"A pervert!?"
Umbra's eyes widened as she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling of her room.
After the ceremony, she had been completely swarmed by other Legacies who came to talk to her, and she only managed to catch a glimpse of Sunny in the distance as he left.
Worst of all were all the times she had to avoid being touched by those surrounding her. She could understand the urge to hug someone when you see them after a long time, but why did everyone want to hug her!?
"I'm not that huggable…" she said in a low voice.
Fortunately, her status allowed her to prevent them from doing so. Otherwise, experiencing the pain of her Flaw right after arriving at the Academy would have been ugly.
After avoiding being touched, they started asking her a ton of questions, and thanks to her sister Eunbin—who had taught her how to manipulate—she managed to steer the conversation away from herself and toward where the other Sleepers were.
Obviously, she couldn't ask directly about her brother, and the process was slow, but eventually, she received information about him. Even so, she first had to endure a mountain of rumors about other Legacies who were present.
Starting with the fact that fifty percent of the women in the group that had formed around her wouldn't stop talking about a Legacy named Caster.
Umbra actually knows him… they've met a few times at different Balls, and once they even had to dance together.
She shuddered at the thought.
"That was the worst Ball by far!"
She doesn't understand what they find cute about Caster. Though she suspects it has more to do with his Aspect's rank than his looks… Ever since she arrived at the Academy, all she's heard about is that he has an Ascended Aspect.
"As if that's something special…"
Surely her perspective on what constitutes a good Aspect rank is ruined by the ranks of her sisters and, mainly, her own, so an Ascended-rank Aspect probably isn't that bad.
Eventually, she managed to steer the conversation where she wanted it and obtained two very important pieces of information for her stay at the Academy.
The first was related to Nephis. That was precisely the gray-haired, gray-eyed girl she had seen standing alone in a corner.
Now seeing her in person, she could better understand why Moonveil had told her to stay away from her. Umbra has very good instincts in these matters—thanks to the concept her Aspect is based on—so she has a sharp eye for determining threats.
And this girl, Nephis, meets many of the requirements to be considered an adversary of equal level.
Her posture was very straight, as if holding any other posture would be penalized. Her feet seemed relaxed, but their positioning indicated she was ready to spring into action if necessary.
Even though her arms were crossed, her hands were open. Anyone might think this was a stupid thing to notice—but with a bit of training, you know that this position saves you the movement of summoning a Memory, making it faster and more effective.
That was a technique she had learned in her own training, and it's not widely mentioned, so the other clans don't know about it.
The question is… where could Nephis have learned it?
Or perhaps the real question is: did her mother learn it from Nephis's father? Broken Sword was a prodigy in combat. Would it be strange to think his daughter could be one too?
No. It wouldn't be. In fact, it makes perfect sense that she is.
Finishing with Nephis and returning to her brother.
Thinking about him brings her joy in her chest, but after what she heard today, she doesn't know how to feel.
Having grown up with many sisters, she always tends to protect them, and if anyone says something inappropriate to them, she makes sure they regret it.
But… but what's this about Sunny telling a girl he'd rather see her without clothes!?
Umbra brought both hands to her face as she remained lying on her bed.
And that wasn't the worst part! The number of rumors she heard about him is completely ridiculous.
Some say he's a pervert. Others say he's a degenerate. Others say he's ill-mannered. And finally, some say he's completely insane and lost his sanity after his First Nightmare.
It was also mentioned several times that he's from the Outskirts and that he's basically already sentenced to die.
Letting her hands fall onto the mattress, she let out a long, exaggerated sigh.
She doesn't know how to feel. She doesn't know what to do.
All her plans collapsed as soon as she arrived at the Academy. As if that weren't enough, two more problems had been added.
The first is that she, as a princess of the great Song Clan, cannot be seen next to someone the entire Academy considers a pervert!
Umbra doesn't really care what others think of her, but there's something she always has to be careful about: how her actions reflect on the clan.
So now she faces an impossible decision… ignore these rumors and try to get close to Sunny, damaging the clan's image, or do nothing and wait from a distance…
Both decisions are horrible.
The other problem is that she had forgotten that at the Academy, they conduct interviews to create a ranking of the Sleepers.
This wouldn't be a problem in itself, except that Sunny is going to see her name on the list and will obviously think of her. Maybe he'll think it's the same name—a simple coincidence—but what if not? What if he starts to question whether she really is his twin?
To survive in the Outskirts, you have to be smart, and she has no doubt her brother is. So when he sees her name and notices they look exactly alike, he'll obviously wonder if she could be the twin he thought had died.
Then both options would be completely useless, and the decision of how and when to approach him would no longer be in her hands.
She let out another sigh and checked her communicator to see what time it was. It was exactly time for the interview.
Changing into a more suitable outfit—black pants and an oversized black blouse—she headed to the room she had been assigned.
Shortly after, she found herself in a small office, sitting across from an administrative employee. The employee was very kind and began the interview immediately.
"Lady Umbra, would you be interested in receiving psychological counseling?"
She shook her head.
"Would you mind telling me what type of Aspect Ability you received? For example, combat, sorcery, or utility?"
Umbra lifted her eyes slightly, wondering whether she should say it or not. In theory, all information from the Academy would stay within the government. But since she had learned of Sunny's existence through a clan spy within the government, Valor could do the same.
Since the interview was a mandatory requirement of the Academy, the clan had no influence to prevent her from having to do it. So she decided to answer honestly but with short responses.
"Combat."
The interviewer nodded calmly and slid a finger across her tablet screen.
"Would you mind telling me what rank your Aspect is?"
Umbra held her gaze for a few seconds before responding.
"Above Transcendent."
Aspect: [Celestial Stalker]
Aspect Rank: Sacred.
Aspect Description: [You are a being born from the eclipse, a descendant of those who once chased the moon across the heavens. You move with the quiet certainty of a hunter guided by something ancient within you. Though your instincts make you formidable, they also keep you apart from the warmth of others.]
For a fraction of a second, the woman's expression tightened almost imperceptibly, but her professionalism did not waver. She simply noted the answer and continued.
"Would you mind telling me if your Aspect leans more toward ranged or close combat?"
"Close combat, though it doesn't hinder me at range either."
The interviewer nodded slightly while recording the response.
"Would you mind telling me if your Aspect produces a change in you or in your enemies?"
"Both."
"Would you mind telling me if there is any condition that favors your performance?"
"Yes."
Aspect Ability: [Eclipsion]
Ability Description: [Those you claim as prey fall beneath a growing eclipse that dims their Aspect. As blood is spilled, the shadow deepens, and a veil gathers around you.]
The woman nodded slightly as she took a glass of water.
"Would you mind telling me about your Attributes?"
"I prefer not to answer."
Attributes: [Hatiborn]…
[Hatiborn]
Attribute Description: [There once were wolves born to chase the moon across the sky. Hatiborns are descendants of these celestial hunters, beings whose existence is defined by the pursuit that creates eclipses.]
The interviewer smiled and made a small pause before formulating the last question.
"Would you mind telling me if you've noticed any particularities different from the common ones… anything that might influence your future development?"
"I prefer not to answer."
[Ember of Divinity]
Attribute Description: [Deep within your soul, an ember of divinity shines, almost ready to erupt into a radiant flame.]
[The Blood]
Attribute Description: [You have inherited part of the lineage of the Beast God.]
The woman simply nodded and set the tablet down on the table.
"Well, that's all. Thank you very much for your participation, Lady Umbra."
Umbra tilted her head slightly but didn't get up immediately.
"Actually… I want to add something else."
The interviewer picked up the tablet again. "Of course. I'm listening."
Umbra watched her with the same calmness. "I also obtained a True Name." She paused. "The Spell called me: Lost Promise of the Moon."
True Name: Lost Promise of the Moon
The interviewer's eyes opened before she lowered her gaze to the screen. Her fingers moved quickly as she verified the information in the system designed to detect lies.
A few seconds passed in silence.
Finally, she looked up again after verifying that she had told the truth.
"Perfect, Lady Umbra. Thank you very much for sharing that information."
Umbra smiled slightly, rose from the chair with calm movements, and left the office, heading toward the cafeteria.
As she walked through the hallways, she thought: 'That went well, didn't it?'
'I'll probably end up in first place… will that be a good thing or a bad thing for interacting with Sunny?'
Either way, what's done is done.
Arriving at the cafeteria, she stopped dead in the doorway. All the color drained from her face, and fortunately, she managed to control herself before her hands started trembling.
Sunny was coming directly toward her.
'What do I do!? Think, Umbra, think!'
'Do I talk to him? No!... Yes? Ahhhhh I don't know!'
To her misfortune, it was Sunny himself who spoke first. "Excuse me? You're standing in the middle of the hallway, in case you hadn't noticed?" he said with a raised eyebrow.
Umbra jumped slightly and replied after lowering her brows, "Are you talking to me?"
His expression shifted to one of confusion, and he responded in a serious tone, devoid of any emotion, "Do you see anyone else here?" He started gesturing with his hands. "Obviously I'm talking to you. Didn't they teach you in Legacy school that it's wrong to stand in the middle of the hallway!?"
'What?'
Umbra stood completely petrified. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that in her first conversation with her brother, he would be… insulting her.
Seeing that she wasn't going to respond, he finally added, "The hallway is a public space, and I'm late for my interview because of your—" he pointed at her—"fault." Then he crouched down and passed by her.
As he walked away, he added with clear intent for her to hear him,
"What an idiot."
A sword to the chest would have hurt less.
Completely wounded, she turned to watch him leave, and at that moment, she managed to notice how Sunny's shadow reacted strangely.
Did she get the impression that it was waving at her?
Now confused and hurt, she decided to fully enter the cafeteria. With her mood already completely shattered, she served herself a generous amount of food and went to the table for Legacies from clans connected to the Song Clan.
Fortunately, the silly questions and jokes made in the group helped lift her spirits—at least a little.
After some time, it was time to go to their respective rooms, and she headed to hers.
Although the clan's influence wasn't very high at the Academy, the most they managed to get for her was that her room was one of the most comfortable in the entire Academy.
Her window faced the central courtyard. She had a private bathroom with a shower and a small spa. Her bed was a double, and she had an enormous desk. She also had the ability to order food to her room—something no one else had.
Either way, all Umbra wanted to do now was heal her broken heart and sleep.
Closing her eyes, her thoughts drifted to the encounter with Sunny.
Sarcastically, she thought: 'That went great.'