Kai glanced at the sky outside the palace, which was beginning to lighten with dawn.
"I think that is enough for today, Lady Morgan."
His sword dissipated in a whirlwind of sparks, returning to his soul sea.
They had been sparring for hours since midnight. At some point, even Saint Revel had joined them, though she had returned to her caves a few minutes ago.
Morgan hummed. She was staring at him with those piercing red eyes that cut straight to his soul.
Kai coughed.
"I mean… I think that is enough for today, …Morgan."
A faint flush covered his cheeks, and he turned away to hide it.
The vermillion-eyed woman, beautiful, graceful and dangerous all at once, gave a satisfied nod and dismissed her sword as well.
"Yes, you should probably go get ready to face the long day ahead."
Kai smiled lightly. There was a fluttering sensation deep in his chest.
Just then, the air seemed to ripple and an overwhelming sense of unease filled his heart. Morgan glanced sharply at him, a questioning look in her eyes.
He pressed his lips into a thin line and flew out the nearest exit, Morgan not far behind him.
The wind outside had picked up into a near-frenzy, blowing up the white snow and the grey ash of the volcanoes. It was a perfectly normal scene, yet Kai's instincts told him something was wrong.
He flew a little higher, hoping to spot something out of place. There was nothing.
Instead, he felt a deep tug somewhere at the back of his mind, as though something was pulling at a veil, ripping it away to reveal… to reveal…
Kai faltered in his flight, nearly plummeting from the sky.
He gasped, and covered his mouth with a trembling hand, his face paling to a near-white.
'No way…'
- - -
"Damna… Ah! Please control your cub, Wolf-woman!"
Aiko's voice was a high-pitched squeal.
Ling Ling was holding onto the petite businesswoman by her ankles and swinging her round and round in the air, causing her hair to fly everywhere and all over her face.
The boy's infectious laughter filled the air.
They were currently in Effie's estate in Bastion, lounging out in the backyard. Effie and her husband were sitting on the grass, relaxing in each other's arms.
Hearing Aiko's plea for help, Effie sighed and leaned into her husband.
"Should I just toss her somewhere far away?"
Ling's Dad laughed quietly and untangled himself from her, causing Effie to grumble.
"Ling Ling, put Auntie Aiko down. Come run with Dad instead."
Ling Ling looked over at him, then at Aiko, and back at him again. He let go of Aiko and rushed to join his Dad.
The petite woman floated to where Effie sat on the grass, her hair and clothes in complete disarray.
"Phew… I thought I would die for real… And my suit is all wrinkled!"
Effie opened her mouth to answer, but stopped.
At that moment, Ling sniffed the air and scrunched up his nose.
"The wind smells icky today. I don't want to run!"
Ling's Dad looked at him in confusion, but Effie's guard was up.
Even though it was just a gentle wind, Effie felt it hit her like a hurricane, tearing through her and into her soul.
Tearing through an invisible wall that she hadn't even noticed was there.
And when it was gone…
'What the hell.'
She stood up suddenly, her body taut with barely restrained fury.
Ling Ling looked at her with a confused expression.
"Are you leaving?"
Beside her, Aiko was frowning and seemed distracted. Meanwhile Ling's Dad was looking at her with a question in his eyes, but she shook her head, as if saying 'I'll tell you later'.
She lightly ruffled Ling's hair, smiling.
"Mommy has to check in with Auntie Cassie about something. Don't worry, it won't take long and I promise to buy you a present when I get back."
Ling Ling's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Really?"
"Yes. Now Mommy has to go… I'll be back soon!"
She exchanged a smile with her husband and turned away.
Effie looked into the distance at a floating island hovering in the sky above Bastion.
Where the Ivory Tower shone under the brilliant sun.
'What did that idiot do this time…'
- - -
A storm was raging outside, the sky hidden behind a dark veil of churning clouds, strong gales whipping the air all around them. The waves rose high into the sky, towering like rolling mountains.
Jet was in the runic hall of the main pagoda of the Night Garden, standing in the helmsman's runic circle, carefully guiding the titanic ship's advance.
Today's storm was particularly savage, but Jet had braved countless perils in this region of the Dream Realm and had faced many terrible natural disasters before.
She calmly navigated the waters of the Stormsea with the aid of the House of Night elders.
The waves broke against the hull of the titanic ship, unable to penetrate the indomitable vessel.
The Night Garden sailed through the storm, seemingly impervious to its fury.
Jet sighed wistfully.
It was times like this that reminded her of days long past, back when she was still in Antarctica.
She recalled that she had spent a few weeks sailing on a raft in the middle of the ocean, days after the Winter Beast had killed everyone in Falcon Scott.
'Come to think of it, what happened to that other guy?'
She vaguely remembered that she and another person were the two sole survivors of Falcon Scott. She couldn't recall his face or name, though.
'Whoever he is, I hope he is living peacefully somewhere…'
She was just thinking that when she heard, over the noise of the raging storm, a sound like glass shattering somewhere at the back of her mind.
It was as though someone had taken a hammer and smashed it into a heavily tinted window, allowing her to see through to the other side clearly for once.
And see she did.
'Wait a damn minute… That guy is…'
Jet frowned. She was deeply confused, and rightfully so.
Aether, who was nearby, noticed her troubled expression and looked over with concern.
"Do you sense something, Lady Jet?" He asked, ever polite. Bloodwave and Naeve were also looking at her now.
She shook her head slowly.
"No, it's nothing…"
Jet sighed.
"Something has come up in Bastion, so I'll be leaving for a short while after this."
Bloodwave nodded.
"Alright. We will take care of things here while you are gone."
He didn't ask why, and neither did Naeve and Aether.
Jet smiled.
"Thank you. For now, let's get through this storm."
'So I can go demand some answers from a certain someone.'
- - -
By the time Sunny and Nephis reached Cassie's office, the mood inside had already turned impossibly sour and dark.
Kai and Jet were looking at him with unreadable expressions, while Effie outright glared at them, a broken stool laying by her feet.
Her fury was palpable in the air.
Sunny shifted under his friends' sharp gazes.
'Well… At least they're not lunging at me… yet.'
Nephis cleared her throat beside him.
"I think everyone has a lot of questions, so… I'll go prepare some snacks, I think."
And then she was gone, leaving him alone… in a room full of bloodthirsty vultures who were less-than-pleased and more than likely to try to kill him.
Cassie fiddled with her dress sleeve, looking like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
Effie stood up and made her way towards him with purposeful strides. Her arms hung casually by her sides and she wore a smile on her face.
Sunny swallowed, eyes darting between her face and her hands.
"Hey, doofus. Long time no see."
The use of his old nickname startled him for a moment. He blinked.
"Oh. Yeah, it's been a while, I guess."
Effie hummed.
And then he saw stars explode across his vision.
One moment he was standing in front of the tall huntress, the next he was sprawled on the stone floor, holding his jaw in pain.
'That hurts!'
Effie towered above him, cracking her knuckles. Her expression was twisted with anger.
Kai spoke up then, his voice tight.
"Sunny, what exactly happened at the end of our Third Nightmare? Where did you go?"
Massaging his jaw, Sunny sighed.
"Well, there's not much to say. A certain vile bird reached into my soul and ripped out my fate, causing the whole world to forget me. I was in the estuary when the Nightmare ended."
Although it sounded crazy, he wasn't worried about them not believing him as they knew about his Flaw.
Plus, Kai was there.
Jet's face contorted with puzzlement.
"Why on earth would you go there?"
The other two looked at him curiously, too.
Sunny was silent for a moment before answering.
"To put it simply, I wanted to be free. I wanted to be free from fate. And…"
He trailed off, contemplating.
"…Well, I think I need to explain something about my Aspect first."
He took a deep breath.
"My Innate Ability is called Shadow Bond. The way it works is someone must say my True Name out loud, and they'll be bound to me. They become my master… and I become their slave. It forces me to obey every order my master gives me."
They took a moment to process the information, but what was even more shocking was the implications of what he had just said.
"Wait, does that mean you were a slave?"
He nodded at Effie's question.
"Yes. You see, Nephis was my master. She had been since the Forgotten Shore. It's why I escaped… and she didn't. She made me."
There was a long, tense silence as the trio ruminated on that knowledge.
Soon, Nephis returned with refreshments. She offered them to everyone and set the rest on Cassie's desk. Then she sat herself beside Sunny on the floor. She leaned into him and in response, he wrapped an arm around her.
Kai, Effie, and Jet stared at them oddly.
Nephis noticed, of course, and raised a brow in question.
"…What?"
Kai shifted.
"Sunny mentioned a bond… that you were his master."
She confirmed, "I was."
"What about now?"
She nodded again. "The bond returned when Sunny reclaimed his fate."
The three exchanged uncertain looks.
Sunny gave them a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. I knew what would happen when I took back my fate. I chose this."
Nephis cuddled further into him. She seemed afraid to let go, and he didn't mind. He pulled her closer.
Jet watched them, looking a little lost.
"Well, okay… But how did you even know where the estuary was?"
Both Sunny and Nephis turned towards Cassie. Feeling their gazes on her, the blind girl meekly raised her head.
"Yes…?"
Nephis fixed her with a steely stare.
"I think you have some explaining to do."
Cassie pursed her lips.
"I used the Guiding Light to locate the estuary and gave it to Sunny."
Effie frowned.
"That's all?"
The blind girl winced.
"Well… I guess I should explain why I did it."
They waited, watching her with raised brows. She sighed.
"It's simple, really. I despised fate, so I made it my dream to defy fate. And I had a plan to make it come true."
And that was that. It was so simple, in the end.
After a long while, Effie looked up at the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh. She looked over each of them with a frown.
"Seriously… The three of you are really one of a kind, you know?"
Kai and Jet made their way over to Effie's side.
They wore troubled expressions, but they didn't seem angry anymore, to Sunny's relief.
"We understand why you did it, Sunny. We really do. But we're still hurt that you left."
Kai's voice sounded very sad.
Jet agreed. There was disappointment in her icy blue eyes, but also empathy.
"We trusted you, both you and Cassie. So understand that we feel a little betrayed."
Sunny understood, of course. He had been through the same thing himself.
He lowered his head.
"I know, and I'm sorry."
What more was there to say? He had explained why he had done it, and they didn't blame him for it.
That didn't mean they weren't hurt, though, and he couldn't stop them from being hurt.
"But," Jet continued.
Sunny looked up, and saw that she was smiling.
"We are glad you are back with us, Sunny."
Effie bumped his head a few times with a fist.
"You can certainly count on us paying you two back for it, though."
Kai added, "We are a team. We should act like it. Next time, talk to us instead of keeping it to yourselves."
And he was right, of course.
The six of them were a team.
As a team, they were supposed to be unified. They were supposed to work together and help each other out.
And theirs was perhaps the strongest team in the world.
Two worlds, even.
Humanity depended on them.
So they promised.
They would never keep each other in the dark anymore. If there was a problem, they'd solve it as a team.
As a family.
"Alright! As Steward of the East, I declare any and all gloomy discussions illegal for the next week. All that tension makes me really hungry and no one wants to see what happens when I reach my limit."
Everyone laughed.
The atmosphere in the room was light, completely unlike what it was a few minutes ago.
Seeing everyone like this filled Sunny's heart with warmth. His vision clouded slightly.
'It is indeed good to be back.'
Everything felt right at last.
A thought crossed his mind suddenly.
"Ah… I feel sorry for that stool…"
Nephis chuckled and nudged his elbow.
"It's your fault."
"No way. I would never do such a thing and neither do I condone it."
"Right…"
A corner of her lips curled up.
Sunny smiled too.
Just then, Kai came over and gave them a wry look that said 'I hope I'm not intruding.'
"By the way, Sunny. Morgan asked me to learn what has become of her warbow."
Sunny froze.
"Oh. Uh, tell her it's being put to good use."
'Its enchantments are, at least…'