The sun had set upon the Chained Isles, the breathtaking night sky hanging overhead. Many battles below continued to rage on, the small glow of flames and memory lanterns visible from afar.
Sunny stood guard as Sky Tide rested temporarily, enjoying a meal made by Roan. But through his shadow, Sunny tried to observe as carefully as he could to see how Saints absorbed spirit essence.
He did not look directly so as to not alert Tyris, but through his vision…
He didn't see much.
'No, seriously… Just what the hell am I supposed to be seeing here?!'
Transcendents were supposedly able to absorb spirit essence when they were 'in their element', but Sunny couldn't really tell what was going on. To him, it simply looked like her essence was replenishing normally, just at a far faster pace than someone like Sunny could achieve.
And it was only once they ascended back into the sky did Sunny see it.
Small sparks of light drifted towards Tyris as she assumed her transformation, soaring in the skies.
'So the sky is her source element… Whatever that means.'
It seemed that Sky Tide could absorb spirit essence as long as she was in the sky.
'Is that the reason she takes the risk of flying so high?'
As long as it meant she didn't need to rest as often, Sunny was fine with them flying this high up. And even if he were in trouble, he had a Transcendent he could rely on.
Sunny continued scouting about with his shadows, searching for anything that could severely threaten the hunting parties below.
His routine continued for hours, nothing of interest happening besides the rare corrupted appearing from time to time. Most of them didn't survive very long against a powerful Transcendent like Tyris, though. Anything weaker than a Tyrant was killed in a matter of minutes.
'So little Corrupted here, isn't that strange?'
Sunny inwardly joked with himself as he nonchalantly sat within Tyris' shadow.
The hunting parties had expected far, far more Corrupted in the area, but most of them seemed to be missing. Many people thought that they had migrated, or had even run away at the sight of so many humans.
But the truth was, many of them had already been killed courtesy of Sunny himself. With a Transcendent Devil and Ascended Titan, Sunny was able to handily kill most Corrupted he came across. Of course he still avoided anything stronger than a Devil, but when it came to weaker ones, Sunny had slaughtered most of them.
It felt a little strange to him, killing so many abominations and not getting any shadow fragments. The exhilaration he once felt from killing something far stronger than him had dimmed, instead feeling like a job.
'Ah… Out of any career I could've picked, it just had to be an exterminator, didn't it?'
Or perhaps he could've even been seen as a ferryman, cleansing their vile souls of corruption and sending them on their way.
Sunny smiled slightly at the ridiculous thought.
***
The hunt had been successful so far, the humans completely cleansing several islands of any abominations. Many camps had been set up below, patrols established, and detectors placed. Valor had provided White Feather with several enchanted objects, capable of acting like alarm systems if any nightmare creatures approached the Sanctuary. As the humans pushed further away from the Sanctuary of Noctis, the perimeter around it got wider and wider.
Sunny had felt a bit of excitement at the start of the hunt, but now he was a little bored. It had been a week now, and most of it he had spent scouting. Tyris and him had a few pleasant conversations, but that was about it. To distract himself, Sunny had paid more attention to the lazy shadow, seeing how Nephis was doing.
Looking through his shadow across realms felt a little strange, even though he could see, the world through its sight felt a little hazy, as if it weren't real. He could still summon his Shadows or speak through, but there was some difficulty. If he wanted to summon Solvane, it would take far longer than it normally would to summon her, sometimes even taking several minutes.
Sunny quietly watched Nephis go about her life, giving her some words of encouragement anytime he felt that she was feeling down. Tyris had given him a couple neutral glances when he spoke, but she hadn't asked him anything about it.
'Hm… Doesn't she have a daughter too, now that I think about it?'
His shadows had gathered plenty of information through places like government facilities. He was already familiar with how some of their interiors were back when he was in Antarctica, as well as when he visited the government compound Jet worked at. Although there wasn't a lot of information on Legacies, some names still popped up.
Tyris of White Feather was one of those names. There was no information on her aspect or anything of the sort, but it did contain information about the members of White Feather. The main members were, of course, Tyris herself, alongside her husband Roan and daughter Telle.
There was no image or data on who Telle was, only a name, but Sunny could guess who it was. It was the golden haired Legacy girl who had once come to fetch him for a meeting with Tyris in the past. Sunny was a little embarrassed for not realising she was their daughter sooner… but now he knew.
He had wanted to ask Tyris about how to comfort a child, but…
'That would be super creepy…'
Sunny wasn't supposed to know she had a daughter, as Telle was currently a mundane human living in the waking world.
It would also be strange for someone who was barely an acquaintance to ask such a question.
'Maybe I'll ask her one day…'
For now, he would remain a humble scout.
***
A week later, the hunt ended.
Most of the islands around the Sanctuary had been completely cleaned out, a radius of many kilometers purged.
Patrols and sensors had been set up, and many of the humans retreated back to the Sanctuary. Of course, the job wasn't done just yet, but having such a large army outside the Sanctuary for too long was unwise.
Sunny and Tyris had also returned, as the annual Valor ball was beginning in a day, and both of them were attending. Of course, Tyris had no idea that Sunny was attending, which Sunny was extremely thankful for.
'Maybe her not being a conversationalist is better for me…'
Tyris had never asked him any personal or unnecessary questions, so Sunny had not been forced to reveal anything.
Now in the Sanctuary of Noctis, Sunny bid farewell to Tyris with a small smile. Immediately after they separated, Sunny saw her meet with a haggard looking Roan, both of them smiling as they held each other's hands.
Sunny sighed slightly at the sight, his heart aching.
'Love…'
Sunny did not know what to think about love. He had always yearned to be with another, but the woman he had once loved was long gone. Of course, he still loved Nephis dearly, but the romantic love he had once felt was now gone, replaced with a more familial one.
He wondered if he could ever love another person as much as he had loved Nephis. They had never gotten a chance to truly express their feelings for each other, with all the complicated matters between them. For Nephis, it was her goal. For Sunny, it was the Shadow Bond.
Now, the Shadow Bond was gone. And for what? Nephis was gone alongside it, so it had lost all meaning.
Sunny silently walked towards the Gateway, his face masked by shadows.
***
Sunny left his sleeping pod in a joyless mood, his face sullen. Jet was currently in the Dream Realm, so he was alone.
Sunny rubbed his eyes as he walked through his lifeless house, a loud yawn coming from him. Crashing onto his sofa, Sunny began to weave. Because he had been interrupted so many times, he still had a decent amount of weaving to do.
'My refining is just about finished…'
If he wanted to remain on schedule, he'd have to start rushing his weaving. He'd barely had anytime to weave over the past month, while his refinement had improved severalfold. Sunny felt his refinement nearing the precipice, and the qualitative change needed to ascend growing close. All that was left was one last step, and Sunny already had a good idea of what it was.
'I can do the rest of my weaving on the way to the Ebony Tower…'
With Shrike, Sunny could reach the Twisted Rock in about a day or two. And for the trip in the Sky Below, it would probably take about a week. There, Sunny could constantly weave with no worries of his essence running out, as once he entered the nightmare he would be in a new body, his essence already replenished.
'Probably… Wait, if I'm inhabiting a different body, wouldn't my body refinement have been for nothing?'
Sunny had nearly forgotten that detail with all the things going on lately.
'Oh well… I'll just hide somewhere in the Nightmare and do it then.'
Sunny still wasn't sure if he was going to land in the body of the Shadowspawn or not, with him being a titan and all. But if he landed in an Awakened Titans body, then surely it would've already been refined.
His sigh echoed throughout the dark room..
Sunny continued to weave until the next morning, his essence now running low. Leaning back, he stretched as he tried to get comfortable.
"Sunny?"
Sunny turned his head to see Jet leaving the basement, a refreshed look on her face.
"Hey."
Jet immediately made her way to the fridge, searching for food.
"So, another two weeks in the Dream Realm? What sort of work did you have this time?"
Sunny had only returned to the waking world for a few days before he went back to the dream realm for another two weeks; he had practically been gone for an entire month.
"Oh, just the usual… A Saint asked for my help in culling the region so I rode atop her back for a while."
Jet froze, slowly turning to him.
"Rode atop her back…?"
Sunny gave her a small grin.
"Relax! It was while she was transformed into a giant bird. Just what kind of person do you think I am?"
"A person who regularly hangs out with Transcendents and princesses?"
Sunny paused for a moment, realising she was right.
"I guess I am… Well I also hang out with other people too, you know?"
"Yeah? Like who?"
Jet joined him on the sofa, now holding a small cup of coffee and a plate of cake.
"Oh, you know… Legacies, Sovereigns, mundane children…"
"...Did you say mundane children?"
"I did. That's the one you're surprised about?"
Sunny closed his eyes, sighing contently as he lay on his sofa. Jet slowly turned away from him, staring at her plate of cake instead.
The two said nothing for a while, the dark room settling into comfortable silence only broken by the occasional sound of chewing.
The silence was dispelled when Jet turned to him curiously.
"Got anything planned for today?"
"Yep."
Jet seemed surprised at his answer.
"You do?"
"I do. I'm going to a ball today."
Jet paused in confusion.
"A… ball?"
"Yeah, a ball."
"Like, a football? A ball ball? What kind of ball are we talking about?"
Sunny turned to Jet with an amused smile on his face.
'Right… She's quite young right now.'
Although she wasn't too far off Sunny's age before his Third Nightmare, she was still a newly Awakened human who had grown up in the outskirts, her education was bound to have been limited.
"A ball. It's like an event where a bunch of people gather to dance and stuff."
"Oh, like a party?"
"Yeah, just much more formal."
Jet nodded, a little embarrassed she didn't know what he was talking about.
"And why are you going to this 'ball' exactly?"
"I was formally invited to join by the host, and I'd thought I'd go enjoy the free food they offered. But I'm mostly going because I was told to go."
"Huh… Okay."
Having finished her cake, Jet got up and left to go get ready for the day. Sunny sighed slightly, once again leaning back into the sofa, relaxing.
After a few minutes though, his relaxation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
'Is it Seishan?'
As the ball was going to be in the evening, Sunny expected Seishan to arrive a bit later, or perhaps not even at all, instead telling him to meet her at the Song Compound.
Sunny walked up the door and opened it. To his surprise, something leapt onto him, its arms wrapping around his neck.
"Argh!"
"Sunny!"
A positively adorable young girl jumped onto him, giggling as she hung from back. Thrain stood in front of Sunny with an apologetic look on his face, scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry, Sunless… She wouldn't stop asking to see you."
'...Again with this, how did she know I was back in the waking world?'
Was it something The Fire did? Or was there some sort of presence he had on the world he didn't notice?
Grabbing the laughing girl hanging onto his back, he brought them face to face while holding onto the back of her collar as if it were the scruff of a cat.
"Hey, kid. How did you know I was back?"
"The lazy guy told me!"
'Lazy… guy?'
Sunny stared at her in confusion for a moment before realising what she was talking about.
Sunny shot a scathing glance at the shadow lazily resting on the ground.
'It's you! Why act so damn lazy when you're gonna be going around doing all this?!'
It seemed that the reason Nephis always knew whether or not Sunny was around was the thanks to lazy shadow acting on its own, giving her some sort of signal.
"I see…"
Sunny slowly put Nephis down before smoothing the wrinkles on her shirt. He then proceeded to ruffle her hair, much to her dismay.
"Hey!"
Tearing herself from his grasp, Nephis immediately ran into his home, jumping onto the sofa with a laugh.
Sighing, Sunny turned to Thrain, who was still standing at the door. With a sorry smile, Thrain took a step back.
"I'll come get her in a few hours, see you later, Sunless."
"...Alright, see you. But if I call, you need to come get her, I have important matters to tend to today."
With a nod, Thrain made his way to the still-humming PTV parked in front of Sunny's house before driving off.
...Honestly, it was a little questionable, taking Nephis directly to his house. What if Valor saw?
Then again, he doubted they were surveilling them that much. Many vehicles came and went to all sorts of place at the place Nephis was staying. Such was the case when the head of a clan lived there. Sunny's home wasn't even the first Nephis had visited today, with her moving around quite a bit.
Shutting the door, Sunny turned around and was immediately met with a comical sight.
At the top of the stairs, Jet's head was just barely poking out. With her hair still glistening with water and government uniform tucked beneath her arm, the fearsome Soul Reaper was cowering at the sight of a child.
Nephis was currently staring at Sunny, so she hadn't noticed Jet yet. Meeting Jet's gaze, Sunny saw her mouth something.
'Who's that?'
"Just come here, she's not gonna rip your head off or anything."
"What!"
Nephis cried out in indignation, not knowing why Sunny had said such a thing. Before she could say anything else, the soft sound of steps descending down the stairs was heard.
Nephis immediately jumped over the sofa, hiding behind Sunny.
Jet reached the bottom of the steps, barely peeking her head out from behind the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
Both their gazes met, staring at each other nervously.
Sunny snickered ever so slightly.
'I wonder which one's more scared?'
The child who rarely met strangers, or the young adult who most likely hadn't seen a child in years?
"Jet, this is Nephis, a kid who lives in one of the neighbourhoods near ours. Nephis, this is Jet, she lives with me and steals my food."
"S-Sunny, you really do have an illegitimate daughter?"
Nephis stifled a laugh as Sunny gawked at Jet.
"Did you not hear what I said?! And do I look old enough to have a daughter?!"
'She even said this nonsense last time…'
Sighing, Sunny put a hand on Nephis' back.
"Come on Nephis, say hello."
After a few seconds, Nephis shyly stepped out from behind him, her head slightly bowed.
"H-Hello auntie…"
"A-...Auntie?!"
Now it was Sunny's turn to laugh.
Jet immediately rushed over, her nervousness now gone.
"Hey... hey kid! I'm not an auntie!"
Nephis disappeared behind Sunny's back the moment Jet rushed over, clutching Sunny's shirt and holding his hand.
"O-Oh… Sorry auntie…"
Jet's soul seemed to be leaving her body with every word Nephis spoke.
"I'm… No, no! Call me big sis! B-I-G S-I-S! Don't call me an auntie!"
Currently, Jet and Sunny were the same age, so it was indeed a great injustice to call her auntie. Probably.
"Okay…. Big sis."
Jet heaved a long sigh of relief as Nephis barely peeked her head out from behind Sunny.
Sunny was a little disappointed that their amusing quarrel ended so quickly, but he didn't show it.
Jet leaned back, her expression of panic now replaced by a relaxed smile as she put on her coat.
"Well, nice meeting you, kid. I'm off to work, later Sunny!"
Sunny and Nephis stepped out of her way, the door swinging open as a slight chill entered the house, the cold air of winter now present.
Watching Jet's PTV drive off at a speed that was definitely too fast for a residential area, Sunny turned to Nephis.
"Want some pancakes?"
"Okay!"
***
A sweet smell wafted through the air as the sound of sizzling echoed throughout the house.
At the dining table, Nephis was kicking her feet with a smile on her face as she waited for Sunny to finish cooking. Next to her, Solvane sat, poking the girl's cheek with a small smile.
After a few minutes, the pancakes were done.
Stacking a couple on top of each other, Sunny topped it off with some melted butter and strawberries. Then, with a hint of disgust on his face, drizzled it with honey. He had a strong distaste for honey, but Calida had told him Nephis loved it a lot, so he relented.
Over the past few months, Sunny had become a far better cook in the desserts department, mainly due to Jet's massive sweet tooth. As she didn't know how to cook, she was always requesting Sunny make her some cake or something of the like. Sunny did not mind too much, as feeding people was always something he enjoyed.
'Still… Honey? Really? Gross!'
Not letting his disgust show, Sunny picked up the two plates and walked over to the dining table.
Nephis stared at the still-steaming pancakes with shining eyes, a small string of drool escaping her mouth. Beside her, Solvane also held a knife and fork in her hands, a look of anticipation on her shadowy face.
Staring at Solvane for a moment, Sunny set a plate down in front of Nephis, before setting another one down in front of Solvane.
'Oh well.'
One of the plates was meant for him, but if his Shadow was really that excited to try some, he was willing to relent.
'Do Shadows even need food? Ah… how greedy.'
Wasn't he the kindest Master of all? A divine shadow sacrificing an enjoyable meal to one of his servants.
The two girls immediately dug in, the fresh pancakes disappearing with frightening speed.
Sunny sat across from them, a content smile on his face as he rested his chin on one hand, staring at them tenderly.
Watching Nephis' smile widen with every bite, Sunny felt warmth permeating his soul.
For a moment, he forgot about the past, about what he had done.
And in the next moment, the visage of Changing Star and Nephis aligned for a moment, enjoying a meal that Sunny had made for them.
Sunny's smile grew slightly strained, unnoticed by Nephis.
'Is this really alright?'
Sunny had made such a terrible mistake, leaving his cohort behind to chase his freedom within the Tomb of Ariel. And here he was, paying the price for it.
Sunny sighed in his heart.
…The longing never went away.
It only dimmed ever-so slightly as he watched the adorable young girl in front of him enjoy the delicious pancakes he had made.
'Maybe it is…'
He wondered what Nephis would've thought if she had seen this.
Would she have thanked him? Would she have told him he was making a mistake?
He did not know, and he could no longer ask.
'I'm sorry.'
He could only apologise in his heart and move on the best he could.
Sunny pushed the complicated feelings out of his heart and focused on Nephis' smiling face.
The coldness he felt retreated slightly, the warmth subtly overpowering it.
And a few minutes later, the pancakes Sunny made had vanished, only slight traces of honey were left on the plates.
Nephis beamed at him and Solvane gave him an approving nod.
"Well, how was it?"
"Great!"
"Deli… cious…"
'Compliments from someone obsessed with consuming blood… Ah, whatever!'
Sunny smiled at their praises, proud of his work.
The sun had fully risen outside as clouds rolled in, a hint of snow appearing on the ground below.
The three sat down together on the sofa, with Nephis hugging Sunny's side.
"Let's watch a movie!"
"...Alright. What do you wanna watch, kid?"
Turning on the entertainment system, they sifted through some of the currently popular movies.
"That one!"
"...Fine."
Of course, Nephis had pointed at Tales of the Shore, the movie depicting the events of the Forgotten Shore.
With a bit of reluctance, Sunny put on the movie as he began to weave, only half-heartedly watching it alongside Nephis and Solvane.
A while later, Sunny felt Nephis bouncing in excitement at the action scenes.
Then, he felt her hand gripping his arm at the more emotional scenes.
Then, he heard loud clapping towards the end of the movie.
Sunny turned in astonishment.
The clapping was far too loud to be coming from Nephis' tiny hands.
Sunny stared in bewilderment at the sight of Solvane giving a standing ovation as she laughed loudly.
'Oh come on!'
Even his Shadow enjoyed that nonsense?! Did Solvane even know what a movie was?!
"That… was… most… amusing!"
"Well… If you liked it, then good."
Nephis was a bit more quiet, far less talkative now as she seemed to be in a contemplative mood. She seemed to be thinking quite a lot about the themes of the movie.
'Right, she was actually this kind of person…'
Nephis had once told him that she was a reasonable child in her youth, and that she often tried to figure out people through logic. Through his shadow, Sunny saw that the current Nephis was actually someone who rarely spoke, and only ever studied diligently. It was only when she was with Sunny that she acted like a spoiled brat.
Sunny wasn't sure whether or not it was a good thing, really.
His thoughts, however, were interrupted by the ring of the doorbell.
"Ugh, who is it now?"
It wasn't even lunch time yet, so he doubted that it was Seishan.
As he stood up to go answer the door, he dismissed Solvane and began walking, only to be stopped by two tiny arms wrapping around his neck.
"Wha-..."
Nephis had jumped onto him, clinging to his side.
"...Come on, get off!"
He was about to greet a guest, damn it!
Nephis gave him a cheeky grin.
"No way!"
Sighing, Sunny relented, picking her up properly and holding her up with one arm as she held onto his neck and shoulders.
Sunny walked towards the door, opening it to greet…