Chapter summary: When in doubt, f*** you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Fuck you!"
Nephis was genuinely taken aback.
After agonizing months apart, she had finally tracked Sunny down in a dingy tavern within the outer settlements of the Bright Castle. Overjoyed by their sweet reunion, she had approached him to offer a warm, affectionate greeting.
Instead, he had met her with freezing hostility and outright contempt.
His dark eyes were practically dripping with venom. Where was all this vitriol coming from? What had she ever done to him?
Changing Star let out a slow sigh, trying to quell the irritation sparked by his completely unjustified insult—at least, unjustified from her perspective. She stood tall in front of his table.
"I see you're still holding a grudge."
She was, of course, referring to the bitter argument they had shared months ago, right before Sunny abandoned her cohort for reasons known only to him. That night, she had revealed her ambition to destroy the Nightmare Spell; in return, he had shared the harrowing memory of the last time he saw his sister, Rain.
The raw emotion in his story had etched itself so vividly into her mind that she still remembered every single detail.
"What's the matter? Need me to repeat myself? I thought I was pretty damn clear the first time," Sunny shot back, his tone abrasive and unapologetically provocative.
Despite her measured composure, he leaned into his stubbornness. He sat back, arms crossed tightly over his chest, glaring up at her with utter disdain.
"But fine, if you insist! Let me spell it out for you again: Fuck. You."
"Oh, grow up, Sunless!" Changing Star finally snapped, her voice ringing out and instantly drawing the attention of half the tavern.
It was only the third time in her entire life that someone had dared to hurl that particular curse at her—and two of those times had just happened within the span of a single minute.
Her overt flash of anger only caused Sunny's cruel smile to widen. He seemed thoroughly amused to watch the pristine mask of the selfless, benevolent heroine finally begin to fracture.
"Ah, I see someone is hard of hearing. Want to go for a third time, just to be sure?" he mocked, seeing her still standing there, undeterred and refusing to leave his table.
Judging by her white-knuckled grip and the way her silver eyes burned with barely suppressed fury, Nephis was half a second away from punching him in the jaw. Around them, the patrons began to whisper, shifting eagerly in their seats as they anticipated a brawl.
"Excuse me. Pardon me. Coming through!"
Right at that critical juncture, Kai returned to the table. He was carefully balancing a wooden mug filled with the tavern's dubious swill—a harsh spirit distilled by the denizens of the Forgotten Shore just to take the edge off the waking nightmare.
"Sunny, what's goin— oh!"
The archer paused, concern lacing his voice as he noticed the unusually dark, heavy expression on his friend's face and the crowd of eavesdroppers closing in. He froze completely the moment his striking green eyes landed on Nephis.
From what little Sunny had shared, Kai knew there was bad blood between the two of them. He just didn't know the specifics—only that they had suffered a massive falling out, though the where, when, and why remained a mystery.
"Ah, Miss Changing Star," Kai greeted, flashing his most enchanting, theatrical smile in a vain attempt to defuse the crushing tension. "What a pleasant surprise to find you here. What brings you to our humble table? And how is Effie faring?"
Kai offered a nervous, half-hearted chuckle, acutely aware that the tension in the room was still climbing. Both of them completely ignored him, far too busy trying to murder each other with their eyes.
"Silly question, I suppose, seeing as I just saw her a few hours ago..." Kai mumbled to himself.
It was a brutal battle of attrition between her wall of stubborn silence and his knife-like anger. But the deep-seated resentment Sunny harbored toward Nephis was on an entirely different level compared to her current frustration with him.
He remembered years and years trapped in the chains of her command, suffocated by her possessive obsession. Right now, he felt physically nauseated just looking at her.
And yet, despite it all, he still loved her.
'I truly am a miserable, treacherous wretch to the very end, aren't I?' Sunny thought, letting out a weary sigh within the sanctuary of his own mind.
Finally acknowledging Kai's presence, Changing Star broke the silence—though she refused to sever eye contact with him.
"Kai... the pleasure is mine. Effie is doing well. As for why I am here, I simply came to have a word with Sleeper Sunless. However, it appears he lacks both the mood and the maturity to engage in a civilized conversation."
Sunny let out a harsh, barking scoff. It was glaringly obvious that he was relishing her frustration at being so openly rejected.
"I lack the maturity? Says the girl who couldn't string two sentences together without being awkward," Sunny mocked. "Did you forget, Changing Star? Cassie and I practically had to teach you how to talk to people. In fact, if it weren't for the two of us, you wouldn't have just failed to reach this citadel—you wouldn't even have a scrap of armor to cover your back!"
His dark eyes danced maliciously, flicking between her and the crowd of eavesdroppers.
"Should I tell them the whole story?" he taunted, gesturing lazily toward the audience with his chin. "How you spent weeks trudging around in a seaweed bikini you had to adjust every now and then? Or how many times we needlessly risked our lives fighting swarms of Carapace Scavengers that we could have easily just avoided?"
Nephis's hands balled into tight fists. The silver flames in her eyes flared violently, and a faint, searing luminescence bled through her pale skin, instantly spiking the temperature of the air around them.
"You know damn well I gave my only armor to Cassie because she had nothing! And you only gave me that Memory so you could use me as a more effective meat shield. You wouldn't have survived without Cassie or me either, Sunless. So drop the arrogant act!"
Sunny's smile didn't fade; it only grew sharper, twisting into something genuinely cruel.
Standing beside him, Kai saw a suffocating darkness clouding his friend's face—something cold and terrifying that he had never witnessed before.
"Oh, of course. You gave your armor to a blind girl. But you didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart—you did it solely to feed your own savior complex," he hissed. "And yeah, it might be true that I wouldn't have survived the Crimson Labyrinth alone, Nephis. But that doesn't mean I owe you a damn thing."
With that, Sunny slammed both hands onto the table. He shoved his chair back, the wooden legs screeching harshly against the stone floor, and stood up.
"Talk to you? No, thanks. I've had my fill of your company for two whole months navigating the Dark Sea."
Turning his back on her, he headed straight for the exit.
"Where do you think you're going, Sunless?! We are not done talking!" Changing Star snapped, spinning around to watch him march away.
"Oh, believe me, Changing Star. We have talked more than enough as far as I am concerned!" Sunny threw over his shoulder, not once breaking his stride before slamming the heavy tavern door shut behind him.
The collective whispers of the tavern patrons finally broke out into loud murmurs and gossip. Kai simply stood there, stranded with a full mug of swill in his hands. He felt a pang of sympathy for the sheer toxicity brewing between his friends, but he certainly wasn't brave—or foolish—enough to step into the crossfire. After all, this was strictly their business.
"Where are you going, Sunless?! Don't you dare run away again!" Nephis shouted, finally losing her temper completely.
She charged after him, utterly ignoring the gawking spectators and the blinding white flames now visibly radiating from her skin. She crossed the tavern floor in two swift, furious strides.
"Sunless! Come back here, Sunless!" Changing Star barked his name, her voice rising in volume and unchecked fury with every syllable.
She threw the door open so hard it slammed against the wall, fully intent on dragging the infuriating Outskirts rat back inside. But as soon as she stepped out into the twilight of the slums, she was met with nothing but deep, sprawling shadows.
Of Sunny, there was no trace.
He was gone.
Again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~