342 Crimson Terror

[Soul Conduit].

The Attribute had no description, nor was its acquisition announced by the Spell. Staring at the runes for a few more seconds, Sunny cast one last glance at the white void of his Soul Sea and left it.

He had no answers for this mysterious sequence of events, but his intuition was ringing the alarm bell.

He was almost sure that the strange and painful process that began after he had absorbed the last shadow fragment was somehow interrupted. The white light permeating the Soul Sea felt unnatural and wrong, like something external to it rather than natural. The mysterious new Attribute was most likely connected to this external influence instead of to the saturation of the Shadow Core.

In fact, [Soul Conduit] was most likely the manifestation of the radiant force that was currently suppressing the core. In that sense, this Attribute was more akin to the mind hex of the Soul Devourer than to the Blood Weave. It wasn't something that Sunny had achieved or acquired. It was forced upon him, for reasons yet unknown.

Gritting his teeth, Sunny shifted and changed his grip on the handle of the Moonlight Shard. Then, he summoned the Ordinary Rock and immediately dismissed it. Finally, he ordered the shadow to wrap itself around his body, then shift to the ghostly stiletto and back.

...At least the new Attribute did not seem to be directly harmful. Sunny was still in control of his body and mind, as well as having full access to his Memories and Shadow Control. All it seemed to be affecting was the Shadow Core itself, preventing it from… from achieving whatever it was that had failed to happen.

At least for now. But how long would that safety last?

Raising his head, Sunny stared at the pinnacle of the Crimson Spire. Something unexplainable had transpired there, causing this strange turn of events.

Why was he trying to guess if all the answers were most likely waiting for him up above?

To his side, a massive slab of stone had lodged itself between stumps of broken coral roots. More debris piled on top of it at steep angles, forming a twisting path to the distant sunlight.

Pushing himself off the wall of the tower, Sunny glided forward and landed on the inclined stone surface. Then, he lingered for a few moments and began climbing up.

The higher he ascended, the more sunshine surrounded him. Eventually, the whole tower was filled with nothing but stark beams of light and deep, dark shadows. The world was black and white, as though no other color was allowed into this solemn space.

After a while, Sunny approached the broken dome of the Crimson Spire.

There, a vast hall was hidden in the darkness, both its floor and roof now shattered, letting in the brightness of the sun.

With a deep sigh, Sunny reached with his hands and pulled himself into the hall. He was now at the very pinnacle of the Crimson Spire.

In the lair of the Terror of the Forgotten Shore.

***

At the very tip of the ancient tower, there was once a vast and beautiful chamber. It seemed as though it had a large circular opening in its center, allowing sunlight to easily flow into the gargantuan structure at high noon.

Then, however, that opening had become overgrown by crimson coral. And now it was gone.

Due to something that had happened during Changing Star's battle against the Terror, the floor of the chamber partially collapsed, bringing the coral down with it. The ceiling was damaged too, although to a lesser extent.

Through the chasm in the Spire's roof, Sunny could see the boundless white skies and the burning orb of the artificial sun.

Lingering at it for a moment, he then lowered his gaze and looked at the chamber itself.

The first thing he saw was Nephis, who was sitting on the floor, staring into the distance.

Although her state was not as terrifying as on that terrible night when a dweller of the depths had pulled her beneath the waves of the cursed sea, she did not look too good.

The Starlight Legion Armir was practically destroyed, revealing gruesome burns and cuts on her ivory skin. Just like then, white flames were seeping out of them instead of blood.

These fires seemed strangely weak, though, as though on the verge of being extinguished. They were also failing to mend her mangled flesh. Neph's wounds appeared to be healing, but at a very slow pace — a far cry from the miraculous restoration that Sunny had witnessed so many times in the past.

The furious power that had always burned deep within her soul seemed to be finally exhausted. Almost…

Following her gaze, Sunny shuddered when he saw the Terror.

The creature that had created the Forgotten Shore might have looked as a human once, but now, it was like a feverish nightmare.

For some reason, Sunny had expected to see the familiar shape of the nameless goddess, whose statue was created in the likeness of the girl that had been made into the vessel of the artificial sun.

What met him instead was a giant creature whose body was made out of a perverse fusion of crimson coral and mutilated human flesh. In a sense, it was similar to the crimson golems he had fought at the base of the Spire. It was a twisted approximation of a living being, one that radiated a horrifying sense of madness, wrongness, and loss.

Instead of a human face, the Terror had hundreds of them, all contorted in expressions of blind agony and suffering. Their mouths were open, as though straining to scream. Their eyes were empty wells of pure darkness.

At least now, they were. When the Terror was alive, they must have shone with blinding, annihilating light.

…And it was, unmistakably, dead.

The harrowing creature was sprawled on the floor, its limbs unmoving, its body fractured almost in half. The edges of the terrible wound were burned and melted, leaving no doubt that it was dealt by Changing Star's incandescent silver blade.

'How… how is this possible?'

Stunned, Sunny stared at the vanquished Terror, failing to comprehend what he saw.

How could Neph kill a Fallen Terror? No matter how powerful she was, she was still a Sleeper. Even with the tremendous augmentation of the Dawn Shard, she should not have been capable of slaying something this powerful.

Something was very wrong here.

'This doesn't make sense.'

...But then again, this wouldn't be the first Terror Nephis had slain. Changing Star had killed one in her First Nightmare, too, earning her that name. Still, there was a vast difference between a dormant human killing an Awakened Terror and a Fallen one.

One feat was impossible. The other... the other was simply unthinkable.

Turning to her, Sunny hesitated and then said in disbelief:

"You… you actually killed it."

Neph flinched, as though noticing his presence for the first time. Then, she slowly turned her head and looked at him with empty, lost eyes. Only after a few seconds, a hint of recognition appeared in them.

She remained silent for a while, and then said in a hollow voice:

"...Sunny. You are finally here."