Sitting with his back against the door of his room, Sunny stared ahead, his heart empty.
He had lived most of his life alone. One year ago, he had entered the Dream Realm alone. And now, he was alone once again.
But not having something was very different from losing it. Now that he knew how precious true friendship and affection were, existing without them felt like torture. It felt like there was a bleeding wound on his soul, left there after he had so cruelly severed the tether connecting him to Cassie.
One of the very few people he cared for in this world…
Hurting her felt good and justified, but instead of relief, it only brought him more pain.
Nevertheless, he did not regret what he had done. Sometimes one had to endure suffering.
Sometimes, pain was necessary.
Now, Sunny was completely alone. So was Cassie.
And somewhere in the Dream Realm, Nephis was alone, too.
The three of them had done the impossible, but paid a heavy price for it.
'What a fiasco.'
Who would have thought that one day, he would not only escape the Forgotten Shore, but also become vastly more powerful than he had ever dreamed… only to sit on the floor in a dark room, feeling miserable?
With a resentful grimace, Sunny shook his head and sighed.
'Enough of wallowing in self-pity.'
He had a lot of things to do. A lot of plans to make. The horrors of the Forgotten Shore were now behind him, but new threats already loomed in the distance.
Firstly, he was now at the mercy of another person. Despite the fact that his master was lost in another world with very low chances of ever making it back, Sunny felt that they were fated to meet again.
He didn't know how to feel about that. Or rather, he both desperately longed for Nephis to return and wished that she died. His emotions for her were intense, overwhelming, and an absolute mess.
Despite all that, Sunny didn't think that she would die.
Somehow, he was sure that Nephis would not perish in the Dream Realm and eventually make it back. Maybe in a few months, maybe in a few years, but she would achieve the impossible once again and return to the real world.
The question was… how? Would she travel to the human territory through the Hollow Mountains, or head in another direction? They didn't know much about what surrounded the Forgotten Shore from the east, west, and north. He doubted that those places were better than the horrifying, misty mountains, though.
That doubt was based on one simple fact: there was no information about them, which meant that no human had ever returned from those regions of the Dream Realm to tell the tale.
Although deadly, Hollow Mountains were at least known to mankind. Chances were, Changing Star would choose to try her luck there instead of venturing into the unknown.
Nothing was more dangerous than that you knew nothing about, after all.
'Unknown…'
Sunny frowned.
That was another problem he had to face… or rather, an opportunity he would potentially be able to exploit. Due to his [Fated] Attribute, Sunny had stumbled onto the legacy of a creature named Weaver and got a glimpse into the secrets of the gods.
What he saw there left him both terrified and breathless.
There was a boundless mystery hiding in the ruined land of dreams and nightmares, a tapestry that connected the dead gods, the Unknown, the daemons, and the Nightmare Spell together. The former rulers of the Dream Realm were gone, but the Spell remained, and humanity — including Sunny himself — had now become an unwilling part of that tapestry through it.
Sunny's most ardent desire was to control his own fate, and he couldn't achieve it without knowledge. Now that he knew what to look for, he had to deepen his understanding of the fate of the gods and the origins of the Spell. Who knew, maybe that was where the keys to his freedom were hidden.
…And then, there were the Sovereigns.
His face grew dark.
'Honestly, why is everything so complicated…'
Why couldn't he just open a Memory Store, become wealthy and fat, and leave peacefully ever after?
That was his plan all along. However, the recent revelations made Sunny doubt the validity of such plans.
Judging from what Caster had said, there were some figures hiding in the shadows, ruling over the human world. And not only were they there, but Sunny was also, apparently, unwillingly doing their bidding.
He still remembered the warning Nephis had given him once. She told them that there were words that could get him killed simply if he learned of their existence.
Well… now he knew a lot of those words.
Sovereigns, Domains, Lineage Memories…
Was he going to pretend to know nothing and hope that those powerful beings would not turn their gaze to him one day, or was he going to do something to prepare for the day they do?
Did he even have a choice, knowing what he did, with his fate hopelessly entangled with that of Changing Star… who was embroiled in these clandestine machinations just by virtue of her birth?
'So bothersome…'
What was he supposed to do? What was the plan of action?
Sunny sighed.
Well, it was simple, really.
Learn as much as he can about the Sovereigns, but in a way that would never lead back to him.
Explore the past of the Dream Realm to gain insight into the daemons, the gods, and the Unknown.
But first and foremost, grow stronger.
Much, much stronger.
When Nephis returned, he had to be ready for the worst. Sunny didn't really think that Changing Star he knew would abuse her power over him… in fact, he was almost sure that she wouldn't. Not only because of the bond between them, but also because in Neph's warped mind, doing so would simply be beneath her.
However, he wasn't going to let this sweet hope prevent him from creating contingencies.
If she ever decided to truly make him a slave, one of them was going to die.
Standing up, Sunny walked over to the desk and wrote on a piece of synthetic paper:
[0/2000].
Then, he summoned the runes, glanced at them, and added a second string of numbers:
[2749/3000].
However, the runes shimmered and changed before he was done writing. The number of soul essence grew bigger.
Sunny stared at the runes for a few seconds, then corrected the number.
Then, he put the pen done and looked at the piece of paper in front of him:
[0/2000] < [2773/3000].
"Alright."
So, this was it.
This was the plan.
From now on, this was his life's goal.
Chapter 362: Breakfast lnvitation
The initial series of tests, the interview with the government specialists, the somber conversation with Cassie, and the hours Sunny had spent pondering about his past, present, and future took up almost an entire day. A new dawn was already bathing the world in soft sunlight, which Sunny knew because one of the walls in his underground room was made into a false window, with a vista of one of the parks in the Academy being projected onto it from a remote camera.
He was experiencing mild mental fatigue, but was not sleepy at all, at least not yet. Truly, the physique of an Awakened was much more resilient than that of a mundane human.
There were still a few things he had to do. In all the turmoil of the past twenty-four hours, he had not gotten a chance to take a proper look at his Memories, for example…
Sunny was about to summon the runes when, suddenly, there was a knock on his door. He flinched.
'...What? Who can it be?'
For a moment, a mental picture of Effie and Kai appeared in his mind, but then he dismissed it. The two of them must have been as busy after their Awakening as he was. Much more, most likely, considering that they probably had friends and families to deal with, too, on top of everything else. With them being in different facilities, coming to the Academy just to pay him a visit was not a likely scenario.
Certainly not that soon.
Hiding one of the shadows on his body to appear like a normal person, Sunny walked to the door and opened it.
Standing there was a striking, confident woman in her late twenties.
Immediately, it seemed as though the temperature inside of the room dropped by a couple of degrees.
She had short, raven-black hair and icy blue eyes. Her flawless skin was smooth, supple and as white as snow. The woman was dressed in a dark blue uniform with silver epaulets and black leather boots. The jacket of the uniform was casually unbuttoned, revealing a tanktop that was currently drawn taut against her full…
'Crap!'
"...What are you staring at, Awakened Sunless?"
Sunny looked up with wide eyes.
"Master Jet! I was just… uh… appreciating your fashion sense."
Indeed, it was Soul Reaper Jet — the Ascended who worked for the government and had welcomed him back to the real world after the First Nightmare.
Sunny had sometimes thought about this beautiful woman during his journey into the Dream Realm. Not only because the three pieces of advice Master Jet had given him ended up saving his life on multiple occasions, but also because she was from the outskirts, just like him.
Knowing that someone as unfortunate as that had managed to not only survive, but even thrive in the ruthless reality of the Nightmare Spell had given fuel to his determination, as well as providing vital perspective.
…But what was she doing at his door?
Sunny studied Master Jet, suddenly full of doubt.
She looked exactly as she had a year ago, the only difference being that her uniform had more wrinkles, and there were now dark circles under her eyes.
As he watched, she grinned.
"My fashion sense? Why, thank you! If you want, I can introduce you to my tailors. You will have to sign a few thick contracts to receive a comfy suit such as this, though."
Sunny forced out a smile.
"Ah, I see. Those tailors are slightly out of my price range, I'm afraid. But thanks for the offer."
After a short pause, he cautiously asked:
"Uhm, Master Jet? It is very nice to see you again, but… to what do I owe the pleasure? I am sure that you are too busy to visit every random returnee."
She looked at him for a couple of seconds, then suddenly yawned and shook her head to chase away sleepiness.
"...Correct. But since there's some procedure you still have to go through and we already know each other, I thought that I'd do the honors."
With that, she looked around the deserted corridor of the hospital complex with a dubious expression, lingered for a couple of seconds, and then asked:
"Wanna eat?"
***
Some time later, the two of them were walking through the ground level of the Academy hospital. Sunny had thought that Master Jet would take him to the cafeteria there, but instead, she headed toward the exit.
"Uh… where are we going? I thought that cafeteria was this way?"
She looked at him with confusion, then grimaced slightly.
"Hospital food? No thanks. Let me take you to the Instructors Lounge. That's where they keep the really good stuff."
Sunny coughed.
"But, Master Jet… you're not an instructor?"
She smiled, then pointed to the three-star insignia on her left sleeve.
"Technically, I'm not. But the Academy is a government facility, so I outrank most of the people here. What are they going to do?"
He blinked a couple of times, then shrugged.
Indeed, what are they going to do? Tell a Master to get out? Who would be that suicidal?
As they exited the hospital complex and walked across the Academy grounds, Sunny couldn't help but throw furtive glances at the confident young woman. Not because he was mesmerized by her, but because seeing her again was a strange experience.
Back when they first met, he was just 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.
How acutely he felt the measure of ease with which she would be able to kill him, if she wished. All it would take was a flick of her finger.
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.
In a sense, he was now half a legend himself.
As he thought about how different things had become, the two 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, and entered the Instructors Lodge.
'Oh, right… I remember Teacher Julius mentioning that she has a terrible reputation. To be exact, he described her as a "murderous savage", "barbarian", "having a problematic personality", and "psychopathic killer". Uh…'
No wonder people were giving them weird looks throughout the whole walk.
For some reason, Sunny suddenly felt annoyed. Maybe because Jet was someone he knew, or maybe because she used to be an outskirt rat just like him, but he found himself feeling… protective.
'Stare away, bastards… see if we give a damn.'
Master Jet clearly didn't, so why would he?
Sunny looked at the next person to give her a dirty 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. Now... the most important part. Let's see what the Instructors eat!'
Chapter 363: Citizen Sunny
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.
"Where do you think all this came from?"
He looked around, seeing the Instructors Lounge of the Academy from a completely new perspective, then silently sat down, lost for words.
Master Jet summoned the menu, made a selection, then leaned back and tiredly rubbed her face.
"Believe it or not, the chair you're sitting on is made out of a dead titan."
Sunny stared at her, shocked. Suddenly, he had a strong impulse to jump out of the chair.
"...What?"
She chuckled and gestured around:
"All of this, actually. Back when Bastion was first established, it was surrounded by a vast — and very hungry — forest. The whole thing was one giant Nightmare Creature. Clan Valor spent decades at war with it, losing many knights. In the end, the forest was destroyed, leaving behind a lot of high-quality lumber. And here we are."
Sunny scratched the back of his head, then cautiously knocked on the wooden table. The thing seemed dead, but he decided to remain alert, just in case.
...It had once been a part of a titan, after all!
Soon, their food arrived. Sunny half-expected for it to be delivered by an actual Echo, but luckily, it was brought by a mundane automated server.
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 the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
It was also 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.
"Uh… please excuse me…"
Master Jet waved at him and concentrated on her own food. Not wasting any time on manners, Sunny assaulted his breakfast with the same level of ferocity as when battling Nightmare Creatures.
…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 two glasses of beautiful dark tea steamed in front of them, Master Jet sighed, then took out something from the inner pocket of her uniform. It was a small metal box with a sensor on its lid.
Placing the box on the table, she looked at Sunny and asked:
"You must be wondering why I visited you, right?"
Sunny tilted his head slightly, stared at the metal box for a few seconds, and then answered in a cautious tone:
"...Yes. To be honest, I am very curious."
She nodded, then smiled reassuringly.
"Don't be nervous. It's just a formality, and a very beneficial one, at that. Put your finger on the sensor."
He hesitated, then did as she had told. The sensor buzzed for half a minute, and then a small green light ignited on the metal box. With a quiet click, it unlocked.
Master Jet opened the box and took out several objects — 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.
Pushing them toward Sunny, she lingered for a moment, and then said in a light tone:
"Congratulations, Awakened Sunless. You are now officially a citizen. Of the seventh rank, no less."
Her words struck Sunny like a hammer. Silent, he stared at the three objects in front of him, his face not betraying even a hint of emotion.
A citizen…
Back in the outskirts, people lived and died dreaming of becoming one of the true citizens. That simple word hid so much meaning. Access to proper food, human rights, and better life. To all the things that none of them really had.
To having a future.
Very few of these people had ever gotten the chance to hear the word "citizen" in connection to their name. Being poor and lowly only led to becoming destitute and falling to the bottom. It rarely led to rising higher, let alone soaring to the peak.
And here he was, not only becoming a citizen, but even jumping over all the steps and arriving at the very pinnacle of the social hierarchy in one go. Not just a citizen and not even one of high rank, but of the highest.
'Seventh rank… there's literally nothing higher.'
Finally, his expression changed, becoming 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 five whose files were marked as SS. And you are one of them."
Chapter 364: SS Class Sunless
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?"
She smiled and sipped her tea, looking at him across the table. Placing the cup back down, she then shook her head slightly and said:
"The government — and the powerful Legacy clans, of course — keeps track of every Awakened in the world. That shouldn't be a surprise for you, right?"
Sunny slowly nodded.
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Master Jet shifted slightly, then continued:
"Firstly, because every Awakened technically has a duty to respond when a Gate opens near their location — that's what the special communicator is for. In exchange for all the privileges we receive, we have to protect this world from the Nightmare Creatures."
A dark grimace appeared on her face.
"Of course, realistically, no one can force you to actually fulfill that duty, or at least no one is going to. Many Awakened turn around and run as soon as they receive a Gate Crisis alert."
Sunny grimaced. On one hand, he understood such a reaction perfectly. Why would they want to risk their lives for random strangers? Not every Awakened was good in a fight, too. Not everyone was like the Artisans of the Dark City, who had gone into battle side by side with those Dreamers who possessed combat Aspects.
...But on the other hand, the idea of running away while monsters were devouring mundane humans and wreaking havoc in the real world simply rubbed him the wrong way. It seemed as though Sunny had somehow developed a bit of pride in the past year. He didn't want to run from the Nightmare Creatures and capitulate to the Spell. He might have even been infected with having morals…
'Better squish this lunacy fast...'
Oblivious to his thoughts, Master Jet continued:
"Secondly, newly Awakened are monitored because everyone wants to recruit the best of them. Talents need to be nurtured, and for that, they need to be recognized first. So the most promising Awakened receive a mark on their file. Usually, it's SA, or simply S. Do you know what that means?"
Sunny shook his head.
She grinned:
"SA means "strategic asset". There's not a lot of Awakened who are considered to be important enough to be assigned that designation. Having one means that you are viewed as a person who can potentially be important to the very survival of humanity, or at least make an impact on the global scale. Simply put, it's either someone whose Aspect can be extremely useful to society or someone who has a high chance of becoming a Master, maybe even a Saint."
Master Jet took another sip of tea, then gestured lazily at herself.
"Like me. Not to brag, but people with the S designation are few and far between. That's why we usually receive a lot of attention and support from either the government or the Legacy faction we decide to align with. But here comes the best part…"
She grinned.
"Currently, everyone is running around and foaming at their mouths because of you guys. All hundred of those who returned from the Forgotten Shore were marked as strategic assets. That is… that is an unprecedented event in human history. A sudden appearance of a hundred powerful Awakened is not that important in the grand scheme of things. But if those Awakened all have a very high chance of becoming Masters, maybe even Saint… that would be enough to completely shatter the current status quo."
Sunny stared at her, thinking. Up until now, everything that he heard was in accordance with how he had imagined things to be. But…
"I get it. However, what's that about me being marked as SS? What does SS stand for?"
Master Jet nodded.
"I was about to explain. Above those marked as strategic assets, there are those marked as special strategic assets. SSA, or SS for short. This designation is even rarer. Actually, very few people had ever gotten it. What it means is that you are considered to have a very high chance of becoming a Saint. You know how rare Transcendent are, right? So, of course, everyone now wants to be your friend. Including the government. Hence the seventh rank citizen status."
She looked at him with an apologetic smile and added:
"...Granted, out of the five people with the SS designation, you are the least outstanding. No offence."
Sunny glanced at her and smiled slightly.
"None taken. Who are the other four?"
Master Jet shrugged.
"Three of them are the only ones who received True Names from the Spell after leaving the Forgotten Shore — Awakened Athena, Awakened Kai, and Awakened Cassia. The fourth one is Awakened Song Sei Shan, who is… well… from one of the great clans. To be honest, your own achievements — while still incredible — pale in comparison to theirs. But someone had noted that you went from being the second to last in the Academy rating to leading a hundred Sleepers to the Gateway during the last leg of the journey. You are seen as someone with great growth potential, in short."
He nodded, somewhat satisfied by that answer.
'It's not as bad as I thought.'
Actually, it was perfect. It was exactly the result he had hoped for — to be considered one of the best, but also the worst of the best.
He needed status to receive all the best opportunities in this world. He needed to have value.
Looking at the beautiful Ascended in front of him, Sunny took a sip of the tea, then smiled brightly.
"So, uh… that really sounds great. A great honor, and so on. But what I really want to know is what exactly can I get thanks to being the fifth most incredible person of an entire generation?"
Master Jet laughed and glanced at him with approval.
"Good. Straight to the point. Well, that depends. What is it that you want the most?"
Sunny didn't hesitate before answering, his tone steady and firm:
"To be free."
The smile disappeared from her face. Looking down at her tea, Master Jet lingered for a while, and then said wistfully:
"Then you're out of luck. I am sorry, but freedom is just a myth, Sunless. No one is free in this world. Mundane humans have to toil and struggle to remain alive. Even if they are fortunate enough to reach the height of success and acquire great wealth, their lives still belong to the Awakened who protect them from the Nightmare Creatures. But the Awakened… we are not free, too. Our lives belong to the Spell."
She paused, then added with slight sadness:
"If we want to survive its trials, we need to tether ourselves to others, be it powerful clans, or the government, or even just the members of our cohort. We have to depend on our allies and companions, and they in turn have to depend on us. All of us are chained to one another, Sunless, and that is the only way we can survive. So… think again about what you want. Think carefully."
Sunny stared at her for a long time, his eyes full of a dark, deep, heavy emotion. After a while, he sighed slowly, then said:
"If that is the case, then I want to be strong."
Chapter 365: Young Prospect
Master Jet looked at him for a while, then smiled.
"Perfect. That is a good goal to have... especially for people like us."
She took a sip of tea, then closed her eyes for a few moments.
"...Alright. There are many ways to become strong, some more straightforward than others. Ideally, you would want a powerful organization backing you up, but that is not the only way. In fact, such a partnership is a double-edged sword. You gain a lot, but also have to give a lot in return. I'll provide you with the basic information, and you can decide for yourself."
Sunny straightened a little and listened to her attentively. Master Jet thought for a few seconds, and then said:
"In this next few days, you will have to decide what Citadel to go to. That is not the same as joining a faction, but closely tied to it. Usually, young Awakened have to compete for the right to join a desirable faction and therefore be taken to the Citadel it operates from. Your case is different, though. Everyone wants you… and I mean everyone. So you can pick any of the human Citadels in the Dream Realm to call home."
She paused, yawned, and then continued:
"As you should already know, there are three great human Citadels in the Dream Realm, as well as many smaller ones. The primary Citadels belong to the great clans, while the smaller ones can be either ruled by a lesser clan or remain independent. Regardless, all of them are situated around the three main human enclaves and tied to them in one form or another. No matter where you go, you'll be in the sphere of influence of one of the great clans, it's just that you can be either in its center, close to the center, or on the periphery."
Sunny scratched his head.
"What about the government? Doesn't the government control many Citadels?"
Master Jet shook her head.
"Out there in the Dream Real, the government has less influence than the great clans. It does, however, maintain a presence in all the important Citadels, which allows us to play a unique role. In the Dream Realm, we serve as a… connective tissue between the three factions, I guess. That flexibility has its own benefits, if you ask me."
She knocked lightly on the table and said:
"In any case, even if you decide to refuse the obvious choice of settling in one of the great Citadels, you'll have to select one of the three territories. They are not connected, as some people think. In fact, there are deadly and extremely hazardous regions separating each of the human dominions from each other. So, that is going to be your first decision — which territory to choose.
That made sense. If Sunny chose to go to Bastion, for example, he would have the opportunity to build a relationship with the great clan Valor, which ruled it, or any of the lesser clans in its sphere of influence. He would lose the opportunity to be recruited into the great clan Song, though, or any other clan that existed in a separate human territory. And so on.
Master Jet finished her tea and looked at the empty cup with a solemn expression.
"Oh, yeah. This is where I was supposed to give you the recruitment speech and try to convince you to join the government forces. But I'm not going to… you are smart enough to figure out the pros and cons of that path by yourself. All I will say is that you will never be truly accepted as an equal by the members of the Legacy clans — SS designation or not. Maybe they won't say it to your face, but you'll always be treated as someone… a tiny bit lesser. At best."
Sunny's expression darkened. Caster's face suddenly appeared in his mind, eyes full of disdain.
What had the proud scion called him… a mongrel?
'...Well, that mongrel got to your throat. Who's laughing now?'
Master Jet had a similar kind of expression on her face. Had she experienced her own share of hardships because of her lowly background? Most likely.
As Sunny was pondering what Master Jet's path to becoming an Ascended must have looked like, she sighed, then smiled with irony.
"Not that entering a Legacy clan is a bad deal. Actually, it's a dream come true for many, most even. With your renown, Sunless, any clan would be happy to give you patronage. Some might even adopt you. Hell… with your looks, even marriage is not out of the question!"
As Sunny choked on his tea and did an actual spit take, Master Jet laughed.
"Marriage… what marriage?!"
She shook her head.
"How do you think Legacy clans recruit talents? There are patronage contracts, adoptions, and matrimony, the latter being the preferred method when it comes to true gems. Anything to enhance the bloodline, you know."
As Sunny stared at her with wide eyes, Master Jet chuckled and continued:
"In any case, these are your options. You can go with the government, one of the three great clans, or a lesser clan. Each will provide you with plenty of incentives to join them instead of others. The most wealthy factions will even shower you with soul shards. You and I both know how important those are. Few people can refuse such an offer."
She sighed wistfully, lingered for a bit, and then added:
"Of course, you can also remain independent. In that case, you won't have any special support outside the usual benefits of being a highly regarded Awakened — be it in the form of training, resources, or access. But you also won't be tied down by any obligations, free to travel around the Dream Realm as you wish, making a living by hunting Nightmare Creatures or providing useful services to your Citadel of choice. There are plenty of independent Awakened out there, although few who are truly successful. It's a tough way to live."
Sunny rubbed his face, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the cornucopia of choices in front of him.
He had no need for soul shard, but being showered in them still seemed like a great experience.
Master Jet grinned.
"...So? What do you think?"
He hesitated for a while, then said:
"I don't know. That's a lot to take in. I'll… have to think about many things before making a decision."
She nodded, as though that was an expected answer.
"Good. Nothing good can come from rushing such a matter."
With that, Master Jet took a small, secure plastic container out of her pocket and pushed it to Sunny. He took it and raised an eyebrow.
"What's that?"
She shrugged.
"A pack of military-grade stimulants to keep you awake for a while. Don't use more than one patch at a time… wait, why am I explaining this to you? You're from the outskirts, so your knowledge of stimulant use must be extensive. In any case, with that, you'll be able to stay lucid for about a week. Contact me when you're ready to make a decision, and I'll arrange the rest. Oh, also feel free to call me if you have any questions… scratch that. Not any questions, just important ones."
She stood up, stretched a little, and gave him a little smile.
"Well… it's been nice seeing you, Awakened Sunless. 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 turned around to walk away, but Sunny stopped her:
"Uh… Master Jet?"
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.
"Want to get my number, huh?"
Feeling his ears turning slightly red, Sunny coughed, but then took hold of himself and said with an easy smile:
"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 at him and said:
"...Can't wait to hear from you, Awakened Sunless. See you later, then."
With that, Master Jet walked away, leaving Sunny alone at the table.
Looking around, he sat in silence for a while.
Finally, he said quietly:
"I wonder… can I get another of everything I ate? That'd be great…"
Chapter 366: Lessons of History
Some time later, Sunny exited the Instructors Lounge. The clear winter day welcomed him with chilly wind and tiny snowflakes dancing in the sunlight. Despite being dressed very lightly — his skin was covered only by the soft fabric of the simple training suit provided to him by the staff of the Academy hospital complex — Sunny did not feel too cold.
'That's being Awakened for you, I guess.'
If it had been a year and a few months ago, he would have been desperately searching for shelter, hoping that he would not freeze to death overnight or, even worse, get sick. But now, Sunny felt great. He wasn't even uncomfortable.
Pulling down his sleeves to hide the serpent tattoo, he inhaled the cool, perfectly filtered air, smiled, and started walking.
'Decisions, decisions…'
The conversation with Master Jet had been useful, but left him with more questions than answers. Each of the choices presented to him had alluring benefits, but also very serious drawbacks.
'Great clans, lesser clans, government, or independent?'
Sunny tried to imagine himself as a Legacy and silently shook his head. All that prestige, all that wealth, the admiration of the masses… being a Legacy meant being a part of the nobility, the elite above all elites. It was the exact opposite of what Sunny had been all his life.
…But who said that he had to remain the same in the future? From a pauper to a prince, that would be a nice transformation. Lord Sunless… that had a nice ring to it, didn't it?
There were serious disadvantages to making such a choice, of course.
Working for the government offered its own advantages, but at the cost of not receiving as much funds and resources, while being tied down by too many obligations. Both times Sunny had met Master Jet, she seemed busy and overworked. He couldn't imagine pursuing his goals with such a schedule.
One of the functions of the Awakened forces in service to the government was hunting down rogue members of their own kind. Awakened were people, after all, and there were criminals among them, too. Especially because many were traumatized and driven to the edge of madness by their experiences in the Nightmares and the Dream Realm.
If Sunny could absorb the essence of those humans he killed like all the other Awakened, that path could have offered him a faster track to saturating his cores. But as it was, he didn't see himself putting on the uniform, unless there were new Gates opening every day, thus providing him with the endless supply of Nightmare Creatures to hunt.
...By the way, how many Gates were opening in a given year, on average? Suddenly, Sunny realized that he had no idea. The propaganda never mentioned concrete numbers, only the fact that valiant Awakened had the situation under control. Did they, really?
The last option was to remain independent. That choice was seemingly in contradiction to his desire to acquire status and as many benefits as possible, but only on the surface. In fact, Sunny had already received most of what he wanted by becoming a high-ranking citizen and getting a free pick of any Citadel. Of course, not having the vast resources of a Legacy clan or the government would be a huge loss... but it would also provide the best chance he had to keep all his secrets to himself.
All three options were worthy of being considered.
In the end, it all came to the fact that he simply didn't have enough information to make a decision. So, getting information was his first priority. But… how?
'What was it called… a library? The Academy has to have one of those, right?'
Sunny, of course, had never been to a library, but he was familiar with the concept. There were similar types of public terminals in the outskirts, too, although using them cost credits. He had never had any to spare, so his visits were few and far between. And he went there for entertainment, not to study.
Now that Sunny had himself a state-of-the-art communicator, he could access a lot of information from the network, but doing so would doubtlessly leave a digital trail behind. Considering that some of the topics he wanted to research were rather dangerous, he wanted to remain as anonymous as possible.
'A library it is…'
Ten minutes later, he approached a square white building. Like most of the Academy, its walls were made out of smooth, pristine alloy, with wide windows that could be covered at any moment with reinforced shutters. There weren't many people in sight, so Sunny assumed that the library was not a popular destination among the Awakened.
Why would it be, if most of the information stored there could be accessed remotely? He was the weirdo for coming here in person.
Entering through an automatic door, Sunny looked around and blinked a couple of times.
Everywhere he looked, tall shelves full of paper books stretched into the distance. Between them stood tables meant for study, with several young men and women reading behind them silently. Most of them were using terminals to take notes, but some were actually writing by hand.
'What… the hell… is that?'
All those books, of course, were printed on synthetic paper… but why have them printed at all?! Wouldn't it be way more convenient to read from a terminal, like all normal people did?
He had never seen a physical book in his life. The very idea of using one was mind-boggling.
…But then, it made sense. Digital data storage technology was highly advanced, but susceptible to various types of damage. During the dark times… which came before the even darker times of the Nightmare Spell… back when humanity had been consumed by an endless series of devastating wars and cataclysmic natural disasters, a lot of knowledge had been lost due to overreliance on digital mediums. Whole layers of culture were irrevocably gone as the result.
Paper was still the safest way to preserve knowledge.
It's just Sunny had never thought about it before.
'Still weird…'
Trying to not show his confusion, Sunny furtively looked around and noticed a member of the library staff. It was a young man… no, wait… a young woman? A young person, with short black hair and intelligent brown eyes, who was currently reading a vintage-looking book. There was a badge on her chest, with the name "Ren" written on it.
At least Sunny thought that it was a name. Maybe it was some weird title among the librarians. Who knew what kind of strange customs they had here?
Approaching the young librarian, he stopped a couple of meters away and waited patiently to be noticed. However, "Ren" continued to read, fully engrossed in whatever story the book told, eyes full of deep emotion. Curious, Sunny looked at the title on the cover.
'Free Fall… sounds familiar. Must be a really great book. Maybe I should read it someday...'
"Uh… hey? Can I get some directions?"
Ren lingered for a couple of seconds, then reluctantly put down the novel and looked at him with a neutral smile.
"Of course. How can I help you?"
He lingered for a bit, then said with uncertainty:
"How can I read about the Dream Realm and the current state of human expansion into its various regions?"
Ren blinked a couple of times, then asked politely:
"Uh... can you be more specific?"
Sunny sighed.
"I want to see a map and a list of all the Citadels out there, as well as learn who owns what and why. I guess."
The librarian smiled brightly:
"Ah, you are a lover of history as well! Of course, of course. You have come to the right place. We have all the records you'll ever need here. Nickel!"
Sunny flinched.
"Nickel? What does nickel mean? What is happening?"
Suddenly, another young librarian appeared out of nowhere. This one was definitely a guy, wearing a wrinkled white shirt and a brown vest. He was tall and handsome, with slightly disheveled red hair, scruffy bristle on his chin, and a friendly face. There was a badge on his vest, too, with the word "Nickel" written on it.
The two were a strange pair.
"Nickel, could you please escort this young man to the Dream Realm History section?"
The tall librarian glanced at Sunny and gave him a wide smile.
"Sure. Please, follow me."
They headed into the depths of the library, leaving Ren behind. A few moments later, Sunny heard the rustle of paper pages coming from behind. The smaller librarian was once again engrossed in the book.
'Yeah, I should definitely check that novel out. A citizen of the seventh rank should be well-read, right?'
Nickel led him through the library, asking a few questions to narrow down the search. Soon, they arrived in front of a particular set of shelves, full of books having to do with the Dream Realm and the history of humanity's slow exploration of it.
The young man helped Sunny select a few, wished him luck, and disappeared as quietly and swiftly as he had appeared. Sunny looked at the spot where Nickel had been just a few moments ago, then slowly shook his head.
'A librarian… that guy could have been an assassin, instead.'
Well… maybe he was. Come to think about it, working in a library could be a perfect cover for clandestine operators.
'Maybe I should become a librarian, too…'
Making sure that no one was watching him, Sunny put his books on a nearby table and walked back to the shelves. There, he stared at a certain book that he had noticed a few minutes ago.
Its title was simple:
"The Immortal Flame"
Sunny hesitated for a bit, and then took the book off the shelf.
He was pretty sure that the Sovereigns were at least partially responsible for the fall of Neph's clan. If so, there had to be some hints of their identity in the history of the Immortal Flame.
'This has to be a good place to start looking for some answers… right?"
Chapter 367: Fog of Time
Sunny brought the book back to the table and sat down, looking at the plain cover with a complicated expression.
Of course, he knew a few things about the Immortal Flame clan. Everybody did, considering how prominent the achievements of its members were — even though Sunny missed out on receiving a proper education, the legendary figures of Changing Star's father and grandfather had long ago found their way from the pages of history into the popular culture.
Their names were pretty much synonymous with heroism and the indomitable nature of the human spirit, famously painted with a tinge of tragedy.
Immortal Flame was the first Awakened to become a Master, and Broken Sword, his son-in-law, was the first Master to become a Saint. Of course, they had not done so alone — each had a group of powerful companions to share the burden of challenging the Spell. So, a more proper statement would have been that they were the leaders of the first cohorts to conquer the Second and Third Nightmares.
However, the names of their comrades were not as well known. Sunny was sure that kids learned about them in school, but a street rat like him only had a general impression of who they were. Mostly, he just remembered that some of them would go on to establish the great clans.
But that was the thing about heroes. Suny had once told Effie that one had to die to become a hero, and that was not a joke. A person could possess renown and respect for achieving something incredible, but it was the act of making the ultimate sacrifice that elevated one to heroic status.
That's why the Immortal Flame clan was revered much more than the other great clans — not only because the leaders of those cohorts came from it, but also because it had a tragic end.
…Or had it? If Nephis did manage to return to the real world, the fame of her clan would burn bright once again, perhaps even brighter than ever before. The survivors of the Dreamer Army already treated her like a deity...
With a sudden frown, Sunny awkwardly opened the book and started reading. Accustomed to reading off a screen, he struggled for a bit with the printed text, but then quickly got used to it and engrossed himself in the illustrious history of the famed clan.
The first part was dedicated to Immortal Flame himself, and although it was interesting, there was not a lot of information there that Sunny could use. He already knew that Neph's grandfather had been among the first wave of people infected by the Nightmare Spell, and that he fought against the Nightmare Creatures during the initial mayhem that followed its appearance.
Back then, millions of people were suddenly thrust into the First Nightmares and died, resulting in millions of Nightmare Creatures entering the real world. Of course, almost all of them were only of the Dormant rank, but even that turned out to be too much for the armies of the already reeling humanity to handle. Whole nations were destroyed, and for a while, the planet was submerged into absolute chaos.
It was only thanks to people like Immortal Flame — who had not earned his True Name yet back then, of course — that the situation changed. There were those who had survived the First Nightmare, then entered the Dream Realm and carved their path to Gateways. After returning to the real world, they united and fought back against the tide of Nightmare Creatures, eventually establishing a new world order.
The one that existed to this day.
'They were tough, tough people.'
Becoming an Awakened was hard enough even today, with all the accumulated knowledge about the Spell being freely accessible to everyone. Back when it first appeared, people like Immortal Flame didn't know anything. They didn't know what an Aspect was, how many ranks and classes of the Nightmare Creatures were there, what they meant, what the Memories and Echoes were, what a Gateway was...
Most important of all, they didn't even know if saving humanity was even possible.
And yet, somehow, they learned and fought back. Sunny couldn't imagine how dark and hellish that time must have been. Truly, they deserved his respect.
…But, sadly, they didn't deserve his time. At least not now. He had much more pressing things on his plate, so Sunny just skimmed through the pages describing Immortal Flame's life, his eventual triumph over the Second Nightmare, and heroic death.
The legendary Master died defending the evacuating cities from the onslaught of terrible creatures that entered the real world through a Category Five Gate. That happened just a year or so before Sunny was born, and had cost humanity an entire continent.
It was also the event that led to Neph's mother becoming Hollow, although that tragedy was not described in the book in great detail. All that was said about it was that Smile of Heaven died during the disaster while protecting civilians.
Sunny sighed, then concentrated on reading about Broken Sword.
Neph's father was not a Legacy by birth. In fact, he came from a very humble background, and rose from absolute obscurity to the very pinnacle of prominence thanks only to his talent and battle genius. He was a pauper who had won the heart of a princess and became the heir of the most venerated clan in human history.
The narrative of the book framed the history in a way that suggested that Broken Sword had been heartbroken by the death of his wife, and that it was this loss that drove him to rise even higher and challenge the Third Nightmare. Miraculously, Broken Sword succeeded, becoming the first Saint.
There was no happy end to his story, though. Just a few years later, he perished in the Dream Realm while exploring a region that would later be categorized as a Death Zone.
The book ended with a long-winded tribute to the two legendary heroes and an explanation of how important their contributions were to the survival and future prosperity of the human race.
Sunny closed the book and shook his head.
'...What a load of crap.'
He might not have been educated, but like most people in the outskirts, Sunny had the instinctive skill of recognizing propaganda and reading between the lines of official statements. And this was what the book was — an embellished, partially fictional version of events that the government liked to feed to people. The truth was hard to come by.
There were several things about the supposed history of the Immortal Flame clan that didn't make a lot of sense to Sunny.
The first one was the circumstances of Smile of Heaven's tragic death. On paper, everything seemed fine, but Sunny knew that she was not, in fact, dead — not in the traditional sense of the word, at least. She was Hollow.
But how could she become Hollow? According to the book, at that point in time, Broken Sword had already become a Master. The two of them were partners both in life and in battle, leading their cohort together. That would suggest that Smile of Heaven was a Master, too.
But Masters traveled to the Dream Realm physically as opposed to in spirit, like Sleepers and Awakened did. There would have been no soulless body left behind if she had died there, so… how was it possible?
'The timeline doesn't add up...'
The second questionable point was Broken Sword's own death. Saints were extremely powerful beings, and killing one was not an easy task. Even when met with an overwhelming foe, a Saint should have been able to at least escape.
Saints simply did not die unless they had a reason to stand their ground and fight to the last breath. The only creatures that could kill them instantly were too powerful and rare to stumble on one randomly, even when exploring an unknown region of the Dream Realm.
Would Broken Sword have been so reckless and stubborn, knowing that he had a daughter who needed his care and protection? The legendary swordsman didn't strike Sunny as someone who would allow himself to die easily… unless some other forces were involved.
And finally, there were the other members of his cohort.
Sunny whispered their names:
"Broken Sword, Smile of Heaven, Asterion, Ki Song, Anvil of the Valor clan."
Asterion, Ki Song, Anvil of Valor…
'Aster, Song, Vale?'
Chapter 368: Aster, Song, Vale
Sunny spent several hours reading the book about the history of the Immortal Clan book, and now, finally, he was starting to feel sleepy. Not to the point of needing to use the stimulants provided to him by Master Jet, but enough to make it harder for him to concentrate.
Rubbing his face, he mentally repeated the names of Broken Sword's companions — the brilliant warriors who had become the first Saints of the human race.
'Asterion, Ki Song, Anvil of the Valor clan.'
Were they the Aster, Song, and Vale?
While not exactly the same, the names of the members of the legendary cohort were too similar to the three words that Nephis had once told him to never say out loud — among a couple of others — to be merely a coincidence.
'Let's see. What do I really know about all that stuff?'
Sunny knew that the three words held enough meaning to free Neph from the haze of the Soul Devourer's mind hex, at least partially. She had reacted to them very strongly… so much so that Sunne had actually been afraid for his life for a bit there.
She had also asked him a strange question…
He repeated it mentally, careful to not say anything out loud:
'Which Domain do you belong to?!'
Sunny had had no idea what a capital letter Domain was back then, and he didn't know now. But he was, indeed, sure that there was a capital letter there. He also suspected that people who had been trying to kill Nephis for most of her life were connected to these mysterious Domains.
Which meant that Caster had been, too. From that, it wasn't hard to conclude that Domains and Sovereigns — who apparently willed the destruction of the Immortal Flame clan — were tied together, or more likely the same.
And all of it had something to do with Lineage Memories and the Attributes they bestowed, like [The Fire] Attribute that was described as the lineage of the Sun God.
Or his own [Blood Weave], which was apparently both incomplete and forbidden.
Sunny massaged his temples and sighed.
For a long time, he had no clue about what Aster, Song, and Vale meant. But after meeting Seishan, an adopted daughter of the great clan Song, he began to suspect that they were the names of the three Legacy Clans responsible for the numerous attempts on Neph's life… and maybe even the deaths of her parents and the downfall of the Immortal Flame clan.
Not only because of his inherent dislike of Legacies, but also because of how peculiar Changing Star had described her relationship with the Handmaiden:
'Trusted? Not really… never, actually.'
Why would Nephis say that she would never, ever trust Seishan? Maybe it was because Seishan belonged to one of the clans responsible for the undoing of her family. That was a logical assumption.
…But now, Sunny saw that, maybe, he was wrong. Maybe Aster, Song, and Vale weren't the names of clans — maybe, these were the nicknames belonging to three people.
Asterion, Ki Song, and Anvil of clan Valor.
They were Broken Sword's companions, and as such, Nephis had to have met them a lot before her father died. Neither Broken Sword himself nor his daughter would have been addressing them by their full names, either. What would she call them?
Uncle Aster? Auntie Song?
Sunny looked down, a dark expression appearing on his face.
If these were really the people that had later sent numerous assassins to hunt down the little girl who trusted them… then the hatred Nephis had for them would be easy to explain.
…It would also be easy to explain how a Saint of Broken Sword's talent and might had died. Maybe... maybe he had been stabbed in the back by the people he trusted the most.
Even though there was no proof, it all made too much sense. Sunny felt that he was on the right track.
But how were Asterion, Ki Song, and Anvil of clan Valor connected to the mysterious Sovereigns? Did they serve them, or…
His eyes widened. A terrible suspicion entered his mind... not, not a suspicion.
A certainty.
'...It's them. They are the Sovereigns!'
The revelation hit him like a hurricane squall, too vast to comprehend all at once. And the key to it was a simple sentence that Nephis had once told him while overwhelmed by intense emotions.
How did he miss it?
Back when they had their falling out in a deserted alley of the outer settlement, Neph said:
'...You think Gunlaug can stop me? You think a Fallen Terror can stop me? Those three ghouls can stop me? No, Sunny. Nothing will stop me. Anyone who dares will die. I'll kill them all.'
She had listed her enemies! She listed them in the order of magnitude. First Gunlaug, then the Crimson Terror. And then, the Sovereigns.
Three ghouls.
Aster, Song, and Vale.
Just as he was trying to cope with that idea, another frightening realization appeared in Sunny's mind. He shuddered.
Recalling another thing that Nephis had said, he then mumbled quietly:
'...No, I won't be the first one to conquer the Fourth Nightmare. I will be the first one to conquer every Nightmare.'
Back then, he had understood her as wishing to be the first one to beat the Fourth Nightmare, as well as all the rest. But her words could have been interpreted in a different way…
Among the Awakened, there was a general agreement that the names of the Ranks were not coincidental. Many people thought that the words used by the Spell described the ascent toward godhood… or the descent into profanity, as far as Nightmare Creatures were concerned. In many ways, these two paths were reflections of each other.
A person of a third Rank was described as Ascended, since they were rising above their human nature. A creature of the same Rank was called Fallen. This step had to do with ascension, or the opposite of it.
A person of the fourth Rank was described as Transcendent, since they had transcended the mundane and assumed some qualities of the divine. A creature of the same Rank was called Corrupted. This step had to do with transformation… it was no coincidence that the Aspect Ability the Saints received was called a Transformation Ability, after all.
The next step also had a special meaning to it. It represented authority and reign. Be it Supreme or Great, beings of that level were meant to consolidate their power and exert it upon the world. The fifth step of the Class hierarchy was much the same, allowing Nightmare Creatures to create and control armies of lesser minions.
Such creatures were called Tyrants…
What would a human who had reached the Supreme Rank be called, then?
Sunny trembled.
'A Sovereign…'
Nephis had not meant that she would not only be the first human to conquer the Fourth Nightmare, but also all the rest. She had meant that she would be first to conquer the Fifth, the Sixth, and the Seventh.
Because the Fourth Nightmare had already been conquered!
'Gods...'
Ki of the great clan Song, Anvil of the great clan Valor, and a person called Asterion had conquered it. And Broken Sword of the Immortal Flame... Broken Sword had been mysteriously killed in the process.
Aster, Song, and Vale had returned from the Fourth Nightmare wreathed in new authority, while Broken Sword perished. What was a Domain? Possibly the expression of the fifth Aspect Ability they had received, a special one, just like the special Transformation Ability the Saints possessed.
And, for some reason, they had chosen to keep their accomplishment a secret, instead exerting their influence on humanity from the shadows.
Wasn't it strange, that their names seemed to practically disappear from the pages of history after Broken Sword died? They, too, were the first to become Saints, after all.
Not if they had chosen to keep them hidden.
Wasn't it strange that Caster of Han Li clan seemed so loyal to the mysterious Sovereigns who had ordered him to kill the last daughter of the Immortal Flame clan?
Not if they were the real power behind the great Legacy clans, to which his own lesser clan was beholden.
Wasn't it hard to believe that there were words that could kill just by becoming known to a person?
…Not if those words were the names of the three Supreme rulers that preferred to remain nameless.
Sunny moaned slightly, then covered his face his hands.
'...Crap. Crap. Crap! Why did I have to go and get myself involved in all this crap?!'
He had a feeling that his life had just become much more complicated.
Chapter 369: Hidden Forces
Sunny spent some time staring at the pile of books in front of him with a dark expression. After a while, he sighed heavily.
So, there were hidden forces out there that exerted influence over the entire human race. The authority was as invisible as it was frightening. And now, he knew their names. The Sovereigns were at least as powerful as the government, or maybe even more so.
The exact relationship between these two hegemonic powers — one official, the other secretive — was not clear, but for now, knowing the full extent of the authority resting in the hands of the Sovereigns was not that important.
However, it was important to know that the world was not at all as he had imagined. It was much more dangerous.
Why?
Because if there was one thing that all wielders of authority shared, it was the animosity toward others encroaching on their power. That was just human nature — among the strong, only one entity could be the strongest. And so, that entity was always apprehensive of others growing stronger.
Bosses of criminal gangs in the outskirts were always paranoid of their lieutenants usurping them, and tended to violently get rid of those who were too successful. In the Dark City, Gunlaug reigned with an iron fist, destroying anyone who dared to be strong without submitting to his rule.
And Sovereigns would be much the same.
Since Sunny was already powerful beyond reason, for a person of his age at least, and had an even more frightening potential, the Sovereigns would never allow him to exist outside their control.
Luckily, they did not know the true extent of his strength yet.
But since his main goal was to become stronger — as strong as he possibly could, as fast as he possibly could, to not fall behind Nephis — that… was going to be a problem.
Suddenly, some things about the Awakened society became more clear.
A long time ago, Sunny had learned that Master Jet had no chance of ever becoming a Saint. Apparently, one had to have a team of outstanding companions and a lot of support to attempt conquering the Third Nightmare, and she lacked both due to her "problematic personality".
Would Sovereigns allow someone outside their grasp to become a Saint? Most resources and knowledge about the Dream Realm belonged to the Legacy clans, especially when it came to anything having to do with higher Ranks. And the clans were controlled by the Sovereigns… which basically meant that they could prevent anyone from becoming a Saint simply by refusing their support.
How many talented Masters like Jet were being suppressed from growing more powerful because they didn't serve one of the Supremes? There were a couple of Saints serving the government, at least. Whom were they really loyal to?
'Hate it… I hate it so much…'
Of course, Sunny knew that all of this was just his conjecture. And yet, one thing was certain: the choice presented to him by Master Jet was not as straightforward as he had thought.
In truth, he wasn't deciding between the great clans, the lesser clans, the government, and independence. He was deciding between entering into the service to the Sovereigns or refusing it.
And that choice was strained even further by his connection to Changing Star.
'...Damnation!'
With a sigh, Sunny stared at the bookshelves surrounding him, and then stood up. He had to get a few more books to read…
Many hours later, he tiredly put the last one away and rubbed his face.
Now that he had absorbed a lot of knowledge about the current geography and situation of the Dream Realm, a seed of a plan began to form in his mind. However, he still needed more information. He wouldn't be able to find it here, however.
For that, he would have to visit an old acquaintance.
One thing he did find, nevertheless, was a bit more information about the Sovereigns.
Asterion, Ki Song, and Anvil of Valor.
The last one was possibly the most renowned. An heir of the great clan, he was mentioned many times in the texts describing the human expansion into the northern territories of the Dream Realm, as well as the history of Bastion — one of the three central human Citadels in the Dream Realm. In fact, he had apparently been responsible for slaying the titan whose remains were then used to create the chair Sunny was currently sitting on.
'Strong...'
Later, though, the traces of Saint Anvil disappeared. There was no mention of his death, but the reigns of clan Valor were now in the hands of his cousins… at least officially.
Ki Song was only slightly less famous. Unlike Anvil of Vale, she had come from one of the lesser Legacy clans, and it was by her hand that it was elevated to the status of a great one. The stronghold of clan Song, Ravenheart, was the second major human settlement in the Dream Realm. Its sphere of influence was separated from the other two territories by especially dreadful regions. The border with the Valor clan was especially deadly, but also rather thin.
From what Sunny was able to learn, Ki Song was still the ruler of her clan, although she rarely appeared in public. She was known as a benevolent and charitable person, but that was pretty much all the information he could find. It seemed that it was her adoptive daughters who mostly acted on her behalf. Seishan was one of them, although she was trapped on the Forgotten Shore for too long to be mentioned anywhere.
And lastly, there was a man named Asterion… he was the most mysterious of the three. No one seemed to know where he came from and where he went after the Broken Sword's cohort was disbanded. In fact, there was barely any mention of him at all.
Asterion was not connected to the third great Legacy clan, at least from the looks of it. Or any lesser clan, for that matter. Sunny couldn't even find out when and where he had been born, let alone if he was still alive.
Even in the texts describing the deeds of Broken Sword and his companions, the name Asterion was only mentioned in passing, as though he had never made any important contributions.
Sunny shook his head and scowled.
'Let me guess… he's the most terrifying of the three.'
That was an easy conclusion to make, because… it took one to know one. Sunny himself was barely mentioned and tended to hide his contributions.
'Ugh, my head hurts…'
The worst part was that this was only half of all the research he had to do. He had learned enough about the human position in the Dream Realm and the Sovereigns.
Now, he had to learn as much as he could about the gods, the daemons, and the Unknown.
…It was time to pay Teacher Julius a visit.
Of course, Sunny couldn't visit his old instructor with empty hands.
Pushing the books aside, he activated the terminal embedded into the table, lingered for a few moments, and then typed:
"...All of the Forgotten Shore is separated into three parts, one of which…"
Chapter 370: Exploration Report
It took Sunny the rest of the night to compile all of the information he had gathered about the Forgotten Shore into a succinct, comprehensive report. Knowing how passionate Teacher Julius was about researching the Dream Realm, Sunny tried not to miss any important detail.
He had described the geography and environment of the region to the best of his ability, including all the notable landmarks he visited or heard about, as well as the peculiar nature of the dark sea and the Labyrinth. He also described most of the Nightmare Creatures he had seen, met, or fought, writing down everything he knew about their powers, behavior, and weaknesses, writing through the lens of his own experience where he could.
When possible, he included the information received directly from the Spell, complete with the descriptions of Memories and Echoes he knew about. Of course, he provided those texts both in the human tongue and in the runic language.
Lastly, he had written down the results of his exploration and studies into the history of the Forgotten Shore, describing in detail every engraving, every mosaic, and every mural he had seen. He also added his theories about what had happened to the ancient civilization, as well as his observations on how the ancient people of the Forgotten Shore had lived before the fall.
…Of course, there were things that he had kept to himself.
Sunny omitted anything having to do with the nest of the Vile Thieving Bird, the Weaver, and the underground chamber beneath the ruined cathedral. He did not mention the Stone Saint, firstly because he wanted to keep her existence a secret, and secondly because she was connected to the Unknown. He also avoided mentioning his battle against the coral golems and the banishment of the cursed sea, as well as the eventual fate of the Crimson Terror and the destruction of both the artificial sun and the Spire itself.
As far as everyone was concerned, Sunny had left through the Gateway with the rest of the Dreamers. No one had paid attention to his whereabouts in those last minutes, and he wanted to keep it that way. Well… no one except for Effie and Cassie, but he was reasonably sure that they would be discrete about certain things.
And even if they failed to keep their lips sealed, Sunny had ways to explain his actions without revealing the truth.
Finishing the report, Sunny leaned tiredly on the back of his chair and glanced at the screen. There, a long title was shown:
"Exploration Report on the Forgotten Shore, by: Awakened Sunless"
'I think that's good enough.'
Sunny had no idea how to write an academic paper… or a proper field report, for that matter. So he had written and structured this document in a way that would have been the most helpful for his younger self a year ago, when he had entered the Forgotten Shore without knowing anything about it.
A manual such as this would have made so many things easier.
With a sigh, Sunny sent the report to his communicator, then turned off the terminal and stood up.
Stretching his tired body, he swayed a little and yawned. It was already two days since his return to the real world, so the fatigue was slowly accumulating. Soon, he would have to start using the stimulants provided to him by Master Jet… but that moment had not come yet.
Sunny walked away from the table, then hesitated a little and came back. Picking up several books from the orderly pile, he returned them to the proper shelves.
After every book was back to its intended place, he nodded with satisfaction and finally left the library.
'What a fascinating place. I like it there…'
Looking back at the unassuming building, Sunny breathed in the cold winter air and remembered the description of Weaver's Mask:
'Weaver believed that knowledge was the origin of power, and so always hid behind numerous lies…'
What would the Demon of Fate think about this place? It was, after all, a palace of knowledge.
Sunny remembered the deceptive pages that presented a washed, polished version of history and smiled.
'Yeah… but it is also a palace of lies...'
***
It was weird returning to the Sleeper compound. The low, fortified building was much like he remembered, only weighed down by more snow. Sunny had not spent a lot of time here, but those days before the winter solstice were some of the most memorable in his life.
So much excitement, so much dread…
Who knew that he would not see it again for more than a year?
Entering the familiar hall, he looked around, half-expecting to see a crowd of nervous Sleepers. But, of course, there was no one around — everyone had already left for their first venture into the Dream Realm, and it was too early for the next year's Dreamers to arrive.
Walking through the empty halls, he found his way to the lower levels of the compound and approached the Wilderness Survival classroom, which also served as Teacher Julius's office. Opening the door, he saw the spacious and tastefully decorated room where he had spent most of his short stay at the Academy. Suddenly, Sunny was overwhelmed by a wave of nostalgia.
'...Are you crazy? You're too young to be nostalgic about the good old days!'
His mentor was not at his usual place, sitting behind the wide wooden desk. Instead, the old man was standing in front of a glass case, studying the skull of a ferocious creature stored inside and taking notes.
He hadn't changed at all. Teacher Julius was still old, with messy grey hair, absentminded eyes, and a pair of bushy eyebrows that seemed to have a life of their own. His posture and expression were full of quiet melancholy.
…However, as soon as he heard someone entering the classroom, his face changed, becoming lively and curious once again.
Turning around, the old man stared at the visitor with confusion. Then, his face suddenly lit up with a bright, infectious smile.
"Sunny, my boy!"