Author: Did this chapter while listening to the cover of 'Running up that Hill' by Nathan Wagner. Totaly recomend it.
Now to what you guys really want, the Dance between our dear dense bricks.
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Sunny led Nephis to the center of the hall, her acceptance of his offer became basically a signal to the music to start once again.
As they reached the center, other pairs also strolled towards the dance floor, legacy ones, mundane partners, even most young men who couldn't get Changing Star's hand swallowed their pride and offered other women in the guests a dance. Most girls, impressed, accepted.
But some couldn't accept it, like the arrogant, irritating legacy that thought it was destiny for him to have Changing Star. He was forced to be left forgotten in the corner.
On the other side, Effie dropped her knife and let her mouth gape, not believing her eyes. The Princess and the Royal Doofus were actually not being dense for once.
"IMPOSSI–"
Her words were stopped by one of the Firekeepers, Sid used all her strength augmentation born out of her Aspect to hold Effie off, she could barely do it, but the huntress was too strong. Sid needed the other three Firekeepers with her to hold Effie off.
"No Athena! You will not ruin their moment!"
Meanwhile, Seishan smiled proudly, happy for her brother.
"Well that's unexpected."
She turned to the young man beside her, Kai looked at her surprised.
"I thought you were going to be the overprotective sister…"
Seishan rolled her eyes while smiling, crossing her arms in fake outrage.
"Don't be like that, he loves her, they deserve to be happy… Of course, if she even thinks of hurting my little brother…"
Seishan's smile became dark and sinister, as if she was planning to do something unspeakable to Changing Star…
Kai swallowed, his smile becoming nervous, worried about what his girlfriend was thinking. But thankfully said girlfriend knew exactly what went through his head, she turned to him, no longer bearing her sinister smile.
She hugged his arm and began pulling him to the dance floor, an action that came out of nowhere, surprising him.
"S-Shan?!"
"What? Don't tell me you don't know how to dance?"
"I know but…"
She put a finger on his mouth, interrupting him as they arrived at the destination.
"Then put on a good show for everyone."
Kai smiled gently and went along with her.
More went to the dance floor, some of the Clan heads along with their scion, even Sky Tide, who had no intention of dancing, went along after her husband, Roan's nagging, letting their daughter embarrassed in the process.
The Princess of Valor did not care much for Changing Star and Hollow Death, she instead let her gaze linger at the couple of Kai and Seishan, an uncertain look in her eyes. Morgan wasn't jealous, at least not in the normal sense, she was not interested in the singer as other women who stared daggers at the Princess of Song were.
Morgan was jealous, yes, but more so that Seishan was able to find someone she cared about, and someone who felt the same, despite her darkness hiding within… Would Morgan be able to do the same?
Madoc on the other hand sighed in disappointment, still standing in the middle of the stairs.
As expected, the Immortal Flame's daughter wouldn't follow their commands, if it was up to him, he would force a dancing partner on her, maybe even Sinclair if Madoc's personal failure hadn't appeared. But since the Changing Star wouldn't comply… They would need to use other methods.
'If she really cares about him… Then we'll just have to explore that.'
He let the thoughts to the side for now, it was time for him to join the dance himself with his wife. Madoc walked down the stairs to meet his wife, who was patiently waiting for him.
Eunbin accepted her fate and sat down on a table, not wanting to dance with someone else other than the man she asked on a date just a few days before. Not only was it insulting to the man, but it went against her own wishes, she wanted a normal relationship, and that included only doing things like dancing with him.
Unfortunately, Kira was on a mission given by Sunless, and her little brother wasn't so sure about their relationship yet. So no matter how much she wanted to dance, she couldn't.
Eunbin led the glass of wine in her hands to her mouth to take a sip. But before she could, something called her attention.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a certain blond woman in similar conditions to her, sitting on a table with a glass of wine, only she had two other people with her, and she looked much more miserable.
But most importantly, the woman was glaring at Sunless.
'Of course, your husband cannot be here, am I wrong, Isolde Pillaris?'
For whatever reason, the Pillaris family were here, the youngest son, Hugo, and eldest daughter, Victoria, included. Their hatred against Sunless was not hidden, and now, that hatred was also targeting Nephis.
'Hmm… This should be interesting.'
Eunbin chose to ignore them, after all, they couldn't do anything here.
But her eyes just had to find someone else…
Her smile dropped, her mouth gaped, she saw someone else in the corner of the hall. Brown hair, green eyes, tan skin, thick beard…
The head of Han Li, more importantly, Caster's father. A mere Master…
The father of Sunny's first friend was looking at him. With nothing but hatred.
Eunbin sighed, murmuring to herself.
"I guess it was inevitable."
She breathed in and grabbed her communicator.
'Oh well, let's record everything and let Sunny and Shan die of embarrassment!'
Cassie leaned on her chair and drank water on her glass again, satisfied. Maybe that vision she had wouldn't happen anymore…
She hesitated, remembering one of the visions Death Singer told her about, not to mention the possibility of 'him' returning, or of 'it' coming sooner rather than later.
She felt a chill run down her spine, and for a second, she froze completely, not hearing anything for the entire second. The next moment, she returned to reality, as if nothing happened.
Cassie sighed, raising her hand to her head as she felt a migraine coming. The chains of Fate once again showed her something of the future, this time, it was once again about someone who shouldn't exist.
She tightened her grip on the glass of water in frustration.
"Is there a problem, dear witch?"
Cassie was taken aback by the sudden voice, but soon calmed down.
"Mordret, what do you want?"
A chuckle came out of the man.
"I can't worry about my associate?"
"When it comes to you, I rather not be reckless, despite your seemingly changing perspectives."
"Hmp, good ears, witch."
"Mordret… Why do you call me a witch?"
"Why? Well, only a witch can know so much and be alive to tell the tale, either that, or insane. If you ask me, you are still somewhat sane, so you are a witch, a Witch of Fate, if you will."
Cassie wasn't able to hold her scoff.
"I take back what I said, you haven't changed at all."
"What you think matters little for me, I only care that you help me reach the true face of Bastion, after that, do what you want."
"You can do that by yourself, why do you want us there?"
After a second, Mordret answered, by not answering.
"Let us enjoy the lovebirds, shall we? I grew tired of seeing Sunless complain about love to my teacher."
Cassie rolled her eyes internally, but activated her Ascended Ability to watch her best friends finally come out of her bubble and –hopefully– confess to each other.
—
Finally, Sunny and Nephis stood in front of one another, their hands touching each other by their tips as they elegantly got close as the music began.
Their eyes never left one another, it was as if the world had vanished and the only thing that mattered was the one in front of them.
Stretched hands met, crossing between on another, their bodies almost touched, his other hand met her lower back, while hers touched his chest.
And thus, with the music beginning in the background, they began moving, one step after the other, the shadow and light on the hall danced in harmony.
It was a beautiful sight, as Changing Star moved even the slightest muscle, Hollow Death was right there, following her as if he read his mind.
A step to the right, to the left, forward, backward, all the while twisting their bodies in a circle…
It was a slow, methodical dance. Their eyes never left each other, never, sometimes, Sunless Song led the dance, pulling her to the side, other times, Changing Star took the lead, charging forward.
It was as if they were having a conversation via the movement of their bodies...
A beautiful dance of Light and Shadows…–
They hadn't said a word, they were silent, even though they had a thousand things to say to each other, they couldn't let anything out.
Sunny could only lose himself in her eyes.
Nephis could only tighten her grip on his suit.
They danced with each other for what seemed like an eternity…
But they had to talk. He knew that.
So he chose the best way he could given their situation.
[Shadow]: "Neph… How… Are you?"
Her eyes widened by the smallest margin possible, her movements in the dance not missing a beat as she strolled with him.
For a few torturous seconds, Sunny held his breath for an unknown reason, it took some time to respond.
[Light]: "I'm fine."
Sunny let out his breath, closing his eyes momentarily in relief, after opening them, he saw her eyes lower for a moment in a solemn manner.
[Light]: "I… Missed you."
His eyes softened, after their connection got deeper, their messages with each other seemed less like a 'chat' board of a communicator, and more like an actual conversation, like they were communicating telephically.
Sunny hesitated, but he was too far gone to back up now.
He took a step forward in their dance, getting closer to her like Revel's boyfriend taught him, his advice on: 'how to talk to a book girl', and told her:
[Shadow]: "Me too… I should have talked to you sooner."
Nephis didn't react, but her cheeks became a little more red.
Sunny felt dozens of stares piercing his back, jealousy obvious in their anger. But he ignored them all, they didn't matter, Nephis was the only one that mattered right now.
[Shadow]: "Are you angry?"
Nephis tilted her head slightly, leaning to the side as they moved in their dance.
[Light]: "Why would I be angry?"
[Shadow]: "Valor…"
Nephis' gaze lowered slightly, considering his words.
[Light]: "Yes. It is quite ironic, I wanted to join them to learn more, yet the moment I changed my mind, Anvil forced me to join him, otherwise…"
[Shadow]: "War."
Nephis nodded, looking back at him, tightening her grip even more.
[Light]: "I hated that, especially after you told me what happened to your little sister."
[Shadow]: "Neph…"
A specific part of the music came, and Sunny held his hand a little tighter and let go of her waist. Nephis understood and began twisting her body, twirling around while keeping contact with his hand.
She circled around herself, right below his hand, once she completed the twirl, their hands joined once more, and he grasped her waist once again.
[Shadow]: "Did… Did you sleep yet?"
Nephis hesitated, lowering her gaze once again.
[Light]: "No…"
Sunny sighed, going closer to her, almost connecting their bodies.
[Shadow]: "You should have told me."
[Light]: "And what? Everytime I close my eyes, I remember those nightmares, the years stuck on the simulations…"
She looked back, the flames seemed to have dimmed…
[Light]: "I don't want to see you killing me again…"
Sunny looked at her, a pain rose in his heart, seeing her like this…
He had always seen Nephis as a strong figure, someone who knew exactly what she wanted, who never accepted defeat. Someone who could never waver, never let weakness pierce her spirit…
But even stalwarts eventually falter, even fortresses have cracks, even humans rot.
Even Gods die.
Even the girl he loved suffered.
Sunny gritted his teeth, if only he had been faster, if he had been able to build his body quicker, if he went to the Fortress sooner…
Maybe she wouldn't be like this, maybe he could have rescued her before she suffered from the nightmares as much as she did. Maybe…
He gripped her back more, his eyes sharpening.
He would never let this happen again.
Sunny ordered the Happy shadow to go to them, he connected to Nephis' shadow effortlessly and melted into it as if it was Sunless' own body.
[Shadow]: "Neph, I'm giving you Nightmare."
Nephis opened her mouth slightly, processing it.
[Light]: "What? No, you don't need to."
[Shadow]: "You need him, you read the runes right? He devours nightmares that you have, I've been sleeping much better after I got him, and now, you need him."
On paper, he shouldn't be able to give anyone his Shadows, at least not yet, as they were connected to him and were not their own beings, dependent on him for survival. So different from Echoes, they were beings they could only live in his soul sea, not going to anyone else.
But Nephis was different, they were Connected by his Innate Ability, not only that, she was the most connected one out of all his Connections.
By his own observation, the first layer of the Connection allowed them to see each other's runes, the second one, gave them a message system, the third, although not explicit, seemed to give them more 'awareness' of each other's thoughts. The forth let their Aspects be used on one another as if it was themselves, Sunny could empower Nephis with his shadows, Nephis could empower him with her flames.
The fifth layer seemed to let him share his Shadows. He discovered all of this by experimentation and his own intuition after a week of thinking about Nephis –he was not at all obssesed–, granting him some more knowledge about his Innate Ability.
As such, Nephis felt a new soul enter herself, a new entity.
She stared at Sunless for a few seconds, apparently on her soul sea, looking at the Shadow.
She opened her mouth, before closing it abruptly, the next part of the song came.
Sunny held her tightly as she arched her back, leaning to the ground, he used his strength to make her avoid hitting the ground, her hair spreading to the floor.
Quickly, he pulled her back, straightening herself and returning to the normal rhythm of the music.
Nephis looked directly into his eyes.
[Light]: "Thank you… Sunny."
[Shadow]: "Anytime, Neph…"
—
Despite the various important figures on the dance floor, from Whispering Blade and his wife, Sky Tide and Master Roan, even the Princess of Song and the past singer Nightingale, all eyes were on the Princess of the Immortal Flame and the Prince of Song.
All attention, good and bad were on them. Respect, hatred, happiness, jealousy. They all had their reasons, but nothing mattered to the two on the dance floor.
All the while Raised by Wolves, one of the companions of Changing Star, was being held back at the edge of the hall by what was currently ten Firekeepers and even some knights of Valor. Trying to keep the huntress away from the dance floor, the other guests tried to ignore her… Unsuccessfully.
"Let- me- GO!"
"No, Ms. Effie!"
"Lady Athena! Mind the etiquette, please!"
"Hell no! Royal doofus and Princess are dancing! DANCING! I need to–!"
A set of high heels suddenly passed through the floor, stomping angrily.
All made way for Beastmaster to reach her destination: Effie herself.
The huntress suddenly stopped squirming and locked eyes with the enchantress, who was clearly not pleased with her childish outbursts.
"M-Ms. Eunbin! H-He-llo…"
Beastmaster glared at the Master and almost spat venom.
"You will not ruin my little brother's moment with his beloved. Go to sleep."
With a snap of her fingers, Beastmaster began influencing the huntress to lose consciousness.
If it was to gain complete control, it would take a little longer, but a simple order like that only took some seconds. Soon, Raised by Wolves was down on the floor, sleeping soundly.
The Firekeepers and knights let out breaths of relief, surprisingly, all of them thanked the Princess.
"Ms. Beastmaster, thank you."
Eunbin hummed.
"No issue, the giant was disrupting me… Oh! Look! The music is changing! Take care of the rest, will you? I have to record some more things for my family."
Surprisingly, they complied, letting Eunbin grab her communicator again and continue to record the dance of her siblings, especially Sunny's.
'Revel is going to love this! Moon too, although she'll want them to kiss first… I bet Silent will want to kill Nephis even more. Howl will go crazy teasing him! Mom will…'
Eunbin hesitated, then smiled sweetly.
'I bet mom will be glad…'
—
They continued to dance, crossing their fingers.
[Light]: "Sunny, I know it is not the time but…"
[Shadow]: "Why did my mother help kill your father…?"
Nephis nodded, he sighed, understanding, he did promise her, regardless if she joined Song or not…
If they would be together, he needed to tell her.
[Shadow]: "Broken Sword wanted to find Smile of Heaven by challenging the Fifth Nightmare and becoming Sacred."
Nephis widened her eyes and stared at him in unusual surprise.
[Shadow]: "He was certain she was alive, that while she had used her Aspect in the Nightmare break in North America, she got trapped in the Nightmare and was merely waiting for him to get her out."
[Light]: "Wait… Then why did…?"
[Shadow]: "Neph, did you notice that, the stronger humanity gets, the more the Drealm Realm invades the waking world?"
She didn't answer.
[Shadow]: "As more Awakened are born, more and more Gates appear in the waking world, more Nightmare Seeds. Maybe to be equivalent with the surplus of Awakened, but the rate only really goes up when Saints are born."
Sunny began to lead the dance more and more as Nephis absorbed everything he said.
[Shadow]: "As such, if Saints already impact the world so much, what happens when Supremes are born? What about Sacred beings?"
Nephis snapped her eyes towards him, the answer in her eyes.
[Shadow]: "Humanity had just recently reached the realm of the Transcendents, there were less than a dozen Saints, less than a hundred Masters… Even if Smile of Heaven was alive, even if they conquered the Fifth Nightmare, with Sacred beings… Would they be able to save humanity without entering the waking world?"
[Light]: "What do you mean 'without entering the waking world'?"
[Shadow]: "The Sovereigns don't stay outside the waking world because they want, the world rejects them because their power breaches the laws of the waking world. The stronger they are, the less they can enter it."
Nephis lowered her gaze, thinking.
[Light]: "And if they became Sacred…"
[Shadow]: "They wouldn't be able to enter the waking world at all. Becoming Sacred means becoming a God, reaching Apothiosis. They would abandon humanity."
[Shadow]: "Broken Sword knew this, but for some reason, he was determined to reach the Fifth Nightmare and Save Smile of Heaven. So, Anvil made a deal with the Dreamspawn to kill him after reaching Supremacy, then pressured Ki Song to do the same."
Nephis tightened her grip, grinding her teeth.
[Shadow]: "They betrayed him, leaving him to die in the Underworld. After that, the Dreamspawn got interested on the Moon, and Anvil, together with Ki Song, betrayed him, knowing the danger he posed, trapping him there."
[Light]: "Why? She could have talked to him! Why did Anvil allie with that monster?! Why did Ki Song… Why didn't they just talk?"
Sunny stared at her for some seconds…
[Shadow]: "Because Broken Sword was popular, he was the hero of humanity… And the Heir of Weaver can never be known, loved, or worshiped. Otherwise, the end of the world would come."
[Light]: "What…?"
[Shadow]: "My mother didn't tell me what the end is. But it is the reason Cassie can only live because no one knows who she is, thinking she's just a prop in our journey. Your father acquired one part of Weaver's Lineage, so he had to die, otherwise…"
[Light]: "They could have just faked his death!"
They suddenly stopped, ignoring the dance or the eyes on them.
[Light]: "They could have talked to him! Faked his death! Convince him to stop! Why…"
Her eyes got swollen…
[Light]: "Why did she kill him…?"
Sunny stayed silent, he didn't know the answer.
Nephis got even closer to Sunny, gluing their bodies, letting go of his hand and hugging his neck, completely ignoring the dance, he accepted and hugged her waist tightly.
Thankfully, the music had changed just in time, a slower, more tranquil dance, all partners did the same as them.
[Light]: "Why didn't she…?"
They stood still for several seconds… Sunny let his flaw hurt him, he needed to held his answer, at least for now.
The ball around them seemed to slow down, as if it didn't matter anymore.
She was leaning on his shoulder, not wanting to show her expression to him while Sunny looked forward in guilt…
Yet they didn't fall apart.--
Nephis gripped her arm tightly.
[Light]: "Why…?"
He finally spoke in his Connection, the pain of his flaw leaving.
[Shadow]: "Neph… Remember when I told you I thought there was more to your father's death?"
She hesitated, but nodded all the same.
[Shadow]: "The Dreamspawn has the power to influence all that knows of his existence, changing their perspective and even increasing certain emotions…"
Nephis lifted her gaze, looking up to him.
[Shadow]: "What if… He made Broken Sword more obsessed with saving your mother? What if he made Anvil more accepting of the idea of killing Broken Sword? What if… He made my mother more paranoid of the idea of the world ending? Of losing her children…? They weren't Supremes by that point, they could be influenced much more… That is why my mother regrets what happened so much, she didn't want to do it in the first place."
Nephis stared at Sunless for a few seconds.
[Shadow]: "I know it doesn't excuse everything they did, there's still so much to explain… The refusal to let anyone ascend to Supremacy, their hesitance to reach the Sacred Rank. I think…"
She reached her hand to his cheek, interrupting him. Her mouth moved to let him listen to her true voice.
"It's okay, Sunny, it's enough for now…"
She got close to him once again, hugging his neck more and resting on his shoulder.
"Right now… It's enough."
Sunny hesitated, but gave in, hugging her more tightly, the music in the background reaching their ears.
They continued to dance to it, moving their bodies in rhythm, enjoying the presence of each other.
Hours seemed to pass as they hugged, Nephis slowly absorbing everything that Sunless told her, accepting it, understanding it.
She had much to ponder for the next couple of days, but even after everything, she knew he was being honest, that he never once lied to her.
And the hope, that perhaps, maybe… She could pin everything on a single thing…
Maybe, after knowing all of this, after knowing who was really on her side, after having the hope that perhaps her mother was alive, perhaps Ki Song was really regretful of everything…
Maybe she could be honest with herself, and the one in front of her…
"Sunny…"
She tightened her hug even more, Sunless could feel her heartbeat getting faster.
"Yes, Neph?"
She hesitated, her hands trembled, and her breath got hotter.
The next words that came out of her mouth made him widen his eyes.
"I love you…"
Sunny paused, suddenly, he felt all his body freeze and stagger, a torrent of unspeakable emotions coming out of him.
He lowered himself, and said the words that had been stuck in his throat ever since he rescued her in the Second Nightmare.
"I love you too…"
Nephis smiled, and so did Sunny, they hugged even more, finally accepting what they felt for some time now, accepting each other.
At that moment, nothing mattered, not the jealous gazes of legacies, not the teasing of sisters, not the news about them, not the plans of Valor, not the schemes of Song, not the Nightmare Spell or the end of the world.
All that mattered, was the one in front of them.
The music was about to end as Nephis whispered something else.
"I have a personal room here, can we be alone?"
Sunny hesitated, but emotion spoke louder than reason.
"As long as we don't take too long..."