> FYI: English is not my first language, so I might make a bunch of mistakes here and there. Also, this is my first time writing anything other than essays for English exams…
> My memory about the early volumes is foggy, meaning this fic might be canonically inaccurate.
***
Sunny wandered the corridors of the Nameless Temple, humming a faint, broken tune that didn't belong in a world like this. Everything had gone wrong. Supremacy meant nothing. He had clawed his way to the top—only to find the summit empty, her voice lost to silence, her touch erased from the living world.
Everything had followed the plan. Anvil and Song tore into each other, their thrones crumbling, their domains bleeding power. But even in ruin, the Sovereigns were supreme. Years of planning collapsed like paper in the rain. They had never stood a chance.
The sovereigns were strong, strong beyond anything they could have expected. The very world bent to their will.
Nephis had been cut down by Ki Song in the very moment she reached for supremacy. Sunny could only watch as the body he cherished more than his own soul fell from the sky like broken prophecy, struck the ground, and convulsed—then twisted, contorted into a marionette strung by Ki Song's will.
Something in him cracked—
Mere moments ago he had attain supremacy after overcoming death itself. but now? He had always been broken, yet somehow, someone kept him from going over the edge… but now? That someone was no more. His conviction? His will? What was it all for if the person he wanted to be with would no longer be by his side.
Sunny's blood boiled. Hatred. Sorrow. Despair…
In silence, he unleashed himself. With power newly born of agony, he tore Anvil apart—it was effortless. Disgustingly so.
Ki Song followed.
He made her suffer. He needed her to.
And still—the fury didn't fade.
Nothing did.
He had confined himself in the Nameless Temple for months now, mundane humans were being infected by the spell en masse, the rest of the cohort was toiling in an attempt to keep the situation under control.
Sunny had explored most, if not all, of the Nameless Temple, this citadel was… peculiar, to say the least. For starters, it could teleport, and unlike the Ivory Tower that used runes, Sunny had no clue what kind of sorcery enabled the Nameless Temple to teleport. This was also the very temple where he had received Shadow's Blessing.
Eventually, he reached an altar. It was nothing special—made out of stone with moss growing out of it, probably from the temple's time in Godgrave—yet it held a special connection to him. It was the very altar where his blood was spilled, the very altar that ended up changing his life: the altar where Shadow had blessed him with his Divine Blessing.
'I wonder…'
He didn't believe in miracles. Not anymore. But still, some splinter of him—starved and desperate—reached for one.
He willed Serpent into the shape of a scalpel. A sleek thing of black steel, mundane in form but draped in an aura of death so dense it made the air heavier. It felt right in his hand. Like something born to be wielded by him.
In one swift motion, Sunny made an incision on his palm, not too deep, but deep enough for a single drop of blood to make it past [Blood Weave]. The blood splatted onto the marble altar, being absorbed just as it had in his first Nightmare…
Nothing—
'What had I expected?' He let the question rot in the silence.
He turned from the altar, steps slow, bitter, already retreating toward the corridor he came from. And then—darkness.
Total.
Like ink poured over the world.
"What the Spell!" He tried to cry out, yet no sound escaped him. Instead, a familiar sound he had not heard in quite some time reverberated in the back of his head.
[You have offered your blood as a sacrifice to the gods.]
[The gods are dead and cannot hear you.]
[—unknown— is amused by your treachery.]
[—unknown— rewrites existence as a gift for its entertainment.]
[—unknown— imparts on to you a gift.]
[—unknown— calls in a favor from a slumbering deity.]
Sunny tried to Shadow Step, but it was for naught. He could neither feel anything—with his shadow sense—other than the never-ending void, nor could he establish a connection with any of his incarnations. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be cut off from his source element.
He was alone.
Not just metaphorically. Literally.
'What the Spell did I get myself into now…'
He didn't have time to wonder. He needed to find a way out of his current predicament, and he needed to do so fast.
But then—
A thought. Small. Bitter. Loud.
'Do I even want to?'
Would escape matter, if no one waited for him on the other side?
He flinched from the idea, as if it were a blade. He still had Rain. The cohort. Something resembling duty. But conviction came slower now, like dragging breath through tar.
Before he could act—before he could even brace himself—drowsiness hit him like a drug. Thick. Smothering. He fought it, teeth gritted against the pull of sleep.
But resistance was a joke.
Whatever had taken him…
was no ordinary being.
Daemon? God? Or something deeper than both?
Even that thought chilled him.
But eventually, like a puppet with cut strings, he collapsed into sleep.
***
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]
'WHAT THE FUCK?!'
He had thought of a lot of things that could have happened, even the thought of him dying crossed his mind; however, this… This he had no idea how to react to.
'What kind of situation is this?!'
Sunny looked down and saw the chain that had once, years ago, bound him was now binding him yet again. It wound up the road with dozens of other slaves shackled to it. It felt real, too real to be merely a dream.
The thought that this was all a nightmare or even some illusion crossed his mind, but that thought was quickly dismissed. With his defense against mind attacks as a Supreme and Nightmare Master, putting him in such an illusion would be no small feat.
He quickly composed himself and an emotion he had not expected to feel ever again, rose from some dark depth… Hope.
'If— If I'm somehow back in the past…'
His lips slightly curled upwards. He allowed himself a moment of respite and attempted to summon his runes.
'if this works, then…'
***
Name: Sunless
True Name: —
Rank: Aspirant
Soul Core: Dormant
Memories: —
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Fate's Favored], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Shadows], [Chain Breaker], [Gift of —unknown—]
Aspect: [Temple Slave]
Aspect Description: [A slave is a useless wretch with no skills or abilities worth mentioning. A temple slave is just the same, except much rarer.]
***
Sunny stared at the runes. His slight smile was now a full blown grin.
They was mostly the same, except for three of them. First, there was the [Fate Breaker], which he assumed had something to do with him breaking fate at the end of the Third Nightmare; the second, however, was what made him curious.
'Gift? What kind of gift?'
[Gift of —unknown—] Sunny assumed it had something to do with what happened with the altar; however, he had no way of knowing and, thus, chose not to dwell on it. As for the [Chain Breaker], he also had a hint of an idea as to what it could be about as he felt the shackles on his hands being rejected, he was sure he could easily destroy them if he wanted—but not now.
Before long, a young soldier riding a beautiful, white horse, clad in simple leather cuirass and armed with a spear and a short sword, approached him. Sunny recognized him immediately. It was Auro of the Nine.
He took a flask of water from his belt and extended it to Sunny.
"Bear with it a little more—"
He started speaking words Sunny was all too familiar with, so he simply chose to feign ignorance, knowing what doing otherwise would entail.
Sunny knew what was going to happen, of course, but he didn't warn anyone. Why…? Simply because that was the best way to handle their current predicament.
Using the time left before the Mountain King initiated his assault, Sunny decided to look through the description of his runes. The two new ones had especially piqued his curiosity.
[Mark of Divinity] Attribute Description: "You bear a faint scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it once, a long time ago."
[Child of Shadows] Attribute Description: "Shadows recognize you as one of their own."
[Fate's Favored] Attribute Description: "You are a treacherous being that piqued the interest of —unknown—. With its favor came another."
[Chain Breaker] Attribute Description: "You intrinsically defy any form of chains placed upon you."
[Gift of —unknown—] Attribute Description: "—unknown—, the first *** of the universe. It existed not because it must, but because it could. Amused by your treachery and defiance of fate, —unknown— bestowed upon you a gift and called upon—for you—a favor."
So many questions and no answers. Sunny had hoped the descriptions would help him understand: understand why he was back here and, more importantly, what the Unknown was… is?
The Spell usually refers either the creatures of the void or the forgotten God as —unknown—; however, this time, it felt different. Especially with that description that left a sour taste in his mouth:
*Existed not because it must, but because it could.*
Unfortunately, he could not afford to ponder for long; thus, he shifted his thoughts towards the other runes. The first two did not change; however, the latter…
[Fate's Favored] Seemed like a blessing, but Sunny had had far too many deplorable encounters due to fate to know that there is no such thing as its favor. Still… he wanted to.
Dismissing his runes, Sunny turned his attention back to his current situation. The sun had hidden behind the mountain, and the sky darkened—not that it mattered much to Sunny, with his ability to see in the dark and all.
Eventually, the caravan made camp for the night, unaware of the cruel fate that awaited them.
'It's almost time,' Sunny thought to himself, prepared for the creature to come crashing down at any given moment. And that it did.
The Mountain King came crashing down from the mountain. Sunny remained perfectly upright, almost as if he had expected its arrival.
'Looking at it now, it's truly a detestable abomination.'
Sunny thought while looking at the four-meter-tall creature. He had expected to be suppressed at least a little bit by the creature, but to his surprise, there was nothing. Sure, he was still wary of the creature, as it could very easily tear this version of him apart. However, he felt no fear standing close to it.
Easily sidestepping to dodge both the creature's swing and the corpse of the broad-shouldered man. Before the corpse had a chance to turn into a larva, Sunny wrapped the chains on his wrists around the corpse's neck and used leverage to snap its neck off.
[You have slain a dormant beast, Mountain King's Larva]
The familiar voice of the Spell resounded in his head, bringing a smile to his face. Unfortunately for him, there was no memory to be claimed.
Soon after, he tried focusing on his [Chain Breaker] attribute The chains shattered almost instantly, their broken shards nearly piercing his skin.
'D-Damn that's strong!'
The rest of the fight went exactly as he had expected it to, albeit with a few minor deviations.
This time Sunny had not had the atrocious idea of running away and being done in by the cold. Also, locking the chains around the creature went smoothly—if not perfectly.
Soon they gathered around the fireplace and formed the plan to traverse up the mountain:
"Tell me, why can't we go down?" Auro asked.
"Because the monster isn't dead. It survived a fall from an incredible height; what's to say it died from another? It'll be back soon," Sunny replied, deadpan. "Food, water, and warmth are what we need."
Then, without a moment of hesitation—
"You, carve the oxen carcass," Sunny spoke, pointing towards Auro, "and I'll get the flagons from the corpses. As for these two…"
"I'll look for firewood," Scholar grimaced.
Shifty glanced left and right before speaking, "I'll go find us something warm to wear."
***
Sunny came across the old veteran close to the corpses of the soldiers mauled to death by the Mountain King. Among them was the old veteran who had given him his first Memory.
"Huh, seems like you're destined to die. Fate most certainly does not favor you."
Sunny picked up a shattered sword lying nearby, plunged it into the man's neck, and then threw it away. He grabbed a functional dagger instead and tucked it into his newfound cloak. Not even bothering to watch him convulse and die, Sunny simply collected his flagon and walked away.
After a while, the Spell's voice whispered into his ear:
[You have slain a dormant human, name unknown.]
[You have received a Memory: Silver Bell.]
Sunny summoned the runes of his newly acquired—or rather, reacquired—Memory, and a grin found its way onto his face.
[Silver Bell: A small memento of a long-lost home, once bringing its owner comfort and joy. Its clear ringing can be heard from miles away.]
Unbeknownst to everyone, however, Sunny had not only harvested the flagon and cloak but also hidden away some Bloodbane.
Eventually, they began their ascent up the mountain. During the climb, Shifty grew drowsy, flailing at the harder sections. Unsurprisingly, he eventually fell mid-climb to his demise.
The group pressed onward. Sunny was struggling. He once possessed the strength and tyrannical will of a Supreme; now, though he retained a sliver of that will, his former strength however, was nowhere to be found.
Sunny pondered on his regression, his mind was racing,
'If I truly am back, then— I can fix everything, every loss, every defeat.' A grin once again crept up his face. 'I won't let them suffer this time…' He dismissed the thoughts and refocused on climbing.
Scholar, too, began showing exhaustion. Everyone noticed, but no one voiced it. Ultimately, Scholar met the same fate as Shifty.
Frozen, Sunny and Auro watched as Scholar plummeted to his death.
The two later camped in a shallow cave.
"I'll take watch. You sleep."
Sunny didn't nod. He simply looked away… planning.
He'd laced Shifty and Scholar's drinks with Bloodbane to kill them during the climb. Of course, he knew Auro was an Awakened, and the most it would do was put him on edge, so he refrained from poisoning his water.
Hours later, Auro's voice echoed in the cave:
"Are you awake, Sunless?"
Silence.
"You know, I can usually sense people's presence. But with you… nothing. It's like you don't exist."
Still no response.
Auro crept to where Sunny had been resting—nothing. He jerked his head around, searching.
Before he could react, a dagger flashed from behind, slicing his throat in one motion.
[You have slain an Awakened human, Auro of the Nine.]
[You have received a Memory: Origin Blade.]
Sunny summoned the runes hastily as he pressed forward, putting distance between himself and the tyrant:
Memory: Origin Blade
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description: [On this fateful day, one destined for greatness was destined no longer.]
'Huh. Interesting.'
---
After hours of arduous travel, Sunny reached the Nameless Temple. Its colossal columns, carved from black marble, stood beautiful and awe-inspiring—or would have been, had they not been in ruins.
'Rather fitting for a dead God of Death,' a smirk tugged at Sunny's lips.
As he climbed the steps, a shapeless guardian approached, poised to extinguish his life—then halted. It sensed a faint, familiar scent from his soul: divinity. Sorrowful, the guardian stepped aside.
Sunny entered a grand hall shrouded in shadows, where slivers of light struggled through the gloom.
Approaching the altar, he grinned.
"Well, what do you know? I'm back."
He summoned his new Memory. Sparks erupted as a longsword materialized in his grip.
Yet he waited. Waited for the Mountain King to arrive. A spiteful soul like Sunny wouldn't miss the chance to watch an enemy be torn apart by a dead God.
The tyrant soon entered the temple.
With a final arrogant glance toward the tyrant, Sunny sliced his palm and grimaced.
Blood dripped onto the altar. The black marble devoured it hungrily.
[You have offered your blood as a sacrifice to the gods.]
[The gods are dead and cannot hear you.]
[Your soul bears the mark of divinity.]
[You are a temple slave.]
[The Shadow God stirs in eternal slumber.]
[The Shadow God heeds the favor, bound by oath.]
[He sends a blessing from beyond the grave.]
[Child of Shadows, receive your blessing!]
[You possess the impossible gift of —unknown—.]
[Your blessing evolves!]
The shadow stirred, coming alive. Tentacles surged forward and tore apart the tyrant, its attempts to escape rendered feeble in front of the might of a god.
And then the Spell whispered:
[You have slain an awakened tyrant, Mountain King.]
[You have received a Memory: Puppeteer's Shroud]
[Wake up Sunless, your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]
Sunny found himself in a familiar space between dream and reality. It was an endless black void illuminated by a myriad of stars. Between those stars, a weave of silver light was woven into a beautiful and inconceivably complex net, forming various nexuses and constellations. even now that Sunny had experienced weaving as a supreme, It was truly breathtaking.
[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—yet one stirred, not for him, but for a favor owed.]
[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 Evolved blessing.]
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final appraisal: Incomprehensible. Your treachery truly knows no bounds.]
'Damntaion, what makes me so treacherous?'
[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon!]
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Lightless Heir.]
His jaw dropped 'W-what?' He struggled to collect his thoughts, there had only been a few cases of True Names coming from first nightmares, but there had never been the case of someone getting two true names.
The rewards kept coming.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
'Yes' He responded
[Dormant Aspect Temple Slave is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: unknown.]
[Aspect Name: Heir to Shadow]
***
For the first time in his life, Sunny was speechless—dumbfounded, even.
'U-Unknown?'
He raised a trembling hand to rub his eyes, making sure he wasn't misreading the runes.
The only times —unknown— was used by the Spell were either when the words were too dangerous for mortals to know, or when the Spell couldn't classify the rank.
However, it didn't stop there. The Spell continued.
[You have received new Attributes.]
[You have received new Attributes.]
[One of your Attributes is ready to evolve.]
'Beyond Divine and… a new Attribute?' was the only thought he could formulate before summoning his runes, making sure he wasn't hallucinating.
Aspect: Heir to Shadow
Aspect Rank: —unknown—
Aspect Description: [You are the only heir of a dead god. As a divine heir, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. Your existence—although lonely—is complete. You are a shadow that need not be cast.]
As he continued reading, he silently prayed, 'Please no Shadow Bond… Please no Shadow Bond…'
Innate Ability: [Death]
Ability Description: [The only finality is Death. The only inevitable truth is Death. You embody the absolute law of Death. As the embodiment of Death, your will is stronger, sharper, and more pervasive than others.]
A sigh of relief escaped him…
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
A wry smile crept across Sunny's face. His body was about to be filled with energy, and the feeling should have been euphoric… except it wasn't.
He felt the surge—it wasn't calm this time. It was vicious. His body began to rebuild itself in ways he hadn't expected. The pain was gut-wrenching. Not as bad as looking into the tapestry of fate, but a very close second.
Wails escaped him. His knees buckled. He fell, clawing at the ground. His bones were crushed and remade, his muscles torn and mended, his blood vessels filled beyond capacity. He felt as if he were being killed and revived again and again.
With each change, the pain only worsened. He wasn't weak. He was no longer the frail outskirts rat he used to be. But pain did not care. He would have cried if he had any tears left.
Eventually, the pain faded. His breath deepened. The vicious heat gave way to a soothing coolness, washing away the physical ache. But the mental strain remained, leaving him dazed. If not for that, he might have realized just how much he had changed.
---
Sunny found himself in his soul sea. The star hanging—
'Wait WHAT?!'
There wasn't a star.
There were seven. Seven dark stars, filled with shadows.
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
Sunny steadied his breathing. 'This isn't even the craziest thing that's happened to me recently.'
The Spell continued.
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Shadow Sovereignty]
He hurriedly summoned his runes.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lightless Heir
Rank: Supreme
Shadow Core: Titan
Shadow Fragments: 0
Memories: [Silver Bell], [Origin Blade]
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Fate's Favored], [Divine Right], [Scion of Shadows], [Chain Breaker], [Gift of —unknown—], [Pureborn]
Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control]
Aspect Ability Description: [Your shadow is more independent than any other. It is an invaluable helper.]
[All power has a price.]
Sunny sighed, knowing what was about to come. He didn't mind—but some part of him still hoped it would be different.
[You have received a Flaw.]
Flaw: [Clear Conscience]
Flaw Description: [You cannot lie.]
Sunny exhaled deeply as the Spell reached its end.
[Wake up, Lightless Heir!]