Yoru was kidding himself.
Of course he couldn't kill Caster. That guy was literally an offspring of honor and death incarnate, who was not only leagues above him in terms of skill but especially outmatched him in experience. Not to mention his superior physique: the Han-Li clan must've been feeding him countless soul shards to saturate his core.
The idea of killing Caster couldn't be seen as anything other than preposterous.
Besides, even if he managed to kill Caster by some miracle, at this point in time Yoru was unsure whether Nephis was aware of Caster being an assassin, so doing that wouldn't benefit him anyways.
There was also the fact that Yoru couldn't even imagine himself killing another human being right now. When faced with hypothetical "life or death" situations, he was quick to respond with "Yeah, I'd kill someone" , but now that he lived in a world where killing wasn't a far-off reality, he found himself fearing such a thing.
So although killing Caster wasn't really an option, there was a much more passive and indirect approach available.
All he had to do was reveal to Nephis that Caster was an assassin. But he'd need proof for such an accusation and he also needed to explain how he knew about the existence of the sovereigns.
Luckily for him, his innate ability [Cricket] should suffice. Such evidence wasn't something Nephis could particularly fact-check, as it was wishes only he could hear and for all she knew, there was no condition to activate it.
However his plan wouldn't completely clear him of all suspicion. Even if it works out in his favour, Yoru knew that was the case. Nephis was too paranoid and her guard was constantly up no matter the circumstances. If anything, revealing the true identity of Caster to her might just reinforce the suspicions she had chained to Yoru. She may believe that both of them are assassins! But the likelihood of such an outcome wasn't all that high.
Anyways his point was, if Nephis believed he was a threat then so be it, there was no changing her mind on that. But he at least needed to lay the necessary foundations to dissuade such thoughts.
On his way to the combat class, he made sure to marketise his aspect and advertise the wish market to every passer-by. And surprisingly, despite his laughable reputation as both, "The guy who threw a water bottle at Changing Star", and an "Academy corpse", some seemed interested in the prospect and assured him they would stop by.
Implementing the wish market meant revealing his aspect to some degree, which wasn't very ideal but not much of a detriment. After all, he only didn't reveal his aspect to the academy because he knew absolutely nothing about it, other than it allowing him to "grant wishes."
****
It didn't take long for the combat class to begin and subsequently end.
Yoru had been improving at a startling pace compared to the first lesson. Not only was his physicality improving by leaps and bounds, probably due to his newly forged Dreamer body which put him at peak condition, but also his spearman ship.
When he was younger, Yoru had favoured nun chucks and frequently imagined himself taking on hordes of enemies and destroying them single-handedly. But somewhere along the way, he found a particular interest in the art of the spear. All of his friends preferred the sword and constantly spoke about dual wielding them. But what about dual wielding spears? Sure, it looked and sounded stupid, but it was definitely unique and that was reason enough for Yoru.
So over the past week Yoru's spearman ship also saw a stark increase in ability. In fact, his proficiency was improving at such a startling pace that even Awakened Rock commented on it, saying:
"Have you ever had any previous training?
"Training? What's that?."
"…Alright. Anyways, I'm impressed. Keep up the good work."
Yoru himself was impressed by his innate talent as well. In fact, he had a slight suspicion that his sudden growth wasn't due to his actual talent at all.
Yoru excelled in few things and fighting wasn't one of them. As much as he wanted to believe that he was a combat prodigy, even he couldn't believe such a delusion. There was a reason for his growth and he had a culprit.
It was [Tyranny]. His attribute.
When Yoru manifested a wish, his will would ignite for a split-second, bringing forth the granted wish into reality. In that moment, he could physically feel his will sharpening and awakening, allowing him to disobey the laws of reality that usually would not let him perform such a feat, unless he activated his aspect. But that was just the first presumed function of Tyranny. There was also a second function that Yoru believed was less tied towards his aspect and instead functioned subconsciously.
Tyranny made the world accommodate his will - In other words, things were more likely to go in his favour and outcomes that he desired were more likely to happen. However there had been plenty of cases where things hadn't gone in his favour, showcasing the underlying flaw of the attribute - He couldn't manipulate it. Obviously Yoru was no Sovereign, controlling his will was an unthinkable future as of now, but his will existed and even permeated through the physical world already, except it was dormant and incapable of actually being manipulated unless he used his aspect. But all things considered, it was a pretty busted ability.
So although Yoru couldn't actually feel his will and manipulate it like a Sovereign could, his was most certainly more prominent than any other Sleeper or rank below Supreme, so much so that it already affected the world in its dormant state.
So the reason for his talent must've been the Tyranny attribute's work, allowing him to learn and implement the spear techniques and correct footwork much quicker and effectively.
Yoru sighed and inwardly thought, 'A part of me kind of wishes that I was some absolute prodigy…Oh well, at least I've got a broken attribute.'
Rolling his neck and clearing his throat, he stood up and followed a slender silver-haired girl who had just exited the dojo.
Yoru trailed after her and followed her through the corridors for some time, not failing to notice that she had led him to a secluded area of the sleeper compound.
'Well she's definitely aware I'm following her…Shit! is she going to kill me without me even getting a word out!?'
Fear kicked his body into action and his mouth worked before he could even properly think of what to say.
"Cha-Changing Star! I'm not here to kill you!."
Nephis slowed her steps and turned around to face him. Her face was casual and indifferent as usual but her eyes were unwavering.
"You say you're not here to kill me, yet you've followed and allowed me to lead you to such a secluded area of the academy."
Yoru grinned awkwardly.
"When you put it like that I guess it does seem like I intend to…but I can assure you I'm not."
Nephis didn't respond. She stood there and calmly stared at him for a while. Feeling even more awkward, Yoru forced himself to hold her gaze, even as his stomach twisted into knots. Acting really wasn't his forte.
"My innate ability is called Cricket," he said quickly, almost tripping over the words. "It lets me hear the deepest wishes of those around me."
Nephis blinked.
"Am I supposed to blindly believe that?"
Yoru mentally sighed and thought to himself , 'Damn these skeptical problem children of mine!'
"If you don't believe me, I know that another one of your wishes is to destroy the Nightmare Spell. A very noble aspiration might I add."
Nephis displayed no outward reaction to him revealing her deepest wish, but the extended time it took for her to respond was very telling of the effect his words must've had on her.
After a while of silence Nephis replied in monotone:
"So you did indeed hear my wish... But why utter those words in the first place? Are you aware of what they mean?"
There it was. The question Yoru had been waiting for and the one that would determine wether Nephis would see him as an ally or a threat. He had imagined himself answering this question many times and struggled on what to say and what kind of impression to leave her with. Considering the circumstance, it was best for him to have her view him as a potential ally rather than a foe.
Yoru sighed and spoke in a casual tone which didn't seem befitting of the current tense atmosphere. "Well…those words mean nothing to me. But I'm aware of what they mean to you. In fact, I'm aware of who they mean to you."
Nephis's fists clenched.
"I haven't known you for long Changing Star but I can tell you're a straightforward person, so allow me to be blunt.
"Who are the Sovereigns and why do you want them dead?"
A/N: The drafts are over guys😔