Cassie was sad.
As she silently ate her breakfast alongside her lodge-mates—Nephis and Yuki sitting on the opposite side of the table—her face was cast downward toward her plate. She used her fork to listlessly prod at a piece of crispy bacon that had long since gone cold.
Her chair, cold and solitary, had become a sanctuary of gloom. Every now and then, she turned to her right, where her senses picked up the empty space, hoping her soft, giant shadow-teddy bear would magically reappear.
Then, a slow, almost soundless set of footsteps approached their table. Had it not been for her crystal monocle amplifying her senses, she might have missed them entirely. Cassie raised her head, her sweet face instantly lighting up with immense relief as a warm, radiant smile bloomed once more across her delicate pink lips.
***
Having finally freed himself from the useless, petulant small talk of the prince of the Immortal Flame Clan—who, for some unknown and absurd reason, felt compelled to force a conversation—Sunny made his way back to the Academy's dining hall with quiet, measured steps.
As he wove through the lively chatter and scattered tables of the cafeteria, his mind was thoroughly absorbed in his thoughts.
'What a headache!' he sighed internally. He hadn't known the two heirs of the Immortal Flame Clan for even three weeks, yet they were already giving him major grief. 'What in the Spell do they want from me?! I'm not their personal courier!'
<
'Easy for you to say. It wasn't even a few nights ago that Nephis went on a tirade about how much she and her brother despise each other. How do you think she's going to react the second I hand over these trinkets?' Sunny pointed out.
His thoughts drifted as he ran through the possibilities—ranging from a peaceful scenario where Changing Star simply said, "I see," and accepted the Memories, to a far more chaotic outcome where she flew into a rage and burst into flames.
Between one thought and the other, Sunny had arrived back at his table.
Before he could utter a single word, just as he was about to take his seat, Cassie threw her arms around his waist and buried her smiling face back into his chest. The crystal monocle over her right eye pressed against his shirt as the blind seer giggled softly.
"You left me," Cassie murmured, looking up at him with those precious, sapphire-blue eyes. Her voice carried a delicate blend of playful offense and genuine sadness.
Sunny, whose mind was preoccupied with a slightly more complicated matter, didn't have the heart to push her away. Instead, he gently ran a hand through her hair, just the way she liked it. 'Damn it all, who is the bastard who dared to turn this precious, cuddly girl into a cold, manipulative machine of Machiavellianism and conspiracies?'
"I was summoned, Cas. It was a matter of minutes; it wouldn't have made any sense for all four of us to go or for me to drag you along," he said, glancing at all three girls seated at the table. "Besides, I was only gone for fifteen minutes. That's not long at all, is it?"
Cassie pouted, wrapping her arms even tighter around him as she buried her right cheek back into his chest, looking away stubbornly. "Fifteen minutes too long for me," she replied, her voice as sweet and velvety as a nightingale's song.
Apparently, as punishment, Sunny was going to be forced to spend the rest of the day like this—including enduring the gentle bite on his neck that would inevitably follow.
"Where were you, Sunny?" Nephis asked gently, her curiosity piqued as she tilted her head slightly.
Meeting her gaze, Sunny reached up to rub the back of his neck with one hand. Then, he reached across the table, took Nephis's right hand, and immediately transferred the Memories to her.
Even Yuki, sitting beside her, looked utterly perplexed by the sudden action. Her ice-blue eyes darted between the two of them with genuine curiosity.
Nephis blinked as the notification chime for receiving a Memory echoed in her mind seven times in rapid succession.
"I ran into your brother. Turns out he approached me specifically to ask if I'd pass these along to you," Sunny finally explained, withdrawing his hand once the transaction was complete.
Without a second thought, Nephis summoned her runes. Her hands clenched into tight fists on the tabletop in genuine anger as she read the new golden strings floating in the air before her.
"Why?" she demanded flatly, her fierce pride visibly wounded. It was a single word carrying the weight of an entire sentence.
"Because I could see he was genuinely worried about you. And when I looked at those Memories, I had to admit—they're pretty damn good," Sunny replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Look, I get that there's bad blood between you two. But I also understand a brother's concern for his little sister. Besides... never look a gift horse in the mouth, right? If you truly hate him and he insists on showering you with silver and gold anyway, you might as well bleed him dry for every last drop."
Sunny concluded his reasoning by crossing his arms over his chest, meeting Changing Star's blazing gaze with the unshakable resolve of a man who knew he had done nothing wrong.
Neither Yuki nor Cassie uttered a single word, implicitly recognizing the cold logic behind his reasoning.
Nephis, on the other hand, continued to glare at him for a few intense seconds, her silver eyes practically shooting white sparks. Finally, she lowered her gaze back to her plate and resumed eating in silence. Though her pride had taken a heavy blow, she couldn't deny the undeniable sense in his words.
***
Thursday morning, a couple of hours before the start of classes. Academy Dojo. One week before the Winter Solstice.
A young woman with raven hair adorned by a striking blue braid and vivid, ice-blue eyes danced across the sparring ring with a young man whose hair and eyes were as black as ink. Her glacial morning star, which looked as though it were forged from translucent crystal, sang through the air every time it clashed against the black iron of his blade—which was, in reality, Soul Serpent in the shape of a simple longsword.
For Sunny, sparring with Yuki was a... revelation.
As they traded blow after blow, he couldn't help but notice—thanks to the early assimilation of the first step of the Shadow Dance and the sixth sense provided by his [Child of War] attribute—that her fighting style was highly deceptive. What appeared to be a grotesque, brute-force approach was actually a highly refined technique. She optimized the sheer mass of her spiked mace, delivering decisive, rhythmic strikes designed to force her opponent onto the defensive and crush them with the fewest possible attacks.
He noticed how, with every swing, she imperceptibly adjusted the angle of her right arm to alter the weapon's trajectory, forcing him to constantly shift his center of gravity. The frantic, calculated repetition of her strikes made dodging nearly impossible, leaving parrying as his only option, while her flawless footwork perfectly dispersed the brutal recoil of her own weapon. In short, it was an incredibly well-thought-out battle art.
Meanwhile, leaning against a wall on the side of the room, Nephis observed their spar, watching as Sunny deflected yet another one of Yuki's crushing blows with his dark blade. Her silver eyes analyzed every slash and swing exchanged between the two with surgical precision.
'Sunny's sword is incredibly long, and despite that, it is remarkably hard—enough to effortlessly deflect Yukino's morning star,' she noted mentally, rubbing her chin with one hand as she pondered the mechanics. She genuinely began to imagine how her own body would react if she found herself thrust in front of Sunny's long, hard sword.
For some inexplicable reason, at that exact moment, the divine shadow in question felt a massive, deeply unsettling chill run down his spine, making his entire silhouette shudder from head to toe.
Pushing past the phantom shiver, Sunny continued the spar. He executed a light backward leap, narrowly avoiding a horizontal sweep that grazed him with one of the mace's frosty spikes. Then, pivoting on the ball of his right foot, he lunged forward for a counterattack. However...
Ssshhhttt.
Yuki had employed another one of her dirty little tricks, flash-freezing the mat right under his leading foot to make him slip. As his balance vanished, Sunny could clearly see the ice maiden smirking, her red lips curving upward in smug satisfaction.
'Oh, hell nah! I am not going down alone this time, my dear,' Sunny thought furiously as gravity took hold.
In an act of pure, vindictive defiance, as his body plummeted toward the floor, his left hand shot out and clamped onto Yuki's left wrist, violently pulling her down with him. Caught completely off guard, still reveling in the success of her prank and certain of her imminent victory, her reflexes failed her. She was yanked right off her feet and dragged to the floor alongside him.
THUD.
If the great tapestry of fate had eyes to see and a mouth to speak, it would undoubtedly be laughing its ass off right now.
'This... is actually not a terrible strategy for dismounting and pinning down an opponent,' Nephis thought. Having completely crossed over to the dark side of the force without even realizing it, she observed the unfolding scene with immense academic interest. 'Mhm. Perhaps I should try this move as well.'
Both Sunny and Yuki had hit the ground in a tangled heap. Whether by some twisted joke of fate or a cynical law of attraction, Sunny found himself flat on his back against the cold floor of the ring. His arms were instinctively wrapped around the girl, his hands resting softly against the curve of her hips. Yuki was sprawled entirely on top of him, her body pressed flush against his, her elbows dug into his chest to support the weight of her upper body.
Their noses were practically brushing. Their lips were literally millimeters apart.
'Damn, it's like having a life-sized snowman dropped on me,' was the very first thing Sunny's mind managed to register in that catatonic state, highly aware of Yuki's cold, soft body pressing into his.
A deafening silence enveloped them. For a long, suspended instant, the two simply stared at each other, blinking their eyes simultaneously. Eyes as blue as glacial ice locked onto two pools of pitch black. Both their hearts seemed to skip a frantic beat.
Then, moving with stiff, robotic suddenness, Yuki pushed off his chest. A fierce, uncharacteristic flush of embarrassment colored her usually pale cheeks as she scrambled to her feet in absolute silence. Sunny didn't linger either; the second her weight was off him, he practically bolted upright, dusting off his pants without uttering a single word.
A mutual, ironclad agreement was instantly forged in the crucible of utter awkwardness: they would never, ever speak of this again.
Then...
Knock. Knock. "Mail call."
Hearing that voice, sweet and clear as a delicate golden bell, Sunny, Yuki, and Nephis turned simultaneously toward the dojo's entrance. Cassie stood in the doorway, waving a few envelopes in the air with her left hand.
Adjusting the crystal monocle over her right eye with her thumb and index finger, she lowered the letters and stepped forward, making her way into the room.
Approaching with a calm, elegant stride, the very first thing she did was throw her arms around Sunny's waist and bury her face in his chest. A satisfied smile painted her lips as she breathed in his scent. Sunny, well accustomed to this by now, returned the affectionate hug, resting one hand lightly on her back while gently stroking her hair with the other.
Finally, Cassie handed out the mail. One letter was for Sunny, another for the blind seer herself, and the last was for Nephis, who had walked over to join them. Unfortunately, there was nothing for Yuki.
Sunny's envelope contained a postcard from Kurt and the regulars at the café where he had worked under Shadow Blade for the past few years. They wished him luck and promised to throw him a massive party upon his return. Almost certainly, this was just an excuse they had concocted to score free drinks.
'Those bastards,' Sunny couldn't help but smile, shaking his head slightly as he held the open letter. 'Any excuse is a good excuse to keep their wallets shut.' He sighed, looking down. He thought back to that rowdy bunch he had come to know. Even if they were cheapskates with holes in their pockets, they were far more vibrant and supportive than most people he had known in his past life, despite living in an absolute hellscape.
Suddenly, Sunny felt a faint, chilly sensation near his right shoulder. Glancing over, he saw that Yuki had leaned in to peek.
Meeting his gaze, the ice maiden tilted her head slightly. "Someone important?" she asked, curious.
Sunny snorted, looking straight ahead. "Important? Pfft... nah! Far from it. Just a couple of acquaintances, nobody special," he said dismissively. Then, turning back to her, he added with a nostalgic smile, "But let's just say... I'd prefer it if they didn't drop dead anytime soon."
Hearing this, Yuki offered a faint smile—perhaps sharing his subtle joy, or perhaps just finding a way to integrate herself into the group, seeing as she was the only one who hadn't received a letter.
Clink-clink-clink... plop... ziiing...
The sound of a small metal object hitting the floor, bouncing twice, and rolling to a stop drew their attention downward. Right between their shoes lay a simple golden ring, devoid of gems or precious stones but bearing the unmistakable, worn marks of time.
Picking it up, Sunny noticed a name engraved on the metal: Cassia.
"Cas," he called out to the blind seer, noticing she was already patting the air around her waist, momentarily forgetting her blindness in her frantic search for the precious item. "You dropped this."
"Thank you, Sunny," Cassie said, reaching out to take it back.
"Did this belong to your grandmother, by any chance? The one you were named after? I saw her name carved into it," Sunny asked, resting the ring on his open palm.
"Yes," Cassie nodded. "Exactly. It used to be hers. Mom and Dad probably wanted to pass it on to me as a good luck charm for my first expedition into the Dream Realm."
The weight of those words left a heavy void in the room. Sunny watched Cassie clutch her grandmother's ring to her chest, a faint veil of sorrow tightening around his heart. He was glad he had taken the time to truly get to know Cassie, unlike his original self. Over the past few weeks, he had learned so much about the sweet blind seer and had even helped her regain some of her lost confidence, even if not entirely. Yet, there was one thing he simply couldn't do.
Namely, he couldn't free her from the suffocating web of anxiety and fear that gripped every Sleeper approaching the Winter Solstice. No matter how hard he tried, Sunny couldn't change that reality. He had made peace with it and didn't blame himself. And yet, deep in his soul—perhaps a side effect of his own Flaw—he felt he could have done better.
"Uhm, Sunny?" Cassie called out, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Yeah?" Sunny blinked, snapping his head up to look at her.
"Could I..." A faint blush crept across her cheeks, which still retained a hint of childish plumpness. "Could I ask you to put the ring on my finger, please?" she asked in a low, shy voice, politely offering him the hand holding the jewelry.
Sunny blinked, slightly taken aback by the request. Then, a gentle smile graced his lips. "Sure! Why not?" he shrugged.
Taking the ring in his right hand, Sunny gently held Cassie's hand with his left. The warmth of their joined palms radiated a celestial heat. With care and undivided attention, without uttering a single word, he slipped the ring onto the ring finger of the girl's left hand. It was a deeply intimate gesture, yet for them, it already felt like a natural habit, even if they were doing it unconsciously.
Cassie felt the weight of the ring slide into place, exactly as she had asked of the boy she now considered her own shadow. An enveloping warmth bloomed in her chest, and she thanked Sunny with a wide, impossibly sweet smile.
For a fleeting moment, their gazes locked, and the world around them seemed to melt away.
But the world, as always, loves to demand attention.
Whoosh.
"Whoa!"
Driven by pure survival instinct, Sunny vaulted backward, twisting a full hundred and eighty degrees in mid-air as a sudden wave of scorching heat kissed his back.
"NEPH, WHAT THE F—" he barked as his feet hit the ground. But the moment his eyes landed on Changing Star, the words died in his throat. "..."
Her face was soaked with highly uncharacteristic tears, streaming heavily from silver eyes that usually only shed pure, white flames.
Even Yuki stood completely speechless.
Apparently, Nephis had incinerated the contents of her letter, violently triggered by whatever was written inside.
"Neph?" Cassie ventured. Though caught off guard, her voice remained as calm and gentle as a touch of velvet. "Is everything okay?"
Nephis stood completely paralyzed before them, refusing to meet their eyes or speak a single word. She was a steel vault of secrets and a ticking time bomb deciding whether or not to detonate.
A couple of heavy seconds after Cassie asked her question, Changing Star abruptly turned and sprinted out of the dojo, leaving her terribly perplexed companions behind.
Sunny's eyes widened. "Neph..." He went to step forward, intent on chasing after her to unravel this sudden new mystery. But before he could move, a firm, ice-cold grip clamped down on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
Sunny glanced back to see Yuki shaking her head, silently urging him to let it go. Whatever Nephis had just learned or read, it was best to give her some privacy.
Little did he know that the great tapestry of Fate had already begun to move its ruthless, treacherous threads.