Of course, he had left that last part out — the part where he received a True Name and what it came with. Still, the silence was deafening. It was a long story, so by the time he had finished, only an hour remained before the sun rose.
Anything… please, just say something. That's all he could ask for. At this point, he would rather them curse his very existence rather than this silence.
So when a voice did finally come out, he physically felt the pressure he had been holding in his core release.
---
"Can you summon it…? The memory, that is."
A melancholic expression appeared on his face as he held his hand out. Though it took some seconds to form, eventually it did summon — Viridiflumen. A memory with a weird name, but a memory that made sense, as the memory was a green ribbon.
She had expected it, but still, seeing it was far more different than predicting it. The spell truly was a cruel thing. Though of course, she already knew that all too well.
Brushing her short silver hair out of her face, she took a glance at Cassie, whose blindfold was damp. Neither she nor Sunny were crying, though — only Cassie. But it made sense. After all, she would be considered the most human-like out of the three of them.
"We have three days left before we leave for the Dream Realm. It's better to get this over with now than later."
Her eyes met his, eyes that were full of bitter memories.
"It's not the First Nightmare anymore… it's real life. So tell me this.
Are you capable of being a monster once more?"
Her words were cruel. She knew this, and judging by the slight movement she assumed was a flinch that came from Cassie's direction, they may have been crueler than she had thought they were.
But still, he was the one who told them what he was capable of in a fake world. His answer would determine everything that came after this moment.
Despite her harsh question, his eyes never left hers. And then the answer did finally dawn upon her. The eyes she saw when she stared into his weren't his own… rather, they were hers all along, reflecting in his eyes. Now, she finally was able to see what was truly burning in his eyes without her own masking them.
"Stop. I don't need an answer. I already know now."
His eyes were full of selfishness. He couldn't become that monster again. Not because he had redeemed himself — no. Rather, he couldn't become that monster again because he had made a selfish decision.
He made the decision to defy his very own nature and become a hero. This act made it so he would selfishly hold onto everything he wanted.
Her bitter eyes met his greedy ones, only to realize she was already among the things he would selfishly hold onto under the pretext of being a hero.
---
This was his final lesson with Professor Julius. He would be heading into the Dream Realm by this afternoon. So this was more of a farewell than a lesson. This class wasn't that needed for him, as he already had experience and knowledge of the most harrowing things that encompassed the other world. Still though, it was nice.
The other students would be waiting one more year for the next Winter Solace, so hopefully some may even transfer to Professor Julius's class. After all, he didn't want the man to get lonely.
"Ah! I had almost forgotten the most important rune!"
Scribbling on the board, he drew a simple yet somehow nostalgic rune.
"In the Dream Realm, as you know, there are vast areas that will experience acid rain… or perhaps even worse! Due to this, many brave awakened ventured out to scribe this rune onto areas that experienced it!"
The rune simply read out as rain. But there was another way it could be read. The current modern meaning was rain, but the ancient meaning was something far more fitting of its nostalgic appearance.
The rune could simply read out as Talia.
---
The three of them were led down the hall by a group of proctors. The place they were led to was a room full of pods that their bodies would be protected in until they came out as awakened.
"This is your last chance to turn back. There is no rush — waiting one more year will do you—"
A voice cut him off. An arrogant voice… or perhaps a confident one.
"Nah, we'll survive. After all, they're with me! Ahaha!"
The pale black-haired boy's laughter earned him glares, and a sigh from next to him that came from Nephis. On the other side of him, Cassie let out a small smile.
"Then I wish you luck. May fate be on your side."
That made shivers run through Sunny's spine. He truly did hate fate. But hey, if fate didn't exist, maybe he would have been dead by now.
Entering the pod, the three of them finally embarked on their journey to the Dream Realm.
---
[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Sunless!]