Kai pushed open the door. Holding it for Cassie, the two of them entered into a wide, quiet reception hall. Kai quietly whispered into Cassie's ear the details of their surroundings — the uniform marble floor, the large glass windows, and the fancy lounge to their right with couches and carpets and glowing vending machines. They walked up to the receptionist, then were led by her into an elevator after she realized just who they were.
They ascended multiple floors. The halls blurred as they passed door after door.
"And here we are!"
The receptionist smiled shyly, eyeing Kai furtively as she stopped at an open door, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Thank you for your help, ma'am." Kai shot her a smile of his own.
She nodded hastily, giggled, then turned away and retreated back down the hallway. Cassie trailed her fingers along the wall and entered through the doorway. Kai glanced at the retreating figure once, sighed, and followed after Cassie into the interior. It was homey, with four or five different tables and several isolated personal offices for the employees. Said employees stared at them with open shock. Someone standing at one of the tables almost tripped over the plethora of wires, cables, and electronic equipment that was scattered around.
"O-Oh… Oh! Sir Nightingale and Lady Song of the Fallen! Y-You're here! Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm the director here!"
He enthusiastically ushered them in. Then, with a strange glint in his eyes, he stole a couple snack bars and a bottle of water off someone's desk and offered it to them.
"Did you eat breakfast?! Are you famished?! You must be! Here! Take this!"
Kai smiled awkwardly. "That won't be necessary…"
The director practically threw the items back at his employee.
"No problem! No problem at all." He cleared his throat. A modicum of professionalism began to return to his voice. "Ahem, anyway, I'm so glad that the two of you — the two of you — could make it."
He pulled out two chairs from the largest table.
"Here. Take a seat."
Cassie and Kai accepted the offering gratefully.
"It's a pleasure to be here, Director," Cassie said.
"Agreed," Kai echoed. "I hope we can be of help."
He nodded fervently. His system communicator booted up.
"Yes. Now, if I could ask you some questions…"
The meeting began. Cassie started first, recounting the earliest events from hers, Sunny's, and Nephis' journey. She didn't talk about the Soul Devourer or of their sail across the dark sea. Her face grew strained when recounting how Sunny had left to live within the Dark City for some time.
Thirty or so minutes passed.
After reaching the point where Sunny had returned, Kai chimed in. He had been a very active member of the cohort during that time. He talked about their encounter with the Lord of the Dead, and just when he moved onto their ride aboard the Statue of the Builder, Cassie stiffened.
That was because she saw something in the future.
She saw an odd pair enter the room, and she looked upon them. When she had, as always, she used her Dormant Ability to see their Attributes, Aspect Name, and Aspect Rank.
The first man's could belong to no other but Nico.
Aspect: [World Tree].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
But the second… the second shocked her.
Aspect: [Winter].
Aspect Rank: Sacred.
'Sacred,' she reluctantly repeated.
Who could that be? And what was that name? She had never seen an Aspect so matter-of-fact.
The stranger had only two Attributes.
Attributes: [Eye of the Storm], [Sanctum of Rime].
Cassie tried to focus on the first Attribute's description, but it was strangely fuzzy. The second came into focus much easier.
[Sanctum of Rime] Attribute Description: [A frozen heart pumps no blood, for the touch of crimson brings only impurity. None can divine from you strength nor weakness; all who try suffer the Curse of Rime.]
As Cassie felt the future begin to catch up to her, she saw farther — too far, where a tidal wave of cold settled onto her body like a physical weight. Her body froze, and a dreadful pain unlike anything she'd ever experienced threatened to tear her soul apart.
…Whatever would have come to pass from that future afterwards was lost to her as she deactivated her Dormant and Awakened Ability. Sweat trickled down her brow, and she steadied herself by leaning onto the table.
"—ashamed of yourself!" a voice boomed from the hallway. "That's what you 'ought to be! I accept your deal, and the first thing you do is dare order me to entertain some idiotic movie director?! Seriously!?"
There was a sigh, and the door was pushed open.
"Do control yourself, Tessai. We are guests here."
***
Nico scratched the side of his neck as he walked in. His eyes scanned over the stunned crowd, and he immediately recognized both Song of the Fallen and Nightingale at a center table. A scruffy guy with glasses and pronounced dimples — he seemed to be smiling in awe of Nico — sat across from them. He was presumably the director.
'Did something happen?'
His eyes instantly locked onto Cassia's unseeing ones. Right before he entered, she had felt a tremendous pang of pain and fear — so much so that Nico was a little unsettled himself. Stilling the slight tremor in his hands, he stopped before the table and gestured towards Tessai.
"Good afternoon. If you do not know, this is Tessai, the former lieutenant of the Castle Guard and a ten-year veteran from the Forgotten Shore. He is my colleague. I am Nico of Song, and we are here at your request, Director."
Tessai, behind him, stuffed his hands into his pockets and glared openly at anyone who dared meet his eyes.
The director practically fell out of his seat in enthusiasm.
He mumbled incoherently with a goofy smile, then seemed to remember himself and hastily jumped up. He pulled two chairs over from an empty desk.
"O-Oh, yes! Wow! You're here! Please, take a seat!"
Tessai plopped into his seat, and the little thing creaked miserably under his weight.
Nico gracefully sat down. As he did, his eyes shifted towards Nightingale.
'I wonder, what are you feeling?'
[Empath] twisted the veil of Nightingale's emotions into a vague understanding. The charming idol was surprised. He was emotional — that was a result of Nico's sudden appearance. However, he was also apprehensive. And he was… he was conflicted about Nico?
"W-Well then, Prince Nico, I wouldn't want to take too much of your time, so let's continue where we left off… We were just listening to Sir Nightingale describe their journey atop the builder statue."
Nico, pivoting the direction of his thoughts, nodded at the director.
'I'll think about that later.'
A moment passed, and the excited man also shook himself free from a daze. He schooled his face as much as possible before gesturing Nightingale. The enthralling man began again. Nico listened carefully as he told the events of their travels. They fought through two hordes of Nightmare Creatures, survived being atop the statue as it fought off a monstrous creature from the depths, and clung to the stone in the midst of a harsh storm.
'How evocative.'
It reminded Nico of his own journey through endless waves of horror, all-consuming rainstorms, and tentacle monsters that ripped Awakened Demon's end from end.
"Then we reached the Hollow Mountains…"
Nico recognized a faint terror in Nightingale's voice as he detailed the last leg of their journey.
'The first lord's crown. I should construct an enchantment of similar effect with my own sorcery.'
He hadn't even begun to unravel the delicate situation that was his own unique sorcery, but it was a good thought nonetheless.
"After that, there wasn't much left to do but return."
And that's when Nico stopped focusing on the conversation. He devoted more of his thought to something else — the distinct lack of accomplishments in Sunless' name. Nightingale never spoke of Sunless' abilities beyond his affinity to shadows, adept stealth, and scouting ability. There were no particularly noteworthy actions attributed to his name, and no mention of the Awakened Demon with a shadowy soul that served him.
Despite being the most famous Sleeper in the world, he was ever mysterious to—
"Prince Nico, would you like to speak now?"
Nightingale had evidently finished talking. Now, it was Nico's turn.
"A lot of your time in the Outer Settlement and Bright Castle is well known. So, I would like to ask of you just where you went, what you did, and why you left for your nine-month absence from the Dark City. Could I?"
Nico sat straight and clasped his hands together.
There were many conclusions people had drawn about his departure. People said he was cast out by Gunlaug. People said he had been chased out by some terrible Nightmare Creature. Some people even said he had never left at all, merely hiding somewhere in the Bright Castle until the time came for rebellion.
Naturally, they were all wrong.
He paused, recalling the memories easily. They were like vivid pictures, each with ideas and emotions — and the lack thereof — that flowed into his mind's eye. He glanced at Nightingale, then said, "I left because I was wounded."
He felt the shock of everyone in the room.
"My mind was degraded by a powerful foe, and because of it, my Flaw was unbearable."
Their perplexed faces were obvious to him. Out of everyone, only Song of the Fallen and Tessai seemed unaffected — the latter irritated and former forming a tentative understanding in her mind.
"In order to understand this, you must first understand my Flaw. It would be correct to say that I feel no emotions, but it would also be correct to say I feel more than any one of you ever could." His voice deepened, and as he continued, everyone subconsciously shivered. "Every emotion you feel — every moment of happiness, of anger, of joy, of sorrow, of excitement or of shock — is put upon me as well. So long as you exist within my vicinity, you will never be alone."
Nico leaned back and rested his head on his fist. He gestured lazily with his other hand.
"So, when you take into account the fact that my mind was currently damaged, I lived in a slum with hundreds of other depressed Sleepers, and I had just been forced to murder an innocent man at the Bright Lord's command, you may understand my decision."
At that statement, Nightingale's face became the most forlorn. He knew every word was the truth.
'That's the idea.'
Mincing words wasn't something Nico preferred — he always spoke the fewest, most concise ones possible — but liberties had to be taken when a lie detector existed in the same room.
The director's mouth hung wide open, stupefied.
"You may want to write that down, Director," Song of the Fallen helpfully mentioned.
"A-Ah, of course…"
He spent around half a minute scribbling away before Nico continued, regaling to them the events of his journey in order. He started from the slaying of Shaman and ended with escaping the Soul Devouring Tree. Everything else regarding his First Nightmare, Innate Ability, [Herald's Locket], Shaman's identity as a Specter, and the fact he could form multiple cores were omitted.
Song of the Fallen felt deeply unnerved when he spoke of the Soul Devouring Tree. Nico knew there was more to that, and that perhaps her cohort had encountered more in their two months before reaching the Bright Castle than was publicly known.
Still, what he told was accurate; it just wasn't the full story. The only thing Nico knew would be misinterpreted was the origin of his mental wound. The time was suspiciously close to when he fought Shaman, after all, and he made sure to mention its mind attack was exceedingly powerful.
It would be enough for the director and Nightingale to draw conclusions without blatantly lying.
Afterwards, Tessai said his piece. He discussed the cover story of Seishan and the other lieutenants. It was all true, though omitted relevant information regarding people's Flaws, Aspects, and occasionally malicious actions. The only people openly mocked were Gunlaug and Harus. He briefly glossed over the part everyone knew — the Dreamer Army's conquest of the Crimson Spire.
Though the giant's half-hearted recount was much less enthralling than Nico's, everyone paid close attention.
And then it was time to leave.
Nico wiped the non-existent dust off his pants, stood up, and shook hands with the director. He leaned a little closer when he did, gripped the man's shoulder with his other arm, and whispered into his ear:
"I know the government wants a propaganda piece for Changing Star, but I hope you will tell our full story too. It is a memory I wish to hold fondly, and if it is to my liking, expect riches far beyond whatever meager pay the government allows you."
Nico stepped away, then bid farewell to Song of the Fallen and Nightingale before exiting.
The blind seer's head stayed turned toward his back until he had closed the door.
On the drive back, both Tessai and Nico sat in the back of a luxurious PTV, the night sky of NQSC blooming over them as they sped down the empty streets.
The giant blatantly asked:
"Why go out of your way to meet these people? Did you know those two dogs would be there?"
Nico stared out the window, taking in the firmament of the moon and its scattered stars.
He ignored the second question.
"Reverence," was his answer.
Tessai spared half a glance at Nico.
"You want the director to revere you?"
Nico shook his head.
"The director is one person. I will have the entirety of the audience."
There was a moment of silence. Tessai snorted, his eyes rolling and lips curling into a sarcastic grin.
"I didn't think you cared about shit like popularity."
Nico didn't. He simply remembered the cold, and the stories told in it.
"In my First Nightmare, the only people I ever met were zealots." His voice was quiet but not small. "They followed the ways of Heart God — one of the six major deities, and the one who presided over emotions, souls, memories, hunger, and growth. He was apparently a benevolent being, and yet he had spawned the very horror that tortured them for a hundred years."
He turned towards Tessai, his eyes shining in the moonlight.
"It made me look at the world differently. It made me think: What must have Heart God done to keep their loyalty? Do you have any guesses?"
"…Is it because he brainwashed them?"
Again, Nico shook his head.
"No, and he didn't have to. He was a god. The god of gods. He was the pinnacle of divinity, the salvation of man, the most beautiful terrible thing to have ever existed. So, he did nothing, and the zealots still placed their faith upon him. Because if their god would not save them, who ever would?"
Tessai looked away, and the PTV grew quiet.
He couldn't help but wonder if those zealots were so different from himself.
And Nico, becoming closer and closer to Shaman each day, found himself reliving a shared memory from about three years ago.