The sounds of clashing metal and violent roars echoed throughout the ruins of this once great city. An ancient town square has become the site of a ferocious battle between two factions, that of a group of spiders covered in iron plating, and the current owners of the square, the Stone Saints.
The seven Stone Saints stood opposite of the five iron spiders. They seemed to be on the ropes, with many of them riddled with cracks that span close to the entire length of their body.
However, one remained pristine amongst the chaos一 a female, from the looks of it.
Sunny watched as the chaos unfolded in front of him.
He had thought about aiding the Stone Saints in the fight, but he was reluctant to do so. He was unable to utilize Serpent, his strongest weapon, due to him being needed for essence circulation. So he chose to let fate play its course.
The metal blades of the Stone Saints scraped against the iron shell of the arachnids, only occasionally being able to wound the towering insects through the kinks on their hide.
The Stone Saints were agile and stalwart, as Saint had been, demonstrating a deeper understanding of combat than their non sentient foes. Seeing this, Sunny imagined what he could do with an army of Saints, but soon dismissed the idea.
After all, he already had six Shadows that he needed to tend to.
The nail in the coffin to this ambitious idea came just a few moments later.
One after the other, six of the Saints began to crumble into heaps of cobble, the same ones Sunny had seen once before. They had not gone down without a fight, however.
Three of the PTV-esque spiders had gone down thanks to the efforts of the fallen Saints.
Now, only one Stone Saint remained. The Stone Saint.
'Man, if only my Saint was here to watch this. Would she feel nostalgic at the sight of her old self?'
Sunny's thoughts began to fade as the fight he had witnessed a decade ago began.
Saint hit her sword on the rim of her shield twice before charging across the battlefield toward these nearly mechanical beasts.
Saint's shield always managed to be in the right place at the right time, deflecting everything thrown at her.
Suddenly, a spider slammed its leg onto Saint, only to be flipped over by the absurd momentum of the parry.
Just like before, Saint's tenebrous blade began an onslaught of slashes on the spider's abdomen. Black, oil-like blood soon littered the battlefield and painted itself all over Saint. Her sword looked beat up, unable to keep up with the durability of its Fallen foes.
However, such a reckless charge had its drawbacks. The wounds that this taciturn statue had accumulated finally took effect, and Saint's body had reached its limits.
Sunny jumped down from his hiding place, his blade drawn and ready.
He struck the immobilized statue between its visor and felt those few shadow fragments saturate his shadow core.
[You have slain an awakened monster, Stone Saint.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Sunny held his breath, waiting for the spell to return his long-time ally to him.
After what seemed like an eternity, the spell spoke:
[You have received an Echo: Stone Saint.]
Sunny sighed in relief. A genuine smile took the place of his worried expression.
"Welcome back, Saint."
* * *
Deep within a dark well, a gorgeous figure sat, slumped.
The past few weeks had not been kind to Kai. He was extorted and forced down an old, decrepit well far from Bright Castle.
He understood their motives一sleepers need any the memories they can get their hands on一but did they have to go and rudely trap him and try to force his memories out of him? Probably not.
So now, as a result, he was stuck here in this dingy well on his third day without any food.
'Oh well, they should be here soon enough. Surely this is just their latest tactic, right?'
Suddenly, the sound of light footsteps began approaching the wellhead.
Kai looked up, hope gleaming in his eyes.
"Ah, a guest. It's been a while since my last meal, so I hope that's what you're here for. Even with all of my idol training, three days is a bit much for me."
"Oh, I know. We've been friends for so long, after all."
Kai froze in shock. The unfamiliar voice had spoken the truth一such an outrageous sentence that simply couldn't be true. And yet it was.
"Who are you?"
The voice coughed, as if holding back laughter, and a moment later responded:
"Me? I'm the most honest man in two worlds! Well, I'm not so much a man anymore, maybe something akin to a demigod? Eventually, at least."
Kai couldn't believe his ears, and yet his flaw kept telling him that this voice was correct.
"What the hell?!"
Why would a supposed demigod even be his friend? And when would they have met?
The faint echo of laughter could be heard from far above, but after a while the voice returned, asking in a whimsical tone:
"So… Do you want to get out?"
Kai hesitated for a moment, not wanting to trust the so-called "most honest man in two worlds," but his stomach made the decision for him.
"Yes, please."
Suddenly, the grating sound of metal scraping against stone reverberated throughout Kai's makeshift cell. Kai slowly began to ascend, just in case this benevolent deity was a nightmare creature in disguise. But when he reached the top, his jaw dropped back into his cell.
Standing there was a boy, but only in height. His hair, although short, was perfectly cut to fit his face shape. His skin was supple, yet seemed to be sculpted from a white marble. His face, however, was the definition of beauty. Feminine traits blended harmoniously with the masculine ones一even though the former was clearly more apparent than the latter. His black eyes seemed to be made of jewels only kings could claim, and their dark depths betrayed even deeper secrets.
Despite all of his beauty, a look of pure mischief seemed to be permanently pasted on his face and in his eyes.
However, upon seeing Kai, his expression changed to that of slight concern. The boy tilted his head.
"Are you… okay?"
Kai broke out of his stupor, but his gaze did not leave such an aesthetically pleasing sight.
"Yeah, I just didn't expect you to look like… that."
The boy's eyes widened.
"Look like what?"
The living statue looked himself up and down, genuinely trying to find some sort of issue.
Kai nearly laughed, but did not want to risk angering a deity.
"You look like a statue carved by someone who dedicated their life to their craft. Also, I don't get how you pull off black so well, it's usually such a drab color."
The boy looked up and sighed.
"You're not the first person who's told me that. But it's practical, you know? Anyways, I'm Sunless. But since we are friends, you can call me Sunny."
Kai was caught off-guard by the sudden friendliness, but chose to reciprocate it. Who knows, befriending a demigod could have its benefits. Even if their name was as ominous as
"I'm Kai, it's nice to meet such a… long-time friend. I've never heard of you in Bright Castle, though."
A mischievous grin crept across Sunny's face, as if ready to spill more secrets that would turn Kai's world upside down.
"Well, I live in the Dark City. I have a serious distaste for most royalty, so I stay away from that horrid place."
Despite how preposterous the claim was, even for a supposed demigod, Kai's flaw continued to back Sunny up.
"You live… in the Dark City?"
Sunny had said it so casually, surely it couldn't be true…right? I mean, who in their right mind would choose such a terrifying and decrepit place?
"I sure do! It's quite nice at night, since my Aspect lets me see and hide in the dark and all. Of course, I could do more with the shadows, but those cowards refuse to obey me."
A frustrated look made its way onto Sunny's sculpted face.
"Anyways, I can escort you back to Bright Castle, but I'll need a favor from you."
Hearing that, Kai became intrigued. What could a demigod want from him? Shouldn't such a revered being have everything he wants and more? Maybe, just maybe, he was a forgotten demigod: left behind by the world and those who he held dear.
"Sure, I'll help you. But what kind of favor do you need?"
Sunny shifted his gaze, and a look unbefitting of any demigod took hold of his face. That of a swindler.
"Oh it's nothing, really. I just need to run some errands. But even as a demigod, no one knows me in Bright Castle, so I need someone like you to do the scouting for me. Don't worry about having to pay, I, of course, have my own funds."
A shiver was sent down Kai's spine from such a swindling sentence. However, Kai believed that Sunny had a genuine heart. How could someone who only spoke the truth be unjust?
Kai smiled and bowed slightly to Sunny.
"Of course, I'd be happy to help."
Sunny paused for a second, as if flustered. But a second later, it was replaced by a heartfelt smile.
"See, I'm not that bad, right? We'll get along just fine."
Sunny patted Kai on the shoulder.
"First, let's go get my money first, otherwise our trip would be all for nothing!"