Negotiations with Morgan had been going slow and steady. Nephis slow steps continued to make their way around the academy pods as she tried her hardest not to glance at Sunny, making sure not to reveal even a moment of weakness to the princess of Valor.
Nephis was currently mentally preparing herself to reveal her status as a wielder of a divine aspect, in an attempt to end all attempts of Valor trying to assimilate the cohort into their ranks. Turning to her left, she locked eyes with Morgan, who was calculating her every move with calculated ease.
Morgan moved to speak, preparing herself to ask another pointless question before the overhanging true nature of the matter brought itself down with crushing weight. However, before her lips could part indicating the beginning of her sentence, the room was clouded in darkness.
It wasn't the sweet cold embrace of nothingness that true darkness provided, rather it was the ever-present absence of light that formed the basis of Sunless abilities. Flickers of light passed through the air as Morgan summoned a memory, she held a longsword in her hand with a steady grip as Nephis outstretched her hand to offer light to the room.
A loud slam reverberated through the room as the darkness receded, the gigantic shadow was moving in one uniform direction as it coagulated and slowly made its way towards the naked form of a man who was currently lying face up on the floor unconscious.
Nephis darted across the room, her eyes widened with realisation as she quickly summoned a memory to hide Sunny's nakedness. 'He's back...he made it!' Nephis exclaimed to herself silently, pulling Sunny's head towards her and wrapping him in her warm embrace.
Morgan stared at the scene passively, 'So this is the awakened that her cohort has been bringing flowers to' Morgan thought with a calculated smile. Nephis lifted his body off the floor, with total ease as she turned around towards the swarm of academy workers who had crowded the area.
"Stop standing there, get him something to wear for spells sake!" Nephis exclaimed, his former clothes had been torn off from the burst of energy from awakening. Although begrudgingly, Nephis forced herself to look at his runes as her eyes widened in surprise.
'He's a master now.' Was the sole thought that dominated her mind as she idly reached outwards to receive clothing from the swarm of employees. Sending a glare their way, indicating they should avert their eyes, Nephis tentatively dressed Sunny's unconscious form fighting a blush from her cheeks.
"I'll be fine with postponing this conversation, you look like you have more to attend to." Morgan commented idly, she spun on her heel and made her way out the academy without even bothering to spare another glance at Nephis nor wait for her response.
In a matter of minutes, the rest of the cohort had been present. Nephis had taken Sunny's unconscious form to her house, the harrowing memories that came with the place stood at the edges of her consciousness as Sunny's peaceful form remained motionless on her bed.
His face was pristine and pale, all the imperfections that came with his life on the outskirts had quickly been stripped away as though they were never present. His hair had grown long, dangling loosely across his face giving him a roguish appearance that Nephis couldn't help but be enthralled by.
But what had caught her attention the most, was the onyx serpent tattoo that coiled itself around his body. It's scales shimmered and shifted as Sunny's form was moved, giving it the appearance of a creature that had a good possibility of being alive.
Flashing a glance at Cassie, she saw the expression of horror that was painted across her face upon hearing Sunny had awoken. She knew what would come from his awakening, and the bonds that had been built between the two had been torn away without even a possibility of reformation.
However here she stood, prepared to face the onslaught of fury that she knew Sunny promised for her. Whether it was guilt or blind courage, Nephis didn't know. Kai and Effie's hopeful expression were not lost to her, Effie's eyes occasionally flickering to Nephis to study her reaction.
"Say, princess. Now that Sunny's back home, does this mean you two will finally tie the knot?" Effie's teasing voice tore her from her analysis as a pang of pain tore through her heart. She had not disclosed the details of Sunny's extended stay in the forgotten shore, and she didn't plan to, however the idea of a future with Sunny only made her mind wander.
"I...do not think either of us would enjoy that." Nephis replied, Kai's lip twitched, almost instinctively getting ready to point out that a part of her statement was an absolute lie however he mustered up his self restraint and kept silent.
After a few moments of tense silence, Sunny's eyes shot open. Slowly raising himself up to analyse his environment, he saw four figures who seemed so familiar yet so foreign. Sunny's hand shot from his side with blinding speed, he grabbed Nephis by the collar and pulled her towards him, so their faces were only inches apart.
Sunny's breath beat against her skin as his eyes scanned across her face. Soon enough, his lips parted. His voice was tentative yet laced with hope. "Are you...human?" he asked, Nephis had an urge to cock her head to the side at the question however she simply nodded.
Releasing his grip from her collar, a wide smile permeated across Sunny's figure as he grasped at his body. His hands traced his face as his eyes shot around the room "You're human! I'm not dreaming, I'm not in another one of his nightmares!"
His breathes became frantic as his head continued to snap across the room, although his eyes passed over the members of the cohort, familiarity seemed foreign to him as his mood did not shift further upon acknowledging their presence.
"It's coming back to me now, I'm...Sunny. And you're Nephis, you're Effie, you're Kai and you're Cassie!" Sunny's finger slowly moved across the room as a wide smile cracked across his face, he pulled Effie and Kai into deep hugs as they were the closest to him, mumbles of how much he missed them did not escape Nephis senses.
His hands moved to embrace Nephis and Cassie however they stopped in their tracks, the expression of joy on his face quickly died as his memories of the two quickly flashed through his mind. In a blur, his hand was planted on Cassie's neck as the force of his movement slammed her into the wall.
Cracks emanated throughout the house; it was not intended to survive the force of awakened. Effie and Kai moved to pry Sunny away from Cassie however Nephis was faster, her hand gripped Sunny's as his bloodlust flared across the room.
A manic smile appeared across his face once more as he watched Cassie attempt to defy his grip "Cassie, tell me Nephis was lying." His voice was a whisper, Effie almost instinctively knew that this was not a matter she should interfere in and placed a hand on Kai's shoulder.
His eyes shot up at her with concern riddled across her face as she shook her head slowly. Kai's mouth opened to retort however the look in Nephis eyes shut down all attempts at refusal as he followed Effie and quickly made their way out of Nephis home.
"Sunny, could you relax your grip. You're hurting her." Nephis asked, her voice emanating with such authority one could consider her question a command. However, her language was not worder that way for a reason.
Shooting a glare at Nephis, Sunny's grip relaxed slightly as he pulled his hand backwards. He needed answers and killing her pre-emptively would only leave his heart filled to the brim with more regrets and anguish than he could ever hope to handle.
He wasn't even sure he could kill Cassie.
"Tell me she was lying! You wouldn't do something like that to me, right? We fought together, I saved your life from the wretched tree remember!? Tell me she was mistaken!"
Sunny's low tone slowly turned into pleading wails as Cassie stared at him with a broken expression. Her lip trembled and her eyes watered as she slowly shook her head, and that marked the second time Sunny's world had been broken.
In all honesty, he knew that Nephis wouldn't lie to him, he knew that Cassie had likely given his true name to Nephis. How else would Nephis know? However, a small part of him would constantly flicker back to Cassie's bright smiles whenever he told her a story, her pleasant attitude that grounded him, reminding him of his sister who he had long been estranged from.
He wanted to believe it was a lie.
"Sunny, I'm sorry. I...thought you'd kill her; I thought you would leave her alone to die!" Cassie pleaded; she knew her voice would fall on deaf ears however she spoke anyway. Sunny wanted to cry, he wanted to attack Cassie now and take her life, emotions flared through his mind as his mouth split open.
He laughed.