Clang.
[You have slain a Fallen Tyrant: Lost Writer.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
[You have received a Memory: Tender Sea, Chapter Eighty-eight.]
"Huh?"
Sunny looked up at the floating runes displaying his new Memory. Finding it completely useless, he promptly fed it to his shadows without a second thought.
During these grueling months, his relentless hunting and practice in Weaving had yielded enough Memories to elevate both Sparrow and Saint into Transcendent Shadows—with Saint even managing to advance into class Devil.
Under Nether's guidance, Sunny had grown exponentially, refining his skills and absorbing ancient knowledge. Yet, one revelation refused to leave his mind: the ancient pact forged between Shadow and Weaver countless millennia ago that had ultimately set the stage for his birth.
"Time to head back," Sunny murmured, glancing back at Saint and his other shadows.
It was time to speak with Nether and finally uncover the truth behind his mentorship.
***
Crash!
A majestic dragon with gleaming ivory scales collapsed, lifeless, at the base of a tower forged from the exact same radiant stone. Kai had just slain Sevras using the glass knife. The archer had dove headfirst into the colossal beast's gaping maw moments before it could unleash its incineration fire. Miraculously, he was still breathing.
Solvane, too, was dead—felled by Noctis's cunning scheme, with Changing Star delivering the final, decisive blow. Cassie had taken care of the Sun Prince, orchestrating a suicidal collision with the flying ship entrusted to her by the sorcerer before leaping into the sky. Effie had then descended upon the fallen prince to finish the job using the knife containing his death.
All her allies were safe. Nephis stood alone before the grand entrance of the tower where Hope was imprisoned. Only one final obstacle stood in her path.
"Mordret... what are you doing?" Changing Star hissed at the Prince of Nothing, finding him standing halfway across the colossal chain bridge connecting the two islands.
"Oh, you see, Changing Star?" Mordret replied with utter nonchalance, lightly shrugging his shoulders. "I was just thinking... since Hope is still chained and Noctis is still alive, she is weak while I am strong. So why not take advantage of the situation and kill her myself?"
He extended his hand, and upon his palm materialized a blade whose razor-thin edge literally reflected the surrounding world. The [Cruel Sight]—a Memory generously gifted to him by Cassie.
"Have you lost your mind?! We came here to free Hope, not kill her! This was never part of our plan!" Nephis shouted, the white flames healing her wings flaring up in sheer rage.
Mordret took two slow steps sideways along the bridge—a giant chain forged from indestructible, timeless iron. His gaze drifted toward the endless abyss below. "Your plan, you mean, Changing Star," the prince corrected her smoothly, spinning the weapon in his hand until its sharp point aimed straight at her heart.
The two collided. It was a vicious, unrelenting battle between two wielders of Divine Aspects.
Mordret immediately summoned his reflections: an Awakened Devil flanked by two Monsters and a Beast. Evidently, his hunt within the Night Temple had proven quite fruitful.
Nephis summoned [Feral Slaughter], the crimson longsword she had obtained by slaying Solvane. The flat of the blade gleamed beneath the sunlight, as though the bloodthirsty spirit of the deceased Priestess of War still lingered within, eager to rend flesh once more.
Neither held back. Yet, despite her best efforts, Nephis struggled to gain the upper hand. The Prince of Nothing was far more pragmatic, cunning, and experienced in combat, and his War Lineage granted him an innate mastery over martial encounters. His ability to travel between reflections was terrifyingly versatile, and his summoned reflections mirrored her own abilities step-for-step, stripping away her natural advantage.
However, Nephis had recently unlocked her Aspect Legacy through Noctis's guidance, who had instructed her in the sorcery of Shaping. By claiming her first Relic, she had acquired the Knowledge of Fire.
Drawing upon that knowledge, Nephis spoke the True Name of Fire, deliberately detonating her soul cores. One by one, her cores exploded into raw power, reducing her back to the class of a Beast. The resulting inferno was so immense that it obliterated the two Monsters and the Beast instantly, sending the Awakened Devil plummeting into the dark abyss below.
Driven into a corner, Mordret made a fatal miscalculation: he attempted to invade her soul through her eye.
Changing Star's Soul Sea was a roaring tempest of blinding white and silver flames, anchored by a single, scorching sun so bright it caused agony just to behold. The Prince of Nothing found himself standing in the epicenter of that blinding hell, with Nephis looming over him like an omen of death.
"Miss Changing Star... you know I was only joking, right?" Mordret offered with a strained, nervous smile, a sudden prickle of dread piercing his mind.
Nephis didn't hesitate. "Burn," raising her hand, she commanded the sea of fire to strike. Instantly, a curtain of white flame engulfed the prince completely.
The Spell did not announce his death. At the very last second, Mordret had managed to escape.
Opening her eyes, Nephis wasted no more time. She dashed toward the Ivory Tower and slammed her hands against the massive doors.
"Gnnnh..."
With a heavy groan of ancient stone, the grand gates yielded, swinging open to reveal the interior of the luminous pagoda. But Nephis hardly noticed the architecture; her silver eyes were instantly locked onto the divine, overwhelmingly majestic form of Hope.
The voice of the Daemon of Desire—both eerie and sublime—echoed directly in the deepest recesses of her mind.
"Who are you? Where is my nephew?"
***
Sunny walked down the long, majestic corridors of Nether's stronghold, eventually arriving at the heavy doors of the subterranean workshop where they had spent the past months training and practicing sorcery. The immense fortress was a labyrinth of stained-glass windows and endless hallways leading to rooms of all possibilities—and some to absolute Nothingness—perfectly mirroring the domains governed by its ancient master.
The doors parted silently at his approach. Inside, Sunny found Nether. The Daemon's presence, vast as an ocean of True darkness, had become familiar over time, largely because his uncle took great care to suppress it whenever Sunny was near.
"Nether," Sunny called out, announcing himself respectfully. There was no haste in his voice, nor animosity. A genuine bond between master and apprentice had formed between them.
"You've told me how Weaver and Shadow orchestrated my birth and everything surrounding it, but there is still one crucial detail you've kept hidden from me. Don't you think it's time we discussed it?"
The question was posed with deliberate emphasis.
Lost from Light needed to know. He needed to understand why a deity so ancient and powerful would bother to raise and instruct him, as the excuse of blood relations only went so far.
Nether, who was leaning over a workbench crafting a new Stone Saint modeled after Sunny's Shadow Saint, paused. He turned slowly to face him.
"You ask a fair question, nephew," Nether replied softly, his voice carrying a rare, gentle warmth. "Very well. I shall tell you the truth."
The Daemon of Choice paused briefly before continuing.
"If I took you under my wing and instructed you, I did so... for my own sake as well."
"For... yourself?" Sunny asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
Nether nodded. "Yes, Sunless. Primarily for myself."
Behind his wooden demon mask and its crown of jagged spikes, the Daemon's gaze grew distant, weighed down by ancient guilt.
"You see, Sunless... beyond spending time to train you and witnessing the properties of my creation, the [Mantle of the Underworld], manifest within a vessel outside my Stone Saints... I felt a profound sense of familiarity when I looked at you."
"Familiarity? In what way?" Lost from Light pressed, scratching his head in disbelief.
"Familiarity," Nether repeated quietly. "Because in you and your bond with the Nephilim, I saw a reflection of myself and the Storm God. Two lonely, vastly different souls who found solace in one another. Toward the end of the Age of Gods, however, they grew distant... and so did she with me. We loved each other, Sunless. We truly did. Once, we spent endless days together, enjoying each other's company. She stood in the light of day, guiding her people through the storms of her vast seas, while I remained concealed within their dark depths, supporting her from the shadows."
Sunny listened in silence, noticing how Nether's voice cracked with tragic longing for his lost bond with the Storm God.
Internally, part of Sunny began to draw parallels between Nether's story and his own dynamic with Nephis. It felt strangely fitting—he was the shadow, and Changing Star was the light casting it. In a different reality, it might have sounded like a beautiful fantasy. But the cold truth of their bond and the agonizing sting of her betrayal made him recoil from the thought.
Sunny was a slave, and Nephis was his master. No matter how much he wished otherwise, that was his reality. And there was nothing more pathetic than a slave who trusted his own slaver.
"...In the end, when the Gods vanished from the sight of mortals, I made the mistake of leaving my domain to search for her, leaving the abyssal horrors of the Underworld unattended and free to roam. And when I finally realized my search was in vain—trapped within my Ebony Tower by my own making, spending centuries sculpting hollow statues of her—I realized the truth."
"And what was that?" Sunny asked softly.
"When you truly love someone, Sunless... you must also know when to let them go."
Sunny lowered his head. A heavy silence settled over the workshop as the weight of those words echoed in both their souls.
Let her go.
It sounded so simple in concept. Yet, as much as he despised Nephis for stripping away his freedom and abandoning him, part of him still loved her.
"Now then," Nether spoke after a long pause, shattering the quiet. "Have you finalized your preparations, nephew?"
Sunny nodded with firm resolve. Now was not the time to dwell on complex emotions; he had far more urgent matters at hand. Soon, he and Nether would descend into the depths of the Underworld city to battle an invading nightmare.
An Unholy Tyrant.
***
"Gnh... gnh... gnnnh..."
Cassie dragged her bleeding body across the scorched earth, crawling out from the wreckage of the fallen airship.
Crashing a flying vessel directly into a giant like the Sun Prince had certainly not been her brightest idea, but she had made far worse choices in her life.
Speaking of choices...
"You were right, Serenade of Doom," a voice called out. Mordret materialized before her, his clothes scorched and ragged, missing a chunk of his hair. He clutched the [Cruel Sight] tightly, his face twisted in frustration over his failure to slay Hope. "When you warned me that Changing Star would betray me, you weren't wrong."
Hearing his voice, Cassie raised her head. Turning her gaze toward the sky, she focused the vision of her new eye toward the distant tower where Nephis stood.
Every event was unfolding precisely according to her plan. Yet, deep down, she wished with all her heart that it wasn't.
Elsewhere...
"Who are you? Where is my nephew?"
The Daemon of Desire demanded of Changing Star, her voice dripping with deep disappointment and rising fury.
"W-what... what are you talking about?" Nephis managed to choke out, crushed beneath the unfathomable, suffocating pressure of the divine being.
Hope was simultaneously exquisite and horrifying. Her radiant body blurred the boundary where divinity ended and physical form began, and her golden blood dripped onto the broken chains below like liquid light.
She was the most magnificent creature Changing Star had ever laid eyes upon—and, at the same time, the most repulsive.
Hope's gaze seemed to pierce through Nephis's flesh, reading her mind and soul like an open book.
Finally, after a suffocating silence that felt like an eternity, Hope let out a long, slow sigh.
"I see," the Daemon said with cold disappointment. "It appears Weaver has lost his bet."
Before Nephis could process those words, the icy voice of the Spell whispered inside her mind:
[You have slain a Transcendent Human: Noctis, the Crimson Beast of Twilight.]
[You have received a Memory.]
[You have received an Attribute.]
---
Attribute: [Mark of Desire].
"What is Desire if not a Hope? But what is Hope, exactly? Hope is nothing but a poison."
---
"What... what did you do?" Nephis gasped, reading the runes of her new attribute.
The Daemon's oppressive presence held her pinned to the stone floor, rendering her entirely immobile.
Glancing down at her, the newly freed Daemon approached Nephis and whispered: "This is your punishment for preventing me from meeting my nephew, Nephilim."
She paused, her voice echoing with sinister weight.
"And it is also... my gift to you."
"Why did the Gods imprison you?" Nephis managed to ask through gritted teeth.
"Because we were their flaw."
With those final words, the Daemon of Desire stepped past her and took flight, soaring freely out of the tower that had caged her for millennia.
[Wake up, Nephis! Your Nightmare is over!]
[Preparing appraisal...]
***
BOOM!
Nether crashed down alongside the dark deity. The Unholy Tyrant that had invaded the Underworld city—snatching its citizens one by one to transform them into its thralls—was finally brought down. The battle had been brutal, bloody, and entirely without mercy.
Alongside his Onyx Saint, Sunny had been forced to lead the surviving Stone Saints through the aftermath of the invasion, holding the line against a tide of abominations. The weakest among the horde were Awakened and Fallen, commanded by a Supreme entity flanked by Corrupted generals.
These creatures were not typical Nightmare Creatures. The Spell identified them as Dark Drifters—vast, amorphous monstrosities resembling crumpled, soaked rags slithering across the stone floors. They possessed no soul cores, and worse yet, no shadows to yield Shadow Fragments upon their death.
"Thank the dead Gods I had the [Shadow Lantern] to provide an endless supply of shadows, or I don't know how I would've survived," Sunny muttered through gritted teeth, clutching his broken, dangling arm. The fracture in his lower right arm hurt like absolute hell.
Saint, Sparrow, and Serpent had retreated back into his Soul Sea to recover. The same went for the Greedy Mimic—the new Shadow he had created from the [Basket of Greed] Memory. All his shadows were alive, albeit utterly exhausted from the grueling ordeal. The only casualty was the Soul-Devouring Tree, which had been destroyed after its enthralling ability drew the brunt of the enemy horde's aggression.
Sunny hadn't been particularly attached to the cursed tree, but losing a valuable asset always stung.
"Damnation! Just when that damn tree was actually starting to grow on me!" he cursed aloud in frustration.
Sunny limped through the shattered ruins of the Underworld city, watching the surviving Stone Saints begin the arduous process of clearing rubble to rebuild their fallen home. In one of his four hands, he tightly gripped a pitch-black blade that radiated a terrifying, bone-chilling aura of absolute death.
The [God Slayer]—the weapon Nether had specially forged for him to finish off this foe in his meager state as an Ascended Tyrant, bringing his Second Nightmare to an end.
Sunny now stood before the fallen Unholy Tyrant. The dying entity resembled a colossal black skeleton draped in paper-thin, rotting dark flesh. Where its eyes should have been on its gargantuan skull, three hollow sockets formed an equilateral triangle. Its flesh was shredded, its massive bones shattered and cracked. Nether stood atop the beast, pinning it down effortlessly and suppressing its terrifying will so his nephew could deliver the killing blow.
Without hesitation, Sunny raised the [God Slayer] and drove the blade deep into the creature's exposed blind spot.
[You have slain an Unholy Tyrant: Ehredyll, the Fallen Nephilim.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
"Ugh..."
An unprecedented surge of shadow fragments rushed into his soul, forcing him to clench his teeth against the overwhelming power.
[Your shadow is overflowing with power.]
[Your shadow is taking shape...]
[Your shadow is complete.]
"Dammit!"
Sunny cursed under his breath, catching his breath as he pushed himself back up. Before him, the corrupted Nephilim's gargantuan corpse began to dissolve, dispersing into gray dust carried away by the subterranean wind.
He had just completed his Terror Core. In theory, he should have saturated his soul and become a Titan by now, but during the relentless struggle alongside the Stone Saints against the Dark Drifters, he had been forced to sacrifice three of his shadow cores, temporarily dropping back down to the class of a Monster.
"It seems our time together has finally come to an end, nephew," Nether spoke with a quiet melancholy, standing back up as their foe faded to ash.
The Daemon of Choice leaned down, taking Sunny's hand in his own gargantuan palm. "Here. Take this in memory of our time together, and as my thanks for keeping me company."
A moment later, the Spell whispered inside his mind:
[You have received a Memory: Nether's Workbench.]
Yet it was not finished.
[You have received an Attribute.]
---
Attribute: [Mark of Choice].
"Choices present themselves before you like fireflies before a grand lantern. The choices you don't make will vanish into the black like pages torn away by the wind."
---
"Thank you," Sunny said softly, looking up at his runes.
"Think nothing of it," the Daemon replied with a gentle nod.
A heavy silence descended between them. There were many things both wished to say—words of gratitude and affection between two kindred, solitary souls separated by time and a dream, bound only by a subtle thread of blood. Yet neither was the type for emotional displays.
And so, Sunny and Nether said nothing more. They simply stood there, staring at one another in silence, letting their fixed gaze fill the void where words ceased.
[Wake up, Sunless! Your Nightmare is over!]
[Preparing appraisal...]
Finally, the world around him slowly began to fade. Looking up into the void, Sunny let out a long sigh.
But as it faded into black, the last thing he heard was:
"Find the remaining pieces of my brother's lineage, nephew. You will find the map inside my tower, in the abyss beneath my sister's realm. Collect them and become complete! Only then... will you be able to finally reclaim your freedom."
And so... after two long, grueling years, Lost from Light was finally returning to the Waking World.
***
Nephis and Cassie walked down the polished corridors of the Awakened Academy, with Princess Morgan of Valor striding beside them. Months had passed since their cohort had conquered the Second Nightmare.
"So, Master Changing Star, how do you and your Firekeepers intend to compensate Clan Valor for the casualties and destruction caused at our citadel, the Night Temple?"
Morgan was pressing them hard, attempting to leverage the incident to force them into joining Valor—and absorb the Firekeepers in the process.
As promised, Kai and Effie had parted ways with the Immortal Flame Clan upon their return, joining the Government under the personal recommendation of Soul Reaper Jet. As for the Firekeepers themselves, roughly half had chosen to return under Nephis's command. After all, she was still the leader who had brought them back from the hell of the Crimson Spire.
Rain, on the other hand, has officially cut ties with her, deeply disappointed and embittered by the truth behind the mentorship provided by the person she had firmly believed to be her heroine.
Another problem was Nightmare. Not only did the shadow steed refuse to heed her, but it wouldn't even let her ride it. Nephis didn't know if this stemmed from the incompatibility of their opposing natures, but she truly was at a loss as to how to handle the damned equine. Perhaps it was due to the way she had defeated it; even when it was within her Soul Sea, it would hide in the shadows of the sea of silver flames, irritated by that stark whiteness.
"Master Morgan, with all due respect, what makes you so certain we were responsible for the events at the Night Temple?" Cassie interjected smoothly, taking over the defense.
Too consumed by her own thoughts, Changing Star willingly deferred to the blind seer.
"Do you take me for a fool, Miss Serenade of Doom?" Morgan replied coldly, removing her sleek glasses. "I know precisely what transpired. Valor maintains audio and video Memories recording every corner of our strongholds."
"Are you suggesting Clan Valor possesses functional surveillance in the Dream Realm, Princess Morgan?" Cassie countered calmly. "Forgive me, but I find that hard to believe. And even if such Memories existed, how reliable could they possibly be?"
The debate continued back and forth as the trio walked. Yet Nephis barely registered their words.
A far heavier burden consumed her mind: her new attribute, [Mark of Desire]. Thus far, Changing Star had felt no tangible change nor discovered its purpose. All she could think about these past months was Sunny.
He was still out there in the Dream Realm. Somewhere.
Alone.
Lost.
Perhaps not entirely alone, given his shadows, but how could such creatures compare to the warmth of human connection she could provide?
When Nephis had watched his runes shift from Dreamer to Awakened, and finally to Ascended, a sudden surge of hope had convinced her he was back. But when she rushed to his pod room, she found only his sleeping physical body—unmoving, peaceful, with no sign of waking anytime soon.
There was only one rational explanation for all this: that Sunny had somehow ascended naturally, without the aid of the Spell. How? She had no idea. Knowledge regarding the pact of ascension had been lost in the ancient depths of the Dream Realm. Theories about the possibility of natural awakening already existed, but no one had ever managed to piece it all together coherently.
Furthermore, Sunny didn't possess a true physical body, so how could he have done after awakening? If he had stumbled upon the seed of a Nightmare and used the body the Spell had provided him, it would have made perfect sense. The trouble was, that would be the worst possible scenario.
'Why won't they let me bring his body to the Immortal Flame Mansion?' she had wondered back then.
Deep down, however, she already knew the answer. Kai's public interview had laid everything bare; the entire world knew of her betrayal.
Had it not been for the prestige and immunity granted by her ascension to Master, Nephis would likely have been branded a public criminal and locked away for her actions. It was not an exaggeration—Awakened had been prosecuted for crimes committed in the Dream Realm before, though never a Master. How could humanity afford to imprison its elite champions, below Saints, when the Nightmare Creatures threatened their very existence?
'Where are you, Sunny? I miss you.'
Changing Star couldn't stop thinking about him. Noctis had told her in the Nightmare that if you truly love someone, you must learn to let them go. But how could she?
How could she ever let him go?
Reading his runes had been her only solace. During her darkest days in the Red Colosseum under Solvane's cruelty, those glowing lines of text had been her lifeline, keeping her anchored to her humanity.
'I can't let Sunny go,' she wept silently within her soul. 'I need him.'
Nephis couldn't live without him.
'I need him! I need him! I need him!'
The obsession echoed through her mind like the relentless tolling of a heavy bell. Beside her, Cassie and Morgan continued to negotiate terms as they approached a private conference room.
Until—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The Academy's emergency alarms blared loudly through the corridor, flashing crimson lights originating from the pod medical bay.
"Sunny!"
His name burst from her lips instinctively.
Before Morgan or Cassie could utter a word, Changing Star sprinted down the hallway, racing toward his pod at full speed.
***
Nephis sprinted forward with reckless abandon, soon reaching the chamber where Sunny's physical body rested.
Inside, she found mundane medical personnel wearing armored alloy exoskeletons. They were completely immobilized, bound to the floor by their own shadows, anchored in place as if bowing to a sovereign. The air was bitingly cold, thick with the heavy scent of death.
And there he was. Clad in a majestic black tunic woven from shadows, with dark tendrils sprawling across the floor like the mantle of a true dark lord. His gaze was lowered, his arms resting limply at his sides.
Sunny.
Sunless.
Lost from Light.
The man she loved so fiercely... and the one she had betrayed, stripping him of his freedom. But how could any of that matter right now? He was alive. He was standing right in front of her.
"Sunny," his name slipped past her lips in a fragile, aching whisper, broken by two solitary tears trailing down her soft cheeks.
A tidal wave of warmth swelled in her chest. Without a second thought, Nephis ran toward him.
'Sunny is here! Sunny is here!'
With every step she took, the distance between them seemed to agonizingly stretch.
"Sunny!" Changing Star called out again as the shadows finally released their hold on the room, allowing him to collapse forward into her arms.
"Ne—Nephis?" Sunny murmured, struggling to open his eyes. Her beautiful face was the first thing he saw upon returning. His body was visibly groggy, still caught in the lingering daze of a two-year-long slumber.
Nephis nodded, words caught painfully in her throat. She cupped his pale cheek affectionately, an overwhelming urge to kiss him rushing through her.
Then, Sunny's vision finally focused. As his consciousness breached the surface, his expression twisted rapidly into a mask of pure, unadulterated disgust and hatred.
Before Changing Star could utter a single word, his hand shot forward.
Squelch.
The [Moonlight Shard] materialized in his grasp, plunging directly into her stomach. Nephis gasped, her mouth falling open in shock, her silver eyes locked in disbelief with Sunny's venomous glare.
"Fuck you!" he spat, raw fury and vitriol contorting his features.
The next second, Sunny lost consciousness. His hand slipped limply from the hilt of the blade as he collapsed to the floor.
Changing Star remained frozen, staring down at his unconscious form as the medical personnel quickly recovered and rushed in to tend to him. Her white flames flared on instinct, instantly healing the physical wound in her stomach—but doing nothing for the gaping wound in her spirit.
"I love you," she managed to whisper as they wheeled him away. At that moment, the agony inflicted by her Flaw was more excruciating than ever before.
***
The news of Master Sunless's return—a mere Sleeper who had conquered his Second Nightmare entirely alone—sent shockwaves through the Waking World. It dominated the headlines overnight, immediately drawing the covetous gazes of the Government and the great Legacy Clans.
When Lost from Light finally woke up in a hospital bed, he was greeted by the warm faces of Kai and Effie. Rain was there too, making their reunion a deeply touching, tear-jerking moment. Nephis was not present. After recounting Sunny's violent reaction to Cassie, the blind seer had strongly advised Nephis to stay away for the time being.
'What if I use the bond?' The dangerous thought slithered into Changing Star's mind—a tiny, desperate spark of hope just to force him close so she could hold him again. She violently shook her head to dispel it. Yet, her heart ached with the sheer desire to have him by her side.
Once Sunny had fully recovered, the obligatory Government debriefings and interviews began. It was there he reunited with Jet, the Master who had overseen him during his First Nightmare. Without a second thought, he ran up and hugged her. Soul Reaper was, without a doubt, still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Then came his reunion with Professor Julius. The old man was overjoyed to see him—not that he was surprised, naturally. None of his students would ever perish to something as trivial as a Second Nightmare. However, Julius was profoundly moved when Sunny casually handed over the [Ephemeral Diary], the Memory containing all his detailed research reports from the Dream Realm.
Yet, Lost from Light was even more moved—specifically when Julius informed him that publishing those findings would yield enough credits to buy seven luxurious multi-family villas, fully furnished.
So, Sunny did exactly that.
He purchased a massive, sprawling villa situated right next to Rain's adoptive parents' home, ensuring he could see his little sister every day—a suggestion she herself had made. Upon hearing about his new real estate, Effie promptly moved into his living room, rapidly transitioning from 'guest' to 'permanent tenant.' Sunny genuinely didn't know how to kick her out.
Shortly after, Sunny threw a massive housewarming party, inviting everyone he cared about: Effie, Kai, Rain, Jet, Aiko, and Professor Julius. Surprisingly, he also extended an invitation to Nephis and Cassie, stating he wanted to "settle their accounts" later that evening. The guests drank copious amounts of soda and devoured a mountain of snacks. For once, he spared no expense.
The highlight of the night was Sunny recounting his adventures through the Dream Realm and his Second Nightmare—starting from his arrival in a crippled, limbless stone puppet, all the way to his apprenticeship under a Divine being and slaying an Unholy Tyrant.
Kai fainted on the spot.
Effie, Jet, Aiko, and Rain called him a crazy lunatic.
Julius declared that, obviously, none of his students would ever die to something as trivial as an Unholy Tyrant.
Nephis and Cassie, however—knowing his Flaw compelled him to speak only the truth—were left entirely shell-shocked.
A stunned silence fell over the room following his lengthy explanation, broken only when Raised by Wolves blurted out: "Uhm... excuse me, but what the actual fuck?"
But there was another particular event that defined the evening.
Whinnnny! Snort.
"Uhm... Neph. Why is your horse rubbing itself against me?" Sunny asked, standing rigidly as the towering dark steed nudged its heavy head against his chest, demanding to be petted.
"I... Sunny, I have absolutely no idea," Nephis replied, her gaze darting erratically between him and Nightmare.
Completely unprompted, the Awakened Terror had decided to step out of her shadow and seek affection from Sunny, acting as though it had just found its true home. The other guests stood completely frozen, exchanging bewildered glances as they watched the bizarre scene unfold in the middle of the living room.
When Sunny finally sighed, gave in, and slowly ran a hand through the creature's dark mane, Nightmare let out an enthusiastic, joyous whinny.
At that exact moment, the Spell whispered into Nephis's ear:
[You have lost a Shadow.]
"Huh?"
Simultaneously, Sunny heard:
[You have received a Shadow.]
"Huh?"
---
Shadows: [Onyx Saint], [Soul Serpent], [Ravenous Sparrow], [Greedy Mimic], [Nightmare].
Shadow: [Nightmare].
Shadow Rank: Awakened.
Shadow Class: Terror.
Shadow Attributes: [Swift], [Dark Destrier], [Dreadlord], [Dreamwalker].
Shadow Abilities: [Flowing Shadow], [Mantle of Fear], [Nightmare], [Dream Curse].
Shadow Description: [A Nephilim battled a creature of shadows in the depths of a harrowing dream. In the end, the light prevailed over the valiant steed in the vilest way possible, imprisoning the shadow within the hell of its white radiance. Later, this magnificent horse found solace in the depths of a kindred soul.
Finally, the shadow has joined with the one it was destined for from the very beginning.]
---
No one dared to breathe. Unable to comprehend the sheer absurdity of what had just transpired, the room fell dead silent. Even Lost from Light and Changing Star, despite reading the exact same runes, were left utterly speechless.
Placing a hand over his chest, Sunny could feel the dark steed settling comfortably into his Soul Sea, smoothly taking the vacant spot left by the Soul-Devouring Tree.
Nephis's face flushed crimson with sheer indignation. She was practically fuming from every pore, unable to believe the steed's blatant treachery.
'You... you traitorous... you know what? Fine! Go to him! If you're happy, I don't care! I never liked you anyway, and you never listened!'
Meanwhile, internally she was seething with pure jealousy.
'Stupid horse!'
Finally, when the laughter died down and the guests departed, only three people remained sitting around the table:
Sunny, Cassie, and Nephis.
It was time to talk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~