Chapter 3143 — Chapter 3143 Coronation

Sunny had survived the expedition to the Underworld... and even if it was just barely, he had not returned from the journey empty-handed. The Weave was finally complete, Saint was a Supreme Tyrant now, the shadow of the Prince of Darkness rested in his soul, and a legion of fearsome shades joined the Shadow Legion.

However, the spoils of the expedition were overshadowed by its heavy implications. Sunny and Nephis had always known that they were no match for the fallen gods of the Dream Realm — the Unholy Nightmare Creatures who were its true masters. At least not yet. But facing one in battle, if their brief encounter with the Abyssal Prisoner could even be called that, put just how inadequate they were into perspective. There was only one conclusion — they had even less time to augment their strength than they had thought. That lit a fire under them, forcing them to accelerate their preparations for the Nightmare even further.

The plan had been to wait until Jet, Kai, Effie, and the rest attained Supremacy before departing, so that humanity could persist in their care. Now, however, Sunny and Nephis could not help but consider an earlier, and therefore much more dire, date. There were still many things they had to do before leaving in search of the Fifth Seed. Their plans of finding a place to harvest mystical stone in the Underworld had failed, for example, which meant that an alternative source had to be discovered. The apocalypse had not stopped on account of their busy schedule, either.

Humanity was besieged on all sides. In the Dream Realm, countless Citadels were struggling under an onslaught of abominations, while some had already been lost. The waking world, meanwhile, was slowly descending into a global crisis. All lands controlled by humanity were under threat.

Still... the next few months felt almost peaceful. Knowing that challenging the Fifth Nightmare would mean nearing the end of this terrifying race, Sunny felt like he needed to enjoy these last days of humanity.

Not of mankind, but rather, of the humanity he himself possessed. He was not sure how Apotheosis would change him, after all, but knew that he would not be the same after becoming a deity.

It was a strange thing, to know that he would not be human for much longer.

In truth, it was more than a little scary... almost as scary as death. More so, perhaps, since Sunny had died on several occasions and still remained himself. A transformation so profound that your previous self would seem a stranger felt far more frightening.

Would he still enjoy drinking coffee? Would he be able to become engrossed in a novel? Would he know how to treasure the touch of soft fabric and the refreshing feeling of a warm bath?

...Would he have any kind of human emotions left at all? Would he still experience the joy of spending time with friends, the tender attachment to his sister?

Sunny did not know, and the unknown frightened him.

It terrified him, really.

And yet, there was no other path but the path forward. None of these things would be there much longer if he failed to conquer Apotheosis, anyway... so, there was no point in hesitating.

The apocalypse continued.

Even as Sunny and Nephis frenetically prepared for the Nightmare, alarming news arrived from all corners of the world.

On the Forgotten Shore, the Shadow Legion was pushing back the Barrow Wraith under Saint's command... however, something was stirring in the depths of the Burning Forest, and even the primeval hunters seemed ill at ease now.

In the east, the eerie darkness continued to spread, swallowing more and more land. In the west, calamitous snowstorms were rolling from the frigid wasteland, bringing with them swarms of Nightmare Creatures. In the south, leviathans who had spent thousands of years in the lightless depths were now rising to the surface, as if chased by something.

On Earth, Nightmare Gates were opening almost every day now, and the abominations escaping from them were stronger. The mystical interference caused by the Call was wreaking havoc across all three remaining Quadrants, disrupting industry and infrastructure. More pieces of the waking world were being swallowed by the Dream Realm, allowing Nightmare Creatures to bypass the Gates.

Resettlement wasn't progressing fast enough.

Even with how strong humanity had become — with the Fire Keepers, the Blood Sisters, the River People — it was slowly losing ground.

Sunny knew that he and Nephis had no choice but to challenge the Nightmare. But, at the same time...

He didn't know if anything would be left by the time they returned.

The fact made him feel indignant.

It was already unfair to be born into a world like this one. But to strain against it for so long, achieving one unlikely victory after another, to accomplish so much and come so far... only to end up losing everything, after all?

That left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye — but also an eternity — time passed. The winter solstice was swiftly approaching, which meant that Effie, Kai, Jet, Morgan, Seishan, and Nightwalker had been gone for almost two years now.

The memories they had left behind were still intact, but there was no news of their fate.

Sunny and Nephis had almost steeled themselves for departing without learning what had happened to their friends...

But then, one day, the world shuddered.

It was as if an invisible ripple spread through the fabric of reality, changing it forever.

There was a remote monitoring station left in Antarctica, keeping watch over the three colossal Nightmare Gates towering above the vast battlefield. The signal barely reached the relays, though, so it was not very reliable. In theory, if one of the Gates disappeared, they were meant to learn about it almost immediately...

In practice, however, Sunny and Nephis knew that something had happened because the Longing Domain suddenly and inexplicably weakened.

The six Saints who had challenged the Fourth Nightmare had released control of the Citadels before delving into the Seed, but they were still widely renowned and venerated figures. So, their simultaneous rise to Supremacy had taken a big bite out of Neph's Domain.

At first, she and Sunny assumed that something terrible had happened — an unexpected calamity that had wiped out a great number of people in an instant, maybe, or some other emergency.

They scrambled to react, but before they could even leave the Ivory Tower, Cassie's voice resounded in their heads, informing them of the real reason the world seemed to have shaken.

The truth, for once, was not alarming.

It was astonishingly joyous, instead.

On that day, six of the greatest champions of humanity had conquered the Fourth Nightmare and became Supreme.

The world welcomed new Sovereigns — and this time, their arrival was met with exhilaration instead of bloodshed and fear.