Right there in the chamber where the sleeper pods were set Sunny faced Nephis cold eyes for his actions - for both pretending to be asleep and for asking the cohort to push her through the gateway
It was a shame he didn't have enough time to speak to her before having to go through the formalities of awakening and it seemed the employees of Academy seemed to be particularly intrigued about the trials of the newly Awakened
Nephis and Cassie too were undergoing the same process he was - speaking to an awakened on the upper floors
It took a few minutes to reach the room, and Sunny was sat down by the women who had interviewed him the first time too - He sat at the table admiring the odd silence of the building
It had been a while since Sunny's ears were surrounded by such silence and with such a serene environment - The first nightmare had the howling of the cold wind, the Forgotten Shore and its constant sound of either water or a random monster roaring in the background
Sunny was brought out of his daydreaming when the women spoke - "I take it you choose to keep your awakened ability secret?"
Sunny thought about the question properly, right now he was the only person with 2 aspects. He could choose to hide both, and the decision would not be questioned, but unlike the last life Sunny needed to and could reveal an extent of his abilities
It was not for fame rather like last time Sunny would keep himself in the shadows. He would hide his abilities by projecting them
Mongrel would exist, the lord of Shadows would exist as separate entities from Sunless and the Star of Darkness
"No, I don't mind" - Sunny made himself seem to hold a thoughtful and dejected expression
The woman was surprised; it was an odd situation but not an unwanted one - if he wanted to join the government or a clan, they will be more trusting to a transparent asset who is also cooperative
"Well then, what is your awakened ability?" - She noticed the somber mood he had
"It's a mental attack of sorts that I can use to..." - Sunny paused as if hesitant, of course he was pretending - "Let's say it can disorientate enemies"
The women looked curious at the vague description and decided to ask - "Can you show me its extent?"
Sunny looked at her slightly curious about the extent of this ability but looking at the women who was trying to both do her job and be kind to someone who just completed their trial - "I explained to vaguely ... this ability is to induce insanity not just relive one's darkest moments and I don't want to use it on humans"
She widened her eyes slightly and then it softened towards the last bit he said - 'What a cruel ability for such a kind individual'
Sunny of course didn't want to use it on a human, specifically this human - but that did not mean he wont
The formalities continued on and arrived at how he performed during his forceful excursion to the dream realm to which Sunny didn't want to discuss most of it, though he cooperated with the question about his enemies
"Do you have an estimate of how many Nightmare Creatures you've killed?"
Sunny looked at her and sighed - He thought for a while and thought of the best way to answer
"Well, I don't have an exact number, but I estimate its above roughly... no, maybe 1...."
"That's rather impressive, assuming you faced an awakened" - She spoke gently emphasizing the awakened bit to get his confirmation. Many avoided battles after all - there was no shame in self-preservation and for someone with such a kind disposition he didn't seem to be a fighter despite his dormant ability
"Ah pardon me miss but I didn't mean more than 1... I meant above a thousand"
The lady dropped her tablet as she looked at him - she knew his flaw, after all it was there on her tablet under his portfolio.
She took a shaky breath as she looked at him wide eyes but when she saw him look away towards the window with a wistful expression- "Many things had to happen within those 2 years, and their death was necessary"
He didn't look like someone who accomplished a feat beyond any awakened before him - no rather he did it was just that he didn't carry that pompous attitude that his kind - the monstrous kind usually did
"I have proof if you wish... I harvested all of their shards, and I have above 3 thousand"
Her eyes widened more
if he claimed to slaughter a thousand creatures and had 3 thousand shards meaning the creatures he would have had to kill were above mere beasts and monsters - "No ... No, it's okay I believe you wouldn't lie about this"
It was a shame he couldn't reveal the actual number, but he didn't want the nice lady to faint
Just as she completed the interview, she told Sunny he was allowed to stay within the Academy dorm until he moved out
Sunny in turn walked through the halls, Nephis and Cassie still being interviewed as Sunny didn't want to reveal the extents of what he did - well in actuality he wanted to discuss it with a favorite teacher of his
Sunny walked towards the wilderness survival classroom and felt the shadow of a male figure pacing and flipping through papers
Sunny teleported in and sat down amongst the empty seats and waited for Julius to notice him - The man seemed to be so engrossed in his paper that it took him a while to realize Sunny and that only happened when Sunny cleared his throat
"Teacher Julius"
The man stopped in his tracks - and his hands stiffened
'Even as a researcher he still is an awakened'
A flash of recognition appeared in the old man's eyes - "Is that ... It's you Sunny my boy" - He walked towards Sunny and almost exerted as much strength as Effie could with that hug - "Youve made it back. I knew you would as my student after all. Come tell me of your trip"
Sunny and Julius spoke for a while and that conversation stemmed into an entire research discussion after he found out Sunny made it back from an unknown region which was also a death zone
They discussed for hours as a research paper was compiled and posted - Julius offering to get Sunny a card made to store his credits
Everything was compiled into the paper - all things including the ancient generation of the 7 heroes, the women sacrificed to keep the darkness at bay the next generation of the first lord and the shard memories, and then their generation
Even the man who disliked combatants was stunned when Sunny revealed to have killed a fallen terror as a sleeper before a great amount of pride swelled in him
After a long while Sunny and Julius walked towards the main hall where the sleepers would usually eat. Somewhere close to the hall before they could actually reach it the awakened women who interviewed Sunny paired with Cassie and Neph had found them - both women looked rushed while Nephis looked calmer but there was something in her eyes
"Where were you" - Cassie questioned gasping for breath
"Ah I was making a report on the forgotten shore why did something happen?" - Sunny held her up
Sunny couldn't remember any significant effect that occurred after they awakened other than ...
"Theres more than 100 people here and roughly 1000 asking for you on call" - The lady spoke, the true extent of what Sunny did shaking her core more than his modesty
The boy in front of her would go on solo hunts for the people of the forgotten shore bringing fallen creatures almost every day, He slashed them during their siege where he faced off against 7 awakened beings alone and then proceeded to fight a Fallen Terror and from what everyone said - He definitely killed it
Sunny followed them to the hall and upon reaching it there were a hundred people there - when they noticed him there was a deep silence that was followed with a loud volley of cheers
Sunny, Nephis and Cassie were thrown into the air like those pop stars at concerts.
Volleys of thanks and floods of emotions bombarded them - It seemed that this group will now be the fire keepers
He saw familiar faces in there - Stev, Sienna, he saw the old members to Shimm, Shakti, Gorn and more
There were many emotions shared in those moments and before anyone knew it there was a party in the academy - a shame though, Kai was not here to sing, and Effie was probably in her house similar to the others who could only be present through a phone
Their families must have bought and taken pods of their own to keep the bodies of their children's bodies nourished - unsure if they would ever be waking up
The celebration continued far into the night many getting calls from their forgotten shore friends who may have spoken to their families already and wanted to check up on their companions
Somewhere during the night Sunny smiled as he saw Sienna making out with one of the female survivors and Stev trading a memory with someone there in the back
Then his gaze fell on Nephis dressed in the Starlight Legion Armor since they did not wake up in their home. He too wore one same as Cassie who was speaking to Aiko there by the table
Sunny saw Nephis standing alone and look his chance - After making sure no one was watching him he stepped through the shadows. He stepped right behind her and pulled her into the shadows appearing in his designated room
"Why so glum?" - He brushed a strand of hair out of her face
She seemed slightly stunned at what just happened before realization flashed in her eyes - "Your awakened ability is teleportation?"
"Within shadows yes"
He pulled her into the bed and laid besides her - Sunny could swear that as she turned around, she had...
'Did Nephis just pout?"
Sunny's voice softened as he hugged her from behind, the muffled sounds of the party in the background made for an oddly romantic atmosphere
"Do you know when I next saw you after we returned?" - Sunny, from over her arm took her hand
"No..." - Nephis responded a confusion as to why he would ask that
"2 Years later" - He said with some odd emotion in his voice
She turned her body and looked at him, but he spoke again before she could
"During that time, I hated you and missed you so much I looked at your runes and didn't know if I wished you to live or die out there and when you came back - you were different, detached and seeking humanity"
She looked at him - "Was your hate that great?" - her voice lost the pout it had at his actions by now his reasons made clear
He chuckled softly - "It was probably worse"
She saw his eyes focus greatly as if she were looking at herself when she thought of her goals
"But I won't let those things happen again" - He placed his hand on her face
She flushed under his intense stare and then found a way to change the topic
"What do you mean i was seeking humanity?"
...
Sunny and Nephis spoked for a few hours more discussing the events that would never happen again in this life and then little things like what they want to eat now that they are back
When they would reunite with Effie and Kai
and then the topic shifted towards more serious questions like what she was to do now - what faction would they join, which region they would go to
"Where will we stay?" - She questioned as Sunny mentioned not wanting to be in the academy for much longer
"Well, that report I made I should receive a lot of credits, and I have tons of shards to spare which can be converted"
He paused for a second his daemon lineage enhanced mind moving to Rain - "We can buy a house together in NQSC"
He noticed a sleepy smile play on her face - "Is that an invite to stay together?"
He looked at her deadpan - "Yes"
She was susceptible to assassination attempts when she was away from him
She chuckled slightly not realizing his point of view - "Sure I'd like that"