Sunny woke to the faint warmth of sunlight filtering through the curtains.
And the faint, steady weight of someone curled up against him.
For a moment, he blinked, mind still sluggish from sleep. Then he glanced down and found Avi, bundled in the blanket like a small animal, her head pressed against his chest, one hand fisted lightly into his shirt. Her breathing was slow, steady — completely at peace.
He sighed softly, hand coming up to rest on her hair. His fingers combed through the messy strands, and for a second, he almost smiled.
It had been a month since the last time she latched onto him. The last time had been when they were still living in the outskirts, in that hell where they only had each other, and well...that broken home.
A month of noisy mornings, endless teasing, and enough accusations of "loser" to fill a book. And yet, even with Cassie, Juliet, and Nephis around — four sisters in all but name — she'd come here, to him, when the night grew heavy.
Last night must have taken a toll on her.
Different from the way she behaves, Avi is actually very weak after all.
Because last night, sitting in Cassie's room, watching Avi drift on the edge of sleep while the others listened, he'd told them something he'd never said aloud before.
...
They had just been playing a board game known as carrom, and well for some reason as if fate was on her side, Nephis was demolishing the three of them, Sunny had never won a single time, and now she even had the queen piece.
Juliet sighed at her own misfortune, glancing at Nephis and muttering:
"As expected of the princess, obviously she'd get the queen piece."
Sunny froze. His gaze snapped toward Juliet, who was suddenly very interested in flicking her striker across the carrom board.
Juliet, for her part, cursed silently. She hadn't meant to slip. Damn it. Nice one. Real smooth.
But Sunny wasn't about to let it slide. His eyes narrowed, sharp and questioning, and they drifted toward Nephis.
He was suspicious of her past already because of the circumstances 6 years ago, suspected that she was some high profile person, but...
For a long while, she didn't move. She simply sat there, her hand resting lightly on the edge of the board, her expression as unreadable as always. The silence stretched — taut, heavy — until finally, Nephis exhaled softly.
"…It's fine." Her voice was calm, almost too calm. Then, after a pause, she spoke again. "Miss Juliet is not wrong."
The others stilled.
Nephis's shoulders rose and fell as though weighed down by something unseen. "I am Nephis of the Immortal Flame Clan. Or rather… I was. I am the last one."
Her gaze dropped slightly, eyes flickering with a rare hint of emotion. "The Immortal Flame's glory is ash now. Once, we stood proud. Now there is nothing. My father…Broken Sword… is gone. My mother, Smile of Heaven, lost her soul in the Dream Realm and became a hollow. What remains is a name, and me — the last heir."
Then in a lonely voice, she added:
"And a target."
The words carried no boast, no pride. Only truth — quiet and heavy.
Cassie's lips parted, her blind eyes widening faintly as if she could still see the weight behind Nephis's mask. Then, without hesitation, she leaned forward and threw her arms around Nephis.
"That doesn't matter!" she declared brightly, smiling even through the solemn air. "Because now I have a princess as a friend! I am gonna order everyone now, if someone goes against us, I'll just scare them of with your name!!"
She added smugly.
Nephis stiffened, unprepared, her hands hovering awkwardly in the air before slowly lowering to return the embrace. Something flickered in her eyes — not pride, not sorrow, but something warmer, more fragile.
"Idiot…" she whispered, though her voice cracked just faintly.
From the corner, a muffled sound made them turn. Avi, who had seemed asleep, suddenly popped her head up from the blanket she'd been curled under. Her grin was mischievous, but her eyes glimmered with something gentler.
"If she is a princess," she said proudly, puffing her non-existent chest, "then take me into your clan too! I'll be Princess Avi of Immortal Flame! The cutest pink-haired princess there has ever been!!!"
She beamed, declaring it as if the whole world ought to take notice.
For the first time in a long while, Nephis's lips curved — not fully, not quite a smile, but close enough to break the edges of her mask.
Juliet snorted, smirking to hide her own relief. "Great. That makes me what, the evil step-sister? Fitting."
Sunny, however, sat back, silent. His face was calm, but inside, doubts whispered.
So that's why Jack and Jill were tailing her. Why Juliet fought those men earlier. Why she's never truly safe, even here…
He clenched his jaw. Nephis wasn't just some aloof noble. She was a target, a walking secret with enemies all around.
The air grew heavy again. Too heavy. Even with other's efforts, it wasn't gonna go away.
Sunny hated it.
So he did what he always did.
He shifted the weight onto himself.
"…I had a sister too," he said suddenly. His voice was quiet, raw enough that it cut through the mood like a blade.
The others turned to him.
"She was adopted. Early. I wasn't. Left to rot in the outskirts, our parents were gone...I found her once — right before my first Nightmare." His gaze dropped to the board, though he wasn't really seeing it. "Through a window. She was smiling. Happy. She didn't need me. Didn't even know me. And I realized… if I tried to step inside, I'd ruin it. I'd just be… annoying."
The silence that followed wasn't the same as before. It was softer. Warmer.
Cassie's hand slipped across the board to squeeze his. Avi's expression faltered — for once, no teasing on her tongue. Juliet leaned back, her smirk gone, eyes shadowed and thoughtful. And Nephis, silent as always, met his gaze with something steady, unflinching.
Sunny breathed out, forcing a crooked smile. "So… princesses or not, annoying or not… we're still the same, yeah?"
Cassie nodded fiercely. Avi shoved herself against his side with a grin that didn't hide the redness in her eyes. "Yeah. We're the same. Except I'm the better princess."
Juliet groaned. "Gods help me, now there are two of you."
For the first time that night, laughter broke the tension. It wasn't loud. It wasn't long. But it was real.
And as Sunny looked at them — Nephis, Cassie, Avi, Juliet — he thought: Whatever their blood, whatever their lost crowns or abandoned families… here, now, they had each other. And maybe that was enough.
…
But the moment didn't last.
Avi was still leaning against him, her usual spark dimmed. Her fingers fidgeted against the hem of her sleeve, her grin slipping at the edges until it crumbled altogether.
"Sunny…" she whispered.
He glanced down, startled by how small her voice was.
She bit her lip, eyes shimmering in the low lamplight. "So that's it? You… you already had a sister. A real one. Rain. You said she was happy, didn't need you… but then… what about me?" Her throat bobbed as she struggled to push the words out. "Did you only take me because I reminded you of her? Was I just… a replacement?"
Her voice cracked. The bratty front, the smug little sister act — it all shattered in a heartbeat. Tears welled, spilling despite her attempt to furiously blink them back.
"I know I'm annoying!" she burst out suddenly, trembling. "I yell too much, I am always troubling you, I'm selfish, I—I make things harder for you! But if you're just keeping me because of her—because I'm just some stand-in—then…"
Her words broke into a sob she tried to swallow down, shoulders curling inward.
The room had gone completely silent. Cassie's hand hovered, distressed. Juliet's smirk was nowhere to be found. Nephis only watched, her pale face unreadable but her gaze fixed firmly on Avi.
Sunny's chest tightened. He didn't hesitate. His hand came down gently but firmly on Avi's head, pulling her into him.
"You're saying the wrong things, Avi," he said quietly, but with weight. "I didn't take you because of Rain. I didn't even think about her that night. I took you because it was you. Only you. Don't twist it into something else."
Avi sniffled against his chest, clutching his shirt with trembling fists. "…Then why me?" she mumbled, muffled.
Sunny hesitated — then gave the only truth he could. "Because you're my little sister. That's all. You don't need to be anyone else. Not Rain. Not a replacement. Just you."
Avi's small frame shook as she buried her face deeper against him. "…Don't you dare forget it then. Don't you dare leave me behind." Her voice cracked, broken but fierce. "You're my big brother, Sunny. Mine. And I won't forgive you if you don't come back. Not you, not Neph, not Cas. None of you."
Cassie slid closer, wrapping both Avi and Sunny into a sudden embrace. Nephis, after a moment, added her quiet, awkward hand to Avi's shoulder. Even Juliet — exhaling a long sigh — muttered, "Brat's right, for once."
Avi hiccupped a laugh through her tears, clutching onto all of them at once. And in that tangled, messy knot of limbs, they stayed — bound not by blood, not by old names or lost crowns, but by something deeper.
Something chosen.
When Juliet asked where Rain was, he'd given her the address, the neighborhood, everything he could remember. She hadn't said anything more — just tucked it away with that unreadable look of hers.
Later, Avi had drifted asleep against him, clutching his shirt like she refused to let go. He'd carried her to the guest room, tucked her in, and slipped back to his own bed.
Then sometime in the night, instead of finding her sisters, she had come to snuggle up to him, not that she'll admit of course , being the gremlin she is.
Now, in the present, he looked down at her curled against him again, and the memory burned fresh in his chest.
This was how it had always been, before she'd decided being a brat was easier. Always finding him in the middle of the night, clinging like he was the only anchor she had.
Which he was.
Sunny's hand lingered on her hair, stroking gently. "…Idiot," he whispered, though there was no bite in it.
Avi stirred, blinking groggily before realizing exactly where she was. Her eyes widened, and her face went crimson.
"You—! You kidnapped me in my sleep!" she blurted, scrambling off him. "I'm telling big sis!"
Being the brat she is, obviously wouldn't admit of coming to him herself, well Sunny could play the bad guy always, It's nothing new after all.
Before he could even react, she was gone — bolting from the room in a flurry of blankets and stomping feet, leaving him sitting there, bewildered.
Sunny sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "…Yeah. Just like before."
Ah...if only she could be like last night...but that would take half the fun...
But deep inside, the weight in his chest had lightened. Even if she never admitted it again, he knew what last night had meant.
She was his little sister.
He was her big brother, and nothing would change that.
Breakfast was quiet. The clinking of spoons, the soft rustle of cups, the occasional sniff from Elena as she tried to pretend her eyes weren't red.
No one teased. Even Avi sat subdued, picking at her food, sneaking glances at Sunny she thought he didn't notice.
Elena fussed, piling food onto their plates despite protests. "Eat more. You'll need the strength." She pressed second helpings on Nephis, who wordlessly obeyed. She scolded Juliet for drinking tea too fast. She adjusted Cassie's collar three times.
Ivan, quieter, sat with his arms folded, but his eyes never left Cassie. Every so often, he reached out — brushing her shoulder, ruffling her hair, as though reassuring himself she was still there.
When the time came to leave, Elena broke first.
She hugged Cassie tightly, voice breaking. "Please be safe. Please, my love. Come back." She kissed her cheeks again and again, clinging as if she could anchor her daughter here by force.
Cassie held her just as tightly, whispering, "I'll come back. I promise."
Elena turned to Nephis next, hugging her with no hesitation. "Take care of her too. And yourself."
She kissed Avi's forehead despite the girl's protests, crushing her into her arms. Whispering words of love to her as though her own daughter.
Even Juliet received a fierce embrace, Elena's voice soft in her ear: "Take care, of yourself and them."
When she turned to Sunny, Elena didn't hesitate — wrapping him in her arms. "You too. Please. Don't let her carry everything alone."
Sunny froze, caught off guard, then slowly returned the hug. "…I'll try."
Ivan wasn't as expressive, but when Cassie ran into his arms, he bent to hold her tight. His voice was rough, steady: "Come back to us." He ruffled Nephis's hair, much to her surprise, and patted Avi's head. When he shook Juliet's hand, he smirked faintly. "It was enlightening meeting the infamous Soul Reaper."
Finally, he extended his hand to Sunny. And once again, the grip was too firm. But this time, there was something else behind it.
"Bring her back," Ivan said.
Sunny swallowed and nodded. "…I will."
.
.
.
The PTV hummed as it carried them away, the house shrinking in the distance. No one spoke. Elena's tears stricken face was visible in the distance, along with that of Ivan's solemn one, his eyes betraying his helplessness at being unable to do anything for Cassie.
They continued to ride silently for half an hour.
Then the communicator crackled:
The notification read:
EMERGENCY ALERT
EMERGENCY ALERT
GATE ACTIVITY DETECTED IN YOUR PROXIMITY
ETA: 79 SECONDS
EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY
Juliet immediately diverted course. Within minutes, they saw it — a gash in the sky, bleeding shadows into the world. Black smoke churned, and nightmare creatures poured out in grotesque waves.
Sunny glanced at his communicator again as another notification came:
ATTENTION ALL AWAKENED
REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION
ATTENTION ALL AWAKENED
REQUEST IMMEDIATE...
Below that, several lines of text shimmered:
Gate Category: 2 (89% probability), 3 (10% probability), HIGHER
(undefined).
Strike Force ETA: 16 min, 14 sec
Nightmare creatures — spines of bloody bone jutting from their backs, eyes like molten pits, and all kinds of shapes — burst into the open. Their claws cracked the asphalt, guttural roars filling the air as they lunged.
But before they could get far, the hiss of engines echoed from both ends of the street.
Several sleek PTVs — not the battered kind used in the outskirts, but long, polished machines with tinted windows and family crests etched in silver and gold — pulled into position, stopping in a perfect line.
The doors opened in unison.
Dozens of armored soldiers stepped out, their gray-and-scarlet uniforms pristine, weapons already drawn. The insignia of Clan Valor gleamed on their pauldrons.
The nearest officer raised a hand, his voice cold and commanding:
"By decree of the Princess, all Awakened are to remain stationary. Intervention is forbidden. The field belongs to her."
Juliet didn't say anything, just getting out of the PTV. She didn't argue — which alone told the others how serious this was.
Sunny frowned. "Princess…?"
Avi blinked rapidly, whispering, "What princess?"
It was then they saw her.
She emerged from the shadows like she had been there all along — a tall figure in full plate, gray armor etched with scars of countless battles. A longsword hung heavy in her hands, not gleaming like a hero's relic, but cold and merciless, as though forged only for slaughter.
Her hair streamed black against the ghostly light, her crimson eyes burning like coals under a visor half-raised. She didn't posture. She didn't look around. She just walked, slow and deliberate, toward the tide of nightmare hounds.
When she raised her sword, the Valor soldiers behind her dropped to one knee in perfect formation — not to fight, but in recognition.
Juliet's lips pressed thin. Her icy-blue eyes glinted, and for once, her voice held something like awe.
Or was it arrogance?
"…Princess of Valor."
Sunny's stomach tightened. That's her?
Cassie trembled, her blind eyes wide as if she could feel the weight in the air. "It… it feels like she's burning everything just by standing there."
And then Morgan moved.
Her sword swung once — a clean, merciless arc. Three hounds fell in two halves, blood steaming across the cracked asphalt.
The first wave had begun.
And then, she moved.
A lone figure in gray plate, hair black as shadow streaming behind her. A longsword gleamed in her hands, not elegant but merciless — a weapon made to kill, nothing else.
Her blade cut through the first hound mid-leap. The beasts landed headless. She turned, fluid, efficient, slashing down another. Her movements weren't flashy. They were mechanical, optimized, the way a guillotine falls.
The numbers didn't matter, neither who they were, whichever had the misfortune to meet her sword, met death itself.
The second wave came.
The Gate shrieked. More creatures poured out, followed by gaunt humanoid horrors with blackened, bark-like flesh and hollow sockets burning with red fire. Some carried crude bows, others stone spears.
Arrows shrieked through the air, a rain of bone and death.
She didn't falter.
Her sword whirled, batting projectiles aside, piercing through revenants, splitting torsos with brutal precision. She was a storm of steel and blood, every step pushing into the tide. Her armor turned aside claws and blades, her strikes tore the creatures down faster than they could surround her.
Avi flinched at every arrow, her hands tightening on her knees. She was feeling a strange paralysis from the atmosphere.
"How… how is she doing that?"
Juliet's gaze never left the battlefield. "Because she isn't just anyone."
A pause. Her voice grew quieter, almost reverent.
"That's not your sunshine and rainbows princess waiting to be rescued...Morgan of Valor and the Princess of War. Trained as death itself, the Valor never held back in her upbringing. She is without a doubt one of the strongest Ascended alive."
The name settled in the cabin like a stone.
Sunny clenched his fists. So this… is what an Ascended looks like.
The street was chaos. Abominations surged in waves, their shrieks echoing against the hollow cityscape. Morgan carved through them with ruthless efficiency, a machine built for slaughter. Even when one revenant drove a jagged spear toward her heart, she twisted, snapping the weapon, crushing its skull under her boot before severing two more in the same motion.
Her presence was absolute. Unshakable.
And then, the Gate screamed.
The Guardian emerged.
The Fallen Devil unfolded from the rift, impossibly tall and thin. Its body was all bone and sinew, five arms tipped with single elongated nails that glistened like obsidian blades. Its head was a rectangular box of pale bone, grotesque antennae twitching like the feelers of some monstrous insect.
It moved too fast for its size, gliding like a warped butterfly, nails cutting through the air as though slicing fabric itself.
Avi whimpered, pressing against Sunny. "It's so fast…"
The Guardian struck. Nails slashed, cleaving buildings, carving through the tide of lesser creatures like paper. The battlefield itself seemed to buckle.
Morgan met it head-on.
Her sword crashed against nails, sparks and shadows colliding. The impact shook the ground, the force throwing debris into the air. She ducked one swipe, her blade carving deep into the Devil's leg, only for another nail to screech across her armor. She staggered — just slightly — then countered with a brutal strike that severed an arm entirely.
The Devil shrieked.
The sound wasn't noise. It was annihilation, cutting into their bones. Sunny's body seized. Cassie screamed, trembling violently. Avi clutched his arm, shaking, her nails digging into his skin.
Only Juliet stood steady, hands folded, eyes cold.
Morgan pressed forward. She drove the Devil back with savage precision, each strike reducing its speed, each movement stripping away its edge. At last, her sword shattered against its hardened bone.
The group froze. "She's—unarmed?"
No. She didn't hesitate.
Suddenly she dropped her gloves, revealing her bony and fair hands.
Dropping the broken steel, Morgan seized the Devil's bony thigh in her hands. With a vicious twist, she tore apart it's thigh and then, she impaled the Guardian on its own limb, driving jagged bone through its torso.
The Devil's final shriek tore through the city like a blade. Glass shattered for blocks. The group was paralyzed in their seats, breath caught, until silence followed.
And then the Guardian crumbled. Shadow bled from its body, its frame collapsing into formless ash.
Morgan stood alone amidst the corpses, sweat steaming, armor streaked in blood and shadow. She turned her back on the Gate as it collapsed, leaving the clean up to the arriving Government soldiers and vanished into the ranks of Valor soldiers that had stood watching, untouched.
Juliet exhaled. Her hands were steady on the wheel. "It's over. We're leaving."
She drove without another word, the cleanup forces already arriving to scour the battlefield.
No one in the PTV spoke. Too awed by the fight-no, massacre Not until Avi finally broke the silence.
"…Big sis? Who would win? You, or her?"
All eyes turned...except Cassie of course.
Juliet's icy-blue gaze flicked to the rearview, her lips curving into a sharp, dangerous smirk.
"Well, I am glad you asked, hmm...let's see."
"If Morgan poured everything Valor has into her — every resource, every drop of her bloodline, her lineage...every lesson they carved into her — she might give me a little trouble."
Sunny frowned. "…but, would you lose?"
Juliet tilted her head, smirk sharpening. "...Nah. I'd win."
"So cool big sis!!!" Avi's unfiltered awed voice came from behind.
"Yep! that's just how cool your big sis is okay? You all better behave from now on."
No one argued.
But Cassie still trembled faintly, her hands cold.
Nephis's fists were clenched in her lap, her mask steady but her eyes burning with quiet determination.
And Sunny, staring out the window at the smoldering city, felt a chill that wouldn't leave.
Power decides everything.
And what they had just witnessed wasn't strength. It was domination.