Several figures stood motionless on a plain of bleached white ground that looked eerily like bone with an unnatural patch of darkness surrounding one particular person. Still, even with the strange sight, the people did not move.
It was as if even the slightest of movement would be their death. And it would. This was shown as a nightmare creature that sat still, only five meters away from them, not moving a muscle; it was clearly intelligent enough to know that moving would be its last mistake. But its attention wavered toward the helpless prey sitting on the bleached plain, waiting to be devoured.
They were so close, it would only take a moment to swallow them whole and move back in place.
Its survival instinct to preserve its own life by staying still was overwhelmed by the desire to consume its prey, and suddenly, the creature forgot why it had been sitting still in the first place. It made the fatal mistake of moving to tear its prey apart and was turned into a pile of ash immediately.
The figures watched, letting out a silent sigh as the creature perished without making a single sound of agony, but they didn't dare move a single muscle as the sun still beamed down on them.
It had taken only a few more minutes of kneeling in place before the clouds covered the sky again, and the figures stood up and stretched, then began walking towards a blot of darkness that fell over the bleached plain like a spilled can of paint.
*****
Sunny sat on his throne in the main hall of the nameless temple that was drowned in perpetual darkness by the fragment of the shadow realm. Throughout the lightless temple stood several massive black marble pillars; they were the only things visible at all, thanks to their size.
Now standing in front of Sunny just fifty meters away were the saints of song along with what he assumed to be a vessel of Mordret that was a young man with smooth dark skin and a handsome face who wore a simple black suit stood in a relaxed position with his hands clasped behind his back and a polite smile playing at his lips while staring into the lightless temple.
Sunny's best friend Kai stood with a guarded expression, looking obnoxiously handsome as usual, and gave Sunny a nod. The Saints of Song who were standing with them were Lonesome, who wore an expression of confidence as she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, a captivating saint known as Beastmaster stood there with a slight smile on her slightly aloof face, wearing a tasteful red wine dress with jewelry adorned on her neckline, wrists, and ears.
The beautiful woman stared into the shadows, seemingly trying to pinpoint Sunny's location. Seishan looked exotic and gorgeous as ever, but she spoiled her image by standing beside that bastard, Mordret.
Finally, there was Lightslayer and Silent Stalker, who stared right at him through the impenetrable shadows with a neutral but weary expression. And surprisingly enough, Neph was standing there with them, looking aloof as ever, and her firekeepers were here behind her with confused and frightened expressions.
The torches on the walls burned a calm blue fire that was just bright enough for the clans to see each other without issue, but dim enough to leave the rest of the temple drowned in perpetual shadows.
Sunny himself wore an expression of disbelief beneath his helmet, which came with the mantle of the underworld. Despite everyone's somewhat relaxed stances, Sunny remained tense as he felt that tension in the air was like waiting for a geyser to slowly but surely reach a boiling point and explode. Though he couldn't help but think.
Just what in the hell was going on right now?
Seemingly amused by his silence, the enchantress walked forward, staring into the shadows with a slightly aloof expression, before offering him a smile.
"Lord Shadow, it is nice to meet you finally." The Enchantress said in a husky voice, then bowed deeply before straightening back.
"What are you doing here? Your negotiator tried and failed, and Princess Changing Star, along with her firekeepers, was already here before you. We just finished negotiations, which I was going to accept until you showed up. Tell me why I should hear you out and not cut you down where you stand for such disrespect?" Sunny asked in a cold tone that hid his confusion.
The Beautiful Saint's smile didn't waver at his words.
"I meant no disrespect, Lord Shadow, but I figured since negotiations were less than ideal the last time our guest was here. Why not hope that you could give us a second chance, and with that in mind, we have decided to accompany the Prince of Nothing. I hope you don't mind." Her tone was friendly, and her smile remained the same when Sunny didn't answer.
"A strong and silent type, I'll have you know that is a quality that I look for in a man, that and being an excellent cook, do what you will with that information for the possible future," Beastmaster said, clearing her throat seemingly undeterred by his silence.
"What does your clan have that Changing Star's doesn't?" Sunny asked with genuine curiosity after a few seconds of silence, trying not to focus on her previous statement.
"Take a good look at me and my sisters, Lord Shadow, and ask that again. Then again, actions speak louder than words, do they not? If you were to join my clan, you would see what I am talking about later down the line or sooner, depending on how well we get along." She said calmly with a small smile, but the implications were clear.
Sunny's original body, which was walking in the kitchen with a glass of water in hand, brought it to his lips, then immediately choked on it once he heard her words.
She's not even trying to hide it!
"I do not understand. Do you want him to take a look at your jewelry?" Nephis tilted her head at Beastmaster, who looked at her with pity and let out a sigh, along with Kai, who palmed his face, and the firekeepers, who coughed in embarrassment at their Lady's obliviousness, and Mordret, whose smile silently widened.
"No, my lady, she means-" One of the fire keepers began.
"You don't know me," Sunny hastily interrupted with a cold tone.
"I can certainly get to know you, and I'm sure I can get you out of that asocial shell of yours in no time, should you accept my offer. I'd prefer if we started as friends, then worked our way forward, unless you're not that kind of man, then I'm sure I can find a way to work with that as well." Beastmaster's smile turned mischievous.
"Do you really want to get to know someone like me? What if I am as mentally broken as I seem? After all, no one who is sane in the head would live in a death zone. What will you do then?" Sunny said, leaning forward, amused enough at the statement to dare to entertain her idea.
"I can fix you," She stated simply with a smile and a shrug.
"Do you think you can charm and seduce me into joining your clan, Beastmaster? Try anything like that again, and this will be your final resting place." Sunny said in a dangerous tone. Though as he said this, far away in Bastion, his original body that was busy carrying plates across the cafe suddenly crashed into a table, sending them flying across the air and face-planting into the floor.
The Enchantress paused and let out a soft laugh with a smile. "Of course not, I expected nothing less of a man such as yourself. Seducing you would be far too easy and boring. I prefer the more natural way, which is why I said I'd like to start as friends and get to know more about you." The woman said, smiling at him.
Sunny leaned back into his throne, baffled by the blatant flirting, and looked at Neph, who watched the interaction with an emotionless expression. However, he could have sworn her right eye twitched slightly in irritation, which was strange considering she had no idea who he was underneath the mask.
Dismissing the odd sight with a silent shake of his head, Sunny immediately calmed himself, then let out a laugh that reverberated throughout the place, making the shadows shiver around him as if they were joining his laughter, and commanded the serpent to move around the temple walls.
Soon, the sound of laughter and scales scraping against the walls filled their ears, and the weariness in their stances only grew as Nephis narrowed her eyes. Kai looked around with nervousness, and Mordret's smile tightened, and the firekeepers looked around and shivered.
Sunny watched as Beastmaster's beautiful smile wavered again. Once he was certain no one would speak again unless asked, He said once more, making sure to keep his tone emotionless.
"What a peculiar sight, two clans that have been at war with each other for years and are about to go to fight to the death here in Godgrave are currently in my temple trying to win me over. Fine, Princess Beastmaster, I will consider joining your clan only if you assist me with one task."
"And what might that be, Lord Shadow?" She raised an eyebrow with a light smile playing at her lips.
"Win me over, impress me," Sunny told her simply, making the enchantress blink in surprise.
"In what way?" Beastmaster asked innocently, fluttering her eyelashes with a knowing smile, causing her sisters to roll their eyes at her actions.
"In a fight," Sunny told her firmly, trying to keep his voice as emotionless as possible.
"Fine, I'm assuming we can choose whoever we like to spar with you, and considering that you had Changing Star spar without using aspects, I'm going to guess it's the same with us." The Enchantress guessed with a smile as she put her hand to her chin.
"Correct," Sunny nodded excitedly, but kept his voice emotionless. In truth, he was desperately craving to fight a human as he had gotten sick of fighting nightmare creatures with no drive, no will, and no wits.
He wasn't surprised that Beastmaster knew about his spar with Nephis, as they likely had Mordret watching through the firekeeper's eyes.
"Very well, I also want to thank you for sending those three sleepers, Tamar, Fleur, and Ray to Raven Heart." Beastmaster said with a smile and walked forward without summoning a weapon.
"You have no memory of your choosing?" Sunny asked, genuinely confused, but he didn't dare give it away in his voice. The Enchantress smiled at him in amusement, but before she could respond, the entire temple shook lightly, then shook again, causing everyone to stumble, look at each other in confusion, and then summon their weapons.
"What is going on?" Kai asked in a slightly panicked tone.
"I don't know," Sunny said, trying to hide the same panic he shared with Kai.
"You tricked us? What a shame, and here I thought we could have built something," Beastmaster replied with a sigh of disappointment, yet Sunny still heard the note of urgency in her voice when the temple shook once more.
"I didn't trick you," Sunny said, sounding more genuine than before.
"Lord Shadow, explain yourself," Nephis summoned her flames that didn't burn nearly as bright as they should have due to her being in the presence of a fragment of the shadow realm.
Sunny didn't reply, and instead shadow stepped to the hidden level of the temple where the mystical circle was located on a far wall. He was horrified to see that, instead of swirling around an invisible axis that soon solidified into a ripple, it was like a whirlpool you might see in an ocean. He attempted to command the circle to stop spinning to no avail.
He then tried to put his own essence into the circle to get it under control, but that didn't work either. Whatever strange force was sending essence to the circle was far beyond his power, and as much as Sunny hated to admit it, the thought of a higher power hijacking his temple terrified him to no end. Was it the cursed one that lurked beneath the temple, deep within the moss jungle? Or was it something much worse?
His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted an odd sight. As he looked at the circle again, he noticed that there was a set of unrecognizable glowing runes that had never existed until now.
What the hell?!
Sunny didn't have a chance to discern the meaning of the runes as they disappeared as fast as they appeared. Once the strange runes disappeared, the whirlpool circle began spinning faster, grew larger, and slowly began to take up more space on the far wall to his left, looking more like a vortex than a whirlpool.
Suddenly, the runes that he saw beside the circle came back in full force, and Sunny was immediately assaulted with a skull-splitting headache that hit him like a category four nightmare gate.
It was so terrible that he fell to his knees, not bothering to remove his helmet, but instead throwing it off entirely and sending it flying at full force, making a crater in the wall dozens of meters away.
All this was so he could hold his head in agony. He tried to stand up, but the pain doubled down, and he fell to the ground again, silently groaning as the runes that were assaulting his mind glowed brighter. Sunny closed his eyes in an attempt to negate the runes' effects, but that turned out to be a horrible mistake.
As soon as he closed his eyes, images with no meaning rapidly flashed through his head. A card with a picture of a colorfully dressed person wearing ragged headwear with a stick over his shoulder, and a small creature. Sunny remembered teacher Julius calling it a puppy, and an image of a mundane-looking young man with black hair wearing a brownish yellow suit coat with a white button shirt underneath and black trousers along with a top hat on his head.
Then Sunny saw the moon in outer space of the waking world, or the realm of war, as he came to know, but it was blurry, and he could only make out the figure of someone in a spacesuit reaching out to earth. And finally, a strange voice, indistinguishable as to whether it was a man or a woman, spoke to him.
Find him, the voice said before the images stopped, and the pain instantly disappeared. Sunny was dazed by the information forced into his mind and slowly tried to sit up as the shaking grew more intense. It was so violent that it was able to knock Sunny off balance again as he got up, and that wasn't an easy thing considering that he was a saint.
Find who?!
Was it a cursed one trying to communicate with him?
No, there was no malice in their voice and no killing intent in their vast presence.
His thoughts were cut short when he was lifted off the ground and into the air, but not by choice. It was because, somehow, the nameless temple was now falling through the air. But then something occurred that Sunny didn't think was ever possible: the Brilliant Emporium was transported to the nameless temple against his will, and not a moment later, a deafening crash could be heard throughout the place.
Meanwhile, the rest of the saints and firekeepers continued to shake violently. A modest cottage suddenly appeared in the main hall of the nameless temple and landed with a deafening crash. The saints stared at each other for a moment before unanimously agreeing to put aside their differences and slowly approached the place, attempting to maintain balance.
But suddenly the shaking grew even more violent to the point where even Nephis herself could not keep her balance and fell to the ground. As she slowly regained her balance and looked around for her fire keepers, she saw that they were being tossed across the temple by the force of the strange earthquake.
Then, in a peculiar turn of events, her firekeepers began floating, and then the modest cottage began floating too. Lastly, Nephis and everyone around her began floating as well, not because of her transformation or anyone else's, but because the temple was now in the air and descending rapidly.
As she was in the air, she kept her mind calm and clear of any panic. Nephis looked around and noticed that the former prince of valor was nowhere to be seen. However, it was most likely that he had retreated behind someone's eyes until this strange event passed.
Seven minutes passed before they stopped falling, and the temple landed with a thunderous boom, knocking everyone to the ground. The Prince of Nothing had returned and was lying on the ground with a dazed expression, having somehow been forced into his original body, which was another strange occurrence since he had not brought it.
"What an eventful day this has been so far," Mordret said as he got up with a smile, dusted himself off, fixed his tie, and then helped Seishan up.
"I agree," Beastmaster said as she approached the door with a relaxed smile, but Nephis could see the muscles under her dress coil, waiting to strike. The door slowly opened, and Nephis tightened her grip on her sword. Oddly enough, she had to strain her eyes to see who would appear from it.
Though, to her dismay, it didn't help much, as the dim glow of the torches on the wall didn't provide enough light, and the temple was drowned in darkness. On top of that, the strange, impenetrable shadows surrounding them dimmed her flames significantly.
Kai, who was standing off to the side, watched the door open fully with a hard swing. Kai blinked in surprise as he saw the silhouette of a young man wearing a dark mantle, his hair tied into a ponytail, and a petite woman-no, it was Aiko!
Aiko stumbled out of the cottage with a dazed expression as she attempted to float a few meters into the air before falling flat on her face. Meanwhile, the young man fell to the ground with a heavy thud, then let out a groan as Beastmaster fell on top of him when the door handle was yanked from her grasp.
Kai was confused as to how a saint lost balance so easily.
Was Beastmaster clumsy?
No, that wasn't it at all. As soon as Kai asked himself that question, he knew the answer was wrong as he tried to use his dormant ability to float over and help his friend when he was hit with a wave of nausea and felt sick.
His essence had been exhausted.
That was impossible, as they didn't even do anything remotely like fighting, and yet their essence had been completely snatched from them. That explained why everyone's weapons were now missing.
But how?
Unbeknownst to Kai, that was the question everyone asked simultaneously in their minds. He steadied himself and looked around for the lord of shadows as he walked to help Aiko and the master she was with to their feet, but was unable to find the sullen saint. So he came to the assumption that his essence had been exhausted as well, and he had retreated deeper into his temple until it replenished.
"Saint Beastmaster, please get off of me, I can't lift you!" The master said in a pleading tone as she had landed on his back
"What are you trying to say to me, stranger? That I'm too heavy for you to lift?" Beastmaster asked in a tired and dazed yet dangerously friendly tone. It seemed like her essence was exhausted entirely too. Still, it didn't stop the young man from paling in fright.
"N-no! I'm trying to say that I cannot use my strength, it's as if I reverted to being mundane despite me still being able to use essence." The master said, making everyone look at him in confusion. Beastmaster weakly got off his back and reached out to him to lift him, though as she did, the woman paused when she saw his face.
Meanwhile, the saints and masters took his words seriously, and each of them walked to a pillar and punched it with all their might, but to no avail; it did nothing. Luckily, they seemed to retain their durability, so they were unharmed.
The saints couldn't use their transformations, as their essence had been exhausted as well, and the masters couldn't summon their memories. They couldn't even use their dormant abilities and didn't dare try, as it would have caused severe backlash on their bodies.
Even the prince of nothing, who usually wore a pleasant smile, frowned as he realized he couldn't use his dormant ability to hide behind someone's eyes or go through reflections. Even if he could, though, it would be useless, since there were reflections throughout the temple and not enough light to reflect the surfaces, so the prince was stuck with everyone else.
"Oh my, who might you be?" Eunbin asked as she looked him up and down with an unreadable expression and let go of his hand once he could stand on his own.
Just where was such a gorgeous man hiding all this time?
"I am called Master Sunless, I am located in Bastion, and I am the owner of the Brilliant Emporium and Cafe!" The handsome master bowed with a polite smile.
"It is very nice to meet you, Master Sunless. I didn't know Bastion was hiding such a lovely man, and one who runs a cafe, at that. They just so happen to be my favorite place to go." Eunbin said with a smile, causing Lonesome Howl, Revel, Seishan, and Silent Stalker to walk over from the marble pillars and shake their heads at her.
"Really? Well, it's a shame I'm not in Raven Heart." Master Sunless said with a pleasant smile, then shook his head, only to freeze as he finally took in his surroundings.
"I'm sure I can work something out if you're willing to move. Are you alright?" Eunbin interrupted herself, noticing his shift in expression.
Meanwhile, Nephis stared blankly at Beastmaster and the gorgeous ascended as she tried to recall where she had heard the name 'Sunless'.
Ah, now she remembered. The firekeepers had mentioned him a few times in passing, saying how good-looking he was, and Cassie mentioned him as well when she said she visited him one evening for a memory.
"No, I'm not alright. Wait! W-where the hell am I?!" Master Sunless shouted in panic.
"You are in my temple, so stop yelling before I cut off your tongue," Lord Shadow said from behind him with a scoff, making the master jump in fright and whirl around to the source of the voice.
"W-who are you?" Master Sunless asked and pointed a trembling finger at the dark saint.
"Lord Shadow, who are you?" The Saint asked, walking towards him as the master backed away
"I-I am called Master Sunless, my lord." The gorgeous master answered in a trembling voice as he continued to back away.
"Quit moving," The Lord of Shadows snapped coldly, making the master cease all movement. Nephis watched in confusion as they interacted, while the firekeepers felt pity for the master they had come to know through their visits to the eye candy cafe.
"Considering Saint Nightingale's lack of reaction to your statement that you were not the cause of this strange event. I am going to assume that you are telling the truth and you had nothing to do with that." Nephis said calmly as she walked towards Sunny.
"Of course not, I want you all out of my temple. Why would I go through all that trouble to get you out?" Sunny asked, allowing a hint of frustration to seep into his voice.
"I don't know, but we will have to figure that out later as we have more pressing matters to address," Nephis said as she walked towards the doors to leave the nameless temple with Beastmaster walking in step beside her while eyeing Master Sunless.
For some reason, Nephis felt a pang of jealousy, but immediately squashed it down.
Meanwhile, Kai watched Master Sunless dust himself off, then follow Beastmaster and Nephis, who walked outside the nameless temple, then followed after them with the saints of song and the firekeepers at his rear. Once they left the temple, they were met with more darkness, still in his "domain".
The temporary cohort walked several kilometers before they reached the edge of Lord Shadow's strange domain and shielded their eyes as the harsh sunlight assaulted them. Master Sunless did the same before bumping into the two women by accident, who had stopped in place.
Sunny prepared himself to see GodGrave and was ready to put on a mask of terror, but Sunny stopped as well, his face etched with genuine horror. Around him were buildings, but they were all wrong, terribly wrong. For starters, they were much smaller than the buildings in NQSC, with churches and unmistakable universities scattered throughout what looked like a kingdom. It was as if they were from an era centuries before the dark times called the Victorian era.
It was a time when the world experienced industrialization, rapid technological advances, and social changes for its time. And because of those advances, everything was powered by a "coil" or whatever they called it back then.
Wait, were they in Europe?
Sunny immediately shook his head inwardly and got back to the problem at hand. To make matters worse, it was in the middle of the day, when everyone could see the nameless temple along with the fragment of the shadow realm that stuck out like a sore thumb, and people were approaching as he felt shadows walking towards them.
Luckily, this temple wasn't fixed in one place and could wander wherever he chose, but the problem was that Sunny didn't know this place at all.
"What the hell? What the actual hell?!" One of the firekeepers whispered as they all took in their surroundings.
"I don't understand," Nephis frowned deeply at the sight of the buildings.
Where were they? Was this some form of illusion or nightmare conjured by the vile spell?
She looked to Kai, who could see through illusions, and grimaced when he frantically shook his head, sensing her gaze and silent question.
They backed away in wariness when the fearsome Lord Shadow stalked out of the nameless temple and into the bright afternoon sky to stare coldly at his surroundings. The enigmatic Saint tilted his head before his dark voice resounded beneath his dark helmet.
"The shadows are all wrong; we should not be here." He said, turning his head to look around thoroughly.
"I could have told you that," Silent Stalker said, scoffing at his words.
"Calm down, my friends, let's wait for our essence to replenish first, then gather our bearings and go on from there," Mordret smiled pleasantly and clasped his hands behind his back.
"We don't have time for that. We are in unknown territory, and gathering information is crucial, but you're right, we need to get our strength back first and then go on from there." Nephis said, nodding to Mordret, who sighed as he sat on a nearby pipe.
"I will focus on gathering information once we have recovered a bit of our essence. Though I have a feeling as to where we could be, but I could be wrong, so don't take whatever thoughts I may have to heart," Mordret said with a polite smile.
It was true that Mordret had an idea as to where they had been brought.
Could it be that Mirage City has been transformed again? Mordret asked himself.
Was it his sister? Did she figure out how to get in here and make this change? That girl always did have a wild imagination when they were children, but if that was the case, then why hadn't she imagined someone trying to kill him then? And where was the remaining fragment? And why would she make such a drastic change in the great mirror? Was anyone else here other than his companions?
He had a lot of questions in general, but despite that, something told Mordret that every possible answer he came up with was wrong and that they weren't somehow transported to the great mirror in true Bastion, but instead somewhere beyond him.
It was also because, despite not being able to use his dormant ability due to complete essence exhaustion, much like The Lord of Shadows, Mordret could still faintly sense that the reflections were all wrong. Was it perhaps one of the six realms then? No, that couldn't have been the answer either.
Mordret looked down at his body. He was still perplexed about how his original body was brought here, even though it was in Raven Heart, and how he was forced into it. If Mordrer didn't know any better, he would say this is the work of a god.
But that was impossible because the gods were dead and so were the demons, the children of the forgotten god. Mordret felt a headache coming and dismissed his thoughts for later, choosing to focus on biding his time to replenish his essence.
*****
Thirty minutes had passed before anyone moved from the nameless temple, and much to Sunny's surprise, no one had shown up to investigate the temple with an impenetrable fragment of the shadow realm surrounding it. Surely this couldn't have been a common occurrence, right?
"I will go and gather as much information as I can about this place. Let's say we meet back here at dusk? Mordret asked as he stood up with his usual pleasant smile back on his face.
"If we are going, then I will accompany Master Sunless. After all, four eyes are better than two, and his looks can only get him so far, whereas I can be very persuasive. " Beastmaster said as she stopped leaning on Seishan and got up.
"That is fine, do not draw too much attention and make sure to go in pairs, we may be saints and masters but we do not know this place and yes, we will meet back here at the nameless temple at dusk," Nephis said with a firm nod as white sparks slowly ignited in her eyes one by one like a solar system coming to life.
"I will remain here, I will only draw too much unwanted attention due to my appearance," Sunny said in a cold tone as the lord of shadows. The deadly beautiful Lightslayer, who stayed within the fragment of the shadow realm, began walking towards him to meet him at the edge of the domain.
"I will stay here as well," Lightslayer said, her slender form clinging to the shadows. Sunny wasn't surprised, as he had long figured out that her flaw prevented her from being in any sunlight, much like her kin, the creatures of darkness, couldn't go out in sunlight either.
But that made Sunny wonder why in the world she had come to Godgrave, a place where night never fell, and why she had accompanied her sisters. He then realized that she might have an ability to summon a flood of true darkness wherever she was, protecting her from the harmful rays of Godgrave.
"Then I will stay with you as well," Silent stalker said, eyeing Sunny's helmet visor with a frown.
"Alright, we will depart now," Nephis said, deliberately not mentioning that Cassie was with Master Sunless and Aiko when the Brilliant Emporium was forcefully brought into the nameless temple. This was because her friend would be the one to keep an eye on everything during their reconnaissance. And with that, Silent Stalker, Lord Shadow, and Lightslayer stayed while everyone else departed into the strange kingdom.
****
Beastmaster and Sunny walked through the streets crowded with people who openly stared at them with wide eyes. Still, despite their stare, Sunny couldn't help noticing that they were clearly in a version of the outskirts of this kingdom; he could see in it the people, a woman offering her body to make money, food vendors desperately advertising their foods as the best in the kingdom in hopes of someone buying so they could pay for their next meal. Children playing tag in the dirty streets, oblivious to the world around them.
He could smell it in the air too, the sickly sweet smell of a body rotting from likely dying of starvation. The stale, cloudy air was likely due to the pollution from their fuel sources. Though strangely enough, Sunny felt himself fitting right in. It was like he'd never left the outskirts of NQSC.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, Sunny thought to himself, allowing a wistful smile to grace his lips. He only remembered that he was with someone else when a soft husky voice graced his ears.
"Master Sunless, it's rude not to pay attention when someone is speaking to you," Beastmaster said as Sunny looked to his right to see the beautiful woman staring at him with an amused expression as they walked.
"My apologies, Saint Beastmaster, I was lost in thought!"
"Well, I suppose I can let it go this time, but only because you own a cafe and because you're handsome. Anyway, while you were daydreaming, I spotted a merchant store where we can get new clothes and tell the others about it when we meet back up," Beastmaster said, motioning for him to follow in her direction. Sunny followed on her heels and walked to a store where a tasteful suit was displayed in the front window, with a sign that said only three left in stock.
They walked in and were greeted by an older man with gray hair, a neatly trimmed mustache, intelligent brown eyes, and a polite smile.
"Hello, young couple, welcome to my store! Feel free to have a look around!"
"Actually, we're not-" Sunny began to clear up the misunderstanding before Beastmaster suddenly put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it before staring at him for a moment signaling for him to follow along and then proceeded to hug his arm then lean into him with a smile.
"Yes! As you can see, my husband and I are in dire need of new clothing. This is our first time doing something like this, so we don't know what to look for. What do you recommend, good sir?" Beastmaster asked with a sweet smile without missing a single beat on the lie she told him.
The merchant clearly bought it a little too well, as his smile suddenly became greedy, and he excused himself to grab something before coming back out a few seconds later.
"I can give you this brand new suit for four hundred gold pounds," the merchant smiled brightly as he held a clearly worn-out grey suit, a scratched-up tie, and scuffed black dress shoes.
Sunny may not have known the currency or anything at all about this place, but he knew a swindler when he saw one!
Brand new, my ass! This merchant is trying to scam us!
"No, thank you, we'll pass on that, and take this one. Sunny said, as he pointed to the suit on display while forcing a smile and clenching his fist behind his back to stop himself from beating the older man over the head with something for trying to swindle him.
He took a deep breath and instead handed him a pouch of coins, watching as the older man took out a few, eyed them, then put the coins back into the pouch and handed it back to Sunny.
"What's wrong with them?" Beastmaster asked, moving to stand beside Sunny.
"Whatever this strange currency you have is worth nothing, child; we only take soli or gold pounds in this kingdom. I don't know if you're trying to scam me or if you got the currency confused with another kingdom's. But regardless, I can't take this, no matter how ridiculously gorgeous you and your wife are, or the fact that you two desperately need to get out those funny-looking clothes you're both wearing and get new ones." The older merchant forced a smile and eyed his clothing with a funny expression.
What the actual hell?!
He just tried to scam Sunny a moment ago! And who the hell was he calling funny-looking?!
Look in the damn mirror, you old goat!
"I'm sure we can work something out," Sunny said, putting on his best charming smile.
"If you don't have anything else, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The merchant said with a surprisingly regretful expression. Still, Beastmaster put a hand on Sunny's shoulder to stop him from going anywhere and fluttered her eyelashes at the older man, clearly about to charm him or use her aspect if it came to that, but Sunny doubted it. Her smile was just like Kai's; they both could make a crowd faint without even trying.
That was until a random stranger walked up beside them and reached into his pocket. Sunny watched the stranger take out a stack of paper slips, each engraved with gold and bearing a different number. The numbers one, five, and ten held what looked to be different kings in their centers.
The stranger showed the paper slips to the merchant, smiling brightly. He was a man in his thirties, with an unreasonably handsome face, his lips curved in a charming smile, as if he were waiting to sell a deal that no one could resist.
"My friends just moved here from somewhere you wouldn't know very well a few days ago, so they don't know this place at all. Please excuse them, and don't mind their clothes. I gave it to them. It's why they look rich but have no money in their pockets. Oh, I have a few more friends who might stop by as they need new clothes, too. I will pay you in advance so they can quickly find good clothes and not look like a bunch of posers." The stranger said with bright laughter, prompting the merchant to change tune and laugh as well once he saw the money.
"Sure thing, apologies for the rudeness, it's just that there are too many people trying to swindle me nowadays, so I can never be too careful, you know? Feel free to look around while you wait for your friends." The merchant eyed the stranger with a smile.
What the hell is going on?!
And what did he mean by people trying to swindle him?! He just tried to scam Sunny!
Sunny found himself asking that question more and more as the day went on. Something about the interaction he just witnessed didn't feel right. In fact, the strange man himself screamed that something wasn't right with him, but Sunny couldn't tell what was wrong.
"Good day to you then!" The stranger smiled and motioned for Sunny to follow, and began walking off into the store while looking over his shoulder at Sunny." I know a bakery as well, it's called Smyrin Bakery, and a lovely grandma named Wendy Smyrin owns it."
"Why are you helping us?" Sunny questioned with a forced, polite tone, putting off wanting to confront Beastmaster on the lie she spun to the merchant.
"Because you seemed like you two were lost, and because I now know where the missing one went." The mysterious man shrugged with a bright smile.
You know where the missing one went? What the hell was the last statement supposed to mean?
"What do we owe you?" Sunny asked with a forced smile.
"Nothing, the clothes are free," The stranger said with a smile.
Free clothes? Free? As if he would believe that load of crap. Free things always come at a price, and only a naive fool would think otherwise!
"What do we owe you?" Beastmaster echoed Sunny's question, her smile tightening.
"Since you two keep insisting upon it, then I'll figure it out soon enough," The man said with a sigh.
"I never caught your name, friend," Sunny mentioned casually while eyeing the clothes that had just been bought for him. It was a black suit coat with a gray vest and a black tie.
"That's because you two already know it, Sunless," The stranger smiled, causing Sunny's polite expression to slip into a frown.
"I do? I also don't recall telling you my name," Sunny said, keeping the man within his gaze as he kept pretending to look for anything wrong with his clothes.
"I don't either. Why not tell us? I'd like to know the name of the handsome man who helped us." Beastmaster said with a slightly forced smile. Sunny could immediately tell that her tone was insincere, as she felt the same thing he did when she saw the man.
"No, you don't, it's because you didn't, but never mind that, do me a favor, will you?" The stranger smiled wider, causing Sunny's frown to deepen as he turned to look at the man thoroughly.
"What is it?" Sunny asked,
"Ah, just tell your friends that an old friend says hello and that I'll be seeing them later down the line. You're a smart boy, you'll figure out who I am eventually," the man said, waving over his shoulder. Sunny watched him walk away, then placed the stack of "gold pounds" that he had heard about earlier on the counter where the merchant was. The man began speaking to the merchant again, but for some reason, Sunny couldn't make out what they were saying as no words reached his ears, and he couldn't read their lips.
It was then that Sunny realized this man was using some form of soundproofing, making it difficult, even for a transcendent being, to listen to their conversation. Whoever this man was, he clearly wanted Sunny to figure out his name on his own. But how could Sunny figure it out if he apparently already knew his name?
Sunny and Beastmaster glanced at each other and suddenly walked back to the front of the store, where the merchant was at a brisk pace. The stranger was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh? You're back already! Did you find everything you were looking for? That man already paid for you and your friends, so take as long as you'd like."
"Not yet, do you know what year it is?" Sunny asked with wide eyes.
"What?" The older man asked, looking at him like he had grown two heads.
"Allow me, Master Sunless. The year, please tell us the year, my husband here is curious." Beastmaster smiled sweetly, causing the older man's eyes to glaze over as she used her aspect to nudge his mind.
"The year is thirteen forty-nine. Do you need anything else, my lady?" The merchant asked with a lopsided dopey smile.
"No, that will be all," She said, as she walked further back into the store with Sunny and turned to look at him with a rare, concerned expression.
"T-T-Thirteen forty nine?" Sunny asked no one in particular.
Just where the hell did they get transported to?! Wanting answers, Sunny walked back to the merchant with a dazed expression.
"What is the name of this city and the name of that man?" Sunny asked in a shaky voice.
"Hm? Oh, it's called Tingen City in the Leon Kingdom, and the man told me his name was…"
Hello to anyone who stumbled upon this fanfic! Since G3 is taking a break on Shadow slave, I decided to start reading LOTM. I regret taking so long to read this webnovel. I will let you know now that I'm still very new, as I'm only ten chapters deep, and I will write longer chapters as I get more into the book. Please feel free to correct me on anything I've missed in this chapter or future chapters.
This fanfic will start from volume one. :)
But I loved the introduction so much that I started writing this. To my absolute surprise, I haven't seen anyone write a fanfic about Sunny and a few other characters being brought into the world of mysteries.
The closest thing we have to a Shadow Slave x Lotm fanfic is called "Shadow Slave error," and I wanted to change that! Also, I'm very sorry for any Sunphis fans who were hoping they'd get together at some point in this story but they won't. :(
This is because I've seen far too many fanfics with Sunphis, and as much as I like Sunphis, I'm sorta burnt out on it, and honestly, I find other ships a lot more entertaining and enjoyable to read and write about.
As you can probably tell from the first chapter, I'm leaning towards a particular ship But, it could change depending on how I feel, though for right now I'm going with that.
I think that's all I have for the moment. The next chapter will probably be a while, as I already have two other fanfics I'm writing, and I don't want to risk burnout. :)
Please let me know what you think about the pacing of this chapter.