Nephis watched the Twilight Keepers having fun with Sunny's shadows, she sat on a small hill in the synthetic garden, she rested her chin on her palm, tapping her cheek with her index finger
'Where's Sunny' she thought to herself in frustration
She had looked for Sunny ever since he disappeared from the basement and couldn't find him for a couple of hours. Why was she looking for him so diligently? Because she thought he had died and when he finally came back after 10 months, he decided to just stay in the basement for 5 days straight, without even coming up for food!
'.... Damn bastard'
So now she was just resting in the garden
The cool breeze caressing her cheek, the warm sun blazing down on her, watching everyone have fun in the house where she thought she would be alone forever
'Screw this, I'm asking Cassie' Nephis stood up
Nephis entered the house and started searching for Cassie and/or Sunny. Her first stop was the kitchen, but no one was there, her next stop was the dining room but only Effie and Kai was there
She went up to them and asked
"Have you guys seen Sunny or Cassie?"
Kai shook his head
"I haven't seen him since the basement" Kai took a sip of his tea
Effie looked up from her feast and grinned, with a mischievous gleam in her eyes
"Why are you looking for your boyfriend? Miss him already?"
Nephis slammed her hands on the table with embarrassment and said in a high pitched tone
"He's not my boyfriend!" Nephis ears were red as she frowned at Effie
Effie nodded slowly
"Sure. Anyway, he's in his bedroom, Cassie told me" Effie continued to obliterate her food
Nephis quickly went to his room. And soon she found it, she opened the door without knocking
And she saw Sunny sleeping on the bed like an koala
'... Koala is an extinct animal, why did I suddenly think of that?'
She quietly walked towards Sunny. When she did, she crouched down and poked Sunny's cheeks playfully
'Squishy' Nephis didn't notice a smile on her face
Sunny groaned and grappled Nephis, pulling her close and turning to the other side, pulling Nephis with him
Then he mumbled
"... I can't protect you if you wander around" Sunny's breathing was intense but slowly became steady again
Nephis didn't want to be next to Sunny because she was afraid of what Sunny would think of this, but she also didn't want to leave so early, this was a very well-earned rest!
Outside meanwhile...
'Wow Neph, you're really getting bold' Cassie smiled at herself before sliding down Medusa as the Twilight Keepers cheered her on
After a couple of hours, Sunny stirred in his sleep. He tried to move up but felt something on his left arm
He glanced at the source of the weight, then his eyes widen in shock. Silver hair locks, alabaster skin, the expression of calmness
'Nephis?!' Sunny allowed himself to appreciate her beauty before think up a way to escape unnoticed
Before he could however. Nephis groaned and moved her arms from Sunny's side to his head, wrapping her arms around his head, she pulled him towards her chest
Sunny was almost swallowed-literally and figuratively-in euphoria before pulling himself out
'I should wake her up' Sunny gently pried Nephis arms
When he did, Nephis grabbed him again and mumbled something under her breath. Sunny gave up and tapped Nephis on her arm
"Hey, wake up" Sunny kept tapping on her arm until she made a reaction, and that reaction wasn't quite like what he expected
"Shush, let me enjoy this a bit longer" Nephis mumbled as she pulled Sunny closer
Sunny groaned and basically hit Nephis
"Wake up!" He shouted
Nephis slowly opened her eyes and looked down to lock eye contact with Sunny
"What are you doing down there?" Nephis didn't notice the position they were in
"Nothing. Now could you let me go?" Sunny returned her gaze
Nephis raised an eyebrow before turning entirely red, but Sunny didn't know that because it was dark and he could only see in black and grey
"E-right, sorry" Nephis let go of Sunny
Sunny took a breather and sighed
"Ouch, well, I'm going to get food, wanna come?" Sunny massaged his neck
Nephis nodded and Sunny helped her out of the bed. They opened the door to see the cohort there
Effie was grinning, Cassie was smiling, Kai seemed uncomfortable
"So, how was it?" Effie started
Sunny stared at her before saying
"Not dealing with this, I want to eat" Sunny moved past the to the kitchen
Nephis spared the cohort a glance before quickening her pace to follow Sunny. She held his hand and walked next to him with a small smile
They made their into the kitchen. Sunny made waffles this time, with Nephis helping
Then a Twilight Keepers came in and asked
"Hey, could you cook for everyone? We have enough ingredients" Sid looked at them before smirking
"Oh Lady Nephis, sorry to intrude" Sid made a quick tactical retreat
Sunny and Nephis looked at where Sid was standing at before going back to cooking. They made a bunch of desserts and food for everyone
Sunny made a few tendrils to carry the plates, he didn't try making arms because he wasn't sure if it would work yet
Everyone was quite surprised at the amount of dishes but was quickly disappointed when all of it went to Effie
"Don't worry, there's more" Sunny went back to the kitchen
He brought out all of the dishes with the help of Kai and Nephis. Everyone dug into their food
"When i thought Lady Nephis food was good, Sunny's desserts are a whole other level!" Sid devoured her food
------ 2 days later
Sunny was siting in a café waiting for someone. The cafe was quite near to Rain's school so he chose this spot to meet Jet
After a while, Jet appeared and walked to Sunny before sitting down
She looked at him and raised an eyebrow
"Why are you wearing a hoodie?"
Sunny shrugged and said
"I'm quite popular so I am forced to do this"
Jet nodded and cleared her throat
"Anyway, the purpose of this meeting is that I am hereby asking you to drop everything and enlist with me to go to Antarctica" Jet sighed rubbed her eyes
Sunny took a sip of his coffee, grimaced, and then said
"May I ask for the purpose"
Jet sighed and rubbed both of her eyes this time, then said
"I can't tell you in such a public area, but I'll tell you the specifics later. And I'm sorry for asking you this when you just came back from the Dream Realm"
Sunny nodded before saying
"I understand"
Jet smiled before nodding
"Also, you never told me you had a True Name"
Sunny forced out a smile, choosing his words carefully
"Yeah, I never told you becaus-" Sunny was cut off by Jet
"I understand why you didn't, you're an outskirts rat like me, except for the fact that you're smarter. Anyway, you have to tell me your decision in two months" Jet crossed her arms
Sunny nodded, slight thankful that Jet understood
"I will" Sunny finished his coffee
Jet was about to leave before Sunny felt a presence behind him. And he remembered that presence quite well
"Where have you been?" Nephis loomed over Sunny while everyone stared at her in shock and disbelief written all over their faces
Sunny coughed and looked behind to look at Nephis, making a strained smile he said
"Here, just catching up to my friend, that's all"
Nephis furrowed her eyebrows before taking a look at Jet. Jet waved her hand and said
"Hello Lady Changing Star, quite an honor meeting you" Jet made a tired smile
Nephis examined her before nodding and looking back at Sunny
"I have been searching for you since you disappeared this morning" Nephis frowned
Sunny laughed awkwardly before saying
"Why did you want to look for me?"
Nephis opened her mouth but then closed it with a bit of red on her ears, she then spoke
"It's almost time to anchor yourself to the Sanctuary of Nocis" Nephis glanced at Jet again before staring into Sunny's eyes
Sunny nodded slowly before standing up
"I'm send you the credits for the bill later" Sunny told Jet as she nodded
"Hope Clan Valor won't try to recruit you relentlessly" Jet waved at the as she chugged her coffee that recently arrived
Nephis nod as she grab Sunny by the hand and pulled him out of the café. They saw Rain standing awkwardly near the entrance with Sid and Gorn near her
"Come on, if you contract the Nightmare Spell, you'll be the most prepared person ever!" Sid patted Rain on the shoulder
Gorn nodded, but then he noticed Nephis and Sunny approaching
"Lady Nephis, Sunny, shall we head to the designated location for Saint Tyris to come pick us up?" Gorn bowed a little
Sid noticed Nephis and Sunny as she waved her hands. Rain followed Sid's example awkwardly
Nephis still held Sunny's hands as she spoke
"Yes. Hello Rain, your brother is right here" Nephis pulled Sunny closer
Rain looked at Sunny with a small smile and asked
"Do you want to meet with my adoptive parents next week?" Rain shifted her weight on one foot to the other
"Sure" Sunny smiled before Nephis pulled on him again
"Sorry for making you two part so early but we're already a bit late" Nephis patted Rain head then walked off with a small another small apology
Sunny didn't question anything as he followed Nephis throughout the city. He enjoyed the view of the city but was confused at two things. One, why was Nephis holding his hand, two, why was everyone giving him strange looks
But no matter because they were at the spot where they were supposed to meet Saint Tyris
When they did, Sunny saw a composed blonde-haired woman standing straight with an expressionless face. To her side, a carefree man with straw hair and a small beard
The woman noticed them and asked
"Are you two ready to depart?"
Sunny and. Nephis nodded which prompted the lady to grab both of their shoulder, then she closed her eyes and concentrated
Then all three of them became white sparks in the air as they dissapaited
Sunny felt water around his leg as he groaned
"Again? The Spell hates me I swear" he grumbled
Nephis face didn't change but he could tell she found it quite funny. She helped Sunny out of the small pond as they noticed a small imprint on the altar
"What's that" Sunny pointed at it
Saint Tyris looked at it before saying
"There was a small obsidian dagger here but your friend, Acended Cassia managed to get it"
Both of them nodded as they went on a involuntary tour of the place. Sunny took a few looks around before Saint Tyris allowed them to go
Sunny summoned Crene and he got on it, Nephis followed and sat behind him
"That's a awesome Echo" The same man from the waking world grinned as he looked at Crene
He walked around Crene before stopping abruptly
"Right, my name is Roan, nice to meet you Acended Sunless, Acended Nephis" he reached out his hand to shake Sunny's
Sunny took his hand and nodded
"Nice to meet you too, I thought people from Valor would be serious looking but you're a nice surprise"
Roan laughed as he sent them off
"Have a nice journey"
Sunny and Nephis nodded as Crene took off. Sunny saw a ton of islands but Crene was moving at insane speed
"Can she get any slower?" Nephis asked
"Of course she ca-. Its an her?!" Sunny screamed as Crene finally slowed down
"She is, one of the Twilight Keepers checked"
The journey to the island they were supposed to go to was in sight. Sunny told Crene to land there as she sped up to reach it faster
Soon they landed with no problem whatsoever, Sunny saw Cassie standing far away from a field of flowers. Which was a problem because Crene was walking towards the field of flowers
Sunny was confused but didn't try to stop Crene as she made her way towards it with a light strud
Nephis was confused but just got off to talk with Cassie
Sunny watched as Crene slowly walked closer and closer to the field of flowers before stopping at its edge
Crene jumped with her front legs to throw Sunny off, Sunny fell down as he looked at Crene with a confused expression
Crene glanced at Sunny before standing on air, above the flowers, before making her way inward
"What the hell?" Sunny mumbled
Sunny dusted himself off before walking towards Cassie and Nephis. Nephis stared at where Crene disappeared behind a wall before asking Sunny
"Why did she throw you off?"
Sunny shrugged
"How would I know? But she seemed to be looking for something" Sunny frowned as he stared at where Nephis was staring at as well
Soon, Crene walked out on a hardened piece of air under her. She slowly walked over until she was in front of Sunny
"What do you have there?" Sunny looked down to see two shadows, one had wings while the other did not
Suddenly, the shadow made its way towards Sunny and it got absorbed by him
[You have slain an Awakened Terror, Nightmare]
[Your Shadow grows stronger!]
[Your have acquired a new Shadow]
Sunny was confused but quickly summoned the runes and read it. He then quickly summoned the new shadow as the new steed stepped out of his shadow
Nightmare glanced at Crene, as Crene brushed against Nightmare side
Sunny then checked his Shadow Fragments and was pleasantly surprised
[Shadow Fragments:(1981/7000)]
'Nice!'
He grinned to himself but shook his head to clear his mind. He hopped onto Nightmare
Nephis and Cassie climbed onto Crene. Crene made the air harden beneath Nightmare hooves so he could run on air
All 5 of them went through this islands quickly until they arrived at Shipwreck Island
They landed at the amazed sight of the Twilight Keepers that were meant to guide them to Ebony Tower
Everyone got on the flying ship that Sunny excitedly examined every nook and cranny. Nephis followed Sunny silently, Cassie followed to give both of them a tour
And when Cassie showed them her office, she closed the door and summoned a Memory to keep the conversation secret
Sunny stayed vigilant, and rightfully so! He got betrayed by her to become a slave! The only reason he didn't try to kill her was that he still slightly care for her and Nephis reasoning with him to not kill her
Nephis stayed calm because she doubted Cassie will try something like betraying them
Cassie turned around, which was weird since she was blind. Then she spoke
"... Have you gotten Shadow Weave?"