Chapter 1764 Never be afraid again.

A long time ago... Sunny had made a promise to himself. A promise to come back and destroy the Soul Devouring Tree one day.

Now, many years later, he was here to fulfill that promise.

He had been descending into the colossal crater for a while, but now that its heart was behind him, the ground was slowly starting to slope upward. Sunny rode Nightmare with a cold expression on his face, holding the ghostly torch in his hand.

The light of the eerie flame reflected from the polished surface of his armor and danced wildly in his onyx eyes.Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

It took some time to traverse the crater, but eventually, Sunny saw it.

The branches of a great tree covering the black sky.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

'It lives.‘

He had a feeling that it would.

Sunny... had changed greatly since leaving the Ashen Barrow.

The Soul Devourer had changed, as well.

The insidious fiend had already been enormous back then, but now, it had grown even taller, reaching into the black sky with its obsidian branches.

This tree towered above the sea of ashen dust like a majestic mountain. Its bark was as black as the lightless sky, while its leaves were as red as blood... of course, Sunny could not really see color in the darkness. But he remembered their crimson splendor vividly. The crimson crown of the magnificent tree had used to cover the Ashen Barrow in its shade, but it was much richer and more expansive now, reaching far into the crater.

'That thing... has evolved.‘

Sunny sighed.

It was understandable. Since the Soul Devourer had managed to survive the rays or the annihilating sun, it would have been left with no competitor on the Forgotten Shore. The Crimson Terror was gone, and so was the Dark Sea. The other powerful abominations, like the Lord of the Dead, had been slain by the Sleepers of the Dark City.

The insidious fiend growing on the Ashen Barrow would have used the vacuum to enhance its power.

Sunny shifted his gaze, looking beneath the obsidian bark.

Then, a sad chuckle escaped from his lips.

'A Fallen Terror...‘

He was more or less sure that the Soul Devourer had been an Awakened Terror before. It seemed to have risen to a higher Rank... or rather, fell to a lower one? Sunny wasn't sure what the correct wording would be for a Nightmare Creature.

He did feel a certain sense of... disappointment, though.

He had been so terrified of that thing once. But now, it seemed so weak, and insignificant.

Dismissing Nightmare, Sunny landed on the ground, then walked up the slope of the crater. The ghostly light of the torch illuminated his way.

From the Ashen Barrow, he must have looked like a small mote of light in the ocean of darkness... drawing closer and closer, growing brighter, and more chilling.

Sunny might have been illuminated by the pale flame, but his presence drowned the area in deathly cold. Outside the small circle of light, the absolute darkness seemed to become even deeper, darker, and more impenetrable.

inescapable.

He heard the leaves of the magnificent tree rustle in the wind, their murmur seemingly anxious.

It was as though the rustling leaves were saying:

There was a cacophony of sounds. The roaring of the fire, the hiss of leaves being turned to ash, the cracking of dying wood- All of them fused into a chilling litany of pain, as if ten thousand souls were shrieking at the sky in agony.

It was... incredibly disturbing.

Sunny almost felt as if he was really hearing the ancient tree scream.

...It screamed for a long, long time.

The Soul Devourer was huge, so it took a while for it to burn down. The beautiful crimson leaves had turned to ash. The branches did, too, falling down in a whirlwind of sparks. The delectable, juicy fruits were ruthlessly incinerated.

The trunk had taken a few days to die, but it eventually turned into a scorched, broken, hollow husk.

But it was only when the roots died that Sunny felt... nothing.

He didn‘t feel anything at all. He was of a higher Rank than the Soul Devourer now, and so, killing the insidious fiend did not even give him a single shadow fragment.

A few days later, Sunny was still sitting on the ground, looking at the smoldering remains of the great tree. He could feel that the creature was dead.

He thought that exacting his revenge on the Soul Devourer would bring him joy, but it didn't. If anything, Sunny felt... sad.

Such a death was... almost humiliating. it was unworthy of the creature that had haunted his nightmares for so long. He never wanted to humiliate an enemy that had earned his respect.

'When have I become so strong?‘

He wasn't sure.

He wasn‘t that strong, either... but he did outpace most of the things in two worlds, as far as the acquisition of power was concerned.

Finally, Sunny stood up, summoned the Endless Spring, and washed the ash off his face. The Soul Devourer was no more, and so...

'That is done. Now what?"

There. He had kept his promise.

Somewhere in Ravenheart, the sun was rising.

Which meant that Sunny was twenty-four now.

It was his birthday.

Sunny stared at the ghostly torch, which looked like it was on its last leg.

With a sigh, he walked around and collected a few pieces of charred wood. Then, he used the last of the eerie flame to make a fire.

Summoning the Marvelous Mimic, he pulled an alloy pot from its maw, as well as a tin can. The tin can contained his last spoonful of coffee powder.

Pouring the coffee into the pot, he filled it with water from the Endless Spring and placed it on the fire. A few moments later, a delicious smell spread in the air.

Sunny summoned the Shadow Chair, sat on it, and waited for the coffee to be ready. Then, he brought the pot to his face and inhaled the fragrant aroma.

"Ah..."

He remained silent for a while, and then smiled.

"Happy birthday to me."

Relaxing in an opulent chair that stood on top of a tall hill, surrounded by boundless darkness, Sunny sipped his coffee and enjoyed the view of fiery sparks dancing in the boundless black sky.