Nathan was happy yet solemn. He had finally discovered what his dormant ability did and how it worked. But now that he knew what he could do, he truly had to think about what he could do. For the world that is.
Just the day before, he was a regular guy studying for exams with virtually no responsibilities. He was still just a regular guy, except now he was armed with wonderous mystical abilities, encompassed by the dread of the approaching Winter Solstice, and burdened with knowledge of the future of this dying world.
That fear and responsibility merged into a terrible burden that weighed upon him unendingly.
Of course, he wouldn't be alone though.
There were the main characters who also wanted to save humanity, but most of them hadn't developed the conviction to do so as of now, so it was hard for him to not feel isolated.
There was the Winter Solstice he had to prepare for, and if he even managed to make it past that, there was still the Chained Isles, Antarctica, Tomb of Ariel and the Realm War. Luckily most of these events happen within the next 10 years, so he had plenty of time.
But this train of thought made him consider the biggest question of all.
'How much of an affect should I truly have on the canon?'
This question had been warring within his mind since leaving the police station alongside Sunny and Jet.
Obviously, certain things needed to happen in order for Nathan to reliably use his knowledge of the future. But…why?
He could easily let the chain of events that he, as a reader, once consumed page by page happen once more. But something felt wrong about that. He wasn't simply a passive reader anymore. He was himself. A person with an aspect that could shape the world itself.
A miracle.
He could simply let Sunny become Nephis' slave once more, and leave her behind in the darkness of the Forgotten Shore. He could let Falcon Scott fall once more. He could let the Realm War take thousands of lives once more. He could let those tragedies unfold once more, all for the sake of the future. But what good was such a future if those things had to happen.
That could've been his pride talking but it didn't matter. That was what he believed.
He had only spent a single day in this world, but it didn't take long for him to see everyone as real people rather than just "characters." They all lived, breathed, laughed and suffered.
Who was he to decide their pain was "necessary for the plot?"
Who was he to weigh their blood against some imagined storyline?
Clenching his fists, he made up his mind and came to a decision. The path he walked would only be determined by him and nothing else. That path may doom or save them all... he did not know. What he did know was that he had already planned on changing the ending of this world, so why not change the world in it's entirety?
He would walk that uncertain path and change the world - not as a reader but as himself.
Yoru.
****
After finishing the regular morning routine, Yoru found himself in the cafeteria assorting his breakfast. His tray consisted of French toast, scrambled eggs, waffles and a separate bowl of cereal. Although the synthetic milk did taste peculiar to him but that was just another oddity he'd have to get used to.
He needed a lot of energy for today, so starting the day off with a large breakfast was mandatory.
The cafeteria was quite crowded at the moment but despite this, there was one table in particular which was only occupied by two people. This table was dubbed the "corpse corner."
Taking a seat at the table, Yoru greeted the two.
"Sunless, Cassia. What a pleasure it is to see you two."
Sunny didn't even bother turning his head and groaned, his mouth half-full.
Cassie's ears perked up and a warm smile appeared on her face as she turned her head in Yoru's direction.
"Ah, Yoru! Good morning. How did you sleep?"
"Actually, not so great. I was haunted by my own outrageous power, fears of the future and my identity crisis…or consensus? I'm not too sure."
Cassies face slightly paled at this and she wore an apolegetic look.
"Sorry to hear that…I can't tell if you're serious or not…"
"Never mind wether I'm being serious. How did you sleep?"
"I slept…fine. Better than most days actually…You really helped me yesterday. And I just want to let you know that I…I truly appreciate that."
Yoru cringed slightly and said, "Your words warm my heart truly, but no need to be so cheesy."
Cassie giggled at this.
He began to eat his breakfast starting with the French toast.
"So, how have you been pervert?"
Sunny was drinking his orange juice when he heard this and choked.
"-Ack! Where do you get off calling me that?!"
Yoru frowned.
"Literally eveyone is calling you that. And from what I've heard, rightfully so…wouldn't you agree?"
Sunny looked as if he was about to refute but inevitably ended up replying through gritted teeth.
"…Yes."
Yoru smirked in amusement. Teasing Sunny like this was incredibly fun but he had to make sure to show restraint, else he ruin his chances of becoming closer with him. The way he saw it, there was no greater way of becoming friends than sharing banter.
Sunny cleared his throat and took up his utensils.
"Anyways, I was doing fine and enjoying my breakfast before you showed up. I'd like to get back to it."
"Umm, Yoru? Who's your friend?"
Cassie who had remained silent till now, spoke up, asking rather shyly.
Yoru placed a hand on his chest and feigned astonishment.
"Sunny, don't tell me you sat at this young girl's table without giving her the proper courtesy of introducing yourself?"
Sunny looked from Yoru to Cassie and sighed.
"Yes, I did. And "Courtesy"? Dont tell me you're not an outskirts rat and instead some legacy snob?
Actually…Nevermind, Please do. That would explain a lot."
Yoru laughed at this.
"Hah! Me? A legacy? Gods no! That's way too pedestrian. I find all the legacy clans beneath me. Considering my status and all."
Yoru could hear Sunny muttering "Damnation…" under his breath but ignored it and continued:
"Anyways, Cassie this is Sunless, he's an outskirts rat and currently deemed the Academy's crazy pervert. Sunless this is Cassie, as you can tell, she received a particularly savage flaw and thus she has been deemed as the Academy's corpse."
Cassie's head subconsciously lowered at that last part but she quickly lifted it back up and faced Sunny.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Sunless."
"Yeah…nice to meet you too. You can call me Sunny."
After the two were finished introducing themselves to each other, it was then that Yoru noticed a commotion beginning to start, where a large gathering of sleepers were surrounding a screen that hung on the wall of the cafeteria.
This screen displayed the list of the latest batch of sleepers, strongest to weakest. This deduction was based on their interviews so Nathan wasn't expecting a high score, considering he gave the academy absolutely nothing to work with.
At the very bottom was Cassie - which was expected. However just above her name wasn't Sunny's but instead Yoru's.
'Seriously! I'm second to last?'
Yoru heard a snicker behind him and turned to face its source.
Sunny was sat looking at the board with a sly grin.
"So much for the divine miracle huh?"
"I don't rely on a leaderboard to tell me my worth."
Sunny blinked, slowly opening his mouth and closing it again, seemingly having no retort.
Turning his attention back to the board, Yoru looked at second place and saw Caster's Name. And in the number one spot above Caster, read:
"Name: Nephis"
"True Name: Changing Star"