After Nephis finished her story.
The girls stayed in Sunny's room for a while longer.
As long as he could, Sunny had even considered telling Nephis all he knew about...
Everything basically.
The Spell, the Gods, the Daemons...
But how could he do that without arousing suspicions?
It was one thing to act as a boy who wants to help her out of politeness, another to be someone who revealed the secrets of the damn creation to her.
After they left and agreed to meet for dinner in the cafeteria, Sunless rubbed his temple as he lay down on his bed.
"Aaaaaah! (Sigh) This seems to have gone well, but how am I going to deal with the rest?"
Sunless hadn't forgotten that by making a pact with Nephis, he'd just declared war on three -no! four now-Sovereigns.
At least most of his goals before the Solstice were accomplished.
He had achieved the third step in the Shadow dance.
He had helped Cassie regain some confidence in herself.
He had gained Nephis's trust, maybe.
And there were still two weeks to go before they would be landed to the Forgotten Shore.
Before thinking about the rest, however, he decided to first take a look at the new Memories Jet had provided him.
***
Name: Sunless
True name: Lost from light
Rank: dreamer
Shadow core: dormant
Shadow fragments: [260/1000]
Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's shroud], [Pendant of the Nine], [Shadow Lantern], [Traveler's backpack], [Gift of the Sea], [Tear of thunder], [bad Grudge], [Rivers of blood], [Flask of salvation].
Echoes: -
Shadows: [Shadow Priestess], [Soul Serpent].
***
'I still can't digest the fact that I can have two shadows with only one core.'
Apart from this, Sunless was satisfied with his amount of Memories.
He had already given [fanatic's dagger] to the Priestess because he couldn't trade it.
Unfortunately, Jet wasn't able to find the Memory to enhance the senses that Sunny wanted to give Cassie, nor the one he would need to burn that damned tree.
But it doesn't matter!
To the former, professor Julius had already provided. Sunny was more focused on the Memories he had already obtained.
***
Memory: [Traveler's backpack]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [Men are born to travel just like the birds are born to fly.]
Memory Enchantments: [inventory].
[Inventory] enchantment description: "The space inside this backpack is extremely roomy and keeps everything in perfect condition."
***
[Traveler's backpack] was a dark green backpack that looked old and shabby but effective.
It didn't have all that much space inside, just enough for the shelf of a walk-in closet small in size, but it was fine anyway.
Hearing this, one could say otherwise, but Sunny needed more space.
With this backpack, he could also have bought some supplies before entering the Dream Realm, but professor Julius advised against it, as it was inadvisable to eat overly elaborate foods or use spices when cooking in the wilderness: the smell would attract nightmare creatures.
***
Memory: [Gift of the Sea]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Garment.
Memory Description: [A sailor longed to return home to his beloved, but the Sea was cruel to him. This beautiful shell was a gift to her.]
Memory Enchantments: [gills].
[Gills] enchantment description: "The wearer can breathe underwater."
***
This was a small azure shell with some points of paint on it.
It was meant to cover the mouth and nose and acted as gills, like the name suggest.
***
Memory: [Tear of thunder]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [the proud son of the sky, master of thunder, brought fear to everyone who crossed his path; until one day, he dared to challenge the deities of the black sky. Fallen and at the end of his life, he shred a tear, regretting his own arrogance for fighting those who gave birth to him.]
Memory Enchantments: [paralysis]
[Paralysis] enchantment description: "The target hit by this arrow will be paralyzed and the effect will spread to these near him."
.
.
Memory: [bad Grudge]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: I.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [The flame of a grudge wounds more than a sword, if only say sorry was as easy as wielding one.]
Memory Enchantments: [poisonous pain]
[Poisonous pain] enchantment description: "The target hit by this arrow will be poisoned, the poison will cause an excruciating pain."
***
[Tear of thunder] and [bad Grudge] were two arrow Memories.
The first was a wooden arrow with a forked tip, lightning yellow in color, while the second was an iron staff with a thin tip and a black feather on its tail.
'Good! Even these are very good Memories. I'll have to train with a bow one of these days.'
These until now were all awakened Memories of the first tier.
Then, there were some that Jet took the freedom to buy for him.
***
Memory: [Rivers of blood]
Memory Rank: Ascendant.
Memory Tier: IV.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [When the Eternal Night fell upon them, it was not the wandering beasts that were the real danger, but the insatiable thirst for blood of the hunters. They lived for blood, they longed for blood. Until the blood become their doom and their eternal curse.]
Memory Enchantments: [bloodhunter], [bloodstone], [bloodsmith], [insatiable].
[Bloodhunter] enchantment description: "This weapon tends to drink blood, friend or foe, it makes no difference."
[Bloodstone] enchantment description: "This weapon becomes sharper the more blood is spilled on it.
[Bloodsmith] enchantment description: "This weapon can repair itself with the blood it devours."
[Insatiable] enchantment description: "If this weapon does not drink blood for long periods of time, it will drink that of its master."
.
.
Memory: [Flask of salvation]
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Tier: II.
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [A hero was saved by a gracious lady, but the hero did not save her in return.]
Memory Enchantments: [emergency water], [purification].
[Emergency water] enchantment description: "This flask can hold huge amounts of water."
[Purification] enchantment description: "The water poured into this flask is purified from all impurities and toxins."
***
[Flask of salvation] was a flask made of animal skin, it seems. Its ability to store and purify water made it far too useful to be merely of the awakened rank.
[Rivers of blood], on the other hand, was an ascendant memory. This one, most likely, Jet added some of her funds to buy it.
It was an uchigatana with a red blade, thin but sturdy.
"I absolutely must marry that woman."
Sunless was touched by her generosity; this weapon Memory was really beautiful.
Jet also accepted his deal and bought for herself a Memory for storage, as she needed it.
Sunless would have preferred to give her something like a garment Memory, like a ring or a hairpin, but it doesn't matter.
When he will be able to weave, he'll give as many Memories as he wants to his waifus.
He had not forgotten his main goal, even though he knew how insignificant it was compared to the adversities of the future.
Of course, he did not limit himself to just admiring his new Memories; he also studied their weaves through his shadow.
He hadn't noticed this before, but his memory had become truly formidable after his First Nightmare.
Memorizing as many enchantments as possible would certainly come in handy when he starts to weave.
With that done, it was time to think about the rest.
Now that Serpent had become an Ascendant, Sunless could use [Grace of Shadow] to pass it to Cassie until they reunited on the Forgotten Shore.
A part of him was even thinking about helping the three girls to awake naturally, but that might hasten their entry into the dream realm.
In fact, from the very beginning, Sunless had planned on awakening only shortly before entering there.
He was very sure to be just one step away from awakening, he believes in it!
What he needed to focus on at the moment was the bond between them.
In these two weeks, Cassie and Sunless have become very close; even Yuki has learned to be more open.
At the beginning, he thought that she was as socially-awkward as Nephis, but it turned out the fault was all of her flaw.
The real problem is Nephis.
How can she still be so socially-awkward if she has a brother and a father this time around?
In these two weeks, Nephis hadn't bonded much with them, aside from training or eating.
Was she even capable of speaking without holding a sword?
Sunny had his work cut out for him, too, but at least he'd managed to build some relationships with the others.
But there wasn't much he could do about that.
There were still two weeks before the Solstice.
Let's see what he can do!
The day after.
Sunless sat in the cafeteria on his usual table with Cassie, Nephis and Yuki.
Behind him, he could see a Legacy with braces on his jaw.
Caster continued give him glance of hate from time to time, hoping to pierce to death his head somehow.
Turning toward the scion of Legacy, Sunny raised his cup of coffee to him as to mocking him.
'Now, you will learn to not to be a moron.'
Seeing his mockery, a vein in Caster's forehead pulsed, he really wanted to reduce him to a pulp, but he didn't dare to approach Sunless, especially due to a certain blonde who was always next to him.
Apparently, since Caster was a "Son of", the whole affair was covered up by the entire Academy and since the institution's system did not provide for expulsion or any type of punishment, considering that it was more of a survival facility than an educational one, no one suffered any repercussions from the incident.
The official version was:
"Some Sleepers targeted their companion, the Sleeper Sunless, presumably to forcibly steal his Memories. The Sleeper Caster defended him from the bullying act of his peers, suffering a broken jaw in the process."
Obviously! Nobody said who were these Sleepers.
They hid everything very well.
Sunless was spending another lovely morning while chatting with the girls on the table, when the Speakers interrupted this enjoyable moment.
"ATTENTION!! SLEEPERS CASTER AND YUKI ARE REQUESTED TO GO TO THE SEGRETARIAT."
'Eh?'
Alarmed, Sunless turned to Yuki, but the girl did not seem so worried.
Yuki simply smiled to Sunny, "Don't worry!"
Without saying anything else, she got up and went to the indicated point walking with Caster.
Cassie was a little worried about her, Nephis and Sunny, on their part, were more worried about Caster. Seeing how she easily single handle several Sleepers, the idea of what she could do to him made them feel a little sorry for the Legacy.
Sunny was considering if sending Gloomy to Caster to take a look, but a few minutes later...
The speakers spoke again.
"ATTENTION!! SLEEPER SUNLESS IS REQUESTED TO GO TO THE SEGRETARIAT."
'What the...?'
What is happening today?
Caster's matter has already been resolved with the silence, so why were they calling him?
And why separately from Caster and Yuki?
Without a clue, Sunless rose from the table to go to the office. As soon as he did, Nephis and Cassie stood up to accompany him.
Since yesterday, the girls seem to have made a deal -unbeknownst to him- to never leave him alone to avoid that some idiot might think of targeting him again.
Sunny motioned for them to sit down and not worry, then went where he was asked before they could said otherwise.
He walked down the long corridors of the Academy until he reached the door of the secretary's office.
Yuki and Caster were in another room.
Standing in front of the door, Sunny was considering whether to snoop around and send Gloomy to Yuki or let him sneak under the door to see who was looking for him, but before he could decide...
"Come in!"
The voice of a young man sounded from behind the door.
'How did he notice me? [Shadowspawn] should make me practically inaudible if I don't speak. Could he be a Master?'
Without being told twice, Sunless opened the door and entered.
There was only one person in the room besides him, he was a young man on his twenty or thirty years with long, curly silver hair and metallic red eyes.
The one standing before him was none other than...
'WILLIAM!?'