A Sunless Dream

The earth shook as an ear curdling scream shook the ground beneath the two saints. Both were panting as sweat cascaded from their body as they prepared to face the great terror before them. One of them donned pure white clothes and possessed the symbol of the moon on her forehead and the other donned pure black clothes with horns protruding from hers.

It was Moonveil and Revel.

The great terror before them was a gigantic amalgamation of different animals. It had the head of a dog however it's seventeen arms resembled those of a human, eagle, and a bear as it used them to manipulate wind to a degree even Saint Tyris had been unable to.

In a split second, the sky was enveloped in shadow as the great terror suddenly came to a slow stop. It's head slowly disconnected from its body as it's lumbering form hit the ground with a force that sent a small shockwave ripping through the ground.

Revel was quite surprised at the sudden death of the great terror, anyone who could kill such a beast in one attack without getting noticed no less could be no weaker than a sovereign. She shot a look at Moonveil indicating she should remain on guard as they readied themselves for any oncoming threat.

From the dust, emerged a man of below average stature. His hair was short and slightly curly as his eyes were pitch black. He donned onyx armour as he slowly and casually made his way to Revel. In a split second, he was in front of her taking her hands in his own and jumping into the air with childlike enthusiasm.

"Hey Revel! I saw you were having trouble with that nuisance, so I decided to get rid of it" said the man who she quickly realised was Orion. Moonveil was not privy to such information as she swung her sword at the man before he could harm her sister only for her sword to be caught in one arm.

Orion moved away from Revel slightly before levelling a glare at Moonveil. "And who might you be?" He asked, bloodlust was dripping from his tone and his genuine annoyance at the interruption came to life for the first time since Revel had met him.

Revel moved between the two with her arms stretched out attempting to diffuse the situation "She's my sister, anyone would be scared if someone as strong as you appeared before them randomly" her explanation placated Orion as he nodded his head thoughtfully before relaxing slightly.

Before Revel knew what happened, Orion was before Moonveil with his hand extended "Hello! I've been told it's customary to introduce yourself to someone you've met for the first time! My name is Orion, what might your name be?" enthusiasm dripped from his tone as his eyes expressed his eager anticipation towards her response.

"Moonveil, how do you know my sister?" the question was curt as she tried to keep her tone mildly relaxed not wishing to set him off further than she already had. Orion scratched his chin and awkwardly answered "Initially, I was planning to fight her and copy her abilities. Which I did, but then I ended up having a nice conversation with her and I wanted to continue it!"

His statement ended with an exclamation which took Moonveil aback. This man...Orion was willingly showing his back to Revel and here he was before her displaying his enthusiasm and infatuation towards her sister openly without shame.

"I see, well I'll be standing over there if you want to have a private conversation" Moonveil pointed towards the distant corpse of the great terror before continuing "Revel, if you need me I'll be there in a second so don't be afraid to shout" she teased before disappearing in a burst of speed standing next to the great terrors corpse before attempting to look for it's soul shards.

Orion turned back to Revel and shot her a smile "You have nice siblings, what's it like? To have a family I mean" Revel raised her eyebrow slightly 'Is he an orphan?' she thought mildly before responding "Family are some of the most important things you can have in the world, no matter how much they wrong you, you'll still feel the need to protect them regardless. It's complicated unless you have one of your own. May I take a seat?"

Quickly, Orion conjured a set of shadow chairs for the two of them to sit on as well as an umbrella to shield them from the light emitted by the dream realm. He did so for Moonveil who was quite shocked at the sudden arrival of the chair and umbrella before tentatively taking a seat and returning to her silent attempts at eavesdropping.

"Sorry for that I got distracted because I was too eager to speak to you. I get what you mean about family, but I have another question" Orion paused and locked eyes with Revel, her brilliant brown eyes caught all his attention leaving him silent for a moment before continuing.

"Why are people so enraged when you threaten the lives of their loved ones? I understand that they have deep emotional connections with them, but doesn't it seem a little hypocritical to be enraged by that while also not expecting revenge when they take the lives of another's loved ones."

He paused, taking a second to gather his thoughts before continuing "Recently, I found the piece that was stopping me from becoming whole. He called me a mistake and actively denied my identity, just from fighting him I could tell he's killed thousands if not more. However, when I threatened the life of someone who he holds dear, Changing Star was her name, he became enraged. It's quite puzzling."

The latter parts of his statement made Revel go slightly wide eyed, Orion, the man who stood before her, was a direct enemy towards Changing Star and the rest of her cohort. 'Maybe negotiations won't be as hard as I thought' she thought to herself before focusing her mind to respond to Orion's question. It was quite a fair question, and it had struck her mind on a variety of occasions, so she hoped her answer would resonate with him.

"Humans are innately hypocritical, we steal then hate when we are stolen from, we kill yet hate when we are killed. Our emotions are not governed by the cold calculated rationality which rules the world of fighting, rather it allows us to fuel the rationality and give it further purpose beyond just killing. When you fought the person who I assume was friends with Changing Star, you weren't just fighting him as a nuisance which you should remove from your sight. You fought him because he committed a grave offence, he denied your identity."

Orion shook his head slowly as he continued to listen to her words with unparalleled attention, a small smile crept onto his face as he heard her speak with conviction and passion about her views. Unbeknownst to her, he placed a hand to his chest and felt it racing.

His heart had not raced once throughout his battle with the other shadow user nor in his fight with Changing star. Yet what had changed?

"I see, if humans are not rational creatures could that mean that what stopped me from being whole was not him but merely my lack of humanity? I'm unsure if I'll ever gain answers to that until I finally end him however, I have another question."

Revel was surprised to see Orion get up from his seat and slowly make his way to her. He grabbed her hands gently 'For a man this strong, his hands are extremely soft' she thought as she allowed him to take her hand. And to her surprise as well as the surprise of Moonveil who was attentively monitoring the situation, he placed her hand on his chest.

She could feel his heart racing, it's quick repetitions remained in a steady rhythm. As Revel looked up, she saw Orion's curious orbs burning into her own eyes as he asked "What could be the cause of this, I feel as though it is tied to an emotion, but I am unable to pinpoint exactly what it might be. I may have to expose myself to you much more to be able to discern it."

'Is he asking, no, telling me he's going to stick with me?' Revel thought to herself before Orion gently removed her hand from his chest and placed it back onto her lap. A small blush had crept onto her face as he continued to look at her. Suddenly, he placed a hand upon her forehead and asked "What's wrong? Why are you turning red? I didn't hurt you, did I?" his voice expressed genuine concern ripping Revel from her embarrassed stupor.

Gently removing his hand from her head, she held it in her own for a second before replying "I'm not sick you idiot, I was just a little shocked." Orion shook his head as he made a mental note of the event that had just taken place.

Although he was rarely shocked in battle, surprises did come however he had never found himself reacting in such a manner. And what made it even more confusing was, he could tell she was being earnest in her admission to him. Shrugging slightly, Orion replied "I'll be in your shadow temporarily so I can see the world through your point of view. From what I understand, you'll be in a war quite soon. Maybe if I am more exposed to emotions may I find the piece within me I'm missing."

Slowly disappearing into her shadow he looked at her before cracking a slight smile "Who knows, I may even become your ally."