One month later
Scamming in the Dream Realm was an ancient and delicate art. It required precise timing, ruthless psychological manipulation, and an absolute lack of shame.
Sunny possessed all three in terrifying abundance.
Their mark today was a prime specimen. He was a minor Legacy from one of the lesser clans, young, probably fresh out of his venture in the dream realm, and standing in the trading plaza of the Sanctuary of Noctis. He was wearing pristine, overly polished silver armor that had clearly never deflected a single blow. Most importantly, he had a pouch on his hip that jingled with the heavy, unmistakable sound of Soul Shards. (btw just for convenience, treat soul shards as coins when talking with business hehe)
He was a walking, talking piñata of money. And Sunny was holding the bat.
Sunny stepped out from the deep shadows of an archway, perfectly timing his entrance to block the boy's path. He slouched his shoulders, narrowed his dark eyes to slits, and cranked his natural aura of sinister, alleyway violence up to the absolute maximum.
"You," Sunny rasped, pitching his voice down so it sounded like gravel grinding over bone. "You look like a warrior who understands the true weight of power."
The Legacy boy—whose name was roughly something like Quentin or Valerius, Sunny didn't care—flinched, taking a hasty step back. "I... I beg your pardon? Who are you?"
Sunny ignored the question, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make the boy sweat. Then, with agonizing slowness, he reached into his dark tunic and drew a Memory.
It was a dagger. An incredibly ugly, slightly jagged, Awakened Tier 1 dagger that Sunny had got from an awakened beast three weeks ago. It was statistically garbage, but it had a dark, oxidized coating that made it look somewhat sinister if you squinted hard enough.
"Behold the Fang of the Abyss," Sunny whispered, holding the ugly chunk of metal up so it caught the dim light. "A blade forged in the blood of a Corrupted terrors. I shouldn't even be showing this to you. The darkness inside it hungers. But I am in need of quick funds, and you... you have the bearing of a champion."
The boy puffed out his chest slightly, his ego taking the bait perfectly, though his eyes darted nervously to the writhing shadows at Sunny's feet. "A champion? Well. I am of the Silver Hawk lineage. My bloodline is—"
"Exactly," Sunny hissed, stepping directly into the boy's personal space. His shadow elongated menacingly, creeping up the cobblestones. "Which is why I am offering you the bargain of a lifetime. One thousand soul shards."
The boy's eyes bugged out. "One... one thousand?! For an Awakened weapon? That is extortion! That is madness!"
Sunny's expression darkened into a mask of pure rage. He let a sliver of genuine killing intent bleed into the air. "Are you insulting my honor, little bird? This blade is an artifact of pure ruin! You will buy it, or I might just test its thirst on your pristine little breastplate!"
The boy trembled, his hand hovering to summon a memory yet couldnt, utterly paralyzed by the sheer, oppressive weight of Sunny's aura. He opened his mouth to stammer an apology—
Right on cue, the ambient light in the plaza seemed to brighten.
"Sunny, no! Stop this at once!"
A voice rang out from behind them.
The Legacy boy turned, his jaw dropping. Everyone in the Sanctuary knew who she was by now.
Cielle stepped into the light. She was wearing a simple white tunic, her pristine, massive wings half-flared behind her, glowing softly in the sunlight filtering down from the Sky Above.. Her face was a mask of stoic, holy sorrow. She looked exactly like a divine creature trapped in a tragic, doomed partnership, desperately trying to rein in her corrupted companion.
Sunny sneered, turning his homicidal glare on her. "Stay out of this! I told you to wait by the gate!"
"Extortion is a sin against the Waking World," Cielle said, walking forward with a slow, measured grace. She stepped between Sunny and the boy. "You cannot keep forcing your will upon the weak. I won't let you do this again!"
The Legacy boy looked at her with wide, awe-struck, tear-filled eyes. "My lady... please, be careful! He is a madman!"
"Shut your mouth!" Sunny roared, playing the role of the abusive scumbag partner to absolute perfection. "And you—don't you dare ruin my business! Don't you know who's in control here, you damn bird?!"
He lunged forward, raising his hand, and delivered a dramatic, sweeping backhand directly at Cielle's shoulder.
Cielle executed a perfectly calculated tactical dodge that seamlessly transformed into a tragic, fragile stumble. She let herself fall to one knee, her white wings drooping sadly across the cobblestones. She bowed her head, clutching her shoulder, looking for all the world like a broken saint who had suffered yet another blow from her cruel master.
10/10 acting, Sunny's gloomy shadow cheered silently from the wall, giving a slow clap.
"You monster!" the Legacy boy gasped, suddenly filled with righteous courage. He summoned his sword. "You strike your own cohort member?! An angel?!"
"She needs to learn her place!" Sunny spat, sneering down at Cielle. "I need those shards! The blade is worth it!"
Cielle slowly rose to her feet, keeping a delicate hand over her shoulder. She looked at the boy with profound, tragic solemnity.
"Do not fight him," Cielle told the boy gently, her green eyes wide and sincere. "His soul is dark, and he is cruel to me. But... he does not lie about the blade."
Sunny scowled, looking away, caught off-guard by her unbearable honesty.
"He doesn't?" the boy asked, looking at the ugly dagger.
"No," Cielle said earnestly, stepping closer to the boy, as if shielding him. "I have seen him wield it. I swear to you, I watched him use that very blade to cut a ferocious, red-fleshed demon just two nights ago. It was a vicious battle. The beast was stubborn, but the blade drew blood instantly, right before my eyes."
The boy gasped, looking at the jagged dagger with newfound reverence.
(What Cielle did not mention was that the "ferocious red demon" was a particularly stubborn, unripe tomato Sunny was trying to dice in the kitchen. The knife had slipped because the edge was terrible, and Sunny had sliced his own thumb open, bleeding profusely all over the cutting board while swearing vengeance upon the vegetable's entire lineage. Blood weave had saved him ofcourse)
"A... a demon," the boy breathed, fully hooked.
"Yes," Cielle nodded solemnly. "However, one thousand shards is absolute robbery. He is just trying to fund his dark habits. I will not allow him to exploit you."
She turned to Sunny, her face hardening into a mask of unyielding, divine judgment. "Five hundred shards. That is the fair price. Not a single more, or I will alert the Sanctuary guard and leave your cohort."
Sunny's face contorted into furious, defeated rage. He ground his teeth, pacing like a caged beast, throwing his hands up in the air. "You self-righteous harpy! You're always ruining my life! Fine! Five hundred! Take the cursed thing and get out of my sight before I do something worse to both of you!"
He roughly grabbed the boy's hand and transferred the memory.
The Legacy, overwhelmed by the dramatic rescue, the proximity of an abused angel, and the absolute "steal" of a price, didn't even hesitate. He fumbled frantically with his pouch, counted out exactly five hundred soul shards, an absurd, life-changing fortune for a junk dagger, and shoved them into Sunny's hands.
"Thank you, my lady," the boy said, bowing deeply to Cielle. "Your virtue is a beacon in these dark times. One day, I will return to free you from this brute!"
"Go in peace," Cielle said, giving him a flat, unblinking nod. "And be careful with the blade. It is very... sharp."
The boy scrambled away, clutching the terrible dagger to his chest like a holy relic, sprinting toward the upper terraces to undoubtedly brag to his clan about his heroic encounter.
Sunny waited exactly five seconds for the boy to disappear around the corner.
Then, his terrifying scowl vanished, replaced instantly by a massive, greedy, ear-to-ear grin. He weighed the pouch in his hand, the heavy clinking of five hundred soul shards making his soul sing a chorus of pure, capitalistic joy.
"Oh, that was beautiful," Sunny laughed, tossing the heavy pouch into the air and catching it. "Five hundred shards for a butter knife! I love Legacies. They have absolutely zero survival instincts and a desperate need to play the hero."
Cielle dropped the martyred saint posture instantly. She walked over, brushing some dust off her knee, her wings folding tightly back into their usual resting position.
"You hit my shoulder too high," she noted critically, rubbing her collarbone. "If it was a real strike, it would have glanced off the bone and left you open for a counter-grapple. Bad form."
"It's called stage combat, Cielle," Sunny grinned, dividing the shards and handing her a heavy, clinking bag of two hundred and fifty. "It's not supposed to be lethal, it's supposed to be dramatic. Selling the 'abusive partner' angle was a stroke of genius, though. He really thought he was saving you."
Cielle weighed the bag of shards in her hand. Her expression remained largely unchanged, though there was a distinct, smug gleam of satisfaction in her green eyes.
"He really believed the tomato was a demon," she said.
Sunny snorted. "To be fair, it was a very tough tomato. Worth at least an Awakened core. My thumb still hurts."
Cielle pocketed the money, looking up at the bright sky of the Sanctuary. "That was efficient. Can we go eat now? I want noodles. The spicy ones."
Sunny chuckled, the weight of the shards putting him in an impossibly good mood. He reached out and casually wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side.
"Noodles?" Sunny scoffed, his grin bright and genuine. "Cielle, with this kind of profit, we are not just getting noodles. We are going to buy the most expensive, ridiculous, unnecessarily spicy noodles in the entire city. We might even buy the cart."
Cielle leaned into his side as they walked, perfectly content. "Okay. But you have to cut the vegetables. I don't want to fight the red demon."
Sunny laughed out loud, the sound echoing off the ancient stones, as his shadows happily danced along the pavement behind them.
"Want to hunt before that?" Sunny asked, casual as breathing. "I need to farm some more fragments. Push me over the edge."
Cielle's head snapped around. Her eyes lit up like a predator scenting blood.
"Yes," she said simply, a fierce little smile curving her lips.
Sunny felt like he was on cloud nine
He had fragments to farm.
An angel at his side.
And a hunt to win.