Longing/Shadow's Dining Room
After the viewing was over, everyone had made some time for themselves. Talking with those they were closer to, exploring some of the rooms that were present for them, like the living room, where they could simply sit down and hang out.
And after some time, they were called out to the dining room to eat lunch.
After the first day in this theater, everyone but the Nightmare Room had been tasked to cook for themselves. And so, those who could cook had actually spent most of the rest of their morning cooking lunch for the rest.
That included Nephis, Rain, Effie and her husband, Julius, Jet, Roan and his daughter and Aiko. This team assembled together was able to cook a feast not at all inferior to the one automatically served by The Mask.
And so everyone was at the table, which had gotten longer since the Shadow Room had been added.
Everyone was seated at the table, with the exception of two of Sunny's shadows, Nightmare and Fiend, who simply couldn't sit on the chairs.
Nephis was at the head of the table like before, looking at everyone eating, some silently while others were talking to whoever was sitting beside them or in front of them.
Her eyes turned towards a group of seats close to her.
It was where Jet, Seishan, and the young Nephis from the Alter Room were seated, the children sitting in between them.
At the moment, Seishan was carefully wiping the corner of young Nephis' mouth with a gentleness that almost seemed... motherly. Meanwhile, Jet was interrogating the child.
Neph focused a little on their conversation.
"So, you started living there after your Grandma died."
"Umu," the young child confirmed.
"I was already living there?"
"Yeah, Big Sis said that Sunny offered to share after buying it."
"Were we... close?"
Nephis' eyes narrowed at the question.
"I don't know. Sunny said you are like an older sister to him, even though you are not that different in age, in my world at least."
Hearing her words, Nephis pondered a little, if they were similar in age, why did Sunny feel that way? Wait, how did Sunny even get involved in her family's situation?
Thankfully, Seishan seemed curious as well.
"Nephis, how did you meet Sunny?"
The child paused for a second, remniscing.
"I was in my room, and then a shadow appeared and began talking to me. Ever since he helped me study, protected me from assassins and even just made me company."
Nephis noted the importance of talking to that version of Sunny, there was something going on there.
She turned towards a group of people at the middle of the table, although they weren't exactly close, their voices were loud enough for her to pick up.
It was Effie, her husband, Ling Ling, Professor Julius, Rain and Tamar. Although the last one seemed more interested in just hearing the conversation rather than participating in it.
"It all passed so fast, but I think I was able to make sense of the curriculum my past self has prepared for young Sunless, and I have to say, he must be some kind of genius if he was able to absorb all of that knowledge properly in four weeks." The old awakened said.
"Is it to that extent, professor?" Effie's husband asked.
"Well, yes, that kind of content, it was either so summarized that it was useless, which I wouldn't allow, or it would be enough to fill an entire semester, or more, of classes." He explained.
"But you seem pretty confident that he learn it all properly, can't it be that he wasn't able to learn everything?" Effie proposed.
"Looking the way I was talking to him when saying goodbye to him, and offering him a position as an Assistant, I must be correct."
"I think I agree with the professor. When I still lived in the Waking World I used to be teached by a neighboor awakened, and he made sure to teach me wilderness survival aswell, and there was a lot of things that took me a while to get, and he was a great teacher, I feel." Rain explained.
"Oh? What was the name of that teacher, I may know of them."
"Oh, it was-"
Tamar raised an eyebrow.
"Rain, everything alright?" She asked.
"I-I can't remember their name or what they looked like..."
Silence fell between them, the conclusion easy to reach but hard to come to terms with.
So, the only one who did not fully comprehend things due to his age was the one who spoke.
"Sister Rain, was your teacher Uncle Sunny?" Ling Ling asked.
Rain's eyes widened as if something had burned her hand.
"I-I think... I think so, yes."
Tamar raised a hesitant hand and then placed it on Rain's shoulder, offering her support.
Effie looked at the girl with simpathy.
"It will be fine. We are here to learn about that doofus. Even if our brain doesn't fully remember, we will still see everything right here. And this time, not even a broken Fate can make us forget, right?"
Rain looked at the Saint who had mothered another one, the burden that was settling on her heart lightening somewhat.
"Thanks, Effie."
"No problem, kid. You don't have to beat yourself down for forgetting him, after all, we all did. Who knows how much we forgot?" She continued.
A pained look crossed her face.
"I sometimes feel bothered by just forgetting my husband's name." Her husband placed a caring hand over her leg, trying his best to comfort her. "The princess forgot her lover and you your brother. Professor Julius forgot who could be considered his star pupil. Jet forgot someone that looked at her like she was his mentor. Who knows what kind of relationship Kai and I had with him in the Forgotten Shore, but we forgot, too."
This time frustration filtered through as she bit angrily into a piece of meat, turning a few bones in there to dust.
"I used to evade going to his cafe, you know. Because every time I went there, it was just so awkward, because, even if he hid it, I could tell that he was awkward and probably pained now that I think about it from seeing me. I thought that it was normal since I was a Saint and he was just a Master, not even a combatant too. So I left the job to go there to my husband most of the time."
She breathed out, emptying the air in her lungs, to calm down.
"What I am trying to say is that we are not alone in this. No one is to blame but whatever caused him to become Fateless in the first place. And not only are we viewing what we forgot, but we are also going to find out why we forgot him in the first place, so hang in there," she finished.
"Ye-yeah, we will."
Nephis smiled slightly. It seemed that she wasn't the only one thinking that this opportunity was so precious.
She was also a bit enlightened. She never thought exactly how much the people around her had lost from Sunny's Fateless nature. Only now did she realize that a lot of the people here had become aware of the emptiness that he previously filled, either in their lives or in the ones they cared about.
She looked at another group on the table.
They were Kai, Morgan, Aiko, Luster, and Kim.
Kai and Aiko were speaking, while Morgan simply sat silently besides Kai, sometimes taking long looks at Aiko before focusing on the food in front of her.
"But to think that Sunny had met Caster so early on. Still, thinking about him winning against Lady Nephis, it just doesn't feel right, does it?" Kai said.
"Yeah, he also acted so confident in front of her and even flirted with her, that was flirting, right? But in the Forgotten Shore, he seemed so subservient and loyal, like a puppy." Aiko agreed.
"You guys met him in the Dream Realm?" Luster asked.
"Yeah, I didn't really knew him, he passed by my gambling den a couple of times. Not enough to call ourselves acquaintances, I mainly know of him because of his fame as Nephis' right-hand man."
"And you, Saint Kai?" Kim asked.
"Ah, we were part of the same cohort, so I naturally knew him. But I didn't get along that well with him, he mostly stuck around Nephis more than the rest of the group."
"I see... Does that mean the movie is right?" Kim asked.
Nephis decided to stop hearing their conversation before she got mad.
She looked towards Cassie, who had been silent ever since "that" moment in the last viewing.
"Everything alright, Cass?" She asked.
Cassie seemed to almost jump in surprise. Which was weird, last time she had seen Cassie be startled by someone calling her had been back in the Forgotten Shore.
'Is she that out of it?'
"Did you ask something, Neph?"
"You seemed bothered by what happened in the last viewing. Everything alright?"
Cassie did not respond for a couple of seconds before sighing.
"It's just... I already told you how I found Sunny in Bastion, right?"
Cassie had figured out whatever was going on behind that phrase, "Happy Birthday". The meaning it held to her younger self. But she didn't feel comfortable sharing everything.
"Yes, you found a message sent by your younger self that you didn't remember leaving behind. What about it?"
"That message left detail that I needed to find Sunny, like his name. But it also told me to wish him a happy birthday on the winter solstice. I think she was referring to this moment we just saw."
"I see."
"I was wondering how important it was for the young me, that's all."
Nephis could tell there was more to it. But she didn't pry, she trusted Cassie, even if she hid things from her, like Sunny did. But she trusted her, she would let her do her thing and see the end results of it.
They would surely not disapoint.
Alter Room | Smile of Heaven POV
Smile of Heaven was sitting in a chair, facing the two people that she most loved in this world.
Her husband, Broken Sword, and her daughter, Nephis.
Ever since the second viewing, they had been shook. It was understandable. She was hurt too, after all, to see her baby girl alone in that world, to know that both her parents and husband were dead. As for her death, the only thing she was mad about it was her absence from Nephis' life, nothing more.
But both Broken Sword and Nephis were... well, completely socially inept. They struggled with their own emotions, their love and affection were hard to get, and so they loved intensely, like no other.
She could remember during her first months of dating, when a store clerk, not knowing any better, tried to flirt with her, well, she had to say she never saw Broken Sword angrier before. She believed he might've killed him if she hadn't stopped him. She remembered Vale saying that was just another red flag and reason to break up, she never did.
She remembered how, during Neph's high school years, she would comfort a hurting girl who thought she was a third wheel between Cassie and Sunny.
And now, even if it wasn't something that happened in their world, the two couldn't shake the feelings of emptiness, rage, and sorrow.
"Are you two alright?" She asked.
None of them answered.
It seemed that conversing wouldn't go anywhere.
"Hmph. Since you aren't speaking, should I just leave?" She said, trying to sound as vague as possible.
"Dear!!"
"Mom!!"
Shocked, the two stood up from the bed they were sitting on almost immediately, a sense of urgency in their voices.
"Since it doesn't seem like you need me, I might just leave, yes," she said as she turned around.
"Wait a moment!!!"
"That's not it, Mother!!!"
The duo of father and daughter stepped forward, their hands trying to reach her, but before they could, she suddenly turned around in a swift movement and hugged the two by their necks.
She brought both of their heads towards her neck, burying them there.
"My lovable idiots..." she started.
She kissed both of their black-haired heads.
"Have you forgotten?"
She hugged them thighter.
"I'm here."
She felt their arms closing around her, tightening their hug, she felt her neck grow wet as their silent tears fell forth. She felt their hands grabbing fistfuls of her clothes.
'Goodness, don't they know how expensive this shirt is?'
However, as she thought this, a heavenly smile crossed her face as she hugged her family.
Alter Room | Regressed Sunny POV
He was still pissed and worried.
After all, Nephis was far from him, and apparently he couldn't even go to her because there wasn't a challenge today.
He remembered The Mask's anouncement.
"The Masses have spoken! From here on out, challenges will only appear at the end of every Volume, so the next challenge will come to pass at the end of this Volume! Toodles!"
Was there anyone more annoying than that guy, girl, or whatever it was?!
At the moment he was in his room along with Jet and Seishan.
"So, you're telling me that you are from the future?" Seishan asked.
"Yes." He answered
"And that the things we are seeing, you have lived through them?"
"More or less, they eventually diverge, I believe."
"I need a minute to process this."
Seishan held her head, a tired look crossing her face.
"What is your objective?" She eventually asked, a sort of reproach in her eyes, which hurt him slightly.
"Well... Now that I am in the past, I guess that I will try to correct some things that happened. Although I already failed in saving Neph's family."
"Wait, is that why you involved yourself with the Immortal Flame?"
"Yeah. I..." He looked away for a moment. "I didn't want Neph to suffer like she had originally."
For a moment, what crossed his mind was not the young Nephis, but the beautifull, the elegant, bright, warm and radiant Nephis that he fell for.
He sighed.
Perhaps this whole situation of reacting to his past had shaken the walls that he had built to not touch those feelings from the past timeline. He didn't want to feel them, because it meant having feelings for people that didn't exist.
Not in the way he knew them, at least.
"So when exactly do things diverge?"
"If I had to guess, probably in whatever volume my Third Nightmare takes place in."
The words "Third Nightmare" left his mouth and immediately shocked the two women.
"Third?" Seishan asked in desbelief.
"With whom were you challenging it, and what kind of Nightmare sends you to the past?!" Jet asked while holding one of his shoulders.
"I was challenging it with my and Neph's cohort, you will meet them eventually. In fact, you were there as well."
"Me?!!"
He chuckled, seeing her reaction.
Alter Room | Bygone Future Cassie POV
"Happy Birthday"
For some, these words held little meaning. It was words that meant little to people like her or other awakened. Being a year older was just an achievement that said, "You survived one more year! See if you don't die tomorrow."
But for her, it meant a silent tradition.
On the Winter Solstice, she would walk up to Sunny and simply say it.
The first time she had done it was because she wished to say something to the only face she had come to know since then. Almost like a wish for her last day alive.
But she survived another and another.
Soon, the pure feeling she had for that face began to become murkier.
"Wouldn't you?"
"No."
That memory hurt and kept hurting for a long while, she wasn't even sure if it ever stopped hurting.
At first it hurt because she felt betrayed. How could the person that she held in such a high place in her heart kick her down so roughly?
Then it hurt because she couldn't fault him. He was not as strong as Nephis, she knew he came from conditions worse than hers. No combat training and a fragile body—before the first nightmare, she was confident she would be able to beat him in a one-on-one fight. How could she expect him to save and carry her when he had to struggle to survive?
After a while, it hurt because she had made a decision. A stupid decision. She had made the decision to betray him, she had told Nephis his True Name, and how that was something that Sunny would kill over.
She wasn't completely sure of the effects. Not until later.
And then, he saved her. He delved into the deep waters to save the one he had branded as dead weight.
She apologized.
And after that, every bit of hope she had was accompanied by the pain.
She doomed Nephis and Sunny to the worst possible outcome.
And she vowed to break fate.
No matter what.
She couldn't...
She couldn't stand the pain anymore.
So she worked hard.
Manipulating things to reach the best outcome.
And at the end of the Third Nightmare, she stopped.
Because a sudden thought had hit her.
"I don't want to forget Sunny."
It was a selfish thought. What was one supposed to expect from a monster?
She was not worried of the others forgetting Sunny, she just didn't want herself to forget him. Even if the pain that existed would vanish, she didn't want to forget the warmth, either.
And she didn't want to be the source of his pain again.
So she did not say anything.
And after that, she spent four years happily, constantly, with that angry voice in her head.
"He will die! Stop! You have to break Fate, otherwise... He will not be here to begin with!!!"
She lived those four years before the Domain War, she was the happiest ever.
While doing her own plans in the back, she wished him Happy Birthday every year, without missing a chance.
She studied sorcery in his cafe while he served her coffee.
Among other things.
She could tell with certainty this was the closest they had ever been.
For a moment, that pain seemed to become dull and imperceptible.
Until it came back.
On the day he died.
It was the irony of Fate. It was the winter solstice. The Sovereigns made a sudden move to fight each other, forcing Nephis and Sunny to confront them, since there was no better opportunity.
And he died fighting Anvil.
She remembered holding his body, frozen by the light of Godgrave's sun. The temptation of just letting herself wail and cry for him and letting herself disappear... It was strong.
But she didn't go through with it.
After that, neither she nor Nephis stayed the same.
Nephis became an unfeeling machine.
And Cassie became simply a husk going through the motions. Shifting constantly between trying to break fate again or simply... give up.
She could never commit herself fully to either.
Causing pain to others and herself.
************
A/N: Another Chapter! Next we have the Forgotten Shore! Things are getting exciting, aren't they?
Check Out my other Fanfics:
Cursed Shadow(JJK/JJK Modulo x Shadow Slave)
Trailblazing Shadow(HSR x Shadow Slave)