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A subtle smile appeared on his face.

"Aww. Thank you, Spell. What a nice birthday present."

Summoning the Endless Spring, he greedily drank delicious cold water and then sat on the floor, crossing his legs and drawing a few deep breaths.

\'Let\'s take a look…\'

Leaving his worries behind, Sunny dove into the Soul Sea and walked past the rows of motionless shadows.

A long time ago, there had been just a handful of them. Now, hundreds of dark silhouettes watched silently as he approached the tenebrous sun of the Shadow Core. Among them were all kinds of horrors, creatures whose appearance alone would drive weaker men insane. The Mountain King was there. The Black Knight was there, too. The terrifying Spire Messenger stood lifelessly on the tranquil surface of the water.

…And there were humans, too. Harus was among them, and so was Harper.

Sunny didn\'t pay them any attention.

Standing beneath the Shadow Core, he sighed and summoned the runes.

Name: Sunless.

True Name: Lost from Light.

Rank: Dreamer.

Shadow Core: Dormant.

Shadow Fragments: [977/1000].

…He was so close to accumulating the whole thousand. If Sunny really wanted to, he could have abandoned caution and pushed to reach it before the inevitable journey to the Crimson Spire. However, he was wary of delving into anything unknown right before the fateful confrontation.

He also felt that his time was better spent consolidating and perfecting everything that he had already learned and earned, not wasting it trying to acquire something new.

Still, it was not an easy decision.

With a sigh, he continued reading.

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer\'s Shroud], [Midnight Shard], [Ordinary Rock], [Prowling Thorn], [Endless Spring], [Blood Blossom], [Moonlight Shard], [M… …old], [Weaver\'s Mask].

Echoes: —

Shadows…

He tilted his head and read, an amused expression appearing on his face:

...[Marble Saint].

…Marble?

\'How fitting…\'

Without wasting any more time, he summoned his Shadow from the depths of the Core. She appeared in a whirlwind of black flames, standing in front of him with her usual taciturn aloofness.

However, Sunny couldn\'t help but gasp.

The Saint was indeed changed. She grew taller and was now even more oppressive. Her graceful stonelike armor, which had looked as though it was cut from granite before, was now entirely black and glossy, like obsidian… or onyx. In fact, it was very much like the shattered onyx armor he had purchased with Kai\'s help.

Her skin, on the contrary, became smooth and as white as alabaster… at least the small portion of it he could see through the visor of the helmet.

Saint seemed much stronger, aware, deadly…

But that was not what made Sunny gasp.

The thing that stunned him was what hid beneath the armor. Within the shadow that populated Saint\'s body, there used to be two ethereal dark embers.

But now, there were three.

Sunny stared at her for a while.

\'Did she… rise to a higher class?\'

Finally, he calmed down and made the runes describing the Shadow appear. A moment later, his hopes were proved true:

Shadow: Marble Saint.

Shadow Rank: Awakened.

Shadow Class: Demon.

\'Demon! She is a Shadow Demon now…\'

Shadow Attributes: [Battle Master], [Stalwart], [Spark of Divinity].

The next line had not been there before. Sunny held his breath.

Shadow Abilities: [Weapon Sage], [Underworld Armament].

He lingered for a moment, trying to suppress a triumphant smile.

He had always known that Saint was not a typical Nightmare Creature. But to think that she would acquire an actual Ability before even becoming a devil… and not just one, but two!

Burning with anticipation, he read on:

Weapon Sage Ability Description: [Shadow Saint can effectively wield any weapon-type Memory.]

Underworld Armament Ability Description: [Shadow Saint\'s armor can accommodate a charm Memory to inherit its enchantments.]

Sunny was silent for a bit, then turned his head and stared at the taciturn monster… no, not monster.

Demon.

A satisfied smile finally appeared on his face.

"Ah. How wonderful…"

Not only had his Shadow grown tremendously stronger, but she now also had the ability to use any weapon he would provide for her, as well as reinforce her armor with all kinds of powerful enchantments.

The possibilities this could provide her were truly endless. The potential combinations, the flexibility… all it took was to find proper Memories.

Sunny shook his head and grinned.

Before, he had sometimes thought that Saint was really suited to command an army.

But now, he understood that he had been wrong.

…She was the army.

***

A few hours later, the members of Neph\'s cohort gathered on the roof of the old hunting lodge, which still stood at the edge of the slum. Seishan was also there, which made Sunny slightly uncomfortable. He didn\'t let it show on his face, however.

The outer settlement was desolate and empty. There were no desperate, hungry youths around anymore — all of them were now either safely hidden behind the castle walls… or dead.

It was just the seven of them. They came to see Kai off.

The charming archer was standing near the edge of the roof, checking his equipment for the last time. He was wearing a new stylish armor and a leather jacket with fur on its collar. On his back, there was a quiver full of arrows and a backpack with water, food, and other supplies necessary for a long journey.

Sunny didn\'t know about the rest, but his heart was heavy.

As though reading his thoughts, Kai turned around and smiled.

"Really, guys, don\'t worry. I\'ll be fine. This is not my first time spending some quality time in the Labyrinth."

No one answered, knowing that the mission entrusted to Nightingale this time was especially dangerous... but also important.

He had to leave the Dark City and explore the vastness of the Forgotten Shore in search of new humans sent here by the Spell.

Today was the day of the winter solstice, and that meant that out there in the real world, thousands upon thousands of Sleepers were currently preparing to enter the pods and arrive in the Dream Realm.

Sunny sighed.

"Just don\'t bring back anyone as irritating as you, alright?"

Kai chuckled.

"...No promises."

With that, he waved them goodbye.

"Well… wish me luck!"

A few moments later, he was gone, turning into a small dot in the sky.

The remaining six people stared at it for a long time, their faces somber.

Their future depended on what Kai would discover.

Their and that of everyone else still clinging to life on the Forgotten Shore.