Chapter Text
Chained Isles... are breathtaking, to say the least. The floating islands, different organisms, and mystical waterfalls almost seem imaginary. But...
Something 'Literally' breathtaking was happening in a small room of the Sanctuary of Noctis.
...
It had been a month since Saint Tyris transported Sunny to Chained Isles.
Currently, he was returning from a hunt which expectantly yielded 67 Shadow Fragments. It was a good haul after almost 3 days of hunting and planning. But he was dead tired...
He had been feeling something strange since morning, a growing headache and tiredness. At first, he dismissed it as unimportant, but it was growing slowly but continuously.
So, he gave up on the hunt, returned to the Sanctuary, and went straight to bed.
...
In the middle of the night, Sunny woke up with a start, feeling hazy and out of place, and something... something—unknown.
He looked around the room intensely as if to find something... anything.
'What the-... why am I so weak? Did I end up somewhere like The Great Mirror? But... how?'
Looking closely at his surroundings, he felt something between familiarity and nostalgia.
He quickly got up and warily opened the door of the room to find himself in a corridor and froze.
'Sanctuary of Noctis? Chained Isles? But why is it so quiet? Wasn't it getting sieged by abominations?'
'Why am I here? Wasn't I with the Cohort after their nightmare was over? Let's see, it has been two months since his Underworl-'
Just as he thought of Underworld, pain flooded his Mind... no, no... his entire being. His Blood, Flesh, Bones, Soul, Spirit, Mind and... Shadow...?
"Wha-!?"
Panic flooded him right at the instant, and he shadow-stepped into his room and...
Fainted.
...
After two weeks:
Roan was looking at the sleeping form of Awakened Sunless. The strange boy was found unconscious after a week of absence from duties and was immediately transferred to the healer's ward.
But nothing was wrong with the kid. It was just that he was unconscious. There were no wounds on his body. Actually, there wasn't even a scratch on his smooth porcelain skin.
But why did he faint?
Healers told them that it was because of exerting his body to the limit. Might be because he was hunting or running from a powerful creature.
The boy in question stirred, finally. His eyelids snapped open; he stood up so suddenly that Roan was... amused at his antics.
"You have been unconscious for about two weeks, young man. Might wanna explain?"
...
Sunny stared at Sain-...Master Roan in front of him. After looking in his soul, he checked that the man in front of him wasn't a corrupted one. But why is he a Master? Wasn't he a saint?
Sain-... Master Roan observed him for a short moment and said in an amused tone:
"You have been unconscious for about two weeks, young man. Might wanna explain?"
"Oh, I... uh...felt a headache and fainted."
'Two weeks. about the same amount of time it took with Mind Weave...wait...I should check my runes...but before that...'
Roan hummed and nodded.
"Well, Sunless, take care, but you have to work hard to catch up on your missed duties. But first, check up on yourself about how you feel."
With that, Master Roan turned and left.
"Haa..."
'I should check my runes now'
He willed his runes to show. Soon, they shimmered before him.
Name- [Sunless]
True Name- [Lost From Light]
Rank- [Awakened]
Shadow Core- [Awakened]
Shadow Cores- [2/7]
Class- Monster
Shadow Fragments- [233/2000]
Memories: [Silver Bell],[Puppeteer's Shroud],[Midnight Shard],[Endless Spring],[Ordinary Rock],[Prowling Thorn],[Mantle of the Underworld],[Blood Blossom],[Moonlight Shard],[Broken Oath]....
Echoes-
Shadows-[Marble Saint],[Soul Serpent]
Attributes-[The Paradox],[Flame of Divinity],[Child of Shadows],[The Weave]
Aspect-[Shadow Slave]
Aspect Rank- [Divine]
Aspect abilities- [Shadow Control], [Shadow Step]
Flaw-[Clear Conscience]
Sunny...just stared at his runes. His mind was trying to process the absurd reveal.
'Why am I an Awakened!?'
'Did I come back in Time, or is it a Mind hex of a CURSED ONE!?'
But then he focused his eyes on a particular attribute. Realization dawned on him at that instant. The attribute read...
[The Paradox]
There was only one thought on Sunny's mind at that moment...
'Fuck...'