The ship's hull groaned softly beneath them, caught between the cold pull of the Sky Below and the ruined remains of the Sky Above. It wasn't flying so much as it was lowering — held aloft by ancient, groaning tech. Sunny found the air to be tense, considering what had previously occurred.
He had too many questions. Who was the mysterious white-robed figure? The puppets? Why was Seele, of all people, a target?
Her history with the world at large was mostly limited to Belobog, so he doubted that anyone could have a grudge against her. Was this all some ploy to obtain benefits, then? After all, with Seele's Aspect, there would definitely be an interesting Memory if one was lucky enough.
But that was just a gamble, and was very unrealistic. Maybe Seele had some place in a powerful individual's game. But how would they know of her existence in the first place? Sunny supposed that divination was a possibility.
He also wondered how they had been so lucky as to have the figure in white disappear right before directly hitting Seele. With how the shockwaves were enough to slice through her neck, a direct impact might have erased her from existence.
Was any of that even real? What was up with those bloody flames, anyways? They seemed to rise up from the Sky Below…
Sunny started to remember the sea of divine flame he had encountered a few months back.
That was when the upper hatch clanked open — and March dropped in with a thud and a breathless.
"Who's the midget?"
Sunny blinked.
Then squinted.
"…What?"
March frowned, brushing dust from her sleeves.
"Not you."
She pointed toward Sparkle.
"Her."
Sunny slowly straightened.
"I'm not a—"
March patted his shoulder with exactly the wrong amount of sincerity.
"Aw, don't be so sensitive. We're buddies, right? I won't judge you just because you're a little short. You have a good thing going for you!"
Sunny's eye twitched.
Sparkle, standing off to the side, crossed her arms with a dainty sniff.
"How charming. I do love it when tall people get confused and assume they're the center of every insult. It's so… human."
Sunny's brow scrunched up.
'What kind of philosophical bullshit…?'
March perked up.
"See? I was talking about her."
She stepped forward and crouched slightly, as if examining a small, easily spooked animal.
"Wow, you're really small. Like, almost cute-small. Are you a kid? Or is this, like, your full size?"
Sunny watched in horror as March questioned the age of a clearly adult woman. If it was anyone else, he would have assumed that they were mocking her — but he knew that March was being genuine.
'She doesn't even look like a kid!'
Using height as a standard was very ignorant.
Sparkle smiled, showing a bit too much tooth for it to be genuine.
"My size is tailored. Unlike yours."
March blinked.
"Huh?"
"You know. The way your height doesn't quite fit your personality."
Just then, Dan Heng dropped down from the hatch with his usual quiet efficiency. He landed lightly and opened his mouth — just to be cut off when Sunny raised his hand.
"Learn to sit back and observe. Not everything needs a reaction."
Dan Heng paused. Then, he silently moved to the side, leaning against a bulkhead like someone waiting for popcorn.
March turned back to Sparkle, wearing a look of realization.
"Oh! You mean my size can't contain my bright and bubbly self! Yep, I know! I'm pretty amazing."
"…Sure."
The hatch creaked again.
Seele stepped through, brushing the edge of the frame as she re-entered the room.
Before she could take a step further, Sparkle was already in motion. She wrapped an arm around Seele's shoulders and steered her off to the side.
"Huh—?"
"Girl talk."
Sunny watched them for all of one second before turning his head away and deciding not to care
He could still hear their voices in the background. Not the words — just the cadence. Sparkle's airy amusement. Seele's growing horror. Something about leaning close. Something about neck placement?
He stopped listening.
Dan Heng looked up at Sunny for a moment, before shaking his head in bafflement.
March stared openly.
"She's so weird."
Sunny raised a brow.
"Which one?"
"…Yes."
"Says the one who looks edible."
"What?"
"You heard me, cotton candy."
Eventually, Sparkle returned. Seele trailed after her, red-faced and tight-lipped, avoiding everyone's eyes.
Sunny didn't ask. He didn't want to know.
Sparkle took the spot next to him and leaned back with a satisfied sigh.
"She'll thank me later."
Sunny asked flatly:
"For what?"
She smiled at him.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
Sunny rolled his eyes.
A beat passed. Then Sparkle nudged him lightly with her elbow.
"You're quiet."
"Thinking."
"No leads?"
"None that make sense."
Sparkle tilted her head, then looked around the ship's dim interior. She stood up.
Well… if we're going to be spinning our wheels anyway, we might as well do something worth our time."
Sunny eyed her warily. "Like what?"
Her grin widened.
And then, from behind one of the metal cabinets, she pulled out a small box. It was wrapped in a battered cloth, with the faintest glow of cooling runes embedded into the seal.
She dropped it on the table with a thud.
"Happy birthday."
Everyone froze.
Sunny blinked.
"...What?"
Sparkle gestured at the box.
"Cake. You like chocolate, right?"
"Maybe? That's not the point."
"You didn't think I forgot, did you?"
March's eyes lit up.
"It's your birthday?!"
Sunny closed his eyes.
"Unfortunately."
Dan Heng glanced over.
"Today's the Solstice."
Sparkle beamed, as if the implications weren't as menacing and bloody as they were.
"Exactly. December twenty-first . Longest night on Earth. Most cursed day in human history. And this guy just had to be born on it. With a solar eclipse in the background for extra points."
March frowned.
"Wait. Isn't that the day the Dream Realm pulls in Sleepers?"
Sparkle clapped once.
"Ding ding. Sunny's birthday is the reason humanity suffers every year."
March turned to him slowly.
"...Did you curse the world?"
By the time she finished the sentence, Sunny was already chewing through a mouthful of chocolate cake.
He gave her a slow, deliberate shrug.
"I wish I had that kind of power. I bet you're just jealous that you didn't get such a stylish entrance. First impressions and stuff."
Dan Heng rubbed his chin.
"It is strangely symbolic…"
"Aura, Dan Heng. Aura…"
Sunny pushed more cake into his mouth, chewing with the kind of stoicism usually reserved for battlefield rations.
March blinked.
"You're just gonna eat cake after hearing all that?"
Sunny didn't answer. He did, however, angle the box slightly away from her.
March narrowed her eyes.
"Hey—"
"No."
"You didn't even—"
"No."
"You can't just hog it!"
"I can. And I am."
Sunny made a vague motion with his fork, possibly a warning. Or maybe a threat. It was hard to tell with cake in his mouth.
Seele finally sat down, still red in the face.
"...This is the weirdest group of people I've ever met."
Dan Heng nodded in quiet agreement. Then, after a beat:
"Happy birthday."
Sunny gave him a curt nod, then returned to what mattered.
The cake.
'Chocolate, was it? What a revolutionary invention…'