Small shards of frost crunched beneath his boots as Sunny made his way towards the bridge in front of Ravenheart, attracting some attention along the way.
The Jade Palace was the mainstay of the Song Clan, which meant that not every single person who was anchored to Ravenheart actually lived there. In fact, the majority of people anchored here lived on the very bridge he was approaching, with only the more valuable Awakened like Masters and the such living within the palace itself.
Sunny did not dwell on these thoughts much though, as he was too busy trying to keep a scowl off of his face. For the past week, he'd been trying his best to forget the fact he had even received another Flaw. Every single time the thought even crossed his mind, his frustration spiked. This frustration had of course led him to think of the many ways he could counteract said Flaw.
A few days ago, he had done a couple tests on the Chained Isles after he went hunting with Solvane, and he had managed to figure out a couple things.
By 'weaker', the Spell meant anything below his rank. So Dormant and Awakened beings were off limits for him. The Flaw didn't seem to encompass classes however, instead seeing all beings from Beasts to Titans as equals.
'Thank goodness for that…'
Being able to kill Fallen had already been a relief for him. But if it turned out that he could only kill Fallen Titans? He'd lose his goddamn mind.
And as for what counted as 'killing' things… Well, it was anything that the Spell would give him credit for. So no poison, no tossing things off cliffs, no slicing something open and leaving it to bleed out… That didn't mean he had no way of killing things though. For example, if he really wanted somebody dead, he could just toss them into the ocean and wish them good luck.
Thinking of the example he'd made in his mind, Sunny nearly groaned.
He had really, really wished that his Flaw wouldn't apply to his Shadows. But unfortunately, as they were extensions of himself, it was all for naught. Thankfully though, the restraints of his Flaw only took into account his own rank, so his Transcendent Shadows would have no problems slaughtering Fallen nightmare creatures.
All in all…
'Could be worse.'
And yet, he was still frustrated. Why?
'Weaver.'
It was because of Weaver. Weaver Weaver Weaver. That bastard just couldn't help themselves, could they? It always just had to be something with them.
Of course, all the other methods he had thought of bypassing his new Flaw paled in comparison to simply using the [Simple Trick] enchantment of Weaver's Mask.
The reverse of not being able to kill something weaker than you would naturally be only being able to kill things weaker than you. This wasn't too big of a problem for him, as he could summon and dismiss the mask whenever he pleased.
Only there was a slight problem with that.
Enchantment: [Simple Trick].
Enchantment Description: [Reverses the effect of one's Flaw.]
The enchantment only reversed a Flaw, not Flaws.
And yet, right after he had put on the mask, the description changed.
Enchantment Description: [Reverses the effect of a Flaw.]
'Did you know this too, bastard?'
He hated it. Hated it. Just how much of his life had been decided by Fate? Did Weaver truly know that the one who would take their mask would receive two Flaws someday? Or had it simply been a redundancy built to activate in the event of such a thing, as unlikely as it was?
Whatever the reason might've been, just the thought of it pissed Sunny off to no end.
After Simple Trick's description changed, he realised that a new weave of the enchantment had lit up, signifying a new active enchantment. Given the fact that nothing had appeared on the runes, he'd figured that it was the weave to switch which Flaw the enchantment was reversing.
Thinking back to when he'd first activated it, Sunny could no longer resist the urge to cover his face in shame.
'Sorry, Nephis…'
Perhaps against his better judgement, he had tested the enchantment while he was watching over Nephis. It had only been a few days after he had returned, and he had done it out of idle curiosity.
Nephis had been training with Solvane while he watched from the sidelines, and he… he…
Sunny sighed.
The activation of the enchantment had drained all of his essence in an instant, immediately sending him into severe essence exhaustion. Due to that, he had nearly passed out, collapsing to the ground with weak coughs.
It had taken all of his willpower to not black out immediately, and that was only because Nephis had rushed over to check up on him, teary eyed.
The poor girl was already traumatised. And if he all of a sudden keeled over and dropped like that? She would've been inconsolable. Awakened had strange bodies compared to normal humans, and if Sunny had passed out in such a state, his bodily functions would've slowed to the point of which to a mundane human, it would look like he had just died.
It had been extremely difficult to convince the girl that he was fine, which had only a little bit true. The fact that Solvane was giving him a disappointed look the whole did not help either.
Shaking his head, Sunny sighed as he climbed onto the railing of the colossal bridge. He was quite far from the main human settlements now, so nobody stopped him.
Then, taking a deep breath, he leaned over the side and fell into the abyss below.
Ki Song had given him only a little bit of information about the Devil prowling around the area. She had told him that rather than being dangerous, it seemed to be a massive nuisance instead, being an expert at getting away after causing trouble to the humans stationed here.
Of course, it was still a nightmare creature. Several people had been injured already, but with the amount of Awakened here, no one had died yet. The real reason Ki Song wanted it gone was due to the fact that it kept stealing food.
'How strange. A nightmare creature prioritising food over kills…'
He was quite keen on catching the vile little thing. The reports had described it as a human-sized bat covered in frost and mist, so he already knew it was going to be a pain to find.
Reaching an arm out, the clawed gauntlet of the Abyssal Drapes scraped against the stone, slowing his fall as he approached the underside of the bridge.
'Gotta be here.'
The Devil had last been spotted here, so this was where he was going to look.
Despite his annoyance in having to do such a bothersome task, Sunny still found himself a little excited. He hadn't truly tested himself against his Flaw just yet, as he had only been experimenting on random Beasts Solvane had captured and restrained for him. Now though… it was time to see how he'd deal with a tricky opponent.
He dug his hands in a little deeper, scraping to a halt as he reached the bottom of the bridge's railing. Looking at the dark underside of the grandiose structure, he twisted his body and swung himself into the darkness.
***
"Hm."
Sunny… did not know what to think.
He'd found the Devil, it hadn't taken nearly as long as he thought it would, with only a couple hours passing.
He'd been travelling across the underside of the bridge in the form of a shadow and he'd found it.
The Devil's appearance did indeed match the report. A large bat, mist and frost covering its body… one thing the report failed to mention was the mischievous glowing red eyes it had, which Sunny found quite charming.
He observed the Devil for a while, watching it as it sniffed around, crawling upside down.
And when the bat passed over him, he struck. The battle ended almost immediately.
Sunny had not dealt a lethal blow, but the bat was currently weakly struggling against his iron grip, screeching loudly. There was no hope left for it however, he had already disabled it, while also breaking both of its wings. All it could do was struggle weakly as tentacles of shadow pinned it to the stone.
It had tried to use its powers a few times, but whenever Sunny felt it try anything, he simply strengthened his grip.
The message was clear. Stay still or die.
Of course, the bat did not know that it couldn't be killed by him, but knowing wouldn't change anything anyways. It wasn't going to get away.
Sunny was simply deciding what to do next.
'Hm…'
There were a couple options.
He could summon Weaver's Mask and kill it, but he'd rather not rely on that too much. There was always a chance that Ki Song was currently watching him as well, and he didn't want to reveal all his cards just yet.
He could also tie it up and toss it to the locals, giving them the choice of what to do. But the problem with that was that word of what he did would eventually reach Ki Song. And if the queen was ever curious to why he did such a thing… he'd have to reveal his Flaw.
Or he could go with the last option, which was what he was going to do.
The tentacles binding the bat shifted and tensed, causing the poor Devil to squeal in pain and fright. A second later, the tentacles turned into chains.
Making sure the bindings were perfect, Sunny slowly began to lengthen the chain as he began lowering the Devil into the abyssal chasm below.
The bat squealed and screeched, struggling uselessly as it descended further and further into the darkness.
And after lowering it for a while, Sunny felt the end of the chain vanish.
He did not have to see or feel it to know what happened. Something from the chasm had snatched it.
'Done.'
With the Devil gone, he stepped through the shadows and appeared atop the bridge once more, returning the Ravenheart.
Realising what he had just done, he shuddered slightly.
'...Huh.'
That was a nightmare creature, why did he care about how it died?
Shaking his head, he continued his walk to the Gateway deep in thought.
***
Appearing back home, Sunny stretched with a tired sigh.
Feeling movement downstairs, he rushed to change out of his Song Suming guise. He'd rather be caught dead than wearing this.
Dusting the last bit of snow off of himself, he made his way downstairs.
"Gah!"
Jet leapt back in shock at the sight of him, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You… you scared me! I thought you were in the Dream Realm?"
Sunny tilted his head.
"I was. I got back just now."
Jet let out a long sigh, relaxing.
"Oh… right, Masters and all that."
"Yep."
"Ah, speaking of which, are you ever gonna repair that pod?"
He nodded.
"I will."
Sitting down on the sofa with a satisfied sigh, Jet looked at him with a grin.
"Don't take too long. What if someone sees that we have only one sleeping pod? That's totally suspicious!"
Sunny froze, his eyes widening.
"...You're right. Oh gods."
And what if he brought it in for repairs or something and the technicians or mechanics or whatever noticed that it had been broken for a long time now? Wouldn't that be even more suspicious? What kind of self-respecting Awakened didn't use a sleeping pod?
'I'll do it… tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow.'
Tomorrow night that was, as he still had to meet with Teacher Julius in the day. In a city with so many people, there were always going to be open shops and people working.
Taking a seat on the other side of the sofa, he sighed as he sunk into the cushions and shut his eyes.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence while Jet clicked away on her communicator, she turned to him.
"Sunny."
"Hmm?"
Having had a long day, he was feeling a little drowsy.
"Can I ask you something?"
He raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Sure."
Jet sucked in a deep breath.
"Are you sure about this? This whole… Nephis and Immortal Flame thing?"
"..."
Sunny did not answer just yet, remaining silent.
'Is she having doubts?'
He had never explicitly asked Jet if she was okay with him bringing in Nephis. Truthfully, he was afraid to ask her, afraid of having to hear something he might not want to. He could already feel the anxiety coming from her shadow.
He appreciated her presence here, even if she wasn't in the house that often. If she moved out because she was uncomfortable with the whole situation, he would not blame her or think any less of her, but… the place would be a little lonelier if she did.
Dreading the conversation they were about to have, Sunny turned to her.
"Truthfully? I… don't really know. This was all very sudden to me as well."
Jet turned to him, her lip quivering slightly.
"It's just… this is kind of a big deal, isn't it? Great Clans, fallen clans, divine lineages or whatever…"
Sunny nodded.
"It is. But if it makes you feel any better, Ki Song has recently approached me and offered help in dealing with Valor."
Jet laughed, her tone self-depricating.
"And there's that too. Casually dealing with Sovereigns? You're always involving yourself in big things, aren't you? Always something… sometimes I feel like I'm doing something wrong when I see you, you know?"
He turned to her, clearly confused.
"What do you mean?"
Jet scoffed.
"What do you think I mean? You're always doing something crazy! Second Nightmare at seventeen, secretly recruited by a Great Clan, slaying Titans… the list goes on!"
Sunny blinked.
"...I suppose so then."
Jet just laughed, turning away.
"I don't even know how I got close to you. I was a completely regular Awakened, and you just approached me out of the blue as a Sleeper… even back then, I felt something strange about you."
"You underestimate yourself."
She turned back to him, a weak grin lining her face.
"It's easy to do that when I compare myself to you."
'...Oh.'
Despite now being able to somewhat sense emotions, he had still never noticed.
'Ah… I'm too negligent.'
To think his friend had such feelings of inferiority brewing and he hadn't even realised. Something needed to be done immediately!
"Jet, don't take this the wrong way, but please don't compare yourself to me. I… don't laugh, but I am a complete anomaly compared to regular Awakened. I doubt you'll find another person in the world who can do what I do."
Despite his request, Jet couldn't stop herself from snickering at his words.
"And don't forget your own achievements, Jet. You are from the outskirts, the absolute dregs of our society. You crawled out of the deepest possible pit a person could be in, and now look — you are an Awakened that works alongside Saints and Masters, a well-respected government agent, a slayer of Tyrants. Are these not incredible achievements too? Do you even know how many outskirts kids make it this far? Let me tell you — there's like, none!"
For a second, Jet didn't respond, only sighing.
"But… then there's you, Sunny. You're an outskirts kid too, and look at the difference between us. I… I don't know about this anymore."
"Jet."
Sunny gritted his teeth.
"I know I said I was from the outskirts, but it's so much more than that. You said it yourself, didn't you? That there was something off about me?"
"Then… will you tell me about it?"
His gaze dimmed.
"I… maybe one day. Just know that I have absolute faith in you, and I have no doubt that you will become a successful Awakened, and an even more successful Ascended. If you don't believe in your own judgement, then believe in mine."
Jet turned her face away from him, but he could feel both her embarrassment and joy as clear as day.
"Thanks, I guess…"
"But if you are really having doubts about this whole Immortal Flame thing, I wouldn't blame you if you left, you know. No judgement here, believe me, I get it."
"Nah. Changed my mind."
"Are you su-"
"Shut up before I change my mind again."
Sunny did not hesitate to close his mouth.
Still turned away, Jet pulled out her communicator.
"Ah, I'm getting a call."
"Really? I don't-"
"Looks like it's Saint Cor. Guess that means I have to go to the Dream Realm. Bye Sunny!"
With a small wave, she ran off, descending into the basement.
'...Okay.'
His skill in reading emotions was quite bad, so he couldn't really tell if that worked or not.
'I hope it did?'
Sighing, he sunk even further into the sofa. Despite their conversation being relatively short, he felt emotionally drained.
Sinking so deep into the cushions to the point where he nearly fell off the sofa entirely, Sunny fell asleep.
***
In his dreams, Sunny heard voices.
"Will you…"
"Flame…"
"Don't… Don't let…"
He also saw things. Strange things.
A bird trapped in a cage. A sun that emitted only darkness. A wolf staring at the stars.
He wouldn't exactly say they tormented him, but they certainly felt strange. It wasn't like they stayed in his mind for long anyways, as he usually forgot them.
Ever since he obtained the Dreamcatcher, he'd have similar dreams whenever he went to sleep. Strange voices, cryptic images, familiar sounds… It was all very strange. And so far, very meaningless too. He suspected that it was the dream function of the Dreamcatcher, but he didn't really know what it did just yet. As for the Dreamcatcher itself, he had left it hanging from the ceiling in Nephis' room, as he didn't want her to have bad dreams.
Lifting himself up from the ground, Sunny rubbed his face as he stood up and stretched. At some point in the night, he had rolled off the sofa in his sleep.
Looking outside, he saw that it was still dark, and the sun had not risen yet.
'Ah.'
Despite the fact he had just got up, he immediately fell back down, relaxing on the sofa as he switched on the entertainment system.
'Might as well…'
He had already ordered more storage modules for his communicator. He didn't really have anything to do now besides relax.
'How nice.'
Picking the cheesiest looking drama he could find, he sat back and relaxed.
As expected, it was hot garbage, but he couldn't help but get immersed after a while.
Hours passed without him even realising it.
Eventually, the series ended with an abrupt twist, leaving him with only a teaser for the next season.
"What?"
"No!"
Sunny paused.
"Huh?"
Turning to his side, he realised Nephis had been sitting next to him watching it as well.
"Oh, hey kid. When did you get here?"
Nephis stared at him, slightly confused.
"Maybe an hour ago?"
Sunny turned away, coughing slightly.
"I see. Well anyways, what do you want for breakfast?"
The girl smiled slightly.
"Chef's choice?"
"...Alright, alright. Just don't complain this time if you don't like it."
"I won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise!"
With a sigh, Sunny stood up and got to work.