Sunny stared at the Shadow Saint, dumbfounded.

The storm of emotions that the destruction of the tower shield had produced was still tugging on his heartstrings, but now, an equally powerful feeling was slowly welling up in his chest. Not knowing how to process all of this, he simply blinked a couple of times and said in a flat tone:

"Huh?"

'So, let me get this straight…'

He gave the shield to his pet monster hoping that she would be able to use it. And she did, sort of. It's just that instead of wielding the Memory, she… ate it.

Sunny hesitated for a few moments, wondering if he had finally lost it. But no, the echo of the Spell's voice was still resounding above the dark waters, whispering the same phrase over and over again.

Stone Saint has grown stronger.

With a heavy sigh, Sunny summoned the runes and found the description of the Shadow. Down at the very bottom of it, the runes were slightly changed:

Shadow Fragments: [2/200].

A wild gleam appeared in his eyes. Two fragments… he had received the Memory of the tower shield after slaying a particularly hardy wraith, who, despite its frightening appearance, had turned out to be merely an awakened monster. For killing it, Sunny himself had received four shadow fragments.

But that was because his own Shadow Core was Dormant, and as such, he always got double the reward in battles against creatures of the higher rank — two for each Soul Core that an awakened creature possessed.

The Stone Saint was such a creature herself, so it was logical to assume that she would not receive the same treatment. The tower shield had come from a monster with two awakened cores, so she received two fragments for consuming its Memory.

Which meant that…

With a fire of excitement burning in his eyes, Sunny hurriedly summoned another Memory. A disgusting eye with a menacing vertical pupil appeared from the dissipating brightness of the descending sphere of light.

That eye came from a basilisk-like creature that Sunny had killed a few weeks ago. To survive the battle, he had to fight it with his own eyes closed, relying solely on the Shadow Sense to move through the rubble and dodge the attacks of the deadly beast.

In the end, he had beheaded the vile thing with a slash of his swift blade seconds before being ripped apart by its claws. It was a fine test for his nascent combat skill.

Sadly, the Memory came with none of the powers that the actual beast had possessed. It was only capable of producing a harmless beam of red light, which could only be used for creating mood lighting… at least in the case of Sunny, who could see in the dark.

Grabbing the eye, he held it out for the Stone Saint to take.

The Shadow grasped the disgusting thing, brought it to her chest, and then crushed it in her armored fist. Once again, the Memory disintegrated into countless tiny sparks of ethereal light, which were then absorbed by the darkness hiding inside the elegant creature's body.

[Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

Sunny grinned, then threw his head back and laughed.

So that's how it was… the Shadows fed on Memories! They consumed them to receive power, just like he killed Nightmare Creatures to consume the remnants of their shadows.

To make sure, he glanced at the runes again and saw exactly what he had expected to see:

Shadow Fragments: [3/200].

Tier-one Awakened Memory, one fragment. Makes sense.

Giddy with anticipation, Sunny summoned the next Memory. A bulky suit of rusty plate armor appeared from the sphere of light and hovered in the air in front of him. This one he had received after burning the towering nest of monstrous, flesh-devouring termites to the ground.

Creating a bonfire in the absolute darkness of the Forgotten Shore's night was a dangerous endeavor, but he had hoped to receive hundreds of shadow fragments by eviscerating the whole swarm of these tiny gluttonous creatures. Judging by the amount of bones littering the ground around the nest, they were a real plague.

Sadly, the entire colony had turned out to be a single demonic being, landing him only six fragments. He even had to retreat without collecting the soul shards from the smoldering remains of the hive, scared away by the approach of several Fallen horrors that had been attracted by the bright flames. The Memory was of little consolation, since his own Puppeteer's Shroud was superior to it in all regards.

But now, finally, it could be of use!

The Stone Saint devoured the armor just like she had devoured the over two Memories. Once again, the Spell announced that the shadow monster had grown stronger. The runes changed again:

Shadow Fragments: [6/200].

Every time the numbers changed, Sunny felt a deep sense of satisfaction. His menacing stone knight was becoming more fearsome with each second. He suspected that gambling addicts felt something similar in the throes of a rare winning streak.

Caught in the moment, he grasped the next Memory, but then stopped and stared at the small silver bell that lay silently in his hand.

This one… this one was the first Memory he had ever received, barely holding onto life in the bitter cold and terror of the First Nightmare. It was the weakest Memory he had, but also the most meaningful. Sunny had killed one human to receive it, and had used it to kill another.

The Silver Bell was a reminder.

With bleak eyes, he read the runes that shimmered in the lightless emptiness of his soul:

[...a small memento of a long-lost home, which once brought its owner comfort and joy.]

Suddenly drained of the excitement that had been consuming him just a few moments ago, Sunny sighed heavily and dismissed the Memory. There was a dark expression on his face.

Glancing at the motionless Shadow Saint, he turned away.

"That's enough for today… Ah, what a long day. I think I'll go to sleep now."

Leaving the Soul Sea, he stood silently for a few minutes, then slowly walked to his bed and fell on it. Dismissing the Puppeteer's Shroud, Sunny wrapped himself in the blanket and closed his eyes.

He was so tired.