Sunny woke with a splitting headache, groaning he pushed himself up until he was sitting and summoned the Endless Spring and drank greedily.
Breathing heavily he clutched his chest..
"D-damnation that hurt."
Vaguely recalling hearing the spell during the pain, he checked his runes.
[Name: Sunless]
[True Name: Lost from Light]
[Rank: Dreamer]
[Class: Devil]
[Shadow Cores: 4/7]
[Shadow Fragments: 1954/4000]
"W-what?"
Sunny blinked once. Twice. Then stared.
Multiple cores? That was… impossible. Unheard of.
Heart pounding, he dove into his soul sea.
The familiar dark expanse greeted him—except now, suspended in the sky like blighted stars, hung four dark suns.
"What the fuck?"
Staring at them for what felt like an eternity, Sunny's eye fell back onto his runes.
'Four thousand fragments… does, does that mean I just got 7000 shadow fragments from that orb!?'
As Sunny was thinking this realization struck him, that orb, it was a shadow core, and if his runes are anything to go by it wasn't just any core but a titan core.
'How?'
His thoughts spiraled, but he forced himself to stop. He didn't have enough information to make sense of this. Thinking in circles wouldn't help.
Leaving his soul sea, Sunny noticed movement at his feet. Looking down he saw three shadows, one of them was waving vigorously at him, one was eerily still, and the third seemed to be looking down on him
"Um- Hi?" Sunny said, his brain was too fried to come up with anything better.
The happy started jumping up and down in joy while the eerie one just tilted it's head slightly, the arrogant one just looked away as if Sunny wasn't worth his time.
"You guys can be Happy, Creepy, and Haughty, I guess." He said while rubbing his temples.
Taking a deep breath, Sunny once again looked around the room, noticing the mask and the runes carved on the floor, he sighed.
"This day just never ends…"
Focusing on the runes first, he translated them with ease.
"Hail Weaver
Demon of Fate
Firstborn of the -unknown-"
Sunny blinked rapidly, how had he know what they said so easily? And the runes of the -unknown- always came with pain, a sharp mental backlash. But now? The discomfort was barely noticeable, like a faint pressure behind his eyes.
'Weird'
Thinking on the words of the prayer, foreign knowledge came to Sunny, as if remembering something he had mostly forgotten.
Knowledge of Weaver and the other Daemons came to him, but when he tried to focus on that knowledge for more detail, however, his mind came up blank, as if there was a wall separating it from the rest of his mind.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sunny groaned, this was getting annoying.
Turning away from the runes Sunny finally looked at the mask, remembering the pain from earlier he hesitantly poked it gently.
The moment he did, the mask disintegrated into a mass of countless white sparks that flowed towards him.
'Damnation not again!'
Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he braced himself for the pain.
Instead, the Spell spoke louder than he had ever heard before.
[You have received a Memory.]
Opening one of his eyes, Sunny looked around the room before relaxing and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Looking to where the mask once was, he hesitated a moment before entering his soul sea again.
Marveling again at the four suns, he summoned the mask and peered into the weave beneath the wood and immediately reeled back.
The mask contained seven radiant soul cores and a weave so vast and complex it seemed to be infinite.
Summoning the runes he nearly fainted.
Memory: [Weaver's Mask].
Memory Rank: Divine.
Memory Tier: VII.
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [Weaver believed that knowledge was the origin of power and so always hid behind numerous lies, wearing them as a mantle. No one knew Weaver's thoughts, Weaver's face, and Weaver's heart. Even the gods could not see what hid behind the mask.]
Memory Enchantments: [Mantle of Lies], [???], [Simple Trick]
"Heh.. heh.. Ha, haha hahahahahAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA"
Sunny let loose a maniacal laugh, this day was just getting better and better, a divine artifact of the seventh tier, it only has three enchantments but considering the weave those enchantments must be truly powerful.
After calming down a little, Sunny focused on the two enchantments he could see the name of.
Enchantment: [Mantle of Lies].
Enchantment Description: [Hides the identity of its master.]
Enchantment: [Simple Trick].
Enchantment Description: [Reverses the effect of one's Flaw.]
Sunny stared in awe and fear, this mask, it was terrifying, the [Mantle of Lies].looked more like an absolute rule than a mere enchantment, and [Simple Trick], its weave was so insanely convoluted and complicated that it was the furthest thing from 'simple' he had ever known.
Leaving his soul sea he summoned Weavers Mask and instantly is vision became sharper, and he spoke.
"My name is not Sunless."
Speaking the lie with ease, he felt no pain.
"This is amazing!"
The moment he said that, Agony exploded through him.
"GAH! Gods… Dammit!"
Writhing on the ground, Sunny tore the mask off.
***
At dawn, Sunny approached the place where he agreed to meet the cohort, exchanging greetings he made his way to Nephis, hearing him near she turned around, the light of dawn making her eyes shine.
"...You've made it, Sunny. I am glad."
He shrugged, trying to ignore the strange flutter in his chest.
"What? Missed me already?"
She was silent for a while, and then looked away. A lock of silver hair fell on her eyes. Nephis tucked it behind her ear and sighed.
"Am I not allowed to?"
Then she smiled, small, but real
'Cute… wait what?'
Shaking off the strange thought, Sunny returned the smile with a small one of his own and looked to the Bright Castle.
"You're allowed to, what's the plan?"
Nephis shrugged.
"This time there is no plan. We have confirmed that Gunlaug is still pretending to be looking for Effie to bring her to justice for killing the missing Guards. Once we enter the outer settlement, the members of the Host will come for her. Then, I will most likely be forced to challenge him. We'll… see after that."
Sunny raised a brow.
'No plan. Of course. Classic Neph. Why plan when you can just walk into danger with a straight face and hope the universe is too intimidated to kill you?'
"Can you really break his armor? Because I have something that might help if you need it."
He said the last part quietly.
This time it was Nephis's turn to quirk a brow.
"Really?"
Sunny nodded.
"Yes, really, but you owe me a conversion first."
Nephis glanced at him, then nodded.
"Alright. Follow me."
Signaling the others to wait, she and Sunny walked away side by side. One of his shadows watching Caster.
Walking far enough, Neph turned to Sunny.
"It is good that we can speak privately. Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor."
Sunny nodded. For some reason, he felt unusually generous this morning.
"After my fight with Gunalug is over, if… when I win, I might not be in the best shape. Even if I am, there will be a flood of soul essence pouring into my body. It will incapacitate me for a bit."
Sunny tilted his head.
'A flood of soul essence? Why would that matter unless—oh. Oh. Wait.'
Sunny's eyes widened imperceptibly.
'Neph can form multiple soul cores. That explains… a lot. Actually, that explains way too much.'
The realization brought him some comfort and a smile tugged at his lips.
"So what do you need me to do? Keep Harus busy while you recover?"
She stared at him for a brief moment before shaking her head, and looking away.
A light sigh escaped from Changing Star's lips.
"No. I want you to make sure that Caster is nowhere near me when that happens."
Sunny stared at Nephis, his expression cold and dark. After a few moments of tense silence, he asked:
"Why? What's the deal with you and Caster?"
She looked at him, her striking grey eyes calm and deep.
Then, she said:
"It's very simple, really. Caster has been sent here to kill me."
Sunny pursed his lips, pieces of a puzzle falling into place, including pieces he wasn't aware he had.
Mind racing, Sunny came to a potential answer.
"Domains?"
Sunny asked, Neph who had been quietly watching Sunny widened her eyes.
"Yes, do you know what they are now?"
She tilted her head.
"I don't, like I told you at the tree, but your reaction when you mentioned it was… intense."
She nodded.
"You're right, they've been trying to kill me for a long time, and they weren't going to stop just because I entered the dream realm, if anything it gives them a perfect opportunity."
Sunny's expression grew even darker, she's right about that.
Neph continued.
"I knew someone at the academy was sent to kill me, but I wasn't sure who."
The corner of her lips curled upward
"Actually, I thought it was you for a while."
Sunny blinked and stared at her in disbelief.
"What? Me? Are you cr– actually, never mind. What exactly about me made you think that? Do I look like a Legacy to you?"
Nephis calmly looked him in the eye.
"Honestly? No. But there were too many things about you that didn't make sense."
Sunny crossed his arms.
"Like what?"
She slowly raised her hand, then began counting on her fingers.
"Let's see… you claimed to be an orphan from the outskirts, but somehow managed to survive both the First Nightmare and the arrival on the Forgotten Shore. You didn't consume any soul shards, but kept growing more powerful. You said that you had never held a sword in your hand, but absorbed my lessons with astonishing speed. And finally, every other word you said was a lie, especially when it came to your origins, your past, your strength, and your Aspect."
Running out of fingers on one hand, she made a fist and pointed to it:
"Need I continue?"
Slightly annoyed, Sunny cleared his throat and started raising his own fingers.
"Firstly, just because I'm from the outskirts doesn't mean I'm dead meat, would you say the same about Soul Reaper Jet? Second of all… okay, the soul shard thing is kind of fair… BUT I have a good reason for that. Third, yeah, so what? I'm a prodigy, bite me. And lastly, but most importantly, I am quite literally incapable of lying, so there."
Sunny exclaimed petulantly and with a smug look, before the color drained from his already pale face.
'Oh no. Oh no no no. Why the hells did I say that!?'
Something was wrong with him, this wasn't like him, why does he suddenly want to correct Nephis and be, he shuddered internally, honest with her.
"Uh, forget I said anything actually."
He said hastily while averting his gaze.
Nephis stared at him, stunned.
"You… can't lie?"
She asked with disbelief.
Sunny tried to delay the answer, but his flaw forced the truth out of him.
"Correct."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why?"
He swallowed.
"It's my flaw."
Sunny whispered, lowering his head with a dejected sigh.
Nephis's expression softened instantly.
"Oh…"
She fell silent, everything Sunny has ever said to her replaying in her mind at the revelation.
Sunny could practically see the gears turning in her head.
'Great. Now she's analyzing everything I've ever said. Fantastic. Wonderful. Kill me.'
After a few quiet moments, Nephis gently placed her hand in Sunny's arm.
"I promise your secret is safe with me Sunny."
Sunny chuckled weakly and looked back up into her eyes.
"I know Neph, Gods I know… Feels kind of nice actually."
'And I have no idea why.'
Sunny let out a breath and smirked.
"Now, let's talk about more pleasant topics, like killing Caster."
Neph was silent for a few moments, then regained her composure., a faint blush on the tip of her ears.
"Not yet, I need him for what's to come. Traitor or not, he is useful."
She said resolutely.
"Hmm, if you say so, anyway, I said I had something that'll help with Gunlaug's armor. Here, a gift."
Sunny said as he passed her a wrapped bundle.
Curiously, Nephis unwrapped it carefully, revealing a pitch-black longsword with a lethal edge.
"It's not a memory?"
She asked.
"No, but it's a damn good sword, give it a few swings."
Sunny replied.
Nephis didn't need to be told twice. She stepped back and began moving through basic forms. With each motion, her eyes grew brighter, her expression more focused. The blade cut the air with a whispering hum.
Finishing with a decisive slash, she struck a stone wall.
The sword sliced through it like wet paper.
She turned to Sunny, eyes shining with exhilaration.
"Sunny, this, this is a-"
"Transcendent weapon."
He finished for her, grinning.
***
A/N: Hi All, in this chapter I wanted to establish that the titan core has changed Sunny in ways he's not aware of yet, let me know how I did with that, I appreciate any feedback. Next chapter won't be out for a while, cause of y'know, Chirstmas, but it'll probably be a long one so look forward to it.
Oh, and Merry Christmas!