A dumbfounded expression painted itself across Sunny's features as he stared at Seishan incredulously. A god? Him? Of all the many things he had been labeled throughout his life, that was one he had never thought he'd be seen as. Not in the slightest.
"A god… what do you mean?" Sunny asked tentatively. Seishan sighed as though she was talking about the weather before walking past Sunny, pointing at the pile of bodies that Sunny had created. "Look! I've seen many people get killed before, but nothing like this. The way you do it, the way you operate in battle, the cold look in your eyes as you take a life. It's amazing! Never stop killing, Sunless!"
Cocking his head to the side, Sunny didn't offer a reply before walking past Seishan silently. Thoughts of the implications of her statement still snaked their way around his mind as Sunny continued forward. He needed to find someone; they were likely the only way he could escape.
After hours of searching, Sunny and Seishan finally stopped near an old man. He wore a hoodie covering his head and had long white locks that fell loosely at his side. His wrinkled features were curled into a slight smile as he stared openly into the air without focusing his eyes on anything.
Kneeling slightly, Sunny gently tapped the man on the head before pulling off his hoodie. "Jest, it's… Sunless." Upon hearing his name, the man's head snapped upward as he extended a hand with blinding speed for someone his age. In a blur, Sunless was out of his range as he sighed in frustration.
"Ah, so it is you, Sunless! Hold on, let me think of a joke." Turning to Seishan, who wore a confused expression on her face, Sunny merely shrugged without saying a word. Suddenly, the silence was pierced through by Jest's hoarse voice. "Why did Sunless bring a flashlight to the party?"
Since the question wasn't directed at him, Sunny didn't feel the need to answer. However, strangely, Seishan gained that feeling on Sunny's behalf as she cracked a slight smile in anticipation. "I don't know, old man, please enlighten us!" Jest laughed heartily for a few moments, amusing himself at the joke he had concocted.
"Because he always kills everyone in the dark!" Immediately, Seishan and Jest broke into hearty laughs as Sunny watched the two with a dumbfounded expression. "But I don't…" Sunny mumbled under his breath as he watched Seishan almost fall over in laughter.
Clearing his throat, Sunny caught Jest's attention once more as the last remnants of his laughter slowly came to a stop. "I need a way out of the underworld," Sunny said, his voice remaining even and sharp as he studied Jest's expression. Jest's face slowly hardened at Sunny's statement before he slowly began to stroke his beard.
"Well, there are ways. If you want to escape the underworld without having Valor's dogs chase you down, you're better off going to the northern quadrant to Song Eubin, or as you know her… Beast-master." Sunny's ears slightly perked up at the opportunity of such a good deal, but his skepticism remained firm as he waited for Jest to finish his sentence.
"But she'll always ask for payment. And just taking one look at you, I'm sure you know the type of work she'll ask you to do." Sunny's lips curled into an ugly snarl as his bloodlust flared. Seishan, who had been listening to the whole affair attentively, felt like she would fall to her knees in moments just from the sight of it.
'He's amazing, he's godlike!' she exclaimed to herself, her knees shuddering beneath her as Sunny slowly relaxed himself. Jest, on the other hand, appeared completely fine despite Sunny's oppressive presence, waiting patiently for Sunny to come to a decision.
"Can't I just kill her and leave?" he asked. Seishan's eyes lit up at the prospect, eagerly awaiting an answer as Jest sighed to himself. "Kids these days, always so prepared for a fight. Listen, Eubin is strong, extremely strong. I'm sure she's not nearly as strong as you, but are you sure you could kill her before Morgan catches wind of where you are?"
Balling his hand into a fist, Sunny was faced with the irrefutable fact that Jest was right. Sighing to himself, Sunny looked upward, staring at the marble ceilings that kept him trapped in the hellhole of despair that had taken years of life from him and warped his perception of reality.
'I'll get to see the stars again,' Sunny thought to himself before letting out a long sigh. "I'll do it, I'll go see Beast-master." Spinning on his heel, Sunny glanced at Seishan before beckoning her to follow suit. His steps were heavy and laced with anger, yet regardless, not a single sound came out no matter how much weight he placed on the floor.
"Master, what will happen to me if you escape here?" Seishan asked, her tone laced with a mixture of curiosity and concern as Sunny continued to walk forward without uttering a reply. Frankly, Seishan didn't want to leave. Sunny leaving the underworld would take everything from her.
Sunny was the spark of light in the mundane and monotonous life she had lived, only being slightly excited when she had been kidnapped, and yet, even that too grew boring. Yet, Sunny, Lost from Light, continued to entertain her as he dove into battle. She wouldn't let anyone rob her of her reason to live, not even Sunny.
Turning around, Sunny glanced at her as though she had asked something obvious before sighing. "Of course, I'll take you with me… even though the payment might be unpleasant." He spat out the word "payment" with a disgusted expression before turning around and continuing his steps, walking aimlessly forward to clear his head of his lingering rage.
But Seishan's curiosity remained undeterred as another, more pressing question invaded its way into her mind. She had never bothered asking it before as she didn't particularly care, but now that it appeared like her time in the underworld was coming to an end, she suddenly felt the urge to ask.
"You've probably saved loads of girls before, why did you choose to follow me?" Seishan asked. Sunny turned back and stared at her with a puzzled expression, placing a hand on his chin as though he appeared genuinely confused before responding.
"I don't know… what it's like… to feel alive. My mum told me to find someone who makes me feel alive… it looks like you were having the same problem as me. So, I helped you, there isn't much to it." With that, a comfortable silence settled between the two as Seishan watched Sunny's back, slowly and silently making its way toward the northern quadrant of the underworld.
'But you're trying to take away my reason to live. You're always so far away, like a lightless star that lights up my world. Everything about you, your brutality, your emotionless gaze, your fury. None of it needs to change, so why do you keep looking for more? You don't need more, I'm all you need and you're all I need. There doesn't need to be anything else.'
Seishan's thoughts remained firmly glued in her mind as she watched Sunny slow to a stop after about an hour of walking. Sunny had taken about six shortcuts to cut his way into the northern quadrant of the underworld, and finally, they were there.
Although the northern quadrant didn't mark the farthest point north in the underworld, instead serving as a point to mark the beginning of the gigantic northern territories, it still was quite the gigantic sight, spanning across Seishan's vision like a looming city.
Compared to the rest of the underground, the northern quadrant was filled with black, inky bricks that served to perfectly complement Sunny's darkened choice of clothing. Only small lights that lit up the streets of the northern quadrant served as faculties to enable vision. Truly, it was a place designed for a shadow.
Above it stood a small tube which was connected to the tip of the highest building. Beast-master's tower. It loomed over the rest of the city like a tyrant, a gigantic dimly lit clock sending ticks that echoed throughout the vast expanse, marking the passage of time. Ironically, it had been a long time since she had last seen a clock. Seishan didn't even know what date it was.
Turning to Sunny, Seishan gave him a slight smile before shuffling close to him. Leaning down to his ear, she saw Sunny repress a sudden jolt of fear as she whispered into his ear. "I'll be back soon; I'll see you at Beast-master's tower."
Sunny nodded, his happiness that Seishan would not be present to witness what Eubin made him do remaining invisible as he saw Seishan slowly disappear into the bustling streets of the northern quadrant.
Little did he know, Seishan was about to make a decision that would change their lives, throwing off the course of Sunny's fate entirely.