A few weeks later, Sunny and Cassie huddled within a small cave. They had arrived at Bone Ridge, the decayed remains of a colossal Nightmare Creature. Its skeletal mound rose sharply from the labyrinth like a grim omen, the last major landmark before the Ashen Barrow. Nestled in a marrow cavity at the peak of its spine, they had made camp.
The daytime ecosystem in this stretch of the Forgotten Shore was largely dominated by the crustacean denizens of the Carapace Legion, though the land harbored other strange inhabitants. Parasitic flowers bloomed along the coral, translucent tentacles emerged from the depths, and carnivorous worms dotted the landscape. Of particular interest to Sunny were the giant centipedes, which often waged brutal territorial wars in this area. Their bodies secreted a volatile, corrosive oil—highly flammable, and dangerously toxic. The Sleepers had lingered here for some time to harvest the substance, knowing it would fuel their impending battle.
By day, Sunny and Cassie descended into the labyrinth to seek out skirmishes. They picked their way through the battle, ensuring no survivors remained before gathering the oil-soaked glands and residue left behind from the centipede corpses. Their spoils were stored in large handcrafted clay urns back at camp. Sunny's goal was simple: to amass enough of the oil to ensure the Soul Devouring Tree would burn twice over.
Their foraging didn't end there, however. In the largest urn, a swirling concoction of fine powders sat, each element carefully collected and ground down. On days when their usual prey proved scarce, they turned their attention to the landscape. They harvested everything: dead coral, minerals from the labyrinth's sand, peat from the muddy seabed, seaweeds, ashes, charcoal, fungi—the list went on. Through trial and error, they had learned which materials ignited easily, refining their collection into a combustible mix.
Tomorrow, they would leave Bone Ridge behind and press on toward the Ashen Barrow. To carry their growing cache of resources, Sunny had fashioned crude harnesses and ropes from the braided innards of scavenged corpses. Cassie's Echo would bear most of the load, and Serpent would patrol the periphery.
At first light, the Sleepers broke camp and set out westward, toward the crimson canopy of the Soul Devouring Tree.
***
Shadow Fragments: [357/1000]
Sunny, Cassie, and Serpent had been relentless in their hunts through the labyrinth, with Sunny gathering roughly a dozen shadow fragments per day. Cassie absorbed the soul shards, her progress toward core saturation nearly matching her teacher. The two Sleepers were steadily edging toward a state of superhuman prowess—by mundane standards, at least. For Sunny, the line was handily crossed when augmented by his shadow. Yet, even so it was a fleeting semblance of the power he once wielded as an Ascended.
Despite their growing strength, Sunny wasn't delusional enough to believe they could confront the Carapace Demon head-on. The abominations guarding the Shard Memories were all unnaturally strong, but the guardian of the Ashen Barrow was an anomaly—its power far outstripped that of a typical Awakened Demon. Much of that strength likely stemmed from its connection to the Soul Devouring Tree.
That said, perhaps it was for the best. The other Shards were fiercely protected by Nightmare Creatures, all standing vigilant by the statues of the Starlight Legion's fallen heroes. If the Knight statues' champion had not been enthralled, it would have most certainly made its home atop the very spot where Sunny had first begun his journey.
That, he reflected, would have made for a far more troublesome situation.
For now, the Sleepers would need to rely on cunning and tactics to secure their victory. As the sun neared its zenith, they entered the ashen plains.
***
A lone Carapace Centurion trudged through the sea of ash, its scythes clutching a glowing, transcendent soul shard. It moved with purpose but halted at an invisible boundary, carefully placing its precious offering onto the ground. After taking several deliberate steps back, it knelt, retracting its weapons and bowing its grotesque head. The creature shuddered, a tremor rippling through its massive form, ash stirring beneath it.
Across the ash-strewn barrow, the towering form of the Tree's chosen emerged, moving unhurriedly with a domineering posture. As it neared, its pace faltered before shifting course to circle the motionless Centurion. It paused, studying the monster for several minutes, before resuming its approach. When it was close enough, the guardian raised its scythes and pincers, tearing the Centurion apart in a vicious, fluid motion.
The guardian reached down to retrieve the soul shard, but then—a flicker of movement, too fast to react shot from the ash. A small serpent struck, its fangs sinking deep into the exposed eyes of the gargantuan armored Nightmare Creature. The creature shrieked, a horrendous sound that pierced the air, thrashing wildly, massive limbs cleaving through the ash in a frenzy. Yet, each strike met only empty space.
The serpent melted into a shadow in the shape of a boy, before it darted toward a towering dust cloud in the distance. The Carapace Demon roared in fury, charging after it, kicking up a storm of ash with each step. The boy-shaped shadow slipped into the dust cloud, gracefully coming to rest atop the surface of a large clay urn.
The pursuer chased without hesitation, crashing through the urn as if it were made of paper, spilling the contents upon its armored body. Corrosive oil splattered onto the chitinous hide, but the Demon remained unbothered. If it had been able to see through the choking cloud, it would have spotted a small figure emerging from behind a knoll wielding a smoldering torch.
With a labored throw, Sunny hurled the torch into the thick of the dust. The moment it made contact, flames erupted with devastating force, consuming the cloud in an inferno that drained the air of oxygen. The explosion was deafening, a shockwave that rocked the barrow. When the smoke cleared, only the still-burning remains of the guardian stood.
A mundane blast of that size couldn't kill an Awakened creature, but the combination of intense heat and shockwave weakened the once-impenetrable armor, leaving it susceptible to damage.
***
Sunny's plan had unfolded flawlessly thus far. By hiding Serpent under a layer of ash, it was able to silently dispatch the Centurion and lure the Carapace Demon into their trap. Using her wind-producing staff memory, Cassie had scattered the dust of their largest urn into a chaotic cloud, within which they hid one of their oil urns. Although the dust's ignition was not quite the explosive power they had hoped for, it still served its purpose. The confrontation with the guardian would now be manageable. Serpent had escaped into Sunny's shadow, which was naturally immune to physical damage, ensuring they sustained no injuries. The stage had been set.
The next phase of their strategy was deceptively simple.
"Run." Sunny mouthed.
An immediate confrontation would yield no advantage; doing so would only heighten the risk of sustaining a burn from the superheated foe. Letting the flames die out first would play to their strengths.
Once the guardian's piercing gaze fell upon the fleeing intruders, it lunged forward, heedless of the fire consuming it. It was swifter than the Sleepers, so it would catch up after closing the head-start. The duo had sprung their trap in the afternoon, so they would not be joined by a horror from the depths during this fight.
As Sunny and Cassie neared their chosen arena, the flames licking at the abomination's body began to dwindle. They spun around, weapons ready, bracing themselves for battle.
The tattoo adorning the boy came to life, swirling eagerly across his skin before coalescing in his right hand and emerging as a sleek, black odachi. A sword manifested from sparks of light in the girl's hand, forged of azure steel and reflecting the light of the false sun. Their objective was clear: strike the Carapace Demon's heart through the old scar marring its torso.
The wound had been left by a creature from the depths, but no matter the rank, Sunny was a force far deadlier than any creature from the Dark Sea. He wouldn't miss, and the shadow of his enemy would be embraced by his Sea of Soul.
Without hesitation, Sunny was the first to surge into the fray. Conventional tactics would falter against such a formidable foe, but they had prepared a final gambit.
When their clash began, it quickly became apparent that Sunny was lacking in power compared to the guardian, though he was far more skilled. Every crushing blow missed him by a hair's breadth, or was met by a counter.
The Carapace Demon, no simple adversary, quickly recognized the threat posed by the scrawny boy. His sword was insidious—far more powerful than its deceptively simple appearance suggested—and the boy wielded it with terrifying precision. Each strike he delivered was perfectly executed to exploit the gaps in the creature's armor, targeting the joints with deadly precision. Meanwhile, the girl circled carefully, her movements demanding the demon's attention and vigilance.
The demon, ever calculating, knew that to ignore her would be fatal. She was dangerous.
The two opponents exchanged blows, but in the contest of stamina, Sunny was losing. He had only lasted so long due to the charm he had acquired from defeating Auro of the Nine—Quiet Resolve. Lacking the endurance granted by additional soul cores, he faced the same limitations as other Awakened, and the tide of battle threatened to turn against him.
The fight was unsustainable.
Fortunately, their plan was almost complete. As the battle reached its peak, Cassie summoned her Echo. The shadow of the Soul Devouring Tree stretched beneath the sinking sun, its dark form creeping towards the battlefield. When all the combatants were inside its shadow, Cassie sprinted forward, while the Scavenger Echo flanked.
As the inheritor of Shadow, she moved through shadows with an almost intangible presence, nearly undetectable to her prey. However, the creature had locked its focus on her since the start. The faint stirring of ash beneath her footfalls was all the warning it needed.
As she drew closer, the mighty abomination spun toward her, its weapons raised, intent on extinguishing the nuisance. Just as it lunged forward, Cassie sprang backward, sending a streak of blue arcing through the air.
Sunny closed the gap under the cover of shadows, capitalizing on Cassie's distraction. He snatched the Azure Blade from the air, and Serpent returned to its tattooed form. A surge of essence flooded his muscles, a violent burst of strength carrying with it the faintest flicker of the Will. With a savage lunge, he drove the blade into the scarred wound in the Carapace Demon's armor.
The strike found its mark, the blade cracked the thinnest section of the steel-like shell, blade shattering under the impressive force. The shadow that empowered him surged forward, meeting the uncoiling form of Serpent as it reformed into its [Soul Weapon] shape in his other hand.
For the first strike, Sunny summoned the strength to endure the force needed to breach the demon's armor. The second strike would be lethal.
Sunny redoubled his assault, tracing the path forged by the Azure Blade. With the power of an Ascended rank sword empowered by a shadow, the armor was pierced and the creature's heart impaled. He twisted the blade and left a great tear from which a torrent of blood drained.
The guardian knew nothing but duty to its master; Pain was merely a foolish suggestion that its loyalty was lacking. So, the Carapace Demon followed its command to end the life of the intruders to the very end. Savage blows from every limb of the monstrosity rained down towards Sunny.
Cassie's Echo dove into the demon's blows and absorbed its fury. The Scavenger held valiantly onto the limbs of the dying guardian as a flood of crimson stained the ash below.
The demon's struggles slowed. Its glassy eyes reflected a quiet resignation. Its form relaxed, and a strange, rhythmic chatter echoed from its clicking mandibles. The creature fixed its gaze on Sunny, its fury spent, and bowed its head in silent gratitude. As the light faded from its eyes, Sunny heard the Spell whisper in his ear:
[You have slain an Awakened Demon, Warden Praetor.]
[You have received a Memory: Midnight Shard]