A Sunless Dream

It wasn't daily that Nephis got a moment of reprieve from her duties as the daughter of Anvil, however hiding behind the injuries she received from Orion as an excuse allowed her to shirk her duties with unparalleled efficiency.

Donned in a memory that changed her appearance, Nephis decided to take a leisurely stroll around the dream realm. Hoping to interact more casually with those who she wished to rule one day. The mental scars left on her mind by Sunny had not closed, however their pain faded with time as her mind focused on other things.

After about thirty minutes, Nephis could no longer stand the bustling environment offered by the men in God Grave. She decided to make herself scarce, in one beat of her incandescent wings Nephis was airborne.

The winds blowing past her face offered her solace as she enjoyed the peace of flying through clouds. Cool breeze hit her face as she allowed a small smile to settle upon her face, however her moment of peace was cut short.

In a moment, on instinct alone Nephis dodged to the side. An invisible blade of air carved its way through the sky, parting the clouds themselves. Nephis could not feel the bloodlust usually carried by an attack intended to kill or even harm, which fuelled her curiosity even greater than before.

Just who had the strength to split the sky in one movement?

Nephis landed on the ground which formerly was not visible and found herself in an open field. The grass was lush and brimming with life as the grunts of effort rang against her ears like a midnight bell. Making her way towards the noise, she saw a pale figure standing a hundred feet ahead of her.

His body was small yet muscular, his muscles rippling under his skin like pieces of coiled springs ready to exert force at a moments notice. As he moved, sweat flew off his body, his combat art seemed more akin to a dance than an actual fighting style.

Nephis immediately recognised who it was.

A lump appeared in her throat without a moments notice; her steps became strained as she slowly made her way towards the figure. Thankfully, she had made sure to suppress her presence with a memory as she got closer to the figure who fell to his knees looking at the sky idly.

In a moment, the figure laid on his back, crossing his hands behind his head and remained still. Nephis could tell that the figure had fallen asleep from his calm breathes, but she could not fathom why he refused to put on a shirt or even any memory related armour for the matter.

Before she realised, Nephis was standing next to the sleeping form of Sunny. His chest rose and fell in steady calmed movements, Nephis resisted the urge to stretch out her hand and run it through his hair as she just remained there, staring at the man before her.

What would she say? She knew Sunny wasn't the type to allow himself to fall into deep states of sleep so any movement she did could cause him to arise from his slumber, she didn't want to disturb him however he was a vital piece she needed in her life right now.

"If you're an assassin, you're a very bad one" Sunny's calm voice echoed through her mind as Nephis eyes widened slightly. Sunny's eyes remained closed as his chest continued to rise and fall at the same pace as he did regularly, Nephis couldn't allow him to go on the offensive and so spoke before he could follow up.

"Is that how you greet girls you just met?" she accompanied a question with a slight smile as Sunny cracked an eye open to focus onto her. 'His eyes are as beautiful as always' Nephis mused to herself before Sunny slowly sat up.

"I don't have good experiences with women, pardon me for my rudeness." Nephis winced internally, knowing she was the primary cause of these negative experiences however she shoved her emotions to the side and slowly sat down next to him.

"It's fine if I sit right?" Sunny raised an eyebrow, as she asked the question, she was already sat down next to him. Letting out a light grin Sunny stared at Nephis intently for a few moments "Do I know you?" he asked curiously, Nephis shook her head slowly.

"I doubt that what have you been doing out here by yourself?" Sunny sighed before stretching out an arm, in a moment a blade of shadows had formed in his open palm. Nephis shifted slightly, fearing an attack from Sunny however to her relief he turned around and showed his back to her.

Taking in a deep breathe, Sunny swung his sword, a vacuum of air shot from the tip of his blade travelling upwards until it collided with the clouds and sliced them in two. A sigh of disappointment escaped Sunny's lips as he turned around and faced her.

"A bastard asked me to cut a continent without using essence, I can't do that here because I'll draw too much attention, so I've stuck to using clouds. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to sleep." His tone came off more venomous than Nephis knew he intended as he walked past her and began to lower himself to the ground.

Nephis weakly grabbed his arm before looking up at him, "You appear troubled, is there anything you would like to discuss?" Sunny wanted to say no; however, his flaw would never allow him such escapes. Blurting out a silent "Yes" Sunny looked away from her before sighing and sitting next to her.

"I don't go about bothering beautiful women with my own personal issues, there's nothing you can do about it anyway." Lying on his back, Sunny closed his eyes attempting to sleep however Nephis spoke before unconsciousness could claim him.

"Speaking about your problems allows you to think clearly, bottled up emotions are disasters waiting to happen. Trust me, I've experienced it more than enough to know." Sunny raised an eyebrow at the woman before eying her all over.

Nephis lightly blushed at the attention she was receiving before taking his hand in her own. His hand was soft yet could exert unimaginable power when the need arose, that fact brought her a strange sense of comfort as Sunny began to speak "There's no harm in speaking then I guess, especially if no harm could come from it."

"I have a hard time trusting people; I've been raised that way and that's what kept me alive. As I grew and encountered more people, people who I went to hell and back with, I allowed myself to become trusting of them, to let them in as though they were my family."

Cassie's image flashed through his mind as he gritted his teeth "In the forgotten shore, which I assume you've heard of. Cassie or Song of the fallen as you know her gave my biggest weakness to Changing star, forcing me to become her slave for as long as she lived."

Sunny took a breathe to calm himself, Nephis stared at him intently beckoning him to continue silently as he heeded her unspoken command. "Every day I stood over her pod, knowing she was in the dream realm fighting alone. A part of me wanted to kill her right there, and free myself. I chose her over my freedom, I don't want to admit it, but I loved he."

His voice quietened as he continued "Even after everything I still do." Sitting up, Sunny placed his hands on his knees as he continued speaking "Most of the other details you'd forget if I ever told you. But long story short, that witch, Changing Star offered me a relationship like a dog, almost making me forget I was her slave."

A low laugh escaped Sunny's lips as his voice became more fuelled with rage "And she took advantage of it, she played with my mind and abused my body all because she couldn't control her sick inclinations."

Nephis outstretched her arm before grabbing him gently by the head, she pulled his head onto her thighs as Sunny looked up at her in confusion. He couldn't sense even a sliver of essence from the woman before him, and she lacked the presence a saint did.

Unless someone expected a dormant to kill him, this woman was effectively harmless. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of brown complimenting her brunette hair and pale skin, all in all, she was beautiful.

Sunny stretched out his hand, his body was moving before his mind could. He pulled the stranger's head downwards lightly and captured her lips in his own, he expected her to pull back immediately however she didn't. Allowing him to share an intimate moment with her undisturbed.

After a while, the woman's face grew extremely red as she looked away from him. "You can sleep now" she stammered out, making sure not to make eye contact with the man who rested upon her thighs. Sunny allowed a small smile to settle upon his lips before his breathe slowed.

Slowly but surely, Sunny was embraced by dreamless sleep as Nephis internally panicked. What had she done? What just happened? Could this even last? All those thoughts flew through her head as she idly ran her hand through Sunny's hair.

The time to focus on the future would come, but it surely wasn't now.