Sunny watched as the crow flapped its wings and headed for the entrance, clearly telling him to follow. For a moment, he worried that Saint Cor might ignore him. But Sunny knew Cor was careful, and the mention of the Dreamspawn was something he couldn't overlook.
In front of him stood a vast, heavily guarded complex, built for function with no thought for looks.
Automatic turrets loomed above the walls, and Awakened warriors stood guard around the perimeter.
The government tracks every Awakened in the world. Awakened are then expected to protect people from Nightmare Creatures and respond when a Nightmare Gate opens nearby. In return, they get special treatment and privileges.
That's what's on paper, at least. Reality often differs from it.
They also generously reward those who enrich the knowledge base about the Spell, the Dream Realm, and the Nightmare Creatures.
The rarer and more vital the information submitted, the more contribution points you'd receive.
The government has access to things that are exceedingly rare or simply impossible to get on the market. It is the reason contribution points are more valuable than credits, and Sunny was hoping to finesse a good deal by abusing this system.
Behind a small reinforced window, a guard sat looking at his communicator. His badge read Marco. He glanced up at Sunny, annoyance in his demeanor. He was about to speak and send him off when his communicator rang.
Confusion was written on his face. Sunny could not blame him. Why would one of the busiest men in the world let an outskirt kid enter his office? Had he not had better things to do?
He reluctantly opened the door.
"Wait inside, a guard will escort you."
Sunny smiled, which was probably a bad sight; he had not had a shower in who knows how long and definitely no longer looked like the eye candy he used to be.
"Thank you"
As soon as he walked in, Sunny noticed that a fire was taking place a couple of rooms away. Hence, the personnel had to leave temporarily, creating a staged scene to deter prying eyes.
'Contingency plans for anything'
A guard was already waiting for him. She was an Ascended woman with black hair and icy-blue eyes. Her flawless skin was smooth and supple. She was as pale as Sunny. However, while Sunny's pale skin looked strange and unhealthy, the beautiful stranger was nothing short of striking.
Of course, she wasn't a stranger. This was Soul Reaper Jet, his dear, corpse-like friend.
It was the second person he saw after his regression, whom he actually cared about on a personal level. He could not help but stare at the sight.
"What are you looking at?"
Sunny smiled, remembering how they met.
"I'm looking at you."
"You are a bit too young for me, sorry.
You're also making quite a mess, Kid. There was no such warm welcome when I came here for the first time."
"Well, I'm sorry, believe me when I say that I really didn't want to resort to this."
Sunny was lying, of course, and he couldn't help but smile like a child. The thrill he felt was like a boy sneaking in to play games late at night, knowing his parents wouldn't approve.
It was easy to hide behind his words now, a shield that had once been broken but was finally fixed. Sunny had learned to live by telling only the truth. His flaw had changed him, letting him form bonds he never would have otherwise.
Sunny also knew his flaw wasn't among the worst. Nephis, Cassie, and Jet had it harder.
Still, he had to stay alert. Jet and Cor were sharp and not easily fooled. Besides, Sunny didn't really want to deceive them anyway.
He had never visited the headquarters in this manner. By the time he actually mattered enough to walk along this maze of offices, the world had already forgotten him. After obtaining supremacy, he left all logistical duties to Aiko and Kim.
'I had no idea this place was so big.'
Just by the sheer size, he could understand how gargantuan a task it was to keep the government running.
'How did Cassie do it? I could never.'
They entered the elevator, and Jet pressed the top-floor button. The ride was uncomfortably quiet.
In small spaces like this, one could really feel the cold air that clung around her. Strong masters could influence the world, almost like saints, but in a more subtle way. If she was trying to impress him, it wasn't working. Sunny had felt this presence at its peak after the Eternal City, and if Jet noticed it, she did not show it.
Still, he would have liked a hoodie; his body had no muscle or fat to help regulate the temperature, and his soul arsenal lacked a suitable charm. It lacked everything, in fact.
After ten long minutes, they reached the last floor, where a long hall stretched to a door. Jet placed her hand on a rectangle on the wall, and the spelltech embedded in the panel turned on.
"Identity confirmed. Ascended Jet"
A moment later, the doors opened, and she motioned for him to enter. She then turned and left.
In front of him, sitting in a chair that looked quite comfortable—not as comfortable as his Shadow Chair of course—was a tall, gaunt man in his late fifties.
Although his skin was showing signs of aging, his hair remained perfectly black, like the feathers of a raven. The Saint had sharp features, a piercing gaze, and a stern demeanor, suggesting someone accustomed to wielding power and bearing responsibility.
He had a subtle scent of rot and slaughter that followed him like an invisible mantle. He wore an austere military uniform with a four-star insignia emblazoned on its sleeve.
Sunny crossed the room, calmly sat on the chair in front of him, and cleared his mind. Clarity, this was a battlefield; the only difference was that they were not using swords but cunning and words.
"Who are you?" Cor asked
"I'm Sunless."
"I was not merely asking your name."
Sunny needed to calm things down quickly. He was looking for allies, not enemies.
"You're right, Sir. I'm sorry for my arrogance; it was simply the fastest way to get your attention.
What I said is true. I am the last survivor of the Shadow Clan who perished against the Dreamspawn."
Sunny's face grew dark. He didn't have to fake his reaction; what he said was true. They had fallen in the future at the hands of that monster.
"I know that this news is not appreciated and hard to believe.
We have always existed inside the Human Domain, across many facets of society."
Again, he was not lying; he couldn't bend the words too much, there was no guarantee he would receive the same flaw this time around, but if he did, he had to make sure not to blow his cover in the future by creating false foundations.
"Although the news is shocking, they aren't worthy of extreme worry. The reason this happened was that, unlike other Clans, we did not systematically cull all those who knew its name.
Thinking that our marks were enough to keep him at bay.
When the first thralls were identified, a choice was made."
He paused, letting the silence settle.
"All members who had come in contact with the third one's domain were to embrace the solace of shadow.
We weren't many, and I was the only one who wasn't enthralled.
So while it's true that he has defeated us, it is also true that he remains trapped on the moon without ways to interfere with the world."
'For now at least', sunny thought.
Cor's face did not change upon hearing the tragic story of the fallen Clan. His eyes travelled for a moment to a machine on his side.
Inside, he was stunned, and rightfully so, they had killed themselves in order not to propagate the virus.
They had made that choice of their own volition, instead of dying at the hands of soldiers, something he noted was heavily implied in Sunless reasoning.
Some parts of what he said appeared as a lie, meaning he was not telling the whole story, which did not go unnoticed.
"Your file says you have always lived on the outskirts, born of two mundane parents." He said accusingly.
He had conducted a background check on Sunless; his parents were both manual laborers. They were poor, but not destitute.
His father was employed by one of the numerous maintenance crews that took care of the city's outer barriers. His mother worked in an underground factory that produced air filtration systems. There was also mention of a sister named Rain, who had now been adopted into a moderate-income family.
Given the little notice he had, this was all he managed. Outskirts documentation was hard to find and parse through.
It took Sunny years of his life, working and saving scraps, to reach the information that Wake of Ruin had found in less than twenty minutes.
"Yes, those are indeed my parents. Shadow's lineage is different from all others; it awakens only in those who are chosen, it's similar to how Storm God's lineage manifests in the awakened that can find her."
This was technically true; Shadow god had given him his blessing, and as far as he knew, that was the only way to receive his lineage.
"I have lived on the outskirts all my childhood. The clan itself gave me no help; only knowledge was shared. This is how we managed to stay hidden until now.
But hiding is no longer on the table.
There are high chances that I'll inherit Shadows' lineage once I awaken, and the spell will likely put me in a nightmare much different from the others.
It wants to see if I'm worthy of being the last carrier."
"What about your sister?"
"She is unaware and currently has no ties with the Shadow Clan."
Cor was considering his words carefully. Losing the lineage of a god would be a mighty blow to the forces of humanity that definitely needed new champions.
If what he said was true, it made sense to help him... but there was something he really didn't understand.
"Why come here?
You're clearly aware of the Sovereigns, which means you're clearly aware we, the government, only hold importance in the waking world, and even that is being allowed by them."
Sunny opened his mouth. Lying had already lost all its subtlety for him.
"It is because I hate them."
That finally broke the Saint's steady gaze.
A silver-haired woman flashed before Sunny's eyes.
"They are cowards who limit access to the path of ascension, afraid that if they don't, better-suited people will steal their place.
Not only that, but they have killed Broken Sword and are afraid of going further up the path.
Their inaction, in itself, is an action that will lead humanity to extinction.
This world is doomed to die with the current direction, just like all the realms before it.
At least the government has the intention to keep defending the waking world, or does it not?"
The smell of rot grew much stronger.
"Don't question my determination, Sunless.
The government has never broken its neutrality!
That is the only way to sustain this world. That is how we prevent it from being destroyed and how we save lives.
Life is not always black and white; the limit of transcendents is the very reason this world has not collapsed yet!"
Sunny raised his hands.
"I'm not asking for you to antagonize them; I simply answered your question!
What I'm after is minor support, a small room to sleep and shower, access to training grounds, and 3 full plates a day."
He also wanted to use the saint to reach the dream realm and speed up his first nightmare, but upon seeing the situation, he thought it best not to force it.
Sunny had no idea if forcing the seed of nightmare would change his trial, so he just let the matter go completely.
Helping the fallen Immortal Flame was also something he'd like to do, but he had no way of doing so without antagonizing the Clans immediately.
Cor slumped back on his chair, hands in his face, staring at the ceiling with a long sigh.
"Why should I even believe you?"
"Do I really need to prove anything? I'm the most honest person in the world!"
'Two worlds in fact!' he wanted to say, but stopped in time.
That would have been the truth any other day. Unfortunately, there was nothing Sunny could do to prove his claims, especially since none of it had happened yet.
"Give me time until my first nightmare, after that, you'll have all the proof you need."
Saint Cor laughed. It was a small laugh, sounding like the caw of a hungry raven.
"You have a deal, Sunless. Just get out and leave me alone to think. Master Jet will find you and help with the accommodations."
So much had happened during the conversation that needed to be dissected.
First of all, this boy is clearly insane, talking to a transcendent without fear, insulting the Sovereigns that ruled the world, accusing the position of the government, and even joking around as a bonus.
Then there were all the other matters. Fallen Clans, lost lineages, the third one, making him feel real after all these years.
As if that wasn't enough, there was the story about "other realms". Does he mean we're not the only infected? Or worse, as he implied, that we are the last to be infected. Does this mean the old civilizations found across the dream realm were like us and perished under the spell?
He remembered hearing theories about this, but having it as fact was different.
Cor knew that Sunless had just obtained what he wanted without giving anything of valor. But it didn't matter. All he had asked in the end was for free housing.
If he truly was a lineage holder, then the government had succeeded in creating a good relationship with him. They were still the only major entity without any allies in that regard.
If he were not, then he would kick him out to the streets, but this was too elaborate, and his words held too much meaning for him to have invented everything. Cor also kept checking the lie detector machine, and it showed that, for the most part, everything he said was true.
It was clear he was hiding much from him. That was not a problem either, actually, it was better. An ally who shows all his cards on the first sitting is not worthy of keeping around.
He was conflicted about whether to share all this information with Anvil and Ki Song.
A meeting while feeling their suppressed energy with killing intent permeating the air was something he would gladly postpone if he could.
While Cor was thinking, Sunny slowly stood up and gave a respectful bow, not to win favor, but because he truly respected the man in front of him.
"Thank you."
After leaving the room, Sunny felt a weight lift from his body. He had faced scarier enemies before, but he hadn't been an ordinary boy back then.
'I'm starting to get pretty annoyed at how weak I am.'