"Ugh..." Sunny grunted, making a slight grimace.
He blinked a couple of times. He heard a faint ringing in his right ear, as if he had been struck very hard near his eardrum... well, something like that had happened.
He was a bit disoriented, but that only lasted for less than a second.
Sunny had been sent flying through the large window of the...
'Was this a bakery or a pastry shop? What's the difference between the two? As far as I know, both sell bread and pastries,' he considered the question for a second, but discarded it the very next.
Sunny brought a hand to his face; he felt his right cheek burning.
"Agh," he grunted at the pain of the blow.
His neck ached, as if he had slept in a bad position during a nap, although Sunny doubted that sleeping in a bad position could make you feel like your spine had almost been ripped out.
The impact of Jet's slap had been like the strike of a mountain. At least the pain he felt was reduced considerably with every passing breath. But the red mark on his cheek would take a little longer to disappear.
Sunny felt the grass between his fingers. He looked to the sides, seeing how he had landed on what appeared to be a small green area, similar to a park.
Even in NQSC, plants, flowers, or even simple grass were hard to see. He was lucky to simply fall sprawled on the grass instead of slamming against another solid structure.
Sunny turned to face forward, looking back where he had come from. The shop's large window was completely shattered and cracked, scattering pieces all across the street—the debris formed a path leading straight to him.
He had been thrown with force—a lot of force—but knowing what the person who sent him flying was capable of, she had held back significantly.
Though if it had been an ordinary person, he doubted their head would still be on their shoulders...
Then, a very familiar figure stood before him. Jet's blue eyes observed him, as frigid as they had always been; she looked at him with an expression somewhere between annoyed and clear disapproval.
Sunny raised his gaze, meeting the voluptuous figure of the woman before him. Jet wore a full-body black suit that clung to her body like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination. Over her shoulders was her military vest, which covered her arms at first glance.
Jet remained silent for a few seconds, establishing an extremely tense atmosphere between the two of them.
"And here I wanted to offer to pay for your purchase—I wanted it to be my good deed for the day," Jet said, her voice clearly annoyed.
Sunny raised his head as high as he could while lying face down. He had to make an effort to suppress the urge to grimace at the situation.
"Miss Soul Reaper Jet," Sunny said softly, sounding embarrassed.
"Mhm," Jet chuckled under her breath. "My, from what I see, you're quite resilient. I thought I'd have to call an ambulance. That was a good hit I gave you, but you took it rather well. You must be an Awakened... but an Awakened would have ended up worse than you, so you must be an Ascended, is that it?"
Jet was speaking to him more like a criminal than a person; she was clearly not pleased with him, her authoritative tone proving it.
The more time Sunny spent observing Jet, the more pressed he felt. After years, he was seeing her again, and not under the best circumstances...
'Is there even a way to recover from this? Is Fated really gone? Because sometimes it sure doesn't seem like it...' he thought, cursing his luck.
Sunny found himself staring at Jet's frigid beauty, perhaps longer than he should have. Her beauty after becoming a Saint had somehow heightened, turning almost hypnotic.
Jet's furrowed brow deepened a bit more. She crossed her arms over her chest, causing her breasts to compress and accentuate their volume.
"That's right..." Sunny replied after a moment of silence.
Jet tilted her head subtly and arched an eyebrow. "What are you supposed to be looking at?" she asked.
"Your breasts," Sunny answered, speaking by reflex, his attention anchored elsewhere.
Sunny blinked once, twice, realizing he had been dazed for half a second.
'Damn it,' he cursed, anticipating the next punishment that would come.
Sunny raised his forearms, bracing for the blow he was about to receive. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, awaiting the impact.
Nothing arrived.
The only thing that came was a faint chuckle.
Sunny lowered his arms and looked Jet in the face; she wore what appeared to be a sort of half-smile.
Her frigid gaze remained threatening, but it no longer carried the same authoritative pressure as it had just moments before. It hadn't disappeared, but it had softened.
Now she seemed almost amused.
"Interesting. Even knowing who I am, you have the audacity to act like this. I wouldn't know whether to call you very brave or stupid... perhaps it's neither, and you're just a complete pervert—but a very bold pervert, I must say."
Jet was smiling.
Sunny blinked a couple of times, looking at her lips. It wasn't a full smile; it was more of a half-smile with more hints of mockery or contempt than one produced by Sunny's charm, but it was a smile after all. It was rare to see an expression like that on her—at least during the time they had spent together, it had been. And now she was smiling at him like that during their first meeting... perhaps Sunny's charm was more powerful than he believed.
Hastily, Sunny picked himself up, standing on his feet. He brushed a little dust off his clothes and then brought a hand to his mouth, coughing discreetly.
"Um... I'm sorry about what happened. It wasn't my intention, uh..." Sunny scratched the back of his head and looked away. "...to touch you like that."
Jet narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side.
"Really? And drooling while staring intently at my breasts was unintended too?" Jet's voice took on a challenging yet amused tone.
If Jet had been truly angry with him, Sunny doubted very much that he would have the privilege of standing in front of her, let alone being able to answer the questions she was asking him. However, he understood he was walking on thin ice.
"I wasn't drooling," he argued. "It's just that from below... the angle didn't let me see your face clearly, so I only saw your breasts," Sunny explained, tense.
Jet observed Sunny for a few seconds and placed her hands on her hips.
"Now that sure is a curious way to compliment a woman. You have a very peculiar way of talking about other people's bodies, it seems... little man." At the last phrase, she smiled.
"Be careful with your tongue. I wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face of yours—you could conquer any girl with it... Anyway, next time, try to improve that peculiar attitude you've shown me. Believe me, there are plenty of arrogant handsome guys with some money out there, and they're quite unpleasant.
Don't be like them... though I don't think you'll end up like them anyway. For starters, they have money; you, as it seems, don't," Jet said, looking him in the eyes with a mocking expression.
Sunny's expression grew steadily bitter as Jet's sharp comments were delivered.
The avalanche of derogatory words toward his person caused Sunny's heart to shrink and his expression to look increasingly defeated.
Sunny wanted to beg her to stop. Jet's words hurt him deeply, but he feared losing what little dignity he had left if he started begging her to stop...
'After so many years, is this how our reunion goes?... Can I just erase myself from the world again? That would solve a lot of my problems...'
Then a noise began to sound—the sound of an alarm, quite obnoxious for his taste.
Sunny blinked and searched for the source of the noise, discovering that it came from right where he was looking.
Jet reached into the pocket of her jacket, which was draped over her shoulders.
From there, she pulled out a communicator, vibrating and blaring its agonizing alarm.
Jet's face set the mockery aside and grew increasingly serious.
Shortly after the alarm sounded, the doors of nearby buildings vanished behind large metal plates that protected doors and windows along with the people inside.
Some people who had stopped to watch the scene he was involved in with Jet looked at their devices, which were also emitting an alert signal.
Sunny immediately understood what was happening; he had experienced it before. Jet let out a sigh and stowed her device.
"A gate is opening," she said in a distant tone.
Sunny's expression turned somewhat tense, setting aside the embarrassment he was going through. 'Just what I needed... of all places and times, it had to be now, right?' he thought with disgust.
"You can leave," Jet said.
Sunny, who had averted his gaze, turned back to Jet.
"There's no need for you to participate in this. From what I see, it's not a high-level gate; actually, I can handle this on my own—I've done it before. Government officers will arrive soon to offer support." Jet said that and turned her back on Sunny, preparing to set off.
The whole situation was too sudden. Sunny unconsciously extended an arm and opened his mouth to say something, but said nothing. He watched Jet's back; she was going to vanish.
Sunny pressed his lips together.
He hadn't been able to accomplish what he came for—a simple task in which he failed miserably. Instead, what he had managed was to make a fool of himself, take a good blow to the face, and ruin any good impression with Jet.
But he was talking to Jet—no one other than Jet—after so long. Their encounter was somewhat disastrous—it still was—but it was Jet! After so much time without seeing her, it was unlikely this would happen again, or that he would see her anytime soon...
'Does it even matter? She doesn't remember me. There is nothing to try to preserve,' he thought, letting his hand drop.
She no longer remembered him, but Sunny still remembered her. Everything they had lived through together hadn't been erased from Sunny's memory. Nothing that happened today would ruin what Sunny remembered. Even so... it felt bad. No, he couldn't feel satisfied with this.
Sunny was never someone dignified—those words and concepts lacked weight for him. What he was, was quite the opposite.
He was a disgustingly greedy cockroach.
And pride burned in his chest; he wasn't going to settle for letting things stay like this.
Sunny felt as if he had been lost, but before him, he now saw the path with clarity.
Sunny took a firm step forward, extending his arm once more, now with more force than before.
Jet turned around immediately at the sudden grip.
"I'm coming with you," Sunny said, offering her a somewhat brazen smile.
Jet's immediate reflex would have been to pull away; however, she stayed still, observing Sunny. Behind her eyes passed an incomprehensible wave of nostalgia, scratching at her chest.
It took her a few seconds to respond; Jet returned the smile and narrowed her eyes, judging him.
"You're not trying to impress me with an act of bravery, are you? I wouldn't recommend doing that—I wouldn't like to see you get eaten by a Nightmare Creature while trying to do something heroic... Come to think of it, it is a somewhat amusing thought, but I insist you don't do it," Jet joked.
Sunny shook his head.
"It's not that... or not exactly. I just wish to slightly improve the view you must have of me. Isn't it a perfect opportunity? Besides, this allows this moment to last a little longer." Sunny's words came out with unusual ease. He didn't pay special attention to how he said things either; he spoke from the heart, regardless of how his words might be misinterpreted. Driven by a surge of pride and nostalgia, he was going to prolong this encounter, even if only a little longer.
Jet's mocking smile faltered for an instant, but she recovered quickly. She let out a huff and shook her head.
"Well, Romeo, let's see if your words carry the same firmness as your hands touching where they shouldn't," Jet mocked, looking at Sunny this time with something more than just mockery or contempt.
The air had grown heavier as they approached where the Nightmare Gate was presumably going to open. The streets were empty and the buildings had been deserted or secured by metal plates that, at most, could withstand a couple of hits from an Awakened Nightmare Creature.
The only ones on the street were a man with black hair tied back in a ponytail and a woman with short hair and eyes as cold as ice. All the mockery and lightness of her expression had vanished, leaving behind only her serious, focused demeanor.
Sunny had seen it several times—that expression showed she was in work mode.
Sunny looked to the sides, waiting to see if anyone was arriving. Apparently, no Awakened had come to help; there might not have been any nearby, or at least none willing to assist. Whatever the reason was, he inwardly felt grateful to have time alone with Jet.
Before long, the soldiers tasked with restricting and locking down the area would arrive; part of their job was to buy time until that happened.
"You were an Ascended, right?" Jet asked. Without turning to look at him, her gaze remained fixed where the gate would soon appear.
Sunny grew thoughtful, considering how to answer the question.
"No, I am not. In truth, I am a mysterious Saint who stalks the shadows, galloping a steed through people's dreams," he answered earnestly.
"Mhm," Jet chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."
There was no better deception than the truth itself...
"Aren't you going to summon any weapon or armor?" Jet asked, this time stealing a quick glance at him.
Sunny turned toward Jet, remaining silent for a moment.
"I had forgotten," Sunny answered solemnly.
Jet arched her eyebrow in surprise. She suppressed the questions she had for later.
Sunny stayed thoughtful for a few seconds, then a sword appeared in his hand. No special Memory—this blade was an experimental work, one of the first he had crafted. It wasn't a remarkable piece, but it would work; he didn't need more. Sunny would fight, but he didn't wish to show his hand for now, least of all his aspect. He would limit himself to fighting like an Ascended, not a Saint, thus avoiding raising suspicion.
"And the armor?" Jet insisted.
Sunny brought a hand to the clothes he was wearing. "This will do."
Sunny took a glance at Jet's body, covered only by the full bodysuit she wore. "And yours?"
Jet looked at him for a few seconds and then replied, "This will do too," bringing a hand to her chest, mirroring his gesture.
Something in the air shifted, capturing the attention of both Awakened. Before them, a rift tore through reality, opening like a hideous and repulsive gash.
After a few seconds of complete silence and tension, a creature emerged from the portal, appearing lost. When the bipedal lizard-like creature set its four eyes on Sunny and Jet, it let out a hideous growl. Without losing a second, blinded by an uncontrollable murderous urge, it charged at them.
In a flash, the creature's head flew until landing on the ground, staining the pavement with sticky green blood.
Jet, with a sharp movement, swung her scythe, flicking off the blood that had remained clinging to it.
Jet looked back to where Sunny was still standing. She observed him as if evaluating him.
Sunny caught her gaze. She had moved with truly terrifying speed, even for him. That surprised him, but in a way, he could expect no less from her.
Keeping his eyes on Jet, he gave her a half-smile. Jet huffed and turned back toward the Nightmare Gate.
Another hideous creature had come out of the tear in reality, followed by another just as terrifying as the last, if not more so. Quickly, a sea of creatures emerged from the gate; all of them, upon seeing the two, lunged forward.
The Nightmare Gate reached its climax; a first assailant passed through the portal. Jet took a step forward and, in a blur, burst in the direction of the creatures.
Her scythe, like a wave of chilling mist, left a trail behind every slash across the lesser abominations. The scythe danced through the air, slicing like butter through the creatures that barely had time to react.
Her movements weren't flashy—they were direct and precise, leaving no room for wasted motion. Jet leaped in a blur toward the tide of monsters, maneuvering her weapon like a tornado of death.
Sunny stood behind, watching Jet slaughter the creatures. He felt insecure. A drop of sweat ran down his cheek.
'Maybe there really is no need for me to intervene,' he thought, watching how Jet single-handedly thinned the wave of creatures. 'No, this won't last long—soon the big fish will arrive.'
Just as he thought it, it happened—larger and more intimidating creatures appeared. One creature, the largest one, resembled a lizard. A very large, scaly lizard.
'A dragon?... No, this one doesn't have wings. Or are there wingless dragons?'
The creature advanced, shaking the ground with its two enormous blue-black legs.
As the scales reached the center of its body, they took on a volcanic reddish color. Several ridges curled along its body, giving it a spiky yet robust appearance.
'No... this is a... what was it called? Dinosaur? This looks like a... Tigrex... no, T-Rex, yeah, that.'
The creature roared, causing the ground and buildings to tremble. The tail, previously hidden by its imposing body, bent as if it were an arm. The tail was huge, but hidden at first glance.
Sunny arched an eyebrow.
"A sword?" he said, bewildered, observing the strange, dark-blue, blade-shaped tail.
The T-Rex with a serrated jaw turned toward its tail and bit down on it. Sparks surged from the friction between the hard shell of its sword-tail and its fangs. With a harsh jerk, the tail came free from its jaws.
Then the beast's freshly sharpened sword pointed toward Sunny. The blade's color abruptly shifted from blue to vivid red. Steam surrounded the creature's glowing blade... half of its body was a sword.
The creature spun around and slammed its sword against the ground, dragging it across the pavement, destroying it. Waves of flames generated along the path of the monster's blade, and then the blade lunged toward him—not to strike him directly, but sending a sea of flames and debris straight at him.
At that moment, a single thought remained in Sunny's head:
'So cool!'