May 31, 2025 • 49 mins
Brace yourself for a dark and intriguing journey into the world of Shadow Slave on Pocket FM: https://click.pocketfm.in/2IE7/aavexcqu
In the chilling introduction to "Shadow Slave," Sonny, a frail young man, is thrust into a brutal first trial: a snowy mountain slave caravan. Stripped of any advantage, shackled and cold, he grapples with his grim reality and a seemingly useless aspect: Temple Slave. Yet, his unusual attributes – Fated, Mark of Divinity, and Child of Shadows – hint at hidden potential and an improbable destiny. There's a sense of mystery surrounding his past and the nature of this dark world.
Amidst the suffering and cruelty of the caravan, Sonny encounters enigmatic fellow slaves and callous guards. A flicker of kindness is quickly extinguished by the harsh realities of their captivity, igniting a spark of defiance within Sonny. There's a sense of betrayal in the system that created this world. Armed with a newfound ability to see in the dark, a byproduct of his Child of Shadows attribute, and the ominous foreknowledge of a deadly attack, Sonny begins to plot his survival, his curse potentially becoming his greatest weapon in this perilous nightmare. The harshness of his situation hints at future heartbreak.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Sunny, a frail looking young manwith pale skin and dark circles
under his eyes, sat on a rusty bench across from the police
station. He cradled a cup of coffee in
his hands. Not the cheap synthetic type
that slum rats like him usually had access to, but the real
deal. It was a cup of plant based
coffee, usually available only to higher ranked citizens, and
(00:25):
it had cost most of his savings.But today, Sunny decided to
pamper himself. After all, his life was about to
end. Enjoying the warmth of the
luxurious drink, he raised the cup and savored the aroma.
Then, tentatively, he took a small sip and immediately
(00:46):
grimaced. Oh, it's so bitter.
Giving the cup of coffee an intense look, Sunny sighed and
forced himself to drink some more.
Bitter or not, he was determinedto get his money's worth, taste
buds be damned. I should have bought a piece of
real meat instead. Who knew actual coffee is so
disgusting? Well, it's going to keep me
(01:09):
awake at least. He stared into the distance,
dozing off, and then slapped himself in the face to wake up.
Oh, what a RIP off. Shaking his head and cursing,
Sonny finished the coffee and stood up.
Rich people living in this part of the city were rushing past
the small park on their way to work, staring at him with
(01:30):
strange expressions, looking haggard in his cheap clothes,
eyes heavy and bagged from lack of sleep, pallid skin, his frame
unhealthily thin. Sunny was indeed out of place
here. He tossed the cup into a garbage
bin. The cup missed the bin by a wide
margin and fell on the ground. Sunny rolled his eyes in
exasperation, walked over and picked it up before carefully
(01:54):
putting it in the trash. Then, with a slight grin, he
crossed the street and entered the police station.
Inside, a tired looking officer gave him a quick glance and
frowned with obvious distaste. Are you lost, boy?
Sonny looked around with curiosity, noting reinforced
armor plates on the walls and poorly hidden turret nests in
(02:16):
the ceiling. The officer, too, looked scruffy
and mean. At least police stations remain
the same wherever you go. Hey, I'm talking to you.
Sonny cleared his throat. No, I'm, I'm not lost at all.
Then he scratched the back of his head and added.
As demanded by the 3rd Special directive, I'm here to surrender
(02:38):
myself as a carrier of the Nightmare spell.
The officer's expression instantly changed from irritated
to wary. He looked to the young man over
once again, this time with piercing intensity.
Are you sure you're infected? When did you start showing
symptoms? Sonny shrugged.
A week ago. The officer became visibly
(03:00):
paler. Shit.
Then, with a hurried motion, he pressed a button on his terminal
and bellowed Attention CODE BLACK in the lobby.
I repeat code black. The nightmare spell first
appeared in the world a few decades ago.
Back then, the planet was just starting to recover from a
series of devastating natural disasters and subsequent
(03:21):
resource wars. At first, the emergence of a new
disease that caused millions of people to complain about
constant fatigue and sleepiness did not attract a lot of
attention. But when they started to fall
into an unnatural slumber with no sign of waking up even days
later, governments finally panicked.
Of course, by then it was already too late.
(03:43):
Not that an early response couldhave made any difference when
the infected started dying in their sleep, their dead bodies
turning into monsters. No one was ready.
Nightmare. Creatures quickly overwhelmed
national militaries, plunging the world into complete chaos.
No one knew what the spell was, what powers it possessed, and
(04:03):
how to fight it. In the end, it was the Awakened,
those who survived the first trials of the spell and came
back alive, who put a stop to its rampage.
Armed with miraculous abilities earned in their nightmares, they
restored peace and created a semblance of a new order.
Of course, it was only the firstof the catastrophes brought upon
(04:24):
by the spell, but as far as Sunny was concerned, none of it
had anything to do with him. Not until a few days ago, that
is, when he first started havingtrouble staying awake.
For an average person, being chosen by the spell was as much
of A risk as an opportunity. Kids learned survival skills and
fighting techniques in school onthe off chance of being infected
(04:46):
well to do. Families hired private tutors to
train their children in all sorts of martial arts.
Those from the Awakened clans even had access to powerful
legacies, wielding inherited memories and echoes in their
first visit to the dream realm. The richer your family was, the
better your chances of survivingand becoming an Awakened were.
But for Sonny, who had no familyto speak of and spent most of
(05:09):
his time scrounging for food instead of going to school,
being chosen by the spell presented no opportunity at all
to him. It was basically a death
sentence. A few minutes later, Sonny was
yawning while several policemen were busy putting him in
restraints. Soon he was fastened into a
bulky chair that looked like a weird mix between a hospital bed
(05:31):
and a torture device. The room they were in was
situated in the basement of the police station with thick
armored walls and a formidable looking vault door.
Other officers were standing near the walls with automatic
rifles in their hands and grim expressions on their faces.
Sonny did not particularly care about them.
The only thing he could think about was how much he wanted to
(05:53):
sleep. Finally, the vault door opened
and a Gray haired policeman walked in.
He had a seasoned face and sterneyes, looking like someone who
had seen a lot of terrible things in his life.
After checking the restraints, the policeman glanced quickly on
his wristwatch and then turned to Sunny.
(06:15):
What's your name, kid? Sunny blinked a few times,
trying to concentrate, then shifted uncomfortably.
Sunny. The old policeman raised an
eyebrow. Sunny, strange name.
Sunny tried to shrug but found himself unable to move.
Some of my friends call me Sunless since I can seem quite
(06:36):
unhappy from time to time. And at least I have a name back
in the outskirts. Not everyone gets one after
another. Yawn.
He added. It's because I was born during a
solar eclipse. My mom had a poetic soul, you
see. That's why he got this weird ass
name and his little sister was called Rain, back when she still
(06:58):
lived with them, at least. Whether it was the result of
poetic imagination or simple laziness, he didn't know.
The policeman grunted. Do you want me to contact your
family? Sonny simply shook his head.
There's no one. Don't bother.
For a second, there was a dark look on the policeman's face,
(07:20):
then his expression turned serious.
All right, Sonny, how long can you stay awake?
Not long, the policeman sighed. Then we don't have time for the
full procedure. Try to resist for as.
Long as you can and. Listen to me.
Very carefully, OK. Not waiting for a response, he
(07:43):
added. How much do you know about the
nightmare spell, Sonny? Gave him a questioning look, as
much as anyone I guess who doesn't know about the spell.
Not the fancy stuff you see in dramas and here in the
propaganda broadcasts. I mean, how much?
Do you really know? That was a hard question to
(08:06):
answer. Don't I just go into the dream
realm, kill a few monsters to complete the first nightmare,
receive magic powers and become an Awakened?
The old policeman shook his head.
Listen. Carefully, once you fall asleep,
you'll be transported into your first nightmare.
The nightmares are sort of like trials, challenges created by
(08:29):
the spell. Once inside, you'll meet
monsters. Horrible creatures will test
you, fight you, try their damnedest to break you, but
you'll also meet people. They aren't worth trusting
either. Your best bet is to fight for
yourself. Remember, they are not real,
they're just illusions conjured up to test you.
(08:51):
How do you know? The policeman just stared at
him. I mean, no one understands what
the spell is and how it works, right?
So how do you know that they're not real?
You might have to kill them kid,so do yourself a favor and just.
Think about them as illusions. Oh.
(09:13):
The old policeman waited for a second, then nodded and
continued. A lot of things about the first
nightmare depend on luck. Generally, it shouldn't be
overwhelmingly hard. The situation you're in, the
tools you have at your disposal,and the creatures you have to
defeat should be within the range of your abilities at
least. After all.
(09:34):
The spell sets up trials, not executions.
You're a bit disadvantaged due to, well, your circumstances,
but kids from the outskirts are tough.
Don't give up on yourself. Uh huh.
Sonny was getting more and more sleepy.
It was becoming hard to follow the conversation.
(09:57):
About those magic powers you mentioned, you will indeed
receive them if you survive until the end of the nightmare.
What those powers will be exactly depends on your natural
affinity as well as what you do during the trial, but some of it
will be at your disposal right from the start.
The voice of the old policeman sounded more and more distant.
(10:19):
Sunny's eyelids were so heavy that he was struggling to keep
his eyes open. Remember, the first thing you
must do once inside the nightmare is to check your
attributes and your aspect. If you get a combat oriented
aspect, something like a swordsman or an Archer, things
will be easier. If it is reinforced by a
(10:40):
physical attribute, then that's even better.
Combat aspects are the most common, so the probability of
receiving one is high. The armored room was growing
dimmer. If you're unlucky and your
aspect has nothing to do with combat, don't despair.
Sorcery and utility aspects are useful in their own ways, you'll
(11:02):
just have to be smart about it. There are really no useless
aspects. Well, almost.
So Just do anything in your power to survive.
If you survive, you'll be halfway to becoming an Awakened,
but if you die, you'll open a gate for a nightmare creature to
appear in the real world, which means my colleagues and I will
(11:26):
have to deal with it. So please don't die sunless.
Already half asleep, Sunny felt a bit touched by the policeman's
words. Or at least try not to die right
away. The nearest awaken won't be able
to get here for a few hours, so we would really appreciate it if
you don't make us fight that thing ourselves.
(11:48):
What? With that last thought, Sunny
finally slipped into a deep slumber.
Everything became black. And then, in the darkness, a
faintly familiar voice rang. Aspirant, welcome to the
Nightmare spell. Prepare for your first trial.
(12:13):
Sunny dreamt of a mountain. Jagged and lonesome, it dwarfed
other peaks of the mountain chain, cutting the night sky
with its sharp edges. A radiant moon bathed its slopes
in the ghostly pale light. On one of the slopes, the
remnants of an old road stubbornly clung to the rocks.
(12:35):
Here and there, paved stones could be seen through the snow.
They were worn and showed signs of weathering.
A sheer Cliff face formed an impregnable wall to the right
side of the road. On the left, a silent Black Sea
of nothingness indicated an endless fall.
Strong winds crashed into the mountain over and over again,
(12:59):
screaming in powerless rage. Suddenly the moon fell over the
horizon. The sun rose from the West,
streaked across the sky, and disappeared in the east.
Snowflakes jumped from the ground and returned to the
embrace of the clouds. Sunny realized that he was
seeing the flow of time in reverse.
(13:20):
In an instant, hundreds of yearsflew by.
The snow retreated, bearing the old road.
Cold shivers ran down Sunny's back as he noticed human bones
littering the ground. A moment later the bones were
gone, and in their place a slavecaravan appeared, moving
(13:41):
backward down the mountain. The clamouring of chains echoed
hauntingly through the peak. Time slowed, stopped, and then
resumed its usual pace. A loud voice boomed in Sonny's
ears. Aspirant.
(14:03):
Welcome to the Nightmare spell. Prepare for your first trial.
Sunny searched around for the source of the voice, but saw
nothing. What the hell was that?
With nothing and no one to guidehim, Sunny began to walk along
the snowy mountain path. Step, step, another step.
(14:26):
A dull ache was radiating through Sunny's bleeding feet as
he was shivering from the cold. His threadbare tunic was nearly
useless against the biting wind.There was a sudden jolt of pain
from his wrists. Sunny looked down to see that he
was now wearing iron shackles. The frozen metal rubbed on his
raw and broken skin, sending sharp pangs of pain with his
(14:49):
every step. No, I can't be part of the
caravan. This isn't what the dream realm
is supposed to be like. Sunny looked up and down,
noticing a long chain winding upthe road with dozens and dozens
of hollow eyed people. Slaves just like him, shackled
to it at small intervals. A man with broad shoulders and a
(15:12):
bloodied back walked with a measured gate ahead of him.
Behind him, a shifty looking guywith quick, desperate eyes
quietly cursed under his breath in a language that Sunny did not
know but somehow understood. From time to time, armed
horsemen in ancient style armor would pass by, giving the slaves
menacing looks. Sonny expected the first
(15:35):
nightmare to be bad, but this wasn't like anything he
anticipated. He was more bewildered than
panicked. Usually, freshly chosen
aspirants would find themselves in a scenario that presented
them with a fair amount of agency.
They would become members of privileged or warrior casts with
plenty of access to necessary weapons to at least try to
(15:57):
tackle any conflict. Starting as a powerless slave,
shackled and already half dead was as far from being ideal as
one could imagine. However, the spell was as much
about challenge as it was about balance.
As the old policeman said, it created trials, not executions.
(16:17):
So Sonny was pretty sure that tocounter this abysmal start, it
would reward him with something good.
A powerful aspect at least. Let's see, how do I do this?
Remembering popular webtoons he read as a child, Sonny
concentrated and thought about words like status, myself, and
(16:38):
information. Indeed, as soon as he focused,
shimmering ruins appeared in theair in front of him once again.
Although he did not know this ancient alphabet, the meaning
behind it was somehow clear. His eyes flitted over his bleak
profile which read Name Sunless True name, nun, Soul Rank,
(17:03):
Dormant memories None echoes none Attributes Fated Mark of
Divinity, Child of Shadows, Aspect Temple slave.
Sunny wasn't surprised to have the lowest possible soul rank.
This was his first nightmare. He had hoped he might be gifted
(17:25):
a memory or an echo. Memories were magical items that
could be obtained from the dreamrealm and summoned by the
dreamer. Similarly, echoes were creatures
the dreamer could call on for aid, but it seemed the nightmare
spell didn't see fit to grant Sunny any resources.
Sunny knew he couldn't focus on what he hadn't been granted.
(17:46):
Life had taught him that a long time ago.
He remembered the cops advice and focused on his aspect.
Temple slave didn't sound promising, but he dug deeper,
pulling up the aspect description.
The runes read aspect description.
Slave is a useless Wretch with no skills or abilities worthy of
(18:08):
mention. A temple slave is just the same
except much rarer. At this point, Sonny finally
lost his composure. No useless aspects my ass.
This has to be a. Fucking joke, I was supposed to
get a fair shot. Sonny stared at the runes,
trying to convince himself that he may be seeing things.
(18:29):
Surely he couldn't be that unlucky, right?
Preoccupied by his thoughts, he lost the rhythm of his steps and
stumbled, pulling the chain downwith his weight.
Immediately, the shifty guy behind him screamed.
Yeah, I'm shifty. See.
Hoist bastard. Watch where you're going.
(18:52):
Sonny hurriedly dismissed the runes, which were only visible
to him, and tried to recover hisbalance.
A moment later, he was once again walking steadily, however,
not before inadvertently pullingon the chain one more time.
The man behind him snarled. You little shit.
I'm going to kill you. The broad shouldered man in
(19:13):
front of Sonny chuckled without turning his head.
Why bother? The weakling will be.
Dead by sunrise anyway. The mountain will kill him.
It'll kill you and me. Too, just a bit later.
I don't know what The Imperials are thinking forcing us into
this. Cold.
The shifty guy gasped. Speak for yourself, fool, I'm
(19:35):
planning to survive. Sonny silently shook his head
and concentrated on not falling again.
What a charming pair. Suddenly, a third voice joined
the conversation from somewhere further back.
This one sounded gentle and intelligent.
This mountain pass is usually much warmer this time of year.
(19:55):
We just had really bad luck. Also, I would advise you against
harming this boy. The Weasley man sounded annoyed.
Why is that? Sonny turned his head slightly.
He still couldn't catch sight ofthe mysterious stranger, but he
caught their answer. Haven't you seen the markings on
(20:16):
his skin? He is not like us who fell into
slavery due to debts, crimes or misfortune.
He was born a slave. A temple slave to be precise.
Not long ago The Imperials destroyed the last temple of the
Shadow God. I suspect that this is how the
boy ended up here. The broad shouldered man cast a
(20:36):
look back. So what?
Why should we be? Afraid of 1/2 forgotten weakling
God, he couldn't even save his temples.
Despite the other men's attitudes, the third person
remained calm. The Empire is protected by the
mighty war God. Of course they're not afraid to
burn down a few temples. But we here are not protected by
(21:00):
anything or anyone. Do you want to risk angering a
God? The broad shouldered man
grunted, not willing to answer. Their conversation was stopped
by a young soldier riding a beautiful White Horse clad in a
simple leather querus armed witha spear and a short sword.
He looked dignified and noble. To Sonny's irritation, the
(21:24):
asshole was really pretty too. If this was a historical drama,
the soldier would be a male lead.
There was no particular menace in his voice, even something
resembling concern. What is going on here?
When everyone hesitated, the gentle voiced slave answered.
It is nothing Sir. We are all just tired and cold,
(21:46):
especially our young friend overthere.
This journey is truly too hard for someone that young.
The soldier looked at Sunny withpity and the teen felt
resentment bubble up in him. Who was this soldier to look at
him like that? He couldn't be that much older.
The soldier sighed and took a flask from his belt before
extending it to Sunny. Bear with it a little more
(22:09):
child, we will stop for the night soon.
For now, here, drink some water.Being called a child struck
close to home for Sunny. He was 18, but due to his thin
body and small stature, both caused by malnourishment, Sunny
was often mistaken for someone younger.
Usually he didn't hesitate to use it to his advantage, but for
(22:33):
now, for some reason, being called a child irked him.
Still, he was thirsty. He was about to take the flask
when a whip cracked in the air and suddenly Sonny was in a
world of pain. He stumbled once again, pulling
on the chain and causing the shifty slave behind him to
curse. Another soldier, this one older
(22:55):
and angrier, stopped his horse afew steps back.
The whip that sliced the back ofSonny's tunic open and drew
blood belonged to him. Without even glancing at the
slaves, the older soldier pierced his younger colleague
with a disdainful glare. What do you think you're doing?
The young soldiers face darkened.
(23:16):
I was just giving this boy some water.
The older soldier glowered. He'll receive water with the
rest of them once we camped. The pretty one attempted to
argue, but his fellow soldier wasn't willing to listen.
Shut your mouth. These slaves are not your
friends, understood? They're not even people.
(23:38):
Treat them like people and they'll begin imagining things.
The young. Soldier looked at Sonny, then
lowered his head and put the flask back on his belt.
His companion nodded. Don't let me catch you making
friends with the slaves again, newbie, or next time it will be
your back tasting my whip. As if to illustrate his
(23:58):
intention, the older soldier cracked his whip in the air and
rode past them, radiating threatand anger.
Sonny watched him go with well concealed malice.
I don't know how, but I will watch you die first.
Then he turned his head and glanced in the direction of the
younger soldier, who was fallingbehind with his head still
(24:20):
lowered. And you second?
The entire interaction awakened something in Sonny.
He'd been so distraught by the hand he was dealt.
He felt defeated, ready to give up.
But this anger stoked his drive to survive.
He wouldn't be treated this way,counted out.
He was going to survive and become awakened.
(24:43):
He was going to turn his curse into a blessing and for once in
his goddamned life, have power. Sonny smirked as the pieces of a
plan began to form in his mind. His interaction with the soldier
left Sunny in a dark mood, but he pulled himself out of it and
(25:05):
inhaled deeply, trying to enjoy the fresh air.
Indeed, air like that was hard to come by in the real world.
Micro dust and other pollutants made it rough and unpleasant,
not to mention the general stench of the outskirts.
In the better parts of the city,sophisticated filtration systems
worked diligently. However, filtered air tasted
(25:26):
sterile and stagnant. Only the very rich had access to
truly pleasant breathing, and here he was able to enjoy an
unlimited amount of pristine, delicious air like a second
generation elite. At least I've gotten to breathe
real air before I die. However, these real world
(25:49):
luxuries were laughably overshadowed by the fact that he
was stuck in a chain gang. The cold was dreadful and his
wrists and feet throbbed in agony.
The slave caravan slowly draggeditself up the mountain, with
more and more slaves stumbling and periodically falling to the
ground. A couple of times, those who
(26:10):
could not walk anymore were taken off the chain and
unceremoniously tossed off the side of the mountain down into
the abyss that loomed to the left of it.
Every time it happened, Sonny was powerless to do anything but
stand by and watch, his heart a mix of fear and compassion.
(26:33):
Poor fellows, rest in peace, youpitiful souls.
Sonny remembered what the older police officer had told him
about the humans here. They weren't real.
Keeping that in mind, Sonny forced himself to push their
suffering out of his mind and focus on preserving his own
life. It was a bit strange trying to
(26:54):
find things to be happy about inthe midst of this disaster of a
nightmare, but thankfully Sonny had time to prepare himself for
this eventuality. When the symptoms of the spell
first appeared, he did not handle it well.
Dying before you even turned 17 was not something one could
easily cope with, but in the end, Sonny was surprised how
(27:16):
quickly he came to terms with it.
He visited his parents makeshiftresting place because Sonny was
too poor to afford even the cheapest slot in the remembrance
facility. Their grave marker was just two
lines carved into an old tree. He added a third line for
himself and found a surprising relief in the process.
His life had already been full of such relentless suffering
(27:39):
that the nightmare spell almost felt like an escape hatch.
After all, he didn't have to worry about earning money,
finding food, protecting himself, and planning for the
future anymore. Once the worst that could happen
had already happened, what else was there to fear?
He had surrendered to fate and resolved to savor whatever
(28:00):
minute Joys presented himself. Besides, he knew that cold would
not kill him simply because he had already seen what was
awaiting the caravan further up the mountain.
The picture of piled bones littering the ground was still
fresh in his mind, most likely apack of monsters that were going
to do the caravan in, and by thelook of it, the attack was going
(28:23):
to take place in a matter of hours, not days.
The nightmare spell hadn't givenhim any resources, but the
insight it provided could be good for something.
The foreknowledge was his only hope of escaping this grizzly
fate, so he had to use it wisely.
Sonny decided to take another look at his status and summoned
(28:44):
the runes again. The last time he was too
outraged by the aspect and didn't study the attributes
well. Well, not as important as one's
Aspect. The attributes were often the
deciding factor between life anddeath.
They represented one's natural traits and affinities, sometimes
even providing passive abilitiesand effects.
(29:06):
The runes read fated Attribute description the strings of fate
wrapped tightly around you. Unlikely events, both good and
bad, are drawn by your presence.There are those who are blessed,
and there are those who are cursed, but rarely both.
Mark of Divinity Attribute description You bear a faint
(29:29):
scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it
once, a long time ago. Child of Shadows Attribute
description. Shadows recognize you as one of
their own. Sonny didn't know what to make
of the unusual collection of attributes.
Interesting. He recognized the first
(29:51):
attribute, fated, as the main culprit of his predicament.
At first glance, it seemed to indicate that he was destined
for a certain fate to die miserably and vanish without
trace, for example, but after reading the description, he
realized that being fated actually just meant that
improbable things had a higher chance of occurring when he was
(30:12):
around. I guess I have fated to thank
for being stuck with unuseful aspects.
Getting the weirdest, most useless aspect definitely counts
as improbable. Sonny reasoned that his other
two aspects, Mark of Divinity and Child of Shadows, must be
(30:32):
linked to his role as a Temple slave.
Mark of Divinity theoretically came with some solid perks.
It could be used to enhance several types of sorcery and
allow access to certain sacred places inside the Dream Realm.
Unfortunately, there were no sacred places.
Insight and Sonny's aspect had nothing to do with sorcery, so
(30:54):
it was useless too. Sunny's third aspect perplexed
him. He had never heard of Child of
Shadows before, and the attribute description didn't
give much indication of any practical effects it might have.
Soon, the sun began to dip behind the mountain, and the sky
began to darken. To his surprise, Sunny found
(31:16):
himself able to see perfectly inthe darkness.
This had to be related to his Child of the Shadows attribute.
This ability didn't provide any immediate hints toward escaping,
but it was nothing to scoff at. Maybe the shadows would reward
him with some other yet unknown gifts.
Finally, something good. I wonder if I can The leader
(31:39):
soldiers voice. Boomed.
Stop the caravan, Prepare to camp.
Following the head soldiers order, the slaves stopped and
fell to the ground, shivering and exhausted.
The small clearing where the road widened was somewhat
protected from the wind by a protruding massive rock, but it
was still too cold to rest with ease.
(32:02):
The soldiers got busy hurting the slaves into a tight circle,
forcing them to share warmth andlighting up a large bonfire in
the center of the camp, althoughnot before tending to their
horses. The heavy wagon to which the
main chain was firmly affixed was pushed forward to block the
wind. While looking around, Sonny
noticed the young soldier from before watching the mountain
(32:25):
with a complicated look on his face.
Sonny rolled his eyes. What a weirdo.
Soon, the bonfire was blazing. The stronger slaves tried to
find their way closer to the fire, while the weaker ones,
like Sonny, were forced to sit at the outer end of the circle
with their backs freezing in thecold.
Of course, any movement was encumbered by the fact that they
(32:47):
were still shackled to the chain.
That's why the familiar broad shouldered slave ended up just
where he started, despite all ofhis efforts to get closer to the
flame. Damn Imperials.
He hissed, clearly irritated. The soldiers walked among the
slaves, portioning out water andfood.
Sunny, just like everybody else,received a few sips of icy water
(33:12):
and a small piece of rock hard multi bread.
Despite its unappetizing look, he forced himself to eat the
whole thing, just to be left as hungry as he was before.
By the looks of it, he wasn't the only one.
The shifty slave that had been walking behind him looked around
in anguish. By all the gods.
They used to feed me better evenin the dungeons.
(33:35):
He spat on the ground. Desperate and most of us
innocent men in the dungeon werethere waiting to visit the
gallows. Too, a few steps away from them,
where the paved Rd. ended and sharp rocks began, a scattering
of bright red berries were growing from the snow.
Sonny had noticed them before clustering here and there along
(33:56):
the road, and even noted how pretty those resilient things
looked contrasted against the white.
The shifty slaves eyes glistenedas he tried to crawl toward the
berries on all fours. I would advise against eating
those, friend. It was the gentle voiced slave
again. Sonny turned around and finally
(34:17):
saw him in the flesh. He was a tall man in his 40s,
lean and scraggly, handsome witha dignified look of a scholar.
How a man such as him ended up aslave was a mystery, yet there
he was. The shifty slave scowled.
You always have something to say, don't you?
(34:38):
Why should I listen to you? The scholar smiled
apologetically. Those berries are called blood.
Bane. They grow in the places where
human blood was spilled. That's why there's always a lot
of them along the slave trade routes.
The shifty slave rolled his eyes.
So what? The older man sighed.
(34:59):
Blood bane is poisonous, the fewberries might be enough to kill
an adult man. The shifty slave flinched back
and glared at the scholar. Carsis.
The slaves dispute was lost on Sunny, who had an uneasy feeling
in his stomach. As he looked around the camp, he
recognized the markings on the mountain walls.
(35:21):
This is where he had seen the visions of slaughtered corpses
when he first started the nightmare.
His stomach turned as he closed his eyes.
He could still see the mounds ofcracked and shattered bones
peeking out through the snow. He felt a chill run through his
bones. This was where they were going
to die. Sonny spun around in a panic,
(35:42):
anxious to see if he could see some sort of nightmare creature
waiting to devour them all. His chains rattled and pulled
tot he realized even if he saw the monster coming, he would be
powerless to fight or flee. He was a sitting duck.
As if on cue, there was a thunderous roar from above them.
In the mountains. The soldiers and other slaves
(36:05):
stirred, realizing for the firsttime they were in grave danger.
But it was too late. A massive dark form came
crashing from the sky. Sunny yanked at his chains,
trying to weasel away, but the being was falling at them way
too fast. Panic descended over the
(36:29):
encampment as the slaves reactedto the thunderous noise.
As they turned to face it, they watched waves of folders and
heavy shards of ice raining downupon them.
Fight or flight responses kickedin and they lurched away, only
to find they were anchored in place by their chains.
Screams of terror rose as slavesentangled by the thick chains
(36:51):
crashed into each other and fellto the ground.
Shadows happily danced on black stones, and Sonny was one of the
few slaves to remain upright. Unlike the rest of the poor
slaves he'd been able to prepare.
Calm and collected, he gazed at the night sky, his attribute
enhanced eyes piercing the darkness, and took one measured
(37:13):
step back. In the next second, a piece of
ice the size of a man's torso hit the ground right in front of
him and exploded, showering everything around with sharp
shards. Others weren't that quick as ice
and stones continued to rain. Many were wounded, and a few
(37:34):
even lost their lives. Agonizing whales filled the air.
The veteran soldier, the one whohad whipped Sunny only a few
hours before, stood amid the chaos.
On your feet, fools. Get to the wall.
He angrily tried to get the slaves to move toward the
(37:55):
relative safety of the mountain slope.
However, before anyone could heed his command, something
massive came crashing down, sending a tremor through the
stones beneath their feet. It fell right between the
caravan and the mountain wall, plunging everything into silence
for a few seconds. At first, it looked like a lump
(38:16):
of dirty snow, roughly round andas tall as a mounted horseman.
However, once the creature unfurled its long limbs and
rose, it towered over the stone platform like a nightmarish.
Omen of death. Sunny's eyes went wide.
That thing must be at least 4 meters tall.
(38:39):
The creature had two stumpy legsand emaciated hunched torso and
disproportionately long multi jointed hands, Two of them each
ending with a set of horrifying bone claws and another two,
these shorter, ending with almost human like fingers.
The thing that at first glance looked like dirty snow turned
(39:03):
out to be its fur, yellowish Gray and ragged, thick enough to
stop arrows and swords on its head. 5 Milky white eyes
regarded the slaves with insect like indifference.
Beneath them, a terrible maw crowded with razor sharp teeth
was half open as though in anticipation.
(39:25):
Viscous drool was running down the creature's chin and dripping
into the snow. What unnerved Sunny the most
though, were the strange shapes endlessly moving worm like under
the creature's skin. He could see them clearly
because unfortunately, he was one of those unlucky souls
closest to the monstrosity getting a nauseating first row
(39:49):
view. What the hell is that?
He thought, stupefied. As soon as Sonny finished that
thought, all hell broke loose. The creature moved, slashing its
claws in his general direction, but Sonny was one step ahead.
Without wasting a single moment,he jumped sideways as far as the
(40:11):
chain allowed, conveniently placing the broad shouldered
slave between himself and the monster.
His quick reaction saved his life, as those sharp claws each
as long as a sword. Sliced through the broad
shouldered man a fraction of a second later and sent streams of
blood flying through the air. Drenched in the hot liquid,
(40:35):
Sonny hit the ground and his fellow slave, now simply a
corpse, fell on him from above. Pinned to the ground, Sonny
struggled to get up. Damn, why are you so heavy?
Temporarily blinded, Sonny hearda chilling howl and felt an
enormous shadow passing over him.
(40:56):
Immediately after, a deafening chorus of screams filled the
night. Not paying it any attention, he
tried to roll the corpse to the side, but was stopped by a
forceful lurch of the chain thattwisted his wrists and filled
his mind with white hot pain. Disoriented, he felt himself
being dragged a few steps, but then the chain suddenly
(41:19):
slackened and he was able to control his hands again.
Thank God for small favors. Putting his palms against the
dead man's chest, he pushed withall the strength he had.
The heavy corpse stubbornly resisted his attempts, but then
finally fell sideways, setting Sunny free.
(41:41):
However, he didn't get to celebrate his newly found
freedom as his blood suddenly turned to ice.
At that moment, with his palm still pressed against the broad
shouldered slave's bleeding body, he felt something
wriggling under the dead man's skin.
He chastised himself for thinking he was somehow even
minorly victorious. Pushing the corpse with his
(42:03):
legs, Sonny crawled as far away from it as he could, which was
about a meter and 1/2 thanks to the ever present chain.
He quickly glanced around, noticing a mass of dancing
shadows and the silhouette of the monster rampaging amidst the
screaming slaves on the oppositeend of the stone platform.
Then he concentrated on the deadbody, which was starting to
(42:25):
convulse with growing violence. On the opposite side of the
corpse, the shifty slave was staring with a slackened jaw and
a horrified expression on his face.
Sonny waved to get his attention.
What are you staring at? Move away from it.
The shifty slave tried but immediately fell.
(42:46):
The chain was twisted between the three of them, pinned down
by the broad shouldered man's weight.
Sonny clenched his teeth right under his eyes.
The corpse was going through a nightmare inducing
metamorphosis. Strange bone growths pierced its
skin, extending like spikes. The muscles bulged and wriggled
as though trying to change shape.
(43:09):
The fingernails were turning into sharp claws.
The face cracked and split, bearing open a twisted mouth
with one to many rows of bloodied needle like fangs.
Sonny swallowed a lump in his throat.
That's not good. He twitched, feeling a strong
(43:29):
urge to empty his stomach. The scholarly slave was just a
few steps behind the shifty 1, pointing at his shackles with a
face as pale as a ghost. The chain is going to get.
Us all killed. That remark was far from
helpful, but given the circumstances, his shock was
understandable. Being shackled was bad enough,
(43:52):
but being shackled to such a horror was truly unfair.
This whole situation felt off toSunny, not just because of the
dramatics, but because it didn'tfit with all he knew about the
Nightmare spell. The spell, mysterious as it was,
had its own set of rules. There were rules for what type
of creatures could appear in anygiven nightmare too.
(44:14):
Nightmare creatures had their hierarchy.
It went beasts, monsters, demons, devils, tyrants,
terrors, and Titans. There was an extremely rare cast
above that known as Calamities. The first nightmare was a trial
for beginners and as such was supposed to be populated by
beasts and monsters. In rare instances one may come
(44:37):
face to face with a demon, but that was it.
The creature that was hunting them had to be far beyond that
level. Nightmare creatures powers
increased with their level and the skill this animal had just
shown. The ability to create a lesser
version of itself was something that was only seen in Tyrants
and above. What was this tyrant even doing
(44:59):
in a first nightmare? Was it because of Sunny's damned
faded attribute? How many more times would this
screw him over? But there was no time to ponder.
Unfair or not, there was only one person now who could save
Sunny himself. The broad shouldered man.
What was left of him slowly rose, his mouth producing
(45:23):
strange clicking noises. Without giving him time to fully
come to his senses, Sunny cursedand jumped forward, grabbing
onto the length of the slack andchain.
One arm of the monster, now fully equipped with five jagged
claws, shot forward to meet him,but Sunny sidestepped it with
one calculated movement. What saved his skin this time
(45:46):
was not a quick reaction, but a simple presence of mind.
Sunny never trained in any fancycombat techniques since his
childhood was spent on the streets, but the streets too
were a kind of teacher. He had spent his whole life
fighting for survival, quite often literally.
That experience allowed him to keep a cool head on his
(46:06):
shoulders in the midst of any conflict.
So instead of freezing or being consumed by fear and doubt,
Sonny just acted. Stepping close, he threw the
chain around the monster's shoulders and pulled, pinning
his hands to its body before thecreature, still slow and groggy
from its transformation, could properly react.
(46:27):
Sonny wrapped the chain around it several times, barely saving
his face from being bitten off by the creatures terrifying
moth. The good thing was the monster
couldn't move its hands now. The bad thing was the length of
the chain he used to immobilize it was gone, leaving almost no
distance between them. You 2 Sunny screamed at the
(46:51):
shifty and scholarly slaves. Pull on that chain.
As though your lives depend on it.
The shifty slave and the scholargaped at him and then,
understanding what he was thinking, started to move,
grabbing the chain from the opposite directions.
They pulled as hard as they could, tightening their grip on
the monster and not letting it shake loose.
(47:11):
Sunny sighed in relief. Well done.
The monster bulged, its muscles trying to break free.
The chain creaked, caught on thebone spikes as though slowly
breaking apart. The scholar frowned.
Not well enough. Without wasting any more time,
Sonny threw his hands in the airand caught the creature's neck
(47:33):
with the short, thinner chain connecting his shackles.
Then he circled the monster witha quick step and pulled, ending
up back-to-back with it, as far away from its maw as he could.
Sunny knew that he wasn't strongenough to strangle a man with
his bare hands, let alone a weird, terrifying mutant like
the one trying to eat him. But now, using his own back is a
(47:56):
lever and the weight of his whole body to pull the shackles
down, he at least stood a chance.
He pulled down with all his might, feeling the monster's
body pressing against him, bone spikes brushing against his
skin. The monster continued to
struggle, clicking loudly and trying to break the chain tying
him down apart. Now it was just a question of
(48:18):
what would break first, the chain or the monster itself.
Die, die, you bastard. Sweat and blood were rolling
down Sonny's face as he was pulling, pulling and pulling
down with as much force as he could muster.
Every second felt like an eternity.
His strength and stamina, what little he had to begin with,
(48:41):
were quickly running out. His wounded back, wrists and
muscles pierced by the bone spikes were in agony.
And then, finally, Sunny felt the monster's body go limp.
A moment later, a faintly familiar voice rang in the air.
It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
(49:04):
You have slain A dormant Beast Mountain King's larvae.
Sunny released the dead beast and sank back to catch his
breath. He'd done it.
He'd fucking killed that creature's spawn.
Shifty sneered at Sunny. Don't just lay there, you idiot.
The big one is still out there. Another thunderous roar echoed
(49:27):
in the Canyon, and Sunny forced himself to his feet.
There was still plenty of battleto be fought, and that monster
wasn't going to care that Sonny wasn't up to it.
It took all his strength to dispatch with the larvae.
How was he going to stand a chance against the big one?
To find out what happens next, follow us here on Spotify, and
(49:50):
for more such stories, download the Pocket FM app link in the
description.
Sunny, a frail looking young manwith pale skin and dark circles
under his eyes, sat on a rusty bench across from the police
station. He cradled a cup of coffee in
his hands. Not the cheap synthetic type
that slum rats like him usually had access to, but the real
deal. It was a cup of plant based
coffee, usually available only to higher ranked citizens, and
(00:25):
it had cost most of his savings.But today, Sunny decided to
pamper himself. After all, his life was about to
end. Enjoying the warmth of the
luxurious drink, he raised the cup and savored the aroma.
Then, tentatively, he took a small sip and immediately
(00:46):
grimaced. Oh, it's so bitter.
Giving the cup of coffee an intense look, Sunny sighed and
forced himself to drink some more.
Bitter or not, he was determinedto get his money's worth, taste
buds be damned. I should have bought a piece of
real meat instead. Who knew actual coffee is so
disgusting? Well, it's going to keep me
(01:09):
awake at least. He stared into the distance,
dozing off, and then slapped himself in the face to wake up.
Oh, what a RIP off. Shaking his head and cursing,
Sonny finished the coffee and stood up.
Rich people living in this part of the city were rushing past
the small park on their way to work, staring at him with
(01:30):
strange expressions, looking haggard in his cheap clothes,
eyes heavy and bagged from lack of sleep, pallid skin, his frame
unhealthily thin. Sunny was indeed out of place
here. He tossed the cup into a garbage
bin. The cup missed the bin by a wide
margin and fell on the ground. Sunny rolled his eyes in
exasperation, walked over and picked it up before carefully
(01:54):
putting it in the trash. Then, with a slight grin, he
crossed the street and entered the police station.
Inside, a tired looking officer gave him a quick glance and
frowned with obvious distaste. Are you lost, boy?
Sonny looked around with curiosity, noting reinforced
armor plates on the walls and poorly hidden turret nests in
(02:16):
the ceiling. The officer, too, looked scruffy
and mean. At least police stations remain
the same wherever you go. Hey, I'm talking to you.
Sonny cleared his throat. No, I'm, I'm not lost at all.
Then he scratched the back of his head and added.
As demanded by the 3rd Special directive, I'm here to surrender
(02:38):
myself as a carrier of the Nightmare spell.
The officer's expression instantly changed from irritated
to wary. He looked to the young man over
once again, this time with piercing intensity.
Are you sure you're infected? When did you start showing
symptoms? Sonny shrugged.
A week ago. The officer became visibly
(03:00):
paler. Shit.
Then, with a hurried motion, he pressed a button on his terminal
and bellowed Attention CODE BLACK in the lobby.
I repeat code black. The nightmare spell first
appeared in the world a few decades ago.
Back then, the planet was just starting to recover from a
series of devastating natural disasters and subsequent
(03:21):
resource wars. At first, the emergence of a new
disease that caused millions of people to complain about
constant fatigue and sleepiness did not attract a lot of
attention. But when they started to fall
into an unnatural slumber with no sign of waking up even days
later, governments finally panicked.
Of course, by then it was already too late.
(03:43):
Not that an early response couldhave made any difference when
the infected started dying in their sleep, their dead bodies
turning into monsters. No one was ready.
Nightmare. Creatures quickly overwhelmed
national militaries, plunging the world into complete chaos.
No one knew what the spell was, what powers it possessed, and
(04:03):
how to fight it. In the end, it was the Awakened,
those who survived the first trials of the spell and came
back alive, who put a stop to its rampage.
Armed with miraculous abilities earned in their nightmares, they
restored peace and created a semblance of a new order.
Of course, it was only the firstof the catastrophes brought upon
(04:24):
by the spell, but as far as Sunny was concerned, none of it
had anything to do with him. Not until a few days ago, that
is, when he first started havingtrouble staying awake.
For an average person, being chosen by the spell was as much
of A risk as an opportunity. Kids learned survival skills and
fighting techniques in school onthe off chance of being infected
(04:46):
well to do. Families hired private tutors to
train their children in all sorts of martial arts.
Those from the Awakened clans even had access to powerful
legacies, wielding inherited memories and echoes in their
first visit to the dream realm. The richer your family was, the
better your chances of survivingand becoming an Awakened were.
But for Sonny, who had no familyto speak of and spent most of
(05:09):
his time scrounging for food instead of going to school,
being chosen by the spell presented no opportunity at all
to him. It was basically a death
sentence. A few minutes later, Sonny was
yawning while several policemen were busy putting him in
restraints. Soon he was fastened into a
bulky chair that looked like a weird mix between a hospital bed
(05:31):
and a torture device. The room they were in was
situated in the basement of the police station with thick
armored walls and a formidable looking vault door.
Other officers were standing near the walls with automatic
rifles in their hands and grim expressions on their faces.
Sonny did not particularly care about them.
The only thing he could think about was how much he wanted to
(05:53):
sleep. Finally, the vault door opened
and a Gray haired policeman walked in.
He had a seasoned face and sterneyes, looking like someone who
had seen a lot of terrible things in his life.
After checking the restraints, the policeman glanced quickly on
his wristwatch and then turned to Sunny.
(06:15):
What's your name, kid? Sunny blinked a few times,
trying to concentrate, then shifted uncomfortably.
Sunny. The old policeman raised an
eyebrow. Sunny, strange name.
Sunny tried to shrug but found himself unable to move.
Some of my friends call me Sunless since I can seem quite
(06:36):
unhappy from time to time. And at least I have a name back
in the outskirts. Not everyone gets one after
another. Yawn.
He added. It's because I was born during a
solar eclipse. My mom had a poetic soul, you
see. That's why he got this weird ass
name and his little sister was called Rain, back when she still
(06:58):
lived with them, at least. Whether it was the result of
poetic imagination or simple laziness, he didn't know.
The policeman grunted. Do you want me to contact your
family? Sonny simply shook his head.
There's no one. Don't bother.
For a second, there was a dark look on the policeman's face,
(07:20):
then his expression turned serious.
All right, Sonny, how long can you stay awake?
Not long, the policeman sighed. Then we don't have time for the
full procedure. Try to resist for as.
Long as you can and. Listen to me.
Very carefully, OK. Not waiting for a response, he
(07:43):
added. How much do you know about the
nightmare spell, Sonny? Gave him a questioning look, as
much as anyone I guess who doesn't know about the spell.
Not the fancy stuff you see in dramas and here in the
propaganda broadcasts. I mean, how much?
Do you really know? That was a hard question to
(08:06):
answer. Don't I just go into the dream
realm, kill a few monsters to complete the first nightmare,
receive magic powers and become an Awakened?
The old policeman shook his head.
Listen. Carefully, once you fall asleep,
you'll be transported into your first nightmare.
The nightmares are sort of like trials, challenges created by
(08:29):
the spell. Once inside, you'll meet
monsters. Horrible creatures will test
you, fight you, try their damnedest to break you, but
you'll also meet people. They aren't worth trusting
either. Your best bet is to fight for
yourself. Remember, they are not real,
they're just illusions conjured up to test you.
(08:51):
How do you know? The policeman just stared at
him. I mean, no one understands what
the spell is and how it works, right?
So how do you know that they're not real?
You might have to kill them kid,so do yourself a favor and just.
Think about them as illusions. Oh.
(09:13):
The old policeman waited for a second, then nodded and
continued. A lot of things about the first
nightmare depend on luck. Generally, it shouldn't be
overwhelmingly hard. The situation you're in, the
tools you have at your disposal,and the creatures you have to
defeat should be within the range of your abilities at
least. After all.
(09:34):
The spell sets up trials, not executions.
You're a bit disadvantaged due to, well, your circumstances,
but kids from the outskirts are tough.
Don't give up on yourself. Uh huh.
Sonny was getting more and more sleepy.
It was becoming hard to follow the conversation.
(09:57):
About those magic powers you mentioned, you will indeed
receive them if you survive until the end of the nightmare.
What those powers will be exactly depends on your natural
affinity as well as what you do during the trial, but some of it
will be at your disposal right from the start.
The voice of the old policeman sounded more and more distant.
(10:19):
Sunny's eyelids were so heavy that he was struggling to keep
his eyes open. Remember, the first thing you
must do once inside the nightmare is to check your
attributes and your aspect. If you get a combat oriented
aspect, something like a swordsman or an Archer, things
will be easier. If it is reinforced by a
(10:40):
physical attribute, then that's even better.
Combat aspects are the most common, so the probability of
receiving one is high. The armored room was growing
dimmer. If you're unlucky and your
aspect has nothing to do with combat, don't despair.
Sorcery and utility aspects are useful in their own ways, you'll
(11:02):
just have to be smart about it. There are really no useless
aspects. Well, almost.
So Just do anything in your power to survive.
If you survive, you'll be halfway to becoming an Awakened,
but if you die, you'll open a gate for a nightmare creature to
appear in the real world, which means my colleagues and I will
(11:26):
have to deal with it. So please don't die sunless.
Already half asleep, Sunny felt a bit touched by the policeman's
words. Or at least try not to die right
away. The nearest awaken won't be able
to get here for a few hours, so we would really appreciate it if
you don't make us fight that thing ourselves.
(11:48):
What? With that last thought, Sunny
finally slipped into a deep slumber.
Everything became black. And then, in the darkness, a
faintly familiar voice rang. Aspirant, welcome to the
Nightmare spell. Prepare for your first trial.
(12:13):
Sunny dreamt of a mountain. Jagged and lonesome, it dwarfed
other peaks of the mountain chain, cutting the night sky
with its sharp edges. A radiant moon bathed its slopes
in the ghostly pale light. On one of the slopes, the
remnants of an old road stubbornly clung to the rocks.
(12:35):
Here and there, paved stones could be seen through the snow.
They were worn and showed signs of weathering.
A sheer Cliff face formed an impregnable wall to the right
side of the road. On the left, a silent Black Sea
of nothingness indicated an endless fall.
Strong winds crashed into the mountain over and over again,
(12:59):
screaming in powerless rage. Suddenly the moon fell over the
horizon. The sun rose from the West,
streaked across the sky, and disappeared in the east.
Snowflakes jumped from the ground and returned to the
embrace of the clouds. Sunny realized that he was
seeing the flow of time in reverse.
(13:20):
In an instant, hundreds of yearsflew by.
The snow retreated, bearing the old road.
Cold shivers ran down Sunny's back as he noticed human bones
littering the ground. A moment later the bones were
gone, and in their place a slavecaravan appeared, moving
(13:41):
backward down the mountain. The clamouring of chains echoed
hauntingly through the peak. Time slowed, stopped, and then
resumed its usual pace. A loud voice boomed in Sonny's
ears. Aspirant.
(14:03):
Welcome to the Nightmare spell. Prepare for your first trial.
Sunny searched around for the source of the voice, but saw
nothing. What the hell was that?
With nothing and no one to guidehim, Sunny began to walk along
the snowy mountain path. Step, step, another step.
(14:26):
A dull ache was radiating through Sunny's bleeding feet as
he was shivering from the cold. His threadbare tunic was nearly
useless against the biting wind.There was a sudden jolt of pain
from his wrists. Sunny looked down to see that he
was now wearing iron shackles. The frozen metal rubbed on his
raw and broken skin, sending sharp pangs of pain with his
(14:49):
every step. No, I can't be part of the
caravan. This isn't what the dream realm
is supposed to be like. Sunny looked up and down,
noticing a long chain winding upthe road with dozens and dozens
of hollow eyed people. Slaves just like him, shackled
to it at small intervals. A man with broad shoulders and a
(15:12):
bloodied back walked with a measured gate ahead of him.
Behind him, a shifty looking guywith quick, desperate eyes
quietly cursed under his breath in a language that Sunny did not
know but somehow understood. From time to time, armed
horsemen in ancient style armor would pass by, giving the slaves
menacing looks. Sonny expected the first
(15:35):
nightmare to be bad, but this wasn't like anything he
anticipated. He was more bewildered than
panicked. Usually, freshly chosen
aspirants would find themselves in a scenario that presented
them with a fair amount of agency.
They would become members of privileged or warrior casts with
plenty of access to necessary weapons to at least try to
(15:57):
tackle any conflict. Starting as a powerless slave,
shackled and already half dead was as far from being ideal as
one could imagine. However, the spell was as much
about challenge as it was about balance.
As the old policeman said, it created trials, not executions.
(16:17):
So Sonny was pretty sure that tocounter this abysmal start, it
would reward him with something good.
A powerful aspect at least. Let's see, how do I do this?
Remembering popular webtoons he read as a child, Sonny
concentrated and thought about words like status, myself, and
(16:38):
information. Indeed, as soon as he focused,
shimmering ruins appeared in theair in front of him once again.
Although he did not know this ancient alphabet, the meaning
behind it was somehow clear. His eyes flitted over his bleak
profile which read Name Sunless True name, nun, Soul Rank,
(17:03):
Dormant memories None echoes none Attributes Fated Mark of
Divinity, Child of Shadows, Aspect Temple slave.
Sunny wasn't surprised to have the lowest possible soul rank.
This was his first nightmare. He had hoped he might be gifted
(17:25):
a memory or an echo. Memories were magical items that
could be obtained from the dreamrealm and summoned by the
dreamer. Similarly, echoes were creatures
the dreamer could call on for aid, but it seemed the nightmare
spell didn't see fit to grant Sunny any resources.
Sunny knew he couldn't focus on what he hadn't been granted.
(17:46):
Life had taught him that a long time ago.
He remembered the cops advice and focused on his aspect.
Temple slave didn't sound promising, but he dug deeper,
pulling up the aspect description.
The runes read aspect description.
Slave is a useless Wretch with no skills or abilities worthy of
(18:08):
mention. A temple slave is just the same
except much rarer. At this point, Sonny finally
lost his composure. No useless aspects my ass.
This has to be a. Fucking joke, I was supposed to
get a fair shot. Sonny stared at the runes,
trying to convince himself that he may be seeing things.
(18:29):
Surely he couldn't be that unlucky, right?
Preoccupied by his thoughts, he lost the rhythm of his steps and
stumbled, pulling the chain downwith his weight.
Immediately, the shifty guy behind him screamed.
Yeah, I'm shifty. See.
Hoist bastard. Watch where you're going.
(18:52):
Sonny hurriedly dismissed the runes, which were only visible
to him, and tried to recover hisbalance.
A moment later, he was once again walking steadily, however,
not before inadvertently pullingon the chain one more time.
The man behind him snarled. You little shit.
I'm going to kill you. The broad shouldered man in
(19:13):
front of Sonny chuckled without turning his head.
Why bother? The weakling will be.
Dead by sunrise anyway. The mountain will kill him.
It'll kill you and me. Too, just a bit later.
I don't know what The Imperials are thinking forcing us into
this. Cold.
The shifty guy gasped. Speak for yourself, fool, I'm
(19:35):
planning to survive. Sonny silently shook his head
and concentrated on not falling again.
What a charming pair. Suddenly, a third voice joined
the conversation from somewhere further back.
This one sounded gentle and intelligent.
This mountain pass is usually much warmer this time of year.
(19:55):
We just had really bad luck. Also, I would advise you against
harming this boy. The Weasley man sounded annoyed.
Why is that? Sonny turned his head slightly.
He still couldn't catch sight ofthe mysterious stranger, but he
caught their answer. Haven't you seen the markings on
(20:16):
his skin? He is not like us who fell into
slavery due to debts, crimes or misfortune.
He was born a slave. A temple slave to be precise.
Not long ago The Imperials destroyed the last temple of the
Shadow God. I suspect that this is how the
boy ended up here. The broad shouldered man cast a
(20:36):
look back. So what?
Why should we be? Afraid of 1/2 forgotten weakling
God, he couldn't even save his temples.
Despite the other men's attitudes, the third person
remained calm. The Empire is protected by the
mighty war God. Of course they're not afraid to
burn down a few temples. But we here are not protected by
(21:00):
anything or anyone. Do you want to risk angering a
God? The broad shouldered man
grunted, not willing to answer. Their conversation was stopped
by a young soldier riding a beautiful White Horse clad in a
simple leather querus armed witha spear and a short sword.
He looked dignified and noble. To Sonny's irritation, the
(21:24):
asshole was really pretty too. If this was a historical drama,
the soldier would be a male lead.
There was no particular menace in his voice, even something
resembling concern. What is going on here?
When everyone hesitated, the gentle voiced slave answered.
It is nothing Sir. We are all just tired and cold,
(21:46):
especially our young friend overthere.
This journey is truly too hard for someone that young.
The soldier looked at Sunny withpity and the teen felt
resentment bubble up in him. Who was this soldier to look at
him like that? He couldn't be that much older.
The soldier sighed and took a flask from his belt before
extending it to Sunny. Bear with it a little more
(22:09):
child, we will stop for the night soon.
For now, here, drink some water.Being called a child struck
close to home for Sunny. He was 18, but due to his thin
body and small stature, both caused by malnourishment, Sunny
was often mistaken for someone younger.
Usually he didn't hesitate to use it to his advantage, but for
(22:33):
now, for some reason, being called a child irked him.
Still, he was thirsty. He was about to take the flask
when a whip cracked in the air and suddenly Sonny was in a
world of pain. He stumbled once again, pulling
on the chain and causing the shifty slave behind him to
curse. Another soldier, this one older
(22:55):
and angrier, stopped his horse afew steps back.
The whip that sliced the back ofSonny's tunic open and drew
blood belonged to him. Without even glancing at the
slaves, the older soldier pierced his younger colleague
with a disdainful glare. What do you think you're doing?
The young soldiers face darkened.
(23:16):
I was just giving this boy some water.
The older soldier glowered. He'll receive water with the
rest of them once we camped. The pretty one attempted to
argue, but his fellow soldier wasn't willing to listen.
Shut your mouth. These slaves are not your
friends, understood? They're not even people.
(23:38):
Treat them like people and they'll begin imagining things.
The young. Soldier looked at Sonny, then
lowered his head and put the flask back on his belt.
His companion nodded. Don't let me catch you making
friends with the slaves again, newbie, or next time it will be
your back tasting my whip. As if to illustrate his
(23:58):
intention, the older soldier cracked his whip in the air and
rode past them, radiating threatand anger.
Sonny watched him go with well concealed malice.
I don't know how, but I will watch you die first.
Then he turned his head and glanced in the direction of the
younger soldier, who was fallingbehind with his head still
(24:20):
lowered. And you second?
The entire interaction awakened something in Sonny.
He'd been so distraught by the hand he was dealt.
He felt defeated, ready to give up.
But this anger stoked his drive to survive.
He wouldn't be treated this way,counted out.
He was going to survive and become awakened.
(24:43):
He was going to turn his curse into a blessing and for once in
his goddamned life, have power. Sonny smirked as the pieces of a
plan began to form in his mind. His interaction with the soldier
left Sunny in a dark mood, but he pulled himself out of it and
(25:05):
inhaled deeply, trying to enjoy the fresh air.
Indeed, air like that was hard to come by in the real world.
Micro dust and other pollutants made it rough and unpleasant,
not to mention the general stench of the outskirts.
In the better parts of the city,sophisticated filtration systems
worked diligently. However, filtered air tasted
(25:26):
sterile and stagnant. Only the very rich had access to
truly pleasant breathing, and here he was able to enjoy an
unlimited amount of pristine, delicious air like a second
generation elite. At least I've gotten to breathe
real air before I die. However, these real world
(25:49):
luxuries were laughably overshadowed by the fact that he
was stuck in a chain gang. The cold was dreadful and his
wrists and feet throbbed in agony.
The slave caravan slowly draggeditself up the mountain, with
more and more slaves stumbling and periodically falling to the
ground. A couple of times, those who
(26:10):
could not walk anymore were taken off the chain and
unceremoniously tossed off the side of the mountain down into
the abyss that loomed to the left of it.
Every time it happened, Sonny was powerless to do anything but
stand by and watch, his heart a mix of fear and compassion.
(26:33):
Poor fellows, rest in peace, youpitiful souls.
Sonny remembered what the older police officer had told him
about the humans here. They weren't real.
Keeping that in mind, Sonny forced himself to push their
suffering out of his mind and focus on preserving his own
life. It was a bit strange trying to
(26:54):
find things to be happy about inthe midst of this disaster of a
nightmare, but thankfully Sonny had time to prepare himself for
this eventuality. When the symptoms of the spell
first appeared, he did not handle it well.
Dying before you even turned 17 was not something one could
easily cope with, but in the end, Sonny was surprised how
(27:16):
quickly he came to terms with it.
He visited his parents makeshiftresting place because Sonny was
too poor to afford even the cheapest slot in the remembrance
facility. Their grave marker was just two
lines carved into an old tree. He added a third line for
himself and found a surprising relief in the process.
His life had already been full of such relentless suffering
(27:39):
that the nightmare spell almost felt like an escape hatch.
After all, he didn't have to worry about earning money,
finding food, protecting himself, and planning for the
future anymore. Once the worst that could happen
had already happened, what else was there to fear?
He had surrendered to fate and resolved to savor whatever
(28:00):
minute Joys presented himself. Besides, he knew that cold would
not kill him simply because he had already seen what was
awaiting the caravan further up the mountain.
The picture of piled bones littering the ground was still
fresh in his mind, most likely apack of monsters that were going
to do the caravan in, and by thelook of it, the attack was going
(28:23):
to take place in a matter of hours, not days.
The nightmare spell hadn't givenhim any resources, but the
insight it provided could be good for something.
The foreknowledge was his only hope of escaping this grizzly
fate, so he had to use it wisely.
Sonny decided to take another look at his status and summoned
(28:44):
the runes again. The last time he was too
outraged by the aspect and didn't study the attributes
well. Well, not as important as one's
Aspect. The attributes were often the
deciding factor between life anddeath.
They represented one's natural traits and affinities, sometimes
even providing passive abilitiesand effects.
(29:06):
The runes read fated Attribute description the strings of fate
wrapped tightly around you. Unlikely events, both good and
bad, are drawn by your presence.There are those who are blessed,
and there are those who are cursed, but rarely both.
Mark of Divinity Attribute description You bear a faint
(29:29):
scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it
once, a long time ago. Child of Shadows Attribute
description. Shadows recognize you as one of
their own. Sonny didn't know what to make
of the unusual collection of attributes.
Interesting. He recognized the first
(29:51):
attribute, fated, as the main culprit of his predicament.
At first glance, it seemed to indicate that he was destined
for a certain fate to die miserably and vanish without
trace, for example, but after reading the description, he
realized that being fated actually just meant that
improbable things had a higher chance of occurring when he was
(30:12):
around. I guess I have fated to thank
for being stuck with unuseful aspects.
Getting the weirdest, most useless aspect definitely counts
as improbable. Sonny reasoned that his other
two aspects, Mark of Divinity and Child of Shadows, must be
(30:32):
linked to his role as a Temple slave.
Mark of Divinity theoretically came with some solid perks.
It could be used to enhance several types of sorcery and
allow access to certain sacred places inside the Dream Realm.
Unfortunately, there were no sacred places.
Insight and Sonny's aspect had nothing to do with sorcery, so
(30:54):
it was useless too. Sunny's third aspect perplexed
him. He had never heard of Child of
Shadows before, and the attribute description didn't
give much indication of any practical effects it might have.
Soon, the sun began to dip behind the mountain, and the sky
began to darken. To his surprise, Sunny found
(31:16):
himself able to see perfectly inthe darkness.
This had to be related to his Child of the Shadows attribute.
This ability didn't provide any immediate hints toward escaping,
but it was nothing to scoff at. Maybe the shadows would reward
him with some other yet unknown gifts.
Finally, something good. I wonder if I can The leader
(31:39):
soldiers voice. Boomed.
Stop the caravan, Prepare to camp.
Following the head soldiers order, the slaves stopped and
fell to the ground, shivering and exhausted.
The small clearing where the road widened was somewhat
protected from the wind by a protruding massive rock, but it
was still too cold to rest with ease.
(32:02):
The soldiers got busy hurting the slaves into a tight circle,
forcing them to share warmth andlighting up a large bonfire in
the center of the camp, althoughnot before tending to their
horses. The heavy wagon to which the
main chain was firmly affixed was pushed forward to block the
wind. While looking around, Sonny
noticed the young soldier from before watching the mountain
(32:25):
with a complicated look on his face.
Sonny rolled his eyes. What a weirdo.
Soon, the bonfire was blazing. The stronger slaves tried to
find their way closer to the fire, while the weaker ones,
like Sonny, were forced to sit at the outer end of the circle
with their backs freezing in thecold.
Of course, any movement was encumbered by the fact that they
(32:47):
were still shackled to the chain.
That's why the familiar broad shouldered slave ended up just
where he started, despite all ofhis efforts to get closer to the
flame. Damn Imperials.
He hissed, clearly irritated. The soldiers walked among the
slaves, portioning out water andfood.
Sunny, just like everybody else,received a few sips of icy water
(33:12):
and a small piece of rock hard multi bread.
Despite its unappetizing look, he forced himself to eat the
whole thing, just to be left as hungry as he was before.
By the looks of it, he wasn't the only one.
The shifty slave that had been walking behind him looked around
in anguish. By all the gods.
They used to feed me better evenin the dungeons.
(33:35):
He spat on the ground. Desperate and most of us
innocent men in the dungeon werethere waiting to visit the
gallows. Too, a few steps away from them,
where the paved Rd. ended and sharp rocks began, a scattering
of bright red berries were growing from the snow.
Sonny had noticed them before clustering here and there along
(33:56):
the road, and even noted how pretty those resilient things
looked contrasted against the white.
The shifty slaves eyes glistenedas he tried to crawl toward the
berries on all fours. I would advise against eating
those, friend. It was the gentle voiced slave
again. Sonny turned around and finally
(34:17):
saw him in the flesh. He was a tall man in his 40s,
lean and scraggly, handsome witha dignified look of a scholar.
How a man such as him ended up aslave was a mystery, yet there
he was. The shifty slave scowled.
You always have something to say, don't you?
(34:38):
Why should I listen to you? The scholar smiled
apologetically. Those berries are called blood.
Bane. They grow in the places where
human blood was spilled. That's why there's always a lot
of them along the slave trade routes.
The shifty slave rolled his eyes.
So what? The older man sighed.
(34:59):
Blood bane is poisonous, the fewberries might be enough to kill
an adult man. The shifty slave flinched back
and glared at the scholar. Carsis.
The slaves dispute was lost on Sunny, who had an uneasy feeling
in his stomach. As he looked around the camp, he
recognized the markings on the mountain walls.
(35:21):
This is where he had seen the visions of slaughtered corpses
when he first started the nightmare.
His stomach turned as he closed his eyes.
He could still see the mounds ofcracked and shattered bones
peeking out through the snow. He felt a chill run through his
bones. This was where they were going
to die. Sonny spun around in a panic,
(35:42):
anxious to see if he could see some sort of nightmare creature
waiting to devour them all. His chains rattled and pulled
tot he realized even if he saw the monster coming, he would be
powerless to fight or flee. He was a sitting duck.
As if on cue, there was a thunderous roar from above them.
In the mountains. The soldiers and other slaves
(36:05):
stirred, realizing for the firsttime they were in grave danger.
But it was too late. A massive dark form came
crashing from the sky. Sunny yanked at his chains,
trying to weasel away, but the being was falling at them way
too fast. Panic descended over the
(36:29):
encampment as the slaves reactedto the thunderous noise.
As they turned to face it, they watched waves of folders and
heavy shards of ice raining downupon them.
Fight or flight responses kickedin and they lurched away, only
to find they were anchored in place by their chains.
Screams of terror rose as slavesentangled by the thick chains
(36:51):
crashed into each other and fellto the ground.
Shadows happily danced on black stones, and Sonny was one of the
few slaves to remain upright. Unlike the rest of the poor
slaves he'd been able to prepare.
Calm and collected, he gazed at the night sky, his attribute
enhanced eyes piercing the darkness, and took one measured
(37:13):
step back. In the next second, a piece of
ice the size of a man's torso hit the ground right in front of
him and exploded, showering everything around with sharp
shards. Others weren't that quick as ice
and stones continued to rain. Many were wounded, and a few
(37:34):
even lost their lives. Agonizing whales filled the air.
The veteran soldier, the one whohad whipped Sunny only a few
hours before, stood amid the chaos.
On your feet, fools. Get to the wall.
He angrily tried to get the slaves to move toward the
(37:55):
relative safety of the mountain slope.
However, before anyone could heed his command, something
massive came crashing down, sending a tremor through the
stones beneath their feet. It fell right between the
caravan and the mountain wall, plunging everything into silence
for a few seconds. At first, it looked like a lump
(38:16):
of dirty snow, roughly round andas tall as a mounted horseman.
However, once the creature unfurled its long limbs and
rose, it towered over the stone platform like a nightmarish.
Omen of death. Sunny's eyes went wide.
That thing must be at least 4 meters tall.
(38:39):
The creature had two stumpy legsand emaciated hunched torso and
disproportionately long multi jointed hands, Two of them each
ending with a set of horrifying bone claws and another two,
these shorter, ending with almost human like fingers.
The thing that at first glance looked like dirty snow turned
(39:03):
out to be its fur, yellowish Gray and ragged, thick enough to
stop arrows and swords on its head. 5 Milky white eyes
regarded the slaves with insect like indifference.
Beneath them, a terrible maw crowded with razor sharp teeth
was half open as though in anticipation.
(39:25):
Viscous drool was running down the creature's chin and dripping
into the snow. What unnerved Sunny the most
though, were the strange shapes endlessly moving worm like under
the creature's skin. He could see them clearly
because unfortunately, he was one of those unlucky souls
closest to the monstrosity getting a nauseating first row
(39:49):
view. What the hell is that?
He thought, stupefied. As soon as Sonny finished that
thought, all hell broke loose. The creature moved, slashing its
claws in his general direction, but Sonny was one step ahead.
Without wasting a single moment,he jumped sideways as far as the
(40:11):
chain allowed, conveniently placing the broad shouldered
slave between himself and the monster.
His quick reaction saved his life, as those sharp claws each
as long as a sword. Sliced through the broad
shouldered man a fraction of a second later and sent streams of
blood flying through the air. Drenched in the hot liquid,
(40:35):
Sonny hit the ground and his fellow slave, now simply a
corpse, fell on him from above. Pinned to the ground, Sonny
struggled to get up. Damn, why are you so heavy?
Temporarily blinded, Sonny hearda chilling howl and felt an
enormous shadow passing over him.
(40:56):
Immediately after, a deafening chorus of screams filled the
night. Not paying it any attention, he
tried to roll the corpse to the side, but was stopped by a
forceful lurch of the chain thattwisted his wrists and filled
his mind with white hot pain. Disoriented, he felt himself
being dragged a few steps, but then the chain suddenly
(41:19):
slackened and he was able to control his hands again.
Thank God for small favors. Putting his palms against the
dead man's chest, he pushed withall the strength he had.
The heavy corpse stubbornly resisted his attempts, but then
finally fell sideways, setting Sunny free.
(41:41):
However, he didn't get to celebrate his newly found
freedom as his blood suddenly turned to ice.
At that moment, with his palm still pressed against the broad
shouldered slave's bleeding body, he felt something
wriggling under the dead man's skin.
He chastised himself for thinking he was somehow even
minorly victorious. Pushing the corpse with his
(42:03):
legs, Sonny crawled as far away from it as he could, which was
about a meter and 1/2 thanks to the ever present chain.
He quickly glanced around, noticing a mass of dancing
shadows and the silhouette of the monster rampaging amidst the
screaming slaves on the oppositeend of the stone platform.
Then he concentrated on the deadbody, which was starting to
(42:25):
convulse with growing violence. On the opposite side of the
corpse, the shifty slave was staring with a slackened jaw and
a horrified expression on his face.
Sonny waved to get his attention.
What are you staring at? Move away from it.
The shifty slave tried but immediately fell.
(42:46):
The chain was twisted between the three of them, pinned down
by the broad shouldered man's weight.
Sonny clenched his teeth right under his eyes.
The corpse was going through a nightmare inducing
metamorphosis. Strange bone growths pierced its
skin, extending like spikes. The muscles bulged and wriggled
as though trying to change shape.
(43:09):
The fingernails were turning into sharp claws.
The face cracked and split, bearing open a twisted mouth
with one to many rows of bloodied needle like fangs.
Sonny swallowed a lump in his throat.
That's not good. He twitched, feeling a strong
(43:29):
urge to empty his stomach. The scholarly slave was just a
few steps behind the shifty 1, pointing at his shackles with a
face as pale as a ghost. The chain is going to get.
Us all killed. That remark was far from
helpful, but given the circumstances, his shock was
understandable. Being shackled was bad enough,
(43:52):
but being shackled to such a horror was truly unfair.
This whole situation felt off toSunny, not just because of the
dramatics, but because it didn'tfit with all he knew about the
Nightmare spell. The spell, mysterious as it was,
had its own set of rules. There were rules for what type
of creatures could appear in anygiven nightmare too.
(44:14):
Nightmare creatures had their hierarchy.
It went beasts, monsters, demons, devils, tyrants,
terrors, and Titans. There was an extremely rare cast
above that known as Calamities. The first nightmare was a trial
for beginners and as such was supposed to be populated by
beasts and monsters. In rare instances one may come
(44:37):
face to face with a demon, but that was it.
The creature that was hunting them had to be far beyond that
level. Nightmare creatures powers
increased with their level and the skill this animal had just
shown. The ability to create a lesser
version of itself was something that was only seen in Tyrants
and above. What was this tyrant even doing
(44:59):
in a first nightmare? Was it because of Sunny's damned
faded attribute? How many more times would this
screw him over? But there was no time to ponder.
Unfair or not, there was only one person now who could save
Sunny himself. The broad shouldered man.
What was left of him slowly rose, his mouth producing
(45:23):
strange clicking noises. Without giving him time to fully
come to his senses, Sunny cursedand jumped forward, grabbing
onto the length of the slack andchain.
One arm of the monster, now fully equipped with five jagged
claws, shot forward to meet him,but Sunny sidestepped it with
one calculated movement. What saved his skin this time
(45:46):
was not a quick reaction, but a simple presence of mind.
Sunny never trained in any fancycombat techniques since his
childhood was spent on the streets, but the streets too
were a kind of teacher. He had spent his whole life
fighting for survival, quite often literally.
That experience allowed him to keep a cool head on his
(46:06):
shoulders in the midst of any conflict.
So instead of freezing or being consumed by fear and doubt,
Sonny just acted. Stepping close, he threw the
chain around the monster's shoulders and pulled, pinning
his hands to its body before thecreature, still slow and groggy
from its transformation, could properly react.
(46:27):
Sonny wrapped the chain around it several times, barely saving
his face from being bitten off by the creatures terrifying
moth. The good thing was the monster
couldn't move its hands now. The bad thing was the length of
the chain he used to immobilize it was gone, leaving almost no
distance between them. You 2 Sunny screamed at the
(46:51):
shifty and scholarly slaves. Pull on that chain.
As though your lives depend on it.
The shifty slave and the scholargaped at him and then,
understanding what he was thinking, started to move,
grabbing the chain from the opposite directions.
They pulled as hard as they could, tightening their grip on
the monster and not letting it shake loose.
(47:11):
Sunny sighed in relief. Well done.
The monster bulged, its muscles trying to break free.
The chain creaked, caught on thebone spikes as though slowly
breaking apart. The scholar frowned.
Not well enough. Without wasting any more time,
Sonny threw his hands in the airand caught the creature's neck
(47:33):
with the short, thinner chain connecting his shackles.
Then he circled the monster witha quick step and pulled, ending
up back-to-back with it, as far away from its maw as he could.
Sunny knew that he wasn't strongenough to strangle a man with
his bare hands, let alone a weird, terrifying mutant like
the one trying to eat him. But now, using his own back is a
(47:56):
lever and the weight of his whole body to pull the shackles
down, he at least stood a chance.
He pulled down with all his might, feeling the monster's
body pressing against him, bone spikes brushing against his
skin. The monster continued to
struggle, clicking loudly and trying to break the chain tying
him down apart. Now it was just a question of
(48:18):
what would break first, the chain or the monster itself.
Die, die, you bastard. Sweat and blood were rolling
down Sonny's face as he was pulling, pulling and pulling
down with as much force as he could muster.
Every second felt like an eternity.
His strength and stamina, what little he had to begin with,
(48:41):
were quickly running out. His wounded back, wrists and
muscles pierced by the bone spikes were in agony.
And then, finally, Sunny felt the monster's body go limp.
A moment later, a faintly familiar voice rang in the air.
It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
(49:04):
You have slain A dormant Beast Mountain King's larvae.
Sunny released the dead beast and sank back to catch his
breath. He'd done it.
He'd fucking killed that creature's spawn.
Shifty sneered at Sunny. Don't just lay there, you idiot.
The big one is still out there. Another thunderous roar echoed
(49:27):
in the Canyon, and Sunny forced himself to his feet.
There was still plenty of battleto be fought, and that monster
wasn't going to care that Sonny wasn't up to it.
It took all his strength to dispatch with the larvae.
How was he going to stand a chance against the big one?
To find out what happens next, follow us here on Spotify, and
(49:50):
for more such stories, download the Pocket FM app link in the
description.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.