Sunny stared at the woman and the pale girl, forgetting that they could feel his gaze. The brown-haired woman looked at him, then the girl turned her head too, following her mother's eyes. The girl spoke before her mother did.
"Where are you looking, boy?!"
"She didn't even change what she said to me! Do I really look like a boy?!"
"Apologies, Awakened Sunless, my daughter is a bit wild like every girl at her age."
Sunny refocused on the woman, who was pinching the girl—whose face had grown even paler after her mother's words—with one hand, while talking with the other. Sunny asked in surprise:
"You know me, ma'am?"
"Of course I do. Don't you see all the pictures plastered on the buildings outside? Honestly, only the blind wouldn't recognize you."
Sunny smiled, then looked at Rain, who had her hands on her head and muttered:
"Awakened? That boy is an Awakened? And he's famous too?! What have I done…"
Sunny enjoyed Rain's suffering. He hadn't expected to meet her here, but he didn't mind. In fact, he felt happy to see his sister.
"I suppose you're Awakened too, ma'am?"
The woman was surprised, but answered without stumbling.
"Oh yes, I am. But I'm not as famous as you, I suppose. By the way, how did you know?"
"Your shadow is a little off. It looks like you're floating slightly above the ground, which alters the narrative it casts."
"You're a strange person, Sunless. You identify people through their shadows. I've never seen anyone like you."
"And I doubt you will… Right, excuse my rudeness—what is your name, ma'am?"
"Noble."
"A pleasure to meet you, ma'am. Now, please excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Sorry for wasting your time."
"Not at all, Sunless ."
Sunny left the shop after loading all the supplies inside Mimic. People were shocked when he summoned the massive Mimic and stuffed it with four carts full of food. After placing the food in his home, Nephis still hadn't returned from the Dream Realm, so he left the serpent to guard her and headed toward the Academy.
He wanted to meet Professor Julius. He had missed the kind old man since his time in the Dream Realm. But he hadn't found time to visit, as he had been busy with the priorities he had set for himself. Now that he had a moment, he decided to visit Professor Julius.
He had brought reports about the Forgotten Shore and the history of the Chained Islands for Julius to read as a gift. After an hour on the train, he reached the Academy gates and, using his communicator, gained access and arrived at Professor Julius's office. When he opened the door, he heard Julius's voice and a woman's—they were arguing loudly.
"You say, Julius, that the Forgotten Shore holds immense knowledge for humanity, yet you have no proof. You just want to learn more about it to satisfy your curiosity!"
"No, that's not it! It's knowledge! This is a treasure for humanity—even if it costs us dearly!"
Sunny wanted to close the door and slip away when he saw the scene, but Professor Julius noticed him.
"Sunless, my son! Tell her that the Forgotten Shore holds a wealth of knowledge—she won't listen to me!"
"Ah, hello, my lady. I'm Sunless… What Professor Julius is saying is true. The Forgotten Shore holds great knowledge. But guess what?! I've documented it all, so no need to argue."
"You're Sunless? The Herald of Death?"
"That's me. Now, goodbye. You seem very busy. Take your time. I'll send the research to you, Professor Julius!"
Julius tried to call after him, but Sunny quickly slipped away and headed to the cafeteria. After sitting at a table, he took out his device and sent the research to Professor Julius, then sighed.
"This is a bit hard. Now I have to wait."
"It is hard, isn't it?"
Sunny raised his eyes to the calm and gentle voice. His eyes fell on a tall young man with dark skin and a scar on the right side of his face. Sunny's eyelids twitched when he saw this person.
"What are you doing here? How did you even find me?"
"Well, I wanted to meet you. And how did I found you? Simple—I marked you since our first meeting… I wasn't spying on you; I just knew your location."
"You're an intrusive bastard, aren't you?"
"Indeed, I am. Forgive me, but may I sit?"
"Go ahead."
The Pulse of Absence extended his hand for a handshake, but Sunny didn't reciprocate, so he awkwardly withdrew it and sat down.
"So, what do you want? Didn't you say we wouldn't meet again until my second Nightmare?"
"Oh, I did say that. But some things changed. You see, after I refused to assassinate you all… You could say I stole from the great Song Clan. Waaaah, the memories were good. So, they sent a group of Masters as assassins to kill me, but they failed. Unfortunately, I couldn't kill them—if I did, some Saints would come after me and I'd die a miserable death."
Sunny asked in confusion:
"Is this a good place to talk about these things?"
"Don't worry, I tricked the space around us. Nothing we say will be heard outside."
"Tricked?"
"Yes, tricked. I'm a skilled magician, you see. And what do magicians do? They trick people and objects."
"Interesting. But let's get back on topic… What do you want me to do?"
"Well, first, I want you to hurry up with your second Nightmare. That would be best for me. And if you delay, you might find me dead. Ah, how I hate my dead self."
"And why should I do that, especially when I don't even know what you want from me? I assume it's something rather unpleasant?"
"On the contrary—it benefits both of us. Do you know how many years it's been since I became a master? Six years. I've been preparing for my third Nightmare since I exited my second. But I was prevented."
"So you want me and my companions to risk entering the third Nightmare with you and bear the consequences after finishing it? You're using me as a scapegoat?"
"Correct! I can't bear the consequences alone. But with you all—ah, I can ditch you and run. But of course, I won't do that!"
"You're mentally ill, aren't you?"
"No, but my mother taught me that honesty is good."
"You're going to die soon because of that, I think."
"That's wonderful, Sunless. You really lift my spirit. Now, tell me—do you accept or not?"
"Let's see. If I accept, I'll get a generous reward, right?"
"Yes."
"And what are you offering me? I don't expect something petty in return for bringing forward my second Nightmare."
"How about a supreme charm? It's useless to me. It has only one enchantment: it protects you from the cold, but only if there's snow around. It's an extremely dumb charm!"
Sunny's eyes gleamed with greed, though he maintained his expression. But Saad didn't miss the change.
"You killed a great beast at least to obtain it, didn't you?!"
"Yes, I did. Is that surprising? I mean, where else do you get a supreme memory other than from a great beast?"
"Fine, I'll accept this memory. But do you have anything else to trade?"
"No, and I won't give you anything else. I mean, have you seen any Master with superme memories?"
Sunny yielded. He couldn't extract everything from the Pulse of Absence, so he accepted the superme memory. Sunny extended his hand, and a current of electricity passed through it.
[You have received a Memory…]
"Goodbye, Sunless. Let's hope I don't get killed by the daughters of the beast."
The Pulse of Absence's body disintegrated into sparks of golden light and flew into the air. The last thing Sunny saw of his face was a gentle smile lingering there. Far away, outside the Academy, kilometers away in a restaurant, the Pulse of Absence smiled softly while sipping a cup of tea.
"What a strange man."
Everything that had just happened was extremely strange. Sunny had wanted to visit Professor Julius, but instead met the same strange young man who once tried to assassinate them. If there was one thing Sunny noticed about him, it was that he didn't seem worried at all about revealing all this. And the body he saw—its soul seemed half-real, half-imaginary.
"Why do I always end up with Monsters and weirdos?!"
In any case, he had something important to do. Sunny went to Professor Julius and talked to him about why he hadn't visited earlier. Then they continued their conversation about the history of the Dream Realm. After that, Sunny returned home.
In the kitchen, Effie sat on one of the chairs, devouring a large table of food voraciously, while Nephis sat at the head of the table, eating thoughtfully. Sunny appeared on one of the chairs and sat down to start eating, looking tired.
"Really, Dofus, why do you do that scary thing?"
"What?"
"I mean popping out of the shadows suddenly. Don't you think that's a bit scary?"
"No, why would I think that's scary?"
"You're hopeless!"
Sunny shook his head at Effie's comments, then turned to Nephis. Nephis asked:
"Is something wrong?"
"Actually, yes. I met the Pulse of Absence. I don't know if I told you his name, but he's the same Master who once tried to kill us but backed off… He found me today and wants me to hurry into our second Nightmare together. It seems he…"
"He what?!"
"He's being hunted by the daughters of Song. He stole from them—can you believe it?! I almost laughed at him but held myself back. He also said that if we don't hurry, some Saints might hunt him down and kill him. I asked what he wanted from us, and he told me he wants to use us as scapegoats—and I agreed."
Nephis's jaw dropped, while Effie choked on her food, glaring at him. After a moment of processing, Nephis asked gently, though Sunny trembled from the threat hidden in her eyes:
"You can explain more, right? You won't like what happens if you don't."
"Calm down, I was joking… Well, he did ask us to be his scapegoats, but not in the way you think. He wanted us to help him complete the third Nightmare and divide the attention among us. You know what happens to someone who finishes the third Nightmare without Sovereign consent."
"Sovereign?"
Effie asked innocently, unaware of the meaning and weight of the word. Sunny replied:
"You don't need to know what that means now, but after our second Nightmare, you'll understand."
As soon as he finished, Nephis spoke:
"Then let me rephrase it: he wants us to defeat the third Nightmare together, then divide the attention and threat that come with the rise of new Saints, right? But what guarantees he'll fight with us?"
"Yes, that's it. As for the fighting—let me tell you, he seems mentally unstable and obsessed with combat. He fought some of the Masters from the daughters of Song without killing them and won."
"Is he trustworthy?"
"Trustworthy? I don't think so. But he's dependable, if you ask me."
Nephis gave him a scrutinizing look, then said:
"Then, Effie, you and Kai should travel to the Chained Islands or ask Saint Tyris to transport you. Sunny knows the location of a seed for the second Nightmare within the Chained Islands."
"Great, this pale bastard isn't just cozying up to you, Princess—he's also a great explorer!"
Weeks later, after the discussion between Sunny, Nephis, and Effie, the cohort gathered again at Sunny's house and discussed the plan. Everything seemed in place. Effie and Cassie would be transported before entering their second Nightmare. Cassie would go to the Blighted Grove with some people from the cohort formed by Sunny, Cassie, and Nephis. They would retrieve the root of the sacred tree to plant it on the ship, which was being repaired and restored by another team.
As for their second Nightmare—they would face it two months after Sunny's request.