Sunny looked at the terrified young girl, and thenā¦ laughed.
ā¦His laughter sounded more than a little bit unhinged.
His lady shuddered:
āSir, youā¦ youā¦ā
Sunny waved a hand in the air.
āNo, no. No needā¦ I understand. I sound crazy.ā
The night sky above them was covered in an impregnable veil of clouds, and the one below them was empty and dark. The ancient stones they stood upon were slick with rainwater, and it was too dim to see anything except for vague silhouettes.
The silhouette of the Awakened hunter was towering, menacing, and embodied the very concept of terror.
But Sunny didnāt care that much.
Massaging his chest, he smiled crookedly and said, his voice hoarse and raspy:
āā¦But then again, this whole world is insane. Someone told me onceā¦ ah, I donāt quite remember whoā¦ that we can only reflect what is in front of us. Is it my fault that there is nothing in front of me except for madness?ā
He looked down, his smile turning into a wicked grin.
āAnd someone else once told me that they wanted to destroy the world. Back then, I thought them insaneā¦ I thinkā¦ but now, I wonderā¦ā
The Awakened hunter took a step forward, his monstrous voice permeating the darkness like an insidious murmur:
āWeakā¦ so weakā¦ his mind is brokenā¦ā
Sunny laughed again.
āAh, yesā¦ I am very, very weak. But I am not weak enough, I guess? Somehow, I have a feeling that I wasnāt supposed to be able to last that long. Who would be able to endure that much pain, that much horror, and that much suffering without losing their mind completely?ā
He glanced at his sword, then at the approaching enemy.
āAnd yet, I did. Actually, while some of those nightmaresā¦ gods, how cruel they wereā¦ did hit a nerve, overallā¦ I am surprised to admit thatā¦ they really werenāt that bad.ā
Sunny stared at the Awakened hunter with a concerned expression, then scratch the back of his head.
āCrazy, huh? It is almost as if after you have already been gutted once, nothing else can impress you that much. Or if you have already watched your mother die once, the second time wonāt be asā¦ wellā¦ maybe it would? I donāt knowā¦ I am a bit confused about what is real, and what is not. Maybe I am myself not real. Thereās one thing Iām sure about, thoughā¦ā
The young girl slowly backed away from him, her face painted with fear. The Awakened killer tilted his head a little, then asked with curiosity:
āWhat?ā
Sunny shrugged.
āWell, itās that, real or not, I am reallyā¦ really, really hard to break. As it turns out. At least not to the point where Iāll be unable to think. And notice things. Oh, and I did notice a few thingsā¦ā
He slowly raised his sword and pointed it at the approaching hunter.
āOne thing I noticed is that my heart always seems ache, doesnāt matter whether itās in a nightmare or in the real life. So, that demands a questionā¦ if the heartache is the same, then maybe the nature of both the dream and the reality is the same, as well?ā
He took a step forward, a confused expression on his face.
āThe second thing I noticed was that many of my thoughts, actions, and reactions donāt really make sense. Sometimes my hands will try to do something on their own, and sometimes fragments of feelings, ideas, and judgments that I have to cause to possess will just appear on their own. Easy to explain in a dreamā¦ not so much in the waking world. And I am awake, am I? Or am I? Or am I not? Sometimes, itās hard to sayā¦ā
He laughed again and assumed a defensive position, waiting for the terrifying Awakened hunter to attack.
āWell, and the last thing I noticed were the radiant spheres of light I seem to be able to see inside the souls of living beingsā¦ or vile orbs of darkness in those of the Corrupted. It took me a few nightmares to realize that those were soul cores. Strangely, once again, this ability pursued me from the nightmares into reality, making the two seem so much alike. Soā¦ with all that saidā¦ I am really only curious about one thing.ā
Sunny smiled, ready to meet his deathā¦ once more.
āYou seeā¦ in my nightmares, I met all kinds of creatures. Awakened warriors, Corrupted monstersā¦ even Transcendent immortals. Some of them had one soul core, some two or threeā¦ā
He lingered for a moment, and then looked past his enemy, at the mighty black steed standing motionless behind him, barely visible in the shadows.
āSo, my question isā¦ why does this damned horse always have six?ā
ā¦With that, he dashed in the opposite direction from where the hunterās sword flashed, abandoning the young girl he was sworn to protect without a second thought.
Sliding on the wet stones, Sunny dove under the flying blade and jumped to his feet, putting all of his weight into an attack of his own.
However, his strike was not directed at the menacing killerā¦ instead, it was directed at the tenebrous steed.
Unobstructed, the tip of the sword touched the mighty beastās onyx coatā¦ and shattered, as if striking adamantine stone instead of a living being.
In the next moment, the Awakened hunterās blade pierced him from behind, exiting out of Sunnyās chest in a fountain of blood.
Ignoring the terrible pain and the blood that was flowing from his mouth, Sunny grinned and looked at the motionless horse.
The stallion looked at him back, his eyes dark and full of boundless, terrifying malevolence.
A gargling laughter escaped from Sunnyās lips.
āDoesnāt matterā¦ it doesnāt matter. Kill me again, bastardā¦ kill me as many times as you want. In this nightmare, I am just a mundane swordsmanā¦ but in the next one, or the one after that, or the one after thatā¦ Iāll be someone powerful enough to rip you to shreds. And then I will kill you again, and againā¦ and again. Letās see which one of us is going to break first, you wretched pony!ā
The black steed looked down at Sunny, his eyes igniting with ghostly crimson flames.
He snorted quietly, and then opened his mouth, full of sharp teeth that were more like those of a wolf than that of a horse.
And then, the Nightmare bit down on the trembling humanās head, easily crushing it between his mighty jaws.
Sunny died.
And woke up with a tortured scream.
It was time to face a new dayā¦
He rolled out of the dingy tent he had been sleeping in and grinned, mad sparks igniting in his dark eyes.