Chapter 17: A Little Fame Can't Hurt, Right?
In a bustling school cafeteria, many students of varying ages were enjoying the respite of their lunch break after the intense school curriculum.
Students were lined up at the serving station, waiting to fill their plates with warm food to ease their hunger.
Many had already gotten their food and sat down at the many tables arranged throughout the large, warmly lit cafeteria hall.
The students were divided among their groups and friends... some tables were more full, while others were quieter.
The noise of all these hundreds of talking, arguing, and laughing teens would have sent an old person into cardiac arrest by now... but to these students, it was just another day.
At one of the tables, not too close to the loud window area but also not exactly sparsely filled like the edges of the cafeteria, a young girl with dark hair and onyx eyes was quietly eating from her plate as the people around her conversed about this and that...
She wasn't exactly the best of friends with this group of people, but they were the group that she had always hung out with, so she didn't mind it. She sometimes even joined the conversations... especially when she was boasting about being trained by Changing Star and Co.
Although lately, someone entirely else had been taking all the attention of these youths...
And that person was none other than her teacher, who had gone ahead and apparently saved an entire continent or whatever the news had claimed.
These days, everyone online was calling him by all these titles... like "Titan Slayer." Which just sounded totally badass—no, corny!
Then there was also: "Restitutor Antarctica", in other words, calling Sunny the man who would eventually be the cause of the reconquest and restoration of the southern quadrant...
Rain shook her head a little as she chewed her warm potatoes. 'One can hope, I guess.'
Since her father worked for the government, she knew that a reconquest of Antarctica post-exodus wouldn't be possible, even with how formidable humanity had grown over the decades.
She glanced to the side at her group of classmates, wondering what kind of network drama they were arguing about this time.
"It's all over the news! The broadcast had almost sixty thousand viewers when it aired!"
A brown-haired boy of similar age said enthusiastically as he showed his communicator to the group.
Rain listened in and glanced at the screen with a raised eyebrow. 'Sixty thousand? That's a lot...'
When she saw the screen, she stopped chewing. On it, there was a suspiciously familiar young man. He was wearing an elegant, dark grey tunic with silver strings. His skin had that unmistakably pale shade, which looked even more flawless now. On his pitch-black hair lay an onyx crown that made the surrounding colors seem to dim.
By his side stood Soul Reaper Jet and Lady Mongrel in her iconic dark armor.
'T-that's...!'
Rain was elated! Finally, some sign of her teacher after he's been ghosting her for so long...
"Teacher! It's him! That's my teacher!" Rain excitedly exclaimed before reaching over and snatching the boy's communicator out of his hand to look at the footage of Sunny.
"H-hey...!" The brown-haired boy weakly protested, but then gave up when he saw the usually quiet girl glare at him... he silently grumbled something before scooting his chair closer so he could see better from beside her.
Rain was staring at the footage of Sunny with intense focus and excitement. "That bastard hasn't answered me in so long! How dare he make a broadcast while ignoring me!"
The group of students by the table all glanced at each other worriedly for a moment before moving to settle around Rain and watch over her shoulder.
She turned up the volume and increased the screen size to hear and see better in the crowded cafeteria.
[Sunless stood with his arms crossed. He was seen glancing at Soul Reaper, prompting her to start.
"Greetings to all recipients of this message. I am Soul Reaper Jet, and these are my colleagues: General Sunless and Mongrel." She gestured to them, prompting Sunny to wave his hand a little.]
Rain took a closer look at Sunny, narrowing her eyes a little. 'Is that makeup...?'
Around Rain and the communicator, a small crowd of curious students had gathered to watch the footage of their new hero with fervent excitement.
When a girl saw Sunny wave his hand awkwardly, she squealed a little. "Cute!"
The sound made Rain glance to her side with a disappointed look. 'He's not. Trust me...'
["To the courageous people and soldiers of Central Antarctica... We hope that all of you made it to Eastern Antarctica safely in our absence."
Sunless smiled faintly at the communicator, taking a small breath before continuing their statement...
"Indeed. I guess the evacuation of Falcon Scott has worked out well since this place is looking pretty empty..."]
Rain cringed a little at his 'Joke' or whatever that was supposed to be... 'You're addressing the whole world, idiot! Lock in!'
Meanwhile, a few giggles could be heard from the students, making the pale girl's eyes twitch.
[He looked around the empty streets of Falcon Scott for a moment, nodding in gratitude.
"Well done, everyone. From the soldiers to the people, this couldn't have been possible without everyone's cooperation."]
The brown-haired boy beside Rain spoke up with slight awe in his voice.
"He's so cool! Even after winning against that mythical Titan, he chooses not to take full credit... that's what a true leader looks like!"
...then he was smacked in the back of the head by someone in the crowd behind them.
"Shut up, Nerd! I'm trying to listen!"
Rain suppressed a snort, then turned the volume up again.
[Now, the Devil of Antarctica left a small pause to let his words sink in before he began. Slowly, a dark grin spread across his pale face. "Ahh... but you all must've wondered what happened to the little Titan back there, right?"]
"Little? He's calling it little?" A few murmurs spread through the crowd of teens.
"I want to see what happened to it..."
"He's so tuff without even trying..."
[A chest-like memory manifested itself in his palm, and he reached into it, taking out a small bag...
"This is what remains of it." He shook the bag a little, and the sounds of crystalline clinking could clearly be heard.
The implications were clear. Then the Devil of Antarctica opened the bag and let its contents fall onto the snow-covered asphalt...
Seven stunningly beautiful soul shards fell with melodious clinking. They were clearly of transcendent level. The transcendent power practically oozed out of them.]
The students immediately freaked out, a wave of gasps and loud exclamations spreading through them. Many tried to squeeze closer to get a better look.
"Whoa, he looted it!" One student blurted out in disbelief.
"That's seven Transcendent Soul-Shards! You could buy a whole neighborhood with that!"
"Haha, he's literally showing us his spoils! How can he be so cool!?"
Rain watched as Sunny proudly displayed his spoils with that arrogant grin. He looked so full of himself... but it was fully justified considering what he had accomplished.
She slowly grew a smug smirk that almost matched his...
"Of course he'd deal with it just like that. He's my teacher, after all!"
Another boy of big stature in their group near her turned to Rain and sighed in slight frustration. "You keep saying that, Rain. All of Changing Star's cohort trains you apparently... and now the Devil himself does so too, even though he's currently on a whole other continent? At least prove it first..."
His friend joined in, though his tone was less harsh.
"Yeah... you know you don't have to lie to us, Rain. We'll still hang out with you."
Hearing this, the pale girl turned toward the boys' voices, her eye visibly twitching again. It was always them who doubted her the most... Jake and Anderson.
"Oh really? Well, you two just wait until he answers my messages! He's been my teacher for over a year! And I've already shown you guys selfies!"
Someone among the crowd shouted again... it had grown to almost twenty people by now.
"Quiet, you idiots, I'm trying to listen!"
Jake and Anderson looked at her doubtfully before turning back to watch the footage.
["My expectations were... greatly exaggerated." The stunning man sighed as if disappointed by the fight. Then he reached into the chest memory again, pulling out an ice shard that had a strange composition of liquid ice and was shrouded in a cold mist. "Sure, it was kinda hard getting to the source, but once I got there, most I had to do was shatter some ice crystal."]
Another wave of stunned noises rose from the ever-growing crowd of youths.
"What!? He has to be lying! Even Sky Tide struggled!"
"The Devil's just rubbing it in now!"
"We see the Soul-Shards; stop aura-farming!"
"That's an ACTUAL piece of the Winter Beast! Holy shit!"
The piece of exotic liquid ice made Rain's eyes widen... she had seen her fair share of Nightmare Creatures, so seeing this souvenir of a Corrupted Titan was incredibly interesting.
'I hope he doesn't hang it up in a frame or something...'
She chuckled weakly... he'd probably do something even worse with it, for all she suspected.
["I did take a big bite of it once, but in the end, it just shattered in my mouth..." The Pale Devil looked at the remnant ice shard in his hand and grinned shamelessly.
"I must admit, the taste of a Titan is not so bad..."]
"..." Rain's mouth dropped... and she wasn't the only one among the crowd of youths. 'SUNNY!! DON'T SAY THAT!'
She could've sworn she just heard someone among the crowd faint...
"He ate it...?" A disturbed boy muttered.
"By the dead gods... He's crazy!" Someone else finally realized...
An indignant guy gave said guy an exasperated look.
"Of course he is, Nerd! That's why they called him the Devil of Antarctica in the first place!"
Among the crowd, a worried guy reached over to cover his girlfriend's eyes with his hand. "Babe, don't look..."
[Soul Reaper cleared her throat, giving Sunless a sideways look.
"Right. After a hard-fought battle, the Winter Beast was eventually defeated by a combined effort of our cohort. As for our current situation... it is mostly stable, and a rescue is not of necessity.
"We will make our way towards Eastern Antarctica as planned. Our estimated time of arrival should be..."
The laid-back Master Jet thought for a moment and then gave the Devil of Antarctica a nudge.
Scratching his chin, Sunless gave his estimate.
"Hmm... should be about a day or two? If everything goes well, that is."]
Rain noticed how casual Sunny and the woman looked together. She had seen Jet in person a few times back then. Once when Master Jet had come to contain the gate that had opened up at her school, and a few times when she had visited Sunny for work-related matters.
She was left with a lasting, respectfully intimidated impression of her... still, she wondered how the hell Sunny had become all buddy-buddy with such a renowned government master.
[After a brief silence where General Sunless seemed to be thinking, he finally spoke up again...
"As some of you know, Jet and I are both from the outskirts. I had never expected to become such a big shot back then..."]
'W-what?' Rain's eyes widened at the reveal.
'Sunny had never told me that!' Rain felt a bit betrayed that something important like that about his past had been kept from her...
If her teacher had been from the outskirts, then his life must've been hell. It also made his rise to become the world-renowned hero he is today look even more jagged.
From an orphan eating scraps... to a legendary hero of humanity. Even more known than some Saints.
Rain sighed... she'd definitely pry into his past some more once he was finally going to contact her again.
The students watching the communicator footage quieted down when they heard that. As privileged citizens, they had never personally seen the conditions of the outskirts, but from what they heard, it was an absolute nightmare.
So seeing not just one, but two of these supposed "Slum-Rats" claw their way to the top of humanity was mind-boggling and incredibly meritorious.
[He sighed, looking down at the glimmering soul shards that lay in the snow.
"What I meant to say is... Don't let this hell—which calls itself the world—keep you down. No matter where you are and who you are... keep fighting." Sunless creased his eyebrows with a serious expression.
"And if spite is all you have left... then do it out of spite."
They were silent for a while, the Antarctic winds howling in the background as snowflakes peppered the world. The winds made the Devil's raven hair dance...]
There was brief silence among the crowd of watchers... such profound words of determination and resilience connected deeply with a few students among them. Hearing such wisdom from a world-renowned Master didn't happen every day, after all.
Although Rain seemed to have noticed something entirely different about him...
'Since when does he talk so profoundly? Where is Sunny, and what did they do to him?'
She chuckled at her own joke, which earned her a few concerned glances.
'No... but really now. He must've gone through a lot to change so much in such a brief time... I really want to talk to him again.'
[He walked towards the communicator, taking it and holding it close to his face before pointing the camera away at the distant colorful horizon.
A sigh was heard, and the camera was turned to the Devil and his cohort like a selfie now... Sunless had a prideful grin on his pale, porcelain-like face. "Anyways... if you're seeing this, my brat of a student... I'll read all your messages and write back to you soon.
Oh, and Teacher is gonna bring you some nice souvenirs, so don't even dare to slack off while I'm out!"
Feeling like they covered everything, the camera was tossed, shaking wildly.
Soul Reaper easily caught it, giving the camera one last lazy smile.
"Devil's cohort, out."]
Rain's eyes widened as Sunny spoke directly to her. She let the communicator drop on the table with a soft thud, and leaned back in her seat...
"Finally! He's going to read all my messages and respond! Took your sweet time, bastard!"
At the mention of souvenirs, her eyes started to glimmer, appearing starstruck.
'Wait, actual war trophies!? You're the best, Teacher! I'll never slack off again!'
The other students, who had gathered into a small crowd of twenty-five people, were left stunned. Not only had the Devil of Antarctica just confirmed that he indeed slayed a Titan, but he also confirmed that he had a disciple whom he took under his wing...
An increasing number of pairs of eyes wandered to the starstruck figure of Rain... the mostly normal, meek girl who also demonstrated a monstrous proficiency at combat training and the wielding of a multitude of weapons.
Many students had previously regretted underestimating her in combat classes, having quickly and efficiently been humbled by the pale girl.
Rain meanwhile looked ahead with a wide grin, feeling motivated to break her limits more than ever. 'Sunny will lose his mind when he sees how much I improved!'
But then looked around and froze, noticing most of the students staring at her with disbelief... her expression fell as a new, horrific realization dawned on her.
'Oh my god, Sunny! You idiot! You just doxxed my existence to the whole world!'
She especially noticed both Jake and Anderson staring at her with what almost resembled shame. Noticing her, the taller one—Jake—spoke up, his voice apologetic...
"We're sorry, Rain. We should've taken your word for it, as ridiculous as it sounded... but he's actually your teacher! That's awesome! Can you ask him for an autograph for me once he finds the time again?"
"Yeah, for me too!"
"Me too!"
Rain looked at them all and gave a strained smile...
"Y-yeah... I'll see what I can do. He's terribly busy, though. And uhh... it's fine. I guess it sounded kind of ridiculous at first, heh..."
But she quickly found her excitement again, realizing that this was exactly the respect she had so often sought out.
Her strained expression gave way to a more laid-back, proud grin as she finally tasted the sweetness of boasting endlessly! This time, without anyone to doubt her.
"Ahh, you see, I was actually taught the super secret sword style of the Immortal Flame Clan! That's right, I'm basically an heir to the legendary Broken-Sword in the flesh!"
A few chuckles resounded among their group. But some actually took her seriously.
"Can you show me!?"
"Yeah, what's the secret? Show us!"
Some people had already left, but her group of friends all sat back at the tables, their attention on her.
The brown-haired boy had taken back his communicator by now, and not long after, the bell rang out again, signaling the end of lunch break.
Next up, combat class was waiting for her class...
Rain got up and let out a prideful laugh, and she waved her hand, heading for combat class. "Calm down, my junior disciples! I will show you all the way of the heavenly Immortal sword technique!"
Shortly after, the group started heading to class with Rain ahead. A few guys commented amongst themselves.
"She's just gonna beat us up the whole class again, isn't she?"
"Well, she did say losing is the biggest teacher... whatever that means..."
The class started, and many students quickly regretted their curiosity.
That day, Rain had the most fun in a long while... all her training, all the long, agonizing hours of practice and exercise had paid off when half the class was lying bruised on the floor of the dojo, at her mercy.
The teacher across the dojo looked at her and the carnage she left behind with an approving nod.
She lowered her wooden training sword, panting as she grinned victoriously in her sweat-ridden sports clothes. 'Thank you, Sunny.'
*
In his personal room, the treacherous Lost from Light was... lazing on his bed with a less-than-ideal body posture.
He was going through his messages with a grin plastered across his face, having almost completely forgotten the world outside his communicator...
[Contact: Student 🌧]
[Messages: 99+]
Sunny shook his head a bit and then opened the messages, his eyes quickly scanning everything from oldest to newest.
["SUNNY, ARE YOU CRAZY!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S A HUGE SNAKE IN MY SHADOW!"]
["Oh gods, you weren't lying! That Echo was massive! It messed up my entire room, you bastard! It's all a mess!!"]
Reading her panicked messages, Sunny couldn't help but laugh quietly... the image of Rain being scared out of her socks by his trusted Serpent was just too funny! Although he did also feel a bit bad now...
["And I just did what you asked, so the Echo is on its way now, I think. My mom's really worried for you and the people in Falcon Scott, you know? We've recently watched the news, and your situation looks really bad..."]
He hummed to himself as he continued to read.
'Hmm... this must've been around the time I did that speech.'
He read further...
["I'm worried too, I guess... Can you promise me that you'll at least be safe? T_T"]
["Are you still busy?"]
["Sunny, stop ghosting me like some stuck-up celebrity!"]
["Teeeeeeacher"]
["Fine. Don't answer then. I don't even care."]
He read her increasingly desperate messages with a fond smile. If he had been able to, he'd have definitely answered her back then. He felt simultaneously warm in his chest because she cared so much, but also a bit frustrated that she was left in the dark for so long, probably dying of worry...
'I'll definitely have to set things right again... surely she'll be bribed with some souvenirs, right?'
The next day, she had sent another message.
["I've been training, you know? I'll show you when you're back"]
["The news said the network in Falcon Scott died. Are you alright? There's total radio silence now..."]
["Sunny, please... don't make me say cringey stuff."]
["Hellooooo?"]
["Okay... I forgive you for the whole Serpent Echo thing. Just say something, please?"]
Sunny sighed. The brief moment of radio silence as they marched out to meet the Winter Beast must've been especially nerve-wracking.
[An image was sent from Rain. It showed her doing a selfie at her home's training room, presumably after an intense training session. She gave the camera a satisfied grin despite her exhaustion.
The caption read: "Training was actually fun for once. I think I had some sort of breakthrough like in the movies. Don't you have anything to say to your favorite student?"]
'Heh, I hope she doesn't grow a big head while I'm gone... but at least she trains well.'
A while later, she wrote again. This time, the message was longer and, for once, more heartfelt...
["Sunny, my mom and I just watched the news again, and I'm beyond happy and relieved! You actually killed that Titan of all things! At least that's what the people from your cohort told the interviewer...
I actually saw Dorn, Belle, and Samara live, and they really look like how you described them to me. Oh, and Belle called you a BASTARD on live TV HAHA!
They also talked about all the things you did for the people in Antarctica... It's ridiculous, seriously! I knew you were strong—Grand-teacher told me enough—but the things they're saying are simply crazy! You did ALL of that!? You have to tell me everything once you can respond again... and NOT the badly summarized version!
But besides that, I really hope you're doing alright. They say you haven't returned yet, and there is currently no news about your whereabouts.
Though I know you're not dead. You don't die that easily. Not my Teacher.
I'm also expecting big compensation for you making me so stressed out these past few days. Don't even try to weasel your way out of this one!
There's so much more I want to say, but I can't put it all into words yet...
Anyways, see you soon, Sunny!"]
Sunny lowered his communicator to his side as he stared at the ceiling with a small smile.
This last message was especially long. There were a few newer ones as well, but they were just her nagging him to respond a bunch, as well as her saying something about the network he didn't care about.
It seemed this Rain had finally come to the realization that he wasn't just another extraordinary Master of his generation.
It felt good to be recognized for his merit, especially by the ones closest to him. He grinned...
'If it were the old me, I would've used my fame to demand a higher pay for my teaching services, heh...'
From what it looked like, she hadn't seen his broadcast yet, which he was sure was gonna change soon.
He raised his communicator above his face again, typing away with both hands as he muttered his message to himself to make sure it sounded decent...
["Hey Rain, been a while, huh?
I've just read all your messages and my heart is moved! Truly!
So what was this about Belle calling me a Bastard? Seriously, I'll get that scoundrel!
And I just wanted to thank you, Rain. If you hadn't brought me my dear Serpent, things would have been really bad! So you can actually claim a tiny little mini fragment bit of the credit, I guess...
Luckily, you're super smart and managed to not just understand my plans, but also execute them flawlessly! That intelligence must run in the family...
Anyway! I'm assuming you haven't seen the broadcast yet... so I'll say it again.
I will use the army's postal services to send you a thing or two for the time I'm still being deployed.
Don't ask what. It's a surprise ;)
And yes, I did quite a handful of things that are considered a bit above my pay grade...
I will tell you about all my spoils and epic adventures over the days when I find the time, so get excited for that, my best student!
Oh wait... you're my only student at this time...
Well, you get the point! Be proud! Get strong! Stay healthy!
Your awesome, strong, legendary, world-saving teacher, out!"]
Feeling satisfied, he pressed send and went to the next chat. This one was actually the cohort group chat...
[Groupchat: Cohort shenanigans 2.0]
[Members: 5]
[Messages: 99+]
[Glutton🐺: "Hey Princess, what's for dinner today? The "food" in our ship is total SLUDGE again!"]
[Cassie🌱: "It's gonna be potato stew."]
[Glutton🐺: "Ouu shii... wait, did you seriously just divinate that?"]
[Cassie🌱: "No, Neph told me."]
[Kai🪽: "Hey guys! I won't come to the Tower today because we're really busy on the ship! There's been a lot of planning, as well as army stuff I have to figure out before deployment.
Also! Effie and I are going to be assigned special units that we will be responsible for leading in Antarctica! Which is pretty cool!"]
[Neph✨️: "Hey, Kai."]
[Glutton🐺: "That's right! We're gonna lead our own troops now! I'm still thinking of a name for my lackeys... but I'm thinking it's gonna be something like 'Wolfies'"]
[Cassie🌱: "I like it! Kai's should be something like Singers or Nighties to match it :)"]
[Kai🪽: "We still have some time to think of a name, but thanks for the suggestions, Cassie!
Now, army stuff aside... how have you guys all been? And is there anything about Sunny?"]
[Neph✨️: "It's been going well. Cas and I will reach Antarctica soon with the rest of Valor."]
[Cassie🌱: "Yep, everything is going well."]
[Glutton🐺: "Well, besides the atrocious food, it's been great! The people aboard are great company for sure."]
[Neph✨️: "About Sunny... there's been a new report that he was sighted in a distant city fortress in Eastern Antarctica, so he finally made it back."]
[Kai🪽: "That's great! Then it won't take long until we all meet again!"]
[Glutton🐺: "Oh, I bet Princess can't wait to see her precious shadow again~"]
[Neph✨️: "Effie. Stop it. He can read this."]
[Cassie🌱: "Well, you will meet him soon, Neph, so don't foam at the mouth just yet..."]
[Neph✨️: "Et tu, Cas?"]
Sunny read through many of the messages, catching up to his friends with a content smile on his face.
When they started teasing Neph, he simultaneously laughed and felt a bit flustered...
'How could they be so obvious! I'm right there!'
At least Neph was becoming more expressive around this time...
He read through some more messages, most of them talking about small things and their army lives.
Eventually, he reached the newest message. And when he read it, his eyes widened a little...
[Cassie🌱: "Welcome back, Sunny."]
'...' He reread her message a few times and then shook his head a little as he typed out a message. Of course she knew. Now he wondered which Sunny she was greeting...
[Sunny🌑: "Glad to be back."]
[Sunny🌑: "I'm in Eastern Antarctica now, that's true. Also, I missed you all! Fortunately, we will all meet again once the 2nd Army arrives!
And uh... can you guys stop teaming up on poor Neph? She must be already stressed enough."]
With that done, he opened the next contact. This one felt almost surreal, considering that this person wasn't meant to be alive...
[Contact: Obel]
["Greetings, Sunless! Thanks to my connections, I was able to pull some strings and get your contact information!"]
["Oh, I meant to call you Sunny. How do I delete that... Well, whatever!
Sunny, my friend, how have you been? How has your journey concluded? I wish to know all the many details of your escapade!
I've also received news that you made... quite a memorable appearance at Humanitas Nostra—at least that is what an acquaintance of mine mentioned.]
["Bethany and I have had our own adventure across the strait to Eastern Antarctica. There were a few skirmishes with the grumpy sea dwellers, but otherwise it was a total blast! You don't get the opportunity every day to sail the seas like old legends of history! And the people aboard were interesting company as well... I exchanged ideas with a handful of bright minds lately."]
'You sure always manage to see the positives, old man.'
Sunny said with amusement, then scrolled down and reached the last message. This one had been sent just recently.
["Sunny, my friend. I also wanted to thank you once again. I know you're probably drowning in praise by now, but I hope you see this anyway.
If it weren't for you and your courage to do something...
If it weren't for your selflessness that allowed you not to save yourself first and foremost when it was so easy to do so...
If it weren't for your Wit to take our Fates in a stranglehold...
...Then I would have been long dead. Frozen into an icy sculpture that future historians would admire.
Sunless. Sunny... being this close to my end made me realize a few things.
Despite my old age... I feel like the world gave me one last opportunity. I have done so much for our humanity... yet I stubbornly don't want to put down the pen now, even as my body deteriorates in real time.
One more gift from me to humanity. That is what I desire now.
Discovering a great mystery, or inventing a new world-saving technology... whatever it may be, I will achieve it!
Perhaps you could lend me a hand in the future should I require it?
And additionally, I will have to make sure Bethany finally takes off her training wheels and manages to surpass me.
That is all from me... what about you, my former Supreme friend?
Hah, you could conquer the world, and I wouldn't judge you for it! This intoxication of agency you must be experiencing has driven many men to greatness and ruin.
Now I will wait patiently for your response, my friend.
From Obel."]
Sunny didn't know how to feel. He was inwardly a little disturbed to see the old man still alive and seemingly having found new conviction and energy thanks to his divergence.
Not that he hated it; it just felt strange... he was sure Obel would have had some fancy name for this feeling he was experiencing.
He looked up at the ceiling again and sighed...
'I wonder how this will affect Beth... and not just her. Will Effie, by chance, find the nameless guy again and, uh... make Ling Ling exist? And how will this additional pool of more than twenty million people affect the future and colonization of the Dreamrealm? Who knows... maybe this will birth some exceptional awakened who would have otherwise died...'
Sunny smiled as he allowed the questions to accumulate. He would have said these questions to Obel if he were here. Discussing and learning things with Obel or even Teacher Julius was always a pleasant experience.
'I'll remember some of them for our next discussion.'
He held out his communicator and typed away again...
["Hey Professor Obel. I have just read all your messages and...
Seriously, you're describing me like some ancient big shot... if I wanted to take over the world, I'd have done it by now!
But you know that all this fame stuff is really not for me. My affinity lies in shadows for a reason.
I'm glad that your travels went well, Professor!
Mine and Jet's, in comparison, have been a bit bumpy here and there, but it was also a much-needed breather in the stunning Antarctic nature! The air in this part of the remaining world is perhaps the crispest.
We just had to kill, eat, and relax since nothing was left that was threatening enough for me and Jet. I have gained a lot from this unorthodox route.
I hope this complacency won't come back to bite me in the future, heh... I'm just a Master now, after all.
I could send you a humble sample of the Winter Beast; the ice crystals have a very magical feel to them.
Perhaps you could do something with it? Who knows...
And again, please don't mention the Supreme thing, since it could get me into trouble with some Legacy Clans.
For now, I will continue to protect Antarctica and assist the government... and how about you, my friend? Are you still in Antarctica or off to another quadrant?
Should you still be in Antarctica, I could come over for some tea and chatting in the future when I'm on leave or just in the area? I have really enjoyed our previous discussion, and thanks to your intellectual insight, it also led to the formation of my plan for saving Falcon Scott.
So thanks for that again!
About helping you in your pursuit, I will gladly help when I find the time! Helping humanity leap forward is part of my checklist anyway...
This will be it from me for now; I've got some government work soon. So I might be busy for a while.
I will await your response, and until next time, Obel!
From Sunny, with gratitude."]
As Sunny gave the message its finishing touches, his communicator started buzzing. A call icon appeared at the top of his screen with the name 'Jet'.
Sunny groaned a bit and then rolled over on his bed... He pressed the send button before slowly, begrudgingly, sitting up on the edge of his bed.
"What is it, Jet? Already time?"
A familiar woman's voice came out of his communicator.
"You bet it is. Did you even prepare yet? There are going to be the Valor and Song forces after all. Even a Saint or two!"
"I know, I know... I'll prepare really quick, so just wait for me."
"Alright then, don't take your sweet time... and don't come in here with a ridiculous outfit or anything."
With that, Jet hung up, and Sunny was left alone again.
He took a deep breath and put his communicator aside on his bed.
Things were going to be interesting soon. The excitement was evidently pulsing in his chest... but not because of the Valor or Song forces... and not even because of the multiple Saints that would be present...
...it was because he finally would meet the person he had missed the most. His person.