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Chapter 1567: One Last Time
Shadow Slave

Sunny remained silent, watching the Sin of Solace with a somber expression.

'Well… that much is obvious.'

Of course, he was not the first version of himself to reach the Estuary. There had been the Mad Prince, as well…

However, the next words of the sword wraith made him flinch:

"Oh, there were numerous Mad Princes before, too. All making schemes and striving to change something that could not be changed, the despicable bastards. Paving the way for their lesser versions… like you… to make it to the end. Each cycle a little different, but ultimately the same."

The apparition took a step forward and spat, his voice trembling with hatred:

"Gods… I'm so tired of this boring play. Each time you escape the Defilement, you are given the choice of remaining with your allies. And each time, you choose to betray them. You… you really are a piece of scum, you know that? Do you know how many times you've broken your promises? How many times you've betrayed Changing Star in the name of seeking freedom?"

The Sin of Solace laughed and gestured to the sea of broken ships. "Look! Look, Lost from Light! Each of these wrecks is a monument to your sins."

Sunny remained silent as he looked at the broken ships, feeling a bitter emotion rise in his heart. It was a tough pill to swallow… to be disappointed in himself. But then, he smiled darkly. Sure, knowing that he was an unreliable and treacherous, selfish person was bitter. But did it matter, really? He still did not regret his choice. More than that… he was still going to see it through. So what if all his previous selves had failed? They weren't him. He was the latest, and therefore the strongest. He wielded the accumulated legacy of all who came before, granted to him by the Mad Prince — the latest Mad Prince there had been — who remembered all the previous cycles through the Sin of Solace. They might have failed, but Sunny was not going to. He didn't have to be the first... he simply needed to be the last. It was impossible for him to fail. Because the Nightmare was already ending. By now, Nephis must have already begun her assault on Verge. The Mad Prince, Torment, and Cassie… they had manipulate the events to make sure that the Nightmare was conquered, whether with or without Sunny. So, this cycle would be the last one… whether he achieved his goal or not. And he was going to achieve it. The Sin of Solace looked at him with disdain. "What? You have nothing to say? Has the fear stolen your ability to speak?"

Sunny smiled crookedly and walked past him without saying a word. He entered the ship graveyard and moved through it, making sure to stay away from the wrecks where the sacred trees were healthy and brimming with fruit. The feeling he received from these ones was too similar, if much weaker, than what he had felt under the branches of the Soul Devourer. Peace. Safety. Happiness. Content. Therefore, Sunny moved as far away from that feeling as he could. The Sin of Solae followed, falling silent. The wraith's expression was full of hatred and contempt. Sunny paid him no attention. It did not take him a lot of time to travel past the ship graveyard. Beyond it was another slope, this one leading to the peak of a high mountain. If the sphere of black stone had been the Unholy Titan's heart once… then the mountain would be one of the arteries.

Augmented by six shadows, Sunny's body was brimming with strength. Even though he was exhausted after the harrowing journey to the Source, he climbed the mountains without ever slowing down. The only thing he felt nervous about was not making it to the goal in time. Finally, Sunny reached the peak of the mountain. It was indeed hollow inside. In front of him was the entrance to a vast circular tunnel, surrounded by tall pillars. There were stone steps leading up to the maw of the tunnel, clearly man-made…

Or rather, daemon-made. Ariel must have shaped this entrance himself, a long time ago. Walking closer to the steps, Sunny noticed that several of them had cracked over the ages. Jagged pieces of black stone were laying on the ground… the size and shape of them were eerily familiar. They looked exactly like the jagged black rock the Key of the Estuary had been created from. Sunny smiled. 'So this is where the Mad Prince picked the base material for his Memory up.'

Which meant that the vile madman had been to the Estuary before crossing from the future into the past. He could have gained his freedom a long time ago.

…But was there a point in being free if it was at the cost of Neph's life? For the Mad Prince, it was not.

That was why he had returned to the Great River without breaking the chains of fate. And that was why he had scratched numerous demented runes into the piece of flotsam drifting in the mist of the Source, all saying the same thing…

Be careful of what you wish for The Mad Prince had regretted finding the Well of Wishes. Sunny, however, would not. Taking a deep breath, he summoned the Mirror of Truth and looked at its polished surface. There, a reflection of Nephis as caught, looking just like she had on the carapace of the Black Turtle. Sunny had not used the Mirror during the last revolution of the Aletheia's Island's loop, and so, it was in pristine condition.

He looked at Neph's reflection for a while, then held the heavy mirror tightly and stepped into the grandiose tunnel, walking into its darkness.

Entering the heart of the Tomb of Ariel. He walked forward for a while, not seeing anything particular. He couldn't even determine the direction in which the tunnel led… its floor was supposed to be sloping downward, but if felt flat, stretching endlessly forward. Slowly, the walls of the tunnel expanded, and its ceiling disappeared from view. Sunny found himself walking between two perfectly flat plains of black stone, surrounded by darkness.

And there, in the darkness… harrowing runes were carved into the stone, dancing madly. As soon as Sunny caught sight of these runes, he immediately activated the enchantment of the Mirror of Truth.  

Shadow Slave
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Comments 54

  1. Offline
    Grim Reader
    + 14 ⋅ 0 -
    I think of all the Sunnys, this one will make it because the author decided to follow his loop.

    Except for Sunny #42, who found the answer to everything, but that would have been a spoiler.
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  2. Offline
    Bobmelon
    + 20 ⋅ 0 -
    Bro really doing all this just so he can get some pussy
    Read more
  3. Offline
    Unholy_Titan
    + 6 ⋅ 0 -
    But knowledge is corruption. So it's not like he's gonna forget what he saw after the mirror of truth shatters
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  4. Offline
    GridDokja
    + 5 ⋅ 0 -
    What if the next chapter will be just different iteration of sunny from the future coming and making the same mistake, what if hes not the last
    Read more
    1. Offline
      LadyMongrel
      + 3 ⋅ 0 -
      If so, it’s looping time butwhy
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    2. Offline
      Kaif Chowdhury
      + 3 ⋅ 0 -
      I was genuinely reading this whole thing thinking it's just gonna end up in another loop
      Read more
  5. Offline
    Deathseeker
    + 23 ⋅ 1 -
    T̵̨̢̢̡̡͎̜̰̗̭̖͙̲͙̼̝̣̠̼̘̮͖̫̰͉̭͚̻̥͖̠͔̺͉̪͈̝̱͙̣̞͍̗̓̍̒̀͆̆̅̅̀̃̔̊͊̏̈́̄̉͋͌̌̊́̚̕͜͠͠͝ͅr̶̨͚̠̬̙̣͔̣̮͎̱̱̭̪͇͚̟̻̺̞̹͇͉̓̊̏͗̉͌̑̾͜͝ư̶̢̧͉͈̗̰͉̣͖̘̯̝̱̬̰̙͙̝̫̹̬̮͈̾͌̈̈́̃̏̈́̓̆̈̉̍̀̉̾͊͌͋͋̉͑͗̋͌̃̄̈́̚͝t̸͙̟̲̜̪̻̺̫̣̉̇̿̚ͅḩ̵̢̢͖͎̟̩͉̭͇̻̥̭͖̼͔̞̜͚͎̩̪̪̥̀͊̀̽́̽̉̅̇͑̾̓̈̊́͌̅̕͝ͅ
    Read more
    1. Offline
      Kai_Morningstar
      + 6 ⋅ 0 -
      How did you do this?
      Read more
      1. Offline
        Deathseeker
        + 4 ⋅ 0 -
        Just used glitch text editor and copy pasted it here
        Read more
        1. Offline
          Kai_Morningstar
          + 3 ⋅ 0 -
          Thx
          Read more
    2. Offline
      komeng
      + 0 ⋅ 0 -
      Cool!
      Read more
    3. Offline
      Magrove±lhytwm
      + 0 ⋅ 1 -
      O ̡͚̻̥͖̠͔̺͉̪͈̝̱͙̣̞͍̗r̶̨͚̠̬̙̣͔̣̮͎̱̱̭̪͇͚̟rder ̾͌̈̈́̃̏̈́̓̆̈̉̍̀̉̾͊͌͋͋̉͑͗̋͌̃̄̈́̾͌̈̈́̃̏̈́̓̆̈̉̍̀̉̾͊͌͋͋̉͑͝
      Read more
  6. Offline
    Alzeimechorous
    + 11 ⋅ 0 -
    GOAT GOAT GOAT!!!!!!!! We enjoys this and needs moreeeeeee!!!!!! Author sama!!!!l moreeeee
    moreeeeee
    *kylo ren voice* MOREEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
    reader forwhat
    Read more
  7. Offline
    MefetraN7
    + 1 ⋅ 2 -
    Безумный принц попущ и слабак🤣Но на самом деле это просто сюжетная броня, так как безумный принц это будущая версия санни, и конечно он будет все действия санни) но других вариантов для победы нашего санни не было. Вот автор и придумал костыль)
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    1. Offline
      Dummybaron
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      В смысле? А чем это плохо? Безумный Принц ни какой ни гений, он ёбнутый с проблесками разумности, он тащит чисто на опыте и физической силе, но так как в данной ситуации он был лишь ментальной проекцией его можно было легко победить при помощи метода о котором Безумный Принц не подумал или банально забыл изза своего безумия. Безумный Принц мог бы быть умнее но его безумие держит его на уровне Санни а то и ниже. Тем более что об этом способе Санни рассказала Касси котороя могла просто увидеть это наперёд.
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  8. Offline
    ZEXOS
    + 29 ⋅ 0 -
    1574. Whoever Fights Monsters


    Sunny staggered as the gaze of the being hiding beneath the still water of the lake fell on him. A scream almost escaped from his lips, but he gritted his teeth and pushed it down.

    'Ah...'

    The feeling of being looked upon by the invisible watcher... whatever it was... was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Sunny had been in the presence of powerful people before, and even more powerful Nightmare Creatures. He had been crushed by the suffocating force of their presence, and struggled to move while being pressed down by it.

    But the gaze of the being hiding under the silent dark waves was entirely different.

    It was not only heavier and more insurmountable, hinting at the terrifying power of the hidden watcher, but also did not feel the same. The force of oppression emanated by mighty beings was usually aimless and directionless, while the chilling gaze... was piercing and penetrating.

    It felt as though the mysterious being was not simply looking at Sunny from beneath the mass of dark water, but rather looking through him.

    Sunny's body, mind, and his very soul were like an open book in front of the hidden watcher, and they were being read, one page after another.

    'G—gods, gods...'

    His soul was being witnessed.

    And, somehow, Sunny felt that it was more than that.

    His soul was being judged.

    Paled, he slowly looked around, seeing the floating corpses of the Great Nightmare Creatures in a new light.

    Had all these harrowing abominations... failed to pass the judgment?

    Just what was this place? Was there something else hidden at the very heart of the nebulous lake, even after all the forbidden knowledge left behind on its shore and in the depths of its outer reaches? Why had Ariel placed it behind the labyrinth of rushing currents and mist, leaving a fearsome guardian behind?

    Sunny grimaced, swayed a little... and took a step forward.

    Then, another.

    'Go on, judge me. I... have nothing to hide...'

    He did not know what he was being judged for, but the sincerity of his wish to be free was indisputable. Hopefully, the dreadful being would see its purity, and let him pass.

    Feeling as if he was walking to his execution, Sunny walked toward the very heart of the Estuary — the speck of darkness that the Guiding Light was pointing at. He maneuvered around the motionless corpses of the Great Nightmare Creatures, who had all lost their lives in this eerie place, and forced himself to put one foot in front of the other.

    One step at a time.

    The harrowing gaze followed him for a while, inhuman and indifferent...

    Then, the feeling of something vast and ancient watching him suddenly disappeared, leaving him shaken and rattled.

    Sunny staggered again, filled with incredible relief, and almost let out a groan.

    It seemed that he had passed the judgment.

    'What was that thing looking for?'

    Who was allowed to approach the heart of the Estuary, and who was not?

    Why did the guardian let Sunny pass?

    He regained his balance and looked forward with dark resolve burning in his eyes.

    'Come on... you are almost there.'

    Feeling battered and drained from being looked upon by the invisible, inconceivable guardian of the inner lake, Sunny forced his tired body to continue walking.

    He walked and walked, eventually leaving all the floating corpses behind.

    Now, there was nothing in front of him except for the still expanse of dark water and the vague shape rising from it in the distance.

    ...Oh, and one other thing.

    A few dozen steps in front of him, a familiar figure was standing on the water, looking at him with no humor in its dark eyes.

    It was the Sin of Solace, who had disappeared somewhere just before the chilling gaze fell on Sunny.

    Now, the sword wraith was back, standing in Sunny's way with a cold expression on his face.

    'I guess it's time, then...'

    Sunny grinned darkly and took another step forward. As he did...

    He felt something shattering within his soul, and the Spell whispered into his ear, its voice somber:

    [Your Memory has been destroyed.]

    Sunny did not have to look at his runes to know which of his Memories had mysteriously destroyed itself.

    It was the Memory that had appeared in his soul without an explanation, and was now gone without an explanation.

    The Key of the Estuary.

    Why had it been destroyed?

    Well, that much was obvious...

    It was because whatever door the Mad Prince had wanted to unlock with it was already ajar.

    Feeling a dark kind of amusement, Sunny slowly walked to the Sin of Solace and stopped just a step or two away from him.

    The loathsome sword wraith looked cold, not at all delighted despite being free of the seal that had constrained him for so long.

    However, somehow... he also looked much more sinister than before.

    The apparition stared at Sunny with a bit of contempt, a bit of resentment... and a bit of pity.

    "Here we are... you fool. Really, how could you not expect that outcome?"

    Sunny met his gaze and sighed.

    How could he have not expected this to happen?

    Of course, he had.

    The actions of the Mad Prince had always been bizarre and almost

    impossible to understand. The depths of the schemes the vile madman had woven were nothing short of unfathomable, destroying countless lives and reshaping the entire Nightmare to his will.

    Sunny had long guessed what drove the Mad Prince... it was his desire to redeem the sin of killing Nephis and bring her back to life.

    That said...

    Who was to say that his previous self only had one goal? Who was to say that he had been willing to simply cease to exist, thus preventing himself from enjoying the fruits of his labor?

    After all, if there was one thing Sunny knew about himself... it was that he was a cockroach.

    He was very hard to kill, and even if something did manage to kill him, he had a strange track record of somehow finding a way to come back to life.

    So why would the Mad Prince be any different?

    Of course, there was a bit of contradiction between what the two of them wanted.

    It was because, in order for the Mad Prince to come back to life, Sunny had to disappear. He had to become a vessel to the memories of the vile madman, and lose his sanity to Corruption.

    Taking a deep breath, Sunny stared at the Sin of Solace silently.

    So... which one of them would get to exist?

    Which one of them would manage to outscheme the other?
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    1. Offline
      ZEXOS
      + 25 ⋅ 0 -
      1575. Free of Sin


      Sunny had an inkling that the Mad Prince had not been willing to quietly disappear for a while now. However, it had always been just that — a suspicion, substantiated by nothing except for his knowledge of himself.

      Sunny wouldn't have wanted to cease to exist, so why would his Defiled version be any different?

      The Mad Prince had wished to be free, and in the process of fulfilling that wish, he caused Neph's death. His soul was consumed by the Defilement, but not entirely so — a small slither of his humanity remained due to the Sin of Solace, who preserved it to torment his host better.

      And so, the vile madman came to regret pursuing his wish. He schemed and conspired to bring Nephis back to life and create such a cycle of the Great River where the Nightmare could be conquered by the cohort. He turned his friends into the Plagues, and then betrayed them, arranging for each to be slaughtered.

      But was that all that the Mad Prince had wanted?

      Apparently, no.

      Sunny was a greedy person, and his past self had to have been, too. Therefore... there were at least two more things the Mad Prince had schemed to achieve.

      The first one was more or less obvious. He had not only wished to bring Nephis back to life, but to be with her, as well.

      Staring at the Sin of Solace, Sunny shook his head in disgust.

      'That crazy bastard. Did he really think that Neph would accept a horrid Corrupted maniac like him?'

      Well... it was in the name. Despite all his devious cunning, at the end of the day, the Mad Prince was exactly that — entirely and utterly mad. Sunny had no doubt that the lunatic imagined countless ways to bend the future to his will in that perverse head of his.

      The Sin of Solace, meanwhile, smiled darkly.

      "Oh... I see that you are starting to understand. I am sorry to say this, though — it's already too late for you."

      Sunny simply stared at him without saying anything.

      Indeed, he was starting to understand.

      How the Mad Prince had planned to return, and why was it only happening now.

      There was a second thing he must have wanted to achieve, after all.

      And that thing... was to reach the heart of the Estuary.

      Sunny could not have come to that conclusion before, but after witnessing the inner sanctum of the hidden lake and experiencing the chilling gaze of its guardian, he realized something.

      There was indeed one last secret hidden at the very heart of the Estuary... perhaps the most terrible, and the most precious, of them all. And Ariel had arranged for that secret to be protected above all else.

      Only those who passed the judgment of the guardian of the lake had the right to learn that secret.

      That judgment... appeared to be a very simple one.

      Why had the Great Nightmare Creatures that found their way into the Estuary been slain, while Sunny was allowed to pass?

      ...It was because their souls were Corrupted, while his was not.

      Corruption was not allowed to come near the heart of the Estuary, as if Ariel had not wanted for whatever was hidden there to be sullied by its vile touch.

      And, therefore... the Mad Prince had not been able to witness the final secret, either.

      As the Sin of Solace looked at him mockingly, Sunny smiled.

      'Of course... it was so obvious.'

      How could the Mad Prince, a Corrupted Titan, infiltrate the heart of the Estuary if no Corrupted creature could?

      The answer... was oblivion.

      He had to forget the knowledge of the Void that planted the seeds of Corruption into his soul at the start of each cycle, pass the judgment of the lake guardian, and then regain his memories again.

      So, the Mad Prince had created the Key of the Estuary — a Memory meant to get him to the innermost sanctum of the Estuary intact. A Memory that placed a seal on the Sin of Solace, thus preventing the sword wraith from sharing the knowledge of the Void and the memories of all previous cycles with Sunny.

      Only for that seal to be broken once it served its purpose and got Sunny past the lake guardian.

      Thus bringing the Mad Prince back in all his unholy glory.

      The Sin of Solace chuckled.

      "Ah... don't look so dejected. Whatever anger you feel, I feel more of it. Being stuck with you is already bad enough, you worm. Being stuck with the other guy? Gods. I've endured that for too long already."

      He sighed.

      "But, well. What's done is done. There is no way to escape the inevitable, now."

      Sunny glared at him and outstretched a hand, summoning the jade jian into existence.

      The Sin of Solace laughed.

      "Oh, wait... I guess you can just destroy me before your soul is corrupted, huh?"

      The sword wraith was immune to the flow of the Great River, keeping his memories of all the past cycles. And, since he was nothing but a splintered piece of Sunny's own mind, that knowledge would slowly seep through and contaminate the rest of his mind — like it had happened on Aletheia's Island.

      The Sin of Solace could just whisper the secrets of the Void to Sunny directly, but he did not have too. Eventually, that knowledge would infect Sunny's mind simply because it was already there.

      However... it would not happen instantly. Just like it had happened on Aletheia's Island, and even earlier with the cycles of the Great River, Sunny had some time before the contamination started in earnest.

      If he was to somehow destroy the Sin of Solace during that time, the splintered part of his mind would be eradicated, and the terrible knowledge contained within it would be erased without a trace.

      The problem was...

      The beautiful jian appeared in Sunny's hand, its blade carved from pristine white jade.

      [Perfect Jade] Enchantment Description: "This blade is carved from a piece of sublime jade, and as such is sharp and durable beyond logic and reason."

      The Sin of Solace was a Transcendent Memory with an enchantment that drastically enhanced its durability, while Sunny was merely an Ascended. Was he even strong enough to break it?

      And if he did break it... would the wraith born from it truly disappear?
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        ZEXOS
        + 25 ⋅ 0 -
        1576. Dreadful Whisper


        Sunny had to destroy the Sin of Solace before the seeds of Corruption were planted into his soul. If he managed to destroy the wraith before that happened, the scheme the Mad Prince had concocted to come back to life would be thwarted, and Sunny would get to continue existing.

        If he failed, the Mad Prince would return, consuming him in the process. 'That vile bastard...'

        The sword wraith laughed as he watched him.

        "My, oh my. You're not going to do something terrible to me, are you?" Sunny glanced at him darkly, then at the beautiful jian in his hand.

        Placing the Guiding Light on the water, he wrapped all six of his shadows around him and grabbed the jade blade, using all his inhuman strength in an attempt to break it against his knee.

        The Sin of Solace was not only incredibly resilient, but also incredibly sharp. Despite the Marble Shell, Sunny could not get a good hold of it without losing his fingers... and even if he could, his strength seemed insufficient to shatter the cursed sword.

        Even though his muscles felt like they were on the verge of tearing, the jian only bent, but did not break. As soon as Sunny released it, the blade sprung back to its initial, perfectly straight form.

        'Maybe... I should try to escape back under the gaze of the lake guardian...'

        But no, that would only end in his demise. The Sin of Solace was a part of him, and now that the Estuary Key had been destroyed, the guardian would obliterate them both.

        The wraith chuckled, observing his efforts with disdain.

        "Pathetic."

        Sunny abandoned his attempts to break the jade blade and straightened.

        Then, he smiled.

        So what if he wasn't strong enough to break the damned sword?

        That whole performance was just to satiate his curiosity, anyway.

        Before the sword wraith could say anything else, he released his shadows and tossed the beautiful jian away.

        A moment later, a hand rose from one of the shadows, catching the cursed sword. Saint stepped out of it, holding it with indifferent grace.

        As an Ascended, Sunny might not have been strong enough to shatter the Sin of Solace. But luckily, he had a Transcendent Devil at hand... two of them, even.

        It would have been even easier to make Fiend eat the jade blade, but he was worried that the cursed thing would give the ravenous ogre indigestion. So, the job of destroying the sinister Memory fell to Saint.

        As the six shadows wrapped themselves around the graceful knight, her ruby eyes blazed with crimson light. The wraith opened his eyes widely.

        "Now, wait a second..."

        Not paying him any attention — or rather, incapable of perceiving him —Saint silently placed the flat of the jade blade against her greave, slowly raised her shield, and then struck the cursed sword with its rim.

        A gust of hurricane wind spread from the point of impact, and the surface of the lake rippled.

        The Sin of Solace cracked, then exploded into shards of beautiful white jade, which dissipated into a whirlwind of white sparks. Those sparks were then absorbed into Saint's stonelike body.

        Sunny heard the Spell whispering into his ear, saying the same words for the second time in the last few minutes:

        [Your Memory has been destroyed.]

        A slight grimace appeared on his face. Losing Memories never felt good.

        ...There was the grimace on the face of the sword wraith, too.

        "Argh! Aaah!"

        The apparition convulsed, screaming, and hunched over.

        For a few moments, there was silence.

        And then, the silence was broken by the sound of mocking laughter.

        "Oh, oh. It seems that breaking the sword... did nothing? I am perfectly fine. Who would have known?"

        The Sin of Solace straightened and stared at Sunny with a disdainful grin.

        "Fool... did you really think that it would work?"

        Sunny stared at him silently, his face pale and grim.

        The wraith shook his head.

        "If it was that easy to get rid of me, do you think that I would still be here? Ah, Lost from Light... I am a part of your mind, now. The cause of me might have been that Memory of yours, but the source of me... is you. So, what good would destroying the sword do?"

        The contemptuous smile slowly disappeared from his face, replaced by a cold and dark expression.

        It was a little bit dejected, too.

        The Sin of Solace sighed.

        "Now, let's end this farce. It has been... a displeasure. To spend time with you, once again. Granted, what comes won't be pleasant, either..."

        He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something... some terrible truth that would drive Sunny mad and infect his soul with Corruption, without a doubt.

        But before he could, Sunny took a step forward, coming face-to-face with the startled wraith, and leaned forward a little.

        Then, he whispered into his ear...

        Only two words.

        The first words he had spoken after saying farewell to Cassie at the shore of Verge.

        They were:

        "Be gone."

        And as he said them, the world shuddered.

        The wraith's eyes widened slightly — this time, in earnest.

        "You..."

        And then, he was gone.

        Erased, as if he had never existed.

        The splintered part of Sunny's mind was gone, taking the forbidden knowledge of the Void, and all the memories of the previous cycles, with it.

        Preventing the Mad Prince from ever being born again.

        Healed from the curse that had plagued him since the early days of the Southern Campaign, Sunny closed his eyes for a moment, and then let out a long sigh.

        Then, he looked down.

        There was a thin thread tied around his neck — the same thread with which the mouths of the Voiceless Prelates, a band of Corrupted Demons led by a Devil named the Defiled Herald, had been sewn shut. Sunny had slain them back in Antarctica, receiving a certain Memory in the process.

        That Memory was the Stifled Scream, a charm he usually used to augment Saint.

        The charm possessed a second enchantment, though, which the graceful knight had never been able to use.

        [Word of Power] Enchantment Description: "A word spoken by the master of this charm is a command. If born of great silence, the word of power can hardly be ignored. If not, it has no worth."

        Saint never spoke, so [Word of Power] could not be used by her. Sunny, meanwhile, was never able to remain silent for long enough to let the enchantment accumulate enough potency.

        The longer one remained silent, the more tyrannical the authority of the [Word of Power] would become.

        And so, knowing that he might face the machinations of the Mad Prince in one way or another, Sunny had summoned the Stifled Scream.

        That was the Memory he had summoned while bidding farewell to Cassie.

        And ever since then, he had not made a sound.

        The Great River was a river of time. And so, by traversing it, Sunny had let the Stifled Scream accumulate a lot of power... but much more than that, he entered the Estuary while wearing it.

        Time did not exist in the Estuary, which meant that there was no difference between a single moment and an eternity here.

        How dreadful would a silence that had lasted for an eternity be?

        ...Dreadful enough to obliterate the Sin of Solace, it seemed. And powerful enough to save Sunny's life.

        Not having to maintain silence anymore, he took a deep breath, and then cursed quietly.

        'Damnation. You go to hell... me.'

        The Mad Prince was gone.

        This time, forever.

        Which meant that Sunny had joined the exclusive club that Jet, Kai, and Cassie were already members of. He had vanquished an evil version of himself.

        It also meant that the path to the heart of the Estuary was completely free.

        Picking up the Guiding Light, Sunny dismissed Saint and headed for the vague shape rising above the dark waters of the nebulous lake.

        The final secret of the Tomb of Ariel awaited there.
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        1. Offline
          Dummybaron
          + 16 ⋅ 0 -
          New title unlocke: professional therapist.
          Funny how Sunny saying that Nephis will never accept Mad Prince because he is corrupted, but thinking that she is going to forgive him for abandoning cohort lol. I really hope that Sunny is not that dumb to think that evrybody will forgive him. Also it would be interesting to see parallel between Casiee's "betrayal" and Sunny's "betrayal".
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          ExeS
          + 9 ⋅ 0 -
          I think it would be enough to use the snake as a new sword. It is both more suitable for itself and powerful. On a transcendent level of terror.
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          BlankDjinn
          + 8 ⋅ 0 -
          Agggghhhhh the suspense you can’t do this to me I must know the secret!!! I guess I have to wait longer such sorrow!!!
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            shaakh
            + 17 ⋅ 0 -
            When fans asked G3 a questions about what would his aspect and flaw would be, G3 answered Chapter Machine and flaw is: You are compelled to end every chapter by cliffhanger 😂😂
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  9. Offline
    Nihil.Nemo
    + 5 ⋅ 0 -
    It's a strange friendship. In gratitude for the help, they made him a slave and cannot give him time to correct the situation.
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  10. Offline
    Vespa99
    + 6 ⋅ 0 -
    Each time you escape the Defilement, you are given the choice of remaining with your allies. And each time, you choose to betray them. You… you really are a piece of scum, you know that? Do you know how many times you've broken your promises? How many times you've betrayed Changing Star in the name of seeking freedom?"

    The Sin of Solace laughed and gestured to the sea of broken ships. "Look! Look, Lost from Light! Each of these wrecks is a monument to your sins."

    What if Sunny is wrong? And all the iterations of the Mad Prince did the same thing. Except, his prediction that Nephis and the rest win was wrong, ending with the death of the cohort.
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      Dummybaron
      + 5 ⋅ 1 -
      Maybe, but at that point nightmare is already 300+ chapters and I don't want to see any other "right cycle" where Sunny loses most likely his last chance to gain freedom from Fate. And can you explain what Sunny is wrong about? Sunny stated it himself, he is chosing his freedom in any situation and any day of the week, honestly I probably would do the same in his situation. And if somebody dies there is no proof that Sunny could safe them. Also maybe if Sunny chosed team he would be the one who dies or they doomed to fail anyway, who knows.
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      1. Offline
        Cj.17
        + 4 ⋅ 0 -
        I think that person means that sunny now thinks that he should hurry to get his freedom cus nephis could be fighting the first seeker and his(sunny's) assumption is that she is gonna kill the corrupted and the nightmare would end. But what if that assumption of his that he has been thinking now- and possibly all others - was wrong and they don't stand a chance and either way the cycle would start again and they would die cause of the first seeker or whatever else is there.

        I would say tbh that's a possibility.
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