Sunny slowly blinked his eyes open. A milk-white tiled ceiling was the first thing to welcome his pitch-black gaze. Curling his fingers into loose fists as consciousness gradually seeped back into his body, his touch brushed against a soft, smooth fabric—a white silk blanket. It took him only a fraction of a second to realize he was lying in a bed inside the Academy's infirmary.
'I really need to stop waking up like this,' Sunny thought with a huff.
<
Turning his gaze to the right, Sunny froze.
Professor Rock was currently sitting in a chair with his arms tightly crossed, boring a stern, intensely judgmental glare straight into him. The bear-like instructor's clothes were half-charred and tattered, dark soot stains covered him from head to toe, and a tiny, stubborn white flame was currently flickering atop a stray lock of his hair like a birthday candle.
"Professor Rock?" Sunny asked hesitantly, careful not to make any sudden movements as he propped his back against the padded headboard of the medical bed. "What happened? Why am I here?"
"The dojo caught fire," Rock replied, his voice flat, dry, and thoroughly displeased.
"WHAT?!" Sunny yelped.
Between the professor's sudden, ominous presence and waking up in an entirely different room, he had already been deeply unnerved—but this piece of news completely shattered his remaining composure.
'That crazy, psychopathic pyromaniac!' Sunny's left eye twitched violently, thinking about Nephis.
Before he could spiral any further, Professor Rock recaptured his attention. Pointing a heavy finger straight at the boy's face, the instructor spoke in a slowly low, serious rumble. "Sleeper Everlasting Gloom, do you even have an idea of what you have done? What exactly do you think the Academy's training facilities are meant for?"
Sunny stared at the bear-like instructor for a moment, raising an eyebrow in sheer confusion. 'What the hell is he talking about? Weren't the dojo facilities supposed to be used for training? It was that Autistic Blowtorch who took the initiative and blew up the whole place.'
<
'No, I don't think so. There's no such clause in the regulations for using the facilities outside of standard class hours,' Sunny replied internally, never breaking eye contact with the professor to his right.
"Uh... yeah, actually. I used it exactly for what it was designed for," He said, scratching the back of his head with his left hand. "Why? Was I supposed to hang a sock on the door handle?" He added half joking.
Hearing this, a violent crimson flush crept up from the professor's collar, rushing all the way to the top of his head until his ears practically began to steam.
"Sleeper Sunless," Rock said, trying his best to sound calm and reasonable, his teeth grinding as he suppressed his raw fury. "I understand that you are young, and..."
"And besides," Sunny interrupted, cutting him off mid-sentence to mount his defense, his mind flashing back to his training sessions with Master Jet. "The Master who took me under her wing made me do these kinds of things on a daily basis."
"What?" Professor Rock's voice cracked slightly. The angry flush drained from his face in an instant, replaced by a pale, ghostly white of genuine, horrified concern for the boy.
'Why the sudden shock? Isn't it normal to train like hell to survive?' Sunny wondered, looking at the instructor's utterly aghast expression.
Unaware of the misunderstanding, he continued. "Well... yeah! She kept me busy with these activities day and night. To be honest, she rarely ever gave me a break."
"What?!" the bear-like instructor rasped, a bit louder this time. Rock looked as if he were aging ten years with every single word that left his lips.
"In fact, sometimes, just to give me more practice, she would make me do it right out in the middle of the street with street thugs and criminals" Sunny added, staring blankly ahead.
"WHAT?!" Rock gasped, his mind reeling. He honestly didn't know whether he should wrap the poor boy in a protective hug, call the authorities, or both.
"And furthermore—"
<
'What? What is it?'
<>
Sunny blinked and turned his attention back to the professor. Rock was staring at him with a look of profound, deeply traumatized pity, while the tiny white flame atop his hair continued to sizzle quietly, completely forgotten.
"Uh, Professor," Sunny said, tilting his head. "We are talking about combat training, right?"
"Combat training?" Rock blinked, his eyes widening. "Ah... training. Phew..." He passed a trembling hand over his forehead and let out a deep, heavy sigh of relief.
"Why? What did you think Changing Star and I were doing in the dojo all alone?" Sunny asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"No, it's... because... you two... I..." The professor struggled to find his words, his face burning with intense embarrassment as he gestured with his hands around to explain himself.
In the end, he simply choked out, "Good day, Sleeper Everlasting Gloom." With that, Rock practically bolted from his chair and marched out of the room without adding another word.
Sunny stared at the empty doorway, utterly perplexed. 'What the hell just happened?!' he asked mentally, completely blind to the massive misunderstanding.
***
Nephis woke up in the dead of the night. She was drenched in a cold sweat, her cheeks and ankles flushed a bright, feverish red, and her chest heaving with ragged breath. What a bizarre dream she had just experienced.
Her silver eyes circumnavigated the dark, silent room as she tried to piece together the lingering fragments of her dream.
'A long, pitch-black snake slithering toward me... forcing its way into my mouth and spraying some strange liquid down my throat? What kind of dream was that?' she thought, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Still shaken, she slid a hand beneath the covers, seeking the familiar, solid comfort of her mattress to ground herself back in reality. But the moment her fingers brushed against the sheets along her legs, she froze.
There was a strange scent in the air, and she could feel something distinctly wet and sticky clinging to her skin beneath the blankets.
'What is this?' she wondered, lifting her hand to examine it. Her fingertips were coated in a thick, viscous fluid, though she couldn't make out its color in the darkness of the room.
Then, a sudden, catastrophic thought struck her like a lightning bolt. The big snake... her dead grandma's words... she and Sunny being alone in the same room after she had knocked him out... the signs were all there.
"Oh, no..." Nephis pulled her knees to her chest, clenching them tightly between her arms. Her silver eyes welled with an overwhelming torrent of water, and hot, fresh tears began to stream down her flushed cheeks. "I'm pregnant." She muttered under her breath.
In her mind's eye, Nephis could practically see the phantoms of her mother and grandmother standing beyond the grave, wearing smug grins as they proudly gave her a thumbs-up.
Nephis wasn't really carrying a child.
The following morning, she and Sunny had a very awkward conversation regarding the birds and the bees.
***
After that, another week quickly slipped by.
Sunny's master plan to forge strong bonds of friendship with the main characters of the Academy—Nephis and Cassie—before their inevitable descent into the Dream Realm was progressing flawlessly.
Granted, Nephis had been a tough nut to crack at first. In the beginning, she struggled to fit into the group, answering every question with stiff monosyllables or brief, blunt sentences. However, over time—and thanks to Sunny acting as a universal translator between Human-to-Nephilim and Nephilim-to-Human, coupled with the gentle emotional support of the sweet blind seer 'May the dead gods bless you, Cassie, truly!'—the ice between them finally began to thaw.
And speaking of ice, Yuki proved to be incredibly cooperative as well. She gladly accepted the invitation to duel on a daily basis, sparring with Nephis alongside Sunny to hone their skills. One way or another, he even managed to weave Cassie into their daily training sessions.
Naturally, gossip always rears its ugly head when a guy is constantly seen surrounded by three beautiful girls. The Academy's rumors didn't miss the golden opportunity to slander him, and within a matter of days, Sunny earned himself the illustrious reputation of the "Demon King of the Bedroom."
'For real? There's a guy in our year who is literally a hair's breadth away from sleeping his way through the student body and the faculty staff, but I'm the sex maniac? Seriously?!'
As the days blended together, Sunny learned more about the companions with whom he shared his meals and class hours, while carefully revealing just enough about himself without giving away too much.
Some things were better left buried in the dark.
After all, a childhood spent surviving in the Outskirts leaves deep scars that no one is proud to show. The same could be said for Yuki; despite their close proximity, he still knew everything and absolutely nothing about her past.
Meanwhile, Professor Julius practically jumped for joy when he saw a new student, Changing Star, walk into his Wilderness Survival class. The eccentric old man had been so ecstatic that he nearly planted a kiss right on Sunless's lips as a thank-you.
Time flowed both sluggishly and at a breakneck pace. The atmosphere was pleasant, stable, and blissfully uneventful. During the brief hours outside of lectures, when he wasn't trading blows in the dojo with the girls, alone and seen by nobody, Sunny occupied every spare second training with the Shadow Dance alongside Thene, meticulously planning his next moves for when he would eventually drop into the hellscape of the Forgotten Shore.
Then, on the Monday evening of the third week...
[Your Aspect Legacy mastery level has increased.]
[You have received the right to claim a Legacy Relic.]
Sunny stared at the glowing text above him, a slow, sharp smirk spreading across his lips.
'Took you damn long enough, asshole!'
"Why are you laughing?" Nephis asked, staring down in utter perplexity at the young man with ink-black hair and bottomless dark eyes who was currently splayed across the mats, his arms and legs flung out in every direction.
The two of them were completely alone in the Academy dojo—which had recently been fully renovated and restocked after an "accidental" fire had reduced it to ashes.
Following a fierce exchange of blows during their daily spar, Sunny had been sent rolling back into to the floor, his entire body aching because Nephis—Goddamnit, Neph!—still hadn't mastered the concept of holding back.
Raising slightly his head to meet her silver eyes, Sunny offered her a smug smile. "Nothing much. It's just that I finally crossed a major item off my to-do list."
At his vague declaration, Changing Star knit her brows and stared down at him with deep suspicion. Over the past few days of getting to know Everlasting Gloom, she had come to realize that the shadow was a tireless, pathological liar.
Every time he spoke of his absurd, impossible feats during his First Nightmare—like fighting an entire army of Nightmare Creatures and an army of Awakened warriors simultaneously as a single-man third faction, or slaying a Master to avenge his fallen lover—she couldn't help but question his sanity.
Strangely enough, Yuki and Cassie actually seemed to buy his stories, particularly the former, who claimed with absolute certainty that Sunny never lied.
Letting his head fall back onto the mat, Sunny focused his attention upward, staring intently at a specific string of glowing, golden runes hovering in his vision.
---
Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance].
Shadow Dance Mastery Level: [1/7].
First Relic: [Claim].
Second Relic: Unearned.
Third Relic: ...
---
"Claim," Sunny muttered under his breath, and the Spell, with a hint of excitement in its usual cold, mechanical voice, did not hesitate to answer his call.
[You have received an Aspect Legacy Relic.]
[You have received a Shadow: Soul Serpent.]
Lifting his right arm, Sunny examined his wrist. A deeply satisfied grin spread across his lips upon seeing perfectly etched into his pale skin the jet-black tattoo of the head of a snake with pitch-black scales and two bottomless void-like eyes. 'Hello there, my little friend.'
He could vividly feel the serpent tattoo sliding beneath his skin, its tail writhing up his forearm toward his shoulder before settling into a tight loop around his waist. Intrigued, Sunny quickly opened the runes of his new shadow.
---
Shadow: [Soul Serpent].
Shadow Rank: Dormant.
Shadow Class: Beast.
Shadow Attributes: [Shadow Guide], [Soul Weapon].
Shadow Description: [When the end came, Shadow was the last of the Gods to be destroyed. Many have resented him for creating death, but in the end, death embraced all.]
---
'One less thing to worry about,' Sunny thought to himself, a heavy wave of relief washing over him as he dismissed the runes.
Looking back up, he found Changing Star standing directly over him. She extended her left hand to help him up, while the right still was holding her shining, silver longsword, her silver eyes scanning his face with a scrutinizing glare. Without any unnecessary ceremony, Sunny reached up with his right hand, gripped her palm, and used his legs to haul himself back to his feet.
Once he was steady, Nephis—who was still firmly holding his hand—glanced down at his right wrist. Her gaze locked onto the newly materialized, pitch-black serpent tattoo.
'The big snake is back!' She closed her eyes, visibly trembling.
A sudden, icy shiver cascaded down her spine. Nephis felt her knees turn entirely to jelly, her legs growing heavy as a familiar, terrifyingly warm sensation pooled beneath her navel.
Only then did Changing Star realize that they were, once again, completely alone in the hall. The statistical risk of the danger was pratically zero, but never non-existent.
'No, no, no, no! I absolutely cannot get pregnant right now!' Nephis screamed at herself internally.
Her cheeks flushed an intense, tomato-red hues as she began to shake her head violently from side to side, thrashing back and forth so fiercely it looked as though she might accidentally unscrew her own neck.
Just a few days prior, Sunny and Yuki had suddenly gifted her an illustrated book designed to explain the basics of human reproduction to five-year-olds, but Nephis hadn't open it yet.
'What is wrong with this crazy lunatic?' Sunny wondered, staring in profound bewilderment at Changing Star as she continued to frantically whip her head left and right like a broken malfunctioning android.
Right at that moment, Yuki walked into the dojo, gently leading Cassie by the hand. The ice beauty stopped dead in her tracks on the threshold, taking in the absurd spectacle of Changing Star violently shaking her head with a deep scarlet face while still holding Sunny's hand. Yuki slowly shifted her blue-celestial gaze toward him, raising an eyebrow as if to ask: What the heck is happening?
Meeting her icy stare, Sunny simply shrugged his shoulders, sending back a look that clearly communicated: I have no idea.
"Are we there yet?" Cassie asked, her right hand still securely gripping Yuki's arm. Sensing the sudden halt, she turned her sightless blue eyes toward her companion.
"Mh!" Yuki replied, looking back down at the blind seer and nodding forcefully enough to be heard.
Hearing the voices of the newcomers, Nephis finally snapped out of her internal delirium. She let go of Sunny's hand as if it were a burning coal, her face turning a deep, brilliant shade of crimson as she faced the girls.
"Right," Sunny said, clearing his throat and clapping his hands together to break the mounting tension in the room. "I'll be taking my leave now. I actually have an appointment to catch."
Without waiting for them to ask him questions, he turned and sprinted toward the exit.
"Oh! And Crazy Star," Sunny added, suddenly pausing at the threshold and poking his head back inside to offer Nephis a stern, warning glance. "Take it easy on poor Cassie, alright? Don't break her, you moron."
As Sunny's footsteps faded down the corridor, Yuki and Cassie approached the ring. Nephis slowly lunged toward the ice beauty, grabbing her by the shoulder and leaning in to whisper a frantic, deeply panicked question into her ear—desperately needing absolute confirmation on whether a mere handshake could lead to the immaculate conception of a newborn child.
Yuki, completely shattering her usually aloof, unbothered persona, slapped a heavy palm against her own forehead in sheer, unadulterated exhaustion at Changing Star's impossible innocence.
"Read the book we gave you," Yuki said flatly, managing to articulate an entire sentence without her own Flaw getting in the way.
***
Sunny walked through the polished corridors of the Academy toward the main exit, his pace calm but steady. Today was the day he was scheduled to meet Master Jet to pick up the Memories he had commissioned during their video call two weeks ago.
The thought of her beautiful smile flashed across his mind, leaving a bittersweet warmth in his chest.
'I miss her,' he admitted to himself, accelerating his steps slightly while keeping his hands buried deep inside his pockets to shorten the distance separating them.
A complex spiral of emotions—excitement and anticipation for his new Memory mixed with nostalgia and a genuine longing to see the woman who, for the past three years, had been his sanctuary of peace—churned within him.
However, his quiet anticipation was quickly overshadowed by hostile shades gathering on the horizon.
<
They had masked their presence well, but thanks to the uniqueness of his Shadow Sense, Sunny had noticed them the exact second they slipped into position. 'I know. They've been maintaining a cautious distance for a while now. I'm letting them play their game because I want to see exactly what they're aiming for.'
He glanced down at his right wrist, where Soul Serpent rested quietly in its tattoo form. 'Tsk! I just hope the blood baptism of my dear Serpent doesn't have to be wasted on these pathetic, unworthy Sleepers,' he thought, a bitter, dangerous smile playing on his lips.
Given his brutal upbringing in the Outskirts, Sunny knew all too well how these setups worked. His unearned reputation as a resident womanizer hadn't done him any favors over the past few days. Envious glares had rapidly festered into pure jealousy and malicious resentment. It was only a matter of time before a situation like this forced its way into his path.
Sure enough, as he rounded the corner, Sunny looked up to see a pack of Sleepers marching toward him, spearheaded by Caster. Their strides were arrogant, and their smug grins promised nothing but trouble. They looked down at Sunless the way a pride of lions would eye a cornered rat.
Sunny didn't feel a single shred of fear. Why should he?
Concealed within his shadow was an Ascendant Beast, Myriad Shade, and resting upon his wrist, Serpent was primed to manifest as a lethal blade at a fraction of a second's notice, ready to tear through his opponents before they could even register his movement. So, no matter what kind of pathetic trap they had engineered, it wasn't going to end well for them. One way or another.
Caster halted a few paces away, looking down his nose at Sunny with an insufferable air of aristocratic superiority. Around them, the other Sleepers—including the two who had been tailing him from behind—closed ranks, perfectly forming a tight perimeter to cut off any potential path of retreat.
Thirteen against one.
"Well, well, look who we have here. If it isn't Sleeper Everlasting Gloom," Caster said, his voice laced with a false, dripping friendliness, deliberately heavying his tone on Sunny's True Name to mock him.
Sunny met his gaze, his expression entirely calm and unbothered. However, his focus wasn't actually directed at Caster. Instead, his black eyes locked onto a pale-blonde young man with sharp amber eyes standing right beside the Legacy. Out of everyone in the corridor, he seemed to be deriving the most twisted pleasure from seeing him cornered.
And Sunny knew exactly why.
Sleeper Jayden.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(If you liked this, also read: "Shadow Slave: Corrupted Files.")