A blinding light invaded Sunny's vision. His pupils shrank painfully, his head throbbing from the sudden brightness. It was too intense, too pure. His onyx eyes burned as they struggled to adjust, but beyond the discomfort, the first thing he noticed was how good he felt.
Too good.
It was the second time he had come close to dying at the hands of an abomination like that. His body should have been sprawled across the rough sand of the Nightmare Desert, suffocating under its relentless heat, feeling life slip away from him.
But it wasn't.
He felt no pain, no exhaustion, no weight of death pressing down on his shoulders. This didn't make sense.
A flicker of memory surfaced in his mind. That light. Pure, blinding, beautiful. The last thing he had seen before losing consciousness.
Nephis.
The thought echoed in his head, but the confusion remained. He was supposed to be in the desert. Yet, he wasn't. His instincts screamed that this wasn't real.
A nightmare.
Damn it. His mind latched onto the only logical conclusion.
He must have passed out, and his loyal steed—his echo, the one with the power to devour nightmares—wasn't here to protect him this time. Sunny clicked his tongue in frustration.
So this is a nightmare, huh?
But... something was wrong.
There were no lurking monsters. No suffocating, oppressive air crushing his chest. In fact, he was lying on a bed. A bed.
A white, soft, comfortable bed. Too comfortable.
What kind of nightmare was this?
Before he could process it, the door to the room creaked open. His senses sharpened instantly, his body tensing on reflex. He didn't recognize where he was, but as he looked closer, he noticed the wooden walls, the warm, welcoming atmosphere, the soft breeze filtering through the window.
And then he saw her.
A child.
Small, around ten years old.
She had long, sleek black hair—deep and dark as the night itself. Too similar to his own. But what truly took his breath away were her eyes.
Gray.
Bright, shimmering gray eyes, filled with life, looking at him with a warmth he had never known.
—Dad, let's go see Aunt Cassie. Mom's going to get mad if you take too long.
The girl's voice was clear, innocent, tinged with the softness of childhood.
Sunny's world stopped.
Dad.
The word struck him like an unstoppable tide.
An unfamiliar emotion surged through him, something strange and warm that he had never felt before. It wasn't pride. It wasn't relief. It wasn't even surprise.
It was something more.
Something deep, something that filled him from the inside, something that made his chest feel... whole.
Happiness.
And then, his mind caught up.
Black hair. Gray eyes.
That meant...
Nephis.
Nephis was her mother.
And he...
He was her father.
The thought settled inside him, taking root in the depths of his being. And that happiness transformed into something greater, something overwhelming, something he never thought he could feel.
—
Sunny opened his eyes again, this time for real.
His pupils slowly adjusted to the dim glow of a small campfire crackling at the center of the camp. The cold sand brushed against his porcelain skin, sending a slight shiver down his arm.
First, he stretched. His body felt stiff and heavy with exhaustion. He raised his arms and let out a sigh while scanning his surroundings.
Around the fire, all his friends were asleep. To his relief, they were safe and, all things considered, fine.
Cassie, Effie, and Jet slept close to each other, and in the middle of them, Sunny noticed something that made him smirk. Effie had Cassie trapped in her arms like a giant teddy bear. The blind girl didn't seem to mind... or if she did, she had no choice against the taller woman's strength.
Maybe they were cold—he wasn't sure.
Then, his gaze fell on another curious sight: Kai and Morgan were sleeping side by side, lying on the sand. There was a small space between them, but even so... they were pretty close.
Lastly, he spotted Seishan, sleeping farther away from the others.
These images were priceless.
Damn it... why didn't communicators work in the Dream Realm? These pictures would go viral, Sunny thought in frustration.
But then, a question crossed his mind.
Where was Nephis?
His heart skipped a beat.
No, wait... don't tell me—
His panic was abruptly interrupted by a sudden touch on his left side.
A hand.
Pale, with long and elegant fingers, gently gripping the fabric of his clothes.
Nephis was right beside him.
Holding him.
He hadn't noticed until now, but as he fully regained consciousness, he realized her head was resting on his shoulder.
Her long silver hair was sprawled over him, a cascade of luminous strands draped across his arm and neck.
Damn it... I'm about to have two heart attacks in a row.
Heat crept up his cheeks as he felt the softness of her hair against his skin.
And then, he noticed something else.
Nephis' embrace was... possessive?
Her arm was firmly wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly, as if she had no intention of letting go.
It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling.
But it reminded him of something.
Of Effie.
When she protected her food from anyone who tried to steal it.
Sunny was being protected from something.
But from what?
Everyone here was asleep except for the two of them. Was something wrong?
Had Morgan tried to kill them?
Seishan, maybe?
That didn't make sense.
He didn't fully understand the situation. Maybe Nephis was just keeping watch. After all, sleeping in this desert without taking precautions was dangerous.
Well, he could always ask her.
But before doing so, he needed to check something.
He entered his soul sea and summoned his loyal steed. Of all his echoes, Nightmere had taken the worst damage in the last battle against the skin-walker. And to his surprise, the demonic horse was completely recovered.
"How long was I asleep?" Sunny murmured under his breath.
When he returned from his soul sea, he summoned Nightmere into the shadows. That way, his loyal steed wouldn't take up too much space but would still be lethal—and, most importantly, would continue devouring nightmares.
His friends, along with the two new additions to the group, deserved proper rest. After all, they had also fought against the skin-walker.
With everything ready, all that remained was to ask.
[Neph, are you okay? Did something happen?]
He hadn't gone through all this just to accidentally wake everyone up. So, using his transcendent armor, he initiated a mental conversation with his star.
——
Nephis felt a small sense of relief when Sunny finally woke up. Though her expression remained serene, she couldn't help but wonder what he had been dreaming about.
After all, it wasn't every day she saw Sunny sleeping with such a radiant smile.
She quietly watched as he looked around their shelter, taking in the peculiar sight of their sleeping companions. Then, she saw him tense, scanning the area—looking for someone.
Was he serious? Was he really that dense?
She was literally hugging him.
To make her presence known—and maybe because she liked having him close—she tightened her grip slightly around his waist.
She didn't care about their position.
Yes, it was embarrassing. This wasn't a normal embrace, and at some point, everyone in their group had probably noticed.
But right now, there was something far more important on her mind.
Something much worse than this infernal desert.
Something she needed to address before it was too late.
Because a... situation had occurred.
A few hours ago, Nephis had noticed something unsettling: Best Master, the saint, seemed to like Sunny's appearance.
Or maybe she just wanted to recruit him for the Song clan. After all, ever since he arrived in Antarctica, he had accomplished some remarkable things. It made sense that the high-ranking members of the clan would take an interest in him.
But Nephis didn't think about that possibility.
No, her mind focused on something else.
She had seen how Best Master looked at Sunny.
The small smiles.
The playful glances.
And for some reason... it made her furious.
And that was a problem.
Because Best Master wasn't just powerful.
She was beautiful.
Naturally, yes. But when combined with the ethereal beauty that came with transcendence, she was easily one of the five most beautiful women in the world.
And now that woman was smiling at Sunny with far too much interest.
Nephis had never felt something like this before.
It wasn't an emotion she was familiar with.
It was strange.
Annoying.
Uncomfortable.
She didn't fully understand it.
But in reality, it was something very simple.
She was jealous.
Instinctively, her grip on him became more possessive.
She didn't know why she did it, but strangely, it made her feel calmer.
...Even if it was a bit embarrassing.
[Did something happen, Nephis?]
Sunny's voice echoed in her mind.
Nephis kept her face neutral.
Now that he was awake, their position felt twice as embarrassing.
But she wasn't going to admit that.
[No, nothing. I was cold and needed a pillow, so I hugged you.]
That was the truth.
She had been cold.
And her theory that Sunny was the best living pillow was still holding strong.
Though... that wasn't exactly the main reason for the embrace.
[I see.]
That was all he replied.
Nephis remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she asked:
[Does it bother you?]
She was genuinely curious about his answer.
Maybe she was moving too fast in their relationship.
She wasn't sure.
Nephis was terrible at socializing.
And even worse at understanding relationships.
Then again... Sunny wasn't much better.
In response to her question, she simply felt Sunny move slowly, careful not to make any noise.
And then...
He got more comfortable in the embrace.
Pressing himself closer to her.
Settling into a better position.
Nephis allowed herself a small smile and simply tightened her arms around him a little more.
...Though yes, their position was far too embarrassing now.
Sunny was practically sitting on her lap, his back resting against her chest.
She was holding him around the waist with both hands.
And, well...
If she had to fight more skin-walkers just to do this again, she would gladly do it.
Right now, she could feel the warmth of his athletic body against hers.
His back—small compared to hers—was firm and strong.
And... oddly soft.
She wasn't sure how to describe it.
His smooth, midnight-black hair brushed against her neck, tickling her slightly with every tiny movement.
Honestly, the scene was pretty amusing too.
From an outsider's perspective, because of their height difference, it probably looked like Nephis was hugging a giant black teddy bear.
A cute one.
Nephis smiled even more.
Because she had just confirmed something.
And even though Sunny would probably get mad if he knew...
Nephis loved his height.
If he were taller, she wouldn't be able to enjoy moments like this.
His small waist fit perfectly in her hands.
She could feel every muscle in his toned, flat abdomen.
His arms, though strong, weren't bulky or oversized.
And his flawless, porcelain-white skin made him look even more beautiful.
In reality, Sunny wasn't as short as Effie often teased him about.
But for some reason, almost all Awakened were tall.
Effie, for example, was taller than 90% of the male Awakened.
Kai was also exceptionally tall, even above average.
And while Nephis wasn't as tall as Effie, she had always been on the taller side for women.
But that didn't matter right now.
Sunny's height was perfect for her.
And no one was going to convince her otherwise.
And with that thought in mind, Nephis allowed herself to fall into unconsciousness, despite the position she was in. After all, she had also nearly died yesterday against the skin-walker.
She deserved some rest.