Two months before Arthur's return
A PTV was driving through the streets of NQSC at a normal speed.
The sun had already disappeared behind the veil of pollution, leaving the streetlights as the only source of illumination. Their pale glow lined the avenue in perfect intervals, creating the illusion of a tunnel as the PTV glided through the city.
Behind the wheel sat a man with a very charismatic appearance—square-jawed, clean-shaven, with ashy brown hair and deep blue eyes framed by strong, fierce eyebrows.
Beside him sat his wife, a charming woman with distinctive reddish-brown hair and brown eyes.
"Reynolds, could you stop at the next store we find?" the charming woman asked her husband.
He replied, "Of course, Alice." Then he asked, "What are we missing for tonight's dinner?"
Alice was silent for a few seconds while she thought.
"I'd say only the vegetables are missing. We can buy them now so that when we leave the meeting, we'll have everything ready."
"Sounds like a good plan!"
Then they both fell silent, listening to the music on the radio—music neither of them had chosen.
Eventually, Reynolds found a store and stopped in front of it. He moved to get out, but Alice stopped him.
"Don't worry, I'll buy the things," she told him. Then she turned her face and focused on the woman sitting in the back seats. "Jet, do you want anything from the store?"
Jet, who had been looking at her communicator while stretched out across the back seats, looked at her with her ice-blue eyes. "Maybe a pack of gum?"
Alice smiled at her and headed into the store.
Inside the car, Reynolds asked Jet, "Hey, we're going to have a big dinner tonight after the meeting with the others. Are you interested in coming?"
She shrugged. "Yeah, sure." Then she asked, "Are you going to ask me to ask Sunny if he wants to join?"
Reynolds touched the back of his neck as he replied, "I mean… yes? The three of us wanted to thank him for spending time with our Art in the Dream Realm…" His voice lowered slightly. "Without him, Art might have… well, you know."
"I understand, but I don't think he'll want to come."
He let out a sigh. "Just trying is enough. We just want to know more about our boy."
Jet lowered her communicator and looked out the window. "I'll try, but like I said, it's complicated." She continued, "He's from the Outskirts, like me, and we tend to avoid those kinds of situations…"
Reynolds continued for her. "I understand perfectly. In the end, he came back while Arthur didn't… he probably thinks we're blaming him for that, but that's not the case."
She smiled. "I know it's not. That's why I'll try… but don't get your hopes too high, okay?"
Reynolds thanked her, and they continued talking about other topics. Eventually, Alice returned from the store. After putting away the vegetables she had bought, they continued the journey toward the government offices.
They had an important meeting.
Minutes after the three of them had been chatting—and Alice rejoicing at the possibility that Sunny might join dinner—they arrived at the government compound and headed to the conference room.
Once there, they found other government Masters sitting around the table.
One of them was Randall, a man with gray hair and a thick beard. Beside him was Jesse—blonde, with a healthy tan and bright blue eyes. Finishing the group was Dale, with honest eyes, dark circles, and a gallant demeanor.
The three greeted each other and began chatting about other topics. As time passed, more people arrived.
Next came an older man—cold-eyed, expressionless, with a frosty gaze. Davies arrived beside Winter, who had curly dark brown hair tied back in a simple ponytail. She wore polarized sunglasses that covered her eyes. Her beautiful face was distant and indifferent.
Upon arriving, Winter winked at Jet and sat down calmly. The latter rolled her eyes at the woman's tactic.
After a few moments of conversation among all the Masters, the last attendee finally arrived at the conference room. It was Cor.
Saint Cor was a legendary figure who had been protecting the waking world since the time of the First Generation. Although his skin showed signs of aging, his hair remained perfectly black.
His bearing was that of a person accustomed both to wielding power and to assuming responsibility.
"Welcome, everyone," he greeted them while standing. "Since we're all in a hurry, let's get straight to the point of the meeting."
Everyone nodded.
"As all of us know, a chain reaction of Nightmare Gates in Antarctica is going to start in a few months," he continued. "The time we thought we had has been shortened by a few years, which means we're going to have to work harder than we had planned."
Jet interrupted him.
"Can you give us the bad news so we can leave?"
Cor looked at her for a while, then looked at the rest of the members. Realizing that most of them would rather be anywhere else, he said,
"Ok." He sat down and continued. "The latest information we've received indicates that the crisis in Antarctica is going to be worse than we anticipated. The number of Gates is going to be greater than our statisticians and diviners predicted. With that, their categories have also increased. Furthermore… the Obel Scale managed to predict something else." He paused, and his eyes scanned all the members.
"A new Nightmare Gate is going to open in South America simultaneously with Antarctica."
Davies raised his hand, and Cor gave him the floor.
"A new Nightmare Gate is always bad news, but why is this one different? Is it going to be another Category Five like in North America?"
The government Saint shook his head.
"It's not going to be a Category Five, but it will be a Category Four."
"Then, indeed, it's bad news."
"How are we going to evacuate the nine hundred million people living in Antarctica and the people of South America?"
The Wake of Ruin shook his head and said, "We're not going to."
The words fell uncomfortably on all the members at the table. The implications they carried were enormous.
"We don't have the resources or the personnel necessary to carry out two operations of such magnitude," the Saint continued. "The only thing we can do is prepare to evacuate as many people as possible from Antarctica, but with South America, there's nothing that can be done."
"We're going to let all those people die?" It was a question everyone had, but only Jet dared to voice.
"Antarctica has priority as the second most populous quadrant, so the majority of resources will be directed there. After assessing the situation in the quadrant, we will analyze the possibility of sending some aid to South America."
Now Reynolds asked, "And what about the Great Clans? Even knowing this, they're not going to get involved?"
"No. Their stance hasn't changed."
"What a joke," said Winter in a low voice, but loud enough to be heard.
Cor brought both elbows to the table and continued. "There's nothing we can do, so we'll continue with what we had planned." His gaze focused on everyone. "Everyone present in this room will form part of the First Irregular Company, and Jet will take command of the operation, with Reynolds as second."
"In regard to South America, that will be analyzed more deeply in the future, and any changes will be notified in advance. Everyone may leave."
As soon as he said that, the government Saint rose from his chair and left the conference room, while the rest remained seated without uttering a word. Eventually, seconds passed, and they began to leave individually—completely silent.
When only Reynolds, Alice, and Jet remained, the latter finally rose from her chair, letting out a deep breath.
"What a disaster."
Reynolds stood up, adding, "In a matter of months, we won't lose just one continent, but two."
"If we lost Antarctica but not South America, they would still be isolated from the rest… but having a Category Four open at the same time is… I don't know… too much," said Alice. "The consequences aren't just that most of our food is produced there, but also…"
Jet finished for her. "Antarctica alone was already going to push more people toward the Outskirts, and if they manage to evacuate some from South America, the number will rise—maybe even exceed thirty percent."
Reynolds let out a sigh.
"As Cor said, we just have to prepare as best we can. Now we have a dinner to cook. Let's go home."
"Go ahead. I have my PTV here," said Jet. "I'll go pick up Sunny while you start cooking."
"He already confirmed?" asked Alice and Reynolds at the same time.
Jet smiled at their synchronization but ended up shaking her head.
"Actually, he hasn't even responded to my message. But he will."
They both took a step back at the tone Jet used to finish the sentence.
"Well, let us know either way! We'll start getting things ready."
Soul Reaper nodded and searched for Sunny's contact.
He hadn't responded to her, mainly because she hadn't actually sent him a message. She knew Sunny, and she knew that these kinds of things were better discussed face to face. So that's what she planned to do.
Besides, Jet knew that Sunny had taken a teaching job at the Academy a few days ago, and he was probably busy with that.
So now she finally deigned to send him a message telling him to wait for her at the Academy after his class. Not only did she want to talk about tonight's dinner, but also about Antarctica.
Jet would like Sunny to come as well. The more people, the better, and deep down she knew he would end up accepting—obviously, after complaining and questioning everything she said, but that was his charm.
She shrugged with a small smile on her beautiful face and headed to her PTV.
Once there, she began her journey to the Academy.
The trip didn't take her long, so in half an hour, she was already walking through the Academy's hallways as its employees looked at her with respect and a little fear in their eyes.
Either way, she continued walking to the cafeteria and sat down to wait for Sunny there. While she did, she took out her communicator and scrolled through social media while drinking coffee.
Due to her workload, Jet never had time for this activity, and whenever she did, she ended up disappointed by the stupidity she had to read.
She remembered when the movie about the events of the Forgotten Shore came out, and social media exploded with comments about what had happened. Curious, she decided to see the discussion topics.
Incredulously, she thought they would talk about the number of Sleepers who died, or the adventures those Sleepers had to endure. But to her surprise, those accounted for only ten percent of the comments.
The remaining ninety percent were men talking about Changing Star and women talking about Paragon of Purity—or as she called him: Little Art.
She had known him since he was very young, as his parents had been acquaintances for countless years. Alice and Reynolds were the first to welcome her when she joined the government, and they helped her kill creatures when she was just a Sleeper.
She was foolish, shy, and insecure back then, but they never treated her differently. They helped her with everything they could. An Outskirts Sleeper, destined to die, and they worried about her well-being, even helping her kill creatures emerging from Nightmare Gates.
So from that moment on, she owed them a great deal. When they had Arthur, she wanted to take on the role of a teacher for him. That's why she trained him whenever possible, and even so, it would never be enough to repay what they had done for her.
Fortunately, she managed to see Sunny approaching out of the corner of her eye, as she was getting melancholic.
Sunny was wearing a typical teacher's outfit—a black shirt with a black jacket over it, accompanied by black pants, and ending with black shoes.
Well, maybe not a typical teacher's outfit… he looked like he was going to a funeral.
He walked confidently toward her and sat down across from her.
"Master Jet."
Jet looked up and smiled at him.
"Master Sunless."
She noticed how he shifted uncomfortably when she called him that, and after he looked at her for a few seconds, he raised an eyebrow.
"You… uh… look nice?"
Jet's smile widened.
Because she was always running around solving Gate crises or doing paperwork, she didn't usually pay much attention to how she looked. But that morning, she had an event that forced her to tidy up, and minutes earlier, she had the meeting with the First Irregular Company.
Her uniform was perfectly pressed and buttoned to the top, without a single wrinkle or imperfection. Her silver epaulettes shone with an impeccable luster. Her leather boots were freshly polished.
Her jet-black hair was perfectly styled, and her ice-blue eyes were penetrating and piercing. She also didn't have a single dark circle under them.
"Oh, thanks. I had to attend a special ceremony in the morning. Promotions are flying off the shelves in the government these days."
Sunny cleared his throat and looked to the side.
"Congratulations, I suppose."
She laughed and then slid a small box toward him, saying, "No, no. Congratulations to you. Happy belated birthday."
He looked at her again and opened the box. Jet noticed how his onyx eyes lit up when he saw the Ascended Shards inside.
"Ah, this is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much! But… isn't it too luxurious?"
"Perks of being a public servant. I have more access to such things than most." Jet shrugged while taking another sip of her coffee. When she finished, she raised an eyebrow and added, "What, no present for me? I recently turned thirty, you know."
Sunny froze.
"Oh. Well, huh, in that case, dinner is on me."
She was about to accept, but then she remembered what they had asked her, and even with a smile, she had to refuse.
"Maybe another day. Tonight, I'm having dinner with the Leywins…"
Sunny froze again.
Jet continued. "I think it's time you stopped avoiding them, Sunny." She noticed how he was about to open his mouth—probably to change the subject—and continued, "Don't try to avoid the topic. Let me tell you, I understand why you've been doing it, trust me, I do. But that's not the case here. They just want to thank you for staying behind with him and not leaving him alone."
"They're not angry with me?" Sunny asked after several long seconds.
"No, they're not," she replied immediately. "They want to thank you for accompanying him, and well… let's be honest, they're obviously going to ask you about him—something even I'm a little curious about, I won't deny it."
Sunny blinked.
"You too, Master Jet?"
She smiled. "Why the surprise? Can't I worry about my student?"
Sunny froze for a third time.
"You? Master Jet, you had Arthur as a student?" Then he added, "That's something I didn't expect… and yeah, I guess you could?"
Jet pretended to be offended.
"You hurt my pride, Sunless."
"Pride?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "Well, if Arthur was your student, I suppose you could call it that."
She immediately understood what he meant.
"I know. The word 'pride' coming from an Outskirts rat sounds strange, but there are many things I feel proud of, and you should too." Then, with a smile, she added, "You broke my record as the youngest Master. That's something to be proud of, don't you think?"
Sunny chuckled.
"Well, I suppose."
"Now, back to the important topic." She narrowed her eyes because he almost made her go off on a tangent. "Rey and Alice invited me to dinner at their house tonight, and they asked me to invite you. So when we're done talking here, we're going. And this is not a suggestion—am I understood?"
Sunny sighed.
"I suppose I can go for a few minutes."
She smiled back, and now it was time to talk about the important matter. So she summoned a Memory to cancel the sound. Once it finished materializing, she took out her communicator and called up a projection. It was a map of the Earth.
Sunny asked, his head slightly tilted, "Is that a previously unexplored region of the Dream Realm?"
She looked at him with a strange expression, then coughed.
"No. That is planet Earth, you dummy."
Sunny froze in embarrassment.
"Well, you're young, and it took me a while to review the basics after leaving the Outskirts too, so…" Jet sighed, then pointed to the map.
Jet began teaching him the basics of the world: how it was structured, the number of inhabitants, the number of continents and quadrants—and what their current states were.
Europe, North America, and part of South America were already lost to Nightmare Creatures. She finished by saying that almost all of humanity now resided around the Indian Ocean. Asia, Antarctica, Africa, and Australia were the four remaining bastions of their civilization, forming the northern, southern, western, and eastern quadrants.
Once she finished, Sunny looked at Jet and shifted slightly.
"Uh… thanks for the history lesson, Master Jet. But what does it have to do with anything?"
She leaned back, smiled calmly, and answered in a relaxed tone:
"Oh, it's very simple, really. These four bastions of humanity I mentioned? They're about to become three… and all of South America will be lost."
Sunny froze for a few moments, then slowly put his cup on the table. When he spoke, his voice sounded a little hoarse. "What?"
She sighed, explaining how the Obel Scale worked and the problems they had been having with its readings. Then she used the example of North America.
"…The Obel Scale went out of alignment, making its detection scope unreliable. In the end, a Category Five Gate appeared, and after that, everything went back to normal. However, a few years ago, the government noticed growing irregularities in the readings again." She paused. "After studying these irregularities for some time, we came to the conclusion that something massive was going to happen again."
She pursed her lips. "This time, it is going to be different. Instead of one gargantuan Gate, there is going to be a… a chain reaction, of sorts. Hundreds of Gates are going to open in relatively quick succession, allowing countless Nightmare Creatures to invade the real world. And all that is going to take place…"
A moment of tense silence passed before she finished the sentence:
"…In Antarctica."
Sunny felt his mouth turn dry.
"But you… you just said that Antarctica is the second most populated continent on Earth."
"Yes. There are around nine hundred million people living there," Master Jet nodded.
He remained motionless for a while.
"…You also said that a compartmentalized global infrastructure is vulnerable to cascade failure. And that Antarctica serves as a logistical hub between the four continents and South America, where most of our food is produced."
She shrugged, saying, "Indeed. But I didn't tell you everything. Just before I came, information arrived that a Category Four Gate is going to appear in South America while all this is happening."
Sunny froze again.
"Wha…" He swallowed. "What exactly is the government going to do?"
Master Jet turned back to the map of the Earth, lingered for a few moments, and then pointed at the large archipelago in the south.
"Why, what else? We are going to evacuate nine hundred million people from the doomed continent while a neverending horde of Nightmare Creatures is pursuing us. Or… we will try, at least. To be honest, I think that most of those who try will probably die…"
Sunny was silent for a few seconds. "And South America?"
She sighed, then dejectedly shook her head.
"There's nothing we can do there."
"What!" His voice rose slightly. "You're going to let all those people die? What about the Great Clans? Aren't they going to do anything?!"
Jet stared at him with her cold blue eyes.
"Calm down, Sunny. Surely something can be done in the future… the information just arrived. We'll have to see how things unfold." Then she sighed again. "And the Great Clans aren't going to do anything. They've already started thinking that the Waking World is lost, and they're going to start mobilizing everything to live in the Dream Realm."
He took a breath.
"Sorry, it's just that… why are you telling me all this?"
She leaned forward, looked him in the eyes, and answered, "I want you to enlist… and come with me. To Antarctica." But before he could respond, she added, "You don't have to answer me now. Take your time—it's a difficult decision."
He frowned, saying, "You just said that most would go to die, and now you're asking me to go? Besides… why would you go?"
Jet shrugged.
"Do you remember when we talked about pride?"
Sunny nodded.
"Well, I like to feel proud of my work. So I might not have a lot of affection for humanity, but maintaining the fragile balance that allows it to exist is something that I chose to make my responsibility. So watching Antarctica go up in flames from the sidelines would be against my professional sensibility."
He looked at her and said darkly, "I understand that, but I am not in the same profession as you."
Master Jet smiled.
"And I understand that too. That's why I only asked you to think about it." Then she turned off the projection on her communicator and then the sound-canceling Memory. "We're running late. It's time to go."
Sunny sighed.
"Ok. I'll keep it in mind… but do I really have to go?"
"Yes."
"Fine."
Then they both left the Academy and got into Jet's PTV. On the way, they continued talking about other topics related to Antarctica until they arrived at the Leywins' house.
The PTV stopped on the street—the garage was occupied—in front of the house's door. It was a two-story building with large windows facing the front that, during the day, let in the rays of light that pierced the polluted air. At night, the streetlamps created yellow reflections on them.
Inside the PTV, neither of them made a move to get out. Not because they didn't want to go inside, but because one was scared, and the other was enjoying watching the former be scared.
With each passing second, the smile on Jet's face grew wider as she watched how tense Sunny was. This continued until she couldn't hold it anymore and let out a small laugh.
Hearing her, Sunny turned with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you enjoy watching me suffer that much, Master Jet?"
She didn't deny it.
"You're exaggerating, Sunny. Let's go before they realize we're here and it gets worse for you."
Sunny let out a sigh and opened the PTV's door.
When the cold night air hit his face, he finally realized what neighborhood they were in. Concentrated on what they had been discussing with Jet, along with the sensation in the back of his mind screaming that this was a bad idea, he hadn't paid much attention to the journey or the neighborhood they were going to.
Now, however, he did.
In front of him was the Leywins' house. One house down was the one Nephis had bought to train Rain, and below that was the house of the family that had adopted his sister.
Sunny paled.
Since returning to the Waking World, he had been living in the Immortal Flame Manor while waiting for the paperwork for the property transfer to be completed.
One of the gifts Nephis had given him upon returning was the opportunity to buy that house from her. Obviously, Neph had tried to give it to him, but that left a bad taste in his mouth.
He would always be the first to accept free things, but a house?
No. He wanted to buy it on his own, so that it would belong to him by his own will.
So he refused the gift but ended up buying it—obviously cheaper than it would have cost to buy it from anyone else. It wasn't something that bothered Neph, so he didn't give it much importance.
This meant that from now on, he would not only have his sister as a neighbor, but also Arthur's family.
It wasn't that it bothered him, but both situations were awkward. And knowing his luck with [Fated], he was sure that something unthinkable was going to happen to him tonight.
"Earth to Sunless, hello?" said Jet, waving her hand in front of his face.
Sunny blinked rapidly several times, then shook his head.
"Hi, sorry. I spaced out."
Jet let out a small laugh as she turned around and opened the door without knocking.
Sunny followed her inside, his eyes reflecting curiosity and a slight feeling of fear.
Once inside, Jet said out loud, "Hello, I'm here, and I brought a stray cat with me."
'What's a cat?' Sunny thought.
A voice came from the kitchen. "Hi, Jet! We're in the kitchen, come in!"
Sunny spent a few seconds analyzing the interior of the house.
The first thing that greeted him upon entering was an extremely comfortable living room. In front of the window was a wooden table with a set of chairs around it. Against the right wall, there were two large armchairs arranged in an L-shape, while a projector pointed at the white wall.
The room was illuminated by warm light coming from several lamps placed around the space, giving the shadows an orange tint. The glow reflected softly off the leaves of the many green plants scattered throughout the room, making the entire house feel alive.
At the back was an elevator that would surely lead to an underground dojo, or to where they kept their pods… though they were both Masters, Sunny remembered.
To the left was a door from which the voice had come, indicating the kitchen was behind it.
Finally, to the far right, a staircase with polished wooden steps ascended toward the upper floor, where the bedrooms were likely located. Framed photographs lined the wall beside it, creating a visual timeline of the family's life.
Everything about the interior exuded incredible comfort and a sensation Sunny couldn't quite recognize. It wasn't luxury, nor was it simply warmth. The house felt lived in. Every piece of furniture seemed to have a purpose, every decoration a story behind it.
It carried a sense of belonging that was foreign to him.
But what impacted Sunny the most were all the family photos scattered throughout the room. Some rested on shelves, others hung neatly on the walls, and a few stood atop tables.
They showed Arthur with his entire family during birthdays, vacations, and countless ordinary moments and strangely, Arthur had reddish hair and blue eyes?
'Did he dye his hair? But how did he do it with his eyes?'
Sunny was confused.
He knew that Nephis didn't have that silver hair color before her First Nightmare, and he also assumed that Seishan didn't have gray skin. So it all pointed to Arthur having gone through the same thing.
Then, the memory of that stupid movie entered his mind, and he remembered the scene of little Arthur with that different hair and eye color.
He didn't know which style suited him better, honestly… The blond hair and golden eyes suited him very well, they made him look like royalty, but the reddish hair and blue eyes give him a more exclusive vibe…?
'Wait, what the hell am I thinking?'
'I'm spending a lot of time with Kai.'
He shook his head and forced himself to follow Jet before she started looking at him strangely. He left his shoes by the door and finally entered the kitchen.
It wasn't very different from the living room—it transmitted the same feelings of comfort and something else. Either way, upon entering, he tried to put on his best smile, as in front of him stood Arthur's parents.
A muscular man in his early forties, with ashy brown hair and deep blue eyes, was cutting meat on the counter.
Beside him, a charming woman, also around forty, with distinctive reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, was just looking into the refrigerator.
Looking at them, Sunny realized that the idea of Arthur having his mother's hair and his father's eyes wasn't so far-fetched.
What the hell happened to him in his Nightmare to have such a drastic change? He had said he "found himself" in it, but what did that mean?
At the time, Sunny hadn't paid much attention to that choice of words, but what if Arthur meant it literally and not figuratively?
'What if Arthur really did find himself in his Nightmare?'
There was no way to know, and when Arthur returned, he had no obligation to tell him. But his exploratory side was activated by that.
Besides, why would "finding himself" make him change physically? Still, Sunny had a feeling there was something more behind it all…
Arthur's mother finished taking something out of the refrigerator and turned around. The moment she saw Jet and Sunny, a wide, genuine smile appeared on her lovely face.
The moment he saw her, Sunny felt… strange.
Not in a bad way, but she brought back memories of his own mother. Both permeated a motherly feel.
"Hi!" she said, setting the items on the counter. After wiping her hands with a napkin, she stood in front of him. "You're Sunless, right? Nice to meet you!"
He made a small bow. "Hello, yes, that's me. The pleasure is mine."
At that moment, Arthur's father turned around and wore a similar smile. After wiping his hands, he extended one toward Sunny, and Sunny took it.
"Hello, it's nice to put a face to the name!" They released their hands. "Tell me, boy, do you like stew?"
Sunny smiled.
"Nice to meet you both as well. Yes, I like stew."
"Good. It'll be a while before it's ready. Would you like something to drink in the meantime?"
Sunny thought for a while, and at that moment, Jet spoke up.
"Hi? I'm here too, in case you hadn't noticed?"
Arthur's mother looked at her and sighed.
"Oh, we know. You've just been relegated to the background now, Jet."
"Is that so?" Jet walked toward the refrigerator. "Then I'll have to serve myself."
"As if you don't always do that!" replied Arthur's mother, starting to chop some vegetables.
Jet took a sip of apple juice.
"Of course I do. I'm always mistreated in this house!"
"The nerve of this woman!"
Then they all started laughing, and the smile on Sunny's face widened slightly.
Then he coughed a little and said, "Sorry for the trouble… but you didn't tell me your names. Also, I'd like a cup of tea, if it's not too much trouble."
Arthur's parents froze and turned painfully slowly toward him.
"You're right, sorry. We got carried away." Arthur's father spoke. "My wife is Alice, and I'm Reynolds, but you can call me Rey if you want."
"I'm Sunless, which you already knew, but if you want, you can call me Sunny," he replied politely.
At that moment, Alice took out a kettle of hot water and prepared tea for Sunny.
Moments later, she asked him, "Do you want me to add honey to the tea?"
Sunny didn't know what honey was. The word was familiar, but he usually heard it used as a term of endearment.
He hesitated for a while, and seeing that the tea Jet was now drinking had that substance in it, he decided to try it.
"I've never tried it, so… yes?"
Alice smiled and added a spoonful of honey to his tea, then handed it to Sunny.
He blew on it slightly and then took a sip. To his surprise, he liked it quite a bit, so he asked, "Wow. It's like sugar syrup?"
"It is sugary, yes, but it comes from special insects that produce it by ingesting and regurgitating floral nectar," Jet replied while taking another sip.
Sunny froze, grew a little pale, and slowly pushed the tea away from himself.
"…I see. I see. Good to know."
Then he asked for a glass of water and downed it in one gulp to get the taste out of his mouth.
Sunny was never picky about his food, but even he had his limits!
'Damned rich people… what are they going to come up with next?!'
Jet noticed his strange attitude but simply shrugged and continued with what she was doing.
After a little small talk, Reynolds asked Sunny something.
"I notice you're an Ascended, Sunless. Would you like to have a spar sometime?"
Sunny froze again and blinked several times.
He hadn't expected this at all… was this a tactic to try to hit him as revenge?
Reynolds noticed the confusion in his gaze and let out a loud laugh.
"It's just to satisfy my curiosity, boy! Besides, I'm sure that if you spent time with Art, he would have tried to train you."
Sunny smiled, and the tension in his shoulders eased a little.
"Well, actually, he did train me. We spent a lot of time in the Dark City training together." A pause. "I don't have a problem with sparring, but I had a long day today, so maybe another time?"
"I can imagine! That boy can't go a day without training." Then he looked at him and winked. "I'll hold you to that offer for the future, then!"
Alice let out a sigh and said, "If you have so much energy to invite Sunny to a spar, I suppose it won't be a problem for you to go to the supermarket to buy something, will it?"
Now it was Reynolds's turn to freeze.
"Ah… you know, I had a long day too…"
Arthur's mother narrowed her eyes, and Reynolds ended up letting out a sigh.
"What do we need to buy?"
Now Alice smiled. "Something for dessert." Then she looked at Sunny. "Since you're the guest, what would you like for dessert?"
'Dessert?'
He was silent for a while, and then said in a low voice, "Umm… maybe pancakes?"
Jet let out a small laugh.
"Pancakes for dessert at dinner?"
"What's wrong with that?" Sunny asked sincerely.
Alice intercepted. "There's nothing wrong with that. Rey, go buy what we need to make pancakes."
Arthur's father accepted the order and left the kitchen toward the supermarket. Now only Alice, Jet, and he remained in the kitchen. However, Jet got bored of being in the kitchen and excused herself to go to the living room to put something on the projector.
Sunny almost followed her, but a question from Alice stopped him.
"Sunny, do you know how to cook?"
He turned to look at her and shook his head.
"Sadly, no. But it's something I'd like to learn in the future."
Alice smiled genuinely. "Perfect! I can teach you if you want!"
He shook his head again.
"Thank you, but I couldn't—"
Alice interrupted him by handing him an apron.
He shrugged and took it, and so began his second class of the day.
Alice taught him all the basic knife movements, how to cut different vegetables, and many more concepts that Sunny had absolutely no idea about.
Something that brought Alice a lot of joy, apparently, because every time he asked what something was, she smiled wider as she taught him.
A few minutes must have passed until Sunny felt a new shadow arrive at the house. It was Reynolds, returning from buying the things for the pancakes.
Upon arriving, he left the ingredients in the kitchen, and Alice dismissed him since they were busy.
The two of them spent easily another half hour like that while the stew cooked, until Sunny felt something else through his Shadow Sense. Another PTV parked in front of the house.
Curious, Sunny used one of his shadows to see who it was.
He didn't recognize anything about the PTV. It didn't belong to any clan, nor to the government. That meant it was private—but who could it be?
Then he remembered that Arthur had a sister. If he remembered correctly, her name was Ellie or Eleanor.
So his guard lowered a little. Besides, after a few seconds, he managed to see a girl of about fifteen get out of the PTV with a backpack on her back.
Sunny recognized that it was Eleanor since she had her father's grayish-brown hair and her mother's brown eyes.
When his guard was about to fully drop, instead of coming directly to her house, Ellie walked two houses down.
'Oh no.'
A bad premonition entered his body.
Ellie stopped in front of the last of the three houses and knocked lightly on the door.
From inside the house came a woman in her late thirties, who looked at her with a smile. Sunny managed to hear what they were saying thanks to the shadow following her.
The woman said, "Oh, dear Ellie, are you looking for Rain?"
Ellie nodded.
"Yes, Miss. I'd like to invite her to dinner at my house, if possible."
The woman agreed and went to get Rain.
Moments later, his sister stood in the doorway with a smile, sharing a hug with Ellie.
Sunny, for his part, was not doing well. His face had turned completely pale, and more than once he cut a vegetable wrong because of it. He even came close to cutting his finger.
While all this was happening, fortunately for him, Alice was looking for something in the refrigerator and didn't turn around until he managed to stabilize—at least outwardly…
In his mind, there were already fifty plans and different excuses to escape.
He thought about using Shadow Step, or saying he was sick… maybe he could say that disgusting honey stuff made him sick!
Yes, yes, that could work!
'Wait… I'm a Master… how can I say I'm sick?!'
To his misfortune, he didn't manage to come up with any plan or think of any excuse. The next moment, the door opened, and two fifteen-year-old girls entered the house. Additionally, the stew was just finished, and Alice began taking out plates and cutlery.
Sunny paled.
Alice accepted the progress Sunny had made in learning to cook and began setting the table. Reynolds and Jet helped her do it while he stayed in the kitchen.
He was definitely not ready to meet Rain again after so long, and he probably never would be…
He was afraid. He was completely terrified. But at the same time, a feeling of hope began to float inside him.
What if she remembers?
He knew that hope was poison, but somehow, the feeling wouldn't go away.
Finally, when the table was almost ready, Jet entered the kitchen and saw him standing there doing nothing.
She narrowed her eyes and asked,
"Are you okay, Sunny? You look like you've seen a ghost."
He blinked and returned to his senses.
"Yeah, I just spaced out a bit."
Jet gave him a pat on the shoulder. "That's the second time in less than an hour. Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything that's worrying you, right?"
He smiled.
"I was just thinking about something. Yes, I know. What's left for the table?"
Jet gave him a strange look but nodded.
"Just your thoughtful ass. Come on, let's go."
They both left the kitchen, and Sunny started walking behind Jet, using her as a shield. Once they arrived at the dining room, the beginning of a movie was playing in the background on the projector, and six plates of hot stew were on the table.
Reynolds was seated at the end farthest from the projector, while Alice was to his right. Across from Alice sat Ellie, with Rain beside her. Jet was next to Alice, and at the end opposite the projector—with his back to it—Sunny sat down.
Before starting the meal, Reynolds stood up from his chair to introduce him.
"Ellie and Rain, our guest tonight is Sunless. He's a friend of Arthur's—they were together in the Forgotten Shore. So no insensitive or out-of-line questions. Tonight, we're thanking him for accompanying Arthur on the journey."
Both girls nodded and turned to look at him with smiles on their faces, their eyes shining with all the questions they had been holding back.
First was Ellie's turn, and surprisingly, her question wasn't about the Forgotten Shore.
"Mr. Sunless, are you an Ascended, like my parents and Jet?"
He nodded.
"Do you know who Mongrel is?"
Sunny tried to keep his expression neutral.
"Yes, I've seen some clips of him online."
Ellie's eyes shone even brighter. "And what do you think?! It's amazing how he moves in the Dreamscape!"
He said casually, "Is he? He's good, but he still has a long way to go to improve."
"Right, right. You're a Master, and he's an Awakened, so it wouldn't be a big deal to you." And she was about to ask him something else.
Alice stopped her at the last moment and said, "Forgive her, Sunny. Ever since this 'Mongrel' went viral online, she hasn't stopped talking about him."
"Wait—Sunny?" Rain spoke.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"Your name is Sunny?"
He shrugged, trying to appear as indifferent as possible.
"Sure. Why?"
She suddenly laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"No, no! It's just… my mom calls me Rainy. What a coincidence!"
He relaxed.
'Oh… for a moment, I was afraid that she would remember me. But it doesn't seem that way. Good. That is good…'
But he was a little bit disappointed…
Rain's onyx eyes sparkled again.
"Could I ask you something else?"
"Sure."
She opened her mouth and closed it, then looked at Ellie, who shrugged.
Sunny tensed a little and decided to take a glass of water.
Finally, she gathered the courage to ask him.
"Are you… are you dating Miss Song of the Fallen?"
He gulped down the water and choked, coughing a little until he managed to normalize.
Jet raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Additionally, Alice and Reynolds fell silent, attentive to the answer—apparently, they were also curious.
He knew where this curiosity came from. In that damned movie, they had paired him with Cassie, of all people! How infuriating!
Sunny shook his head.
"No. Cass—Song of the Fallen and I are not dating."
Alice and Reynolds nodded, while Jet didn't react, but her gaze was different now. Sunny couldn't decipher it.
Meanwhile, Ellie and Rain accepted the answer and began to eat.
While they ate, there was only light small talk about the girls' day and not much else. But Sunny finally understood the feeling that had been constantly in his head.
He somehow longed for this.
It wasn't really difficult to understand, but it surprised him quite a bit.
Alice and Reynolds, since he arrived, hadn't stopped treating him with respect and an affection he couldn't understand. It made him feel strange somehow, but at the same time… happy…
Then there was Jet, who was the first person he saw after his First Nightmare. She was the one who gave him key advice without which he would have died. She was already an important figure to him.
Finally, there was Ellie… and… and Rain.
Ellie was nothing like her brother. She was sarcastic, mischievous, playful, and a little innocent, but she was just a child too.
Rain, for her part, was calmer, more thoughtful, and more meticulous than Ellie, but she also had her playful and sarcastic side.
Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but smile. It was a bittersweet smile, because she never needed him, and by the looks of it, she never would.
She already had her own family, and now she even had another family that would help her whenever she needed it. Why would she need him? Besides, Nephis had been training her for a few months, so that role was already filled as well…
Fortunately, a knock on his knee snapped him out of that chain of thoughts. Looking down, it was Jet, staring at him intently with her blue eyes.
Her expression asked the same question she had already asked him twice that night.
He smiled and nodded.
Jet obviously didn't believe him in the slightest this time, and it didn't take her long to figure out the reason.
"Rain, can I ask you something?" Jet asked.
"Yes, Miss Jet"
Sunny's eyes widened, but Jet paid him no attention.
"How's the training going?"
Rain stopped eating her stew and replied, "It was going well, but my teacher is going on a trip somewhere, and she told me we couldn't continue. So now my parents are looking for someone to teach me."
Jet nodded and smiled mischievously.
"You know, Rain, Sunny here is a very good teacher. He teaches at the Academy, and he's also very good at fighting."
Rain blinked and turned toward him.
"Are you?"
Sunny looked sideways at Jet, then replied, "You could say so. I've been teaching at the Academy for a few days now, and I can hold my own in a fight."
Rain said between laughs, "Of course you can hold your own! You were great in the movie! Besides, you're a Master now—not just anyone overcomes a Second Nightmare."
Sunny blinked.
Had he heard correctly? Had Rain just given him a compliment? Wait… the movie!
He cleared his throat.
"Well, not everything in the movie is real, but yes, I could be your teacher if you want."
Rain smiled and nodded. Then Sunny felt a bad premonition…
"I'll have to talk to my parents about the training, but…" She paused and looked back at Ellie, who quickly nodded. "Could I ask you something else?"
Questions, questions, and more questions!
"Y-yes," he said.
His sister was silent for a while, then said, "Is it true that Lady Nephis and Arthur are in a relationship?"
'Damnation!'
Enough with that disgusting movie! He had to watch it because the nagging Effie wouldn't stop bothering him until he did, and he almost ended up killing the huntress afterward!
Not only did they pair him with Cassie, but they also paired Arthur with Nephis!
He didn't know why the latter made him so angry, but he wasn't going to let it slide!
Sunny shook his head.
"No. Nephis and Arthur are not dating."
Suddenly, the sound of someone celebrating was heard. Ellie had jumped to her feet, saying:
"See, Rain?! I told you my brother wasn't dating Lady Nephis!" Then she extended her arm and pointed her index finger. "You lost the bet, so you have to pay up now!"
Rain pouted and looked away.
'What the hell?'
Next came the laughter of everyone present, except Alice, who began scolding Ellie for making bets so young.
Lost in the moment, Sunny didn't realize when he started laughing along with the rest. And between laughs, his heart began to beat a little faster.
He felt happy?