Squinting as she shielded her eyes from the sunlight, Aria looked straight up.
"So… how are we supposed to get there? You said-"
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Sunny pulled them both into the shadows, stepping towards the shadow he'd left on the island. He winced as most of his remaining essence drained immediately at the burden of pulling another person.
"-you'd. Oh."
Turning around slightly, she saw the vast sprawl of the Chained Isles below them.
"Oh, okay."
Turning back, she immediately took rapid steps towards the tower in the center, not shooting even a single glance backwards.
"Welcome, I guess."
Sunny quietly followed her, curious to see what her reaction would be.
"You said a daemon used to live here? Cool…"
Passing by the lake, she glanced at him.
"So was Hope Nether's sister or whatever?"
"She was. Just siblings by technicality though, I don't think any of the daemons had good relationships with each other."
"And uh…"
Pointing at Sevras' remains, she began sweating slightly.
"What's with the dragon?"
"Oh that?"
Sunny pushed her forward, seeing as she'd stopped walking to look at the bones.
"That was the Saint who used to guard this place. His Transformation remained even after he died. Pretty cool, right?"
Aria turned to him, wide-eyed.
"What?! You killed a Saint to conquer this place?!"
Sunny blinked in confusion.
"What?"
Then, he realised how that sounded.
"Oh, no, of course not! That guy died thousands of years ago! His bones were already here when I found this place."
Breathing a sigh of relief, she nodded.
"Oh… okay, okay…"
"Though I did kill him in the Nightmare. Bastard was damn tough. Killed his brother too. And all his friends."
Aria looked at him again, jaw hanging open.
"You…"
Sunny grinned.
"It wasn't pretty. I'd have avoided it if it was possible, but you know how the Spell is."
"Yeah… yeah, I do…"
Unable to think of anything to say, Aria continued walking towards the Ivory Tower.
"Actually, speaking of Saints… how'd you know Madoc was there?"
Sunny gave her a sidelong glance, feeling his ears burn slightly.
"I didn't. It was just a hunch."
Even after anything, he still saw no sign of Whispering Blade. There was a good chance he really was just being paranoid…
"Just a hunch, huh? Fair enough I guess…"
Not thinking too much about it, Aria continued forward. As they entered the pagoda, she looked around in awe. The sun was at the perfect height, bathing the grand hall in just the right amount of light.
"This place is…"
Narrowing her eyes, she looked closer.
"...really dirty. When's the last time you cleaned it?"
Slapping her on the back, he laughed.
"Never! And now that you're here, that's your job! Good luck!"
Before she could say anything in return, Sunny vanished into the shadows, appearing in the ring at the centre of the hall.
"Don't use the Gateway just yet by the way! I'd hate for you to be stuck back on Earth again because of some stupid mistake. So just let me work on a fix first!"
"W-Wait!"
Sunny did not wait, activating the Gateway and disappearing in a beam of light. As he vanished, his voice echoed across the hall one last time.
"And get used to your new coworker!"
"You… you bastard!"
Just before she could utter a stream of curses, a voice came from behind her.
"Hello…"
"Hic!"
Letting out an undignified squeal, Aria dashed away from the voice, scrambling and sliding across the stone floor.
"Who are…"
The figure was upon her in an instant, their shadow falling over her.
"I am… Solvane…"
A dark, silver-haired lady wearing a crisp suit stood by her, smiling from ear to ear.
"It's you! Why are you here?"
"Why… else…?"
Crouching down, she handed Aria a high-quality feather duster.
"To make… sure… you clean…!"
"No… no!"
Her cry echoed across the island, not to be heard by a single soul.
***
Appearing back in the waking world, Sunny felt himself step in something wet.
"...Ew."
Water had begun seeping into the old sewage system, leaving his ankles buried in disgusting liquid.
Through his shadow sense, he immediately recognised the cause.
'It's raining.'
Outside, darkness had covered the skies, raining acidic droplets down upon the city.
"Ew ew ew…!"
Not hesitating for a second, he vanished into the shadows. It was time to go home.
***
Sunny made his way back home without any problems. His shadows hadn't noticed anything wrong either, so for the first time in a while, he relaxed a bit.
'I can finally work on the Coffer again!'
He couldn't help but smile at the thought. Although weaving wasn't exactly the most fun of activities, the thought of being capable of creating Echoes of his own was quite exciting.
'Maybe recreating Saint isn't out of the realm of possibility…'
The only real problem was that he couldn't find a suitable body for her. There was the doll he'd taken from the Ebony Tower, but that wasn't usable… yet.
'I'll figure something out.'
His skin itched slightly at the notion. Scrunching his eyebrows, he scratched at the scar on his chest, annoyed.
'The hell?'
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had an itch… the hell was that?
Shrugging it off, he continued onward. The city bustled around him, music blaring in the streets and countless colourful advertisements on the electronic boards far above… everyone seemed in quite the festive mood, not that he knew why.
'Some kind of holiday?'
He didn't really think about it. Holidays didn't mean much to him, seeing as he worked his own hours and didn't go outside too often. Perhaps there wasn't a holiday, and they were simply happy to get out of the rain and spend some time with other people.
At the joyous mood of all the people around him, he couldn't help but be infected with it as well, all their shadows making him feel warm.
'For peace…'
***
Arriving home, Sunny stepped straight into shadows upstairs, not wanting to track his disgusting shoes on the clean floors within. Nephis and Seishan seemed quite busy anyway, chatting away together at the dining table.
After making himself presentable, he slowly made his way down the stairs, hearing traces of the conversation between the two girls.
"...really understand that?"
"Yeah! It's interesting!"
Seishan seemed to be assisting Nephis in her studies, with big screens placed in front of them containing all sorts of strange information.
"What are you two up to?"
They froze, turning to the sound of his voice.
"Sunny!"
"Oh, you're back."
Jumping from her seat, Nephis ran over to him, giving him a big hug.
"Miss Seishan was just helping me with my work…"
"I can see that."
Seishan however, wasn't smiling.
"Sunny… can I speak with you for a moment?"
"Huh? Uh, sure."
He finally managed to pry Nephis off of him, causing her to laugh and run back to the table, giving them room to talk.
Moving towards the living room, he gave her a curious glance.
"What's got you looking so serious?"
Making sure Nephis wasn't listening, she leaned in and spoke to him in a low voice.
"That girl… she's really smart! Even among Legacy standards, I'd say she's a genius…"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"...I know?"
Perhaps his perspective was a little warped, seeing as he knew for a fact that she'd turn out to be one of humanity's greatest warriors, Changing Star.
"What have you been feeding her? Teaching her? This is quite fascinating…"
Sunny laughed slightly, happy to hear her praise.
"Well if you must know, I've been feeding her only the greatest of food. As for teaching her? That wasn't me. The kid's just that smart. You should see her skills in combat too!"
"Yes, yes! That as well! I tested her in sparring a couple hours ago… What in the world have you done? Is that really a human child?"
Seishan was wide-eyed, shaking his shoulder slightly.
"I haven't done anything! And yes, that is a human child! Stop shaking me!"
Realising what she was doing, Seishan retracted her hand, coughing slightly.
"Sorry. Anyways, does she have any tutors, or is it really just you?"
"It's just me."
There was Solvane and Serpent as well, but since they were technically a part of him, he counted them as himself.
"Sunny, this is… even if that girl doesn't Awaken, she'll probably be one of the greatest engineers in modern day. I don't think you're doing enough to nurture her."
He scrunched his eyebrows, feeling slightly offended.
"Hey, I'm trying!"
Leaning in, he continued in a low voice.
"You try doing something when a Great Clan is trying to put you in the dirt!"
Seishan glowered slightly, offended as well.
"You have a Great Clan backing you as well, Sunny."
"Do I? Why do you think Valor wants her gone, Seishan?"
Scoffing, she glared at him.
"Don't be ridiculous. Mother already agreed to your proposition!"
"But can I trust her? Look at what happened to Broken Sword. If I never said anything, your mother would be next in line to take her out. That talent you praise is the EXACT reason they wanted her gone in the first place!"
"You don't know that."
"I do know, and I think you do as well."
Seishan heaved a long sigh, deflating a bit.
"Would it kill you to trust us just a little bit?"
"It might. I've been betrayed before, and by people far kinder than you."
Her eyes widened.
"Have you?"
"...Yes. And you don't want to know what it cost me."
All those years ago, back on the Forgotten Shore… Cassie's actions had quite literally cost him everything. Now, he had to do everything in his power to gain it back. He didn't blame her for it, seeing as she was gone now, but still… it hurt to remember.
"Forgive me, I didn't know. But I just… I don't say this for my or Song's sake, I'm saying this because I want the best for humanity."
"I don't doubt that. Just let me make sure she doesn't die before that talent is nurtured. Your mother has agreed to help me with Valor anyway, so I'll wait for her to keep her word first. I'm sure I'll be willing to show you some more trust then."
Pausing for a moment, Seishan looked away.
"Most people would be begging for a chance like this, you know…"
"I know, and I'm sorry if you think I'm being unfair. But Awakened Sunless isn't exactly a part of the Song Clan, is he?"
Seishan flinched slightly, as if remembering something.
"Oh, right."
Lowering her head, she pressed her fingers against her forehead, sighing.
"That can be easily fixed, Sunny. I… I still can't believe you agreed to that Suming nonsense."
Momentarily taken aback, Sunny leaned in and whispered harshly.
"What?! What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that mother was obviously joking when she proposed the idea! The plan was to get you to disagree with her ridiculous request, and then give you a far more reasonable one instead, but you just went ahead and agreed!"
"What… wait…"
It had been a joke? Then why… Why did he…
"Yes! Come on, really? Creating a whole new identity just to keep a low profile? Just who do you think we are? If we didn't want your name appearing anywhere, it wouldn't!"
"Oh…"
Sunny felt himself grow lightheaded for a moment at the revelation.
"But I don't…"
"Don't what, huh? Don't want to associate yourself with Song? You're already a part of our Domain! Hell, even Saint Jest knows you're associated with us now, thanks to that incident yesterday!"
He was unable to retort. Seishan was making quite a lot of sense right now…
But still…
"And if I say I don't want to be in the clan that killed Nephis' father?"
"You-"
She tried to retort, but stopped, glancing over to make sure the girl wasn't hearing any of this.
"...There's more to it than that, Sunny."
"Like what?"
Pursing her lips, Seishan let out a frustrated sigh.
"I don't know! Mother doesn't talk about it. But… it didn't seem like she had a choice in the matter back then."
"What, you're trying to say she's a victim too? Becaus-"
"No! No… no of course not. It's just… maybe you should try asking her about it. She… I'm sure she'd appreciate having someone to talk to as well."
Sunny narrowed his eyes, but did not push the topic further.
"I'll think about it."
Honestly… joining the Song Clan didn't sound all that bad, he'd gotten over his hatred for Legacies a long time ago. If he proved his worth, he'd likely be showered with all sorts of riches as well. It was nothing like in the past when Nephis joined Valor, where there was vendetta between them. He was just being stubborn. There was the issue with Weaver's Lineage as well, but as long as nothing ridiculous happened it would probably be fine.
"I hope you will. It…"
Sighing, she glanced back at Nephis.
"It would be such a waste for a talent like that to be wasted over personal grudges."
"...Yeah. It would."
Moving past him, she placed a hand on his shoulder, murmuring into his ear.
"Your talent shouldn't be wasted either, so don't restrict yourself so much just because you don't want to be in the spotlight. Not everyone is out to get you, Sunny."
He was silent for a moment, meeting her gaze.
"I'll keep that in mind."
If only she knew… but he'd rather not repeat the mistake Broken Sword made.
"And I've chosen not to inform mother of the situation with Aria just yet. I'll leave what happens with her up to you."
Sunny blinked, slightly surprised.
"Really? Thanks…"
Nodding, she let go and made her way over to Nephis, all the tension on her face melting away as if it were never even there.
"Nephis?"
The girl took a moment to respond, enamored in whatever it was she was reading.
"Yes?"
"I'll be off now, seeing as Sunny's back."
"Oh, okay!"
Sunny silently watched them converse a little bit before Seishan left, thinking hard about what she had told him.
'I'm not doing enough…'
He knew. Of course he knew. The Immortal Flame Clan, as much they struggled, were still a Great Clan once. They had the resources, the people, and the skills to properly nurture a Legacy. But him? There wasn't much. He was rich and knowledgeable for an individual, but against a clan he wasn't much.
'Hm…'
He still had connections though. There was Teacher Julius, Sky Tide… he didn't quite place his confidence in the Song Clan yet, but it was always there at the back of his mind as well.
'I still have time.'
Though he didn't exactly feel rushed, he was still greatly compelled to act. Sitting around and waiting for an opportunity just didn't suit him anymore.
Absent-mindedly waving farewell to Seishan, he made his way over to the table and sat with Nephis.
'I'll do something once I finish everything with the Coffer…'
"So, how was Seishan, kid?"
Looking at him, Nephis frowned for a moment, thinking hard.
"She's kind of mean…"
Before he could say anything, she added:
"But still nice!"
Sunny relaxed, smiling softly.
"Oh… you mean she's strict."
"Yeah!"
"I see, I see… that's fine then."
From the little time he'd spent around the Song Sisters, he could tell that Seishan was pretty much the boss of them. Despite the fact she wasn't the oldest, they all looked up to and respected her as if she were. It could've been due to her stern and steady personality, or it could've been something else, he wasn't entirely certain, but he knew enough.
"Did you like her?"
"Of course!"
He nodded, not saying anything else.
'Good enough…'
***
Tap… tap… tap…
Sunny silently tapped his finger against the side of his head, staring at his weave.
'It's getting close…'
The fine silk of the Sorcerer's Robes felt like clouds against his skin, making each movement of his arms feel smooth and pleasant. Cool darkness surrounded him as he checked in on his shadows from time to time, making sure Aria hadn't lost her mind yet.
A week had passed since the situation with her now, and he was finally starting to feel himself calm down. The paranoia that had constantly gnawed at him had somewhat quieted now, allowing him to think better.
'Move this node here…'
A finger wrapped in countless ethereal strings moved, shifting the spiderweb like structure of the weave around.
'And this here…'
Another finger moved, causing the Coffer to shudder slightly. It could not move however, as two dark hands held it still.
The sun was slowly rising outside, and the sound of running water upstairs bothered him ever-so-slightly.
'Almost…'
Another finger crossed over, its movement impossibly steady.
'Aaaand…'
Interlinking the weave, he felt everything lock into place.
The Coffer went still.
Sunny silently watched, his mind burning in anticipation.
'Come on…'
The Memory remained still, not doing anything.
'Come on!'
Sunny looked away slightly, scared to see what would happen.
'Come o-'
The Coffer exploded. White sparks flew everywhere like a radiant firework, momentarily lighting up the entire room.
'Ah!'
Sunny stared with wide eyes, his hands holding onto empty air.
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
'Wha-'
[You have received an Echo.]
Hearing the whisper of the Spell, he immediately slumped over, sighing in immense relief.
'Oh… thank the gods…'
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, a wide smile broke out on his face. Sitting up again, he summoned the runes.
Echoes: [Mordacious Mimic].
'Mordacious…'
Sunny immediately reached into his soul and summoned the Devil.
As white sparks coalesced before him in the rough shape of a cube, he focused on the Echo's runes, curious to see what it said.
Echo: [Covetous Coffer].
Echo Class: Devil.
Echo Rank: Ascended.
'Still the Coffer… makes sense.'
This was an Echo made from a Memory. He hadn't added the final ingredient just yet…
Echo Description: [This Echo was created by -unknown-.]
Echo Attributes: [Capacious Chest].
Echo Abilities: [Mendacious Coffer].
'Okay… it's basically the same thing, but an Echo?'
That… made complete sense. Why would it suddenly change? If anything, he'd hate it if the Coffer suddenly changed into something completely different. Though he did notice that the [Locomotive Chiffonier] and [Lurid Trunk] enchantments had disappeared, the ones that allowed it to move around and defend itself. Seeing as those were things an Echo could do by default though, the Spell simply dismissed them as attributes altogether.
'Fine by me.'
The Coffer finished summoning itself before him, appearing as a metal chest. Lining its lid were razor sharp teeth, each as sharp as a deadly blade. The Devil may have looked quite menacing, if not for the fact it was currently sticking its tongue at him like a little kid…
"Stop that."
The Echo ignored him, shaking its tongue around as if to mock him.
Clicking his tongue, he dismissed it with a thought.
'It's only going to get worse as a Shadow… Oh well!'
It was too far too useful to pass up on, so he could ignore such things.
Diving into his Soul Sea, he brought down one of the small sparks of light orbiting his cores. As it landed at his feet, it expanded into the form of the Coffer, which immediately stuck its tongue out again.
"Hey now… I said stop."
The chest didn't stop.
His words were half-hearted anyways. Like he'd care about a soulless beast's mockery!
[Transform Echo into Shadow?]
[Yes/No.]
"Hm… Might as well try, right?"
Dismissing the runes, he looked around, searching for the shadow of the Mordant Mimic.
'Ugh…'
Trying to find anything in his Soul Sea was quite a chore. The sheer amount of creatures he had slain back on the Forgotten Shore made it quite hard to see anything. There were also the many creatures and humans Jet had slain as well, there shadows entering his Soul Sea thanks to her Mark.
'There you are…'
After searching for a while, he found it.
'Eugh… forgot how creepy that thing was…'
Its lanky and emaciated body stood nearly three meters tall, looking not unlike a human male. The only difference was the fact that there was a chest in the place of where its head would've been.
Shaking his head, Sunny brought the Coffer over to the shadow, keeping them side-by-side as he focused on the sensation of his vacant Monster Core, attempting to summon the beams of dark light he remembered the Spell using.
…
…
After several seconds of extreme focus, a small cone of dark light shone on both of the beings at the same time before sputtering out.
"Sunny?"
"Guh…"
Sunny exhaled harshly, the tiny bit of progress he made taking quite a lot out of him.
"Ha… ha… yeah?"
Standing in front of him, Jet stared curiously, having come down the stairs at some point..
"What are you doing?"
"Ugh… trying to create another Shadow."
He tiredly rubbed his forehead, feeling an oncoming headache.
"Why? You-"
Looking up, he saw that Jet was already gone.
"Good luck!"
Her voice came from outside, distant enough for him to almost not hear her. With the screeching of tires, he saw her PTV drive onto the road and speed away.
"Wha…"
She hadn't even closed the door?
'Why did…'
Pausing for a moment, he remembered what happened the last time he created a Shadow.
'Right…'
The incident with Solvane must've resurfaced in her mind when he mentioned creating a Shadow. Although they got along now, his first meeting with the Death Maiden hadn't gone too well…
Shaking his head with a quiet laugh, he stood up and went to close the door.
'I don't think I can do this as an Ascended.'
The Shadow Creation part of his Aspect had come instinctually, and he was sure he knew how to create a Shadow. It was just that his Will wasn't strong enough to complete the process, so he still needed the Spell's assistance for now.
[Transform Echo into Shadow?]
"Yes."
Sunny quietly watched as a beam of darkness descended upon the Coffer. A second beam came down a second later, landing on the Mordant Mimic.
'Hm… did it take a second to find a suitable shadow? Interesting.'
He wasn't really sure if that was useful to know or not, but it was something.
The shadow dissolved into the dark light, transforming into black flames and seeping deep into the Echo's body. The weaves that he had worked on for so long vanished, replaced by pure darkness.
Sunny watched in glee as the bright nexuses of the Echo vanished, making way for four burning embers.
'Yes… yes!'
The Coffer began to change as well, its outer shell morphing and blackening. It was becoming a better suited vessel for the Mordant Mimic. A cloud of darkness appeared around it as well, only to be quickly absorbed into the Shadow's maw, hiding its true nature.
And after several long seconds, the process ended. As the dark beam slowly faded, his Shadow moved, creaking and chattering.
[You have created a Shadow.]
"Wonderful!"
Now, a simple black chest sat in front of him. Though subdued, Sunny could definitely sense the presence of living coming from within it.
"Come on, come on! Show me what you can do!"
Moving in a far more willful manner now, the chest stuck its tongue out at him.
And before he could say anything, it began laughing.
"..."
Sunny watched in stunned silence, feeling a subtle sense of dread.
Bouncing from side to side, the Shadow continued laughing, its lid opening and closing like a mouth.
"What's so funny, bastard?"
The Coffer immediately stopped, going dead still, pretending to be a chest.
"...Whatever."
Summoning to runes, he curiously swept his gaze over the description.
Shadow: [Mordacious Mimic].
Shadow Rank: Ascended.
Shadow Class: Devil.
Sweeping his gaze over its abilities, he nodded with a smile.
"Good!"
Patting the lid a little harder than he should've, he left his Soul Sea and brought the Mordacious Mimic to the real world. The Shadow had a few new tricks now, being able to consume beings to create the ever familiar soul coins, as well as having its old ability's potency be far more closely tied with his soul now.
And though its new capabilities were solid and all, there was something he cared about far more.
Ignoring its toothy grin, he kicked the lid open and looked at the darkness inside.
"Okay, get in."
Turning to his side, he looked at his other Shadow, the Soul Serpent. It was currently assuming the form of some random human, just to ensure it could fit inside his house. He would've preferred asking Jet to help him test such things, but alas, she'd already run away.
Serpent stared at him for a moment, a hint of emotion in its blank gaze.
"I mean… Please get in, my dear Soul Serpent."
With a quiet hiss, it hopped up on the chest's lid and vanished inside.
'Now… the moment of truth.'
Closing the lid, he admired the space inside for a moment, happy that it seemed to have grown with the Shadow's creation. But the ability he was truly looking for…
Sunny dismissed the Mimic.
…Nothing happened.
'Aw.'
Even though Serpent was his very own Shadow, one that could normally rest inside his very soul, he couldn't dismiss the Mimic while it was inside.
So instead, he tried summoning the chest from a different shadow, across the room.
"Yes!"
It worked. Although the summoning took a bit longer than it usually did, he was now able to move living beings from shadow to shadow.
'Wonderful!'
This was the only ability he'd been hoping for in his efforts to create the Mimic. Everything else was nice and all, but this was something else…
'How about…'
He focused on the hazy senses of the shadow he'd left in the Dream Realm. One remained at the Ivory Tower, and the other remained not too far away from the Sanctuary of Noctis, just in case the thing he thought might happen happened. Zeroing in on the one at the Ivory Tower, he tried to summon the Mimic there.
'...'
Nothing happened.
"Aw…"
It seemed the connection to his shadow wasn't potent enough to summon cross-realm, which was strange, because he was able to do such a thing with Solvane just fine…
'Must be the burden of transporting multiple beings at once?'
Perhaps once he was a Transcendent, such a matter would become a thing of the past. For now though, he was only able to move beings around in one world at a time, which was fine. It wasn't like he was transporting people to and from the Dream Realm all the time. As a Master, he could cross realms at a moment's notice anyways, so it wasn't a crippling weakness or anything.
He shook the thought away and began summoning a Memory, grinning darkly.
"Hungry?"
The Mimic jumped, excitedly running over to him, teeth chattering.
More and more Memories began to appear around him, filling the room with soft light.
As the first one appeared, he tossed it straight into the Shadow's mouth. With a loud crunch and crack, he heard the whispers of the Spell.
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
The second one appeared, and he tossed it again.
Crunch! Crack!
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
[Your Memory…]
Sunny continued tossing in Memory after Memory. These had been the ones he'd confiscated from Aria, Memories she'd received from Valor. Seeing as he didn't want to or need to use them, he thought he may as well feed them to his Shadow.
[Your Memory…]
[Your Memory…]
And after a while, they were gone.
Shadow Fragments: [41/200].
Sunny couldn't stop a grin from appearing on his face.
'Good!'
He always appreciated free things, especially when they came from an unknowing enemy. At the thought of Shadow Fragments though, he quickly checked his own, curious to see how many he'd lost in the creation of the Mordacious Mimic.
Shadow Fragments: [6800/7000].
He nodded, quickly thinking of how long it would take for him to saturate his core again.
'Should be fine.'
It had been a while now since he'd seen his fragment counter not at max. Such a sight made him grin slightly.
'Guess I have a reason to kill again?'
Shaking his head, he dismissed the runes. Today, he was going to relax…
His day went about normally, with him sending a request to meet with Teacher Julius, among other things… Nephis was happy to be able to interact with a new Shadow as well, though she still insisted on calling him Coffee.
It was a peaceful day.
At night though, the thought of Shadow Fragments lingered slightly on his mind…
And as he drifted off into sleep, Sunny had a strange dream.