Chapter 196 Divine Lntervention
Sunny continues his desperate defense at the rear, pushing past his limits as wounds accumulate. He embraces the onslaught, using his tactical prowess and the enhanced lethality of his Midnight Shard to dispatch new abominations. “Come, come and get me! I’m right here!” he taunts, strategically positioning enemies to block each other and exploiting openings. Despite receiving deep scratches from a skeleton, he leverages the Puppeteer’s Shroud to absorb the worst of the damage, regretting only the inability to observe his blade’s movement.
With renewed power, Sunny commands the shadow to his body, fueling his muscles. He brutally incapacitates and decapitates one of the attacking skeletons, using its corpse to impede the others. After effortlessly turning three more into piles of bone, he finishes off the last remaining crawler. However, the intense, unending battle has left him bruised, exhausted, and nearing the point of performance collapse, just as another wave of skeletons surges from the tunnel depths.
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Chapter 197 Ultimate Test
The respite is brutally shattered as a terrifying tidal wave of undead monsters crashes into the cohort’s formation, threatening to overwhelm them. Effie, the huntress, braces, managing to split the monstrous surge. Changing Star plunges into the chaos from one side, her incandescent blade a beacon, while Caster, the scion of the Han Li clan, carves through the skeletal wraiths from the other with astonishing speed and his ghostly green steel. Sunny, left without the comfort of his shadow and facing this onslaught with only his own frail body and resolve, understands this is his ultimate test of pure skill.
Sunny, gritting his teeth, pushes himself to recall a state of clarity achieved after severe injury, focusing solely on killing and survival. His perception expands, transforming the mayhem into a predictable pattern of cause and effect. He enters a state of flow, his movements fluid yet calculated, each strike efficient. His Midnight Shard, though not as overtly powerful as others’ weapons, proves incredibly resilient, cutting through tough bones without a mark. Despite accumulating wounds, burning lungs, and muscles screaming in protest, Sunny maintains a relentless tempo.
Somewhere ahead, a roar signals Effie’s shift; she discards her shield for a bronze spear, becoming even more deadly, showering skeletons with bone fragments. However, Sunny notes that despite these efforts, more wounds accumulate on her body, indicating the cohort is struggling as the relentless battle rages on.
Chapter 198 Last Stand
The cohort finally reaches a chasm, the bridge offering a brief reprieve. While Effie, Caster, and the remaining survivors of the cohort cross, Nephis and the Stone Saint are left to fend off the relentless undead horde, their strength waning. Sunny, witnessing their desperate stand, offers his support, declaring, “I’ll be the last one to cross.” Effie, concerned, tells him, “Stay alive, Sunny,” to which he quietsly chuckles, and she retorts, “No, it’s just that if you die, pretty soon I’ll have to fight your scrawny corpse.” With a determined, if slightly unnerving, resolve, Sunny rallies to Nephis and the Stone Saint’s side, shouting, “Retreat to the bridge. Saint and I will hold them off!” as he prepares for a desperate last stand.
Chapter 199 Cliffhanger
Facing an overwhelming undead tide, Sunny makes a seemingly suicidal leap into the chasm. He uses his Prowling Thorn, enhanced with shadow, to secure himself to the opposite cliff face, yanking himself across the abyss with incredible speed. The cohort, witnessing his plunge, believes he has sacrificed himself, their faces etched with horror and astonishment. Sunny, however, shouts, “Hey, idiots! I’m down here!”, revealing his survival.
Effie, stunned but relieved, questions his audacious feat, to which Sunny casually replies, “Oh, that? That was a piece of cake. Nothing that a knife and a piece of string can’t solve… more or less.” He downplays the harrowing experience, not revealing his near-death panic. When Effie inquires about the unique Memory, Sunny vaguely attributes it to a “porcupine monster” from the city.
With Sunny safely rejoined, the cohort, battered and exhausted, allows him to rest. The immediate crisis averted, the group must now contend with their injuries and the lingering implications of Sunny’s dangerous maneuver, hinting at the true nature of his abilities and the secrets he guards.
Chapter 200 Descent
Sunny, having defied death and rejoined his cohort, awakens in a new, unsettling tunnel. The passage is ancient, worn smooth by time and eerily wet, filled with puddles of black water and the sharp scent of sea salt. Effie reveals their dire location: a hundred meters below the city wall, directly above a chasm that, with nightfall, will be submerged by the dark sea. This revelation spurs a sense of urgency, as staying put means drowning or facing unknown “depth dwellers.”
As the cohort prepares to move, Nephis rallies them, her calm demeanor a stark contrast to their battered state. Sunny, still aching, questions the wisdom of their previous fight, but concedes facing the predictable undead horde was preferable to the unpredictable “hunchback.” He then probes Effie about her knowledge of the catacombs, expressing surprise at her familiarity with such treacherous depths.
Effie explains that her understanding of the catacombs is passed down among outer settlement hunters, having ventured this deep only once before. She recounts being mentored by the settlement’s strongest hunter, undertaking a perilous descent with an entire party, leaving Sunny to marvel at their survival from such a place. The cohort now faces the daunting task of navigating these perilous, water-filled tunnels to escape their watery doom.
Chapter 201 Lord of the Dead
The cohort discovers a colossal, circular chamber, vast as a castle hall, its walls weeping black water. At its heart lies a horrifying mountain of countless human bones, revealing the grim fate of the city’s builders. Sunny connects this to Cassie’s vision of a bloodied hill, pondering the birth of the Soul Devourer. Crimson coral, like sinew, binds the bone mountain, leading Sunny’s gaze to a breach in the dome above. A gargantuan stone hand, broken from an unseen statue, reaches down from the opening, revealing their potential escape route.
Effie’s shout jolts Sunny, confirming the breach as their exit, achievable with Kai’s abilities and the golden rope. However, the promised “Lord of the Dead,” described by Effie as “a big fat bastard of a Nightmare Creature,” remains elusive. Sunny’s suspicions mount as the mountain of bones shifts, resolving the mystery of the chamber’s inhabitant. The true threat isn’t a distant monster, but the very foundation of their escape.
The revelation that the Lord of the Dead is the bone mountain itself instills a chilling understanding of their predicament. With this terrifying truth laid bare, the cohort faces the immediate challenge of ascending this morbid structure and navigating the perilous path it represents, all while the true nature of their escape is revealed to be far more horrific than anticipated.
Chapter 202 Risk and Reward
The bone mountain, the slumbering Lord of the Dead, begins to stir, its form shifting as massive bone pillars lash out like enraged limbs. Effie shouts, “It’s just thrashing in its sleep! Move! We need to get out of here before the bastard wakes up!” Sunny, narrowly dodging a bone appendage, realizes the horrifying truth: their escape route is directly through the creature’s awakening body. The cohort races against time as more bone tentacles erupt, each strike a deafening thunderclap against the chamber walls.
As Nephis urges Kai towards the breach, the archer ascends the golden rope, narrowly avoiding the creature’s flailing limbs. “A fisih is mocking him!” Sunny mutters as more bone extensions target him. He narrowly dodges a fetid wave of air, his shadow-augmented might propelling him mere centimeters from a crushing blow. The Lord of the Dead’s movements grow more precise, the sheer scale of its awakening a terrifying spectacle.
Kai reaches the stone hand, securing the rope as Cassie, surprisingly agile, climbs with her flying rapier. Effie follows with inhuman speed and strength, and Caster, a blur of motion, joins them. Nephis and Sunny remain, the last in the Lord of the Dead’s immediate reach, as the “Fallen Tyrant” fully begins to awaken.
Chapter 203 Corpse Eater
As the cohort narrowly escapes the thrashing Lord of the Dead, Sunny finds himself ensnared by an enormous, repulsive leech. The creature’s sucker easily breaches his vambrace and sinks into his arm, rapidly draining his blood. His attempts to destroy it with the Midnight Shard are futile; the leech is a Fallen Beast, seemingly immune to his attacks and draining his strength. Facing imminent death, Sunny prepares to sever his own arm, a desperate last resort.
Just as Sunny commits to the brutal self-amputation, he notices a change in the leech. Its gorging stops, and it begins to convulse, its body rupturing from within. The “Corpse Eater,” as it’s revealed to be, succumbs to his blood, its insides bursting. Sunny realizes his Blood Weave attribute has proven unexpectedly potent, poisoning and destroying the formidable Fallen Beast.
With the immediate threat of the leech neutralized, Sunny can focus on the overarching danger: the fully awakening Lord of the Dead. The “Fallen Tyrant” represents a monumental, almost insurmountable obstacle, and the cohort’s survival hinges on their ability to navigate this chaotic awakening. The mysterious power of Sunny’s blood hints at untapped potential, a crucial asset as they face the colossal entity.
Chapter 204 Mysterious Key
The cohort finds a fragile respite in the shadow of a colossal statue of a faceless woman, a familiar landmark from their previous escape. While Changing Star, exhausted from healing everyone, recovers, Sunny contemplates the statue and the grim fate of the ancient city’s inhabitants, now revealed to be a ghastly mountain of bones corrupted by a Nightmare Creature. The disturbing revelation about their massacre and transformation weighs heavily on him, eclipsing even the recent victory. Sunny muses on the mechanics of his Shadow Fragments, noting how killing the Corpse Eater, a Fallen rank beast, yielded more fragments than usual, reinforcing his theory about bonus fragments for higher-ranked or corrupted foes.
Sunny’s thoughts are interrupted by a new Memory, “Blood Arrow,” its description hinting at a new application of his arcane abilities. He had only just processed the harrowing implications of the ancient city’s destruction, realizing that the very people he studied were now a festering source of horror. The mystery of the Lord of the Dead’s birth, and its connection to other Nightmare Creatures, remains a chilling question he’s reluctant to answer, lest it shatter him further.
The chapter culminates with Sunny’s collection of Shadow Fragments, totaling 322, a testament to his recent exploits, including the peculiar demise of the Corpse Eater. He glances at his Memories, the newly acquired “Blood Arrow” promising further development in his power. Despite the somber discoveries, the acquisition of new abilities and a clearer understanding of his fragment gain fuels a grim determination as they face the unknown horrors that still await.
Chapter 205 Journey to the South
The cohort’s brief respite ends as they must immediately depart the Dark City, their intended southern exit now complicated by their detour through the Lord of the Dead’s lair. Forced to circle the ruins, they race against the encroaching darkness, the treacherous mud of the colossal crater a constant impediment. Sunny and Kai scout ahead, ensuring their path is clear of immediate threats, allowing the group to focus on the arduous trek. The Impregnable Wall, a constant marker of their confinement, slowly recedes, signifying their departure from the city that had been Sunny’s world.
As they leave the crater, Sunny casts a final glance back at the Dark City, its imposing stone wall a stark contrast to the encroaching crimson coral at its base. He reflects on the futility of the land’s attempts to breach the ancient structure, musing that the Labyrinth itself would flee such a cursed place. On the distant wall, a solitary, dark figure watches them leave. Harus, it is revealed, has chosen to return to the Bright Castle, a departure that fills Sunny with a chilling sense of unease, a lingering question of “For now.”
Despite the setbacks and the somber discoveries, the acquisition of the “Blood Arrow” Memory and the clearer understanding of his Shadow Fragment gains offer Sunny a renewed, grim determination. The cohort presses onward, leaving the horrors of the Dark City behind, but the journey south is fraught with new uncertainties and the ever-present threat of the unknown. The path ahead is long, and the darkness is always watching.
Chapter 206 Triumph
The cohort, having escaped the Dark City, finds themselves facing a new threat: monstrous, iron-plated spiders the size of humans. These creatures, disturbingly similar to lesser versions of the ancient Fallen Beasts, launch a swift attack. However, the seasoned hunters within Sunny’s cohort react with chilling efficiency. Effie’s shield crushes one beast, while Sunny’s Prowling Thorn and Quiet Dancer’s swift strike eliminate another. The battle is decisively won in mere seconds, leaving the cohort to wonder at the relative ease of their victory.
Sunny muses on his slight disappointment at the lack of personal rewards from the Spell, a testament to the cohort’s overwhelming power. Nephis confirms the silence and then grants permission to scavenge the fallen creatures, their expertly harvested parts quickly stored. The ease of their triumph is attributed to two factors: the spiders’ reliance on webs, which the cohort had already dealt with, and the sheer deadly skill of the cohort itself. Sunny, reflecting on their prowess, notes that they are arguably the deadliest humans on the Forgotten Shore, capable of challenging even the Host’s lieutenants.
“The Labyrinth was going to really try harder if it wished to see them dead,” Sunny chuckles, the thought of them being a mere “three awakened beasts” absurd. This swift victory, while a triumph, leaves Sunny with a sense of grim satisfaction, hinting that the true challenges of their journey south are yet to come, and the Labyrinth will undoubtedly escalate its efforts to break them.
Chapter 207 Beach Episode
The night offers a brief respite, as the cohort finds themselves on a marble arch, greeted by a serene sunrise. Sunny, ever the pragmatist, checks on his Shadow, Stone Saint, finding her armor battered from their previous encounter with the undead horde. Despite the damage, he sends her back to the restorative darkness of the Shadow Core, confident in her swift recovery. He then playfully teases Kai, reminding him of the ever-present dangers lurking beyond their current sanctuary, even as the archer admires the dawn, his ability to fly making him less concerned with a simple fall.
The cohort decides to dedicate a day to rest and recuperation, a decision that brings a peculiar sense of déjà vu to Sunny. He likens the situation to a common trope in youth entertainment: a “beach episode.” While the setting isn’t exactly a beach, the idea of a temporary, almost mundane, interlude amidst their perilous journey south amuses him, despite the lack of revealing swimsuits he half-expected. This quiet morning serves as a stark contrast to the immediate, deadly threats they’ve faced, hinting at a temporary lull before the inevitable escalation of the Labyrinth’s machinations.
This peaceful pause allows Sunny to reflect on the cohort’s collective strength. He recognizes their immense power, capable of dispatching even formidable threats with unnerving ease. The thought of them being mere “three awakened beasts” is, to him, absurd. While this period of calm is welcome, it also serves as a stark reminder that true trials undoubtedly lie ahead, and the Labyrinth will surely devise more perilous challenges to test their mettle.
Chapter 208 Something Productive
The cohort’s brief respite on the marble arch continues, with Sunny still grappling with Kai’s almost painfully radiant presence. He can’t help but marvel at the archer’s otherworldly appearance, jokingly musing about his origins as he catches Kai staring. When Kai finally inquires about the object Sunny wears, the protagonist reveals a small, iron key hanging around his neck, a relic he keeps hidden despite its visibility to him. “It’s a key,” Sunny explains, admitting he doesn’t know what it unlocks but carries it in hopes of finding its purpose.
Kai’s innocent confusion about Sunny’s rationale for carrying an unknown key elicits a frustrated outburst, with Sunny exclaiming, “It’s a damn key, right?! So it has to open something! I just carry it around in case I find something that can be opened by that damned key!” Kai’s oddly understanding reaction prompts Sunny to quickly shift his demeanor, forcing a wide, slightly unnerving smile.
He attempts to salvage the conversation, asking, “Night, my dear friend… we are friends, right? Anyway, what I wanted to say was that I hope that this answer satisfies your curiosity. That’s something a friend would say… right?” Kai offers a dubious “I guess?” in response, leaving Sunny to maintain his strained smile, the mystery of the key and their peculiar camaraderie hanging in the air.
Chapter 209 Fireside Banter
Kai agrees to a deal, trading Sunny three Memories, including a fire-conjuring charm, for a Blood Arrow. Sunny feeds the Memories to the Stone Saint, increasing her Shadow Fragments without real gain, while Kai profits from the exchange. Afterward, Sunny, reflecting on his experiences thanks to Kai introducing him to Stev, shares a realization about the true dream of Awakened heroes from his childhood webtoon memories. He posits that the real victory isn’t being the hero but owning the shop where heroes sell their spoils. Sunny muses that if they return to the real world, he might open a shop after amassing enough Memories. He then turns the question to Kai, who, after initial embarrassment, shyly reveals his aspiration to become an “Avatar Singer.”
Chapter 210 Shadow of the Past
Sunny and the others reel from Changing Star’s revelation: her mother is one of the Hollow, a fact that has profoundly shaped Nephis’s life, leaving her with a deep-seated aversion to the Spell. Nephis explains that her mother became Hollow while pregnant with her, and she only knows her through a preserved, soulless body. Despite treating it as a mere corpse in the past, her grandmother’s death has left Nephis feeling a strange sense of responsibility, prompting her to fund a VIP spot for her mother in a specialized care facility. She confides that upon their return to the real world, her first priority, beyond visiting her mother, will be to dye her hair, a statement that stuns Sunny.
The casual revelation that her striking silver hair is not natural leads to a moment of unexpected levity as Nephis bursts into melodious laughter, a sound Sunny realizes he’s never heard before. He laments that circumstances prevent more such moments, but his musings are interrupted by Kai, who surprisingly comes to Nephis’s defense, stating he also believed her hair was natural and that it suits her. This leads to a brief exchange where Effie silently confirms Kai’s observation.
This interaction, punctuated by the poignant vulnerability of Nephis’s past and the unexpected warmth of her laughter, deepens the bond between the characters. Sunny’s world, already shifting with his newfound understanding of Awakened dreams and Kai’s secret aspirations, is further colored by the complex realities of those touched by the Spell. The conversation hints at the profound, often hidden, struggles of those around them, leaving Sunny to contemplate the diverse paths and pain that drive their journey.
