'That's…Sunny. There Is no doubt it's him, but…why do I feel so…so uneasy?'
Nephis wasn't the only one who felt that way. They had expected…actually they didn't know what they expected. After being separated for so long without even knowing the Reason they didn't know how their meeting would went. Of course they hoped for the emotional and wholesome kind of get together but from the moment they set foot on this Mountain everything spoke against that.
Time seemed to be frozen in place as they all stared at Sunny expectantly. He wasn't moving a single muscle either, just standing there, MENACINGLY.
(Sorry, but I just had to do the Spongebob joke. Ahem anyways….)
The pressure He was asserting on them was subtle but clear. It wasn't quite Bloodlust or Hatred. It didn't even feel like a particularly negative feeling. But they knew this kind of behavior from him all too well.
'He is wary of us. Not that He's scared but he doesn't recognize us as his allies and therefore holds us at an Arm's length. Like we were meeting for the first time. He's ready to Attack if something Unexpected happens.'
Everyone had the same thought, except for one person and unfortunately she was already moving.
"Sunny….I'm so happy to see you again. How have you been? We were worried sick about y…."
Effie Was walking up to him ready to pull him into a deep hug, her arms wide open. When she was Just a couple steps away from him when Sunny raised a hand while manifesting A Black Odachi in it and pointed the tip At Effie's face. His voice was even and devoid of Emotions as he spoke.
"Stop right there or I'll kill you."
Effie froze immediately, her smile faded and her arms dropped to her sides again. She was utterly stunned by Sunny's words. Not just her of course, they didn't expect the warmest kind of welcome from him but that took them by surprise. In the next moment they were confused though. Sunny was wearing Weavers Mask after all, so his words should mean the Opposite of what he was saying.
If not for the Sword pointed at effie she would have maybe even ignored his warning thinking he was actually meaning to accept her embrace.
"He…he's not lying guys. He means it. Weavers Mask doesn't reverse his Flaw anymore."
Kai said in disbelief. To everyone's surprise Sunny began to Chuckle.
"Who told you that? Ahh…maybe that question is stupid considering you have Song of the Fallen with you. I didn't think her Abilities could tell what someone's Flaw is, but I guess I was wrong."
Cassie took a step forward to stand in front of their Group. She had a smile on her face as she said.
"You ARE wrong, Sunny. I'm not able to peek into the Secret of Ones Flaw, instead it was you who told us, remember?"
Sunny's chuckle disappeared faster than it had started as Cassie mentioned his name again. He formed a fist with his free hand and tightened his grip around his Odachi.
"How do you know that name? And more Importantly, what do you want from me?"
Suddenly it dawned on them. There was no recognition in his voice. As if he was meeting Strangers.
"You…you don't know who We are To you…do you, sunny? You don't remember us, right?"
He shook His head and let the Odachi resolve into the Shadows again. His voice was calm and even as he spoke.
"I have never met any of you in my life. I know who you are of course. Even as a Recluse it's hard not to know the Changing Star and her Cohort. But you haven't answered my question yet. What do you want from me?"
Nephis walked over to Effie's side, but not without a hint of hesitation. It was hard for her to grasp the fact that Sunny has Forgotten them. Her voice was low and broken as she turned to face him.
"It's simple Sunny. You seem to have forgotten us. But we remember our shared past and hold those memories Dearly in our hearts. You are part of this Cohort. Even if you Have forgotten that fact, you still belong on our side."
There was silence for a Moment. It was ridiculous to him but somewhere deep Inside his heart something stirred for a second, only to fade away again. He couldn't help but laugh at her.
He, a Recluse, was supposed to be a member of the Legendary Changing Star Cohort?
'That's Simply ridiculous.'
He thought While catching his Breath. After he was done Laughing at Nephis joke he pretended to wipe away a Tear of joy from his Mask. A simple gesture, as if he was making them.
"Don't make me laugh, Changing Star. I might be living in a Nameless Temple on the top of a Snowy Mountain but not behind the Moon. There is simply no way of Me being Part of your Cohort. I like my Peaceful life very much."
Nephis tried to contain herself, but holding up The Facade of the Unyielding and Elusive Changing Star was hard in front of the Man she was longing for to stand by her Side. Her eyes began to tear up while she walked closer to him.
"Sunny…please. Give us a Chance to explain. We…we need you. I need you."
She tried to grab his arm. Fearing that if she would fail to Convince him now she would never see him again. But Sunny wasn't having it. He didn't Know her after all. To him she was just Changing Star, the Woman that would cause his life to Change, something he had no interest in. So he took a step back, holding his distance for the sake of guarding his own peaceful life.
"If you really knew me then you should know what my answer is gonna be. I may have lost some of my memories, but one thing I do remember. The Pain, the suffering…the Sorrow. In the last 3 years something has Changed for me, clearly for the Better because I don't remember having those feelings since becoming a Saint. Sure my life is not perfect, but it's better than before and I'm not interested in losing that."
He took a deep breath and turned away from them.
"Now leave, I have something to take care of and do not wish to be disturbed any further. The Man you came to look for is not here."
His words cut deep. They had feared that Sunny would feel that way. But they didn't want to let him go, so Cassie called out for him.
"What About your sister? She is out there, waiting for her beloved Brother to come back to her."
As those words left her lips Sunny Froze. He didn't move for a second Before turning his head to look at her.
"I don't have a sister. I had enough of your lies, now go."
"WE CAME HERE TO GET YOU AND WE WON'T LEAVE WITHOUT YOU."
Jet shouted across the Room clearly frustrated at that Point.
Suddenly the Room Became much colder and the seemingly endless darkness around them stirred. Sunny, whose voice has been calm and even the entire time became much more intense with a hint of anger now.
"If you planned on taking me by force you should Have brought more People. This is my last warning. If you dare to insult me with your lies any further, I won't hold back to show you the way outside myself and I will not be gentle."
He turned around to face them once more and shouted.
"FIEND…SAINT, SHOW OUR GUEST THE WAY OUT. LETS HOPE THEY HAVEN'T COMPLETELY LOST THEIR MINDS."
Jet was about to summon her weapon when Cassie laid A hand on her shoulder while shaking her head.
"He's not gonna change his mind today. Let's try it another time. We will have to talk about this before Approaching him again. If we force our will on him now, we might destroy our Chances of getting him back forever."
Jet calmed down upon hearing cassie's calm voice, she knew that forcing him wouldn't work but she was just too frustrated to think clearly. She turned to face him and saw him leave into the Wall of Shadows while she shouted one last time.
"THIS IS NOT OVER, WE WILL BE BACK."
They could hear him laugh one last time before Fiend and Saint got to their sides.
His two Shadows didn't really have Emotions, at least they never really showed them, but now the two looked like to be ready for a fight if things turned ugly and none of them wished for that so without saying a single word they all left the Nameless Temple and got back on the Chainbreaker.
Nephis had her eyes on the Temple for as long as she could, hoping for him to walk out of it and call out for them to come back, but of course nothing like that happened. Instead her eyes teared up again, this time though she couldn't hold back the tears and broke down on the Deck of the Chainbreaker crying her heart out.
"He doesn't remember us, not even a little bit. What the hell happened at the end of our 3rd Nightmare?"
Cassie who Was beside her laid a hand on her broken Friends back and sat down beside her. She too was shaken by the recent events and her voice clearly showed that. Luckily her Blindfold held back the Tears from running down her Face.
"We Will get through to him somehow. There has to be a way, I just know that one day, we will be reunited again."
"How do you know that? Did you have a Vision about him being with us again or what?"
Cassie lingered for a second. Her ability to see into the Future has been slightly disturbed since the end of their 3rd Nightmare. She shook her head and said.
"No, unfortunately I didn't. When it comes to him, my ability to see the Future has been Compromised, but if there is one thing I'm sure of, then that Sunny belongs on our side because that's how it's supposed to be."
After getting back to the Ivory Tower most of them went on to do something that would help them with processing their Emotions, which in Nephis case, was training her Swordsmanship.
Cassie would dive into a mountain of work to distract herself. Not really the most healthy way to deal with her Emotions, but sadly she had nothing else.
Effie and Jet took the Mundane way and drowned themselves in Alcohol while Kai went to see Aiko, the two have gotten into a relationship after he got back from his 3rd Nightmare. Kai actually needed to put in a lot of effort to win her over. Perhaps that was what he liked so much about her.
Opening the Door to her House in Bastion was like a ritual to him since when he crossed the Doorframe to her House he left something behind. When he entered he wasn't Saint Kai or the Ex Lead Singer of a once Famous band, instead he was just Kai.
That was a treasure he was holding close to his heart. Not as close as he was holding Aiko but he wouldn't trade either for anything in the World, two worlds even.
"Hi babe, I'm back."
He shouted while putting away his Shoes And Jacket. Aiko's house was a small one on the edge of the City. Another thing he loved since it was very cozy and greatly designed from the Inside. Another aspect About Aiko he cherished a lot.
He thought that Noone was home since she didn't answer but soon a pair of arms wrapped Around him from Behind and he immediately felt like Home.
"How was your Trip to the Citadel? Have you found him? I hope so, you were gone for nearly 2 days after all."
She asked while her face was buried in his back so her voice was kind of Muffled.
'Cute'
"It's…complicated. Let's sit down so I can tell you what exactly happened."
An Hour later Aiko was looking at him with wide eyes. She had expected anything, but this?
"So…he lost his Memories and therefore doesn't remember anyone? He doesn't even know that he has a Sister? That sounds…sad, to be Honest."
She knew Sunny well of course. After all he was the one who made her help Him on the Forgotten shore and even became her Boss at one point after Kai's Career as a Singer had ended. Knowing that all those Memories are gone from his Mind now was a weird concept to grasp.
"Yes, like I said, he has treated us like we were meeting for the first time. It was weird how he acted. Cassie had told us after we left that she could partially read his Runes so he wasn't wearing the real Weavers Mask as it seems. He must have crafted another one so he doesn't have to deal with The Flaw reversal Effect."
Their Conclusion was right. Sunny was wearing something that may have looked like Weavers Mask but without the high Protection against Diviners and the Reversal of his Flaw as it seems. Strong enough to negate Kai's ability to see through objects and Illusions though, so unfortunately he couldn't see his Face.
"What are you gonna do Next now?"
Aiko asked while snuggled up I'm Kai's arms, which was her favorite place to be nowadays.
"We haven't talked much about that after leaving. Everyone was understandably disturbed by the whole Situation. I still can't believe that he doesn't remember us. Nephis and him were making such good progress but now they are back to being strangers."
"Wait…they weren't together before? I thought they have been dating since Nephis came back from her long Journey through the Dreamrealm. They even lived together."
Kai chuckled and shook his head.
"No, unfortunately they have always been dense as a Rock when it comes to their Emotions. Everyone thought they were together but in reality they rarely even hugged. You know the reason for that though."
Of course Aiko has been told about their issue with Shadow Bond after Sunny was gone. She thought that Sunny didn't mind though. When in reality both him and Nephis never became a thing for exactly that reason.
"This is all a Giant mess. That even tops the Situation I had with my Boss a day ago. Do you Wanna know what happened?"
"Sure, I'm always interested in something that can make you smile like that."
Aiko giggled and let out a sigh.
"It's pretty ridiculous actually. You know my Boss is a Master right?"
Kai nodded, not saying anything since he liked to just listen to her.
"So you would expect someone that managed to Conquer the Second Nightmare to be moving with grace. Like a well seasoned warrior, but not that guy. Sometimes he just falls over or says random stuff Out of nowhere. Yesterday for example he just shattered A Glass he was Polishing, sometimes it feels like he's not really there, mentally i mean."
"Sounds Like he's a special kind of guy. How is he treating you? Good, I hope."
Aiko chuckled and said.
"OH don't worry, he might be clumsy and a little weird at times, but he's a real softy. Always smiling and joyful and to be Honest he's really and I mean really handsome. Not nearly as handsome as you are of course, but we have dozens of Female Customers clearly only visiting because of him. They just sit there With A Tea or Coffee and watch him for the entire day. A lot of them are Firekeepers actually and even Effie visits from time to time. Of course she has a husband, but one time she even said that she would "gobble him up" if not for the Fact that she's happily married, a joke he didn't get of course since the guy is a little dense when it comes to the Obvious. But you Wanna know what's interesting?"
Kai gave her a nod so Aiko would continue.
"He has an Aspect that allows him to manifest 2 extra Arms made out of Shadows and even a second Body when the wave of Customers becomes too much to handle for the Both of us. He's Literally made for the Job."
Kai suddenly looked a little dumbfounded, Aiko noticed of course and gave him a Kiss to calm him down.
"Relax, he's not Sunny. First of all he's a Master but that is not all. He has long White Hair and Red eyes, so pretty much the Opposite of what Sunny looks like."
That indeed calmed Kai down but it wouldn't hurt to Visit her at work Tomorrow.
"What's his Name?"
"Noctis, Why?"
Suddenly Kai's expression cracked completely.
"I…I will visit you at work Tomorrow. That name Belongs to a Man we have met in our Second Nightmare, there is no way that's a coincidence."
Aiko shrugged and said with a smile.
"Alright, but how am I supposed to focus on work with my hot shot Boyfriend sitting there? I might topple over when I see you staring at me."
Kai let out a melodious Humm and pulled her into a Passionate Kiss. Although he is tired from the Meeting with Sunny and the Day's journey He has more than enough strength left to take care of his Girlfriend.
'Perhaps my favorite form of distraction.'