Chapter Summary: Seishan is having the time of her life.
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Rain felt the blade brush a strand of hair from her face.
The blade of her opponent missed her by millimeters, its edge producing a swishing sound even though the weapon itself was blunted.
Knowing better than to think herself safe, she kept moving, retreating step by step while focusing on the body language of her opponent. Most would focus on their weapon, which, as big sister had taught her, was the worst mistake they could make.
The body moved first, and the weapon second. If she focused only on the latter, she would be forced into a passive state that would inevitably lead to defeat. It was a lesson that had been drilled into her head through countless, humiliating defeats.
When she noticed the minute way her opponent's muscles flexed, Rain reassigned the "swift" and "flexible" epithets to herself. With the newfound speed, she was just able to twist out of the way in a display of gymnastics that would have broken dozens of bones without the latter epithet.
She cancelled "flexible" the moment she was out of immediate danger and applied "sharp" to her sword instead. The collision with her opponent's black weapon sent sparks everywhere, yet despite the impressive effect, she failed to make the woman budge even a millimeter or damage her weapon. She could have struck at a mountain range, and the result would have been the same.
An intelligible word left the woman's mouth, and the wind stirred immediately afterward. It picked up speed with terrifying swiftness, battering her from all directions, restricting her movement, and slowing her down sharply, even though she still had the "swift" epithet active.
Once upon a time, it would have been enough for her to give up. That, too, had been drilled out of her through plenty of training.
A fight wasn't over until you were dead, big sister had said.
Steeling her will, she cancelled the speed augmentation and did her best to resist the attacks coming her way while applying "stalwart" instead. It was just barely enough to stabilize her situation, as the wind wasn't strong enough to interfere so much anymore.
Unwilling to stay on the defensive, she unleashed a flurry of attacks of her own, only to see them all parried with ease. The wind kept harrying her all the while, focused tight for greater effect instead of spreading itself thin.
A dozen more exchanges happened in a matter of seconds, but eventually the truth became undeniable. She was starting to get tired, and her essence wasn't far from running out either.
Left with no other option, she decided to stake it all on one last attempt at victory.
The wind had started pushing at her back now, forcing her into awkward positions as she defended herself. This time, she let go of the "stalwart" epithet and applied "lightweight" instead. She felt herself being lifted off her feet immediately afterward and pushed toward her opponent.
Incredibly quickly, she was already face to face with the other woman, and while her sword was once more parried with ease, it left her just enough time and opportunity to enact her plan. Letting go of the hilt of her weapon with one hand, she quickly touched that of her opponent and tried to bestow a Name upon her.
Rain felt the start of a connection as deeper meaning flowed from her and into her opponent's body, carrying the power of her Aspect. Through that connection, she felt her essence flowing like a swift river into the vast ocean that was the other woman's reserves of essence.
Lightning-fast, the connection started to grow deeper, so much so that hope started to swell in her chest. Maybe this time would be the one?
Then, just like every time before, the connection broke before it could achieve anything, and all of her essence was gone, completely spent in the failed attempt.
Without essence to maintain it, the epithet vanished, and Rain's weight returned to normal. She only had a fraction of a second to lament every choice that had led her to this very moment before she fell face-first to the ground.
She remained there for a good minute, too embarrassed to look up after such a showing.
"You are improving."
Rain groaned and felt thankful that the ground muffled the sound.
She knew that big sister was being sincere, but it still stung. Even with how much Nephis had been holding back, Rain hadn't managed to land a single hit on her.
"What have you learned this time?" Nephis asked calmly.
Letting out another groan, she flipped over and stared at the sky above instead. She had to admit that it was quite pretty, just like the whole region was.
Having grown up in NQSC, Rain wasn't used to seeing so much nature all together. She kept expecting to see tall skyscrapers breaking it apart or hear the horns of thousands of PTVs. Their absence in the Dream Realm felt almost jarring. Though it would become even more so when the inevitable happened, and the Waking World became completely subsumed, taking with it the skyscrapers and the PTVs and everything else that reminded her of home in this strange land.
She had heard her parents speaking about how Earth's last generation was likely to be born soon, with all the following generations originating within the Dream Realm instead. Rain couldn't help feeling melancholic about that.
Shaking away the depressing thoughts, she focused back on the question.
"I need to become faster with my epithets," she admitted.
It was the first weakness that came to mind, and also the most glaring. The time she wasted dispelling one to invoke another was too much -even if it was just a few seconds- to be acceptable in battle.
Rain stood up at last, gratefully accepting the helping hand.
"Correct. What else?"
Red invaded her cheeks. "I have to stop trying to Name Saints."
Big sister quirked an eyebrow, as if to say, "You think?"
"Good enough," Nephis said instead, and then gave her an awkwardly encouraging pat on the arm.
Gods, but she was terrible at this part.
At least she was improving. Rain still had nightmares about that one time big sister gave her a wide, bright smile, following Cassie's advice.
"Should we continue?" Rain asked after recovering her breath.
Nephis shook her head. "It won't be long until we arrive. Go rest."
Outwardly, Rain put on a disappointed expression, as if there were nothing in the world she wanted to do more than keep going. Internally? She was cheering.
She enjoyed training with her big sister, but she wanted to take a break even more. She had been training nonstop to master her new ability and make it usable in combat, after all. Rain just didn't know how to say it without disappointing Nephis, so this was a much-appreciated way out.
Lazing around, here she came!
The breeze picked up right at that moment, carrying the smell of sweaty clothes stained with dirt to her nose.
Okay, she would take a bath first.
But nothing would stop her from lazing around afterward!
Letting go of her blunted weapon, which dissolved back into shadows a moment later, she ran back inside the Ivory Tower to take that bath.
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Feeling refreshed, Rain walked out of the building and headed in a specific direction.
A few minutes later, she arrived and lay down on one of the shadow hammocks tied to equally black trees. The vegetation was steadily recovering thanks to Shakti's efforts, but the damage had been so severe that even she couldn't fix it that quickly.
Just like how big sister was training her Shaping in an effort to become a more flexible fighter, Sunny was training his Aspect, trying to make his manifestations more diverse and long-lasting. His latest experiment was this resting area that he was trying to keep manifested at all times.
It sure worked for her. The shadow hammock was incredibly comfortable and positioned perfectly for the sun to feel warm without being stuffy.
"This is life," she exhaled, feeling the accumulated exhaustion melt out of her bones.
"It is," a relaxed voice replied.
Too comfortable to turn around, she settled for an epithet that improved her peripheral vision.
With it, she could just barely recognize the speaker as that Song princess who had joined them, wearing a modest one-piece red swimsuit that made her gray skin even more noticeable. What was her name again? Seishan?
"Yes," she replied in the same relaxed manner.
Huh? Did her Aspect allow her to read minds?
"No, but my ears allow me to hear what you're mumbling," came her dry reply.
Whoops. She was so relaxed that she had been thinking aloud.
Great, now she'd surely made a terrible first impression. Good job, Rain!
"Not really," Seishan replied lazily. "You are still far off from Hel. The first thing she told me when we met was that I was going to die horribly."
Growing redder by the moment, Rain firmly put her thoughts in order before replying.
"She's a seer, right? Death Singer might have been trying to warn you," she said awkwardly.
"We were eight."
How was she supposed to reply to that?!
"Is she always like that?" Rain asked tentatively.
"I'm afraid so."
"I'm sorry...?" she trailed off.
From her peripheral vision, she noticed Seishan snort, the action seeming quite odd coming from the elegant princess.
"No need to be so tense. I don't bite." Then, as if on second thought, she added, "Unless I'm hungry, that is. Though now that I think of it... I'm getting a little peckish."
Rain paled. Then she noticed the smirk growing on Seishan's face and pouted instead.
"That wasn't funny," she complained.
"Sorry." Seishan didn't sound particularly sorry. "That joke never gets old."
Pouting a little longer, she let it go.
Thinking back on it, it really was a little funny. She was going to get back at the Song princess for that, though.
Just as she was asking herself whether to continue talking, she noticed the great waterfall from which the Lake of Tears originated coming into view.
"What do you think is happening there?" Rain asked casually.
She didn't expect Seishan to know anything that couldn't be found in the reports, but any information could help. She had taken a look at them herself, and the situation sounded like one of those mystery drama shows she enjoyed watching. Rain couldn't help wanting to solve it.
Unlike her, Seishan didn't seem too interested. She even shrugged for extra emphasis.
"Don't know, don't care."
Rain blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Changing Star and Sunless are the ones tasked with solving this issue," she replied lazily. "Meanwhile, I'm on vacation. Let them handle it."
Well, Rain couldn't quite blame her. She was aware of how much the Princess of Song had been working to keep things stable, so she couldn't be faulted for wanting to enjoy her rest.
"What are your plans then?"
Seishan shrugged again. "Enjoy the sun, swim a little, and do absolutely nothing of value."
Rain couldn't deny that it sounded more tempting than spending days hunting for clues about the whereabouts of some elusive Nightmare Creature.
They continued talking after that, drifting from one idle topic to another.
Rain found herself relaxing more with every passing minute. Seishan wasn't at all what she had expected from one of Song's princesses.
And before long, they arrived at their destination.
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From up high, Rain had to admit that the sight was quite splendid under the rays of the setting sun.
The great waterfall known as the Weeping Mother formed the basin aptly named the Lake of Tears, which extended far into the distance, divided into numerous rivers along which many citadels could be seen.
The contrast was rather curious in Rain's opinion. Some regions of the Dream Realm were full of them, while in others they were so sparse as to be almost non-existent.
What was the logic behind it? How did the Spell decide? Could humanity make its own if it were to discover the secret? The latter was the most interesting for her.
Rain didn't hate fighting, but she could easily admit that she would rather be an explorer or an architect. The idea of one day building her own Citadel sounded far more appealing than battling day in and day out against antediluvian horrors.
In fact, it sounded great, spending her days traveling from place to place, finding wondrous new sights wherever she went, coming face to face with the marvels and horrors of the Dream Realm while leaving a new bastion for humanity at her every step.
Maybe one day, right now, they had other things to do. They had arrived at last.
After leaving a crew behind to watch over the Ivory Tower, they descended to meet with the delegation sent to greet them.
It was, if nothing else, interesting to see. The gathered Awakened wore different colors and insignias, marking their allegiance to the various clans surrounding the lake, making for a rather funny-looking group. While the Nightmare Creature they were here to hunt primarily preyed on the Lake of Tears, the other citadels had also been struck, giving the nearby clans a vested interest in seeing the issue resolved soon.
That was the polite explanation. Rain was quite sure that they were also here to meet and, with some luck, develop connections with the future heirs of Clan Song.
Leading the delegation was a very handsome young Master with tanned skin and ashen hair. After reviewing the information, she recognized him as Rogar, the eldest son of the Saint of Sorrow and substitute leader of Clan Sorrow until his father's return. Which meant that the mundane girl standing somberly beside him must have been Tamar of Sorrow.
The man stepped forward and, after a polite bow, started introducing himself and the other leaders of the delegation. She managed to listen to all of three names before losing interest.
Her gaze drifted back to the girl, Tamar, and she couldn't help snickering a little when she noticed just how attentively she was listening. It was just too adorable how serious she looked despite being younger than Rain.
Fortunately, the introductions didn't last long before they started moving toward the citadel of Clan Sorrow. It was already nearing night, and the investigation wouldn't start until tomorrow.
Before long, she was seated once more before a long table, enjoying a sumptuous banquet prepared with incredible care. Though in her humble opinion, it couldn't compare to the meals prepared by Nephis or Sunny.
Speaking of the two, they were currently talking with Rogar and a Master from another clan, trying to gather more information.
It didn't take her long to spot the others.
On one end of the hall, Kai was being besieged by a group of Awakened of both genders. Given his uncomfortable expression, they were talking about his past as an idol, a topic that he hadn't enjoyed discussing much ever since the dissolution of his band.
Meanwhile, Effie was animatedly speaking with a grizzled Awakened who seemed to have more scar tissue than skin. From what she could hear, they were sharing hunting experiences.
Finally, there was Cassie, who drifted from conversation to conversation, entering and leaving with an elegance that Rain honestly envied. She, too, was fishing for more information.
Rain herself could have easily participated in any of them, but at the moment, she didn't feel like it.
"Are you enjoying your food?" someone asked politely.
She turned her head to the left, where Tamar of Sorrow was seated, eating with the manners she would expect at a formal gala.
"Yep," she replied casually, popping the "p."
Given the way she scrunched up her face, Tamar didn't seem to appreciate it very much.
Rain barely managed to stifle a laugh. That serious face, combined with her chubby cheeks, was just too adorable. She had to fight hard not to grab and squeeze them like she would a hamster.
"That's good." Tamar nodded and continued eating.
Rain blinked, equal parts amazed and horrified by the realization that someone more awkward than big sister existed.
Well, that wouldn't do.
Tamar was the closest thing to someone her age in the whole room, so they were going to have fun together, whether she wanted to or not.
For some reason, the girl shivered right at that moment, but Rain didn't think much of it.
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Seishan leaned back in her chair, comfortably resting while enjoying her drink.
It was some sort of juice made from a local fruit that was sweet and tangy. Its color was also a very dark red that, under certain lighting, could pass for blood. Everyone in the room likely knew her Flaw, which made it quite amusing to see those who looked -not as subtly as they thought- her way flinch when she took a sip.
She would have to ask which fruit it was and buy a batch or two for herself once she returned to Ravenheart.
To her trained eyes, the banquet was going well enough.
Nobody had made a fool of themselves just yet, the food was excellent, and the drinks even more so. The entertainment wasn't half bad either.
Careful not to give herself away, she looked toward Nightingale, who had reluctantly been convinced to sing.
She wasn't a fan of his, and the lyrics were terrible in her opinion, but that didn't take away from just how mesmerizing his voice was. No wonder so many of her handmaidens had been enamored with the young man. His looks certainly helped.
Her eyes drifted to young Rain next, who was gesticulating wildly while saying something to that girl, Tamar. Given the look on the Sorrow scion's face, she wasn't too convinced by whatever it was that Rain was trying to persuade her of.
Seishan took another sip of her drink, her interest piqued by whatever it was that they were scheming.
Rain was a person of interest to her clan. Her status as the little sister of Sunless more than warranted it. The fact that she had also been infected by the Spell and overcome it at such a young age was quite impressive, too.
Aware that hiding any of those facts had become impossible due to circumstance, they engaged in a polite fiction instead. One in which her clan pretended not to know that the young girl who looked like a carbon copy of their heir was his sister, and was instead just another -particularly short- Firekeeper. Meanwhile, Changing Star and Sunless pretended not to notice their spying attempts.
But that was a matter for another moment. She was curious about what they were planning to do now.
When they didn't do anything after a while, she turned her disappointed gaze away and toward Raised by Wolves instead.
The Amazonian woman was engaged in a drinking contest with half the room and beating all of them with staggering ease.
Seishan had to admit that she was reluctantly impressed. The image of someone drinking a whole barrel of Awakened-grade liquor and then demanding more wasn't one she was going to forget anytime soon.
Just as she was about to turn away, she heard a loud crash coming from Rain and Tamar's direction.
Sure enough, there they were, looking at the shattered remains of a very expensive, finely crafted, and most importantly sturdy candelabra that Seishan was sure had still been hanging from the ceiling just a moment ago.
Rain looked sheepish, while poor Tamar had turned as pale as a sheet.
Not bothering to hide her laughter, Seishan threw her head back and let it all out. She only laughed harder when she saw the expression on Rogar's face as he closed his eyes like he was mourning the death of a cherished family member.
Ah, she sure was happy not to have to deal with that.
Her vacation was going great.
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Sunny hummed a jaunty tune he had heard somewhere while inspecting the Lake of Tears.
While his main body was busy inside the citadel of Clan Sorrow, dealing with all the talking, one of his shadows was already taking a look around. The poor bastard had it coming for always lazing around.
He would pick Nightmare Creatures any day over social events.
The first thing he could tell was that he had no idea what he was looking for. The reports hadn't been of much help, as nobody had actually seen hide nor hair of whatever it was haunting this place.
One day, an Awakened of Clan Sorrow simply disappeared without leaving a trace behind while patrolling the bank of the lake. Such a thing tended to happen in the Dream Realm, so after organizing a punishing expedition to cull all the Nightmare Creatures they could find, they called it a day.
Four days later, the same thing happened to an Awakened of Clan Sheng, and they weren't so lackadaisical anymore.
Two weeks had already passed since that first disappearance, and the disappearances kept happening, no matter how hard they tried to find the Nightmare Creature or how extensive their preventative measures were. As of now, six Awakened and one Master had already disappeared, and the surrounding clans were starting to get a little nervous.
So far, the only clues were the fact that people only disappeared during the daytime, and that it didn't matter whether they were alone or in groups.
Which wasn't much to work with, if he was honest.
Even with his shadow sense expanded to its maximum range, he found nothing unusual.
The only things lurking beneath the lake were a few Dormant and Awakened Nightmare Creatures. He absentmindedly skewered them with Shadow Manifestation before moving on. They could have been the culprits -though it was unlikely- if only Awakened had been affected, but the Master couldn't have been taken by them.
Sunny sighed, resigning himself to searching all over the affected areas.
He stepped away from the lake, filled with crystal-clear, mirror-like water that reflected everything so perfectly that it was impossible to look into its depths.
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Cassie smiled politely and left the conversation.
Her feet carried her to another in no time, which she inserted herself into as though she had always been present.
There were many things her Ascended ability was useful for, and being able to listen to all the conversations in a room at the same time was among them. Though as much of a blessing as it was, it was also a curse.
Cassie could certainly do without all the information about the latest messy divorce, caused by a very scandalous affair between two clan leaders behind their respective spouses' backs.
Some forms of knowledge were a terrible thing to have. It was such a pity that knowledge also happened to be her Source Element.
As she drifted from conversation to conversation, exchanging polite words, inquiring about the well-being of each and every person as though she were a lifelong friend, or merely listening to whatever they had to say, knowledge kept accumulating until it overflowed like a too-full glass and spilled out.
Whenever that happened, she was there, ready to absorb it all and push herself that much closer to becoming a Saint.
It hadn't taken her long to find out what her Source Element was, though admittedly, she cheated shamelessly through the use of her Aspect.
Ah, her Aspect. Her biggest curse, and her biggest blessing.
Many times, Cassie had asked herself what could have been if she hadn't had it. If she didn't know so much, yet was capable of so little. If she hadn't been forced to make that terrible choice so long ago. Or if she had chosen differently.
What if she had chosen Sunny instead of Neph?
What if she had trusted them and chosen neither?
Or if she had been brave enough to stay that terrible day instead of running away so as not to witness the two people she loved the most kill each other?
She shook her head and, after convincing the speaking woman that the gesture wasn't directed at her, cast the thought out of her mind.
It was a slippery slope. One, she couldn't avoid falling down from time to time.
The past was set, and there was no going back.
The future, however... nobody knew better than her just how malleable it was.
She had personally seen countless catastrophes, watched as everyone and everything she held dear died or was destroyed.
In one future, Sunny returned too late, and all of them but Nephis died to Valor's assault.
In another, he returned too early, and they cancelled the attack, leading to an even worse outcome down the line.
In yet another future, they weren't there when the Gate beside Rain's school opened, and a Nightmare Creature managed to kill her against all odds.
Morgan didn't have her epiphany and continued being a thorn in their side. Ki Song considered them too much of a threat and chose to kill them. Anvil attacked them personally at the Immortal Flame Manor. Asterion decided to return even earlier and arrived before they were ready. The Government lacked the courage to stand up to the Sovereigns and didn't accept the House of Night's offer.
And a thousand other futures. All of them leading to inevitable doom. All of them unacceptable.
Cassie had seen them all, studied them, learned what made them tick, and in turn, she had shattered them all, rendering them impossible.
Fate was a mercurial parent, professing its love one moment, dangling before her the image of a perfect future in which everyone was safe and happy, only to take it away and show her one that was the exact opposite the next.
[Beloved Child of Fate], the Spell sure had a cruel sense of humor.
Cassie wasn't arrogant enough to think herself capable of outwitting Fate, or that sick bastard of a god, Merias. Nor did she think herself ready to overcome the Daemon of Fate's machinations even eons after they were dead.
She wasn't the strongest, and neither was she the smartest. In fact, on the grand chessboard, she was likely little more than a pawn. No, her strength lay in being able to try time and time again until the future was changed. Cassie didn't care whether it took one attempt or a million. She would persevere until she succeeded.
More important than her determination was her ability to learn. From her own mistakes, from the failures of others, even from Fate's own machinations.
And learn from Nephis and Sunny. The conviction of one, and the spite of the other.
Fate had already been broken, changed by the actions of all three of them.
Cassie wasn't satisfied with that one instance, and neither was she with every successive one. The only thing that would satisfy her was seeing it so thoroughly destroyed that there would be no chance it could ever threaten them again.
So she smiled politely, engaged in small talk, and built connections that would be useful in the future. All the while growing stronger with each word.
All so that one day, she would be standing beside them instead of cowering behind their backs.