Above the mansion of the Ball, the moon shone in the night, basking Earth in its lunar glow.
Strangely, the roof of one of the most important buildings of humanity was empty. They guards that usually patrolled long gone, ordered to leave by one of their leaders.
Jest kept his word, he left the ceiling open for Motza to escape, the idea of using the ceiling as an escape route was suspicious, but at that point, Frostblade didn't care much, even if he lied, whatever he threw at Motza, the Ghost would survive.
"I was sloppy."
Motza was wrapping his scar with a new set of bandages he safekept in case he lost the other ones or let them get infected.
"I should have known that Saint Jest would be aware of my presence, that Sinclair would be able to catch me. I got too arrogant."
As the assassin self-criticized himself, his allie was standing beside him, eyes closed, letting him finish.
"If I hadn't depended so much on my Aspect, or either leaned more on it, they wouldn't have found me…"
He looked down at his arm, where the tattoo of a snake traveled through his skin.
"I keep neglecting his power… If I just hid in the shadows I could have–"
"Enough 'what ifs'"
Frostblade's cold voice pierced him like an ice blade, making Motza take a step back with hesitation.
The Saint sighed, with her arms crossed, she leaned on the parapet of the roof, her gaze not wavering.
"They found you by pure luck, Jest admitted it himself, Sinclair just happened to see your mist."
Motza's eye squinted as he finished wrapping the bandage around his scar. Frostblade sighed, continuing.
"Still, there's much you can still do, especially with that power…"
She looked at the snake on his skin, then at the shadows beneath him, seemingly deeper and darker than they should be thanks to Motza's presence.
"But you are right about one thing, you could be exploring that power more, your snake became more powerful now that you Ascended, and the shadows are deeper around you. You could have used that to your advantage."
"... His power."
Frostblade raised a brow slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Motza looked directly at her.
"This is Sunless' power, not mine."
She stared at the assassin for a few seconds, eventually another sigh escaped her pale lips.
"I won't argue about this now, but in my opinion, it is yours, it did become an Ascended once you did, it is tied to you."
Motza took one more glance at the tattoo covering his arm, pondering about it. The power of shadows was a boon that was as powerful as it was subtle, and one that had yet to show all of its secrets.
And the serpent… It was powerful, efficient, it even saved Motza multiple times in the Second Nightmare, he kept staring at it…
Until the tattoo manifested itself and trailed through his arm um unprompted by its owner.
"Hey-!"
It reached Motza's neck, wrapping around him and caressing his cheek.
The act was as alien to the assassin as it was enduring, he stood still with his mouth gaped as the shadow creature slithered across his face fondly.
Frostblade stared at the two with a blank expression, as if waiting for the serpent to finish…
It took some time.
After some minutes, the serpent finally stopped, settling into its owner's neck and looking stoically at Frostblade, as much as a serpent could be stoic.
For a few seconds, Motza looked at Frostblade, only for the Saint to take a deep breath. After releasing it, a little smile creeped into her beautiful cold face.
"Still think it's not yours?"
Motza gave no reply, still staring at his shadow pet in complete shock.
"You should name it."
The assassin snapped his head towards the cold Saint, who didn't seem bothered.
"Mei named hers, and I imagined everyone else did as well, right?"
Motza looked to the side in embarrassment.
"Yes… Nix calls hers Aether for some reason, Kin calls his Arbiter…"
He sighed.
"Even Kira gave a name to his one… Zephyr."
Frostblade chuckled.
"Then name your's, I have grown tired of my student's lack of talent in naming things… Naming his serpent 'Serpent', how ridiculous. So please, don't follow in his footsteps."
Motza glanced at her, then looked at the serpent, and for some moments, he contemplated.
"Hm… Fine, let's see… How about…"
He put a finger under his chin, thinking, before deciding:
"Erebus."
Frostblade squinted her eyes, the little smile she demonstrated immediately vanishing.
"Really? Greek mythology?"
"Well, he seems to like it."
The serpent started caressing Motza again, seemingly enjoying their new name.
The Saint merely sighed.
"Get out of here, there's still much to do."
"Understood, I'll report back to Ravenheart."
Frostblade turned around and went to the door, intending to go to the stairs back to the Ball.
Behind her, there was only a dark mist made from smoke and shadows.
— —
The dance had finished, Kai smiled widely at Seishan for some seconds, but the smile disappeared as he looked behind her, a question in his mind.
"Shan… Where did Sunny and Nephis go?"
Seishan raised her brow, then widened her eyes. Snapping her head backwards, the two that were supposed to be on the center of the hall was nowhere to be found.
Immediately, Seishan's mind went to the worst possible scenario.
'No, no… Don't tell me they are doing 'that'!'
Seishan then noticed that the absence of Changing Star and Hollow Death was also noticed by the rest of the guests, whispers were already circulating…
An elite Awakened widened her eyes.
"Don't tell me… Have they no shame?"
An old politician couldn't help but laugh.
"Ahhh, youth, I miss this."
A legacy scion was impressed.
"What?! That bastard is fast! Hey, Rachel, want to go to the bath– Ahh! Don't hit me!"
A girl was really jealous.
"Why did he pick her anyway? She's just a pretty face, a rock with no personality."
Master Roan was laughing, basically nagging his spouse.
"Can you believe it, sunshine? The girl is as wild as you when she was your age, and that boy is just going along!"
Sky Tide stared at Roan humorlessly, as if torturing her by reminding the past. Poor Telle, their daughter, was forced to stay between them as her father recalled a party where they did something similar that the Prince of Song and the Princess of the Immortal Flame were doing.
Saint Tyris stared at her husband… Seishan felt that Roan would sleep on the couch tonight.
Saint Madoc seemed much more composed, the disappointment of Changing Star's choice seemingly evaporating, quite the contrary, he put on an embarrassed facade and uneasy smile, as if pleasantly surprised.
But Seishan was no fool, he was bothered, deeply so, he knew controlling the Last Daughter of The Immortal Flame would not be easy, especially now…
'We need to be more careful now…'
Whispers and rumors spread, the scions were either jealous or impressed, wanting to do the same. The arrogant scion with striking honey eyes was filled with rage, Seishan watched as he got up and began stomping on the ground, leaving the hall.
'Immature.'
Seishan rolled her eyes, continuing to search the hall until she found her sister, Eunbin was walking at her with a wide smile on her face while looking at her communicator.
"Bin!"
She raised her head, the smile becoming wider in her beautiful and attractive face.
"Oh hey Shan~ want to see something incredible?"
Seishan sighed, not wanting to deal with her sister's shenanigans right now.
"Look, did you see Sunn–"
"I recorded the whole thing!"
Seishan's gaze slowly raised to meet her sister's, which was filled with amusement as the communicator was suddenly turned towards her, a scene of Seishan and Kai dancing in it.
The Ascended sister's eyes squinted at the scene, while her boyfriend blushed in nervousness. Seishan glared at Eunbin with a dead-paned face, breathing in and out.
"Do you know where Sunny is?"
Beastmaster tilted her head before widening her eyes, as if understanding that, in fact, Sunless and Nephis were gone as she looked around. Then she looked back at Seishan with an uncertain smile.
"Ahh… I don't know…"
Seishan rolled her eyes and let her arms cross.
"Hmhm. Where is Sorrow?"
Kai raised a brow, who was Sorr–
"Right here Madam."
The charming archer felt a chill run down his spine as he snapped his head back to see a tall man with tan skin looming behind him.
An uneasy smile grew on his face.
'Right! The Saint of Sorrow!'
Seishan turned around, her face did not change with the presence of the Saint.
"Where is my brother?"
The stoic man considered his words for a second, then informed what he knew.
"As soon as the music ended, Lord Sunless delved into the shadows with Lady Changing Star."
Seishan waited for a second, but it soon became clear that was all Sorrow had to say…
"That's it?"
The Saint nodded.
"I am unable to find Lord Sunless once he delves into the shadows."
Seishan looked disappointed, then sighed and mumbled under her breath.
"Stupid Shadow Lineage…"
Eunbin meanwhile, was smiling happily.
"I'm so proud… My little brother had his first ball escape to make out with his first girlfriend…"
— —
In a certain room in the mansion, in a room dedicated to Changing Star, the woman herself and her lover were currently entering through the shadows.
Nephis widened her eyes as she took in the experience of becoming a shadow and traveling through it.
She looked around, nodding as she confirmed that it was the right room. Turning to Sunny, she sat on the little couch of the expensive room.
Her new lover was pretty impressed, to say the least.
"They didn't cut expenses for you…."
The bedroom exuded quiet opulence, bathed in the muted light of the moon. An ornate bed with a tall, tufted headboard dominated the room, dressed in layers of ivory and silver-patterned linens, while gilded furniture and carved details lent the space an air of old-world elegance.
Heavy, flowing curtains framed the tall windows, their pale tones complementing the intricate wallpaper and polished dark-wood floor. A crystal chandelier hung above, casting a soft glow over the seating area, where a delicate sofa rested beside a plush rug. The entire room felt like a secluded royal chamber, luxurious, serene, and almost dreamlike.
Nephis hummed, leaning on the couch, her indifferent facade once again returning for a brief moment. Taking out her high heels, freeing her feet and letting out a breath of relief, only then did she look up to answer Sunless.
"They want me to like them it seems, but after today, I doubt they will do much, just enough so my status as the 'Adopted Daughter of Valor' is not useless, mostly give me some Memories, other than that, probably not much."
Sunny nodded, then turned to her, walking to sit right next to her on the couch.
"Who knows? I don't know what Anvil is thinking, maybe he begins to value you as an important weapon… How he will control you is the real question."
A muffled laugh came out of her beautiful lips as she shifted closer to him.
"Sunny, you know that will never happen."
He sighed, looking to the side.
"Yeah… You are way too stubborn to listen to him, the most stubborn person I know."
Silence settled, and suddenly Sunny noticed he made a mistake. He's seen this in webtoons, the protagonist pointing a problem with his girlfriend's personality and ending up with a black eye.
Turning to Nephis, he immediately prepared an apology… But to his surprise, the attack didn't happen, instead, he found a beautiful girl with a confused expression.
"You think I'm stubborn?"
Sunny stood still for a few seconds before recovering from his minor heart attack.
"W-Well… You are steadfast in what you want to do… So… Yes… In a good way."
Nephis squinted her eyes, staring at Sunny's soul…
Then pouted.
"If I am stubborn, then you are spiteful."
Sunny let his guard down upon understanding there was no threat, chuckling while smiling.
"You say it like it is a bad thing."
"It 's not."
"Then don't say it like it is!"
"You first."
"I didn't say it like it was."
"You did."
"Stop pouting! It's making it difficult to stand against you!"
Nephis shifted closer with a small smile, making Sunny blush.
"So it's working…"
"You are starting to sound like Shan."
Nephis ignored the comment, instead, she used the moment when Sunny had his guard down and pushed him on the couch.
Surprised, he couldn't do anything as his body made contact with the cushion, making him lay on the couch.
He looked up to see Nephis lay her magnificent body on top of him, using his torso as a bed. He could feel her breasts softening as they changed and molded to adapt into his body, her entire bodyweight pressing down on him as their bodies met entirely.
It was perfect, her slender body perfectly complemented his lean one.
Meanwhile his eyes were graced with her eyes as they stood face to face. An inferno of white flames of longing meeting the well of endless shadows once again like always, and like always, they got lost in each other.
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Hey, Sunny, can you say that again?"
He, on the other hand, wrapped his hands around her waist.
"Hm? Say what again?"
Nephis shifted her head closer to his ear, laying it on his shoulder, whispering to him in a low, shy tone.
"You know…"
He blushed a little, clearly noticing how nervous she was as he felt her heart bombard his torso in rapid succession, her breath was warm, reaching his ear slowly, the temperature of the room was rising steadily.
He was nervous as well, but if he was going to say those words again, he wanted to see her face while doing it. Shifting to the right, he let her body creep into the bed slowly, laying on his right arm and now being able to see her face.
Nephis offered no resistance, she let him lead her into the position, now, they were face to face, with his arms around her slender, ideal body…
They were so close their breaths were touching each other's lips, almost developing into a kiss.
He could say it now. Without leading his eyes away, he willed through his nervousness and whispered the words.
"I love you, Neph."
It was like the girl heard the greatest lullaby in the world, she closed her eyes, enjoying the words as she felt their bodies get hotter with how close they were. Yet she wanted even more…
Nephis got even closer, letting their bodies touch one another more and more, entangling their legs and pressing herself onto Sunny, until she was so close their lips touched, she kissed him without asking for permission.
Not that she needed it, Sunless didn't flinch when kissing her back, trailing his hand until he met her fingers that were grasping his torso, he grabbed them, crossing his fingers with hers, grasping them firmly.
She was warm and familiar.
He was cold yet comfortable.
They wanted to stay with each other like this for as long as they could as their passion for the other reached the peak.
It took some time for them to let the other go, and once they did, they did so slowly, a thread of saliva connecting their lips.
Sunny stared at those gray eyes that were now trailing down to his neck, her face now twisting into a facade of uncertainty and a bit of nervousness.
"So… What now…?"
Sunny's face froze, the question made his mind go blank as his emotions came into what answer should be given. From doing 'that' to just cuddling until his sisters burst open the room. Eventually, he only found one acceptable answer.
"I don't know. Never done this before."
"Neither did I…"
Both blushed as they stared into each other.
Nephis' mind went to the one thing she had as reference: Revel's smut novels. So basically, when the Main Characters finally confessed their love for one another -Sunny and Nephis already did that part- they blocked themselves into a room and… Did s*x.
Meanwhile Sunny went to the reference he had: his sisters. When Shin and Moon confessed, apparently they went on a date in a ridiculous restaurant and then went to a park. Revel and Azriel locked themselves in her room and only left the day after, for some reason Ki Song denied Sunny to interrupt them. Seishan drained Kai dry… And he enjoyed it.
So basically, both were thinking the same thing.
"Neph… We can simply–"
Before he finished, she creeped her head closer to his neck.
"Neph?"
She stood for a few seconds, and then opened her mouth.
Sunny felt a pain grow on his neck and arched, quickly flinching back… Which made him fall off the couch.
"Oww…"
He groaned as he felt his back and head hit the floor hard. Raising his hand to his forehead, his legs were still on the couch, barely connecting him to Nephis.
"Sunny! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, just felt something…"
He raised his head to look at her, his face dead-panned.
"You bit me?"
Her ivory face became red as she tried to cover herself in shame.
"I-I thought it worked like this…"
Sunny touched his neck, marks of rows of sharp teeth embedded themselves there, and somehow, it didn't really hurt, he started to realise why Kai didn't mind Seishan's freaky flaw. Of course, he wasn't into it, but still, it wasn't bothering him.
In fact, something else bothered him, it was how Nephis was able to leave bite marks at all considering his [Marble Shell], his skin was really durable, like armor, so the fact Nephis wasn't complaining about her teeth hurting was impressive.
'Benefits of being a Titan I guess…'
"It's fine Neph, I would be a disappointment if I wasn't able to survive a little headache as an Ascended Terror!"
He chuckled, straightening as he prepared to get up, pulling his legs to help him, unfortunately, something screwed up his plans.
That something was the beautiful love of his life. Changing Star had conveniently fallen off the couch, conveniently landing on his lap.
Nephis let her knees hug his sides, then grasped her hands on his shoulders. Leaning forward to get close to her new boyfriend, making a straight face, as if she did the most normal thing in the world.
Sunny stared at her with widened eyes.
"Ahh… Neph?"
She stared at him for a few more seconds.
"I love you Sunny."
She kept her face, stating something important as easily as she breathed. Something that made him blush, Sunny sighed, hugging her side with one hand as he used the other one as support.
"Don't say it like it's nothing…"
He smiled, leaning his head closer, touching their foreheads, they could now see each other clearly, it was her time to blush.
"Love you too, my Light…"
Nephis blushed even more…
"... Still, why did you bite me?"
Nephis blushed, but this time, it was because of embarrassment. She would have lied, but then she would have to break the promise she made to herself when she learned of Sunless' flaw.
So she told him the truth.
"I-I just did what I saw in the books…"
"In… Rev's books?"
"Yes."
"Oh… Those books."
"Yes…"
"Did you get on me so I could forget that you bit me?"
"How did you know?!"
"I didn't."
Nephis groaned, annoyed, she looked to the side and crossed her arms, pouting again.
Which left her neck exposed.
She yelped as she felt a sudden sensation spiked her nerves. Unconsciously, she grasped his shoulders again.
Sunny kissed her neck, again and again. She didn't reject him, moaning. He leaned forward, grasping at her dress and hugging her body.
"You are beautiful in this dress, you know that? Many were drooling upon seeing you."
"I don't care about the others… They drool at whatever girl is pretty enough."
"Whatever you say…"
Sunless raised his head and whispered into her ear.
"You are still the most beautiful girl I saw…"
Nephis squinted her eyes and hugged his neck and let her fingers reach his hair to grasp it, pulling it back to look at him.
"Speaking of, who did you see at this party?"
Confused, but still willing to answer, Sunny answered absentmindingly.
"Well… My sisters, Morgan, Sky Tide, the wife of Madoc, some others… Why are you…"
"And you were eyeing them?"
Sunny widened his eyes, Nephis was glaring, a possessive aura was leaking off her, a lot of it.
"O-Of course not! I only have eyes on you!"
Suddenly, her glare became a sweet smile.
"I know."
She hugged him without saying anything more.
Sunny sighed, then got an idea.
"Right, what about you?"
"Hm?"
"There were numerous boys eyeing you, did you–"
"No."
Her answer was fast and decisive.
"Not in a million years. I only look at you."
"...."
Sunless stared at her and remembered all the legacies at the Ball.
"Yeah, makes sense, I mean, those guys were a bother."
"And ugly compared to you."
"What about Kai?"
"He was there? Didn't notice him…"
"Keep it that way, he's Seishan's now."
Nephis raised a bow.
"They are dating? That's surprising…"
"Not that surprising… Those two have been crushing on each other for a while now."
"I see."
"Well, returning to the legacies, they were really obsessed with you, at least most understood you had no interest in them, but that last one really pushed his luck!"
Nephis sighed, agreeing completely.
"I almost burned him from how much he was talking. He is dense as a brick."
"I know! He has no understanding of the subtext! He is worse than Moon!"
"Then even you."
"Then even–! Wait, I'm not that bad."
"You are."
"If I am, then you are as well."
"I can accept those terms."
Both stared at each other before laughing together, the atmosphere became light and comfortable now that the two finally expressed how they felt about one another.
It was a strange, yet enduring sight. In the beginning, they were supposed to be enemies, one was supposed to betray the other. Originally, one was supposed to be above the other, one was supposed to have a chain of obedience, to not be free…
Yet now, they stood on equal ground, no betrayals, no anger, no resentment, despite the complicated relationship due to their parent's past, they could stay together, despite all of it…
They could love each other.
—
They spent some time together, talking about things that came into their minds. Until a certain topic came into Nephis' mind…
"Oh, did you hear about that Dreamscape tournament of Masters that was cancelled?"
Sunless felt a chill run down his spine as fear became overcoming him.
"Y-Yes! What about it?"
"So, you heard about Mongrel?"
"O-Of course!"
Nephis seemed none the wiser of her boyfriend's fears as she talked about the event.
"He is really strong, defeating ten Masters in a row, even if it is one on one is impressive, Morgan has been talking about him non-stop. Even after finishing the deal of how I'm joining Valor, one of her soldiers told me she is speaking about him just as much about you, she wants to fight you both."
It seems Morgan is obsessed about two people… That was the same person.
"R-Really? I-Interesting…"
"I wonder who he is… Did you see the clip?"
"Yes… Unfortunately."
Nephis raised a brow at his reaction.
"What are you, jealous?"
Sunny smiled, his mind racing a dozen answers he didn't want to say.
'Of course not! Why would I be jealous of myself?!'
But he didn't say that.
"Of course not."
Nephis was confused, but ignored it.
"So, do you know–"
Before Sunless lost himself in embarrassment, a knock at the door saved him. One, two, several knocks that were filled with hasteness and contained anxiety.
A muffled confident voice, or rather, a voice that attempted to seem confident, came to their ears.
"Lady Changing Star? I imagine you are here? I request to speak to you. A guard led me here and…"
The couple didn't answer, rather, they stood still, quiet, Nephis didn't want to answer and Sunny didn't want or need to answer since they were all targeted at Nephis, not himself, so his flaw didn't trigger.
But the male voice was irritating, loud and almost… Familiar…
"Ah! Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself on the dance floor, I was about to do that before the damn– I mean, before Lord Hollow Death rudely interrupted me."
Both Sunny and Nephis' eyes widened simultaneously.
'Are you kidding me?!'
'Not him again…'
The irritating legacy didn't know how to quit, it came to the point that this had to be orchestrated by someone, there was no other explanation, some seer must have put delusions in his head.
"I'm Ro–"
The voice of the legacy was interrupted by another one.
"Get out of here, delusional idiot! I swear, your father is just as bad as you!"
The legacy seemed to snap at the new, womanly voice.
"How dare you?! I am…"
His voice became nervous.
"B-Beastmaster…?"
A few seconds of silence followed, Nephis turned to Sunny.
"Seems like your sister came to rescue us."
"Thankfully, she must be… Teaching him some manners… Now, let's get up before she destroys the door just because it is locked."
The Changing Star stared at him for a few seconds… Before her eyes widened in terror as she remembered something, bringing fear into Sunny's heart.
"Neph… What is it."
After torturous seconds, she answered.
"I forgot to lock the door."
"...."
'Not again…'
The door opened to reveal the most beautiful Transcendent in all of the Dream Realm, her presence immediately changed the atmosphere of the room.
Beastmaster sighed and trailed her hand across her perfect hair.
"Hey, I made the nobody leave, can you two please…"
Eunbin's voice stopped as soon as her eyes laid their sight on the two Divine Aspect users. Close, very close, basically kissing, if they weren't wearing any clothes, she'd assume they were doing the deed.
She blinked.
Again, and again, she blinked.
And slowly, out of nowhere, her communicator appeared on her hand, the camera lens aiming at the couple.
After a click, Eunbin smiled widely, making Sunny sigh.
"I'm never hearing the end of this…"