Sunny looked at the loathsome wraith in the eyes and opened his mouth. Before a wisp of air could escape, the Spell resounded in his ears.

  [Your Memory is sealed] Sunny’s eyes widened as the wraith grinned like a cheshire cat. Whatever that was. He tried to speak but the sealing went further than just stopping the Stifled Scream charm. Sunny knew the source of the seal without looking. The mysterious Estuary Key woven by the Mad Prince. Sunny was beaten.

  “Your other self lived for thousands of years, was you before that. Too bad he thought about that little charm of yours.” Sin of Solace laughed. “You really are a useless worm. Unable to accomplish anything even after betraying your friends. Betraying Nephis.” The Wraith stopped laughing and the humor dissipated.

  “I’ve had my fun. Now I have to deal with the old you, or maybe the new you, again.” Sunny covered his ears but the Wrath was a part of his mind, not stopped by mundane measures.

  “Nephdret.” Sunny’s mind collapsed from the profane and forbidden knowledge. His very being felt like it was being ripped apart and stitched back together before breaking again. Sunny clenched his head and let out a silent scream. He crumbled to his knees as the knowledge corroded his soul, filling it with the corruption.

  [Y-you…Aspirant-challenger, -unknown-] The spell let out a spasm of words into Sunny’s breaking mind. [-unknown-] The voice became different, hostile.

  Through the agony Sunny heard the spell break, no, abandon him. The piece of Black rock in his soul sea broke and the memories flooded into his fragile consciousness. Hundreds of cycles through the river of time. The terrors under the tides, the countless tries he went through to get to this one moment. His soul rippled and grew. The pain of forming another core added into the corruption. A black sun rose in Sunny’s soul sea, replacing the lost memories. Yet the tranquil waters stirred, as spires of smokey bile rose in the sea, infecting every part of Sunny’s soul.

  Sin of Solace watched the scene with a mix of disappointment and revulsion until his existence was shattered along with the key. The Mad Prince had grown tired of the wraith as well. Sunny clawed at his face as his fears played out in front of him several times, as he suffered from madness for untold time. But through it all, one memory cut through it all.

  Sunny felt the white flames searing his arms, his body. He felt his sword pierce her chest. The white flames died and Nephis looked at Sunny. That look hurt more than anything. More than the flames and more than the madness.

  Thousands of souls rose in Sunny’s soul sea as the culmination of lifetimes was returned to him. The estuary key was much, much more than he thought it was. What he could do. The Mad Prince made leaps and bound in weaving, perhaps even hunting the creatures in the spirals beneath the river of time to hold enchantments together. Enchantments to return himself in the truest sense.

  The pain subsided and Sunny let out a soft chuckle. The hiccups of air soon became a torrent of laughs. He ripped at his face and writhed on the ground. How many times had he helped kill her? How many times had he plotted against his friends, killed them even.

  In the darkness of the Estuary, Sunny laughed at the truth he wished he’d never remembered. Sunny felt his head, the familiar tarnished metal adorning it. He had stitched himself from one point of existence into another. It was his ultimate cheat. His ultimate victory. His greatest loss.

  Sunny looked up at the lightless ceiling. Somewhere out there, the cohort would conquer the nightmare. Sunny felt the flimsiest of strings of the nightmare spell still in his soul. They would soon break too, his time was limited. There was still one thing he still needed to do. He needed to break the chain that bound him to Nephis. The collar around his neck would soon be gone.

  Sunny got up and trudged through the darkness, a bloody smile plastered on his mauled face. He picked up the Guiding light and continued down the tunnel to the core. He’d return to Nephis soon.

  “Now this is something,” A voice resounded from all around him. Then something impossible happened. The shadows dimmed, blinding Sunny. It wasn’t true darkness, instead they refused to be his eyes anymore as if they found a more worthy master.

  “Traitors,” Sunny muttered. Some of his shadows gave him indignant looks. He closed his eyes since they were useless and listened for movement.

  “I’m over here,” The voice said, snorting in amusement as Sunny spun around. Sunny sighed. “Enough with the theatrics, bastard.”

  The voice paused then snarled. “I remember this moment, but I wasn’t a raving maniac.” The voice was his voice. The Mad Prince put the pieces together.

  “So I have you to thank for bringing Chain Breaker. Wait, didn’t I already guess that? Maybe. Wait, you're me?” The Mad Prince tried to peer into the shadows. Something vague and powerful was moving just beyond his senses.

  “Not just anyone can turn the shadow’s against me. A corrupted Titan is powerless against you. You became a supreme.” Sunny laughed.

  “No. I’m not a supreme,” the voice answered.

  “Weavers mask,” Sunny took a moment and summoned the divine memory. It remained in his soul sea along with a few others.

  “No. I am the most honest person in two worlds.” The voice replied.

  “Cut the crap. I know you have multiple bodies. You can spin all the lies you want. Isn’t that right?”

  “Then I’ll keep it simple. Turn back. Especially you. You do not want to continue further.”

  “Aren’t you a hypocrite? You were me. Do you think I’ll turn back now?”

  “No. But I will stop you if I must. Something like you…me, should not exist.”

  “Why did you return?” Sunny smiled as he voiced his wonder and leaned on Guiding Light. “Why on earth would you come back to the tomb? You need something.”

  The shadows didn’t respond and Sunny continued forward. “Stop me if you want, but I will be taking what is mine.”

  “Careful what you wish for.” The voice answered. Sunny froze at those words, the very one he carved so many times. His shadow sense returned and the Shadows hesitantly responded to Sunny.

  He hurried down the tunnel. The nightmare would end soon. His bare feet splashed through the water as he came into a giant opening. The chamber walls spread, nearly vanishing into the dark. At the center was an island and a tree.

  Sunny made his way to the island, spotting a sarcophagus. Running his hand over the smooth stone, he felt a profound sense of holiness from the place.

  “The tomb of Ariel..No. The answer is Oblivion.” Sunny caressed the stone, controlling his strength like he could break the stone. “Are you the answer I seek?” He brushed away withered leaves and looked up at the tree. A strange fruit hung above him. Sunny didn’t hesitate and bit into the fruit. His soul felt like it was struck and he fell to his knees.

  “Aarghh!” Sunny exhaled, shaking free of the pain. Compared to what he recently endured, this was manageable. Something changed in Sunny. Similar to Bone weave and Blood weave. Sunny’s soul felt reinforced and powerful.

  “Another piece of weave. So he was here.” Sunny regarded the grave. “He mourned you. Were you close, or did he have lingering guilt?”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Guiding light, which had rolled to the ground, began to shimmer more intensely. Sunny watched it then looked out.

  “Seems a lot of things are coming together.” Sunny grinned in the presence of a cursed terror. The time he spent plotting and searching had led to this moment. The bird watched him for a moment before lunging with incredible speed. Its claws were upon him in an instant and they dug through his body, through his very soul. The strings of the spell that remained were taken along with a small egg. The darkness consumed him as the threads of light left him and the estuary vanished.

  Sunny awoke in agony. He failed his body, smashing everything around him. The underground shuddered and Sunny breathed in the cool air. His body was a revolting mess of shadows, barely in the form of a human. He took over himself and formed himself into his human body. It took him a moment to direct his thoughts to form his torso, then his arms, followe by his legs and head.

  His nightmare was finally over. He couldn’t help but shed a tear, giving himself a moment of respite. His mind was clear and the pain didn’t matter. The ripping feeling that constantly assaulted his brain was a small itch at the moment.

  Sunny summoned his strength and pushed out of the rubble. He summoned Anake’s mantle and arose in the white desert of Antarctica. He was standing in the ruins of a Seige capital.

  “This is…West? East, maybe.” Sunny filtered through his mind trying to gleam the knowledge of before his nightmare. The sky was clouded gray and filled with drifting snow.

  “A grand return for a rat king.” Sunny’s shadow manifested, taunting him. Six others formed, identical to the original, except for the tears on his face.

  “Find Nephis and the others.” He ordered. The shadows sunk into the ground, spreading out through the ruins of steel and stone.

  Sunny sat down, keeping one shadow by his side. “What did the spell leave us?” He mused.

  The first thing he did was check for Shadow bond. The invisible connection between him and Nephis was vague, nearly absent. A sea of sparks joined the snow leaving several memories behind. Weaver’s mask, Shadow lantern, and other memories he had personally altered remained. Everything else was taken.

  Happy picked up a silver bell, giving it a ring. Sunny inhaled. “Freedom is sweet.” Finally, Sunny summoned his Shadows.

  Saint, Fiend, and Nightmare manifested in the white landscape. Sunny stood, regarding each of them. They were as he remembered them.

  “I killed you all in the Tomb.” Happy looked at him and smacked his face. Sunny ignored his shadow and continued. “You cannot exist outside of me, but I will not force you to serve your murderer. Or second time murderer.” Sunny scratched the back of his head, the irony of his words hitting him.

  Sunny regarded Feind. He felt the least about killing the brute, but even their relationship was missed.

  Nightmare was the first one to move. It stopped forward with heavy huffs, its sharp eyes meeting Sunny’s.

  Eventually, the horse nuzzled his chest. Sunny was stunned. He fully expected them to abandon him, or even try to kill him. Feind looked away and crossed his arms, letting out a grudging grunt of acknowledgement. Saint lifted her sword and tapped it against the rim of her shield.

  Sunny looked down, a warm feeling forming in his chest. Perhaps he could make it. The corruption still weighed on his mind, and this moment of lucidity would not last, but he let himself hope for a moment.

  Suddenly, the world exploded. A shockwave of heat washed over them, melting the nearby stone. Sunny took control of Gloomy, seeing everything as his shadow would.

  “Show yourself.” Nephis was standing in a crater. She was like a deity of light. She looked sublime and Sunny smiled at her.

  Nephis spotted him from the rubble and her face only hardened. Sunny snapped back to himself. His body was burning.

  Sunny swiftly turned into a shadow and reformed. But at that moment Nephi's attacked. Her mirror-like blade nearly took off his head. Hissing, Sunny pulled a shadow from the ground and formed an Odachi, parrying her next strike. Nephis looked surprised by him then doubled her efforts.

  “Nephis, it’s--” Sunny cut himself off. There were so many things he wanted to say, things he needed to say. Nephis’s onslaught paused and Sunny took the opportunity to create some distance.

  “It’s me,” He finished. Nephis regarded him with an expression that wretched his soul.

  She pointed Kinslayer at him. “Identify yourself.” Sunny’s next words died on his tongue. She showed no signs of recognition. To her, he was an enemy.

  “Careful what you wish for. So that’s how you’re playing it.” Sunny held his face, digging his nails into his face and staring at Nephis through his fingers. The bird hadn't taken just the spell. It had taken away his Fate. Everything that tied him to Nephis, to the people who knew him was gone.

  “I struggled for every moment. And it isn’t enough?” Sunny was yelling now. “I’ll rip you apart!” He screamed, laughing maniacally. The shadows deepened and surged. The bile in his soul gripped every part of his being now.

  The spell needed to die. Sunny would take it down one bearer at a time. He launched himself at Nephis, all notion of sanity gone. Sunny’s sword clashed with Kinslayer and warped, biting into Nephis’s shoulder.

  They danced, the ground under them crumbling from the force of demigods using it as their stage. Nephis was an unyielding pillar while Sunny was a torrent of endless water crashing against her. Nephis remained stoic in the face of Sunny’s assault. The pale devil himself was laughing tears of blood that ran down his face.

  Nephis’s next attack shook the earth and Sunny was consumed by a wave of unquenching heat. He pushed on through the pain to attack again. Nephis prepared herself, flames dancing in her eyes. Her face was devoid of any emotions, more like stone than flesh. Sunny stopped at the sight. The flames she used against him caused her untold amounts of pain and he was trying to inflict more.

  Before his incarnation burned away, another commanded the shadows to cage Nephis, cutting off the flames.

  The shadows cracked like a shell holding back a bomb of light. Sunny watched it with anguish before dissolving into the shadows.

  When Nephis broke free, the mysterious nightmare creature was gone, destruction remaining.

  Sunny fled, as the corruption tried to pry apart his shambled mind. Each step was another towards killing something.

  “There is nowhere I can go,” Sunny wailed. He cursed fate, cursed the spell, and, most of all, cursed the selfish bastard that he was. The clouds from before descended, being not vapor, but swords. Sunny snarled as he deflected some and took others. He swiftly moved across the great expanse, looking back. An enormass beast was being drowned in sharp steel. A great Titan. Sunny spared a moment to gawk at the scene and the one perpetrating it. A vermillion cloak clung to a sovereign’s back. The man was clad in armor and his presence was suffocating. It was the King of Swords, Anvil Valor.

  Sunny tore his eyes away, fleeing from everything. He’d kill them all, every single being responsible for his suffering. ‘I’ll show you why you should fear the Shadows.’

  Noctis opened his eyes. He was dead. There was no sun nor moon and the concept of “ground” was flimsy at best. Above, below, and around him were ethereal lines snaking through one another in an elaborate dance. The sight was beautiful but completely transcended his comprehension. He vaguely understood that each string was connected to something and some one, that they brought people together, tore them apart and directed the events of life. Noctis was looking at the weave of fate.

  Noctis felt lithe, like his body weight nothing. All around him was a space of emptiness, with strings dangling loosely about. Some hung from his body, driving through his arms. With the cut strings came a sense of loss. But compared to the rest of the weave, Noctis’s actions were not even a part of a part of it. A drop in a boundless sea.

  Then there was Weaver. The Daemon seemingly manifested like it was always there. Or maybe it was everywhere. Noctis turned and regarded the being a sense of indignation flaring. He was completely naked in the world of strings. The horror!

  The eerie mask sent shivers down the sorcerer's back and eventually he nervously smiled. “You held up your side of the deal. It is time I hold up mine. For I am the most honorable person in all the East!” Noctis paused for a moment. “No, I take that back. People say I am!. Which means it must be true. Self proclamation is for underachievers.” The Daemon didn’t react in the smallest of ways and Noctis doubted there was even a face behind the mask.

  “So what payment do you seek from me?”

  “Death is the peace every living being defies. Shadow hates the living and will reject you.” The daemon didn’t really speak. There was no air for carrying waves. It was will that allowed the words to be heard in the strange world.

  “You will die again. Do not seek the madness. Do not save it.” Weaver finished and suddenly, Noctis felt a cold hand cutting through his chest. Black threads sprouted from the wound and Weaver pulled them out his seemingly numerous hands controlly each one. They twisted and took shape. When the Daemon finished, the purpose of the weave was incomprehensible.

  The Weave of fate vanished and Noctis woke up from the strange dream. He shifted and felt a watching gaze.

  “Oh don’t be scared. I won’t eat you.” Noctis laughed. A helpful shadow had stumbled into his life. He befriended the shadow, getting his fair share out of their relationship. Though the shadow didn’t take that well, going around and befriending strangers to make Noctis jealous. The shadow was keen and sharp tongued at times, but was an endearing existence nonetheless.

  Noctis broke the chains of Hope at the end. “Well actually…there is one small thing left to do.” He asked something heavy of his friend. “Will you give me the obsidian knife?” After leaving the shadow with important fashion advice Noctis lifted the knife to his heart. Life was truly full of wonders.

  There was no pain when he plunged the knife into his chest and he felt the divine string of Fate return to the tapestry.

  Noctis gasped, his vision blocked by the ominous mask of Weaver. The impassive expression of a demon stared at him, urging him to continue. His body moved, spasming and Noctis clenched his fists. His hands felt cold. He sat up, his body covered in fluffy white dust. Breathing heavily, Noctis took in the serene landscape. “I think…I’ve been swindled.”