{I suck at interpersonal scenes so sorry for this chopped ah chap.}
Sunny, Nephis, Cassie, Effie, Kai, Jet, Rain, and the Crimson-Black haired woman, whose name is Serana, sat around the room in comfortable sofas, some sitting in chairs.
They had concluded the meeting, all the members dispersing before the cohort retreated into the underground levels of the building, which was apparently where Sunny had been living.
Currently, they were in wherever he slept as they lazed around, nobody speaking.
However, that silence was doomed to break.
"Alright Sunny, I think it's about time you explain what all of this is and, more importantly, what does it have to do with us?"
Nephis asked, her face flat but curious.
Sunny mulled over his words before speaking.
"It is like you heard, soon, Antarctica will be plagued with nightmare gates between category two and three. Its cities will be besieged by an ocean of Nightmare Creatures while titans wreak havoc across the central region."
Hearing the full story made her feel a sort of melancholy in her bones, as if being uncomfortable with the very situation.
Meanwhile the others shared similarly grim looks, their faces turned down. They thought of what Sunny had said.
If what Sunny spoke of really came to pass, everyone there would die. It was not speculation, it was fact.
And there was one thing that made every one of them take it utterly seriously.
[Forbidden Holder] Attribute Description: [You have lived as a Supreme and recall all you learned, thus you possess forbidden knowledge of the future and the –unknown-.]
Sunny was, in a way, like Cassie. He had seen the future much the same, however, in this moment, they understood the difference in the two.
What Cassie sees were vision, loose ideas that allow you to grasp the meaning of the event at best.
Meanwhile, Sunny had seen a vivid future, enough so that the spell had given him an attribute for it.
Nephis took a moment, her eyes scanning the other members of the cohort. She could tell they felt the same.
Nephis let out a deep breath as she turned to Sunny.
"So, what do you have in mind?"
He took a moment to arrange his thoughts before speaking.
"When the shadow clan leaves, they will be integrated with the government forces to blend in while traveling. Once there, they will assume their teams like normal. I have secured a spot as an Irregular for the irregular companies, as such I need a cohort."
He gestured to them, his face passive, but clearly apprehensive.
This moment decided the path that his future would take.
Would his companions follow him down a different path? Or would they reject his offer, returning to their lives?
Would he continue with those he cared for, or would he be forced to leave them behind?
As his mind raced, thinking through the possibilities of what could happen, Nephis spoke.
"So, you want us to join you in the Antarctic Campaign as your cohort... buts that not the only reason, is it?"
Sunny gave her a strained smile as his flaw forced him to speak.
"There are certain, "opportunities" in Antarctica that will become incredibly important. Ones we will be taking advantage of."
Nephis gave him a long look as if gauging if she should ask more, however, knowing his flaw, she decided to let it go for now.
Suddenly Effie interrupted.
"Hey, I know we are doing the whole posturing negotiation thing right now, but when do I get one of the cool suits?"
Sunny shot her a glance before he extended his hand.
Effie beamed at him as she took his hand.
Two sparks passed between them as two new memories appeared in her runes.
She didn't hesitate to summon them, sparks spiraling and condensing into shape.
In seconds a black armor hugged her skin, its metal plating a mix of plating and thin cloth as strong as steel, allowing for flexibility and raw exertion while keeping the wearer defended.
Just after the armor, a mask appeared on her face. Its surface engraved with the image of wolves circling.
The moment they wrapped around her, she felt powerful. Safe.
"They are Transcendent Memories of the 7th tier made with about the strongest material available."
He sighed.
"The armor has two enchantments, both passive but incredibly strong. The mask has one, that one is active."
He then detailed their abilities.
The armor's enchantment dampens all harmful external forces like impact, weather, or even essence. The other enhances the bodily functions of the wearer affecting everything from reaction time to essence potency.
The mask on the other hand, has an active enchantment that erases your presence and conjuring an effect that causes one's attention to slide off the wearer.
It was amazing what a master of weaving could do.
Together, the mask covered stealth while the armor was able to turn even the weaker awakened into half decent fighters, allowing them to tank attacks from creatures stronger than them.
It was the final design Sunny had come up with after watching Serana and Jet spare with him. They seemed to lack most in basic things rather than something like skill or mastery.
Both were incredible fighters, however, when compared to Sunny, they lost to sheer might, even a powerful Saint like Serana. The same was true for Jet, she possessed immense skill, yet she was simply unable to keep up with Serana in raw physicality.
This was what led Sunny to try and enhance these base skills rather than give external abilities. It required much less essence to preform and allowed him to heavily augment the wearer with a passive enchantment.
It had paid off in dividends.
It had made Serana a threat, even to Sunny. Sunny was an Ascended Titan with the ability to wrap his shadows around his body, allowing him to multiply his strength further.
He also possessed [The Weave] which enhanced his entire body, further improving his strength.
Then he had the effect of his Shadow Born which enhanced him even more when embraced by shadows.
Not to mention the will that wrapped around him like a second skin.
Altogether, it made him much stronger than any Master should have been.
However, that didn't mean he was untouchable.
Sera had proven it.
She was powerful for a Saint, enough so that Sunny had been surprised when he met her.
She had been sent to kill him by Clan Song, the blood of beast god flowed through her veins much like the Song Sisters, and Sunny wondered what the story was.
If there was a Saint so powerful among them, why had she not been sent to sight during the Domain War? What about after?
That let him to one conclusion.
She had been killed at some point between now and then.
When he realized this, he decided to try and sway her to his cause.
At first, she had relentlessly hunted his head, reminding him of slayer, however, everyone has something they love or hate, something they wish to have or to take from another.
That was what Sunny used.
He had done something similar with Sky Tide while the other was a weak saint that had been kicked from Valor. Sunny did not particularly care about his previous qualifications.
Kalin was indeed weak. He had no experience in fighting at all, his entire aspect suited towards one thing.
Defense.
Which was exactly what Sunny needed.
The man's Dormant ability allows him to fortify premade structures, while his awakened is able to shape the earth itself into structures.
His Ascended ability allows him to summon rudimentary golems to fight for him. However, it was his Transcendent ability that really shined.
It allowed him to place a restricted area wherever he wants, anything entering it becoming weaker, its essence leeched from its body to empower his other aspect abilities.
He would be relocated to Falcon Scott as soon as possible, his aspect going to use protecting the city. A position that he was more than comfortable with.
Sunny was roused from his thoughts as Rain gently shook him.
Everyone was staring at him, concerned.
"Ah, sorry, I had drifted into my thoughts."
Rain took a step back, sitting back in her chair.
However, Kai, Cassie, and Nephis stood, staring.
"What?"
Kai coughed into his hand.
"Uhm, you know, you wouldn't happen to have some of those memories for us, right?"
"Oh... yeah."
He stuck out his hand having entirely forgotten about the memories.
Sparks passed between him and the three as he transferred the memories to them. And soon, they summoned them.
Cassie's took the form of a battle dress, the top tight while the bottom flared. Black metal ran across the shoulders, chest, and hips. Layers of steal woven fabric on top of each other providing a full look.
A flat black mask rested on her face, to x's etched over where eyes would be.
To her right, Kai stood, his tight-fitting armor looking like that of soul serpent. Black metal scales rolled in the light as the scarves and hanging strips of shadow silk flowed in some invisible wind.
On his face rested a black mask, the image of a fearsome dragon carved into the wood.
Nephis stood to Cassie's left, she was dressed in similarly dark armor, the armor hugging tight to her frame, supporting her where needed while remaining entirely flexible in other places.
Dark metal covered her chest and shoulders, dark plates extending over the backs of her arms like scales, while strips of dark cloth wrapped around the hard metal, giving a rouge look.
The same dark metal covered her legs up to middle thigh, only giving space for her joints. Dark silk hung around his neck and hips, giving the armor plenty of extra fabrics.
A mask much like the others rested on her face, its dark surface engraved with dancing flames.
Seeing her in the armor was breath taking, but Sunny could not revel in it. He still had a few memories to weave before they left, some of the members were still waiting on their weapons while he was trying to make each of his cohort members an individual specific memory.
Overall, he had a lot to do and little time to do it.
And so, he spoke to his cohort.
"Well, I guess I will be seeing you soon."
Rain, Jet, and Serana placed their masks on as they stood.
Sunny summoned the [Weaver's Mask], the sparks forming from thin air.
"Meet us here when time comes, we will go from there."
Nephis nodded as Sunny turned.
"Sunny."
He stopped, turning his head.
"I...I'll see you soon."
He blinked.
Then smiled.
"Yeah, Neph, see you soon."