I sit next to sunny on my communicator texting kai.
"Code red. Formal fit. Meeting with valor tomorrow"
Not long after
"What!? Oh goodness, on such short notice too. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Told today"
It takes a while for him to text back
"Okay I'll be at your house in a hour"
I sigh putting it away. I notice sunny looking distracted clearly still thinking on what he heard. That's fine, and frankly understandable. I know I'm the abnormal one, for not thinking even thinking once if I should join.
I sit on the porch bouncing my leg waiting for kai. I had gotten back only a minute or two ago. Soon kai gets to the house seems he took my advice and got a few memories to hide his appearance
"■■■■, please don't put me on the spot like this"
I sigh
"Yeah I know. Sorry kai. I only just learned that today"
I get up
"Well?"
He sighs softly
"Well let's go, I'll help you get ready"
As if walk past kai pats me on the shoulder.
"Good luck with... valor..."
He's worried about us.
We get to a strikingly expense place
"Are you sure. I mean i get this is a big thing but.... still"
He glances at me giving me a smile that looks unsure. Not that the place but at the idea of us meeting with valor. Knowing they want us dead to cover up their problem
"Yeah, good impressions are very important after all."
We walk in, apparently the place has some guy to help get clothes or whatever. Kai does the talking. I try some stuff on until he lands on something good enough. I can't help but be touched, he's putting in a lot of effort. He also insists he pays for it, i know hes rich but I dont want to be a burden on him.
I look at sunny, god damn it i am not ready. I glance back at the sea of candles. I see cassie looking ever so calm. Weird to know she's probably going to be doing most of this. Sunny can't lie and I am.... not the best at this kind of thing after all.
"Welcome back to the real world. When did you arrive?"
She waits for a bit then turns to him with a smile its a bit nervous.
"Just a few minutes ago. My tether is here, in the Academy."
I laugh trying to lighten the mood it pat her on the shoulder
"Well how've you been, you know in the dream realm and all that."
She turns her head towards me with a smile
"Not too bad. We've been busy these last six months. Exploring the Ivory Tower, restoring the flying ship to its true glory… now that I had studied it at its prime, there is a lot more we can do."
I nod, the time with Noctis must have helped with the flying ship repairs.
"...Are you still planning to take it over the Hollow Mountains?"
She sighs "Yes… maybe. The Fire Keepers are still too weak to make that journey. But, perhaps… perhaps today's negotiations will change things. Clan Valor knows more about the Hollow Mountains than anyone else, after all."
My face sours
"Valor won't share that with you without a large price. Without it they won't help you"
She sighs
"Why not? Now that Saint Cormac is dead, someone has to continue his mission."
She stops turning her head to sunny
"If we do go… will you come with us?"
Sunny laughs its clearly a question thats deeply complicated for him, I don't blame him one bit.
"I don't know. Gods… why does everyone suddenly wants me to come with them these days?"
Cassie faces him staying silent thinking over what she's going to say
"Because you are strong."
I laugh
"Real strong, and devious too, maybe a little slow though"
I elbow him
"Says you. Anyway… are you ready for the negotiations? Things can go really bad for us, you know."
She nods
"....I know"
I sigh watching as a black PTV pulls up.
"Of course"
Out steps.... that woman from the dreamscape tournament?
I notice a oh crap look on sunnys face saying she's someone important. She looks a lot like prince... oh their.... oh shit. Well this will be interesting. I have to hope my reputation helps me in this one.
My feelings about prince had calmed down a while ago, without hope making the feelings of anger stronger I had chilled about the whole thing. It makes sense what he did, it was rude and taunting about it was a asshole move but in the end, its understandable. Still it dislike the man a lot.
Not enough for someone looking like him to cause me to act differently. I'm not that unreasonable after all, i do have to wonder what they think of each other.
She walks over to us glancing at the sea of burning candles. Looks at us three then she looks back at sunny
"Master Sunless. You look… familiar. Have we met before?"
Oh dear, i mean she has, kinda. She met mongrel not quite sunny.
"Not face to face. I once saw you from afar, during one of the Dream Tournaments. I doubt you got a good look at me, though."
She seems to accept it as she turns to me and cassie
"Song of the Fallen. Heat Seeker. It's an honor to meet you both."
I glance at cassie
"Same to you"
She nods
"Master Morgan"
Morgan, Mordret.... thats a very odd way of naming you kids. I mean really who names their kids Morgan and Mordret. Morgan, a woman who terrorized king Arthur. Mordred betrayed his king and tried to steal his throne. Who names their kids that? Then again his name is Anvil so....
"Ah. So I don't need to introduce myself."
She looks at the academy with a almost sad expression.
"This is the Awakened Academy, then... I've always wanted to attend. Sadly, that was never in the cards for me."
Makes sense, the princess of a great clan wouldn't be able to go to the academy, there's no point.
"Why not?"
She turns to a smile that.... damn its a family trait.
"I've been trained by the best of the best since I was a child. There was nothing the Academy could offer me that I did not already have. Spending time here would have just been wasteful."
As expected, still she sighs almost dramatically, god damn it is a family trait. How does one get being a drama queen in their blood?
"Still. I used to love dramas and webtoons about the Academy. It's a shame."
Finally the bridge snaps into place she gives sunny a look. What is up with this family and sunny. Prince was weird towards sunny as well.
"Would you mind giving me a small tour? I hear that you are a lecturer now."
Sunnys clearly thinks it over, it no doubt feels like a death trap for him, to shame.
"Yeah, sure. Why not? Follow me."
We walk for a while, I've never actually taken a good look around the place. Never was too interested in it.
"This is the Sleeper Compound. Most of it is underground, of course. Usually, there is a lot of activity inside and around it, but this soon after the solstice, there are no Sleepers around. The first batch is going to be inducted in a week or two."
Cassie pipes up too
"There are a few private academies here and there, but only one Awakened Academy. The government brings all willing Sleepers to this compound, no matter what Quadrant they are from. On an average year, around a thousand young men and women prepare for their first venture into the Dream Realm here."
She takes on a curious tone
"So, is it as lively and boisterous as it is portrayed in the dramas? Do Sleepers really get to all kinds of shenanigans, develop lifelong friendships and bitter rivalries, and go on risky adventures?"
Sunny laughs in a almost resentful way
"I don't know. We are the last two people you should be asking that, honestly. Not only did we spend only a month here, we were also both at the absolute bottom of the rankings. Everyone treated us as walking corpses."
She looks at me I shrug
"I was lower middle of the rankings but I was a little bastard at the time so I didn't talk with anyone"
She looks us over mostly sunny and cassie, clearly wanting them to join more. I am somewhat of a lose cannon.
"And yet, here you are. Only three years later, both alive and Ascended."
Sunny looks at cassie
"Yes. Life can be funny that way, sometimes."
We walk around showing her around, i find that maybe I am a little spiteful about what he did, but I try very very hard not to take it out on her. Different people similar face thats all. When we get to the medical building sunny gestures at it
"This is the hospital complex of the Academy. It is one of the best medical institutions humanity has to offer, combining state-of-the-art tech with ingenious spelltech, as well as employing many Awakened with actual healing Aspects. This is also where Sleepers enter the sleeping pods to venture into the Dream Realm. I myself spent about a year in one of them."
I was there for five years. My parents visited me on my birthday each year.
"This is where many of the Hollow are kept, as well."
She looks at the walls when she speaks her voice is clearly almost resentful, its small but there
"This is also where Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan is currently being kept, isn't it?"
Sunny gets slightly annoyed at that
"She is not Hollow. But yes. Oh, by the way… can we cut the crap?"
She turns her head towards him with a creepy smile
"...What do you mean?"
Sunny meets her gaze without any fear good grief this is about to get serious.
"I doubt that you are really interested in sightseeing. Let's not waste time."
She studies him, she wasn't that interested but it was still there.
"As you wish, Master Sunless. Let us get the formalities out of the way first, then."
Her expression turns sharply
"Did you come to the Night Temple with the intent to set its prisoner free?"
I force myself not to roll my eyes. How annoying "Of course not! If I knew, I would have stayed as far away from your damned Citadel as possible. I didn't even know that it was a prison, let alone had plans of breaking the bastard free."
She turns to cassie
"What about you, Song of the Fallen?"
Cassie's face turns quite dark
"You have no reason to trust our motives, true, but at least don't disrespect our intelligence. If we really wanted to set that monster free, we would have found a way to do so without getting stuck inside the trap with him, don't you think? Sunny, ■■■■ and I only escaped that disaster alive because of Saint Tyris. If she had not happened to be nearby, we'd be dead… or worse."
She slowly turns to me
"And you Heat Seeker? I sigh
"If I wanted to free the guy i would not have bitten him"
She nods before doing a double take. She blinks a few times before a sudden slime appeared on her face
"Alright! I believe you. Still… intentional or not, the three of you caused great harm to clan Valor."
Sunny is clearly deeply unnerved by her
"Can we not do that? Assigning blame is fun and all, but let's be honest… clan Valor needs us more than we need clan Valor."
Morgan gets a curious expression like that was a joke
"Do we? What makes you say that?"
As sunny responds in notice cassie turning her head towards the medical building
"We might not have helped that maniac escape, but that doesn't mean that he did not have help… or that he is not trying to find help as we speak. In fact, he might be having an identical negotiation with one of your enemies right now. He doesn't have fifty of the most talented Awakened of this generation backing him, though."
I walk over to Cassie
"Oh? What do you think about that, Song of the Fallen?"
She's pale, somethings happening. I glance to her then to them
"Something up, we should probably go look"
She speaks quietly
"....Fire"
The ground shakes. I look back at the building and I start running. Something is wrong, deeply so. I'm followed by Cassie and Morgan. It seems even she's slightly unnerved. Its not that shocking. Sunny no doubt turned into a shadow. I smell things being burned i start seeing.... white flames! Oh, oh my god! It'd Nephis! She's awake, she must be! I put everything I've got into speeding up. When I get there i find sunny holding her.