Sunny, Cassie, and nephis woke up to see Zero coming back from a Hunt.
He held a massive claw on his shoulder, walking peacefully to their resting spot.
And so, they had their breakfast.
The meal was silent, each of the sleepers eating in peace as they pondered over their situations.
The rest of the journey was silent. Unseen tention rising in the air as they approached the Dark City—what remained of it, at least.
Tough Zero did notice something more in Sunny's eyes.
'He changed overnight.'
The way he walkd, the way he talked, something had changed. As if he had shedded his creepy nature as a Shadow and became…Smarter?
Anyway, it didn't matter. They were approaching the Dark City.
At first, it was subtle, but it became more and more apparent as they came near it.
The Nightmare Creatures were becoming stronger.
At first, only some awakened beast could be seen, but now, almost every Creature was a Demon. Some Fallen Abomination could even be seen in the distance.
Sunny was more and more creeped out.
He was still doubtful in nature, after all.
"What the spell is this place ?!"
He whispered to Nephis, who simply responded:
"A place full of preys"
Sunny looked at her with a deadpan look.
Who could be more out of touch with the world than the great Nephis ?
Cassie, hearing their exchange, only sighed.
Before Sunny could complain about how Nephis wasn't realistic enough, something appeared on the distance.
At first, it was small, a simple grain of dust in the Horizon, yet, as the Bell Beast came closer, they saw it.
A Citadel.
Grand buildings erected, looking over the shore arrogantly. Ruined walls adding to the Mystical atmosphere of the place.
However, what they saw next was terrifying.
Red splatters in all of the cracks in the wall, a dark red Mycelium all over the floors, red bubbles rising and popping from it.
Various corpses littered it, adding to the disgusting view.
"What the spell is this thing."
Zero looked at the matter, before turning back to Sunny and saying.
"My best friend"
Before Sunny could give his Dumbfounded reply, Zero flicked his fingers.
White gas started to emanate from him, before turning Black.
The Soul swirled, creating a dark vortex of Soul.
Vengeful Spirit
The Chantless Vengful Spirit fired toward the Mycelium, creating a blinding explosion.
The bell beast had already burrowed deep into the ground, foreseeing the trouble that would follow.
The explosion was so strong Sunny had to plant his sword on the Red Coral to resist it, while Cassie clung to Nephis' side like a frightened cat.
Zero however, stood tall, as he commanded in a voice full of regret.
"Kora… Wake up."
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The Raid on the Crimson Spire was almost impossible for one reason.
One of the shards was missing.
To seal the Dark Sea, all the Shards were needed, but one of them had been Devoured.
The Midnight Shard.
Arhan ate it.
It wasn't his fault, he didn't know, and it had indeed massively boosted his strenght.
But not enough.
With the Dark Sea being able to run wild, they only had the duration of a day to Raid the Crimson Spire, else, The Dark Sea would devour them all.
All of them did their best.
God knows how many sleeper had died during this foolish gambit.
Eventually, they failed. The Dark Sea rose before the end, but Kora did something unthinkable.
He ate the Crimson Terror.
The overwheilming Madness of the Nameless Sun's longing and solitude drove Kora mad.
His limbs extended, his Skin turned black, his frame turned nightmarish.
A monster.
The final battle was not one of Human against Nightmare, but one where kids had to fight for what was lost.
They didn't win.
Kora's new form was too strong, too fast. He had become the Dark City itself, his tendrils drilling into every corner of it.
Zero was the only one that held it back.
And so, every sleeper ran.
They ran with all they had.
And the Last Vessel fought with the First Chaos.
————————————
Zero looked at the hulking abomination in front of him
Seeing the state his friend ended up in, he made one decision.
"BOOK IT"
They all ran away.
His goal wasn't to free Kora, it was to complete the Second Nightmare.
His plan was simple, since Kora's Soul was corrupted, his body was, too.
So his goal was to catch him in a nightmare. The Body has greated impact on the Soul than you would think.
He would kill two birds with one stone, freeing Kora from his madness and gaining an ally powerful enough to complete the Second Nightmare.
He already had Nephis, Sunny, Cassie, and himself. Adding Kora, if there was one Sleeper Cohort that could clear the Second Nightmare, it was them.
However, The cohort had no idea of Zero's plan.
"WHAT THE SPELL IS THIS THING ??!"
Sunny screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes already exuding a plan to get revenge on Zero if they got out of there alive.
Nephis ran along Sunny, carrying Cassie in her hands.
"We could kill it."
Sunny looked at her deadpan.
"KILL IT? ARE YOU CRAZY? THAT THING IS AT LEAST A CORRUPTED BEAST, WE STAND NO CHANCE"
Nephis replied in her usual stoic tone:
"The world itself is crazy Sunny, I'll be the one tha—"
"Oh come on don't go rambling on and on again, we don't have enough time !"
Zero continued to run in the direction of a place he marked long ago in his mental map.
And so they ran, ran, and ran again. For hours on end.
Sunny was already drenched in sweat, while Bumphis was panting.
Cassie was still alright tough, thanks to Nephis' effort.
"We're Here!"
Zero shouted.
In the Horizon, The Great Tree stood Tall.
And at its roots, was a swirling mass of white gas.
The hulking abomination of Flesh and Claw was still chasing them, unaware of Zero's plan.
Suddenly, without warning, Zero lifted the Doubtful shadow on his back.
"Doing the Second Nightmare? ARE YOU CRAZY!? WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE BASTAR—"
Sunny didn't have enough time to finish his sentence as he, along with Nephis and Cassie—Who strangely didn't voice any objections— jumped into the Nightmare Seed.
Kora followed, too. Entering the seed with his Nightmarish Arms.
[Awakened! Prepare for your Second Trial…]
'Let's see what you got waiting in store for me, Void Lord'
The darkness moved, turning into something else, something different.
[Six brave ones… welcome to the Nightmare!]
'Wait, Six?? Who's the Sixth one ?!'
He didn't get to finish that thought, though.
Darkness evelopped his vision.
Then, the Darkness cleared, revealing…
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Hi readers. Sorry for the lack of chaps. I got very important exams. Goddamnit. Plz js give me a weak off !
The start of the Second Nightmare. Surely, nothing can go wrong, Right ?
Let's just say, things are gonna get very, very interesting.