"Yes, you are."
'I should've known.' Looking at the boy, Nephis reflected.
The conversation. No. These entire charade didn't matter at all. Not everyone will have the same taste. Even thinking about it is just foolish.
'Was it arrogance? Pride?'
Unaware of what she deeply desired, it was set aside. The extreme suspicion remained, but the inconsistency made the boy free of doubt. But people change just like the people close to her.
"I understand" Her expression remains unchanged.
His eyes every so slightly trembled.
'Afraid? he is afraid... of me?'
From her looks, everything seems so different. The feeling of being alienated.
'Even now, I'm being avoided. Left Behind.' Knowing his fears did not mean the problem was with her.
Sunny saw something different, the image of his rapist remained in his mind, the last moment before truly delving into darkness.
The feeling of attraction, with his innocence gone replaced by something vile. He sees the world much darker than before. Although he wasn't aware of his attraction came from his longing, the warmth of his mother.
The conversation ended, the two had a few interaction being at the same place. They soon stand before the gates of the academy. The sheer size showcase the might of the academy.
Sunny thought of his upbringing, returning to his gang and discovering it has disbanded. A few remained but the core people was gone.
The boss died succumbed to the nightmare and never awakened. Master jet being near was dispatched quickly.
Sunny wasn't sure if it was fate or is he just destined to see everyone vanish immediately. Not that he cared much but the gang did gave him a home.
Now, standing in front of the gate he marveled at it. While Nephis remained passive.
Not wanting to stand out, Sunny let her enter first. Knowing her fame would make him attract less attention. Sunny just recently realized Nephis was a princess, and to top it off, a princess of the immortal flame clan.
Despite the outstanding dreamers within the academy, some even cuter and physically attractive than the princess. Fame is far more intriguing and well known than any dreamer he saw.
Although he planned to avade attention some legacy clan members still came to him. The legacy Clans also sent their new dreamers into the academy to promote team work as nobody can survive alone in dream realm.
Some people unaffiliated to the clans but on the government also joined, one of them with her flaw being obvious.
"Who are you to be with the princess of the immortal flame."
"A bystandered. I didn't even know who she was." Fearing they would ash him about his true name he choose to deflect attention, yet more would continue to address it like it was their duty.
Luckily, they see him too unassuming. Being malnourished aided him, letting others quickly leaving him alone.
After two days, everyone has a good understanding of each others. Sunny Had seen Masters like Jet, every single one of them are suspiciously female though.
Seeing their cores, it was exceptional but not as big as Master Jet, although Jet misunderstand his glare. The difference on their core made her appear above the rest. As someone who helped him find his sister, he is indebted to her.
The dreamers, the awakened, and the masters. All of it is an entirely new experience but not as drastic as his first nightmare. It's horrors lingered, Sunny could not see everyone in the eyes without fear. And his true name made his paranoia even worse.
Yet one particular person did not invoked such dilemma. A hope formed in him, sitting at the corner of the cafeteria. Her flaw was immediately known just by looking at her.
Cassia The Blind.
It became her nickname, although it wasn't meant as an insult but a reality that she might die first in winter solstice.
Sunny felt pity knowing he had something in common with her. Experiencing blindness, he knew very well how hard it is to survive with such affliction.
He couldn't see her eyes covered by cloth, it seems she has something to say, although Sunny was already leaving.
Entering the room has been familiar to Sunny, the books, chess pieces, multiple instructions lay on the table and on the ground.
At the center was a man, known for discovering citadels.
"Good morning, Sir Julius." Sunny greeted him first.
The man with strands of grey hair then faced him with enthusiasm.
"My greatest disciple! Sunny! I have much more to teach you!"
Julius was an explorer, studying dreamrealm has been his dream since the first citadel was conquered. As young man he knew it was his calling.
Now with age, he realized he won't always be young, and with his course not being as popular as teaching combat he was still greatly valued, just with his accomplishments alone rivaling the great scientist Obel.
Seeing Sunny for the first time, he already looks unremarkable, clear signs of being overworked and malnutrition. Although awakening helped him but not much. Being feminine doesn't make one standout especially with dreamers more handsome and beautiful.
"You might need a few months to fix your problem with malnutrition. Here eat some more."
Julius was hellbent on helping his student, most people didn't last opting for another course but this one remained and most of all, his capacity to memorize far exceeds his own.
It first became apparent when Sunny tried chess for the first time. As an outskirts boy, Julius pitied him. He was also troubled, how would he teach him if he only has more than a week. At first it didn't seem much, expectations are low. yet with just three sessions, the boy memorized every rules and strategies shown to him.
After a dozens more, his talent was crystal clear. Memorization and retention of vast amount of memories. No beginner would be this good, Julius remarked.
So Julius planned to make him his successor.
For someone to be his successor they first needed to survive. Teaching him how to swim, how to cook, and how explore various terrains. Although Sunny couldn't execute proper form and skill, it was clear Sunny remembers what the images and descriptions.
Copying it one to one is still a challenge but the book is engrained in him. Learning language wasn't much of a problem, being thought by his mother who likes poetry helped him adjust to new words.
Within three days he became proficient with every basic survival guide from Julius. Although Julius had said it was just the basics, in fact it was every knowledge he had gathered that can help Sunny survive dreamrealm.
The greatest challenge was teaching Sunny cartography, Sunny is bad at drawing and even bad at calculating distance.
Yet Julius saw something even more remarkable, everytime a mistake is pointed out to Sunny. Even if Sunny couldn't understand what he meant, he remembered the mistake. From drawing bad to decent within a day.
Although when it comes to his body movement its still difficult for sunny to improve much. Seeing and hearing is vastly more effective for sunny than feeling something. Moving awkwardly on the pool, running and climbing. Sunny was still an amature, but for Julius it didn't matter.
"Practice makes perfect." Julius was adamant to help his student, if he had found Sunny earlier he will have adopted him.
The remaining days was then spent on practice and learning new dialects.
For the princess her days was poured into refinement of her techniques. Sparing barehanded. Not once did she use her aspect, making her a great mistery for everyone. Including the people sent to go after her.
Thud!
Nephis crashed down, forming small cracks on the sparring arena. Loosing the fight, she didn't care. People either paired her with the most remarkable dreamer Caster or ridiculed her for loosing.
Caster would repremand those who ridiculed. Such actions naturally paired the two, as though they where lovers.
Although Caster thought something different.
'Dangerous.' Without a weapon or an aspect ability she could face him seriously even with his aspect ability making him extremely fast. Even if he didn't use full strenth it was still alarming.
Later that day, Nephis was training within her own room. Contemplating the previous spar, and occasionally thought of the boy who fooled her. The outskirts boy being the only one with zero affiliation, be it the clans or the government. Jet, a highly trusted Master already assured her of his background.
'Recruiting him wouldn't be so bad.'
"this would suffice for now" Satisfied with her progress. Her mind lingers to her past at the same time grabing her neck.
After a few moments, she finally held a sword. Beginning a new training, incorporating her family's swordsmanship to her aspect.
With the restrictions placed by her aspect, she needed to save as much energy as possible, to be efficient. Nephis was already accustomed to being highly lethal but with her aspect, she couldn't act the same as any dreamer.
The enhanced body did helped making her more dangerous but in dreamrealm, a dreamer is like an ant at the side of the beach waiting to be drowned by flowing water.
"Enduring is the only way."
Half of the days was spent minimizing her movements with the sword, and the other is enduring her flaw. Her mastery of barehanded training is now slowly being transferred to her sword.
Others would question the necessity of focusing on being barehanded but the idea of summoning her weapon is much detrimental especially when time wasn't on her side. Summoning takes a second or two, and within that moment, people sent after her might already reached her.
To always summon her weapon would also hinder her movement. Always being carried isn't practical. So the answer was to be prepared even without a weapon.
Her flaw, despite no flames to be seen, she felt herself burn. The fear of burning her family tormented her more than the flaw that engulfed her body.
Their screams still resonated with her everytime she burn herself with her flaw.
A few seconds, she can now maintain her ability comically short. Yet that small window of power will be her trump card. In time she might endure a minute or two, she was certainly of it.
Everyone was busy with preparations but one person fail to do so. As though she has already given up, it was none other than Cassia.