Before Sunny could ask why Cassie had suddenly gone pale, Elysia continued speaking with even more enthusiasm than before.
"My Aspect allows me to transfer my consciousness into a person that I've marked. Marking people or objects is actually pretty simple. I just need to touch some part of them."
She paused proudly before continuing.
"Of course, if the target is stronger than me, I would need to fight for control over their body. Oh! I can also sense the deepest emotions and desires of anyone who has ever spoken my True Name."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Sunny stared at her in disbelief.
To say he was shocked would have been a massive understatement.
The girl was practically announcing to everyone present that she possessed a Divine Aspect.
And not just any Divine Aspect.
An absurdly broken one.
Sunny instantly felt a deep sense of unfairness rising within him.
'Why is her Ability so ridiculously overpowered compared to mine?'
Meanwhile, Cassie looked visibly stunned as well.
Nephis slightly widened her eyes once again before calmly returning to her usual indifferent expression, as though hearing about terrifying abilities had already become routine for her.
'Seriously… what is wrong with this girl?' Sunny thought helplessly.
Only Senrix seemed thoughtful rather than shocked.
He placed a hand on his chin before suddenly asking in a casual tone:
"Were you the one watching me and Nephis fight back then?"
The moment Senrix asked that question, Sunny instinctively opened his mouth.
He was about to admit that he had been the one secretly observing their fight through his shadow.
However, before he could speak, Elysia casually answered first.
"Hmm? I transferred my consciousness into the man who tried talking to me after the rankings first appeared. But actually…"
A playful smile appeared on her face.
"I wasn't the only one watching."
Sunny's expression stiffened.
'She noticed?'
For a moment, he considered denying it.
But after a brief hesitation, he decided against it.
"I was the other one," Sunny admitted with a shrug. "I got curious about what the other classes were doing, so I used my shadow to secretly watch them whenever I had free time."
Technically, he wasn't lying.
During the final four weeks at the Academy, Sunny had spent a ridiculous amount of time spying on different classes through his shadow.
Combat training.
Aspect utilization.
Survival lessons.
Archery.
Philosophy.
Even basic field medicine.
Out of all the classes, Elysia attended Aspect Utilization, Philosophy, and Archery classes.
Cassie, strangely enough, attended almost none at all.
Senrix focused mainly on Combat Training and Aspect Utilization.
As for Nephis…
She only attended combat classes.
Honestly, that sounded exactly like her.
Sunny still vividly remembered watching her casually destroy every opponent she faced during sparring sessions.
Even through his shadow's senses, the memory remained terrifying.
Before he could continue thinking, Elysia interrupted his thoughts again with her cheerful voice.
"As for Memories, I only have one!"
She proudly raised a finger.
"It's a bow that's really difficult to destroy. Its literal name is 'Hard to Destroy Bow.'"
The four others stared at her silently.
Nephis naturally maintained her usual deadpan expression.
Cassie looked like she was desperately trying not to laugh.
Sunny felt his soul leave his body for a second because somehow that was genuinely the Memory's actual name.
Meanwhile, Senrix simply looked disappointed.
"The Spell really put zero effort into naming that one, huh?"
"I know, right?" Elysia agreed enthusiastically.
Sunny rubbed his face.
At this point, he genuinely couldn't tell whether the Nightmare Spell was ancient and mysterious or just incredibly lazy.
"And that's all!"
Elysia suddenly jumped to her feet and stretched her arms proudly as though she had just completed an important presentation.
Then she turned toward Cassie with bright eyes.
"Your turn, Cas!"
The blind girl sighed softly.
"It's my turn? Uh… my Attributes aren't really special."
Sunny almost snorted.
Anyone whose Attributes could reveal secrets and glimpse fragments of fate had no right calling themselves ordinary.
Cassie continued speaking carefully.
"I suppose I have an affinity with revelations and fate. My Ability works more or less like I explained earlier. It's… not very useful most of the time."
Sunny highly doubted that.
"As for Memories," she continued, "I have three. The bottle, the wooden staff, and this armor."
She gently touched the armor she was wearing.
"You already know about the bottle. The staff can create wind. And the armor…" Cassie hesitated slightly. "The armor is actually Awakened rank. Neph gave it to me after we met. It has a very powerful protective enchantment."
Sunny blinked.
Then blinked again.
'Wait.'
'So not only was Nephis carrying Cassie around this entire time… she also gave away an Awakened-rank Memory?'
His expression became complicated.
'What exactly is Nephis thinking?'
An Awakened-rank armor was unimaginably valuable to Sleepers.
Yet Nephis had handed it away without hesitation.
Either she was unbelievably generous…
Or she simply didn't care about such things at all.
Honestly, Sunny wasn't sure which possibility was scarier.
Cassie turned her face away slightly before quietly adding:
"I used to be a pretty decent fencer… before. But now, I can't really fight anymore."
The mood instantly became heavier.
Everyone understood what she was implying.
Those final words were clearly connected to her Flaw.
Sunny remained silent.
Nephis also said nothing.
Elysia quietly lowered her gaze.
Even Senrix, who usually looked carefree, stayed unusually calm.
Although knowing each other's Flaws would greatly improve cooperation and trust within the group, revealing such a weakness required an enormous amount of trust.
And right now…
That trust simply didn't exist.
At least, not yet.
Sunny himself had absolutely no intention of ever revealing his own Flaw to anyone.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
Nephis clearly carried countless secrets of her own.
Senrix also looked like someone who would never casually reveal his weaknesses.
As for Elysia…
She probably would reveal hers eventually.
But only after everyone became genuinely close.
After a long moment of silence, Sunny finally spoke.
"Good. That's… actually good."
He glanced around at everyone before continuing.
"I think we have enough tools to survive here, as long as we use them properly."
Then he leaned back against the cold stone wall and exhaled slowly.
"So… I guess it's finally time to sleep?"
In the darkness, Nephis tilted her head slightly while listening to him.
After a few seconds, she calmly said:
"Alright. I'll take the first watch."
Sunny immediately waved a hand.
"Actually, my shadow doesn't sleep. It can wake us up if something happens."
For a brief moment, Nephis seemed to consider his words seriously.
Then, unexpectedly, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"I'll take the first watch."
Sunny stared at her.
"…You just ignored everything I said."
Nephis remained completely expressionless.
"Yes."
Sunny sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, neither Senrix nor Elysia argued about taking watch duty.
Not because they trusted the others.
They were simply too lazy.
Senrix looked utterly exhausted after fighting for so long. He had barely slept at all since arriving on the Forgotten Shore, surviving almost entirely through sheer stubbornness and absurd endurance.
Elysia, on the other hand…
Was just naturally lazy.
Unlike Senrix's exhausted silence, her laziness felt refined.
Cultivated.
Almost artistic.
Sunny was fairly certain that if survival itself required too much effort, Elysia would simply lie down and complain until someone carried her.
The strange thing was…
He could actually imagine Senrix doing exactly that without hesitation.
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A/N: I so so want to create a reaction fanfic bro😭✌️
But sadly knowing my personality, I would drop that shi the moment I found something to focus on, Lol