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Chapter 2314: Pawns of Snow

Sunny remained silent for a while, then chuckled.

'Well, whatever it is, we'll find out sooner or later - as long as we live long enough.'

He considered his next steps. Kai, meanwhile, was studying him with a complicated expression.

'So you are searching for pieces of a daemon's Lineage?'

Sunny nodded.

'Yes. And one of those pieces is somehow connected to the Snow Tyrant. Speaking of…'

He hesitated for a moment, then asked:

'You saw me from all the way on that other volcano. And you can see Slayer, too. So… can you see what is waiting for us on those three mountains, as well?'

Kai opened his mouth, then closed it again and looked into the distance. After a while, he said in a subdued tone:

'Yeah. I see them.'

'Bingo.'

Now, he would at least know what they would have to face. Sunny leaned on his odachi lazily and asked, his voice calm:

'There should be three Snow Beasts on those mountains. What do they look like?'

Kai hurriedly glanced away, as if someone out there stared back at him. He shivered, then brushed his hair back and straightened.

'Right in front of us… the whole mountain is riddled with caves, like an enormous ice beehive. Inside, a swarm of insect-like abominations is slowly coming to life, each of them seemingly carved from gemstones. They look frightful, if a little mindless.'

Sunny's face fell.

'Huh.'

'So a single figure can represent a whole swarm of abominations, not just a lone Beast. I see. What of the other two mountains?'

Kai frowned.

'The one on the right… there's a statue standing on its peak. No, not a statue… more of an automaton, I guess? A clockwork knight. Actually, he looks like the giant version of one of the toy knights we saw in the Toy Room. I feel an enormous amount of dread when looking at him, though. That one… is not an easy Abomination, I think.'

This time, it was Sunny's turn to frown.

'If a single Abomination makes Kai more wary than a swarm of them, then it must be powerful. A Cursed Beast? It's possible.'

'And what is on the third mountain?'

Kai shivered.

'There is a worm-like creature there. Actually, it's not on the mountain… it's inside the mountain. This creature is simply enormous - it seemed to have hollowed out the entire mountain and made a nest inside of it, coiling into a sphere. It took me a while to realize what that immense mass of flesh was.'

A sour expression appeared on Sunny's face.

'A giant ice worm, huh.'

He had just come from months of battling giant millipedes. He had really had enough of worm-like creatures.

Sunny sighed.

'I'm guessing that one is a Cursed One, as well.'

A swarm of Great nightmare creatures and two fallen deities… and these were some of the weakest Snow figures on the board. The first battles of the Death Game promised to be quite unpleasant.

Sunny glanced at Kai.

'What is your condition? I mean… how weird is it?'

Kai seemed to understand what he meant.

'My Aspect is entirely unaffected. However, I can't enter my soul sea, my source element seems to have switched to ash, and on top of that, I can't summon any Memories - only those I was wearing when the game snatched us are left. That is… just my armor.'

Sunny nodded silently.

'So you are completely unarmed?'

Kai nodded in discomfort.

'Yes. I can still assume my Transcendent form, though. So… that's something.'

He said that, but he was wrong. It would have been fine to engage the enemies as a dragon in most other situations, but here, the enemies were much stronger than Kai. He could probably fight a Great Nightmare Creature… but not a Cursed One.

At least not at a close distance. If he had a good bow and arrows, though, he could at least assist Sunny from afar - Kai was an archer of sublime skill, after all, second only to Slayer herself.

Sadly, he was in the same predicament as Sunny. Ariel's Game had sealed their soul arsenals, somehow.

Sunny sighed.

'It's a good thing that I weaned myself off overly relying on Memories. Kai is a different story, though.'

'Alright. I get it.'

What had he found out?

There were powerful enemies on the three snowy peaks facing the three volcanoes. Moving from the volcanoes to the peaks, and vice versa, was prohibited at the moment… however, moving between the mountains of the same Domain seemed to be allowed.

There was an important difference from the actual Death Game he could not overlook, too. It was that Kai was currently standing next to him. If he was simply moving figures across the game board, two game pieces would not have been able to occupy the same square.

'There has to be a way to make an actual move.'

In other words, if some conditions were met, he would be able to attack the Snow Abominations… but since Sunny did not know the laws governing this miniature world, yet, it was far more probable that the Snow Abominations would attack him first.

Rather, they would either make a move to attack the Ash Tyrant, or attempt to conquer the remaining volcanoes first. Seishan had mentioned that there were special squares in some versions of the Death Game. Squares with a Castle, for example, never changed color… if the crumbling fortress on this volcano was one such castle, then the Snow Tyrant could attempt to conquer the other two volcanoes to prepare for the final siege.

'Are there any structures on the volcano you came from or on the one where my Shadow is currently waiting to be rescued?'

Kai shook his head.

'Not that I can see.'

Sunny lingered for a few seconds, then nodded slowly.

'Alright. Then, do me a favor please… go to the next volcano over and bring that murderous woman here. Whatever happens next, we'll have a better chance to survive it together.'

Kai smiled.

'No problem.'

A moment later, before Sunny had time to say anything else, he was already flying away.

'She's not going to kill him, right? Right. She wouldn't.'

Wouldn't she?

Sunny scratched the back of his head.

'Why am I worried? If I need to worry about something, it's that Slayer might become one of Kai's fangirls too!'

Shaking his head, he sat down on the ground and reached into the shadows.

'I won't give her any more of my blood if she does. Kai can give her his if he wants!'

Above him, the wound his javelin had dealt to the veil of ash that obscured the sky was already repairing itself, and the world was once again submerging in darkness.

Comments 52

  1. Offline
    + 00 -
    Noice
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  2. Offline
    + 00 -
    'Salve Tejedor... Primogénito del Dios Olvidado.'
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  3. Offline
    + 40 -
    yeesh if Sunny had actually successfully gone into ravenheart as a saint and had to play this game he wouldve been COOKED
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    1. Offline
      + 10 -
      Nahh still the same. Author would just lower the difficulty
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  4. Online Offline
    + 10 -
    Damn if even pawns on their side is cursed beats or monsters as well as either horde of great nightmare creatures
    What is a snow tryant level on path of profanity
    And this is direct judgement to Sunny's evaluation that for he is ash tryant
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    1. Offline
      + 10 -
      It would most probably be some Cursed Tyrant
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      1. Online Offline
        + 10 -
        Even sunny with his domain and other bodies fused will have difficulty and might die against that no ?
        But who knows sunny has knack for stalking before going in for a kill
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        1. Offline
          + 20 -
          Well Cursed Tyrant is naturally a very strong foe but they dont have any other choice. They would still win though because Sunny is MC and Kai with Slayer are too important characters to die as well
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          1. Online Offline
            + 20 -
            Just hope author doesn't write himself in corner where he has to use plot armour instead of logical explanation
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  5. Offline
    + 150 -
    Chapter — 2315: Army of Three.

    While Kai was away retrieving Slayer — and hopefully not being killed by her — Sunny was busy as well. He was making a bow for Kai, manifesting it from the shadows.

    One would think that making a bow was quite easy. All Sunny needed was to manifest a long narrow bar and make it bendy, then string it. Naturally, manipulating the internal structure of manifested shadows to imbue them with a suitable level of elasticity actually demanded an intricate level of Shadow Manifestation mastery — but Sunny was more than capable of doing just that.

    Once, he could barely control the outward form of manifested shadows, but by now, he could make them into pretty much anything he wanted. However, there was a difference between simply making a bow and making it worthy of a Transcendent archer. It was not even a matter of enchanting the bow. Before that, the structure of the bow itself demanded careful consideration — Sunny had studied that obscure craft in the past, and he delved into it even deeper while crafting bows for Rain and Slayer.

    For example, there was the choice between a more traditional recurve bow and a more advanced compound bow. Compound bows offered more power and convenience, but Sunny had shied away from crafting them in the past due to how difficult they were to maintain and care for in field conditions. A weapon needed to not only be deadly, but also reliable. Especially so in the Dream Realm, where the environment itself was often the adversary.

    These had been his considerations in the past, but now that Sunny was armed with the knowledge of how the nature of a weapon affected its capacity to carry Will, he also suspected that wielding a compound bow would be a detriment to a Transcendent archer.

    But even if he wanted to create a recurve bow, which was much simpler in structure and was therefore a more faithful emissary of the archer's will, things were not easy either. That was because, in his opinion, a good recurve bow had to be a composite one. Instead of a single length of wood, it had to be composed of layers of different materials, all glued together for optimal results.

    The simplest composition commenced with a wooden core, a softer wood used for the bending parts of the limbs, and stiffer wood used for their tips. Then thin plates of horn, which stored energy better when compressed, would be glued to the belly of the bow. Finally, animal sinew, which possessed greater elasticity than wood, would be glued to the back of the bow. All of that allowed for more energy to be stored when the bow was drawn, and for that energy to be released in a more optimal way when the string was released, resulting in more powerful and deadly shots.

    So, Sunny had to carefully manipulate the manifested shadows to imbue them with qualities that resembled different types of wood, horn, and sinew. Actually, since he did not have to limit himself to only reproducing naturally existing materials, he could play around with these qualities to achieve the best result. Luckily, he had already done his research when crafting a bow for Slayer. He also had a good idea of how strong Kai was, exactly — so, he could create a truly powerful weapon for his friend.

    Additionally, there was a matter of how he wanted to manifest the shadows. Making them permanent would be easier, since he would not have to maintain their form either consciously or constantly, but that way, the bow would be much weaker, somewhere between the Ascended and Transcendent Ranks. So, Sunny decided to sustain the manifestation personally.

    That way, Kai would be wielding an ostensibly Supreme weapon — something he would need desperately before too long, no doubt.

    Manifesting the varied types of shadows into proper shapes and fusing them together was an intricate task. Sunny worked meticulously, using his two hands to craft the weapon. At the same time, he used four more hands to weave strings of shadow essence. He could not enchant the bow just yet since there were no soul shards in his possession to anchor a weave, but a few would hopefully fall into his hands soon. Sunny wanted to be prepared for when that happened.

    «Look at me… am I not the most benevolent of Tyrants? Who else would sit on the ground and personally craft weapons for their pawns?»

    He chuckled. But that was simply the first step. Here inside Ariel's Game, Sunny was a general in charge of an army. His army consisted of only two soldiers, but it was still a start. He would arm his soldiers, enable them, and lead them to conquer the entire board.

    By the time a magnificent dragon with scales as dark as midnight landed on the slope of the fuming volcano, carrying a gorgeous Shadow on his back, the bow was almost ready. Slayer jumped down with the grace of a dancer, walked over to where Sunny was sitting, and silently retrieved her arrow from the ash. His gaze was as cold ever, full of hidden malice.

    As soon as Kai assumed his human form, Sunny tossed him the bow.

    «Here. String it.»

    «What a fearsome aura…»

    Placing one end of the bow on the ground, he used his shin to secure it and bent the long bow with seeming ease, stringing it in one smooth motion.

    Naturally, in truth, bending it was not easy at all. People usually assumed that archers were less imposing than swordsmen, as far as physical power went, but really, it was the opposite. An average archer had to be far stronger than a melee fighter since drawing a powerful bow demanded immense strength — and Kai, despite his deceptively elegant appearance, had never been merely an average archer.

    Witnessing how unburdened the charming Saint looked while stringing the Supreme bow, Sunny almost regretted not making it even more potent. However, he knew that Kai was simply showcasing perfect technique. Naturally, his chiseled muscles were taut and straining under the ivory armor, his veins bulging. A drop of sweat that rolled down the charming Saint's face was proof.

    Shaking his head, Sunny looked at Slayer.

    «Hey. How about you share some arrows with this handsome young man?»

    Instead of answering, Slayer raised the arrow she was still holding in her hand and silently moved it across her neck.

    Her message was clear…

    «Want to die?»

    Sunny chuckled.

    Now, creating a good arrow was also not an easy feat. But luckily, Sunny had had a lot of practice.

    Looking at Kai, he smiled.

    «You know… one time, I was falling into a flaming sea. So, I drew my bow, and shot myself out of it. Worked like a charm!»

    He was referring to his fall into the Sky Below, naturally, and the desperate attempt to avoid burning in the sea of divine flames by wrapping his shadow around a flying arrow and using Shadow Step to appear next to it.

    Kai had been studying his new bow with an enamored expression. That expression speedily crumbled.

    Looking at Sunny with trembling eyes, he said:

    «Wait, wait… this one does not even make sense! How can it be true?»

    «Do not question the truth, Nightingale. The truth does not exist to be convenient, nor does it need to be sensible. It simply has to be true…»
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    1. Offline
      + 161 -
      Chapter — 2316: Winning Strategy.

      While crafting arrows, Sunny picked one up with a shadow hand and used it to draw a grid in the ash.

      Seven rows of seven squares each… forty-nine in total.

      Then, he marked some of the squares with various runes.

      Sunny had not paid a lot of attention to the placement of the figures on the jade board, but he could still recall it flawlessly. There were also five squares marked by special carvings — one at the very center of the board, and one at the middle squares of each outer row.

      Eventually, he pointed to the grid and spoke.

      «This is what the game board looked like in the Toy Room. As you can see, the Ash Domain is on the verge of losing. We only have three squares left, occupied by the Ash Tyrant — that is me — and two Ash Beasts. That is you and Slayer.»

      «You should have seen the fortress behind us. I think that it is the Ash Castle — one of the special squares Seishan mentioned. There is a similar carving on the opposite square, so this is where the Snow Castle should be.»

      Sunny pointed the arrow to the middle square of the uppermost row.

      «However, the carvings on the other three special squares are different. They are not Castles, but what are they? I do not know. The one in the very middle of the board is different from the two on the left and right outer rows, as well.»

      Sunny sighed.

      «Well, we'll learn eventually. What is more important is where the twelve Snow Abominations are standing. Do you see a pattern?»

      Kai studied the grid.

      On it, three Snow Beasts were facing the three remaining Ash figures. On the opposite side of the board, the Snow Tyrant was standing in the Snow Castle, defended by a Snow Devil and two Snow Beasts in the row below. The second Snow Devil was guarding the central square of the board. A Snow Demon and two Snow Monsters were defending the middle square on the right outer row.

      And finally, the last Snow figure — another Demon — was in the lower left corner, all by itself.

      Kai frowned.

      «It looks to me like… three Beasts are preparing to besiege the Ash Castle, while the rest of the figures are protecting important squares on the board. Three are protecting the Snow Castle and their Tyrant, three are protecting whatever that right middle square is, one is protecting the heart of the map. And one seems to have lost its way and wandered into a corner.»

      Sunny grinned.

      «Exactly.»

      Kai stared at him for a while, then asked:

      «So?»

      Sunny looked at him meaningfully.

      «How should I know? Do I look like a great chess player to you?»

      Kai blinked a couple of times.

      «You're not?»

      Sunny scoffed.

      «No, I am not. To be honest, as soon as I understood what it takes to be good at playing chess, I instantly lost interest. Let me tell you… it's not a game, it's a chore! Why would I waste my time mastering something so tedious?»

      He shook his head.

      Playing chess with Teacher Julius had been fun and exciting at the beginning, but when Sunny realized that it was all about patterns and calculations, he rapidly grew bored. After all, he did enough calculating in his actual life, already.

      The chaotic mayhem of checkers seemed more fun. And naturally, nothing beat the noble king of games, backgammon…

      Because there were countless ways to cheat when throwing dice, which was the funnest part.

      Sunny looked at Kai.

      «Why? Are you good at chess?»

      Kai scratched the tip of his nose.

      «Not really. To be honest, being serious about chess takes a lot of time. And I, uh… always had better ways to spend my time.»

      Sunny looked at him with suspicion.

      «Did he just politely point out that he had a life?»

      Well, naturally! That guy had probably been too popular to be the president of the chess club. If Kai had been the president of any club, it would have probably been the heartthrob club.

      Shaking his head, Sunny sighed.

      «So, none of us knows anything about how to win at chess. Plus, this is not even chess… this is Death Game. Actually, it is a bizarre version of the Death Game created by Ariel, which functions according to its own set of rules. We do not know these rules yet, so it will be hard to come up with a strategy.»

      He stared at the grid, a concerned expression on his face.

      But then, Sunny stirred.

      «Actually…»

      He turned his head and looked at Slayer, who was idly standing a few steps away from them.

      «I was not entirely correct. There is someone among us who might know everything about how to play Death Game.»

      Slayer was the shadow of a person who had lived in the Dream Realm thousands of years ago. Since Death Game had been popular among her people, she might have very well been a masterful player.

      Sunny scrutinized her for a while, then asked hopefully:

      «Hey. Do you know how to play the Death Game? What is the best strategy?»

      Was victory even possible when forty-six of the forty-nine squares already belonged to the Snow Domain?

      Slayer turned her head and looked down at him, her inky-black eyes betraying no emotion.

      Sunny almost lost hope when she suddenly moved, looking at the grid he had drawn.

      The Shadow remained motionless for a while, then used the arrow in her hand to carve a run in the ash.

      Kai looked at the rune with curiosity.

      «Sacrifice?»

      Sunny nodded slowly.

      «Yes… sacrifice. To be precise, it's a particular kind of sacrifice. A sacrificial killing.»

      Kai frowned.

      «Is she suggesting that you should sacrifice one of your pawns?»

      Sunny was looking at the grid. Eventually, he slowly shook his head.

      «No… I don't think so. Do you remember what else Seishan said? That there are special squares in certain versions of Death Game called Shrines. There, adversary figures can be sacrificed to enhance your own.»

      If the Shrines were important enough for Slayer to point at them as the secret of achieving victory… then the Snow Tyrant would put a lot of importance into protecting the Shrines, as well.

      From that, Sunny could deduce which of the five special squares hid the Shrines.

      «If I am not mistaken, they are the middle squares of the right and left outer rows.»

      Sunny looked at Slayer and smiled.

      «So, you can write, huh?»

      She just stared at him silently.

      Sunny chuckled, then asked in a teasing tone:

      «Well, then, can you please spell it out for us… how do we win this damn game?»

      Slayer regarded him silently for a moment, then leaned forward.

      The tip of her arrow plunged into the ash, pierced the square where the Snow Castle stood, and destroyed the runes describing the Snow Tyrant.

      Sunny stared at the arrow for a few seconds, and then grinned.

      «Figures…»
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  6. Offline
    + 119 -
    chapter names revealed

    Chapter 2315: Army of Three
    Chapter 2316: Winning Strategy
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    1. Offline
      + 00 -
      See this is how you do it boys, if your gonna reveal the chapter names just at least let people know that’s what it is before.
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  7. Offline
    + 24 -
    Condemnation was a Cursed Tyrant just like the Ash Tyrant is probaly is. Sunny and Nephis run for him when they first meet him. They don't kill instead guard the Cursed Demon in Bastion. So now a Cursed Tyrant and two Cursed Beast (or Great Beast swarm) attack 3 Saints, hell close to the city even if Nephis and as many Sunny as possible arrive as soon as they can (Sunny said a day) if Revenheart won't be a ruin and the 3 Saint won't be dead, than we will have the new biggest plot armor in the story. I know that will happen and I hope too, but it will be illogical. I mean Nephis destroyed one of her Soul Cores, just so they can excape!
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    1. Offline
      + 22 -
      I mean Nephis destroyed one of her Soul Cores, just so they can excape!
      Nephis was only a transcendant when she sacificed a core to harm condemnation.

      even if Nephis and as many Sunny as possible arrive as soon as they can (Sunny said a day)
      Nephis can open a portal, thanks to night garden. She's also able to directly support Song sisters, except Revel i suppose.

      Also it's only Sunny's guess the black pawns were sent in real world after all.
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      1. Offline
        + 10 -
        Yes, Nephis was only transcendant just like the 3 sisters are only transcendants now.

        The portal is true I doesn't think of that.

        Yes it is a guess, but I think it is a reasonable one.
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        1. Offline
          + 11 -
          Yes, Nephis was only transcendant just like the 3 sisters are only transcendants now.
          For me it's clear it's Nephis who will face them. Cassie is already watching and she can open a portal at anytime.

          Yes it is a guess, but I think it is a reasonable one.
          Yeah but it's still weird, i mean it's supposed to be a game for a child, is there a need to destroy your house while you play? Even if all creations need to have a flaw it's not practical.
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    2. Offline
      + 41 -
      Sunny It was just a Transcendent... Anvil was able to hold off Condemnation and Sunny is much stronger than Anvil... So yes, Sunny is capable of taking on a Cursed Tyrant...
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      1. Offline
        + 31 -
        No not really the only reason anvil was able to take out condemnation was because of the sky above godgrave if that wasn't there he would've died to condemnation after he was was finished with his rune attack or whatever you wanna call it he didn't even get rid of condemnations arm so this statement is false tbh
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        1. Offline
          + 12 -
          False, Not only do we know that anvil has an ultimate weapon that he can use as a last ditch effort. The one he used against Sunny. That sunny allowed to go into the shadow realm. Also that was a weaken anvil who got most of his cathedrals taken from him and less saints to boost his domain. While when he was facing condemnation he had way more. Also in the fight anvil was able to keep his distance and deal minimal damage yes but if given enough time could have took down condemnation additionally we know he has a strong enough weapon tha he could have unleashed if given the opportunity which he’s very much able to set up himself. And we still haven’t seen his transformation form
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          1. Offline
            + 00 -
            So I hallucinated when sunny said that when condemnation realized anvil was somewhat of a threat after his rune attack and annihilated him immediately if he didn't die to godgraves sun. Nice.
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  8. Offline
    + 130 -
    Slayer will fall in love with Kai.
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    1. Offline
      + 111 -
      If she doesn't kill him after letting him hold her in his arms, that will be proof.
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  9. Offline
    + 105 -
    Who is going to make the mistake of only posting the chaper title today oru2x
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    1. Offline
      + 00 -
      It is Snow Tyrant
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    2. Offline
      + 74 -
      Chapter 2315: Army of three

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      1. Offline
        + 12 -
        f#ck you for baiting us like this
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        1. Offline
          + 10 -
          Its here now :3
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  10. Offline
    + 211 -
    i think sunny will never get his fate back from the vtb i think he kills it as he went to the tomb of ariel but it. makes no sense for his character however i think that once he obtains mind weave it will work in a similar aspect to a true name and more which will stop him from losing himself when attempting to further shadow dance will allow him to become a sacred and divine and mind weave will make him immune to corruption which is something sunny desperately needs as going into the void will eventually happen
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    1. Offline
      + 110 -
      Even Weaver was effected by the corruption so i don't think he will get immunity however it makes sense that mind weave would help with shadow dance and self preservation
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    2. Offline
      + 30 -
      I don't think he will get immunity to corruption from mind weave, since Weaver wasn't immune to corruption
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      1. Offline
        + 20 -
        Well to be fair weaver intentionally lost that hand to the corruption to leave it behind as a legacy/bloodline otherwise they could probably have easily fought back the corruption just like ariel did when he sealed away all forbidden knowledge in the tomb of ariel
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      2. Offline
        + 00 -
        i dont think weaver gpt infested with a npormal type of corruption
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      3. Offline
        + 10 -
        I think it’s possible to get it outside of that of course just like the spell gave it to changing star for her huge achievement. I have a theory I think while the bird has Sunny’s faith the spell will not only take the bird’s achievements as Sunny’s but once Sunny’s takes it back which we know won’t be easy. The reward that the spell would or should give him could rival something like the incorruptible aspect that changing star has. So I say it’s possible but you’re right definitely not from the weaves
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    3. Offline
      + 33 -
      It would make sense for mind weave to help but he still needs the spell for rewards if mind weave agreed that way he probably could advance his mastery of shadow dance but every reward from the spell has been broken as spell(get it?) So I think he'd want the spells rewards as well
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    4. Offline
      + 03 -
      Without destiny and true name, Sunny won't be able to visit the Nightmare Seed to quickly advance through the ascension... I think mind weaving will make it easier to resist the commands of the future master (Nefis)
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      1. Offline
        + 12 -
        i dont think he sunny will become sacred via the spell as i think that would kinda betray his character alot as a huge point in his development and life is the forgot who said it but 'the only thing worse than being a slave is beginning to trust your slaver' also him and neph will have to fight at one point
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        1. Offline
          + 10 -
          "There is nothing more pathetic than a slave who trusts his master," it was Sunless who said.

          Chapter 13
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