Master Jet led them out of the hospital complex and into the academy grounds. Sunny walked a step behind her, Nephis at his side. Sunny couldn't help but throw glances at the confident young woman. Not because he was mesmerized by her, but because seeing her again was a strange experience.
When they first met, he was fresh from the First Nightmare, barely accustomed to his new status as a Sleeper. Being in the presence of a Master was like standing in front of a legend. He remembered vividly how much fear and awe this beautiful stranger inspired in him.
He acutely felt the measure of ease with which she would be able to kill him, if she wished.
Now, slightly more than a year later, so much had changed. He was still pretty sure that he had no chance of taking her in a fight, a fair one at least, but the reverent fear was gone, replaced by simple respect. Sunny knew that he had it in himself to if not win, then at least survive a confrontation with someone like Jet.
As he thought about how different things had become, the three of them approached a small, picturesque building near the center of the Academy.
Without slowing down, Master Jet walked past a few people that were staring at her with a strange mix of regard and disdain.
'Oh, right… I remember Teacher Julius mentioning that Master Jet has a terrible reputation. To be exact, he described her as a "murderous savage", "barbarian", "having a problematic personality", and "psychopathic killer". Uh…'
But then those same people noticed Nephis walking beside him and the shift was immediate.
Their expressions softened into awe, admiration, even reverence. Some whispered to each other. Others straightened their posture. A few simply stared, wide‑eyed, as though witnessing a celebrity walk past them.
'I suppose she would be a celebrity now…'
Clearly the tales of her deeds in the forgotten shore had spread through the Academy like wildfire.
No wonder people were giving them weird looks throughout the whole walk. They were probably experiencing emotional whiplash.
Though… He didn't like some of the looks Neph was getting…
Sunny looked at the next person to give her a less than innocent glance coldly, activating the murder math to its fullest potential. Immediately, the onlooker paled slightly and turned away.
Sunny smiled.
'That's right, look away. '
He straightened his shoulders, feeling oddly satisfied
'Now... the most important part. Let's see what the Instructors eat!'
At first glance, the interior of the Instructors Lounge seemed simple and cozy. Most of the furniture was made out of wood, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Bright sunlight streamed through the tall windows, which were open slightly to let in the chilly winter air.
However, his eyes widened slightly when Sunny realized that all the wood around him was natural, not synthetic.
'Extravagant! Wasteful!'
Noticing his expression, Master Jet smiled slightly.
"Let me guess, you have never seen that much real wood in one place?"
Sunny hesitated, then gave her a nod.
"Only in the Dream Realm…"
The young woman grinned, moved a chair back with her foot, and sat down at one of the tables.
"And you Miss Changing Star?"
Nephis looked around the room as she and Sunny sat down, her eyes softened with faint nostalgia.
"My family's manor used to be furnished a bit like this." She said as Sunny looked at her gobsmacked.
Jet chortled.
"Hah! That's the Immortal Flame Clan for you." She smirked at Sunny. "Congrats on becoming a kept man kid."
"Wha— I am not a 'kept man!'" Sunny hissed.
Master Jet waved a hand dismissively as she summoned the menu, made a selection, then leaned back.
"Sure, sure, whatever you say" She said while covering a yawn with her hand.
Sunny turned desperately to Nephis.
"Tell her Neph!"
Nephis met his eyes calmly, placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and said with perfect sincerity.
"Don't worry Sunny, I'll support whatever you want to do."
Sunny buried his face in his hands with a groan.
"Not you too!"
Nephis smirked as Jet laughed at his predicament.
Soon, their food arrived, taking his plates off the motorized tray, Sunny stared at the feast in front of him with wild eyes. There were fried potatoes, baked beans, juicy roasted meat, a salad made out of real vegetables, a bowl of fragrant soup, several pieces of oven bread, butter, jam, and even chocolate pudding for dessert.
It was his first time seeing some of these things in real life. Suddenly, the position of a research assistant once promised to him by Teacher Julius did not seem so unattractive.
The Nephis and Sunny ate their meals ferociously, however part way through Sunny noticed something was off, he narrowed his eyes at his potatoes.
'I could have sworn I had more…'
A fork entered his peripheral vision and speared one of his potatoes before retreating.
Sunny turned his head slowly.
Nephis sat beside him, expression serene and shamelessly munching on the stolen piece of fried deliciousness.
"Neph… that's mine…" He said weakly.
She tilted her head, looking at him with innocent curiosity. "Is it?"
"Oh, you two are adorable," Jet said, amusement tugging at her lips. She pointed her fork at Sunny. "But hurry up and eat. We still have official business to take care of."
Grumbling halfheartedly, Sunny returned to his meal, while subtly shielding his remaining potatoes with his arm. Nephis still managed to steal another one though.
…Some time later, with his belly on the verge to bursting open, he pushed away empty plates and leaned back with a satisfied smile on his face.
'Ah… this is life!'
Master Jet glanced at him with a dry smile.
"What did I tell you? This is where they hide the good stuff."
Sunny looked at the empty plates with regret and sighed.
"Yeah. Although after a year of eating almost nothing except for monster meat, I would have been satisfied even by synth paste."
Her smile dimmed at the mention of the most common food in the outskirts.
As three glasses of beautiful dark tea steamed in front of them, Master Jet sighed, then took out some items from the inner pocket of her uniform. The first two were small metal boxes with sensors on their lids. The third was an obsidian like marble with a swirling mist in its core.
She set them on the table with a soft clink and looked between Sunny and Nephis.
"Firstly," she said, "are you both alright with the other being present?"
Sunny and Nephis both nodded without hesitation.
"Good. Makes my job easier."
Jet tapped the obsidian marble. The mist inside expanded outward in a silent bloom, forming a translucent sphere around the three of them. The world outside blurred into a frosted haze, and all sound beyond the barrier muted into nothing.
'A privacy memory… and a third‑tier ascended one at that.'
Sunny thought while he inspected the marble's weave.
Jet gestured to the metal boxes.
"Open them and take out the contents."
Nephis put her finger on the sensor and Sunny followed her actions The sensor buzzed for half a minute, and then a small green light ignited on the metal box. With a quiet click, it unlocked.
Inside the box was a slick communicator made out of flexible glass, a memory chip with the government seal etched on its surface, and a small iron badge with two stars engraved into it.
Jet then said in a light tone.
"Congratulations, Awakened Sunless, Awakened Nephis. You are now officially citizens of the seventh rank."
Sunny was stunned, back in the outskirts becoming a citizen was the dream, Citizenship meant access to proper food, human rights, and better life.
Very few had ever gotten to become a citizen, let alone rising to the pinnacle of society in one go.
'Seventh rank… there's literally nothing higher.'.
His expression became grim, looking up at Master Jet, he asked in a somber tone.
"I get it that I would be made a citizen after Awakening. But… seventh rank? Isn't that a little too much?"
Master Jet laughed.
"Sunless… you don't really know what you did, do you?"
Sunny looked at her without humor, then said.
"I'm pretty sure that I do, but please, enlighten me."
She shook her head and sighed.
"Listen… of all the Sleepers that had returned from the Dream Realm in the last few years, there are only seven whose files were marked as SS. You and Nephis are two of them."
Sunny stared at Master Jet, a strange expression frozen on his face. After a while, he asked.
"...That's great, but... what the hell does 'SS' mean?"
"It means that the government thinks you have a high chance of becoming a saint." Nephis answered him from the side.
"That's right," Jet said, nodding. "Officially you, Sunny, are the least outstanding among those seven while Nephis is ranked first."
Sunny felt a bad premonition crawl up his spine.
"Officially?" he repeated.
Jet smirked at him.
"Yes, officially. Unofficially you're considered the second most outstanding among them."
Sunny gulped, trying to keep his face neutral.
"And why would you think that?"
Jet's eyes gleamed with predatory amusement.
"Well, at first we took your interview at face value. But then more and more interviewees mentioned you by name, along with some of your rumored accomplishments. We thought it was odd, so we checked the interviews of the people you were known to associate with… but there was a suspicious lack of mention of you in those."
Sunny went pale.
Jet continued, voice silky.
"Suspicious enough that Saint Cor himself took an interest. He noticed you only ever gave half‑truths in your interview. Combine that with the rumors surrounding you, and… well. We're fairly certain you're hiding your strength."
A bead of sweat slid down Sunny's back.
Nephis's eyes flashed dangerously as she glared at the government ascended.
"And so what? What are you wanting to achieve by telling us this?"
Jet raised her hands in a placating gesture.
"Easy, princess, the only ones in the government who know the truth are myself and Saint Cor. We'll be giving the official story to the rest of the world."
Sunny furrowed his brow. "Wait, why just the two of you? Surely I'm not so important to justify such strict secrecy."
Jet nodded. "You're correct, for now that is, but the old man is hoping to get either recruit you or get some benefits from you later on down the line if you go independent."
Sunny pursed his lips. That… he could work with. If the government wanted something from him, they wouldn't expose him. Not yet.
"You make it sound like my only choices are joining the government or going independent. What if I join a legacy clan?"
Jet burst into laughter. "Haha! No. There's no way in hell any legacy clan would want you."
Sunny bristled. "Why not—?"
Jet waved him off.
"Oh, don't give me that look. It's nothing personal. It's because of your Aspect. For the past six years, only the government has been willing to employ Awakened with shadow‑related Aspects."
Nephis looked at Jet confusedly. "Why?"
Jet arched a brow at Nephis. "Because all the legacies are scared shitless of the Shadow Clan."
Nephis blinked. "Shadow Clan? I've never heard of this Shadow Clan before, have you Sunny?"
Sunny winced internally at the question, briefly glancing at Jet as he considered how to word his answer.
"...Yeah, Caster accused me of being one of their members once. Though from what he told me I'm surprised you're not aware of them, Neph."
Nephis scrunched her brow in confusion. "Why it that?"
"Because for the last six years the only traces the Shadow Clan leaves are corpses of those sent to assassinate you." Jet answered her looking perplexed. "You really didn't know?"
Nephis opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again at a loss for words. After a few moments she spoke. "No… I didn't."
"I see… Well it looks like I've given you a lot to think about." Jet said as she stood up. "In the next few days you two will need to choose which citadel you want to go to."
She reached into her jacket and took out a small, secure plastic container and pushed it towards them.
"Military-grade stimulants, you'll be able to stay lucid for about a week with these. Contact me when you've made a decision."
She stretched a little, and gave him a little smile.
"Well… it's been nice seeing you, Awakened Sunless, Awakened Nephis. You did well, staying alive out there. Warms my heart to know that another one of us did. I'll be off, then. Time waits for no one, and all that."
She reached for the obsidian marble, tapping it again causing the mist to swirl back into the orb.
"Uh… Master Jet?"
Sunny said.
She glanced at him in confusion.
"Yeah?"
Sunny hesitated for a bit, then raised his newly issued, expensive, slick communicator.
"I, uh… I don't have your contact?"
Master Jet stared at him for a while, then grinned.
"Trying to get another woman's number right in front of your girl, huh?"
Feeling his ears turning slightly red, Sunny coughed, but then took hold of himself and said.
"Yes. How else am I going to call you when I've made a decision?"
The beautiful woman shook her head, then took his communicator and entered her contact information into it.
Returning the communicator to Sunny, she looked to Nephis who was still lost in thought.
"What about you Changing Star?"
Nephis blinked and handed Jet her communicator.
When Jet returned it, Nephis asked quietly,
"Master Jet… could I borrow your privacy memory for a day?"
Jet considered the request, then handed over the marble.
"Alright, but I'll dismiss it after a day, and you're buying me a new one if you break it."
Nephis nodded in agreement.
"That's fair. Thank you."
With that, Master Jet walked away, leaving Sunny and Nephis at the table.
They sat in silence for a while, Sunny looked towards Nephis.
"Should we try to find Cassie?"
Nephis nodded.
"Yes, let's go."
They stood, gathered their things, and left the Instructors' Lounge together.