Standing over the ruined body of many nightmare creatures, Sunny stared at the blood streaming past his boots.
'That helped… a little bit.'
The clarity he experienced during the battle allowed him to think clearly. And in his thoughts, he realised…
'It really could've gone worse.'
The Queen of Song was quite different from his expectations. She was nowhere near as… distant as he thought she'd be. He had expected a solemn and majestic atmosphere, but her attitude had been quite friendly towards him. Perhaps because she had only been a Sovereign for a few years and the war hadn't truly begun yet, she was nowhere near as jaded as she would've likely become in the future.
'Maybe it's not too late for you.'
Ki Song seemed to be quite fond of him, teasing and joking with him the entire time he was there. She didn't speak down to him, nor did she treat him like a servant, but she did not treat him as an equal either.
Which was only fair, because they most certainly weren't. Ki Song was a Supreme while Sunny was a mere Awakened. But if he could maintain the goodwill between them, perhaps the gap could close before long.
He still did not plan on telling her when he was entering his Second Nightmare, but he wasn't sure if he could really hide it from her either.
He hated being called a daughter, but really, it was better than being called her son. If he was called her son, it would've hurt much more as it felt disrespectful to his late parents.
Sighing quietly, Sunny looked beside him.
Solvane was holding the corpse of a dead nightmare creature above her head, twisting it apart as blood and viscera fell all over her body.
'...Ew.'
Despite the fact he had seen it many times now, the primal behaviour of Solvane still irked him somewhat.
If he didn't know any better, Sunny would've thought she was a descendent of the Beast God.
As the two halves of the dead nightmare creature fell to the ground, the top half of Solvane exploded outwards as vines shot everywhere.
Sunny watched in discomfort as the blood of every nightmare creature he had just killed disappeared, including the blood that was piling beneath his boots.
'Whatever…'
Sunny did not mind the discomfort too much. It had its uses too.
In each vine that returned to Solvane's body, several soul shards were held.
When feasting on the blood of nightmare creatures, Sunny also sent her a command to harvest the soul shards while she was at it, and there were no problems with his request.
As the multitude of soul shards disappeared into the maw of the Covetous Coffer, Sunny glanced at the massive pile of Transcendent soul shards at the bottom of it.
Looking back at Solvane, Sunny was wondering if he should risk ascending her to Supreme.
Although Solvane hadn't shown him any ill will and was incredibly powerful in battle, much more than Shrike, she was also prone to not following his commands.
Although if the situation was desperate he was sure she wouldn't rebel, Sunny found her somewhat unreliable outside of battle.
As the last of the Wormvine retreated back into her body, he saw her gazing at her hands.
She was looking at the shiny new memory she had received, the [Trounce Legate]. It was a Transcendent memory of the third tier that came in the form of plain looking silk gloves, and it greatly enhanced the lethality of one's hands, while also further increasing that lethality the more blood it drew.
All in all, it was a perfect memory for a Shadow like her.
Sunny even suspected that it was a weapon Ki Song herself once used.
'To give me something like this… I better not mess this up.'
Shaking his head, Sunny turned to Solvane.
"Solvane."
Distracted from her reverie, she turned to Sunny.
"Sha...dow?"
"If you were a Supreme, what would you do?"
"More… blood… more… death!"
'Of course.'
After having adapted to being a Shadow, Solvane seemingly stopped using the chants of the War Cult she used to use. In place of glory, she would shout death instead.
Even after getting his answer, Sunny was still unsure what he should do.
He had tried testing both Solvane and Shrike using a simple method. He commanded them to stay still for a day.
Shrike had remained still the entire day, while Solvane had wandered off after only a few minutes.
As powerful as she was, Sunny simply couldn't rely on her.
What would he do when he needed her to do an essential task and she refused?
Shrike had proven its loyalty and usefulness.
But…
'Ah… I really want to ascend her.'
Because even though Solvane was a Demon, she was still a human at her core. If she became a Supreme Demon, she'd get another ability, while Shrike would only gain an increase in power.
'Would she get a domain? Probably not…'
Despite everything, Sunny still wanted to make Solvane a Supreme. Sure it was a great risk, but Sunny had never let something like that stop him before.
'...I could just ascend both of them.'
He had received three hundred shards after all. Although it wasn't nearly enough to ascend both of them, it was a massive headstart.
But at the same time, he also wanted to save enough to ascend Nightmare once he got him. He wasn't willing to let go of his dark steed after all.
But between weaving enough Memories to ascend his shadows, as well as refining his essence to ascend, as well as keeping up with his missions from Song, Sunny was extremely busy.
'Even Jet would pity me…'
Or maybe she wouldn't. Who knew?
Sighing once more, Sunny dismissed Solvane and began to make his way back to the Sanctuary of Noctis.
Flying on the back of Shrike, Sunny gazed at the beautiful night sky with a small sense of longing.
***
Arriving at the Sanctuary, Sunny quietly made his way in, undisturbed. It was currently day time in the Waking World so most Awakened weren't here currently, so Sunny made his way to Sky Tide's office.
After the announcement of a new Saint watching over the Chained Isles, many Awakened had migrated over here in hopes of being able to curry favour with White Feather. Sunny paid them no mind though, as currying favour with a Saint was simply unnecessary to him.
Seeing as Sky Tide was absent, Sunny left a note at the entrance to her quarters, telling her about a particularly powerful Fallen Tyrant with hundreds of minions heading towards the Sanctuary of Noctis.
Of course, Tyris would not find this Tyrant, as he had just viciously murdered it and its entire army, but he would still make a report regardless, it was his job after all.
After staring at the obsidian knife placed on the gateway for a while, Sunny left.
***
Awakening from his slumber, Sunny slowly climbed out of the sleeping pod.
Sighing as he clothed himself, he made his way upstairs.
Jet was currently working, so his home was empty.
Sighing slightly, Sunny remained within his basement. He wanted to weave comfortably on his couch like he usually did, but he did not know if Ki Song would have anyone watching him or not. She had said that he wasn't her responsibility, but he could not be sure if she wanted to spy on him or not.
Taking out several transcendent soul shards and summoning the Robes of Yore, Sunny began to weave.
…And once his essence was running low from weaving, he began to meditate, refining it.
Once his essence finished restoring itself, Sunny once again began to weave.
With the help of Soul Weave as well as his seven cores, Sunny had quite a lot of essence. It would only take him about a day to completely restore it, and if he was refining his essence while he had the serpent tattoo on, it would be even faster. There was also the upgraded Bone Weave that allowed him to weave much more efficiently too, although it wasn't as good as it was back when he had been an Ascended, it was getting close.
Sunny did not even know how long he had been for until he heard someone call his name.
"...Sunny?"
Entering the room as she yawned, Jet greeted Sunny.
"Hey."
"What are you up to?"
"Making food for my shadows."
"I see."
Sitting beside him in the dark, Jet looked at what he was doing curiously.
"Are you… casting a magic spell or something?"
"Pretty much."
"Cool…"
She groggily stood up and began walking towards her sleeping pod, taking off her jacket.
"Jet."
"Hmm?"
Sunny flicked a small object towards her, as Jet caught it with ease.
After looking down at her hands, she looked at Sunny with a stunned expression.
"T-This…"
Within her hands was a single, glimmering transcendent soul shard.
"It's your birthday soon isn't it? I'll give this to you now, just in case I'm not he-"
Sunny was unable to finish his sentence as he was lifted from his seated position into a crushing hug.
"Ack! What are you do- Put me down!"
Sunny was currently being swung around in the air as Jet laughed happily as she spun. As they were the same height, Sunny's feet were currently scraping against the floor.
"Put… me… down!"
As Jet's laughter slowly died down, Sunny saw the tears forming around eyes and a massive smile lining her face.
"Hahah! I'm sorry! It's just… no one's ever given me a birthday present before!"
As the spinning slowly came to a stop, Sunny stood up somewhat shakily.
"Well then… happy early birthday, I think."
Holding the glimmering soul shard up to her eye, Jet sighed happily.
"A Transcendent soul shard… Do you know how much these are worth, Sunny?! How did you get this?"
'Right… Without as many Saints and Masters, the price of soul shards is astronomically high right now.'
"I know it's worth a lot, and I got it… by selling my body."
Jet's laughter stopped as she stared at him.
"...What?"
Sunny fake sniffled as he explained himself.
"Some people came here and threatened me… I had no choice…"
"What??"
Knowing Sunny couldn't lie, Jet stared at him incredulously.
"H-How the hell? Sunny, I-"
"They… they asked me to join their clan, and when I said yes I… got paid handsomely!"
Sunny's sad tone vanished, replaced with smugness.
"Hm. Can't you see how rich, amazing, and incredibly talented I am? To receive so much just to join a clan!"
Jet looked at him with wide eyes.
"You joined a clan? Really?"
"Is it that surprising? If more people knew my strength there would be knocks on our door every hour!"
Jet nodded, looking down at the soul shard in her hands before smiling.
"So, who did you join?"
"Song!"
Sunny sounded cheerful when talking about it, but really, he wasn't too happy with the arrangement.
"...You really joined a legacy clan?"
"Of course! There's plenty of opportunities to be had you know? And I'm not really a member, more like a paid mercenary."
"And… would you like to tell me how many soul shards they gave you?"
Jet looked at him curiously.
Sunny smiled.
"I would not."
Jet huffed before looking away.
"....day"
Jet mumbled slightly, and Sunny couldn't hear her.
"Huh?"
"...wh….day…"
"Huuuuuh?"
Sunny leaned in with a hand around his ear.
"I said..! When's your birthday?!"
Sunny reeled back in slight surprise by her outburst.
He had never seen Jet so embarrassed before, even in the past…
And right before he could begin laughing hysterically…
"Oof!"
Jet had punched him in the stomach.
"Agh! Stop laughing and answer!"
"Gahahah! Alright, alright… It's on the day of the Winter Solstice."
Jet immediately stormed off once she had gotten her answer.
'...Wasn't she going to the Dream Realm?'
She must've been storing away the soul shard or something…
As Sunny smiled to himself, he looked down to continue his weaving, only to see his weave completely messed up courtesy of the events just now.
He could only sigh in slight regret, not caring too much.
***
After weaving for the rest of the night, Sunny retired to the Dream Realm.
Appearing within the Sanctuary of Noctis, Sunny clenched and unclenched his fist, feeling for how much essence he had left.
'Not that much… Well I guess I can use Soul Reaver if need be…'
Stretching slightly, Sunny looked at the sky. It was currently day in the Chained Isles, and several rainbows were surrounding the Sanctuary of Noctis as Sunny glanced at the Ivory Tower in the distance.
Humming a quiet tune to himself, Sunny began to make his way towards the heavenly chain.
"Awakened Sunless."
'...Crap.'
The voice of Sky Tide called out to him.
Turning, Sunny bowed slightly.
"Lady Sky Tide."
Tyris slowly approached him.
Straightening his back, Sunny waited to see what she wanted.
Strangely enough, he received an unexpected surprise.
"In a few days I will be going to the Night Temple, would you like to join me?"
'The Night Temple!'
Sunny had been planning on going there for a while now, as he needed to retrieve the ivory knife.
He had already scouted the area in hopes that perhaps he could easily sneak in, but…
A certain Master Cormac was currently stationed there, as well as several other Awakened.
The Night Temple was currently a garrison for Valor's knights, it was used as a restocking station for people traveling or moving through the far reaches of Valor's territory, and had been conquered decades ago.
Sunny had no idea what sort of security measures it had, if it had any.
If he went alone, he'd have to spend a long time scouring the place for safe entrances, and Sunny simply did not have the time for that currently.
But if he was there with Saint Tyris…
"Of course, my lady! But… may I ask why?"
Nodding, Tyris explained why she was going.
"The Awakened there have been having problems with nearby nightmare creatures for a while. It seems to be a Corrupted that also possesses powerful stealth abilities, and I have been informed that one of our best scouts is now you."
Sunny had of course built a reputation of being a great scout, although he didn't interact with many people, he constantly reported to Sky Tide or whoever was currently in charge if there were any dangerous nightmare creatures nearby. He was still trying to build a persona of him being an explorer with potent scout abilities, after all.
And it seems his efforts had bore fruit.
"Well then, I would be honored to join you."
Sky Tide nodded sternly.
"Be here in a few days, and do not leave the Sanctuary until then."
"Understood."
Although he felt a little frustrated at being stuck here, he couldn't refuse a Saint, especially when she had given him such a great opportunity.
Bidding Tyris farewell, he made his way to his quarters and began to refine his essence.
…And after a while, he returned to the waking world.
Waking up at home, Sunny left to go visit Nephis.
Casually walking through his neighbourhood, he entered a tram and went to a nearby stop, entering the Immortal Flame's neighbourhood.
.
Rather than enter Nephis' home like a normal person, Sunny glided in as a shadow, unseen.
He was slightly disappointed when he easily entered Nephis' room without being stopped or noticed by a single person.
'Can I really leave her safety to these people?'
Emerging from the shadows behind Nephis, he looked down at what she was doing.
Sitting across from her was her grandmother, who currently seemed to be tutoring her on some physics equation.
She tensed when Sunny appeared, but immediately relaxed upon recognizing him.
Nephis was so engrossed with her work, she didn't even notice her grandmother looking up at Sunny.
"Grandmother how do-"
Noticing her grandmother looking up, she turned around to see what she was looking at.
"Sunny!"
Upon seeing him, she immediately jumped up, hugging his side.
Calida eyed him curiously with slight worry.
"What brings you here, young man?"
"I was just here to tell you I'd be going on an expedition in the Dream Realm soon, and I'm not sure how long I'll be gone."
Calida's eyes widened as she understood what he was trying to say.
Nephis looked up at him with heartbroken eyes.
"Whaaat? Where are you going?"
"To a dark temple of the night."
"Wow, really?!"
"Really."
Picking Nephis up, he placed her on his shoulder as she laughed happily.
"It's a temple of an ancient goddess… and it exists on the underside of a giant floating island!"
Sunny moved the shadows on the walls to show up what he was talking about, perfect 2D replicas appeared on the wall as if Sunny was performing expert shadow puppetry.
"An ancient goddess?! What are you going to do there?"
"Heheh… watch."
Sunny animated the images on the walls, it depicted him at the entrance of the Night Temple, speaking with the guards.
The next depiction showed him walking in and exploring the place.
And the last one showed him running out with a bag of treasure in his hand as the guards from earlier chased him.
"I'm going to rob the fools that live there, obviously!"
Nephis continued to laugh with joy as Sunny looked at her with a smile. He also noticed Calida staring at the two with a smile as well, but he couldn't help but notice her smile strain when she saw him.
"What are you gonna steal? Treasure? A kidnapped princess?"
"No… something far more impressive! A knife created by a god!"
Manipulating the shadows on the wall some more, Sunny depicted a knife being struck by a bolt of lightning as a man held it up into the sky.
"What does it do?!"
Nephis' eyes shone looking at the knife.
"Why of course, it's used to slay an immortal being!"
"What else can it do?!"
Nephis continued asking him to show her more.
But unseen to her, Sunny was creating letters of shadow on the table in front of Calida.
The words read:
[Can still guard, but may get messy.]
Calida nodded in understanding.
Meanwhile…
"...to use it to unchain a crazy demon…"
Sunny's story to Nephis was coming to an end.
"A demon?! What kind?"
"The most terrifying of them all… the Demon of Desire! A mere fraction of her power could drive an entire continent mad, you know! Truly a terrible being!"
As Sunny's story came to an end, he pushed Nephis off his shoulder.
And just as she was squealing while she fell, two hands rose out of Sunny's shadow to catch her.
Nephis looked at Sunny with a betrayed expression before looking at who caught her.
"Miss Solvane!"
"Child…"
As she held Nephis before her face, Solvane looked at her deeply before cracking a small smile.
Nephis laughed at the awkward smile on Solvane's face as she was placed down on the ground carefully. Sunny looked at them with a content smile.
"Hm, I'll be leaving now. See you later kid."
Dismissing Solvane as he turned to leave, Sunny felt a sad gaze on his back.
The gaze stopped him in his tracks.
"Actually. Here."
Sunny flicked her a coin.
Nephis tried to catch it, only for it hit her forehead as her arms flailed.
"Ow! What's this, Sunny?"
"Hmph, it's a soul coin of course! I had to kill a terrifying man-eating treasure chest for this, you know? So you better cherish it!"
With an adorable smile that nearly stopped Sunny's heart, Nephis inspected the coin.
"It's… gold! Thanks Sunny!"
"Heheh, of course it is. See you around."
And instead of using the door, Sunny simply dissolved into the shadows.
Calida watched him disappear with a small smile on her face before getting up to inform Thrain of Sunny's leave of absence.
Nephis could only stare at the door sadly before she got back to studying.
***
Sunny did not reappear nearby, he instead remained as a shadow as he glided back to his home.
Appearing on his sofa, Sunny summoned a certain memory.
Its name was [Wanderlust Communion], and it was a memory given to him by Ki Song that could be used to communicate with either her or Seishan. The main memory was in the hands of Ki Song, and it could create seven copies of itself that could be distributed.
Activating its enchantment, Sunny sent a message to Seishan.
[I will be leaving for what could be a lengthy expedition in a few days. If there are any things I need to do before then, tell me now.]
Sunny left the memory summoned on the coffee table in front of him as he began refining his essence.
And an hour later, he had gotten one.
[There is a Fallen Demon near the edge of Ravenheart mother wants you to kill. Come in today.]
'...Damnation.'
He'd actually been given work to do…
Sweeping his house with his shadow sense to make sure no one was there, he descended into the basement and donned his disguise.
Sighing in despair, Sunny looked at himself with his shadows to make sure it was perfect.
'What the hell has my life become…'
Disappearing into the shadows, Sunny made his way to the Song Compound.
***
Appearing in a dark alley near the compound, Sunny made his way to the entrance.
Entering, Sunny noticed several stares on him immediately.
'This appearance is just too eye-catching… Just ignore it, damn it!'
As long as he did not get too famous or worshipped, Sunny did mind a bit of attention. There were plenty of Saints and Sovereigns in the past who managed to remain obscure even when information could spread so rapidly.
'I just have to… do my job and not be on the news…'
The persona Ki Song and Seishan had chosen for Suming was one of little mysteries. Suming was going to seem like an airhead who only knew how to fight, just so people would never ask her for anything, nor would they see her as a leader or figurehead. A mysterious figure would have been too enticing, and a boisterous figure would've been too popular, so he had chosen the one people would want to interact with the least.
Approaching the receptionist, he was recognized immediately.
"Lady Suming! Welcome…"
Sunny was immediately let in as he entered the elevator and began descending towards the Dream Gate.
Exiting the elevator, Sunny gazed at the majestic silhouette of the Jade Palace.
'...Shouldn't Seishan be he-'
Sunny could finish that thought however, as Seishan had appeared right beside him.
"Gah!"
She jumped back at the sight of him, readying her fists.
"...Oh, it's you."
"Didn't you call me here?"
"I only said come in today, not come in right now!"
"Should I… go then?"
"...No. Follow me."
Seishan immediately turned and re-entered the Dream Gate with slight exasperation.
Entering, Sunny immediately heard a voice.
"My my, here already, Suming?"
Sunny cringed slightly at the voice.
It spoke in the tone of the Queen, but the voice was much lighter and friendlier.
Turning, he saw the puppet of a young woman staring at him.
"...Hello. Where's the Demon?"
The puppet pointed towards the direction of the fierce snowstorm.
"That way, you won't miss it."
Sunny nodded as he summoned the Herald's Cloak before leaping off the towering obsidian edifice.
Watching Sunny glide off, the puppet turned to Seishan.
"What do you think of him?"
"He feels… dangerous. But I can't quite pin down why."
"Hmmm. A feeling of danger didn't warrant how thoroughly you tried to convince me to bring him in though?"
"Well… He's also smart. Back on the Forgotten Shore, I had hidden the fact I had the Sunlight Shard because I didn't quite believe their reason for needing it. But somehow, he knew I had, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind."
The puppet smiled, Sunny's gliding figure now disappearing into the swirling snow.
"Indeed he is. I can still feel that he's hiding more power… You said he had that steel raven, right? Just how many more of those things does he have I wonder…"
Seishan turned to look at the puppet.
"Maybe that's why he asked for so many soul shards? He uses shards to create servants?"
"No… I don't think he even needs soul shards, actually. I think he just wants to be rich."
"...Rich?"
The puppet glanced at Seishan.
"Didn't you read his file?"
"Yes, of co- Oh. Right. A kid from the outskirts would definitely want to get rich. I see."
And as the Queen was about to continue speaking, her mouth hung open in slight surprise.
"...Already?"
Sunless had already begun his slaughter.
Something the Queen had conveniently forgotten to mention was that the Fallen Demon wasn't alone. It had a small horde of beasts alongside it too…
But she already felt the deaths of many of the horde as they began to rise as pilgrims.
And less than a minute later, the horde was silent.
The Queen silently watched as the horde slowly made their way to the Jade Palace. On the back of one of the faster Fallen Beasts sat a beautiful woman with auburn hair.
"Lazy boy…"
Sunless had hitched a ride with one of the pilgrims, choosing to not walk back.
Seishan hid a small laugh at the sight.
As the horde got closer, the puppet and Seishan dropped down from the edifice to meet him.
"Well done, Sunless."
"How on earth did you kill them so fast?"
Sunny grimaced as he attempted to get the viscera off his clothes.
"Simple, I just killed them quickly."
Turning to them, he gave them a frustrated look.
"Can you ladies please tell me how to get blood out of my goddamn hair? This is driving me mad!"
The puppet and Seishan both glanced at each other and snickered before walking towards him.