Longing Room | Canon Nephis POV
Nephis stood still, calmly reading the descriptions, titles, and True Names of each Viewing. There was no doubt about it.
The Fateless One, Nobody, the one missing from her memories—it was Sunny.
It didn't take much to discover that.
The viewings that were the most revealing were the first and the third.
["Unnecessary Blood"]
[Description: A to-be slave worked hard for a single goal. One could say it was the only time in its life, past and future, that it would ever hold such conviction.
To save its blood.
But the poor slave could not see, not until it showed directly on its young face.
He was never needed.
]
[Actors: Promise of a Distant Sky | -Unknown-]
["Fated Encounters"]
[Description: A shadow woke up from a long nightmare.
As it awoke, he encountered a wraith, a nephilim, and a seer.
Were those encounters mere encounters?
Or were they Fated to meet.]
[Actors: -Unknown- | Soul Reaper | Star of Ruin | Song of the Fallen]
The first one described two siblings split apart by circumstance the brother worked endlessly to reach his sister. Only to find out that there was no need for him in her life.
The list of actors informed that Promise of Distant Sky, Rain, was present at that viewing.
Although the possibility that she was somehow related to the sister of the Fateless One existed, the description fit the shadowy siblings perfectly.
Sunny recounted that he had hesitated a lot in telling Rain the truth about their relationship, even though he did not tell Nephis about their past.
If Sunny hesitated, why did he? Perhaps this was it. The feeling of being unneeded by Rain was what set him back from revealing the truth, besides, if someone was not aware of his Flaw, who would believe such a thing?
The last viewing sold the deal.
The three True Names that were revealed were those of Jet, Cassie, and herself. If they knew each other that far back, then it was not abnormal that he ended up in their Third Nightmare. If they knew each other for so long, it would explain why she was forgetting so much.
For a moment both joy and sorrow danced in her chest.
Joy of having been able to have him in her life for more than ten years.
And sorrow for forgetting most of it.
She looked at Cassie as if seeking confirmation.
The Seer nodded, a slightly somber look on her face.
As if interrupting that very moment, the Mask of Longing spoke once again.
Now that is out of the way, it is time to vote!
"Vote?"
Nephis voiced her confusion along with her subject's.
Indeed. Although the first theme is hardly affected, the voting is meant to decide which viewing to watch first. Further down the line, one of the rewards one can get is the ability to issue a vote to delete the last viewing of a theme, that's where the fun is! For now, it is meaningless since there is no one with it. You can choose whatever.
Understanding the mask's meaning, Nephis turned towards the other viewers.
"Should we vote on what seems to be the chronological order? Choosing ["Unnecessary Blood"] first?"
"I don't see any problem with it."
"There is no meaning and no clear strategy to it yet, whatever order is fine."
Most answers were dismissive. Without the threat of someone eliminating one of the viewings and no need to erase any of them in particular, no one was that concerned about which they watched.
"We Vote for ["Unnecessary Blood"]!"
Got it!
["Unnecessary Blood"] -> I
*****
Shadow Room | Canon Rain POV
Rain was frowining.
Facing that her brother was the Fateless One was the easiest part of the information that the viewing descriptions had revealed. What occupied her mind at the moment, however, was something far more personal.
["Unnecessary Blood"]
It sent a shiver down her back just reading it.
Not because she was scared of it. Sunny had already told her about his journey through "saving" her.
She had felt sorry for her brother then. She remembered wanting to say to him that if at that time he had entered the house and greeted them, they would surely welcome him.
But the uncertainty of it had held her back.
He hadn't been clear on how he had felt at that time, he had merely recounted it as if watching a very old memory. Most of what she thought he was feeling were her guesses.
Reading the description, it just made some of her guesses.
'Unnecessary. I ... wouldn't mind even if you had been a burden at the time. To have my brother with me, even if it would take time for me to adapt, I would still accept you, I know it.'
So, when the time to vote came, she did not hesitate.
She didn't even bother to ask the rest of the members of the Shadow Clan.
"["Unnecessary Blood"]! That is our vote!"
None of them complained.
This was her right after all.
She deserved to know more about it.
To judge whether that blood was truly unnecessary.
["Unnecessary Blood"] -> II
******
Room of Nothing | Canon Mordret POV
Two men were sitting in an empty room with walls made of glass.
The room only had two similar thrones, and only two people were sitting in them.
They were Mordret of Nowhere, the King of Nothing, and his Death and Compassion.
"So, which one should we choose?"
The King of Nothing did not respond to his other self for a moment, he then sighed.
"The second one seems by far the most interesting, however, there is no need to jump to the climax right away, no? After all, to enjoy a good play, one must not miss the introduction."
"So the first one, then?"
"Indeed. ["Unnecessary Blood"] is our choice."
["Unnecessary Blood"] -> III
*****
Nightmare Room | 3rd Person POV
"Wow! Such interesting options. So, my friends, which one should we choose? The most dramatic, the most perilous, or the most dangerous?"
Noctis said so with a smile, seeking the opinions of the other residents of the Nightmare Room.
Solvane kept silent, wishing to ignore the mad sorcerer.
Ananke, Elyas, and Wind Flower also remained silent, some of them in thought, others simply without a clear opinion.
It was Daeron who answered.
"The second seems to be an appraisal from the Spell, so it most likely refers to a Nightmare Trial, considering the name of the theme, most likely the First Nightmare."
He pondered aloud.
Wind Flower continued her father's thought process.
"The third viewing seems to be depicting him awakening from the First Nightmare."
"And not only that, the first viewing refers to our friend as a to-be slave, then as a slave, and finally as a shadow. So, it seems that the viewings are organized chronologically. Should we vote in that order as well?"
Noctis finished it.
Daeron closed his eyes in thought and then answered.
"For now there is no advantage or disadvantage for us. We can just decide on what seems to be the best experience for us."
"Haha! Right? I think we should go in chronological order."
"Yes, I agree."
And so, they chose ["Unnecessary Blood"].
["Unnecessary Blood"] -> IIII
*****
Alter Room | Regressed Sunny POV
Things had been hectic ever since the curtains rose, revealing everyone that was in the room.
Sunny could see two mundane versions of himself, one of them seemed to be with Nephis and Cassie, while the other was with Effie and an impossibly gorgeous woman.
He could see the Mad Prince and other versions of himself.
And the viewings—it was plainly obvious what they were about to someone like him who had lived through them.
The day he had last seen Rain before succumbing to the Nightmare Spell.
His First Nightmare.
And the days he first met Jet, Nephis, and Cassie.
Well, things were starting off strong, it seems!
Then the voting commenced, each section would vote their opinion to decide where the Alter Room's vote would go.
After some discussion with Seishan and Jet, and Nephis to some extent, their decision was:
["Unnecessary Blood"].
Mundane Sunny POV
Things were starting off kind of hectic, and he was already feeling the piled-up stress spilling over the full glass.
For starters, why were most versions of Nephis white-haired? She looked so beautiful that he genuinely considered dyeing her hair in secret. There was also that weirdly scared and crazy version of himself that had been frantically staring at every single Neph in the room.
'Pervert.'
And then came the voting. Their section decided to go to the one they had found more fascinating, the one that mentioned heroes, monsters, and gods.
["Black Mountain"]
Mad Timeline Cassie POV
The viewings seemed to be starting from very early on, starting with Sunny's search for his sister, then his First Nightmare, and finally his first meeting with some of the most important people in his life.
'Effie and Kai are being kept apart because they only met much later.'
"Ah. What nostalgic words these descriptions convey! My memory is quite good still, it's good to have a few reminders like this. Say, Torment, which one do you want to choose?"
"I will go with ["Unnecessary Blood"]."
"Ah. About my Rain. Don't tell me you already miss how she ripped apart Dread Lord's jaw last time, it was quite the spectacle. The fact that she can't kill you makes it more fun. How much prouder can she make her brother feel? Still, Promise of Distant Sky? Ah, the nickname that King of Swords gave her was so much more appealing: Whispering Calamity. Brilliant! His naming sense was much better than his father's, that's for sure."
Cassie ignored the defiled man and focused on the various versions of comrades that were in this room.
'I have to find a time to talk to them.'
Detective Effie POV
"Let's go with ["Unnecessary Blood"]."
"Really? Why do you want to see that one, Detective?"
"It's better to analyze things from the beginning, no?"
"I suppose you are right."
Seeing the two talk so fluently, Detective Effie felt somewhat left out.
'Hey! Don't flirt in front of me! You are making me home sick!'
Diverged Nephis POV [This is what I'm calling the MOW/TWNIS-inspired versions]
There were a lot of them. A lot of Sunnys.
After so long without seeing him, she felt somewhat suffocated.
'Is one of them alright with me giving them a hug? No, control yourself. You are Changing Star, not... Thirsting Star.'
"So princess, which should we go with?"
"Any of them is fine. Do any of you have a preference?"
Rain raised her hand.
"Teacher? I would like to watch ["Unnecessary Blood"] first."
"So be it, then. ["Unnecessary Blood"] it is."
Sunnyless Nephis POV [A Nephis from a world without a Sunny]
The Fateless One was the person from another reality that they were about to witness.
She wasn't that interested, though, she had other things to worry about, like the Winter Solstice.
She wasn't interested in someone that didn't even exist in her world.
And yet, why are the versions of me all staring so focused on that black-haired man? Do they? No way, right?
In the end, Nephis, along with another student of the academy, Cassie, and some other sleepers called Effie and Kai, who was Night, by the way, discussed what to watch first.
They decided on ["Black Mountain"]
Bygone Nephis POV
He was alive.
In other worlds, at least, he was alive.
She waited until that familiar feeling that she had long forgotten to rise in her chest once again. Nothing.
The emptiness in her seemed to grow.
'Am I even incapable of loving you now?. Is it because they are fakes? Is it because they aren't my Sunny'
Alongside her, Cassie was sitting, her posture stiff, she seemed to be analyzing every single version of their world.
Nephis noticed one where both her alternate and another Sunny were staring dully at each other, as if displeased by each other's presence.
'She doesn't know what she has... Should I kill her?'
She dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared. She had no feeling to push towards such action, all of her killings were now backed by sheer rationality, there was no emotion.
For starters, the intent to kill her was simply a simulation of what she should have been feeling seeing a version of her not being grateful for still having their Sunny alive.
"["Unnecessary Blood"]"
Cassie's voice sounded beside her.
'Hm. So that's her answer.'
Confronting Sunny POV [That's what I am calling the world where Sunny and Nephis are enemies.]
Sunny was displeased.
Not just because he had been dragged to a room full of versions of himself and his Master.
Not just because he had to be sitting less than twenty meters from her.
But now he had to actually talk to her?
"We should go with ["Unnecessary Blood"]"
"Why is there something on the others that you don't want to see?"
"Even if I didn't want to, we can't erase it yet, can we?"
"Sorry for distrusting you, traitor."
"Are you still calling me that for siding with those who are against the one who holds my freedom in chains?"
"I trusted that you-"
"You what, Nephis? You betrayed me first. I already told you at the ball, if you want me to stop fighting for Song, give an order. Want me to stop killing Fire Keepers? Give an order. Want me to die? Give. A. Fucking. Order. But you won't, because your ego is so much bigger than the fucking Storm Sea."
"No, it's becau-"
"Don't give me that crap, Nephis. We are facing each other now. If you want to stop me from stabbing a sword through your eye, then either stab me first or tell me to stab myself."
As they were arguing, a voice sounded beside Sunny's seat.
"["Unnecessary Blood"]! I want to watch Sunny's childhood!"
It was Death Singer, Sunny's companion in Clan Song. Although it had been Seishan and Beastmaster who had introduced him, it was Death Singer who was assigned to accompany Sunny, by her own recommendation.
"Seriously, what am I going to do with you?"
"Hold me? Kiss me? Marry me? Give me enough children to fill Jade Palace?"
"..."
He felt a pair of burning eyes on his back.
The final vote of Alter Room was:
["Unnecessary Blood"]: 6 votes
["Black Mountain"]: 2 votes
And so Alter Room's vote went to ["Unnecessary Blood"]
["Unnecessary Blood"] -> IIIII
[Viewing Selected]
[Commencing...]
[Humble Beginnings | Unnecessary Blood]
*****
Author's Note: Next chapter the actual reaction starts. Hope you like it!