An Infection

Sunny POV

As Nephis ran towards him, activating her flames, he knew something was severely wrong.

'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!!! How did you not realize earlier?! You should've stopped him the moment he pierced his first Soul Core!'

He was in the midst of falling down, Wyatt having thrown up moment prior. It was on him to do what he could to help Wyatt and the only thing he could do at the moment was prevent him from doing more damage to himself.

'(Hey! HEY! GET UP NOW!)'

Nothing.

He was currently on the floor crawling himself towards Changing Star, doing whatever he could to heal Wyatt sooner.

'You idiot! You fool! You should have realized!!!'

While this wasn't the first time his friend had dissappeared without notice, this was the first time it happened so terrifyingly. The last time there was no explanation. As they approached the Soul Devouring Tree, he left to mold his mindset into something that would escape eventually. Fine, thats fine. He understood that Wyatt had no reason to die back then.

But now is entirely different. His partner didn't leave because of some long term plan he didn't know about, he left because he might be gone, he might truly be gone. And Sunny is left to wonder how he could've prevented this.

There wasn't much he could've done however. Everything lined up too perfectly to guarantee that wouldn't happen. Wyatt's bold and adventurous attitude lent itself to great risks. Risks that had worked out to great success in the past. Sunny himself had never held much interest in changing what worked and so left Wyatt to his own devices. If it were just that however, then Sunny would've stepped in when he felt just how badly the Soul damage was affecting them.

The real problem was that there was no "them" when it came to the Soul.

This is unlike how it was for almost everything else. Their body was shared, and thus they did everything with the other person there. If one fought, the other helped. If one Weaved, the other would advise. If one got hurt, the other felt the pain. If one activated their Flaw, the other would join in the punishment.

Their Souls, though bound to each other, did not have this quality. if one had Memories, the other couldn't summon them. A Shadow Fragment could not feed a Soul Core, and a Soul Shard could not feed a Shadow Core.

If one's Soul was damaged, the other's... would still be fine.

And that what why Sunny was too late to help. He had no clue of the extent of Wyatt's injuries until it became all too obvious.

So now he was on his knees, being bathed in Neph's flames, looking up while scowling as though he was swearing to the dead God's that he would never forgive them if they took one of the only good things he had in this desolate hell. With lazer focusing, he looked at his friends Cores for any miniscule signs of being fixed, but there was nothing. His chest was healing from the wounds dealt to it, but underneath, the Cores did not change in the slightest.

"...th-the-there's nothing... he is... he... no...no...no no nononono DAMNATION DAMN THIS WHOLE FUCKING THING!!!"

In hysterics Sunny slammed both of his hands on the ground. His outburst could only mean one thing to his friends, that Wyatt didn't make it.

But while Sunny kept hitting the ground in a blind rage, Changing Star crouched down to put a hand on his shoulder, and asked a question with nothing resembling despair but something far stranger. Hope.

"What is that?"

Flipping his head up instantly, appalled by the tactless question right after the death of his friend, he makes her the object of his rage.

"What the hell do you mean? It's me. Some sad fuck who lost the first friend he made in years. Damn you, let me grieve!"

"I don't think she was referring to you Sunny. I think she was referring to those...  two bright spheres right above you."

Sunny turned around to see what they could possibly be referring to, only to be blindsided by the massive figure he was now facing. He instanly jumped out of the way, his fight or flight reflex being well honed.

Sunny instantly summoned a Memory to try warding off the newest threat. This caused everyone else to do the same.

As he looked at the strange figure he took note of the position it was in. On its knees while looking up to the ceiling, the same position he was in before he confirmed Wyatt had died. That wasn't the only notable thing about it though. Because as he stood up to look at it, it seemed that the world suddenly seemed less clear than it was supposed to be, it seemed that something was horribly off. Although Sunny was at least able to tell its color quite clearly, a bright white light, or... maybe... not?

'Does it even have a color?'

What mattered was the shape it formed. It had a stunning likeness to his Mantle of the Underworld, aside from being built for a larger body. This could only mean one thing.

He peered deeper in, trying to find two broken Cores, but his despair almost returned as he noticed only one Core inside the being. But that Core, that one lonely Core, was beating like a heart. It was glowing and dimming in a cycle with an unknown purpose.

"Hey Night, I though you said that there were two bright spheres. Where the hell is the other one?" Sunny spat out, afraid of feeling hope to soon only to be disappointed.

Kai was equally confused, he could have sworn there were two Spheres floating in the air. When did it become only one?

"I'm sorry. There were two earlier. There appears to only be one now. Do you know what it is?"

"Isn't it obvious, it's Wyatt!!! It has to be!"

"My friend, not to rain on your parade, but how is it Wyatt?" Caster asked.

"Because he's wearing the same armor that Kai bought for us back at Stev's Memory Shop. You can tell, can't you Kai?"

"Umm... noooot reeaaally. I'm sorry but all I'm seeing is a sphere."

"You can't see him? Can you see him looking around? Wait now he's standing up!"

As that was said, the others noticed the beating sphere travel upwards, and reach up to Sunny's neck in terms of height. This lent some credence to his ability to see more than the others.

'Wait, only I can see his real form? Is it my bond with him that gives me this ability or the Weaver's blood?'

Summoning his runes, he checked out the enchantment of his Blood Weave Attribute.

[Blood Weave (Stabilized)] Attribute Description:  "You, along with the treacherous Fate Breaker, have inherited a part of Weaver's Forbidden Lineage. Your blood has been altered and imbued with extreme tenacity. You regain blood quicker than others. Your blood contains more divinity than expected. Your blood contains some properties of Soul Essence."

'Okay. That didn't help at all. I can see the Weave of Memories, but it doesn't mention that either. Wait, what's happening? What's he doing?'

Wyatt could be seen reaching down and extending a finger to poke something in the ground. As he went lower, his finger extended through the ground as though not affected in the slightest by the material world.

Sunny saw his finger tug at something, something that even Sunny couldn't see, but he was able to tell that something went wrong when Wyatt jerked his head up and froze.

Not only him, but Cassie as well. The blind girl had no clue what was going on up til this point, but at exactly the same time as Wyatt froze, Cassie also started breathing heavily and looked straight at Wyatt.

"Can you see him Cassie?" Nephis asked, but got no answer in response as Cassie started running away and out of the hut, barely avoiding the walls.

Caster began running after her to make sure she wouldn't be hurt. Although this action didn't sit well with Sunny who eyed the Legacy suspiciously.

'I've gone through enough pain today. I don't want to lose her too, even if... actually, I'd rather not think about it.'

Wyatt stood perfectly still for a few moments after, but as Sunny was still wondering what was happening, Wyatt suddenly moved backwards with tremendous speed. Not only did Wyatt move backwards, but the true Mantle of the Underworld close to Sunny suddenly sustained a deep gash starting in the stomach and trending upwards to the chest. In full view of everyone it nearly got chopped in half.

Sunny knew something was wrong and ran in the direction that Wyatt was in.  And there he saw it, his friend clutching his stomach where the armor had all but broken off. He had been attacked by something, an invisible force powerful enough to break through an Ascended Armor.

'Is that what Cassie ran off from?'

Waving to try to get the attention of Wyatt, Sunny gave his all to be seen. Unfortunately Wyatt looked somewhere else entirely. He looked west as though laser focused, and so Sunny did too, but he saw nothing.

'Fuck this. What is he looking at?'

Sunny decided to pull out a Memory he bought at Stev's Memory Shop. It was a simple Memory that functioned as a handheld telescope. Perhaps he could get a better view with it.

As he summoned it, the sparks appeared in his hand and... did nothing. Unsettled, he checked the Runes and noticed that they wouldn't appear either. He had to know if this was only affecting him or others as well.

"Hey everyone! Summon your runes!!!"

Hearing urgency in their friends voice, they did just that, only to realize it was no longer possible.

With this knowledge in hand, Sunny was able to... do nothing. He had no clue what was going on and could only assume that getting Wyatt back would stop this madness. Who even knew how much his current state affected the other Awakened of the world.

'Is every Awakened unable to summon their Memories?'

Sunny was not confident it was only them feeling this burden, and although he didn't care about others, if everyone was affected they might eventually trace it back to them.

That mattered very little at the moment though, he just needed him back as soon as possible and the odds were looking good as Wyatt had finally stopped looking west and started looking around.

Wyatt took notice of the area Sunny was standing and started moving back down. He was now on an equal plane with Sunny, just one outstreched hand away. But for the thousandth time today, things did not go as planned, and as Sunny reached forward, the armored ghost just walked straight through him, waited, and dissapeared.

As Sunny peered into his heart, he noticed the addition of a lonely Soul Core, surrounded by three Shadows.

He let out a sigh of relief and layed down on some gravel, which now felt better than any bed. The world seemed calmer now, like it made just a bit more sense than before.

'[sunny...]' Wyatt let out weakly.

'[i'm so tired...]'

'[please... can you take over]'

'I don't blame him. These past two days have felt like months.'

With a light smile on his face, he responded with no need for his Flaw to force him.

'(I'd be happy to. I'm just happy you're alive. Please rest as long as you want.)'

'(Or need. Whichever ends last.)

Knowing his friend, it probably wouldn't take too long for him to get back on his feet, whether or not it was beneficial to his survival.

As he looked to his hips, the book that was formerly bound there seemed to have dissappeared. Perhaps Wyatt was already planning something new.

'(Are you still there?)' He asked, to no avail.

He could only trust that whatever Wyatt did wasn't something nearly as risky.

__________________________

Wyatt POV

'What a familiar sight.'

Wyatt was now back in his Soul Sea, a short distance away from his two victims. The Tree and the Egg.

Gritting his teeth he started walking towards them, first slowly, then faster, before developing into a sprint. The whole time his fist were clenched as though prepared for a battle, his face was starting to flush and his eyes were starting to moisten.

Standing before the giant egg of the the Vile Thieving Birds Spawn, he punched it with all his might over and over again. His anger dampening with every rage infused punch.

When he finally stopped, he broke down as tears started to flood down his face.

'Useless Coward. What kind of damnable wretch do you have to be freeze up like that.'

After he broke a single thread, he had truly experienced what it meant to fear for you life. His previous trials had been harrowing, but this time, instead of being chased down by a Monster of Hell or sliced apart by some oversized Crabs, something far worse happened.

It felt as though existence itself was looking directly at him, and not very happily at all.

He froze up when he realized what was happening. Not out of logic, or reason, but out of a pure blankness of mind, with only the most primal part of his brain active, telling him that there was no chance of survival.

Now that he was back on solid ground, he felt humiliated at having been made the target of Fate.

Actually he was honored to be the target of Fate. If it was to be his enemy, then he wanted it to at least acknowledge him. But what truly humiliated him was being hopelessly outmatched and surviving. Not that he wanted to die, but being toyed with would send anyone into a spiral.

All he could do was lick his wounds and assess the situation with the care that was necessary to survive in the Dream Realm. The first thing to check was his the status of his Soul. It was after all the main thing that was damaged.

[Soul Shards: 796/1000]

A scathing loss. Nearly two thousand Soul Shards in mere moments. Considering the amounts of Soul Shards an normal Awakened could absorb, losing two thousand was certainly a world record. Anyone else, with the exceptions of Mordret, Nephis and Sunny, would not even have the capacity to gain that much.

But as Wyatt saw when suspended in the tapestry, this loss wasn't what nearly killed him, instead it was what saved him. His two broken Cores melded together to keep him alive. So in a way he didn't lose two thousand Shards but rather saved nearly eight hundred.

The matter of Fate attacking was also interesting the more Wyatt thought.

Why attack him then? The answer was clear, it only noticed him when he broke a single thread.

The thread healed as soon as it broke. Making no difference from when he first freed himself from death.

This time however, it defended itself, violently. With a massive blade that looked like it could split the skies open. Aiming for his last Core, but blocked by a suit of armor, and giving no more attempt.

The message was clear. Break the tapestry, get noticed, get killed.

The whole debacle stank of a weird form of automation, as though the tapestry were less an intelligent creature, and more a program running of off if-then commands. Or perhaps, a body, noticing a virus, and getting rid of it as soon as possible, with as little waste as possible, in one swift strike.

"Either way, tearing apart Fate is off limits. If I ever go back there, I'll keep that in the back of my head."

Wyatt then checked through his Memories and found nothing missing, or at least nothing he had bothered remembering. The new influx of Memories really didn't help there.

The only thing left to check was his newest gain. A Legacy. He had no clue what it meant or why the Spell had been so unclear. The runes were a garbled mess and the translation itself was barely understandable. Even now, nothing was showing when he summoned it's runes.

[..................]

He chose to summon it and as he did, instead of ethereal sparks appearing in his hand to denote the Memory poofing into existence, threads simply wormed their way to his hand and formed a binder, with four pristine white pages , clipped into the binder.

He looked deeper, into the Weave of this Legacy, and found it empty, completely devoid of anything that would mark it as something special. He then took a page out and examined it. And noticed nothing peculiar about it at all, which was incredibly peculiar. Everything here was based on magic, the people, the plants, even the bad weather tommorow; how could there be nothing odd about this clearly odd book.

He tried a very simple strategy to find it's secrets. Taking it apart. And taking apart a piece of paper is usually an easy thing, especially if its a normal peice of paper.

This normal piece of paper was very difficult to take apart.

Wyatt was prepared though, and quickly adapted himself to this reality where paper was a good match for men. After much straining, the top corner he was pulling finally ripped off, revealing that this paper was indeed very special.

It was special in a very boring way? Who wanted unreasonably tough paper? Maybe the boring people. But he had no need for super special paper. Just average-ly special was enough.

He knew he needed to be influential to one day face Fate on equal ground. If he were a virus, then it would be folly to infect a body alone. He needed anyone and everyone joining in to make this infection count for anything.

What better opportunity would there be than the opportunity to write his own story, and perhaps eventually recieve his own live-action film. With a few minor tweaks to the truth, he could even rise up to a Messianic existence. Not among the Forgotten Shore residents, but among everyone.

________________________

'Okay, time to write the legend of Unknown.' Wyatt says while pulling out a simple dagger Memory he obtained that also doubled as a pen.

[[In the beginning]]

'No, that won't work.'

[[(-------------------) Once upon a time]]

'Maybe I should just act like I'm writing a diary.'

[[(‐-----------------------——————————) A demon spoke to me today. He called himself a demon, and was a horrible being. He wasn't a demon I recognized which is not to say I knew many demons before him. He told me that he was going to take me to another land entirely. One where the physical might of a single human could outdo all the militaries in my world and where they are lauded as near divine beings. So I gave him the only answer I though reasonable. A firm no. For I had no interest in such a world.

He said to me "All the power a mortal could ask for will be yours if only you agree." But I had no interest, as I had my own family, and to leave them would break my heart, so I said no again. He became more forceful. He said "The world is dying, only decades are left. I have scoured through all humanity and found only you capable of saving it." But I cared little for the people of a world I didn't know, and so for one last time I said no.

He found such an act unacceptable and told me "If it is your family that holds you back, then they shall be a problem no longer." And he forced me to look as he dragged in my family through an invisible force and one by one killed them all. As the light was leaving my brothers eyes, he freed me and I begged the demon to at least spare him. That I would do whatever was asked of me in exchange.

The demon obliged and even brought my parents back to life. He took me into a strange realm where everything was gone except for the demon a few strings connected to each other. Looking down I realized I too was a string although not for long, as the demon cut me from the other string and I took on a form of my own. An odd form but stil a form nonetheless.

"You need not worry" I heard the demon say. "Your family will bear no memory of these event and will think you died honorably." I did not want to have to die honorably. I did not wish to die at all.

He said to me "This world is cruel and unforgiving. You will be granted a power, yours to do with as you please. Most would pay a price to obtain this power, most would have a flaw. You will be different, as I have neither the energy nor the willingness to risk your death. I will give you an inheritance. A mask that will leave you free from the fate that all others must follow. You will carve your own path. To aid in your survival you will have a month to learn of the world before entering. After you enter you must find Noctis. Alongside you is a book, it's purpose."

That was all he said before my vision faded and I woke up.]]

As he writes this, Wyatt eyes start watering again. It was incredibly painful to recall his family because the truth was, he had no clue what happened to them after his death. The only solace he could find was that if this was actually a different world, they might still be alive AND Sunny would also be real.

[[Now I sit here in a forest, recounting these events on the book I was given with a writing utensil I found on the ground. As I'm looking out, I see two people walking in the distance. A pale child and a woman with silver hair walking side by side with very odd clothing. Perhaps this place is a children's school? Looking around it seems very unreasonable. I've seen prisons with less security.]]

'Hehehe' Wyatt smiles through the tears thinking about how the movie portrayed Sunny.

[[This may be the place where that demon intended I learn for a month. Looking at the child, a box is appearing in front of me. It tells me that this child has the power to hide and to see within the shadows. It is even asking if I wish to copy such a power. This copying must be the demon's power. If so it would not be wise to refuse it.]]

'This is really fun.'

[[It has hit nighttime and I am now writing in the forest again. Apparently it is the only place where I will not be spied upon by invisible cameras. Today has certainly been eventful. Apparently, the child is no child but is in fact even older than I am. The woman too seems to hold secrets. It is said that she has a True Name. This caused great commotion inside the facility which I've learned is no prison, but something a mix between a college and a dojo. Teaching both the sciences and various martial arts. Being a man of curiosity I went to check out various classes.

Sadly they did not seem for me as the subject matter was too different from what I am used to. The sciences were not too different and it would be within the realm of possibility for me to learn them in time, but I have only a month. The martial arts classes seemed to teach the usage of various weapons, however I hid myself and felt great shame in revealing myself after agreeing to work with a demon.

Something I had failed to mention was that I also recieved a True Name. I fear it was the handywork of that demon and so will refuse to use that name. Another factoid of that lady is that her ability is ranked as divine insofar as I can tell. I have little point of reference for what that means and can only assume it is similar in power to mine which is also ranked divine. As I scoured for more knowledge my search was blocked and I was unable to determine anything else of her power beyond a radiant glow. This glow stood in sharp contrast to the disgraceful light that emanated from me. I congratulate her for not needing the demon and pray that she will not be affected by my own demonic affliction.

At lunch I saw the young man, now named Sunless, from earlier, meet with another girl. A blind girl. However her sacred ranked ability was worth noting. I found it to be useful for divination, and as it was my new duty to carve a path for myself, I chose to copy and modify it to fit my needs (with great difficulty). Now I will know what the future holds in store for me.

In the end, I followed Sunless to a class tailored toward survival taught by a man who goes by Teacher Julius. It was a very empty class with only him and me. Sunless, who I saw earlier in the day also saw me much to my chagrin. I learned much from his class, although secrecy held me back and prevented me from tearing into any books and being noticed.

Thankfully Sunless seemed as clueless as I about the subject matter and asked for clarification numerous times. Not only that but there were also virtual reality machines! It may be childish to be so excited about them but to see these virtual reality machines for myself is a new experience in its entirety. There were only attempts at virtual reality back home and even then I'd only heard subpar things. So even if I didn't use them, it was still nice to be near them.

The day then took an unexpected turn as Sunless walked into a room of teenagers and declared himself the strongest. As he humiliated himself I left out of respect. Eventually I came by as he was talking with a fighting teacher who I believe is called Awakened Rock. Sunless mentioned being from the outskirts which I assume to be analogous to slums. If so then may he find success for I have grown quite fond of him.

After it got late, I went to a room with a piano and played despite it being completely dark. Sunless found me despite the late hour and spoke with me.

Sadly I have run out of pages and will now have to stop.]]

Looking at his book with a smile on his face, Wyatt wondered what would happen if he showed the world this book that "Unknown" wrote. As he thought of the fallout he couldn't contain his laughter and kept going until his sides hurt.

End Chapter 21

A/N: Big thank you to Dashkins74 for helping me come up with the idea for Wyatt to use his Legacy to spread rumors about himself.