Drip… Drip… Drip
In a dark room, a pale man stood. Blood poured out of every single one of his orifices, pooling on the cold ground below.
"Oh… my…"
Coughing profusely, large chunks of flesh and blood left the man's mouth, a sizable amount having already piled up before him.
'I really must hold back my curiosity one of these days!'
He always told himself it'd be the last time. And every single time he lied.
'But such a curious thing… how could I not?'
Only this time, it had backfired.
On the other side of the room, a small dreamcatcher lay on the floor, having been hastily discarded.
'Treacherous thing…'
Did the boy know something like this would happen? No… it couldn't be. He seemed completely charmed by the vile daemon. If that were the case, he couldn't have known much.
'She almost got me…'
The man smiled, and the dreamcatcher vanished. Sighing, he dusted himself off as the blood that had pooled around him began dissolving.
'Oh well…'
Unable to contain his curiosity, he'd acted hastily in an attempt to examine a brand new Divine Relic he'd never seen or heard of before.
After all, he'd been waiting. Waiting for a while now for the boy to return. Such a curious specimen… What secrets did he hold?
'I suppose it'll be a while before I can find out.'
And after everything he did to draw him out… what a shame!
Now though, he had a new goal in mind.
'Blood, bone, flesh. Soul, spirit, mind. And shadow…'
Which one should he destroy first?
The man grinned.
'Shall I pay my old friends a visit? Do I return to the Underworld? Do I try Ariel's Tomb once more?'
His smile grew even wider, clear madness contained within.
'What fun this is…'
As he crossed the darkness, he sighed.
'But the boy…'
He was more foolish than he thought he'd be.
Did he really trust the words of a daemon? Didn't he know not to trust those vile things?
After all… they were never what they seemed.
***
Sunny didn't know how, but he could instinctively tell that Nephis was in a deep sleep.
Unclasping his hands, he silently stood up and made his way downstairs. There, Jet was waiting for him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
Almost immediately, she pulled him into a crushing hug. Despite his Ascended physique, Sunny could've sworn he heard his bones creak slightly.
Jet was relieved, he could tell. She was also mildly upset about something, likely the fact that he had blown her off earlier, but that had faded when she saw Nephis.
'...Wait. How do I know that?'
It was that feeling again. He could subtly feel the emotions of the people around him.
'No…'
It wasn't from the people. It was from their shadows?
Sunny thought hard on why that may be.
'Shadebringer? No. Secret attribute? No… Ah, it must be that.'
The Dreamcatcher.
One of Hope's domains was emotions, after all. One of the enchantments of the Dreamcatcher must have been that he could feel the emotions of others through their shadow.
'It doesn't seem very powerful though…'
Sunny could only hope that the ability would grow stronger whenever he did.
'Was that why I could tell Nephis was in a deep sleep earlier too? I could feel her shadow dreaming?'
Sunny did not dwell on it for long, as there was a solid chance he'd never see the Dreamcatcher again.
Jet released him from the hug a moment later, letting out a long sigh.
"What the hell happened?"
Sunny let out a sigh of his own.
"Let me sit first."
He did not hesitate to crash on the sofa, the soft cushions feeling like heaven despite the fact his body wasn't even sore.
"Now, do you want to know what happened to me or her?"
"Uh… her? I'm guessing it's bad news?"
From his prone position, he nodded.
"Yeah. Really bad."
Jet sucked in a breath through her teeth.
"Someone die?"
"Yeah."
"Who?"
"Her grandmother."
Jet gasped.
"Immortal Flame's widow?"
"Yep."
"Then…"
"Indeed. That was her last living relative."
Jet let out a long breath, sitting down beside him.
"Fuck."
"Mmm."
After thinking hard for a while, Jet turned to him:
"So why'd you bring her? They leave her with you while they prepare for the funeral?"
Sunny shook his head.
"No."
"She was so heartbroken that she wanted to see you and only you?"
"No."
"She-"
"Are you gonna let me tell you?"
Jet immediately shut up.
"With her grandmother dead, the clan is done for. They disbanded within the day and left Nephis in my care."
Jet paused, his words slowly sinking in.
"Like… they made you her guardian?"
"Pretty much."
Jet leaned back, slowly sinking into the sofa.
"Fuuuck."
Sunny could feel her worry and apprehension.
'Can I turn this off?'
He'd have to wait for the twelve hours to be up before he could dismiss the Dreamcatcher, so he'd just have to wait and see.
"What are we gonna do?"
Although Sunny did not show it, he smiled at the fact she said we.
"Ah… how would I know? My parents died when I was even younger than her."
Jet nodded in understanding, likely having lived through similar experiences.
"Is she asleep?"
"Very much so."
"..."
He wanted to say she was dead asleep as a joke, but was in no mood.
"How did you even know to return? Thrain only came to look for you around this morning…"
"Saw it in a dream."
Shifting into a more comfortable position, Sunny remembered something.
"Ah, and before I forget, here."
Placing a hand on her forearm, Sunny sent her a Memory, the [Heartweave Cloak].
Jet's eyes focused on the air for a moment, checking her runes.
"Holy shit… Transcendent amour? Sunny… Thank you! Are you… Are you sure you want to give me this?"
Sunny sighed.
"It's better on you than me. Just take it."
"O-Okay…"
With his face buried within a pillow, Sunny hid a smile.
He did not know whether it was because of his bad mood or because he hadn't seen Jet in a while, but he really felt like messing with her.
"Try it on."
Nodding quickly, Jet stood up in anticipation, reading the runes of the armour as she prepared to summon it.
Sunny sat up as well.
Just as Jet was about to put on the armour, she turned to him curiously.
"Why… Why do you have your communicator out?"
"To take a picture."
"W-"
"Just put it on."
Jet shuddered slightly, but did as he asked.
"Wha-"
With a click, Sunny snapped a picture.
"The hell is this?!"
"Keep it down will you?"
Over her tank top and shorts, the [Heartweave Cloak] had appeared.
…And just as Sunny had suspected, it was the beautiful emerald dress Aidre always wore.
"Delete that! Delete that picture!"
"Nope."
Jet reached for the communicator, only for Sunny to expertly dodge before dropping it to the ground.
"Wha… where'd it go?"
"Into my soul. Oh, and there's an enchantment that allows you to change how it looks by the way. Try it!"
"You… you bastard. You knew this would happen."
Sunny nodded.
"Of course. Why do you think I had my communicator out?"
Jet was fuming with rage but couldn't say or do anything about it, as… well… Sunny had just gifted her a set of Transcendent armour. Her gratitude and excitement far outweighed her embarrassment.
Activating the [Emerald Coat] enchantment, Jet immediately changed it to a bodysuit before manifesting a thick verdant coat over it.
"See? It's nice, isn't it?"
"Shush."
Sunny laughed.
"Don't you want to know its other enchantments?"
"You know them?"
"Of course I do."
Jet bobbed her head.
"Damn straight I wanna know them!"
"Well, both of them are passive enchantments, so I think they are quite suitable for you."
Jet leaned towards him in anticipation.
"What are they? What are they?!"
"One enhances how tough the armour is depending on your soul's potency, and one increases your absorption of soul essence."
Jet froze.
"H-Holy… wait, that's literally perfect for me? How did… who'd you kill for this?"
"Her name's in the description. We had a pleasant conversation before I stabbed her in the heart. Nice lady. She was a little weird though."
"Aidre… how was your Nightmare anyways? Terrible?"
"Yep. I thought I was ready, but… you know how the Spell is. We're never ready for anything."
Jet nodded, a solemn expression on her face.
"Yeah…"
"Ah, actually, I lost one of my Shadows too."
Remembering the death of Shrike, Sunny sighed heavily and dropped back onto the sofa.
"What? Really? T-Those things? One of them actually died?"
Sunny groaned, his voice muffled by the pillow he planted his face on.
"It was the raven, Shrike. Destroyed because of a stupid mistake."
"O-Oh. Sorry."
Sunny shook his head, not saying anything else.
As Jet walked around the room to familiarise her body with her new armour, Sunny buried himself in his thoughts.
'What do I do?'
He didn't even know where to start. Life had thrown so many things at him all at once.
He needed to figure out how to deal with his new Flaw. He needed to figure out what to do with Nephis. He needed to figure out how to deal with Asterion if push came to shove. He needed to figure out how He needed to find Mordret. He needed to…
Jet plopped over next to him on the sofa with a long sigh.
"So what now?"
Sunny groaned.
"What now? I think… I'm going to have to deal with a very scary woman."
Jet went quiet.
"You're not talking about me are you?"
Sunny snickered, his voice still muffled.
"No no, not you. Someone way more annoying."
"Hey!"
A subtle force had been tugging at his soul for a while now. He ignored it at first, but now it was really starting to bother him.
Sunny flipped over, sighing loudly as he slid off the sofa.
"Seems like Ki Song wants to see me."
A message had arrived from the [Wanderlust Communion].
[Finally back after running away, boy? Come see me before you regret it.]
Sunny shuddered at the sight of it.
That message had come… several hours ago at this point. From the tone and words, it was obviously from Ki Song and not Seishan.
'Ah… What do I even tell her?'
He had a reasonable excuse as to why he entered the Nightmare… he had done it to escape a dreadful beast, Asterion. It had amounted to little, sure, but it was still a valid excuse his Flaw allowed.
'Or what one of my Flaws allows anyways…'
Sunny sighed again, burying himself even deeper into the cushions.
"Ki Song? The Sovereign?"
"That's the one."
Jet patted him on the back a couple times.
"Good luck with that."
Sunny groaned again.
"She already called me a few hours ago. She probably won't mind if I take a few more minutes to relax, right?"
"...I don't think you want me to answer that."
Shifting around to try to get comfortable again, Sunny yelped as he gracelessly fell to the ground.
Jet tried her best to hide a smug laugh, but failed miserably.
Sighing, he stared at the ceiling.
"I think I'll shower first…"
Jet nudged his side with her wool slippers.
"Please hurry up. I didn't mention it because you seemed like you were in a bad mood but… you stink!"
Sunny groaned again, turning over.
Of course he knew. His body had lay still for two entire months after all. The sleeping pods of this era still hadn't quite perfected the anti-bacterial technology for their users, so Sunny reeked of the Nightmare.
'Then I'll need to put on the Song Suming disguise and… ah… I want to sleep some more.'
"Anyways, I need to enter the Dream Realm for tonight. Essence's running low."
Waving to him, she gave his side one last nudge.
"Later!"
"Later…"
Not wanting to stand, Sunny stepped straight into the bathroom. Looking at the wall, he saw his shadows staring at him in disappointment.
'What, huh?'
All of them turned away at the same time, pretending like nothing happened.
'Bastards…'
***
Sneaking past security, Sunny entered the basement of the Song Compound.
As the Song Clan was still relatively new compared to the House of Night and Clan Valor, their foothold in the waking world was not quite as deep. Their compound's security was quite lacking, and most of their personnel were mundane.
'Most of the important stuff's in Ravenheart anyway, so I guess it's fine.'
Appearing within the dark room housing the Dream Gate, Sunny heard an impatient tapping.
"Wh… stard…"
He heard the soft echoes of a feminine voice muttering to themselves.
Getting closer, he saw that it was of course Song Seishan, tapping a foot on the ground over and over in annoyance.
He shuddered at the sight.
'I wonder…'
How close could he get to her without her noticing?
Despite it being a bad idea, he remained in the shadows, creeping closer and closer.
Only when he was close enough to tap her shoulder did Seishan react.
"...Who's there?"
'Tch. Damn Beast Lineage.'
From what Sunny could tell, the Beast God lineage that Ki Song and her clan possessed was different compared to the one Noctis possessed. In the case of Noctis, it seemed more like the Blood of the Moon, but with Ki Song and Seishan in particular, it seemed more like the Blood of the Beast.
'Curious.'
Sunny would've loved to learn more, but…
Emerging from the shadows, he raised his arms to make himself look as non-threatening as possible.
"Surprise?"
Seishan turned to him immediately, a dark glint in her eye.
"...Suming. You are here."
"Hello. I am here."
Sunny was doing his best to keep his smile up, but it no doubt looked awkward.
"Follow me."
"...Okay."
Clearly, she was in no mood for small talk. The princess turned and began walking immediately, her pace fast and focused.
As they neared the Dream Gate, she turned to him.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?"
"I do."
"What excuse do-... you know what? Forget it. Mother will be asking you that in a second anyways."
Sunny swallowed hard.
"I promise there's a good reason."
"Oh I'm sure. She's here, by the way. The actual her. And you kept her waiting!"
Sunny felt some of his muscles tense involuntarily, but he continued walking.
"...Good to know."
Seishan didn't speak any further as they entered the Gate at the same time.
Passing through it, Sunny wondered:
'How much essence does it even take to keep this thing running? It's here every time I come here…'
He didn't pay the thought too much attention, as he had much bigger problems coming his way.
The chill of Ravenheart hit him immediately. Around the Gateway, Sunny saw some new faces milling about, no doubt newly anchored Awakened, as the Winter Solstice had only been around a month ago.
People bowed and moved out of the way as Seishan passed through, shooting him curious glances along the way.
'I'm still an obscure figure. Good.'
Hopefully, it would remain that way for a time.
Marching through the frozen halls of the Jade Palace, Sunny heard Seishan heave a long sigh.
"How are you feeling?"
Sunny blinked in surprise. Had she calmed down that fast?
"Terrible, and I'm about to feel much worse, no doubt."
The princess snorted slightly, not caring about decorum as they were the only two around.
Strangely, Seishan did not seem to care about the fact he had entered a Nightmare alone, while also being one of the youngest, if not the youngest Ascended in history. If anything, she cared more about the fact he had kept her waiting.
'Weirdo…'
Not wanting to anger her any further, Sunny remained silent, only the sound of his boots and her heels filling the halls.
Unnoticed by Seishan, a shadow silently separated from himself and made its way towards the Gateway.
'Just in case…'
Although Hope had told him Ki Song wasn't unworthy of his trust, Sunny was not going to blindly believe her words. A Sovereign could end his life at any moment, and he was not going to put himself needlessly at risk.
The rest of their march was silent.
Eventually, they reached the throne room.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Sunny heard the tap of a fingernail against something solid, constant and patient.
Ki Song sat on her frozen throne, her head resting atop a palm as she leaned on one of the armrests, eyes shut.
She… didn't seem to be all there.
Past her breathtaking figure, Sunny couldn't help but notice a small cut atop one of her shoulders as well, frost marring the serrated flesh.
'It's not healing? Just what…'
Seishan cleared her throat, interrupting Ki Song's serene meditation or whatever it was.
"Mother."
Ki Song stirred, the tapping of her finger ceasing.
"Hm? Oh, you are here. Let us begin."
Sitting up on her throne and dusting herself off, Ki Song began speaking.
"So-"
"Mother."
The Sovereign raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
"Yes?"
"He is several hours late."
Ki Song blinked a couple times.
"Is he now?"
Sunny had to stop himself from coughing.
'She didn't even notice…'
Giving Seishan a sidelong glance, he thought to himself:
'You're the only one that's mad then…'
Ki Song turned to him, her eyes narrowing as a dangerous grin lined her face.
"Hm. I'm sure you have a reason. Tell me Sunless, why are you so late?"
Taking a deep breath, he met her gaze.
"Calida is dead."
Ki Song's eyes widened and she slowly leaned back.
"...Oh."
She nodded.
"I understand. This is… That is a good enough reason."
Seishan's head turned from her mother to Sunny, her confusion clear.
"Excuse me, but… who is Calida?"
Sunny gave her a sidelong glance. He did not judge her for not knowing. Most likely, Ki Song had never taught her daughters much about Broken Sword's family.
"The head of the Immortal Flame Clan. Immortal Flame's widow and Smile of Heaven's mother."
Seishan's eyes widened as well.
"Oh…"
The hall was silent for a moment as Sunny waited for the women to collect themselves.
Eventually, Ki Song glanced at him.
"You were helping out Immortal Flame in the chaos that followed then?"
He shook his head.
"The Immortal Flame is no more."
Sunny's head buzzed as he felt Seishan's anger fade. Curiously enough, he couldn't feel any of Ki Song's emotions. Not because she lacked them, but rather it was his ability that was too weak to read a Sovereign.
"No more? They all died?"
Sunny shook his head.
"No. The remaining members split after the head died."
Ki Song nodded, tapping her finger in thought.
Seishan turned to him curiously.
"Then… What were you doing there?"
Sunny sighed.
"I…"
He sighed again.
"They asked me to take in Nephis."
"..."
"..."
The two women stared at him.
After a while, Ki Song nodded slightly.
"I see. Knowing the position they're in now… that isn't a bad move. I was not aware your relationship with them was this close though, Sunless."
Sunny shook his head.
"It's really not. I'm confused as well."
Seishan gave him a hard stare.
"You took her in as in you are now her primary caretaker?"
Sunny nodded.
"That's right."
Feeling the urge to scratch his throat, he restrained himself. Having not used the [Liar's Road] for a while now, his voice wasn't used to being changed so thoroughly.
Leaning back, Ki Song smiled.
"We'll talk about that later. I am far more curious as to where you think you've been though, young man."
Sunny smiled in return.
"I promise I have a reason?"
Ki Song's eyes narrowed as she seemed to look at something unseen.
"...You are an Ascended now."
"I am."
"What happened to your eyes?"
Sunny gave her a questioning stare, raising an eyebrow.
"My eyes? What are you talking about?"
"Nevermind."
Shaking her head, Ki Song laughed before leaning forward, placing her chin on a palm.
"And what made you think entering a Nightmare by yourself would be a good idea? At your age? I was planning on sending you off to a Seed I found not far from here alongside Seishan within a couple of years, you know? Why must you rush things?"
Seishan's eyes widened at her words. She hadn't heard about that it seemed.
"Well, to answer your questions…"
Sunny leaned down to think, ignoring the pain of his Flaw for a while.
"I did not think it was a good idea, and I also did not plan on entering one this soon. No I did not know that, and as for why I rushed things… I'll have to tell you what happened before I entered the Seed."
Seishan and Ki Song were now paying attention with rapt interest, both their eyes trained on him.
…It made Sunny a little nervous, honestly.
"As I was exploring the Chained Isles, I was looking for a way to enter the Ivory Tower. After searching for a while, I found it. It wasn't easy, mind you, but I did find it."
For the next part, Sunny sighed before continuing.
"But… someone seemed to have beat me to it."
Both of the women's eyes widened.
"Really now?"
"Who?"
Sunny looked to the side.
"...The Dreamspawn."
"..."
"..."
Once more, the room was silent.
"Ah."
Ki Song was the first to respond, making a noise of acknowledgement.
"I only escaped because I reacted immediately, having anticipated such a thing being possible. I could not escape through the path I had taken to reach the tower, so I entered the Seed of the Nightmare at the center of it instead. I did not know what he wanted, but seeing as he immediately attacked the moment he noticed me, I believe I made the right choice in choosing to run."
Ki Song's eyes widened slightly.
"You escaped him? Impressive… how did you resist his compulsion?"
Sunny tilted his head.
"Yes, I escaped. And as for his compulsion… I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't feel anything like that. I don't know his abilities."
Ki Song looked at him strangely.
"You don't?"
"I don't."
Looking down, she fell into thought for a moment.
"He's a mind reader, Sunless."
"..."
Sunny's eyes widened.
"...Mind reader?"
Looking back, he thought of the ten questions they exchanged.
"Oh…"
He tensed.
'Oh shit…'
"He can also compel living beings, manipulate and read thoughts and emotions, that kind of thing."
Sunny slowly raised his hands before putting them back down.
'No… no no…'
Remembering the conversation they had, he tried to think of any thoughts he may have had that gave himself away.
'I… I don't think I gave away the fact that I have Weaver's lineage…'
Although he had tried his best to steer the conversation away from Weaver, he'd never explicitly thought about his lineage. He always kept his mind away from the fact, afraid that his Flaw may cause him to accidentally reveal it.
'That is, unless his abilities can read even memories…'
It was most certainly a possibility. There was a strong chance Asterion was of Heart, and Heart God was also the God of Memories.
But even if Asterion hadn't peered into his memories, there was something else he had given away.
…The location of the Shadow Lineage.
'I… I definitely thought about it.'
Looking up, Sunny realised the two women were curiously watching him internally panic.
"Does he usually just read the minds of anyone he meets?"
Ki Song thought for a moment.
"Only if he's curious about you."
Sunny remained completely still, his facial expression cold.
"What if… What if we agreed to only ask each other ten questions?"
Ki Song eyed him curiously.
"Well… did he call it a deal?"
He nodded.
"Oh, then he probably didn't. If he read your mind that would be answering more questions for himself, wouldn't it? At least I'm pretty sure that's how he works."
Sunny inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
'Then… there's a good chance he doesn't know. It makes sense… If he knew I had it, why would he let me walk away?'
Still though…
Ki Song was staring at him with deep curiosity now.
…His problems were just beginning.