'How frustrating…'
Sunny crossed his arms, tapping his forearm in thought.
The man who called himself Kalo was currently passed out before him, having succumbed to fear.
'Did he have a Flaw that made him easily frightened or something?'
Seriously, was supposed to be an agent of the Great Clans! He couldn't even handle a harmless interrogation? He'd already fixed his arm too!
Still, he had gotten what he needed.
'To think they were actually here for me…'
This whole time, he had thought Valor had managed to somehow figure out Nephis' location. But as it turned out, they had been looking for him instead. The reason they had been sweeping the district was to search for any survivors of the Forgotten Shore. Sunny was not surprised he wasn't the only one here, he was in one of the larger districts that spanned a radius of several kilometers, and with the fact humanity only had a few cities left across the planet, the population density was immense.
'Nuisance.'
He kicked the man's side, just to make sure he really was out. Glancing over at the other side of the room, he met the woman, Marie's, eyes. Her gaze was both intense and fearful, it was too bad for her that she couldn't do a single thing to him. Solvane currently had her pinned to the ground, completely paralysed. The loud crack from earlier he had used to scare Kalo had been the sound of her spine snapping.
'Seriously… just what kind of person are you?'
Sunny had recently received the ability to subtly sense the emotions of others through their shadows. It was something he didn't pay too much attention to, as unless he focused on it, it was quite unnoticeable. And even when he did use it, he found himself still unsure of what to do or say, even when he could sense the emotions of the person he was talking to. All in all, it wasn't an ability that suited him very much, so he just tuned it out most of the time.
But the emotions he had just felt from that woman… they were truly vile. Honestly, for a second he had considered playing along with them, allowing himself to be captured just so he could feign innocence and get himself off their radar, but the moment he had been grabbed by her…
Sunny shuddered at the thought.
And from her partner's reaction to her actions, he could tell it wasn't the first time she had done such a thing as well. And to defenseless, sleeping Awakened no less, all while the other just stood there and did nothing.
'Seriously…'
He was considering just giving their skulls a good stomp.
But unfortunately… these two lowlifes were somehow people Valor trusted enough to complete a mission like this. If they were to suddenly vanish while retrieving him, it would certainly raise flags.
As much as he hated it, he'd have to figure something out.
'How the hell am I going to get them to go back without them immediately spilling everything about me?'
He had to think of a solution, and fast. Upstairs, he had a couple dummies walking around, pretending like they were looking for something. Each of them had one of the daggers his two assailants had brought strapped to their backs. Just before he had struck, he'd silently disarmed both of them, just in case. It was only thanks to a memory of an event that felt like a lifetime ago that he knew to get rid of the daggers first. All the way back during the Battle of the Black Skull, someone he couldn't remember anymore had hinted at the fact that Anvil could somehow observe the world through the blades he had forged. He didn't know if it applied to every single blade or not, but he wasn't taking any chances.
'Kalo also said that I was designated as one of the lower priority targets… surely Anvil wouldn't be paying attention to an operation as lowly as this one?'
It wasn't like he knew how the mind of a Supreme functioned. He could only operate on guesswork.
Sunny looked at the two intruders again.
'Kill them now, or make sure they can never return…'
It was still the dead of night. He had no idea how much time he had left before someone noticed, or if someone would even notice in the first place.
He sighed.
'At least no one will see.'
Jet was still fast asleep, while Nephis was safely housed within the Covetous Coffer. The oxygen producing Memory, [Greenhouse], he'd ordered had arrived on time, allowing living people to survive inside of it. It was certainly a little bit awkward, not to mention slightly humiliating, but the girl didn't seem to mind at all. And having entered the Coffer himself to see how it was, the space within was actually far more accommodating than he remembered, so it definitely could've been worse.
As for the endless amount of things he already had stored there before, those had either been placed inside of his soul or tossed into the Ivory Tower's basement.
'Hm…'
Speaking of the Ivory Tower…
A memory flashed within his mind of when he had been cleaning out the Covetous Coffer, of when he had put away the picture of Sevras and Semos.
'Semos…'
He remembered the man well. He also remembered the torment he had gone through when he had taken the place of him back when he had been lost in the Dream Curse.
'What had it been for again?'
It had been… because he couldn't remember where he had hidden the ivory knife. The memory of its location had been taken away by Noctis…
Sunny looked at Serpent.
'Yes… this should work.'
***
Two figures dressed in all black slowly descending into the basement of the house they were intruding.
"Come on, Kalo… There was a room that was missing a bed too, I bet they broke it!"
"Marie, it's none of our business. In fact, I think you should stop this kind of thing."
Marie turned to her partner, disappointed.
"Cheh, who cares what you think?"
Kalo shook his head.
"If you want us to continue working together, you should cease this type of behaviour entirely. In fact… if I ever, and I mean ever, catch you doing that again…"
His partner raised her hands up.
"Wow! Okay okay… sheesh. Didn't know it bothered you that much, honest!"
The man sighed.
"Let's just get this over with."
Entering the underground dojo, they made their way towards the two sleeping pods placed against the wall.
"So, who are we here for today?"
Placing her boot on the side of one of the pods, Marie looked inside at the sleeper.
"Huh? Looks like this one isn't here."
Kicking the side of the other sleeping pod as he twirled a small black coin he had snagged, the man shrugged.
"Probably out then. You know how Awakened are, especially the younger ones."
Marie scratched the side of her head.
"Tomorrow then?"
"Doubt it. This guy was one of the lowest rated in this district. Not a fighter or anything apparently, just a decent scout. Should've seen the recording of his post-solstice interview, pissing his pants! Bosses won't want to waste anymore time on him."
The woman in black sighed, shoulders slumping.
"Oh well… onto the next one then?"
"Yep."
"Okay…"
Turning around, they left. Vanishing and leaving no trace behind. A few minutes later, the security system of the house came back online.
Hiding within the shadows on top of the roof, Sunny watched them vanish into the night.
'Good.'
He would have much preferred to have them dead and buried, but tonight was not the night for that. They would serve a different purpose now anyways. The small coin he'd had the man take was actually one of the left over soul coins he had from the Chained Isles. Wrapped around it was the haughty shadow. It was a great risk to him, but he was going to do it anyway. He couldn't simply hope that Valor wouldn't notice anything off about him, he needed to know.
'The memory alteration seems to be working fine too…'
The forms Serpent took didn't always retain things like Aspect abilities, but luckily the shadow of Noctis seems to have. It couldn't do any sorcery, and its transformation didn't seem to function, but the abilities that allowed it to remove and tamper with souls seemed to be somewhat intact. The memories he'd removed and replaced weren't perfect, and were even sloppy in some areas, but he was banking on the fact that those two idiots wouldn't notice anything strange. Even if they did, he doubted they were the type to report such things to their superiors. If an Awakened reported strange things going on with their memories… of course, a clan like Valor would call in somebody who could look through them.
No matter how bad his opinion of the clan was, he doubted they'd allow such wretches among their ranks. Those fools still had class, after all. And he'd seen Awakened get executed for less. Just for good measure though, he had Serpent implant some suggestions within both of them. He had no idea if it worked or not, or if Noctis' Aspect could even do such a thing, but considering the conversation he had heard just now, it seemed to have worked.
Returning inside, Sunny made his way over to the Covetous Coffer. He wasn't worried about anything happening, but he still wanted to check on the sleeping girl within.
The lid of the coffer opened slightly at the approach of its owner, allowing him to slide inside while remaining in the shadows.
Entering, he saw the humble abode. The bed and dresser that had previously been in Nephis' room were placed against the corner, and atop the bed was Nephis, fast asleep. Sunny looked around, quite satisfied with the place. The expanded space within the Covetous Coffer was about as big as his living room and kitchen combined, making it quite comfortable. It wasn't perfect, of course. The first day Nephis slept here she had complained about how stuffy it was, so he went and bought a portable cooler that ran on Spelltech. The technology of this time wasn't too much worse than the one he was from, but the difference in Spelltech was quite noticeable. Still, they made batteries that lasted quite a long time, so it suited his needs as he naturally couldn't get running electricity inside the Coffer just yet, nor was he going to.
'This is just a temporary measure.'
He didn't want to run and cower forever, and he couldn't just rely on Ki Song to solve all his problems either. He would go along with her plans, sure, but he had little faith it would work. Sunny was no fool, he knew that Ki Song wanted him to remain with Song no matter what, and was quite willing to work with him. But he also knew that such things always came at a price. He was grateful to the Raven Queen for some things, but many of his problems stemmed from what she and her cohort did in the first place. Had they never killed Broken Sword, he'd never have been in this mess. Ah but then again, if they didn't kill him perhaps they'd all be in an even bigger mess.
Sunny sighed, manifesting a small chair next to Nephis' bed before sitting down, giving the dreamcatcher hanging off the edge of her bedframe a short glance. There was the other ability he had recently received as well, the one to subtly sense dreams and sleep. Having put two and two together, he realised that most likely, the Dreamcatcher functioned similarly to a Memory he'd possessed once, the [Crown of Twilight]. An enchantment gave him power over emotions and an enchantment that gave him power over dreams, both their potencies dependent on the strength of his Domain. A Domain that he couldn't exactly build.
'If only…'
He missed the freedom he'd had. The thought made him a little guilty, but wouldn't it be nice to be free from all responsibilities? To be able to allocate all of his time to working towards his goals rather than being stuck at home keeping someone safe.
Sunny reached a hand forward, brushing Nephis' hair slightly, removing some strands that had gotten stuck in her mouth.
But if he had been placed before the pleading Thrain again, he'd make the same choice every single time. In the end, it had been his own choices that had led him here. Choices that he wouldn't change for anything.
Retracting his hand, he crossed his arms and leaned back, placing his head against the wall.
'What to do…'
He hadn't entered the Dream Realm for several days now, and had only made minor progress with his Transcendence. It was tempting, to leave the safety of Nephis up to his Shadows, but he restrained himself. Neither Solvane nor Serpent could Shadow Step like he could, and they couldn't exactly search for assistance either, as they resembled nightmare creatures.
Really… his best choice would be to just take Nephis to the Dream Realm. Tyris had already agreed to help him, and it was now just up to him. All he had to do was say the word…
But he didn't want to.
Because maybe, just maybe… in this life, Nephis would never be infected by the Nightmare Spell. He desperately wanted to spare her from that fate, from the pain of it all, and taking her to the Dream Realm would all but seal it.
He was stuck.
'Ah, if only I could just Transcend immediately…'
Right now… the Third Nightmare honestly didn't sound too bad.
***
Tap… tap… tap…
An older woman tapped her finger against her desk, an angry look on her face.
"Were you two just messing around or what? It's nearly morning already and you've only just finished?! I know I didn't assign that many for you to take…"
"Sorry boss…"
"Took longer than I thought it would…"
Kalo and Marie sat next to each other on the other side of her desk, shivering slightly, despite the fact they were facing a mundane woman.
"Anyway… did you get all of them?"
Kalo shook his head.
"No. Couple of em were out for the night it seems."
The older woman sighed.
"Young people… So? Who's missing?"
The man checked the list they had been given.
"Uh… this guy, this guy, and this guy."
The older woman waved her hand, sneering.
"Bah, just forget about these ones. Honestly… those idiots upstairs keep insisting it's a man just because Aria said so. Well I say that the secret hero is a woman! There are all sorts of things nowadays that'll let you change your voice, you hear? If this guy really is as secretive and conniving as they say he is… wouldn't you think they'd never reveal their actual voice?"
The pair enthusiastically nodded.
"Sounds right to me…"
"You said it boss!"
Tossing the report aside, the woman clicked her tongue and went back to work. Kalo and Marie sat patiently, expectantly waiting for her to continue.
After a while, the woman sneered again.
"What the hell are you two waiting for? Get the hell out of here! Dismissed! Scholar's department will take it from here, just make sure the delivery goes smoothly and sleepers remain sleepers."
"Yes ma'am."
Standing up, the two left.
Walking the halls of the underground facility, they made their way towards the changing room, eager to get out of the black garbs they had been wearing for far too long.
"Haaa, finally! Hey, Kalo, what are you doing after this?"
Taking off his mask, the man replied bluntly.
"Sleep."
"Boooring."
The two continued changing, bickering slightly as they did.
Eventually, they left. And within one of the small pockets on Kalo's garments, he had left a small coin, having completely forgotten about it.
Sunny's eyes snapped open, awakening from his meditation as he immediately zeroed in on his shadow.
He had gotten the confirmation he needed, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
'Now…'
Sunny grinned slightly.
He probably should've recalled his shadow. Probably. But… this was a pretty good opportunity, wasn't it? The facility he had managed to sneak into didn't exactly seem like one of the higher-end ones, but it did link directly back to Valor. From what he knew, this was the part of the clan that did the dirty work that needed to remain unseen, so they operated separately from the main clan most of the time.
And if Sunny's suspicions were correct, these guys were the ones Valor called on to have Nephis assassinated. They were the ones who worked in the dark and knew how to do things discretely. They were the ones who had assassins and thieves rather than valiant knights and warriors. They were the ones… the ones…
'Calm yourself.'
He couldn't act too hastily. Valor was still an ally of humanity, he couldn't exactly wipe a part of them off the map over a personal grudge.
'Maybe I can…'
But first, he'd need proof. He had his suspicions, but he wanted to know exactly who was responsible first and foremost.
The small coin sunk into the shadows and vanished as the transient shadow left the disgusting smelling coat a second later.
Taking a short glance at the daggers that had been left behind, Sunny realised something.
'These are...'
The daggers looked quite... shabby? He could tell they were decent Memories, but there was no chance of them being Supreme made. The weapons he had been so cautious around were simply regular dagger Memories stamped with the symbol of Valor, not a blade made by the King of Swords himself.
The shadow sighed, palming its face.
'Of course... there are other smiths in Valor too. No way Anvil would personally make weapons for people this far beneath him...'
Shaking its head, the shadow left.
Retracing the steps Kalo had taken, the haughty shadow made its way towards the room the arrogant sounding woman had been in. Currently, the older woman was still tapping away on an interface, sorting through some names and numbers.
After what felt like forever, the woman yawned and stood up.
"Coffee…"
With slightly unsteady steps, she left.
'About time.'
The shadow moved, sweeping the room for any cameras before making its way towards the device the woman had just been on.
'...Shit.'
It had been turned to standby mode, and would need a password to turn back on. A password he didn't have.
Looking around, he didn't see any physical records either. Almost everything in the modern day was stored digitally, and hacking wasn't exactly something Sunny was very skilled in.
So… he was going to do the only thing he could. Wait for the woman to get back, and to watch her every move. He would simply learn her password by watching the words she typed. There were other things too, like retina scans and fingerprints… but with enough time, he could reproduce those things too.
Sunny sighed.
'This is gonna take a while…'
Infiltrating was just as boring as he thought it'd be.
Turning his attention back to his own body, he looked over to his side.
"Sunny..?"
"Morning."
Nephis had woken up.
"What are… you doing here?"
Yawning, she sat up and looked at him with a sleepy gaze.
"Nothing."
"Oh…"
"Good news kid, turns out, this was your last night here!"
Nephis frowned slightly.
"It is?"
"What, aren't you happy?"
The girl looked around.
"I don't know… it's not too bad."
Sunny clicked his tongue in mock disappointment.
"Weren't you the one who said you liked your old room more? Did you suddenly have a change of heart?"
She quickly shook her head.
"No… it's just… being inside a Memory… it's so cool!"
Sunny nodded, smiling proudly.
"Damn right it is. Ah, but this won't be a Memory for long…"
The sleepiness immediately faded from Nephis' face, her eyes widening.
"No! Don't hurt Coffee!"
Sunny blinked.
"...Coffee?"
"You said his name was Covetous Coffer, right? So Coffee! And don't hurt him!"
He laughed, ruffling the girl's hair.
"Coffee… heheh… Coffee! Not bad! And relax, I'm not hurting him. In fact… I'm upgrading him."
Nephis' eyes widened, shining with curiosity.
"You are? How? Tell me, tell me!"
Sunny grinned.
"I'll be turning him into an Echo, of course! This guy… being a Memory doesn't suit him. I think he deserves to be more."
The girl nodded excitedly, stars in her eyes.
"Wooow an Echo? So like… he'll be alive?"
He thought for a moment, pondering over what truly counted as a life.
"Not quite. He'll be able to do things like a living being, but it'll all be like… pre-programmed, you know? Only when I add the finishing touches will he truly seem alive."
Sunny did not think Nephis' gray eyes could shine any brighter, but they did.
"What touches? Are you gonna breathe life into him?!"
He laughed, shaking his head.
"Of course not, I'm just going to return what I took from him. His shadow. I won't be bringing him back to life, but I'll be creating a Shadow with what was once his life."
Nephis nodded, clearly not understanding.
"I see! Shadows!"
'Physics book won't teach you much about that…'
"Anyways, enough about Coffee. Clean your stuff up and I'll move everything back out. I can't have you in here while I'm working on him."
"Okay!"
The girl shot out of bed, getting to work immediately.
Watching her with a smile, Sunny began summoning a Memory.
A small wooden bird appeared within his hand, its wings flapping in a robotic motion. It was the Memory he had received from Sky Tide, [Sage of the North Sea]. The name and appearance of it was a little strange, but it allowed him to exchange messages with the Saint even across realms as long as the message was kept short.
Bringing the small bird to his mouth, he whispered to it.
"Crisis averted."