Chapter 169 Back To The Future
Three months later, Sunny was back at the castle.
Well, to be precise, he had returned here once before, to buy a few items that were hard to co by in the ruins. However, back then, Nephis and her cohort had been away on a hunt.
No such luck today. The mont he had been dreading for so long was finally here.
Hearing Changing Stat's voice, Sunny slowly turned around, glanced at her, and forced out a smile:
"Hey, Neph. Long ti no see."
He tried to sound casual, but a slight tremble betrayed the storm of emotions raging in his heart.
Why did she have to be here?!
The turmoil of their sudden eting was exasperated by the fact of how different they looked. The past months only made Nephis appear more radiant and splendid. Her white armor was pristine and graceful, her silver hair clean and combed. Sunny, on the other hand, looked like a pile of dirt that had sohow co to life. Both he and the Puppeteer's Shroud had seen better days.
He didn't want to see her, but even more than that, he didn't want her to see him in this sorry state. What if Neph gets the ridiculous idea that he was sohow miserable after falling out with her?
Nonsense! He was doing better than ever. He lived in a palace, ate delicious food every day, and had even beco incredibly wealthy. If anyone should be miserable, it would be her…
"You do realize that you said that out loud, do you?"
Sunny blinked, rembered where he was, and stared at Changing Star in shock:
"Huh… what?"
She smiled with a corner of her mouth.
"You just zoned out and mumbled "why did she have to be here" under your breath. That was not very polite."
Sunny hid his embarrassnt behind a grin and said.
"Yeah, well… I ant it."
Neph sighed.
"I'm glad to see you too, Sunny. It's good that you're alive."
Trying to conceal his discomfort, he shrugged.
"What, you didn't expect
to survive without you?"
She looked at him for a while and slightly shook her head.
"No. On the contrary, I knew that you would be fine."
Then, she paused for a mont and added in a flat tone:
"After all, a cockroach like you is not easy to kill."
Sunny scoffed.
"Now who's being impolite?"
Nephis stared at him in confusion for a couple of monts, then chuckled.
"Oh, sorry. I ant it as a complint…"
***
He was glad to see Neph, too. As much as Sunny wanted to deny it, he had desperately missed her calm presence. Sowhere along the way, without even noticing, he had grown reliant on having her by his side.
But eting her was also a nightmare.
After all, nothing had really changed after their bitter quarrel. Even though the intensity of it all diminished, the future that Cassie had foretold was still inevitable.
Now that the initial shock of running into Changing Star disappeared, Sunny took a closer look at her.
Nephis looked… stronger. He didn't know how much soul essence she had been able to absorb while he was gone, but it seed like it was a lot. Neph was always confident and arresting, but now, her presence grew to a completely new level.
But then again, he was not the sa weak fool either. The Dark City had made him into a fearso creature as well. The months he had spent hunting monsters in the absolute darkness of the cursed ruins turned him stronger, smarter, and much more deadly.
…If a little bit insane.
Sunny doubted that any human on the Forgotten Shore had killed as many powerful Nightmare Creatures as he had in the sa amount of ti. At least not in single combat.
'Don't go on a tangent and forget where you are again!'
With a flinch, Sunny realized that he had been silent for a long ti. An awkward silence hung between them, threatening to make him look bad.
'Uh. I need to say sothing. Like… how have you been? No, that's a stupid question! How about…'
However, before he could speak, Nephis asked:
"So what brings you to the Bright Castle? Are you… are you back?"
Startled, he scratched the back of his head and scrambled to find an answer:
"Oh, you know. Just… doing so shopping."
She blinked.
"Shopping?"
"Wait, did that sound weird?"
Sunny's eyes widened.
"Wait, did I say that out loud again?!"
He slapped his mouth shut and looked at Changing Star in horror.
'Goddamit! Who knew that a habit of talking to myself would be so detrintal to keeping my dignity intact?!'
On the ground next to him, the shadow was having a swell ti basking in his anguish. It was shaking its head and dying laughing.
Several seconds later, Sunny was finally able to speak again:
"Uh, yeah. Shopping. I have so soul shards to spare, so I wanted to buy a mory. Or few."
Nephis looked at him for a while, then said:
"I see."
Then, she turned away and asked, her voice calm and even, as always:
"Do you want to go sowhere and talk?"
Sunny's heart skipped a bit. He gritted his teeth.
"Sorry. No can do. I'm… uh… waiting for soone."
Changing Star lingered for a few monts, then asked:
"You're hiding in that alley because you're… waiting for soone? Who are you waiting for, Sunny?"
He waved a hand.
"Oh, you know. A friend. Well… more like an associate, really. An acquaintance?"
Neph remained silent for a few monts, then said in an even tone:
"You can just say no. No need to invent so…"
But right at that mont, an enchanting voice ca from the entrance of the alley:
"Sunny? Hey, are you here?"
Turning around, Sunny saw a beautiful young man with gorgeous auburn hair and srizing green eyes enter the alley. He was wearing an armor made out of burnished brown leather and blue silk clothes beneath, all of which fit him perfectly. On his face, there was a bright smile.
It was Kai… Night… whatever his na was!
Sunny exhaled with relief.
"What do you an, "invent"?! See, he's right…"
However, the words died on his lips. Because, when he turned to Changing Star, he saw sothing that he had never seen before.
Looking at the young man whom he had set free from the bottomless dark well, Nephis took a step back. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide and glassy.
She seed to be consud by absolute, utter horror…
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