Sunny was currently sitting in the back of a spacious limousine across from a breathtaking woman and an eerily still human.
"Do… Do I really have to do this?"
"Weren't you the one who wanted to keep a low profile?"
Although Seishan tried to speak with a serious tone, the smile creeping on her lips was obvious.
Even the Queen's puppet behind her was laughing as it hid its smile behind a hand.
They had gifted him a couple memories capable of disguising himself, saying it was a bonus, but…
'A shadow must be malleable… A shadow must be malleable… A shadow must be… Argh! This… this is for my training! Maybe it will be good for Shadow Dance? It is… a really good disguise though.'
One Memory could change the length and colour of one's hair.
'If only Effie could see me now… No! No one can ever see this!'
One could change facial features slightly, including eye colour.
'Please gods, strike me down now.'
And one could change the sound of his voice.
'My… my dignity!'
Sunny had also been gifted a fashionable set of black clothes alongside a coat that covered much of his body down to his knees, as well as a memory that masked his scent.
'Rain… your brother asks for forgiveness…'
His wavy auburn hair fell down just below his shoulder blades, his hazel eyes had a look of shining curiosity, his face was narrow and had a soft, almost delicate look to it, and most of his figure was hidden beneath his clothes.
Sunny was currently… a stunning jade beauty.
"How… how could you…"
"Don't complain, you look good!"
"Indeed you do, boy. Or should I say-"
"Please don't."
Even though the Queen and her daughter had been threatening to kill him in his own home just an hour ago, they were now laughing and dressing him up.
'One day! I'll kill you for this one day!'
Sunny's face was currently buried in his hands, his face completely red.
'This isn't me this isn't me this isn't me this isn't me!'
Sunny could only desperately try to convince himself that his current situation wasn't real.
All of his shadows at his feet were laughing hysterically, even gloomy and creepy were rolling around, unable to stop their laughter.
'Y-You… even you guys?!'
At least Jet wasn't here to see this... Or Nephis. Or anyone really.
He sincerely hoped that nobody would ever have to see this. It was possibly one of the most shameful moments of his life.
But…
'This disguise… really is good.'
Even looking at himself through his shadows felt a little strange. Even when he looked closely, he really couldn't tell he was looking at himself. He felt as if he was staring at a beautiful wo-
'Arghhh! What did I do to deserve this?!'
Sunny continued to suffer internally as they made their way to the Song Clan's compound.
***
Arriving at a heavily fortified compound not dissimilar to the government building he had been to before, Sunny followed behind the Queen's puppet and Seishan with a blank expression.
Upon entering, the Awakened guarding the door bowed reverently before the Queen of Song and her daughter.
'Ugh.'
Sunny looked distastefully at their zealous attitude.
Walking further inward, Seishan approached a dazed looking receptionist.
"This one is a new member."
The receptionist seemed to snap out of it upon realising she was being spoken to.
"O-Oh! Alright, Lady Seishan! Is she going to be a vassal, retainer, or direct member?"
'She…'
Being referred to as a she sent stabbing pains through Sunny's heart.
Oblivious to Sunny's pain, Seishan continued the registration process.
"Direct member."
The receptionist's eyes widened upon hearing that.
A direct member!
She glanced at Sunny with quiet admiration.
"And what is the name of this young miss?"
"Suming"
Sunny felt like several more daggers had just stabbed him in the heart.
'Young miss!'
Suming was the name Ki Song had used for his cover identity. In fact, on the way to the compound Seishan had even called one of Song's government operatives and had given them a couple tasks to do.
Sunny now had an entire dossier in the government files, living as a girl named Suming. Legally, he was Suming just as much as he was Sunless. Although it was just a formality on the part of Song, for Sunny it meant he could introduce himself as Suming without lying.
But Sunny was still in anguish.
'At least I can avoid any awkward situations about my name…'
His name was already quite uncommon as it was, having another person with the same name would simply draw unwanted attention, no matter how unrelated the two were.
The receptionist continued to type away at her desk, and after a few minutes, the process was done.
"I greet Lady Suming!"
Sunny nodded at her, his face unchanging.
But inside, he was now truly devastated.
'I really, really damn hope this is worth it.'
If it wasn't… Sunny did not know what he would do.
Moving further into the compound, Sunny followed closely behind Ki Song and Seishan.
Turning back to him with a sly smile, the Queen's puppet spoke to him.
"So, what do you think?"
"...I think I'm going to jump off a cliff."
The softness of his voice still sounded unfamiliar in his ears, the silky and resonant tone he spoke with only deepened Sunny's despair.
Both Ki Song and Seishan turned away, but from the subtle shake of their shoulders, Sunny could tell they were laughing.
'Whatever… Whatever!! If I can't do even this, then what can I ever achieve?!'
Sunny continued to desperately try to convince himself that everything would be fine.
Entering an elevator, they began to descend underground.
"Where are we going now?"
"You'll see."
After half a minute of silence, the doors opened.
And within the room, Sunny saw something unbelievable.
It was… a Nightmare Gate.
'No, that's not right.'
There was no harrowing wrongness emanating from it, nor did he feel the Call.
And within the Gate, there was no vile darkness, instead a subtle red glow emanated from it. Strangely enough, Sunny could see straight through it.
A magnificent palace towered over the world of snow and ash, standing on the slope of a snowy mountain, perched at the very edge of a bottomless chasm.
"Ravenheart? And… a Dream Gate?"
The puppet nodded.
"Indeed. This is the Gateway used by Supremes to enter the Dream Realm."
"Why… Why are you showing me this?"
"Isn't it obvious? You're coming with us."
"What? But you said I could remain anchored in the Chained Isles?"
Sunny could not afford to move all the way to Ravenheart like this. He still had many tasks he had left behind in the Chained Isles.
As terrible a place it was due to its currently undeveloped state, the Chained Isles still held many opportunities to Sunny.
"You won't be anchoring here, but you will be here temporarily. I'll send you back by the end of the day."
"...Alright."
Sunny silently watched the Seishan enter.
"What about you?"
The Queen's puppet was still here, motioning him to enter.
"You'll be meeting my main body soon. This vessel will remain to continue my operations here."
Sunny nodded before making his way through the Dream Gate. He felt slight trepidation at meeting a Sovereign, but after meeting Asterion only recently, he was not as worried as he should've been.
Feeling the world shimmer and change around him as he walked through it, Sunny shuddered.
'Weird…'
All the shadows around him abruptly changing always felt so strange.
Sunny did not flinch when he felt the cold bite at his skin, but he did squint his eyes slightly from the howling wind.
Sunny looked at Seishan with a questioning glance.
"Now what?"
"Follow me."
They slowly approached the majestic palace as Sunny spread his shadow sense outwards.
'The Jade Palace…'
Strangely, Sunny's shadow sense was unable to penetrate the palace walls.
'Is it a corpse of some sort? Or is it because of Ki Song's domain?'
Given that it was something made by Ariel, Sunny was sure it was the former.
'Damn daemons… Why not build something simple for once?'
Sunny dearly hoped Bastion and the Night Garden weren't like this too.
Entering the palace, Sunny looked around at its halls. The sprawling labyrinth before him seemed like an ancient city of stone, with countless halls, chambers, and stairwells littering the place.
Moving in, Sunny saw several Awakened patrolling the hall who looked at him curiously before bowing to Seishan.
Continuing towards the throne room, they had to walk for nearly half an hour.
But on the way…
"Oh, you're back. Who's this Seishan?"
Two girls were currently lazing around on comfortable chairs as they faced each other in some sort of board game.
'That's… Beastmaster and Silent Stalker…'
The ones who were fearsome Saints in the future were mundane girls playing games together. Sunny could see a dim soul core shining softly within Beastmaster's soul, while Silent Stalker seemed to still be mundane.
"New member. I'm taking her to meet mother."
"Ohhh, is she a vassal?"
'I'm right here…'
"Nope. Direct member."
Both the girls' eyes widened at that.
"Seriously? Mother didn't adopt another one did she?"
Pausing, Seishan turned to Sunny.
"How old are you again?"
"...Seventeen."
"Then yes, mother ado- Wait you're seventeen? Seriously?"
"I am, why?"
"Then how are you so… Nevermind. Bin, Lan, meet Song Suming. Mother adopting her is a mere formality, so just think of her as a colleague."
Sunny gave them a small smile and wave.
Returning his greeting with awkward smiles, Beastmaster and Silent Stalker responded.
"Uh… Hello then, I'm Eunbin."
"And I'm Aylana."
'So that's Silent Stalkers name… I don't think I ever learned it in the past.'
"Nice to meet you."
After greeting them, Sunny continued inwards with Seishan.
But after a while, he whispered to her.
"Are you not gonna tell them?"
"Tell them what?"
"What do you think?"
"Oh, that… Probably not."
Sunny felt a sinking feeling upon hearing that. He was going to have to keep up his act even here?!
"Why not?"
"Because… They love to gossip. Even mother agreed that most of them can't be trusted to keep a secret."
"You can't be serious!"
"Hey, this is for your benefit, you know. You're the one who didn't want to be known."
"I just want to avoid any awkward situations. Like seeing something I… shouldn't."
Seishan stopped walking when she heard that.
Turning to him, she had a look of shock, as if she just realised he was right.
"It uh… should be fine? You won't be here most of the time, I think."
"...I guess so."
He really did not want anything to deal with any of them! Dealing with teenagers was already hard enough, but dealing with the Princesses of Song?
'Please just let me leave…'
They silently continued towards the throne room.
As they walked, Sunny made a map of the place in his head just in case he needed to escape. As his shadow sense was restricted, so was his ability to step through the shadows, so if things went south he'd have to run.
'I'm… completely trapped.'
The feeling was not fun at all.
Sunny could only hope the Queen genuinely wanted him to join, and wasn't leading him here to kill him.
The only reason hadn't already run was because he was almost certain the Queen wasn't going to kill him. Although he was most certainly taking a big risk, Sunny was sure even if it went wrong he wouldn't end up dead.
'Probably…'
If he had to take a couple hostages to escape, then he would do that too.
Unaware of his thoughts, Seishan continued to lead him to Ki Song.
…And a few minutes later, he arrived at the throne room.
Sitting atop the throne, a breathtakingly beautiful woman sat.
Ki Song had lustrous black hair that spilled over shoulders like streams of silk, and draped over her throne like rivers of blood was a gorgeous velvet dress. Ki Song eyed him curiously with her mesmerizing irises.
But within her eyes Sunny saw something else too.
Deep within her eyes, he thought he saw a profound loneliness contained within them.
It was as if she had nobody.
Despite being surrounded by her daughters and the retainers of her clan, she was alone. After all, every single person here was either a servant or a responsibility.
There seemed to be a never-ending longing within her eyes.
It wasn't a feeling Sunny was unfamiliar with.
"Mother."
Seishan bowed beside him, greeting the Queen.
But Sunny stood straight, looking her in the eye.
The Queen's small smile only widened at the sight. Seeing her teeth made Sunny's back tingle slightly.
"...Hello."
Seishan gawked at his bland greeting.
And just as she was about to admonish him, the Queen spoke, her voice deep and sweet.
"To stare at a lady so brazenly… My my, Awakened Suming"
Sunny's finger twitched at being called Suming.
"Why have you brought me here?"
"Well, I just wanted to get a better look at my daughter."
Sunny's eyes twitched.
"Are you seriously adopting me? I thought I was just going to be a retainer or something…"
"You're the one who said you weren't going to be my servant, so this is my compromise. Unless you would've rather married one of my daughters instead?"
"...That doesn't sound so bad."
Compared to this? It was a dream!
Looking at Sunny's eyes and fingers, the Queen laughed softly.
"My my, I promise you, being my daughter isn't that bad! But if you really hate it that much we can decide on something else once you're of age."
'...Forcing the Beast God's lineage on them as well as not letting them live as mundane humans isn't that bad?'
Sunny decided to keep that thought to himself.
'I don't even get to be a son…'
The Queen laughed slightly.
Sighing, Sunny looked her in the eye.
"So, why am I here again?"
"Hmm, I wanted to test your skills to see if little Shan really knows what she's talking about."
As she said that, she stood up.
Sunny looked at her with slight nervousness.
'She's… not gonna make me fight her, is she?'
"Oh, get that look off your face, child. You'll be fighting one of my puppets of course!"
Flicking her arm, Sunny saw a sword being thrown into the air before he caught it with ease.
And as he caught it, a puppet stepped out from behind her throne.
Shifting his vision, Sunny saw the vile wrongness permeating its soul. Although the puppet was long dead, Sunny judged that it was once an Awakened human.
Readying the simple longsword in his hand, Sunny watched closely at the puppet rushing towards him.
'Let's not go too hard…'
Although Sunny wanted to prove he was worth investing in, he did not want her to think he was too strong. The Sovereigns tended to have a habit of suppressing latent threats, after all.
And as the puppet charged at him with its arms out as if they were vile claws, its expression eerily still.
Raising his blade, Sunny focused.
Right when the puppet was about to reach him, he sidestepped it.
Only for the puppet to immediately change its course as if it had seen his move coming from a mile away.
'Hm.'
Unfortunately for the puppet, Sunny had also predicted that it would predict him.
As the puppet swung its arms outwards in an attempt to grapple him, Sunny twisted between the arms gracefully before he leaned his entire body into a kick that planted itself on the puppets stomach, his coat and auburn hair fluttering slightly.
The puppet didn't seem to feel any pain, as immediately after it was kicked away it recovered and began charging towards Sunny.
Only for it to immediately collapse the ground, a sword piercing its head.
Sunny had thrown the sword immediately after kicking it, killing it before it had anytime to react.
He looked towards Ki Song.
"Isn't giving me a weapon a little unfair?"
The grin on the Queen's face widened, all of her teeth now showing.
"Perhaps. How about now?"
Two more puppets stepped out from behind the throne, once again rushing towards Sunny. Only this time one held a dagger and one held a shortsword.
"Hmph."
Surprising both Ki Song and Seishan, Sunny did not retrieve his longsword. Instead, he readied his fists as he got into a combat stance.
And as the puppet with the dagger reached him, Sunny lowered his stance immediately.
Reaching towards the puppet that was in the middle of a stabbing motion, Sunny knocked its wrist side before grabbing its throat in a crushing grip.
And just as the puppet with the longsword reached him, Sunny threw the dagger wielding puppet towards it, knocking it back slightly.
"Hup!"
Tensing his muscles, Sunny spun.
Bang!
His leg slammed into the heads of both puppets at once, snapping their necks.
Sunny looked towards the Queen as the puppets in front of him crumpled to the ground.
Ki Song was now standing slightly, looking at him with a hungry gaze.
'...Uh oh.'
Did he go too far?
Three more puppets emerged from behind the throne, each wielding a longsword or spear. But they were dispatched by the unarmed Sunny just as quickly as before.
Not panting even slightly, Sunny turned to Ki Song.
"Did I pass?"
Although he had obviously passed, he only asked the question to test the Queen's reaction.
The Queen was currently grinning like a madman, staring at him like a mad predator.
Turning to Seishan, she spoke in an approving tone.
"It seems you were right, Seishan. Well done."
Seishan, who was looking at Sunny in astonishment, turned to the Queen before bowing in gratitude.
Although Sunny's display of skill was nothing special, every puppet he had defeated had been a vessel the Queen had been controlling. To be able to defeat them in only a few simple moves… Sunny was showing off quite a lot.
Ki Song turned to look at Sunny.
"Child, are you sure you're not a legacy?"
"I'm sure. And surely you've already read my file, everything on it is true. The Dream Realm has taught me a lot, whether I wanted to learn or not."
Ki Song nodded in understanding, having had a similar experience in her youth.
Leaning back in her throne, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Good! From this day forth, you are now a member of our clan! Princess of Song, Song Suming!"
Sunny took a deep breath upon hearing that.
"...Please don't call me a princess."
The sound of Seishan snorting with laughter behind him did not help at all.
***
"I will call you back every once in a while to clean up any nightmare creatures in the area. And be ready to go on expeditions to conquer citadels as well, I will give you several weeks' notice before it happens."
"Fine by me. Just make sure I'm paid handsomely."
Standing next to him, Seishan snickered slightly.
"Shouldn't you be paid beauti-"
"I'd like to go now."
They were standing before the Queen of Song currently, listening to her explain what his role would be in the Song Clan, as well as what sort of power he held within its hierarchy.
Sunny's power in the clan was only slightly below the authority of the Queen's daughters. On paper, he was a daughter of Ki Song, but really that was just a cover for them to bring him in. Needless to say even if he was a fake daughter the rest of the clan still saw him as a real one, as they dared not question their Sovereign.
As the Queen had given Sunny everything he had asked for, it was now time for him to leave. He had already been paid and he did not want to remain to hear the relentless teasing he was receiving from Seishan and her mother.
Standing from her throne, the Queen walked up to Sunny and Seishan.
"Very well."
Grabbing onto both their shoulders, the Queen smiled.
"See you soon, girls."
"Fu-"
Sunny could not finish his sentence, as he had disappeared already.
The Queen had sent them back to the waking world.
Standing within her now empty throne room, Ki Song looked down at her hands with an unreadable expression.
"Such divinity…"
What a curious young man Sunless was. She just couldn't quite place a finger on who he may be, or where he may be from. To act so brazenly in front of a Sovereign... he had to be mad. He also seemed to know things. Things someone of his background should not know.
'Is he related to that bastard?'
If she ever discovered a genuine connection between him and that Dreamspawn... she would not hesitate to kill him.
Still though, she'd let him get away with his arrogance. For now, anyway.
Simply because...
'What an adorable little thing you are...'
He was like a mewling little kitten. So angry, so determined. Filled with anger against the world, filled with so much potential...
'Cases like these must be treated carefully...'
She'd lost wondrous talents before due to their own haughtiness. Sunless was most certainly one such case. Both a flight risk and a trump card.
It ticked her off a little, to have to be so careful, but not by much.
After all... her curiosity far outweighed her pride.
'How exciting...'
What did the future hold now? With fate a mess, there was no telling. Her former cohort members had to have seen it too, something was brewing. Whether or not it was something big, she did not know yet. What she did know, though...
'I absolutely cannot let that kid get away.'
She smiled to herself, pondering.
How could she chain somebody like Sunless?
***
Appearing back next to the Dream Gate, Sunny clicked his tongue.
'The Will…'
He had felt it just now, the Queen had sent them back using her Will. She had used the method Saints used to transport themselves to and from the Dream Realm, but for whatever reason it had the Will imbued into it. Was it to keep herself from being sent over too?
Glancing at Seishan who was staring at him with wry eyes, Sunny said nothing and began walking towards the elevator.
Seishan followed closely behind him as they began ascending the floors.
Silence descended between them as they listened to the hum of the moving elevator.
…Arriving on the ground floor they stepped out just to find a small group of people waiting for them.
"We greet the new Princess of Song!"
'You… have got to be fucking kidding me.'
Next to him, he felt Seishan shaking uncontrollably.
'Ki Song… she put them up to this…'
Sunny felt his face burning up.
Managing a small wave, he was only able to respond meekly.
"H-Hi."
Thankfully, Seishan seemed to come to her senses and rescued him out of pity.
"Everybody clear out. Suming is tired and will be resting now."
"Yes!"
The small crowd bowed before immediately scattering.
Glowering at Seishan, Sunny slowly made his way out.
"I'm not thanking you."
"Goodbye, dear Suming."
Sunny froze in his tracks before continuing his way out, ignoring the provocation.
'I… shouldn't have tried extorting them.'
Sunny was almost certain that this was revenge from Ki Song, as he rudely denied their invitation and also tried to get several Transcendent Echoes as payment.
Palming his face as he felt curious stares on his back, Sunny left the compound.
Feeling the brisk evening air, Sunny took a deep breath before quickly walking away.
'It's nearly winter…'
Entering the first dark alley he could find, Suming disappeared.
Dismissing his cosmetic memories, Sunny finally returned to his regular appearance. Not wanting to waste another second near the Song compound, he immediately turned into a shadow and began gliding home.
…A while later, he had arrived home.
Emerging from the shadows, Sunny saw Jet once again lazily scrolling away on her communicator.
Seeing such a forlorn look on Sunny's face, she gave him a curious look.
"Where've you been?"
"...Ravenheart. Please don't ask anymore."
Jet looked at him with a strange gaze, not questioning him any further.
Sunny immediately made his way into his basement before entering his sleeping pod.
'Surely… slaughtering some nightmare creatures will make me feel better…'
Deep shame boiled within his soul, and Sunny desperately wanted to forget it.
Waking up in the Chained Isles, he reported to the local members of White Feather he was going out to scout.