Sunny stared at the shimmering runes, excitement rising in his heart.
This was what he had been waiting for…
Memory: [Cruel Sight].
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: IV.
Memory Type: Weapon.
'A weapon…'
Sunny had been wanting a new weapon for a long time. The Midnight Shard was getting outscaled by the obstacles he had been encountering recently, Serpent was still only Dormant, so it's effectiveness as a weapon was questionable. The Lance of Preservation was not tailored to slaying prowess, as it required him to take hits in order to unleash it's devestating might.
As for using the Destruction, the amount of Essence drained was enormous.
Many of the Nightmare Creatures on the Chained Isles were of the Fallen rank, and their tough hides presented a lot of resistance to Sunny's arsenal. Not to mention those Corrupted horrors that Sunny avoided to the best of his ability, for now, but was inevitably bound to encounter one day.
Back to the Midnight Shard, the other reason he wanted to procure a new weapon was the fact that the [Unbroken] enchantment, while extremely potent and useful, could only be accessed in very rare circumstances… namely, when Sunny was nearing death. This meant that the most powerful trait of the Midnight Shard could only help Sunny if he made a terrible mistake.
If Sunny fought with skill and foresight, however — thus keeping himself from being mortally wounded — the powerful enchantment remained inactive. Paradoxically, the better Sunny performed, the less useful the Midnight Shard was to him.
It was nice to have a last resort, but Sunny did not like the idea of relying on a tool that could only be effective if he failed. He wanted to possess a weapon whose enchantments were reliant on his success, and as such, both strengthened him and rewarded him for doing well.
Hopefully, this was one such weapon. It was an Ascended Memory of the fourth tier — equivalent to a Memory he would have received from a Fallen Devil. That was already a tremendous start…
His most powerful weapon right now, the Moonlight Shard, had come from a mere Fallen Beast.
Trying to control his expectations, Sunny trembled in anticipation and read further:
Memory Description: [...Full of pride, the blessed knight made a deal with the Dreamspawn. Years later, the knight had defeated all his enemies and became a mighty king. On the day that his son uttered the first word, the Dreamspawn came to the king and demanded his pay. He left the kingdom with the child and disappeared, never to be seen again. Much later, the young prince returned and stood beneath his father's throne. He expected to be met with joy and warmth, but was met with fear and suspicion instead.]
Sunny frowned.
'Huh… what the hell does that mean?'
Sunny had never heard of a Dreamspawn before. Did that refer to the Nightmare Creatures, who were native to the Dream Realm? But the description explicitly states that the blessed knight made a deal with them. Nightmare Creatures didn't negotiate — they only killed.
He couldn't decipher any real meaning behind the term — not with his current knowledge, at least.
Sunny shrugged, then concentrated on the runes.
'Tell me what you can do…'
Memory Enchantments: [Shapeshifter], [Light Eater], [Ghost Blade], [Dark Mirror].
'Four of them!'
His eyes gleamed.
[Shapeshifter] Enchantment Description: "This weapon can shift form between a sword and a spear."
Sunny hesitated for a moment, then turned away from the runes and summoned the Cruel Sight. He just had to see this…
A tenebrous mist shrouded his hand, and then, an elegant sword appeared in it. It was much shorter than the Midnight Shard, with a leaf-shaped blade that was about as long as the distance between Sunny's elbow and the tip of his middle finger. The blade seemed to be forged out of polished silver, and served as a perfectly clear mirror. Looking into it, Sunny could see the reflection of his pale face and the wall of the cave behind him.
The hilt of the short sword was made out of polished black wood, which was encased in intricately engraved silver near the guard and at the pommel.
The Cruel Sight was light and swift. Sunny slashed the air several times and smiled. It was going to take some time to get used to using a single-handed sword, but he liked it. It already felt like an extension of his hand. It was much more suited for stealth attacks, too.
The sword was also double-edged, which gave him more freedom in how to use it.
But that wasn't all…
Following a mental command, the hilt of the sword suddenly began to extend. A second later, Sunny was holding a long, graceful spear. The black shaft contrasted against the silver blade, creating a beautiful and somber image. The blade itself kept its length, so Sunny could perform not only thrusting attacks, but also cuts and slashes.
He stared at the somber, elegant spear for a bit, then commanded it to turn back into the sword.
This was going to be a challenge. Sunny wasn't really proficient with polearms, but he had seen how versatile, unpredictable, and deadly they could be in the hands of a master. Not to mention that he had wished to have more distance between himself and the Nightmare Creatures he fought on numerous occasions… this weapon was a perfect combination of mobility and reach, allowing him to effortlessly switch between a nimble shortsword and a devastating long spear.
It gave him access to the best of both worlds.
…Now that he thought about it, he also needed to train with the Lance of Preservation and the antimatter bat produced by the Destruction within him. With the Cruel Sight, his workload increased even more.
And that wasn't even including his Shadow Dance development in the Dreamscape, which would hopefully assist in progressing his capabilities with his other weapons.
Either way, the attainment of this weapon was cause for celebration.
His smile widened.
"Perfect… this is perfect!"
What else could it do?
There were three Enchantments left:
[Light Eater] Enchantment Description: "The blade of this weapon can reflect, absorb, and expel light."
That would be useful to control shadows, as well as potentially blinding the opponents...
[Ghost Blade] Enchantment Description: "This weapon can strike at incorporeal targets."
An incredible ability that would give Sunny the ability to fight against some of the most dangerous creatures in the Dream Realm, those wraiths that were immune to physical damage.
[Dark Mirror] Enchantment Description: "Each attack of this weapon can be augmented with elemental damage. It can be charged with any element the wielder has been damaged by."
"Current Charge: None."
Sunny gasped.
'A permanent elemental augmentation. This… is… incredible!'