When night fell on the Forgotten Coast, Uriel and Sunny were walking through the northern area of the city ruins.
"And what did you think?" asked Uriel.
Sunny blinked.
"Think about what, exactly?"
"Well, everything in general. The current situation of the Sleepers, my way of leading them, my plans. You're smart, so you must have a rough idea of what I'm planning to do."
Sunny nodded.
"You're doing better than I actually imagined. If it were me, I'd have holed up somewhere far away," said the boy, a wry smile on his face.
"Given your personality, I don't doubt it."
"And now, what's your goal?"
"To get all the Sleepers out of this city before the next winter solstice."
"I have plenty of plans, you know?"
"What kind of plans?"
"To make money and create my own stories," he replied.
"You mean those webtoons about Awakened?"
"Yeah, I did some research, and they make a lot of money. I've thought hard about the story and characters; it will undoubtedly be a great success if I can get it published. Also, I want to open a café."
Sunny blinked.
"You, a café?"
"Yeah. It was my dream since I was a child to have my own food place, where people sit down to fill their stomachs and gossip, and I listen to them, you know, things like that. Oh, and also to be a detective."
Sunny imagined Uriel running a café and the image simply amused him. Even more so as a detective.
"What are you laughing at? Money is happiness."
"You know that not everything in life is money, right?" asked Sunny.
"You're wrong, Sunny. Life is about money. If you're unhappy, it's only because you don't have money."
Both continued on their way, listening to the sound of steel clashing against steel, followed by furious roars.
Without a word, Sunny sent his shadow to scout ahead, discovering a wide battlefield where nightmare creatures were killing each other.
"It's a fight between nightmare creatures."
"Let's take a look," said Uriel.
Sunny looked at him as if he were crazy, but a moment later, he followed. Arriving at the edge of the building opposite, they saw a wide, dark plaza with a moving statue in the middle fighting several huge monsters.
"Living statues?" Sunny asked in a low voice.
"Yes. These statues used to protect this place from the creatures; there were several of them, each capable of facing Fallen Beasts. But it seems that ended today," said Uriel.
Scattered across the plaza were the corpses of Fallen Beasts in the shape of spiders with quite hard bodies.
Uriel observed the last figure standing—a small stone saint compared to a monster the same size as Sunny.
Uriel watched as Sunny observed the fight with curiosity to know the final outcome.
After nearly a minute of combat, the stone monster killed the two Fallen Beasts, though in the end, it collapsed, exhausted.
Uriel climbed down from the building, followed by Sunny. Both approached the stone monster lying broken on the ground.
Uriel studied it up close. His black armor was slowly turning to stone. In the gaps, he could slightly see skin as smooth and clear as polished granite, with a dark grey color. Terrible wounds leaked ruby-colored dust like blood.
Two crimson gems that served as its eyes slowly moved, focusing on the two of them. There was no expression in them, only a weary stillness.
"Do you do it, or do I?" Sunny asked Uriel.
"I'll do it," said Sunny, summoning the Midnight Shard, which he plunged through the visor of the dying creature's helmet.
"You didn't know who you were messing with. But you showed them..."
Uriel observed with a raised eyebrow, and a moment later, he noticed that Sunny had obtained the Echo of the Stone Saint.
"What happened?"
"An Echo... I got an Echo."
"Congratulations," said Uriel. "Oh, by the way, we should leave here before its future inhabitants arrive."
Sunny nodded, and they both left.
Over the next few hours, Uriel kept his word: he weakened and subdued the Awakened monsters so Sunny could deliver the finishing blow, taking the kill and their cores, so it was a win-win for everyone.
When the first rays of sun were rising, Sunny was leaning against a wall, breathing with difficulty. On the other hand, Uriel was calm.
"One hundred and twenty," Sunny murmured.
"You subdued one hundred and twenty Awakened monsters. You're crazy for jumping into a war between those monsters."
"Heh. But look on the bright side: you killed a lot of them, didn't you?"
"Yeah," the young man admitted reluctantly.
"Let's rest for a while before heading back to the settlement."
"Uriel, I have a question for you," said Sunny.
"Oh, do you finally want access to my vast knowledge, Sunnless? Go ahead, ask, but I'll decide if I can answer or not."
Sunny nodded and thought long and hard.
"Do you know what the Unknown is?" asked Sunny, making the atmosphere grow much colder than before.
"Sunny, I can't answer that."
"Why not? Didn't you say you knew everything, or was that a lie?"
Uriel shook his head.
"It's not that I don't know; it's that if I tell you, you'll be corrupted."
"Corrupted?"
"Knowledge is dangerous, Sunny. Simply knowing things you shouldn't could cause your death. Maybe when you're an Awakened, or better yet, when you're a Saint, I'll answer that question. For now, you're too weak to bear the answer."
The dark-haired boy frowned at Uriel's serious words.
"Do you have another question?" asked Uriel.
"Yes. Do you know what Aster Song Vale and the Domains are?"
"Those are two questions in one."
"Then answer the first one."
"Well, Aster Song Vale. They are acronyms for the companions of Broken Sword's cohort," said Uriel, making Sunny's eyes widen.
"Ki Song, Anvil of Valor, and the other."
"Why do you say 'the other'? What's his name?"
Uriel shook his head.
"It's better you don't know. Knowing about him is very dangerous, Sunny. Anyway, can I ask you a question?"
Sunny thought for a few moments and then nodded.
"Do you possess a Divine Aspect?"
Sunny froze. After a second or two, he frowned and responded.
"Yes."
"I see. I see," murmured Uriel. "That explains a lot."
"What do you know about Divine Aspects?"
"From what I know, they allow you to possess seven soul cores by collecting soul fragments. For example, I can consume cores and obtain fragments by killing creatures. Apparently, you only get them by killing them. And I suspect Nephis also has a Divine Aspect."
Sunny's eyes widened, but then, after thinking about it, it made sense. At first, he thought Nephis was the strongest Sleeper he had ever met because of her power and abilities. But then there was Uriel, who shattered common sense by surpassing a monster like Nephis.
If bearers of Divine Aspects were monsters by nature, Sunny wondered if he was one too, to some extent.
"Sunny, each Divine Aspect is different and grants different things to each person. I'm sure you'll be terribly strong in a few years."
"You say that as if you're going to die or something."
"Who knows? Well, I have to go now. I have things to do and a devil to kill. We'll talk later." Saying that, Uriel walked away, disappearing into the darkness of the ruins, leaving Sunny alone, pensive about what Uriel had last said about Divine Aspects.
…
Two days passed.
Around midday, when the sun was at its highest point, Uriel, Nephis, Kai, Effie, Sunny, and Caster were gathered around the cathedral where the Fallen Devil was.
"Alright, today's the day we kill the bastard," said Uriel, his eyes gleaming with a reddish hue.
"You already know its abilities. Don't let it enter the darkness. Its weakness is the sword; we have to break it to kill it," said Shade.
After his words, Uriel used his Shadow Body, delving into the deep darkness of the cathedral. A few seconds later, everyone heard the sound of combat, their signal.
Leaping towards the Fallen Devil, Nephis created a great dome of white flames that pushed back the darkness, revealing Uriel, who was engaged in an intense sword fight with the Fallen Devil.
Soon, Nephis and Caster joined in, along with Sunny's Echo.
Caster provided support from the air, as did Effie.
The battle was intense. Despite their numbers, the Fallen Devil was stronger and more experienced. However, it was slowly losing ground with each passing second.
The knight brandished its sword, but Uriel, using his Ascended memory, struck a key point on the blade, cracking it.
Caster, using his great speed, left a wound on the knight's armor, then retreated.
Kai shot a blood arrow between the bones of the armor, precisely at the knee joint.
Sunny lunged into the attack along with his Echo to further weaken the sword.
Finally, Nephis launched a devastating attack that mortally wounded the knight.
Uriel lunged, using his sword to shatter the devil's sword, which enraged it. Its body slowly turned a rusty brown color.
Uriel ordered everyone to retreat.
The Fallen Devil exploded, its metal body thrown far away like an empty shell.
Revealed as a mass of darkness, it lunged at Uriel, who did the same using his Shadow Body.
His form changed, abandoning his human shape to become a mass of darkness full of hungry mouths.
Everyone watched in astonishment and disbelief as the two masses of darkness collided. One began to surround the other, which possessed intense orange eyes.
They watched as the larger darkness finally encircled the smaller darkness like a serpent and then devoured it mercilessly.
With an inhuman scream, the creature of darkness that emerged from the Fallen Devil died. Immediately after, only the larger darkness remained, which began to tremble. A piercing scream that made the entire cathedral shake came from its mouth.
All the Sleepers covered their ears against the scream full of pain.
After about twenty seconds, the scream ceased, and the darkness began to converge back into Uriel's form. He was pale, breathing deeply and erratically.
"What the hell was that?" asked Effie, voicing the question everyone had.
Uriel stood up, somewhat unsteady, before smiling widely.
Uriel looked at his fragment counter.
Shadow Fragments: [203/4000]
He had done it. He had successfully unlocked his fourth soul core, becoming a Devil.
"Hey, Uriel, what did you just do?" asked Effie, still stunned, as were the others. "And what the hell are you?"
Uriel, having recovered enough, stood up.
"As for what I am, I don't even know myself. I guess human," he said.
"He's telling the truth," said Kai, using his Flaw to detect lies.
"As for the other thing, it's my innate ability. Aside from giving me a body made of intangible darkness, it allows me to shape it. This is something I can only do for a short time," he explained.
"Uriel, your Aspect is undoubtedly one of the most curious," said Caster, still perplexed.
"I agree with Caster," said Kai.
"Well, anyway, the devil is dead. And I got a nice Echo," said Uriel, summoning the devil they had fought moments before, now an Echo under Uriel's command.
"What do we do now?" asked Caster.
"Go for the remaining shards. It will be a long journey, maybe a month or two," said Uriel.
"Where will we go?"
"The Hollow Mountains, to the place where the first Lord died," he revealed, making everyone except Nephis frown, as that place was a death zone, and they would have to go there.
After everyone left, Uriel stopped Sunny.
"Hey, Sunny, come with me. There's something I want to show you."
Sunny looked at Uriel with tired eyes. He hadn't slept in almost two days because he hunted at night to saturate his Soul Core and obtain his second core. He now only had three hundred fragments since he spent a hundred to turn his Echo into a shadow.
Speaking of his shadow, Sunny saw the runes, which said it was evolving after eating something from the corpse of the Fallen Devil.
"Where are we going?" asked Sunny as they passed through the hallways once used by the priests and priestesses of the cathedral.
"You'll see," replied Uriel, stopping at a slightly strange wall where he felt the darkness was thicker.
Uriel transformed his arm into a black mass, which entered a grate. After a few seconds and a look of effort, the wall slid open completely, revealing stone stairs descending downward.
"A secret passage inside a cathedral?"
"Yes," replied Uriel, beginning to descend the stairs, followed by Sunny. Neither needed any light, as they could see everything with great clarity.
After descending for a minute, they arrived at large black doors illuminated by two torches with blue lights.
"How long have those torches been lit?"
"Possibly thousands of years," said Uriel, approaching the doors.
Uriel took the key that had been on the corpse of the Lord of the Dead from his Shadow Storage and placed it in the lock.
After turning the key, a click sounded inside the doors, and then they opened silently. The faint light from the torches faded.
For some reason, Uriel felt a bit relaxed by the profound darkness surrounding the room.
Behind the door, in a carved-out room, at the center was a corpse with a dark cloak, chained to the floor inside a circle.
The corpse was hard to distinguish as male or female; there was a strange mask covering its face.
The mask was made of wood lacquered in black and carved to resemble the face of a fierce demon. It showed teeth, with four fangs protruding from its mouth. The mask was crowned with three twisted horns.
Within the black abysses of its eyes, there was nothing but absolute darkness.
Uriel ignored Sunny and walked toward the corpse.
Uriel entered the circle, weathered by time, and observed the runes. However, he felt absolutely nothing.
'So, as we know so many things, we have immunity to corruption,' said Shade.
'It seems so,' Uriel replied.
"Sunny, do you remember that knowledge is dangerous?"
"Yes."
Uriel pointed to the runes on the floor.
"Try to read one."
Sunny looked at the place Uriel pointed to. As he did, he collapsed to the floor, vomiting the contents of his stomach.
"Argh... damn it! What happened to me?" asked the young man.
"That is knowledge you are not ready to know. That's why I didn't answer your question about the Unknown," said Uriel, making the room grow much colder than before. A ghostly wind manifested out of nowhere before disappearing.
Sunny tried again to read the runes, but it was impossible. His very being refused to read and interpret them; his soul was still too weak to bear the weight of knowledge forbidden by the world.
Sunny averted his gaze.
"How come looking at them doesn't affect you?" Sunny asked.
"I know many things that are supposed to kill me, but they don't. Do you want to know what is written in those runes?"
"Yes," said Sunny.
"Alright, listen carefully."
Thus spoke Weaver:
"They will open the Gates"
And they did
Bringing misfortune and destruction upon us
Now, in the ruins
The gods lie dead
And the demons have fallen
…
"What did you say?" asked Sunny, confused.
"I already told you, but you're not ready to hear it. Become a Master or a Saint, and you'll be able to discover it for yourself."
Uriel touched the mask, which disappeared into innumerable white sparks, vanishing into his Sea of Souls.
[You have received a Memory.]
The corpse turned to dust, which fell to the floor along with its chains.
Uriel summoned Weaver's Mask, looking at it with analytical curiosity.
He could see seven blazing, radiant spheres that shone with an almost reaping intensity. Around them, innumerable eternal threads were woven, forming an almost infinitely complete pattern.
Memory: [Weaver's Mask]
Memory Rank: Divine
Memory Level: VII
Type: Tool
Description: [Weaver believed knowledge was the origin of power, so he always hid behind numerous lies. Using them as a cloak, no one knew his thoughts, his face, or his heart. Not even the gods could see what the mask hid.]
Enchantments: [Cloak of Lies] [???] [Simple Trick]
Uriel dismissed the runes.
"What is that mask?" asked Sunny, curious.
"Oh, just a Divine-rank Memory of the seventh level."
Sunny's mouth opened comically.
"It also has an Enchantment that reverses a person's Flaw," he revealed.
Sunny staggered back, his eyes wide open.
Uriel looked at the mask and put it on after Shade was mentally prepared.
A moment later, the world became clearer, and his head felt emptier, his thoughts sharp and clear.
Weaver's Mask adjusted automatically to his face.
"How do I look?" he asked Sunny.
"Pretty great." Uriel nodded.
Then he removed the mask, returning it to his Sea of Souls.
"Well, it seems it works," said Uriel.
Sunny looked around, analyzing every place with palpable curiosity, then observed Uriel. Everything about him was too strange, and his behavior didn't follow a pattern.
Once again, he saw something that defied logic: finding a Divine Memory of the highest level.
But how did he know it was here in this cathedral?
He really didn't know.
Uriel placed his hand on Sunny's shoulder, who froze upon receiving a Memory. The incantation's voice shouted loudly in his head.
"Why are you giving me this Memory?" asked Sunny.
"It will be more useful to you than to me. Your Flaw is to tell the truth, right?"
Sunny froze. He didn't want to answer but responded with a "yes."
"How did you find out?" he asked angrily.
"I realized a while ago. Your claims were quite crazy but true, and I'm a master liar. Anyway, my Flaw is that I have two 'me's."
"What does that mean?"
"I have a version of myself in my head. Think of it as having two personalities in the same body. I am Uriel," he said before his eyes turned red, and a mocking smile appeared on his face. "And I am Shade."
Sunny blinked.
"So you really weren't crazy; you literally have a second personality inside your head. How the hell does that work?"
Shade shrugged.
"No idea. Anyway, Sunnless, if you want, try Weaver's Mask. Oh, and if you activate the Unknown Enchantment, you won't like what happens when you do."
"Thanks for the advice, though I'm really annoyed now."
"Well, see you," said Shade, leaving the room.
He really didn't care about Weaver's Mask. He didn't possess the destined attribute, which was excellent. Plus, Shade was more his ally than his Flaw.
As always, curious by nature, he was shattering this part of fate, changing and leaving things the same to see the final outcome of everything.
When he left the cathedral, Uriel saw Cassie, who seemed to have been waiting for him for a while.
"Cassie, what are you doing here?"
The blonde girl turned her face in his direction. The enchantments on her armor had undoubtedly done her good.
"Uriel. Let's talk for a bit."
"Alright."