(Audun's POV)
The morning after Sunny's first murder was pretty uneventful.
I woke up as usual, was greeted by Nephis' helpers, albeit a little too respectfully for my tastes, and escaped into the ruins to find myself some breakfast.
The Ruins had become my second home, a place where I could stretch out my body and practice my swordsmanship without the presence of any prying eyes, not to mention, it was a place where I could sate my voracious appetite without straining our cohorts' meager supply of rations.
I'd just let Inky out of my soul and set up a little fire, practice my swordsmanship while he ran around the ruins to hunt, and when my echo got back, we'd share whatever he hunted and run back to the lodge before anyone got too suspicious.
God, I love free labor.
Anyway, my morning routine remained unchanged on this seemingly uneventful day, and by the time my stomach was full and my body was warmed, the sun was approaching its apex.
It was a quiet yet peaceful morning, but since I was still a tiny bit dissatisfied, I made my way to a Cathedral nestled deep in the ruins.
The Cathedral itself was nothing to write home about, but the abomination roaming its bottom floor was probably the strongest nightmare creature I had come across on the forgotten shore, well, excluding some of the leviathans in the Dark Sea at least.
And that strength made it a pretty decent sparring partner.
The abomination was strangely quite humanoid and about two meters tall.
It wore an abyssal black armor that wouldn't have been out of place in my old world, and wielded a greatsword that was taller than I was.
It was pretty strong and decently fast, and to my delight, seemed to possess some kind of healing factor, so I could dish out auraless blows like hot cakes.
I had dubbed it Blacky because of its rather unoriginal color scheme, though I'm pretty sure the spell had given it a far grander title.
Something like "The Forsaken Knight", but that was too much of a mouthful.
After a bit of a walk, I made my way through the towering wooden entrance of the Cathedral, summoning the [Midnight Shard] whilst tying a blindfold over my eyes.
"Guess who~"
My voice echoed throughout the empty bottom floor as I blocked my sense of hearing with aura.
The air stilled as I released a small pulse of aura from my body, subtly taunting my sparring partner with an impromptu lightshow.
I did a quick series of stretches and took in a deep breath.
Blocking off my sense of smell with bona fide aura nose plugs, I was thrust into a world of darkness and silence, patiently waiting for Blacky's arrival.
Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long.
My sixth sense set off a quiet warning as a disturbance in the air caught my attention.
Taking a pretty large step, I avoided Blacky's friendly greeting with practiced ease.
I couldn't see him, but the subtle menace radiating from behind me was enough to pinpoint his location.
A smile crossed my face as I gave the so-called knight a wave before raising the [Midnight Shard] languidly.
I felt the air move again as Blacky struck at my side, but I ducked underneath the towering great sword and snaked into my attacking range.
Blacky, possessing a combat sense far greater than any abomination I've seen, realized my intentions and shot backward before I could land a blow.
The knight launched a downwards slash from his new position, but I redirected it into the slash into ground while adding my own strength, increasing its momentum and destroying Blacky's posture.
Taking advantage of the small gap I had forcefully torn through its guard, I closed in.
Blacky recovered quickly, counterattacking with a vicious horizontal swing, but I dodged it easily.
Now in range for my own attack, I traced a line through the Knight's gauntlet-clad forearm, cleaving off one of its arms at the elbow.
Blacky retreated backwards again, a vague, dark energy converging on the stump I had just created.
I waited patiently as it healed back up, taking a seat on a worn-down chair nearby.
It took a few moments, but the spar kicked off again with the same intensity as the first exchange.
The fight took on a steady rhythm, well... more of a predictable pattern.
I cut off one of Blacky's appendages, waited for him to heal, and then leapt back into the bout.
...........
.......
...
...
..
Twoish hours passed before Blacky simply retreated, his presence disappearing into the veil of darkness blanketing the Cathedral as he seemingly gave up.
I didn't bother giving chase.
The small itch I had for a good bout was scratched, and thus, I was satisfied.
After untying my blindfold and unblocking my senses, I walked out of the Cathedral, summoning Inky to give me a lift.
The ride back was smooth, and not even an hour later, we arrived at the white brick road that'd lead me back to the lodge.
Pulling the reluctant titan back into my soul, I walked along the pristine road for about half an hour, arriving at a lodge more lively than the one I had left in the morning.
Finding a private place to wash up, I changed into a different set of memories, donning a timeless white linen shirt and cotton pants.
I stopped by the lodge, quickly listening in on a meeting before deciding that my presence wasn't necessary.
Without much else to do, I walked around the outer settlement covered in my usual veil of Starlight.
After a while, I caught the familiar sight of Sunny practicing his swordsmanship in a small clearing, his gaze more focused than I'd seen in weeks.
Bored and a little curious, I walked over to him whilst dismissing my platinum cover.
"Whatcha doin?"
Sunny jolted in surprise, but let out a silent breath of relief.
"Isn't it obvious?"
I shrugged.
"Not really. I'm not sure if you're trying to swing your troubles away, do some exercise, or draw Nephis' attention."
Sunny let out a dry chuckle.
"The first one."
I nodded sagely.
"I see I see~ Still caught up in yesterday's oopsie?"
He sighed and gave me a small grunt in agreement.
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
"Ah, that experience will stick with you for a while. You never forget your first, y'know?"
Sunny gave me a weird look.
"Phrasing...?"
I let out an amused laugh.
Sunny continued to run through his Kata as I sat on a rock, watching him with vague interest.
Before long, Sunny turned to me with a conflicted look on his face.
"Hey uh, you're... pretty good with the sword, right?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"I'd consider myself so. Why?"
Sunny hesitated for a moment.
"Would you mind... giving me some advice? About my swordsmanship, of course."
A look of shock crossed my face as I stuttered theatrically.
"Y-you're ch-cheating on Nephis?!"
Sunny's expression darkened considerably as his eyes darted around the empty clearing carefully.
"Shut up."
I wagged my finger as I scolded him playfully.
"Y'know, the bond between master and student isn't taken lightly where I'm from. Especially the bond between a master and student of the same age~"
Sunny scowled.
"You're just as bad as Effie."
Ignoring his remark, I gave him a teasing smile and let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Well~ Since you asked so nicely, I guess I wouldn't mind giving you a few pointers."
I shrugged before pulling the [Midnight Shard] out.
"You seem to enjoy using Japanese-style weapons like the tachi or the odachi, right?"
Sunny shook his head.
"Not really. I just use whatever the spell gives me."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, regardless, the Kata that Nephis has taught you seems to be an adapted form of Kenjutsu."
I copied Sunny's stance.
"Most swordsmanship have similar guards, but there will always be slight differences in posture and weight distribution based on an individual's build."
I continued, shifting the stance that I had taken slightly.
"Nephis did a good job teaching you the basics, but... well, she's almost an entire foot taller than you."
Sunny's expression soured, but I paid him no mind.
"Recently, since Nephis hasn't had the time to guide you, you've been trying to improve by watching her fight, which is admirable, but you've been unconsciously copying her stances as well, and the fundamentals you've built up while we were traveling the labyrinth are being overwritten."
I ran through the Kata Sunny just practiced, slowing down my swings and exaggerating certain movements to make them easier to follow.
"You're adept at copying. So, just try and follow my movements for now. I'll correct you when you make a mistake."
I chose to show him the answer rather than tell it to him directly.
Sunny nodded.
His obsidian eyes carefully traced my movements, his swings slightly sharper than before.
I paused for a moment, scrutinizing his swings.
"Too tense."
He nodded.
"Pivot into the swing more."
He nodded again.
I shook my head.
"You're focusing too much on the movement of your arms. You're posture has just as much to do with power as your arms do."
He nodded once more.
The time passed quickly as the "few pointers" turned into a full-on lesson.
I barked more criticism, each tiny improvement fueling the perfectionist in my soul.
Before long, Sunny's body was trembling, a torrent of cold sweat washing down his face.
"C-can we please take a b-break????"
Sunny's voice was hoarse with exhaustion.
I hesitated, but under his pleading gaze, I let up.
Sunny fell to the floor with a groan, closing his eyes and wincing.
"Why'd I ask... Why'd I ask... Why'd I ask...."
I barked out a laugh.
"Hey, look on the bright side. You're swordsmanship looks a little sharper now!"
Sunny raised a naughty finger, seemingly inviting the playful kick I launched at his prone form.
He groaned again from the floor.
"I... Don't think I can get up."
I rolled my eyes.
"Stop being a drama queen."
Sunny craned his neck to look at me, his eyes burning with pure injustice.
"The sun's setting! It's been LITERAL HOURS since we started!"
I shrugged.
"Sissy."
Sunny took in a deep breath, a vein popping on his forehead, but restrained himself, simply shaking his head and flipping me off with both hands.
I chuckled and offered him a hand.
Raising him to his feet, Sunny trembled under his own weight.
"You psycho...!"
Flashing him a teasing smile, I gave him a friendly reminder.
"It'll hurt more tomorrow."
Sunny groaned.
"Fuck you."
"I love you too, man."
Laughing hysterically, I steadied him, letting him lean against me as we slowly made our way back to the lodge.
With Sunny limping like a stray dog, it took half an hour to get from the clearing to the lodge.
And in that half an hour, Sunny made his dissatisfaction very clear, though I laughed him off, teasing him lightly the whole way.
I nudged the door open with my foot, the two of us trudging inside rather unceremoniously.
The main hall was thankfully pretty empty, only a few of Nephis' helpers darting around to clean up messes made earlier today.
My flaw subtly flared as a few pairs of eyes settled on me, but I paid it no mind.
Lifting Sunny in a fireman carry, and ignoring his protests, I carried him up the stairs and into his room, ungracefully tossing his limp body onto his cot.
The Sleeper, now snoozer, cursed me out as he fell into oblivion's embrace, his mental and physical fatigue more overwhelming than I had originally thought.
Amused by the chaotic mess on his cot, I chuckled, walking over to the doorway slowly as I committed the scene to memory.
Opening the door, expecting to see an empty hallway, I was instead surprised by the presence of a certain doll standing in front of Sunny's door.
Her aimless blue eyes were vaguely trained on my figure, her expression hesitant.
Still a little irked by her avoidance, my voice came out a little pettier than I would've liked it to.
"If you're here for Sunny, you'll have to come back tomorrow. He's sleeping right now."
Cassie remained silent as she shook her head.
"I-I'm not here for Sunny..."
I raised an eyebrow, though she wouldn't have noticed.
She trailed off, but she continued a beat later.
"...Can we talk?"
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(A/N: Longer chapter today to make up for not posting yesterday.
Originally, this little teaching/daily life chapter was supposed to be two chapters, but I didn't feel like there was a need to drag it on.
I honestly didn't have the brain power to write any good dialogue, especially since my summer homework is due in two days and I have like 9 essays left, so I apologize if any of the dialogue or interactions were a bit robotic.
I'll keep this note short since I don't really have much to say, but I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and leave a comment or review if you haven't already.
Every critique helps!
See you guys next time!)