"Guys! It's Sunny!"
"Thank you, man!"
"We will never forget what you did for us!"
Sunny stared at them, dumbfounded.
'Weird… this is so weird…'
Ever since he had co to his senses near the sleeping pod, mundane humans were treating him with the utmost respect. They even went so far as to use honorifics, calling him "sir" or "Awakened Sunless".
And now this… why was everyone so friendly and happy to see him? He had never experienced anything like this before.
Was this what it was like, to be an Awakened?
After dozens of young people ca closer to shake his hand or happily pat him on the shoulder, he awkwardly smiled.
"Uh… it's nice to see you too, guys."
The young woman who was currently facing him smiled in response. Then, however, her face turned dark.
"Have you heard anything about Lady Nephis or Sir Asher after coming back?"
He stiffened, then shook his head.
"No. Have… have you?"
She turned back to a scree, displaying the nas of the drears, tears appearing in her eyes.
"Nothing. None of us did. Out of everyone who made it to the Spire, only three are unaccounted for. They… we think they are still inside."
Sunny remained silent for a while, then asked:
"Who is the last?"
The young woman sighed.
"Sir Caster. No one had seen him near the Gateway. He must have gone to help them hold back the Terror, and… and…"
Her voice trembled.
"...soone said that he died. Oh, gods! What if Lady Nephis or Saint Zerei dies, too?"
Sunny lingered for a few seconds, a grim expression on his face, then squeezed her shoulder lightly and quietly walked away.
"Lady Nephis has woken up!"
The shout tore through the silence.
Heads turned toward a trembling Sleeper standing at the corridor's entrance, breathless and pale.
Sunny's eyes widened. "What…"
Before anyone could react, he was already in front of the young Drear, gripping his shoulders with both hands. His voice ca out uneven, raw.
"Where… where is she right now?"
The Sleeper blinked, startled by the intensity in Sunny's tone. "I—I don't know," he stamred. "She apparently rushed out of her pod right after waking up. Didn't even wait for the interview."
Sunny's heart skipped a beat.
The Sleeper hesitated, his gaze dropping to the floor. "But I heard people say she ran toward Sir Asher's pod…"
Sunny froze.
When he looked up again, the Sleeper was watching him, eyes glassy, a hint of fear in his voice. "Does that an… there's a chance the Saint is still… stuck? In that hellhole?"
Sunny bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, before it quickly clotted. Slowly, he let go of the Sleeper's shoulders.
"I—I'm not sure," he managed to say. Then his figure blurred, vanishing down the corridor.
His footsteps echoed against the tal walls, each one faster than the last. His pulse pounded in his ears, breath shallow and ragged.
Nephis was awake.
She was alive.
But that wasn't what made his chest tighten.
'That fool…'
Asher.
He had stayed behind.
'How?!'
Sunny had always thought Asher was similar to him. Both were from the outskirts, technically. Both were cynical in their own way. Both would not hesitate to sacrifice soone else to save their own skin. So... Why..? Why was that idiot still in there?
Did he want to die that bad?
Sunny's teeth ground together as a mory surfaced—Nephis's calm voice echoing in his head:
"People are usually either cruel or kind. But not you. You can be both, depending on the situation."
He hissed under his breath, eyes narrowing as he picked up his pace. The hallway blurred around him until the pod room ca into view—Asher's pod room.
A crowd had gathered there. Dozens of Drears stood silently before the sealed door, faces drawn and pale. Sunny shoved past them, ignoring the muttered protests, until he stood before it.
'Damnation…'
A tall, broad-shouldered Awakened stepped into his path, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you?"
Sunny t his gaze, chest still heaving. "Awakened Sunless," he said quickly. "Changing Star's cohort. And Asher's… f–friend."
The man raised a brow, glancing back at the crowd. None of them spoke.
Then, after a tense pause, he looked at Sunny again. His stern expression softened slightly.
"…Please, go ahead, Awakened Sunless."
He stepped aside.
Sunny nodded once and moved forward, his shadow stretching toward the door.
The door closed behind with a clank.
The first thing Sunny saw was the slender figure of Changing Star.
She stood there in silence, still wearing her pod clothes. The faint white light above caught the silver in her hair, making her look almost ghostlike. Beside her, Cassie stood trembling, her blindfold gone, revealing the pale blue of her eyes. Tears shimred faintly on her cheeks, though she didn't make a sound.
Nephis's expression was blank—hollow, even. She didn't move, didn't blink, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
Sunny stopped at the threshold, staring at her for a long ti, trying to get his emotions under control. He knew that seeing her like this, weak and helpless, would affect him. But he didn't know just how much it was going hurt him.
…He also had not anticipated how dark the thoughts entering his mind would be.
'...I can kill her right now. One strike of the Moonlight Shard, and I'll be free again.'
But no, he couldn't. Not because the glass would openly show the cri scene, although that would be a problem. But because, he... couldn't. He didn't want to harm his dear friend once more.
His eyes drifted toward Cassie, who still trembled, clutching the sides of her arms. He wanted to speak—to ask, to yell, to say anything—but the words refused to form. His hands clenched at his sides, trembling from everything he hadn't said, everything he wouldn't. Not now at least.
And then he looked down.
At Asher.
The boy lay motionless inside the pod, pale and still. His face looked peaceful—too peaceful. Sunny's heart twisted. Every mory of their argunts, their laughter, their reckless plans, tightened into a silent knot.
His face didn't change.
He only stared.
"He figured out the vision as well." Nephis finally spoke. Her face was still hollow. "He understood that either or Sunny had to stay behind."
She clenched her fist, "He also knew both of us well. He knew I would let him win. He knew Sunny would leave sohow. He also knew he couldn't convince both us to leave, letting him stay behind."
She took a slow step forward, her slippers echoing softly against the sterile floor as she approached Asher's pod.
"So he waited. Waited for us to finish. Waited for you to leave. Waited for the mont when I was too tired to fight anymore."
Her voice faltered, almost imperceptibly.
"Then… he pushed in."
The room was silent again, save for the quiet hum of the life support systems.
Nephis brushed a few strands of hair from her face. The movent was small, deliberate. Her eyes, however, remained distant—unreadable, but unbearably heavy.
"Why…" she said quietly. Her lip trembled once before she steadied it.
"Why, you idiot."
**
A young man walked through darkness.The world around him was empty — swallowed by shadow.
He stopped, closing his eyes.
And suddenly, the void breathed.
Shapes bled into existence—faint, ghostly outlines tracing mountains, dunes, and distant ridges. The world beca a sketch of itself, painted in faint contours of blue and ash.
He exhaled slowly, the sound of his breath swallowed by the silence.Each step sank into coarse, cold sand, the grains dragging against his boots like whispers.
"First…" his voice was low, "…the hollow mountains."
The darkness stretched before him.
And he kept walking.
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