It had been weeks since I gained full consensus within this new form of mine—
that of a rock.
More specifically, a rock plucked straight from Sunny's memory: the so-called [Ordinary Rock].
Naturally, as a transmigrator, I hadn't arrived empty-handed. My golden finger took the shape of enchantments.
[Hungering for More] was less of an advantage and more of a pain in the ass—but it did allow my other enchantment, [Growth], to activate upon consuming blood. Sunny had tested this with his own blood and discovered that I could only gain one enchantment per person. Their rank also seemed to affect the result.
The rock—that is, I—continued to ponder all this.
Sunny had been carrying me around regularly. His little cohort was growing: him, his shadow, and now… his rock.
Today, he'd resolved to test what the blood of a Nightmare creature would do to me. His own blood had run enough tests.
That morning, we encountered a Corpse Eater—an enormous leech-like beast that did exactly what the name promised.
As always, Sunny scouted the surroundings first. He was a seasoned hunter—no prey would escape, and no predator would catch him off guard.
He slinked through the shadows of the ruined buildings in the Dark City and, with perfect aim, hurled me to the right of the red, fallen beast.
The eyeless head of the Corpse Eater turned in my direction, then back to its original target—a blood-soaked corpse.
"Oi! You period-blood-drinking cunt! Look over here!"
I screamed in Sunny's voice—the only one I had access to. Still, I yelled at the top of my nonexistent lungs.
The creature lunged. Poor bastard didn't know it was walking into a trap.
From his vantage point atop a caved-in roof, Sunny leapt, shrouded in shadow. Midnight Shard gleamed as it cleaved through the monster's body, nearly splitting it in half. Blood sprayed across the ground, soaking me.
I absorbed it immediately. The blood turned into a moss-like substance, retaining its dried, coppery hue. It spread across my surface, slipping into the cracks that had formed from earlier evolutions.
A faint red glimmer pulsed from within—like a ruby embedded deep inside.
Another enchantment, no doubt. Courtesy of the Corpse Eater.
Simultaneously, Sunny received a notification:
[You have gained a Memory.]
He opened the runes and read:
[Blood Arrow]
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: A debt of blood must be paid in blood.
Enchantments:
[Rain of Blood]: [Arrows are created from the wielder's blood and will rain upon enemies for as long as the archer has blood left to give.]
[Restitution]:[ If the arrow hits, it drinks the prey's blood and restores what was lost. If it misses, the blood is lost forever.]
He read further, onto my own entry:
[Ordinary Rock]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [Just an ordinary rock.]
Enchantments:
[Not Really]:[ The word is mightier than the sword. The rock is mightier than the word]
[Ego]: [To speak is to think. To think is to be. Cogito, ergo sum]
[Hungering for More]: [Some hunger for love. Others for power. This one hungers to awaken. Feed it so it may be itself.]
[Growth]: [To live is to grow—even in drought, even in disaster, a sprout will seek the sun.]
[Child of Shadows]: [The shadows recognize it as one of their own]
[Shadow Kin]: Born of blood and guts the grace of treacherous Lost from light , tarnished from birth. Neither a shadow nor a string—simply a rock]
[Bloody Will]: [To bleed is to show the soul. The blood gives form to its will]
Sunny lowered the runes. I had grown… again.
From the cracks in my stone body, spider-like limbs unfurled—thin, flexible, coated in slick blood. I scuttled forward.
"Boss! Look! I can walk now! See? See?"
I scampered in a circle, excitement leaking out of every crack.
Sunny's hardened heart twitched—just a little.
He felt proud. His rock had taken its first steps.
He let me climb onto his shoulder.
Then, as casually as ever, he resumed cutting open the Blood Fiend's body. He would've done the same to the Corpse Eater if its meat wasn't absolutely revolting. His months in the Dreamer camp had taught him a few useful things, thanks to that barbarian Effie.
But then—he froze.
Footsteps. Human ones.
Quickly, he slipped into the shadows of a nearby building, wiping his blade on my surface. I absorbed the blood without a sound.
"Should we run?" he asked.
"No, no, Boss. Wouldn't it be better to kill them? More shadow fragments… maybe new enchantments? Unless there's too many."
A small group appeared. Rough-looking dreamers. Bandit types. Maybe ten in total.
"Captain, you think that guy croaked already?" one muttered with a snort.
"Pfft. Been a few days. He's worm food."
Then—"Wait... is that a Blood Fiend?"
Their leader knelt, inspecting the corpse.
"Wait. There's someone—"
Too late. Two of his men were already headless.
Sunny blurred forward, slashing his blade toward another. A figure in black armor stepped from a vortex of shadow beside him—Saint had joined the fray.
Together, they attacked.
Sunny surged toward the leader, swinging his austere tachi. The man barely blocked, lucky Sunny hadn't reinforced himself with shadows—he was too distracted, gazing at Saint.
But Sunny wasn't alone.
I leapt from his shoulder, landed on the leader's face, and sprouted two more limbs. Bloody spears. Straight into his eyes.
He screamed in panic, blinded.
Sunny didn't waste the moment. His sword took the man's head clean off.
I drank the blood greedily.
The moss spread again. But this time, something new happened.
Not an enchantment. Not an attribute.
A core. A soul core.
A soft warmth pulsed deep in my stone body, like a glowing ember in winter.
Sunny opened my entry again.
[Ordinary Rock]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [Just an ordinary rock]
Blood Moss: [1/10,000]
Enchantments: [Not Really], [Ego], [Hungering for More], [Growth], [Child of Shadows], [Shadow Kin], [Bloody Will]
"Blood Moss?" Sunny muttered. "Is that supposed to be… soul fragments?"
I gave the closest thing to a nod a rock could manage—a hopeful tilt.
"Boss, I think I got a soul fragment. Or something close to it. It feels warm inside. Hey—is that a map?"
He held up a bloodstained scroll.
"Boss, let's check it out! Maybe it leads to treasure!"
Sunny sighed.
"…Sure. Why not."