A male firekeeper walked up to his comrades, who were wearing monocles, and raised his eyebrow at the sight.
"Where did you get those, and how come I didn't get one?"
A firekeeper shrugged.
"Maybe because you're too ugly,"
The young man scowled, yet there was no actual hate in his eyes, as he was clearly used to hearing such things from his fellow firekeepers.
"Shut up."
Sunny smiled politely and held out his hand. He had seen the firekeeper around but never talked to him before. The young man's head snapped over to Sunny, and he nodded at him.
"I don't think you've seen me before. What's your name? If you don't mind me asking,"
Ezra shook his head with a grimace, and his scowl lessened as he realized Sunny was talking to him.
"Huh? Oh, it's Ezra, you're master Sunless, right? I hear you're pretty popular with the women. I'm usually in Bastion, but the one time I decided to accompany Lady Nephis, something like this happens, just my goddamn luck, huh?"
The man looked to be in his early-twenties with black hair and violet eyes, and a serious expression.
Sunny nodded.
"Oh, believe me, I fully understand what you mean."
Ezra sat beside Sunny with a huff.
"Good to know I'm not the only one,"
One of the firekeepers scoffed as she took off her monocle, rubbed it against her shirt, then put it back on.
"Bah, you're so serious, Ezra, just like Adam, you don't know how to joke or have any fun,"
"How can I have fun when we're stuck in an unknown place in 1349? More importantly, how can you all be so calm about this?"
"Ask yourself that question as well."
Ezra shook his head.
"I'm not calm, I'm freaking out on the inside, but I'm just good at hiding it. Anyway, who's Adam?"
Silent Stalker raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, who is Adam?"
Sunny wondered who Adam was, too.
"Is he someone you met?"
Mordret raised an eyebrow at the name as he walked out of the cottage.
"Who's Adam?"
A firekeeper smiled at them.
"Hmm? Oh, he likes to write stories, that's all. He's an author, heh-heh."
Nephis nodded with a smile.
"I see, I didn't know you had a brother or that he was an author,"
As she began chatting with the firekeepers, Sunny once again thought about what the woman wearing the monocle said about the beings who were aware of his presence. Could he wear Weaver's mask to hide from these beings? After all, not even the gods' sight could pierce through the mask of Weaver. Or would it be futile? He didn't know and decided he wanted to get real rest, then bid everyone goodnight.
"I'm going to go back to sleep. I have work in a few hours."
Beastmaster looked over at Sunny with a languid smile.
"Let me know if you need someone in your bed if you get lonely."
Sunny forced a smile.
"Thank you, Saint Beastmaster,"
"You're welcome, though you seem a little down. If you need to cheer up, then I know plenty of ways to make you feel better. I'd tell you how to do that, but I'm sure you're more of a visual learner, so it won't do much good to talk about it. Let's go into your emporium so I can show you all the ways I can make you feel much better. The time it will take to satisfy you will depend on how experienced you are. But if you're not, then don't fret, I won't judge you, and I can make you a veteran very quickly."
Sunny nearly tripped when he heard those words, Kai choked on his canteen of water, and the song sisters shook their heads in disappointment.
"What?"
Beastmaster tilted her head innocently, but her dark eyes betrayed her as they trailed over his form appreciatively.
"What?"
Sunny trembled in place.
"What was that last part?"
"I said 'what'."
Sunny stared at her with wide eyes.
"No, no, before that,"
Beastmaster nodded with a slight smile on her aloof face.
"Ah, right. I said I won't judge you,"
"No, no, no, after that,"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Master Sunless."
"Are you gaslighting me, Saint Beastmaster?"
"I would never, sweet dreams,"
Eunbin watched as Master Sunless bowed and quickly retreated into his cottage before she turned to her sisters with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you think I scared him off?"
Revel, who sat beside her, scoffed at her words.
"What the hell do you think, Bin?"
Eunbin shrugged with a smile.
"Oh, calm down, Sunless, and I will have plenty of time to become friends and get to know each other on a deeper level later on. What's wrong with having a little fun right now? I'm not going to use my aspect on him to make him like me; that would be far too easy. I want to go about it the old-fashioned way."
Truthfully, all she could do was flirt with him, as she had no idea how to make friends, since she had only her sisters as a child. Eunbin couldn't be friends with anyone else she came across since they either treated her like a goddess or lusted after her body. When she awakened, she adored it, but it quickly grew old after a few years. Besides, Master Sunless was her type, and he didn't clam up when he spoke to her; he treated her like a normal person, and Eunbin wanted more of that.
Howl raised an eyebrow.
"By aggressively hitting on him?"
Eunbin smiled wider as she fixed her hair and shrugged again.
"I call it a form of ice breaking,"
"What about Lord Shadow? Weren't you going for him?"
"Yes, but that was before I laid eyes on that young man."
Howl rolled her eyes.
"Good gods, woman."
…
Sunny had long woken up from his nap and had started walking down the quiet, still-dark street to Smyrin's Bakery. As he walked, he could see the sun's rays slowly appearing, so it must have been around 5 in the morning.
Sunny heard a strange squawking noise and spotted a small white creature he recognized as a seagull. Teacher Julius had told Sunny about the animals that existed before the dark times. It was sitting on a building, though, weirdly enough, it wasn't exactly as Teacher Julius had described it to him. For whatever reason, the seagull had a circle of black feathers around its right eye, and its deep black eyes followed him with each step he took.
'It looks more weird than I imagined in person,'
As Sunny continued walking, he opened his hand again to check if his power was still missing, then attempted to manifest shadows again, only to be shocked when they flowed into his palm.
'It's back? How?!'
Was it a malfunction in his powers? Was something like that even possible? For aspect abilities to stop working all of a sudden? No, no, that wasn't right. It was that woman, it had to be, the monocle-wearing woman said thank you right before she left, and that was when Sunny found out he couldn't manifest any shadows. But how did she take it in the first place?
His powers came from the soul after all everyone's did, so there was no way she was able to steal it from him… right? Even if she were able to, why? For what purpose? And why give it back so soon? Why take it in the first place?
Sunny was so absorbed by this strange occurrence that he accidentally bumped into a man with tan skin and quickly apologized. He stopped in place and bowed.
Truthfully, though, Sunny had felt the man's vast shadow and avoided him, yet the man still bumped into him.
"Sorry, I was paying attention to my hand instead of where I was walking."
The man stopped in place as well, then laughed, his golden eyes shining with mirth on the dimly lit sidewalk.
"No, no, there's no need for you to apologize; it was entirely my fault! I figured I could slip by you without any trouble, but I didn't realize how tight these sidewalks are."
Sunny smiled.
"It's okay, have a good day, sir."
The man tipped his hat and began to walk away with a smile.
"You too, Sunless,"
Sunny's head immediately whirled around to look at the man, but found the sidewalk empty. He extended his shadow sense and felt no shadows in the vicinity at all, as if the man had never existed in the first place. Frowning deeply, he turned around and kept walking, staying alert. A million thoughts raced through his mind, but he focused on a singular one.
"How did he know my name?'
Was he someone related to that woman? Was he one of the beings that the woman said was aware of him and his companions? As he pondered this, he felt many eyes on him and saw a bunch of beautiful women in various dresses staring at him with curiosity.
He ignored them and kept walking. He soon arrived at Smyrins Bakery, pulled open the front door to find it unlocked, and was surprised to see Mrs. Smyrin sitting on a chair behind the counter, drinking a cup of tea. Hearing the door open, she paused and met his eyes with caution before they softened at the sight of him. She greeted him warmly.
"Good morning, Sunless. You're here early,"
Sunny bowed and walked closer to the counter.
"Good morning, ma'am,"
"Did you sleep well?"
"I didn't sleep at all,"
"Oh goddess, do you need to take the day off to get rest?"
Sunny smiled.
"No, thank you,"
The older woman shrugged.
"Alright then,"
Sunny raised an eyebrow as he noticed that she was still staring at him.
"Is something wrong?"
"I realized that you aren't from this kingdom; your lack of knowledge of our currency proved that much. I'm not judging you at all, but if you're going to live in this city, you should at least know its history, the goddess we worship, and the city's capital. I'm actually glad you showed up early because that gives me time to teach you a bit."
"You're going to teach me?"
"Yes, of course, I can't have a young lad like you running around like a headless chicken; people will notice and try to take advantage of that. It's also good to know what places to avoid so that you don't get robbed."
"Let's start with our goddess. Do you know what her name is?"
Sunny shook his head.
"I've heard of people mentioning a goddess ever since I got here, but I don't know her name."
Wendy Smyrin gestured for him to grab a chair.
"Her name is the Evernight goddess. What about the others?"
Sunny went wide-eyed as he sat down beside her after grabbing a chair.
"There are more?"
Well, why wouldn't there be? Kai mentioned that the civilians said something about the gods not having bodies, suggesting there were multiple gods. But maybe the civilians were wrong, and the gods did have bodies? After all, how would they know if the gods did or didn't? Then again, how would Sunny himself know?
The old woman nodded at him.
"Yes, the god of steam and machinery, the Lord of Storms, and the Evernight Goddess. I guess you must've been a sheltered lad, that's okay. We should have time for me to give you a summary of this city and our goddess."
….
"What's the capital of Loen Kingdom?"
"Backlund,"
"Good, tell me the honorific name of the Evernight Goddess."
"The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos, and more eternal than eternity. She is the lady of crimson, the mother of concealment, the empress of misfortune and horror, and the mistress of repose and silence."
Smyrin smiled at him.
"Good, what continent is the Loen Kingdom in?"
Sunny suppressed the strange urge to yawn and answered.
"Northern,"
"Good, where is the Deweyville library?"
Sunny answered.
"In Tingen City,"
Smyrin gestured for him to continue.
"Where specifically?"
"Golden Indus Borough,"
Smyrin set her recently refilled cup of tea down.
"Good lad, I can only teach so much, so if you want to know more about this kingdom and city, I would go there if I were you."
Sunny rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes.
"Thank you, ma'am,"
This action didn't escape the woman's notice, and she asked.
"Are you alright, lad? I didn't pile too much information at once, did I?"
Sunny shook his head as he adjusted his mantle, and this time he was unable to suppress his yawn.
"Yes, I'm alright, I'm just a bit sleepy, that's all, and no, you didn't."
Smyrin raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Am I that boring?"
Sunny shook his head.
"No, no, you're not boring, I guess I didn't get enough sleep,"
Which was an odd thing for Sunny to say, considering that a saint could go weeks without sleeping and be fine.
"I see, I will allow you to rest for a bit since it doesn't usually get busy until later on in the day."
Sunny smiled.
"Thank you,"
The older woman waved him away with a smile.
"Not a problem, I'll just take the minutes you used to sleep from your paycheck as compensation."
Sunny stared in horror, getting the woman to chuckle.
"You wouldn't,"
The corner of Smryin's eyes crinkled as she smiled at him and stood up.
"Try me, now, go get some rest in the back of the bakery, and I'll wake you up when I see someone coming in.
…
Sunny woke up to the sound of the door opening. He quickly sat up, fixed his apron, and walked into the front of the bakery. When he stopped, he looked around the bakery and noticed an odd sight. It was the gas lamps Smyrin had around the bakery. They looked a lot less bright than before he took his nap.
'Maybe they're about to burn out?'
He frowned at the sight and looked over at the door to see a man with a receding hairline walk into the bakery. His grey eyes scanned the shelves before they landed on Sunny with recognition. Sunny knew why the man was staring at him like that. He remembered him as well; he was Dunn Smith, the "officer" he met three nights ago, and the one he had gloomy spy on for a while.
"Good morning to you, young man,"
"Good morning to you as well, and hello again, Officer Smith. You may not recognize me, but I'm one of the people you met three nights ago while you were riding in the horse carriage."
Dunn Smith smiled as he held out his hand.
"Yes, I remember, are you Sunless?"
Sunny smiled as he shook it.
"Yes, I am. How can I help you?"
Sunny didn't know when the man had moved, but he was somehow closer than before and began speaking as he took out a small notepad from his pocket.
"The Special Operations department, Awwa county police, is in an ongoing investigation on a potentially dangerous group, and we're looking for witnesses to see if they know anything about the name Asterion."
"Oh? H-has anyone been hurt?" Sunny asked, pretending to be a fearful worker.
"No, not yet thankfully, but I must ask, do you know anything about this person?"
Sunny was forced to answer.
"Yes, I do,"
Dunn Smith nodded as he took out a small notepad and a fountain pen from his pocket.
"I'd like to know, if you don't mind telling me, what can he do?"
Sunny was forced to answer.
"He can read minds, I know that much for sure,"
Dunn Smith spoke to himself as he jotted down notes.
"So he's a low-sequence beyonder from the spectator pathway, a telepathist, I'm glad to be wrong for once."
Sunny said nothing and allowed Dunn Smith to finish jotting down his notes. Once the older man was done, he looked at Sunny again expectantly.
Dunn Smith's pen hovered over the page that was now filled with writing.
"Anything else?"
Sunny nodded to the 'police officer'.
"He can manipulate people's thoughts and emotions."
Dunn Smith frowned as he scribbled out his previous writings and flipped to a fresh page.
"I see, so he's actually a mid-sequence beyonder, probably a hypnotist, that's not ideal."
What the hell was he talking about? The Dreamspawn wasn't some damn hypnotist; he was a sovereign, a supreme being!
"He's actually a supreme being,"
The man who had somehow gotten closer to Sunny without him perceiving it paused and shook his head at him.
"He's not a god, Sunless, no matter how much he wants you to think he is. At the end of the day, he is just a man and can bleed like anyone else."
A god? That's…. not what a supreme being was at all. Sunny stared at the man while trying to maintain a polite expression as Dunn Smith continued.
"Moving on from that, I'm assuming that you aren't from this Kingdom, right?"
Sunny nodded.
"That's right,"
"I figured that you weren't, your strange accent was a dead giveaway, not that it matters. Anyway, if you don't mind me
asking, what kingdom are you from?"
'Ah. Damnit,'
He had to carefully consider his words so he didn't sound like a complete nut job or look suspicious. Well, considering his knowledge of the dreamspawn, Sunny likely already looked suspicious in the man's eyes.
Sunny answered truthfully as he always did.
"I don't consider myself from any kingdom or empire, as I lived on the streets for the majority of my life. Where I was born, people didn't bat an eye towards me as they were suffering themselves, so I don't consider myself to be part of any place."
The older man asked, his gaze curious.
"How long have you been here? What school did you attend as a young lad?"
"I've been here for four days now, and I haven't attended any school."
Dunn Smith raised an eyebrow at Sunny's answer.
"Why not?"
"I didn't have money."
Dunn Smith looked Sunny straight in the eyes.
"You didn't need to. At least in this kingdom, you don't; there are free schools, so that people like you who were not fortunate enough to have money to pay for public school could get a free education."
"I wasn't aware of that."
Dunn Smith nodded and stroked his chin.
"What kingdom did you say you were from again?"
Sunny's eyes darted to the windows, and she noticed the streets were still bathed in crimson.
How long was he asleep? It felt like a long time, yet it still seemed early in the morning. Why didn't Smyrin wake him up like she said she would? Where was she anyway?
Sunny looked at the man who was patiently awaiting his answer and had somehow gotten even closer. How was he doing that when Sunny kept his eyes on him the entire time, and in his peripheral vision when he looked at the window? Sunny was a saint, so he should've been able to track his movement with ease.
He dismissed his thoughts and smiled.
"I didn't,"
Dunn Smith was trying to get Sunny to slip up by asking him questions as if he had already told him and had forgotten.
'Smart.'
His thoughts drifted back to Mrs. Smyrin. Where was she at? Surely she would have come out here already after hearing the conversation, right? Ah, it was probably nothing.
Dunn Smith gave him a relaxed smile as he took his hat. It was clear that he was trying to get Sunny to let his guard down.
"What city were you born in then? I've probably been there, so I can likely help you remember which Kingdom you're from. It's the least I could do after interrupting your shift."
Sunny forced a smile.
"The city I was born in didn't have a proper name, only what the people who lived there called it, and I don't call it that anymore. I'm unable to recall the name of the place I was born in, as it's hard to do when it doesn't have one to begin with. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir."
Dunn Smith nodded with a smile as if he genuinely believed Sunny's words, but how? Was he able to detect if someone was lying like Kai could?
"I see, that's okay. "
He didn't want to make Sunny nervous by bombarding him with questions.
"Is there anything else you would like to know about, officer?"
Dunn Smith stared at him for a long time before nodding.
"Yes, have you seen a tem-"
Sunny raised an eyebrow at the abrupt stop.
"Have I seen what?"
The older man frowned at his question and ran his hand through his hair with a sigh.
"I'm not sure, my apologies, give me a moment."
As the older man took his time to gather his thoughts, Sunny took that small moment to look elsewhere to find anything out of place and look for Mrs.Smyrin. When he didn't find anything, he turned back to Dunn Smith, who had slightly pursed his lips in confusion.
"I apologize, Mr. Sunless. I seem to have forgotten what I was going to say. I'm sure it'll come back to me soon."
Sunny moved his lips to respond, but stopped when he could have sworn he saw the monocle-wearing woman smiling at him from the street. But when he turned to face the window fully, there was nobody there. Dunn Smith stared at Sunny for a while before following his line of sight and asking.
"Is something wrong?"
Sunny shook his head and stole a glance outside again.
"I could've sworn I saw someone watching us, but never mind that, it's okay, it happens to the best of us."
Dunn Smith nodded and put his top hat back on his head.
"Good, now, I have to ask one more thing of you."
Sunny was surprised that he didn't ask about the nameless temple. Was it because he couldn't see it, like everyone else couldn't? Or was that what he was about to ask?
"And what might that be, sir?"
Dunn Smith smiled at him as his voice began to echo around him as if he were everywhere.
"Wake up,"
Hello :) Sorry for the long wait. The reason this took so long to update was a lack of motivation and the fact that I genuinely considered dropping this fanfic entirely multiple times after rereading the chapters I'd written and realizing how much I'd gotten wrong. I still might drop it depending on how I feel about it later on.