In a time of dire need, six of the strongest champions of the Human Domain disappeared, entering the depths of a perilous Nightmare.
Effie, Kai, Jet, Morgan, Seishan, Nightwalker...
Humanity knew them as brilliant warriors and leaders. In the pantheon of heroes who walked the Path of Ascension, they were only half a step behind the true deities — Changing Star, Song of the Fallen... even the King of Nothing.
Each of them was a living legend. Raised by Wolves and Nightingale were known as Changing Star's loyal companions, having braved myriad dangers side by side with the goddess of humanity. They were both revered and beloved, having conquered and ruled two of the greatest human settlements in the Dream Realm — Bastion and Ravenheart.
Soul Reaper Jet needed no introduction, either. Her fame could only compare to her infamy, and there was not a human alive who didn't admire or fear her... or both. However, everyone agreed that there was no deadlier Saint. Among the government forces, meanwhile, her reputation could rival the dead gods themselves.
Morgan of Valor and Seishan of Song carried legends of their own — legends that they built themselves, as well as vast legends they had inherited from the fallen Great Clans.
Needless to say, Nightwalker — one of the most accomplished and mysterious paragons of the First Generation who had vanished without a trace, then returned from being dead decades later — was a living legend, as well.
The information about where they had gone was not hidden, so soon enough, both worlds were buzzing with conversations about whether they would become the second cohort to conquer the Fourth Nightmare — or if they would perish in its depths.
The six of them were storied heroes for ordinary humans...
But for Sunny, they were simply friends. The world felt strangely empty without Effie, Kai, and Jet.
In one of the rooms of the Tower of Hope, six Memories lay on a slab of white marble. Each belonged to one of the six Saints who had challenged the Fourth Nightmare — for as long as they were still alive, the Memories were not going to disappear.
If something happened to them during the trial of the Spell, though, the Memories would collapse into a whirlwind of sparks and vanish forever.
In the weeks following the journey to Antarctica, Sunny developed a habit of visiting the Memory Room and looking at the Memories, wondering what his friends were going through somewhere out there, in the violent ordeal of the Nightmare.
Of course, there was no answer — there wouldn't be for quite a while. But seeing the intact Memories brought Sunny a measure of solace.
Naturally, he did not have a lot of time to stare at the six Memories. The world was still falling apart, after all.
Everything that had been plaguing the Human Domain before was now exacerbated — both because the apocalypse was gaining steam and because six pillars of humanity were missing. It was not only their personal strength that the world was lacking now, but also their influence and leadership.
Others rose to the occasion, of course, trying to fill the vacuum — but no one could really replace the six people who had gone into the Nightmare.
As a result, the situation turned grim for a long while.
The breach in the realm boundary continued to expand, and more Nightmare Creatures poured into the waking world. Sunny and Nephis had to abandon the established plan of resettlement and swiftly evacuate millions more people into the Dream Realm — despite the fact that it was not ready to support that rate of population growth.
The saving grace was the Stormsea, where the floating cities were swiftly expanding with the help of the River People. Ananke joined the construction effort personally, vastly accelerating its progress. Of course, expansion of that perilous region of the Dream Realm was not without risk, so terrifying naval battles began to happen there with increasing frequency.
In these circumstances, a new generation of warriors received a chance to distinguish themselves. The daughter and grandson of Wind Flower proved themselves to be worthy successors of their storied bloodline; the Saints of Night and their warriors forged a new reputation for their fallen clan in the absence of its founder. Quite unexpectedly — or perhaps quite the opposite — a man named Gunlaug also rose to prominence, fighting side by side with Saints despite being merely an Ascended. His Aspect was uniquely suited for grueling battles in the depths of the Stormsea, and his grim determination reminded people why he had been known as the Dark Diver once, before becoming the Lord of the Bright Castle.
Another cohort that earned fame and respect in the Stormsea... was Tamar of Sorrow and her warriors.
The importance of the Stormsea Citadels had drastically increased, so naturally, the Human Domain had to commit more forces to defend them. Sunny sent several cohorts of the Shadow Clan there, as well. At the same time, Stormsea was the next destination chosen by Rain, who wanted to participate in the construction of floating cities alongside the River People.
So, she became one of his envoys there. Rain and her cohort were not meant to engage in too many battles, but no Awakened could stay away from fighting during the apocalypse. Since Ascended were still relatively rare, Tamar swiftly became renowned among local warriors, earning a reputation as a powerful young Master who commanded a cohort of exceptional fighters.
But, of course, the moderate success in the Stormsea did not mean that all the other problems Sunny and Nephis had to contend against disappeared.
Humanity was besieged on all sides — the realm boundary was growing more brittle with each month, Nightmare Gates continued to open all across the waking world, the Nightmare Creatures of the Dream Realm were attacking Citadel Cities with increasing ferocity, and amidst all of this, their most cherished companions were missing, risking it all in the Nightmare. Sunny and Nephis dove into the crucible of the apocalypse, unleashing their Supreme powers without holding anything back. They fought more often and more intensely than ever before, barely getting any time to rest. It was a stressful time... a terrifying time.
But, funnily enough, Sunny felt happier than he had ever felt before.
