"Bandages and metal plates at the market, rubbing alcohol at the orphanage, and painkillers at the lab…"
Sunny skimmed through the list of items that Natasha had wanted him — alongside Bronya and Seele — to procure. He read the list aloud with a knowledgeable tone, seemingly having no questions about their task.
"I have no idea where these places are."
He handed the paper over to Seele, who sighed in exasperation as she stuffed it in her jean shorts.
"You know, I used to live there. Just follow me, and everything should be fine."
Sunny yawned into his hand, tiredly blinking.
"If only..."
He was quite unconvinced. Not only were they heading into the Fragmentum, but with his luck, only the most ridiculous of scenarios were going to occur.
Also, Seele jinxed it. There was now practically no chance of a peaceful errand as they strolled through Rivet Town.
'I guess I just have to keep my guard up…'
Thinking for a moment, Sunny started to circulate Shadow Essence. The rush of energy through his body was euphoric, and kept him awake despite the lethargic feeling that was consuming him. He didn't want to suddenly go to sleep — he wouldn't be able to wake up for a few hours no matter what happened in the real world, so it was extremely important to make sure he didn't pass out.
Turning to Seele, Bronya studied the Underworlder for a moment.
"If we hadn't happened to be passing by... were you really planning to go into the Fragmentum alone?"
In response, Seele simply shrugged.
"Of course. What's all the fuss about? I've done that loads of times."
'…That's how you get yourself killed. Just because it worked once doesn't mean it will work again!'
It seemed that Bronya shared the notion.
"So reckless... According to the rules of the Silvermane Guards, any expedition into the Fragmentum must have a squad of at least four members, as well as a communications officer."
Seele snorted, completely disregarding her words.
"Exactly, a rule of the Silvermane Guards. Don't apply your rules to us."
With that, the brash and unruly girl walked off. Sunny and Bronya did not make a move to follow her, turning to stare at each other instead.
After a moment, Sunny said:
"…I don't think she likes you."
"You think?"
"Uh… yeah, that's what I said."
Maybe she didn't hear him the first time?
Sunny paused for a moment, before smiling.
"Oh, but she's very honest. I think. From personal experience, I can conclude that honest people are objectively the best type of people."
Bronya sighed.
"Well, I wouldn't say you're wrong. I do tend to prefer those who are honest. Excluding Seele, of course."
'…This is going to be a trend, isn't it?'
Just as he was about to follow after Seele, he registered Bronya's words. He couldn't help but crookedly smirk, turning slightly to hide his face.
'She's trying to butter me up!'
Little did she know, Sunny was the champion of buttering people up for seventeen years! It's easier to not become a target if one were to constantly make others feel better about themselves. Naturally, they wouldn't want to get rid of something that was sustaining their egos.
As such, he had reached the pinnacle of glaze.
"Uh… yeah… you… yeah!"
…It seemed that he was too flustered to even begin. Maybe he was out of practice.
Bronya stared at him strangely, most likely questioning whether he was mentally ill.
'I'm not! I'm just a socio— what was it again? Something about paths.'
With his prodigious memory somehow failing him — probably because he wasn't listening to the other Sunless properly at the time — Sunny just coughed into his fist, silently walking in the direction Seele went as he hoped that Bronya would forget about that awkward exchange.
***
Looking around in reminiscence, Seele bitterly curled the corners of her lips.
Rivet Town had been a quiet, forsaken pocket of the Underworld, a shadowy slum tucked away beneath the towering, glowing spires of more prosperous districts. It's once-dirtied but bustling streets had lain still and desolate, like the remnants of a forgotten dream. The town had been a maze of narrow alleyways, cluttered with rusting debris and broken machinery that had lined the crumbling paths. Faded metal walls, covered in layers of soot and grime, had formed a disjointed maze, half-hidden by the encroaching overgrowth of stubborn, jagged weeds that had claimed the corners of this industrial graveyard.
The atmosphere had been heavy with the ghost of industry. Though once filled with the low hum of old engines and the clanking of metal on metal, there had been only silence. The machinery that had once kept the town alive had long since ground to a halt, their abandoned frames haunting the streets like broken sentinels. The overhead pipes, which had once carried vital fluids and gases, had sagged under their own weight, some rusted through and leaking in mournful trickles, while others had been so choked with grime they'd become little more than twisted monuments to decay.
There had been no mistaking the absence of life in Rivet Town. The few who had remained, those who had scraped by in the shadow of this industrial nightmare, had long since vanished. What had remained were remnants of their existence — cracked and weathered doorways, tattered remnants of makeshift homes, and scattered belongings abandoned in haste. Old lanterns had hung lifeless from crooked poles, their glass shattered long ago, leaving only the occasional flicker of fading neon signs to cast a muted, sickly glow over the ruin.
The faint odor of rust and old oil had hung in the air, mixing with the earthy scent of stagnant water collecting in neglected gutters. The ground beneath had been a patchwork of cracked concrete and warped metal plates, the veins of the old machinery visible in the streets. It had felt as if the town was suffocating under the weight of its own neglect — every building, every rusted pipe, every crumbled corner had seemed to sag as if in despair, burdened by years of disregard.
In that forgotten corner of the Underworld, there had been no sound but the wind, whistling through the hollow gaps in the wreckage, carrying with it the faintest echoes of lives long gone. The silence had felt thick, suffocating — an oppressive stillness that had settled deep into the bones. Rivet Town had once been a place of industry and promise, but now it had existed only in the shadows, a haunted relic of a forgotten age, overshadowed by the towering, gleaming city above.
Glimpsing the occasional scurrying of rats, along with the deep, indescribable sounds that came from the spawn of the Fragmentum deep within, one thing was clear: Rivet Town was far from empty. It had once been inhabited by humans, but now, it was filled with nothing but mindless beasts.
Gazing at her old home with a strange glint in her eyes, Seele stared at a hill that overshadowed the rest of the town. It was hard to see from this distance, but on the crest of the hill was a large mansion. At least, Seele assumed that a mansion would appear similar to the building — she's never seen a mansion herself.
She unconsciously gripped the left side of her abdomen, biting her lip. The coppery taste of her own blood pulled her into a trance.
It was cold. It was cold. It was cold. Why was she so cold? An icicle… it was an icicle.
It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. Why did it hurt? It was red… the icicle was red.
Something's missing. Something's missing. Something's missing. That was… what was that?
It was red, just like the icicle. It was soft, not like the icicle. It stretched and stretched and stretched until…
[Seele!]
She resisted the urge to gag, spitting out the blood in her mouth to diminish the taste. Seele voraciously swallowed the air around her, small tears in the corner of her eyes as she tried not to throw up right then and there.
'Damn it! This is why I hate coming here...'
She wiped her mouth, finding a small bloodstain on her sleeve from when she had bitten her lip. Seele looked back in the direction she had come from, barely making out the figures of the short idiot and the spoiled princess.
'They didn't see that, did they?'
[Is that what you're worried about?! You know what, I'll deal with this myself…]
Seele felt her body convulse as her control over it was being usurped. Her limbs lost their harmony with each other, as if she was being controlled by a body-stealing parasite. She grit her teeth, the enamel grinding together as she released a low, inaudible growl.
'No!'
She screeched in her mind, tearing back control of her body from Veliona. Somehow, there wasn't much resistance as she regained her bearings.
Not hearing Veliona's voice for a few moments, Seele telepathically said:
'…I'm sorry. I know you want to help, but… I'll be fine. Just trust me.'
[…Fine.]
Veliona fell silent.
A small smile appeared on Seele's face. Her eyes flickered towards the mansion at the crest of the hill, before turning around to look at the two approaching Awakened.
This might be more difficult than she thought.