The air was still. Far too still, to the point of being maddening. No one dared to move or breathe; a heavy, suffocating silence reigned supreme, broken only by the weight of their intersecting gazes.
At the table where the three of them sat—Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie—the quiet was absolute. Yet the absence of words could not even begin to encompass the violent storm of emotions lingering between them: hatred, pain, regret... and love.
Serenade of Doom kept her head bowed, hiding her hands beneath the table, gripping them together until her knuckles turned stark white. Changing Star had a turbulent sea in her silver eyes and a cold, tentacle-like grip constricting her heart. She looked at him like a repentant sinner standing before her judge—because, in truth, that was exactly what she was. Lost from Light rested his chin on his clasped hands, elbows propped on the wooden table, his dark eyes glaring holes straight through their skulls.
Only he knew how long he had waited for this exact moment. The reckoning.
He knew how often he had fantasized, during his endless, agonizing treks across the Dream Realm, about slitting their throats for everything they had put him through. He wasn't even trying to hide his contempt; he had only wanted vindication.
But beneath that hatred, there was still love. And beneath that love—and all the bitter cynicism he used to shield himself—he was tired. Sunny was so, so incredibly tired.
Gods, he was sick of it all. Sick of harboring grudges against the miserable seer who had betrayed him. Sick of the radiant light that had robbed him of his freedom. Sick of being left to rot on the Forgotten Shore, only to return two years later.
He had traveled long enough.
Perhaps... Nether had been right. It was time to settle accounts and close this chapter once and for all.
For better or for worse.
Finally, their fateful conversation began.
"I'll keep this simple," Sunny said, raising one hand and placing it flat on the table.
In a flurry of white sparks, a seemingly mundane stone materialized on the wood. Yet, it radiated a faint, mysterious presence. Nephis immediately recognized it—the [Marvelous Rock]. Simultaneously, from the corners of the room, his shadows rose, forming a tight circle around them, blocking every conceivable exit. Onyx Saint, Soul Serpent, Ravenous Sparrow, and Greedy Mimic.
Nightmare was absent. Sunny hadn't yet taken the time to examine his newly acquired shadow or decide how to use it.
"Nephis already knows the enchantments of the [Marvelous Rock], but for you, Cassie, I'll summarize. This Memory, among other things, isolates sound and warns me if someone is lying. So, from this moment on, you are bound to the truth. Welcome to my world," he said, hovering a hand over the Memory as if gently caressing it.
His fleeting smile was so steeped in cynical, ruthless sarcasm that it made their blood run cold. Nephis, however, barely registered his words; her gray eyes were entirely fixated on the soft, sharp contours of his pale face.
Sunny continued, his tone dry, frigid, and entirely devoid of mercy. "If you try to run, or if you lie... I will kill you. If you refuse to answer my questions or try to evade them, you will meet the same end."
His expression darkened profoundly as he delivered the final condition, the shadows around them deepening to mirror his foul mood.
"...And if you even think about using the bond, Nephis," he whispered, locking his pitch-black eyes onto Changing Star, "I will order my shadows to kill you first, and then me."
At those words, his shadow creatures shifted, turning their lethal focus entirely onto the two Masters, recognizing them as a mortal threat to their lord—especially since their very existence depended on his survival. Saint, in particular, seemed to bore into Nephis's temple with her glowing ruby eyes.
"No more lies. No more schemes or subterfuge. I just want the truth. Am I understood?" Sunny asked, bringing his terms to a close.
Three seconds passed. Three cold, agonizingly heavy seconds of absolute silence.
Then, Nephis nodded. "Yes." Her voice was small, crushed by guilt.
"Yes," Cassie echoed immediately beside her. The blindfold covering her sightless eyes concealed a myriad unspoken words.
"So, why did you betray me?" The question echoed in the room, perfectly isolated by the sanctuary they had created.
His voice was calm and genuine, but the sheer venom dripping from his eyes told an entirely different story.
Three ticks of the clock echoed in the room. Sunny was in no rush; he gave them time to process. He had spent two years hunting for these answers. He could wait a few more seconds.
Finally, Cassie opened her mouth, speaking first.
"That night... when I had my vision," she began, her voice cracking under the weight of her own actions. "When I saw the angel being consumed by hungry shadows, I knew instantly that you and Nephis were going to fight to the death. I knew I had to make a choice. So, when you told me you wouldn't protect Neph, I gave her your True Name... hoping it would save you both."
A choked sob interrupted her, but Serenade of Doom shed no tears. She had none left to cry.
"For a while, I tried to fool myself. I tried to believe I made the right choice—that by betraying you, I would protect you both. But all I did was condemn you, Sunny. I saved Nephis, but in the process, I lost you."
Her apologies rang hollow within the temple of her own mind. Sunny listened in silence as the blind seer spoke, laying bare the crushing weight of the decisions that had brought them to this table, before she finally concluded:
"...I am sorry. I... I know it sounds hypocritical coming from me, but... I have to say it anyway. I'm sorry, Sunny. I was a fool, an idiot, and a terrible friend. I am so sorry."
Cassie fell silent, letting her words settle into the heavy air.
There was something else Serenade of Doom wanted to say—a feeling she had kept buried for so long, as sweet as honey and as bitter as the truth of their past.
But it was too late.
Knowing she had forfeited the right to step forward the moment she committed her betrayal, Cassie withdrew, leaving space for the friend beside her to claim the warmth she had so desperately craved for herself.
"I see," Sunny nodded, intertwining his fingers and resting his chin on them. "So you're telling me that after everything we went through together, after I spent months protecting you and taking care of you like you were my own sister... you betrayed me over a 'no'? Hah!"
A short, cold, breathless laugh escaped his lips. Sunny was genuinely at a loss for words.
"Honestly... I understand you, Cassie." He shook his head slowly. "No, no, I'm serious. I understand. Rather than choosing me—someone who would have likely abandoned you as a burden—you chose Nephis, who would have protected you from the very beginning. It's a rational deduction. I can't deny that. Utterly vile, but perfectly logical."
There was no hatred or malice in his words, only cold, Machiavellian logic. Cassie found not a single trace of the warmth of his past embraces or the affection he used to reserve for her. There was only detachment, and that hurt her far more than any blade ever could.
Deep inside, her heart finally shattered for good.
"And you? Let's hear it. What's your excuse?" Sunny asked, turning his attention to Changing Star, leaving the seer with a lump in her throat and a leaden weight in her chest.
Nephis looked at him. She hadn't broken her enchanting gaze from him for even a second.
Then, she lowered her eyes, feeling the searing burn of her guilt agonizingly gnawing at her insides.
"When we were in the Crimson Spire... and we were fighting... my original plan was to let you win."
At those words, Sunny raised a highly skeptical eyebrow. "Win, you say? And then what would have happened?"
Nephis looked up, meeting his pitch-black eyes again, losing herself in them as hot tears began to stream down her face.
"But then, when I saw the portal... and I saw you standing there in front of me... I was terrified. I was mortally terrified, Sunny."
She began to sob, the guilt choking her as she recalled the wretched words she had spoken that day.
"I couldn't do it. I spoke your True Name and commanded you to stay behind because I was weak, and I wanted to survive. I am sorry... I'm so sorry, Sunny. I was a coward."
Sunny stared at her, drumming his fingers against the table as he mentally dissected her confession. When he finally made his decision, he looked up and said:
"Basically, you were struck by a moment of weakness. I'll give you that, Neph. You're human too, after all."
The detachment in his voice was alienating. Sunny was calm. Far too calm. Or at least, that was the mask he wore. It wasn't that he no longer felt resentment or hatred—he had plenty of venom left to spit at both of them. But more than anything else, he was just tired.
So he chose to hear them out before delivering his verdict.
The interrogation continued. Sunny pressed her with more questions, asking what Nephis intended to do with the [Shadow Bond], how they should act around each other moving forward, what her future plans were, and so on.
Changing Star replied that she would never use the bond again. But she didn't add anything else. She didn't say she would help him break it, nor did she offer a way to free him. That omission angered Sunny far more than he let on.
"You know what?" he said as their conversation neared its end. "I'd love to say I find your excuses pathetic and predictable. But the truth is... they are perfectly rational. Vile, but real. I admit, it disappoints me a bit. I was hoping for something that would make my blood boil—some self-righteous drivel about how 'it was for a good cause' or 'the greater good.' Instead, you gave me answers far more human than I ever expected from either of you."
He didn't add anything else.
Nephis blinked, visibly confused by his reaction. Cassie mirrored her exact expression from behind her tear-soaked blindfold.
'Is that it?' Nephis thought, before voicing it aloud in sheer disbelief. "Is that it?"
"Huh?"
"Is that it? You're not going to insult me? You're not going to get angry? You're not even going to lash out at us?" Her voice, broken by tears and grief, made the questions sound more like a desperate plea.
A miserable, pathetic hope for redemption.
"Why should I?" Sunny replied nonchalantly, shrugging slightly and crossing his arms. "I acknowledge that deep down, you're human, Neph. You were terrified, and you took the easiest way out. It's normal."
'Why? Why is Sunny acting like this?' she asked herself, staring at him with her mouth agape.
It was like talking to a complete stranger. The Sunny she knew would never act this way; he would have done the exact opposite. So why?
Was this really him? Had the two of them broken him so thoroughly that he no longer even had the strength to hate them? What had happened to him in the Dream Realm to make him this way?
Questions spiraled endlessly in Changing Star's mind, but before she or Cassie could speak, Sunny interrupted.
"Now... would you like to hear a story?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
The sudden shift left them both utterly speechless.
Without waiting for their consent, he began.
"Did I ever tell you about my First Nightmare? It was nothing special. I was just a slave in a caravan that got ambushed by Nightmare Creatures in the dead of night."
As he spoke, his shadows molded themselves to the movements of his fingers on the table, projecting a dark, colorless theater of his tale. Nephis and Cassie felt a sickening knot form in their stomachs as they listened.
The story continued. Sunny spoke of how he survived, breaking his chains and facing abominations armed with nothing but his cunning. He spoke of his grueling journey up the mountain. Of Shifty, of Scholar, of Auro of the Nine. How he had poisoned them one by one, eliminating them before they could do the same to him. Finally, he reached the climax—the moment he stood face-to-face with the Hero.
"...Auro and I found ourselves face-to-face in the cavern. He was coughing up blood from the poison I'd slipped into his flask. He was on his knees, and I was standing. And when the great hero asked me why I did it... why I betrayed them... do you know what I told him?"
"What?"
"What did you say?"
Nephis and Cassie, completely enthralled by the grim tale, asked almost in unison.
"I told him that, even though I was just a nobody who knew nothing about the world, there was one single truth I understood perfectly. And that is... there is nothing more pathetic than a slave who trusts his own slaver."
The sentence struck like a ballista bolt straight through Changing Star's heart. The same was true for the seer beside her, the one who had willingly handed over the keys to his chains.
"You're wondering why I'm so calm," Sunny continued relentlessly, tapping a single finger against the wood. "Why, despite everything, I'm not barking or biting like a rabid dog. Well... I'm not. I'll keep it simple."
A moment of sheer emptiness followed those words. A deafening ringing seemed to suck the air out of the room, isolating the three of them from the rest of the universe.
For a second, neither girl dared to breathe.
"I am just tired."
His finger drummed against the table with increasing frequency, emphasizing his next words.
"You have no idea how exhausted I am. I spent two whole years. Two. Fucking. Years. Spending every single day hating you, plotting what I would do to you, obsessing over how I would take my freedom back."
His gaze locked with Nephis's for a fleeting second before he continued.
"I felt other things too, besides rage. Bitterness. Sadness. Regret. Love. All of it. There wasn't a single moment during my long, solitary journey to find a way back home where I didn't think about you and your betrayal. And that is exactly why I am so tired."
There was no heat left in his words; the fire had burned itself out a long time ago.
"I am tired of all this anger. I am tired of you. I am tired of looking at your goddamn runes every single fucking day, Neph. So, I have nothing left to say to you other than: enough. We're done."
At those words, a desperate spark of hope flared in Nephis's wounded heart. The vague, desperate feeling that maybe, just maybe, the two of them could start over.
Together.
Until Sunny delivered the final blow: "From today on, I don't know you, and you don't know me."
"What?!" Changing Star gasped, an invisible blade carving open her chest, cold and excruciating.
Beside her, Cassie visibly trembled, entirely broken.
"Starting today, we are strangers. We never fought together. We were never comrades."
"No... no!" Nephis shook her head vigorously, violently rejecting the reality he was forcing upon her, hot tears streaming down her face. "Please, Sunny! A-anything but—"
A dark, desperate thought clawed its way into her mind. 'What if I use the bond?'
SLAM!
Sunny slammed his fist onto the table, cutting her off instantly and making both girls jump in shock.
"It is Sunless to you, Miss Changing Star." The absolute zero temperature of his voice was a blade as sharp as death itself.
"With that said, I have nothing more to add."
Sunny looked at her, then at Cassie, making sure they both understood.
He wasn't enjoying this. In truth, deep down, Lost from Light still loved Nephis, no matter how much he despised her. But Nether had been right.
When you truly love someone, you have to know when to let them go. And the two of them... No! The three of them had hurt each other far too deeply to ever claim they had a genuine, healthy relationship.
Sunny wanted to be free. At the cost of everything else, he just wanted to be free.
"If you don't need anything else, you may leave. It was a pleasure having you as guests in my humble home, Miss Changing Star. Serenade of Doom."
Lost from Light offered them a shallow, polite bow.
No further words were exchanged. He politely gestured for them to leave.
Dismissing the [Marvelous Rock] that had guaranteed their privacy, along with his menacing shadows, the two girls slowly stood up. Sunny escorted them to the door, playing the role of the perfect, gracious host, and gently closed it behind them.
When Nephis and Cassie finally returned to the Ivory Tower in the Chained Islands via their anchors, both girls collapsed and wept.
Because all of this... was entirely their fault.
***
Elsewhere, while Sunny set the record straight and enjoyed the comforts of his new life, the great Clans and the government were discussing him in secrecy.
Like vultures circling a feast, everyone wanted a piece.
At the government headquarters...
"So you are telling me," Saint Wake of Ruin said, exasperated, "that you debriefed the famous boy who conquered his Second Nightmare entirely alone, that you not only knew him but were on excellent terms with him... and you didn't even try to recruit him?"
The old man sat at a circular table in an oval room, glaring across at Jet.
Soul Reaper met his gaze, leaning comfortably back in her chair. Her hands were clasped behind her head, and her long, toned legs were propped up carelessly on the edge of the table.
"Yeah, why not? Sunless had just woken up. It felt pretty rude to just shove a job offer in his face out of nowhere," she replied with a casual shrug.
Wake of Ruin sighed heavily at her response, dragging a hand down his face before massaging his temples to stave off an incoming headache.
"Ahhh... brats!"
Meanwhile, in Bastion...
"So, you are telling me that this boy, with no prior affiliations or pedigree, conquered his Second Nightmare completely alone?" The King of Swords, Anvil, asked from his majestic throne, resting his chin on a mailed fist. His figure was stoic and imposing, feeling as heavy and unyielding as pure steel.
"That is correct, father," Morgan replied, standing before him with a respectful bow.
The Princess of War, his daughter, was exactly as he had molded her to be: a refined weapon whose mere presence felt as sharp as a blade's edge.
Taking in the confirmation, the Sovereign carefully evaluated the situation, tapping a single finger rhythmically against the armrest of his throne. The hollow sound echoed through the grand royal hall.
"I gave you the mission to recruit Changing Star, Morgan. And you failed. Bring me this Sunless, and make amends for your failure. Offer him whatever he wishes. He could prove to be a highly valuable asset in the future."
His voice was firm and utterly stern. He sounded more like a monarch addressing a failing servant than a father speaking to his own daughter.
"I will not disappoint you this time, father," Morgan said with a final, deep bow.
"You had better not," Anvil replied, his tone devoid of any warmth.
With that, the Princess of War raised her head, turned on her heel, and strode out of the throne room. A scowl of disdain twisted her beautiful features—fueled by the shame of failure and the quiet, burning anger of a loyal daughter forever unappreciated by her father.
Elsewhere, in Ravenheart...
"A Sleeper conquering his Second Nightmare. A nobody from the Outskirts achieving the impossible. How sublime. It reminds me so much of him," the Queen of Worms, Ki Song, murmured from her regal seat, a pleased, sinister smirk coloring her face.
"The more I think about it, the more I want him in my ranks."
Ki Song looked at her daughters gathered before her—the most beautiful, alluring, and deadly women of both worlds, standing in a perfect semicircle as they awaited her command.
"Seishan, my dear. If I am not mistaken, you mentioned knowing this young man named Sunless."
Hearing her name, Seishan stepped forward from the line of her sisters. She bowed her head slightly and placed a hand over her heart.
"That is correct, Mother. Sunless and I have been on good terms ever since our paths crossed in the Dark City."
Finally, on the Moon, a lone figure—a man clad entirely in a battered, broken spacesuit—turned his gaze back toward the Earth after a very long time.
From up there, through his eyes, it looked like nothing more than a tiny, glowing sphere of blue and green.
"Fascinating!" he tried to say. In the vacuum of space, there was no air to carry his words, nor oxygen to breathe. Yet, the man was perfectly alive and well.
"A Sleeper ascending directly to a Master. The world is certainly full of mysteries. I wonder... should I perhaps move up my schedule and pay him a personal visit to congratulate him on his success?"
A brief, sinister laugh escaped right from his lips.
"Who knows?"
***
Sunny's life over the following two weeks proceeded smoothly.
Aside from enjoying the perks of being an official, registered citizen and the immense influx of wealth that came from publishing his research, he dedicated himself to the one thing he had always dreamed of doing: walking into a supermarket and buying a mountain of food. To anyone else, it might have seemed trivial, but for an Outskirts rat like him, it was a dream come true.
Armed with enough ingredients, he began experimenting in the kitchen, testing recipes for the future customers of his emporium. And with Effie as a permanent roommate, he never lacked a willing taste-tester.
He also took Rain to see the place where he had buried their parents—the quiet tree bearing the two simple carvings: "Mom, Dad."
Alongside Kai, he visited various high-end shops, finally experiencing what a normal, mundane life actually felt like.
"You know what? I could actually get used to this, if I wanted to," he had casually mentioned to the archer, earning a look of profound, tragic pity from his best friend, followed immediately by a long, suffocating hug of consolation.
When he finally returned to the Dream Realm, he anchored himself in the Chained Islands. There, he made the acquaintance of Saint Tyris and her daughter, Telle. The Transcendent proved to be surprisingly friendly, willingly bringing him near her citadel to allow him to conduct field research for his publications and lay the literal foundations for his Brilliant Emporium.
Shortly after, Sunny crossed paths with Aiko, who was desperately looking for a job. Seizing the opportunity—and knowing her expertise in the field—he decided to hire her on the spot. With the floating, greedy assistant by his side, his business was off to a flying start.
Sunny developed a pleasant professional dynamic with her, maintaining warm relationships with everyone else he cared about. Master Jet and Professor Julius also kept in close touch with him. He saw Julius particularly often, heading to the Academy at least once every three days to present essays or give lectures.
He even managed to watch the dramatized movie they had made about their cohort on the Forgotten Shore. It was an experience so profoundly agonizing that, for a fleeting second, he wished he had never left the Dark City just to spare his eyes.
"By the dead Gods, what the hell did I just watch?! Thank the Void they pulled it from theaters for false advertising. Since Nephis's betrayal went public, it's just a damn fairy tale now," Sunny complained to Rain, who had brought him the disc. She simply laughed like a maniac at his tortured facial expressions throughout the viewing.
Nephis tried to reach out to him from time to time, but Sunny ignored her calls. Deep down, a part of him desperately wanted to talk to her and Cassie again, just like those old days of survival. When it was just the three of them against the world.
But after everything they had done, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. No matter how much it tore him up inside, he preferred to keep avoiding them for a while. Both of them.
At least for now.
Those days passed by, light and serene as a gentle whisper. Finally, Sunny was able to rest.
And then, the day of Clan Valor's grand ball arrived.
***
"Ugh," Sunny sighed, his expression dark as he splashed a handful of cold water onto his face.
Being the center of attention had never been his thing, and being the undisputed star of tonight's gala certainly wasn't helping his mood.
He was currently hiding out in one of the luxurious bathrooms of the sprawling mansion where the ball was being held. Throughout the evening, the scions of both the Song and Valor clans—Seishan and Morgan, respectively—had cornered him, trying to recruit him into their ranks. He might have actually considered the former offer, had he not valued his hard-won independence more than his own life.
At the same time, Nephis had tried to approach him. Changing Star was wearing an elegant, form-fitting black silk dress, her brilliant white hair woven into an intricate braid that cascaded down her back like a curtain. Sunny hated to admit it, but she looked breathtaking.
'Whatever... I don't care,' he told himself, shaking his head slightly to aggressively banish her stunning image from his mind.
While Sunny hid away in his thoughts, out in the ballroom, Effie was mercilessly devastating the buffet; Kai was desperately trying to fend off a swarm of lonely noblewomen looking at him like a prime cut of meat; Morgan and Seishan were still prowling the floor looking for him, and everyone else was enjoying the night in their own way.
After finishing washing his hands and shaking off the excess water into the marble sink, Sunny slowly raised his eyes to the mirror. His pitch-black gaze seemed to pierce through the glass, looking at something far deeper than his own short, gloomy reflection.
He tilted his head slightly and spoke with clear certainty: "Mordret."
Instantly, his reflection took on a life of its own.
"Oh, my! What a pleasant surprise, dear Sunless. Or should I say... Lost from Light?"
Hearing his True Name spoken aloud made a vein throb visibly on Sunny's forehead, digging up a agonizing memory he wanted to keep buried.
The Prince of Nothing spoke with a voice like velvet—friendly, yet utterly unnerving. Inside the mirror, the reflection straightened its posture and flashed a dazzling, charismatic smile that didn't suit Sunny's face at all. The sight of his own features twisted into such an alien expression infuriated him even more.
"I must admit, I didn't expect to be discovered quite so easily," the reflection continued. "If I may ask, how did you find me out?"
Lost from Light studied him coldly, crossing his arms over his chest with a casual shrug. "Oh, you know... Nephis mentioned that during her Second Nightmare, she met someone with the power to hide in reflections who gave her the creeps. I just took a wild guess," he concluded, a mocking smirk spreading across his face.
Hearing this, Mordret threw his head back and laughed. "Ah! Hahaha! Is that so? Oh, my! I must admit, Sunless, you genuinely impress me. I suppose I'll have to be a bit more careful next time."
A tense silence fell over the bathroom. For a long moment, the two simply studied each other, until Sunny finally broke the quiet.
"So, why are you here?" he asked, his tone bone-dry.
The Prince of Nothing raised his hands in a placating, harmless gesture.
"Me? Oh, no reason in particular. Am I not allowed to visit my old home? I used to live here, after all. Besides, I wanted to make the acquaintance of a fellow Divine Aspect holder... and perhaps, become friends."
He paused, a strange light gleaming in the eyes of Sunny's reflection before he added smoothly, "Especially with someone who shares a common kind of nemesis."
"Nemesis?" Lost from Light raised a highly skeptical eyebrow, instantly dismissing the absurd claim. "Please. What 'nemesis' could we possibly share?"
At his question, Mordret's voice dripped with dark amusement. "Who else? Sunless, my dear, dear friend... I am talking about your beloved Dreamspawn, of course."
Dreamspawn.
At that word, Sunny's expression instantly hardened. The shadows in the corners of the bathroom seemed to stretch toward him, bowing to his rising fury. He didn't truly hate Nephis—or at least, not the way he used to. He wanted to say he had forgiven her, but the truth was that what she had done was fundamentally unforgivable.
What he felt for her was something else entirely. A desperate, aching urge to just pull her into his arms, forgive her for everything, and finally be by her side again. But he had firmly shelved that feeling, choosing to bury it and move on with his life.
Mordret seemed to notice this subtle, violent shift in his demeanor, and he absolutely delighted in it. So, rather than backing down, the Prince of Nothing extended a hand directly through the surface of the mirror.
Sunny blinked, looking from the prince's smiling face to the hand now protruding into the physical world.
"Why don't you come with me, Sunless, my dear friend? I want to show you something," Mordret offered, his tone completely devoid of any obvious ulterior motives.
Which, of course, only meant he shouldn't be trusted.
Sunny hesitated, weighing his options, before slowly raising his own hand to meet his.
"Do not fear, Sunless, I don't bite. Well... unless I'm asked nicely," Mordret purred, amusement lacing his voice just as their fingers met.
Lost from Light froze for a second, blinking at his reflection in utter disbelief.
'Okay... weirdo.'
Suddenly, he felt significantly less inclined to accept the invitation. Nevertheless, Sunny gripped the hand tightly, and in a ripple of distorted light, he vanished alongside the Prince into his own reflection.
***
Elsewhere...
"I can't take this anymore, Cas," Nephis wept, sitting heavily on a velvet chair in the women's bathroom. Both of her hands were tangled in her hair, her flawless white braid practically ruined from her frantic pulling. "When is Sunny going to stop hating me? I need him!"
Changing Star rocked back and forth on the chair, driven by a frantic, agonizing rhythm. The crushing weight of her guilt—and the maddening influence of her new Attribute—was eating her alive.
"Calm down, Neph. It will take time, but I am sure Sunny will forgive us eventually. We just need to give him space. What we did to him wasn't a small thing, and you know it," Cassie said softly, reaching out to gently reassure her.
The blind seer wore a pristine, knee-length white dress, with a delicate crimson silk blindfold covering her sightless eyes.
Hearing this, Nephis snapped. "I told you, I can't take this anymore, Cas! I need him! Do you think I don't regret what I did?! Not a single day goes by where I don't look at his runes and hate myself for leaving him there!"
Her voice broke into an ugly, heartbreaking sob. Nephis buried her face in her hands, crying openly and uncontrollably. Cassie stood silently by her side, turning her blind gaze toward her friend, not daring to interrupt her grief.
Then, Changing Star slowly lowered her hands. Her silver eyes were red and swollen with tears, but behind them flickered a dark, desperate intent.
"What if I use the bond?" she whispered. It was barely audible.
"What?" The blind seer tilted her head, certain she had misheard.
"What if I use the bond to make him forgive me?!" Nephis repeated aloud, looking at her friend with terrifying conviction. In her twisted, desperate mind, she meant it purely as a solution to bridge the gap between them. "Yes, that's it. If I use the [Shadow Bond] that connects us and command him to—"
Her voice died in her throat.
At that exact moment, Sunny stepped out of the large vanity mirror in the women's bathroom, with Mordret standing right beside him.
Sunny's expression was one of absolute, shattering devastation. It was the look of a man who had just been stabbed in the back all over again.
Changing Star felt the world shatter beneath her feet into a myriad of jagged pieces.
Sunny's devastated look rapidly twisted into a scowl of pure, unadulterated disgust. Behind him, the Prince of Nothing was smiling brightly, immensely enjoying the catastrophic drama unfolding before him.
"No." Nephis shook her head frantically, staring at him in sheer horror, terrified to even blink. "N-no. Sunny... it's not what you think—"
But he didn't give her a single second to explain. In a snap, Lost from Light dissolved into the shadows, teleporting far away from her.
Without a second thought, Nephis bolted after him. "No... Sunny! Please, don't leave me!" Hot, bitter tears streamed down her face as she sprinted across the marble floor, chasing a shadow she knew she couldn't catch anymore.
Left alone in the bathroom, Mordret took two slow, measured steps toward Cassie. The chilling grin the Prince of Nothing directed at the blind seer was a mixture of profound admiration and twisted attraction.
It wasn't romantic in the slightest; it was the look of a macabre artist observing a true master at work.
"I must admit, Serenade of Doom," he murmured, gleefully rubbing his chin as he looked her up and down. "I have met a great deal of truly despicable, deplorable people in my life. But you... you beat them all, from first to last."
Cassie's face remained entirely impassive, like a statue of white marble. But underneath, her nails were digging so deeply into the palms of her hands that they threatened to draw blood.
"I only did it so I could save them," she replied, turning her face toward him, her fury palpable beneath the red silk of her blindfold.
Hearing this, the Prince of Nothing threw his head back and raised his hands to the ceiling.
"Save them? Hahaha!"
Mordret burst into genuine, booming laughter. Had it been anyone else, he might have been charmed by such profound delusion.
"Hahaha! Oh, please, blind witch. You are so much better than that. Why insult your own intelligence with such pathetic illusions... when you are the grand architect of their ruin?"
Still smiling, Mordret reached out and gently lifted her chin with one finger.
Slap.
Disgusted by his touch, Cassie scowled and violently slapped his hand away. Without a single word, she turned on her heel and marched out of the bathroom, never looking back.
It was true that Serenade of Doom was the one who had broken them. But if breaking their hearts was the price to keep them breathing—to ensure her horrifying vision never came to pass—Cassie was ready to hurt them as much as necessary. Because no matter how much it agonizingly pained her to do it, she loved them more than anything else in the world, and no one could ever take that away from her.
"Oh, my. It seems I have been rejected," Mordret mused to himself, a mocking smirk playing on his lips.
Only the dead Gods knew how much he was enjoying this.
Then, a shrill female voice echoed from one of the bathroom stalls, violently pulling him from his thoughts.
"Hey! This is the women's bathroom! Get the hell out of here, you creep!"
***
Sunny sat in the mansion's bar area, doing his best to drown his problems in alcohol.
Aside from the bartender serving him and a melancholic graveyard of empty glasses lining the counter, the place was deserted.
Then, all of a sudden, just as he thought he had finally managed to lose Nephis, someone took the seat next to him.
Downing another shot and letting out a heavy sigh, Sunny turned to the newcomer. "Neph, I swear that—"
"Master Sunless, finally. I've been looking for you all evening."
His words died in his throat. The woman sitting beside him wasn't Changing Star. It was the scion of the Song Clan.
Seishan. The Blood Lord.
The princess wore an elegant, blood-red evening gown with a slit that left her shapely thighs bare, draped with a black shawl that covered her shoulders and back. Countless necklaces and jewels adorned the already luxurious dress. Between her twilight-tinted skin and her full, strawberry-red lips, her beauty was on full, breathtaking display.
"So, what is the Black Star doing all alone on a night like this?" she asked, her voice captivating and sultry. She crossed one leg over the other, ordering a drink from the bartender with a casual wave of her hand.
Her alluring eyes never left his.
Seeing her, Sunny sighed once more—this time, in relief.
'I might as well just get this over with,' he thought, staring at the bottom of his glass and finding it, to his great displeasure, completely empty. 'If I don't make a decision now, these Legacy scions are never going to stop hounding me to join them.'
His mind made up, Sunny turned back to Seishan. His eyes were heavy from the sheer weight of his thoughts, completely unaffected by the alcohol thanks to [Blood Weave] continuously purging the toxins from his system.
"Princess Seishan, let's cut to the chase. I know you're only here to recruit me into Clan Song, and I have to admit... I wouldn't mind the idea."
He clicked his tongue, a bitter taste lingering in his mouth at the reality of his own choices.
"Oh." The princess of Song blinked in genuine surprise.
'Well, that was easier than expected,' she thought.
As the bartender set two fresh glasses down in front of them, Seishan smiled and raised hers.
"To you, Master Black Star," she purred, offering a toast. "May this be the start of a new and prosperous friendship."
Sunny raised his own glass to meet hers. "Sunless. Please, just call me Sunless. Sunny to my friends."
Clink.
Unfortunately for him, theirs would end up becoming much more than just a simple friendship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~