Nephis woke up once again in her room.
Unlike the first time, which was just yesterday. This time she did not waste any time inspecting the room, instead, she directly walked to the bathroom to prepare herself.
As she came out after taking a relaxing bath, she found a plate with food in it, along with a note.
Everyone already ate and is waiting in the reaction room. Eat it, apparently it was made by a version of Sunny in the Alter Room, so you will surely like it. - Cass
Staring at the note left by Cassie, Nephis stared at the neatly piled-up pancakes with no sign of honey on them.
'I wonder how the food made by another room ended up in ours.'
Not thinking much about it, she began to eat hurriedly, not just because she didn't want the others, but also because they were fantastic and oddly familiar.
They had the same taste in them that Sunny's usual pancakes had that screamed, "Who needs honey?!" Although she liked honey herself, she always found it enjoyable seeing her lover be bothered so much by something so mundane.
After eating, she finished preparing herself and left the room, heading down the corridor and entering the reaction room.
Only to find a surprising sight.
Everyone, both the Saints that were there from the beginning and the members of the Shadow Clan, who were accompanied by Sunny's Shadows, were all huddled together in front of the screen.
"What is happening?" She asked.
She didn't raise her voice, however, it was authoritative enough that everyone raised their heads in her direction. Slowly they also made space to reveal the center of their attention.
Right at the center of the human enclosure was Jet, hugging a little girl.
The girl had dark hair and grey eyes, she seemed to be scared of so many unknown people. No. Not scared, she was studying them, watching their every move, as if making sure of who was who and what they could do.
The girl clung to Jet, seeming to be the only person she felt comfortable with, but Nephis could notice that her eyes softened when looking in the direction of... Seishan?
However, there was something that surprised her more than the girl itself. Her appearance was to be expected, considering the reward Luster had picked after winning the last challenge.
It was she herself.
It was an alternate version of Nephis. A younger one, but a Nephis nonetheless.
Either that, or in the future Sunny's genes won't fight at all.
'Shame.'
She was hoping they were complete fusions of the two.
Shaking her head from fantasies that seem to occupy the empty space in her mind that would normally try to process the prayers of the entirety of humanity, she approached the girl.
"You are from the Alter Room, correct?" She asked.
She felt Cassie's gaze fall right on her back. Has she said something wrong?
The girl nodded.
"What is your name?"
"Nephis."
A "Damn" was heard from Effie nearby. It seemed that this confirmed a lot of theories in everyone's minds.
"I am Nephis as well."
"You are the one on the screen."
"Yes."
Nephis hoped that the one that would come through would be someone else, this way there was no way to obtain that much information.
Seeing that Nephis was no longer talking, Jet decided to ask something.
"Can you tell me why you are clinging so much to me?"
Jet wouldn't admit it, but she didn't dislike the feeling of holding a young girl in her arms, which was strange considering she never even considered the possibility of becoming a mother and she doubted she had any form of maternal instinct. And yet she wanted to protect this child with all she had, weirdly enough, even if it was just a younger version of the Sovereign she served.
"Because I can trust Big Sis Jet."
Both Jet and Nephis froze hearing her.
"What is it like in your world?" Kai asked.
She stared at his face for a second too long and then responded.
"Sunny said it's pretty similar it is just some small differences."
"Sunny?"
The name seemed to make something click.
"How do you know Sunny?"
"He is my bodyguard and guardian." Young Neph said, then as if she remembered something, she then added. "I leave with him in his house, along with Bis Sis Jet and Bis Sis Seishan."
Longing/ShadowRoom.exe stopped working
It was a surprise, just from the first half alone, Nephis was able to determine that in her world, Sunny was not close to her age, instead, he was way older. Old enough to be her guardian.
'So they have a father-daughter relationship.' Was her passing thought, which made her feel very, VERY strange.
But the second half just made everything worse.
He was living with both Jet and Seishan.
Her cold eyes targetted the both women, who somehow were capable of growing even paler.
Before they could talk anymore, the screen lit up.
Swallowing her jealousy, she stood up.
"Sit wherever you like. Everyone, to your sits!"
Then she went in silence to her throne.
Young Neph followed Jet and sat in her lap.
Soon everyone's attention was on the screen, where a message to prepare to vote appeared.
****
Volume - [ I - Child of Shadows ]
Theme - [ Academy Days ]
Viewings:
[ The Teacher ]
[ Peeping on a Fight ]
[ Winter Solstice ]
****
"No descriptions this time. So any clue on what each one is about?" Effie asked.
Not far from her, Professor Julius raised his hand.
"If he truly did become my student, which I believed he did. Then the first one is about the classes I had with him." He reasoned.
No one disagreed.
"As for the second one. Perhaps he stealthily spied on a fight or a spar in the combat classes?" Morgan proposed.
"Most likely, and the third one is too on the nose. It was his the time he entered the Dream Realm for the first time." Eunbin complemented.
They had made a hypothesis, and what was left now was to vote.
On a whim, Nephis turned towards her younger self.
"What do you think?"
The child looked surprised, eyeing the woman with a defensive gaze.
"The first one. The third should be the last, and the other two don't really matter in the order."
"Indeed. Our vote goes to [ The Teacher ]!"
Vote Acknowledged
Those words showed that their vote. So the Longing/Shadow Room was now waiting for the results.
****
Alter Room | Regressor Sunny POV
He was pissed.
Unimaginably so. He had finally come out and revealed his status to Jet and decided to ponder if he should do the same for Nephis and Seishan while he slept.
Weirdly, the room had given Nephis no room, forcing her to sleep with Sunny, for the exasperation of the little girl.
"I am not a kid, Sunny! I can sleep without being afraid of the dark! And I don't have nightmares, so why don't I have a room for myself?"
"If it bothers you so much, why don't you go sleep with your Big Sisters?"
"No."
"Why?"
"They are too cold, I don't like to cuddle with them."
He had laughed and then lulled her to sleep before falling asleep himself.
Only to wake up with her missing.
He had run and entered rooms trying to find her.
As he entered the Reaction Room, the only one there was the one person in the Alter Room who couldn't leave the Reaction Room, except for the dining room.
Chained to his throne in the room, the Mad Prince had laughed at Regressor Sunny, for a moment it felt that he had the Sin of Solace being a nuisance in his ear again.
Later, the Alter Mask had explained that the Longing/Shadow Room had chosen the reward to get an alternate version of them from the Alter Room, and Nephis had been randomly selected.
For now, he could believe that she was safe. Surely, the version of him from that world and perhaps Nephis herself were taking care of her.
He was still pissed.
"Sunny they revealed the viewings for today."
****
Volume - [ I - Child of Shadows ]
Theme - [ Academy Days ]
Viewings:
[ The Teacher ]
Description: [ "I will make you immortal," the Teacher had said, and so he did. The Shadow learned to survive in ways that he wouldn't before, saving his life even when he was considered a demigod. ]
[ Peeping on a Fight ]
Description: [ A shadow takes a glance at a Star dueling against a Blur and ponders on its own strength. It would be the first time that the Shadow would truly acknowledge the Star. ]
[ Winter Solstice ]
Description: [ The fated day approaches, and the Shadow prepares to enter a new Realm. ]
****
'Well, that was as straightforward as they come.'
The first one was about Professor Julius. The second was about that one time when he used his shadow to spy on the combat class, hoping to either learn something or at least learn more about his shadow's abilities, and watched Nephis dueling Caster. And the third one was obviously the one where he was sent to the Forgotten Shore.
It didn't take long for everyone to choose their vote.
After all, a lot of the worlds that were here had their Sunny with them, which allowed them to learn more about each description.
In the end, the Alter Room voted for [The Teacher].
****
Vote Results:
[ The Teacher ] - | | | |
[ Peeping on a Fight ]
[ Winter Solstice ]
[ Commencing next Viewing - [ The Teacher ] . . . ]
********
A/N: Another Chapter, next one we go back to the point of this fic, REACTING! What was your opinion on the games, should I keep doing one per theme or should I make it one per Volume?
Check Out my other Fanfics:
Cursed Shadow (JJK/JJK Modulo x Shadow Slave Fic)
Trailblazing Shadow (HSR x Shadow Slave Fic)