"WAKE UP, SUNLESS! YOUR NIGHTMARE IS OVER! YOUR NIGH—"
Smash.
With a swift, decisive strike, tightly clenching the five fingers of his right hand, Sunny sent the talking rock flying against the wall.
It left a rather conspicuous crack in the stone before bouncing off, completely intact, and rolling to a stop at the foot of the bed.
"WAKE UP, SUNLESS! YOUR NIGHTMARE IS OVER! YOUR NIGHTMARE IS OVER!"
Nevertheless, the mighty rock continued its diligent, relentless duty of spreading the joyous news of the morning's arrival.
"Mmh..." Sunny groaned, dismissing the Memory into a shower of white sparks just so he could finally go back to sleep.
'By the dead Gods,' he thought. 'There is absolutely no way that fucking rock has better character development than ninety percent of the cast in this damn novel.'
Sunny stared blankly at the spot where the [Ordinary Rock] had just vanished, before turning his head, staring at the ceiling with a sigh, ready to drift off again.
"Mh..."
Another sound—this one sweet and delicate like a silver bell—immediately captured his attention.
Sunny lowered his gaze, drawn by the sensation of a soft, incredibly warm body stretching against him naked beneath the heavy blankets. Resting against his chest was a delicate young woman, her hair cascading over them like pale gold, sleeping peacefully in his arms.
A tender, genuine smile found its way onto his lips.
Hardly daring to move, lest he disturb her, Sunny held his companion close, matching the deep affection with which she naturally clung to him.
He craned his neck just a fraction and whispered, his voice warm and gentle against her ear, "Cassie?"
"Mmh..."
The blind seer refused to open the windows to her soul, instead lazily nuzzling her soft cheek against his bare chest, stubbornly refusing to get up.
Her pillow was just too soft, it smelled far too good, and most importantly, it was so warm.
Sunny chuckled softly under his breath as he watched her snuggle deeper beneath the covers, feeling her delicate, soft body mold even closer to his own.
Taking full advantage of her sleepy, vulnerable state, Sunny leaned in and began to pepper her cute, cat-like pout with a flurry of tender, innocent kisses. One on her chin, one on her nose, and a breathless series trailing across her soft cheeks and onto her delicate pink lips.
"Mmh..."
Cassie pouted, but his offensive showed no signs of retreating.
Propping herself up slightly with her arms to 'look' directly at him, her lips curved into a treacherous, challenging smirk.
"I'm warning you, Sunless. Don't think you can take advantage of me just because I'm sleeping."
She spoke with a voice caught halfway between feigned offense and arousal, threatening to put an end to his morning assault.
Smack.
That meant war.
Cassie wasn't the least bit intimidated and instantly launched her own counterattack.
It was a battle with no holds barred. Sweet, fleeting kisses were exchanged relentlessly, back and forth, until Sunny and Cassie's lips finally captured one another, drawn together like two magnets of opposing poles.
Their bare bodies pressed closer, exchanging searing heat beneath the blankets, while the quiet symphony of their lips echoed through the shadows that veiled the intimacy of their room.
After a long, breathless moment, the two finally parted, deciding through a tacit mutual agreement not to push things any further right now. After all, Sunny and Cassie had already shared their fair share of tender and intense nights together these past months.
The blind seer let out a satisfied sigh. Slipping out of his warm embrace, she pushed back the covers and sat on the edge of their bed in the Bright City.
Sunny, instantly missing the lingering warmth she had left behind, watched her intently, resting his chin on his palm. She began to gracefully finger-comb her hair, letting it tumble over her right shoulder like a brilliant golden waterfall. Her bare back was a portrait of breathtaking beauty.
Rising to his knees on the mattress, Sunny crept up stealthily behind Cassie. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist, pulling her flush against him once more.
"How about I give you a hand washing up?" he offered, making absolutely no effort to hide his intentions.
Cassie paused her grooming for a moment, turning her head slightly toward him with a radiant, teasing smile. Something was pressing very noticeably against her from behind. She didn't mind it in the slightest.
"If you're in there, I'll end up never leaving the shower," she playfully pointed out, reaching back to trace his jawline with her index finger.
Rising slowly and slipping free from her shadow's embrace, Cassie made her way toward the bathroom, lingering just long enough to feel Sunny's hands trail affectionately over her skin as she pulled away.
He watched her delicate, perfectly bare silhouette—just as nature intended—disappear behind the bathroom door. Once it clicked shut, he let out a blissful breath.
Then, left alone, Sunny looked up and summoned his runes.
---
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Everlasting Gloom.
Rank: Awakened.
Class: Demon.
---
Sunny studied his statistics with immense satisfaction. Over these past six months trapped on the Forgotten Shore, he had been through countless hardships, battling formidable enemies, exploring uncharted wastelands, and accomplishing numerous goals.
One of those was Awakening without the use of the Spell. The wide grin on his face was a pure testament to his pride and joy.
Obviously, not everything had gone perfectly according to his plans—though it hadn't completely gone off the rails, either. But all things considered, he had finally made it to where he was now.
"Well," a sweet voice called out from the bathroom, preceded by an exasperated little sigh. "Aren't you coming?"
Sunny, being the gentleman that he was, dismissed his runes in the blink of an eye and sprinted for the bathtub where Cassie was waiting for him in a flash.
Another day in paradise had just begun.
***
A few hours later...
Sunny walked through the winding streets of the Bright City's outer settlements. Despite the gloomy, sterile environment of the ruined city, he was in remarkably high spirits. Whistling a cheerful tune, he navigated the avenues and narrow alleys of the citadel within the castle's inner walls, genuinely eager to see what the day had in store for him.
As he walked by, several residents offered him warm greetings, others respectfully stepped aside to clear his path, and a few even bowed their heads in quiet reverence.
'Huh. I've really built up quite the reputation around here lately,' Sunny thought, letting out a mild sigh. 'Well, fortunately, I still managed to fly under the radar and let the others bask in the spotlight while I stuck to the shadows. After all, I can't afford to draw too much attention because of a certain relative of mine... but whatever. Glory has never exactly appealed to me more than cold, hard profit anyway.'
With a dismissive shrug, he pressed on, eventually arriving at a quiet alleyway that opened up to a fork in the road—one path leading toward the towering castle, the other ending in a blind alley.
Sunny came to a halt. He leaned his back against the rough stone wall, crossing his arms as he settled in to wait. He tilted his head up toward the dark, starless sky, his mind drifting through a sea of memories—recalling everything that had transpired over these past, long months since he first set foot in this cursed land. The smile on his lips softened, turning a bit melancholic, yet still carrying that signature sly edge.
"Sunny."
A voice called out to him—sudden and completely unannounced. A radiant, unmistakable feminine presence had quietly approached from his right while he was lost in thought.
Sunny turned his head to meet the speaker's gaze. Instantly, the easygoing aura around him fractured; his expression grew noticeably heavier—tinged with a deep, lingering sadness and a subtle edge of resentment—even though he managed to keep the smile firmly planted on his face.
"Hey, Neph," he greeted her with a casual nod, forcing a friendly, familiar grin onto his lips.
Nephis had changed drastically during this time as well. Her physique—tempered in the fires of countless brutal battles and multiple narrow escapes from certain death—had become sharper, more athletic, and dangerously lithe, giving her a breathtaking presence. Her facial features had matured and sharpened, rendering her truly enchanting to look at. Her silver-white hair had grown out significantly, cascading down her back like a pristine curtain of the finest silk.
She was undeniably beautiful. And yet, that pure, flawless picture was heavily clouded by a dark shadow of regret that veiled her expression. Nephis looked genuinely crestfallen.
"It's good to see you," she said, offering a brief, heartbreakingly melancholic smile before her features settled back into an expression of profound, almost puppy-like guilt.
"It's good to see you too," Sunny replied, his smile softening into something entirely sincere, even as he kept his arms defensively crossed over his chest.
The two of them just stood there, looking at one another in silence for a long moment, quietly cataloging the myriad of changes they had both undergone while weathering a thousand different storms.
Each having walked their own solitary, stubbornly forged path.
And inevitably, both having suffered deeply from the agonizing absence of the other.