In the next instant, the spell resounded in the dark void.
[Wake up, Lost from Light!]
Sunny's eyes flickered open. Looking up, he placed his hand on the edge of the pod and lifted himself up. Sunny looked around his large bedroom. He hadn't decorated it much... maybe a few things here and there, unlike some of his sisters...
It looked normal in his opinion, but any ordinary person who saw it would be flabbergasted by its sheer size, not to mention the decorations on the walls that cost thousands, if not millions, of dollars.
Sunny smiled. "I guess I'm back."
He saw a young girl, only a little younger than himself, resting her head on the bed and drooling in her sleep. It was none other than his sister, Rain. Sunny smiled again. 'Did she wait this whole time for me?'
He stretched his upper body before getting off the bed to do a few stretches for his lower body too.
'Damn, my body is so stiff!' Sunny whined internally. He was about to head for the shower when a sudden noise reached his ears. Sunny turned around only to see a punch flying toward him. With quick footwork, he moved to the side, dodging it. A smirk spread across his face when he saw who it was.
"Hello, Rain. Did you miss me?"
Rain looked at him with a pout. "It took you long enough to wake up! What happened for it to take that long?!" she yelled.
But then Sunny's eyes widened in horror as words slipped out of his mouth: "First, I found out I was a slave. Killed a few people. Awakened tyrant, killed the rest of them. Went up a mountain, killed the awakened tyrant and an awakened human, went into a temple, ended my nightmare, and got a divine aspect."
Rain blinked. "What are you talking about?"
Sunny's hands flew to his mouth, but pain surged through his head, forcing him to blurt out, "That's what happened in my nightmare."
"No, it isn't! Stop lying!" Rain's cheeks grew redder with every word that escaped Sunny's lips.
'This must be my flaw', Sunny thought. Does it have to be a question for it to act up?
Sunny smiled. "Rain, did you miss me?"
Rain's hands clenched, and then tears started streaming down her face. "I—I thought you weren't coming back! You took so long to get out! Two days!"
Sunny smiled and stepped forward, pulling her into a hug. Rain wrapped her arms around him, holding him as tightly as possible.
He patted her head as she cried into his shoulder. After a minute or two of nonstop sobbing, she finally let go and wiped her eyes.
"I—I'll tell everyone that you're finally awake. Go take a shower... you stink!" Rain puffed before walking out of the room.
As Sunny watched her retreating figure, a small smile crept onto his lips. 'She's grown', he thought, heading to the bathroom. Grabbing a towel and a change of clothes on the way.
Hot water streamed down Sunny's body. 'God, I feel like never getting out!' he thought miserably. He knew his sisters might break down the door if he took too long.
Sunny turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping a towel around his waist as he walked to his clothes. His bathroom was like a room in and of itself. He yawned as he passed the mirror.
That's right—my mirror. Sunny turned to face it, he was lost in thoughts of what he could have done differently in his nightmare so he forgot to check what had changed about his body.
He looked himself up and down. He was a lean young man with a muscular build and slightly long hair that reached his shoulders, pulled back into a loose knot. A few damp strands clung to his face.
Sunny smiled at his reflection. He had always been good-looking, but after becoming a Sleeper, it was like he'd become a different person. Awakening had really changed him.
He'd seen the same thing happen with his sisters, but it never failed to amaze him.
Sunny dressed and left the room, walking through the halls until he reached the dining area.
Before him sat his sisters—Rain, Bin, Silent, Moonveil, Howl, Revel, and Hel. The only one missing was Seishan.
They all turned toward him and smiled.
"So, you're finally out, huh? Took you long enough," Silent murmured.
"I really thought you weren't going to make it," Moonveil sighed.
"We're all going to die!" Hel shouted suddenly.
Sunny smiled. "I see none of you have changed."
"Yep! But I see you've gotten uglier," Howl snickered.
"If anything, I've gotten even more handsome," Sunny began to say but his flaw stopped him before he could lie about Howl getting uglier from the last time he saw her. So in the end he just glared at Howl.
"Okay, okay, that's enough, both of you," Revel interrupted before the bickering could turn violent.
Bin yawned as Sunny sat at the table. "So, what happened in your nightmare?" she asked curiously.
"You know, just killed some soldiers and slaves, killed an Awakened... oh, and an Awakened Tyrant too," Sunny said with a smile, trying to find a way around his flaw.
All his sisters gave him unamused looks.
"What are you yapping about?" Howl finally said.
"My nightmare, of course. What else would I be talking about?" Sunny replied with a grin. It seemed there was a bit of leniency in his flaw, as long as he spoke the truth.
Bin rolled her eyes. "Okay, if you don't want to tell us, fine. Can you at least tell us what your Aspect does?"
Sunny nodded. "Well, I'm not too sure myself. All my description says is that my shadow is more independent than others."
Moonveil mumbled under her breath, though everyone heard her. "It seems he has an affinity with shadows..."
Revel smiled. "It seems so. Would you like to try your Aspect out?"
Sunny shrugged. "I would, but could I have some food first? It feels like I haven't eaten in days."
Revel nodded.
⸻
30 minutes later, they were all at the training grounds—except for Revel, who had gone back to her room mumbling, "Damn Sun... why now?" She was always grumpy during the daytime, probably because of her flaw.
Sunny stood before his sisters, his shadow stretching behind him.
"So you really don't know anything about your Aspect?" Revel asked.
Sunny shook his head. "No, all I know is what the description says. That makes me believe it has something to do with my shadow."
Silent nodded. "Once you told us your Aspect's description, I started watching your shadow. I noticed its movements are a little off."
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"So try talking to it," she continued. "Maybe it'll respond."
Sunny looked at his shadow, sighed, and said, "Hello."
A snort came from behind him. Sunny spun around to see all his sisters covering their mouths, trying to stifle laughter.
His face turned red as he turned back to his shadow... only to see it also covering its mouth as if laughing.
Sunny tried to kick his shadow, but it did nothing. In response, the shadow flipped him off.
A vein popped on Sunny's neck as the girls burst out laughing.
Bin, Silent, Moonvail, Hel, and Howl were doubled over, holding their stomachs. Rain was on the floor, laughing like there was no tomorrow.
'I am the only son of the Supreme Ki Song, feared for killing an Awakened while still mundane... and I'm getting humiliated like this?!' Sunny groaned internally.
After a long, agonizing minute, the laughter finally died down. Sunny sighed in defeat.
Turning back to his shadow, he asked, "What can you do?"
The shadow stilled for a moment before shrugging.
"So, it can communicate!" Howl shouted, but Sunny ignored her and continued studying his Shadow.
He closed his eyes and focused inward, exploring himself for the first time since returning to the real world. He felt his heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest, the cool breeze brushing through his hair.
Then, on the edge of his consciousness something new.
A completely new sense.
Sunny focused on it, and suddenly a whole other world opened to him. It was hard to describe, just like explaining how hearing or touch feels.
It was as though he could sense vast forms around him... understanding their shape and the surrounding space through the pressure they exerted on his mind and each other.
That understanding came naturally, instinctively.
Those forms were shadows. Among them, one was deeper, darker—and it didn't feel external. It felt like part of his soul.
Once Sunny grasped it, he could sense the shadow as easily as his own limbs. The feeling was comforting... like it had always been there.
He opened his eyes and looked at his shadow, willing it to lift its right arm. Then he changed its shape, a circle, a line, a monster, and finally back to his own silhouette. The shadow was fluid, like water. The only constant was its size.
"You did it! Who would've thought!" Rain shouted.
Sunny smiled. Moonvail stepped forward.
"So how does it work?" she asked.
"I don't quite know," Sunny admitted. "I can see from the shadow and control it as if it's my own limb."
Moonvail nodded. Bin leaned forward. "Can it do anything else? Attack, defend, maybe control someone?"
"I don't know. This is all I've figured out," Sunny said quickly.
Bin rolled her eyes. "Well, not very useful, is it?"
"No it doesn't seem that useful..." Sunny admitted.
Rain nodded in agreement.
Sunny sent his shadow toward Bin and made it try to kick her, but it passed through harmlessly. Hel chuckled.
"Then let's test how strong you've gotten!" Howl shouted, summoning a Memory and sweeping it to her side. She waited for Sunny to summon his own.
Sunny shook his head. "I didn't receive a weapon-type Memory in my nightmare," he admitted.
Bin snorted. "And you expect us to believe you killed an Awakened Tyrant?"
Hel stepped up and patted his shoulder. "Good thing we got this for you," she said with a smile.
In that moment, Sunny heard the spell in his ears:
[You have received a Memory: The Crymych]
Sunny blinked, then summoned it. A long black odachi appeared in his hand, with a white hilt and a silver gleam running all the way to its edge.