After Sunny obtained Fleshweave following Ariel's Game, he set out to find the rest of the forbidden lineage of the Weavers. Now he found himself in the Underworld—the domain of the Prince of the Underworld, Nether—searching for the Weaver's remaining secrets.
"Ugh… I can't see a damn thing in this place!" Sunny snarled, stumbling blindly through the true darkness.
Many days passed as he wandered the Underworld, battling monstrous abominations that lurked in its depths. Only the memories he gained from Ariel's Game allowed him to sense the direction he needed to take.
Sunny had come to the Underworld for the Weaver's last resort—a hidden plan in case everything went wrong. Although he had already achieved his main goal, he still wanted the Weaver's backup plan.
"Well, I can't say I'm shocked he had another trick prepared," Sunny smirked. "That demon always did love secrets… though I guess I'm not above stealing them."
This was his true purpose in coming here—not to obtain the other forbidden lineage, but to claim the Weaver's emergency plan.
"If my memory's right… this should be the place."
Before him stood a giant stone Saint and a massive gate beside it. But that wasn't what Sunny cared about. Behind the statue's heel was a hidden stone staircase descending into darkness. The giant door was nothing but a distraction—created by the Weaver himself to mislead anyone who searched for the truth.
"Even in death, you're still tricking people," Sunny chuckled. "Seriously… unbelievable."
Then he froze.
"…Wait."
The hidden stairway was already open.
"Someone beat me here?" Sunny whispered, suddenly tense. "Great. Just great."
He stepped inside anyway. No point in hesitating now.
At the bottom, he found a vast altar chamber made of beautiful dark obsidian. In the center stood a massive, clock-like construct.
"What the hell… a giant altar? I swear, if I have to sacrifice myself again…" Sunny groaned dramatically. "Damnation."
While inspecting the chamber, he spotted two skeletons near the altar. Their clothing shocked him—ordinary clothes from the waking world.
"Sleepers? No… Saints at best." Sunny frowned. He knew people sent into the Nightmare Spell arrived naked. Something was off.
"And they're still feeding essence into the altar… even dead? Why?"
He examined the corpses—one male, one female—and noticed a notebook tucked into the man's sleeve. He pulled it free.
"Lots of badges… high ranking. Let's see… his name is—Albedo? Seriously?"
Sunny blinked. Albedo was a Saint of the House of Night, the prodigy who became a Master at twenty-three and a Saint at twenty-five. He vanished five years before Sunny escaped the Forgotten Shore.
"Of all places to meet you… the Underworld, huh?" Sunny muttered with a crooked smile. "Well, I am the Sovereign of Death. So maybe it's fitting."
He bowed his head briefly toward the two corpses.
"Your nightmare is over," he said quietly.
Then he opened the notebook.
[To whoever finds this…
I am Albedo of the House of Night.
I write this for the one destined to read it—
the one who will change the past,
and reshape Fate itself.]
Sunny's eyes widened. "Change the past…? Change fate?"
He kept reading.
[This altar is a Memory created by the Weaver—his emergency plan, his last resort.
My companion and I discovered it during our third Nightmare, and using my Aspect Legacy—the Star Compass—we were able to locate it.]
Sunny stared at the giant altar.
"Going back in time? You've got to be kidding me…"
He touched the structure and look at its weave. Its complexity was beyond anything he had seen—elegant and divine.
"At least a Divine-rank Memory…" he muttered.
He read on.
[To activate this Memory, it must be fueled by the souls and life essence of two fated individuals.]
"Fated individuals… huh?"
[I am not fated. Only my girlfriend, Kafka, is a Child of Fate. She bound her fate to mine to allow us to act as two fated individuals.]
Sunny glanced at the female skeleton.
"So that's Kafka… a Child of Fate. Interesting."
**[After activating the Memory, we learned we could not use it. Our fates remain anchored to the present.
Only a Fateless One can wield this Memory.
And once it is activated, it cannot be deactivated.
So we stayed—waited.
Waited even after death for a Fateless One who could change the past.
Know this: when you use this Memory, you will be sent back to your First Nightmare.
Yours truly,
Albedo.]**
Sunny lowered the notebook slowly.
"…They stayed here even after death. Just to wait for someone like me." He exhaled in awe.
"Damn…"
He looked at the altar.
Sent back to the First Nightmare.
Return to the beginning.
Rewrite fate.
Did he want that?
His friends… his fate… his new life… even his girlfriend…
Would he abandon the future they created?
But Sunny was who he was.
And deep down, he had always been a selfish and traitorous shadow.
"I've made up my mind," he said quietly. "I'll go back. I'll change everything. Maybe I was meant to come here… maybe this is fate."
He glanced at the fading essence of Albedo and Kafka.
"And they won't be able to keep this altar running much longer… So I'll do it. For them. And for myself."
"…But wait," Sunny paused. "Will I seriously go back weak?"
He shrugged.
"Well, whatever. Let's go change the future and kick fate in the teeth."
He placed his hand on the altar.
[Will you use Charging Time?]
[Yes / No]
"Charging time…? Sure. Yes."
[You will now be sent to the past to change the outcome of Fate itself.
Goodbye, Fateless One.
I hope you can make a difference.]
Light swallowed him whole.
[Aspirant, welcome to the Nightmare Spell.
Prepare for your First Trial…]