The Spell spoke again.
[Wake up, Lost from Light!]
Sunny opened his eyes.
The armored ceiling of the police station's vault hung above him.
He slowly looked down and then saw, on a cheap plastic chair placed beside his reinforced medical bed, a beautiful woman sitting.
She had short, raven-black hair and icy blue eyes. Her flawless skin was smooth, supple, and as white as snow.
Master Jet.
He controlled his storming emotions.
He was on the verge of crying.
Master Jet, last time, died protecting civilians from nightmare creatures of As... Dreamspawn army.
And now she was here, fine and alive.
Currently, she was stretching her arms above her head, clearly bored and sleepy.
She looked at him and said:
"What are you looking at?"
He opened his mouth and answered:
"You."
Well, he was actually looking at her this time, but not in an inappropriate way.
Because he saw her as a big sister figure. Plus, he was not a teenager anymore... At least not mentally.
Jet looked at him strangely. But before she could say anything, Sunny opened his mouth.
"Ahh... can you remove the restraints, please?"
Jet nodded.
After removing the restraints, she began to speak.
"Well, welcome back to the land of the living. Congratulations on surviving your First Nightmare, Sleeper Sunless."
Sleeper Sunless.
'How many years has it been since I heard this name? 11?'
Sunny was amused, feeling nostalgic.
Jet coughed.
"I am Ascended Jet. You can call me Master Jet. These past three days, I was on watch duty due to your Nightmare."
Jet looked at him from head to toe and said:
"Your... body changed a lot."
'Huh, my body changed a lot? Now that I think about it, my height feels like it increased a bit. Almost the same height as Neph.'
He thought. 'Good, now I don't have to look up to see her face anymore.'
Not that he didn't like it, though.
"The body gets rid of all its imperfections after each ascension. But still, you changed a bit too much for an outskirt rat. Your looks rival even a Master's."
Jet smiled.
"You look like a flower boy now."
'Flower boy, huh.'
After that section ended, Sunny asked a question.
Sunny then again repeated the same questions, trying to get close to her, like last time.
But then:
"Plus, there aren't a lot of Awakened who, like me, directly work for the government. It's by far the least lucrative or glorious career one of us can choose. Would you abandon wealth and fame to work abysmal hours and risk your life, fueled only by altruism and a sense of duty?"
Sunny smirked and said:
"I would."
He froze, surprised by his own answer.
Jet also looked at him, surprise in her eyes.
Jet smiled.
"Seems like I am wrong. You're not that smart."
With that, their conversation ended.
Sunny made his way toward the shower, still thinking back to the conversation.
'I would, huh? Since when did I change this much?'
Well, he didn't have to ask. Because he already knew the answer. He changed this much during Antarctica. Since then, he had started to change. Or maybe even before that.
But yeah, along the way, he started to change. He started to care.
Sunny chuckled.
'What would my past self... I mean my past past self, before all this happened... would he be disgusted by me... or envy me?'
He shook his head and went into the shower.
He saw his reflection in the mirror.
He had a slender build and delicate features, porcelain skin like flawless marble making him look charming, with onyx eyes that were like darkly glistening gems. He looked like an exquisite doll.
'I look close to my Master's appearance, with some of my Saint features in it,' Sunny thought.
He smiled.
Now he understood why there were so many female customers in his café. At first, he was oblivious to what was happening. But after some time, he realized it.
'Ahh, why am I so handsome?'
Sunny chuckled.
Sunny was enjoying a hot shower. He looked at his shadow and asked:
"Do you remember the past... I mean the future, before going back to the past?"
Gloomy nodded.
For the first time, an emotion showed in his... eyes? Or whatever that was.
He had to check something first.
His onyx eyes deepened.
Shadows in the room became deeper and darker. They surged up, as if celebrating the return of their lord. Shadows started to give a deathly aura.
'Just as I expected. Some of my will is still with me. Not the level of a Supreme, of course. Higher than an Awakened, but lower than a Master.'
His eyes returned to normal.
The shadows also stopped their celebrating and returned to normal.
Sunny, still in the shower, started to think what next.
'Now after this, Jet will drive me to the academy and there I will meet... Neph.'
Sunny didn't know what to do there. Would he act like nothing was wrong? Explain to her why he betrayed them? Say sorry to her?
But most importantly, what would Nephis think?
'Will she be angry? Will she break our relationship? Will she demand an explanation and understand me? Understand why I betrayed them?'
Sunny's emotions were a mess.
He took a deep breath and decided that there was no point in thinking about it now. He would meet Nephis and explain to her why he betrayed them. After that, whatever happened, he would face it.
But somewhere deep down, he knew that Nephis would understand.
With that, he stepped out of the shower and made his way to the cafeteria. Wearing a clean police-issued tracksuit, he found Jet and sat down opposite her.
After that, everything went according to the original.
Sunny ate, and Jet asked him what he would do.
After that, Jet drove him to the academy while giving him advice.
They said their goodbyes and parted.
Sunny was approaching the academy gates. He saw a white-haired girl standing there, wearing a clean police-issued tracksuit like him, in front of the gates.
'Neph.'
He controlled his impulse to run at her and embrace her.
This time she wasn't wearing her headphones, and just stood there.
Sunny collected his thoughts and said in a steady tone:
"Neph."
Her body stiffened, and she turned around, with a confused expression on her face.
Her figure was slender and athletic, a tall young woman with silver hair and calm grey eyes. Her face was a mix of her Master and Saint appearance.
Suddenly, her grey eyes lost focus. She froze.
Sunny was taken aback for a moment before quickly realizing what had happened.
'Now she is recovering her memories after seeing me?'
Yes. After seeing him here, she started to remember. That's why at first she was confused—why was he here? Because she didn't remember him being the same year as her.
Sunny took a deep breath and approached her. Now just five steps away.
Her eyes returned to normal. Her face was now emotionless again. Her eyes didn't reflect any emotions. For the first time in a while, he couldn't read her.
After a few seconds, she took a step toward him.
Step.
Sunny didn't move. Still standing there, thinking about what he should do.
Step.
'Should I stop her?'
Step.
He didn't know what he should do. 'Damnation, fighting a Fallen Devil as a Sleeper is easier than this.'
Step.
In the end, he didn't do anything.
Step.
Nephis took the last step and... hugged him.
Sunny's eyes widened.
He instinctively hugged her back.
Her warm body pressed against his. Her face was now next to his face. Her head rested on his shoulder. Their heads brushed against each other.
He could feel it. The area around his right shoulder, where her head rested, was getting wet.
He tightened the hug, as if he never wanted to let her go ever again.
In that moment, all his worries disappeared.
A single tear slid down from his face