Intertwined Fates

"Are you the Sunny I know?" Nephis averted her gaze away from Sunny, her face a bit flushed. What if she was just spewing nonsense?

"N-Neph!?" Sunny responded incredulously.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, Nephis wasn't sure on what to say. Was he really the Sunny she knew? Could he have come back to the past like she had? There were so many questions, with very few answers.

Something was different about this Sunny, he had a presence so vast despite his frail frame. No, Nephis dared not to harbor any hope, it seemed all too impossible. But he had called her Neph, so just maybe..?

But before she could answer, a stubborn tear she had been holding broke free of her will and slipped down her cheek. 

"It really is you isn't it?" Nephis took a step towards Sunny.

"Yeah it's me! How are you even here? No, never mind that's not important right now. Are you okay?"

Sunny closed the distance between them and came to a stop, his face only a few inches away from hers. Nephis could see how bewildered he was, and she imagined her expression was quite similar to his.

Half-heartedly composing herself, Nephis spoke softly:

"I'm okay, are you?"

Sunny gave a faint smile, and just as he was about to answer, the end of the metal bridge hit the special grooves in the ground and stopped moving after a set of loud clicks. Motioning to the bridge, Sunny began to walk towards the Academy.

"We... We can continue this all later." Sunny said reluctantly as he crossed the bridge.

Letting out a sigh, Nephis followed Sunny. He was right, there was too much to say in the short time they would have in privacy out here.

But Nephis wanted to talk about it now. There was so much to work through. All of her memories came flooding back to her, including the previously forgotten memories of Sunny.

The unexplainable depth to the longing Sunny felt towards her that she had once teased him over finally made sense. The subtle feeling of trust and safety she had felt around Sunny in Bastion, had been there long before Bastion. She had just forgotten.

But why? What had happened to him? 

Without much time to process it all, they had entered the all to familiar Sleeper compound where they would be staying until the Solstice. They arrived in the large hall where give or take one hundred sleepers were waiting for the induction ceremony.

Nephis could almost physically feel the nervousness some of these sleepers were exuding, as well as the excitement. 

Cutting her way through the crowds and for the most part ignoring people who tried to chat with her, Nephis made her way to the edge of the room. There was simply too much to mull over right now to be involving herself with these curious teenagers.

Organizing her thoughts, Nephis worked her way back mentally. All she had remembered was being in Godgrave one moment, and the next on her way to the Academy. Though, when thinking about Godgrave everything became disoriented.

She had already checked to see if [Shadow Bond] was active between her and Sunny, but it was nowhere to be seen in her runes. That was both a relief, and a little uncomfortable. She had grown used to seeing his Runes over the years.

After about thirty minutes had passed, a giant of a man entered the stage. His gaze swept over the Sleepers, sparing no one. They briefly held eye contact, but he moved on to the next Sleeper without much delay. After a moment, his deep voice reverberated in the hall.

"I am Awakened Rock. Sleepers, welcome to the Academy."

Any small chatter that lingered after his appearance quieted down, everyone waiting tensely for his next words. Not Nephis though, she was much to occupied with her own head to care for the trivial speech being given.

"In less than a month, you will be summoned to the Dream Realm. Some of you might think that you are well prepared. You're wrong. The Spell is merciless and cunning. The moment Awakened begin to think too much of themselves, they die. I've seen countless Sleepers like you lose their lives. I've also seen experienced Masters lose theirs. Even Saints are not assured to survive."

He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.

"In the following four weeks, we will do everything in our power to increase your chances of survival. You will receive training from the best instructors in the world. However, don't be misled by their fame: in the end, whether you return from the Dream Realm alive depends only on one person — you. The responsibility to survive is yours, and yours alone."

Nephis looked around the hall, spotting a few Sleepers with enough confidence — or maybe it was ignorance, Nephis couldn't discern the two — to not show any fear. Her gaze landed on Sunny, who was standing across the hall next to the familiar sight of Cassie. It seemed that he had already made his way over to talk to her. 

"You are not children anymore. It's a shame, because you ought to be. But the Spell has decided otherwise. You have been to the First Nightmare, so you already know what it's like. Your parents, your teachers and your friends can't help you anymore…"

'Nothing new there.' Nephis froze for a moment, and frowned slightly. It was unlike her to give any thought to such a speech.

Awakened Rock paused for another moment, letting the harsh reality of his words worm their way into the young Sleeper's minds. Then, with a short nod, he continued:

"Now we will talk about the difference between Nightmares and the Dream Realm…"

"Most people are aware of what Nightmares are — because they have an impact on the real world and their lives. All of you have been warned before entering the First Nightmare that, should you perish there, a Nightmare Creature would be allowed to cross the threshold and enter reality."

Some of the Sleepers shuffled slightly, everyone was aware of the dangers that the First Nightmare presented.

"First Nightmares are unique, because each of them is individual. That's why only a single Creature can appear. However, starting from the Second Nightmare, things become much more dangerous. These Nightmares are not tied to an infected person. Instead, they are born in the Dream Realm. While the Seed of the Nightmare is growing, any number of Awakened can attempt to conquer it."

Drowning out the lecture, Nephis resumed digesting the recent events. She desperately wanted to make her way to Sunny and drag him out of the damned hall, so she could get her answers. But she restrained herself. Now was not the time to make a show. 

'Just what did he go and do now to get us here, that little trouble maker.' Nephis glanced at Sunny again and a barely perceptible smile danced on her lips. 

To her surprise, Sunny met her gaze and winked. Neph blushed a little, she had missed that smile of his even if he wasn't like that of infamous Eye Candy Sunny she had grown so used to. Deciding to not back down, she returned the wink. Flustered, Sunny averted his gaze. How cute of him. 

Awakened Rock continued his lecture about the dream realm and the threats it presented, and eventually concluded it by dismissing everyone for a late supper. As the crowd filed out of the massive hall, Nephis waited until only a few Sleepers remained. As she wandered over to Sunny and Cassie, Sunny caught sight of her and grinned.

"Hello Lady Nephis, this is Cassie. We were just talking about how serious that Awakened was being." 

Neph picked up on the hint to put on a formal act and responded curtly.

"Hello Cassie."

Cassie paused, her head moved from roughly where Sunny was to the new voice, seemingly confused.

"Th-The Lady Nephis?" 

"The one and only!" Sunny grinned again, and Nephis shook her head. 

'Would it hurt him to be a little less... Eccentric in this situation?' 

"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Nephis." Cassie tried to take a bow, but stumbled before Sunny caught her. 

"Ah, sorry I'm still getting used to my Flaw..." 

Nephis frowned, she had forgotten that the Cassie in front of her was not the confident Saint she knew, but rather a fragile girl who's whole world was turned upside down by her Flaw.

"It's okay Cassie, that's a very harsh Flaw so I'm sure you got a very useful Aspect. You don't have to speak formally with me." Nephis glanced at Sunny, and continued to chat with Cassie.

Nephis and Sunny spent about an hour chatting with Cassie, taking their time with their old friend in the cafeteria. Sunny came up with a cover story for how Nephis and him knew each other already, something along the lines of 'Lady Nephis helped me when I was in a pinch.', this wasn't necessarily wrong either. Nephis had helped him on many occasions, even as far back as teaching him to use the sword.

After a while though, they all parted ways and headed back to their dorms. The rooms were just as they had been in her past, still containing a soft bed, a small table, dresser, and its own bathroom. The pretend window was imitating a snowy park, giving the room an almost serene feel to it. 

When was the last time she had felt so at ease? There was no war on her doorstep, no political plotting to be devised, and no need to act like a trusted princess of Anvil. 

"You can come out now, Sunny." Nephis sat on the edge of her bed, and patted next to her.

Sunny appeared out of the shadows and sheepishly sat next to her. Nephis had been anticipating this moment ever since she had confirmed that Sunny had indeed been the one she knew, but she lacked any idea of what to say.

Should I ask him if he's really okay? Does he know what happened? Nephis was still confused about how she had originally forgotten him after the Third Nightmare. Did he have an explanation? 

But in the end, Sunny broke the silence.

"Hey Neph. Miss me?" Sunny grinned and leaned back on the bed. 

"Yeah, I did. Although, there's something off about you... Are you smaller than normal?" 

"Hey! That's no fair I was just a street rat a few days ago!" Sunny pouted dramatically, and Nephis smiled.

With all that had been happening in the future, there had been so little time for the two of them to be together, aside from combat and their little escapade in Bastion. Now that she remembered all those lost years, Nephis felt that it was long overdue for them to spend some... Quality time. 

Sunny's playful smile faded, and his face grew a bit somber. He sat up properly and glanced at Nephis.

"Do you remember me? Like, the me before the whole 'Lord of Shadows' persona?" 

Nephis paused, and all the questions that had been flying through her mind ceased. She noticed a subtle spark of vulnerability fill Sunny's eyes.

"Yes. But I don't understand why we all had forgotten you. What happened to you?"

This time it was Sunny's turn to pause. That fragile look of vulnerability turned a bit cold, and he sighed.

"It's... Well it's a long story. Try not to be too mad at me okay?" 

Nephis frowned slightly. So it was his doing then.

"We'll see about that."

Sunny let out a nervous laugh, before continuing:

"It all started in the Third Nightmare. For a while, everything went as it should've for a Trial, but things started to not add up. First was the Memory I came into the Tomb with. That was what caught my attention, and soon I noticed Cassie's strange behavior. Paired with the fact that we had no information about Torment, I suspected Cassie knew something that we did not."

Sunny looked at the ceiling for a moment before continuing, a complicated expression appeared on his face.

"In the end, I was right. Cassie, or rather Torment had orchestrated the events that we had gone through with the Mad Prince. She tried to slip away from the Chain Breaker while everyone was out scouting at Verge, and I followed her. But even that was planned, and it was when I caught her she truly explained everything."

Letting out a sigh, Sunny turned to face Nephis.

"Back when we had first escaped the Forgotten Shore, I had kind of blown up on Cassie for betraying me, even though I understood why. Cassie told me that ever since then, she meticulously orchestrated a way to apologize to me while also accomplishing her goal: To create a weapon capable of cutting Fate." 

Nephis stayed quiet, and let Sunny continue. He worked his way through Cassie's plans, as well as the opportunity given to him by her. Nephis really had to process that part, Cassie had done the unthinkable really. Cutting Fate? That was almost as insane of a goal, if not more than her own. 

Sunny briefly explained his exploration of the Estuary, as well as the somber reality that Sunny had tried hundreds if not thousands of times to break his Fate there. However, it was not the defeat of the Mad Prince that stuck out to Nephis, nor the coffin of the Daemon.

It was that future Sunny had been present there. While it made sense that their original bodies were what they took over in the Trial, it left a lot of unexplained theories of how they got there as well as why.

"Did you end up getting what you wanted? Nephis met Sunny's weary gaze, having spent what felt like close to an hour going over everything.

"Yes, and no. It was liberating to finally break those chains, and as silly as it might seem I could finally be truly with you. But being forgotten was far from what I wanted, and as a result I forgot the world. I traveled far into the Dream Realm, and completed a few things I thought necessary."

Sunny's gaze softened, and for a moment it seemed like he was on the verge of breaking down. Moving closer, Nephis laced her arms around him and held Sunny tightly, pulling him into her chest. Oh how she had missed his warmth.

"It's okay now, I'm here with you. We'll work this all out, this time together."

Nephis softly kissed the top of Sunny's head, and he let out a quiet sob. He had been strong for so, so long.