‘My shadow...'
It used to be that these words meant that he had gained a shadow fragment. But now that all seven of his cores were fully saturated, the Spell seemed to have used them to describe a new shade joining the Shadow Legion.
The Sacred shade of the Vile Thieving Bird. And a Memory!
A Sacred Memory, at that...
After all these years of not receiving rewards from the Spell, Sunny had almost forgotten the feeling.
It felt great.
It felt amazing!
His smile widened.
“That's great. But, uh... you wouldn't happen to have a backlog of rewards I have earned, would you? That'd be great, too. You know."
Perhaps testing the Spell's patience was unwise, but Sunny could not help himself. He might have been battered and bloodied, low on essence, and half-dead... but his greed was alive and well. In fact, it felt better than ever.
The Spell did not answer immediately. When it did, however...
There was a hint of ominous amusement in its voice, which sent a cold shiver running down Sunny’s spine.
It said:
[You have lost a Memory.]
Sunny blinked a couple of times.
"Huh?"
The voice of the Spell resounded in his ear once more:
[You have lost a Memory.]
[You have lost a Memory.]
[You have lost a shade.]
[You have lost a shade.]
[You have lost a shade...]
A choir of whispers exploded in his head, deafening him. The voice of the Spell thundered like the roar of a stormy sea, the same words repeating over and over again.
"Huh?!"
Sunny tried to jump to his feet, but failed and sprawled on the cold stones instead.
A groan escaped from his lips.
“What... what the hell do you mean?! What do you mean, I lost a Memory?!"
The Spell did not explain. It simply continued to speak, its voice echoing in his head like a deafening bell.
[You have lost a shade.]
[You have lost a Memory.]
[You have lost a shade.]
[...You have lost a Citadel.]
Sunny finally managed to stand up.
"What?!"
He froze, staring into the darkness with wide eyes.
And then, as if realizing something, he grabbed his head.
“The... the bird!"
That damn bird!
That vile, loathsome, despicable lunatic of a deranged deity!
"Why?!"
Why had he thought that allowing a shade of that wretched thing into his soul was a good idea?!
It was a damn Cursed Terror!
No, it was Sacred Terror now, once again... A shadow of one, at least.
...Had using Sunny to cleanse itself of the Corruption been its plan all along?
‘Who cares?!’
That was not important right now! Suddenly feeling light-headed, Sunny hurriedly dove into his Soul Sea.
But it was already too late.
The Vile Thieving Bird had already absconded, taking whatever it pleased with it. There was no trace of it — or of its ill-gotten gains — left.
Well... there was one trace.
So to speak.
As if to deliver Sunny one final blow, the Nightmare Spell whispered helpfully into his ear:
[You have gained a Shadow.]