'Neph?'
As the gates clicked open, Sunny found himself escorted into the compound by a slightly perturbed security guard.
***
Inside the vast hall of the facility, people went out of their way to avoid even glancing at the strange boy who had been brought inside. Sunny didn't need to guess why. It was glaringly obvious. Anyone who looked at him could see his emotions, and he knew that meant everyone could tell he was a mess.
His mind, of course, was focused on the absence of a certain Immortal Flame Legacy, and the potential ramifications.
As Sunny was distracted, he neglected to consider a few critical parts of his behavior. It was creepy enough that observers could see his emotions, but his behavior was truly unsettling. The second somebody approached him, it was like something else took over his body. His eyes would flicker up, and the cold calculation of murder behind them was immediately apparent.
He would scan entire bodies in an instant, his eyes boring through any hidden limps or injuries that people tried to conceal. It was disconcerting—watching someone so frail and weak calculating the most efficient ways to fight you... no, to kill you. But more than that, his gaze was intense, a chilling coldness that had no business belonging to a Sleeper. He looked at people the way a predator studies its prey.
Most unnervingly, he didn't even give full attention to those who greeted him. It was as if all of his coldness was merely a subconscious routine. His mannerisms were completely at odds with the emotional turmoil others could sense due to his flaw. The impressions he left from even a brief greeting led all who approached him to the same conclusion: He was of unstable mind, dangerously so.
They were closer to the truth than they realized.
***
Across the hall, the other Sleeper's gathered and talked. They shared tales of conquest over the horrors of their Nightmares, bragging about the spoils they claimed, and discussed their appraisals. Two figures, however, kept to themselves, excluded from the commotion— a blind girl and a scrawny boy who huddled together in a quiet, isolated corner of the room.
Sunny felt no need to make a fool of himself in the academy this time. Even had the possibility of enslavement lingered over his head, he was confident in his ability to navigate through conversations with his flaw. But that wasn't why he had slinked toward this corner. No, he had a more pressing purpose: to confirm the presence of a certain blind seer.
Unlike Neph, she was here.
Sunny's mind twisted into a storm of emotions upon seeing the blind girl. Cassie was somebody he had a very tumultuous relationship with. She was the reason Nephis enslaved him after all, and Sunny had never truly forgiven her for that. He once thought Cassie to be unwaveringly loyal to Nephis, content to be a lapdog. He knew now that this impression was incorrect, and hopeless naïve. Her plan to free him from his chains hadn't been born out of pure altruism—but it had undeniably placed an immense trust in his hands. With his regression, he had been given free reign. For Cassie to relinquish control of her future so completely, that was no small thing.
It spoke of a faith—one she had not shown to Nephis, as least not quite to this extent.
Sunny rubbed his temples.
'Is it even fair to judge her for what her future self did?' he wondered. 'I need to talk to her, but I'm not sure I can without this damn flaw acting up.'
He eyed Cassie from the side, but he began to realize something. Jet told him that she was 'seeing' his emotions, and from what he could tell this was quite literal. Others did not seem to react until they looked at him, even if they knew he was there by his footsteps. Did this mean Cassie would be unaware of his Flaw?
He decided to test the idea by silently inching closer to Cassie. As he drew near, he watched her carefully for any sign of awareness. Her posture remained unchanged.
By the time he was standing just a few feet from her, a quiet certainty bloomed inside him: He was right. She couldn't sense it.
Still, he hesitated. He chose not to speak to her just yet. There was too much he needed to figure out—too much to consider about what he should reveal, and how. This conversation could afford to wait at least a day.
***
Sunny tuned out while Awaked Rock inducted the new Sleepers into the Academy. He was perhaps the most informed person in the room regarding the Spell and Dream Realm, so the information was of little consequence. Instead, he turned his thoughts towards the future.
There were 3 things Sunny needed to do before entering the dream realm.
1. Find out what the hell happened to Nephis.
2. Befriend Cassie and Professor Julius.
3. Ideally, unlock his Aspect Legacy.
He had some other ideas as well. Namely, writing a report on some part of the Dream Realm's history that was sourced from his supposed 'First Nightmare'. With the contribution points gained, he could buy some form of Memory to take with him into the Forgotten Shore.
The maximum benefit possible would likely be access to a proper spatial storage memory. Sunny could think of quite a few useful items to bring in, but more importantly were the things he could smuggle out. Of course, there was a catch. The risk of drawing undue attention to himself was high. Sleepers, even Legacies, weren't supposed to possess as much knowledge about the Dream Realm as Sunny did. For an outskirt rat to show that level of insight would certainly put him on the radar of the Legacy Clans. Being strong-armed into one right after Awakening would be almost assured then once he emerged as a hero of the Forgotten Shore, even if all the survivors swore to secrecy.
'Not ideal.'
Another, even loftier goal entered his mind: attempting to awaken naturally. Ananke had shared the process with him, and Serpent was the perfect tool to expedite it. The idea was certainly promising—yet, Sunny hesitated.
'The Spell talks about seals being released as you raise your rank. That doesn't match what Ananke told me.' He frowned, his mind turning over the discrepancies. 'If you get infected by the Spell, there is a nonzero chance it locks your growth to force you into clearing Seeds of Nightmare. Regardless, doing such an act would undoubtedly cause unforeseen consequences.'
Beyond the inconclusive truth of the matter, Sunny didn't want to stray too far from the path that had been laid out for him. Blood Weave was waiting for him in the Forgotten Shore, along with other world-shaping treasures. Even remaining a Sleeper, surviving it would be easier this time around—there was no need to gamble on diverting from that course. Risking being thrown off course in some way because he'd deviated from Fate seemed foolhardy, if the nebulous force worked to his advantage for the time being.
'Also,' he thought, 'I don't think anyone else will kill that overgrown egg before it hatches.'
For now, it was time for Sunny to make his way back to his dormitory and gather his thoughts.