Chapter 2279 — 2279: Damned if You Don't

Sunny found himself in his current predicament due to Weaver's lineage — the forbidden inheritance of the nebulous daemon that Anvil had described as an abominable curse. Because of it, he had to hide himself from the world and avoid gaining attention.

However… since he was already cursed, it would be foolish not to take full advantage of the nebulous daemon's tainted inheritance.

Having more of it than he possessed already would not make any difference. Additionally, it was not like Sunny had to disappear without a trace and spend the rest of his life alone in obscurity — the daemons themselves were known to countless humans, after all.

It was just that they had been mysterious and distant. Additionally, they existed in the shadow cast by the gods, other creatures of the Divine Rank, and Unholy horrors — the Seven Demons had not stood out too much in the crowd of mythical beings. It was only when Hope descended to a mortal realm and got close to humans that the real trouble had ensued.

The problem was that humanity only had three Supremes now, with no one above them. So, if Sunny were to reveal himself, he would gain far more attention than even Hope had attained.

In any case, he had already found three of the seven pieces of the Forbidden Lineage — Blood Weave, Bone Weave, and Soul Weave. Each had made him far more powerful, saving his life on countless occasions…

Four pieces remained.

These four pieces had been on his mind ever since he read the runes that Nether, the Demon of Destiny, left on the walls of the Ebony Tower.

Sunny remembered them often:

[Gods created all living creatures, but not all creatures they created carry a divine lineage. Only those born of the gods do, and those born of their descendants. Why have the gods forbidden us seven to sire offspring? Why are we destined for loneliness? Is it because we are of the Forgotten One, who slumbers in the Void?]

Now, Sunny had the answer. It was strange to realize that he knew something that even the daemons had not known, at some point in the ancient past. Of course, Nether had been harboring a suspicion about the truth even back then, already… and the Demon of Fate had to have known all about it.

After all, the next part of the inscription was about Weaver.

[Where is the Void, and where is its Gate? How did Weaver enter it, and what did Weaver see? Why did Weaver decide to break the will of the gods and create a lineage?]

Sunny was just as clueless about Weaver's goals and motivations as their siblings had been. What he did know, however, was that Weaver had scattered seven pieces of his forbidden lineage across the tapestry of fate, leaving them to be found in the distant future.

[Blood, bone, flesh. Soul, spirit, mind. And shadow…

A piece is lost to fantasy, a piece is lost to fear. A piece is lost to respite, a piece is lost to darkness. A piece is lost to sorrow, a piece is lost to rot. And finally, a piece is stolen by a thief.]

Sunny had found the piece stolen by the Vile Thieving Bird, Blood Weave, on the Forgotten Shore. He found the piece lost to the rot of Corruption, Bone Weave, in the Ebony Tower. He also found the piece lost to sorrow, Soul Weave, in the Nightmare version of the Tomb of Ariel… near the final resting place of Oblivion.

Flesh, spirit, mind, and shadow remained.

He was confident that the first three were hidden somewhere in the three Great Citadels left behind by the Demon of Dread, the Demon of Repose, and the Demon of Imagination — Ravenheart, Night Garden, and Bastion.

The fourth one… the fourth one seemed to have been found by Broken Sword, becoming his doom. Therefore, it was somewhere in the Underworld, near Broken Sword's remains.

Now that the initial chaos of becoming the rulers of humanity had been somewhat dealt with, and various tasks Sunny had to perform were on track, he could finally spare an incarnation or two to begin his search for the lost pieces of Weaver's lineage once more.

Underworld was full of true darkness, and therefore a natural foil to Sunny's power — so, he was considering venturing there last.

On the other hand, the mirror maze under True Bastion seemed even more eerie. After all, Sunny knew a lot about true darkness by now… but he still knew too little about the Others.

He was of the mind to start from Ravenheart or the Night Garden. The latter was currently in the waking world, which made the choice easy — Sunny had to start from Ravenheart… the Jade Palace built by the Demon of Dread.

And when he collected all remaining pieces of his lineage…

Then, he would be ready to return to the Tomb of Ariel.

While Sunny was considering all that, Effie stared at him with a dubious expression.

"Inheritance? Aren't you already loaded, Shadow Boy? Who would leave you an inheritance, anyway?"

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

'S—shadow Boy? That's a new one.'

He frowned.

"Listen… I am not a boy. First of all, I am a full-blown man. Secondly, I am a Supreme — a literal king."

Effie narrowed her eyes and looked him over.

"…You're still a shorty, though."

Sunny's eyes twitched.

He glared at her for a few moments, then inhaled deeply and looked away.

'Wicked beanpole!'

It was not like he couldn't change his height if he wanted to. He was a shadow now, and shadows were inherently formless. So, he could assume whatever form he wanted, short or tall.

His original appearance simply felt the most natural. Plus, he liked himself the way he was — his own form was great. It was awesome!

Oh, and Nephis liked it quite a lot, too…

And although Effie would die denying it, so did she!

Sunny smiled pleasantly, the pain of his Flaw reminding him that he had not answered her initial question.

"Yeah, I'm loaded. As for who would leave me an inheritance — let me tell you, gods and demons competed to make me their heir. Actually, pieces of my inheritance are scattered all over the world… one is Ravenheart, but another one is right here in Bastion."

His smile widened a little.

"So, you and I will spend some quality time together soon, too…"

In the next moment, his smile faltered, and Sunny flinched a little.

That was because Nephis kicked him under the table.

'What… what was that for?!'

Looking just as impassive as usual, Nephis said in an even tone:

"I think what he meant to say was that his exploration would lead him to Bastion in the near future. Your support would be appreciated, Effie."

Effie looked at her, then at Sunny, then back to Nephis.

Eventually, she smiled.

"Why, of course. I am nothing but a proponent of responsible exploration…"

At that moment, Cassie cleared her throat.

"Can we get back to discussing matters on the agenda, please? Since Sunny will be visiting Ravenheart, the volcano issue can be put to rest. However, that still leaves us with…"

As the discussion resumed, Sunny found himself getting bored again.

So, using the chance, he decided to shift his attention and concentrate on what his other incarnations were doing.