But the snowstorm had become just too calamitous.
Sunny had lost count of how many soldiers he had lost. In fact, his senses — even the shadow sense — were slowly failing him. He could not see too far, and he could not perceive too far. The world had narrowed down to a hazy sphere of a dozen meters, while everything else was obscured by snow.
In that sphere, there were only a few Awakened. As far as he knew, everyone else might have already succumbed to the ruthless cold.
'Gods… it can't be like this… it can't be, damn it!'
In his heart, Sunny would have been able to accept if they had reached the true body of the Winter Beast, but failed to defeat it. But the idea of being wiped out without even making it to the eye of the storm was enough to drive him insane.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it all!'
And with each second, still, the cold was growing more harrowing.
15:50
…But in the end, that was exactly what happened.
Eventually, still surrounded by the wall of howling snow, Sunny realized that he could hardly make even a single step forward. He had lost sight of the brigade and did not know if any of his soldiers were still alive. There were only three Awakened beside him… Belle, Dorn, and Samara.
And with each second, still, the cold was growing more harrowing.
He closed his eyes.
'...Admit it.'
Sunny hesitated, staring into the blizzard.
'Admit it. You lost.'
He shivered.
'You fool… what else did you expect would happen?'
It was almost as if the Sin of Solace was talking to him. But, no… those were only his own thoughts. He had not even summoned the jade sword yet.
His own thoughts were much more damning.
Sunny let out a soft sigh, then turned around and looked at his soldiers.
The members of his cohort were standing close to each other, bits of ice covering their hair. Their luminous Memories had grown dim and weak, and their lips were blue.
Their eyes, however… were much more calm than his own.
Sunny studied their faces for a few moments, trying to come up with a solid thought.
Eventually, he simply whispered:
"...I'm sorry."
Belle smiled with the corner of his mouth, then slightly shook his head. That action alone seemed to take something out of him, and the swordsman swayed slightly.
Samara reached out to support him, and he placed a hand on her shoulder, gripping it tightly. Dorn struggled a little and turned to face them. He gave his fellow Awakened a warm nod, then kept looking at them without saying anything. Maybe he couldn't.
Sunny remained motionless, watching.
He watched them slowly grow still.
And then, he watched as the spark of life was gradually extinguished inside them. Samara was first, and then Dorn. Belle was the last to go.
Only when their shadows had turned lifeless and empty did Sunny allow himself to dissipate into the darkness, escaping the murderous cold.
…In the embrace of the shadows, the power of the Winter Beast was not nearly as overwhelming. It could still reach here, somehow, but in a weakened state.
Sunny howled with sorrow and fury as he flew deeper into the blizzard. Even if everything was lost, he still wanted to try and reach the wretched abomination… he wanted to hurt, break, and kill it…
But he failed.
Even if the cold was not as terrifying in the shadows, it was still there. And the closer Sunny got to the heart of the blizzard, the more annihilating the cold became. He still persisted forward, feeling his very soul freeze and start to grow still, dying, for a time. He almost made it.
Eventually, though, Sunny had to turn back.
He ran away.
He ran away and hid himself, waiting for the snowstorm to pass.
He survived.