Of course, Sunny did not relax simply because Orren told him to.
Orren could feel his shadow moving around the island, searching and observing every detail.
He clearly wasn’t willing to let his guard down around a stranger.
Orren noticed it but didn’t comment.
After everything he had experienced, he understood why Sunny was acting this way.
With a quiet sigh, he closed his eyes and left Sunny to do whatever he needed to do.
Soon after, the first rays of sunlight began breaking through the darkness, illuminating the two figures stranded on the small island.
At the same time, the calm sea around them started to churn violently.
Orren already knew what was about to happen, but he did not interfere.
He simply watched as Sunny approached the edge of the island and stared out at the endless black sea.
Now that he had rested for nearly an hour, his mind was finally beginning to clear.
The initial shock of waking up in the Dream Realm had faded, and with Sunny’s arrival, he had confirmed the location he had been dreading.
The Forgotten Shore.
He slowly sat up, resting his back against the ground while watching Sunny carefully observe the surroundings.
“Found anything interesting?” Orren asked.
Sunny turned his head slightly before answering.
“Yeah.
Come and see for yourself.” Orren stood up and walked over to the edge of the island, stopping beside him.
Even though he had read about this place before, seeing it with his own eyes was an entirely different experience.
The endless black sea slowly began retreating, revealing the strange landscape hidden beneath it.
‘Reading about it and experiencing it firsthand really are two completely different things.’ The sight alone was enough to leave anyone speechless.
The sea that had seemed endless only moments ago was disappearing, exposing the land beneath them as if it had never existed.
Sunny stared at the phenomenon with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
Unlike Orren, he had no knowledge of what was happening, no memories of a story he already knew.
For him, this was simply another impossible thing thrown at him by the Spell.
Orren quietly watched his reaction with a faint amusement.
He knew exactly what was happening, but seeing someone experience it for the first time was still interesting.
Around half an hour later, the black sea had completely vanished, leaving behind the unfamiliar landscape of the Forgotten Shore.
After letting Sunny process the sight for a moment, Orren decided it was time to talk.
“We should probably introduce our abilities.” Sunny looked at him cautiously.
“Why?” “Because we are likely going to have to work together if we want to survive.
Knowing what the other person can do will make it easier to decide how to handle situations.” Sunny remained silent for a few moments, clearly considering whether sharing information was worth the risk.
Seeing his hesitation, Orren continued.
“I’ll go first.” After a short pause, Sunny nodded.
“My Aspect is a weird one.
My Aspect Ability allows me to understand my surroundings and my position within them.
The range is limited, but it is extremely useful in enclosed spaces or unfamiliar environments.” He intentionally kept the explanation vague.
Revealing the true nature of [Stray] and the deeper aspects of his ability was unnecessary.
“You already know about my Memories, so there is that.” Orren added.
Sunny nodded before giving his own explanation.
“My Aspect is related to shadows.
My Aspect ability allows me to control my own shadow.
I can detach it from myself and use it to scout ahead.” He glanced down briefly.
“As for Memories, I only have the one I am currently using.” Orren looked at the black armor covering Sunny’s body and nodded.
“So you don’t have a weapon.” It wasn’t really a question.
He already knew the answer.
Sunny looked at him suspiciously.
“No.” Orren extended his right hand.
“I have a spare weapon Memory.
It’s only Dormant rank, but it should still be useful here.
You can use it until you get one of your own.” Sunny raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you offering it?” The question was expected.
Orren would have been more suspicious if Sunny had simply accepted.
“If I’m being honest, I want to create some level of trust between us.” Sunny’s expression didn’t change, but Orren could tell he was still cautious.
“Then why haven’t you removed your mask?” Orren answered without hesitation.
“Well of course, it’s because I don’t trust you completely.” The honesty seemed to catch Sunny slightly off guard.
Orren continued.
“I know we are in the same situation, and I know working together benefits both of us.
But we are still strangers.
Pretending otherwise would just be foolish.” Sunny stared at him for a moment.
For someone who had just offered him a weapon, Orren was surprisingly straightforward about his distrust.
That was probably the reason Sunny found him slightly easier to deal with.
After several seconds of silence, Sunny finally reached out and clasped Orren’s hand.
Orren accepted the gesture and transferred the Memory.
A moment later, the runes of the weapon appeared before Sunny.
Memory: [Ironscale Fang] A small step toward survival.
……….
Sunny agreed to scout ahead with his shadow, and for almost the entire day he tried to understand their surroundings.
From the moment the black sea disappeared, he had been sending his shadow across the island, mapping every corner and searching for anything that could help them survive.
It was only when the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon that he finally returned.
Not long after, the black sea started rising once again, swallowing the land around them.
“There is some sort of coral labyrinth beneath the sea,” Sunny explained.
“There are hundreds of creatures gathered there, feeding on the corpse of a giant shark-like creature.” Orren listened carefully.
That was exactly how he remembered the Forgotten Shore.
A place where every opportunity for survival came with an equal amount of danger.
“We’ll go down tomorrow and take a closer look,” Orren said.
“We also need to kill at least one Nightmare Creature.
We can’t keep going without food.” Sunny’s expression immediately became unpleasant at the thought.
The idea of fighting a monster just to eat it was clearly not something he enjoyed, but after a moment he still nodded.
There wasn’t really another option.
With nothing else to do while waiting for the sea to disappear again, the two of them eventually settled down and tried to sleep.
Unlike Sunny, Orren was able to rest relatively peacefully.
After everything he had experienced during his first Nightmare, a few hours of waiting on a stone platform was almost relaxing.
He took full advantage of the rare moment where he didn’t have to fight for his life.
Even while asleep, his Aspect continued to function.
He wasn’t actively aware of everything happening around him, but his instincts remained connected to his surroundings.
Any major disturbance within the area would immediately wake him.
And that was exactly what happened in the middle of the night.
A strange sensation pulled him out of his sleep.
His eyes opened slightly, and he immediately noticed Sunny standing up and looking into the distance.
Orren followed his gaze.
Far away, on top of another hill, a faint orange glow flickered in the darkness.
‘That should be them.’ He already knew who they were.
Nephis and Cassie.
The moment he saw the light, he felt a strange mixture of familiarity and exhaustion.
He had spent months in the Nightmare knowing these people existed, yet actually encountering them again still felt surreal.
“What do you think that is?” Sunny asked quietly.
Orren pretended to consider the possibilities.
“Could be another Sleeper.
Could also be some kind of Nightmare Creature trying to lure us in.” He looked back at the distant light.
“But whatever it is, we should check it out.” Sunny understood the logic behind his words.
The Dream Realm was not a place where people survived alone.
Even with two people working together, their chances were far from guaranteed.
The possibility that another human might be nearby was worth investigating.
However, Sunny was still cautious.
He remained awake for the rest of the night, watching the distant hill and thinking through every possible scenario.
The next day arrived, but they still did not descend.
Sunny wanted to create a proper route toward the hill where the light had appeared.
Getting there blindly would be too dangerous, especially considering they had no idea what waited between them and their destination.
Another day passed without food.
Thankfully, the arrival of the storm brought one small blessing.
Rainwater poured down from the sky, and the two of them quickly collected as much as they could, drinking until their thirst was satisfied.
That was when Orren noticed Sunny.
The boy was grinning.
Not a normal smile either.
It was the kind of expression someone made when they were either extremely happy or had completely lost their mind.
A chill ran down Orren’s spine.
“Oi, stop grinning like a madman.” Sunny immediately wiped the expression from his face.
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