Sunny stirred in his sleep, his eyes fluttering open to a dark room. Thanks to his Aspect, the darkness wasn't a problem.
Swinging his legs off the bed, he headed straight for the bathroom. A few minutes later, he stepped out, ready for the day ahead.
After a long stretch, Sunny left his room and made his way toward the cafeteria for breakfast. Moving quickly and silently, it didn't take him long to find it. But before he could even enter, a loud commotion echoed from inside.
Peering through the doorway, Sunny saw a crowd of teens gathered around a large screen. Ignoring the noise, he slipped inside, grabbed a tray of food, and sat down at a table that only had one other person, a quiet girl sitting across from him.
He began eating, not the way he would in front of his sisters, but with the refined manners expected of a Legacy. Every movement of his knife and fork was clean and precise, every bite efficient. When he finished, not even a crumb was left.
Glancing up at the girl who hadn't spoken a word, Sunny opened his mouth to say something, but another voice cut in first.
"You must be Song Sunless."
Sunny turned to see a young man standing beside him. If he wasn't mistaken, this was Caster of the Han Li Clan... one of the lesser clans.
Sunny nodded. "Yes, I am. And you're Caster of the Han Li Clan?"
A small smile tugged at Caster's lips. "Correct. I'm honored the prince of the Song Domain knows who I am."
Sunny clicked his tongue quietly. 'Legacies.'
He had been hoping to go unnoticed by them, but now he realized what had everyone so distracted. The large screen displayed the rankings:
1st: Changing Star – Nephis
2nd: Lost from Light – Sunless
3rd: Caster Han Li
Sunny blinked. 'I'm second?'
A small frown formed on his face. He had been aiming for first place, especially because Sunny had revealed he had a True Name.
His eyes lingered on the name above his. Nephis... 'could that be Nephis of Immortal Flame?'
Realization struck him. The only daughter of Broken Sword, one of his mother's old cohort members.
'If she ranked higher than me, then her Aspect must be incredibly powerful.' Sunny's eyes narrowed into slits.
As he turned, his gaze locked onto a girl with short white hair and eyes like burning silver. Her face was calm, but her presence alone commanded attention. This was Nephis of Immortal Flame.
Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Caster's voice snapped Sunny out of it. "I came to ask if you wanted to sit with me and the other Legacies, instead of sitting with... that." He sneered toward the blonde girl across from Sunny, obvious disgust twisting his features.
Sunny glanced at the girl. Her pale blue eyes weren't focused on anything, and he noticed the faint tears gathering there. That's when he realised... she was blind.
A grimace tugged at his lips. Her fate... it was cruel. She wouldn't survive the upcoming Dreamworld.
A quiet ache twisted in his chest. Pity wasn't something he allowed himself to feel often, but this... this was different. She reminded him, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, of Rain. His youngest sister.
Turning back to Caster, Sunny shook his head. "No. I'll stay here." He waved the other boy off and focused his attention on the blind girl.
Caster's face twitched, his composure cracking for just a moment. Then he grit his teeth, muttered something under his breath, and turned sharply on his heel, striding back toward his table.
Sunny exhaled softly, turning his attention back to the girl in front of him.
"W-why didn't you go with him?" the girl asked softly. Her hands fidgeted beneath the table, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
A small smile crossed Sunny's face. "Because you remind me of my little sister."
She blinked, startled. "I... remind you of her?"
"Yes." His voice was quiet, almost distant. He wasn't sure why he'd said it… but it was true. Something about her vulnerability, her quiet defiance in the face of weakness, pulled at something buried deep within him.
Cassie hesitated content on that answer but spoke again, "what's your name?"
"Sunless Song," Sunny said. "But you can call me Sunny."
"My n-name's Cassia... but you can just call me Cassie."
Sunny stood, leaving his plate at the table. Walking around to her side of the table, he extended a hand. "Would you like to go for a walk?"
Cassie nodded, standing shakily. Sunny took her soft hand and led her out of the cafeteria.
As they passed the Legacies' table, Caster bit his fingernail in irritation, but Sunny ignored him, guiding Cassie down the quiet halls of the Awakened Academy.
The only sound was Cassie's hesitant footsteps. Her brows furrowed as time passed, Sunny moved so quietly, it was like he wasn't even there. His breathing was perfectly steady, every inhale and exhale identical.
"I heard there's a new person in second place," Cassie said softly. "Is that you, Sunny?"
"Yes," he replied. "But tell me, Cassie... if your flaw is so... severe, your Aspect must be powerful to balance it, right?"
Cassie froze. "W-why would you say that?"
"The Spell is fair," Sunny explained. "If it gave someone a flaw like yours, it must've given you a gift to match."
"I-it did but because of my crippling flaw I am pretty much useless" she breathed in, steadying her breath.
Cassie hesitated, then whispered, "I'm... a Seer. I know that's useless... especially if the Seer is blind, but I still want to survive."
Sunny smiled. "A Seer, huh? My older sister is one too. I know just how valuable that can be."
He stepped closer, this time letting his footsteps sound against the floor. "Cassie, you're not useless. If anything, you're a hidden piece on the board, one that can change the entire game."
Cassie's lips trembled into a small smile. "You really think so?"
"Yes."
Her face brightened, her cloudy blue eyes lifting toward his neck. Sunny chuckled. "Higher." She tilted her head up until their eyes met.
"So," Sunny said, changing the subject, "what classes do you have?"
"I... I'm not in any." Her eyes dropped to the floor.
"Then join me in mine," Sunny offered without hesitation.
Cassie's mouth fell open, then closed again. "S-sure..." she whispered.
⸻
They entered a large, dark training room filled with combat dummies and equipment for Sleepers. Sunny didn't bother turning on the lights considering that they both don't need them, he then led Cassie to the center mat.
"If you want to survive the Dreamworld, you'll need to know how to fight," he said.
Cassie fidgeted. "B-but I'm blind! How am I supposed to fight? And what about your class?"
Sunny smiled faintly. "Being blind isn't an excuse. Fighting blind is just like fighting in the dark, and my class starts in an hour. We've got time."
Cassie nodded.
"Good. Let's start."
Sunny fetched two wooden training sticks, handing one to her. She reached out, fumbling until she found it.
"Get into a fighting stance," Sunny instructed.
Cassie did as told, holding the stick out awkwardly. Sunny stepped closer, silent as a shadow. "I'm going to fix your stance."
She nodded, and he gently adjusted her posture, raising her arm, shifting her feet. "Now," he said, stepping back, "swing at me. Try to hit me."
Cassie hesitated. "What if I do hit you?"
Sunny smirked. "That won't happen. And even if you did it would be my fault for getting hit."
Before she could swing, a sudden beam of light made him squint. They had been training in darkness until now.
Sunny blinked, momentarily disoriented.
When his eyes adjusted, he saw her, white hair was the first thing he spotted, the silver eyes next, her presence demanded attention.
"Nephis of Immortal Flame?" Sunny muttered.
"You are Lost from Light, Sunless of Song, correct?" she said calmly. Sunny's arm twitched, ready to summon a Memory if needed. He didn't even need to focus on pushing the slight tug at the back of his mind away, he did it instinctively.
"Yes I am" Sunny replied.
Her gaze shifted to Cassie. "And you are Cassie, the one at the bottom of the rankings?"
Cassie tensed, clutching the training stick tighter. "Y-yes..." she whispered.
Without another word, Nephis turned, picked up a wooden weapon from the rack, and began striking a training pad in the corner.
Sunny watched her, brow furrowed. He'd expected her to start something, a challenge, maybe even a fight. Instead, she'd simply... joined them.
Cassie frowned. "What's happening?" she whispered.
"I'm not sure," Sunny replied. "She just walked in, said that, and started training."
The two of them stood in silence, the only sound in the room being the rhythmic thud of Nephis's strikes.