Chapter 8 - A Family

Sunless sat beside a younger Orphne as the little girl lay in her bed with her back turned to him.

He leaned forward, worry written across his face.

"Birdy?" he called softly.

Orphne sniffled.

Sunless reached out and gently touched her forehead.

The girl slowly rolled over.

Sunless's heart clenched at the sight of her tear-stained face.

"Papa?" Orphne called weakly.

Sunless reached toward her.

Tears were still rolling down the sides of her face.

"Am I a bad girl?" she asked.

Sunless's expression crumbled at the sight of the little girl's tears.

He immediately scooped her up and gently hugged her against his chest as he sat on his knees.

"No, my Birdy. Of course not. Why would you say that?"

But deep down...

He already knew the answer.

Orphne sniffled against his shoulder.

"Then why did Mama leave me?"

Her voice was small.

Hopeless.

Sunless bit his lip.

With her face buried against his shoulder, Orphne couldn't see the troubled expression on his face.

Sunless held her closer.

One hand rested against her small back, gently patting her.

"No, baby. I-I..."

Sunless stumbled over his words as though fighting back some pain of his own.

"I-I won't lie, Birdy."

He slowly rocked her back and forth.

"I promise you that you weren't left alone because you were bad. You were wonderful, and you are wonderful, Orphne."

Eventually, Sunless stood.

The little girl was already beginning to drift back to sleep in his arms.

"And I promise..."

His voice softened.

"One day, a wonderful mama will love you a lot."

Orphne had grown exhausted from crying.

Her eyes closed.

Soon, she was asleep against Sunless's shoulder.

...

"Ahh~"

The little girl stirred in her sleep with a cute yawn.

The dream of what had happened a year ago was already fading from her mind.

A knock came from the door.

Orphne barely registered it.

Morning sunlight poured across her bed.

A quiet chuckle followed as Sunless stepped inside to wake the sleepy girl.

Orphne had kicked her covers away sometime during the night, and her clothes had ridden up enough to reveal her little belly button.

Sunless chuckled.

He reached down as Orphne looked up at him through blurry, half-awake eyes.

Yet echoes of the dream remained somewhere in her mind.

"And I promise one day, a wonderful mama will love you a lot."

Orphne stared into Sunless's deep black eyes.

His long black hair had fallen over one shoulder, cascading down like a dark waterfall.

And beside Sunless—

For just a moment—

There was a pair of silver eyes.

Long silver hair.

A faint smile.

Pretty miss.

Orphne didn't properly register the image before Sunless reached down and picked her up.

"Up you go."

The sleepy girl simply draped herself over his shoulder.

Her eyes began closing again.

One small thought drifted lazily through her mind.

'When will pretty miss come?'

Nephis walked toward the Familiar Café once again.

It had been a few weeks since she had started visiting regularly.

Not every day, of course. There had been several occasions when her duties and responsibilities kept her away for days at a time. Sometimes she was forced to remain in the Ivory Tower, sometimes she was needed elsewhere, and sometimes there simply wasn't enough time.

But whenever she was close enough—

Whenever she could go—

She did.

And, somehow, over those few weeks, the café had started to feel warmer and more homely than even the Ivory Tower.

The reasons were obvious.

Master Sunless.

And Orphne.

Nephis had managed to build a relationship with the strange little pair.

One she found herself unwilling to let go of.

More importantly...

One she didn't want to let go of.

Nephis pushed open the café door.

The bell above it chimed.

A few patrons glanced toward her at first, only to quickly return to their conversations after recognizing the now-familiar regular.

Nephis felt a quiet warmth settle inside her.

She liked that.

The lack of recognition.

The peace.

No—

Not merely peace.

Normalcy.

Here, she wasn't Changing Star.

She wasn't a Saint of Valor.

She wasn't Immortal Flame's daughter.

She wasn't someone people stared at, whispered about, or expected something from.

Here...

She was simply Nephis.

And lately, being here with Master Sunless and Orphne had started to feel strangely close to being home.

"Pretty Miss!"

A cheerful little voice immediately rang across the café.

Nephis's lips curved upward before she even turned.

Orphne came rushing toward her.

The little girl was an energetic, adorable bundle of joy who had somehow grown attached to Nephis with frightening speed.

And, if Nephis was being truthful...

She had grown just as attached in return.

Orphne no longer behaved cautiously around her.

There was no hesitation.

No awkward politeness.

The girl treated Nephis almost like family now.

So much so that—

"Pretty Miss!"

Orphne practically threw herself at her.

Nephis caught the little girl instinctively as small arms wrapped around her waist.

A quiet laugh almost escaped her.

Almost.

"Hello, Orphne."

The girl looked up at her with bright golden eyes.

"You came back!"

Nephis gently placed a hand on her head.

"I did."

Orphne beamed.

And just like that—

The café felt even warmer.

But Orphne's face fell slightly.

She suddenly became serious.

Nephis frowned lightly.

'What happened?'

"Pretty miss, we have to save Papa!" Orphne declared.

Nephis looked up.

And—

There were three young women surrounding Sunless.

Nephis's eyes narrowed subconsciously.

In an ugly, threatening tone usually reserved for her greatest enemies, a single thought appeared in her mind.

'What?'

The handsome Master Sunless was sitting with a strained smile as one of the girls held his chin, sitting on the table with one leg resting on the chair.

Another was sitting beside him, her head resting on one hand, while the third stared at him with fake, dreamy eyes, blinking every few seconds.

Master Sunless looked like he had been thrown into the middle of the Sovereign Domain War early.

Sunless awkwardly pulled his head back.

"As I was asking, what would you ladies like to have?" he asked.

The girl across from him scoffed.

"Aww~ Master Sunless, are you really sure you just want to take our order?"

The girl to Sunless's left pulled the collar of her clothing a little lower, showing more of her chest.

Master Sunless did not look.

However, something uneasy flashed through his eyes as his fingers twitched beside a butter knife on the table.

He did nothing.

His voice became firmer.

"I'm sure, young ladies."

He looked away.

"Now, if you ladies have nothing to order, I'll have to ask you all to leave."

He prepared to stand.

The girl behind him placed her hands on his shoulders and kept him down, almost leaning against him.

"Aww, come on, Sunless~"

Nephis's eyes narrowed angrily.

White flames flashed within them.

And across her fingertips.

Sunless closed his eyes for a moment.

For half a second, the Awakened girl with her hands on his shoulders blinked when she felt them stiffen beneath her touch.

It lasted only a fleeting moment.

Then Sunless looked up at them with a smile that lacked its usual softness.

"If I—"

Sunny paused.

He blinked.

His gaze moved past the girl.

Toward Nephis.

His pupils widened.

Then—

A genuinely happy smile blossomed across his face.

That smile alone was enough to calm some of Nephis's mood.

The raw joy, passion, and happiness radiating from him the instant he saw her made her chest warm again.

No one had ever become this happy simply because of her presence.

No one other than Master Sunless.

And Orphne now, apparently.

The three girls did not appreciate her presence nearly as much.

With Nephis still wearing her disguise, they didn't realize who stood before them.

One of them scowled.

"Who the hell are you?"

Sunless's head snapped toward her.

Before he could speak, Nephis took a single step forward.

Something in her eyes changed.

They narrowed.

Something cold flashed within them.

The girls flinched.

"H-Hey—"

Nephis looked at her.

She immediately shut up.

Nephis tilted her head slightly.

Then gestured toward the door.

Beat it.

The girls stared at her for a moment before grumbling.

They stood and left the café, loudly declaring that they were never coming back.

Sunless seemed more than delighted to hear that.

He stood with a smile and turned toward the Saint.

"My lady."

Then he paused.

Nephis was staring at him strangely.

Sunless blinked.

"Why didn't you tell them to leave, Master Sunless?"

"Huh?"

Sunless faltered.

"W-Well—"

"Did you perhaps like the attention, Master Sunless?"

Orphne looked curiously between Sunless and Nephis.

Sunless immediately raised both hands defensively.

"No! Not at all!"

His answer came hurriedly.

"In fact, I was about to ask them to leave as well."

Nephis stared at him for a moment.

Then she looked away and muttered something.

Sunless tilted his head, confused and cautious.

He leaned closer.

"Sorry?"

Nephis hesitated.

"Does this happen often? Women flirting with you?"

Sunless blinked.

"No, not actually. Some look, but no one is usually so..."

He thought for a moment.

"...invasive."

Nephis looked away again.

Something about her expression remained displeased.

"Next time someone flirts with you, please be faster in sending them away..."

Sunless blinked.

Then a little mischief entered his eyes.

"My lady?"

His voice was almost singsong.

Nephis's shoulders tensed slightly.

"Were you perhaps annoyed because of their advances on me?"

He deliberately avoided using the word jealous.

He could spare her that much.

Nephis's expression didn't change.

She didn't look away.

But internally—

'Cass?'

Silence.

'Cass?!'

Nothing.

Nephis cursed the Seer in her mind.

Her eyes darted around ever so slightly as she desperately searched for an answer.

Orphne merely watched them with a confused but amused smile.

Nephis looked back at Sunless, uncertain what to say.

But his expression softened.

He tilted his head.

"Well... thank you."

Nephis looked up at him in confusion, relaxing slightly now that he had seemingly abandoned the question.

"Had you not stepped in, I was about to be a little rude."

Nephis stared.

Rude?

Master Sunless?

That sounded impossible.

Sunless chuckled at her expression.

"Well, I have boundaries too! I don't want others invading my personal space. I value my privacy a lot."

Nephis looked at him.

Then nodded.

But a thought occurred to her.

If Master Sunless valued his privacy so much...

Why had he allowed her so close?

Into his private space.

His life.

His livelihood.

He had even allowed her to interact with Orphne despite previously saying that he wouldn't bother her by pressing his feelings or trying to become her suitor.

"Bird, take pretty miss to her usual spot, will you?"

Sunless turned toward the kitchen.

"And..."

He stopped in the doorway.

Nephis looked at him.

Sunless tilted his head just enough for one black eye to become visible over his shoulder.

"I only let people into my life if they're close to my heart."

Nephis froze.

Once again, she could feel the sincerity of Sunless's emotions.

This time, it wasn't a wave crashing into her.

It was more like a pleasant river flowing gently around her ankles.

Quiet.

Warm.

Constant.

That somehow made her freeze even more.

Orphne tugged on her hand.

Nephis didn't move.

Sunless looked back at her properly.

Something strange sparkled within his eyes.

Then he smiled softly and disappeared into the kitchen.

Only a moment later did Nephis finally allow Orphne to lead her away.

Her feelings toward Sunless...

And his feelings toward her...

Were becoming something she would have to confront sooner than she had expected.

...

Orphne led Nephis through Sunless's room.

Nephis and Sunless had grown close enough that passing through his room to reach the secluded porch no longer felt particularly uncomfortable or rude.

Still...

Since Sunless wasn't with her, Nephis took the opportunity to glance around.

The first thing she felt was a wave of satisfaction when she once again noticed that there were only signs of Sunless living there.

Then she caught herself.

Nephis shook her head as her face warmed.

There were several pictures of Orphne and Sunless around the room.

Some seemed to be from around the time the café had opened. Others showed patrons sitting together while the picture had seemingly been taken from the corner.

That raised a question.

Electronics didn't work in the Dream Realm.

So how had the pictures been taken?

Master Sunless must have created something that served the function of a camera.

Nephis shook her head and continued looking.

There were remarkably few pictures from his own past.

Most seemed to begin from around the time Orphne was a baby.

Master Sunless either hadn't documented his earlier life...

Or simply didn't leave those memories out in the open.

Orphne eventually led her onto the porch.

They sat together, and Nephis smiled as the girl brought out some of the books they had been reading.

Or rather—

Nephis read them to Orphne.

The girl listened with endless eagerness and curiosity.

Nephis had even started helping Orphne learn to read and write.

Orphne, meanwhile, told her about her favorite meals, sweets, and countless other things, even if her experience with many of them was still limited because of her age and Sunless.

Hours passed peacefully.

At some point, Sunless brought several dishes and joined them.

Orphne had long since returned to playing with some of her toys.

Nephis sat peacefully, reading her book.

Sunless sat nearby, staring into empty space while one hand occasionally moved through the air.

By now, Nephis knew what he was doing.

He was looking through his Memories.

Eventually—

"My lady."

Nephis looked toward him.

Her expression was blank as always.

But there was calmness in her eyes.

Peace.

She was happy here.

With Sunless.

With Orphne.

Sunless smiled at her.

"About the Memory. I had an idea I wished to present."

Nephis straightened.

They had already begun working on her Memory.

Or, more accurately, Sunless had begun studying her.

He had watched Nephis swing her sword countless times while carefully observing every movement, with Orphne occasionally hopping excitedly nearby.

According to Sunless, understanding how Nephis's battle art functioned was progressing well.

But apparently, he had a new idea.

"I believe you already know about Soul-Bound Memories, right?"

Nephis blinked.

"Yes?"

Soul-Bound Memories were exceedingly rare.

All known ones had been created by the Spell and received through Aspect Legacies as Aspect Relics.

They were among the rarest types of Memories, capable of growing alongside their owner's Rank and, in some cases, Class as well.

All in all...

A Soul-Bound weapon would be a dream come true for someone like her.

But why would Master Sunless suddenly bring up such a subject?

"I was thinking..."

He now had her complete attention.

"I wanted to try and make a Soul-Bound sword for you."

Nephis's eyes widened.

That was about as extraordinary as it could get.

Sunless had her complete attention as she stared at him with confusion and seriousness.

"A Soul-Bound Memory? Master Sunless, that's..."

Sunless seemed to understand what she was thinking.

He smiled.

"You must be confused. Let me explain a little more about Memory makers and enchanters."

Nephis straightened further.

"Normal enchanters and weapon makers aren't quite the same," Sunless explained. "A weapon maker gathers the right materials and creates the weapon itself. The enchanter is the one who gives it its supernatural properties."

Nephis nodded. She knew that much.

"The problem is that most enchanters are restricted by their Aspect. Think of every enchantment they can create as a pattern their Aspect already knows. They can apply those patterns in different ways, combine some of them, occasionally layer them together to produce something different... but they're still working with a limited collection."

Sunless raised one hand.

"Imagine an enchanter can create a circle, a triangle, and a square. Maybe they can place the triangle inside the circle and get something new. Maybe they can apply the square and circle separately to create two enchantments. But no matter how talented they become, their Aspect doesn't suddenly give them a hundred new shapes."

Nephis considered his words.

"And you're different."

Sunless smiled.

"Very."

He looked down at his fingers.

"My Attribute doesn't give me completed enchantments. It lets me create what they're made from."

Nephis's gaze sharpened.

"Threads?"

"Exactly."

Sunless traced an invisible line through the air.

"If another enchanter's Aspect gives them the square, mine lets me create the individual lines and arrange them into the square myself. Except real enchantments are obviously much more complicated than that."

"How complicated?"

Sunless gave her a tired smile.

"Sometimes thousands of threads."

He paused.

"Sometimes tens of thousands."

Nephis stared at him.

Sunless continued as though that number was perfectly ordinary.

"That's where the Nightmare Spell becomes important. Enchanters existed long before the Spell did. Different civilizations used different forms of sorcery, and some people created enchantments through their Aspects much like people do today."

His expression became more thoughtful.

"But the Spell can reproduce all of it."

Nephis remained silent.

"I won't make claims on who made the Nightmare Spell or exactly how its sorcery works," Sunless added. "I'm not going to pretend I do. But whatever sorcery it uses is flexible enough to take enchantments created through completely different systems and reconstruct them as Memories."

He tapped lightly against the table.

"And I can read those reconstructions."

Nephis's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Any Memory?"

"Any Memory I can study properly."

That answer made her sit a little straighter.

"Weapon enchantments?"

"Yes."

"Armor?"

"Yes."

"Utility Memories?"

"Yes."

Sunless smiled faintly.

"Anything."

Nephis fell quiet.

That...

Was absurd.

Ordinary enchanters could spend their entire lives perfecting a handful of enchantments granted by their Aspect.

Master Sunless could study almost anything the Nightmare Spell created.

Not simply weapons.

Not simply defensive equipment.

Anything.

"But being able to see the weave doesn't mean I can immediately recreate it," Sunless continued. "I still have to understand every part of it, learn how the threads interact, and then reproduce them manually."

He raised his hands again.

"These aren't imaginary threads either. Essence can become tangible for a moment while I'm working."

Nephis understood immediately.

"They cut you."

Sunless glanced down at his fingers.

"Frequently."

Her gaze followed his.

There were no wounds there now.

But suddenly Nephis could imagine it.

Thousands upon thousands of impossibly delicate strands passing between his fingers.

A single mistake ruining hours of work.

Essence sharp enough to split skin.

Again.

And again.

For years.

"Even now?" she asked.

"Occasionally."

Sunless shrugged.

"It's gotten easier."

Nephis did not think that made it less impressive.

She practiced swordsmanship relentlessly.

She understood what it meant to repeat the same movement until the body obeyed perfectly.

To fail.

Correct.

Repeat.

Fail again.

And continue until something that had once seemed impossible became instinctive.

Master Sunless had done the same thing.

Only his battlefield was a forge.

And instead of sword forms, he had mastered thousands upon thousands of invisible threads.

Her respect for him quietly deepened.

Sunless, apparently unaware of the direction her thoughts had taken, continued.

"Eventually I stopped limiting myself to reproducing enchantments exactly as I found them."

Nephis looked back at him.

"I started breaking them apart. Studying why individual sections worked. Combining principles from different Memories. Creating new patterns."

"So you can create original enchantments."

Sunless nodded.

"Provided I understand what I'm trying to create well enough."

Nephis stared at him for several seconds.

He could forge the weapon itself.

He could enchant it.

He could study almost any enchantment produced by the Spell.

And after years of practice, he could break those enchantments apart and build something new from their foundations.

Master Sunless had called himself a Memory-maker before.

That description suddenly seemed woefully inadequate.

"So," Nephis said slowly. "What does that mean for my sword?"

Sunless's expression became serious.

"It means I think I can do something ordinary enchanters can't."

He leaned forward slightly.

"I think I can make you a Soulbound Memory."

Nephis went still.

"It won't be easy," he continued. "Before I even begin, I'll need the right materials. I'll need to understand your Aspect much better, your battle art, the way your essence behaves, and how you actually use a sword."

His black eyes remained on hers.

"And I'll need to understand you."

Nephis blinked.

"Me?"

"You."

Sunless nodded.

"A Soulbound Memory shouldn't simply be a powerful weapon that happens to belong to you. If I'm going to bind it to your soul while creating it, then everything about the weapon has to be built with you in mind."

He paused.

"When the forging begins, I'll need you there."

"My presence?"

"Your presence. Your essence. Your Aspect."

Sunless's expression grew thoughtful.

"Your focus on the weapon while I'm creating it may be important too. I still need to study that part."

Nephis slowly looked down at her hands.

"So you haven't done this before."

"No."

Sunless answered without hesitation.

Then he smiled.

"But I've spent years learning enough that I believe I can."

Nephis looked at him again.

There was no arrogance in his voice.

No attempt to impress her.

Just confidence earned through years of work.

"If you're willing to be patient," Sunless said, "I think there's a very good chance we can create a Soulbound Memory made specifically for you."

Nephis remained silent for a moment.

Then her gaze drifted once more toward his hands.

Hands that had forged weapons.

Hands that had woven tens of thousands of threads.

Hands that had apparently bled countless times while he slowly mastered a craft almost nobody else could even understand.

She knew that kind of dedication.

Perhaps better than most.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"I can wait."

Sunless smiled back.

"Good."

Nephis's smile grew almost imperceptibly.

Because somewhere during his explanation, her admiration for Master Sunless had quietly become much greater than before.

"By the way, what kind of pizza do you like?"

Nephis blinked.

'Huh?'

The change in conversation was so abrupt that it completely caught her off guard.

"A-Ah... I—?"

She didn't know what to say.

After collecting herself, she cleared her throat.

"Well, I don't really get a chance to have it, so... anything's fine."

Sunless nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, you liked the spaghetti, so I'll keep some extra sauce. I'll use your other preferred dishes to make something tonight."

Nephis blinked again.

"Ah... Master Sunless?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you asking about pizza?"

Sunless looked at her.

"Well, I'm making pizza for dinner, so I wanted to make something you like too."

His gaze shifted toward Orphne, who was now running toward them.

"Orphne's been asking for pizza night for a few days now. Figured we'd eat it together."

Then he blinked.

Suddenly, Sunless jolted slightly and turned toward her.

"Of course, if you want to have dinner with us. If you're busy, that's fine."

He rubbed the back of his head.

"I completely forgot to ask. I'm sorry."

A small smile appeared on his lips.

"Sorry. It's become so normal to have you around us two that I forgot. I should have asked first."

Nephis felt her heart flutter.

She controlled her breathing carefully so it wouldn't show on her face.

Normal...

Her?

Normal in someone's life?

Nephis had always believed that her ambitions could only bring chaos into the lives of those around her.

Yet Master Sunless stood before her with a peaceful smile, looking at her as though she actually brought peace into his life.

Nephis didn't ponder those feelings for long.

She already knew what she felt.

She was simply afraid that acknowledging those feelings—and acting on them—would bring pain and danger into Sunless's life.

But...

Who was she to decide what was right for Master Sunless?

Had he not said that he wanted to make her happy?

Well...

She wasn't going to do anything drastic just yet.

Nephis nodded with a faint smile.

"I'd like to have dinner with you... if you don't mind."

Something warm shimmered in Sunless's eyes.

His smile brightened.

Nephis blinked.

"And Orphne!"

She quickly added.

Sunless blinked as well.

Then both of them looked away, warmth creeping across their faces.

Orphne finally reached them and hurried straight into Sunless's legs.

"Papa!"

She hugged him.

Sunless chuckled and bent down to her level.

"Pretty miss is staying for dinner?!"

Sunless nodded, matching her enthusiasm with a bright smile.

"Yes! And it's not just dinner. It's pizza night!"

Orphne's entire face lit up.

She gasped and looked between Nephis and Sunless.

Nephis smiled, almost giggling at the innocent sight.

Then she looked at Sunless.

"Master Sunless, you keep making my tab bigger."

Sunless looked at her with a smile.

Then tilted his head.

"Tab?"

Nephis blinked.

Her smile remained.

"...My tab?"

Sunless stood, carrying Orphne in his arms now.

"I eat here every day, so..."

Her voice trailed off.

Sunless's lips parted in realization.

"Ahh~"

Then—

"About that."

Something about his tone made Nephis's expression fall slightly.

"I only kept track of the meals you ordered, so you don't have to pay for everything else."

Nephis's smile vanished.

"Huh?"

She took a hesitant step forward.

"B-But Master Sunless..."

She paused.

"Th-Then how much did you keep track of?"

Nephis tried to remember exactly what she had ordered and when.

Sunless looked at her while Orphne watched their exchange in confusion.

"Well... the spaghetti and chocolate caramel dome."

Nephis waited.

"And?"

"..."

"..."

"...Master Sunless? That's all?"

"...Yes. That's all."

Nephis stared at him.

"Why?"

She was bewildered.

Confused.

And growing suspicious.

Sunless allowed a small smile to slip through.

"Well, I can't really make you pay when you didn't order something from the menu, can I?"

Nephis stared.

Then she remembered properly.

Of course.

After that first day, Nephis hadn't actually asked for most of the food she ate.

She simply showed up.

And Master Sunless would bring something to her table.

She would enjoy whatever delicious dish he had decided to make while the two of them got to know each other better.

Orphne often joined them as well.

At first, Nephis had been mildly curious about why Sunless simply kept bringing her different dishes.

But she hadn't minded.

She liked everything he made.

And she had been happy that he kept bringing them.

Nephis looked at him.

Then—

Realization struck.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Master Sunless."

His lips twitched.

"Yes?"

"You planned this, didn't you?"

Sunless went still.

"You brought the dishes without me asking so you could make this argument."

His lips twitched again.

"Well..."

Sunless sighed.

"Yes, I did."

Nephis's eyes softened.

She wasn't sure what to say.

"But why? I should be paying for your hospitality."

Sunless turned slightly.

His expression fell at the word hospitality.

Nephis flinched internally.

'What?'

Sunless sighed.

"Well... it's because I wasn't showing you hospitality."

Nephis blinked.

A faint smile returned to his face.

"I was just spending time with my friend."

His expression softened until it seemed almost fragile.

"Did you think I was just being nice?"

Nephis's stomach sank.

She had made the gentle Master Sunless sad.

Worse, she had accidentally made him question whether she considered their friendship genuine.

Even the positive emotions she could feel from him dimmed slightly.

This kind, gentle man who peacefully ran his café while raising little Orphne...

Making him hurt somehow felt like a taboo.

And Nephis needed to fix that.

Immediately.

"No! I-I just thought you'd prefer keeping your business and us separate."

That was a reasonable assumption, wasn't it?

Sunless studied her for a moment.

Then smiled.

"Well, I wasn't."

His mood brightened again.

"And now you know."

Nephis relaxed.

"But still... are you sure?"

She hesitated.

"That I don't have to pay?"

Sunless smiled happily at her.

Her heartbeat jumped again.

"You don't have to pay."

Another wave of pure desire reached her.

"Not when I cook for you."

Nephis's face warmed.

Orphne looked between them.

"What's happening?"

Sunless looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled.

"We tricked pretty miss into not paying."

Orphne blinked.

"Pretty miss had to pay?"

Sunless's smile turned childish.

"She thought she did."

He glanced toward Nephis with a perfectly composed smile.

"I say she didn't."

Nephis's chest grew warmer.

Orphne raised one tiny fist.

"Pretty miss doesn't have to pay!"

Sunless's face brightened.

"You're right! Pretty miss doesn't ever have to pay!"

Orphne rocked happily back and forth in his arms.

Nephis looked at the two of them.

This time...

She stopped trying to fight her smile.

She simply watched them fondly.

'Ahh...'

Something tender settled inside her chest.

'I don't ever want to lose this...'

...

Sunless stood near the corner of the kitchen while Nephis and Orphne sat together at the table.

The pizza was still cooking beside the fire, filling the room with the warm scent of bread, sauce, cheese, and herbs. The three of them had helped prepare it earlier—or rather, Sunless had done most of the actual cooking while Nephis and Orphne assisted wherever he allowed them to.

Orphne had apparently taken the word assist rather liberally.

There was still flour scattered across her hair and cheeks.

Nephis looked at the little girl and couldn't help smiling.

"Look at you. You're covered in flour."

Orphne giggled as Nephis reached over and gently wiped some of the white powder from her cheek.

"It went everywhere!"

"I noticed."

Nephis wiped another streak from the girl's nose.

Orphne giggled harder.

From the other side of the kitchen, Sunless watched them.

A warm smile had appeared on his face without him realizing it.

Something tender filled his chest at the sight of Orphne laughing while Nephis carefully cleaned her face.

Nephis felt it.

That quiet, sincere warmth.

She glanced toward him.

Sunless was simply standing there, watching the two of them with an expression so fond that something inside her softened.

A small smile slipped onto her own face.

Their eyes met.

Sunless realized he had been caught staring.

Instead of becoming embarrassed, however, a hint of amusement appeared in his black eyes.

He pushed away from the counter and walked toward them.

"You know..."

Nephis looked at him.

"You have some flour on your face too."

Nephis blinked.

"Huh?"

Her hand immediately rose toward her cheek.

She brushed one side.

Nothing.

The other.

Still nothing.

Sunless chuckled.

Orphne covered her mouth with both hands as she began giggling again.

Nephis looked at the little girl suspiciously.

"What?"

Orphne only laughed harder.

Nephis's eyes narrowed.

"Orphne."

The girl shook her head vigorously, still giggling.

Sunless stepped closer.

"If I'm not overstepping, my lady..."

His smile became faintly teasing.

"May this humble café owner assist you?"

Nephis looked up at him.

For a moment, she hesitated.

Then she closed her eyes in quiet approval.

Sunless's expression softened.

He leaned closer.

Using the edge of his sleeve, he gently brushed the flour from her cheek.

His touch was light.

Careful.

Nephis could feel how close he was.

Then—

Her eyes opened.

Sunless had not moved away yet.

Silver met black.

Both of them froze.

For one quiet moment, neither spoke.

Sunless's hand remained near her cheek.

Nephis could feel the faint warmth of his breath.

His black eyes seemed impossibly deep from this close.

And Sunless—

Sunless simply stared at her.

Something warm and almost breathless passed through his emotions.

Nephis felt her own heartbeat quicken.

Neither seemed willing to move.

Then—

"Hehehe."

Both of them blinked.

Orphne was watching them with both hands over her mouth, her golden eyes practically shining.

Nephis immediately leaned back.

Sunless straightened just as quickly.

Both looked away.

And this time—

Both were smiling.

Not the composed smile Sunless usually wore.

Not Nephis's tiny, carefully controlled expression.

Something much more bashful.

Orphne giggled again.

Nephis cleared her throat.

Sunless suddenly found the pizza very interesting.

A few moments later, the three of them were eating together.

Orphne happily swung her legs beneath her chair while taking small bites of pizza, occasionally making pleased little sounds whenever she found a particularly cheesy piece.

Nephis watched her for a moment.

Then a thought occurred to her.

"Orphne."

"Hmm?"

The girl looked up.

Nephis tilted her head.

"Why do you still call me Pretty Miss?"

Orphne blinked.

Sunless's hand paused for the briefest moment over his plate.

Nephis noticed.

Orphne looked down at her food.

"Because you're Pretty Miss."

Nephis stared.

"That doesn't really answer the question."

Orphne thought very seriously about this.

Then nodded.

"I don't wanna call you Auntie."

Nephis blinked.

Sunless suddenly became very focused on cutting his pizza.

"Why not?"

Orphne opened her mouth.

Then stopped.

Her golden eyes moved toward Sunless.

Only for a moment.

Nephis noticed.

Sunless, meanwhile, continued eating as though he hadn't noticed anything.

Far too casually.

Orphne quickly looked back at her plate.

"It's a secret."

Nephis narrowed her eyes slightly.

"A secret?"

"Mhm!"

Orphne nodded vigorously.

Nephis glanced toward Sunless.

He took another bite of pizza.

His expression remained perfectly innocent.

Suspiciously innocent.

Nephis decided not to press the matter.

Not yet.

A little while later, Orphne looked up again.

"Pretty Miss?"

"Yes?"

"Will you play with me after dinner?"

Before Nephis could answer, Sunless spoke.

"Bird."

His tone was gentle.

Orphne looked toward him.

"Don't pressure her. Lady Nephis might have other things she needs to do tonight."

The girl's excitement dimmed slightly.

"Oh."

Nephis looked at Sunless.

Then toward Orphne.

"I'd like to."

Orphne's head snapped toward her.

"Really?!"

Nephis smiled.

"Really."

Sunless looked at her.

"Are you sure?"

Nephis nodded.

"I wouldn't say yes if I didn't want to."

He studied her for another second.

Then smiled.

"Alright."

Orphne immediately cheered.

"Yay!"

The rest of dinner passed pleasantly.

Afterward, Nephis spent another hour playing with Orphne while Sunless cleaned the kitchen and finished closing the café for the evening.

Eventually, however, the little girl's endless energy finally began to fail her.

Her yawns became longer.

Her movements slower.

Sunless noticed almost immediately.

"Alright, Bird. Bed."

Orphne pouted.

"I'm not tired."

She yawned halfway through the sentence.

Nephis almost giggled.

Sunless raised an eyebrow.

"Convincing."

Orphne looked toward Nephis for support.

Nephis betrayed her immediately.

"You look tired."

Orphne gasped.

"Pretty Miss!"

Sunless chuckled.

A short while later, Nephis helped bring the sleepy girl to her room.

Orphne climbed beneath the covers while Sunless remained downstairs finishing the last bit of cleaning.

Nephis sat beside the bed.

Orphne looked up at her sleepily.

Nephis gently pulled the blanket higher.

Then she remembered dinner.

"Orphne."

"Mhm?"

Nephis hesitated.

"Earlier..."

The girl's golden eyes blinked slowly.

"You said you didn't want to call me Auntie."

Orphne became slightly more awake.

"And then you looked at your papa."

Orphne's eyes widened.

Nephis immediately knew she had been right.

"You said it was a secret."

Orphne pulled the blanket up toward her mouth.

"It is."

Nephis looked at her.

"What kind of secret?"

Orphne shook her head.

"Can't tell."

Nephis considered that for a moment.

Then smiled faintly.

"I won't force you."

Orphne relaxed.

Nephis gently brushed some black hair away from the girl's forehead.

"But..."

She paused.

"If it's something about me, I'd rather understand."

Orphne stared at her.

For several seconds, the girl looked conflicted.

Finally, she whispered,

"Papa said I have to be careful."

Nephis frowned slightly.

"Careful?"

Orphne nodded.

"Because you're really kind."

Nephis became even more confused.

"What does that have to do with calling me Auntie?"

Orphne squirmed beneath the blanket.

Then muttered,

"Papa said I shouldn't ask you things just because I want them."

Nephis went still.

Orphne continued in her small voice.

"He said sometimes really kind people say yes because they don't wanna make someone sad."

Something inside Nephis softened.

"And Papa said..."

Orphne frowned, clearly trying to remember his exact words.

"He said if I asked Pretty Miss something really, really important, I had to make sure you wanted it too."

Nephis stared at her.

For some reason, her chest suddenly felt warm.

"What did you want to ask me?"

Orphne immediately buried half her face beneath the blanket.

"Secret."

Nephis almost smiled.

"Orphne."

"Nooo."

The girl rolled slightly away.

Nephis waited.

She did not push.

Several seconds passed.

Then Orphne slowly looked back at her.

"Promise you won't get sad?"

Nephis's expression softened.

"I promise I won't be upset with you for asking."

Orphne studied her carefully.

Apparently deciding that was good enough, she pulled the blanket down slightly.

"I don't wanna call you Auntie..."

She hesitated.

"Because I was waiting."

Nephis's heart gave a strange thump.

"Waiting for what?"

Orphne's gaze drifted toward the door.

Toward where Sunless had disappeared downstairs.

Then back toward Nephis.

Her voice became very quiet.

"Papa told me a long time ago that one day I'd have a really wonderful mama who'd love me lots."

Nephis froze.

Orphne continued before she could react.

"And..."

She fidgeted beneath the covers.

"I like Pretty Miss a lot."

Nephis said nothing.

"I like when you read to me."

Orphne began counting quietly on her fingers.

"And when you play with me. And when you fix my hair. And you teach me words. And Papa smiles a lot when you're here."

Nephis's heartbeat grew louder.

Orphne looked directly at her.

"So..."

She hesitated again.

"Sometimes I thought..."

Her voice became almost a whisper.

"Maybe Pretty Miss could be my mama."

Nephis stopped breathing.

Orphne immediately looked worried.

"But Papa said I wasn't allowed to ask you to be!"

Nephis blinked.

"He did?"

Orphne nodded quickly.

"He said it wouldn't be fair."

The little girl looked down.

"He said you're really kind, so if I asked, you might say yes because you don't wanna make me sad. And then you might feel like you have to stay even if you didn't want to."

Nephis stared at her.

Orphne's tiny fingers played nervously with the blanket.

"So Papa said I had to wait."

Her voice became smaller.

"And if you ever wanted to be something different from Pretty Miss..."

She looked back up.

"You had to choose it yourself."

Nephis couldn't speak.

For several moments, she simply sat there.

Master Sunless had known.

He had known his daughter was becoming attached enough to see Nephis that way.

And instead of encouraging it—

Instead of using Orphne's affection to bring Nephis closer—

He had done the opposite.

He had warned Orphne not to pressure her.

Because he thought Nephis might agree simply to avoid hurting a little girl's feelings.

Even while clearly wanting Nephis close...

He had protected her ability to say no.

Something warm and almost painful tightened inside Nephis's chest.

Her gaze lowered.

'You had to choose it yourself.'

Of course.

That was exactly like Master Sunless.

Orphne looked worried again.

"Pretty Miss?"

Nephis snapped out of her thoughts.

She smiled.

A real one.

Then she leaned down and gently kissed Orphne's forehead.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

Orphne blinked.

"Really?"

"Really."

Nephis tucked the blanket around her.

"And you can keep calling me Pretty Miss."

Orphne smiled.

"For now?"

Nephis froze.

The little girl's golden eyes sparkled innocently.

Nephis felt heat rise to her cheeks.

"...Go to sleep, Orphne."

Orphne giggled.

"Okay."

Nephis stood.

Behind her, the girl's eyes were already beginning to close.

Just before Nephis reached the door—

"Pretty Miss?"

Nephis looked back.

Orphne was barely awake now.

"I really like when you come here."

Nephis's expression softened.

"So do I."

A sleepy smile appeared on Orphne's face.

Nephis quietly closed the door behind her.

Outside, she leaned against it for several seconds.

Her heart was beating much too quickly.

And strangely—

The idea Orphne had placed inside her mind did not frighten her nearly as much as it probably should have.

By the time Nephis returned downstairs, the café had gone completely quiet.

The last patrons had long since left, the tables had been cleaned, and most of the lights had been extinguished. Only the warm glow from the kitchen remained.

Sunless was standing behind the counter, putting away the last few dishes.

He looked up when she entered.

"She's asleep?"

Nephis nodded.

"Finally."

Sunless chuckled.

"She fought valiantly."

"She lost."

"Tragically."

A faint smile appeared on Nephis's lips.

Sunless dried his hands and glanced toward one of the windows.

Outside, the darkness of the Dream Realm had settled completely.

He looked back at her.

"It's gotten pretty late."

Nephis followed his gaze.

It had.

Much later than she had intended to stay.

Not that she particularly regretted it.

Sunless hesitated before speaking again.

"If you'd like, you can stay here tonight."

Nephis looked at him.

Sunless immediately raised a hand.

"In the guest room."

Her eyebrow rose.

"I assumed so."

"...Right."

He cleared his throat.

"I merely thought I should clarify."

Nephis's lips twitched.

Sunless pretended not to notice.

"You don't have to, obviously. I just thought it might be more comfortable than heading back this late."

Nephis looked toward the dark window again.

"Master Sunless."

"Hm?"

"I'm a Saint."

"I am aware."

"I think I can survive walking back."

Sunless considered that very seriously.

"What if you encounter a Transcendent Titan?"

Nephis slowly raised an eyebrow.

"A Transcendent Titan?"

"Very dangerous creatures."

"I believe I could manage."

Sunless nodded solemnly.

"I see."

There was a pause.

"A Great Beast?"

Nephis stared at him.

"Master Sunless."

"Great Monster?"

Her eyebrow rose higher.

"Devil?"

"Are you planning to continue through every Class?"

Sunless seemed offended.

"I'm merely concerned for your safety."

Nephis crossed her arms.

"A Great Terror, perhaps?"

"Sunless."

"A Great Titan?"

Nephis stared at him.

He stared back.

Then his lips twitched.

Nephis's did too.

Sunless somehow managed to maintain his solemn expression.

"What about a Cursed Beast?"

Nephis finally let out a quiet laugh.

Sunless's composure broke with it.

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Alright. Fine. Perhaps the mighty Lady Nephis can survive the journey."

"I appreciate your confidence."

"Barely."

Nephis smiled.

The warmth of the moment lingered between them.

Then her expression softened.

She looked toward the hallway leading deeper into the café.

"I don't want to intrude."

The amusement slowly left Sunless's face.

He looked at her for a moment.

Then spoke simply.

"You could never intrude when I'm the one asking you to stay."

Nephis went still.

Sunless's expression remained gentle.

There was no teasing now.

No playful smile.

Only sincerity.

"If I wanted to be alone, I wouldn't have asked."

Something warm rose through Nephis's chest.

Sunless glanced away for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck.

"And..."

A faint redness appeared across his ears.

"I'd be happy if you stayed."

Nephis stared at him.

The warmth reached her face.

She lowered her gaze slightly.

"...Then I'll stay."

Sunless looked back at her.

His eyes brightened immediately.

"Really?"

Nephis nodded.

A small smile appeared on her lips.

"Really."

For some reason, Sunless seemed absurdly pleased by that answer.

Nephis found that she was too.

...

Some time later, Nephis lay beneath the blankets of the guest bed.

The room was quiet.

Comfortable.

Warm.

She stared at the ceiling for a long while.

She should have been asleep.

Instead, her thoughts kept drifting through everything that had happened that day.

The three women surrounding Master Sunless.

His immediate happiness when he saw her.

The way his entire expression had changed the moment their eyes met.

The Soulbound Memory he wanted to make for her.

The years he had spent refining his craft.

Pizza night.

Orphne laughing with flour scattered across her face.

Master Sunless wiping the flour from Nephis's cheek.

Black eyes meeting silver.

Both of them frozen like fools until Orphne's giggling pulled them apart.

Nephis shifted beneath the blankets.

A faint warmth crept into her face again.

Master Sunless was...

Handsome.

Very handsome, actually.

She had noticed that from the beginning.

It would have been rather difficult not to.

His pale features were striking, his black eyes unusually deep, and his long black hair suited him far too well.

He did not seem particularly muscular.

At least, not compared to the warriors Nephis had spent most of her life around.

Master Sunless always appeared rather slender beneath his clothes.

And yet...

That did not make him any less attractive to her.

If anything, Nephis found herself liking the way he looked exactly as he was.

Her thoughts drifted back toward his smile.

Then toward the emotions she had felt from him when he looked at her.

That warmth.

That joy.

The strange, almost breathless feeling that had passed through him when they had been so close.

Nephis pulled the blanket a little higher.

Then her thoughts moved elsewhere.

To Orphne.

Maybe Pretty Miss could be my mama.

Her eyes widened slightly in the darkness.

Even now, remembering the words made her heart beat strangely.

That should have frightened her more than it did.

Perhaps it should have made her uncomfortable.

Instead...

She remembered everything Orphne had told her afterward.

That Master Sunless had known.

That he had understood how attached Orphne had become to her.

And instead of encouraging the little girl to ask—

He had stopped her.

Because Nephis was kind.

Because she might say yes simply to avoid hurting Orphne.

Because something like that had to be her choice.

You had to choose it yourself.

Nephis closed her eyes.

Of course.

That was exactly like him.

Master Sunless wanted her close.

She knew that now.

There was no real way to deny it anymore.

She could feel his emotions.

She saw the way he looked at her.

She had heard what he said.

And yet, even while wanting her...

He had protected her ability to say no.

Something warm and almost painful settled inside her chest.

Nephis turned onto her side.

Today had been strange.

Embarrassing.

Confusing.

And...

Happy.

Very happy.

She tried to remember the last time she had smiled this much in a single day.

Nothing immediately came to mind.

Perhaps she had smiled more today than she had during entire years of her life.

And there had been no great victory.

No conquered Nightmare.

No enemy defeated.

Nothing had changed in humanity's war.

She had simply eaten pizza.

Played with a little girl.

Listened to a man she admired speak passionately about his craft.

Laughed.

Stayed for dinner.

And now she was lying beneath the roof of a quiet café because its owner had wanted her to stay.

A small smile slowly appeared on her face.

She was happy.

Genuinely happy.

And for once...

Nephis allowed herself to enjoy that feeling without immediately wondering how long it would last.

Her eyes slowly drifted toward the wall.

Master Sunless's room was somewhere nearby.

Nephis wondered what he was doing.

Perhaps he had already gone to bed.

Perhaps he was lying awake as well.

Thinking about everything that had happened.

About dinner.

About Orphne.

About the Soulbound Memory.

About...

Her.

Nephis's smile became a little more bashful.

Maybe he was thinking about how close they had been earlier.

Maybe he was remembering the flour on her cheek.

Maybe he was just as embarrassed as she was.

For some reason, she liked that thought.

She imagined Master Sunless lying in his own bed, staring at the ceiling just as she was.

Perhaps smiling.

Perhaps thinking about her.

Perhaps—

...

Master Sunless's bed remained perfectly made.

Nephis did not know that while she lay upstairs smiling faintly to herself, imagining the gentle café owner resting somewhere nearby, the man himself was standing far beneath the Familiar Café in front of the forge where he created his weapons.

The underground chamber was vast compared to the humble café above it. Two heavy streams of water flowed from behind Sunless and curved around opposite sides of the forge, circling the structure in controlled currents. Three more channels ran beneath it, ready to surge upward whenever the heat became too intense. Steam constantly drifted through the chamber as water hissed against heated stone.

Ancient-looking runes had been carved throughout the floor and walls. Many of them reacted directly to essence, allowing Sunless to regulate the movement of the water, redirect heat, and control parts of the forge without ever touching them.

The flames crackled violently.

Sunless stood before them in silence.

And there was one other thing Nephis had been wrong about when it came to Master Sunless.

She had assumed he was merely slender.

Sunless reached for the sash wrapped around his waist and pulled it loose. His dark tunic opened, falling away from his body before slipping from his shoulders entirely. The garment struck the stone floor and immediately dissolved into sparks of essence, revealing itself to have been a Memory.

Beneath it, the supposedly delicate café owner possessed a body that was anything but fragile.

Sunless was not particularly tall, nor did he have the enormous frame of some warriors, but his physique was lean and sharply defined. Broad shoulders tapered into a narrow waist, his chest and abdomen carved with dense muscle beneath pale skin. Defined lines ran along his sides and lower abdomen, while his back shifted smoothly with every movement, revealing compact strength across his shoulders and spine. His arms were similarly honed, biceps and forearms built more like those of a swordsman than a brute.

There was no excess anywhere.

Only strength.

Balanced, controlled, and deceptively compact.

The sort of body built through years of combat, movement, forging, and relentless repetition rather than deliberate attempts to look impressive.

Had Nephis seen him now, she might have needed to reconsider several of her earlier observations.

Sunless, however, was utterly unconcerned with how he looked.

He rolled his shoulders once before extending a hand toward the forge.

Essence stirred.

The water around him accelerated.

The flames roared higher.

And Master Sunless's black eyes narrowed as all traces of the warm, teasing café owner disappeared from his expression.

Only the calm focus dedicated to his craft remained—the kind that many women, even the likes of the Song sisters, Morgan, and Cassie, would find attractive when combined with Sunless's body and appearance.

Seductive, even.

Especially the woman currently in Sunless's house.

Sunless took a step forward as essence surged and fire roared in front of him.

Immense heat reached his skin as Sunless stared at the alloy melting within the forge, slowly turning liquid.

Instead of limiting himself to shaping it through ordinary means, he used a higher form of forging.

Essence moved according to his will.

The molten alloy rose.

Sunless shaped it into the beginnings of a longsword.

Nephis's image flashed through his mind.

Sunless smiled faintly as his focus sharpened.

Her battle art.

Her body.

Weight.

Height.

Movement style.

Reach.

Balance.

Every relevant detail he had observed was taken into account as he adjusted the weapon's shape, size, weight, and length down to the smallest measurements.

He wanted every aspect of the weapon to suit her perfectly.

Among the materials was the eye of a Transcendent Devil, along with parts of weapons belonging to several Fallen creatures.

Naturally, Sunless had also realized many things about Bastion and Valor itself during his time here.

The coins and currency used within Bastion possessed properties similar to the weapons carried by the Fire Keepers and the sword Nephis currently used.

To be specific, he had only managed to realize the unique nature of the coins because of his own smithing abilities.

Otherwise, Valor would have never allowed a mere café owner to learn something like this.

The King of Swords obtained power through his Domain, but the weapons he personally forged played a role in it.

The Saints of the King of Swords's Domain were empowered by him, while simultaneously placing themselves beneath his Domain by possessing one of the swords he had given them. Doing so made them part of his Domain and empowered their individual abilities.

The coins served a similar purpose for the ordinary inhabitants of Bastion.

Even the Mundanes, Awakened, and Ascended living within the Domain contributed to its strength.

At least, that was what Master Sunless had learned from studying the coins he himself had been made to use.

His knowledge had to remain hidden.

He suspected even most Saints of the Domain did not fully understand this secret.

Nevertheless—

Sunless wasn't focused on that right now.

What mattered was making a weapon for her.

Well...

Several weapons.

For now, he was making temporary weapons for Nephis to use so he could perfect the physical nature of the final weapon before creating it.

He also hoped to create several weapons carrying different forms of enchantments that could assist her in battle.

Sparks erupted.

Sunless manifested a hammer in his hand with eerie calmness as essence poured into it.

Flames roared.

CLANG!

He brought the hammer down.

Sparks flew.

CLANG!

He struck again.

Essence surged.

Sunless activated his Attributes beyond their passive states.

The centers of his black eyes began glowing faintly golden.

The space surrounding the metal remained black.

There were no enchantments yet.

However—

With the next strike, thin threads curled around the hammer.

They flowed chaotically at first.

That was fine.

With enough focus, Sunless could already create the foundation of his enchantments.

CLANG!

Another strike.

Dozens of threads shifted.

CLANG!

More appeared.

They arranged themselves according to Sunless's will.

Soon, roughly a hundred threads had organized themselves into the beginnings of a single enchantment.

He could add more later.

Doing so after the forging process would be somewhat limiting, but this was merely a temporary weapon.

Today, he was replicating a very particular enchantment.

One that had annoyed him greatly in the past, back when he, too, had fought on the front lines of humanity against the abominations of Corruption during the Antarctic Campaign.

This particular enchantment would not haunt Nephis as it had haunted him.

Sunless's weapon back then had been cursed rather than merely enchanted.

Although...

He would have to tie this enchantment directly to her through a different process.

'Since she'll be fighting the Song Domain soon.'

Sunless's thoughts remained focused.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

'This should be a good enchantment.'

He pulled the ugly, misshapen piece of metal from the forge and placed it into the cooling hole.

Seconds later, he pulled it back out.

Sunless placed the heated metal down and set the hammer aside.

His eyes continued glowing.

Golden essence formed around his fingertips.

He reached forward.

The metal rose into the air.

Sunless flicked his fingers, running through the structure of the weapon in his thoughts.

His focus remained impeccable.

Even the preexisting threads moved and adjusted themselves to accommodate the enchantment.

Fire surged again.

A sheen of sweat covered Sunless's upper body as flames flickered across his skin.

He resumed hammering.

The metal gradually began resembling a sword.

But that was the least important part.

Anyone could hammer metal over and over until it eventually resembled the correct shape.

Weapons did not work like that.

A rookie could spend days hammering a piece of metal and eventually achieve something resembling the correct shape.

But every unnecessary strike affected the quality of the metal itself.

A skilled smith created a weapon with accurate proportions while using the minimum number of strikes necessary to reach the maximum possible quality.

Every strike mattered.

Every degree of heat mattered.

Every moment spent cooling mattered.

With every strike, Sunless used essence and his enchantments to understand exactly what the metal was experiencing.

Heating.

Hammering.

Cooling.

Enchanting.

Repeating.

The man sank deeper into his art.

A moment became minutes.

Minutes became an hour.

Sunless didn't care about time.

Only precision.

The charred, black, ugly metal gradually transformed.

A beautiful hue of blue emerged from the core of the alloy, surrounded by brilliant silver as the longsword took shape.

The eye of the Transcendent Devil rested comfortably close to the hilt, serving as its core.

Yet far more astonishing than the process of forging the weapon...

Were the enchantments themselves.

Usually, Aspect holders created the concept and nature of an enchantment through their sorcery.

Then, once carried by someone connected to the Nightmare Spell, the Spell interpreted that sorcery and created its own version.

The exact process differed depending on the form of sorcery.

But the principle remained similar.

The Nightmare Spell could consume countless forms of sorcery, understand them, and recreate them in its own language.

That was why most smiths and enchanters were able to create functional Memories even when their skill was lacking.

If their work was close enough, the Spell could adjust it.

Correct it.

Complete it.

Even if the resulting enchantment was of lower quality.

And enchantments absolutely possessed differences in quality.

Even if two enchantments produced the exact same effect, the precision and quantity of essence required to activate them could make an enormous difference.

An enchantment that consumed excessive essence took power away from augmentation, Aspect Abilities, and countless other things.

An enchantment requiring excessive concentration took attention away from combat.

Therefore, an enchantment of the highest quality would achieve its intended effect while demanding the smallest possible amount of essence and control.

For that—

The positioning of every thread mattered.

Not merely approximately.

Not merely precisely.

But down to an almost atomic level.

The price for the Nightmare Spell's flexibility was the number of threads it required to reproduce what other forms of sorcery could accomplish differently.

An enchanter merely needed to conceive something and create an adequate foundation.

Their connection to the Spell meant that even flawed enchantments could sometimes become usable once the Spell interpreted them.

But the number of threads the Spell required to replicate that effect could become frighteningly large.

An enchanter had to think of something.

The Spell could create it.

Doing the same thing manually?

That was far more harrowing.

After all, the Spell was an incomprehensibly complex creation capable of producing an enchantment almost instantly.

Doing the same thing...

By hand?

Right now, no one else could see the sheer number of threads flowing across the room.

The forge was reaching tremendous temperatures.

Sunless's glowing eyes remained fixed upon the floating metal.

Finally, the physical forging process reached the minimum point he required.

He could perfect the metal itself later.

Now came the important part.

The enchantment needed to be placed into the heart of the weapon.

The sword floated in the air.

Sunless took several steps backward.

He stared at the sea of threads.

There were already around thirty thousand of them.

It was enough to begin.

Several hundred thousand more would eventually be required.

But those already present had been positioned properly.

Sunless raised both hands.

Then—

He swept them through the air.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Soon, those sweeping motions became a torrent.

To an ordinary person, he might have looked like a madman frantically waving his hands through empty air.

But to Sunless—

The threads were everywhere.

They gathered into a smaller frame around his body, surrounding him so densely that they nearly obscured him from sight.

It did not matter.

Sunless continued moving.

Every motion was impeccable.

The slightest movement of one finger caused dozens of threads to flow around his fingertips.

Each gesture made them change positions.

Intertwine.

Overlap.

Separate.

Reconnect.

As though nature itself had deemed elegance necessary for perfection, Sunless's hands flowed through the air while his feet moved in slow, controlled steps.

Back.

Forward.

Turn.

Sweep.

What should have looked like a man frantically waving his hands through empty space instead resembled some strange form of dance.

And the process only grew more complex.

Every adjustment to one thread changed the position required of another.

It was like solving a puzzle where correcting one piece could subtly disturb another.

Except the number of pieces moving around him numbered in the tens of thousands.

Keeping track of every individual thread was not merely a task for his eyes.

It was a task for his mind.

A horrifyingly complex one.

But Sunless was a master of his craft.

He knew when an enchantment behind him had shifted incorrectly without even turning to look.

His fingers would move.

A thread would change.

The mistake would disappear.

His movements became increasingly elegant and mesmerizing.

Every sweep of his hand carried a web of golden threads behind it.

They flowed between his fingers.

Curled around his arms.

Followed every graceful movement of his hands.

And surrounded by countless streams of golden essence, Sunless continued his strange dance before the forge.

The movements were elegant and mesmerizing at this point, each motion of his hands followed by a web of golden threads flowing beautifully between his fingers.

Soon, the man's movements stopped.

The threads dimmed and scattered, thinning as they returned to their natural state.

Sunless placed a hand on his waist as he stared at the organized enchantment before him.

Then he summoned a storage Memory and pulled several cores from it.

They were the cores of the Transcendent Devil whose eye now rested within the sword.

Sunless shuffled them in his hand thoughtfully.

His eyes moved across the enchantment.

Then—

One by one, he placed the cores at specific points within its structure.

The weapon remained suspended high in the center of the enchantment.

Golden threads shifted.

They flowed inward.

Thousands upon thousands of them converged upon the sword, sinking into its form as the cores settled into their designated places.

There was no melodramatic explosion.

No violent vibration.

No dazzling display.

The weapon merely fell from the air.

Sunless caught it.

Well...

The Memory would not be floating anymore.

The enchantments were complete.

But the weapon itself was only halfway done.

He still wanted to add more stabilizing threads later.

Whatever Nephis believed about the weapons she was currently using was wrong for one simple reason.

Her weapons had been created by the forges of the Valor Clan.

And the Nightmare Spell itself wasn't particularly kind, either.

It merely created something adequate when forming Memories from slain Nightmare Creatures.

The quality depended heavily upon the rank and class of the creature and whatever the Spell decided to create from it.

Naturally, the Spell-created ones could still be far superior to what human smiths were capable of producing.

But the Spell was not benevolent.

It did not deliberately create something better simply because its wielder needed something better.

Whether Nephis knew that or not...

Sunless refused to let her march into a war carrying subpar weapons created by humans or decent enchantments created by the Spell.

The woman believed she was already going into battle with some of the best weapons she could possess.

She compensated for whatever her equipment lacked through overwhelming skill.

But if she had something better...

Her battles would become much smoother.

And, to Sunless's hidden concern—

Safer.

No matter how strong someone was, when you worried about them...

You simply worried.

And Sunless wanted to give her the best weapon possible.

Something that would help her in every battle.

The forge roared again.

Sparks flew.

Sunless raised his hammer.

He needed to create something far more advanced.

The enchantments might have been finished for now, but the forging itself was not.

There was a specific point in the development of the metal beyond which he would no longer be able to properly work on the enchantments without using special methods.

So Sunless had stopped at precisely the right moment.

He had completed the necessary enchantments first.

Now—

He returned to perfecting the weapon itself.

CLANG!

Another hour passed.

The girls in the house had already been asleep for hours.

Orphne was young, so she usually went to sleep early, around eight.

The house had become quiet enough that Sunless had developed the habit of going to bed earlier as well.

Nephis had seemingly begun following that schedule during her stay.

Sunless would have liked to sit down with her.

Maybe talk alone for an appropriately reasonable amount of time.

But he needed to make the weapon now.

It was already past midnight in Bastion.

And the man continued hammering away at the metal.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

The entire process had taken nearly five hours.

For most smiths, that would have been an absurdly short amount of time.

But the reason behind Sunless's speed was not a lack of effort.

It was overwhelming skill.

An ordinary forge could spend days working and still fail to replicate one of Sunless's preferred works.

Whether it was physically forging the metal or creating enchantments, Sunless could surpass days of their hard work within mere hours.

A standard sword required only one or two folds to reach the bare minimum quality expected of a weapon.

A top-tier mundane weapon could require around ten.

Enchanted weapons were different.

They could reach thirty.

Sometimes fifty.

The number did not merely represent stages of forging.

One had to account for essence, the purity of the metal, and the strange alloys created from materials originating in entirely different parts of the Dream Realm.

Yet even the finest weapons rarely approached ninety folds.

Sunless continued.

One hundred.

One hundred and fifty.

Two hundred.

By the end of the fifth hour—

Sunless had reached the two hundred and thirty-seventh fold.

And stopped.

The Transcendent Devil's materials had allowed the weapon to endure an extraordinary number of folds while continuing to improve.

But this...

Was the absolute limit of what its materials could become as a weapon.

Any further work would no longer improve it.

The enchantments were settled.

The cores had been blended into the structure.

The metal had reached the peak of what its nature permitted.

Its balance was perfected.

Its shape was perfected.

Its sharpness had reached its limit.

There was nothing more Sunless could do to improve the physical weapon.

Well...

Unless he added more enchantments.

Sunless stared thoughtfully at the completed blade.

He was fairly certain he could squeeze another one or two into its existing structure.

The problem was—

He had no idea what else to put in it.

After all...

The sword already possessed more than one enchantment.

Sunless slowly raised the unfinished longsword from the forge.

Most of the blue coloration the metal had possessed earlier had disappeared during the forging process. What remained was a beautiful silver blade with faint traces of blue still lingering beneath the surface whenever the light caught it from the right angle.

Sunless stared at it for a few seconds.

Then smiled to himself.

He had not deliberately intended to make the blade silver.

At least...

Not entirely.

His fingers lightly traced the flat of the weapon.

Silver.

Like Nephis's hair.

Hair he happened to like very much.

Sunless's smile grew slightly.

"Coincidence."

As if.

The empty forge offered no argument.

He cleared his throat and turned toward the testing area.

The first weave awakened.

Essence flowed into the sword.

Sunless swung.

Nothing seemed to leave the blade.

There was no bright arc of essence.

No visible projectile.

And yet—

A training target several feet beyond the sword's physical reach suddenly split apart.

Sunless watched the upper half slide to the ground.

His eyes brightened.

...

[Extended Reach]

This enchantment allows the wielder to expend a small amount of essence to momentarily extend the effective edge of the blade several feet beyond its physical length. The extended edge is formed from condensed essence and remains nearly invisible to ordinary sight.

Unlike a conventional ranged essence strike, the enchantment requires only a fraction of the essence and concentration necessary to produce one.

...

Sunless nodded slowly.

That would suit Nephis.

Her height and the longsword already granted her greater reach than many opponents.

He had no intention of physically lengthening the weapon and forcing her to relearn distances she had spent years mastering.

This was better.

An enemy could judge the reach of her sword perfectly—

And still be wrong.

Shorter and more agile opponents attempting to remain barely outside her striking range would suddenly find an invisible blade extending several feet farther than expected.

And because the cost was roughly a tenth of a conventional essence strike, Nephis could use it repeatedly without meaningfully disrupting her combat rhythm.

Sunless smiled.

"Annoying."

Exactly what he wanted.

He moved on.

Essence entered the second weave.

A faint shimmer traveled along the silver edge.

Sunless placed a thick piece of Transcendent armor onto the testing stand.

Then swung.

The blade passed through it.

Not without resistance—

But far more easily than an ordinary weapon should have.

Sunless inspected the clean cut.

...

[Unyielding Edge]

This enchantment draws upon a small portion of the wielder's essence to greatly enhance the sharpness and penetrative power of the blade.

Its effect activates naturally alongside the essence already supplied to the weapon during combat, allowing the enchantment to function with little conscious effort from the wielder.

The enchantment is capable of cutting through most Transcendent protections with significantly greater ease, although its effectiveness diminishes against higher-tier defenses and reaches its practical limit around the strongest Transcendent armor.

...

There was nothing spectacular about the enchantment.

Sunless liked that.

Saints already poured essence through their weapons naturally.

Nephis would barely have to think about activating it.

Her blade would simply become sharper whenever she fought.

Against weaker defenses, the difference would be devastating.

Against Transcendent armor, it would make openings considerably easier to exploit.

Anything approaching the highest tiers of Transcendent protection would still give it trouble.

That was acceptable.

The enchantment was not meant to make Nephis capable of cutting through everything in existence.

It merely ensured that when she landed a good strike—

Armor would have a much harder time saving whoever stood on the other side.

Sunless turned the sword slightly.

Then his expression grew serious.

The third weave awakened.

This was the one he had spent the most time designing.

Sunless pressed his thumb lightly against the edge.

A tiny cut appeared.

One drop of blood rolled down his skin.

The enchantment responded immediately.

Invisible threads stirred within the blade.

Sunless focused.

One thought.

And—

For the briefest instant, something unpleasant surfaced inside his mind.

A memory.

Cold.

Helplessness.

Darkness.

Not the entire memory.

Merely an echo of the emotions attached to it.

Sunless immediately ended the effect.

His expression became satisfied.

...

[Echoes of Agony]

Once this blade draws even a single drop of blood, the wielder may activate this enchantment with a thought.

The wounded target will be afflicted by a mind hex that draws upon their own memories, forcing negative emotional echoes to surface within their mind.

Fear. Grief. Pain. Regret. Loss.

The exact manifestation depends upon the victim.

The duration of the hex depends upon the amount of essence supplied by the wielder. Additional wounds inflicted by the blade may reinforce or extend its effect.

The memories belong to the victim.

The sword merely calls them forth.

...

Sunless stared silently at the blade.

This was the enchantment he valued most.

The Domain War would not be a war between humanity and Nightmare Creatures.

It would be humans fighting humans.

Saints killing Saints.

And Nephis would undoubtedly become one of the highest-priority targets on the battlefield.

No competent enemy would send a single Saint after her.

Valor's strongest Transcendents could converge upon her.

Song could send several Saints.

Perhaps even multiple Song Sisters at once.

Against opponents like that, raw destructive power was not always enough.

But distraction—

That was different.

A Saint did not need to be crippled for minutes.

They did not even need to be crippled for ten seconds.

Against Nephis...

Two or three seconds of hesitation could be fatal.

A shallow cut.

One drop of blood.

One thought.

Then suddenly an enemy would be forced to confront echoes of their own worst memories while facing one of humanity's most lethal swordswomen.

And every additional wound could prolong the effect.

Sunless looked down at the silver blade.

A faint trace of blue shimmered beneath its surface.

Beautiful.

Elegant.

And increasingly unpleasant to fight against.

His lips curved upward.

"Perfect."

The three enchantments worked together.

The first alone would keep Nephis's enemies on their toes, never knowing when the invisible strike would come.

Those fighting close to her would have to remain constantly wary of the blade's sharpness as well.

Even the Song Domain did not have easy access to Supreme Memories for armor, and anything up to Transcendent Tier Five should pose little resistance to the enchantment.

Add more essence—

Combined with the raw threat Nephis herself represented, the blade should be able to pierce even Transcendent Tier Seven armor with relative ease.

And even if the armor managed to protect its wearer from a deep wound...

A single drop of blood would be enough to activate another enchantment and continuously disrupt their battle rhythm.

All of that before Nephis even had to rely heavily on her Aspect.

The three enchantments worked in perfect harmony to make sure that even if multiple Saints surrounded her, they wouldn't easily force her to her limits.

And Sunless was quite certain that even with a normal sword, she would still be better than most of them.

That wasn't the problem.

Nephis had a habit of hurting herself repeatedly to create openings and then healing the damage with her Aspect.

He wanted to avoid precisely that.

The Memory had come together perfectly.

And yet—

Despite that...

Sunless wasn't satisfied.

Not in the slightest.

It wasn't good enough.

Not in his eyes.

A Transcendent Memory of the Seventh Tier was not good enough.

He would have to make something better next time.

Sunless frowned slightly as his thoughts returned to the last enchantment.

It wasn't particularly extraordinary either.

But considering the sword he had originally encountered it on had been a cursed weapon, the enchantment itself was actually quite useful.

His frown deepened as he remembered that First Tier Memory.

Its entire purpose had been similar to one of the enchantments on this sword.

One drop of blood—

And the mind hex began.

Except that one had been far more damaging because it constantly whispered your own insecurities back to you in your own voice.

And that wasn't even the worst of it.

An apparition resembling an exact copy of yourself would appear and whisper your worst insecurities, fears, doubts, and regrets directly to you.

The Memory didn't even need to be manifested.

Simply possessing it was enough for the apparition to speak or appear whenever it pleased.

The curse wasn't merely meant to whisper unpleasant things.

It was quite literally designed to drive its wielder mad.

Sunless was glad the Memory had eventually been destroyed.

Those had been some painful days.

After months of accumulated stress during the Antarctic Campaign, he had even found himself yelling at the apparition a few times when the pressure became too much.

Sunless shook his head.

Back to the present.

He looked at the sword.

The blue core had already turned black.

That was fine.

Its color would eventually settle considering it had once been the eye of a dead creature.

Still...

The point remained.

Inadequate.

Sunless had considered adding an enchantment based around self-repair.

With enough essence, the metal would restore itself. Even if the sword broke, new material could simply manifest and repair the damage.

However, the concept of breaking and repairing conflicted too heavily with the sharpening enchantment.

And the sharpening enchantment was far more useful for the kind of battles Sunless imagined Nephis facing.

He sighed.

Then placed the sword into his Soul Sea.

Inadequate as it might be...

It was the best he could create in a single night.

There was also one more problem.

Possibly the greatest problem regarding the Memory.

'How do I make her take it for free?'

...

After a quick and quiet shower, Sunless sat on the porch where Nephis usually ate her meals.

The night air was cold.

It felt wonderful after spending hours surrounded by the oppressive heat of the forge.

He sat in a rocking chair that normally remained inside, staring into the open night sky.

His long, silky hair was still damp from the shower, hanging loose instead of being tied back.

His tunic covered his body once more.

Sunless appeared peaceful.

His eyes remained closed, calm, as his fingers tapped softly against the armrest in a meaningless pattern.

His face appeared peaceful as the chair rocked gently back and forth.

"Ahh..."

The sound escaped him quietly.

The chair continued moving for a moment before coming to a complete stop.

His eyes opened.

Sunless stood and walked softly toward the edge of the porch.

His gaze settled on the clear sky and the full moon.

"Winter Solstice, huh?"

He clasped his wrist behind his back, standing beneath the moonlight like some ethereal, saintly being.

For a moment, he simply stared.

Conflicted, Sunless closed his eyes as his lips pressed together.

A soft sigh escaped him.

Then he walked back to the chair and sat down.

The chair creaked softly as he leaned back and relaxed.

"Oh well..." he murmured.

His gaze returned to the moon.

"I suppose I'll be older than you were when you died, Mom."