If someone asked Sunny what his opinion of Cassie was, then even despite his Flaw it would be quite problematic for him to describe his feelings.
First, there were their experiences on the Forgotten Shore — and after it, too — a strong bond of camaraderie and dormant but still somewhat present familial feelings.
There was irritation for all the times she had secretly manipulated events behind his and their cohort’s backs to shape their path according to her vision, taking the role of a benevolent mastermind, the only person who knew what was best for everyone.
A characteristic she somewhat shared with Neph… Maybe she was right and really knew best.
Maybe her silent scheming was the only thing that had made them survive for so long — he’d never know.
However, what annoyed him deeply — on the edge of resentment even — was her deciding what road in life he should take.
But those emotions were not prevalent, though.
The most notable feeling he had, after all, was deep loathing bordering on burning hatred.
There was her betrayal at first — something that took his freedom, his future, and his chance to stand as an equal to the most precious person in his heart.
And knowing that it was her — Cassie, a girl he had cared for immensely and loved like a sister — who had forged and willingly given away the chain that painfully wrapped around his neck and suffocated all of his being every second after that fateful moment, hurt the most.
He could not forgive her for that.
Not really.
Not even if he wanted to.
He could laugh with her; let her watch his back in battle and do the same for her; he could pretend that everything was fine when the cohort was around.
But it would never have been the same.
The second betrayal hurt less at first — Sunny confessed to himself — after all, in the end it had given him what he desired most.
In the most painful and cruel way imaginable, but it did.
And he would have been lying if he had said that he hadn’t been prepared to be betrayed again.
Maybe she really hadn’t known what that choice would lead to in the end, he tried to believe at first.
So maybe that was fine, he mused.
Until it wasn’t…
Overall, he had very complicated feelings about Cassia.
Some of them he couldn’t even wrap his head around.
It didn’t mean that she was useless, though.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
He sighed internally, squeezed the burning feelings inside his chest, controlled his heartbeat, evened his breath, steadied his chaotic mind a little, and put a kind smile on his face — something he didn’t need to do, as she was blind after all, but it made him feel better and helped him play his role a bit better too — and then approached her.
It wasn’t much that he did.
A a word of comfort here, a quiet support there, a helpful advice and a shoulder to lean on, somewhere between the first two.
But that was enough… The air of hopelessness subsided; life returned to her face; a meaningful spark replaced her lifeless gaze.
She even started taking some classes and learning to navigate the space around her by herself.
He had very complicated feelings about Cassie.
But… ‘Well, it is a thought for another day, I guess.’
‘Overall, life is easy in the academy’.
Sunny pushed his heavy thoughts behind.
There wasn’t much to do between training, eating, and sleeping.
Well, there was a lot of scheming, of course.
Jet had given him her old spare communicator before dropping him off at the academy’s gate again.
They couldn’t talk about anything too important there or be especially elaborate about their schemes, of course — they had to meet in person a few times for such things.
So their messages were not that frequent — usually short and somewhat encoded in a way that, from an outside perspective, it would look like a simple conversation between a concerned mentor and a naive, uneducated student.
Or a sugar mommy and her prey, depending on the measure of depravity of the one looking at it.
In her latest message, Jet had carefully explained that she had managed to acquire two of the three Memories he had requested and was ready to deliver them as soon as that evening.
The one with protection against soul attacks was the most difficult to get her hands on, as expected.
The only one she already possessed he refused to take — it wasn’t such a dire need after all, and considering their plans, she would most likely need it more than he would, he believed.
Well, she would probably have been able to get the last one too, but there was an unexpected development — Jet was being deployed to the Port Town outside NQSC.
The Government had recently detected potential high Nightmare Gate activity in the region — an event that had not been notably highlighted in his past life, or was entirely new altogether — so it was redirecting more than half of its Awakened to a subjugation mission, Jet included.
Her Aspect wasn’t of much help in naval battles; however, this time more than half of the potential Gate openings were expected on land.
So Jet was mentally preparing for a lot of work and even less sleep than she already had… She wasn’t likely to return until at least the end of January, so she obviously wouldn’t be back in time for the Solstice.
Hence the rush.
“What are you thinking about, Sunny?” Cassie’s voice distracted him from his thoughts.
“You’ve been silent for most of the breakfast…” A cute frown marred her forehead.
A corner of his lips lifted.
“Well, it is somewhat of a secret,” Sunny whispered cryptically.
As a small pout formed on her face, he chuckled and continued, his eyes glittering slightly.
“But, if it’s you, I guess I can trust you with it. You see, there is a large incoming military operation to subjugate Nightmare Gates.” Cassie frowned at that information, concern evident on her face.
“A friend of mine — she is a somewhat famous Ascended, by the way — is being deployed. It is a bit sad, because I won’t be able to see her for a while, as she most likely won’t make it back until the new year.”
Her expression twisted in concern, as Sunny’s heart twisted slightly at the sight.
“Aren’t you afraid for your friend, Sunny? People…” She swallowed awkwardly.
“People die in such operations. And who knows how long it would take us to come back, if…” ‘If we’ll even come back at all’ was left unsaid.
Sunny clicked his tongue.
“Out with the pessimism, Cas. Jet is probably the most competent person I know — she’ll be fine. As for us… well, if I don’t make it back, that just means I didn’t try hard enough, and hence deserve it. You, on the other hand, have nothing to worry about. My gut — one of the most powerful divination devices you can find — is telling me that you’ll have your guardian angel wherever you end up.” He chuckled at that.
“And after you figure out your Aspect, you won’t need any help at all. So smile wider, chin higher, thoughts positive.”
After that he bent over the table and flicked her on the nose.
Cassie yelped, surprised, and started rubbing it, her expression clearly indignant for a moment, before a small smile replaced it.
“Do you really think so?” she asked quietly after a few seconds.
“Pfft! Didn’t I tell you like a hundred times before? I’m the most honest person in the world. Two worlds even!”
She giggled quietly, shutting her eyes, lightly pinching her chin and shaking her head in disbelief.
But he could easily see relief washing over her — most visibly, replacing the tense expression on her face.
At that moment, a silent commotion distracted them both.
They turned their heads almost simultaneously, Cassie tilting hers slightly sideways.
It almost looked cute… Almost.
The scene he had witnessed was exactly the same as the morning before.
And morning before that.
And before that, too… That being Caster and his Legacy cronies returning from their morning training.
He could also see Nephis’s easily distinguishable head moving silently toward her lonely corner, tray in hand, her chin held high, face expressionless and gaze cold as steel.
“Caster, your form was perfect, as usual! You finished the poor bastard in a moment, didn’t even give him a chance to shout!”
The crowd began to cheer around the proud Legacy.
A laugh rang out through the cafeteria.
Caster himself bent his head a little, accepting the praise, but downplaying his achievement and giving advice to the guy next to him — seemingly the one who had been unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end today.
‘Humility incarnate, no less!’
Sunny could have sworn that he had seen the exact same scene for the past two weeks.
At least twice a day!
He was growing tired of it already, to be honest.
Caster was a good actor — he could give him that.
Maybe he wasn’t even that big of a bastard to begin with, and it was just their — his and Sunny’s, that is — fate to hate each other’s guts?
He didn’t know that, of course.
And didn’t even care, really.
He still despised him and still wanted to kick his arrogant ass.
A sudden urge overtook him, as he threw a calculating gaze at the figure of the Han Li’s heir.
The proud Legacy shivered.
“Should I bite his head off?” he mumbled quietly, engrossed in his thoughts.
“Would it even fit in my mouth at this point?”
A sudden choking sound and a fit of loud coughing erupted in front of him.
Sunny turned to see a stupefied look on Cassie’s face.
“Did I say it aloud?” After she blinked wordlessly, not daring to make a sound, Sunny sighed.
Well, that was awkward.
“Ha-ha. It’s kind of a joke. Maybe? Don’t mind me, Cas.”
He tried to laugh awkwardly again, Cassie’s expression still strained.
“You know, Sunny, sometimes you scare me. It makes me wonder if you’re a comedian or genuinely crazy…”
She giggled as if at joke.
Sunny, however, just sighed wearily, turning his head away and mumbling quietly under his breath.
Cassie, with her sharp hearing, caught part of it anyway.
“…I am crazy, though…”
***
Almost two whole weeks flew by since then.
Everything was rather uneventful, he admitted.
He trained, ate, slept, conversed with Cassie, moved some pieces on the imaginary board, ran a few experiments, and visited Teacher Julius for a daily dose of history.
His days settled into a routine, and that was a good thing, he believed.
Jet had already been moved to defend the Port, and the minuscule Chain of Nightmares there was steadily gaining momentum.
The last time they spoke via video call, she had looked even more tired and sleep-deprived than usual.
On the other hand, it was a good thing for her too — there was never too much essence to be had for someone in her circumstances, but it was also a good opportunity for her to start building a positive reputation.
She hadn’t answered for two days since then, though he had no reason to worry.
He, more than anyone else, knew how hard it was for anyone to get hold of her.
Their last face-to-face meeting had been rather short and uneventful — her dispatch date had been moved at the last moment, so they’d had just half an hour or so to finalize their main plan and a few contingencies.
However, there had been one amusing conversation in one of the latest video call’s…
“You’re kidding me, right? Tell me it’s for real. Oh, Gods, I can’t. Pft. Hahaha.”
Sunny laughed, rolling on the ground, communicator lying somewhere under his bed, Jet’s annoyed voice ringing out menacingly.
“I wish…” she said dejectedly.
Sunny sat up, still laughing, painfully holding his stomach with one hand and picking up the communicator with the other, Jet’s tired and annoyed face meeting him.
The source of his fun was the situation they had found themselves in.
Apparently, someone from the Government, having a particular contempt for Soul Reaper, had somehow found out that Jet had spent almost the whole day privately ‘wooing’ him — an underage Sleeper — in a police station, ignoring her duties as an Awakened, by the way — then took him back to her place to spend the night together…
Alone…
It was already a suspicious thing, but her superiors gave her the benefit of the doubt, as she had never been implicated in anything like this before.
However, it did not end there.
The person in question conducted a quiet investigation… What they found was that she had given away her old communicator — an attempt to be discreet in her crime — to the very same minor, and had kept in contact with him for a whole month, some messages of a… dubious nature from both sides.
And even went on a several meetings with him in a…
suspicious circumstances, no less.
So, having all the evidence — having exaggerated it here and there — they tried to incriminate her for that.
A thing that wouldn’t be able to send her to jail — he wasn’t that young, after all, and she was an Ascended and had some leeway from the Law’s side — but could have potentially destroyed her already non-existant reputation and consequently set them back significantly.
The only good thing was that Saint Cor — being one of two Saints the Government had, and having if not the most, then a great deal of weight there, and also having a soft spot for Jet — covered the whole situation, shifted the blame onto the hater, and threw him out of the office in disgrace.
It should have been the end of it, however…
“You little bastard! You have no idea how embarrassing it was to listen to the Old Man chastising me for being a cougar! Me! For something I haven’t ever done!”
She covered her face and screamed into her palms.
Sunny didn’t know if he wanted to laugh harder or feel sorry for her.
In the end, he chose the former.
“And the worst part…” She hissed, uncovering her face, a blush burning her cheeks — honestly, he had never seen the Soul Reaper that embarrassed.
Ever!
“He told me to cover my tracks better next time! And also — ‘The right thing for you to do is to take responsibility…’ Oh, Gods, I want to die for real!” She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.
“In all my life, I could never have imagined that I would be on the other side of nepotism… And for something so embarrassing!”
She glared at him after that.
“And all of it is your fault, you perverted gremlin! Why did you decide to think of something this stupid as a…” She coughed and then mouthed the word ‘code’ almost imperceptibly.
“I offered, but you were the one who agreed!” he defended.
“Also, you did write a lot of… suggestive sentences yourself.” She massaged her brows and exhaled wearily.
“Also, will you?” Sunny asked innocently.
“I mean, will you take responsibility?”
The vein bulged on Jet’s forehead.
She looked at him for a second.
And then smiled.
Terrifyingly — toothy and predatory.
“You know, Sunny. No matter when you return, no matter how powerful — be it Supreme, Sacred, or even Divine Titan — you’re dead. I will whip that smart, scrawny ass of yours even if it’s the last thing I do…”
Though Jet could be terrifying sometimes, it was so much fun to tease her, Sunny admitted.
She didn’t show much emotion usually, so it was very entertaining to push her buttons.
There would probably be consequences in the future, but he was okay with that.
‘Totally worth it!’
And he knew where to push.
He knew her better than anyone else, probably.
And while he knew her well, she was not that familiar with him yet.
So she knew of no way to defend herself from him and that chaotic, teasing personality of his.
‘It is a bit strange — to be older, well, internally at least, and much more experienced than Jet,’ he mused.
It made everything even more entertaining, though.
Right now, however, Sunny wasn’t smiling at all.
‘It is probably my payback for teasing poor Jet too much,’ he thought.
The reason for that being…
“Despicable!” A vengeful scream, full of pain and rage, rang through the corridor of the dormitory wing of the Academy.
The few students who were there hurried past the room, from which it originated, with disturbed looks on their faces.
“Greedful!” It rang again, even louder and angrier.
“Dirty! Deranged! Piece of dead feathered Whor-ahhh!!!” The voice continued to list grievances through screams of pain.
“You freaky! Thieving! Lunatic! Just wait, you Bitch!” The voice became a little quieter, but was still clearly decipherable outside the room.
“Just wait, till I put my hands on you — and that disgusting offspring of yours too!” The voice laughed menacingly.
And then screamed in anguish.
“I’ll tear that hideous thieving beak of yours and shove it deep into your disgusting feathered as—aahhh!” The voice wailed.
That voice was Sunny, obviously.
And the source of his anguish was… Well, to see the full picture, we need to look at the events preceding this moment.
An hour or so ago, Sunny, in his infinite wisdom, decided that it was a good idea to figure out the extent of influence of the [Thief’s Instinct] enchantment on his newest Memory.
A dubious idea even by his own standards.
However, he needed to familiarize himself with the weapon and its curse in a safe environment, in case he needed it immediately in whatever part of the Dream Realm he would end up in three days later.
So he spent the last hour shifting the shapes of the Thief, trying different weapons and different styles, and making himself progressively crazier and greedier.
There is one more thing we need to address, too.
That being Shadow Dance.
For the past two weeks, Sunny had made fair progress toward reaching the second step.
For the last few days he had been getting closer and closer, but falling just short each time.
Today, though, that had changed.
The Spell’s whisper entered his mind, as if passing through a veil.
[Your Aspect Legacy mastery level has increased.]
[You have received the right to claim a Legacy Relic.]
Sunny grinned greedily.
Finally, he had done it.
There was only one step left he could take, at least until he became a Master, of course.
His mind turned to the weapon in his hand — it had already clouded his thoughts too much to his liking, and there would probably be some lingering effects for a while.
He breathed out and started concentrating on dismissing it.
However, he froze at the last moment.
“No…” he whispered, horror rising in his chest.
“No. No-no-no. No!” His voice rose until he was screaming.
The reason for his state was simple.
His mind, clouded by the Vile Thieving Bird’s Hunger and sensing a new relic of his Aspect’s Legacy — the Drop of the Shadow God’s Ichor, a matchlessly priceless possession — had decided it would be a waste to give it away…
So Sunny summoned his runes — the rational, sensible part of himself, trying to regain control of his body — concentrated on his Legacy, and then claimed the relic.
Sunny screamed; bit his tongue until he tasted blood; did everything he could — but in the end, it was all for naught.
“Consume.”
And there we have it.
The pain wasn’t the worst he had ever felt, but somewhere up there, for sure.
At first he felt an all-consuming cold.
Cold so strong that it would give the Winter Beast run for his money.
Then came the pain.
He felt every part of himself, every cell and every atom being destroyed and then reforged.
His mind and soul were not left behind either.
But the worst part — that development was tearing apart a great many of his carefully calculated plans!
Not only did he now have no idea how Weaver’s Lineage would react; he had also lost a rare opportunity to give an edge to one of his comrades!
He had been planning to pass that lineage to either Kai or Effie — Kai most likely, as his Aspect would have benefited the most from it.
But now it was gone.
Well, being consumed, but it was all the same.
So his rage was absolutely justified.
For what felt like an eternity, Sunny writhed, swore, and screamed, then swore some more.
But then the excruciating torture stopped, as suddenly as it had come.
A feeling of stillness and the cold of the floor lulled him slowly into sleep.
And he was actually ready to give in.
But then the Spell’s voice whispered helpfully into his ear, shaking the drowsiness away.
[You have acquired a new Attribute.]
[You have acquired a new Attribute.]
“Huh?”
Hi!
How’re y’all?
This chapter became a bit too long, I guess, but I’m pretty satisfied with how it ended up.
However, it was a shame to leave it on a cliffhanger too…
Or not) Hope you liked it!
And as always would love to hear your thoughts 🙂