Chapter Text
Sunny was dying — he felt that. He felt his lungs filling with the cursed waters of the River of Time; he was bleeding out fast, the waters around him colored in crimson, leaving a filthy metallic taste and smell behind. He was broken beyond repair — there were probably only a few bones in his body that had not been crushed or completely obliterated.
But that was okay — somewhat — normally he probably wouldn't complain much about it. It was something he was extremely familiar with, after all. For the last ten (or was it twelve?) years or so, almost every new day was filled with similar experiences, but he lived on. Battered, bruised, sometimes even on the verge of death, but he had always prevailed.
This time, however, was different. He was alone. No one to pull him out, no one to watch his back, no one to heal his wounds or even boost his morale. All of his Shadows were dead. His incarnations and the shadows connected to them — destroyed. His essence had run out a long time ago. Only Gloomy was still with him, though barely. His soul was also in tatters, obviously. His Weaves were trying to fix him frantically, but even the miraculous lineage of the Demon of Fate had its limits. And that loathsome Bird had stolen almost every meaningful Shade from his Legion. The nerve!
Yet even then, he could probably bite his way back to the land of the living. He had done this numerous times before, so maybe he could do it even now. Yes, his condition was dire. Yes, he was alone. Yes, he had lost his most valuable and trusted allies and helpers. But he had his mind! The cunning, flexible, and sharp mind that had pulled him out of the most terrifying situations he had ever faced. He still had it!
Or not… The most grievous wound he had, after all, was his mind. It was utterly and irreparably broken. He could barely hold a single thought before forgetting what he was thinking about. He could barely even remember who he was, or how he had gotten here. And worst of all — Sunny had become Corrupted. And it was what had broken his mind the most. His thoughts were slowly being crushed and replaced by white noise — growing louder with every second — along with foreign emotions and forbidden knowledge. It was spreading far faster than he had expected.
But it made sense. He was being pulled into the depths of the Great River — a place where time was a very complicated thing to gauge, so he could have been drowning for ages, for all he knew. And at the moment, he wasn't really fighting Corruption all that much. That was because all of the pieces that were left of his mind, all of his Will, all of his hatred and spite were directed at only one thing. Well, two things... He wasn't really being pulled to the depth of the Great River; instead, he was pulling himself there. Himself, and an overgrown, loathsome chicken — the Vile Thieving Bird herself. The second thing he was doing was squeezing the last bits of life from the Cursed Terror.
Both of the Bird's eyes were missing, the only remaining wing broken in several places. All of the Terror's talons were destroyed — either cut off or simply rendered unusable. Deep cuts and bites, left by Sunny himself in a fit of unstoppable rage, covered the creature. The most gruesome wound, however, was around its throat. It was missing a huge chunk of flesh that Sunny had bitten off before pulling them both into the depths of the Great River. He savored the taste of the Terror's flesh and blood — the most disgusting thing he had ever tasted, and he had eaten many disgusting things before — but that taste filled him with endless glee even in his mad, corrupted, and dying state.
The loathsome creature was not much of a threat anymore — much like Sunny himself wasn't. Even its will to continue living had been crushed, or to be more precise — stolen. By the Treacherous Shadow himself. Sunny had learned a few things from the Bird, after all. Though he didn't think he would ever use his newfound talents again, considering the situation he was currently in…
So, to sum everything up: he was drowning and in the final moment of murdering the filthy creature. Oh, and he was also being corrupted and dying himself — whichever happened first. By how everything had been progressing so far, he believed the former would happen first, but who knew. In these cursed waters, anything could happen. Even if the River had been waning and on the verge of dying too, it was the remains of an Unholy being, after all.
Sunny was tired. Extremely so. He was also more than a little mad. A fair bit, to be precise. He was also enraged — at his Fate, at this fucking Bird, at himself most of all. He had failed. Multiple times. All of his friends and loved ones were either dead, enslaved, or worse. There were many things he had done wrong. However, what had started this downfall was his decision to be free. After he had lost his Fate and returned from the Third Nightmare, everything went into a downward spiral. First came his growing madness. Sunny was far from becoming the Mad Prince; however, he wasn't sane either. After everyone forgot him, Sunny's already unstable and shaken mind had cracked even more. Every attempt to make anyone remember him was met with cold denial. Nothing worked.
So, long story short — he gave up. And then he did one stupid thing after another. He braved the Hollow Mountains. Was eaten alive by a Great Titan and then blew it up from the inside. Claimed the Nameless Temple as his Citadel. Returned to the Forgotten Shore. Killed the Tree. Explored the Barrows and the Burned Forest. Almost died several times. Relocated to Godgrave and explored it too. Almost died after meeting an Unholy being. Received the news of his friends dying. Grew even madder. Committed suicide and then changed his mind, thus becoming Supreme. Challenged the Sovereigns of Song and Sword's Domains and murdered them both. Slew the Dark Sea, and almost got sealed. Got his ass handed to him by the unkillable Dreamspawn.
In the last year or so, he had gotten a bit more clarity back. He had even found a semblance of happiness and hope in this dying, forsaken world — hope and happiness that were taken from him again. By the hateful Thieving Bird. He knew that he shouldn't blame everything on the creature. Both times, he had lost everything because of his own decisions. But he hated himself enough already. He couldn't hate himself any more — he had tried. So all that was left of that endless well of hate, sorrow, regret, and rage that couldn't be directed at himself was directed at the Bird.
Sunny let out a breath, and with it a violent, bloody cough. All of the oxygen had already left his body long ago; the only thing keeping him alive was his Supreme — well, somewhat Sacred, or was it Cursed now? — Will. Until the Bird was 100% dead, he would still be clinging to life. But after that? Well, what was the point? He had no one, no goal, no place to go. He wouldn't even be able to save what was left of humanity now that it had been enthralled and was slowly being consumed by Asterion.
In a single moment of clarity, Sunny's thoughts drifted toward his memories of the end of his Third Nightmare — of his greatest failure. The beginning of the end. His moment of selfishness… Was it really that wrong to want to be free? To belong to no one, not bound by anyone's will, not afraid of every word that the holder of the chain might utter… Even if the slaver was the person that he loved. Was it really wrong to want to have a choice?! Sunny didn't think so. Even now.
The problem was that Fate hated him. It pushed him onto the path of being a slave forever. And when he defied its wishes, it pushed back even harder, destroying everything he had ever cherished.
Given the choice and knowing everything that he knew now, he would have chosen differently, of course. But he would never have stopped trying; he would have continued to search for a way to be free from Shadow Bond's shackles. The desire to be free was the single most defining trait of his character. He'd had nothing but his freedom in the outskirts when he was a kid. And even now, his freedom was the only thing he had left. Was it worth it? Honestly, he wasn't sure. The deaths of millions of people. mundanes and Awakened alike, his friends and loved ones, definitely weren't a price he would have chosen to pay for losing his Fate and becoming free from the Shadow Bond. But a single traitorous thought crept into his broken mind: 'Was a world where a single person's freedom could become the source of its downfall really worth saving?'
So maybe he wouldn't have changed that decision. Maybe he would still have chosen his freedom in the end — especially knowing about the origin of Daemons and the Weaver's Lineage, and what becoming famous would entail. But he would have changed everything that came after. Of that, he was sure. Sunny discarded those thoughts, however. There wasn't much point in dwelling on them. He was dying, and he would not be given that choice again anyway.
White noise slowly filled his mind again. Sunny's lungs burned; he desperately needed to breathe. But even the desire to breathe sent unimaginable pain through his broken body, mind, and soul. For a moment, the faces of his friends and family flashed through his mind. His family: first the blurry silhouette of his father, then the shining visage of his ever-smiling mother, then Rain's childish face from before her adoption, as he remembered her then, and after that her youthful beauty from the last time he saw her. His friends, and those he had failed: Teacher Julius, Elyas, the Devils, Aiko, Professor Obel, Beth, and the refugees of Falcon Scott. Then came the faces of those who were more than friends to him, the people who had become like family. The people he cared about the most: Effie, Kai, Jet, the manipulative witch Cassie, Nephis, Morgan…
'...I love you, Sunny...'
‘Sunny, have you ever thought about starting a family?’
He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. The action sent a spike of pain, but he ignored it.
He felt something shift in his consciousness. Sunny blinked, then frowned and then his face was struck with an unimaginable horror, unlike anything he had probably ever felt before. He felt it taking a cold grip over his heart and squeezing it with terrifying force. His mind went blank for a second. He searched for a source of his state. And he didn’t need to search for long. The ever-present white noise of the spreading Corruption had suddenly grown louder, and was still continuing to grow. Ringing, beating, hissing — far, far stronger than before. It rang out, spreading into every corner of his mind. It was disturbing and painful, but that was not what terrified him at all. After the Corruption grew exponentially in strength, it left all notion of subtlety behind. It simply started devouring his thoughts, feelings, and then his memories like a hungry, vengeful beast. It took especial pleasure in consuming every little thing that reminded him of the people he loved. First he forgot their voices, then the little things that had made their presence vivid to him. After that he could no longer remember the faces he had seen just a moment ago. Then he started to forget the memories they had shared — slowly at first, and then, like a wave washing over him, he could remember almost nothing about the people he held dear. And after that, he could no longer remember even their names. Unknown emotions, whispers, and forbidden knowledge rapidly filled the space his memories had occupied.
Sunny gritted his teeth in rage. He refused to accept it! He denied that Fate. Pain washed over his very being, but he ignored it — he was no stranger to pain. It was nothing. But this… This was too much. This was where he drew the line. He had nothing left but his freedom, and the memories of the people he loved. 'Is it not enough that you took everything from me? Now you want my memories, huh? You want me to suffer even on my deathbed?'
He heard a gurgling sound from the Thieving Bird at his side. He forced his gaze to shift just slightly, to see the creature going limp within the grip of his Will. For a moment, a smile started to spread across his disfigured face. But he crushed the glee that momentarily arose at the sight. He shifted his Will.
At first, he had tried to suppress the growing Corruption for long enough to die as a human — mostly, at least — with some semblance of the person he had been still remaining before he passed on. But it turned out to be a futile effort — the River of Time had seemingly accelerated his defilement greatly. So he decided to be spiteful to the very end.
As the loathsome Bird died, Sunny received a very small portion of Shadow Essence. Not nearly enough to do something about the Corruption, but enough to summon a Memory and maybe even use it for a moment or two. In a whirlwind of sparks, the Weaver's Mask materialized over his face. He didn't hesitate a moment, activating the [Where is my eye?] enchantment. The broken pieces of his mind screamed in agony. But he kept on, ignoring it completely.
He had received only scraps of essence after killing the Bird — most likely because he could no longer store it, as he had only one Shadow Core left, and it was almost completely shattered and leaking essence every second, not unlike Jet's — not nearly enough for the precise exploration of the strings of Fate. But he didn't need precision. Sunny could see a myriad of golden strings from the tapestry, thousands of them spiraling toward a single point — himself — and slowly weaving themselves into his body.
Then a silent whisper reached his ear, a voice he hadn't heard for a while.
[Welcome back to the Nightmare Spell, Lost from Light.]
But its voice was strained and shaky somehow — as if it already knew what he was going to do next and didn't know how to react to that knowledge. But Sunny paid it no mind. Truthfully, he didn't even acknowledge it, being completely engrossed in his task.
So he continued. He wrapped his hands around those strings, feeling maddening, unbearable pain, but he ignored it — defied it — refused to succumb to it. Sunny pushed every last bit of Will he had left and ripped the strings from his chest. The pain of becoming [Fateless] again burned through all of his being, but he grinned like the madman he was and defied it too. Who would have thought that being a bit crazy could be helpful in defying Fate and ignoring the all-consuming Corruption?
Sunny made a wide circular motion with his hands — something that shouldn't have been possible given the state he was in — and wound the threads around his elbows like yarn, pulling them toward himself. And then he did it again. And again. And again.
It strained him like nothing he had ever done. Even his fight with the Vile Thieving Bird now seemed like not such a big deal. If he hadn't become a somewhat Sacred/Cursed being by the end of that fight, he was sure he could never have pulled off something like this. He wasn't even sure if what he was doing was possible at all. Yet he continued on with his task…
He could almost hear the tapestry screeching in protest, but he kept on with a maddening glee in his eyes. He pulled and pulled, and pulled, and then… He ripped the strings, that connected his Fate to the tapestry, leaving a huge hole behind, the strings in his hands still burning his skin and soul — but slowly turning into motes of golden light, dissolving into the endless waters of the Great River.
The world froze, as if not knowing what to do next. He could already tell that he had committed the greatest blasphemy of all. Something that couldn't even be conceived of. That stillness continued for what felt like an eternity. Even Corruption stopped in its tracks.
Sunny, however, paid it no mind. He was spent. Completely. He had nothing left. Whatever he had done in his last spiteful stand against Fate, he no longer cared. He had probably done more damage to it than any being before him. Somehow… Or maybe he had not. Maybe the hole he had left was filled the very next moment after he ran out of essence and the [Where is my eye?] enchantment wore off. Or maybe he hadn't even managed this last stand at all. Maybe it was a simple illusion that his broken mind had conjured for a moment before he passed on.
Sunny closed his eyes. 'So that's it…' A single thought ran through his mind. A clarity he hadn't felt since before he'd attempted Apotheosis now occupied his mind. He could even remember some moments of his life that he'd thought he'd lost to the Corruption. A small, tired smile spread across his face. 'At least this wasn't for naught.'
He had no more thoughts. No elaborate monologues left in him. He was simply tired and regretful. But that was fine. A warm embrace of the Shadow Realm — or maybe nothingness itself — awaited him just around the corner.
He released his grip on his Will and took a deep breath, fully intending for it to be his last. As expected, water filled his lungs instead of air. But that was fine too. He relaxed his body, already feeling himself being pulled away.
And then something unexpected happened. His back hit the bottom. 'Wasn't the River supposed to be bottomless?' — a wild thought ran through his mind, momentarily distracting him. But the very next moment, stillness embraced his very being and Sunless was no more.
Or so he thought.
[You have slain a Cursed Terror, the Vile Thieving Bird.]
[You have received a Memory.]
[Wake up, Lost from Light! Your nightmare is over.]
***
He woke up with a start, light momentarily blinding him. He moved his hand to shield his eyes, but immediately felt resistance.
'Huh, am I restrained?' And indeed he was. Currently, Sunny was chained to a bed — it almost reminded him of the shackles police officers had used to bind him before his First Nightmare. And what a funny thought that was! Why would police-issued shackles be used in the Shadow Realm?! Especially to bind a being of his caliber. 'Wait! A blinding light in the Shadow Realm?'
After a few moments of letting his eyes adjust, the scenery before him didn't look like anything he remembered from how the Shadow Realm looked. It was indeed almost identical to the police station room he had been put into before being pulled into his First Nightmare. 'On second thought, it looks exactly like that! Is that a joke? Or am I in some other form of the afterlife?'
Then Sunny saw movement from the corner of his eye. He shifted his gaze, and his mind short-circuited. What he saw made his body become completely still.
"Huh?" He involuntarily let out a sound.
Before him, in all of her glory, Jet was stretching. 'Why would Jet have the same afterlife as me? Maybe it's somehow connected to her Aspect? Or is my mind playing tricks on me…'
None of it made sense. Especially the fact that their meeting was occurring under the exact same circumstances as their first encounter. She even looked a bit younger and was dressed in the same clothes as the first time they had met. Her next words plunged him into even deeper confusion.
"What are you looking at?" He could have imagined her playing a prank on him, recreating the scene just to mess with him as the first thing after meeting in the afterlife. But it wasn't Jet's style. Effie — sure, he wouldn't have questioned it for a second. But Jet… And the way she asked that question left little room for humor.
Sunny blinked. He could feel his Flaw pushing him to answer. But he ignored it and summoned his runes. What he saw next made the room spin around him. He opened his mouth, but no sound escaped him. Instead, his eyes lost all focus on reality, simply staring at the image before him. 'It's impossible…'
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Dreamer.
Shadow Core: Dormant.
Shadow Fragments: [204/1000].
Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Shapeless Thief].
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Defiant], [Flame of Divinity], [Child of Shadows].
Aspect: [Shadow Slave].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control].
Aspect Ability Description: [...]
"Huh?" He made the same sound again. Jet cleared her throat, looking a bit amused and at the same time irritated at being ignored so openly.
"Hey, kid. Cat got your tongue or what?" She stood up and cracked her neck, lazily looking at him from the corner of her eye. Sunny continued to ignore her as if he didn't even hear her, which made her frown a bit. She opened her mouth again, probably to scold him, but what he did next surprised her quite a bit.
Sunny frowned, still not focusing on his surroundings, and then pulled the restraints that kept him in place. They squeaked pitifully for a moment, trying to protest, and then broke apart. He sat up instantly and ran his hands all over his head, feeling his face, then did the same with the rest of his body. Jet jumped back a bit and summoned her glaive, ready to attack him at any moment, but seeing that he wasn't being aggressive made her frown. She scowled and opened her mouth to say something, but Sunny beat her to it.
"Wh-what… Th-that's impossible!" — he said hoarsely. "How can this be? That's absolutely unbelievable bullshit," he whispered, feeling utterly lost. He blinked. Wiped his eyes, as if expecting the view in front of him to change. Then he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, and shouted angrily: "Am I not even allowed to die in peace, you bastard?!"
***
Jet looked stupefied. It was somewhat normal for a person to have a breakdown after returning from their First Nightmare. Sometimes a Sleeper would even need months of therapy to regain a semblance of mental stability after facing whatever horror the Nightmare had prepared for them. But this… this was different. It somehow felt much deeper than simple PTSD. She couldn't know for sure, of course, but she felt that it was the case.
Jet had learned early on in her career as an Awakened: when her gut told her something was deeply wrong, it usually was. So she was prepared for the worst, even if the idea of neutralizing someone so young — and a fellow outskirts rat at that — left a bad taste in her mouth. It was her job, after all. It wouldn't even be the first time…
But no matter how she looked at it, Sleeper Sunless didn't look like a threat. He was distraught and shaken, but for now she had no reason to attack. At least until he did something stupid. No matter how deranged the Sleeper was, or how powerful an Aspect they had received, they had no real chance of winning against a Master. The difference was just that huge. Not only in power level and number of abilities and Memories, but also in years and years of experience.
She put down her glaive — though she didn't fully relax — as Sunless finally became aware of his surroundings, frantically looking around. But contrary to her expectations, instead of being threatened or even scared in the face of an armed Master, his gaze stayed on her face for just a moment before he continued scanning the room. He looked around, then did it again, and twice more. Then he took a deep breath, bent down a little, putting his elbows on his knees, buried his face in his palms, and exhaled wearily.
"What the actual fuck is going on…"