Sunny stared at Nephis with a complicated expression. After a while, he asked:
"Why did you entrust me with something so precious?"
She glanced at him, lingered for a few moments, then shrugged.
"We had a deal, remember? My knowledge in exchange for your share of the spoils we earn."
There had indeed existed such a deal. However, he had not exactly acted in good faith when proposing it. After all, he had no use for those spoils, in the first place.
Sunny scowled. If Changing Star had really revealed a family secret to him because of a lie, she had a valid reason to be resentful of him.
Just like he was of her.
With a dark smile, he looked away and said:
"You must have realized by now that I have cheated you in that deal."
Nephis turned to him and said, her voice calm and even:
"You mean the fact that you don't need to absorb soul shards to grow stronger?"
Sunny froze for a moment, then gave her a nod.
"You don't seem very surprised."
Figures. When Sunny first learned about this ability of his, he was stunned. But Neph seemed to know a lot more than a normal person did.
She didn't even try to pretend otherwise.
"It's a very rare Aspect trait, but not unheard of among the upper echelons of the Awakened. In fact, I am capable of something like that myself. Although your case does seem to be especially unique."
Sunny glanced at her.
"How so?"
Changing Star remained silent for a few moments and then said, her voice hinted with a bit of wonder:
"Usually, when an Awakened absorbs the soul essence directly, the process leaves the remnants of the soul core empty. But when you do it, the shards are left brimming with it. This is very… unusual."
He shifted uncomfortably, and then said:
"Yeah, well… you have your share of secrets, too, Neph. Don't think that I didn't notice. Lineage Memories, Domains…"
Nephis interrupted him with a heavy gaze. When Sunny fell silent and looked at her with a frown, she said in a strangely somber tone:
"Never say those words aloud again, Sunny. I am serious. Just knowing them might get you killed."
He stared at her for a long time, and then scoffed.
"No problem. Since you showed me the courtesy of not prying into my secrets, I won't pry into yours. I don't really want to know, anyway. The mysterious "upper echelons" you mentioned can play their dirty little games all they want, as long as they leave me out of them."
Then, Sunny frowned and added:
"But there is one question I have to ask you, because it involves me personally."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Sure. Ask away."
He grimaced.
"Why are you hiding the true core of your technique from Caster?"
Changing Star looked at him for a bit, and then smiled.
"So you've noticed. That's good, too. Yes… I've been using a different style when facing Caster."
Sunny looked at her with a humorless expression.
"Why?"
She shrugged.
"Why did you incorporate elements of the Stone Saint's technique into your own?"
He shook his head.
"To become stronger. Also, nice try at misdirection, but I won't fall for your tricks. I'm the one who taught them to you, remember? So just stop. Answer my question."
Nephis sighed and turned away, glancing at the silhouette of the Crimson Spire that loomed in the distance. After a while, she said:
"I'll answer you when we return to the Dark City. It won't change anything until then, anyway. Your safety won't be compromised in any way."
'What is that supposed to mean?'
As he glared at her, Changing Star stood up and turned to leave. Before that, however, she lingered for a moment and said:
"Keep sharpening your sword, Sunny. I expect big things from you."
With that, she walked away, leaving him speechless.
'And what does she mean by that?!'
***
After Nephis left, Sunny returned to staring at his shadow. However, despite the fact that he had figured out the essence and foundation of the elusive battle art that hid inside it, he had no idea how to go about creating an actual style out of them.
He did not have enough experience and mastery to be able to create something out of nothing. It was a dead end.
'Curses! Why even hide that damn mystery inside the Aspect if I can't do anything with it?!'
Perhaps in the distant future, he would be able to. But right now, it was as though he had found the door, but was not strong enough to turn the key and unlock it. It just stood there and teased him endlessly, just like the damn Gateway inside the Crimson Spire.
It was pure torture.
'Maybe I wasn't supposed to notice the existence of the hidden style so soon...'
But he did! And he worked so hard to gain insight into its secrets. Was it all for nothing? All the pain, all the effort?
Why would Spell do this to him?
'Do you have to ask? That's the damn Spell we're talking about! Why wouldn't it do something like this to you?'
With a bitter sigh, Sunny turned away and tried to forget all about the shadow, techniques, and battle styles. It was almost dark, anyway.
'Time to sleep.'
Walking over to the center of the marble arch, Sunny lay down beside the other members of the cohort and tiredly closed his eyes.
The beach vacation was over. It was funny, visually stunning, and unexpectedly emotional... but ended on a bitter note.
Tomorrow was going to be another long day.
'To hell with this. This… this…'
Exhausted by all of it, he fell asleep before even finishing the thought.
***
'...this crap.'
Sunny opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.
The world was enveloped in a strange, dim twilight. Deep shadows surrounded him, shrouding the tall walls that were cut from black marble. Looking between the mighty columns, Sunny saw the black circle of the sun burning in the lightless sky.
'An… an eclipse?'
No, wait… what walls? What columns? Wasn't he supposed to be sleeping at the top of the white arch?
...What was happening?
Suddenly, a woman's scream tore the silence like a sharp knife. It was full of pain and suffering. Sunny tried to summon the Midnight Shard into his hand... only to realize that he had no hands.
Then, something else resounded from the darkness.
...A baby's cry.
'Wh—what the…'
Almost at the same time, Sunny realized something terrible.
This was a dream. He was dreaming.
…People were not supposed to dream in the Dream Realm!
'...Not good!'