THREE MONTHS LATER
(Cassie's POV)
"So, how's Sunny's training been going?"
The man across from me let out a tired sigh.
"He's probably one of the most talented people I've come across, maybe not on the same level as me or those freaks chosen by the Sword of Selection, but it's still better than the sword saint and that relic from the empire."
There was a tiny hint of jealousy in his voice.
"But it's all because of that god damn spell. That thing may as well just be some sort of fucking cheat engine! Back in my day, Swordsmanship didn't just randomly get plopped in your head because you had a tiny ephiphany. Even if his "Shadow Dance" or whatever you call it was incomplete, it's still stupidly unfair."
I let out a chuckle, taking a sip of tea.
"Still, though, that punk's at the apex of Sword expert. Honestly, that's pretty good considering he's only been swinging a sword for half a year."
A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I rested my chin on my palm.
Over the last few months, Audun and I have been meeting regularly for briefings.
Well, we call them briefings, but 90% of the time, these "briefings" were just the two of us ranting back and forth about the "divorced" couple we were taking care of.
"Hu~ As nice as it is to hear about his progress... I'm pretty curious, what excuse did you give him this time?"
"I uh... I told him I got hungry-"
"Pff, and how'd he react?"
"Dunno, I darted off before he could say anything- But uh... Cas, could we maybe not talk about this? Every single time we have this conversation, I feel like I'm having an affair or something."
"... Stop making it weird."
I let out a heavy breath, taking another sip of tea, courtesy of Audun's vast Memory collection.
Audun just let out a small laugh.
"So, Cas, how much time do we have left before shit hits the fan?"
I set down the mug in my hands, my brow furrowing slightly.
"I'm... I'm not too sure, actually."
"Meh, it's fine, I was just a little curious. We've done enough to ensure things won't get too out of hand."
I nodded.
"Yeah, and well, you could always step in if something goes wrong."
Audun let out a chuckle.
"Has... Has Sunny received that echo I told you about yet?"
"The Saint? He mentioned something about an echo a week ago, but he said something about it being on the weaker side."
I let out a hum.
"If that's the case, you'll have to leave a little earlier than we planned."
"Huh? Why?"
"Sunny getting that echo was the precursor for his return to the Bright Castle, and also when he meets Neph again."
"Seriously? How many more days of training can I squeeze in before I have to leave?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"I thought his training was complete?"
"I mean... I guess it is? I originally wanted to get him to around sword seeker level, but we wasted a butt load of time completing his "Shadow Dance," and that idiot can't grasp his own sentiment."
Audun let out a tired breath.
"But.. With a good sword, he could probably tear a few fallen monsters to shreds, and if he was smart with his aspect usage, he could honestly beat up a Fallen Devil or two."
The former transcendent hummed in amusement.
"Who knows? If the matchup is good, he could probably kill that Fallen Terror you're all so scared of."
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(Third Person POV)
After wrapping up his little briefing with Cassie, Audun hustled back to his current place of residence, throwing the large wooden doors of its entrance open and letting a bit of sunlight trickle into the pitch black abyss blanketing the entire bottom floor.
Audun listened carefully for a moment, a wide smile breaking across his face as he listened to the song of steel being sung inside.
The swordsman cleared his throat, a faint platinum glow shrouding his figure.
"GUESS WHOOOOO~"
Audun's announcement of his presence was followed by an exasperated sigh and a series of heavy metallic crashes, the melodic combat reaching its climax as another voice echoed out from deep within.
"Already back from your lunch break? I thought you'd be gone for longer~"
Without the smile leaving his face, Audun stepped inside through the open entrance, pulling the doors shut behind him as he slipped into the darkness.
"Huh? It's been over an hour, though? How long did you think I'd be gone?"
CLANG
"I don't- SHIT?!"
BOOM
The abyss obscuring the ground floor of the Cathedral warped as Sunny's body rocketed through the air.
He flew at a seemingly uncontrollable speed, but with an impossibly graceful twist of his body, the involuntarily airborne Sunny controlled his descent and landed softly on the ruined ground.
As soon as his feet touched the floor, the sleeper snarled as he readied his austere tachi.
Barely giving him a chance to rest, a pair of flaming scarlet orbs darted forward with surprising speed, a series of dull impacts shaking the floor as a massive blade tore through the stale air, aimed directly at Sunny's neck.
With a cold glower, Sunny matched the towering knight's swing with one of his own, his sword path nearly identical to his nightmarish opponent.
But their blades never met.
At the very last moment, Sunny's momentum softened, his blade dipping out of the way as he ducked under the Knight's horizontal swing.
Taking advantage of the gap in his opponent's defense, Sunny darted forward, his steps rhythmic yet silent.
Sunny closed the distance in the blink of an eye, his footwork carrying him to the Knight's flank as he traced a line through the knee joint of his opponent's armor.
The towering knight's posture shattered as its balance was disrupted, its tall form promptly collapsing to the ground.
Capitalizing on yet another opportunity, Sunny lept into the air, his blade aligned with the knight's newly exposed nape.
The "sleeper" cleaved the air apart as he swung, severing the armored head of the knight from its considerably less armored neck.
As he touched down on the ground, the knight's head and body melted into the darkness, the abyss blanketing the Cathedral receding with its champion's defeat.
Sunny let out a small sigh, the [Midnight Shard] in his grasp disappearing in a flurry of sparks.
"My bad, I got distracted."
"Nah, it's all good."
Walking over casually, Audun gave the victorious sleeper a hum of approval as Sunny untied the blindfold covering his eyes.
Despite the intense confrontation, Sunny's breath remained steady, his brow not marred by a single droplet of sweat.
Audun gave his disciple a quick scan, noting the glaring lack of wounds and dirt covering his body.
The teacher stroked his chin sagely while giving his student his evaluation.
"You did well in dissecting Blackie's swordsmanship. The way you exploited his openings was definitely a step up from last time."
Sunny nodded slowly.
"You performed your footwork pretty well, the path of your 'aura' was pretty smooth, and if I were commenting on your blade work, I'd say it was passable."
Audun stuck up 6 fingers.
"Overall, I'd give you a solid 6/10 in terms of execution."
"Only a 6? I thought you said I did well?"
"Well, you got distracted and took a hit. If it were against an opponent you're not used to fighting, you might've become Sun/Less."
With the blindfold removed, Sunny's flawless marble-like skin shone softly as he gave his teacher a rather unamused look.
The past few months had been rather transformative for the sleeper.
While all the training hadn't done much for the sleeper's stature, it had been extremely effective in other ways.
The emaciated slum rat had transformed into a stunning porcelain doll, his features far more glamorous and sublime than they had been when he had first arrived on the forgotten shore.
The murderous aura and calculating coldness that previously permeated his form had been hidden under a layer of newfound confidence, and his gem-like onyx eyes gleamed not with bleak coldness but the lax humor afforded to those considered strong.
On top of his newly enhanced facial features, his body had also received quite an upgrade.
With all of the training, Sunny's body had lost nearly all traces of fat, his lean figure sculpted to near perfection, though he still lacked the muscle you'd expect of a swordsman, something Audun frequently pointed out as he forced his student into more sets of demonic conditioning.
Needless to say, Sunny could now complete the supermodel quartet of their cohort.
With a hoarse chuckle, the sleeper summoned a beautiful bottle made of blue-patterned glass, taking a couple of large gulps from the bottle's endless spring of water.
As he finished, Sunny began to tie up his shoulder-length raven black hair into a messy bun.
"By the way, how was your lunch? I was going to ask before I was so rudely interrupted by our roommate."
Audun shrugged with a vague smile.
"It was as nice as it always is."
With a wave of his hand, Audun gestured for Sunny to follow.
The two of them ascended a worn set of stairs in comfortable silence, walking up to their shared bedroom door.
As they approached the door, the two halted, turning to one another, both resting their fist over their open palm.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors- Shoot!" (x2)
Sunny held up two fingers whilst Audun flaunted his closed fist.
"Fuuuuuuuck-"
"Eat shit, dingus~"
Swinging the door open with a wide smile, Audun ran towards the large bed at the end of the room, jumping onto it with a triumphant look on his face.
Following his dramatic entrance, Sunny walked into the room with much less enthusiasm, closing the door behind him and plopping down on a pile of soft pelts.
A sigh broke free of Sunny's lips.
"What's the plan for dinner?"
"Dunno. We still got a bunch of leftover meat scraps. Maybe I'll make stew again?"
"For the fourth time in a row? Seriously? I swear, every single time you're on cooking duty you repeat the same dish-"
"Woah woah woah, stewing abomination meat low and slow is the best way to cook it! But if you're gonna be a prick about it, I'll find some new vegetables to toss in or something."
"A prick, really? I'm just sharing my observations."
"Huh~ observations? Did my dear student hit his head while sparring? Those "observations" sound more like criticism to me, y'know?"
"Woah, don't shoot the messenger. I'm just saying, when I was cooking, we were eating way better then we are now-"
"Hah~ who taught you to be so passive aggressive you little shit-"
"Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure you were the one who taught this little shit, no?"
"Someone as upright and noble as me couldn't possiblyteach you how to be such a little asshole. You must've learned it from that slutty hunter-"
"Upright and noble?! You spent a full week teaching me 'advanced gaslighting techniques'. If you're upright and noble than I'm a fucking saint!"
"Advanced gaslighting techniques?? I'm pretty sure I only taught you basic vocabulary…"
"Are you saying I lied? Audun, I'm the most honest man in the world! In two worlds actually. You're just a terrible person."
"Woooooaaaaaahhhh~ this disciple of mine has quite the mouth."
"What can I say, I try~"
"But- what's this??? Inky? What was that? You think I should beat the shit out of this disobedient bastard? And… I should triple his conditioning? I dunno Inky, sounds like a lot…"
"I would like to formally apologize for the disrespect I have shown my most honorable and noble teacher."
"Ohoh~ So now this Junior can comprehend the immensity of heaven and earth. Kowtow to me three times and I shall forget this insolence~"
"Sorry, but what the fuck does that mean?"
"What? Oh, I forgot you don't read."
Sunny's expression darkened considerably as a teasing sneer spread across his teachers face.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Sunny flopped down on the pile of abomination pelts, flipping the bird at his roommate.
"Fuck off asshole."
"Wow, you really don't know when to quit you emo shit bag."
A chuckle escaped Audun's mouth.
"Hah~ well, on the topic of fucking off, I'll be leaving for a little while."
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(A/N: I know it's an abrupt end to the chapter, but I wrote the last part on my way to work 😭
Tell me what you guys thought about the 3rd pov too
Thanks for the support and allat 😔🙏)