Chapter 1279 Raging Waves
Sunny, fueled by savage fury, bites into the Azure Serpent’s spine with all his remaining strength, shadows and flame erupting around him. He ignores the leviathan’s movements, his survival instinct discarded, focusing solely on crushing the unyielding bone. He violently gnaws, determined to grind it down, knowing “The Azure Serpent was going to die, no matter what.” As the Serpent coils around him, a vice of destruction, Sunny feels a crack appear beneath his fangs, dark glee washing over him.
The coils tighten, pulverizing Sunny’s Mantle and shattering his scales, sending shards of bone piercing his flesh. Despite the excruciating pain, Sunny bites down harder as more cracks appear on the abomination’s spine, bone fragments sinking into his fangs. Refusing to surrender, he focuses on inflicting mortal damage on the leviathan’s vital point, whispering, “Let’s see which one of us dies first, old snake… as long… as you die first… I don’t mind dying second…”
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The Serpent’s dorsal fin tears through Sunny’s shell, darkness flowing out as death approaches. But as the fin slices toward his shadow form, he feels the Azure Serpent’s spine shatter, his fangs sinking into its marrow. The beast roars in agony, its coils crushing Sunny with renewed wrath. It’s only a matter of moments before Sunny’s shadow form is destroyed, but he has finally broken through the serpentine armor.
Chapter 1280 Beauty and the Beast
Sunny teeters on the brink of oblivion, a sea of pain threatening to drown his fragile consciousness. He clings to the fact that he can still feel, clinging to the thread of life that indicates “the Azure Serpent [is] dead.” Though the agony is immense, the desire to survive burns brighter, fueled by the things he cherishes and goals he craves to achieve. He struggles to assess his state, lost senses and overwhelming pain pointing to severe damage to his shadow incarnation and soul.
Then, a breakthrough: sound returns, and he hears Nephis’s distorted cry, “Sunny! Don’t die! Please!” Annoyance flickers through him. He muses at the pointlessness of her command, knowing Shadow Bond requires him to be able to act. As his thoughts slowly regain clarity, other senses begin to return one by one, accompanied by a new wave of physical pain.
He wonders why he can feel physical pain in his shadow form. The returning sense of touch reveals his shell somehow remains intact. Startled, he grits his teeth, or rather, grinds his fangs together. Surprise fills him as he realizes his shadow body may be more substantial, more like a monstrous shell than just a manifestation.
Chapter 1281 Leaving the Dark Island
Sunny, now in his serpent form, dives into the Great River, Nephis clinging to his horns. He recalls the Dark Butterfly’s surprising aquatic prowess and knows their only hope is to descend deep enough to evade its notice. Despite Nephis’s Essence Pearl protecting her from drowning, Sunny is apprehensive of the river’s depths, unsure of the horrors lurking below. They plan to travel downstream while submerged, slowly resurfacing later, a plan Sunny is content to follow.
As the Dark Island fades behind them, swallowed by the river’s radiant depths, Sunny feels a pang of melancholy. The island, once a dark paradise offering respite after the Southern Campaign, became a death trap. “Don’t look back,” he tells himself, steeling himself for the challenges ahead, hopeful that they might eventually find a true paradise.
They continue their descent, the water growing brighter, the current more violent, and the pressure more intense. Sunny hesitates, considering Nephis’s fragility, deciding they are deep enough. Relief washes over him as he realizes the Dark Butterfly hasn’t pursued them. He knows fighting another Great Monster so soon after battling the Azure Serpent would be suicidal. Turning, Sunny allows the current to propel them forward with incredible speed, forcing Nephis to hold on for dear life, their escape presenting another, potentially harder, challenge.
Chapter 1282 Currents of Time
Sunny and Nephis, propelled by the Great River’s current, ascend to the surface, leaving the Dark Island far behind. Nephis, exhausted from battling the water’s resistance, clings to Sunny’s horns, relieved for a brief respite. Despair grips Sunny as he sees no land, the old doubt resurfacing that the world may be only water. Gritting his fangs, Sunny accelerates, the speed and the presence of Nephis briefly exhilarating, yet his heart is heavy with anxiety.
Soon, an ominous feeling proves justified. Ahead, the river boils with a massive krill swarm, River Locusts burning with hunger, intent on devouring them. “This is not the end…” Sunny thinks, remaining calm. He veers west, racing parallel to the swarm, but the krill is too massive. “Damn it!” Sunny shouts as Nephis draws her sword. They plunge into the ravenous swarm, jaws snapping and sword flashing, tearing through the River Locusts, reaching clear water once more.
Sunny strains every fiber to outrun the swarm. “Faster, faster, faster…” he urges himself. They move downstream relentlessly, covering immense distances. But their respite is short lived as another swarm appears, then a terrifying creature lunges from the depths, and finally, a gargantuan mass of rotting seaweed nearly ensnares them. With his essence nearly depleted, their escape from the Dark Island becomes an odyssey filled with constant peril.
Chapter 1283 Ketch
As the seven suns illuminate the Great River, Sunny and Nephis spot a ketch, a small wooden vessel, an improbable sight amidst their ordeal. “What… is this?” Sunny asks, his voice hoarse with disbelief. Even with his knowledge of the [Fated] attribute, the appearance of a boat when his essence is depleted seems too convenient. Nephis, recognizing it as a “ketch,” supports Sunny as they swim towards it, and he weakly moves his legs to help her.
Reaching the ketch, Sunny touches the hull, finding smooth, solid wood beneath his hand. Even if it’s a trap, they have no choice but to board. The ketch couldn’t be as simple as it looks, remaining unscathed by the Great River’s treacherous currents. Tentative hope flickers within Sunny, realizing that it is staying in place, unaffected by the current of time. The sides of the boat are too tall to climb, but a rope ladder is conveniently lowered, as if beckoning them aboard.
Paranoia gnaws at them both, but they have no other option. Nephis helps Sunny up the ladder. Falling onto the wooden floor, Sunny revels in the solid ground beneath him. The gentle swaying of the boat is like a lullaby, and Sunny and Nephis are drawn towards it, unaware of the secrets it holds.
Chapter 1284 Hail Weaver
Sunny is overwhelmed upon finding a corpse on the ketch that resembles the nameless prisoner from the ruined cathedral in the Dark City. He briefly wonders if it’s his own future corpse, but dismisses the idea due to the figure’s smaller stature. “That corpse… it’s just like the one I found in the Dark City, beneath the cathedral. That was where I got the mask,” Sunny explains, referring to Weaver’s Mask. This discovery sparks a flurry of thoughts, causing him to question whether this event is a coincidence or a result of his past choices.
Nephis, however, seems puzzled by Sunny’s reaction, noticing his distress over the masked figure. “Of course, I see that person. It’s just that… why do you keep calling them a corpse? That person is alive,” she says, causing Sunny to shiver. He is bewildered that she couldn’t see the truth that the figure is not alive but a corpse. He then points with a hurried motion. “T-that… don’t you see that corpse?”
Suddenly, the corpse moves. With a deep sigh, the figure raises its head, and two dark chasms carved into the fearsome mask stare at Sunny. The figure slowly and arduously stands, revealing a frail body hunched beneath a dark mantle, and Sunny prepares to summon a weapon, uncertain of what this encounter will bring. The wearer of Weaver’s Mask is indeed alive.
Chapter 1285 Ananke
The figure wearing Weaver’s Mask is indeed alive. Ananke greets Sunny and Nephis as “Children of Weaver,” leaving them bewildered by her words and actions. The old woman’s prostration and strange address stir confusion. Sunny, overwhelmed and exhausted, collapses onto the deck of the ketch, while Nephis carefully helps Ananke to sit. They face her, awaiting answers, but the silence is unnerving. Sunny breaks the quiet, cautiously asking, “I am sorry, Grandmother… but why did you call us the Children of Weaver?”
Ananke sighs, revealing her belief that their existence as “Chosen of the Nightmare Spell” is “Weaver’s triumph,” a statement that confirms Sunny’s suspicion about Weaver’s role in the calamity that befell Earth. Nephis, sensing Sunny’s thoughts, politely inquires, “Forgive me for asking, but who are you, Grandmother?” Ananke’s reply sends a chill through them: “I am Ananke. The Priestess of the Nightmare Spell.”
Ananke explains that she hails from a time when the Nightmare Spell was in its infancy, a time when individuals like herself were needed to nurture, protect, and spread its influence. She says, “It must be hard for you to imagine, my Lord and Lady… there was a need for people like me to tend to it, protect it… and, above all, to help it spread, so that it could grow stronger.” The revelation hints at a deeper connection to the Nightmare Spell’s origins and a past shrouded in mystery, enticing Sunny and Nephis to unravel the secrets of Ananke and her role in shaping their destiny.
Chapter 1286 Fortuitous Encounter
Ananke confirms Sunny’s dread – the journey to her is no accident. Someone guided her through dreams, raising the question of who pulls the strings in this Nightmare, perhaps the last Sybil herself. Sunny voices his question, “…Fallen Grace? How far is that?” Ananke says it is far, too far for her to guide them all the way. She explains her history, as a follower chased from Ariel’s Tomb who traveled upstream before building Weave, revealing it now is only a former city.
The mysteries of the Great River deepen as Sunny and Nephis ponder internal strife between the locals and the potential dangers for Ananke to enter sybil-controlled waters. Nephis asks, “We wouldn’t want to put you in danger, Grandmother.” Ananke assures them that helping them is her wish, adding, “…I am… of the Great River…” before her fatigue overwhelms her.
Ananke then conjures a Memory, a strange sight coming from an ancient human. A wooden box appears, filled with simple, lovingly maintained items: a tablecloth, wine, a teapot, cups, and plates laden with fruit and pies. This gesture hints at a lingering humanity and the old woman’s desire to nurture, promising a brief respite before the journey’s challenges resume.
Chapter 1287 Blissful Ignorance
Awakening from a nightmare-free sleep, Sunny finds comfort in Nephis’s hand on his head aboard the swift-moving ketch. He notices Nephis is deeply asleep and Ananke is carefully holding the steering oar. Ananke notices him waking and tells Sunny, “Don’t be upset with the Lady, my Lord. You both needed rest.” Sunny, feeling refreshed thanks to the Shroud of Dusk but slightly hungry, hesitantly asks Ananke if she has any more of the pies.
Ananke reveals the wooden box is a storage Memory, preserving the supplies she prepared, anticipating their meeting. Sunny discovers more pies, fruit, and dishes, all remarkably fresh. Apologetically, Ananke says, “I’m sorry that I can’t offer you more, my Lord. It is… not easy for me to procure fruit and flour, these days. I hope you are not too disappointed.” Sunny reassures her, recounting his past diet of “nothing but rotten devil meat for an entire month,” and eagerly devours a pie.
He wonders if people still suffer from hunger in the future, choosing to downplay the grim realities to protect Ananke’s vision of a Weaver-inspired paradise. A sudden realization dawns on him, and Sunny, concerned for the elderly Sybil’s wellbeing, asks, “…But what about you, Grandmother? Have you eaten anything?” noting her frail appearance. Ananke simply shakes her head, creating new worries for Sunny.
Chapter 1288 King Among Beasts
Lost in thought, Sunny gazes at the Great River, contemplating the events of the past day – the battle with the Azure Serpent, the escape from the island. “It feels like a dream,” he muses, acknowledging his feat of slaying a Great Beast, a feat possibly unmatched by any other Master. Despite his pride, Sunny fears the achievement might inflate his ego and half-wishes for the Sin of Solace’s sarcastic comments to keep him grounded, though the wraith remains hidden. Pondering the name “Daeron of the Twilight Sea,” Sunny begins to suspect the Azure Serpent was once something more than a simple abomination.
The thought leads him to consider the Spell’s definition of humans as Beasts, and Sovereigns as Supreme Beasts. He wonders what corruption might do to a Sovereign. He dives into his Soul Sea, now viewing it with new understanding. A legion of shadows stand silently, a stark reminder of his countless kills: abominations like the Mountain King and humans like Harper and Saint Dire Fang. Searching, Sunny confirms his suspicion: there is no serpent shadow, but instead, he finds Daeron of the Twilight Sea.
There, in the darkness, stands “the shadow of a handsome man with strong facial features and fierce, downturned eyebrows.” He sees a tall, imposing figure with a strong-willed face and archaic, regal robes. “The Azure Serpent… he really was a human.” The revelation hits Sunny hard, leaving his heart in turmoil as he faces the truth about the monstrous creature he slew.
