Chapter Text
“Is that… Is that even possible?”
Beast God’s blood flowed through him, and yet… He had just been just blessed by Shadow God. How could he hold the lineage of Beast God and be a Child of Shadows? It should not have been possible and yet it was.
Song Sunless shook his head. That was the least of his worries. He had received a new Attribute as well— and a strange one at that.
But there was something even more pressing: his flaw. Sunny grimaced. He wasn’t worried of his family finding out his True Name. In their eyes he was still just a kid. It’s hard to stand out when your sisters are Masters and Saints.
Sunny was worried about anyone else though. A legacy from a Great Clan with a Divine Aspect? Surely someone would suspect something.
He had already rarely enjoyed the company of others, but now he dreaded it. One wrong question and his freedom would be gone.
He never wanted to be an Aspirant anyway. But he didn’t have a choice.
He had a promise to keep. And now, his goal didn’t seem so far away.
The spell spoke.
[Wake up, Lost From Light!]
He felt the dark expanse between worlds swirl and blur. Suddenly it was gone. Sunless was in the waking world.
—————
“An invaluable helper huh. So, what does it actually do?”
“Well, I can detach it from me and share its sense as well as use it to augment myself. It also seems to have a bit of an attitude…”
Revel sighed as she sat on the floor of Song Compound’s training room.
“A little underwhelming for a Divine Aspect… I guess you could be an assassin? Besides the fact that you couldn’t absorb those soul shards, your aspect doesn’t seem that abnormal. You’re still just a sleeper though, I’m sure it’ll be stronger once you awaken.”
Due to Shadow Bond, Sunny was not inclined to share all the details of his aspect, but unfortunately it proved difficult when he had as many nosy sisters as he did.
It wasn’t the end of the world though as he was still able to hide his True Name.
Revel stood up.
“Well, anyway I got to get back to Ravenheart soon. See you Sunny.”
He scoffed.
“What? Got to get back to laze around in your room?”
“Hey!”
Revel ruffled Sunny’s hair as she passed by him.
“Just wait until you awaken. You’ll be jealous in no time. Trust me, you’d rather be me than Bin.”
With that, she pulled on her tether and returned to Ravenheart.
It had just been a week since Sunny had completed his First Nightmare. It was already the longest time he had spent away from Ravenheart since he had been brought in by Song and he was already getting tired of it. And the solstice was still many months away.
Sunny hoped the Spell would take him somewhere close to Ravenheart. He wanted to get back home as soon as he could.
He had taken on the First Nightmare at the beginning of the year so that he could have ample time to adjust to his Aspect and Flaw before the solstice, but now he just wished he waited until the Winter.
Sunny checked his runes once more.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lost From Light
Rank: Dreamer
Shadow Fragments: 12/1000
Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer’s Shroud]
Attributes: [Fated], [Ember of Divinity], [Child of Shadows], [The Blood], [Treacherous]
Sunny had an alarming amount of Attributes for a Sleeper. Most Sleepers might have had three at most, but Sunny had an astounding five.
Four of them had been with him since the beginning of the Nightmare, but one he had somehow gained by the end.
[The Blood] was simply described the spell as: “You have inherited the lineage of Beast God.” Despite the vague description, Sunny had found that his sense of smell had improved greatly. Whether or not that was the extent of The Blood, he had no idea.
[Treacherous]… was a strange one. It was the Attribute that he had gained at the end of his Nightmare after being blessed by Shadow God. The Spell also seemed to call him that name.
The Attribute’s description was: “Descended from one God, blessed from another. You care not to bow to a single Divine. Your treachery truly knows no bounds.”
Sunny assumed that he received it because he was held Beast God’s lineage, but was blessed by Shadow God. Initially, he had been too worried over his Innate Ability and Flaw to give it much thought but now that he did, he didn’t know what to make of it.
So far, Sunny had no idea what it did. Could it have been a curse? Maybe it would have had an affect if the gods still lived.
He didn’t stress about too much though. After all, he still had months to figure it all out.
————
A month had passed and Sunny had settled into a routine. He had a late start to the day, waking just before ten. After breakfast— if you could still call it that—, he spent his time studying. History, survival skills, Dream Realm geography, anything that might give him an edge once the solstice came.
Sunny enjoyed this part of his day thoroughly— history especially. In that way, Sunny was somewhat backwards. For most legacies, combat was highlight their training while academics was simply a joyless necessity.
After lunch, Sunny would begin combat training. He was proficient in all sorts of weapons: swords, spears, bows, daggers. After all, weapon choice would not always be guarenteed in the Dream Realm.
Sunny had always excelled with swords, but now his training also had more focus on daggers. His family had deemed that his aspect would be most useful for work as an assassin. Staying out of sight and striking nightmare creatures at their weak point. A shorter blade was more suited in that aspect as it allowed for more precision to target vital areas.
Sunny didn’t hate combat training, however, he felt it didn’t suit him all too well. He had no desire for combat outside of it being a necessity in the world ruled by the Spell.
Maybe it came from his mother. She always told him that the essence of combat was failure.
After that, Sunny allocated the rest of the day to free time. Going out in NQSC, spending time with his sisters, or just resting.
But every once and a while, once the sun set, he worked on exploring his aspect more. His sister, Revel, would come to help him. Although true darkness is said to be the enemy of shadows, her aspect was vaguely similar to his.
Sunny was able to figure out that he could also augment memories, but it was limited to only his. He also found the range that he could send his shadow.
After those quick discoveries, his progress halted. Shadow fragments were still a mystery. Not being able to saturate his core at all before the solstice would leave him at a huge disadvantage.
Sunny was convinced that there was more to his ‘invaluable helper’ than meets the eye. With how expressive his shadow was, Sunny thought there was more to it. He tried all sorts of things to maybe communicate to it. Talking to it, trying some crude sign language, even mimicking its mocking gestures. Nothing worked.
———
“What if… What if it’s like doing something when I’m not looking. Maybe it can only teach me when I'm not looking to be taught?”
“Or, maybe there’s nothing. Face it Sunny, its been three months and we haven’t found anything. Just give it time, your aspect will grow stronger. Everyone’s does.”
Revel was getting fed up at this point. She felt bad for him. It was obvious that he assumed that his one of a kind Divine Aspect would be more powerful. …Actually, everyone thought it too. Although it was just their family that was disclosed of his Aspect’s rank, Revel was sure that it was getting to him.
Having a Divine Aspect set everyone’s expectations high and now he must’ve felt like he was meeting those expectations— no matter how unrealistic.
He’ll get over it eventually she thought.
“Sunny I think its time to call it quits for now.”
Sunny’s eyes widened.
“No— Rev, please! Just lets try one more thing. Just one more day. What if you just watch my shadow all day and see if something happens.”
Revel paused.
“That might be as stupid as when you tried shadowing your own shadow. I’m not doing that.” She said plainly.
Sunny looked desperate.
“Please!”
“...Do you promise to stop bothering me about this when we don’t find anything?”
“Yes.”
“...Fine.”
Revel let out a deep sigh. Why does my brother have to be so delusional?
——————
The next day, as Sunny was studying, Revel was sitting in a seat behind him. With her head resting in her palms, she let out a sigh. It was about to be a very boring day.
She muttered under breath.
“This is so stupid.”
“Shut up. I’m trying to focus.”
Sunny went back to studying and Revel stayed silent.
Why did I agree to this? She thought. Wait? No— why do I have to do this? Why didn’t he ask like Bin or Howl, or literally anyone else? Does he really think I have nothing better to do?!
Revel made an annoyed expression as she intently watched Sunny’s shadow for the next few hours.
As she expected, his shadow did not, in fact, show her some mystical secret to Sunny’s aspect.
————
“...What are you doing?” Bin asked with a concerned expression on her face.
Revel replied without looking up and a bored expression on her face.
“Sunny wanted me to watch his shadow.”
Bin looked at Sunny and back at Revel.
“I’ll… leave you to that then…”
Bin quickly left the dining hall concerned. She didn’t want to distrub… Whatever was going on.
How did Sunny convince her to do something akin to watching paint dry? And how the hell did a Revel have enough time to do that?
Bin laughed to herself at the thought. She was only mostly joking whenever she called Revel unemployed. But sometimes, the jokes just write themselves.
————
After a long day, Revel found… nothing. Apparently staring a shadow for eight hours will not help your little brother unlock some deep secret of his Aspect.
Revel was thoroughly annoyed that her day had been wasted, but at least now, her evenings were opened up. Not that she needed more free time, but it was always nice.
The only thing she might’ve noticed was that at times Sunny’s shadow seemed off when he was sparring. It was most likely that her eyes were playing tricks on her after staring so intently at a shadow, but she told Sunny anyway.
At least let the kid dream a little.
——————
The next few months passed rather uneventfully. Sunny had fallen into a routine and the days blended together. He continued to study and train, but at Revel’s request, stopped trying to find what his shadow was hiding from him.
It still gnawed at his mind though. Revel mentioned that his shadow seemed off when he sparred, but it wasn’t exactly like he could just watch his own shadow and spar at the same time.
At times, he did try however. It always ended with him on the floor. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that Revel was right. It was like his shadow wasn't following his moves exactly.
It was so slight that Sunny could barely tell if he was just imagining it though. He wanted to believe that his shadow was showing him something, but a part of him told him that he was seeing it because he wanted to see it. His mind conjured something that wasn’t there.
And so— against his better judgement —forgot about it. Only remembering every once and while and letting it plague him as he lie in bed.
Sunny was getting a little tired of everyday feeling the same, and so he decided to switch things up today.
Sunny realized the entire reason he originally started his day late was because he spent his nights late to explore his aspect more with Revel.
That had ended months ago. So now there was no point in starting his day so late except for the luxury of sleeping in.
So Sunny decided to wake up early. As he got out of bed, Sunny grimaced wearily. Why did I wake up this early? It’s practically dawn.
After getting ready for the day, Sunny decided to check out the training room. Maybe he could start his day with some exercise, or watch a spar between Saints or Masters.
He entered the room to see Veil and Stalker sparring. He decided to take a seat at the edge of the room and watch. Normally, being in the same room as a spar between Saints would quite dangerous for a sleeper, however, the room was quite spacious and neither used their Aspects.
Sunny sat with his back to wall and chin resting on his palm. It was always humbling watching his sisters spar— especially his transcendent ones. Whenever Sunny sparred, his opponent was always holding back, no matter who it was. A sleeper was no match for even an awakened.
Watching a fight between transcendents, Sunny realized he had a long way to go.
Watching the spar, Sunny suddenly had a brilliant idea. He knew he could attach his shadow to other people, but it really had no use to him as of now. Maybe once he awakened, he could use it for espionage. But as sleeper training to survive the solstice, he had no use for it.
But Sunny suddenly remembered his suspicions of his shadow moving on its own when he fought. He could never confirm his suspicions as he had no way of watching his shadow while focused on a spar. But what if he attached his shadow to one his sisters while they sparred? That way he would be able to watch his own shadow fight without having his attention split.
Sunny quickly sent his shadow over and attached it to Stalker. It merged with her own shadow as the continued sparring. Merged with her own shadow it should have been practically invisible. It should have shadowed her movements exactly how a shadow should.
But as Sunny watched his eyes widened. He distinctly saw his shadow move on his own, separately from Stalker’s own shadow. He watched it intently, excitement filling his heart.
Sunny unmerged his shadow from Stalkers to watch it more closely. Slowly Sunny made semblance of his shadow’s movement. It wasn’t random or simply his shadow failing to match the movements of a Saint. Sunny’s shadow was showing him its very own battle art.
Eyes wide, Sunny sat watching and studying his shadow until the spar ended. Even after the spar had finished and his shadow returned to his side, Sunny sat stunned.
He was right. Revel didn’t believe him, but his shadow was actually trying to show him something. Sunny smiled to himself. He was sure to rub it in her face.
Walking out, Veil passed by him.
“You’re up early. Glad to see Revel hasn’t rubbed off on you too much.”
Sunny grinned and turned to her.
“Yeah, me too. Actually, when you’re back in Ravenheart, tell her I have some words for her.”
—————
Sunny went to bed that night as happy as could be. It would prove to be very difficult to actually learn this battle style. He couldn’t glimpse the intricacies of the style from the short spar and without a proper teacher it would be far from easy to learn a new style from the ground up.
Sunny didn’t care though. This style was his and his alone. Most of all he now had a real reason to fully apply himself to his training besides necessity: to spite Revel.
But as Sunny fell asleep, he received an unexpected gift.
As his mind drifted off Sunny dreamt an unfamiliar scene of a life that was not his.
Darkness surrounded him. Shadows danced all around— moving, shifting as if in the presence of their lord. A dark sun burned crimson light through tenebrous cloud, but no light reached him.
Silence filled a dark hall. Made of marble pitch black, colossal pillars held up the grand temple.
A sense of deja vu filled Sunny’s mind, like trying to grasp a fleeting memory that was now lost.
A baby’s cry suddenly extinguished the silence.
For some reason, Sunny felt as if there should have been an altar cut from a single slab of black marble in place of where the cries were coming from.
A realization hit his mind. Sunny remembered his First Nightmare. Piecing it together, a few words suddenly formed in his mind.
…Child of Shadows
The next moment, it was all gone.
———————
When he came to, the world was swaying as black stone flowed up and down.
…No …Thats not right. It was Sunny that was swaying.
As a young woman walked down a long corridor dimly lit, Sunny found himself in the body of toddler being carried.
The girl was young, not much older than Sunny himself. Long raven hair flowed down her slender, porcelain body. Dressed in a silk tunic that left her shoulders exposed, a tattoo of a black serpent could be seen. It coiled and stretched all across her body. Each scale so intricately crafted, it almost seemed alive.
Sunny recognized the markings. It was a mark of slave belonging to Shadow God. The girl was temple slave much like the one he inhabited in his First Nightmare.
Sunny could tell she was the toddler’s mother from the way she smiled at him. She almost reminded him of his own mother, although he had been much older than a toddler when she had taken him in.
It finally clicked.
This is a memory…
It was a memory belonging to the Child of Shadows. The original child of shadows whose role he had assumed in the First Nightmare.
————
The young girl soon entered a vast hall shroud in deep shadows. In the center stood seven braziers burning with pale flames. A dozen figures stood motionlessly on the edges of the light.
Sunny shivered at the eerie scene. The figures seemed to be priests, with a few other slaves scattered between. Not that there was much difference. The priests bore the same serpent markings that designated the property of Shadow God.
The girl approached one the elder slaves and entrusted her with the child. Seperated from the warmth of his mother, Sunny felt cold and scared. The old woman consoled him to prevent him from tears.
The young woman slowly made her way to the center of the circle of light as the seven shadows cast by her grew darker.
The flames flickered as she stood there motionlessly.
Suddenly the silence broke. The sound of strings filled the hall as a zither rung out.
As the melody played the slave girl moved, her seven shadows following her every move.
She danced.
In the circle of light swimming in a sea of impenetrable darkness she looked as if she was the only thing in the world. Every move graceful and executed with clear intent.
It was beautiful.
The pattern of her movements held an almost unnatural beauty and cadence to it. Her movements flowed like a river, yet they were firm. It looked gentle, yet it was sharp. Every movement was clear as a summer day, yet it was unpredictable. She was alone, yet accompanied by seven partners.
There was no one word to describe the sight. She danced both with numerous styles, yet none at all.
It was formless and ever changing… just like a shadow.
Sunny could not recognize the dance, yet he knew exactly what it was.
This was the Shadow Dance.
—————
Sunny woke up sweating. It was almost noon.
Damn… Maybe Revel really is rubbing off on me.
He sat up, remembering his strange dream. If it really was a dream.
His heart raced, recalling the tenebrous halls, the mark of Shadow God… the scene of the Shadow Dance.
Yesterday he noted he would not have anyone to teach him his shadow’s battle art. But now… it had been handed right to him.
Was a gift? Some kind of vision from the Spell?
Sunny recalled the woman dancing. it was unmistakable. That was what his shadow was showing him.
Was it some kind of lost art from before the War Empire destroyed the temples of Shadow God?
Were they all shadow slaves like him? He did not know.
Sunny still did not know how a descendant of Beast God like him could also be shadow slave blessed by Shadow God.
But if Sunny was in fact the final remaining shadow slave, would that make that dance his legacy?
Just as he thought that, a familiar voice rang out. One that he had not heard in months, yet it was unforgettable.
The voice of the Spell spoke to him:
[You have recieved an Aspect Legacy, Shadow Dance.]
His eyes widened.
An… an Aspect Legacy…
Sunny did not know what he had expected his shadow to show him, but it definitely was not this.
Aspect Legacy were suppose to be reserved for Saints, the elite Masters, and in rare cases, Awakened. To recieve an Aspect Legacy as a sleeper was simply unheard of.
Sunny was not even sure that all of his sisters had received an Aspect Legacy yet.
A grinned slowly formed across Sunny’s face. This was it. This was exactly what he needed to make Revel eat her words.
He checked his runes. Just under the cluster describing his Aspect, he found it.
Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance]
Shadow Dance Description: [Once an elegant dance, now a deadly battle art. This mysterious style was created by the treacherous Lost From Light after witnessing a graceful slave dancing with her shadows. Who else could have taken something so beautiful and turned it into something so vile?]
He frowned.
There it was. That word again: Treacherous…
Sunny quickly forgot about what he was thinking about as an expression of shock cover his face.
Just below the description, Sunny saw something even more unbelievable.
Shadow Dance Mastery Level [0/7].
First Relic: Unearned
Second Relic:Unearned
Third Relic….
Seven… There’s seven of them.
—————
Time flew by after that. With a new goal to work towards, Sunny’s days were only filled with excitement. Sunny had yet to reach the first level of mastery of Shadow Dance, but he was sure that once he awakened, it would only be a matter of time.
The solstice was here. It was also Sunny’s birthday.
Normally, Sunny would have been ecstatic. After all, with as many sisters as he did, he was always overflowing in gifts. But today the mood was solemn, as reality set in for Sunny.
He tried to shake off the drowsiness with a cup of coffee as he at he ate breakfast. He was silent, but his mind loud. By nightfall, he would be back in the Dream Realm. Not in the comfort of the Jade Palace, but instead alone in the wilderness somewhere.
Sunny was ready. He wanted to believe that. He had been preparing for years and years for this. But as a prince of Song, he knew better than anyone that no matter how strong you thing you are, survival is not guaranteed.
Sunny had many sisters, but before he was taken in, there had been more. Some fell to the First Nightmare and some never returned from the solstice. There was Seishan too… The Lost Princess of Song.
Sunny had heard the stories. She had been like the leader of his many sisters back when they were all mundane. They talked like she was the greatest of them all and yet… and yet her body still lays in her sleeping pod, nine years later. Alive, but… lost. Somewhere.
Sunny tried to distract himself from those thoughts. Soon, he would be an Awakened. Sunny didn’t exactly care too much about becoming Awakened itself. Instead Sunny remembered a promise he made a long time ago.
Soon… I’ll find you soon…
Sunny’s brooding was soon interrupted by a by a voice behind him.
“Sunny.”
His head whipped around as he heard the familiar warm voice. It had been a while since he had heard it.
“Mom?”
Sunny saw the warm smile of his mother staring back him. Not one of her puppets. She was actually here.
She didn’t leave the palace often, let alone the Dream Realm. Sunny knew that as a sovereign, it was difficult for her to be back in the waking world.
Sunny ran over and embraced his mother.
“You’re really here?”
Her body was cold, but she spoke warmly.
“Of course. I’ve never missed my son’s birthday, and I don’t plan on starting.”
She paused, holding onto Sunny.
“I missed you Sunny.”
———
Sunny’s mood was lifted. He spent the day with his mother as he told her all about his time training in the waking world.
As they wandered the Compound, Sunny smiled for the first time today.
When they returned to the dining hall, Sunny was greeted by the rest of his family— all of them. It was a rare sight to see so many Masters, Saints, and even a sovereign in one hall.
Sunny’s mood returned even just a little. For all of them to be here should have been impossible. They had a domain to run after all.
They celebrated his birthday until just before dusk. One by one they said their goodbye’s. Not just normal goodbyes either.
They tried to hide it, but Sunny knew. It was his birthday, but it could also be the last day he ever saw his family.
As everyone left, Sunny was led underground by his mother. It was where the sleeping pods were stored. The direct family’s pods went mostly unused because almost all of them besides Sunny were at least Masters. All but one.
As they walked, Ki Song suddenly stopped at a door. She opened it and beckoned Sunny to look.
“Sunny.” she said, “Do you know who that is?”
Sunny paused as he stared at a girl with exotic grey skin. She was laying in a sleeping pod and looked no younger than his other sisters.
He nodded and spoke quietly.
“Seishan.”
Ki Song nodded and looked away wistfully.
“That’s right. I’m sure your sisters have told you. Shan… You’re sisters used to look up to Shan. They would always be following her around. Back then, it seemed like she could do anything. And… And now…”
She spoke slowly, almost holding back tears.
“Sunny. Anything can happen in the Dream Realm. It doesn’t matter how much you trained or how prepared you think you are. You might be confident, but… The essence of comabt is failure. So it doesn’t matter if you have to run and hide. Just survive. And come home.”
———
Far away, unbeknownst to Sunny, a delicate blind girl fumbled her way to her sleeping pod, tears streaming down her face.
A proud Legacy, trembled, staring at the floor, Muttering a single phrase over and over again.
A girl with strange silver hair and grey eyes looked down at her hands. Soft white light was growing brighter and brighter as she grimaced in pain.
A lost princess bid her time, waiting patiently for another year.
And finally, there was Song Sunless, Lost from Light. He climbed into sleeping pod as he got ready for his final moments on earth.
Just before he drifted off, he felt a cold hand touch his shoulder and felt sparks of electricity travel from it and into his soul.
In a sea of darkness, Sunny heard a familiar voice:
[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Sunless!]