened tyrant – which meant that the Memory itself was of the Awakened rank. Getting it was a stroke of incredible luck! There were seven ranks to everything in the Spell. These ranks were, in order of growing power: Dormant, Awakened, Ascended, Transcendent, Supreme, Sacred and Divine (with the exclusion of Nightmare Creatures, who were ranked as Dormant, Awakened, Fallen, Corrupted, Great, Cursed and Unholy). From the Spell's point of view, Sunny was a dormant human. Having a Memory of a higher rank than his own soul core would be of great help once he enters the Dream Realm. The power gap between different rank simply could not be overestimated.

He wanted to take a look at the Puppeteer's Shroud, but there was no more time. The Spell was done with its appraisal. Here in the void, its voice didn't sound subtle and familiar anymore. Rather, it seemed like the universe itself was speaking. Sunny held his breath, listening.

[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]

[A nameless slave ascended the Black Mountain. Both heroes and monsters fell by his hand. Unbroken, he entered the ruined temple of a long-forgotten god and spilled his blood on the sacred altar. The gods were dead, and yet they listened.]

[You have defeated a dormant beast: Mountain King's Larva.]

[You have defeated three dormant humans, names unknown.]  

[You have defeated an awakened human: Auro of the Nine.]

[You have defeated an awakened tyrant: Mountain King.]

[You have received the Shadow God's blessing.]

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Final appraisal: glorious. Your treachery truly knows no bounds.]

That final part was not really necessary, as far as Sunny was concerned, but he was still pretty satisfied with the praise from the Spell. He felt like his chances of evolving his Aspect to an Awakened, or even Ascended one were pretty high. His overall power was still dependent on the rank of his soul core, which would remain dormant until much later, but the rank of the Aspect itself would do wonders for his overall potential. 

[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon!]

He was an Aspirant no more. Sunny grinned

[You have been bestowed a True Name: Lost from Light.] 

His jaw dropped. A true name! He had received a true name! Never in his wildest dreams did Sunny dream of becoming one of the chosen few to accomplish such feat and in his very first Nightmare to boot! Not even all of the Saints could boast of having one. He was an elite now, a bonafide cream of the crop! He was going to be rich! 

But the rewards kept coming 

[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]

'What kind of a question is that?!'

Sunny crossed his fingers and said "yes

[Dormant Aspect Temple Slave is evolving..]

[New Aspect acquired.]

[Aspect Rank: Divine.]

Sunny fell over.

[Aspect Name: Shadow Slave.]

*****

'Divine.....it's Divine.'

Sunny was standing on his knees, stupefied. The shock was so great that for a second there he lost all control over his limbs and fell. 'It said "divine"... right?' He raised a trembling hand and rubbed his eyes, making sure that he was awake. Or rather conscious, since, technically, he was still sleeping in the underground vault of the police station. Confused by all this terminology, Sunny silently summoned the runes and found the lines describing his aspect. Aspect: [Shadow Slave]. Aspect Rank: Divine. Aspect Description: [You are a miraculous shadow left behind by a dead god. As a divine shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. However, your existence is empty and lonesome; you mourn the passing of your former master and long to find a new one.]

Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond].

 Ability Description: [Find a worthy master and let them know your True Name. Once they recite it out loud, you will be bound to their will, unable to disobey any command. It is improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master.] That was... a lot to digest. First of all, Sunny felt his heart beating faster. He heard it right! All the suffering and horror he had experienced in the First Nightmare paid off in the end. A divine Aspect, he had received a divine Aspect! Anything above Awakened was rare and immensely valuable! People with Ascended Aspects were rare enough to be fought over by various factions. The factions themselves were built around singular powerhouses with Transcendent or Supreme Aspects. And he had never, ever heard of anyone acquiring a Divine one. Never!

 Anything with the "divine" prefix was so hard to find that it mostly lived in the realm of myths and legends. After all, the human race had not reached that high yet; it was only slightly more than a decade since humans managed to finally conquer the Third Nightmare and receive the ability to evolve their cores to Transcendent rank. As Transcendents or Saints, as they were called in the real world - powerful Awakened ruled over the Dream Realm, but even they did not dare to face Nightmare Creatures of higher ranks. Subsequently, there were not a lot of Memories and Echoes of Supreme rank around, let alone Sacred... or Divine. The same went for Aspects. And yet Sunny just got one! He grinned, driven half-mad by joy and arrogance. However, his jubilation was a little muddied. After all, there was that weird innate ability. Of course, he had no intention of becoming someone's magical slave, with no free will of his own. To hell with that! But it wasn't that bad. All he had to do to avoid that fate was to conceal his True Name. No one except for him could see his status. That meant that Sunny just had to keep his mouth shut, and no one will know that he even had one.

It meant giving up on all the benefits that someone who was bestowed a True Name after the First Nightmare was entitled to, but it all paled in comparison with a Divine Aspect.

'Not a problem, Sunny thought with a smirk.

If the Spell had the ability to laugh, it would surely do so after hearing his thoughts. However, it didn't. Instead, it began to speak again:

[The First Seal is broken.]

[Awakening dormant powers...]