"Go, Lost from Light."
Those words shattered Sunny's world all those years ago, and yet again another set of words now grappled with Sunny's mind.
"Stay, Lost from Light."
There was an indescribable feeling that washed over Sunny, and suddenly he could feel a connection. A familiar connection, to Nephis. Sitting up from the bed, he closed his eyes. It was a lot for Sunny to process.
Virtually everything that he had done had already been erased by returning to the past, and here he was embracing his accursed Fate again.
Maybe things were truly unavoidable from the start.
"I'm sorry, Sunny."
While normally the words might have comforted Sunny, Neph's only felt hollow to him now.
"I... I need some time Neph."
And with those grief filled words, Sunny left her room.
Briskly walking back to Sunny's room, he collapsed on his own bed. Turning to face the imitation window, Sunny tried to get lost in its winter forest scenery.
Despite the obvious threat of another person taking Sunny's True Name, if Sunny and Neph were to ever clash... No, he didn't want to think about it.
But he had to.
In the future, Nephis wages war with Anvil against Ki Song. Only Sunny and her cohort truly knew her plans. If they fail to usurp the Sovereigns, millions of lives will be lost from the fallout. Sunny wasn't sure if he could handle the weight of that responsibility, nor if he should.
Letting a lengthy exhale escape his lips, Sunny closed his eyes. He would just have to plan as he goes. In reality, things were going much better than they had in the past at this point.
That next morning, Sunny was up before dawn practicing his form. Using Gloomy for further insight, Sunny shifted his Shadow Dance form from his previous body strength to the current, weakened Sleeper body he possessed.
It was an arduous task, he was no longer as flexible nor was he as physically capable as he was before. And Shadow Dance required the utmost pliability to use on his opponents, especially considering what he would face in the Forgotten Shore.
"You know, I'm starting to miss the other guys."
Gloomy looked at him and shook his head. He didn't know it yet but soon he would have a handful to deal with.
It was true though, Sunny missed the silent company of his other shadows. How long would it take for him this time to gather them all again?
With just one perspective to work with, It took sunny the better half of an hour before he was satisfied with his progress. The sweat dripping off of his pale skin bore testament to the effort.
Climbing into the shower to clean himself up, Sunny studied his body again.
In the few days he had been back, he had tepidly grown used to his new form. But he was already seeing minor results from his training.
After washing up, Sunny headed to his wildness survival class. Acting like he was learning everything for the first time was... Not easy to pull off to say the least. And Sunny was fairly certain that Julius had picked up on this already.
Thankfully, he seemed to guess that Sunny had prior training, or at least that's what Sunny had hoped.
It was his next class that got some reaction from Sunny.
At first, Sunny wasn't sure if it was necessary for him but after reevaluating his body, he chose to put himself into Instructor Rock's combat class. There was a lot he could refine in his form if he had another partner to work with.
Today, the Sleepers would be tested on their basic strength. The familiar plated machine was presented to them, and they lined up to take turns measuring their punches strength.
"Today will be simple for us to start with. Each of you will be taking your shot at this machine, it records the force used with a numerical value. The higher, the more force used. Have at it."
With that brief announcement from Instructor Rock, Sleepers began to throw their best at the machine.
It seemed that the average hit was about ten to fourteen. It was considered a good result, something that only the most athletic people could reach. However, a lot of Sleepers, obviously those with enhancing Aspects, were able to achieve a score of fifteen or even sixteen.
'I think with Gloomy I can get about twenty or so. Should I?'
Sunny smiled inwardly to himself, after all there wasn't much consequence to standing out a little anymore.
If anything, it might serve him better in the future if his foundation amongst his peers was already solidified.
Eventually, it was Neph's turn. Watching intently, Sunny had guessed she would surpass her old score of sixteen. Afterall, she was just that capable even as a Sleeper.
Suddenly, she turned her head back and caught Sunny's gaze. A faint smile played on her lips, almost... Playful?
Ignoring the questioning glances from the other Sleepers, she turned around and poised herself. She launched her punch, weaving it into the center of the plate with frightening speed for a Sleeper.
The machine took a moment, and a new score flashed. Twelve. Twelve?
'Wha-Twelve? That's even lower than her last score! What was she playing at now!?'
Neph caught Sunny's bewildered expression and winked at him as she walked away from the plate, and another sleeper stepped up.
Shaking his head, Sunny chose to not question what Nephis was planning.
For all he knew, there could have been some intense motive behind it. Or maybe she really just wanted to mess with him.
After a few more Sleepers performed, some even reaching fifteen on the score, it was Caster's turn. He too, seemed a little perplexed by Neph's low score.
Though, this was only recognizable by his slight frown as he stepped up to the plate.
As expected, he scored twenty-one. A murmur passed through the crowd of Sleepers, many of them throwing looks of admiration and awe at Caster. Just like his Legacy upbringing taught him, Caster simply bowed and took a step away.
Now, only Sunny remained.
'I guess I shouldn't shy away.'
Stepping up to the plate, Sunny took a breath and augmented himself with Gloomy. Then, he twisted his body forward. As he extended his fist towards the plate, he leaned into the strike. Despite his small frame, Sunny struck fiercely.
The machine froze for a moment, then a murmur passed around the room.
"Who is he?"
"Is he someone famous?"
"I don't remember seeing him in the top rankings..."
"Maybe he's got a physical Aspect?"
Sunny had managed to get a twenty, which satisfied him. Though, the attention felt a little foreign from this age group.
Instructor Rock wasted no time in gathering and leading them all over to the sparring ring.
"Well done all of you. Now, we will move to sparring and evaluate your general level of training. I need two volunteers to begin."
To Sunny's surprise, Nephis stepped forward. Was she going to do something odd again? A couple of seconds later, a tall and extremely muscular Sleeper followed and faced her.
Awakened Rock coughed, then turned to face the rest of the Sleepers.
"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities and techniques you find appropriate. If they are rendered incapable of fighting, it will be drawn as a loss."
'What are you playing at Neph?'
Leaning forward on the steel desk, Sunny rested his chin on his palms. He was genuinely curious to see what Neph would show here. But alas, it was nothing new.
It only took five minutes for her to crush every Sleeper aside from himself and Caster. Every time someone stepped up to fight, they would be thrown down without realizing what had even happened. It was truly terrifying.
But Sunny knew this was child's play for Nephis. He had witnessed much more and worse from her.
Caster glanced at Sunny, before he stepped forward. He seemed almost seemed irked by Sunny's performance at the strength testing machine.
'I bet he's really wondering who I am right now. Hell, maybe he thinks I was sent after Neph too!'
Neph stood with an air of indifference, as if Caster posed no threat to her. With a soft smile on his lips, the young man stepped into the ring.
Caster and Nephis faced each other. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and then Caster slightly bowed.
"Lady Nephis. Please excuse me in advance."
'Little does he know that it's already over.' Sunny thought to himself. He doubted Nephis would lose to him this time.
It seemed like Caster suddenly ceased to exist. Well, at least to the other Sleepers. A small wave of gasps broke out from the seated students.
However, it was only an illusion.
The truth was that he was just moving so fast that the human eye wasn't able to keep up with his movements. If it wasn't for the special properties of Shadow Sight, even Sunny wouldn't have been able to perceive anything. He was no longer a Saint, let alone an Awakened.
Though what Sunny once remembered struggling to see, he could piece together more easily now. Caster was no longer just a blur, but rather a dulled mirage vaguely fitting Caster.
In a fraction of a second, Caster covered the distance between him and Nephis and delivered a devastating blow. However, despite his astonishing speed, Neph reacted faster than any Sleeper should have, and slightly turned her body to deflect the strike in response.
Despite the strength packed into the punch, Neph held her ground and spun back to release a strike of her own. Caster didn't give her the opportunity to land it though, and disappeared again.
Nephis already knew how to beat him, so she simply left a gap in her defense behind herself. And Caster, who thought he held the advantage, fell for it.
Just as swiftly as he had appeared, her fist was already in motion. Spinning back, she came face to face with him, and lodged her fist in his abdomen.
Before Caster could react to the strike, she swept his feet and sent him flying down to the floor.
Just like that, Neph had dismantled his insurmountable advantage.
"Show off." Sunny grumbled out quietly.
In truth, she could have simply delivered the same elbow strike as she had in the past, and instead of letting him avoid it, she could have followed up with another anticipatory blow.
But Sunny had gathered that this was to leave an impression.
Nephis was aiming to deter him this time. She had already shown that she was in control of the situation, by scoring a mere twelve she only accentuated the point that she was not taking this seriously.
Nephis stood over Caster, showing her usual indifference. Her cold eyes as distant as ever as she glanced over the crowd of Sleepers.
Standing up groggily, Caster sighed.
"It's your complete victory, Lady Nephis."
"Thank you."
As she answered, Neph's gaze shifted from Caster to Sunny. A playful light seemed to dance in her eyes, as if inviting him to play a harmless game.
And Sunny had no plans in declining the invitation.
So what if he was going to show himself off more than intended? This was a much needed experience for his Shadow Dance right now.
Slowly, another murmur passed through the crowd of curious teens.
"Is he really gonna fight her?"
"Duh, why else would he stare her down?"
"Maybe he's just scared."
"Ha! As if, he got a twenty on that machine, maybe he can do better than sir Caster."
"But even sir Caster lost, I doubt he'll do any better..."
Sunny grinned and stood up. Instructor Rock nodded as he entered the ring, and Sunny centered himself across from Neph.
Clearing his thoughts, he began to analyze Neph with Shadow Dance.
By no means would this fight go in Sunny's favor. Physically, he was weaker. Much weaker. There was very little he could do to close the gap, especially since it was Nephis herself.
Afterall, she knew him better than anyone else in the world.
"Good luck."
Nephis brows furrowed for a moment, caught off guard by his jocular words. She knew very well that Sunny was outmatched.
'Let's see if that piqued her interest a bit. I doubt it though.'
For a moment, the tension was so palpable in the dojo one could almost touch it. Neither of them moved.
It was Sunny who made the first move.
Lunging forward, he closed the gap in an instant. While not as fast as Caster, Sunny made up for it with his small frame. Weaving under Neph's guard, he threw a right hook.
Rolling the hit off with her shoulder, Neph leaned into his now off kilter side. Barely dodging her strike, Sunny spun around Neph and tried to throw a jab at her exposed back. It seemed that Nephis expected this, and simply turned her body again to shrug off the blow.
Narrowly missing her, Sunny tried to reposition himself.
But alas, he was a moment too slow and caught Neph's fist with his forearms. The strike sent him flying back a few feet, and a small pain began to radiate from the impact.
'Damn her and her Legacy trained body...'
Sunny knew trading blows wouldn't get him anywhere, and Shadow Dance was simply not enough to keep up with Neph's tempo.
So he did what any crazy bastard would do and tossed his only advantage away.
Gloomy glided off of him, and positioned itself behind Neph. Sunny could hear the mob of Sleepers start to whisper again, but paid little attention to them.
Right now, this gamble was the make or break in the fight.
This time, it was Nephis who moved first. Staying low, she dashed towards Sunny. Bolstering his guard, he moved to parry her strike with another.
Utilizing Gloomy's perspective allowed Sunny to anticipate that this strike was a feint, and her real target was not his torso, but his legs.
Before she could twist her leg into delivering a kick, Sunny sidestepped to her right and tried to land another hook. However she had already read this.
They continued this game of cat and mouse for a few more exchanges. Each time Sunny would come out with another bruise, and leave Nephis with no more than a mere scratch.
But it was progress.
However, Sunny's body couldn't stay in tempo, and Neph managed to land a blow to his liver before he could block it, dropping him to his knees.
'Dammit...'
If only he was stronger. Ah, there was little use in whining though.
It was only after he fell that he noticed the complete silence in the dojo.
Turning away from Neph, he met the gaze of the awe-filled Sleepers. Even Instructor Rock showed a mild expression of approval.
"That was a good spar you two. Now then, everyone go get cleaned up."
Instructor Rock began to guide them back to the gender locker rooms, and Sunny caught Caster glancing at him with... Was it envy? Or suspicion? Sunny could not tell.
Neph held out a hand for Sunny, and helped him up. A small smile played on her face as she faced him.
"Not bad, Lord of Shadows."
"Hah - I would've won if I wasn't a street rat turned Academy rat."
Neph let out a stiff chuckle, before walking to her locker room.
'It's true dammit... At least I think it is?'
Sighing, Sunny turned to go to the boys locker room.
Yet another surprise awaited for him there. A small group of boys, that in the past had swarmed Caster over his victory against Nephis, was waiting for him instead.
"How did you do it?"
"Are you from the Great Clans?!"
"What was that shadow thingy!"
The teens clamored around him, and Sunny had to grit through his pain - that damned liver shot still hurt - to speak.
"I was lucky, I'm not, and it's part of my Aspect. Now let me get changed in peace!"
Sunny wasn't wrong when he said he had been lucky. He only lasted so long due to Gloomy providing him with a near complete view of Neph's positioning. Every muscle moving, every alteration to her foot work, was all caught and observed through Gloomy.
It yielded enough results that Sunny was satisfied with his loss.
Just as Sunny made his way through the group of awe stricken teens, he was met with Caster's familiar figure.
Smiling politely, Caster struck his hand out.
"I'm Caster from the Han Li clan, that was an impressive fight. May I have the pleasure of knowing who you are?"