[ 'Three seconds. You can rest for three more seconds,' ]
Sunny's thoughts reverberated across the rooms. The first fight of the nightmare was over, a simple, recently awakened Dormant Beast. To most of those watching, a mere insect. Even Rain, as a mundane, had hunted stronger.
And yet, it felt like a great milestone. Perhaps that was just how dire of a situation the future Lord of Shadows found himself in.
But the struggle was not over.
They saw as the slaves of the caravan died or despaired in their panic. The situation quickly spiraled into uncontrollable chaos.
[ 'More larvae?' ]
Sunny's sudden thought brought their attention to the corpses that were now starting to move.
One of said monsters turned towards the three slaves and attacked them, the viewers prepared themselves for another struggle for dear life.
However...
[ 'What was that?' ]
The valiant young soldier had appeared to save them, cleanly relieving the creature of its head.
[ 'He is. Awesome,' ]
[ 'Poser! I mean, he's a poser!' ]
Rain chuckled.
She felt a little reassured that there was such a silly side of him, even in such a situation. She once thought that such a side of her brother was annoying and embarrassing, the kind of embarrassing you normally have when you bring friends home and your parents start to behave exactly how you don't want them to.
Yet, she couldn't help but feel glad that there was such a side in the first place.
[ With a short nod, the soldier moved forward to face the remaining three larvae. But after taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and gave Sunny a long look. Then, with one swift motion, the young warrior took something from his belt and threw it to Sunny. ]
"Is that the key for the chains?"
In the Alter Room, mundane Sunny couldn't help but exclaim.
[ 'It's the key to the shackles!' ]
Only to receive the answer moments later from his onscreen self, who was now busy freeing himself from the chains he had been shackled with.
[ "Boy! Over here!" ]
The cries of the other slaves led Sunny, who believed that there was strength in numbers, to free them as well.
[ "What are you waiting for?! Run!" ]
They saw as the Shifty slave began to make a run for it, only to be stopped by the scholarly slave.
[ "My friend, I would…"
"If you say "advise" again, I swear to gods, I will bash your head open!" ]
"How unreasonable..." Professor Julius commented.
[ "If we run away now, we will surely die."
"Why?!"
"Because without that fire, we will freeze to death before the night is over. Until the sun rises, running away is suicide." ]
He was right.
If an Awakened Tyrant lived in that mountain, the chances of other nightmare creatures living in that area were low, however, the nightmarish weather conditions were too dangerous for a couple of not well-fed and badly worn slaves.
The cold, the terrain, and the hunger would kill them before they were even halfway through their journey.
It was clear to anyone in any room that if they wanted to survive, they needed the guards and their supplies.
[ "So what?! I prefer freezing to death than being eaten by that monster anyway! Not to mention… ugh… turning into one of those things." ]
There was a point to Shifty's thinking.
A lot of those watching were members of legacy clans, like samurai clans in the past, honor was a great deal for them. Dying by your own blade or even by circumstance was more honorable than becoming a beast, lost of its own will.
Then again, it was also against that honor to run away instead of facing the danger head-on.
Not that a slave could do much.
[ "The monster might be satiated with those it had already slain. It might be defeated or driven away by the Imperials. In any case, if we stay here, we have a chance to survive, however small. But if we run away, our doom will be certain." ]
And that was the truth, one that was quickly accepted by the viewers.
Survival was the most important thing, if the only chance, regardless of how small it was, lay in staying there, it made sense to do so.
While the audience thought of that, Sunny and the other two slaves approached the area where the monster was rampaging to check the situation.
[ On the other side of the bonfire, things were turning from bad to worse. Most of the slaves were already dead. A few soldiers were still desperately trying to fight the monster, but it was clear that they weren't going to last long. Right in front of Sunny's eyes, the tyrant picked up a dead slave, dragging the chain up with him, and opened its terrifying maw wide. With one crushing bite, the slave's body was torn in half, leaving only bloodied stumps inside the shackles. ]
They watched the scene as the narrator described the scene as if wanting them to see the horror even if they looked away.
[ "Well? We've taken a look, now what?" ]
Some shared the curiosity of the slave and waited for Sunny's answer, which never came.
[ "I'm telling you, old man, the boy is sick in the head. How the hell can he be so calm?!"
"Shhhh! Lower your voice, fool!" ]
They had to agree that Sunny was weirdly calm in this strange situation. It was clear that the potential of the Lord of Shadows was there, if there was ever a doubt about his identity, now there was none.
This boy would one day be the man that would defy and rule death.
[ The young soldier—Sunny's heroic liberator—had just tossed a burning piece of wood at the monster and was now defiantly raising his sword.
"Face me, devil!" ]
Seeing the young soldier bravely facing the Tyrant, looks of respect were directed at him. It was clear that the young man was someone of great morals and bravery, perhaps he would be what some would call a Hero.
However, others, those that saw beyond those things, saw something else. The thought in the minds of Mordret, several Cassies, Broken Sword, Noctis, and Solvane, and of course the Sunnys in the Alter Room, was a single one:
'A distraction.'
[ 'A distraction! Just what I needed!' ]
They saw as the boy began to formulate and realize his plan.
[ 'Since I can't do the bastard in myself, let's make gravity do it for me.'
"Come with me!" ]
With his words and actions appearing on screen, his plan became clearer and clearer as he approached the heavy wagon that was balancing at the edge of the platform.
[ "When I tell you, remove both of them. Then push. Understand?"
"What? Why?" ]
"Just do it already!"
Perhaps a little lost in the moment, mundane Sunny shouted, drawing some gazes from the rest of the people in the room.
"I'm sorry for that."
"Nah! I agree, why the fuck does this Shifty guy do the same thing over and over again? Why this, and why that? Shut up and let the smart people handle things, fool!"
Detective Sunless flipped the bird at the screen, drawing some chuckles from their counterparts.
In the screen, the slaves kept working on the wagon while Hero, as he had been dubbed in Sunny's mind according to the narrator, was fighting the Tyrant by himself in an incredible showcase of skill.
[ "Now!" ]
The image of a scrawny slave holding a chain while facing an Awakened Tyrant seared itself in the minds of everyone in the rooms.
A respectable warrior, an incredible leader, an interesting being, a relentless shadow, and a constant stubbornness that prevailed in every version of him.
This was Sunless.
[ Gathering all of his strength, Sunny spun and threw the chain in the air, as though a fisherman casting his net. The loop opened as it flew, closing in on the position of the fight between Hero and the tyrant. ]
[ Sunny's plan was to place the loop on the ground close enough to them that, once one of the tyrant's feet landed in the trap, he could pull on the chain and tighten it around the monster's ankle.
But his plan… failed spectacularly. ]
The narrator's description made some of them tense.
[ In the last moment, Mountain King suddenly flinched back, and instead of falling on the ground, the chain loop landed perfectly around its neck. A second later it tightened, acting as an iron noose. ]
Eyes widened.
Wasn't supposed to fail, albeit the spectacularly still checked out, they were expecting the worst.
Was this also [ Fated ] ?
[ 'YES!' ]
'He sounds like a kid who just caught his first baseball.' The thought crossed the minds of some older men who were aware of more mundane activities, that was Professor Julius, Mundane Anvil, and Mundane Broken Sword.
For a moment, a sudden sense of parental warmth spread through them.
[ Shifty and Scholar did manage to remove the wedges from under the wagon's wheels and were now desperately pushing it to the edge of the road. However, the wagon was rolling slowly… very slowly. Much slower than Sunny had anticipated. ]
It was clear that things were not as simple as originally thought.
Some leaned forward as if not to miss a single second.
[ In the next second, Hero crashed into one of the tyrant's legs, throwing it off balance—and buying them some time. Sunny was already running to the wagon, cursing loudly in his mind. Reaching it, he threw himself onto the damp wood alongside Shifty and Scholar, pushing with all the strength left in his rather small but terribly beaten and enormously exhausted body. ]
[ 'Roll! Roll, you creaky piece of shit!' ]
Maybe due to adrenaline or a subconscious need to lighten the mood, someone shouted "Language!" only to be completely ignored.
[ At the same time, the tyrant finally managed to get a hold of the chain tied around its neck, ready to free itself. ]
Some gritted their teeth. It was hard to watch such a desperate struggle when you know you could resolve things as easily as breathing. And that burden was only making this experience harder for those watching.
[ 'Come on! Just a little bit more!' ]
His cries echoed across the rooms and, in some cases, drew some viewers to replicate his words and actions, tensing their bodies as if they themselves were pressing against the wagon.
[ What followed happened very quickly. The wagon's rear wheels finally slid from the road, hanging over the dark, seemingly bottomless pit beneath. The creature turned, staring expressionlessly at the three slaves with its five milky, dead eyes. The wagon careened, throwing Shifty and Scholar off their feet, and then froze, balanced precariously on its middle axis. ]
"Ah!"
Someone gasped, no one bothered to check who. It was near, the wagon was about to fall.
[ Sunny was the only one left standing. He cast a last glance at the towering monster and then slammed his shoulder into the front of the wagon, putting all of his weight behind it. ]
[ The wagon finally lost its balance and rolled over the edge, scraping its underside deafeningly against the jagged rocks. Sunny fell forward and landed on his knees, narrowly saving himself from tumbling down the cliff with it. Turning his head to the tyrant, he gave it a wicked smile. ]
[ The creature fell into the darkness silently, as though refusing to believe that it was defeated by a tiny human. ]
[ 'Go and die, bastard.' ]
Another sigh of relief escaped Nephis' mouth as she saw the tyrant fall from the cliff along with the wagon.
Even though everyone should understand that the Lord of Shadows was alive and therefore would survive this ordeal, perhaps because they were seeing it firsthand, from his desperation to his struggles.
It felt like they were there, and the phrase "It's hard not to root for the protagonist" made a lot more sense to Nephis now than ever.
Seeing his actions now made her feel a new ounce of respect for her boyfriend that she didn't know was still able to increase.
Still, she knew it was not over yet.
[ 'Is this it? Did I pass the trial?' ]
"After all this, I think you deserve it to be so. However, I'm afraid not."
That was Daeron's honest opinion. The boy was tackling problems that could stump even regular Awakened, let alone a mundane aspirant.
And yet, he had come down on top, which was admirable.
[ A dark figure appeared above him. It was Hero, looking calm and as handsome as ever. There were dirt and scratches on his armor, but otherwise, the young soldier appeared to be fine. He extended one arm to Sunny. ]
[ "Stand up. You'll freeze to death." ]
[ Around them, there was a scene of utter carnage. Except for the three slaves and Hero, every member of the caravan was dead. Their bodies were littering the ground, horribly maimed or torn into pieces. Here and there, a repulsive carcass of a larva could be seen. Shadows cast by the bonfire were dancing happily across the stone platform, seemingly unperturbed by this morbid view. ]
They all looked, except for Ling Ling and young Nephis, towards the carnage, as awakened who fought in the Realm War, carnage was not exactly something unfamiliar to them, but it was never pleasant.
[ "Come closer to the fire, all of you. We need to warm ourselves and discuss what to do next." ]
[ A bit of time later, the four of them were seated around the bonfire, soaking up pleasant heat. Shifty and Scholar were close to each other, maintaining a safe distance from Hero. Sunny sat apart from everyone—not because he had a specific reason to distrust one more than the others, but simply because he didn't like people in general. ]
They calmly listened to the narrator.
[ Growing up, Sunny was always a misfit. It's not that he had never tried to become close with someone, it's just that he seemed to lack the ability. Like there was an invisible wall between him and other people. If he had to put it in words, Sunny would say that he was born without a small but important gear in his brain that everyone else seemed to possess. ]
Nephis felt herself resonating with those words. She had learned to socialize from Cassie during their travels in the Forgotten Shore. But even after that, even after welcoming a life that no longer required her to distance herself from people, she couldn't find the will to approach people, except for the few people that she had grown close to on the battlefield.
To Sunny, to feel similar was, weirdly, reassuring.
[ As a result, he was often baffled and stumped by human behavior, and his attempts to imitate it, however diligent, inevitably fell flat. This strangeness made others uncomfortable. ]
[ Over time, Sunny simply learned to avoid getting too close to anyone and settled comfortably into his outcast role. This habit served him well, since it not only made him self-reliant but also saved him from being stabbed in the back by shady characters on multiple occasions. ]
Mordret looked silently at the seated slaves as he listened to the narrator.
In the end, both mirrors and shadows shape themselves according to what is placed in front of them. If both he and Sunny had been in different places, how would they have turned out?
Would they have succeeded in becoming like everyone else?
Or would they turn out the same spiteful and conniving bastards they were?
[ That's why he was not thrilled to share the rest of this Nightmare with three strangers. ]
'No one would,' some thought.
[ "Once the sun rises, we will gather whatever food and water we can find and go back down the mountain." ]
[ "Why should we go back? To be put in chains again?" ]
[ "We can go our separate ways once we leave the mountains. But until then, I'm still responsible for your lives. We can't continue up the road since the way over the mountain pass is long and arduous. Without the supplies that were stored on the wagon, your chances of making it are not high. That's why going back is our best hope." ]
[ "We can't go down." ]
Hearing Sunny interfere in the discussion even after committing himself to stay in his corner, some were ready to hear his opinion on the matter.
[ "Don't listen to him, your lordship. This boy is, uh, touched by the gods. He's crazy, is what I'm trying to say." ]
[ "The two of you are only alive thanks to this child's bravery. Aren't you ashamed to badmouth him so?" ]
Heads nodded across the rooms. Sunny, who was undeniably the weakest link of the slave caravan, was also the one who had saved the lives of everyone there.
[ "I for one would like to hear his reasoning. Tell me, why can't we go down?" ]
"I would also like to know, all the listed reasons make sense, why not go down?"
Morgan questioned, not denying Sunny's choice but merely letting her curiosity open for everyone to see.
"There was no notification from the Spell."
Cassie's voice cut the room like her own rapier, letting a sudden breath be held back.
And soon, Sunny's reasoning would reinforce her words.
[ "Because the monster isn't dead." ]
**********
A/N: Another chapter and the reaction to the First Nightmare continues. How are you liking the reaction? Do you think it is too long?
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