Sunny let out a sigh as he settled onto the bench outside Arthur's room.
He was bored. Arthur had been sleeping for two days straight with no signs of waking up, and Sunny was dying of curiosity.
He still couldn't believe that madman had Ascended, and that he was only a Terror—the latter disappointed him a little.
With the ease Arthur had for creating cores, having only one more than him was strange… what had happened to him during those five months alone?
Before escaping the Relictombs, Arthur was a Tyrant, and five months later, he was only a Terror?
'I suppose his Nightmare must have been different from the one we had?'
The cohort plus him had to face three immortal Saints in their Nightmare, and then thousands upon thousands of Awakened. Sunny had formed his entire Tyrant core within the Nightmare itself, and that was despite it being much harder for him.
Fortunately, a large part of his fragments came from when he killed Nightmare. Being a shadow creature, it gave him many more fragments than normal.
What had Arthur's Nightmare been like? Did he spend five months inside a Second Nightmare as a Sleeper? Or he found the seed later?
He felt uncomfortable thinking about it, because if it weren't for Arthur, he would have faced the Nightmare alongside him–also as a Sleeper.
Part of him was glad not to have had to experience that, but the other part wasn't. The other part was angry at himself because Arthur had had to endure that because he was too weak, and he had sacrificed himself for him.
Arthur could have easily escaped from that Corrupted Tyrant and abandoned him there, but he didn't.
As if that weren't enough, two days ago he returned, and the first thing he did was render everyone at the Academy unconscious, then went to face a Nightmare Gate alone.
He did it to save his sister, who was there, and indirectly saved Rain as well. The guards protecting Ellie got his sister out of the area, and then Arthur held the Gate so they could escape.
But there was something that didn't quite fit for Sunny.
'How did he know the Gate was going to open right there?'
Arthur knew about the Gate even before Sunny noticed through the shadow he had on Rain.
'How?'
Could his Ascended Ability give him visions like Cassie's?
That could explain it? But it wouldn't make sense… he knew Arthur's Aspect, and an ability like that didn't fit at all.
The pressure he exerted upon waking up would fit better as his Ascended Ability.
Suddenly, a set of unhurried footsteps caught his attention, and he looked up.
Walking down the hallway was Arthur's father—Reynolds—with a wide smile on his face and a bag in his hand. Upon noticing Sunny, his smile grew even wider.
"What are you doing sitting out here, boy?!"
Sunny returned the smile.
"I was thinking about something."
"I see" With his other hand, he began searching for something inside the bag, and seconds later, he pulled out a snack and a coffee. "You know what they say—you can't think on an empty stomach!" And he handed them over.
Sunny blinked and took the coffee and snack.
"It wasn't necessary, but thank you."
Reynolds placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "This is nothing! Our Arthur just returned, and if you hadn't stayed with him back then, he might not have. So we're the ones who should be thanking you, boy!"
He released his shoulder and began opening the door.
"When you're done thinking, come inside, and we'll all wait together for him to wake up. Thank you, really, Sunless."
Sunny nodded, and Reynolds finally entered the room.
Inside was Arthur's entire family, plus Sylvie and Seishan.
The latter two were telling them about all the things they had experienced together in the Dark City castle and many other things.
Now that Arthur had returned, the "secret" that he was going to join Song could be made "public," so that was also a topic they would discuss in the future—one of the reasons Sunny was sitting outside.
Another, even more important reason was that he couldn't stand being inside the room!
It seemed Arthur had unlocked something from his Aspect Legacy and obtained a relic, and ever since he had been awake, it hadn't stopped bothering him!
'That… that thing is going to pay for this!'
It was a few hours after Master Jet brought Arthur to the Academy that a wolf-like creature emerged from him, and the first thing it said was:
"Greetings, family of my master."—It turned to look at him—"and shorty over there. I am Regis, the Aspect Legacy of Arthur. Oh, don't worry about him! The princess has a habit of falling asleep anywhere"
'Shorty! That wolf called him Shorty!'
Sunny didn't know what it meant at the time—but he was still annoyed just in case—so he had to look it up on his communicator, and when he did, he got even angrier.
He's not short! He's just… a little shorter than average, but! There are people shorter than him!
'Although most of them are women though…'
'Ah! Whatever!'
The cohort had also visited him during some intervals, and that thing had given them multiple nicknames as well. So on that front, he was glad not to be the only one receiving bullying—part of him was even happy to find someone who could compete with Effie in spouting pure nonsense…
That made him laugh a little as he took the last sip of coffee and threw the snack wrapper in the trash.
Then he headed to a corner completely full of shadows, and hidden in their dark embrace, he hesitated for a few moments, then called upon Nightmare. A vast shadow appeared near him, all around him… this was the dark destrier in its true, shapeless form.
Sunny allowed himself to be enveloped by the larger shadow and then gave it a silent command. What happened next… was hard to describe.
He had only done this a few times in the past, and each time was just as strange. It was a bit like traveling to the Dream Realm, but also different.
Tired of waiting and dying of curiosity, Sunny had decided to travel into Arthur's dreams.
Soon, Sunny found himself in a completely destroyed place.
The sun cast a gray light, as if it were about to die. There wasn't even a slight breeze around him.
He observed his surroundings in silence, and it took him a few seconds to understand what he was seeing.
Once, that had been a city—an enormous city—but now… now nothing remained of it.
Collapsed buildings stretched as far as the eye could see. Towers split in half protruded from mountains of rubble. The streets had disappeared under layers of stone, and unrecognizable remains.
There wasn't a single intact structure.
It was as if an impossible force had razed the place and then returned to destroy the remains.
Nightmare advanced slowly through the ruins. Sitting in the saddle, he rode the black steed and tried not to look around too much. But then Sunny saw the first corpse, then another, and another.
He tried to close his eyes but couldn't—not due to a physical limitation, but from shock.
There were bodies everywhere.
Some lay half-buried under the rubble. Others remained sprawled in the middle of the avenues. Some still leaned against ruined walls, as if they had died trying to stay standing.
The nearby walls were covered in dry bloodstains, and so was the ground.
It seemed as if the entire city had been used as the stage for an unimaginable battle.
Sunny frowned.
Dreams were strange places, and they were also dangerous for Dream Walkers like Nightmare and Sunny.
The threats contained within them might not be real, but when intruding into that subconscious space, the intruders had to treat them as if they were. However, monsters were not the only threat.
His opponents were strengthened by the dream itself, so their power depended on the strength of the dreamer. Their real form didn't matter much.
And Arthur... was very strong.
So his nightmares must be terrible.
Although there was something wrong with all this. Dreams did not adhere to the logic of the real world and were always flowing, always changing. The more powerful a dreamer was, the more solid they sometimes appeared.
And that was exactly what was happening—this dream seemed very real, so real that it didn't seem like a dream at all.
Sunny swallowed and began cursing his curiosity.
Then he looked again at the corpses, and now that he saw them better, something was strange.
Many didn't look human.
Their skins showed rare tones… Some had a violet color. Others seemed to have a pinkish hue, but further ahead, even stranger bodies began to appear.
Nightmare slowed its pace, and Sunny blinked multiple times.
Among the ruins of one of the buildings lay something gigantic. At first, he thought it was a hill, but upon looking closer, he understood it was a corpse.
An enormous creature with wings covered in white scales stretched across numerous buildings, crushing them under its weight.
Sunny observed it for a few moments and thought of Sevras…
The Chain Lord could transform into a dragon… and what he was seeing was precisely one.
'Did Arthur encounter a dragon too? Is this his Second Nightmare?'
He frowned and then moved on.
He didn't have to go far to see another. This one had an elongated body that snaked through the ruins. Several black horns emerged from its head, each as large as the head itself.
Sunny trembled as he looked at it, and a sensation of terror entered his bones. Then, a few steps later, another appeared.
Its skin was gray, and it had strange extensions resembling flames around its head. Every creature he encountered made him swallow and wish for this to end.
He was curious, but this was already beyond his limit. Yet even as he thought that, he still couldn't leave. It was as if the dream itself was keeping him inside.
Nightmare stopped responding to him and continued advancing through the rubble.
As it did, the number of creatures, humans, and things he saw dead on the ground stopped shocking him—he began to grow surprisingly numb to the sensation.
The only thing his brain produced was the denial that creatures of these magnitudes and types could have existed in the past.
Some had too many eyes on their faces; others seemed to have been constructed by joining parts of different creatures.
Sunny didn't recognize any of them. He wasn't the most educated in this field, but he couldn't even imagine what they were.
The only thing he knew was that they were all dead and once, when they were alive, they were very powerful.
As Nightmare advanced, moving deeper into the dream's depths, the magnitude of the destruction became more evident.
It wasn't just a destroyed city anymore—now he even doubted that this was a simple city. No… this was the corpse of a world. What remained of a world once consumed by war.
Thousands, tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of bodies covered the ruins.
Some maintained their forms; others were not so fortunate. Some were human—or similar to them—others were creatures, monsters—Sunny no longer knew what to call them. He didn't know which categories they belonged to.
Yet, all had fallen there, all had died there, and no matter where he looked, Sunny couldn't find a single sign of life.
But then he saw it.
A solitary figure, sitting atop a mountain of corpses.
Compared to the colossal corpses that covered the city, it seemed insignificant. Yet something about it immediately drew Sunny's attention.
Nightmare continued advancing on its own, but in the next moment, the black steed simply stopped. It was as if it refused to approach that figure.
Sunny, on the other hand, was not so fortunate.
Even though Sunny didn't do anything, his body moved on its own. He got off Nightmare and started walking toward the figure.
Step, step. Another step.
'Stop. Stop!'
But his body would not listen. It just continued to move forward, indifferent to his commands. He felt the same as when Nephis had ordered him to shut up… but this was a bit different. He didn't feel like his body was moving, yet it was doing so anyway.
Little by little, the distance between the figure and Sunny decreased.
His heart began to beat wildly. His body was consumed by fear. Drops of sweat began to travel down his forehead.
After terrifying seconds in which his body didn't respond, he found himself standing at the base of the mountain of corpses.
The figure at the top stood up slowly and turned toward him.
Sunny couldn't distinguish any features on its face. He didn't know its height, its hair color, or its eye color.
He was supposed to be in Arthur's dream… but—
—The figure began to descend the mountain.
Sunny froze.
Dread. Deep, profound dread. Nothing more. Only then did he realize the truth. That was not Arthur. That was not an Ascended Terror.
It was something far beyond anything he should have ever encountered.
He swallowed and prepared himself for whatever was about to happen, even knowing he was going to die—that was the only certainty he could find in this situation.
Sunny was going to die.
He was nothing compared to that figure.
But he didn't die.
The figure stopped in front of him, looking down at him, and at that moment, the cloud that had been blocking Sunny's recognition disappeared.
He tried to take a step back unconsciously, but couldn't. He tried to raise his hand to point at it, but the action amounted to nothing.
In front of him was Arthur… No, something or someone similar to Arthur.
He wanted to speak, to ask who it was, but his voice was lost in his throat.
The figure—Arthur, or someone similar to Arthur—laughed. It was a neutral laugh, devoid of malice or benevolence.
"I know this is shocking," he said. "Even so, you only have to endure five more seconds."
He wanted to ask what he meant. What did he mean, endure five more seconds? But at that moment, a sharp pain pierced his mind. It was a completely indescribable pain, as if a needle had driven into his memories and begun to weave them together.
"It seems we'll have less time than I thought…" said the figure without moving an inch, his hands behind his back. "Even so, let me tell you, Lost From Light… you really should be more careful with your curiosity."
Still feeling that unbearable pain, his eyes widened at the mention of his True Name. He tried to summon a Memory or at least move, but he failed again.
"Oh?" The figure was genuinely surprised. "I'm starting to understand why that bastard chose someone like you. Don't worry, you won't remember any of this, but that doesn't mean I won't leave you a gift…"
Then, everything went black.
Sunny found himself in a corner completely full of shadows.
He blinked multiple times and turned his head, frowning.
'What was I doing?'
Then he remembered. He was going to enter Arthur's dream, and taking advantage of being in a shadow-filled corner, he called upon Nightmare.
Soon, Sunny found himself in a forest.
Everything around him was full of life. The trees had healthy brown trunks, thick and robust, while their leaves displayed an intense green that seemed to shine under the sunlight.
The same intensity covered the grass beneath his feet, forming an immense natural carpet.
A soft breeze ran through the forest, making the treetops sway slowly and producing a pleasant rustle. The air was fresh and clean—similar to the pure air of the Chained Isles—carrying the scent of damp earth, wood, and wildflowers growing among the grass.
He could hear the current of a river to the north. The sound of flowing water was constant and even relaxing, accompanied by the soft lapping of small waves against the stone banks.
Sunny began walking along the only path present.
As he walked, he remained within the forest until he came across the river. Its water was completely crystalline, but crossing it was an enormous hallway with four statues placed along it that seemed to move every second he stared at them.
He shifted his gaze to the north, and the landscape around him changed.
The forest and hallway disappeared, and instead, the streets of a ruined city appeared from nowhere. With a bit of apprehension, Sunny recognized the familiar shapes of the stone buildings of the Dark City. However, they were simultaneously structures similar to those of NQSC.
Sunny had never been to one of them, but he recognized that one of them was a school.
It was that very place he entered.
The school's hallways were wide and completely white. Every few meters, there were doors leading into classrooms, and these were full of children with their teachers forming a wall in front of them. None of the children had faces, and neither did the teachers.
Sunny continued walking through the hallways, a strange discomfort settling into his body without knowing why.
After turning a corner, he found two benches sitting side by side. One of them was empty, but the other was not.
A young man with pale wheat hair and golden eyes sat leaning forward on it. He was wearing a school uniform, and his face was completely pale.
Sunny walked slowly toward him, sighed, and then said,
"Hey, Arthur."
The young man slowly looked up… and then smiled.
"Hey, Sunny."
Looking at him, he sat down on the bench in front of him and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Arthur blinked and shifted uncomfortably.
"I'm waiting for my father to deal with the gate that opened nearby."
"I see…" Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be hiding?"
"What would be the point… If he can't handle the Gate, I'm going to die whether I hide or not," Arthur replied, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
It seemed that the memory this nightmare had spawned from belonged to a much younger Arthur. Something similar must have happened to him when he was a kid… and so, although he looked like his adult self, he was simultaneously a child.
That meant that he was not supposed to have any memory of meeting and getting to know Sunny, and yet, he did.
Dreams were strange that way. All kinds of contradictions could exist within them, merging things that could not coexist in reality.
He remained silent for a while, and then said with a reassuring smile, "You know, your father is very strong. He can surely handle the Gate…"
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"I don't know… I don't want to lose him."
"You won't, believe me. I'm the most honest man in the world. Two words even!"
He did not move for a long time, and then suddenly said, "This is a dream…"
The smile on Sunny's face grew more forced, and he ended up nodding.
"It makes sense… It's good to see you healthy, Sunny. I hope you're not angry about what I did."
Sunny clenched his fists. "I am, but…" he let out a heavy sigh, "I'm also glad to see you're okay… not only that—you overcame the Second Nightmare as a Sleeper. You're a Master now."
"I suppose I am."
He frowned.
"What? Aren't you happy?"
Arthur sighed and looked at him. His golden eyes reflected an emotion Sunny couldn't identify.
"You're right, I should be, but somehow, I feel weaker than ever."
Sunny was silent, processing Arthur's words. He could somehow understand them too. The stronger one became, the stronger the things one faced grew, and the harder the consequences were to bear.
Arthur's current posture did not reflect the image he always showed. His shoulders were slightly hunched, while his gaze was slightly lost.
"Are you okay?" Sunny asked—worried.
Arthur returned a smile.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about something."
Sunny couldn't help but laugh slightly, and Arthur raised a judgmental eyebrow at this.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that literally five minutes ago, I gave the same answer to your father."
At the mention of his father, his back straightened, his shoulders took their usual position, and his golden eyes focused firmly on Sunny's.
"Are they okay?"
Sunny nodded and began to tell him.
"Your parents are in perfect condition. Ellie too—she became friends with Rain, my sister. Then Sylvie and—" he looked at him hesitantly—"Seishan as well. In fact, they're already Masters, and as you can see, the cohort and I are also Masters."
Arthur smiled widely as he replied, "Congratulations on becoming a Master, Sunny. I'm glad everyone else is okay, but… have you separated from the cohort again?"
"Well, it's complicated, you know," Sunny replied, bringing his hand to the back of his neck.
Arthur narrowed his eyes and said without a drop of sincerity,
"Yeah, sure. I believe you."
The sarcasm was plain to see in the sentence, and they both began to laugh slightly.
Eventually, Sunny stopped and said, "It's time for you to wake up, Arthur. Your whole family has been waiting for you for two days. Besides—" He hesitated to mention this, "Umm, how do I put this… let's just say that because of you, the Academy has a hundred and fifty Awakened doing absolutely nothing in their waiting room?"
Arthur blinked.
"What?"
"Well, let's just say that a certain group of people, after returning to the Waking World, decided to follow you… and it just so happens that they're all in the waiting room?"
Arthur blinked again.
"But I told them I didn't want followers. Why did they do it? And a hundred and fifty?!"
Sunny shrugged. "No idea. You'll have to ask them." Then he shook his head. "Actually, only about eighty of them are your followers. The rest are Handmaidens loyal to Seishan or civilians like Gemma and Kido who have retired."
"The castle guards, right?"
Sunny nodded.
"Well, you came out ahead anyway. Nephis also has her group of followers, you know? But they're fewer than yours, and they don't have combat Aspects like yours."
Arthur sighed. "I suppose there's nothing I can say to change their minds… well, thanks for letting me know about that. Still, it's not like I can decide to wake up, you know? That's not how sleep works."
"Oh, right… well, take your time, I suppose."
After that, Sunny left Arthur's dream and emerged from the shadows, appearing again in the Academy hallway.
He didn't ask him about his nightmare or how he knew the gate was about to open—just by looking at Arthur, Sunny realized it wasn't the right time.
Now was the time that instead of staying seated outside, he decided to go inside the room.
Sunny opened the door, and the first thing he heard was the laughter of everyone.
He looked to the center of the room, and there was Regis, getting a tickle attack from Sylvie. Upon hearing the door open, the tickle-battered creature regained some composure and said:
"Oh, Shorty's back."