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nApparently, as far as accomplishing the impossible went, Nephis had outdone even Sunny. An Aspirant triumphing over an awakened tyrant was already unbelievable enough. But killing an Awakened Terror gave the word “unbelievable” a whole new meaning.

n‘No wonder her Aspect Ability is so versatile.’

nNow, he was almost sure that Changing Star’s Aspect was of the Divine Rank, just like his. That would explain why she was able to both heal and destroy with her strange and formidable powers, a combination as rare as his own Shadow Control.

n‘What’s the probability of two Sleepers with Divine Aspects ending up so close to each other in the Dream Realm?’

nClose to zero. It seemed like the unpredictable Fated Attribute had twisted the strings of fate once again.

nSunny felt shivers running down his spine.

nHis innate Attribute was capable of bringing both terrible curses and incredible blessings. At first glance, their meeting with Nephis seemed like the latter. But, if it was truly the result of Fated manipulating destiny, it could turn out to be the worst of calamities in the end.

nAfter all, one of the possible meanings of her True Name was Star of Ruin.

nThe fear he had felt in that short moment before crossing swords with Nephis was still fresh in Sunny’s mind.

nAnd there were other things that she had revealed, too…

nShe apparently knew something about the Drop of Ichor, being that she had called it a “Lineage Memory” without batting an eye. That suggested that Nephis knew much more about the Spell than Sunny and the rest of the public did. It seemed as though there were secrets in the upper echelons of Awakened that they didn’t want anyone else to know.

nThe three mysterious names she had told him might have been another of these secrets. And that last word she used, asking which “domain” he belonged to. What were these domains?

nSo many questions…

nSunny spent many hours pondering them, as well as going over all the information about the Forgotten Shore he had gathered.

nThe carapace boat flew over the dark water, drawing closer and closer to the western horizon.

nSoon, he felt that the night was already drawing its last breaths. The light of hope ignited in Sunny’s heart.

nHowever, this was when their luck had finally run out.

n***

nThe disaster came unexpected, violently throwing them into a void of confusion. This time, Sunny had not felt anything approaching the boat. The danger simply appeared out of nowhere, leaving him no time to react.

nOne second, the black waters were calm and clear. The next, they were boiling with movement, grotesque tentacles rising from them and wrapping themselves around the hull of the boat.

nSunny tried to jump to his feet, but at that moment, the whole vessel was violently jerked to the side. Falling, he heard the moans of metal being bent and torn apart. Then, salty water filled his mouth.

nRising, he caught a glimpse of Nephis standing at the bow of the boat, her silver sword lashing out at the approaching tentacle. However, blinded by darkness, she failed to notice a different threat. Another tentacle twisted and coiled around her body…

nThen, without even a scream, she was gone, dragged into the dark depths, with no hope to return. All that remained was a long blade stuck helplessly in the bulbous flesh of the massive tentacle.

nSunny’s eyes widened in disbelief.

n‘No, no, no… this can’t be happening…’

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nFor a moment, Sunny was stunned by the coldness. Then, wrapping the shadow around his body, he swam up, trying to reach the surface. Soon, he succeeded and spun, trying to see something… anything… to give him hope.

nBut there was nothing around, only undulating waves and twisting tentacles.

nExcept for…

nFar in the distance, Sunny noticed an unclear shape rising above the water. He strained his eyes, trying to discern its nature. Then, his heart skipped a beat.

nA few hundred meters away, a giant stone hand towered above the surface of the sea, its palm opened as though trying to embrace the sky. It was slender and delicate, carved by the unknown sculptor with almost inhuman skill. If Sunny didn’t know better, he would have thought that the hand belonged to a living, breathing being.

nBut all of this didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that he had a chance to survive.

nStraining every muscle in his body, Sunny dodged a twisting tentacle and swam toward the hand, moving as fast as he could.

nBut then, he suddenly stopped. And looked back.

nMisshapen pieces of metal and bone — all that remained of their boat — were floating on the surface of the dark sea. He had seen Neph being pulled under the water by the tentacles of the unknown creature, but Cassie, clad in her enchanted attention-repelling tunic, had a chance to escape.

nHe couldn’t just leave without at least trying to find her.

n‘…Or can I?’

nA dark thought appeared in Sunny’s mind. After all, his own survival was the only thing that really mattered. Everything else was just a distraction…

n‘Why don’t you think about yourself for a second? Are you really going to risk your precious life on the off chance that this helpless girl is still alive?’

nHe hesitated.

n‘Admit it, she is nothing but a burden. You always knew that one day she was going to drag you down…’

nYes, he did. But…

n‘But what? You’re going to die, fool! Turn around and flee, now!’

nWhy was he even hesitating? This was his chance to escape! His only chance, perhaps! He had to survive!

nFeeling an almost unbearable feeling of regret filling his chest, Sunny slowly inhaled.

nThen, he gritted his teeth and dove down, heading back to the spot where their boat had been destroyed.

n‘What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!’

nHe couldn’t see in the black water, but his Shadow Sense was still somewhat effective. He had a chance to feel Cassie’s presence, at least if she wasn’t already dead and dragged to the bottom of this cursed abyss.

n‘You fool! How is she worth it?! Why are you doing this?!’

nGrimacing, he forced his annoying inner voice to shut up. In his mind, the answer was clear:

n‘Because I want to!’

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