That night, the storm came with far greater intensity than before.
The waves crashed against the statue repeatedly, trying to throw them into the black sea below.
The wind howled around them, and every moment felt like the platform beneath their feet could disappear.
But they held on.
Neither of them spoke.
There was nothing to say.
They simply endured until the storm finally passed.
When the first rays of sunlight appeared, Sunny immediately stood up.
“We should move now.” Orren nodded.
There was no reason to delay any longer.
He let Sunny take the lead as they began their descent down the statue.
The structure was massive, but after everything Orren had gone through in his first Nightmare, climbing and descending was hardly a challenge anymore.
He had spent months moving through forests, scaling trees, and fighting creatures that could tear him apart with a single strike.
Compared to that, climbing down a statue was almost peaceful.
Still, he kept his guard up.
Because in the Forgotten Shore, the moment someone believed they were safe was usually the moment they died.
Orren followed behind Sunny as they made their way through the coral labyrinth.
The path was confusing, with countless twists and turns that looked almost identical, but Sunny’s shadow made navigating much easier.
Perhaps a little too easy.
Orren noticed that Sunny had started relying on his shadow more and more.
Instead of carefully observing his surroundings, he moved with the confidence of someone who believed nothing could surprise him as long as his shadow was watching.
‘That’s going to get him killed sooner or later.’ As if proving his thoughts correct, the ground beneath them suddenly shifted.
Before Sunny could react, a massive pincer erupted from the muddy ground and shot toward him.
His eyes widened, and he barely managed to jump backwards.
The force of the movement sent him tumbling, and he landed flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him.
The pincer withdrew for only a moment before striking again.
This time, Orren moved.
His sword flashed through the air, meeting the incoming attack head-on.
Instead of trying to block the full force, he redirected it, striking the pincer aside and forcing the creature to expose itself.
That small opening was enough.
Sunny quickly rolled away and returned to his feet, dagger already in hand.
The creature revealed itself fully.
It was a massive crab-like abomination, though it was already in terrible condition.
One of its pincers had been completely torn off, several of its legs were missing, and cracks spread across its hardened shell from previous battles.
It was weakened, but still dangerous.
“You go for the head.
I’ll handle the pincer.” Orren didn’t wait for Sunny’s response.
He moved immediately, stepping into the creature’s attack range and striking at the remaining pincer from the inside.
The beast tried to defend itself, but Orren had already found the opening.
His blade cut through the weakest point of the shell, cutting deep into the limb.
The monster screeched and pulled back.
That was all the chance Sunny needed.
Even though he disliked being ordered around, he couldn’t deny that Orren’s timing was perfect.
The other boy had created the opportunity without hesitation, and Sunny knew wasting it would be stupid.
He lunged forward.
The dagger pierced through one of the creature’s eyes and buried itself deep into its skull.
The monster immediately went still.
For a moment, Orren waited.
No notification came.
‘So Sunny got it.’ He glanced over at the younger boy, who was currently staring blankly ahead.
“Got a Memory?” Sunny looked back at him, still slightly distracted.
“Yeah.
A weapon.” “Great.
Now give me back my dagger.” Sunny rolled his eyes slightly.
“Yeah, yeah.
It’s not like I’m going to run away with it.” He placed a hand on Orren’s shoulder and transferred the Memory back.
After retrieving his weapon, Sunny began cutting into the corpse, extracting the meat and removing the soul core.
When he finished, he held the core out.
“What should I—” “You can have it.” Sunny stopped.
“It’s your kill.” For a moment, he looked suspicious, almost as if expecting some hidden condition.
Then his expression changed.
‘Don’t mind if I do.’ He happily accepted the soul core.
The two continued moving through the labyrinth afterward.
Even with Sunny’s shadow helping them navigate, finding the correct path still took hours.
The coral maze was far larger than either of them had expected.
Eventually, Sunny suddenly stopped.
Orren noticed the change immediately.
The boy’s expression had become strange, and his cheeks had turned slightly red.
That alone was enough to make Orren suspicious.
“What are you doing this time, pervert?” Sunny immediately turned around.
“I am not a pervert.” The speed of his response only made Orren more amused.
“There is someone ahead,” Sunny explained quickly.
“Changing Star and another girl.” Orren raised an eyebrow.
‘That was a very defensive explanation.’ He followed Sunny toward the clearing and found the two girls standing there.
Sunny, however, stopped some distance away and watched them from the shadows.
Orren looked at him.
“You say you’re not a pervert, but you are literally hiding in the shadows and watching them.” Orren couldn’t help but find the situation amusing.
Sunny ignored the comment and finally stepped out, introducing himself to the two girls.
Orren decided to remain hidden for a few moments longer, watching the scene unfold.
‘So this is actually happening,’ he thought.
‘The three main characters finally meeting.’ “And this here is…” Sunny stopped when he realized Orren was no longer standing beside him.
A moment later, Sunny looked directly to the place Orren was standing.
“Are you waiting for a written invitation?” Orren sighed internally before stepping out.
“Hello.
I’m Orren.” The greeting received a rather cold response.
The silver-haired girl simply stared at him with an unreadable expression, while the other girl was the one who spoke first.
“Um… hi.
I’m Cassia.” “Nice to meet you, Cassia.” Sunny explained how they had met on the first night they arrived in the Dream Realm and had been surviving from the top of the statue.
He also explained that they had seen the light coming from the hill with the massive coral pillar and came looking for other survivors.
Cassia explained that they had been staying there for the past few days and were preparing to return.
Orren considered the situation before speaking.
“Then can we come with you?” Nephis looked between Orren and Sunny for several seconds.
Her gaze lingered on them, studying them carefully, before she finally gave a small nod.
“No problem.” Orren noticed Cassia moving slowly and carefully with each step and decided to help her.
“I noticed you can’t see and thus need to walk carefully.” Orren said.
“Yeah… I am blind.” She said in a downcast tone and everyone turned to looked at him as if asking “What are you on about?”.
“I didn’t mean it like that.
I Just though this could be of some help.” As he finished saying that, he summoned Draco.
The enormous Venomhide Tyrant materialized beside him, its six-meter-long body appearing from nothing.
The creature’s presence alone caused the atmosphere to change.
Sunny and Nephis immediately reacted, weapons appearing in their hands as they prepared for a fight.
Orren looked at their reactions and sighed.
“Is… is that an Echo?” Sunny asked, staring at the enormous creature beside Orren with clear disbelief.
“Yeah,” Orren answered casually.
“I thought Cassia could ride on its back.
It should make moving through this place much faster.” Sunny slowly turned his head toward him.
“You had this with you the entire time?” Orren tilted his head slightly, already knowing where this was going.
“And you still let me fight an awakened beast?” The disbelief in Sunny’s voice was almost comical.
Orren, however, only crossed his arms as if he had made a perfectly reasonable decision.
“Don’t misunderstand, Sunny.
I was simply giving you valuable combat experience.” “Combat experience?” “Yes.
I saw how inexperienced you were, so I thought a real fight would be beneficial.
And look at the result.
You defeated the creature and gained a memory.
I’d say my judgment was excellent.” Sunny stared at him in silence.
For perhaps the first time since meeting Orren, he genuinely seemed unable to find a response.
Nephis, who had been observing the exchange, finally spoke.
“You received this from your first Nightmare?” Orren nodded.
“Yeah.
I killed the creature and the Spell was generous enough to reward me with an Echo.
I named him Draco.” Her eyes shifted briefly toward the massive lizard before returning to Orren.
“And you allowed Sunny to fight an awakened beast alone on the way here?” “Well…” Sunny started, scratching his cheek slightly.
“We did fight it together.” Nephis looked at him for a moment.
Then, for the first time, Orren noticed a hint of approval in her expression.
“Alright.” It was a simple response, but Sunny seemed oddly satisfied by it.
With Nephis’ help, Cassia was able to climb onto the Echo’s back, and their speed increased dramatically.
What would have taken hours on foot became a much easier journey, allowing them to reach the hill before sunset.
Once there, Nephis helped Cassia down while everyone began preparing for the night.
She gathered wood and started a fire, taking advantage of the remaining daylight.
Since they were still far from the creatures below, there was little risk in making one.
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