Chapter 4 – The Fool Who Loved the World
[You have slain an Awakened monster: Carapace Scavenger.]
The Spell's voice echoed in Sunny's mind.
He stood frozen, staring down at the fallen creature. He had just… killed an Awakened Nightmare. As a Dormant. That was something only a few could ever claim.
Then, another message followed:
[You have received a Memory: Azure Blade.]
It was the same memory Amon had previously given him, so Sunny didn't bother reading its description again. But suddenly, a realization dawned on him—a horrifying one.
Wait… we've been eating this thing's meat for the past two weeks…
Sunny stared down at the carcass. That meant the whole time… Amon had been hunting Awakened Nightmares like this without saying a word.
He always knew Amon was strong. But only now did he begin to grasp just how wide the gap between them really was.
Sunny quickly opened his runes. There was something else—his Shadow fragment count had increased. That meant he could gain fragments both by absorbing them and by killing Nightmare creatures.
So that's it… killing gives me fragments too…
A voice suddenly spoke behind him.
"Reading your runes?"
Sunny jumped. He hadn't noticed Amon sneak up.
Compelled by his flaw, Sunny muttered, "Yes."
Amon deadpanned, "You're not going to get new attributes just because you killed one Awakened Nightmare."
Sunny let out a breath of relief. He was just glad Amon didn't ask what he had seen.
He busied himself with scavenging the corpse. "Amon, take some meat from the Nightmare," Sunny said.
Amon recoiled. "No way. It'll spoil the sugar."
Sunny blinked. "What do you mean spoil the sugar? We're heading into unknown territory—who knows when we'll find more food?"
Then he remembered. Right. This bastard doesn't even need to eat.
With a sigh, Sunny summoned the rucksack from his Puppeteer's Shroud and began harvesting meat. He sucked out the creature's internal fluids—viscous and mucus-like—as his only source of hydration. It tasted disgusting, but it kept him alive.
Meanwhile, Amon remained perfectly fine, spared from the suffering. Of course.
Sunny found the soul shards, cracked them open, and absorbed them. Then he checked his runes again. His Shadow fragments hadn't increased this time.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lost from Light
Rank: Dreamer
Shadow Core: 14
Memories: [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Silver Bell], [Azure Blade] x2
Echoes: –
Attributes: [Fated], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Shadows]
Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control]
Now he was certain: shadow fragments could only be gained by killing Nightmare creatures—not by absorbing soul shards.
Sunny's shadow scouted ahead of them. Fortunately, they hadn't run into anything dangerous yet.
Then it spotted something.
Two girls.
One had short silver hair and wore less-than-modest clothing. A rope was tied around her wrist, leading a blind, petite blonde girl, whose end of the rope trailed in her hand.
Sunny observed them from a distance, then decided to reveal himself. He sent his shadow toward them and made it wave gently.
The silver-haired girl summoned a sword, pointing it at the shadow. "What is it, Neph?" asked the blind girl, startled.
"There's a shadow waving at us," Nephis replied calmly.
Sunny made the shadow raise its arms in surrender.
Nephis remained wary, eyes fixed on the shape. After a moment, the shadow pointed behind itself.
Nephis turned—and saw two figures approaching.
One of them was a short boy with pale skin, black hair, and black eyes.
The other… looked like a tall, beautiful girl.
But before Nephis could say anything, the 'girl' spoke up in an annoyed voice.
"I'm not a girl."
Sunny burst out laughing. Too good. The proud and dramatic Amon—mistaken for a girl. He was going to treasure this moment.
Nephis looked between them in confusion. Amon's long platinum-blue hair, angelic face, and refined androgynous beauty would fool anyone. But she didn't voice her thoughts.
Sunny stepped forward. "Hello, Nephis. I'm Sun—"
But before he could finish, she cut in.
"…Pervert."
Sunny winced.
He knew exactly what this was about—and if Amon found out what kind of reputation he had back at the Academy, the teasing would be endless.
He quickly blurted out, "I'm not a pervert! I just… said and did some things!"
It was already too late.
Amon's wicked grin bloomed. "Sunny, you never told me you were a pervert."
Nephis blinked.
"I was misunderstood!" Sunny cried.
Amon leaned closer, still grinning. "What kind of misunderstanding leads to a guy being known as the pervert of the academy?"
Sunny groaned. "Think whatever you want."
Just then, the blind girl spoke.
"…Is that you, Sunny?"
Nephis turned to her. "You know them?"
Cassie nodded. "Yeah. At least one of them. Sunny was a rank above me."
Nephis looked back at Amon, narrowing her eyes. She studied his face carefully.
Then Amon, unfazed as ever, smiled. "Don't stare at me like that. I know I'm handsome, but you're making me blush."
Sunny sighed. He was used to this by now.
He gestured toward Amon. "This guy's name is Amon. And I'm Sunless."
An idea struck him.
"Hey, Amon. Did you know Nephis here has a True Name? Changing Star."
He said it with an air of casual pride, expecting Amon to be impressed—or maybe even a little jealous.
True Names were rare. Sunny had earned his only by defeating a Terror.
Surely Amon didn't have one… right?
"Oh, a True Name?" Amon said. "I have one too."
Sunny froze.
What?!
He stared. "You're kidding."
"Nope."
"Then… what is it?"
Amon gave him a look. "I don't want to say."
Sunny grinned. "You don't have to lie, you know. Nephis is a Legacy—it's natural for her. But you?"
He'd asked before if Amon was a Legacy, and the answer had been no.
"I'm not lying," Amon replied. "I do have one. It's just… kind of embarrassing."
Cassie and Nephis were watching quietly, curious now.
"Making excuses," Sunny muttered.
"I am not making excuses," Amon huffed. "Fine. But don't go spreading it around."
Everyone leaned in a little.
"My True Name is…" He hesitated. "…The Fool Who Love the World."
There was silence.
Then Sunny broke into laughter.
"The Spell called you a fool!?"
What's next, the Idiot who Hugged the moon or the moron who kissed the sun
Amon, looking embarrassed, said, "That's why I don't wanna tell people. You see what happens."