Dreams….Dreams are something that shouldn't be possible in the Dream Realm. If they happen it's always A bad omen. Nothing good could ever happen to a person who dares to Dream in this godforsaken Realm.
But what if those Dreams weren't really Dreams? What if they were….Memories?
Long forgotten Memories to be exact. Sunny was still unconscious and battered when his mind was able to let a little loose of its restrictions. After all he could hardly be punished for disobeying his Master's Command when he was not even the one that disobeyed.
While fast asleep the lost Memories Of his Past Life played in his head, but there was something wrong with them. Somehow he couldn't make out the people's faces he was looking at. They were all either blurry or simply…gone.
But one thing he could somehow witness. The voices of the Faceless People and that was more than a little shocking to him. They too sounded more like they were far away when they spoke or simply standing behind a wall of Glass.
It was a strange thing to witness, but he did so with keen interest while laying in his bed battered and Unconscious after barely surviving the Pain his Innate Ability punished him with.
Nephis was rushing up the Stairs, when she finally reached the second floor Kai came out of a Room. He had a depressed look on his face and his Armor had taken a few blows as it seems. The Dragon Scales were simply missing at some places. Like someone had repeatedly hit him while he was just trying to hold onto the Person.
He turned to Nephis after Noticing her and gave her a half hearted smile.
"Hi Neph, I know why you're here but…it's perhaps better to let me patch him up a little before you go inside. He looks…broken. I don't think you should see him like that."
Nephis didn't listen one bit to Kai and just walked up to him while giving him a stern look, which then made him realize that there was nothing he could say to make her stop. So instead he took a step back from the door and said calmly.
"Don't say I didn't warn you after. Only time I saw him in such a sorry state was after the Battle of the Black Skull."
Which was a serious statement considering that Sunny's entire left side looked like it had been shredded With a lawnmower back then.
She nodded Slowly and put a hand on the Door knob. Seconds later she stood in a Room that smelled Like blood. A man with Ravenblack hair and Pale skin laying on the bed covered by a Sheet from the Neck down. Luckily the Blood stayed inside of him, only slightly tainting The white sheets. The Mantle he had been wearing has long been dismissed after falling Unconscious. She walked up to him with slow steps.
'He…he….i almost didn't recognize him. How can something Like that even happen?'
Sunny was not just Unconscious because of the Pain. No, he had been trying to ease the Pain with everything he could. Which meant tearing his own head apart, if that's what it would take to make it stop. Not just the skin on his Forehead was missing, but everywhere on his Face and Neck were scratches deep enough to make a normal person bleed out from the wounds.
Never would she have thought that seeing his Face again after 3 years would go like this. The scene was gruesome and Appalling to say the least.
'By the dead gods… he's missing an eye.'
It seemed like Sunny had not just stopped by tearing at his face but one of his Eyelids sunken deeper into his Skull than it should have been able to. Indicating that there was an Eyeball missing underneath.
Nephis was too stunned to speak so she got to work silently. Not without Tears flowing down her face though. She was frustrated and sad. But before everything else she was ashamed. Ashamed by the Fact that she had not been there when it happened. Perhaps she could Have helped him. But once again, Sunny had been Suffering without her presence. Without her being able to help him with his Struggles.
"When…when will it stop? When will he be able to live the Life… he deserves?"
She said quietly between sobs and tears. Slowly his Flesh put itself back together. The eyelid slowly rose and looked identical to the other one again. But one thing didn't make sense to her. When tracing over the White sheet laying above his chest she noticed uneven crevices.
'That's not because of his Muscles, that's…'
Her eyes widened and her lips escaped one last short breath before she froze with a horrified look on her face. Because when she removed the white sheet from his chest her heart skipped several beats almost coming to a Halt.
On the Chest of his Original Body were 4 deep gruesome cuts. Never had she seen something like this. The wounds looked totally different from the ones on his Face. They were far deeper and wider and… older.
Like it happened years ago. But that didn't make any sense. Sunny is a Saint after all, and wounds delivered to a Saint normally healed in the span of a couple of days. Depending on the severity of the wound of course and how it came to existence. That wasn't the scariest part about it all though. The fact that he was still alive was. The cuts from whatever attacked him should have killed Sunny. His lungs and heart should have been torn to shreds, but somehow…he had Survived.
'Why has it not been healing so far?'
She traced her hands directly over the wound in an effort to close them, which actually worked after a couple of seconds. The Pain she had to endure in return was breathtaking, but to her it was all worth it.
"If that means that he will be without Pain in the end I will sacrifice my humanity as much as I need to."
She calmly spoke to herself, her heart beating a little faster. When the wounds finally closed 4 scars were left behind. Those she could not heal. Luckily the Wounds on his Face left no scars, only the faint traces of Blood were still covering his Face slowly drying and turning Brown while oxidizing.
'I still can't see his Face properly, it's better if I clean him up.'
She thought to herself while grabbing the Bowl with warm water and a cloth Kai had gotten from the Kitchen in advance. She put the drenched cloth to his Face when suddenly a mumble escaped his lips. She suddenly flinched back, expecting him to wake up. But instead it just seems like he was dreaming. Something that did not calm her down one bit of course.
She began to wipe down his Face and slowly made her way down his Neck. When she reached his Chest, where some of the Shallow Scarring that had appeared in those 3 years broke open while fighting the Pain, his hand shot up to grab her wrist.
Nephis froze again. Not knowing what to do. It didn't seem like he was awake. Instead he looked like having an intense dream. She could see his eyes moving below his lids. His mouth slowly opened and a single word escaped his lips.
"Ne…phis?"
She couldn't believe her Ears. Had he just… used her Name? Something he hasn't done so far since meeting him in the Nameless Temple?
'There is no mistake…he did!'
A smile crept up her lips but was slowly replaced by confusion and then slight panic when the grip around her wrist slowly tightened. Not to the point where it hurt but she couldn't move away, even if she wanted to. For that she would have to rip his hand away from hers, and that was nothing she could ever desire.
But it didn't stop there. She had to put the Bowl away in an effort not To make a mess when suddenly he pulled her onto the bed.
Nephis was a little startled, she was laying on top of him with only the thin sheet between their hips.
'Is he wearing underwear? I hope so…or do I?'
Her face flushed red as the thoughts of her dreams with Sunny began playing in her head.
She could do nothing with his Iron grip around her back and waist as she was tightly pressed against him and she didn't want to either. Her head on his Chest while her right hand ran down his Stomach to trace over his well defined Abs once again. With a bright smile on her lips she thought.
'Your mind might have forgotten me but your heart didn't. I can feel it, his Longing is still there and burning with immeasurable intensity.'
When she looked further down she could see the backed up Sheet barely covering his Hips.
She looked up to him to check if he was awake and asked calmly.
"Are you awake, Sunny?"
But there was no Answer. Slowly with a smile she tugged away the Sheet to get a glimpse at what has been on her mind for longer than she can remember.
'Now that I have seen his face there is one more thing left on my list.'
But to her disappointment, he is indeed Wearing Underwear. Of course It would be easy to tug those away too but…
'I might be desperate but not so much that I would undress a Unconscious man. I just hope that after he wakes up he's not going back to treating me like a total stranger again.'
She pulled the Sheet over the two of them and wrapped her arms around his body, slowly she could feel her Consciousness fading away when suddenly the Door swung wide open.
"Hi Princess I was just…"
Nephis looked at Effie with wide eyes and face flushed deep red. Just a second ago she was about to fall asleep in the Arms of the Man she deeply desired but now her heart was racing for a totally different reason. Effie's face showed the same expression she had when her endless bombardment of Teasing was about to happen.
'A storm is coming and I have no way to hide.'
She thought to herself before Effie finally opened her mouth.
"OH I see how it is…you strike while he can't resist, huh? Well in my opinion Consent is really Important but I guess you see that a little differently."
Nephis Shook her head in bewilderment while trying to defend herself with hasty uttered words.
"No no no ....he…he was the one who pulled me into bed….I just…I just didn't resist."
Effie rolled Her eyes and chuckled before stepping outside again.
"Sure, whatever you say princess. I'm sure he would not have anything against it if he finds a Beautiful princess like you in his arms even if he doesn't remember you. Have fun, but remember that his sister is downstairs so keep it quiet as much as you can."
Before Nephis could say anything the Door slammed shut. Once again she was alone with him still laying inside his bed. She laid back down onto his chest and studied His facial Features for a bit before after some time, closing her eyes again.
Sunny Meanwhile was still wandering through his Broken Memories with high Interest to the Things happening around him. There was no order or system behind the things he could witness. Sometimes a Memory played on the Chained Islands, on the Forgotten shore or even on a seemingly endless river of time. His 3rd Nightmare, which he had forgotten almost completely.
There was darkness between the Scenes of Memories that played All around him But somewhere in the Distance he spotted something.
'Is that… Light? No…that's…that's a Flame.'
Because it has been the first new thing he has seen for hours, he didn't hesitate to sprint into the direction of the Flame. When he reached it his eyes shot wide open and his heart skipped a beat.
'That's…that's… who is that? No wait, it's Changing Star but what is she doing here? Those flames…ahhhh, they feel so…so warm.'
He had expected To get burned when the Flames lashed out at him enveloping his entire body, but instead he suddenly felt at ease. His mind which was drowning in Chaos and shattered to pieces slowly repaired itself. Suddenly he remembered what he had been feeling before he lost consciousness.
Not the Pain of his Disobedience or the desperate attempt to make it stop though, but the thought that has been assaulting his Mind for the past few Days. He…he felt a connection to this Beautiful young woman. Something that went deeper than Friendship, something… precious. Something that has been lost to him for years now, finally seemed to be back.
'She…she is what was missing from my life? But how? I thought she would change it for the worst. How can she be the thing that I have been looking for so desperately?'
He didn't know, but he understood it anyway. There was no mistake, he had found what would make him whole again. A person that was always supposed to stand by his side.
He had found the Flame of his Life, once more.
Only problem is that he can't remember ever Meeting her before. How could she be someone so precious to him if they never met before? Only that they did, he knew it now. He knew now that they have been telling the Truth from the moment they stepped foot in his Citadel.
'They…they didn't lie. I'm really the lost member of the Changing Star Cohort but… do I want to go back to this life?'
That question, he couldn't answer. On one side he was overjoyed with the Fact that he had finally found his precious Flame. On the other side he knew that if he was to go back to this life he once had his Memories of all the Pain would come with it.
He couldn't have both and the decision was hard. But before he could make it the flames around him burned stronger and shot upward pulling him with them. A moment later his eyes opened and his Nose began to tickle.
He had to put in a lot of effort not To sneeze and actually managed to hold it in. A moment later his usual pale face was not so pale anymore when he realized why his Nose had been tickling.
Beautiful Silver hair flowed down his Upper body infront of him with a smell he could lose himself into.
He tried to free his arms but they were tightly wrapped around her. If he wanted to move he would have to wake her up, but somehow he had no interest in that. Instead he ordered one of his Shadows to look at them.
He wasn't Entirely sure who the Beautiful woman in his arms was but he had a solid idea. He just needed confirmation. Which he got when a moment later he could see her Face perfectly at ease with even a Hint of a Smile on her lips.
'Changing Star Is fast asleep in my Arms while I wear nothing but Shorts? That's…not how I expected to wake up. No less important, I'm… perfectly fine. Even the wound from the Vile Thieving Bird is just a Scar now. She must have healed me.'
Of course he had nothing against that. Neither the fact that she healed him or that she is sleeping in his Arms. Instead of doing something stupid like waking her up or shadow stepping away he did the only right thing and followed his heart.
Closing his eyes again with a big smile on his lips he thought.
'Seems like I have the Answer to my Question.'