The first strike had cut his courage.
The second, his determination.
The third, his hope.
Sunny felt Serpent grow heavy in his hands, as if the world pressed down upon his body and mind.
'What…am I doing? How could I beat a sovereign, even at my level?'
A fourth strike descended upon him, swift and unwavering. However, it failed to cut through its target. Sunny's killing intent. The blade rebounded off the resolute emotion.
Anvil retracted his sword. With his fifth strike, he cut through space itself, stripping Sunny of the shadows surrounding him. The radiance of the harsh sun illuminated the battlefield of the two powerhouses. Despite how deadly the sun was, it could not compare to Anvil's blade at this very moment.
A sixth strike pierced Sunny in the abdomen. His tenacious blood refused to spill on neither the blade nor the Onyx Shell. As the sword was torn from his torso, Sunny fell onto the ground, helpless.
Anvil brandished his sword, preparing it for one final strike. He looked Sunny in the eyes with a cold and indifferent look:
"Rest in peace, Lord of Shadows."
A seventh strike fell, aimed to decapitate Sunny.
'You piece of shit…I'm not that easy to kill, you know?'
The one resolute emotion: Sunny's killing intent, the one thing Anvil failed to sever, took over. Sunny blocked the blade destined to reap his life, letting it mangle his arm so long as it didn't cut through his neck.
'Damnation, I didn't think I'd have to resort to such desperation.'
Sunny poured his essence into Weaver's mask. Suddenly, a wave of forbidden understanding permeated throughout Sunny's entire being. The ability to comprehend fate was a burden no mortal was capable of, and yet Sunny grinned like a madman behind the mask.
'I hope you revel in the sight of this.'
Sunny cackled maddeningly.
'It'll be the last thing you ever see, old ghoul.'
Before Sunny could take off the mask, something caught his eye.
A singular string of shadow lay in front of him. It was unlike the strings of fate that had once embraced him intimately, nor was it like the golden string that guided him many times before. It was seemingly created for him.
Gazing at it made him feel calm, nostalgic even. It also made him feel powerful, so powerful that he felt indifferent towards the blade lodged in his forearm and the Sovereign attempting to end his life.
It radiated an aura of supremacy.
No… it was Supremacy.
It was the only way he could salvage this dire situation.
Looking up at Anvil, the only thing that remained in all of Sunny's being was his will to kill this tin-can bastard. His sneer only grew as he spoke:
"I'll see you later, King of Swords."
Sunny stepped into the string, leaving the physical world behind. Inside the string, he was embraced by the shadows once again. He began to travel down the string, leaving behind the battlefield and becoming surrounded by nothing but shadowy depths.
Suddenly, a powerful sensation began to overwhelm him. Sunny felt his essence change, becoming more potent, and his shadowy form's depths grew indescribably deep.
This new level of strength was unlike any previous form of Ascension he had undergone. It transformed him into something beyond human, something more akin to a force of nature. This was what it meant to be supreme.
To be a Sovereign.
Out of nowhere, a force began to pull on Sunny, sending him further along the string.
'What the hell?!'
The Sovereign of Death felt beyond helpless as his abilities failed him. He was unable to shadow step out, unable to manipulate the shadows within the string, and unable to send any incarnations out. So, Sunny gave up and let the force take him along its currents. Surely it wouldn't take him to another deathzone? Or the void? Maybe it would take him back to the battlefield?
Wherever this thing was taking him, Sunny would know soon enough… hopefully.
'How was this string still intact? I thought fate had been broken after that damned bird took my fate.'
Sunny shivered in horror as he remembered that, ironically, fateful day.
'Now that I think about it, what the hell did I just get myself into?! Good job Sunless, even without Fated, you're still getting yourself into terrible situations!'
Suddenly, a harrowing feeling gripped Sunny's heart. A sensation completely unfamiliar to Sunny took hold of him. To a man who had faced countless sensations, from mind hexes, soul damage and nothingness itself, this feeling shouldn't exist. And yet it did. It felt as if his soul was being debilitated.
He felt his Supreme powers almost disappear. If not for a faint link he felt, he would have thought he regressed to a Saint. Another wave of this weakening sensation overcame him, and his Transcendent powers were sealed.
Soon after, his Ascended and Awakened powers followed suit. He felt frail and weak, as if he was no longer Sunny. His triumphs, exploits, and defeats had all been stolen from him.
Who was he if not for his triumphs and defeats?
What did he have if not for his exploits?
Would he still be Sunless without them?
He didn't have much time to contemplate such heavy thoughts, however. He began to rapidly approach a light. A light that promised salvation. Solace, even.
Sunny frowned scornfully.
'Where are you going to take me now, Fate?'
Fate, or whoever made that shadowy string, could not feel the shadow's scorn. But Sunny did feel a creeping sensation overcome him.
He was losing consciousness.
As the blinding light enveloped him, Sunny gave into the temptation and fell asleep.
* * *
"Wake up Sunless! Your nightmare is…"
A hand struck the seemingly ordinary rock, sending it flying.
Sunny opened his eyes, revealing bottomless onyx pupils. He blinks a few times, taking a few seconds to register where he is.
Stone walls laced with elegant markings, wooden furniture of many different types, and the sole embrace of shadows.
'You've got to be kidding me.'
As much as Sunny hoped that it all would soon fade away, it didn't.
He was back in his room in the Dark City's Cathedral.
He was back in the Forgotten Shore.
However, Sunny didn't immediately panic. There was one thing left to check before he would let himself devolve into panic.
Sunny dove into his Soul Sea. The tranquil waters remained, basking in darkness. He breathed a sigh of relief, but a creeping suspicion made him look up.
There was one. One measly shadow core.
He only sunk further into dread when he was hit with a sudden realization:
All of his Shadows were gone.
'By the dead gods…'
Before Sunny could finish that thought, he caught movement in the corner of his eyes.
The tens of thousands of shadows that had once stood silently within his soul sea prostrated themselves before their king.
Their Sovereign.
Sunny had been caught up with so much after becoming Supreme he forgot that he was Supreme.
Shortly after, something caught his eye. Shifting his gaze to the front of the Shadow Legion, Sunny noticed a few familiar figures.
'Well, that's a relief.'
Saint, Fiend, Mimic, and Nightmare. Their figures looked the same, but they were only made out of shadows, lacking a physical form.
'Now where is that other guy…'
Sunny looked around for Serpent, unable to find him among the ranks of his Shadows. Thankfully, Serpent was merely in tattoo form. Sunny looked down, grateful to see at least one of his Shadows retained a physical body.
Sunny smiled wistfully.
"Well, it looks like most you guys won't be able to help me for the time being. But I kinda miss being the sole fighter, so it shouldn't be too bad… right?"
As Sunny picked up Serpent in its odachi form, horror crept its way into every crevice of his porcelain face.
The runes of the Spell had returned.
Sunny swiftly dismissed Serpent's runes and made his way to his own.
'No, no. I didn't put in this much work just to get this damn thing back!'
His runes appeared in his mind:
Name: Sunless
True Name: --
Rank: Dormant (Supreme)
Class: Beast
Shadow Cores: [1/7]
Shadow Fragments: [394/1000]
Attributes: [Lord of Shadows], [Flame of Divinity], [Blood Weave], [The Precipice of Fate].
Shadows: [Soul Serpent]
Aspect: [Shadow Slave]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond]
Master: --
Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control], [Shadow Step], [Shadow Manifestation], [Shadow Incarnation], [Shadow Legion].
Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance]
Aspect Legacy Mastery: [3/7]
Flaw: [Clear Conscience]
Flaw Description: You cannot lie.
Sunny's confusion only increased as he saw this new information.
'How the spell can I be Supreme and Dormant at the same time?!'
But he didn't linger on that thought very long; he was more interested in the new attribute he had gained.
[The Precipice of Fate].
Sunny examined his third fate related attribute.
[Of the seven strikes that struck this treacherous shadow, only six held true. Fueled solely by killing intent, the shadow broke another set of chains placed upon him: those of time itself.
[Unknown], you have found yourself in a time far removed from your own. Return to your world and slay the King of Swords. Solace is not the answer.]
[Your powers have been sealed, but will aid you in your return to your time]
'Solace is not the answer… But isn't my Aspect from the God of Solace himself? And what does solace have to do with anything?'
Sunny examined the description closer.
'A time far removed from your own… So I really am in the past.'
Sunny retreated from his soul sea, still processing the load of information he was just given.
Suddenly, a mischievous grin crept onto Sunny's face.
"What is the Forgotten Shore going to do to a Sleeper with the experience of a Sovereign?"
It was true. The most powerful threat on the Forgotten Shore, that Sunny knew of, was the Dark Sea itself, which was a Great Titan. Sunny had a decade more experience than he did when he was first in the Dark City, and could possibly become a Sovereign before he left.
Now, he would use that experience and power to change the outcome of the past.
"Oh, where to begin, where to begin."