Sunny stepped into the patch of mangled obsidian and slowly approached the alabaster phalanx, then kneeled beside it and lingered, studying its golden shine.
He was trying to determine if any sign of the harrowing rot remained, but also felt pulled toward the radiant bone and found it hard to look away.
'All of this insanity, just for that little piece of bone. This better be a Divine Memory or something…'
He hesitated for a moment, then reached down and picked up the phalanx.
Sunny had instinctively expected it to crumble into a torrent of white sparks and hear the Spell proclaim that he had acquired a new Memory, just like what had happened with Weaver's Mask… that Memory being, perhaps, another Drop of Ichor.
But nothing of the sort happened.
The bone felt cold and smooth to the touch. There was still marrow inside, wet and infused with bright golden radiance. Sunny tilted his head, stumped. What was he supposed to do now?
In hindsight, the fact that the phalanx was not going to turn into a Memory was rather sensible… obvious, even. After all, Memories were simply copies of real items recreated by the Spell, just like Echoes were copies of actual creatures — or items conjured by it from scratch following some unknown principle.
This, however… this was the real deal.
The alabaster bone had nothing to do with the Spell. It wasn't a recreation, it was… the original.
Sunny frowned, feeling unsure about how he was supposed to proceed.
Then, a certain scene suddenly appeared in his mind. He recalled himself tossing a fry into his mouth while seated with a short, unknown figure…
Before he could fully process the implications of this image, Sunny followed a strange instinct. Without allowing himself time to think about it, he opened his mouth, put the phalanx inside… and swallowed it.
'…Whoops?'
He blinked a couple of times.
'Huh. I really lost it this time…'
Sunny stared at his empty hand, in which a divine bone had been just a few seconds ago, with wide eyes.
And then… it was as though a furious fire ignited in his chest.
'Crap! It's the consequences of my actions!'
***
Sunny tumbled to the floor, feeling a harrowing pain permeate his entire being. It was the unbearable agony he knew and remembered all too well… the feeling of his very nature being forcibly changed into something that it was never meant to be. That nothing was ever meant to be…
Or maybe simply not allowed to.
It was the opposite of the euphoric sense of rebirth the Awakened experienced after completing the First Nightmare... the feeling of your whole body being torn apart and reassembled, only to be torn apart once more.
"This… is why you don't eat holy fingers of unknown origins!"
He was worried a malevolent being from a millennia ago would reincarnate into his body…
The pain was concentrated in his spine, in his bones, in the marrow permeating them. His fingers in particular felt as though there was molten, incandescent, liquid metal flowing through them.
Sunny shrieked.
It hurt so much…
After a few more minutes of torture, Sunny felt the Blood Weave suddenly come alive and rush through his veins, absorbing the harrowing heat and then carrying it to every cell of his body. Slowly but surely, the pain lessened.
But the process of transformation continued.
Sunny sprawled on the floor, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He could feel himself changing… it was a strange and extremely unpleasant sensation, one suffused with a feeling of profound wrongness, but not as devastatingly excruciating as it had been just a few seconds ago.
"…Am I going to need therapy?"
He hoped not.
His voice was hoarse and creaky.
Sunny glanced to the side and noticed Saint, who was standing silently above him and looking away with cold indifference.
'Such heartlessness! No sympathy at all…'
At least the Happy shadow seemed very concerned about him… or itself. It was pacing nervously, turning to Sunny from time to time and timidly offering its encouragement.
The Gloomy and Haughty shadows were currently wrapped around his body, so they couldn't offer any feedback. He had no doubt that they would have just mocked him, anyway.
'That jolly guy is… really irritating! I would rather be mocked!'
Gritting his teeth, Sunny closed his eyes and endured the unpleasant feeling of his body being demolished and reconstructed as best as he could.
After a long while — which felt like an eternity — it was all finally over.
A deep feeling of relief spread through Sunny's body. It felt… more solid, somehow. Strong, firm…
Resilient.
Kind of like when he used the Preservation.
'Just what have I…'
The voice of the Spell suddenly thundered in the solemn dark hall, interrupting his thoughts.
Was he imagining it, or had there been a note of dark excitement in it?
It said:
[You have acquired a new Attribute.]
'You don't say!'
Sunny struggled to sit up, and then hurriedly summoned the runes.
'What… what have I done to myself this time?'
The runes shimmered in the air in front of him, and Sunny quickly looked at the cluster describing his Attributes.
Attributes: [Fated], [Essence of Divinity], [Child of Shadows], [Breach of Styx], [Pathstrider], [The War], [Blood Weave]…
The eighth one was new. At the very end of the list, several new runes appeared. Sunny held his breath, and read:
Attribute: [Bone Weave].