"Hm~ hmhmm…"
Sunny quietly hummed a familiar tune to himself as he walked the streets of NQSC. Night had fallen, and the streets were just as busy as ever. In a place as population dense as this, the city practically never slept. Well, in the case of commercial districts anyways.
Roaming the streets, he wasn't looking for anything in particular. He just wanted to be in the city while his shadows searched for Aria. One shadow waited patiently at the café they had once met at, another shadow roamed a shopping district he knew she frequented, and another was currently sat behind an older woman as she typed away at her desk.
'Anyday now…'
It had already been several days since her return, and he'd still received no word. That was until one his shadows spotted a slightly disheveled looking woman walk into the café it was waiting at. Despite her civilian disguise looking a little different than usual, Sunny could recognise Lady Radiant Dawn anytime, anywhere.
As his shadow got closer, his eyes narrowed.
'What's… what's with her?'
Aria looked… out of it. Her gaze seemed vacant, and her actions almost seemed like they were being performed by a puppeteer.
…It was exceedingly suspicious.
'Shit.'
Had they gotten her? Was he too late? And he didn't even know what he was late to…
His shadow finally got close enough so that she was in range of his shadow sense, and from her, he felt… confusion. A lot of confusion.
'Wha… does she even know where she is?'
Placing his hands in his pockets, Sunny subtly switched the direction he was walking in, disappearing into the nearest alleyway.
The shadow crept closer and closer until it was finally just beneath her feet.
Aria still hadn't noticed him. He tried the Oath, but he couldn't feel anything, the link was well and truly severed.
Quiet steps approached as a waiter nervously eyed her, asking if she would like anything. No doubt, they thought that she was some runaway or drug addict rather than one of the most renowned Awakened in all the realms currently.
Surprisingly, Aria ordered what she normally did, speaking in clear and perfect sentences.
Sunny blinked.
'Okay… she's still there at least.'
She was just confused. About what? He didn't know. But considering the fact their Oath was severed, he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with him.
Just as the waiter left, the shadow beneath her manifested itself, tapping her ankle.
"Aria… Aria!"
A whisper came from the darkness, calling her name. Without moving her head, the woman glanced down.
"Hm..?"
The table she sat at was made of glass, so beneath the dim light of the café she could've sworn she saw her shadow moving.
Aria blinked and rubbed her eyes.
Nope, her shadow was moving. No… it was another shadow… moving inside her shadow?
"Who…"
She blinked again. For a moment, golden writing flashing in her vision.
Immediately, she stood up.
The shadow celebrated, giving her a thumbs up and pointing towards the exit.
"Telling me to… leave?"
Despite the strange situation, she left without a word. When the waiter returned with her order, he could only sigh in frustration, nearly throwing the tray away in a fit of rage.
Leaving the café, she adjusted her coat slightly, looking up and down the street for anyone suspicious. Looking down again, she saw the shadow pointing towards a dark alleyway.
Aria sighed inwardly.
"...Sure. Why not?"
Placing her hands in her coat pockets, she began to walk along the street normally, only to smoothly disappear into the alley when she passed it. The place was clean, albeit a bit darker than usual, lacking in any lights whatsoever. Seeing as nobody was here, she cleared her throat and called out.
"Hel-"
"Aria, what the hell happened?"
A man emerged from the darkness with fast steps, concern written all over his face.
"Who the hell…"
She didn't recognise him. He also felt… dangerous.
An arm shot out immediately, preparing to summon a Memory. But before she could, the golden writing flashed in her vision again. A cry of pain escaped her as something boiling hot seared her mind.
"Ah-!"
Golden letters moved throughout her sight, warping and fading. She felt as if a steaming knife was being driven straight through her forehead.
"Aria!"
The man dashed towards her, grasping her shoulders before she could collapse.
"You… you…"
The golden writing flashed again, and this time she could finally read it as her eyes clenched shut. The entire time, the writing had been engraved on the inside of her eyelid.
[I declare that…
I will not remember Sunny until the next time I see him.
I will not remember making this vow until the next time I see him.
If I am forcefully made to remember him, my memory will reset back to how it was one year ago.
To bind this vow, I will put one thousand soul fragments on the line.
If I…]
She could no longer read the next line, as the golden writing had already begun fading, the vow complete.
'Right… right yes, I remember now…'
She had been tricked, deceived… she had made that desperate and hasty vow in an attempt to hide Sunny's identity.
And now…
"Aria!"
Fingers pressed to the side of her neck, checking her pulse. With a pained groan, she reached a hand out to grab Sunny's wrist.
"Stop that… I'm…"
Her head pulsed and ears rang.
"I'm… fine."
But the man did not relent, crouching down in front of her.
"Are you sure? How many fingers am I holding up? Do you know who I am?"
Coughing, she held onto her forehead as she tried to get the world to stop spinning.
"Two… and you're… annoying the… shit out of me… Sunny…"
Seriously, was he deaf or something?
Hearing his name, the man immediately relented, getting out of her face and sighing in relief.
"Thank the gods, you're al-"
She did not hear the rest as the world went dark. Aria had fainted, slumping in Sunny's grasp.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Wha-"
Her head crashed onto his shoulder as the arm she had attempted to raise slung over his other one. He awkwardly reached out, not knowing what to do.
'Why did she…'
Feeling her forehead press against him, he realised she was burning up as well. For an Awakened to get a fever, something terrible must have-
Hissing came from the darkness beside him, instantly causing him to tense.
"Shit!"
Serpent stepped out of the shadows in the form of Aranea, pointing towards the sky.
"From above?"
Reaching down, he picked Aria up and slung her over his shoulder, preparing to flee.
Someone was coming! And for Serpent to have taken this long to notice, it had to be someone strong, or someone with means of anti-divination.
Sunny did not hesitate for even a moment, breaking into a sprint. Several Memories began summoning themselves in quick succession, causing him to growl in annoyance as the small sparks of light gave away his position.
The first of the Memories finished coalescing, and he could already feel a shadow rapidly approaching him from the rooftops. Next to him, the Covetous Coffer appeared as a wooden chest, its maw wide open. Without a second thought, he tossed Aria into it, cringing slightly when he heard her crash into the pile of stuff below.
'Sorry!'
Shutting the lid, he crouched down and picked up the Coffer, preparing to step through the shadows to save them both.
"Stop."
The air around him halted, and something cold rested on the side of his neck.
Sunny immediately froze. Glancing to the side, he saw a thin blade pressed against him.
"Where's the girl?"
Not daring to turn around, he answered, tapping the Coffer.
"In here."
The voice snorted.
"Hmph. Raise your hands and turn around slowly, lest you lose your head, boy."
The weapon he had summoned clattered to the ground beside him, the hand he had readied to grab it now slowly reaching above his head instead. A boot kicked it away a second later, sending it just out of reach.
Sunny slowly turned around.
"You are…"
The voice paused, recognising his face. Their head snapped to the side a moment later as a dark hand emerged from the darkness, grabbing the fallen blade.
"Stop!"
The hand did not listen, instead it gripped the blade tightly and activated an enchantment, the Sun's Tears [Prismatic] ability.
White hot light exploded in every direction, illuminating the alleyway completely. The radiance was so intense that the streets next to them paused, noticing a blinding sphere of light suddenly appear in the middle of the city. Screams echoed in the night as people fled, fearing a possible battle between Awakened or sudden Gate opening.
Fortunately for them, no such thing was taking place.
The mysterious attacker slowly lowered their arm, having used it to cover their eyes. Their guard had already been let down, as they could sense that the alleyway had been emptied. Sighing, the person just shrugged to them themselves, tossing their blade into the air and catching it with the sheath.
"Ah… this is most unfortunate. Oh well!"
Whistling a merry tune, they left the scene like nothing had ever happened, twirling the sheathed blade around like a performer.
***
'Shit!'
Stumbling out of the shadows, Sunny slowly caught his breath.
'That was… that was Saint Jest…'
He was sure of it. The attacker was an old man carrying a cane sword, he couldn't be anyone else. There wasn't enough time to check his rank, but from the pressure he felt, they were sure to be a Saint.
'Had to be him…'
Falling to his knees, he pressed his forehead against the side of the Coffer, sighing heavily.
"Aria… what the hell happened?"
First she shows up all dazed and lost, and now a Saint was chasing her for some reason? What could've possibly gone wrong?
***
"Du du doo, lala dee…"
Whistling and humming, Saint Jest returned back to Valor's main compound, seeing the expectant gaze of his nominal leader.
"Well? Uncle Jest?"
The old man shrugged in an exaggerated motion.
"Lost her! Aria's gone! Gone, I say!"
Madoc's jaw dropped.
"You… you can't be serious! Uncle, what happened?"
Shaking his head, Jest left.
"Relax! I'll handle this one. Just go rest for today, Madoc. You'll get grey hairs if you keep worrying about everything this much! She'll turn up back in the Dream Realm anyways."
Clenching his jaw, the severe man grinded his teeth in frustration at the old man's antics.
"How could you lose her! Who… what happened? Tell me!"
"Madoc."
Jest's smile became dangerous.
"I said I'll handle it."
The man's anger defused immediately at his serious tone.
"Fine. Fine! Do whatever you want!"
With a frustrated growl, he left.
Twirling his cane, Jest laughed.
'Seriously… I didn't think it would be you…'
It was time to pay the House of Night a visit.
***
Sighing, Sunny gritted his teeth.
'Sorry Naeve!'
Looking at himself from the perspective of his shadows, he checked out his appearance. He looked completely different, with blue streaks running through his hair while his face and jaw were far more angular than usual. Most importantly though, his irises were a striking indigo, far removed from their usual colour.
Sunny pressed a hand against his forehead, sighing.
'What the hell was I thinking…'
He had summoned his appearance altering Memories just in case he didn't make it out in time, which turned out to be pretty life saving considering how close of a call that was. He… he wasn't quite sure why he picked the appearance of Naeve though. It was a spur of the moment thing, and he just changed his face into the first person that came to mind. Naeve was someone who looked similar enough to him that he could quickly change his appearance to match him while also having features unique enough for them to be the most memorable part of him. And considering how long Jest's gaze lingered on his eyes, his plan seemed to have worked.
Shaking his head, he sighed and crouched down, picking up the Coffer again. Now, it was about the size of a large suitcase, given that he finally had enough time to change the size of it.
Sinking into the shadows again, Sunny slowly made his way home.
***
There was darkness, only darkness.
'Why…'
Quiet whispers floated around the darkness, small sparks of light accompanying them in Aria's vision.
'Why did you take so long? Your mother she, she already…!'
Her eyes slowly opened, leaving the dream behind. The voices of her estranged relatives buzzed in her ears, grating and scornful as always.
"Ugh…"
Massaging her temples, she rolled over and shut her eyes, waiting for the ringing of her ears to stop already.
"So… annoying…"
Taking a deep breath, she sunk into the sheets she was laying on, rubbing her hands against the soft furs.
'Smells like the sun…'
Aria paused.
'Wait.'
Why did it smell like the sun? What the hell were these sheets?
Despite the pounding headache making her not want to move, her eyes snapped open, mind on high alert.
'Where am I…'
Steel walls surrounded her from all sides while she lay on a strangely large bed. The only light in the room was from a small lamp hanging from the bedframe.
"Ah… you're… up…"
A feminine voice came from the darkness.
"Who's there?!"
The voice laughed, sending shivers down her spine. It sounded so deranged, so… so hungry…
Then another voice came from the darkness.
"Leave her alone, Solvane."
Upon hearing it, she relaxed, her headache subsiding slightly.
'It's Sunny… thank goodness.'
Sighing in relief, she relaxed and sunk back into the sheets. The perfectly soft but firm pillow beneath her head was to die for.
"Oh, it's you. Good… I'm going back to sleep."
The bed shook ever-so-slightly as Sunny sat down on the edge of it.
"You sure you don't want to put clothes on first?"
Aria's eyes snapped open again.
"What?"
She lifted the warm blanket up and sure enough…
"Why the hell am I naked?!"
Quickly putting the sheet back down, she pulled them up and covered herself up to the neck.
"You had a fever. A really, really bad one might I add, so we had to strip you to be able to properly help you. I guess putting clothes back on you wasn't a priority? Oh and speaking of your clothes, I uh… I torched them."
"You what?!"
Aria couldn't see him, but she was certain Sunny had just raised his hands defensively.
"Relax! They were infused with some kind of tracking sorcery, so I had to get rid of them. Now if you're asking whether or not I saw you naked… all I'll say is you're lucky they didn't put that stuff on your underwear, otherwise…"
Grabbing one of the smaller pillows, she threw it in the general direction of his voice. Given the fact that she didn't hear anything, she most likely missed completely.
"Missed me. Anyways, do you remember what happened before you fainted?"
Breathing heavily, she tried to remem-
"Ah!"
Her splitting headache became even worse as she tried to recall what happened.
"Aria-"
"I was… I was in a café, and I was following something, and then… and then… that's it."
Sunny did not respond for a moment, seemingly thinking about something.
"Hm. Well, you remember most of it. Unfortunately, the only part you don't remember is the part I need to know the most! Anyways, there's a set of clothes for you at the foot of the bed. Jet's, not mine. Rest up and I'll ask you again later when you don't have a splitting headache. Don't take too long though, you've already been out for three days!"
She coughed, choking on her own saliva at the revelation.
"Three… three days? Shit… What happened?"
Sunny scoffed.
"And here I thought you would know. Just relax and don't think about anything too hard right now. You should be fine here."
Letting out a breath, she sighed.
"Alright…"
Feeling so powerless was… frustrating. But she was safe and she was quite comfortable, so she could live with it for now.
"Ah, by the way, how did you sleep?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? I guess I've slept better."
"..."
Sunny did not respond for a moment, and she could've sworn she heard him groan in annoyance.
"No. How were you asleep? Did you ascend or something?"
"Oh."
Right, she had forgotten to mention it… he was correct to be confused. Awakened were supposed to wander in the Dream Realm when they slept after all.
"No, I did not ascend. A friend of mine leant me a Memory that would allow me to sleep. Seems like they knew something was up… and before you ask, it only has three uses and I've used up two."
She didn't know exactly how the Memory worked, but supposedly it tricked her brain into thinking her own mind was the Dream Realm, so this entire time her spirit body had just been wandering through wretched memories and strange visions. Though mercifully or not, the Memory didn't allow her to retain much of what she saw. Still, it was quite useful for an Ascended one of the fourth tier.
"I see. I suppose it did save your ass, all of this would've been for nothing if we lost your soul."
The weight on the side of the bed lifted, returning its balance. Sunny had stood up, sighing tiredly. Just as he was leaving she turned to him.
"Ah, Sunny, wait."
"What now?"
Hugging the blanket close to her chest, she looked away slightly before asking:
"You said you had to strip me to help me? Since when is that a thing?"
Sunny snickered, and she felt her face burning.
"Well your fever was getting really bad and none of the medicine we had worked either. I even tried using a healer, but that didn't do anything either, so we just resorted to traditional methods and just washed you with a cloth and some nice spring water I had lying around. Somehow that did the trick! Crazy, right?"
"Seriously…?"
"Seriously! Anyways, is that all? Or are you gonna keep asking me questions because you secretly want me to keep you company?"
Aria groaned, sinking back into the bed.
"When you say 'we', do you mean you washed me?"
For a moment, no answer came.
"Why? Did you wish it was me?"
"Hic!"
Aria lunged back, covering herself.
Sunny suddenly stepped into the light, his smug smile illuminated right next to her face.
"The hell are you doing?"
Snickering slightly, he pointed to his face.
"Nothing~ Eyes closed, see? They've been closed this entire time. Just who do you think I am?"
Aria clicked her tongue, turning away.
"Someone who strips me to my underwear and incinerates all my clothes?"
Sunny laughed at her words, backing away into the darkness again.
"Hey, things happen. And no, I didn't wash you, Jet did. That would be quite inappropriate of me!"
Sighing in relief, she finally slumped back in her bed.
"Yeah… thanks for that, I guess. Where is this by the way?"
"Inside my storage Memory. And don't come outside, you never know what might happen."
Sunny's voice came from quite far away, and Aria knew he was gone for real this time.
Sinking deeper into the sheets, she swallowed hard.
'I really fucked up this time…'
Feeling thirsty, she glanced over at the lamp and saw a small table underneath. Noting the small bottle on the table, she reached over and grabbed it. Taking several large gulps, she found that the water inside was extremely refreshing.
'What the…'
A small note fell from it, having been attached to the side she couldn't see. Squinting at the synthetic sheet, she saw the scrawl of the waking world's writing.
[This is some magical springwater I took from a sacred tree. You'll probably feel better if you drink it! Also if you're hungry, just say you're hungry out loud and I'll bring you some food. And if you need to use the bathroom… too bad.]
"What the fu…"
Her voice trailed off as she looked up, noticing a light come on. At the other end of the room, a small lantern hung off the side of what looked like a high quality portable bathroom, the types of which were reserved only Awakened in the waking world who were setting up camps far away from the siege capitals. Sunny's comment at the end had only been left to mess with her.
'How the hell did he get that…'
Those things even came with showers! How in the world had he gotten his hands on one of those?! And if this was a storage Memory… that meant he could bring this to the Dream Realm as well!
'Such luxury… that bastard!'
With a click of her tongue, she swung the blanket off of herself and climbed out of bed. Her head ached slightly at the exertion, but she refused to remain naked in someone else's… house? She was pretty sure Sunny wouldn't just leave his storage Memory lying around wherever.
'Why the hell is this bed so big…'
It took an awkward couple seconds just for her to scoot off of it, and she flinched slightly upon feeling the cold floor against her feet, but a second later she noticed a pair of wool slippers waiting for her not too far away. She smiled at the sight.
Moving to the foot of the bed, she clothed herself.
'Hm… not bad?'
Jet's simple clothes fit her well enough. They were obviously too small, but some could say it was a fashion choice rather than a poor fit, with Jet's tank top resembling more of a crop top on her.
'Better than nothing, that's for sure.'
Sliding on the wool slippers, she began to walk around the place to familiarise herself with it. She didn't know how long she was going to be here, so she may as well start now.
She walked with unsteady steps, a hand pressed against the steel wall to maintain her balance. A voice suddenly called from above, causing her to jolt slightly.
"Oh yeah, and don't touch anything! if you get bored, there's a communicator underneath your pillow! I wouldn't recommend using it while you have a headache though!"
"Ugh…"
Aria stopped to massage her temples again, somewhat struggling to maintain her balance.
'Forget it…'
She immediately gave up on exploring the place. The physical exertion simply wasn't worth it.
'Place isn't even that big anyways…'
At first she had thought the place was gigantic, but she realised she'd only thought that because she couldn't see anything. The place was only about as big as the first floor in Sunny's house. It was extremely impressive for a storage Memory, but for a living space? She'd definitely seen better.
Slumping back on the bed, she sighed tiredly.
"Sunny..?"
She called his name, not expecting much.
"Yo."
"Gah!"
Aria shot up in her bed.
He responded immediately! And it was not just that… his voice had come from beneath the bed?
"What the hell are you doing under my bed?!"
Laughter came from below her.
"Relax! This is just the shadow I left behind to make sure you don't suddenly die in your sleep or something. It's not doing anything unless you call for it. And your bed? Please. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get my hands on this thing."
Calming her racing heart, she let out a long breath, running her fingers through the furs.
"Actually… about this bed. Where did you get it? I think I'd kill for something this comfortable."
The disembodied voice snickered.
"Ask Nether."
Aria fidgeted slightly, not recognising the name.
"Who?"
The shadow scoffed, disappointed.
"Really? Who is Nether? Come on! Seems like you still have a lot to learn, Aria."
"Shut up and just tell me already."
"Fine! He's the Prince of the Underworld. You know, the one who made the Mantle of the Underworld?"
Her expression grew ugly.
"You're joking."
"You know I'm not."
Exhaling, she flipped onto her back, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"And he apparently knows where to get nice beds?"
The shadow said nothing for a moment. Aria suspected that the idiot had just unironically shook his head as if she could somehow see it.
"No. I'm saying Nether made the bed."
She did not even react this time, no longer surprised.
"Your bed is made by the Prince of the Underworld?"
"Exactly."
Covering her eyes with a forearm, she groaned.
"How?"
"How else? I stole it. Nether's long dead anyways, not like he cares if I take some of his stuff."
She grinned slightly.
"How mu-"
"Not for sale. Be grateful you get to use it while you're here."
"Cheh. I didn't want it that bad anyways."
"Just be quiet and go to sleep."
The presence beneath her faded and she finally relaxed. Staring at the ceiling, she contemplated every single life choice that had brought her here.
'...Damn.'
Things were really done for this time.