The two days the Sleeper duo spent together passed in the blink of an eye, now all that was left for them to do was reach the Ashen Barrow and onwards. Though they had sparred a great many times over the course of their resting days, Sunny oddly felt no closer to prepared than the day he first stepped on the Forgotten Shore.
He and Nephis both had to grow stronger, there was no time to waste if they were to stand up to the Sovereigns, or survive long enough to reach them.
In an ironic sense, they had been given ample time and yet they had none to spare.
"You know, we have not really touched on what our plan of action is for Gunlaug, as well as the rest of the Sleepers at the Bright Castle."
Drawn out of his rather somber thoughts, Sunny faced Neph as the two sat patiently at the edge of the spine, waiting out the dark sea's tide. It was true, they had not really discussed their approach quite yet.
"Well I for one think that Gunlaug should be taken out as soon as we get there. Same for my dear Harus. The sooner we leave this place, the better. Letting them live will only stall us longer than necessary."
Neph continued to gaze out into the darkness, a light sigh parting her soft lips.
"You are so quick to repeat our past, Sunny."
A frown formed on his face as his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Was he repeating their past? It was not necessarily wrong to say those choices are of their past, yet Sunny believed they were not quite mistakes.
"And how is that?"
This time it was Nephis who turned her gaze. Despite the darkness she still managed to bore her intense gaze into Sunny's own. There was something discontent within her expression as well, not going unnoticed by Sunny.
"Why should we take the easy road? We have been given an opportunity to right our wrongs. The more power we accumulate for our side, the higher chance of victory. Power is not solely our individual strengths, it is the resolve and strength of those around us to succeed."
She… was not inherently wrong. But, Sunny knew that people do not change easily, if ever. The likeliness that they could win Gunlaug to their side and convince the conceited man to charge into possible death, as well as convince that damnable Caster was unlikely. Incredibly so.
Power was one thing, but authority was another. Sure, they could subdue them with relative ease, but that would only breed ill intent and allow them to harbor hatred.
"I know you wish to change the past, to correct our mistakes and change what was previously out of our reach. However Nephis, these people did not travel to the past like we have, they have not yet reached the future. They do not know what lies in wait for them. It is unlikely they will willingly submit and follow us without bloodshed."
Though the darkness may have blinded Nephis, Sunny could see the finer details of her expression just fine. It was a rather sobering for him to see that somber smile that did not quite reach her eyes, one that Sunny knew held more depth than he could truly perceive.
"There is no greater threat than power without purpose. What is our purpose if not to shatter the previous status quo of the Forgotten Shore? What is our purpose if not to wield our new found strength in an attempt to change the unchanged? Sunny, I know that these things I wish for are not so easily achievable, nor do I expect them to be. But if it is our will, who dares to stop us?"
It was Sunny's turn to let a smile flit across his lips, a faint glow bore through the darkness from Neph's eyes. The once tired depth to her was reignited, her kindle now aflame blazing with passion. Ah, he missed this side to her, this unmovable resolve. It was something he had never understood.
In fact, it was this same resolve that made him search for his own in that damnable Antarctica.
'I suppose I should concede this one to her.'
Shaking his head, Sunny let a surrendering sigh escape him. There was no stopping this woman once she set her sight on something. If she wanted it, it would be hers. Not by avarice but of resolve.
"Fine, fine. We can try to convince the depressed ruler of the Bright Castle to work with us, as well as that damn brat Caster. Under one condition though."
With a fierce fire blazing deep within her gaze, Nephis pondered for a moment before responding:
"And that is?"
"If they do not listen to us, do not try to make them do so in vain. We must be efficient if nothing else with time, if they do not want to listen then that is their choice. Their final choice."
"...Fine."
There was a slight hesitance in her tone, yet Sunny had succeeded in reasoning with the stalwart woman. How was he always surrounded by such insane people in his life?
Maybe that was his own fault.
Gazing back to the horizon line, Sunny's smile quietly faded away as he digested their conversation. This would be easy by no means. They were still simple Sleepers after all, even if they had near godlike powers and experience to boot.
"So, we storm the Bright Castle and kick down the tyrant's doors in a dramatic act?"
A soft chuckle emanated from Nephis — quite rare that was.
"No, not quite. Let us prove to Effie our strength first, then gather Kai to our side before we do such impulsive things."
A contemplative frown filled Sunny's expression.
"I see, round up our cohort first then kick ass?"
Nephis exhaled, something akin to surrendering laced within it.
"Yes Sunny, round up our cohort first then… kick ass."
***
With the crimson red sun peaking over the distant horizon and the dark sea in retreat, the pair of Sleepers descended down from the safety of the bone ridge. Over the last two days, they had not encountered any monstrosities. It was rather odd, but perhaps [Fated] was working in their favor for once.
Reaching the muddied sand once more, Sunny and Nephis stepped off to continue their journey westward. Absentmindedly Sunny began to wander into his thoughts — though Sunny had already sent Gloomy ahead so there was no real threat — Sunny pondered over the Soul Tree.
Would Weaver's lineage be lying in wait for him there still? Was it even worth consuming Blood Weave? After all, he still had consumed the drop of ichor. He could take an entirely different route, an unknown route this life. Perhaps combining that with the Shadow Lantern would lead to more knowledge about the mystic Shadow God.
Was it worth the risk though? Blood Weave had saved his life countless times, especially as a Sleeper and Awakened. An inkling of doubt doused Sunny's mind as he considered his options. Another subject to consider was the tree itself.
In the past, Sunny had traveled back to burn the damnable tree himself. But he was not the only one to suffer at its hands, and so it would only be fair if Nephis was given the same opportunity as he had.
He would likely take joy in watching his fanatical girlfriend light a big tree on fire anyways.
'She already has a poor history with lighting things on fire... emotionally. Maybe I should be a little more careful around her?'
A subtle hum broke the thick silence between the two as they traveled. Sunny was, well he was bored. The occasional Scavenger nor centipede or grotesque spiders were enough to satiate his desire for stimulation. Gloomy was in part, ruining the fun. Armed with the element of surprise every fight went his way.
Though, that was not a bad thing by any means, the last thing Sunny needed was another Nightmare creature like the Whisper of Fate ambushing them.
"Are you really that bored, Sunny."
It was more of a chastising statement rather than a question. Stopping his soft hum, he responded simply:
"Yes in fact, I am. There is not much to do until we arrive at the Soul Tree."
Shaking her head, Nephis mumbled something under her breath. How unlike her usual indifference to such trivial things.
"You will have plenty to do there and after. In fact, we could even talk during our travels instead of being anti social."
There was a certain emphasis on the word fact, and something a little deeper seemed to lace her words. Sunny really could not understand her mind sometimes.
"Oh."
He had not really stopped to consider that yes, they could in fact talk without fear of being found while traveling. A silly oversight indeed. Though by this point, their journey would be over soon and they would have to face the Carapace Demon.
Without waiting for a response, Nephis peeked at Sunny curiously.
"We never really talked about your time in Antarctica before the clans. How was it?"
A distant smile worked its way onto Sunny's expression. Ah, Antarctica. He and Nephis may have ended up there for different reasons, yet he was the one to follow her lead in the end.
"It was rather eye opening if nothing else. It is not an exaggeration to say that before my time in Antarctica I did not value anyone's life over mine. But after fighting tooth and nail to stay alive there, to keep the innocent lives at risk safe, I changed. I learned a lot, and lost a lot."
A silence so thick it could be felt in the air between them for a moment, it was as if Nephis was unsure of how to respond. A furtive sigh echoed from her direction and Sunny glanced over to at her, a rather sad expression troubled normally indifferent face.
"I'm glad you learned a lot."
Briefly pausing, Nephis glanced over and met his empty gaze.
"And, I'm sorry. It was not my intention to have you end up in Antarctica. I was well... naive with my words."
Sunny stopped in his tracks for a moment, standing completely still before turning to face Neph incredulously. The afternoon light seeping through the dense coral forest touched Sunny's face softly, illuminating his expression for Neph to see.
"No shit?"
***
The ashen sand packed land of Ashen Barrow easily grabbed at Sunny's boots as he traversed inland. The tree was not far off now, and it's ritual guard was waiting unaware of the Sleepers still. Today, the tree would rot. It would burn.
Kind of like his face. That slap hurt nearly as much as the Carapace Centurion's swing.
'Lesson learned I suppose.'
It would seem that Sunny was still not versed very well socially with apologies quite yet. It was not like he had much experience with apologies, though. The people surrounding him in life often tried to kill him anyways.
Regardless, the two Sleepers had long at last arrived at the home of the Soul Tree.