Seishan left not long after their alliance was sealed, her duties in the castle and the risk of Gunlaug noticing her absence too great.
There was still some time before the sun rose when Kai, Sunny, Nephis and Cassie found themselves alone in the underground room.
Sunny looked at their tired faces, and smiled.
"I guess that went great, right, guys?"
Cassie and Nephis nodded, while Kai magnificently rubbed his exhausted face with his hand.
"You could've told me a little more about who I was meeting, Sunny." Kai glanced at Changing Star and her oracle, smiling again. "Not that it wasn't a pleasure knowing you, Ladies."
Sunny laughed and slung his arm over his shoulder.
"Well, that would've taken half the fun from it, no?"
Kai looked at his new buddy and sighed.
"Perhaps."
They let silence reign in the room for a minute, gathering their thoughts. The day- and night- had been long, and their minds were tired.
Kai majestically yawned, then rubbed his eyes. His cheeks reddened a bit for the embarrassment when he noticed the others looking at him.
"I'll take my leave, if that's fine."
They nodded.
"Goodnight, Sunny, Lady Nephis, Lady Cassia."
Sunny frowned. 'Hey, why aren't you calling me Lord or something, you bastard!?'
Kai headed for the exit- or rather, the ladders below the hole in the ceiling.
Just before he went out, he suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Sunny! How forgetful of me. I didn't give you that strange armour you asked. I must say, it isn't fashionable at all!"
'Oh, right. Well, here I come, Underworld Mantle!'
The archer touched his hand, and Sunny felt the Memory being transferred to his soul.
"See you soon, Kai."
Kai nodded and flew out of the room. Just as his feet vanished over the passage, the Spell whispered in Sunny's ears.
[You have received a Memory.]
However, after just a moment, it spoke again.
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
As Sunny's eyes widened for the surprise, he felt both his body and soul changing. In fact, he felt as his skin had turned to stone.
[You have received an attribute.]
'…What?'
He turned to Nephis, who was gaping at the silver bracelet adorning her wrist.
"I'm going to sleep too, guys."
Both Sunny and Nephis answered with a distracted "'night.", and Cassie, not effortlessly, climbed up.
After they shook out of their shock, Nephis spoke.
"I've got my Blessing. How…"
"And the Mantle of the Underworld has turned into an Attribute, without me having to defeat a few thousands of adversaries. I might have an inkling of the reason. You see, I suspect that Nether created this task to make sure the one who possessed the armour was worthy and to make its owner's soul and the Mantle create a Bond, needed for the Soulbond Attribute, and that is why I gained right after getting the Memory, because my soul was already used to it due to the future. Also, we've received memories from the future, and maybe it works for soulbond Memories too, and this triggered you receiving the Blessing. I'm not sure whether there's a specific trigger to let us receive memories or if it's just a matter of time. Actually, we don't even why we are receiving memories from the future, so there isn't really a way to predict anything. It's better if we just… let it happen."
Nephis nodded, her armour disappearing into a myriad of sparkling lights. Her eyes shone as she looked at his face.
Summon your Shadow Bed, Sunny.
Sunny smiled and caught her lips in a kiss as the great Shadow Bed appeared in the room.
They sat on it, and Nephis reached for his mouth again, but Sunny suddenly remembered a detail he'd forgotten to share.
"Oh right, I found a way to make Saint stronger."
Nephis halted. "How?"
"Well, on the way here, we slayed a Fallen Demon. It was this human like skeleton with an heart of True Darkness. She dealt the killing blow, piercing that mass, and the True Darkness flowed into her. She felt stronger afterwards, even if only by a little margin."
"The problem is that there aren't many creature of Darkness here, right?"
Sunny sighed. "Yeah. Not anywhere, really."
Nephis contemplated the news for a while, so, when she opened her mouth, Sunny expected her to say something wise or of some value. Instead she said.
"Do you think Saint would beat Effie in arm wrestling?"
Sunny blinked, then furrowed his brows.
"Probably, considering her higher Rank, Class and her weight."
A dangerous glint in his lover's eyes sent a shiver down his spine.
"No! Don't even think about it!" He panicked.
Nephis pouted. Yes, she pouted. The shock was nearly enough to overwhelm his terror.
"You didn't even know what I was going to say!"
Sunny scrunched his face.
"I can read you like an open book. It would end badly."
Nephis' statuesque face showed determination.
"She ought to be humbled."
"No." Sunny repeated.
Nephis put an end on his leg and kissed him on the neck, then whispered.
"We'll see."
Oh, she was going to be the death of him.