"Tomorrow, huh? Way to give me an early warning, Eunbin." Sunny scoffed.
She didn't even tell him where the hell they were going to find a beach that didn't have nightmare creatures in its depths!
Granted, she could make them into her thralls, but still!
Or how they would find one in Raven Heart, since every lake was frozen due to the cold weather!
Nor what time it would be!
Taking a deep breath, he focused on the task at hand.
Tomorrow was today, and he found himself in front of a swimsuit store in the waking world that Aiko recommended. He was greeted by a bored-looking young man behind the checkout counter who gave him a long, bewildered stare as Sunny walked by.
Smiling at the young man's reaction, Sunny went from rack to rack of swimwear looking for the appropriate attire and color.
Never in his entire life did Sunny imagine he would be shopping for such a thing, but then again, he didn't imagine he would make it this far ten years ago when he was first infected with the nightmare spell. Let alone become a transcendent being.
'Look at how far I've come.'
'What would mother and father think?'
He imagines they would be proud of themselves if they were still alive.
Sunny would have loved that.
At the same time, he would also hate for them to be alive and not remember having a son.
He didn't know which would be worse.
But if he had the option to choose for whatever reason, Sunny would've chosen the latter. Even though the Vile Thieving Bird stole away his fate, and they would only remember having a daughter, his parents would be alive and safe.
There was no point in fantasizing about what could never be.
"Since when did I get so gloomy?" He asked himself quietly.
Shaking his head at the question with an obvious answer, Sunny continued searching for swimsuits. Picking up a pair of gray swim shorts, he glanced at them, then immediately put them back.
'Too short.'
Then Sunny gave another one a brief inspection and also put it back.
'Too tight. Who the hell would wear such a thing?'
He should have taken Aiko with him, but Sunny now realized he did not know what to wear for such an occasion. Yes, he knew it involved swimwear such as shorts, but that was it.
Or maybe he was completely overthinking it and making it much more complicated than it was.
As if!
Before Sunny could browse more, he sensed a shadow behind him, followed by a friendly, helpful voice.
"I think you would like that one."
He turned to see a young, ascended woman with dark hair and brown eyes wearing simple jeans and a T-shirt. She smiled at him while pointing at a rack he was standing by. He followed her finger and looked at a pair of black swim shorts.
"Thank you." He picked them up.
He looked at a strange, long object on the wall.
Just what the hell was he looking at?
"That's a surfboard." She told him, noticing his confused expression.
"What the hell is a surfboard?" Sunny fully turned to look at the strange thing.
"You use it to ride waves on water." She told him helpfully.
Why would anyone want to do such a thing? Especially with nightmare creatures lurking in the watery depths of the sea.
Was that how the Nightwalkers got around before there were Saints?
Even Sunny wasn't crazy enough to do something like that!
"I see, thank you." He nodded.
"Of course, Sunless, my friend." He could hear that a smile was present in her friendly voice.
Sunny whirled his head around, getting a concerned look from the young woman.
"Are you alright?" She stepped forward.
"Yes, I'm fine now. What you said just reminded me of someone, that's all, my apologies."
"Don't worry about it! It happens all the time." She smiled again.
"Alright, but how did you know my name?" Sunny asked cautiously.
"It's on your name tag," She pointed to his shirt.
He looked down.
'Ah.'
He hadn't even realized he was still wearing it.
"My apologies again." Sunny scratched his cheek.
"It's truly alright! I'll see you around, have fun at the party." Sunny watched her from the window, walking down the street with a smile.
Sunny began to ponder and walk around the store again, looking for anything else he might need.
Was he going crazy?
Was that woman really not the prince of Nothing?
Or was he just that good at pretending?
Did Mordret follow him here, too?
No, he couldn't have known about the event. Sunny stopped in place and palmed his face. Sunny usually kept the mirror shard that Mordret gave him in his pocket. That was how the bastard knew and followed him.
'This damn stalker!'
Or maybe she was just someone who wanted to help.
Sunny felt like he was going crazy.
'Damnation!'
Suppressing a scowl, he purchased the item and quickly returned to the dream realm to return to Raven Heart, but not before going to the nameless temple to get Serpent for a task Sunny wanted to start on.
Walking inside the lightless citadel, he went up the dais and stood before the throne where the Lord of Shadows sat. The reclusive Saint stared at him menacingly through the mask of 'definitely not me'. Sunny gave him a bright smile.
"I'm going to borrow Serpent for a bit." Sunny grinned.
"What for?" The gloomy fool answered coldly.
"A task." Sunny smiled wider.
"What. Task?" Lord Shadow leaned forward.
"Well, it's not really a task but more of an experiment as of right now." Sunny shrugged.
"Bastard, don't lie to me. There is no experiment. I know why you really want to bring the Serpent." His unseen eyes bore into Sunny's.
"Oh? Why's that?" Giving him a look, Sunny lazily sat down on the arm of the throne.
"You just want to impress the Song Sisters, specifically Eunbin." Lord Shadow pointed an accusing finger at him.
"As if I would want to do such a trivial thing!" Sunny scoffed.
"You may have fooled yourself, but you can't fool me, Master Sunless."
"You don't even make sense! We're the same damn person, you fool!" Sunny poked his mask.
"Any interactions we have don't make sense." Lord Shadow shrugged.
"Just give me Serpent so that I can get out of here! I didn't leave an avatar at the Brilliant Emporium because I closed earlier this morning, so for all I know, Eunbin could already be there!" Sunny exclaimed.
"Not my problem." The edgy fool shook his head.
"It's going to be."
"Fine, but you realize that all you had to do was dismiss Serpent to our soul sea, and you could summon them to our original body while you were at the Brilliant Emporium getting ready. Saving time and this headache." Lord Shadow leaned back into the throne with a tired sigh.
The temple was silent for a long time.
"Damnation." Sunny sighed.
"Well, how come you didn't say that to begin with!?" He rubbed his face tiredly.
"Because you already knew this, we're the same person, you idiot, that is what you told me," his other self said bluntly.
"Yeah, I know. It never gets old." With a laugh, Sunny Shadow stepped into Raven Heart and was immediately hit by the bright rays of the sun shining through the gloomy weather. Sunny then Shadow stepped to his room in the Brilliant Emporium, quickly getting ready.
Heading downstairs, his ears picked up the sound of women talking, which died down as they heard his intentionally loud footsteps, mainly for Rain to listen to it.
"Do you think that's him?" He heard Rain ask.
"Yes, I think so," Eunbin replied.
The Enchantress smiled when she saw his face.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, Lady Eunbin." Sunny smiled.
Eunbin's hair was slightly different than usual. Instead of falling like a silk curtain just in front of her ears, parts of it were braided on the sides, presumably connecting to the back.
Eunbin seemed to get all dolled up for the special occasion, especially her dress. She was draped in a deep red wine casual dress that emitted a seductive presence, hugging her curves in all the right places. Making the dress look more like temptation wrapped in silk, knowing that she was someone everyone could see but never touch.
The neckline proved as much. It was daring but never desperate, showing just enough for people's imaginations to wander but always leaving them craving more.
Sunny spied her thigh just barely poking out at the slit of the dress; it spoke of confidence, not an invitation, never that. For no one had earned the right to receive that invitation yet and never would.
Just as her presence, the dress didn't just ask for attention, it demanded it.
Simply put, Eunbin looked lovely. Well, more than usual.
Sunny had taken that one moment to appreciate her beauty, but for a saint, a moment was an eternity, and Eunbin had already caught his eyes wandering. Instead of condemning him, she gave Sunny the usual smile she always did, the genuine one that reached her eyes.
Sunny noticed she had never done that with anyone else.
He couldn't help but feel a little prideful about it.
But this time, she did something bold and offered him a wink, then smoothly responded to the previous ongoing conversation.
'Oh my,'
"It doesn't matter; we have the entire day to ourselves, but I am curious about what took so long. If you don't mind me asking, that is." She patted the chair beside her.
"Not at all! I was arguing with myself on what to do." He sat beside her.
"What?" Rain gave him a strange look.
"I said I was arguing with myself. What are you still doing here? I closed early this morning."
"I had nothing to do." Rain shrugged while looking somewhere else.
He immediately knew that was a lie. Rain still had training to do for the day.
"Oh, I understand, you missed me, didn't you?" Sunny grinned.
"What!? Of course not! I just said I had nothing to do!" Rain cleared her throat. Remembering that Ki Song's second eldest daughter was sitting beside her, she became embarrassed and glanced at Eunbin, who watched with a content smile.
"So I figured I would come back here." Rain finished quietly.
"Yes, I'm sure you did, you don't have to lie, Rain, it's not good to lie. Lady Eunbin, are you ready?" He looked at Eunbin.
Rain stared at him in silent outrage.
"I am." She stood up.
[Sunny!] Cassie shouted in his head, almost making him jump.
[What? What is it?!] He asked urgently.
Sunny had almost forgotten she was watching through his eyes all the time.
Sometimes he had forgotten she was even there at all.
[You really don't know?] Disappointment was evident in her tone.
[No? What should I know?]
[Say something about her hair.]
What?
Was something wrong with it?
Sunny glanced at her hair.
[But there's nothing wrong with it?]
[Look closer.]
He did as Cassie said, but noticed nothing different about her hair.
[Yes, I know, her hair is braided. I saw it when I came downstairs.]
He had noticed that earlier but didn't think much of it.
[Then compliment her!] Cassie practically shouted.
[Okay, Okay!]
What was the big deal?
[Don't attempt to give her an artificial compliment; she would be able to see right past it. Well, anyone can see right through those kinds of compliments.] Cassie advised him.
Clearing his throat, Eunbin turned to him, prompting Sunny to smile at her.
"Lady Eunbin, I couldn't help but notice that you've done something with your hair; it looks lovely and pairs well with your deep red wine dress. It truly does command attention and suits you well." Sunny eyed her and waited for a reaction.
He was rewarded with an enchanting laughter and a bright smile. "Thank you, Enchanter Sunless. I'm glad you noticed. I expected a man like you to have good taste and catch such details. I have received shallow compliments all day, so yours being genuine is an amazing change of pace, and for that, you have my gratitude."
He never thought he would silently thank Kai for teaching him about fashion.
"You're very welcome." Sunny gave her a genuine smile, standing up as well.
When they reached the door, Sunny turned to Rain. "Be safe! Have a good day!"
He smiled, leaving a stunned Rain in the Brilliant Emporium, along with Aiko, who floated beside her with a greedy grin plastered on her face and a thumbs up. Walking down the streets of Raven Heart in comfortable silence, he broke it.
"So, Lady Eunbin, out of curiosity, what do you think of Lord Shadow?" He stared at the cloudy sky and then at her face.
"Hm, well, my first impressions of him were that he is arrogant, powerful, yet asocial. He is closed off and harsh, but I was certain we would get along. I think he's lonely but is too prideful to admit it, so he hides behind his mask of aloofness. Why else would someone live alone, surrounded by strange echoes? Or maybe he is just downright rude for no reason." Eunbin paused for a moment, then continued speaking.
"But even after all that being said, I'm sure I can still fix him." She smiled.
Sunny couldn't help but stumble while walking next to her.
The Lord of Shadows had a less graceful reaction, tripping down the dais and landing with a hard crash.
F-fix him?
Still?
What was this woman talking about?!
He could have sworn her smile widened.
"I didn't know you had taken an interest in him." Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"You have to remember that those were my first impressions of The Lord of Shadows, Sunless. What I think of him now is entirely different. So there is no need to worry; you're still my favorite enchanter." She bumped into his shoulder slightly.
Huh? What was that supposed to mean?
"Worry? Worry about what?"
"Nothing, nothing at all." She told him with a hint of disappointment.
What? What kind of game was this woman playing!?
Why was she being so damn coy today?
"Where exactly are we going?" He eventually asked.
"A beach." She responded coyly.
"Yes, I know that, but where exactly? Are there any around Raven Heart?" His smile tightened.
"Perhaps,"
"Lady Eunbin, we are friends, right?" His smile tightened, but he decided to put on a charming smile.
"Yes, we are," She looked at him with a smile.
"And friends tell each other things, right?" Straightening his mantle, he moved closer.
"That's right," She nodded.
"So, how many people will be there?" Sunny smiled wider.
"Plenty of them."
His left eye started to twitch.
"Lady Eunbin-"
"We are almost there, so hush!" She cut him off with a finger pressed against his lips.
He remained silent for the duration of the walk until they reached the castle of Raven Heart, walked inside through the halls, and passed the throne room.
Sunny looked at her wide-eyed, only getting a smile in return. Was she trying to turn him into one of the queen's pilgrims?! Eyeing the place wearily, he expanded his shadow sense slightly, looking for possible threats lingering around a corner.
Eunbin guided him further into the palace for a few minutes when, without warning, she grabbed his shoulder, and they instantly found themselves somewhere else. A bright light assaulted his eyes momentarily before he felt a warm, smooth hand covering them.
"I should've warned you, but I wanted it to be a surprise, since you've never been to one of these." She removed her hand from his eyes with an unusually excited smile, compared to the aloof yet humorous expression he noticed Eunbin wore when she was in public around others or the genuine ones she gave him often.
His eyes adjusted to the lighting, and he was met with sand everywhere and a blue ocean with calm waves just twenty meters before him. Green-covered mountains surrounded them. Looking behind him, he saw palm trees flowing with the quiet breeze.
He saw seven strangers, both awakened and mundane, sitting on the sand, talking and laughing with one another, then they looked over and waved at him.
They were in the waking world.
"We are here much earlier than expected, but the others will arrive within an hour. I made the Nightmare creatures thralls, so you have no need to fret about them. What do you think about the beach? Is it what you expected?" She asked him with a smile. One that Sunny couldn't help but return.
"I think it is stunning, and I can't believe I've gone this many years with this being my first time at a real beach. No, it is not what I expected. The photos on my communicator I used to look at as a child do not do nearly enough justice." He looked around again in genuine awe.
"I'm thrilled you like it. It took me a long time to choose which beach I wanted this party at, so you could have a good first impression." Eunbin looked pleased with herself.
"Where is this?"
"That's a secret, don't give me that look! I know you have plenty of secrets of your own." She playfully chided him.
"Indeed, I do, I have a plethora of them." He nodded.
"Come, the chairs and drinks are over here. Grab whatever you like, and then we will walk around the island to kill time." She dismissed her clothing, leaving her only in a two-piece red bathing suit that showed off her flat-toned stomach, long, smooth legs, and well-built body.
Sunny rapidly shook his head.
He needed to get a grip!
Snapping himself out of his stupor, he looked up to see her motioning for him to follow, already walking ahead.
Sunny stood there silently for a long moment, watching her figure go further down the beach, and slowly reached up to his nostrils, wiping them to check for blood.
For the first time in his life, he silently thanked The Demon of Fate that a fragment of their lineage Blood weave still hadn't betrayed him in any way. He prayed it would stop the blood flow from going to places it wasn't supposed to.
He felt disappointment radiating from his shadow, only to look down and see gloomy glaring at him while shaking his head disapprovingly.
Sunny rolled his eyes.
What did that guy know?
Sunny watched Eunbin stop in place and turn around. "Sunless. Hurry up." She called out.
He quickly caught up with her, getting an amused look from the beautiful Enchantress. "Did something catch your eye?"
"Uh, well, yes, the view was breathtaking." He stammered out.
She gave him a long look with a smile."Ah, yes, the view. I would like to know which one; I'm quite curious. Wait, Sunless, where are you going?" Eunbin laughed as he quickly sped up his walking.
"To get something to drink, I'm thirsty!" He called out.
"Oh yes, I'm sure you are very thirsty." She followed on his heels.
"Not like that!"
"Not like what?" He heard her ask with feigned innocence.
"Like what you're suggesting."
"I do not have a clue what you're talking about. Perhaps it would help if you told me what you want to drink so I can get it for you."
"Water," He told her bluntly.
Hearing his obvious excuse, she laughed louder.
"You know, Enchanter Sunless, there is nothing wrong with sneaking a look at a beautiful older woman like myself. I will not think any differently of you, especially when you have been respectful about it the entire time I've known you, after all, you are a healthy young man, so it is only natural." She cooed.
"A look at the ocean? I don't think there's anything wrong with that either!" He kept walking, his gaze ever forward.
"I did not mention the ocean at all." She reared her head back and laughed again.
"How long have you been planning this?" He quickly changed the subject, looking at a cooler full of drinks as she caught up with him.
Her laughter died down after a few seconds. "For weeks, that's why I have been visiting your Emporium less frequently. I figured we could use a break to get away from everything and feel normal, even if it's just for a day."
"That's very nice of you, my lady." He grabbed a bottle of water.
A thought suddenly hit Sunny like a Nightmare Gate.
He hadn't thought of it until now because he was so occupied.
How the hell did that woman at the store know he was going to a party?
'Mordret, so that was him.'
Had the Prince of Nothing slipped up, or was it intentional?
Knowing that lunatic, it was the latter.
"It pleases me that you think so. May I ask you a personal question, Sunless?" She began walking towards the trees, and Sunny moved in step beside her.
"Yes, you may." Sunny reluctantly nodded.
"Do you have any family?"
"Yes, I do." Sunny hesitated, then slowly nodded.
"Oh? May I ask where? Of course, if you're comfortable answering, you don't have to if you don't want to." She spoke with a hint of strange carefulness.
He did have to answer, but Sunny still appreciated her approach to the subject.
"You may," He nodded again.
"Thank you, where are they?" She gazed at the palm trees for a second before landing back on his eyes, searching.
"In Raven Heart." He spoke carefully.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Eunbin; it was that he didn't trust her mother. Sunny had no idea if Ki Song knew that Rain was his sister. If she was aware, then Sunny had no way of knowing if the Queen of Raven Heart would target his little sister and use her as a hostage or leverage to get Sunny to do her bidding should he refuse at any point.
Eunbin silently nodded with a soft smile. He had expected her to ask who his sister was, but strangely enough, she did not.
Did she already know that Rain was his sister? Did Mordret also know that and tell Ki Song that crucial information?
His attention was returned to reality when he noticed the chairs she had set up. They were halfway through the island, and after a few minutes of walking, they reached their spot again. Sunny suddenly felt a shadow rapidly descend on them from the air, but pretended not to notice until Eunbin calmly looked up.
The figure slowly landed in front of them, revealing an infuriatingly handsome face and smiling at them. He was carrying an abundance of items in his arms, surprising Sunny.
'Kai?!'
Sunny took a peek into his soul and was met with a bright, radiant soul core.
It really was his best friend.
"Saint Nightingale." Eunbin bowed.
"Lady Eunbin, Master Sunless, long time no see. How are you doing? Is business well at the eye candy-um Brilliant emporium?" Kai bowed, then stepped forward, sending a smile so bright that it nearly blinded Sunny.
"I am well, thank you for asking. Yes, business is very good at the Brilliant Emporium!" Sunny bowed, then squinted his eyes from his friend's bright smile.
"That's good to hear! Your sisters will be here shortly, Lady Eunbin. You look lovely, by the way. Thank you for inviting me." Kai looked away, slightly blushing at her attire.
"Thank you, Saint Nightingale. I hope I won't be the only one like this; it would be quite embarrassing." She smiled.
"No, of course not! I will do it shortly."
"Good, this day will be fun, what could go wrong?" Eunbin dug her toes into the sand.
Sunny and Kai flinched at her words.
"A lot of things can, I really don't recommend saying things like that out loud, Lady Eunbin."
"Please don't say such things, Princess Beastmaster!"
"I don't see the problem, but it's alright, as you wish." She shrugged and moved to sit on a folding beach chair, presumably waiting for her sister's arrival.
Kai went off to set up the umbrellas lying by the chairs, and Sunny moved to help him with the task.
Eventually, Moonveil, Lonesome Howl, Death Singer, Seishan, and even Silent Stalker arrived from the dream realm. Unsurprisingly, Revel was nowhere to be seen, at least not until nightfall came.
Silent Stalker gave Sunny a long stare before going off somewhere else. Moonveil smiled slightly, dismissed her clothes, leaving only her swimsuit showing her slender form, and entered the water. Seishan nodded and grabbed a drink. Death Singer remained standing there. She looked between Kai and Sunny while batting her eyelashes.
Lastly, Howl walked up to Sunny and Kai with a grin on her handsome face, giving Sunny a firm smack on the back and getting Sunny to pretend to sway. "Hey there, gorgeous. I hope you're ready to get soaked." She put her arm around Sunny's shoulder, removed it, and then turned her attention to Kai.
"How are you doing, handsome?" She smacked Kai's back as well.
"Princess Howl," Sunny bowed.
"Lady Lonesome Howl, I am well." Kai smiled and bowed.
"Today's going to be a damn good day! Hel, come help me start building a sand castle!" She dismissed her clothing, wearing a two-piece black swimsuit that revealed her abs, toned arms, strong legs, and the rest of her slightly muscular body. Then, she walked to the shoreline and started digging up sand and moving it somewhere else.
To say that Sunny was overwhelmed was an understatement!
But a more critical topic overrode his mind, keeping him from being flustered by all of these beautiful women.
What in the dead gods was a sand castle?
He shook his head and then looked at Kai, who had dismissed his armor, too, showing off his muscular body. Kai looked as if he were a handcrafted statue made by an artist come to life. Immediately, Death Singer looked at Kai with wide eyes and mouth agape, tripping over Howl, who was still moving sand. The energetic woman went to berate her sister, but glanced over at Kai as well and suddenly forgot what she was going to say.
Eunbin, still lying in the beach chair, wearing a pair of mundane Sunglasses she had brought from somewhere, stared at him for a few seconds, eyes glancing over his body before giving an appreciative nod at Kai, then looking at Sunny expectantly.
"I hope you don't think you can avoid getting in the water, Sunless. I am waiting for you to get in so I can join you and my sisters."
"No, I don't think that." In reality, he was stalling, thinking of ways to talk out of a situation again, because once he dismissed his mantle and clothes, there was no going back.
"Alright, there is no need to be embarrassed, no one will judge you." She assured him.
"I know that," He nodded.
"Then hurry up!" She snapped at him
He chuckled shortly, then dismissed his mantle. Immediately, the warm air around them was a little colder, the shadows grew darker and deeper, and they lengthened before receding a few times as if they were celebrating him.
The Song sisters in the water looked around curiously before returning to what they were doing. Kai gave Sunny a strange glance, and the seven strangers far off in the distance who had appeared before Eunbin and Sunny went on the beach also looked at him, offering friendly smiles.
They waved in unison.
Sunny stared at them for a long time before taking off his clothes and leaving himself in the chosen swim shorts. When he looked back in front of him, he saw Moonveil, Death Singer, Howl, and Seishan staring at him with wide eyes.
Walking over to Kai, his friend smiled."You are extremely muscular, Master Sunless. I didn't know you were into tattoos."
"Thank you,"
Sunny looked at Eunbin, who had discarded her sunglasses and stood up to walk towards him with wide eyes. She reached out for his abs, but retracted her hand a moment later, then did it again and retraced her hand once more
Her eyes slowly raked over his form as if she were inspecting him for any anomalies, and Eunbin eventually reached out for his bicep, but once again stopped herself and took several deep breaths.
She licked her enticing lips, looking at him with a conflicted expression. After a long minute, she spoke, her voice slightly raspy, almost as if she were dehydrated. "Sunless, I didn't know that you were so remarkably defined or that you had a tattoo."
"Now you do," He smiled at her.
"How long is your serpent? Meaning the serpent tattoo on your body, nothing else at all." She bit her lip, her eyes quickly darting over his form again.
"As long as I want it to be, why do you ask?" He chuckled, trying to make it seem like a joke.
"Oh my, can I touch it?" Her hand extended towards his arm.
"Yes, you can," He held his arm out.
"Excellent, it almost looks alive." She slowly licked her lips again, her fingers brushing over his arm, lightly tracing the scales of the soul serpent. Then, her fingers slowly danced up his arm to trace the scales on his chest, lingering there for much longer than necessary before she reluctantly took her arm away.
Kai looked at the interaction with a smile. Instead of looking uncomfortable like Sunny had imagined he would, his friend gave him a silent wink.
Sunny smiled, then looked to the beach momentarily to see Death Singer making a replica of Ki Song's castle in Raven Heart, but oddly enough, Lonesome Howl was nowhere to be seen.
Before he could respond, a shadow loomed over them. By the time it got bigger and bigger, they saw a large wolf. Before any of them could react, a tidal wave of water splashed over them, leaving Kai, Sunny, and Eunbin drenched. A loud laughter came soon after.
"I told you to be ready to get soaked, Sunless! That's what you get for ogling and flirting with Master Sunless instead of paying attention, Bin!" Howl shouted with a bright grin, reverting to her human form.
Eunbin remained silent for a long time before giving Lonesome Howl a dangerous smile.
"Howl, come here, I want to tell you something." She began walking towards the water, and Howl's cocky smile was instantly replaced with a look of regret.
"Wait, Bin, come on now, don't be like that, I mean, it's a beach party, you can't just not expect to get wet! It's all in good fun! Sister? Sister!" Howl started swimming so fast that it would have made the house of Night question whether she was a lost member of their clan. Eunbin gave chase and dove in after her.
"Do you think she will live to see the end of the night?" Kai leaned in close.
"I don't think so," Sunny shook his head with not an ounce of pity.
"I don't think so either," Kai shook his head as well, uncovering his hand from his wine glass, which he had grabbed a while ago so it wouldn't get ocean water inside.
"Yeah," he summoned a memory he made a few days prior, from today, getting a curious look from Kai. It allowed him to change it into any convenient mundane item, an umbrella, a chair, anything within reason.
"Oh! Is that a memory you crafted?"
"Yes, it is."
"What is it called?" Kai asked with a smile.
"I call it the Item shifter!" Sunny smiled brightly.
"Ah, I see, I suppose no one is perfect at everything." Kai's smile significantly dimmed.
What was that supposed to mean?!
"Don't feel bad. Howl has it coming. She is always pushing Bin's buttons." Moonveil walked up to them, her eyes darting down their bodies before meeting their eyes again. Then, she stood beside Kai.
"Yeah, she does! Why even bother trying to build a sand castle if you're going to wash it all away before I can finish the details!" Death Singer complained.
"How devious of Princess Lonesome Howl," a pleasant voice spoke from behind them. All three of them turned around, only to see one of the strangers walking over to them.
"Who might you be?" Moonveil raised an eyebrow.
"Me? I'm not important anymore. Have a wonderful day." The stranger smiled pleasantly at them, then smiled wider at Sunny and walked away.
Moonveil and Sunny looked at Kai, who nodded.
"That was strange, were those people here before you got here, Master Sunless?" Kai tilted his head.
Sunny silently nodded.
He couldn't think about the interaction any longer because a bruised Howl walked past them with a frown and flopped onto the chair Eunbin was lying in.
Death Singer smiled with glee at her misery, getting a murderous glare from Lonesome Howl.
"Don't look at me like that! You had to face the consequences of your actions!" She chided.
"I don't want to hear another word out of you, not one. Besides, Nightingale and Bin could have carried Sunless and easily gotten out of the way. This is supposed to be a party, yet I'm punished for having fun!" Howl hissed.
"Next time, land somewhere else, Howl." Seishan walked up to them, staring at her sister with amusement.
Sunny looked at the interaction with silent amusement, then stared at the horizon where the sun was setting, then at Silent Stalker, who had grabbed a chair and was currently reading a book beneath the palm trees.
He turned again, hearing soft footsteps in the sand, and saw Eunbin walking towards them while straightening her hair, giving Howl a silent, sweet smile.
"Sunless, I have a question for you." Kai suddenly spoke out, turning to him.
"Yes?"
"Do you know what wakesurfing is?"
"I think so, why?"
"Good, well, imagine that without the boat." Kai walked over to the items he had brought earlier and picked one up. It was a seventy-meter-long rope with a handle attached and a surfboard, as that woman from the store called it.
"So you know what wake surfing is, but not a sand castle?" He watched Eunbin laugh.
Sunny must have made a face when Howl mentioned the sand castle; that was likely how she knew.
"Yes, that's correct. I used to watch them as a kid on my communicator!"
"Alright," She smiled.
'What?'
"What do you plan on doing with that Saint Nightingale?" He pointed to the rope that Kai was tying to his leg.
"Something I never thought I would do, but that is why they say there is a first time for everything. Hold on to this tightly, and follow me." They walked towards the water. Once they reached the shoreline, Kai handed him the board and flew high into the air. The rope soared up as well, and his figure was replaced with a beautiful dragon.
Sunny looked stunned, but it was soon replaced with a smile as he stood on the board, and Kai immediately took off, causing Sunny to shoot out into the ocean like a railgun.
"See! He's having fun just like I was, and here you are smiling! He heard Howl complain while he was surfing over the waves.
This was amazing.
Night had fallen after more than thirty minutes of going around the ocean, and Kai and Sunny came back with smiles.
"That was an amazing activity. I had never done any surfing prior to that, so Saint Nightingale, thank you."
"There is no need to; everyone should do something like that once in their lives," Kai smiled.
Like Sunny predicted, Revel had shown up now that it was nighttime. She greeted him with a nod.
Walking back up to the Song sisters, he saw that Howl was almost fully healed.
"So Sunless, that was quite the presence you had when you dismissed your mantle! Are you a transcended being in disguise or something?" She joked with a laugh.
"I am," Sunny's smile never wavered.
Kai's smile dimmed as he slowly turned to him with a confused expression. Then, he slowly paled and nodded to the Song Sisters.
The secret was out just like that, and all hell had broken loose.
6k words, I decided to spoil you all for making you wait longer than usual.
This was my longest chapter yet. Depending on how well you all like this chapter, I may repeat this word count. :)
At first, it was going to be a special chapter, but I decided to incorporate it into the plot, and this is the result!
I hope you enjoy your weekend!