Sunny and Nephis looked around as they tried to come to their senses. Around them, tall trees covered their surrounding area with their leaves blocking most of the sunlight, but even so Sunny felt very hot and the humidity wasn't helping. Turning to Nephis, Sunny could tell she also wasn't doing so well as beads of sweat started trickling down her neck and face. Their clothes, which were wet not long ago, are now almost completely dry and even beginning to warm up. Sunny felt his throat start to dry up too although not as fast as his clothes so he started summoning [Endless Spring].
"Is it just me or..." Nephis spoke softly before coughing lightly.
"Yeah, it feels like this place is trying to cook us," Sunny said as he drank from the beautiful bottle.
Passing it to Nephis she drank for a bit before putting some water on her hand and splashing it on her face.
"We should go find some place with shade to rest, and hopefully stay hidden from the nightmare creatures roaming this part," Nephis said as she took a step forward with her arm around Sunny still.
"Agreed." Sunny agreed as he also took a step with her as they started walking wobbly forward.
The trees seemed like the descendants of the Soul Devourer tree without the mind hex Sunny realized as they walked. Their bark was a rich almond color and most of them were covered thick with vines that were almost the size of Sunny's arm. Their leaves sway with the warm wind as leaves constantly fell from their high trunks. Sunny was reminded of his own little tree back in NQSC where his parents were buried. Sunny hadn't seen many trees before going to the academy since they had trees all around the compound. Even so, these dwarfed those of the waking world.
'I liked trees shorter anyway,' Sunny thought as he turned his attention to their surroundings.
The grass around them reached his knees as he stomped over a patch of it with each step they took. A vibrant green covered the entire area around them which reminded Sunny of the crimson labyrinth he had spent 3 months in with Nephis and Cassie. There was a calming but also tense atmosphere that made Sunny feel on edge whenever they walked into a particularly bright part of the jungle. The sun was just as normal as a sun could be compared to other suns in the dream realm, and definitely not as dangerous as the Forgotten Shore's sun, with it shining brightly in the... gray sky?
Indeed Sunny's eyes didn't deceive him as the sky was indeed gray — a stark contrast to the greenery of the jungle — while the yellow sun stood seemingly at the center of it. Sunny decided it was best not to think about how often the dream realm defied laws as he made sure not to stumble on a particular large rock. After a bit of walking, he could feel the soothing flames he had for so long gotten used for as they both were covered in divine flames, albeit far from what Nephis could normally conjure.
"You shouldn't heal me for such trivial injuries," Sunny said weakly after the flames died down and both of their injuries healed.
"Seeing you hurt... I'm more than willing to be in pain." Nephis said plainly and coldly which was a complete difference from the words she said.
Sunny blushed a little, then he chastized himself for getting so worked up like a teenager. Despite being a young adult Sunny acted like a child or a teenager at times. It makes sense with context, after all he didn't really change before becoming a dreamer. Even the changes he had changed in the dark city with becoming more trusting he was still as treacherous as ever.
They continued walking for a while, side by side, until Sunny stopped which Nephis raised an eyebrow to.
"I want to test something, let's head to that tree over there," Sunny said as they made their way over to a tree up ahead.
The tree itself was an ordinary tree among all the other trees that grew up to half the height of the Soul Devourer. But Sunny still felt a tingling of fear from his last encounter with a tree and was worried if the trees would put them in a mind hex. The thought was silly and Sunny knew it as the Soul Devourer was one of a kind but he still wanted to make sure they didn't pose a threat. After getting close to the tree Sunny raised [Midnight Shard] which he had already summoned so even if ambushed they weren't defenseless, and proceeded to deeply slash into the bark of the tree.
The wood gave in rather easily as the inner bark of the tree showed, which looked similar but of a lighter hue. Sunny, feeling a little disappointed that his worry was for nothing but mostly feeling great, smiled softly before shaking his head to Nephis who seemed to understand what he was testing. Before they could walk away though a yellow goo slowly trickled out of the inner bark. Sunny was no expert in trees but he was sure trees didn't bleed yellow. Sunny was about to stab the tree again thinking it truly was a hidden nightmare creature when Nephis stuck out her hand. She scooped up a tiny drop from the tree with her finger and licked the drop.
When Nephis was done Sunny was looking at her weirdly.
"What?" Nephis asked, confused as to why he was looking at her strangely.
"What do you mean what, you ate what could be the "trees" blood," Sunny responded and mimicked air quotes with his hands when he said trees.
"Sunny... that's not blood, it's honey." Nephis replied with a hint of amusement returning to her voice, "well not exactly like honey, but similar enough in taste and color, plus it's not poisoned and I think the tree would've attacked back by now if it could. It could be its blood still though..."
"Oh," Sunny said as Nephis dipped her finger again in the dripping honey, "I didn't know honey came from trees."
"They don't," Nephis said turning to look at him again, "they actually come from... actually it's much better that I don't tell you and that you don't ask that question to anyone," Nephis said sternly.
"How come?" Sunny asked, incredulous that Nephis wouldn't answer his question.
"I simply don't think you'll like the answer. Some things are better left unknown." Nephis replied before finishing the honey on her finger and tugged at Sunny's neck, signaling him to start moving again.
As they started moving Sunny looked at the sky and saw something that confused him. What he noticed was that the sun... hadn't moved at all from its position. It stayed idle and unmoving in the center of the sky, as if bound to that area.
'Is there seriously no day-night cycle here too?' Sunny whined in his thought.
He was starting to get pissed at the weird day-night schedule of death zones. First was the Forgotten Shore where eternal night reigned unopposed, then was the damn underground kingdom that technically didn't have a cycle, now they're in an area where it's always day.
'Fate must be mocking and laughing at my misfortune.'
Walking further down Sunny sent his shadows to explore since he had no reason to keep them close as they had regained enough strength to protect themselves. Gloomy and Happy scouted west and east from them while Creepy and Haughty scouted North and South. His very trustworthy and obedient shadows definitely didn't throw certain fingers at him before they left.
Sighing, Sunny wanted to open his runes to see his new memory but was stopped when Nephis spoke.
"What happened to you, when you started reaching for your crown?" Sunny took a quick moment to gather his thoughts before answering.
"Well, I started swimming towards you before being cursed by my now destroyed crown. It put me under a mind hex and tried to make me a vessel for it since I was leaving the city. Luckily you broke me out of it in time and I was able to destroy it. I also think I got a memory from destroying it somehow, though I haven't checked out the memory yet. It's disappointing I couldn't keep the crown, but I would much rather stay free than become a puppet."
Nephis nodded and looked forward before turning back.
"I was washed away after the ship was destroyed and was able to grab onto the vines the last moment before I got washed away into a tunnel. I was waiting for you to appear, hopeful that you didn't go ahead of me before I could get grounded. When I saw you I was relieved... until you started going to the crown. I saw your eyes turn the same milky white as Cassie's so I knew you were under a hex and called out your true name."
'So that's how I broke free,' Sunny realized. He had always known his true name allowed him to stay grounded and give him a sense of self, just like when he repeated his true name over and over back with the tree.
Content with their conversation Sunny stayed silent as they walked together. Sunny felt he was walking through what could've been Earth before it all went to shit. There were tiny ponds here and there but all of them were boiling hot which made Sunny grateful for his water memory Cassie gave him. Vines were seemingly growing everywhere, on the trees and even the ground was littered with them. Trees' roots stuck out of the ground which made the terrain around them uneven as small bumps appeared and Sunny even tripped over a tree root for not being careful.
After some more walking Sunny felt Nephis suddenly lean on him more, getting closer to him. In fact, she was practically on him.
"Nephis..." Sunny said slowly.
"Yes?" Nephis responded closely to his ear.
"Why are you on me?"
"I can't be on my boyfriend?"
"No I'm not saying that... but you're a little heav-"
Nephis "slightly" punched him in the stomach.
"Do you want to finish that?"
"I-I mean you're practically as light as a feather."
"Good." Nephis smiled as they walked, or more so Sunny was carrying her from the side.
Eventually, they find a place to take a break, a hollowed-out tree. Sunny sent a shadow inside to scout out the inside of it before entering.
'There are ten of them in there, they look like monkeys in the picture books. Their awakened beast so it should be relatively easy to take them down.' Sunny communicated with Nephis.
'Then let's kill them." Nephis responded before dashing inside and glowing lightly with divine flames.
Sunny followed suit as he entered the cave with all of his shadows augmenting him. Even though killing an awakened beast was easier said than done, the same could be said for them. All it took was one mistake in battle for them to be killed, after all they were still dreamers, a whole rank below the creatures they were facing. Even so, when Sunny stepped inside he dodged to the side as a monkey tried to grab him. Side-stepping another monkey, he stabbed his sword into the first monkey and quickly killed it. The creatures they were facing looked like monkeys, but with extra teeth and deadly pale skin that made them look starved.
Their eyes were bloodshot red, like staring at pools of blood. Their fur was a brownish color and they had long nails that made Sunny hesitate getting into close combat. Steeling himself, he started slashing and dancing between the monkeys as the spell sang in his ears about his kills. Nephis took a more dominant stance as she let them walk into her range and slashed them from a distance. The monkeys tried their best to slash and cut them down were no match for them and eventually Sunny killed the last of the small tribe of monkeys.
Sunny and Nephis both collapsed and sat together on the ground with their back against the wall of the tree and gasped. He dismissed most of the armor only leaving on the inner wear which was a shirt and pants before soaking himself with [Endless Spring] to clean himself of the blood and cool himself off. Nephis didn't dismiss anything ever since entering this foreign land so it was easier for her to clean her armor and drink some water as well. They sat together for a bit, the sun unmoving as if the land was frozen in time.
"Should we set up camp here?" Sunny asked, Nephis thought for a bit, and looked around before answering.
"I-I think... that the ones we just fought were defending their territory, and the majority of them are out. So it would be wise to start moving once you regain your strength, Sunny." Nephis concluded
Sunny nodded as they sat together in silence. After a while, they got back up, and since they had rested well enough, they didn't need to hold each other as they went out to the jungle again.
"Okay... let's look for some shelter now," Sunny said as he sent out his shadows once more, his objective clear now.
***
At the entrance of a cave stood a white haired girl surveying the surrounding jungle as it rained. After making sure the coast was clear she walked into the darkness of the cave until a warm white light appeared up ahead. In front of the fire was a man with slightly unhealthy pale skin that seemed as smooth as stone, who was cooking monster meat the size of a thigh above the flames. His onyx eyes seemed to be both enchanted by the white flame and deeper like two pools of darkness. Sunny sat on a flat rock that he had cut in half smoothly with [Midnight Shard].
He held a pendant in his hand, a dark onyx colored chain that was long enough to be wrapped around his neck. The gemstone at the center of the pendant glowed a brilliant jade and the bezel was quartz white. Sunny had received it after they escaped the dreadful city and he had a theory that he had gotten the memory from breaking his... no, their crown. It was of the Awakened rank, tier four, that gives moderate protection against mind attacks. Sunny found it ironic that the memory he got from destroying a memory that gave him a mind attack gives him protection from said attack.
Sunny and Nephis had been able to clear the cave of awakened critters that reminded him of how weird the creatures were in the dream realm. They had been in a rush before that since rumbling echoed from the sky as the sky slowly turned black. The first water droplets fell on Sunny's head which was how he found out that the rain was very acidic. Acidic enough that it easily burned through his armor and Nephis's. They had been lucky to find the cave near the same time before the true storm rolled around.
Nephis walked towards him and sat next to him before grabbing a piece of meat hanging from the fire and chewing it. They ate together but idly talked here and there. Not long after they finished eating and took out the fire, they set up his majestic bed that rivaled his ordinary rock. Lying down on it Sunny sighed relaxingly as Nephis got on the other side of the bed and dismissed her armor, only leaving on the inner layer just like him.
"Good night, Sunny." Nephis turned towards him, eyes seemingly sharp yet warm
"Good night, Nephis," Sunny said warmly as he turned to meet her gaze.
They kissed softly before then returning to their spots and both of them slept soundly and dreamlessly.
Or at least Nephis was.
Sunny opened his eyes again… only to realize he was standing up in a dark void. Looking around Sunny quickly panicked and tried to summon a weapon but realized he couldn't summon either Serpent nor [Midnighr Shard].
"Hello Sunny," a voice spoke out behind him.
Sunny turned around to find a delicate blond young woman standing right in front of him. She adorned a beautiful blue blindfold and wore a stunning white-blue dress that complemented her whole figure. Her hair was curly blond that seemed to form endless patterns and she was almost the same height as Sunny but she was an inch taller.
"C-cassie?" Sunny croaked realizing it was Cassie standing in front of him.
He felt a wave of feelings wash over him from anger to relief and back to anger but before he could show it Cassie spoke again.
"Oh Sunny, what the hell have you done this time?"