Asteria sat in the high-backed chair, the sterile white light of the medical facility catching the iridescent shimmer of her hair. She gazed down at the man standing before her, her violet eyes clouded with a mixture of boredom and deep-seated suspicion.
She was curious — and more than a little wary — as to why he had gone to such lengths to seek her out now, amidst the frantic aftermath of the Shore.
"Can I help you, Sunless?" she began, her tone clipping the air with the sharp edge of exhaustion. She had spent the last hour navigating a sea of cameras and sycophants; her patience was a frayed thread.
"Do I need a reason to find you?" Sunless countered. He didn't look like a hero of the realm; he looked like a scruffy, ill-tempered stray. He remained rooted to the spot, his posture guarded and defensive, his dark eyes flitting across the luxury of her private quarters with a flick of disdain.
"Is this about our previous conversation?"
His jaw clenched, the muscle feathering beneath his pale skin before he forced a thin, mirthless smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It could be."
'I don't have whatever it is you're looking for,' Asteria grumbled internally, her fingers drumming an impatient beat against the armrest. She wanted this encounter to reach its inevitable conclusion so she could finally sink into the silence she craved.
"Have you found yourself a citadel yet? I saw you've been ranked as an SS-class citizen," she sighed, leaning back and letting her gaze drift to the window. "The Great Legacy Clans are likely tearing each other apart for the chance to put a collar on you."
"I haven't had any offers, no." The boy shrugged with a nonchalance that felt far too practised to be genuine. "I don't think Nephis has had any either — all the Clans want you, after all. You're the shiny new toy, Asteria. Why bother with us when they can have a queen?"
Asteria's drumming fingers stopped. She felt a sudden, cold stillness in the air. She paused, her breath steadying as she processed the sheer absurdity of his claim. "...You're joking? Lying?"
"I'm the most honest man in the world," he replied smoothly, his voice devoid of the usual tremor of deceit. "Two worlds, even."
'Why does he sound so strangely proud of that?' Asteria wondered. There was a weight to his words — a peculiar truth that made her skin prickle.
She narrowed her eyes, studying the unassuming young man. "The most honest man in two worlds," she repeated, the words sounding like a cruel riddle. "That's quite a claim for someone who looks like he's spent his entire life lurking in someone else's shadow."
Sunless tilted his head, his dark pupils absorbing the harsh clinical light of the room. "Shadows are very practical, Asteria. Though I suppose you wouldn't know much about that, given your... pampered upbringing." He shrugged, deftly shifting the weight of the conversation back onto her shoulders. "Shadows never demand anything, nor do they ask stupid questions. They just exist."
He paused, glancing toward the heavy oak door. "Unlike the vultures currently clawing for a piece of you in the hall. How does it feel, I wonder? To be the world's most expensive piece of property? To have a price tag written in blood?"
"It feels horrible. Now, skip the pleasantries. Why are you here, fate's dog?" Asteria huffed, her voice dropping an octave. "I imagine you're enjoying the lack of attention. It's exactly what you wanted, isn't it? All those secrets you want to bury. I can't wait to pry them all out of you."
Sunless visibly froze, a momentary falter in his carefully maintained composure. "And what makes you think I'd tell you anything? I'm simply here to continue our talk. Professional curiosity, nothing more."
"A hunch. You'd have little choice if you valued your life, wouldn't you?" She stood up slowly, the movement fluid and predatory. She closed the distance between them until she could look him directly in the eyes. "It would only take a single strike of my hand to break you, Sunless. We both know where we stand in the food chain."
He laughed — a quiet, private sound that made her wonder if he was mocking her or himself. "I suppose you're right."
Asteria relaxed her shoulders, adopting a stance of easy, regal grace that she had fought for as a Queen. "I have no confidence in being wrong."
"If you insist." The shadow sat down with a grace that felt unearned, settling into the very chair Asteria had just vacated. He looked entirely too comfortable. "I can't quite figure you out. Nephis is... Nephis. The daughter of Broken Sword, the last spark of the Immortal Flame. People worship her as a goddess because they need something to believe in. Yet you waltz in, hijack her revolution, and render her struggles secondary. I'm surprised she let you live; she's remarkably stubborn about her destiny."
Asteria remained silent, watching the way the shadows in the corner of the room seemed to lean toward him, as if drawn to a magnet.
"You don't really want anything, do you? You don't fight for a cause — only for yourself. For your own freedom." His words struck a nerve, landing with painful accuracy. "The Clans are terrified of you because you're a wildcard. Everyone is."
Asteria watched him, intrigued by how he spoke of the Changing Star and herself with such casual disdain, as if he was superior. "And what about you, Sunless? What are you terrified of?"
Sunless let out a short, dry bark of a laugh. It wasn't a pleasant sound. "Me? I'm terrified of everything. I came from the outskirts — the lowest gutter of the world where hope goes to die. Fear is how I stayed alive while everyone else was busy being brave and dead. I don't want to be a slave to anyone. Not to the Clans, and certainly not to fate."
He paused, his breath hitching as he pressed his palms to his temples. His teeth remained clenched, his face contorting as if he were fighting back a searing internal pressure that threatened to split his skull. "Though, I am particularly terrified that you're going to ask me something I don't want to answer."
Asteria shifted her weight, eyes tracking the way his hands trembled. "And why would that be terrifying? You wouldn't have to answer if you didn't wish to... right? It's a free world, or so they tell us."
'Is it what I think it is?' She felt a flicker of inward amusement, a cold realization dawning. 'This might be easier than I thought. The Spell has a wicked sense of irony.'
"I have no reason to lie! I'm the most hon–"
A sharp, violent crack echoed through the room. A faint red mark bloomed across his cheek as if an invisible hand had struck him. He gasped, clutching his face.
"You're the most honest man in two worlds; I heard you the first time," Asteria said coolly, her heart hammering against her ribs. She decided to pivot, sensing his vulnerability. "I heard a few of your friends earned True Names. Song of the Fallen, Raised by Wolves, Nightingale... I'm not sure who the first two are, but if the last one is Kai, do you think I could get his autograph? He's quite popular with the masses."
Sunless gave her a long, blank stare, his hand still hovering over his reddened cheek. "What? I don't know... ask him yourself. He's probably hiding from a mob of fans anyway."
'Did I actually say that out loud? Oh, Spell... save me from my own mouth.'
The Spell did not, in fact, provide any such mercy.
Asteria coughed into her hand, attempting to brush past the sheer embarrassment of the moment. "Did you not receive a True Name as well? You seem to deserve one after everything I've heard. Killer of Harus. A self-proclaimed cockroach. Slayer of statues. And most importantly... Changing Star's loyal dog."
Sunless's expression hardened instantly, his eyes turning to flint. The air in the room grew cold, the shadows deepening until the corners of the room were swallowed in ink.
"Did I hit a nerve?" Asteria smiled, though there was no warmth in it. Her eyes swirled with a clouded, dangerous violet light. "A loyal dog? Or is it because you didn't get a True Name..." Her voice trailed off before she drove the nail into the coffin. "...Or do you already have one, Sunless?"
White sparks coalesced around the young man's hand with a hiss. A shadow from across the room surged forward, detaching itself from the wall to embrace him as he lunged. He was fast — faster than any awakened had a right to be. A small, wicked dagger was aimed squarely at the Queen's neck.
Effortlessly, Asteria caught the blade between her fingers. The metal hummed against her skin, but it didn't draw blood. "Aren't you going to answer me, Sunless?"
"No." His knuckles were white, his eyes burning with a raw, unfiltered hatred that made her wonder just how deep his secrets went.
"You can't lie, can you? It's your Flaw. The Spell has stripped you of your tongue." She tightened her grip on the Moonlight Shard, feeling the vibration of his fury. "Fitting, in a twisted way. You likely survived the outskirts through deceit and trickery — and now you've lost your only weapon."
The shadow nodded slowly, his shoulders sagging as he yielded to the pain thrumming through his head. "I do have one. And you're right. I can't lie. Not even if my life depended on it."
Asteria released the stiletto, smiling shamelessly at the boy who had just tried to slit her throat. "Now, why go to such lengths for a simple question? It's just a name."
"I hid it for a reason. I don't want people like you knowing it," he snarled, looking like a feral cat pinned into a corner by a much larger predator. He was panting now, his chest heaving.
A ghastly smile played on Asteria's lips. "And why hide it? What power does a name hold over a man like you?"
"Do you value your freedom?" he asked quickly, his eyes darting around the room, searching for an escape that didn't exist.
"I suppose I do." Asteria slowly said before her eyes focused onto his. "It hurts, right? You need to answer my question, Sunless."
"What would you do if someone took away your freedom and made you a slave?" he choked out, the words sounding like they were being dragged over broken glass.
"I'd kill the one who enslaved me. Isn't that obvious? I'd burn the world down to find them." She tilted her head, confused by his trajectory.
"That's why I'm not telling you my True Name."
"And what if I asked what it was right now?" She shrugged, already suspecting the mechanics of his torment.
"I would do everything in my power to kill you. I would spend every waking moment plotting your demise."
"You could barely touch me while I'm unguarded and without a stitch of armour." She gestured to her casual frame. 'I suppose that's a lie — these clothes are Transcendent and tougher than steel — but he doesn't need to know that.'
"I'd rather die trying than answer you." His fury was becoming more intense, a dark, suffocating pressure that filled the room.
'I'll stop prying for now; I'd rather not have a proper duel in my bedroom.'
Sitting back down, Asteria calmly shifted the topic, completely ignoring the weapon he still gripped in his hand. "Sunless, what do you know about Weaver?"
He thought for a long moment, the tension in his shoulders slowly bleeding away. "Weaver, the Demon of Fate. Firstborn of the Unknown. They created a forbidden divine lineage... of which I have a part. I found a piece of them in the darkness." He dismissed the ghostly stiletto and, with a flick of essence, summoned a different Memory.
Asteria's skin crawled. In his hand was a lacquered, wooden mask — nebulous, devilish, and ancient. It was the same face she had seen in the depths of her soul sea; the same mask she had worn in a vision of a terrifying, inevitable future.
"This is the Mask of We–"
"That's a Divine Memory, isn't it?" Asteria whispered in absolute disbelief. "Where on earth did you get that?"
Ever since recieving her aspect, she could almost instinctively gauge the strength and ranks of memories, and after Ascending it's felt incredibly accurate.
He laughed, not hiding his bitter amusement. "I stole it from a corpse. How else does one find such things? I don't exactly get gifts from the divine like you do, Queenie."
"What does it do? Aside from looking hideous?"
"It hides my identity from divination and reverses one's Flaw," he stated matter-of-factly. "Though there is another enchantment I'm unsure of — it has no description or name. It's just... there."
"That's underwhel– wait. Did you say it reverses a Flaw?" Asteria's eyes lit up like beacons. "Does that mean you can stop being honest?"
Sunless sighed, clearly expecting the question. "No. It just makes the Flaw function in the opposite way. A mirror image. I can't tell the truth while wearing it. I can only lie."
'Twisted indeed. If my Flaw is hearing the call of nightmare and I wore it... would I hear the silence of heaven?' Asteria pushed the thought aside, ignoring the invasive, pulsing warmth in her ears.
"What do you know of Weaver? I've told you my piece, it's only fair you share yours."
"I know as much as you do," she admitted, feeling a surge of defeat. "The only difference is I've spoken with what remains of them and received their blessings. Or their curse. It's hard to tell the difference sometimes."
Sunny stared at her for an even longer moment, his dark pupils seemingly devouring the light in the room. The feral aggression from moments ago vanished, replaced by a hollow, profound exhaustion. "I don't like you, Asteria."
"You don't have to. Most people don't."
"You talk too much. It's annoying."
"I do. It's a habit."
"What are you doing next?" he asked, looking genuinely curious for the first time. "You asked for my plans; it's only fair I ask for yours. Are you going to join a Clan and become their golden pet?"
"I'm not sure. No matter what I do, I'll eventually have to pick a side," she huffed, feeling deflated by the sheer weight of the politics invading her life. "But I have a citadel as a bargaining chip. I'll see which way the wind blows before I commit."
They sat in an awkward, heavy silence for several minutes, the only sound the distant hum of the ventilation.
"Sunless," she called out, stopping his movement as he turned away. "Why go this far? Why tell me about all this? We aren't friends. In fact, I'd say we can barely stand the sight of each other. Most of the time, I can't decide if I want to thank you or kill you."
He didn't respond for a moment, mulling over his answer. "There's nothing I can do if you decide to kill me," he muttered, his voice low. "And I can't hide anything from you anyway. The Spell won't let me."
"True. You're a terrible liar." A mischievous smile returned to Asteria's face as Sunless finally stood to leave. "One more thing. What's your connection to the Shadow God? Your affinity for shadows is far too close to be mere luck."
"I was blessed by him in my first nightmare. Does that answer your annoying questions?" He clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing as he gripped the door handle.
"Raised by Wolves, Nightingale and Song of the Fallen, who are they? I didn't get the chance to look." Asteria asked innocently, a small smile on her face. "It's good to know strong people."
"Effie — Athena, Kai and Cassie." He answered swiftly, pulling the door open.
"Effie, Kai, and Cassie," she murmured, confirming the names of his friends. "It's good to know strong people. They'll be useful in the future."
"And yours?" she asked just as he pulled the door open, her voice dropping to a whisper that seemed to fill the room.
"You know what I'm asking, little shadow. What is your True Name?"