Time together

I have changed Cassie vs Nightmare Gate since I just tried to write part two but it's short and bland. Cassie and Cor beat the nightmare Gate with no casualties and Rain is safe that's all that happens. (plus y'all want Sunny and Neph, not Cassie.)

***

Sunny woke up feeling sore and as if he had been run over by a flock of Nightmare creatures. He yawned before, in a daze, opening his runes as he summoned [Endless Spring] and took a sip to clear his throat... only to do a spit take. 'Wha-,' he was dumbfounded as he stared at his runes.

Name: Sunny

True name: Lost from Light

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Devil

Shadow Cores: [4/7]

Shadow fragments: [1163/4000]

'I'm a devil now, seems fitting.'

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Dark Wing], [Endless Spring], [Extraordinary Rock], [Mantle of the Underworld], [Midnight Shard], [Moonlight Shard], [Prowling Thorn], [Weaver's Mask], [Blood Blossom], [Broken Oath], [Cradle of Eternal Frost], [Shadow of the Drowned Moon], [Ashwake], [Silent Thunder], [Burden of the Hunt], [Kindness of Ashes], [Kiss of the Twin Shadow], [Surge of the Broken Will], [Writ of the Bound Mind], [Burdenless Sanctum], [Shadow Lantern], [Crown of the Corrupt], [some memories that he'll feed Saint later]

Sunny ignored the memories he got from the army since he already had everything he needed. What caught his attention was the memory he got from the King, or the King beneath the thorns.

Memory: Crown of the Corrupt

Memory Rank: Transcendent

Memory Tier: VI

Memory Type: Tool

Memory Description: [What was once a beautiful city now lies in ruins. Its two kings tried to grasp at what was left, but once it arrived even that was left too. Eventually, they all succumbed to corruption as death was now mercy, and living was torture. The king yearned to rebuild his lost kingdom, until a treacherous Shadow and a harrowing Nephilim came and brought ruin, finally giving all the grace of Death, ending all that was left.

This crown is what's left of a broken, corrupted kingdom.]

'Two kings? We only saw one in the Castle, if we have to fight one more we might as well try our luck with the Rat King.'

Memory Enchantments: [Sovereign's Will], [Voice of the Dragon Kings], [Crown of Clarity], [Locked], [Locked], [Locked]

'Locked? Is it like Mantle of the Underworld where I need to do requirements?'

Sunny scrolled down to try to look for a counter or requirement, but he found nothing. Confused, he decided to just summon the crown. But when it fully spawned it was only half of a crown on the left side, it stood up perfectly despite its structure. It was pitch black, with a half star in front of it as jagged, sharp small spikes lined up on the top of the crown. Sunny also felt clarity for some reason as his wits were suddenly sharpened. Overall, Sunny couldn't wait to find the other half of the crown as it seemed cool, and in his color, before clicking on its enchantments.

[Sovereign's Will]: Gives the wearer authority over vines, thorns, and lesser minds depending on the user's Will. The crown enhances the user's Will as long as they're wearing the crown.

[Voice of the Dragon King]: Amplifies the wearer's voice and charisma to high levels.

[Crown of Blessings]: Enhances wisdom, insight, and clarity to its user. It also gives high protection against Corruption.

'That explains the sudden clarity, and I'll have to explore Sovereign's Will later, luckily they're all passive.'

Attributes: [Fated], [Flame of Divinity ], [Lord of Shadows], [Blood Weave], [Peace Maker], [Death], [Death's eye]

Aspect: [Shadow Slave]

Aspect Rank: Divine

Aspect Description: [...]

Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond].

Ability Description: [...]

Aspect Ability: [Shadow Control].

Aspect Ability Description: [...]

Flaw: [Clear Conscience].

Flaw Description: [You cannot lie.]

Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance]

Shadow Dance Description: [...]

Shadow Dance Mastery Level: [3/7]

First Relic: Claimed

Second Relic: Claimed

Third Relic: Claimed

Fourth Relic: Unearned

Fifth Relic: ....

Shadows: [Stone Saint], [Soul Serpent]

Sunny dismissed his ruins before turning around to see Neph still sleeping in her sleeping bag. Sunny crawled his way over to her before entering her sleeping bag and cuddling up against her. 'I'm sure she won't mind, hopefully.' Sunny made himself comfortable just as he heard Neph mumble and turned towards Sunny.

"What are you doing Sunny?" Neph said with her eyes barely opened.

"I just wanted to be close, also how did you know it was me if there's no light?"

"I know how you smell by now, like death but somehow sweet too. Just don't move too much, I'm still tired."

Just like that Nephis shut her eyes once more and left Sunny with his thoughts. Sunny put his head under her chin and his hands around her thin waist. Neph also put her hands around his waist and put her head on top of his. It was safe to say that Sunny was beet-red from how close they were. Eventually though Sunny got hungry so he made his way out of the tent and started trying to light up a fire. He got started and summoned his storage chest and pulled on some Fallen meat, and put it on a makeshift pan before cooking it.

He wished he had salt or sauce to make the meat less bland but they hadn't found a suitable substitute for it here. He pulled out another makeshift tool, a kettle Nephis called it, and poured water into it before putting it over the warm fire. Sunny was a great cook now and in some aspects even passed Neph in it. Sunny knew she liked it when he cooked since the Dark City, as she would give excuses as to why she couldn't for the day. Sunny didn't mind since one of his goals was to own his restaurant in NQSC.

'I wonder how Rain is doing, eh she's probably doing alright, not like she needs me to defend her from a wild Gate.' Sunny chuckled at his joke before paying attention to his breakfast again. Soon Nephis came out of the tent, though there was a red tint in her cheeks.

"Hey Nephis, how did you sleep?"

"I slept fine enough, I've also seen you're a devil now, congrats Sunny."

"Do you wake up every day and check on my runes?"

"Yes, just for a safety check of course." She quickly added as her cheeks turned a tad pinker.

"Mmm well, I also received a new memory from that bastard king. I want your thoughts on the enchantment [Sovereign's Will] since it relates to sovereignty and what might be domains."

Nephis started tapping on the air which Sunny assumed was her checking his runes. She suddenly paused after clicking and looked up at Sunny.

"You do know that I can't see enchantments like you can right?"

"Oh right sorry so the enchantment name is sovereign's Will and..."

Sunny proceeded to explain to her the enchantment, and what it did.

"So I'm guessing that being a sovereign gives you authority over something or a domain of sorts. If that's the case then Anvil and Ki Song... I'm not quite sure what their authority could be. Anvil could be about swords or weapon making, but Song is completely unknown to me." Nephis said

"Yeah I came to that conclusion too but what confuses me is Will. I mean I like to consider myself as strong-willed but I don't know what Will has to do with authority, or domains."

Nephis gave him a good look at him before saying,

"Try using the crown and see what it can do, if you wish."

Sunny nodded and summoned the crown once more, in its dark glory.

"Like it?"

Sunny asked though his voice sounded, deeper. More powerful, or demanding. But when Sunny looked at Nephis... she was staring at him with a look. Sunny knew he had seen that look before and tried to recall where he had seen it.

"Huh oh yeah yeah I like it..."

"My crown is up here Neph."

Sunny pointed to his crown to stop her from staring at his face, which was starting to feel very hot. Neph took a look before looking back at him, and was blushing before staring at the ground around him, surprised. He didn't miss this and looked around him to see vines sprouting from the ground and seemingly moving towards him. Once they got close, the top of the vines seemed to lower, almost as if bowing to their Lord... their Monarch... their Sovereign. Sunny ordered them to do a series of motions and determined that they're like his Shadows, but physical. They were on par with Fallen creatures in terms of durability, moved around a max speed of 20 miles, and he's able to summon as many as he wants although it was mentally taxing and was harder to do the more there were. 

Nephis watched with a flicker of amazement in her eyes and felt pride knowing that he was once her student. She was glad that Sunny had stayed with her, and even more that they were finally dating even if they didn't know how to. She also felt charmed whenever he spoke which he had explained was another ability along with the blessings he got from the crown.

Soon Sunny dismissed his crown, and grabbing two plates and two mugs from his chest, he divided the meat in half and put a little more in Neph's plate before giving the plate to her. She took it and started eating lowly but elegantly as he poured them coffee. They ate in silence, side by side, but it was a comfortable silence that Sunny had come to enjoy between them. He also didn't try to make small talk since he knew they both were tired and needed a break, even if she didn't want to admit it he knew - which he found cute of her.

They finished their breakfast and sat together, lost in their thoughts before Sunny reached out and grabbed her hand. She didn't reject it and they held hands for a while until he spoke up,

"So...how are you feeling after overusing your aspect?"

"I didn't overuse it?"

"Cut the crap you do know I know you best in both worlds right?"

She didn't even blink when Sunny accused her and just turned to look at him.

"Fine, I did overuse it when we fought the army. You were just getting mauled viciously, so I had to up the dosage of the flame to keep you alive. I still feel a bit of my humanity left but..."

She rubbed her thumbs together before choosing her next voices carefully.

"I feel more distant from being a human the more I use my aspect, and being a Dreamspawn doesn't help."

Sunny tried to wrap an arm around her neck, which was to say he had to put his arm around her waist.

'I hate being short, even while sitting she's still taller.'

"Let's take a break today Neph, just you and I."

Nephis stared at him for a moment, her eyes felt empty and void of emotion but Sunny could scratch out a tint of emotion in them.

"We shouldn't, we need to get to the Gate and leave this place."

But Sunny just shook his head while tisking as a smile formed on his face.

"I'm sorry princess but today is our one-off day of the year to just relax. I don't want you fighting, training, or cooking."

Nephis sighed before putting her head on his shoulder.

"Fine."

***

It was safe to say that Sunny and Nephis were having a great time being a couple and having each other. At first, they had just sat together since Nephis wanted to be alone with her thoughts but eventually Sunny suggested a game that he used to play in the outskirts whenever he wasn't busy trying not to die. The game was as simple as they came, and it existed before the spell. The game was called "soccer," and Sunny had read about it in a magazine. Apparently, it was supposed to be played with 11v11 but sunny only had me, myself, and I so he just kicked a makeshift ball between two metal poles behind a wall. Now that he had Nephis though...

Nephis was across from him, and behind her were two sticks acting as a goal, with similar ones about the same width behind him. In front of them both at the center was a ball he fashioned out of nightmare creatures' fur with a metal lining inside it. For any other human who would attempt to kick it, they would probably break their toes. Luckily they had their armor equipped so they would be fine, hopefully. He had also read about how often soccer players got injured while playing, which he will find out soon enough unfortunately.

"You ready?" Nephis called out, looking attentively.

Luckily Sunny had taught her all about soccer before they started, and even helped him fashion the ball together and put her sticks up. They had decided to make the field twice as big as a normal used since they had insane speed even without essence. She had also helped them fashion uniforms that people had used to signify what team they belonged to, which Sunny had made to make the game more on point with the real version. Plus... 'nephis looks good in hers.' Nephis wore a white Jersey with the number "23", Sunny on the other hand wore a black jersey with the number "21" on it.

"I'm ready, let's do this!"

Sunny and Nephis rushed towards the ball, both using their regular speed, as they then reached it at the same time and kicked. Luckily the ball flew into Nephis' side as they kicked the ball at the same time, so Sunny tried to rush for the ball. Nephis, upon seeing this, also rushed towards the ball and pressed against Sunny as they ran.

"Hey no fair!"

"Too bad."

Nephis reached the ball and brought it towards her. Sunny tried to slither it out using his agile feet, but Nephis blocked and dribbled out of Sunny's reach. She was soon running towards his goal, and even with essence Sunny was far behind. Nephis eventually found herself in front of Sunny's goal and shot... which was intercepted by what seemed like nothing. Suddenly two crimson-red opened as an onyx-black knight appeared from the shadows and threw the ball in the air, aimed towards Sunny who was now deep into her field.

"Now I see why the spell calls you treacherous!" nephis called out towards him.

But even as she said this there was a smile on her face, a real and ordinary-sized one to boost. She couldn't recall when she had smiled like this, maybe before the assassinations and death of her father. After that she hadn't smiled like this again till now, she felt at peace even with Sunny's treachery. Nephis summoned an echo of her own, a Carapace Scavenger she had obtained during the crimson spire siege, as golden, ethereal sparks began forming into a solid matter at her goal. As Sunny reached her goal he was face to face with the creature as it quickly used its pincers to grab the ball before he could kick it.

Sunny had also read about how each goal had goalie's to block any shots that would enter. Nephis had chosen the Carapace Scavenger while he went with his MVS or "Most Valuable Shadow", Saint.

Sunny and Nephis fought for the ball and at times were able to score, which was being counted by Serpent by using marks for each goal. Sunny was losing by a point as the score was 10-9, and there were only 10 seconds left before the game ended. He was running with the ball towards Nephis' goal, but Nephis was catching up to him from behind. He was in mid-field and wouldn't be able to reach a wanted distance before Neph caught him, so he wouldn't try. Sunny stopped and lined up his shot.

"10, 9, 8..." A rock sang

Nephis was also gaining on him,

'10 yards away, 8 yards, 6...'

Before the timer or Neph could reach him or reach zero, he shot with all his essence in his kicking leg. The ball flew at an astonishing speed, not taking long to reach near Nephis' goal and her goalie. The Carapace Scavenger reached on his pincers, trying its hardest to reach and block the shot which was at top left.

"Three, two, one!"

As if by some miracle, or because of [Fated], the ball entered the goal as the time ran out. Sunny panted as he arched slightly from overusing his small essence reserve.

"So I guess it's a tie."

"No, it's not,"

Nephis stared at Sunny, which made Sunny continue quickly after.

"There was something called a penalty shootout, it's where we take five shots and whoever scores more, wins."

"I'll go first then."

***

Nephis now stood only 22 meters away from the goal as Saint stood on defense. Nephis quickly lit herself on fire as she shot towards the goal. She did this five times as Sunny, with his Shadows, looked away so as not to see how many she scored. They wanted the final score to be anonymous until it was announced by Serpent, who now just memorized how many they shot and will write the name of who shot more at the end.

Eventually Nephis turn ended and now it was his turn. Sunny was nervous but determined to beat Nephis as he lined up the ball... and shot.

***

Now the both of them were standing in front of Serpent who was looking at them with his beautiful black, onyx eyes. They both were anxious as to who won as Serpent moved out of the way, revealing what was written on the ground.

...

"Sunny."