(Third Person POV)
Sunny gave his teacher a strange look.
"You're leaving? Why?"
With a sheepish look, Audun responded:
"I've neglected my own training for far too long. If I want to reach the same heights I previously ascended, I need time to hone my body to the same level as my insight."
A frown developed on the student's face.
"Can't you just do that here? Why do you have to leave?"
The swordsman shrugged.
"I need a place to be alone. A place where I can train for weeks continuously without being interrupted, and the Dark City, with its booming population of sleepers, lack of space, and dumb politics, is not that kind of place."
Audun let out a sigh.
"I won't be gone for very long, maybe a month or two at most. Besides, you'll be fine without me, y'know?"
Sunny shrugged, his tone indifferent.
"I guess so."
A frown tugged at the corners of Audun's mouth as he pounded his chest confidently.
"You guess? C'mon, have faith in my teachings, Sunny! After all my months of careful instruction, you could probably storm the Bright Castle alone and come out on top, y'know?"
Sunny's eyes took on a humorous glint.
"Hey, that's actually not a bad idea! Maybe I'll give it a try sometime soon."
The teacher barked out a laugh.
"Yeah, you totally should! Imagine how Nephis would react if you..."
Sunny stiffened
Audun trailed off, noting the bitter smile marring his student's face.
"Are you... still not over what happened?"
Sunny shook his head lightly, a small laugh escaping his mouth.
"It's complicated."
Audun raised a brow.
"Complicated?"
Sunny locked eyes with the swordsman, the relaxed glint in his eyes fading.
"Yeah... Kind of?"
"The hell is that supposed to mean?"
A smile bloomed across Sunny's face as he turned his gaze to the visage of the Bright Castle far off in the distance.
"Well, you know..."
"Every now and then, I think about what it'd be like to see her again. Whether the person in front of me would be Neph, the same girl I traveled across the labyrinth with and the first person to teach me to fight, or Lady Nephis of the Immortal Flame Clan, daughter of the first saint of humanity and the star of ruin who'll drown the Forgotten Shore in an ocean of blood."
Sunny closed his eyes gently, his expression a mask of serene contemplation.
"Or perhaps they're the same person. Maybe Neph and that lunatic hell bent on destroying the spell are one and the same, and I'm just trying to deny the fact that someone I trust could sacrifice hundreds of lives without hesitation to destroy the world."
Sunny exhaled with a bitter look, not noticing that Audun had plopped down next to him.
The swordsman patted his friend on the shoulder, flashing him the most reassuring smile he could muster.
"Hey man, regardless, I'm on your side. I'm practically clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff because... well, I've had a history of keeping to myself. But if you need someone to talk to, or if you need help, I'll be there in a flash."
Sunny paused for a moment, the vestige of a smile flashing across his face.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
The two fell silent for a moment.
"... It's getting late. We should start making dinner."
"Yeah, good point- Wait, you're not still thinking about making stew, right?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Forget it... By the way, when are you planning on leaving?"
"Dunno. Maybe a week from now? I was gonna stick around to help you finish fine-tuning your shadow dance and leave once we've adapted the forms to better suit your body."
"Uh-huh. Sounds like a plan!"
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(A week later)
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
[Stone Saint has grown stronger.]
After Audun left, the once lively Cathedral was now only a hollow shell of what it once was.
Or at least, that's what Sunny thought.
Sure, with an unfriendly roommate downstairs and a surprisingly adorable titan resting in his soul, Sunny might not have been starving for company, but without a certain teacher guiding his progress, the once motivated sleeper now felt a little lost.
Thus, without the guidance of his teacher, Sunny spent most, if not all, of his waking hours farming memories to feed his newest pet.
In fact, Sunny was currently on one such hunt, walking leisurely through the ruins with a graceful, shadowy statue following him closely behind.
Stone Saint, otherwise known as Saint, was an echo that Sunny had received a couple of weeks back after killing a whole gang of them on his way back after a walk.
After obtaining the echo, he had been prompted by the spell to turn it into a shadow, and in his curiosity, he had done so without much thought.
By doing so, he had transformed the once graceful stone creature into a noble demon clad in a set of lusterless armor.
While definitely not being on the same level as Blackie or Inky, Saint could handle a good amount of the awakened abominations lying around the ruins, though she was often thrashed by some of the fallen ones.
But, still, as one of Sunny's shadows, Saint was able to grow stronger by being fed memories.
And feed her Sunny did, well, with a bit of help from Audun.
Shadow Fragments: [172/200]
It had taken weeks to get to this point, and Sunny desperately hoped that the result of feeding the greedy shadow so many precious memories would be something worthwhile.
Well... Desperately might be a little bit of an overstatement.
Sunny didn't actually particularly care what happened.
He was plenty strong enough, and if anything, he was just hoping to raise a sparring partner other than Blackie.
Well, regardless, the night was still young, and Sunny had no plans of returning to the Cathedral at a reasonable time.
The sleeper walked around the ruins casually, visiting some of his frequented spots or checking out anything that caught his interest.
Saint took care of most of the abominations that would've normally bothered him, and the ones she couldn't handle were personally slain by him.
Soon, though, while Sunny was in a nearby library, he received an odd message from his shadow.
There was a group of six humans cautiously walking along a narrow path in the ruins, guided by a lantern glowing with ghastly light.
Sunny wore an intrigued expression.
'People out this late at night? And... They definitely don't look like Neph's goons.'
He piloted his shadow a little closer to the group.
'Huh. Their armor is too clean to be a bunch of outer-settlement hunters. They're probably some of Gunlaug's men.'
Sunny raised a brow.
'But why the hell are they out this late at night?'
Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Sunny plopped the book he was reading on a nearby desk, melting into a puddle of shadows as he moved towards the group.
He darted through the ruins, closing in on the glowing blue circle a couple of meters away.
Sunny observed the group a little closer, noticing how rugged the men looked.
For a moment, he seriously considered ignoring them and going back to his book.
But after seeing the cold glint in their eyes, he saw an opportunity for a bit of fun.
Thus, the sleeper jumped out of the shadows, directly in the center of the group of six.
Gunlaug's goons, absolutely flabbergasted by his sudden appearance, dropped their lattern and scrambled to summon their weapons.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!"
An amused smile graced Sunny's face.
"The name's Sunless! Though you guys can call me Sunny if you want."
The six pointed their weapons at the still smiling Sunny.
Sunny was unarmed and wearing a black linen shirt and similarly colored cotton pants, the ghastly lattern coloring his form in shades of eerie blue.
His flawless, well-groomed appearance and the casual way he addressed them put the six men on guard.
"Don't move!"
Sunny blinked, raising his hands in mock surrender.
"Woah woah woah, I'm a human just like you guys! Surely you wouldn't harm a little sleeper like me, would you?"
The leader of the hunting party didn't relax his guard.
"Bullshit! What kind of fucking human would wander around the ruins unarmed!"
Sunny tilted his head in feigned confusion, pointing at himself.
"Uh... This human, I guess?"
The hunters shifted uncomfortably.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
Sunny shrugged.
"I live here. I got a little curious when I saw your light, and I came to check it out."
The leader narrowed his eyes.
"You... live here?"
The rugged men scanned the delicate porcelain doll in front of them, a couple of them gulping cautiously as they readied their weapons.
With his sublime beauty and inexplicable casual behavior, the men couldn't dismiss the possibility that this was some sort of disguised nightmare creature.
The group tensed as they contemplated their approach, but a younger member stepped forward, speaking in an uncertain tone:
"Wait, Chief. He might be telling the truth."
The hunter scanned Sunny, noting the amused look plastered across his face.
"Do you remember Changing Star's knight? The one that killed Harus?"
The group shivered.
"Yeah... Who'd be able to forget that monster? Why?"
With a gulp, the younger member continued:
"Well, I heard a couple of months ago that he and another member of Changing Star's group left and started living in the ruins."
Sunny interrupted, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Huh? You guys know about me and Audun?"
As soon as he spoke his friend's name, the group of six flinched.
The tips of the group's weapons faltered momentarily, their eyes darting around the ruins warily.
Seeing their behavior, Sunny couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"If you guys are scared of him popping by, I regret to inform you that he's on a little trip right now."
Sunny nodded regretfully.
"He'll be gone for a month or two, but if you guys wanna meet him, I could arrange something!"
At his words, the hunters paused, their leader silently mulling over Sunny's words.
"Hey... Do you guys know anything about this kid?"
One of the other members spoke up:
"From what I heard, he's got an Aspect that allows him to hide in the shadows. Apparently, he was that bitch Changing Star's old scout before-"
Sunny interrupted them, a small frown tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Hey, that's rude! I'll have you know, Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan and I are very, very close friends. If you guys call my dearest companion such a crude word again, I won't have any other choice but to politely ask you to surrender your lives."
The hunters exchanged glances, blinking in mild disbelief.
"Hey, uh, guys? I'm pretty sure this twerp just threatened us."
"Wait, I wasn't hearing things? This kid really said that?"
The leader let out a laugh.
"Oh god! That- That's a good one! Forfeit our lives, huh? This pretty boy really thinks he can take the six of us! Oh man, I haven't laughed like this in a while!"
Following their leader's example, the other hunters soon burst into fits of laughter too.
Well, all except one.
The younger member who had stepped forward earlier spoke up in an uncertain voice.
"Uh, Chief? This kid was a member of Changing Star's original group, the one that survived two entire months in the Labyrinth on their own. Are you sure he ca-"
The leader burst into another fit of hysterical laughter.
"I heard that righteous bitch Nephis and her knight saved two useless little shits on her way to the castle. One of them was that pretty little blind girl, and the other... Well, the other is this puny fucker!"
After the laughter subsided, a curious hunter spoke up, a malicious glint in his eyes.
"Hey, Boss, should we kill him? That scary knight is supposedly gone."
The leader licked his lips, scanning Sunny lecherously.
"Nah, this one's too pretty to kill. We could probably sell him for a high price to Gunlaug."
A couple of hunters snickered.
With a grin, the leader gestured crudely while raising a heavy-looking axe.
"Fork over your memories, and we'll find you a nice master to serve. Who knows? With your appearance, even Lady Seishan might take you as a boy toy."
Sunny could do little more than blink in disbelief, pointing at himself in confusion.
Another hunter stepped up, jabbing his spear threateningly at Sunny.
"You heard the man! Hand them over, and we'll make sure you're delivered unharmed. If not... well, I think you'd still fetch a pretty good price with a few scratches."
Seeing the complete 180 in behavior, Sunny couldn't hold in his laughter.
"What's so funny, pretty boy? You lose your mind or something?"
Sunny wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"You guys have to be the most cartoonishly evil people I've ever met! Ever!"
The leader scoffed, bringing his axe forward threateningly, but suddenly, his vision tilted as his gaze turned upwards.
And it wasn't just him; four other hunters suddenly found themselves staring up at the night sky.
The only one unaffected, the younger member who had been hesitating earlier, could only blink in shock as he watched the rest of his party get sliced in half at the waist.
A fountain of blood spattered out of the five stumps, the thudding of bodies and armor shattering the momentary, but deafening silence.
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
"Hah~ You guys really should've stopped while you were ahead."
Sunny had expected to feel something upon slaughtering the hunters. Perhaps a bit of guilt?
But contrary to his expectations, he felt exceptionally numb watching the gruesome sight of his own creation.
He had been haunted by the visceral sensations of Harper's murder for so long that the instant and clean deaths of the sleepers in front of him barely fazed him.
"Y-You Monster!"
The remaining member of the party backed away from Sunny, his eyes full of object terror.
Sunny gave the man an indifferent glance.
"Drop your Memories and leave."
A shadowy gauntlet-clad hand grasped the party's fallen lantern.
The noble demon stepping out of Sunny's Shadow dropped the lantern at the terrified hunter's feet.
But the hunter continued to remain frozen.
Seeing the man's state, he waved a hand casually in front of the hunter's face.
"Hello~ Anyone home~?
The hunter's pupils trembled terribly, a puddle of putrid liquid flowing from his crotch.
Noticing the smell, Sunny recoiled in disgust.
"Ah shit- Y'know what, forget the memories, just leave."
Sunny shooed the terrified hunter casually and turned his attention to the tall shadow-clad figure standing next to him.
Knocking his knuckles against Saint's breastplate, Sunny let out a hum.
"Mm~ Saint? Could you be a dear and gather their shards? I don't wanna get my hands dirty~"
The shadow nodded loyally, following Sunny's orders without complaint.
As his shadow combed through the corpses, Sunny turned his attention back to the terrified man, watching in mild amusement as the hunter picked up the lantern at his feet and booked it, sprinting down the narrow path on which he arrived.
Letting out a sigh and grumbling about how much he hated Gunlaug's thugs, Sunny found a seat on a rock nearby, watching as Saint dutifully completed the task he had given her.
Sunny yawned dramatically, stretching out his arms as he deployed his shadow, leisurely combing through the surrounding ruins for any prey.
He continued for a few moments, unfortunately finding none, and turned his attention to the graceful shadow trotting towards him.
In Saint's hands were a couple of bloodied pouches, and to Sunny's surprise, a piece of fabric covered in crudely drawn shapes.
'A... map?'
Disregarding the pouches of shards, Sunny reached out and grabbed the sheet in his shadowy hands.
He scanned the rather poorly made map, noting the familiar shapes and positions of numerous landmarks dotting the sheet.
Moving past that, Sunny's attention was drawn by a large cross drawn in obnoxious red ink.
"A... treasure map?"
He couldn't help but exclaim aloud.
Saint tilted her head in confusion, bewildered by her master's giddy smile.
Sunny kicked his feet in excitement, jumping to his feet as he addressed his shadow.
"Cmon, Saint! These losers had a treasure map!"
Sure, the thought of the map being a scam crossed Sunny's mind, but he was so mind-numbingly bored that he practically pounced at the first mildly entertaining event he'd come across in days.
With a pep in his step and a threatening-looking shadow in tow, Sunny hummed cheerfully as he made his way to the "treasure" these idiots had left for him.
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(A/N: This chapter was originally supposed to be split into two, but since they both felt kind of short, I just combined them into one mega chapter and spent an extra day editing it.
I was playing around with third-person a little bit more since I wanted to try a slightly different style of narration, and I think it turned out pretty well.
Regardless, tell me what you guys think.
If you don't like the way this reads, feel free to tell me, and if you do, I'll be sure to keep it up in future chapters.
Of course, I'll still write a first-person chapter here and there if I feel like I'm really struggling to get into a particular character's headspace, but for the most part, I'll probably stick to this style of narration, well, as long as you guys approve of it.
Oh, and school's starting up for me soon, and thus I'll regretfully have to continue the every-other-day schedule I've been sticking to recently.
But, since I'm in my senior year, I'll probably have a bit more freedom, so we'll see.
Maybe I'll end up doubling my upload speed out of boredom during class, or maybe I'll get swamped in work and slow down to a snail's pace.
Who knows?
Welp
Thanks for listening to my little rant!
I wanna thank you guys for all the support too!
Shower me with comments and give me a couple of reviews so I can see what I'm doing right and wrong.
Oh, and if you have a few stones lying around, feel free to toss me some too, y'know?
Ahem
I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
Take care, y'all!)