"I think I know."
Sunny's voice, cold despite its usual warmth, echoed in Cassie's ears, making her frown.
Cassie turned towards Sunny and asked, "You know?"
"The smell of wood... it's all over the mansion, am I right?"
Sunny's words caused Cassie to recall her previous observations of the unknown room, where a strong scent of wood lingered. It reminded her of how many times the man reeked of that same smell.
"Yeah, not just the mansion, but the old man himself, too," Cassie nodded, her expression thoughtful.
"You told me the man is creating artificial life," Sunny continued.
"Yes, that's what I saw in my vision," Cassie confirmed. "The old man held a crystal shard and pushed it into the chest of a nightmare creature, carved from wood."
"And what makes you think only the nightmare creatures were carved?" Sunny's question made Cassie's skin crawl.
"Are... are humans also—" Cassie paused, shaking her head, bringing a hand to her mouth as she bit her fingernail, her frown deepening.
Sunny found her reaction interesting—it was the first time he had seen her so serious. But then, he remembered her differently. He recalled how she stood tall above the dream army and nightmare creatures with that same serious expression. Her role had been to gather and provide information for the dream army. He remembered her puffy cheeks and bright eyes shining in the night, the difference between her and Neph clear as day. While Neph's eyes were filled with determination, hers radiated innocence. He remembered how happy she was when she shared the vision of the dark city. That had been the last time he saw those innocent dove-like eyes.
Now, before him stood a grown woman, her face sharp, her gaze more like a siren's, with her eyelashes partially hidden beneath her mask. Her fingers were slim and delicate, but Sunny knew better than to underestimate her. He had noticed, even after months of absence, her cheeks still held a slight puffiness, smooth and glowing. Her lips, now pressed against the fingernail she was biting, gave off a calculating, tactical vibe. The Cassie he once knew was long gone, he thought with a smile.
Sunny glanced at the glass separating them and saw his own reflection smiling back. This woman had stolen his freedom... and yet here she was, nibbling on her finger in the cutest manner. Some might liken her to a squirrel, but to Sunny, she looked more like a snake, silently calculating her next move.
'Why did she take the nightmare creature's mask?' he thought. 'Did she not know what she was getting into? Was she...'
Sunny adjusted his own snake mask, the one he had taken for her.
"Huh," he murmured.
He looked at her again, noticing the dress she wore. 'It suits her.'
"I got it!" Cassie suddenly exclaimed.
"Huh?" Sunny froze, clearing his throat awkwardly. "You got what?"
"The people who were kidnapped—were they all Awakened?" Cassie asked, her tone intense.
Sunny thought for a moment, piecing things together. "I mean... yeah, a lot of them were Awakened."
He remembered the report Jet had made him read. While some of the kidnapped were mundane, many were indeed Awakened. If he recalled the dates correctly...
"First, it was the mundane ones, then the Awakened."
"Because the crystal shards can't resonate with mundane humans," Cassie speculated. "But the Awakened have a connection to the spell and to the nightmares."
"Meaning that to create artificial life, there needs to be an Awakened human to resonate with the crystal shard," Sunny continued.
"Or their soul core," Cassie added, frowning.
"And the soul core is located within the human body, but it can't be stabbed or damaged..."
"But it can be trapped," Sunny interrupted, his face dark with worry. Cassie, though blind, could feel the intensity of his concern.
"As long as the body—no, as long as the heart and mind are alive..." Cassie's face turned pale as the implications of her words hit her.
"The carved wooden humans can be brought to life," she whispered.
"We need to warn Kai and Aiko fast... maybe even Seishan," Sunny nodded.
"I'll also need to inform Jet. She'll need to call for backup."
Cassie turned toward Sunny with a frown. "Backup?"
Sunny nodded, smirking slightly. "Yes... the garden in front of you, the hall, the upper floor—"
"The dark room..." Cassie muttered.
"They..." She bit her lip, pulling her finger from her mouth. "They're all filled with nightmare creatures, ready to attack..."
"And humans, too," Sunny added, glancing at the garden before walking toward her. Cassie raised her head at the sound of his footsteps approaching, startled as her hand, the one she had been biting, was suddenly grabbed. She let out a small yelp.
"We need to announce it."
Sunny took Cassie's hand in his, intertwining their fingers without realizing it. Cassie's face turned red at the unexpected gesture.
"Come on, I'll guide you."
"Ah? Oh... okay!" Cassie nodded rapidly, feeling herself being pulled along. Somehow, Sunny's grip was even more forceful than the old man's, but it felt different—it was Sunny himself.
Sunny dragged Cassie with urgency, opening the door. The sight that greeted them made them both stop.
Aiko, Jet, Kai, and Seishan stood in front of them.
"Oh! Good, you're here. I have something to tell you," Sunny said, but kai noticing Cassie's flushed face and then Sunny's serious expression. His eyes slowly drifted down to their intertwined hands, and he gasped.
"Congratulations! I'm happy for you two!" Kai exclaimed.
"Huh? What?" Sunny stammered.
"I see," Jet chimed in, "So, she was the girl that dumped you?"
"What? No—what are you talking about?" Sunny started to raise his hand, only to realize it was locked with Cassie's. He froze.
'I've doomed myself,' he thought, but... he didn't let go. He looked back at her.
"Shut it. I'm helping her walk since she can't use her memory staff in a place like this. But... she'll be forced to."
Cassie glanced at Sunny, her flushed face now replaced with worry. The mood shifted from playful to serious.
Aiko glared. "What do you mean?"
Sunny took a deep breath and spoke. "This place... it's full of artificial life carved from wood, in the form of nightmare creatures and humans. I came here with Jet to investigate the illegal crystal shard trade and human trafficking... and now we know the truth."
He paused, then continued. "This place is full of danger."
The group looked at each other, tense with concern, before Jet sighed and spoke.
"Fuck me..."
Everyone froze at her words, and Sunny's face twitched. Suddenly, Cassie blurted out, "No! Sunny's too young!"
Everyone, including Sunny, looked at her in confusion, but the others all shared the same thought:
'We didn't congratulate them for nothing.'