Sunny entered the classroom. He had used Shadow Manifestation to alter his appearance—swapping the police-issued tracksuit for the Puppeteer's Shroud to avoid drawing too much attention.
Teacher Julius stood at the far end of the decently sized classroom, gazing out the window.
"Hello, Professor Julius."
The old man turned toward the source of the voice.
"Ah! Welcome. Although… you're a bit early—classes begin tomorrow." Professor Julius sounded like his usual self: ever-ecstatic when it came to students.
A soft smile formed on Sunny's face.
"Actually, I'm not a student…"
He paused briefly before continuing:
"I was hoping to share my insights on the Dream Realm with fellow bright-minded people."
Professor Julius's face lit up with delight.
"Of course, of course! Knowledge is always welcome, Mr.…?" He paused, awaiting a reply.
"My name's Sunless—but you can call me Sunny," he replied, cheerful.
He had missed this feeling—talking about his exploits—ahem, research—on the Dream Realm. But this time, he had to be cautious. One wrong word could spell disaster… and lead his beloved professor down the path of corruption.
"Welcome, Sunny. Do take a seat."
They sat beside each other—this time not as pupil and teacher, but as fellow researchers.
Sunny spoke first. "Before we begin, I'd like to make a request, Professor."
Professor Julius nodded, prompting him to continue.
"I'd appreciate it if you asked open-ended questions rather than probing ones."
"I'm not sure why, but I'll happily oblige."
Sunny crossed his legs, his smile radiant. This time, Professor Julius spoke first:
"Where do we start? How about the Chained Isles?" he asked, visibly enthusiastic.
Their conversation carried on—yet unbeknownst to Professor Julius, a shadow slipped soundlessly beneath the door, towards the academy's cafeteria.
***
[Death recognizes its own.]
Suddenly, the creature's shadow quivered—then moved.
It detached from the corpse and slid toward Sunny, stopping just short. Waiting. Pleading?
Before he could process it, his body reacted—almost instinctively—turning into shadow, as if it had always known how.
'What?'
In the next breath, the shadow of the great monster slithered forward… and merged with his.
No trace remained—only a hollow corpse, now stripped of its shade.
[A shadow finds solace within you.]
Sunny summoned his runes, expecting a change, and there it was.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lightless Heir
Rank: Supreme
Shadow Core: Titan
Shadow Fragments: 1
Sunny entered his soul sea, there it was, the shadow of Great Monster he had just killed.
'Huh… That was, something, but what did it do?' That Sunny had no clue about—not yet...
Moving towards the entrance of the Nameless Temple, a thought formed in the back of his mind.
'The guardian won't attack me right?' Even though he was no longer marked by divinity. Sunny moved onwards with a measured gait. Each step steady, each breath calm.
There, he saw it… felt it. The guardian itself was invisible, yet Sunny was still able to sense the guardian with his Shadow Senses which had somehow been further enhanced after consuming the Shadow God's Ichor. Already willing the shadows to form a sword, Sunny shifted into a battle stance—one he had learned as a mongrel in the Dreamscape.
To his surprise, however, the creature… bowed?
It was impossible to deny, no matter how improbable or rather probable it looked. Although he could only sense the guardian, he could still make out its faint silhouette with them.
After all, he had both [Divine Right] and he was—to his knowledge—the Scion of Shadow. It would be dubious if the guardian was hostile to him.
After a moment of reverence, the creature stepped aside, making way for Sunny to enter the temple—which he did. He had yet to bind himself to the citadel.
Binding his soul to the citadel—which proved to be even easier with the spell's help, he summoned the runes. They read:
Citadel: [Nameless Temple]
A wry smile crept up his face.
'Nameless Temple.'
Somehow, many events were linked to this place. From his first nightmare, where he had received Shadow's Blessing… to playing a major role in the Sovereigns' war… to his regression.
His smile, however, faded as quickly as it came.
'The Sovereigns.'
They needed to be dealt with—one way or another. He could end them, if he chose. Easily… Their domains held no sway over his, thanks to his [Divine Right] attribute, and they wouldn't pose much of a challenge—being mere Supreme Beasts. Even more so with their wills rendered useless before Serpent's [Death Incarnate] Attribute.
*I previously wrote it as an ability, but now that I think about it, it's probably more fitting as an attribute.*
However, it wasn't that simple. Nothing ever was. Primarily because that would spell disaster for the delicate order humanity maintained in the Dream Realm.
'I guess there are only really three choices for me…'
He could either:
'Create my own clan, and slowly build up influence until I can rival the two great clans without erupting chaos in the Dream Realm.'
Or:
'Kill them, and deal with the chaos as it comes.'
Finally, the hardest and most logical choice:
'Come to an agreement with the other Sovereigns.'
Not because it was difficult to find common ground… but because he loathed them, each for reasons that he could not let go of.
Anvil—for how he thought of Nephis.
And Song—for how she had killed her… and turned her into a puppet.
Sighing Sunny shadow stepped to a deeper part of the temple, where all its components lay.
'Right, first things first…'
He had already decided on moving the citadel away from the sword domain, after all, he was going to call upon the fragment of Shadow's Realm, and he really didn't want to deal with a clash of domains—not yet at least.
***
Somewhere in Godgrave, a Temple appeared—seemingly out of nowhere.
'Well, now that that's been dealt with.'
Sunny was climbing the stairs from the basement of the Nameless Temple. Sure, he could have Shadow Stepped… but he liked the notion of walking through his citadel.
Soon, however, he wished he had Shadow Stepped—because he stumbled backward and tumbled down the entire flight of stairs while reading his runes.
[Fragment of the Shadow Realm]
[When Shadow made death, he has become death. Everything that Shadow swallowed died, and everything that died was swallowed by Shadow. Death was an absolute law, and thus, that which was everchanging, was everchanging no more. Time was an absolute law, and thus, that which was everlasting, was everlasting no more. Space was an absolute law, and thus, that which was endless, was endless no more. Wielding time, space, and death, the gods defeated and bound their enemies. However, there were those who defied even absolute laws. One of these beings broke free of the Shadow Realm after entering it in merriment, and in doing so, splintered several small fragments of it. This is an amalgamation of many such fragments]
[By calling upon the Fragment of Shadow Realm, its owner can summon a piece of Shadow's domain into existence.]
'Well, I had expected it to be different, but this…'
'ENTERING IN MERRIMENT???' Sunny was perplexed—to say the least. What deranged being would wander into a realm of death for merriment?
'Hopefully it didn't change for the worse.'
Sunny took a deep breath and called upon the Fragment of the Shadow Realm.
In the next moment…
The world around them suddenly grew dimmer.
Then dimmer, dimmer, and dimmer still.
If, before, a tide of darkness had flooded the world,
then now—it was something else.
As if the Shadow Realm had turned on the Dream Realm.
Not in hunger.
In conquest.
A slow, inevitable subsuming.
And it didn't stop.
Darkness spread—first Godgrave, then beyond.
Not like a wave.
Like a truth, finally remembered.
Sunny felt it. All of it.
The Hollow Mountains' mist—gone, erased.
The Dark Mountains, Chained Isles, Bastion, Ravenheart… even Stormsea—shrouded.
No light. No line between real and unreal.
'D—Dam—Damnation…'
His senses stretched wide. Too wide.
Shadows surged, and with them, his awareness.
A thousand thoughts crashed through his mind.
His knees nearly buckled.
Even as a Supreme, unless he focused—he'd drown himself in entropy.
But that wasn't the real problem.
The fragment…
It had grown. Thousands of kilometers in all directions.
Creeping. Crawling. Encroaching.
Into the Sovereigns' domains.
Or maybe—it was already there.
Sunny didn't want to know.
So he willed it to stop.
A single command.
Silent. Absolute.
And the shadows obeyed.
The tide curled back.
Retreating to Godgrave's edge.
***
Far within the Nightmare Desert, where no stars dared to fall,
stands a tree that had never known shade.
It does not grow. It endures.
Each of its branch is scarred, scorched, and silent.
The sky above it is always white with heat.
The sand below is never still.
Once, two beings were nailed here—held in contempt by death itself
Only one figure still hung from the tree.
In the hush before dusk, it spoke—low, bitter, cursed:
"Tch, This realm is doomed,"
"The King of Kings has been extricated…"
"Mightier than ever"
"Truly, the gods have a wicked sense of humor."