Over the past few weeks, Nephis had quickly acclimated to Audun's lessons, and before long, her strength began to quickly approach Sunny's, though there was still a noticeable gap in strength.
Fortunately, though, with Nephis's increase in strength, Audun felt comfortable enough to hold joint training sessions with his other, less polite, student.
And currently, he was holding one such session.
"Neph, coordinate with me for a bit."
"Mm."
Streaks of silver and black tore through the air, a pair of monochrome blades flowing together in harmony.
The Child of Shadows mimicked Changing Stars' swordsmanship seamlessly, his movements an eerie echo of efficient grace.
Their opponent, however, was unfazed in the face of their collaboration, adopting a rather pisspoor stance.
Nephis pushed slightly ahead of Sunny, her blade flying towards of mess of wheat blonde hair.
SWANG
Audun swung the sword in his hands, a much longer variation of an estoc, redirecting Nephis's blade into the ground, and with a simple twist, coiled up for a follow-up attack.
Unfortunately, taking advantage of the window Nephis had created, Sunny flew in and launched an attack at his flank.
Forced on defense, Audun shifted his stance and parried Sunny's strike before taking a few steps back to open up the distance.
Sunny quickly pressed the advantage, the longsword in his hand morphing into a claymore as he transitioned to an entirely different swordsmanship.
Planting himself firmly, Sunny began his assault, launching a strike that radiated an idealistic heaviness towards Audun.
The swordsman barely paid the strike any mind, his sword blurring as he dismantled Sunny's blow, but Nephis, anticipating the outcome, threaded through the tiny opening Sunny's strike had created and slashed at his neck.
Audun's body moved before the monochrome pair could react, slipping out of the trap the two had laid with ease.
"Sunny, I don't think the Bait and Switch is gonna work."
"Then let's change it up a bit-"
Sending a signal in Nephis's direction, the claymore in Sunny's hands shifted into a rapier.
Launching a coordinated assault in Audun, the two moved in unison, Nephis stepping directly into the swordsman's range with Sunny slipping into Audun's blind spot.
Using his rapier, Sunny began to attack at odd angles in an attempt to force Audun into an uncomfortable position, and Nephis began to hack away at the swordsman, trying to forcefully open a window for either of the two to exploit.
KLANG
Audun disengaged around Nephis's blade and sent an aggressive stab her way, forcing her to take a step back, but Sunny seamlessly assumed her role, deflecting Audun's blade and opening up a path for Nephis's blade.
Changing Star pivoted and threaded into the opening, slashing at Audun's flank, but the swordsman quickly recovered his posture and parried the attack.
This time, however, instead of reopening the distance, Audun slipped into a closer range, dodging one of Sunny's thrusts and sending Nephis flying with a quick shoulder bash.
Before Sunny could react, the swordsman followed up with a blindingly fast back kick, knocking him backwards.
The two recovered quickly, but Audun quickly closed in on Nephis, launching a suppressive series of slashes at her, abusing his weapons' longer range to keep her at bay.
Sunny quickly rushed to Nephis's aid, but with Audun now on the offensive, his window of opportunity was rapidly closing.
Too far to contribute anything meaningful with a blade, the weapon in Sunny's hands shifted once more, this time turning into a shadowy rope dart.
Twirling it dexterously, he launched the bona fide projectile at Audun, though the swordsman dodged it with a deft side step.
Fortunately, this opening was enough for Nephis to seemingly regain the upper hand, shifting from her defensive position into a more offensive one.
Grasping the rope dart, Changing Star gave it a firm tug as she executed a wide spinning slash, forcing Audun to take a step back while simultaneously giving Sunny the boost he needed to close the distance.
Now airborne, the rope dart in Sunny's hands morphed into a Nodachi, the long blade boring down on the swordsman, and Nephis quickly shot forward, launching her own strike at Audun.
Caught in another assault, Audun couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"You guys work so well together, it's honestly kind of scary."
For the first time since the fight started, Audun took a proper stance.
The swordsman traced an arc through the air, redirecting and deflecting Sunny and Nephis's blows, respectively.
What he did next, however, was something that neither the Child of Shadows nor Changing Star anticipated.
Audun tossed his blade in the air, drawing their attention away from his figure for a fraction of a second.
In that momentary window, the swordsman turned brawler immediately closed in on Nephis, forcefully grasping her wrist and hurling her in Sunny's direction.
Seeing Nephis's body sail through the air, Sunny instinctively caught her.
Unfortunately, that proved to be a rather fatal mistake.
Audun, catching his airborne blade, closed in on the pair, and with the two in a compromised position, they were in no position to defend themselves.
The swordsman flashed them a cheeky smile.
"Looks like I win this one~"
Sunny, still cradling Nephis, smiled bitterly.
"Do all transcendents get a kick out of beating up sleepers?"
"Nah, just me."
Sunny let out a sigh.
"Y'know you really suck-"
Before he could continue, however, a slightly embarrassed voice echoed in the air.
"Uhm, Sunny? Could you put me down?"
The Child of Shadows froze like an idiot.
"S-Sorry, I-I forgot."
"I-it's fine..."
Audun, pretending like he hadn't carefully orchestrated this situation, calmly committed the scene to his large archive of Sunphis memory fragments, intending to show it to Cassie later.
Watching the two flounder around, the swordsman gingerly coughed into his fist.
"Ahem, how about we uh... Call it a day here."
The two, who were now avoiding eye contact, nodded in agreement.
Waving his hand, Audun withdrew his realm and scanned the monochrome pair.
"Overall, I'd say your coordination has improved by quite a bit, but your positioning still needs a bit of work."
He glanced at Changing Star.
"Nephis, your swordsmanship has improved overall, but it's still lacking a clear identity-"
Shifting his gaze, he turned his attention to his first student.
"And Sunny, while you're able to take on the essences of many other swordsmanship through the shadow dance, you shouldn't neglect your own."
Audun let out a sigh.
"Also, don't forget to focus on improving your control over your source elements. For now, they're your only substitute for aur- I mean essence."
The two nodded once more.
"Well, that's all I had to say. If you have any questions, feel free to flag me down in the castle."
No longer wishing to infringe on his students 'bonding time', Audun quickly fled the scene.
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Over the past few months, Cassie has gone through a series of changes, most too subtle for anyone to notice.
Whether it be the smile plastered on her face while she went about her duties or the energetic demenour she adopted when interacting with others, the burden-filled, desperate girl who trekked across the labyrinth was nowhere to be seen.
The reason for these changes?
A certain purple-eyed swordsman.
Well, to be fair, it was a slightly different iteration of the Star of Solitude.
Lying down on her bed, a small smile bloomed on Cassie's face.
The dreams that she had once feared had become something that she could look forward to.
Cassie's consciousness drifted from her body, and as her soul echoed with the sound of shattering glass, a familiar manor came into view.
The scene shattered once more, and before her sight was the familiar yet unfamiliar visage of a more mature-looking Audun.
He sat at a small table, book in hand, with a cup of tea in front of him.
Without casting her a glance, he gestured at a seat that had not been there a second ago.
The vague silhouette of a constellation came into view as a pulse of pure starlight washed over Cassie's spectre, the celestial force allowing her to materialize in the realm of her vision.
Now possessing both form and sight, Cassie casually sat down across from the swordsman, her eyes trained on his figure.
Truly, his appearance mirrored his might.
"Hah~ I assume you're hungry?"
Cassie nodded shamelessly.
Setting down the book in his hands, Audun walked out of the room.
Left alone, Cassie's eyes wandered the space, abusing the privilege she normally lacked while she still had the chance.
Even the sight of the mundane brought her a subtle sense of joy.
Regardless, as she briefly entertained herself, Audun walked back into the room, holding a plate of food.
"Your future self likes this dish quite a bit, so forgive me for presuming the same."
Sauntering over to the table, Audun set the plate down in front of her, gesturing casually as a set of platinum cutlery shimmered into reality.
A piece of seared chicken lay on top of a bed of mashed potatoes, a sun-dried tomato sauce ladled generously on top. (Iykyk :])
Normally, the only senses afforded to the oracle in her vision would be sight and hearing, but through the use of some inexplicable authorities, the Constellation partially manifested Cassie's existence into this "future".
Thus, the oracle was allowed to eat meals that others on the forgotten shore could only wish for, a teeny tiny indulgence that she wholeheartedly embraced.
Watching the oracle attack the plate, a wry smile formed on Audun's face.
"Does the food on the forgotten shore suck that much? I didn't think it was that bad."
Cassie's gaze flickered up, swallowing the food in her mouth.
"The Bright Castle's fallen on tough times recently. We've been surviving off of barely seasoned vegetables and whatever the hunters bring back from their hunts."
"That... happened?"
"Figures. You and Sunny are normally holed up in your little realm having barbecues."
Cassie let out a sigh.
"I'm too busy running Neph's charity to have a proper meal most of the time-"
She took another bite.
"Sho thish ish the firsht meal I've had all day~"
A gratified breath escaped Cassie's mouth.
Audun exercised his right to remain silent, quietly watching the oracle as she absolutely demolished the plate he had put together.
"More?"
"Yes, please!"
A small smile spread across his face as he refilled her plate.
"Save room for dessert."
"You made dessert??!"
He nodded.
"Your future self wanted cake, so I baked extra knowing that we'd be meeting."
Clearing off her plate once more, Cassie flashed him a bright smile.
"Then, it'd be rude of me to decline."
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(A/N: I was busier than I thought, so I could only write one of the bonus chapters today.
I'll see if I can finish writing another chapter tomorrow, but idk how that's gonna turn out.
If you guys enjoyed, drop a comment, and if you have any critiques, feel free to comment or leave a review.
Donate some power stones if you want more chapters, and uh, that's about it I guess...
Well, see you guys in the next chapter!)