Chapter 1573 Stone Maze

Chapter 1573 Stone Maze

Sunny turned away from the chilling testament that Ariel had left behind in the silent waters of the still lake and continued forward. There were a million thoughts in his mind. The magnitude of the revelation he had received dwarfed almost everything Sunny knew — the very reason for the cold reality he was born into now had an explanation. The future, too, had become much clearer. And it was a frightening future, as well. The gods were dead... but not all of them.

The seventh god was still alive, slumbering in the cradle of the Void. All of existence was already infected by the horrors of his nightmare, and once the Forgotten One awakened, even that ailing world would come to an end. And yet, Sunny had no desire to ponder these truths right now. The matters of corrupted gods and dying worlds were far away. The dreadful future they promised was far away, too... although perhaps not as far as he would have hoped for. In any case, none of it held any meaning as long as he was bound. As long as he wasn't free. Free to live his life the way he wished to live it, as well as free to try and change the predestined outcome. Even if the end promised by the truth of Ariel truly came before Sunny died peacefully of old age, even if he failed to change anything, in the end... there was really only one thing sadder than living as a slave. It was dying as one. So, Sunny wished to gain freedom even more desperately now.

And, unlike the dreadful truth, his freedom was near.

The Guiding Light was still shining, pointing across the dark waters. Sunny followed that light through the darkness.

As he walked across the still lake, subtle ripples spread from where he stepped. His reflection walked alongside him, and a few steps back, the Sin of Solace followed, staring at Sunny with hateful eyes. 'Why is he being so quiet?'

There was something strange happening to the sword wraith. He seemed... different, somehow, ever since they had entered the Estuary. Sunny had long grown accustomed to the company of the loathsome apparition, but now, he was growing wary of its presence. Not the least because he knew now what harrowing knowledge the Sin of Solace was harboring, prevented from sharing it only by the seal placed on him by the Estuary Key. Just like the Void could break its seal and consume all of existence, the knowledge of it that the wraith possessed would consume Sunny should the Estuary Key disappear.

The thought was chilling. 'It's... a good thing I never tried to transfer the Key of the Estuary to someone, I guess.'

He was going to find out. Eventually, there was nothing left around him except for towering cliffs and rushing water. Sunny used the Dark Wing to glide between the jagged rocks, propelling himself forward with stunning speed. He felt a need to hurry, knowing that Nephis was somewhere out there, leading an assault on Verge...

In the end, the Guiding Light led him to neither the future nor the past. Instead... the radiant crystal simply showed him the way through the labyrinth, keeping away from the sound of roaring water. Escaping the misty labyrinth, Sunny found himself in front of a vast body of water once again. He was back to the calmer reaches of the dark lake. It was very much like the dreadful sight of the slaughter that had happened at the approach to Twilight, but with one striking difference. The part of it hidden behind the maze of cliffs, though...

Was entirely different from what he had seen near the shore. 'W—what is this...'

Sunny froze for a moment, gazing forward with a pale face. In front of him... countless corpses were floating in the water. It was very much like the dreadful sight of the slaughter that had happened at the approach to Twilight, but with one striking difference. If the carcasses littering the still water there belonged to the Defiled abominations, then here, all of them seemed to belong to Great Nightmare Creatures. Sunny knew it because there were numerous husks of Dark Butterflies among the floating corpses, all lifeless despite having no discernible wounds. Something had violently destroyed their very souls, leaving only lifeless corpses behind. And there, far away...

Did it only look that way, or was something dark rising from the water?

The Guiding Light was pointing directly at that distant speck of darkness. Sunny remained motionless for a few moments, then gritted his teeth and took a step forward.

As he did, something vast moved in the depths of the still water...

And gazed at him.