Sitting within the darkness of his basement, Sunny sat meditating. He was currently refining his essence, attempting to push himself further to ascension.
Against one of the walls of the basement, a soft light shone, emitting from a sleeping pod. Within it lay Jet, light vapor shrouding her features.
She was currently away in the Dream Realm, and Sunny was currently refining himself.
Several weeks had passed since the incident with Asterion, and nothing of the sort had happened since.
Over the course of that time, Sunny had visited Nephis several times. With Nephis wanting to see him specifically. He had gone to see Rain as well, but he still hadn't interacted with her.
But today, Sunny spotted something.
The lazy shadow had alerted him of danger, and when Sunny focused, he saw it.
Within the cupboard in the kitchen of the home Nephis was currently in, somebody was hiding in it.
That somebody also seemed to be able to shrink themselves quite a lot. They were currently about the size of a housecat, and they seemed to be patiently waiting for a chance to strike.
'An Awakened… Are they from Song or Valor?'
The lazy shadow silently slithered into the assassin's shadow, completely unnoticed.
…And within the darkness of night, the assassin began moving.
Creeping in complete silence, the assassin slowly made their way upstairs towards Nephis' room.
Slowly ascending step by step, they prepared a small blade. On that blade was a crest with a symbol of a sword being stabbed into an anvil.
And as they reached the top step of the staircase…
They died without ever seeing a thing.
***
[You have slain an Awakened Human, Marek.]
Sunny looked distastefully at the body before him, that had now shrunk to normal size after being killed.
It was a gaunt looking man with a somber look in his eye. His facial expression hadn't even changed after dying.
'I get that you were following orders, but… that won't stop me from killing you.'
Who on earth accepted a mission to assassinate a child anyways?
Seeing no need to make the scene bloody, Sunny had simply stabbed the Moonlight Shard straight through the perpetrators head, puncturing their brain without as much as a trickle of blood coming out.
Throwing the body over his shoulder, Sunny walked silently through the house.
Appearing before the room both Calida and Nephis were currently sleeping in, Sunny lightly knocked on the door.
Upon knocking the door, Sunny felt the older woman's eyes shoot open immediately, alert.
'She's got sharp senses.'
Sunny also felt movement in the next room over, where Thrain had been awake and watching for any intruders through the home security system.
Through his Shadow Sense, Sunny felt Calida carefully stand up, making no noise as to not wake Nephis. She cautiously made her way to the door, a small dagger in hand and a look of cold resolve.
'What a strong willed person…'
Not wanting her to think he was an assassin, Sunny softly spoke as she neared the door.
"It's me."
He felt her shoulders relax as she lightly opened the door and stepped out.
Upon hearing the door open, Thrain had also stepped out from the next room over, a luminous memory in his hands.
"Sunless?"
"That's me."
Despite the small lantern in Thrain's hand, neither of them were able to see him, only the outline of a figure.
"Why are you here?"
"Someone just tried to kill Nephis."
Both of them sucked in a breath upon hearing that, shocked.
Neither of them had noticed anything!
"Where are they now? Did you stop them?"
Taking a step forward, Sunny motioned to his shoulder with his head, letting them get a look at the body he was currently carrying.
With a worried expression on his face, Thrain motioned for him to enter the room he had just left.
"Let's talk in here."
Nodding, both Sunny and Calida followed him in.
Placing the body on an empty table, Sunny looked at the two.
"Do either of you recognize him?"
Both of them shook their heads. Calida's gaze was unwavering, but Sunny saw a look of discomfort on Thrain's face at the sight of the stiletto sticking out of the man's head.
Looking at Sunny with a slight grimace, Thrain asked him:
"Why kill him? We could have interrogated them for some answers…"
"With assassins, your killing blow should be the first one, especially when they're an Awakened. Who knows what kind of methods of escape they have?"
Thrain nodded, still clearly uncomfortable.
'Aren't you an Ascended? How can a single dead man frighten you so much…'
As Sunny was about to ask his rude question, Calida spoke up, her old voice not sounding weary whatsoever.
"How did you know he was here?"
"I noticed him hiding in a cupboard earlier in the day. He had an aspect that allowed him to shrink himself, and when he came out just now, I killed him."
"I see… Thank you."
As Nephis' grandmother and teacher glanced at each other, Calida turned to him again.
"What now?"
"I'll get rid of the body, just be a bit more alert next time."
Sunny then felt movement in the next room.
Nephis had woken up, and she had realised her grandmother wasn't there.
Noticing the door slightly ajar, she stepped out.
"Grandmother?"
As both Calida and Thrain both turned to the sound of the voice outside, Sunny gave them a dark look.
"Do not tell Nephis what has happened here tonight."
"...Why?"
"Because… children should grow up feeling love and joy, not hatred and fear."
The two people before him met his gaze with unreadable expressions.
A slight knock could be heard on the door.
"Teacher, is grandmother with you?"
"Yes Nephie, please come in."
Opening the door, Nephis peeked into the room, rubbing an eye with a sleepy expression on her face.
She did not see the body on the table, as Sunny had already stuffed it into the Covetous Coffer.
"What's going o- Sunny! You're here!"
Running up to him with a smile, her sleepy expression was now gone.
Sunny greeted her with a smile of his own.
"Hey kid."
Grabbing the hem of shirt, she looked at him cheekily.
"What are you doing here? Dark and evil stuff?"
"Silly girl, I'm always doing that! But right now I'm here to speak with your grandmother and teacher."
Over their past conversations, Sunny had often boasted about himself and told her about how he was the Lord of Shadows, and slaughtered nightmare creatures for a living.
He had always used a joking tone when speaking about it, only saying it in hopes of lifting her mood.
Oftentimes, Nephis spoke to her shadow, asking why people wanted her dead. Why the Immortal Flame needed to be extinguished. Despite the fact there had only been a single attempt on her life so far, it had weighed heavily on her mind.
Sunny could only show her love and care while comforting her the best he could.
But he was never good at this kind of thing, so he wasn't sure if it was working.
'I hope I don't end up being a bad influence…'
Nephis giggled upon hearing his retort, and spoke up again.
"Really? Then what were you talking about just now?"
Giving her a warm smile, Sunny told her the truth.
"About how children like you should grow up loved."
Nephis' smile widened further upon hearing that, before she tugged at his shirt again.
"Then, while you're here, can you show me that Shadow again? The Soul Serpent?"
Sunny ruffled her hair to Nephis' dismay, before responding.
"No way."
"What! Why not?!"
Shaking his leg, Nephis kept asking to see his Shadows.
"Come ooon! What about that bird one you told me about?"
"Still no! That guy is way too big to be summoned here."
Calida and Thrain watched their altercation with a small smile.
"Actually… There's another one I can show you. She's way cooler than those two."
Of course, he was talking about Solvane.
"Really?! Let me see! Let me see!"
Nephis was now hopping up and down in excitement.
"Alright, alright…"
A dark figure emerged from Sunny's shadow, looking around in slight confusion.
As Solvane slowly began adapting to being a Shadow, more and more of her human features dissipated. Although her beautiful chestnut hair had gradually turned silver, and her skin had darkened severely, now a dark grey.
Sunny was not worried about summoning her anymore, as over the past several weeks, he had spoken to her quite a lot. She was grateful to Sunny for liberating her from her pain, and had accepted being his Shadow.
But there was only one problem… if she spent too long outside of battle, she began to get very moody. A couple things in Sunny's house had to be replaced after he hadn't entered battle in over a week, with Solvane breaking several walls when Sunny had summoned her to spar in his basement.
'Damn battle maniac…'
There was also something she did that unsettled Sunny quite a lot. Every time a battle ended, her body would burst open, with vines shooting everywhere. And those vines would then consume the blood of any enemies she had just killed. Every single time Sunny saw it, it felt gross to watch.
Although she seemed to retain some traits of her former self, she was also different in many ways. It seemed the thing she remembered the most about her life was the joy of battle, not all the other things she had experienced. She sometimes made childish and unreasonable requests when Sunny summoned her too, much to his dismay.
But still, having a Shadow he could converse with was not too bad.
Upon seeing Solvane, Nephis' eyes brightened.
"Wow! She's so pretty!"
Calida and Thrain did not have the same reaction though, both of them taking a step back after feeling the slight aura of a Transcendent radiating from her.
Although Sunny had asked her to reign her power in before summoning her, it simply wasn't part of Solvane's skillset, and she couldn't do it as well as someone like Sunny could.
"That, she is. This one's name is Solvane. Solvane, this is Nephis."
"Hello… child…"
The main reason Sunny was not too worried about summoning Solvane though, was because she seemed to have a fondness for children. Sunny believed that it may have stemmed from her childhood in the Red Sect, as her fondness was mainly for girls.
Nephis grew even happier upon hearing Solvane's voice.
"Wow! She can spea-"
Nephis could not finish her sentence however, as Solvane had picked her up.
Sunny panicked slightly.
"Girl… Cute…"
'Wha…'
Holding Nephis by the underarms, Solvane held her in front of herself.
Nephis' smile widened even further upon hearing that, her eyes now barely visible.
"Hehehe… Thank you, Miss Solvane."
Solvane put her down the next moment, before ruffling Nephis' hair.
"Hey!"
Her hair had been messed up twice now!
Sunny snickered slightly at the sight.
"Alright that's enough, you need to get back to bed kid."
Nephis pouted upon hearing that, ready to complain. But she was swiftly silenced by a stern look from her grandmother.
"Okay… Goodnight Sunny!"
Waving at him, she quickly ran out to avoid the wrath of her grandmother.
Watching Nephis return to her room through his shadow sense, Sunny turned back to Calida and Thrain.
"Do you see now? That is what I want to protect."
The two nodded, seeing what he meant.
They would hate it for Nephis to lose the joy she held… to fear for her life every single day.
Sunny sighed, glad they understood his reasoning.
Turning to Solvane, Sunny saw her gazing at the door Nephis had just left from with a vacant look.
And just as he was about to dismiss her, Sunny heard her speak:
"The… Fire..?"
Dismissing Solvane immediately, Sunny felt Calida tense.
'I'll just… pretend I didn't hear that.'
"Well, if we're done here, I'll be leaving now."
"Alright… Goodbye, Sunless."
Sunny bowed slightly before disapp-
"Ah, wait."
Sunny paused.
"Hm?"
He turned to Thrain, who was frozen mid step with a hand held out.
"I... can I-"
"Thrain. You are doing this now?"
Calida turned to him, her tone admonishing.
"I am. This is necessary."
Sunny looked at the two in confusion.
"What is?"
Thrain's shoulders slumped slightly as he sighed.
"Sunless, I am sure you mean well, but... I'm sorry to say I don't trust you completely."
Sunny tilted his head.
"Okay? What do you want me to do then?"
Honestly, he hadn't done too much to earn their trust. He'd been trying to think of a way to do that for a while now but hadn't managed to come up with anything.
Thrain took a deep breath as Calida took a step back.
"Please sit."
Thrain beckoned for him to sit, pointing at a regular-looking chair.
Slightly confused, Sunny obliged.
He watched curiously as Thrain stood behind, placing his hands on his shoulders.
"You might feel a little pain."
"...Okay."
Sunny did indeed feel a little bit of pain. Nothing he couldn't handle. It was just that...
"What are you doing?"
The pain was inside his head. It felt as if something was worming into his mind.
"It's my Aspect. Please just relax. My Aspect deals with information and memory, so I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I need you to answer all of them truthfully."
"Go ahead."
Sunny remained calm. His position was quite poor if they were going to attack him, but he wasn't too worried of such a thing happening. He could not feel any hostility.
"First. Do you intend on harming any member of the Immortal Flame Clan?"
Sunny blinked.
'So we're doing this? Okay.'
"As long as they don't intend on harming Nephis, I couldn't care less."
Sunny felt Thrain shift behind him, turning and nodding at Calida.
"Second. Have you lied to us about anything important so far?"
"I haven't lied to you a single time."
He felt Thrain nod again, and the pain in his mind got slightly more intense.
"Lastly, do you have any relations to the Great Clans?"
Sunny shook his head.
"Not really."
Despite getting his answer, Thrain wasn't saying anything. He wanted to turn his head, but found himself not able to.
'Wha...'
Thrain seemed to be extremely focused, squinting hard as small droplets of sw-
"Gah!"
Sunny immediately felt the pressure on his mind and shoulders let up as the older man yelped and fell to the ground panting.
Shaking his head slightly, Sunny stood up.
'Ugh...'
He felt a little dizzy aft-
"You!"
Thrain stood up immediately.
"Are-"
Calida cleared her throat.
Thrain immediately relaxed, letting out a breath as he dusted himself off.
"Sunless."
"...Yes?"
Sunny was a little worried now.
'What just happened?'
"Sunless. Are you... in love with Nephis?"
"..."
"..."
The room was silent. Calida stared at Thrain as if he had just lost his head.
"Thrain, what are you-"
"Answer it, Sunless."
Sunny was also staring at him as if he had just lost his head.
"In... In what wa-"
"Romantically."
Sunny raised an eyebrow, completely and utterly confused.
"No?"
He was not that sort of person. His romantic feelings for Nephis had faded the moment he saw her.
"Then... No. Nevermind. Please... please pretend I never said any of that."
Sunny raised his eyebrow even further.
"O-Okay?"
The air around them felt incredibly awkward now, so he decided he should probably leave.
"I... goodbye."
Bowing, he vanished.
Calida stared at the spot he had just disappeared from before turning to Thrain.
"Thrain. What in all the hells was that?"
***
Appearing back on his sofa, Sunny sighed as he relaxed himself, trying his best to forget the awkward situation.
He had wanted to go back to his basement, but…
Jet had just woken up, and was currently getting out of her sleeping pod. And generally, people were naked when they were in their sleeping pods... So Sunny avoided the situation before it could happen.
As Jet left the basement wearing some loose fitting dark blue clothes, she sat on the other side of the sofa, sighing tiredly.
"Rough night?"
"Yeah… hordes of Fallen were found near our citadel and I was on the team sent to drive them away."
Then, Jet gave him a curious glance.
"Have you been somewhere?"
"...Why yes I have. How did you know?"
"Well… your shirt's all messed up."
Looking down, Sunny saw that his shirt was indeed all wrinkly, courtesy of Nephis.
Sunny then turned to Jet with a confused look.
"Why would my shirt being ruffled mean I went somewhere?"
"Because… well this might sound a bit weird, but your movements are normally super smooth you know? It doesn't disturb your clothing at all… I don't even hear your shirt rustle when you move. It's a little scary if I'm being honest…"
'She… she noticed that?'
Of course, Sunny's movements were smooth because he was a practitioner of Shadow Dance, making even his day to day movements very fluid.
"Huh… I didn't think you noticed that."
"Well I did. So, where did you go?"
"...To kill someone."
Jet nodded as if it made perfect sense.
"I see! Who'd you kill now?"
'Does she think I regularly kill people?'
"Some assassin from the great clans, I think his name was Marek or something."
Jet once again nodded as if his statements were something people commonly did.
'Well I guess if her work is anything like what it was when she was an Ascended, then she must be killing plenty of dangerous Awakened.'
Sunny pitied her slightly, to do such dirty work… It was unfair. Especially considering she barely even had a choice in joining the government in the first place.
As they both sunk into a comfortable silence, Sunny took out his communicator and continued writing a report he was working on.
Over the past several months, he had been making many exploration reports and theories about what nightmare creatures are and who some of the past civilizations were. He still wanted to maintain his cover somewhat after all, even if one or two Sovereigns already knew he was hiding his power.
And speaking of Sovereigns…
In the early morning, Sunny heard a knock on his door.
Jet had already left for work, so Sunny was currently alone.
'Who's here?'
Walking up to the door, Sunny sent his shadow under it to take a peek outside.
And when he did…
'...Ah, damnation.'
He saw who his visitor was.
A striking and exquisitely beautiful woman wearing a regal dress was currently at his front door. The most unique part of the woman's appearance was her stormy grey skin and velvety red lips that looked like they were painted with blood.
It was Song Seishan. The daughter of Ki Song, and currently one of the most widely renowned rising stars in the world of Awakened.
'Do… Do I even open the door?'
"I can feel you standing at the door. Please just open it."
'...'
Seeing as the choice had already been made for him, Sunny opened the door.
"Greetings, Awakened Sunless."
A small smile was on Seishan's lips, her razor sharp teeth barely showing underneath.
"...Hey. What brings an esteemed lady of Song like yourself to an abode as humble as mine?"
Sunny prayed she wasn't here for what he thought she was here for.
"You know why."
'Ah… Just leave me alone.'
"Awakened Sunless, the Song Clan formally invites you to join us. In fact, my mother would like to meet you personally."
"...Seriously?"
'Why… Why would she want to meet me?!'
"I'm completely serious. We have been trying to reach out to you for a while now, why don't you ever pick up your calls?"
'...They were?'
He had thought those were scam calls or something!
"I uh… thought they were scam calls?"
Seishan simply looked at him with a deadpan stare upon hearing that, her facial expression unmoving.
"Hm. Well, you may try to hide, but we know of your exploits. About a month ago, a Category Two Gate opened around here, and do you know what we saw in the report? A particularly dangerous Fallen Tyrant was the gate guardian, and yet before it could do anything, it was struck by a massive bolt of lightning."
'What! How did she link Shrike to me? I'm sure I didn't show anyone…'
"Lo and behold, I also saw your name in the report! Awakened Sunless, answering the call to arms and assisting the government forces in containing a gate. And back on the Forgotten Shore, I also remember a particularly powerful echo who was able to blast paralyzing lightning just as how it was described in the report."
"That still could've been someone else."
"Well then, was it?"
"...I think we both know the answer to that."
There was nothing Sunny could say that would convince Seishan she was wrong. It wasn't like she was wrong anyways. In fact, she was completely spot on.
'I still need to get better at hiding my traces…'
"So, I'll ask once again. Would you like to join the Great Clan Song?"
"That doesn't sound like a request."
"It was not."
"Showing up at my door and giving me an ultimatum like this… It seems like quite a terrible way to recruit someone if you ask me."
"...Well, the situation calls for it."
Sunny's eyes widened slightly upon hearing that.
"Situation?"
"Yes. My mother and that wicked king… It seems their fight is inevitable."
'What?! Already? Is… No… this must be something else. This doesn't seem like a full scale war just yet, but just a minor scuffle between them.'
"And how exactly am I supposed to help with that? And how soon?"
"...Actually, I don't know. Mother just told me to bring you in. And she said it'll still be a while before they truly fight."
"Well, please forgive me but I'm going to have to refuse. I still value my life after all."
"That's alright."
Sunny's entire body tensed when he heard that, because the voice had come from behind him.
"I'm already here after all."
Slowly turning around, Sunny saw her.
Ki Song. Or rather, a body she was controlling.
'You… can't be serious.'
The Queen had personally sent a puppet here?
'I didn't even know they could be controlled from this far…'
He was certain that it would still be a year or two or perhaps more for a Sovereign like her to be able to return to the waking world so casually! Asterion was only an exception because of his status as a Dreamspawn!
"This humble Awakened greets the Queen of Song."
Bowing slightly, Sunny did not let his fear show on his face.
'This can still be salvaged… and if it can't, I can still get away.'
"If I may ask, what brings an esteemed Sovereign like yourself here?"
The puppet smiled slightly.
"What a polite young man you are. Tell me, Shan, why are you so sure he's powerful?"
"I just am."
'You damn stubborn… Gah!'
Sunny wanted to get out of this situation, but with his current power he most certainly could not afford to offend the Queen just yet. He would have to at least be a Transcendent first.
"You just are… Hm. Now that I get a better look at him, he's not bad…"
'Tch… Not bad? I'm way str- No… No! Not bad is good! Please don't look any closer!'
"So, child, why don't you want to join our Song Clan?"
Sunny truly didn't know what to say. If it was just Seishan, he might have been able to make an elaborate excuse, but in front of the Queen, there was nothing.
So he decided to act like an idiot instead.
"I just… don't really like you guys? The way you Legacies operate is just really distasteful. Please forgive me if that's rude."
Seishan's eyes widened in disbelief at his brazen remark, while the Queen's puppet laughed softly.
"Is that so? Well… that's too bad then. Because if you don't, things won't end well for you."
Her statement stunned Sunny.
"Isn't… isn't that too unfair? What have I even done to you to warrant this?"
Sunny was inwardly panicking.
What was her problem?!
"Because you've met that vile Dreamspawn. Normally I would simply kill anyone who has come into contact with him, but as my dear daughter has set her sights on you, I thought it would be a shame to rid this world of a talent like yourself."
'What…? How does she know that?'
Calming himself, Sunny thought deeply.
'Wait… does she? This could just be a test, and she's only baiting me into revealing a possible connection with him…'
'And her daughter has set her sights on me? She's… she's not talking about Seishan is she?'
Sunny decided to continue playing the fool.
"Your… your daughter has set her sights on me?"
Glancing at Seishan, he looked back at the Queen's puppet.
"Sorry but, I'm not really interested?"
Seishan's jaw dropped at his complete idiocy.
She couldn't help but think to herself…
'Was I wrong…?'
The Queen burst out laughing upon hearing that.
"Hear that, Shan? I don't think he likes you!"
But then her gaze darkened.
"Tell me the truth, boy."
Sunny stepped back, holding his arms up.
"I'm serious! I barely even know her!"
Sunny could feel Seishan's burning gaze on him, and now the Queen was also looking at him like he was an idiot.
The Queens puppet then sighed, no longer forcing the topic.
"Then, I still implore you to join our clan."
"Why?"
Both the woman and the puppet were awed at his incredible arrogance. Or was it ignorance?
"Because we need strong talents like you. We currently only have a couple Saints, meanwhile Valor already has five… And with that new girl, Aria, I'm sure that number is going to go up soon too. I am sure you will enjoy the benefits we can provide you, and I am sure you do not want to make us your enemy."
Adding onto her mother's speech, Seishan also spoke.
"And we also know that you want to keep a low profile. Valor currently has no clue of your power, and we want to keep it that way. You joining us will not be made public, and we only ask for your strength."
Sunny thought it over deeply.
'There really is no way out of this…'
If he said one more stupid thing, the Queen might just outright kill him.
If he still refused, the same thing would happen.
It wouldn't happen now, but for Sunny to survive he would have to hide for a long, long time.
But he did not want that. And if there was one thing Sunny was, it was that he was stubborn.
Perhaps this was what one needed to become strong, an unbreakable will that refuses to submit no matter what.
But even if Sunny wasn't willing to submit, he could still compromise.
Despite his stubbornness, he knew his life was far more important.
"Fine. But I have a few requests."
Seishan sighed in relief, while the Queen looked at him curiously.
"Such arrogance… You dare to think you can bargain with me? What are your requests then?"
"First off, I will not be a part of your domain."
The Queen's eye twitched in annoyance upon hearing that.
'This shouldn't be too far right? The Queen really does need me to join, even if I'm not part of her domain. Anvil's forces are currently far stronger than hers… Even if her Aspect is more suited to combat than his, it doesn't matter if his forces are far more powerful than hers.'
"No."
Sunny's fingers twitched.
"The whole point of this was because I want you in my domain. If you don't join, then what was the point?"
'Right… Well, I'm sure I can just sever myself from her domain when the time is right.'
"...Fine then. How would one join your domain?"
"You just need to drink a drop of my blood."
'Oh… that's not so bad. Blood Weave could probably deal with it if I need it to.'
And yet Sunny felt that it was a trap.
'Wait… ingesting blood… From what I've investigated in the past, the Queen can only turn corpses into puppets. But surely, her aspect can be used to control herself as well? So wouldn't ingesting her blood… turn me into a puppet? Or at least someone under her control?'
Sunny shivered at the thought.
'But surely Blood Weave could stop that? But if it did… the Queen would notice.'
Sunny was in a dilemma.
This was a massive risk to take.
If Blood Weave was strong enough to destroy the blood, it would provoke her ire.
If it wasn't, he'd be stuck under her command.
'What if I can isolate the blood somehow?'
The problem was… Sunny didn't know how. Without the Will, he could not precisely control his body just yet.
'If I ingest the blood and Blood Weave doesn't destroy it, I'd only have to endure it until I'm a Master…'
Sunny blinked.
'Wait… isn't this a trap? I don't remember the Clan Song members having to drink a drop of blood to join in the past… If I remember correctly, they only had to take a blood oath…'
"But I thought you only had to take a blood oath to join?"
"Tch, clever kid… That's right. Drinking my blood would've done the same thing, but as you've probably surmised, that was actually a trap for you."
'Why… why would she admit that?'
Was this another trap?
"If it's a blood oath, I am willing to join. But isn't that a little rude, trying to trap someone you're recruiting? I think I'll need some compensation for that…"
The Queen clicked her tongue again.
"Fine. What do you want?"
"Three hundred transcendent soul shards."
Sunny heard Seishan choke on her own spit behind him.
Even the Queen looked at him a little strangely.
"That… can be arranged."
'She actually said yes? I was just throwing it out there…'
"I also want a powerful fist-type weapon memory. Transcendent tier at least."
"That's fine."
"I would also like to remain in the Chained Isles for a few more years."
"That's also fine, but you will still need to come to Ravenheart from time to time."
"And I also want several Transcendent ech-"
"Don't you think you're going a little too far?"
"Tch. It was worth a shot. But I still have one last request."
"...What is it now? Just know you're on thin ice right now, boy."
"Even though I have agreed to join, please just remember that I will not be your servant, and I am most certainly not your slave."
The air around them chilled slightly as Sunny spoke.
But strangely…
"That's fine by me."
The Queen smiled upon hearing his request, as if she had just heard something wonderful.
"Welcome to Clan Song, Awakened Sunless."
And that was how Sunny had joined the Song Clan.
Although he had also wanted them to stop trying to kill Nephis as one of his terms, he decided he would still hide their bond for now.
After agreeing to their terms, Seishan handed Sunny a mystical looking parchment, and he was told to let a drop of blood fall onto it.
Although it took an awkwardly long amount of time for Sunny to get a single drop of blood to fall onto the parchment, the deed was done.
However…
'I can still feel the blood on the parchment. Once I am strong enough, I am sure I can will it to return or at least for it to dissolve.'
Sunny's prediction was right, and he still had a way out. There was no way for Queen Song to know about Blood Weave after all. Once Sunny was at minimum an Ascended, he could easily break free of her domain.
Sunny was currently a direct member of the clan, not a vassal member like he'd imagine he would be. This meant that he took orders directly from the Queen or her daughter, not anyone else.
'What a messed up situation.'
Sunny couldn't believe he actually joined a great clan. If he had a choice, he would've joined the House of Night, as they were the only ones that he had nothing against. In fact, he was quite fond of some of their members.
But he was stuck with Song, under one of the Sovereigns he hated so much.
The only reason he was able to hide his hatred was because of the future. He couldn't bare his fangs at the Queen just yet.
Sunny had thought he would feel burning anger and resentment every single moment after he was forced to join their clan, but…
He only felt as if he had been given a chance.
For now, he would accept orders from the Queen, but eventually…
He'd strike. From within no less.
'I know that one guy said to keep your enemies close but… this is a little too close isn't it?'
Sunny sighed in indignation.
He would do what he had to.